Back in the days that I remember fondly but vaguely, kids in schools spent lots of time with a wall map of the earth in front of them. You were supposed to be paying attention to the teacher but the varied colors and shapes of countries and continents often took over your attention. Especially the fit of the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa.
I had heard that Alfred Wegener, a meteorologist, first proposed that the continents of Earth drift around but that since he was not a geologist, his ideas were not credited. As usual, Wikipedia gives me much more to think about, such as the first statement of the idea being at least as early as 1596. I watched part of Prof. John Renton's Great Course "Nature of Earth", an intro to geological processes and saw that the continents are dissolved a bit into the ocean and built back up a bit by them. Coupled with tectonic plate movement, they drift a little, maybe 2 or 3 inches per year.
We like to have our great grandson over for an evening once a week. Sometimes, things work out that we have time for a movie. Yesterday, he picked the fourth cartoon movie in The Ice Age series. I wasn't enthusiastic but I should have been. It's called "Continental Drift" and is clever and engaging.
In the open, we see a quick cartoon version of the continents being formed from what is now called "Pangaea", the former single land mass of the Earth. Of course, the geological processes take a seat several rows behind the more personal dramas of loss, separation, strife with bad guys.
One of the great pleasures in life is to catch a child you love in the moment of deep glee, that time when the child is overtaken by humor of a joke. I saw this the evening before we flew out of a Texas airport. We were watching "The Pink Panther." Inspector Clouseau manages to drive a 2nd small van into the same swimming pool where his first submerged vehicle is just now being extracted. When the boy realized the significance of the crane lifting out the first one, he was joyfully overcome with laughter.
In "Continental Drift", Grandma has not had a bath in years. She falls into the ocean but says to family would-be rescuers, "Are you kidding? This is great! I haven't had a bath in years." As she speaks, waves of ominous dirt spread out in the water from her. A shark, twisted in death from her pollution rises to the surface. All that happens in an instant and our guy was overtaken with intense reaction, gasping for air through his laughter. Good to mix humor and geology.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
I had heard that Alfred Wegener, a meteorologist, first proposed that the continents of Earth drift around but that since he was not a geologist, his ideas were not credited. As usual, Wikipedia gives me much more to think about, such as the first statement of the idea being at least as early as 1596. I watched part of Prof. John Renton's Great Course "Nature of Earth", an intro to geological processes and saw that the continents are dissolved a bit into the ocean and built back up a bit by them. Coupled with tectonic plate movement, they drift a little, maybe 2 or 3 inches per year.
We like to have our great grandson over for an evening once a week. Sometimes, things work out that we have time for a movie. Yesterday, he picked the fourth cartoon movie in The Ice Age series. I wasn't enthusiastic but I should have been. It's called "Continental Drift" and is clever and engaging.
In the open, we see a quick cartoon version of the continents being formed from what is now called "Pangaea", the former single land mass of the Earth. Of course, the geological processes take a seat several rows behind the more personal dramas of loss, separation, strife with bad guys.
One of the great pleasures in life is to catch a child you love in the moment of deep glee, that time when the child is overtaken by humor of a joke. I saw this the evening before we flew out of a Texas airport. We were watching "The Pink Panther." Inspector Clouseau manages to drive a 2nd small van into the same swimming pool where his first submerged vehicle is just now being extracted. When the boy realized the significance of the crane lifting out the first one, he was joyfully overcome with laughter.
In "Continental Drift", Grandma has not had a bath in years. She falls into the ocean but says to family would-be rescuers, "Are you kidding? This is great! I haven't had a bath in years." As she speaks, waves of ominous dirt spread out in the water from her. A shark, twisted in death from her pollution rises to the surface. All that happens in an instant and our guy was overtaken with intense reaction, gasping for air through his laughter. Good to mix humor and geology.
--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
