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Capsule
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
The Edmontosaurus mummy AMNH 5060 is an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of a dinosaur in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).
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Lead Picture (Thumbnail Story below in Thumbnail section)
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
The mummy in top view
A.E. Anderson - Osborn, Henry Fairfield (1916). "Integument of the Iguanodont Dinosaur Trachodon" (PDF).
Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History v. 1: p. 38. Retrieved on 2009-03-11.
View of the right side of an Edmontosaurus annectens mummy.
Read more on the blog www.existentialautotrip.com
The blog? A daily three to four-minute excursion into photos and short texts to regale the curious with an ever-changing and diverting view of a world rich in gastronomy, visual art, ideas, chuckles, stories, people, diversions, science, homespun, and enlightenment.
Observing with wit and wisdom, Dom Capossela, an experienced leader, guides his team of contributors and followers through that world, an amusing and edifying conversation to join.
Note that the blog is also the first place that posts the "Hey, Dom!" videos.
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Commentary
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Here’s the skinny.
Two films, the Goldfinch and Downton Abbey, much anticipated by their fans.
The skinny:
The Goldfinch is intended to be artful, and it falls short.
Downton is intended to be soap opera.
And it succeeds.
Which is better?
Depends on what you seek.
I found both films enjoyable ways to spend an evening.
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Monday’s Dinner posted on
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Leftover roast sirloin, cold, with asparagus and penne with mascarpone cheese.
Tasty?
Delicious.
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Chuckle of the day:
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack. "Miss Whack, I'd like to get a $30,000 loan to take a holiday."
Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name. The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's okay, he knows the bank manager. Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.
The frog says, "Sure . I have this," and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.
Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office. She finds the manager and says, "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral." She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what in the world is this?"
The bank manager looks back at her and says...
"It's a knickknack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."
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A “Hey, Dom!” video.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
A tie, Infidel 2 minutes
Talk about selling snow to eskimos
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We love getting mail.
Contact me at domcapossela@hotmail.com
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
This lovely note and poem from Kali L:
A year later 9.23.2019
Dom,
Another fun poem to write :)
I LOVE WRITING!!!!
see attached!
Love,
Kali
and attached:
I wonder what you did with the scrambled egg
recipe I put inside your kitchen cabinet.
Did she find it? Does she make breakfast for you?
Do you use my words in your whispers to her?
If only I was that important. I understand I am
important and also that I am not important.
How is the comforter and the dust on the windowsills?
What do you scrub the bathtub with?
Do you remember my back sliding down
the living room wall as I swallowed a sob in my throat
telling you this, this would be my last love story.
Has she read our old emails? They are a composition
of my favorite love story and my favorite heartbreak.
I hope she loves them as much as I loved you.
If I’d known the map of us would have a dead end
I would have still asked you to be my boyfriend
that cold December night before Christmas.
Did you tell her about the time the cab driver told us we
had a great aura?
I hung his words in my head for years.
Did you tell her your boss said we’d be together always?
You choked on your bosses words and washed them back with beer.
Did you tell her about the time I was retching in a toilet
and you were a staircase away too busy to hold my hair back?
I hope you hold her hair back.
Web Meister’s Response: Lovely, Kali. I have a question for you. Who was your your first love? The first time you were sensually attracted to another person?
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Today’s Thumbnail
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Our lead picture, the Edmontosaurus mummy AMNH 5060 is an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of a dinosaur in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).
Discovered in 1908 in the United States near Lusk, Wyoming, it was the first dinosaur specimen found to include a skeleton encased in skin impressions from large parts of the body.
It is ascribed to the species Edmontosaurus annectens (originally known as Trachodon annectens), a hadrosaurid ("duck-billed dinosaur").
The mummy was found by fossil hunter Charles Hazelius Sternberg and his three sons in the Lance Formation.
Although Sternberg was working under contract to the British Museum of Natural History, Henry Fairfield Osborn of the AMNH managed to secure the mummy.
Osborn described the fossil in detail in 1912, coining the name "dinosaur mummy" for it—several dinosaur mummies of similar preservation have been discovered since then.
This specimen has considerably influenced the scientific conception of hadrosaurids.
Skin impressions found in between the fingers were once interpreted as interdigital webbing, bolstering the now-rejected perception of hadrosaurids as aquatic animals, a hypothesis that remained unchallenged until 1964.
Today, the mummy is considered one of the most important fossils of the AMNH.
The mummy was discovered lying on its back, its neck twisted backwards and its forelimbs outstretched.
The skeleton is complete save the tail, hind feet, and the hind portion of the pelvis.
All bones are preserved unflattened and still connected to each other.
Almost two-thirds of the skin is preserved.
Delicate for the size of the animal, the skin includes two different types of non-overlapping scales that were between 1 and 5 millimetres (0.039 and 0.197 inches) in diameter.
In contrast with other similar dinosaur mummies, the skin of AMNH 5060 was tightly attached to the bones and partially drawn into the body interior, indicating that the carcass dried out before burial.
The specimen would thus constitute the fossil of a natural mummy.
After dehydration, the mummy would have been rapidly buried by a meandering river, with bacteria consolidating the surrounding sediments, resulting in its excellent preservation.
Downtown. Intersection of US Highways 18, 20, and 85.
Runner1928 - Own work
Lusk is a high-plains town in the eastern part of the state of Wyoming.
The town is the seat of Niobrara County.
The town was founded in July 1886, by Frank S. Lusk, a renowned Wyoming rancher, partner in the Western Live Stock Company, and stockholder in the Wyoming Central Railway.
Cattle ranching remains the primary industry in the town of Lusk.
The population was 1,567 at the 2010 census.
The town of Lusk is known for being the county seat of the least populated county in the least populated state in the US.
A tip o' the hat (U.S. President Calvin Coolidge, 1924
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Acknowledgements
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
To Kali L for her lovely poem.
And to the Jokes Warehouse for the chuckle today.
Thanks to the Microsoft team at the Prudential Center for their unflagging availability to help with a constant flow of technological problems.
Always thanks to Wikipedia, the Lead and the Thumbnail sections of the Blog very often shaped from stories taken from that amazing website. They are truly worthy of public support.
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Wednesday, September 25, 2019
I have a fossil I carry around for good luck.
I’ts working.
And now? Gotta go.
Che vuoi? Le pocketbook?
See you soon.
Your Taeyeon