623 replies to this topic

[Dr.~Zodiac~Phantom]

I just watched one of my favorite movies from my childhood and I still love to this day. The 2005 or Tim Burton's version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I first saw it when it came out in 2005. I was in middle school. Still love it to this day. 

 

-'Doc'

[Mara=^.^=]

I recently watched Prehistoric Planet on Apple TV, and I have a story for you guys. It's a dinosaur story obviously, so strap in.  

If you were a dinosaur-obsessed kid in the late 90s or early 2000s, you likely had one very specific, very important mystery kicking around in your brain: the case of the Horrible Hands.  

In 1965, paleontologists working in the Gobi desert in Mongolia unearthed a fossil monstrosity: two gigantic, 8 foot long, disembodied arms. They were baffled by the discovery. What kind of enormous, terrifying beast were they dealing with? They named the species "Deinocheirus", which is Latin for Horrible Hand. Then, they waited. For 50 years. 

The species entered the public consciousness because of a single, famous photo that made its way into virtually every popular dinosaur book published in the 90s and 2000s.

 

Here it is. The photo that defined my childhood as a dinosaur fanatic. The mystery consumed me.

In paleontological circles, speculation ran wild. Many researchers believed that the arms belonged to some enormous therapod killing machine. An apex predator.

 

Then, in 2014, there was a breakthrough. Paleontologists working in the Gobi were contacted by European collectors, who had discovered a set of fossil remains that were poached from Mongolia in 2009.

It was a revelation! A fully intact specimen!

More specimens were unearthed essentially simultaneously, and scientists got to work researching the bones and the fossil beds they were found in, so that they could reconstruct the species' behavior and diet.

Deinocheirus made its celebrity debut this April, in the BBC miniseries Prehistoric Planet, narrated by David Attenborough. I watched the documentary with baited breath. Finally, after all these years, I would get to see the best, most up-to-date reconstruction of the dinosaur that had occupied my youthful brain.

And...it's a muppet. A big, stinky, swamp-dwelling muppet the size of a T. rex.

 

 

Naturally, it was a big hit online.

 

 

Fanart promptly ensued.

 

 

Paleontologist Tom Holtz, from the University of Maryland, had this to say about Deinocheirus:

 

 

Turns out, Deinocheirus is not a killing machine. He's not an apex predator. He's an extremely weird, primitive type of ostrich-mimic dinosaur, that used his long arms to grab fish and dig around for aquatic plants.

His skull is bizarre. He has a hump back. He likely stunk to high heaven.

Just a big, dumb, stinky muppet who shat in the same water he lived in. I could not ask for a better resolution to the mystery of my childhood.

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

I loved that show so much! Huh, I didn't know this mystery was a thing. *I never had a dinosaur fascination when I was kid, but it's alive and well now.  

[Mara=^.^=]

Currently watching Star Trek: Lower Decks. Much funnier than anticipated, and each season has been better than the last.

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[SweeneyxxTodd]

Tim and I just started watching Delicious in Dungeon a couple weeks ago. It's so wonderfully weird.

The premise is: a DnD-esque adventuring party narrowly escapes a Total Party Kill when one of their mages sacrifices herself to teleport the rest out of the dungeon. She's now stuck in the belly of a dragon, slowly being digested, and the three remaining party members, including her brother, have one month to go back down into the dungeon to rescue her before she's too far gone to revive. But they have no money to buy food rations for their mission, so they decide to feed themselves by cooking and eating the monsters they kill.

Part of me wants to read the manga it's based on, but another part wants to be surprised every week with Tim when each episode releases.

Anyway, highly recommend. There's only 4 episodes out now (they're being released on Netflix), so you can catch up pretty quick.

[Katia11]

that sounds like a HOOT

[Mara=^.^=]

Tim and I just started watching Delicious in Dungeon a couple weeks ago. It's so wonderfully weird.

The premise is: a DnD-esque adventuring party narrowly escapes a Total Party Kill when one of their mages sacrifices herself to teleport the rest out of the dungeon. She's now stuck in the belly of a dragon, slowly being digested, and the three remaining party members, including her brother, have one month to go back down into the dungeon to rescue her before she's too far gone to revive. But they have no money to buy food rations for their mission, so they decide to feed themselves by cooking and eating the monsters they kill.

Part of me wants to read the manga it's based on, but another part wants to be surprised every week with Tim when each episode releases.

Anyway, highly recommend. There's only 4 episodes out now (they're being released on Netflix), so you can catch up pretty quick.

 

This is definitely on my to read/to watch list.

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

I watched the first episode and enjoyed it, but for some reason, I just haven't continued on to the second episode. I keep meaning to, but I never do. lol

[SweeneyxxTodd]

Definitely do! It's really good. We haven't watched in a few weeks, and I decided to read the manga, but only up to the point we've watched so I can enjoy it at the same time as Tim. I'm really hoping we have time this week to catch up.

[Katia11]

thank you for the encouragement! I've only got like a few episodes left now!! lol 

[Katia11]

all caught up! And now I am invested lol.

 

 

 Soo..... I'm wondering where I can find the manga. I checked Libby, but couldn't find it there. Where are you reading it from/ through, Mary?

[SweeneyxxTodd]

The library. Most libraries in my network have at least some of the volumes. I just placed some holds on the first few volumes and they came to my library.

[Mara=^.^=]

all caught up! And now I am invested lol.

 

 

 Soo..... I'm wondering where I can find the manga. I checked Libby, but couldn't find it there. Where are you reading it from/ through, Mary?

 

I just started reading! I found the scanlation here: https://deliciousdungeon.com/

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

YAY! thank you, Mara!

[Mara=^.^=]

The new Fallout series is SO. GOOD.

 

If you've ever played any of the Fallout games, then you'll know just how much it nails the vibe perfectly. Highly recommend!

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Mara=^.^=]

 

Just watched Wendell and Wild. This is some of the weirdest shit I've ever seen in my life. I feel like I gargled psychedelics.

 

 

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Katia11]

Lol I remember seeing an advertisement for that, but I never watched it.

[ShadRose17]

The new Fallout series is SO. GOOD.



If you've ever played any of the Fallout games, then you'll know just how much it nails the vibe perfectly. Highly recommend!

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

AGREE. Haven't gotten to finish because Hubby and I only watch it when the kiddo isn't home, but we watched the first two episodes and I really like it. It definitely has such a Fallout game feel, it's very well done.

[SweeneyxxTodd]

Tim and I watched the Deep Sky documentary today. It was really interesting! I wish it had been longer, though. Would have made the price of movie tickets a bit more worth it lol. The JWST photos were gorgeous, and the animations were nice. Really my main critique is I wish it were longer, and also I wish the audio was better balanced. That may have just been our theater, though, but sometimes the music was louder than the scientists they were interviewing.

[Katia11]

Delicious in Dungeon.. that is all.