That's right, the dinosaur at 0:27 actually relates back to the story!
Despite the statement near the beginning of the trailer, the book IS science fiction.
If you were to manage to dig far enough, 5 km under the ocean or up to 50 km on dry land, you would not hit dinosaurs no matter how awesome that would be.
Could you imagine digging and digging and digging and...digging...and...digging (50 km is really deep)...and...
BAM...DINOSAURS!
But sadly, this not to be. The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program is close to breaking through the Earth's crust and reaching the Moho. Unfortunately, the Moho does not stand for Motherhonking dinosaurs but rather Mohorovicic discontinuity, a region of the upper mantle that borders the crust. Of course, we all know we do not need to dig to see what is really in the center of the Earth. Sometimes the inside comes out all on its own. On the outside the inside is called lava. On the inside it's called magma and you would not believe how much time I just spent on a fruitless search for a video clip of Dr. Evil saying 'liquid hot magma'. Where the crust ruptures and allows the magma to become the lava and also allows for the escape of gas and ash, you get a volcano which despite the heat and danger seems to attract curious onlookers. Maybe a volcano is the geological equivalent of a car accident on the Garden State Parkway-anyone nearby is required by a law of nature to stop and gawk.
Regardless of a volcano's traffic equivalent, a location once deemed sacred to the original inhabitants of Hawaii is now a national park protected from development and commercialization that would undoubtedly happen in a movie starring the late Jim Varney, aka Ernet P. Worrell ala Ernest Goes to Camp. Unfortunately, Mr. Varney has passed away and there never will be the opportunity for Aloha, Ernest or Ernest Gets Lei'd.
As a poor replacement I present Kyle the star of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff. On a dreary day in Hawaii, that's right, dreary even in Hawaii, CP and I took the drive around the Big Island of Hawaii to Volcanoes National Park. The rainy weather limited visibility and led to lots of views like the one below of the Kiluea Iki, a large crater near the summit of Kiluea through which you can hike. Or you could just stare at the craters vastness from the overlook like we did.
However, CP and I did not let a little Hawaiian rain ruin our sightseeing adventure and we explored the park as much as we could considering a large portion of Crater Rim Drive was closed due to high levels of sulfur dioxide. A little poisonous gas could and would not deter me from my duty as the proprietor of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff. Possibly more interesting, at least stucturally, than the giant hole in the ground was the Thurston Lava Tube which was a short walk from the Kiluea Iki Overlook.
Lava tubes are conduits through which lava flows during the eruption of a volcano. When the volcano becomes dormant and the lava cools and leaves the conduit, the tubes become cave-like channels. The Thurston Lava Tube is a brief, dim walk through geology. The tube was discovered in 1913 by Lorrin Thurston and it is tough for me to imagine someone walking blindly into what must have been total darkness. Wandering through cave darkness in what surely was wilderness in 1913 speaks either to Mr. Thurston's bravery or foolishness. Wilderness, even Hawaiian wilderness, is unforgiving and compound that with the unpredictability of volcanoes and I can not help but find Mr. Thurston a little crazy for entering this tube over 85 years ago. Still, without his foolishness, the natural wonder that is the lava tube may never have been discovered.
Aside from the clear devastation due to the volcanic activity, the last seen in 1959, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is a lush tropical forest. The combination of the overabundance of life in the surrounding rain forest and devastation due to past eruptions is a compelling sight. When it's time, nothing stands in the way of the Earth's fury and 40 years later we can all see the devastation of that fury. Huge craters and lava tubes serve as reminders for what we should always remember. Even nature has not been able to recover in almost half a century of time. It makes me feel small and weak in comparison.
I go see him all the time.
Despite the statement near the beginning of the trailer, the book IS science fiction.
If you were to manage to dig far enough, 5 km under the ocean or up to 50 km on dry land, you would not hit dinosaurs no matter how awesome that would be.
Could you imagine digging and digging and digging and...digging...and...digging (50 km is really deep)...and...
BAM...DINOSAURS!
But sadly, this not to be. The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program is close to breaking through the Earth's crust and reaching the Moho. Unfortunately, the Moho does not stand for Motherhonking dinosaurs but rather Mohorovicic discontinuity, a region of the upper mantle that borders the crust. Of course, we all know we do not need to dig to see what is really in the center of the Earth. Sometimes the inside comes out all on its own. On the outside the inside is called lava. On the inside it's called magma and you would not believe how much time I just spent on a fruitless search for a video clip of Dr. Evil saying 'liquid hot magma'. Where the crust ruptures and allows the magma to become the lava and also allows for the escape of gas and ash, you get a volcano which despite the heat and danger seems to attract curious onlookers. Maybe a volcano is the geological equivalent of a car accident on the Garden State Parkway-anyone nearby is required by a law of nature to stop and gawk.
The following 2 images are equivalent...
Regardless of a volcano's traffic equivalent, a location once deemed sacred to the original inhabitants of Hawaii is now a national park protected from development and commercialization that would undoubtedly happen in a movie starring the late Jim Varney, aka Ernet P. Worrell ala Ernest Goes to Camp. Unfortunately, Mr. Varney has passed away and there never will be the opportunity for Aloha, Ernest or Ernest Gets Lei'd.
As a poor replacement I present Kyle the star of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff. On a dreary day in Hawaii, that's right, dreary even in Hawaii, CP and I took the drive around the Big Island of Hawaii to Volcanoes National Park. The rainy weather limited visibility and led to lots of views like the one below of the Kiluea Iki, a large crater near the summit of Kiluea through which you can hike. Or you could just stare at the craters vastness from the overlook like we did.
Quite a view.
However, CP and I did not let a little Hawaiian rain ruin our sightseeing adventure and we explored the park as much as we could considering a large portion of Crater Rim Drive was closed due to high levels of sulfur dioxide. A little poisonous gas could and would not deter me from my duty as the proprietor of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff. Possibly more interesting, at least stucturally, than the giant hole in the ground was the Thurston Lava Tube which was a short walk from the Kiluea Iki Overlook.
It's the gaping dark hole in the foliage behind us.
Lava tubes are conduits through which lava flows during the eruption of a volcano. When the volcano becomes dormant and the lava cools and leaves the conduit, the tubes become cave-like channels. The Thurston Lava Tube is a brief, dim walk through geology. The tube was discovered in 1913 by Lorrin Thurston and it is tough for me to imagine someone walking blindly into what must have been total darkness. Wandering through cave darkness in what surely was wilderness in 1913 speaks either to Mr. Thurston's bravery or foolishness. Wilderness, even Hawaiian wilderness, is unforgiving and compound that with the unpredictability of volcanoes and I can not help but find Mr. Thurston a little crazy for entering this tube over 85 years ago. Still, without his foolishness, the natural wonder that is the lava tube may never have been discovered.
CP says 'Thanks, Lorrin!'
So do the thousands of tourists who follow in your path every day.
So do the thousands of tourists who follow in your path every day.
Aside from the clear devastation due to the volcanic activity, the last seen in 1959, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is a lush tropical forest. The combination of the overabundance of life in the surrounding rain forest and devastation due to past eruptions is a compelling sight. When it's time, nothing stands in the way of the Earth's fury and 40 years later we can all see the devastation of that fury. Huge craters and lava tubes serve as reminders for what we should always remember. Even nature has not been able to recover in almost half a century of time. It makes me feel small and weak in comparison.
Then again so does Ryan Howard.
I go see him all the time.
1 comments:
nice blog.. =)
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