How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck . . .?

Wow! Today is the last day of the “new” year. A lot has happened this past week as well! I’ll tell you all about it!

For starters, the play I wrote called “The King on a Cross” is coming along great. We’ve got lots of major parts filled. The parts we have filled are all filled by people from our church (Leptondale Bible Church): Zoey, Kim, Mary the Mother of Jesus and a few members of the crowd and other possible roles are filled as well. However, we are still missing quite a few people to act and help with behind the scenes stuff, so if you’d like to either be in or help with the production, please send an email to animaladventures@aol.com. We could use your help!

“Planet of the Dinosaurs” (the stop-motion series I am working on) is coming along great! All the photo-taking for the second episode: “The Tropical Poles” is complete. I should have a “demo” clip from this episode for you to view real soon! This means that the series as a whole is roughly 17% finished. I have started taking pictures for the third episode of the series (“Back to the Jurassic”) as of last Monday. I actually almost forgot that I had completed a demo clip for the first episode, “Out of Africa”. Simply click the video below to be transported to northern Africa, 4,900 years into the past:

You might recall that I said this series might be ready for viewing by March, but I am now thinking a more realistic release date would be in early April. Lord-willing, this series is going to be great!

For many of us, winter can’t end soon enough! A lot of us are tired of shoveling, clearing driveways and bundling up to face the chill. Soon it will be springtime and all this will change. But how soon is the question. How soon will it be until winter loosens its icy grip? This is when some people call upon Punxsutawney Phil, a famous groundhog who on February 2^nd (aka Groundhog Day), is supposedly able to tell if winter is ending soon or if we’ll have six more weeks of winter. We all know how it works: if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, it means that there will be six more weeks of winter, but if he doesn’t see his shadow, it means spring is on its way! So we’ll have to wait two more days to see when winter ends!

Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog day

Alright, all superstitions aside! Punxsutawney Phil can’t really tell when winter is ending (only God can do that!). Did you know that according the StormFax Weather Almanac, Phil has predicted correctly 39% of the time? But even still, Phil and his rodent cousins really are an amazing group of animals. So I’d say with Groundhog Day being only two days away, now would be the perfect time to look at these chubby little rodents God has made.

A groundhog eating

Needless to say, Punxsutawney Phil is a Marmota monax, aka, the groundhog. These furry mammals belong to a group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other names for the groundhog include woodchuck and whistle-pig. The groundhog can be found anywhere between northern Alaska and Georgia, talk about a wide range! These rodents normally grow up to 26 inches long and can weigh 9 pounds, however, in areas rich with alfalfa and few predators, groundhogs can reach 30 inches long and weigh 31lbs! Predators that like to eat groundhogs for dinner include coyotes, wolves, dogs, foxes, bobcats, bears, and large hawks. Snakes can also pose a problem for young groundhogs.

The range of the groundhog

Despite being ground squirrels, groundhogs don’t store food underground like tree squirrels (you can learn more about these guys by going to THIS ENTRY). Instead, they just eat while the going is good. Their diet consists of anything from berries, grasses, nuts, and agricultural crops (this is why farmers hate these cute little guys), but did you know these animals are omnivorous? They also will eat grubs, snails, insects such as grasshoppers and other small animals.

When my family and I were living in one of our previous houses, we had a family of groundhogs living in our yard. It was great fun watching them! If my memory serves correct, we had a family of six – two parents and four babies. Unlike many other mammals, father groundhogs stick around after mating (many mammals mate and move on); however, just before the babies are born, he skedaddles! The breeding season for these rodents is from March to April at the latest and babies are born in April or May. A mother groundhog has one litter and year and the babies are born blind, hairless and helpless. After the babies are born, the mother feeds them with milk – mammals are the only animals God created to produce milk to feed their newborns (however, some male birds such as emperor penguins and pigeons produce a milk-like substance to feed the chicks).

Four baby groundhogs coming out of their burrow. They are SO CUTE!!!

Groundhogs are diurnal and very alert when feeding. I remember that when the mother and baby groundhogs were out feeding, the mother would keep a close vigil on her surroundings to make sure that there were no predators around. And if we ever made a sound while watching them, they would freeze until they felt it was safe to presume feeding. However, if they saw us come outside, the little creatures dashed into their burrow! When danger is nearby, a groundhog will make a whistle-like sound to warn other groundhogs. Hence their nickname: “whistle-hog”! Despite their hefty body-build, groundhogs are great swimmers and climbers and will sometimes climb a tree or take to the water to escape danger or if they want to check out their surroundings.

A groundhog looking out for danger

When the weather starts to turn nippy, groundhogs and humans know one thing is certain – winter is coming! While many animals go into a period that a lot of people call hibernation, groundhogs are one of the few animals that enter true hibernation (bears for instance don’t go into true hibernation and will wake up in the middle of winter if there is a warm snap). After crawling into the deepest part of the burrow, the groundhog falls into a deep sleep. But this is no ordinary sleep. God created these animals to deal with the winter chill! First of all, their body temperature drops to 39 or 40° F, not much warmer than the temperature outside the burrow! But groundhogs are insulated with a layer of fat that it stored up just before hibernating. Secondly, the groundhog will slow its metabolic rate to save energy. While hibernating, groundhogs live off the fat reserves they built up before winter started. When the groundhog emerges in springtime, they are needless to say, much thinner than when they went in! Another cool feature the groundhog has is the ability to make its heart rate drop . . . a lot! When I say a lot, I do mean a lot – as much as four to five beats a minute! You know what really puzzles scientists? How a groundhog can remain living and unharmed despite the heartbeat being so slow. Some theorize that the rodents somehow store large amounts of ascorbic acid and other antioxidants so that their brains aren’t damaged. Cool, huh?

A groundhog gathering plant matter for its burrow

Another mystery about the groundhog that makes scientists scratch their scalps is how they know when it is time to awake from hibernation. Some believe that the gradually increasing amount of sunlight somehow affect the groundhog’s internal clock and changes the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps it to sleep. But still, scientists don’t know! God really instilled some amazing stuff into the groundhog!

I bet you never knew that these chubby little rodents could be so amazing! But indeed, they are beautifully designed to not only survive but thrive in the environments in which they’re living. Groundhogs can even teach us something about ourselves. While we humans may not be good hibernators as groundhogs, or as strong as elephants, or as good swimmers as fish, we are still very unique creations. Why? Well, we are made in God’s image! No other living thing on the planet can declare that! And God even among ourselves we are unique – we have different likes, dislikes, hair, skin color, eye color, interests and etc. This reminds me of a very popular passage in scripture: Psalm 139:14. It says: “I praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” A relevant piece of scripture that describes each and every one of us!

I bet you've never seen albino groundhogs, have you?

What an amazing adventure we went through today! Who knew the chubby, little groundhog could be such a wonderful creature? Be sure to come back next Thursday and we can learn more about the amazing world God created for us to enjoy. But before you go, I’d like to ask a question: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

PS: Not many people know the answer to the “woodchuck riddle”. But I’ve managed to finally track it down. Here it is: “A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could if a woodchuck could chuck wood!”

PS 2: To post a comment (this is highly encouraged), please simply click the post you wish to comment on, scroll to the bottom of the page and put what you wish to say or ask in the comment box. Then in the box below the comment box choose who you’re going to comment as. And then click preview or publish. If you aren’t signed into Google, you’ll be asked to type in a word and a number in the space provided. Type the word, put a space and then put the number. Then your comment is on the blog!

PS 3: Have a puzzling question about animals (including dinosaurs), myself, my latest book, my stop-motion movies, Creation or etc? Please post your question as a comment or send me an email at animaladventures@aol.com.

PS 4: What’s the latest scoop? Check it out at SMILEY’S NEWS.

PS 5: Be sure to comment on the latest stop-motion movies too, this will help me improve them.

PS 6: Please help us expand EXPLORATION BOOKS PEDIA. It’s F-R-E-E!

Metriorhynchids - the Terrible Marine Crocs!

Howdy folks! I hope your week was enjoyable. A lot of preparation stuff has been going on in the past few weeks. So as usual, updates come first!

The play I’ve been talking about, “The King on a Cross” is in what I like to call, the pre-production stage. The casting call for this play that I wrote will be taking place tomorrow night! That’s the 25^th of this month! I’ve been anxiously awaiting this night. Even though it’s the day of, that doesn’t mean it’s too late for you to participate if you’re interested in acting. If you’re NOT interesting in acting, but would like to help in some other way, we’d be glad to have you! For need-to-know information, please send me an email to animaladventures@aol.com!

For those of you who are interested in my upcoming stop-motion series, “Planet of the Dinosaurs,” you would be delighted to know that things are coming along great! The series as a whole is about 15% finished. I am completely finished taking pictures for the first of six episodes, entitled “Out of Africa”. Right at this moment I’m about 35% finished with the second episode. This second episode had a title change – instead of the original title: “The Tropical Polar Regions”, I shortened it to: “The Tropical Poles” since that’s less of a mouthful. I hope to be completely finished taking pictures for this episode by the 28^th of January 2013. As I have said before, this series should (Lord willing) be released during springtime at the rate I’m going. I can’t wait!

Speaking of prehistoric creatures, crocodiles look VERY prehistoric! Members of the crocodilian family have been found in many of the ancient fossil layers that were deposited during Noah’s Flood, about 4,300 years ago. Fossil crocodiles first appear in the Triassic layer (I am not referring to the fictional time periods that evolutionists use to refer to the times that layers in the rock were laid down, I am referring to the name of the layer itself). Crocodiles are some of the most formidable predators. Today, they are found in a variety of wet habitats and the largest of them, the saltwater crocodile, can grow 20 feet in length. Back in the day though, did you know that crocodiles could grow over 40 feet long?!? They also didn’t only live in rivers, lakes, estuaries and ponds (and in the case of the saltwater croc) with occasional trips into the sea. There was once were species of crocodile that made their homes in the sea. Introducing: the Metriorhynchids (Met-ree-oh-rin-kids)!

Metriorhynchus, a marine crocodile

Metriorhynchids are a group of marine crocodiles that lived in the ocean. While there are different species of these guys that used to swim through the sea, the three-meter long Metriorhynchus is the most famous (even though when you ask most people to describe a metriorhynchid, they’ll respond by saying, “Metra-what-a?”). These were some of the strangest crocodiles that God had ever assembled! First of all, instead of the flat, paddle-like tails of modern crocs, God gave the metriorhynchids a shark-like tail and flippers on their limbs that helped them to effortlessly glide gracefully through the water.

Tyrannoneustes, a recently discovered metriorhynchid  (This image came from this link)

This month, a new species of metriorhynchid was discovered. It is called Tyrannoneustes. This predator and its relative, metriorhynchus both probably lived in the ancient seas surrounding what would become Europe. The pre-flood oceans were a dangerous place to be, even for a marine crocodile. Most crocs have armor, but marine crocodiles lack armor so that they are quicker in the water. This is a good thing, because these seas were filled with monsters. One good example would be the large predatory reptile called Liopleurodon. This 7-meter carnivore had a ten-foot jaw with 13-inch teeth! No wonder metriorhynchids had to be fast! The reason why many of the predators in these European seas were so large, was probably because the prey was large! Take Leedsichthys for example. Here is a fish that grew 50, 70, perhaps even up to 90 feet in length (fortunately, it only ate plankton)!

Metriorhynchids also had a maw full of sharp teeth. Being a crocodile, it probably would have eaten a lot of fish and maybe scavenged from other carnivores’ kills (a dying or dead Leedsichthys would have provided food for weeks, if not months).

The metriorhynchids were an amazing group of crocodiles God created. But evidently, sometime after the Flood, these creatures became extinct, leaving only their bones and their living crocodile relations to tell us that they ever existed.

You probably learned a lot of new stuff today. (I mean, who’s ever heard of a metriorhynchid besides me anyways?) But that also can lead us to another question: what other strange creatures are waiting underground for someone to find it? Maybe someone like you! Who knows? I hope you found today’s reading informative. Be sure to stop by next Thursday to see what I’ll have in store for you next time. Bye!

PS: To post a comment (this is highly encouraged), please simply click the post you wish to comment on, scroll to the bottom of the page and put what you wish to say or ask in the comment box. Then in the box below the comment box choose who you’re going to comment as. And then click preview or publish. If you aren’t signed into Google, you’ll be asked to type in a word and a number in the space provided. Type the word, put a space and then put the number. Then your comment is on the blog!

PS 2: Have a puzzling question about animals (including dinosaurs), myself, my latest book, my stop-motion movies, Creation or etc? Please post your question as a comment or send me an email at animaladventures@aol.com.

PS 3: What’s the latest scoop? Check it out at SMILEY’S NEWS.

PS 4: Be sure to comment on the latest stop-motion movies too, this will help me improve them.

PS 5: Please help us expand EXPLORATIONBOOKS PEDIA. It’s F-R-E-E!

A Christmas Make-Over

Welcome back everyone! Boy time is flying, it’s already the 17^th day in the “New” Year. As usual, let’s start with a few updates.

The casting call for the play I wrote called “The King on a Cross” is still scheduled for the 25^th of this month. If are interested in either acting or helping with the behind-the-scenes stuff, please send an email to animaladventures@aol.com to receive need-to-know information.

Christmas came, and now it’s gone. And it’s coming back! You know what’s interesting? When you ask a lot of people what Christmas is all about, many people including non-Christians could say something like: “Jesus Christ is the reason for the season!” And this is very, very true, as Christmas is Jesus’ birthday. But that leads us to a very personal question: “What do we do for Jesus’ birthday?” (If it seems a little weird that I’m talking about Christmas 11 months before December, just hang tight, because you’ll see why in a minute) If we were honest, most of us would probably say that we’re either visiting family members and/or giving gifts. But what do we do for Jesus HIMSELF for His birthday?

Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, but if we were honest, many of us would say that we don’t really do much for Jesus on His birthday. Now technically, we don’t know the exact date Jesus was born on, but we celebrate it on December 25^th. So why don’t we really do anything special for His birthday? Perhaps it’s because we’re too focused on ourselves and each other!

While the giving of gifts to each other is not bad in and of itself, we really should be focused on the One who’s birthday it is. This may seem weird to some, but let’s make this a little more applicable – say your birthday falls on May 1^st, the same as celebrity Jamie Brinton. Now, let’s just say that instead of celebrating your birthday, you celebrate Jamie’s birthday and yet you hardly know the guy (and that’s saying something because a celebrity by the name of Jamie Brinton doesn’t exist, but you get the picture, right?)! That wouldn’t feel very good for you, would it? Well, this is sort of what we do with Jesus. We do stuff for each other, but not for the “Birthday Boy”.

The reason why I brought this up so early before Christmas, was so I could challenge everyone to do something different. For some people, making a change like the one I am about to suggest could take weeks, if not months to get mentally ready for it. This Christmas and the Christmases to follow, let’s use the day to actual put Jesus as the center of attention at His birthday! Instead of giving gifts on Christmas, give gifts on another day (so kids, be sure to tell Santa Claus nice and early so that he knows when to come by your house!). My family has decided to dedicate this day to the Lord. Now will you join us?

I also have another huge update today: I have started work on my latest stop-motion movie series: “Planet of the Dinosaurs”. Now there are going to be six episodes in this series. So as for the whole project, I’d say I’m about 9% finished. Doesn’t sound like a lot, huh? But as I said, that’s for the whole project. The first episode is about 50% or so along. What are the episodes I intend for this series? Well here they are:

1. Out of Africa
2. The Tropical Polar Regions
3. Back to the Jurassic
4. Asian Marvels
5. The Life of a Tyrant Lizard King
6. Death of the Dinosaurs

As you might have guessed, I’m working on the first episode right now. I’m hoping this series is going to be just as good, if not better, than my previous Animal Face-Off series. You might be asking what this series is all about? Well, I feel the introduction to the series sums it up pretty well. Here is the introduction I wrote for the series:

We are living in a golden age of dinosaur discoveries. Every year, from every corner of the globe, new fossil finds reveal a brand new species of dinosaur and brings quantum leaps in our knowledge of how and where these legendary monsters lived and died. From the Arctic to the great wetlands of Northern Africa and down to the South Pole, from the plains of South America to the forests ancient Asia, we will be exploring the different worlds of the dinosaurs. From the tallest giants, to the deadliest of killers, to the weird and wonderful, this series will examine some of the most amazing dino-discoveries of the past four decades, some of which have never been visualized before. This way, we can step back in time on a prehistoric safari . . .

As this introduction suggests, this series will be like a prehistoric safari. Each episode will focus on an environment in which the dinosaurs lived in thousands of years ago. Also in each episode, there is a story that is taking place featuring a wide cast of prehistoric critters, from 78-ton sauropods, to ferocious killer raptors and tyrannosaurs to 10-ton crocodiles that were large enough to take down dinosaurs! The stories in the series will also be partly inspired by real fossil finds. This series will have it all!

Some of you might be wondering what the inspiration is behind this series. Well, there along with my imagination and the latest fossil discoveries, I will also be getting inspiration from three dinosaur programs that have appeared in the past. I really enjoy these programs (minus the evolutionary dogma which my series will NOT have). The previews for each of the programs have been provided below so you can get a pretty good idea of what this series is about:

As I have said earlier, the series will probably be completely finished in the spring time (Lord-willing). But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be anything else to watch while you are waiting. In fact, as I am working on these upcoming stop-motion films, I plan to show clips from the series. So all in all, the series is coming along great so far! I can’t wait to release it!

Thank you all for stopping by today. Remember, all of what you might have just learned is a lot to grasp, so if you don’t understand something, feel free to send me a question to animaladventures@aol.com. See you next week!

PS: To post a comment (this is highly encouraged), please simply click the post you wish to comment on, scroll to the bottom of the page and put what you wish to say or ask in the comment box. Then in the box below the comment box choose who you’re going to comment as. And then click preview or publish. If you aren’t signed into Google, you’ll be asked to type in a word and a number in the space provided. Type the word, put a space and then put the number. Then your comment is on the blog!

PS 2: Have a puzzling question about animals (including dinosaurs), myself, my latest book, my stop-motion movies, Creation or etc? Please post your question as a comment or send me an email at animaladventures@aol.com.

PS 3: What’s the latest scoop? Check it out at SMILEY’S NEWS.

PS 4: Be sure to comment on the latest stop-motion movies too, this will help me improve them.

PS 5: Please help us expand EXPLORATION BOOKS PEDIA. It’s F-R-E-E!

R.I.P. Pygmy Right Whales . . . Or So We Thought . . .

Happy New Year once again everybody! 2013 is (hopefully) going to be an exciting year full of lots of cool stuff! First, I’ll start with some of the “regular” updates.

I have big news about the play I wrote, called “The King on a Cross.” Last Monday, it was confirmed that . . . the play has finally received the go-ahead! This means that casting call for the production will begin very soon! How soon? Well, we aren’t yet sure, but the date is possibly the 25^th of this month. Now we will have to keep praying for a good outcome for this casting call. I still remember the last one we had for the Christmas play I wrote. No one came and I spent the whole time waiting on that uncomfortable church pew waiting for someone to show up . . . but that’s getting off topic! Besides, this is a new year, so let’s stay on the positive side. I will keep you posted on the latest news regarding this production. If you are interested in being in this play, PLEASE be sure to send me an email to animaladventures@aol.com. If you’d like to help with the play but aren’t into acting, there’s still a lot for you to do so you can also send me an email to the address above.

Near the bottom of the world, a species of baleen whale that used to live in the ocean. This whale is called Caperea marginata, a.k.a. the pygmy right whale. The species was discovered by a naturalist named James Clark Ross on a voyage during 1839-1843. The fossils resembled a smaller form of the right whale – a cetacean still found swimming in the oceans today. Despite its name, the pygmy right whale actually not closely related to the right whales, instead, scientists believe it to be closer related to the bowhead whales. Secular scientist were sure that these whales died out around 2 million years ago. So that makes a new question: what are pygmy right whales doing swimming in the oceans of the 21^st century?!?

Pygmy Right Whale

Late last year, scientists found several of these whales swimming in the oceans surrounding Chile, Namibia, South Africa, Tierra del Fuego, Australia and New Zealand. You can bet that scientists were shocked to find that a whale that was thought to have been extinct for 2 million years was rediscovered alive and well! The pygmy right whale is different from all other whales in many ways. For instance, it has an arched frown-like snout, as you can see in the photo above. No other whale has snout like that! These whales grow about 21 feet long when adults and they live out on the open ocean. The fact that they rarely ever come to shore, is a large part of the reason why this whale hasn’t been rediscovered till recently. Like other baleen whales, they lack actual teeth. Instead, their mouths are filled with baleen – long bristly structures that are used to strain little plankton and krill from the water.

Size comparison of a Pygmy Right Whale and a human

One of the scientists studying this newly rediscovered species is Dr. Felix Marx, a paleontologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand (not all paleontologists are dinosaur scientists). “The living pygmy right whale is, if you like, a remnant, almost like a living fossil,” says Dr. Felix. “It’s the last survivor of quite an ancient lineage that until now no one thought was around.” DNA examination tells us that these whales are indeed related to modern baleen whales, but when did the pygmy right whales separate from other baleen whales? Well, most secular scientists will tell you that these whales separated from other baleen whales 17-25 million years ago. But this view is based on looking at the evidence from a Secular worldview. This view is based on the “fact” that the world is millions of years old and that new animal species come into existence by evolving. Now, by looking at the world through a Biblical worldview, we learn that these whales couldn’t have evolved millions of years ago because the world is only about 6,000 years old!

The first whales were created on the fifth day of Creation with all the other flying and swimming creatures just as the Bible tells us. When first created, probably only one basic “species” of baleen whale existed. Sometime after Man’s Fall, the baleen whale “species” changed into many different species due to a process of natural selection, which is very different from evolution (click on the word “natural selection” to learn more). You see, the very first baleen whales were created with all of the genes for the species of whales we see today. When you look at things through a Biblical world-view, everything fits together like a puzzle piece! Even this rediscovered species of strange whale!

Even though the "Animal Face-Off" series I made is finished, that doesn't mean there won't be more videos relating to the series. I decided to make this little tribute to the series for you all to enjoy. I hope you all like it! (PLEASE DON'T WATCH THIS TRIBUTE UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN THE OTHER VIDEOS IN THIS SERIES, UNLESS YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SPOILERS!!! CLICK THE THIS LINK TO SEE THE OTHER VIDEOS) Please enjoy:

I hope you enjoyed this special tribute to the series! How did YOU like it? Please write your comments using the instructions provided in the PS's below.

We've reached the end of this post. If you're like me, you learned a lot today! Even if you're not like me you probably learned a lot! Be sure to stop by next week so together, we can learn more about the amazing world God made for us to enjoy. Bye for now!

PS: To post a comment (this is highly encouraged), please simply click the post you wish to comment on, scroll to the bottom of the page and put what you wish to say or ask in the comment box. Then in the box below the comment box choose who you’re going to comment as. And then click preview or publish. If you aren’t signed into Google, you’ll be asked to type in a word and a number in the space provided. Type the word, put a space and then put the number. Then your comment is on the blog!

PS 2: Have a puzzling question about animals (including dinosaurs), myself, my latest book, my stop-motion movies, Creation or etc? Please post your question as a comment or send me an email at animaladventures@aol.com.

PS 3: What’s the latest scoop? Check it out at SMILEY’S NEWS.

PS 4: Be sure to comment on the latest stop-motion movies too, this will help me improve them.

PS 5: Please help us expand EXPLORATION BOOKS PEDIA. It’s F-R-E-E!

Battle as Kruger

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you guys had a good time. I sure did. So as usual, let’s get started with some updates.

Nope, we are still not sure when we are doing the Easter play, “The King on a Cross” yet. I’ll let you know when. If you would like to know more about it, please send an email to animaladventures@aol.com.

I officially decided that today I would devote this post to the very video that inspired the last episode in my “Animal Face-Off” series: “Battle at Kruger.” So as you might recall from watching the last face-off (if you didn’t see it, please see the video page), instead of just two animal species facing-off, three species are facing-off! How is this possible? Well, while most of the face-offs in the series are pure speculation of what might happen if the animals fought, “Battle at Kruger” was actually filmed! So we know exactly what would happen if these animals got together!

It all started back in 2004 when David Budzinski was in Kruger National Park in Africa taking film footage while his safari vehicle was at a river. A herd of buffalo approached the river for a drink while a pride of lions was resting in the shade. The lions apparently got hungry and . . . well, I don’t want to spoil the face-off! So I won’t go any farther!

Now, let’s learn a bit about each animal before the face-off. (To read about the lion, please go to THEBLOOD-THIRSTY LION? entry) The term “buffalo” is used for a large bovid living in North America. But this is incorrectly speaking because scientists prefer to call that species the “bison”. They feel that the term “buffalo” really belongs to specific creatures living in Africa and Asia. Today, we will be watching African Cape Buffalo on the face-off, one of the most numerous animals in Africa. They often are found in herds numbering in their hundreds. These large mammals are some of the most dangerous animals in Africa (after the hippo).

African Buffalo

Nile Crocodiles are one of the largest members of the crocodilian family. The only crocs that get larger are Saltwater Crocodiles, found primarily in Australia. With the largest males reaching almost 20 feet in length, they also have the strongest bite force of any creature ever measured, at over 5,000 pounds per square inch! That’s almost as much as T. rex had! They have a row of sharp conical-shaped teeth in their mouths. While they are great for puncturing and grabbing prey, they aren’t so great at chewing. Crocodiles can’t chew at all! So how do they break meat into bite-size pieces? Well, they have a little trick – they simply grab hold of the meat and flick their heads. That, combined with the weight of the meat, tears it off. But what about pieces to big to pick up and flick? That is when the crocodile will use a trick called the “Death Roll”. This is when the croc grabs hold of the prey and rolls around and around until a piece is torn off. Sometimes, two or more crocodiles will hold the food in place as another croc does a Death Roll. Teamwork rocks! Despite the name, Nile Crocodiles don’t only live in the Nile River, they are found in many other East African rivers, lakes and ponds. This is why it isn’t always a good idea to swim in murky African waters!

Gustav, one of the largest Nile Crocodiles ever seen in the wild

Now that we’ve learned a thing or two about each animal, it is time to view the grand finale of “Animal Face-Off”! Let’s go:

That was very interesting! I hope you enjoyed this video, and as a matter of fact this whole series, as much as I did making it! (Please, post your comments on this video!) So you might be asking yourself, “What next?” Well, why stop here? I have tons of other wonderful stop-motion movies planned. As you’ll recall from a few weeks ago, my next one is “Planet of the Dinosaurs”. While working on the “Animal Face-Off” series, I was also scripting “Planet of the Dinosaurs”. So now it’s almost ready to begin the production, or “filming” stage. This series is a little bit bigger than the face-off one, so naturally it will probably take it longer to make. Lord-willing, I should have it done by . . . perhaps March. I’m not exactly sure how long it’s going to take, because I really have never done a project like this before. But having it done by March is a pretty good estimate.

Don’t worry though, while working on “Planet of the Dinosaurs”, I also plan to work on a few short stop-motion movies so that while you’re waiting on the series to be released, you will still have something to watch.

Well, thanks for stopping by today! Please come back next week where I’ll reveal a little more information on “Planet of the Dinosaurs” and we’ll also learn some more about the amazing natural wonders God has made for us to enjoy. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!

PS: To post a comment (this is highly encouraged), please simply click the post you wish to comment on, scroll to the bottom of the page and put what you wish to say or ask in the comment box. Then in the box below the comment box choose who you’re going to comment as. And then click preview or publish. If you aren’t signed into Google, you’ll be asked to type in a word and a number in the space provided. Type the word, put a space and then put the number. Then your comment is on the blog!

PS 2: Have a puzzling question about animals (including dinosaurs), myself, my latest book, my stop-motion movies, Creation or etc? Please post your question as a comment or send me an email at animaladventures@aol.com.

PS 3: What’s the latest scoop? Check it out at SMILEY’S NEWS.

PS 4: Be sure to comment on the latest stop-motion movies too, this will help me improve them.

PS 5: Please help us expand EXPLORATION BOOKS PEDIA. It’s F-R-E-E!

An Embarrassing Christmas Eve Dinner!

Belated Merry Christmas everybody! I hope your Christmas was as great as mine was. Alas, it is time to leave Christmas and continue on to the New Year: 2013! A lot has happened since I last posted, so I'll give a few updates.

We are still waiting to see if the Easter play I wrote, "The King on a Cross" will happen or not. So nothing new happening with that. If you would like more information on this play, please send me an email at animaladventures@aol.com.

This Christmas Eve, we went to the Candlelight Service at our church (this was a treat for us because when we were living in Vermont, we had to literally search for a church with a Christmas Eve service). That night, my Mom and Dad sang a special called, "Mary Did You Know?" and we had a live nativity to help the listeners visualize the scene. We had shepherds, Mary, Joseph and of course, Baby Jesus (but we used a baby doll for Jesus). Yours truly was portraying Joseph. That was a fun service! To finish off Christmas Eve, we had an interesting event at dinner . . . I'll get to that in a minute!

Of course, next up after Christmas Eve is Christmas Day! What a day that was! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I got quite a few things this year, but some of my favorites were no doubt animal models. Here they are for you to see:

(My sister gave me this one) Stegosaurus

(My Mom gave me this one) Guanlong

Inostrancevia

Scutosaurus

Dracorex

Baby Parasaurolophus

Be sure to get familiar with these faces, because there's a good chance you'll be seeing many of them soon in the upcoming stop-motion films! J

Now it's time to share a very . . . "interesting" time we had at dinner on Christmas Eve. Normally, this is where I will go and explain something educational, but today I'll just share this funny story, so here it goes:

My parents had asked where I'd want to go for dinner on Christmas Eve and I said a few puns involving Denny's because of a particular scene in the movie "The Santa Clause". Here's the scene I was referring to:

Well, I was sure we definitely wouldn't be going to Denny's for dinner because we rarely ever go to restaurants like that. Well, where do you think we went? You guessed it, Denny's! We went to Denny's because "it's always open" (the same reason Charlie and Scott go in the movie!). Now Dad has a terrible habit of embarrassing us out in public. So when we went to Denny's that night, he actually asked the waiter if her name was Judy! Then we had a little "comedy act" with the waitress, where Dad actually asked if they had eggnog, and just like the movie, they were out. Go figure! Next he asked if they had hot pie, and guess what? They didn't have that either! Talk about "like movie, like life".

That was pretty embarrassing! Then throughout the rest of the time we were there, Dad actually did stuff like point out a Japanese (at least, he looked Japanese)  man who he said was Hatsutashi from the movie! (He didn't mention it quietly either!) So as you can see, our Dad likes to embarrass us out in public . . . a lot! Talk about an interesting Denny's visit!

After my main "topic of the week", you may also recall that lately I've been showing another show from my stop-motion movie series "Animal Face-Off". (Please see my video page if you missed the previous videos in the series) Well, since it's Christmas time, I sort of slacked off. However next week I will show the grand finale in the series: "Battle at Kruger" (Lord willing, of course)

So that's the buzz of what's going on around here. Be sure to come back next week to see my latest stop-motion film and some of the normal stuff I post weekly. Since this is the last time I'll be posting in 2012, I'll see you in 2013! Happy NEW YEAR!

PS: To post a comment (this is highly encouraged), please simply click the post you wish to comment on, scroll to the bottom of the page and put what you wish to say or ask in the comment box. Then in the box below the comment box choose who you’re going to comment as. And then click preview or publish. If you aren’t signed into Google, you’ll be asked to type in a word and a number in the space provided. Type the word, put a space and then put the number. Then your comment is on the blog!

PS 2: Have a puzzling question about animals (including dinosaurs), myself, my latest book, my stop-motion movies, Creation or etc? Please post your question as a comment or send me an email at animaladventures@aol.com.

PS 3: What’s the latest scoop? Check it out at SMILEY’S NEWS.

PS 4: Be sure to comment on the latest stop-motion movies too, this will help me improve them.

PS 5: Please help us expand EXPLORATION BOOKS PEDIA. It’s F-R-E-E!

Fix'n the Nativity!

Merry Christmas everyone! And Christmas isn’t far off since it’s only: 5 little days away! This is my last post before Christmas, so I’m going to make this one as Christmassy as possible! Let’s get jingling!

I’d say at this festive time of year, we break out some more dino-Christmas music! I hope you’re enjoying these songs as much as I am! I’m having a blast! Alright, let’s start with this one: “Theropods ‘round the Christmas Tree”. Now unlike the songs from last week and the week before, which are from a book called, “The Dinosaurs’ Night Before Christmas”, this song I wrote myself. I hope you like it! Let’s sing:

Theropods ‘round the Christmas Tree (sung to Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree)

Chorus:

Ther’pods gather ‘round, the Christmas tree

At the Christmas dino-pop.

Dinner bells rung everywhere you see

Every raptor tries to stop.

Ther’pods gather ‘round, the Christmas tree

Come hungry this holiday.

Later we’ll have to Triceratops pie and ye do some fair hunt-in!

Tyrann’saurus will get a hungry, hungry feeling when he hears,

Voices roaring bring dinner out quick,

Before T. rex gets impatiently angry!

Ther’pods gather ‘round, the Christmas tree

Come hungry this holiday.

The Oviraptors are dancing merrily

In that ancient pre-flood fashioned way!

Tyrann’saurus will get a hungry, hungry feeling when he hears,

Voices roaring bring dinner out quick,

Before T. rex gets impatiently angry!

Ther’pods gather ‘round, the Christmas tree

Come hungry this holiday.

The Oviraptors are dancing merrily

In that ancient pre-flood fashioned way!

I don’t know about you, but I kind of like that song. It has a nice ring to it (if I do say so myself!). There is another song to sing, but this time, I’ll save it till we are at the end of this post.

We finally got around to the serious decorating this year! My sister, Halle, my Mom and I just decorated what most people would call a “Christmas tree”. Well, my Mom can have some pretty strange ideas, and while we plan to decorate an actual tree this year, Mom helped us decorate this:

Yes, that is a ladder. We call it the “Christmas ladder”. When we get our tree, Mom wanted to decorate it with Christmas balls and other stuff that “didn’t flow with our other ornaments.” So that’s how we got to a Christmas ladder. How weird (but cool) is that!?! Here are some close ups of the stuff on the ladder:

We didn’t have room for other ornaments that I like, so here are some other favorite ornaments:

And here are some pictures from the window scene. I already showed a few on this site, but these are different because I took them at night when the lights are shining. So here they are for you to enjoy:

So what are YOU doing for Christmas? Please, post what you’re doing as a comment!

The true meaning of Christmas isn’t about getting stuff, or about Santa Claus, or about family and definitely not about eating! Those things aren’t bad, but they’re just the icing on the cake. The true meaning of Christmas is really about Jesus’s humble entrance into the world as a tiny baby. We all know the typical nativity story told in Sunday Schools and other church related events all around the world: “Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem to register in a census and while traveling, Mary’s Child was almost ready to be born. After they reached Bethlehem, Mary’s Child was ready to be born but the nasty innkeeper turned them away because there wasn’t any room in his (or her) inn. The only place available was a small stable. So she and Joseph went there and Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ. Then shepherds from the fields, who had been told by angels of the Child’s birth, came to the stable to see the Baby. They were followed by three kings from the east who had followed a star and they gave gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to Jesus.” That is the typical story that people know around the world.

But you know, it’s been almost 2,000 years since the nativity took place, and since then, a lot of the story has been changed to make it “cuter”. The only 100% accurate account is found in the Bible. So let’s take a quiz to see how much you really know about the nativity:

• What did the stable look like?
• What time of year was the Nativity?
• What animal did Mary ride to Bethlehem?
• How many kings were there?
• What animal did the wise men ride?
• How old was Jesus when the wise men visited him?

Now, I want you to read Luke 2:1-20. Then read Matthew 2:1-18 and take the quiz again. Did you answers change any?

As you can see, much of the story has been changed over the years. So how much of this story really happened? Let’s delve into history to find out!

The scene was set 2,000 years ago, in Nazareth. A young teenage girl named Mary was expected to be married to an older man named Joseph. Back at the time, it was customary for a girl her age to be married to an older man, maybe in his 20’s. The Bible doesn’t say how old she was, but it’s possible she was anywhere between the ages of 16 to as low as 13. Anyway, she was minding her own business when suddenly, an angel named Gabriel appeared to her and told her that she was going to have a Baby. The Baby, who would be named Jesus, was to come thanks to the Holy Spirit (because she wasn’t married to Joseph yet). Now there are critics who would say it’s impossible for a virgin to give birth, but that’s not true. (I could go into this lengthy topic, but I’d like to not do that today!) Mary was willing to take on the responsibility. Her husband-to-be, Joseph, was going to dismiss her quietly when he found out she was pregnant, until an angel told him that it was ok to go marry Mary because her Child was coming because of the Holy Spirit.

Not long after that, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that all of the Roman world should be taxed. So that meant literally everyone, including Mary and Joseph, and to leave for Bethlehem because they had to pay the tax in Joseph’s home town, the town of David. Now, the Bible doesn’t say what Mary rode to Bethlehem, does it? I’m saying it’s wrong to think she could have ridden a donkey. It is possible, but I am merely saying we simply don’t know for sure if Mary rode anything at all to Bethlehem. Considering she was pregnant, it would make a lot of sense!

After they reached Bethlehem, Mary’s Child was ready to be born. The Bible doesn’t say exactly when she gave birth – whether it was as soon as they reached Bethlehem or if it was a little while after they got there. Like I said with the donkey thing, it isn’t wrong to think she could have given birth as soon as they got there, but we don’t know for sure. As the Bible says, there was no room in the inn for Mary and Joseph so Mary had to give birth in a small stable. Many stables in Bible Times were actually more like caves, kind of like what was seen in the movie Nativity Story. Perhaps though, one of the more likely places Jesus was born in was at one of Joseph's relations' houses in the area where the animals are kept. So Mary gave birth to Jesus and placed Him in a manger. Why was He born like this?

You might wonder why Jesus was born in this way. After all, He was really God in flesh! Well, have you ever heard of Jesus being called the Lamb of God? When ewes are pregnant, shepherds at Jesus’ time pulled the lamb out and wrapped it in cloths and laid it in a manger to calm it down (sound familiar?). Now you know why He was born this way!

Another familiar part of the story would be the shepherds who were out in their fields with their sheep at night when angels came upon them to tell them of the Savior’s birth. A lot of people think that since Christmas as we know it is in December, the first Christmas must also have been in December. But think about it: even in the Holy Lands it can get quite cold at night where the shepherds were in the winter time. Plus it was night time, so it would have been pretty cold had the Nativity taken place in winter! Many Biblical scholars instead believe it more likely that the Nativity took place in the spring, a much better time for the shepherds to be out with their sheep!

At last, we’ve reached the part in the story where the wise men enter. Now, a lot of stories will tell you that three kings visited baby Jesus with the shepherds. But as you’ll recall, the Bible doesn’t mention kings, it mentions wise men. So how on earth do people think that they were kings? This might come from another verse in the Bible, Daniel 9:24-26 (see this link). So could they have been kings? Possibly, but it is more likely they were wise scholars who had tracked down a star moving about in the sky to find Jesus. Now, in just about every picture, movie, Christmas play and book with the Nativity in it, you will see the stable with Mary and Joseph standing (or sitting) next to the Child, the shepherds watching the Baby, and the Wise Men either watching or giving their gifts. But let’s take a closer look at Matthew 2: 1-15. Hmm, it said that they visited Jesus in the house with His mother Mary. Doesn’t say a thing about shepherds or the stable, does it? The wise men visited Jesus when he was probably one or two years old. Not the newborn that we commonly see in picture books about Christmas.

Did you notice how many wise men the Bible says visited? It doesn’t, does it? Perhaps it was three, but it could have been four, five, six, seven, eight, ten, 20, 50, 90 . . . ok, maybe I went a little over the top, but we simply don’t know how many wise men there were. People just assume it was three because three gifts were given. Which would make some sense, unless some wise men gave the same gifts. We just don’t know.

Sorry, wise men! You guys need to turn back around and come back to visit Baby Jesus in another year or two!

Wow! Popular culture really has the Nativity story all wrong doesn’t it! Now we know the truth about the Nativity. Even though the stuff we just learned might be a shock to some, it does teach us something: when we hear something about scripture, no matter who it’s coming from, we should literally check the scriptures to see if what is being said is true and not just listen to it. Because it could be wrong!

Ok, before we get to our last song, I figured we could watch our next face-off! “Tyrannosaurus vs. Spinosaurus”. But first, let’s learn a thing or two about each creature (for info on T. rex, please visit this post).

Spinosaurus

While normally T. rex gets this title, Spinosaurus really is, and was the biggest meat-eating dinosaur that ever walking the planet. It was 16 feet longer than the average T. rex at 59 feet long and weighed up to 10 tons! Its arms were longer too: they were eight feet long and bore terrible nine-inch claws. These were the main weapons of Spinosaurus, contrary to T. rex. You probably already noticed how Spinosaurus got its name: that elaborate sail. The sail stood six feet tall and was made up of the backbones. What was the sail used for? Scientists aren’t sure, but it might be used as a way to stay cool, similar to the ears of an elephant. Or maybe it was used to attract a mate. We just don’t know. While T. rex specialized in hunting other dinosaurs, Spinosaurus specialized in a peculiar diet: fish! This may seem like a weird diet for such a large creature, but the fish Spinosaurus hunted were big – over 10 feet long! In real life, Spinosaurus and T. rex could never face-off because they lived on different continents: Spinosaurus in Africa and T. rex in North America. So today this is just speculation to who might win if out of a bizarre set of circumstances met and fought.

Now, let’s see who’s the real “King of the Tyrant Lizards”! Who will win:

That was some face-off! As you just learned, this episode is the second to last one of this series. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did making it. But why stop here? I actually have finished the script for another stop-motion series that I believe is just as good, if not better than the Animal Face-Off. Below you will see a teaser trailer for the new series. Don’t judge how the series will be by this trailer though, because the only purpose of this is so that you get the feel of what the series might be like when it’s finished. So please enjoy:

I know very well that it's not Easter Time, but we are considering the Easter play I wrote a couple of years back, called "Worthy is the Lamb". The new title is "The King on a Cross", after the title of my first book. Even though it's December, this is the perfect time to start looking over the script and to plan a casting call. You may recall that our last two casting calls were a complete bust, so prayerfully, things will go better this time around! If you are interested, please send an email to animaladventures@aol.com. Below are some pictures from the very first performance. Please enjoy!:

An angel approaching Jesus while He is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane

A Roman soldier giving Jesus a drink of vinegar on a hyssop plant

Actors in the play (From left to right): Roman soldier, angel, Ben, Mary, Kim, angel, Zoey, Jesus, Mary Magdalene

Zoey (right) telling Kim (center) to look in her Bible to see where Jesus went after He was arrested, Ben (left) is the camera man

Peter during his monologue after he denied Christ three times

The chief priest (forground) confronting Pilate (background right), Kim and Zoey are standing to the left

Pilate (left) speaking to Jesus (right), the soldier is keeping an eye on Jesus

Pilate speaking to the crowd

The Roman soldiers casting lots for Jesus' clothing

Now, I’d say that since Christmas is so close, we’ll start our last dino-Christmas carol. This one is from the book I mentioned earlier:

We Wish You A Dino Holiday (sung to the tune of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas")

We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
And a Happy New Year!

Our stockings are hug, our hearts
filled with glee;
We've wrapped up a Raptor for
under the tree.

We Wish You A Dino Christmas;
We Wish You A Dino Christmas;
We Wish You A Dino Christmas;
And a Happy New Year!

Eight candles we'll light this
Hanukkah night,
Dinosaur-a-Menorah will shine
clear and bright!

We Wish You A Dino Hanukkah;
We Wish You A Dino Hanukkah;
We Wish You A Dino Hanukkah;
And a Happy New Year!

Our kinara is lit, our Kuumba's increased;
We're letting the dinosaurs join
in the feast!

We Wish You A Dino Kwanzaa;
We Wish You A Dino Kwanzaa;
We Wish You A Dino Kwanzaa;
And a Happy New Year!

We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
We Wish You A Dino Holiday;
And a Happy New Year!

Alright, so we’ve sung our last dino-Christmas song of the year. I don’t know about you, but I have really enjoyed this holiday season. I hope you did too! Now that we’re done, go enjoy the season with your family, sing carols (maybe even dino-carols!) re-read the Nativity story, watch a Christmas special, enjoy the real reason for the season (Jesus), but most of all . . . have a Merry, merry CHRISTMAS!!!

PS: To post a comment (this is highly encouraged), please simply click the post you wish to comment on, scroll to the bottom of the page and put what you wish to say or ask in the comment box. Then in the box below the comment box choose who you’re going to comment as. And then click preview or publish. If you aren’t signed into Google, you’ll be asked to type in a word and a number in the space provided. Type the word, put a space and then put the number. Then your comment is on the blog!

PS 2: Have a puzzling question about animals (including dinosaurs), myself, my latest book, my stop-motion movies, Creation or etc? Please post your question as a comment or send me an email at animaladventures@aol.com.

PS 3: What’s the latest scoop? Check it out at SMILEY’S NEWS.

PS 4: Be sure to comment on the latest stop-motion movies too, this will help me improve them.

PS 5: Please help us expand EXPLORATION BOOKS PEDIA. It’s F-R-E-E!