https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/earliest-human-footprints-canada_us_5abdb886e4b0f112dc9b2be2
The discovery suggests the ice-age humans may have used boats to travel among islands.
Friday, March 30, 2018
Sunday, March 18, 2018
April 10 - The Horse by Wendy Williams
The Horse by Wendy Williams
The revelatory and groundbreaking adventure into the 56-million-year history of the horse that horse-lovers have been waiting for.
Horses have a story to tell, one of resilience, sociability and intelligence, and of partnership with human beings. In The Horse, the journalist and equestrienne Wendy Williams brings that story brilliantly to life.
Williams celebrates the 56-million-year journey of horses as she visits with scientists and conservationists around the world, revealing what our noble companion may think and feel, and what our biological affinities and differences can tell us about the bond between horses and humans. Indeed, recent scientific breakthroughs regarding the social and cognitive capacities of the horse and its ability to adapt to changing ecosystems indicate that we should celebrate this animal as a major evolutionary triumph. Williams charts the fascinating course that leads to our modern Equus—from the proto-horse to the Dutch warmbloods, thoroughbreds and miniature ponies of the twenty-first century. She observes magnificent and ancient cave art that signals a deep respect and admiration for horses well before they were domesticated; visits the mountains of Wyoming with an expert in equine behavior to understand the dynamics of bands of free-roaming mustangs; witnesses the acrobatics of the famous Lipizzaners of Vienna; contemplates what life is like for the sure-footed, mustachioed Garrano horses who thrive on the rugged terrain of Galicia; and more. She blends profound scientific insights with remarkable stories to create a unique biography of the horse as a sentient being with a fascinating past and a finely nuanced mind.
The Horse is a revelatory account of the animal who has carried us into battle and travelled with us across the plains, giving us unprecedented insight into the behaviour and history of the animal who has been at our side through the ages. Enriched by Wendy Williams’s own experience with horses,
The Horse is a masterful work of narrative non-fiction that celebrates and pays tribute to this champion of the natural world.
PRAISE FOR KRAKEN
“Williams writes with a deft, supple hand as she surveys these spindly, extraordinary beasts and their world. She reminds us that the known world might be considerably larger than in the days of the bestiary-makers, but there is still room for wonder and strangeness.” —LOS ANGELES TIMES
The revelatory and groundbreaking adventure into the 56-million-year history of the horse that horse-lovers have been waiting for.
Horses have a story to tell, one of resilience, sociability and intelligence, and of partnership with human beings. In The Horse, the journalist and equestrienne Wendy Williams brings that story brilliantly to life.
Williams celebrates the 56-million-year journey of horses as she visits with scientists and conservationists around the world, revealing what our noble companion may think and feel, and what our biological affinities and differences can tell us about the bond between horses and humans. Indeed, recent scientific breakthroughs regarding the social and cognitive capacities of the horse and its ability to adapt to changing ecosystems indicate that we should celebrate this animal as a major evolutionary triumph. Williams charts the fascinating course that leads to our modern Equus—from the proto-horse to the Dutch warmbloods, thoroughbreds and miniature ponies of the twenty-first century. She observes magnificent and ancient cave art that signals a deep respect and admiration for horses well before they were domesticated; visits the mountains of Wyoming with an expert in equine behavior to understand the dynamics of bands of free-roaming mustangs; witnesses the acrobatics of the famous Lipizzaners of Vienna; contemplates what life is like for the sure-footed, mustachioed Garrano horses who thrive on the rugged terrain of Galicia; and more. She blends profound scientific insights with remarkable stories to create a unique biography of the horse as a sentient being with a fascinating past and a finely nuanced mind.
The Horse is a revelatory account of the animal who has carried us into battle and travelled with us across the plains, giving us unprecedented insight into the behaviour and history of the animal who has been at our side through the ages. Enriched by Wendy Williams’s own experience with horses,
The Horse is a masterful work of narrative non-fiction that celebrates and pays tribute to this champion of the natural world.
PRAISE FOR KRAKEN
“Williams writes with a deft, supple hand as she surveys these spindly, extraordinary beasts and their world. She reminds us that the known world might be considerably larger than in the days of the bestiary-makers, but there is still room for wonder and strangeness.” —LOS ANGELES TIMES
Saturday, March 17, 2018
The Discoverer Blog | Top 5 US National Parks as Voted By Our Discoverers!
Top 5 US National Parks as Voted By Our Discoverers!
From the ice fields of Alaska to the arid deserts of the Southwest to the rocky Appalachian Mountains, the American landscape is as varied as it is beautiful. With 60 designated national parks, the USA is full of so many natural wonders, it's difficult to know where to start exploring.
We reached out to our community of Discoverers to see which US National Parks are their favorites. It was a close call, but the rankings are in and below are the top 5 US National Parks chosen by our community.
https://blog.thediscoverer.com/top-us-national-parks-as-voted-by-our-discoverers/
From the ice fields of Alaska to the arid deserts of the Southwest to the rocky Appalachian Mountains, the American landscape is as varied as it is beautiful. With 60 designated national parks, the USA is full of so many natural wonders, it's difficult to know where to start exploring.
We reached out to our community of Discoverers to see which US National Parks are their favorites. It was a close call, but the rankings are in and below are the top 5 US National Parks chosen by our community.
https://blog.thediscoverer.com/top-us-national-parks-as-voted-by-our-discoverers/
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Share Celebrating 115 Years of the National Wildlife Refuge System
https://www.doi.gov/blog/celebrating-115-years-national-wildlife-refuge-system
Celebrating 115 Years of the National Wildlife Refuge System
In the late 1800s, the whims of fashion dictated that women’s hats would be decorated by bird feathers. To meet this need, poachers hunted many species of birds to the brink of extinction. Concerned citizens, scientists and conservation groups found a champion in President Theodore Roosevelt.
Their concern about the rookery at Pelican Island on the Atlantic Coast of Florida inspired Roosevelt to use his presidential powers to protect pelicans, egrets, ibises and other birds. With the establishment of the first national wildlife refuge on Pelican Island on March 14, 1903, Roosevelt created the National Wildlife Refuge System. While in office, he would go on to create 50 more federal bird reserves and four national game preserves within the refuge system.
Building on that foundation, the National Wildlife Refuge System today spans 150 million acres, including 566 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetlands management districts.
While wildlife refuges are set aside for the protection of wildlife and their habitat, they also provide a variety of great outdoor experiences -- from wildlife observation, photography and hunting to fishing, environmental education and interpretation. More than 53 million people visit refuges every year, creating economic booms for local communities. These visitors generated nearly $2.4 billion in consumer spending and supported over 35,000 local jobs.
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
March 13: 10:00 - Book Discussion & 12:00 - Movie, The Big Year
10:00 - The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. In fact, according to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence. Like humans, many birds have enormous brains relative to their size. Although small, bird brains are packed with neurons that allow them to punch well above their weight.In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer Ackerman explores the newly discovered brilliance of birds and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research - the distant laboratories of Barbados and New Caledonia, the great tit communities of the United Kingdom and the bowerbird habitats of Australia, the ravaged mid-Atlantic coast after Hurricane Sandy and the warming mountains of central Virginia and the western states - Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are revolutionizing our view of what it means to be intelligent.
Consider, as Ackerman does, the Clark's nutcracker, a bird that can hide as many as 30,000 seeds over dozens of square miles and remember where it put them several months later; the mockingbirds and thrashers, species that can store 200 to 2,000 different songs in a brain a thousand times smaller than ours; the well-known pigeon, which knows where it's going, even thousands of miles from familiar territory; and the New Caledonian crow, an impressive bird that makes its own tools.
But beyond highlighting how birds use their unique genius in technical ways, Ackerman points out the impressive social smarts of birds. They deceive and manipulate. They eavesdrop. They display a strong sense of fairness. They give gifts. They play keep-away and tug-of-war. They tease. They share. They cultivate social networks. They vie for status. They kiss to console one another. They teach their young. They blackmail their parents. They alert one another to danger. They summon witnesses to the death of a peer. They may even grieve.This elegant scientific investigation and travelogue weaves personal anecdotes with fascinating science.
Ackerman delivers an extraordinary story that will both give readers a new appreciation for the exceptional talents of birds and let them discover what birds can reveal about our changing world.
12:00 - The Big Year
The Big Year is a 2011 American comedy film directed by David Frankel, written by Howard Franklin and starring Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson. It was based on the nonfiction book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession which was written by journalist Mark Obmascik. The book followed three men on a quest for a Big Year—a competition among birders to see who can see and identify the greatest number of species of birds in North America (north of Mexico) in a calendar year. The film uses the same premise with fictional characters loosely modeled on the actual personalities.
Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson are at a crossroads -- one is experiencing a mid-life crisis, another a late-life crisis, and the third, a far from ordinary no-life crisis. From David Frankel, the director of The Devil Wears Prada and Marley & Me, comes a sophisticated comedy about three friendly rivals who, tired of being ruled by obligations and responsibilities, dedicate a year of their lives to following their dreams. Their big year takes them on a cross-country journey of wild and life-changing adventures.
Never get between a birder and a Pink-footed Goose. As we learn from The Big Year, the intensity of birders (the term birdwatcher is dismissed here as insufficiently committed) is not to be taken lightly, and their quest of rare species creates the gentle comedy of this film, which is based on a real phenomenon. In the world of birders, there's a goal set each calendar year, and based on the honor system: who can spot the most varieties of our feathered friends? All-time champ Kenny Bostick (Owen Wilson) is a legendary name in the birding game, and this year he's trying to beat his own record--but retired CEO Stu Preissler (Steve Martin) and slovenly upstart Brad Harris (Jack Black) are determined to topple the colorful and ruthless Bostick from his, er, perch. The movie's at its best when charting the movements of these obsessed enthusiasts in the wild, as they scramble from Alaska to Arizona to New Jersey in pursuit of their goal; it's less successful at trying to create human interest in the home lives of these guys. And despite the comedic talents of the main threesome, nobody really stands out; each plays to his usual persona without adding a new wrinkle. Director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) has a weirdly overqualified supporting cast on his hands, but except for Rosamund Pike as Bostick's neglected wife and Rashida Jones as a geeky birder, most of these folks flit by with little to do: Brian Dennehy and Dianne Wiest as Brad's parents, Anjelica Huston as a salty sea captain, Tim Blake Nelson as an awestruck birder. It's easy enough to enjoy this film for its offbeat subject and mild-mannered tone, even if there isn't anything terribly distinctive about it.
Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. In fact, according to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence. Like humans, many birds have enormous brains relative to their size. Although small, bird brains are packed with neurons that allow them to punch well above their weight.In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer Ackerman explores the newly discovered brilliance of birds and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research - the distant laboratories of Barbados and New Caledonia, the great tit communities of the United Kingdom and the bowerbird habitats of Australia, the ravaged mid-Atlantic coast after Hurricane Sandy and the warming mountains of central Virginia and the western states - Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are revolutionizing our view of what it means to be intelligent.
Consider, as Ackerman does, the Clark's nutcracker, a bird that can hide as many as 30,000 seeds over dozens of square miles and remember where it put them several months later; the mockingbirds and thrashers, species that can store 200 to 2,000 different songs in a brain a thousand times smaller than ours; the well-known pigeon, which knows where it's going, even thousands of miles from familiar territory; and the New Caledonian crow, an impressive bird that makes its own tools.
But beyond highlighting how birds use their unique genius in technical ways, Ackerman points out the impressive social smarts of birds. They deceive and manipulate. They eavesdrop. They display a strong sense of fairness. They give gifts. They play keep-away and tug-of-war. They tease. They share. They cultivate social networks. They vie for status. They kiss to console one another. They teach their young. They blackmail their parents. They alert one another to danger. They summon witnesses to the death of a peer. They may even grieve.This elegant scientific investigation and travelogue weaves personal anecdotes with fascinating science.
Ackerman delivers an extraordinary story that will both give readers a new appreciation for the exceptional talents of birds and let them discover what birds can reveal about our changing world.
12:00 - The Big Year
The Big Year is a 2011 American comedy film directed by David Frankel, written by Howard Franklin and starring Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson. It was based on the nonfiction book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession which was written by journalist Mark Obmascik. The book followed three men on a quest for a Big Year—a competition among birders to see who can see and identify the greatest number of species of birds in North America (north of Mexico) in a calendar year. The film uses the same premise with fictional characters loosely modeled on the actual personalities.
Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson are at a crossroads -- one is experiencing a mid-life crisis, another a late-life crisis, and the third, a far from ordinary no-life crisis. From David Frankel, the director of The Devil Wears Prada and Marley & Me, comes a sophisticated comedy about three friendly rivals who, tired of being ruled by obligations and responsibilities, dedicate a year of their lives to following their dreams. Their big year takes them on a cross-country journey of wild and life-changing adventures.
Never get between a birder and a Pink-footed Goose. As we learn from The Big Year, the intensity of birders (the term birdwatcher is dismissed here as insufficiently committed) is not to be taken lightly, and their quest of rare species creates the gentle comedy of this film, which is based on a real phenomenon. In the world of birders, there's a goal set each calendar year, and based on the honor system: who can spot the most varieties of our feathered friends? All-time champ Kenny Bostick (Owen Wilson) is a legendary name in the birding game, and this year he's trying to beat his own record--but retired CEO Stu Preissler (Steve Martin) and slovenly upstart Brad Harris (Jack Black) are determined to topple the colorful and ruthless Bostick from his, er, perch. The movie's at its best when charting the movements of these obsessed enthusiasts in the wild, as they scramble from Alaska to Arizona to New Jersey in pursuit of their goal; it's less successful at trying to create human interest in the home lives of these guys. And despite the comedic talents of the main threesome, nobody really stands out; each plays to his usual persona without adding a new wrinkle. Director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) has a weirdly overqualified supporting cast on his hands, but except for Rosamund Pike as Bostick's neglected wife and Rashida Jones as a geeky birder, most of these folks flit by with little to do: Brian Dennehy and Dianne Wiest as Brad's parents, Anjelica Huston as a salty sea captain, Tim Blake Nelson as an awestruck birder. It's easy enough to enjoy this film for its offbeat subject and mild-mannered tone, even if there isn't anything terribly distinctive about it.
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