July 16, 2006
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SUNDAY GOOD NEWSWhenever I do this piece, it strikes me how big the proportion of bad news is compared to good in today’s media. It’s kind of hard to imagine that while bombs are dropping in the Middle East, the G8 is supposed to be considering energy disasters in Moscow, and another Indonesian tests positive for bird flu, in one tiny corner of the world, the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador in South America, an old old point is being proven by a tiny bird. Here’s the deal – back in the day (1830’s), the Darwin’s Finch was used by Charles Darwin to help develop his theory of evolution. The Galapagos Islands was a super place to study anything because of its size and isolation and huge variety of wildlife that arrived by air and sea. With finches, the major feature was their beaks. And this week, an article in Science magazine announced that the Darwin’s Finch is still proving the theory of evolution and natural selection. You see, in 1982 some bigger finches arrived on the islands and proceeded to grub up all the seeds the Darwin’s Finches were eating. This was followed in 2003-04 by a drought. And all this caused the food source to disappear. Lo and behold, in just 20 years the Darwin’s Finch developed a smaller beak that could take advantage of the smaller seeds of other plants so it wouldn’t have to compete for the Big Bird Seeds. Pretty amazing that in one part of the world the whole focus is on killing and maiming, and in another species in another part of the world the focus is on survival and progress.
Deep Thought: “If you ever feel like you’re on the verge of a nervous breakdown, just follow these simple rules: First, calm down; second, come over and wash my car; third, shine all my shoes. There, isn’t that better?”
Today I am grateful for: Being Here Now
Guess the Movie: “Will you look at that! Look how she moves! It’s like Jell-O on springs. Must have some sort of built-in motor or something. I tell you, it’s a whole different sex!” Answer: Some Like It Hot, 1959.
Winner: buttermelon.
Israeli Bombs Fall Near Syria as Ripples Grow
by Greg Myre
METULA, Israel, July 15 — In wide-ranging airstrikes, Israel continued to hit Beirut and other targets in Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least a dozen people in a civilian refugee convoy in the south. And Hezbollah forces continued their rocket barrage into northern Israel, striking the resort city of Tiberias for the first time. (Rest of article here.)
Comments (25)
“some like it hot” is one of my fav movies of all time. i also like “i always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop.” meanwhile, very interesting about the bird’s beak… and why can’t people get along in this world? i wonder if it’s because everyone wants what they want and don’t take into consideration that other people want what they want – and how can everyone get what they want at the same time? impossible.
man, the science teachers are going to dig this, this year. I should show this to one of them if they bring up Homologous structures, or natural selection.
ohh crap, i know that line! but i cant remember the movie, so it’s hopeless until about 4:00am tonight when i will wake up suddenly and scream the name of this movie without warning. It never fails.
Some Like It Hot indeed!
I have a pair of Zebra Finches and I am impressed with thier inteligence and social behavior…it does not surprise me that these little birds are evolving,,,but it does surprise me that a smaller beak is an advantage,,it makes sense though.
It’s hard enough for me to adapt mentionally and emotionally to some situations; it is truly amazing that these animals adapt physically.
The photo is stunning. I love deep thoughts, today’s was good.
Tricia
I am ready to calm down, wash your car and shine your shoes if that will help!!!!I am trying to get back into the swing of Xanga!
I have not visited everyone in a very long time!
How time gets away from me!
I have been so busy doing a lot of nothing!
Soon I will have so much time on my hands that
I will not know what to do with myself! great post! Love the pic! Thanks for the visit!
Take care,
Karolyn
good post ! we can see our species is one of amount of them..we can’t do atitude of greedy and need wise if we save our species…
I find that the world is a strange place….just this morning this man screamed a bunch of obsenities at me for no aparent reason other than I was driving on the road and he was jogging on the same road and maybe he perceived that I was too close to him…anyway I wasn’t aware that the roads were made for joggers. I thought we had parks for that. I’m pretty sure this is how wars get started though. One simple misunderstanding and the next thing you know people are pointing nuclear warheads at each other. The human race needs sooooo much help!
Peace & Love
Hi Lionne, I wonder what it is about the Darwin’s Finch that it can do that. I guess they must be constantly breeding? Kev
Cute little bird! Darwin is all over the news these days. Did you see that story about Harriet the Galapagos tortoise recently?
My take on Intelligent Design, all life was designed with the ability to adapt. Makes sense to me.
RYC
When I was a little kid we lived in a two room house. I would go to sleep hearing the murmur of Mom and Dad talking to each other. What a peaceful, glorious thing that was to me.
You absolutely deserve that ice cream. Stay cool as can be. It’s hot here too.
I love it when evolution becomes observable like that. But then people start shouting out things like “microevolution”. Bleh. Good post though.
Evolution is an amazing thing. It is sad about the proportion of good vs. bad news. Are you staying cool up in WA?
I’ll bet those finches would do some maiming and killing, if only they had bigger beaks to work with…
RYC: Sorry to hear about your job. My travel companies provide insurance and so on plus housing at the assignment. It is really a neat way to live. I probably won’t get to retire until 70 or so myself, especially supporting my daughter with mental illness. Good luck with the job hunt.
That is a good photo, and your reflection is definitely important. Is there any documentation of whether those birds changed the size of their beaks or whether the smaller beaks that showed up were actually attached to different birds? Sounds more like “survival of the fittest” than “evolution” to me. Couldn’t those “bigger beaked” Darwin finches simply have died or chosen not to return due to the food shortage? Is it possible for finches to communicate about where they have been and what they found (e.g., food)? Guess I’ll have to look up the article and check for references.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM
where’d ya go?
What a happy story to read first thing in the day. It is nice to know all kinds of things are out there adapting to their environments instead of trying to muscle their environments to adapt to them… (Stupid big brains.)
g.
I’m just dropping by to see if you’re okay? I see my friend g. (underused) was just here too. Miss you. ~ lea
Re the pedometer..you’re welcome!
I’ve adopted that more into my life lately. True bowing. Respecting and recognizing the divine in others.
Have a great day!
I like what you are grateful for. Being here now. I am grateful for that too.
sorry. think the bad news wins this time…