• Home
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Bio
  • Appearances
  • Links
  J M Beal

Applesauce

6/9/2014

1 Comment

 
According to my mother I decided I wanted to be a Paleontologist when I was three. I had an early, avid fascination with all things Dinosaur. Sometimes it wondered off in other directions--for a solid year I gobbled up everything I could find about the Titanic, off and on in my teens I wandered into Grail Lore and Arthurian legend. But I always went back to dinosaurs. 

Jurassic Park was probably my first honest fictional obsession. I read the book until it fell apart, and watched the movie as many times as I could, and suffered through the video game, and listened to the soundtrack, and mentally wrote myself into the story in a million different ways. I bought the ridiculous merchandise, and my mother encouraged this--she even bought me a set of Jurassic Park sheets once when I was like sixteen--I think because she was secretly enamored of the idea her teenage daughter wanted to be a scientist.

Sometimes I think if the internet had existed when I was properly little, I might have hung on to that past the first semester of college (probably not, Chemistry kicked my butt good). I spent a lot of time on dinosaurs, but nobody told me about Mary Anning. Nobody told me the story of a little girl playing on the cliffs of Dorset with her brother, who found a fossil that changed the world. Who went on to become one of the first paleontologists ever. 
Mary Anning painting
Next time you see a plesiosaur, think of Mary Anning. Because dinosaurs are cool, whether you're a scientist or not.

Also, apparently the closest word spell-checker can come up with for plesiosaur is applesauce.
1 Comment
Kate link
6/10/2014 02:44:05 pm

"she sells sea shells by the sea shore." *grins* That's Mary Anning's rhyme.

I learned that from fan fiction. (remind me to send that story to you actually, I think you'll like it)

Seriously, I was *totally* into paleontology for years. And years. And I won't talk about the fossils I've bought myself as an adult because I am an adult and I can buy what I like darn it. I spent enough time at the Natural History Museum that when I was in fourth grade the volunteers were pressing me to be a docent. (Mom said no because she wasn't putting me on the Metro alone and didn't have time to come with me.)

We need a Mary Anning day though. I think that'd be freaking cool.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    There's a link to my bio at the top of the page, but for these purposes it's probably best to just say I'm strange.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2021
    August 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    August 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    Aliens!
    #atozchallenge
    Book Lover's Bazaar
    Book-Lovers' Bazaar
    Book Review
    Bunny
    Camp Nano
    Canyons
    Contest
    Cornucopia Conundrum
    Editing
    Fantasy Friday
    Goals
    Guest Posts
    I Don't Know How To Tag Anymore
    Kids Stuff
    Life
    Misc
    Miscellaneous Monday
    Movie Books
    Movies
    Nanowrimo
    Outlines
    Procrastination
    Pseudoscience
    Publishing
    Science!
    Sci Fi Friday
    Sci-Fi Friday
    Screaming Fits
    Short Fic
    Snowballs
    TerribleMinds Challenges
    That Title Makes Absolutely No Sense
    The OUTDOORS!
    Three Day Novel
    Unholy Vacuums Of Suck
    Weirdness
    Well Written Wednesday
    Wellwritten Wednesday
    Writing
    Year Of Creative Pursuits

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.