Thursday, March 6, 2008

Planet Earth & Animals

The Grand Canyon received a bath yesterday. Apparently they do this ever so often. It's a "flood meant to mimic the natural ones that used to nourish the ecosystem by spreading sediment." I had no idea. Very cool though.

I have this theory that everything we write about in fantasy about super powers and the supernatural, really does occur in nature, and more specifically, in animals.. Like animals that see in the dark, bats that really drink blood, birds that fly, lizards that regenerate body parts, etc. And, I think we have so much to learn from our natural world to help us understand science better.

Here's a good example. Gecko lizards can climb up walls and such. So, researchers are using a similar features from the pads of geckos feet to make special adhesive bandages. Cool, huh?

This leads up to an incredible series you need to watch, if you haven't already. It's called Planet Earth and it was produced by the BBC. It took five years to film in 62 countries, and they captured things on film that have NEVER been seen before in nature. It is truly an homage to this incredicle planet we live on. There is a section on mountains, another on caves, another on the ice world, oceans, jungles and so on. And at the end of each section, they show a short clip on how they filmed parts, which is even more interesting! Seriously, you need to see this. It's AMAZING.

On a lighter note, if you have never seen a cat drink water like this, then you're missing out. My mom's cat drinks water from his bowl like that and it cracks me up! Her cat does lots of weird things, this being only one of them.

And, on an even sillier note, if you've never seen a baby doing a falling asleep dance like this, then you're really, really missing out.


SusannahS said...

Boo, my fat cat, only likes bathroom water. From the faucet, from my bubble bath, it doesn't matter as long as it's water in the bathroom. I leave a (plastic) glass on the floor each morning--he won't drink it out of a bowl. Only out of a glass. He preferred my Depression glass sorbet goblets but my mother had a fit so we've transitioned to the unbreakable glass.

GataGueisha said...


Your post was very interesting and I agree with fact, I think the true fantasy and magic lays in Nature, and that's where we go get our ideas from...the only thing we need is a little imagination left.

Thanks for your comment on my blog, I am glad it is finnaly spreading to other parts of this world.

If you want, you can talk or write in english, I understand it very well :)

Well, thanks again and come back anytime!...Really :)

Rhea said...

Susannahs, that is hilarious about your cat. Very picky, isn't he?! Too funny. Thanks for sharing!

Gatagueisha, thanks for coming by my site. I agree that true fantasy and magic lays in nature. You put that very nicely.

CrystalChick said...

I've seen some of Planet Earth and it is amazing.
My cat is crazy and mean so we try to stay away from her so if she ever does cute things like that we miss it because we're hiding. LOL

Oooh... what's your idea on who Ben's contact on the boat is???

Kim said...

HA! One of my cats drinks like that, too. I have 2 cats...2 twenty pound each black cats that look like panthers. It's so cute to watch the one drink like that.

Andrómaca said...

Hi Rhea!

Thanks a lot for visiting my blog and leaving a little comment there, it was a nice surprise! I didn't expect anyone from the USA to read my space. Now I know my thoughts are spreading all over the world. I should be careful of what I say! ;-)

Come back to Emyn Arnen whenever you want, you're most than welcome in my blog. That way, you can practice your Spanish!

I've been reading your profile and it seems we have quite a lot of interests in common, not only Lost but also reading, traveling, animals, languages, Latin, mythology... That's good to know!

Yours is an interesting blog, I'll come by as often as I can. By the way, I'll have to watch Planet Earth one of this days, it looks appealing too.


PS: I hope my English wasn't very bad, it's my second language!

Rhea said...

Crystalchick, thanks for stopping by. I'm laughing at the thought of you hiding from your cat.

Oh, also, I think Michael is Ben's contact on the boat...Who do you think?

Kim, I love big black cats that look like panthers. We had one when I was a little girl, and it was monsterously huge and sweet.

Andromaca, your English is FABULOUS! Much, much better than my Spanish. It sounds like we have a lot in common, I agree. Thanks for coming by. I'll keep checking out your blog also. I spent a month living in Spain about 15 years ago or so. It was so much fun.