¡Smaug se ve lo máximo! Esperemos a Diciembre nomás... que más queda! La película promete.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Richard Owen, el papá de los Dinosaurios
Megalosaurus, dibujado por Owen, el primer bautizado
Owen habrá sido una figura muy controvertida y quizás hasta detestado por varios pero sin él los dinosaurios no serían los dinosaurios. Luego que acuñara ese término en 1841 nada sería lo mismo. Los dinosaurios hasta ganarían su hogar en un nuevo museo de historia natural incluso. El revuelo hasta los llevaría a jardines palaciegos.
Más allá de las divergencias con Darwin en torno a su forma de entender la evolución resulta curioso que también le interesaran fósiles sudamericanos colectados por Charles. De hecho lo representaron "con su hobby" usando a Megatherium de Argentina. Los fósiles de esta región le gustaron mucho y le intrigaban al parecer por ciertas similitudes en algunos casos con pares en África.
En su aniversario de natalicio es buen motivo para recordarle ya que nada sería igual si en un artículo de "Proceedings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science" no hubiera dicho que "The combination of such characters, some, as it were, from groups now distinct from each other, and all manifested by creatures far surpassing in size the largest of existing reptiles, will, it is presumed, be deemed sufficient ground for establishing a distinct tribe or suborder of Saurian Reptiles, for which I would propose the name of Dinosauria." (Del "Report on British Fossil Reptiles" de Owen Part II. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Plymouth, England, 1842).
Larga vida.
Monday, July 14, 2014
De la Copa Mundial FIFA Brasil 2014
La Copa Mundial como es tradición atrae atenciones en más de un sentido. Todo el mundo espera la sorpresa de la temporada así no se sea aficionado. Ya no tanto qué selección será "la próxima víctima del comercial de Nike" sino hasta qué doodle sacará Google al respecto. Por cierto, me gustó volver a ver la memoria al Pulpo Paul del Mundial anterior.
La creatividad en todo sentido al momento de apoyar a las selecciones me gustó mucho, vi más dinosaurios que novias del mundial comparado con el anterior campeonato ..... como estos de mi amigo Jaime Bran a propósito de la Final Argentina - Alemania.
Pero creo que mi publicación favorita fue la broma usando al famoso escritor George R.R. Martin en torno a la inesperada goleada 7 a 1 que los holandeses le hicieron al alicaído equipo del anfitrión Brasil que dejó en nada a la que le hicieran a España ¿no Shakira?. Una pena ver a Brasil así. Espero la paliza les haya hecho pisar tierra para que recuperen el brío.
Otro que espero al fin aprenda es Luis Suárez. será excelente jugador y aguerrido pero ya debería dejar esas sonseras de ir como si fuera un mastín. Muchos niños lo ven como modelo y no estuvo nada adecuado su proceder por donde se le mire.
A propósito, que bonitas imágenes nos trajo el último partido sobretodo, la puesta de sol con el Corcovado es de mis favoritas.
¡Felicitaciones al equipo ganador! Sí lo merecían. Lo máximo Klose y Bastian Schweinsteiger.
¡Espero más "jogo bonito" la próxima nomás!
.... y más memes que amenicen claro está!
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
Chismes de Harry Potter - El Ejército de Dumbledore en la Final de la Copa Mundial de Quidditch 2014
Dumbledore’s Army Reunites at Quidditch World Cup Final
By the Daily Prophet’s Gossip Correspondent, Rita Skeeter
But when word swept the campsite and stadium that a certain gang of infamous wizards (no longer the fresh-faced teenagers they were in their heyday, but nevertheless recognisable) had arrived for the final, excitement was beyond anything yet seen. As the crowd stampeded, tents were flattened and small children mown down. Fans from all corners of the globe stormed towards the area where members of Dumbledore’s Army were rumoured to have been sighted, desperate above all else for a glimpse of the man they still call the Chosen One.
The Potter family and the rest of Dumbledore’s Army have been given accommodation in the VIP section of the campsite, which is protected by heavy charms and patrolled by Security Warlocks. Their presence has ensured large crowds along the cordoned area, all hoping for a glimpse of their heroes. At 3pm today they got their wish when, to the accompaniment of loud screams, Potter took his young sons James and Albus to visit the players’ compound, where he introduced them to Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum.
About to turn 34, there are a couple of threads of silver in the famous Auror’s black hair, but he continues to wear the distinctive round glasses that some might say are better suited to a style-deficient twelve-year-old. The famous lightning scar has company: Potter is sporting a nasty cut over his right cheekbone. Requests for information as to its provenance merely produced the usual response from the Ministry of Magic: ‘We do not comment on the top secret work of the Auror department, as we have told you no less than 514 times, Ms. Skeeter.’ So what are they hiding? Is the Chosen One embroiled in fresh mysteries that will one day explode upon us all, plunging us into a new age of terror and mayhem?
Or does his injury have a more humble origin, one that Potter is desperate to hide? Has his wife perhaps cursed him? Are cracks beginning to show in a union that the Potters are determined to promote as happy? Should we read anything into the fact that his wife Ginevra has been perfectly happy to leave her husband and children behind in London whilst reporting on this tournament? The jury is out on whether she really had the talent or experience to be sent to the Quidditch World Cup (jury’s back in – no!!!) but let’s face it, when your last name is Potter, doors open, international sporting bodies bow and scrape, and Daily Prophet editors hand you plum assignments.
As their devoted fans and followers will remember, Potter and Krum competed against each other in the controversial Triwizard Tournament, but apparently there are no hard feelings, as they embraced upon meeting (what really happened in that maze? Speculation is unlikely to be quelled by the warmth of their greeting). After half an hour’s chat, Potter and his sons returned to the campsite where they socialised with the rest of Dumbledore’s Army until the small hours.
In the next tent are Potter’s two closest associates, the ones who know everything about him and yet have always refused to talk to the press. Are they afraid of him, or is it their own secrets they are afraid will leak out, tarnishing the myth of He Who Could Not Be Named’s defeat? Now married, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger were with Potter almost every step of the way. Like the rest of Dumbledore’s Army, they fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and no doubt deserve the plaudits and awards for bravery heaped upon them by a grateful wizarding world.
In the immediate aftermath of the battle Weasley, whose famous ginger hair appears to be thinning slightly, entered into employment with the Ministry of Magic alongside Potter, but left only two years later to co-manage the highly successful wizarding joke emporium Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. Was he, as he stated at the time, ‘delighted to assist my brother George with a business I’ve always loved’? Or had he had his fill of standing in Potter’s shadow? Was the work of the Auror Department too much for a man who has admitted that the destruction of He Who Could Not Be Named’s Horcruxes ‘took its toll’ on him? He shows no obvious signs of mental illness from a distance, but the public is not allowed close enough to make a proper assessment. Is this suspicious?
Hermione Granger, of course, was always the femme fatale of the group. Press reports of the time revealed that as a teenager she toyed with the young Potter’s affections before being seduced away by the muscular Viktor Krum, finally settling for Potter’s faithful sidekick. After a meteoric rise to Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she is now tipped to go even higher within the Ministry, and is also mother to son, Hugo, and daughter, Rose. Does Hermione Granger prove that a witch really can have it all? (No – look at her hair.)
Then there are those members of Dumbledore’s Army who receive slightly less publicity than Potter, Weasley and Granger (are they resentful? Almost certainly). Neville Longbottom, now a popular Herbology teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is here in Patagonia with his wife Hannah. Until recently the pair lived above the Leaky Cauldron in London, but rumour has it that Hannah has not only retrained as a Healer, but is applying for the job of Matron at Hogwarts. Idle gossip suggests that she and her husband both enjoy a little more Ogden’s Old Firewhisky than most of us would expect from custodians of our children, but no doubt we all wish her the best of luck with her application.
Last of the ringleaders of Dumbledore’s Army is, of course, Luna Lovegood (now married to Rolf Scamander, swarthy grandson of celebrated Magizoologist Newt). Still delightfully eccentric, Luna has been sweeping around the VIP section in robes composed of the flags of all sixteen qualifying countries. Her twin sons are ‘at home with grandpa’. Is this a euphemism for ‘too disturbed to be seen in public’? Surely only the unkindest would suggest so.
Sundry other members of the Army are here, but it is on these six that most interest is focused. Wherever there is a red head one may make an educated guess that it belongs to a Weasley, but it is difficult to tell whether it is George (wealthy co-manager of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes), Charlie (dragon wrangler, still unmarried – why?) or Percy (Head of the Department of Magical Transportation – it’s his fault if the Floo Network’s too busy!). The only one who is easy to recognise is Bill who, poor man, is grievously scarred from an encounter with a werewolf and yet somehow (enchantment? Love potion? Blackmail? Kidnap?) married the undeniably beautiful (though doubtless empty-headed) Fleur Delacour.
Word is that we shall see these and other members of Dumbledore’s Army in the VIP boxes at the final, adding to the glitz and razzmatazz of a gala occasion. Let us hope that the behaviour of two of their younger hangers-on does not embarrass them, heaping shame on those who have previously brought honour to the name of wizard.
One always hesitates to invade the privacy of young people, but the fact is that anyone closely connected with Harry Potter reaps the benefits and must pay the penalty of public interest. No doubt Potter will be distressed to know that his sixteen-year-old godson Teddy Lupin – a lanky half-werewolf with bright blue hair – has been behaving in a way unbefitting of wizarding royalty since arriving on the VIP campsite. It might be asking too much that the always-busy Potter keep a tighter rein on this wild boy, who was entrusted to his care by his dying parents, but one shudders to think what will become of Master Lupin without urgent intervention. Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs Bill Weasley might like to know that their beautiful, blonde daughter Victoire seems to be attracted to any dark corner where Master Lupin happens to be lurking. The good news is both of them seem to have invented a method of breathing through their ears. I can think of no other reason how they have survived such prolonged periods of what, in my young day, was called ‘snogging.’
But let us not be severe. Harry Potter and his cohorts never claimed to be perfect! And for those who want to know exactly how imperfect they are, my new biography: Dumbledore’s Army: The Dark Side of the Demob will be available from Flourish and Blotts on July 31st.
Sunday, July 06, 2014
Nazcacetus urbinai, picuda de las profundidades
Los zifios son unas ballenas picudas que a menudo presentan dimorfismo sexual marcado y que son poco conocidas por sus hábitos de vivir en las profundidades y de un modo que algunos consideran misterioso .... y si a eso se agrega la presión de la caza a la que su grupo ha sido sometido ... ¡PEOR!
Estos cetáceos han vivido en nuestros mares por muchos millones de años ya. Se rescató un esqueleto parcial de los niveles del Mioceno Medio (alrededor de 14 a 12 Millones de años) de la Formación Pisco en Cerro Los Quesos, Pisco (en el desierto de Ica, costa sur de Perú) al que se le bautizó como Nazcacetus urbinai. Este pequeño zifio, el mejor especímen fósil documentado del grupo a la fecha de su publicación, se caracteriza por la fuerte reducción en las denticiones superior e inferior salvo por un par de dientes mandibulares apicales largos. Este carácter de los dientes largos sugiere que el dimorfismo sexual ya estaba presente muy tempranamente en la historia evolutiva de los zifios, o al menos sería reastreable hasta el Mioceno Medio.
Parece que era un zifio basal que poseía las capacidades de alimentarse por succión de sus parientes recientes del grupo, una especialización posiblemente relacionada a la explotación de los zifios primigenios de un nuevo nicho ecológico disponible.
Fuente:
A NEW BEAKED WHALE (ODONTOCETI, ZIPHIIDAE) FROM THE MIDDLE MIOCENE OF PERU. OLIVIER LAMBERT, GIOVANNI BIANUCCI, KLAAS POST3. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29(3):910–922, September 2009
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Qhapaq Ñan, el gran camino inca
La red vial de los incas tuvo que ser adaptada a la caprichosa geografía de esta parte de Sudamérica y logró eventualmente unir muchísimas naciones consigo. Puedes saber más de esta antiquísima red de comunicación en este enlace.Es una pena que la mayoría de puentes incas fueran destruidos en las guerras entre los conquistadores españoles y los caminos abandonados en esas épocas. Ahora felizmente ya es patrimonio cultural de la humanidad según la UNESCO, aunque por otro lado ya pasaron varios días desde que se dio a conocer esta declaratoria y parece se ha diluido todo sin que se vea algo de peso y concreto con miras a una real recuperación del mismo.
Al menos otro paso ya está dado.
La foto del costado es de NatGeo
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Alcances Paleobiológicos al Conocimiento de la Biodiversidad Marina Contemporánea
Con motivo del IV Congreso de Ciencias del Mar del Perú el MUSM estará haciendo presentaciones interesantes re
specto a los cetáceos y pinnípedos de la rica Formación Pisco, la misma que con su cobertura de varios millones de años es como un libro casi abierto para la historia evolutiva de estos grupos. Hay resúmenes en línea disponibles en los hipervínculos a continuación:
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