My 44th review for this thread is a negative 1 for Miller/Blasing's Dinosaur George and the Paleonauts: Raptor Island. If you haven't already, I'd greatly appreciate you reading & voting "Yes" for said review in the bolded link below. Besides wanting to make sure said review gives a good idea of what to expect, it needs all the "Yes" votes it can get because it's outnumbered by opposing reviews (which don't give a good idea of what to expect). Many thanks in advance.
Short version: As far as I know, most dino time travel books aren't meant to be educational. Of those that are, I recommend reading White's Dinosaur Hunter: The Ultimate Guide to the Biggest Game in conjunction with other, more educational books (E.g. Naish/Barrett's Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved). Miller/Blasing's Dinosaur George and the Paleonauts: Raptor Island (henceforth DG) fails at being either a decent educational book or a decent science fiction book.
Long version: Read on.
As you may remember, I said that Jurassic Fight Club is 1 of the worst dino docs ( www.amazon.com/review/R2FFY9S77ANRTK/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8 ). Despite this, I originally thought that DG was going to be better than JFC given that dino books are usually better than dino docs. Boy, was I wrong about DG! Not only is DG as bad as JFC in some ways, but also as bad as the movie The Lost World: Jurassic Park (henceforth JP2) in other ways. In this review, I list the 4 main reasons why I think that is, besides the annoyingly-repetitive writing.*
1) In DG, George is the only well-defined/developed character, & not in a good way: He's basically an 18-year-old male version of Sarah Harding from JP2 (I.e. A "naive, impulsive paleontologist[...]whose dumb decisions constantly put the team in greater danger");** This is especially apparent when he 1st compares the Saichania's poor eyesight to that of rhinos, but then makes a sudden move; Similarly, in JP2, Sarah 1st explains "the dangers of the bull rex tracking the group with its powerful olfactory sense, but[...then...]brings the jacket coated in the infant's blood with her as they flee."** The other Paleonauts are just character archetypes. More specifically, Vince Witmer is "The Lancer", Lloyd Lance is "The Big Guy", Parker Holtz is "The Smart Guy", & Sonya Currie is "The Chick".** There's also Professor Stone & Dr. Morgan, but they're only in Chapter 1.
2) In some ways, DG's dromaeosaurs are better than JFC's (E.g. They're more fully feathered, though not entirely). In other ways, DG's dromaeosaurs are worse than JFC's (E.g. They have whip-like tails). In still other ways, they're about the same (E.g. They're "super persistent" predators of "impossibly large prey").** This is especially apparent in Chapter 8, when a pack of 30 flightless, blue jay-sized "mini-raptors" attack George over & over again despite being blasted with a surge gun & attacked by a 20-ft constrictor, among other things. Put another way, Chapter 8 is basically an extreme version of JP2's "Compy Attack" scene.
3) I have 2 major problems with DG's story: 1) It's dependent on the reader caring about the characters; See reason #1 above for why that's a major problem; 2) As indicated by its sub-title, DG mostly takes place on/around Raptor Island in Southern Asia, presumably the Gobi region given that that's where all the dinos are from; The problem is that's near the center of the continent, & it's not like Asia ever had an inland sea like the Western Interior Sea of N.America; In other words, DG's story is dependent on a setting that could never have existed.
4) DG's text is hit-&-miss in terms of getting the facts straight. This is especially apparent in "PaleoFacts" because the misses stick out more with less text.*** However, the main text misses may be worse in degree: Like JFC's misses, some of DG's are due to being very outdated (E.g. Compare the Miller/Blasing quote to the Naish/Barrett quote); Also like JFC's misses, some of DG's are due to being very nonsensical (E.g. "A creature, about the size of an owl, suddenly swooped down from its perch above and grabbed the lizard in midair. At first, George thought it must have been some sort of bird, but when it landed on the ground it quickly ran into the woods on only its back legs. It was no bird. It was a flying dinosaur!").
*E.g. The fact that George dislikes guns is stated 4 times in the span of 1 chapter, including twice in the same paragraph.
**Google "The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Film) - TV Tropes" & "Raptor Attack - TV Tropes" for reasons #1 & #2, respectively.
***In "PaleoFacts" alone, it's claimed that Nemegtosaurus was 7 m tall & 15.2 m long (More like 2.46 m tall & 12 m long), Saichania was 2.4 m tall (More like 1.3 m tall), Plesiosaurus was 7 m long & 3 tons (More like 3-5 m long & 150 kg), Plesiosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous (It didn't), Bactrosaurus means "Bactrian lizard" (It doesn't), & Tylosaurus was 20 tons (More like 4.5 tons), among other things.
Quoting Miller/Blasing:
Quote :
George knew this species. His uncle taught him a lot growing up. Because of that, he knew by the end of the Jurassic Period nearly all members of the Sauropod family had become extinct. A few species managed to survive all the way to the end of the late Cretaceous Period when they, along with all other non-avian dinosaurs, became extinct. The majority of the long necks that survived into late Cretaceous were from the Titanosaurus family. Although not as large as their earlier cousins, they were still massive dinosaurs and among the largest living things on earth by the end of the Cretaceous Period.
Quoting Naish/Barrett (See Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved):
Quote :
As recently as the 1990s it was thought that sauropods were a mostly Jurassic event and that they had largely disappeared by the Cretaceous. We now know that this view was completely inaccurate, and that sauropods were a major presence on many continents throughout much of the Cretaceous. And, rather than being stagnant or static in evolutionary terms, they were constantly evolving new anatomical features and new ways of cropping plants.
It’s extremely unlikely we see one in this film imo. And if we do it will be probably be in the background when some dinosaurs escape. I don’t feel that’s really good enough though, I think it needs it’s own scene that really plays up the horror aspect.
I think Universal just doesn’t have any intention or interest in directly showing the animal for some bizarre reason. To be completely honest I’m not sure Universal believes it to be extremely iconic like the Rex and raptors.
In TLW it’s a picture, in JW it’s a hologram.
Mild Spoilers for the new film.
Spoiler:
in fallen kingdom Lockwood will have a Dilophosaurus statue in his manor with all his other Dino statues. When this first leaked we assumed the animal was in, but then a better picture leaked showing it to only be part of the set and a raptor statue alongside it.
Hopefully Universal is teasing us throughout these movies and we’ll seen one in the swamp, in the wild in the third. I’m kinda expecting to never see it again though.
Really? Damn! Well, thanks for pointing that out now, saving me the disappointment when I actually see the movie, like when a stupid LEGO set fooled me into thinking Dilophosaurus was going to be in Jurassic World... I'll never forgive that betrayal.
Still, it's a real shame. I mean, in the expanded universe Dilophosaurs are everywhere, a common sight in video games. It's frustrating that in the films they only have one significant scene...
And if we don't see any Dilophosaurs in Fallen Kingdom, we might never see them in the franchise again, since it means they won't be rescued from extinction and the population on Isla Nublar could potentially be permanently wiped out by the eruption that threatens the dinosaurs. I hope that's not the case, because Dilophosaurs are the #1 thing I want from these movies. Stop f**king around and bring back the spitters!
If the Dilophosaurs are in Fallen Kingdom, here's what I would want from them...
1. A scene reintroducing them by having a pack of adults attack the heroes and get tranquilized, ensuring that they're saved from extinction. The first Dilophosaur we see is the same size as the one from the first movie, until it is revealed that it is a juvenile and the full-sized ones show up... 2. It would be nice to see some Dilophosaurs among the stampeding dinosaurs during the eruption scene, desperately trying to escape the wave of death behind them. 3. I imagine that during the climax a bunch of the rescued dinosaurs are going to break free and run amok. If Dilophosaurs are among the rescued, they could join in on the chaos and maybe even actually kill somebody, like a guard or a mercenary.
It would also be cool to see a pack of Dilophosaurs battle another dinosaur, but I'm not holding my breath since it's very unlikely that would happen. I still want to see them make their comeback, but I'm not going to get myself too hyped over it since they're probably going to be like in the tour from the first movie... a no-show.
As Alan Grant said in that scene, "Damn!"
Yeah man I totally agree with you. And who knows, I’m not telling you to rule out the possibility completely. But I’ve been burned far too many times to keep my head too high. And that thing I put in the spoiler tag really broke me. Let’s pray that the JP gods smile upon us
I’d like to private message you on the matter for a few more details if that’s okay.
It’s extremely unlikely we see one in this film imo. And if we do it will be probably be in the background when some dinosaurs escape. I don’t feel that’s really good enough though, I think it needs it’s own scene that really plays up the horror aspect.
I think Universal just doesn’t have any intention or interest in directly showing the animal for some bizarre reason. To be completely honest I’m not sure Universal believes it to be extremely iconic like the Rex and raptors.
In TLW it’s a picture, in JW it’s a hologram.
Mild Spoilers for the new film.
Spoiler:
in fallen kingdom Lockwood will have a Dilophosaurus statue in his manor with all his other Dino statues. When this first leaked we assumed the animal was in, but then a better picture leaked showing it to only be part of the set and a raptor statue alongside it.
Hopefully Universal is teasing us throughout these movies and we’ll seen one in the swamp, in the wild in the third. I’m kinda expecting to never see it again though.
Really? Damn! Well, thanks for pointing that out now, saving me the disappointment when I actually see the movie, like when a stupid LEGO set fooled me into thinking Dilophosaurus was going to be in Jurassic World... I'll never forgive that betrayal.
Still, it's a real shame. I mean, in the expanded universe Dilophosaurs are everywhere, a common sight in video games. It's frustrating that in the films they only have one significant scene...
And if we don't see any Dilophosaurs in Fallen Kingdom, we might never see them in the franchise again, since it means they won't be rescued from extinction and the population on Isla Nublar could potentially be permanently wiped out by the eruption that threatens the dinosaurs. I hope that's not the case, because Dilophosaurs are the #1 thing I want from these movies. Stop f**king around and bring back the spitters!
If the Dilophosaurs are in Fallen Kingdom, here's what I would want from them...
1. A scene reintroducing them by having a pack of adults attack the heroes and get tranquilized, ensuring that they're saved from extinction. The first Dilophosaur we see is the same size as the one from the first movie, until it is revealed that it is a juvenile and the full-sized ones show up... 2. It would be nice to see some Dilophosaurs among the stampeding dinosaurs during the eruption scene, desperately trying to escape the wave of death behind them. 3. I imagine that during the climax a bunch of the rescued dinosaurs are going to break free and run amok. If Dilophosaurs are among the rescued, they could join in on the chaos and maybe even actually kill somebody, like a guard or a mercenary.
It would also be cool to see a pack of Dilophosaurs battle another dinosaur, but I'm not holding my breath since it's very unlikely that would happen. I still want to see them make their comeback, but I'm not going to get myself too hyped over it since they're probably going to be like in the tour from the first movie... a no-show.
My 43rd review for this thread is a positive 1 for Cooley/Wilson's Make-a-saurus: My Life with Raptors and Other Dinosaurs. If you haven't already, I'd greatly appreciate you reading & voting "Yes" for said review in the bolded link below. Besides wanting to make sure said review gives a good idea of what to expect, it needs all the "Yes" votes it can get because it's for a great book that deserves more attention. Many thanks in advance.
Short version: Cooley/Wilson's Make-a-saurus: My Life with Raptors and Other Dinosaurs (henceforth Life) may be the best children's dino book when it comes to showing kids how to build a dino. I recommend reading Life in conjunction with other, more recent books (E.g. Naish/Barrett's Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved in general & Chapter 3 in particular).
Long version: Read on.
This review's title is a reference to Horner/Gorman's How to Build a Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn't Have to Be Forever (which, to paraphrase Kosemen, should've been called "[How to build a] sort of dinosaur look-alike retarded monstrosity").* Point is, to quote Willoughby ( https://emilywilloughby.com/about ), "paleontology is unique in that there is no equivalent method of using film to capture the reality of its natural subjects[...]we must paint, sculpt and draw to bring these animals to life." Life may be the best children's dino book when it comes to showing kids how to do that. In this review, I list the 3 main reasons why I think that is.
1) As you may remember, Life was 1 of the books that got me into feathered dinos, along with Sloan's Feathered Dinosaurs. Cooley's life-like models of feathered dinos are 1 of the main reasons why that is (See reason #1: www.amazon.com/review/R1UO9MSFJ9W37N/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8 ).
2) Life provides a lot of background info. This is especially apparent in the introductory section: 1st, Currie explains why art is important to his science (See the Currie quote); Then, Cooley explains why science is important to his art (See the Cooley quote); Last, "The World of Sinornithosaurus" tells a day-in-the-life story of the Sinornithosaurus specimen Cooley's model is based on; More specifically, it tells a story of how said specimen lived, died, & became fossilized.
3) Similarly to Gardom/Milner's The Natural History Museum Book of Dinosaurs, Life uses a "popular approach[...that...]not only accurately mirrors the methods used by [paleoartists in creating] dinosaurs, but also satisfies the overwhelming curiosity of people to know what dinosaurs were like when alive" ( www.amazon.co.uk/Natural-History-Museum-Book-Dinosaurs/dp/184442183X ). This is especially apparent in the main sections: 1st, Cooley explains the paleoartistic process without dumbing down; Then, Cooley shows readers how they can adapt said process using tools & materials around their house (E.g. Instead of beginning "with a welded steel armature," they can make an armature using "rolled-up newspaper, wire, foam and tape, even balloons"); Last, Cooley shows readers how they can go 1 step beyond & create dino environments (I.e. Dioramas, which are the best dino exhibits).
If I could, I'd give Life a 4.5/5. My only gripes are a few weird bits in the text (E.g. Dino scales, which are non-overlapping, are compared to lizard scales, which are mostly overlapping) & writing (E.g. Liaoning is misspelled as Laioning). However, for the purposes of this review, I'll round up to 5/5.
*Google "Is it Possible to Re-Create a Dinosaur from a Chicken?"
Quoting Currie:
Quote :
Even with all my training and experience, I still learn a lot when Brian asks me how the bones of a skeleton actually go together. Often we end up pulling bones out of the Museum's collections so we can consider how they fit together and how the muscles were attached. Most people can learn more by building models than by just looking at museum displays and books.
Quoting Cooley:
Quote :
Life takes us in marvelous directions and, as luck would have it, the first job I found upon graduating from art school was sculpting a volcano for the Calgary Zoo's new Prehistoric Park. That led to making a dinosaur for a company in Vancouver. My wife, artist Mary Ann Wilson, worked on that dinosaur with me, and since then we have completed many dinosaurs together. While doing research for that project, Mary Ann and I met Dr. Philip J. Currie, who was soon to become one of the world's most prominent paleontologists. It was Dr. Currie whose enthusiasm and riveting stories about new discoveries and theories rekindled my passion for dinosaurs. Twenty years since that meeting, I'm still making dinosaurs
I know I sound crazy letting this out of my mouth: Afte reading this article which should probably be reported for criticizing a film that hasn't been released yet,
Why 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' Looks Like A Terrible Idea
and seeing this video get posted on the internet...
I've got to ask this: who among these members feels the imposing threat that Jurassic World poses a threat to Jurassic Park? Granted, JW:FK isn't out until June, but apparently JW haters still do just about anything to get their emotionless monsters on a horror island back where they can milk it dry. In fact, these haters even go so far as to say "Jurassic Park should have been the only movie of it's kind, but oh no, Universal just had to make cliche sequels."
I can sort of see why after seeing the following provisos.
Rule #1: no tamed raptors. Apparently, haters want the JP raptors to stay monsters, despite the fact that if we can tame birds of prey, then these raptors are the stretch goal.
Rule #2: no guardians of the galaxy references, and their "super" Chris Pratt celebrity. I see where the haters are going here, since Owen Grady somehow outran a slow pyroclastic cloud (55 mph, but what do you expect out of a 2010's Hollywood cult?
Rule #3: no super hybrids. Apparently, haters hate the hybrids that are the mascots of Colin Trevorrow's take on the park, despite the fact that Dr. Wu's been hybridizing from the start, not to mention how regular dinosaurs get old pretty fast. Plus, don't forget how the Indoraptor has Jay Bayona fingerprints on it.
I'm just saying, haters who hate what the creators of FK are doing with JP5 shouldn't be making videos and/or posting articles about it, especially if they haven't seen the full movie it, and took notes of human kind's bad habits with modern animals.
Then again, that's just me. What do you guys think?
My 42nd review for this thread is a negative 1 for Hort's Did Dinosaurs Eat Pizza?: Mysteries Science Hasn't Solved. If you haven't already, I'd greatly appreciate you reading & voting "Yes" for said review in the bolded link below. Besides wanting to make sure said review gives a good idea of what to expect, it needs all the "Yes" votes it can get because it's outnumbered by opposing reviews (which don't give a good idea of what to expect). Many thanks in advance.
If you want a substantial children's dino book about what we do & don't know, get Kudlinski's Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! (henceforth Boy) & read it in conjunction with other, more recent books (E.g. Holtz's Dinosaurs). It helps that Kudlinkski & Schindler are 1) very well-read, as indicated by the bibliography, & 2) collaborators with experts (I.e. Brinkman, Butler, & Norell). I can't say the same about Hort & O'Brien. As far as I know, Hort's Did Dinosaurs Eat Pizza?: Mysteries Science Hasn't Solved (henceforth Pizza) has neither a bibliography nor any expert collaboration & it shows in the lack of substance. In this review, I list the 3 main indications of that lack of substance.
1) Unlike Boy (which has a roughly chronological format, beginning with the discovery of Iguanodon & ending with the discovery of the Chinese feathered dinos), Pizza consists of a bunch of so-called "Mysteries Science Hasn't Solved" scattered all over with no apparent rhyme or reason. Each mystery is illustrated with dinos doing things we know they didn't do, so maybe Pizza's title was supposed to tie all the mysteries together. However, since Pizza's content has nothing to do with eating pizza, it's just a confusing mess.
2) Unlike Boy (which is illustrated with mostly-good cartoon dinos & page-by-page comparisons of what people used to think vs. what we think now), Pizza is illustrated with mostly-bad cartoon dinos (E.g. O'Brien's T. rex is basically a cartoon version of Solonevich's Antrodemus: https://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/2013/08/vintage-dinosaur-art-dinosaurs-and-more.html ). Not only are the dinos themselves bad, but they make a lot of the text misleading: It's claimed that "different scientists can disagree by as much as [20 or 30] tons in estimating weights"; While this is technically true when it comes to sauropods, it's illustrated with a Styracosaurus (which weighed between 1 & 4 tons) outweighing an entire family farm.
3) Unlike Boy (which has mostly-accurate text that uses multiple lines of evidence to show why we think what we think), Pizza has a lot of misleading or wrong text, partly because of the aforementioned illustrations, & partly because it refers to many non-mysteries as mysteries (hence the "so-called" in indication #1 above). This is especially apparent in the text about T. rex & birds (E.g. See the Hort quotes, which fail on many levels).*
*They fail to get the facts straight (E.g. Giganotosaurus & Spinosaurus were larger; To quote Hendrickson, "I feel very sure, as do 99 percent of all dinosaur paleontologists, that T. rex was a predator"); They fail to understand how ecology works (Quoting GSPaul: "The idea that animals as big as most theropods were true scavengers is ecologically unfeasible"); They fail to understand how evolution works (If "birds evolved from dinosaurs," then they ARE "considered dinosaurs"); They fail to understand that, "scientifically, traditions are an idiot thing" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7HmltUWXgs ); They fail to understand that, traditionally, "the word dinosaur" refers to non-bird dinos, not "extinct dinosaur species of the Mesozoic Era" (which include many bird species).
Quoting Hort:
Quote :
Tyrannosaurus rex may have been the largest meat eater ever. But the jury is still out on whether T. rex mostly hunted for its food or mostly scavenged to find dinner that was already dead.
Quoting Hort:
Quote :
Most scientists now agree that birds evolved from dinosaurs, and a convincing case can be made that, as long as birds survive, dinosaurs aren't really extinct. Since there is still some disagreement on whether birds should be considered dinosaurs, I have followed tradition in using the word dinosaur to refer only to extinct dinosaur species of the Mesozoic Era.
When I think of what natural history means, I think of the Geils/Vogler quote below. A Natural History of Dinos (henceforth NHD) is the best kind of non-encyclopedic dino book. There are 2 main reasons for why I think that is: 1) It's "designed to be read from start to finish as the developing story of a remarkable group of animals[...in a...]direct, clear written style" ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Natural-History-Museum-Book-Dinosaurs/dp/184442183X ); See Joseph's "For Love of Stories" ( https://artsci.washington.edu/news/2019-06/love-stories ) for why it's important that popular dino books are designed that way; 2) It puts dinos into an evolutionary & ecological context; See "Item Mentality and Dinosaurs in Popular Science" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpJjOwKh6RY ) & "Alternatives to the Item Mentality in Dinosaur Books and Art" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkAXXUCjYHs ) for why it's important that popular dino books do that. Yes, I have a Bachelor of Science in "Natural History and Interpretation" ( https://www.deviantart.com/jd-man/journal/Finally-my-1st-journal-entry-327744587 ) & thus am very biased. That said, NHD books are mostly very good to great & I wanna know about all of them, hence this journal entry[...which was originally posted at deviantART: https://www.deviantart.com/jd-man/journal/SD-Natural-Histories-of-Dinos-697472470 ]. All the NHD books I know about are listed below. If there are any books you think should be listed, please let me know. Many thanks in advance. 1 more thing of note: When trying to identify NHD books, look for a combination of the following or similar phrases: -"a [adjective] look at" -"a safari through time" -"a trip to the Mesozoic" -"as living animals" -"day(s) of the dinosaur(s)" -"dinosaur history" -"evolution and ecology" -"how they lived" -"in a [adjective] context" -"in the context of" -"places them in" -"the dinosaur story" -"their evolution and extinction" -"their history" -"their natural habitat" -"their natural environment" -"their rise and fall" -"their story" -"their world" -"time and space" -"who they were"
The term history in natural history derives from the Greek for inquiry or knowing. A natural history is a description of one kind of organism in its natural environment. It is a narrative on the development, behavior, relationships, evolution, and significance of a subject organism. We are inspired by Charles Darwin and E. O. Wilson. Their work demonstrates that natural history is not just for charismatic species, but also for ‘lowly’ barnacles and ants. Natural history unites biology and philosophy. What we perceive depends on how we observe and integrate that observation into an operational model of reality (see Hawking and Mlodinow 2010). What we perceive determines what we accept as true, beautiful, and right—therefore, what motivates our action.
Norman's The Prehistoric World of the Dinosaur ("This book is primarily about dinosaurs, but before going any further it is most important to look at how geologists and paleontologists have been able to build up an understanding of the history of the Earth, estimating time geologically. The physical processes have in turn led to the deposition of rocks and the formation of fossils[...]and the evolution of life, including the forms of life that came before and after the dinosaurs[...]In this chapter I will provide a brief outline of these topics so that the historical position of dinosaurs can be more fully appreciated. I will also spend a little time explaining precisely what, scientifically, a dinosaur is understood to be. There is frequently some confusion about this")
Benton's On the Trail of the Dinosaurs ("I was going to complain on a matter of principle that Benton had written yet another book on these wretched brutes, and not the poor neglected groups such as pterosaurs, his own beloved rhynchosaurs, and marine reptiles, which are of considerably greater relevance to the average British museum - except that he has just taken care of them in a sister volume, Reign of the reptiles": https://www.geocurator.org/images/resources/geocurator/vol5/geocurator_5_7.pdf )
Brenner's Dinosaurium ("Follow dinosaur tracks through the world as it was during the Mesozoic era. Find out how these ancient creatures lived, moved, fed, reared their young, and much more. Including information on some of the latest discoveries, this book reveals how scientists interpret their findings and challenges young minds to join in the fun")
There's no overreaction, really. It's just that social media is the {#}1{/#} platform when it comes to discussing film. Not sure how pointing that out was overreacting.
I already said this as well, very clearly too, but whatever.
There's no overreaction, really. It's just that social media is the #1 platform when it comes to discussing film. Not sure how pointing that out was overreacting.
You know when I look at the number of joined new members since I registered here four months ago, and see it's only 32, I would be lying if I said that's impressive or even adequate. Also despite being about the same in size, Jurassic Outpost forum still gets the {#}1{/#} spot if you do a google search for "jurassic park forum". I guess because of the association of that site/brand.
But still, given that forums in 2017 are not the powerhouse they once were, like 10-15 years ago, it's not bad at all. And also, more importantly, at least the active and semi-active community that is here, is quite talkative. Maybe with JP5 the traffic will increase a bit too. Of course getting to JPL traffic levels is probably never going to happen, not here or elsewhere that's not twitter/facebook/etc, but nobody expects that anyway. I think 500-100 by JP5 would be nice, even acknowledging 75% of those accounts would be inactive/non-posting.
This isnt and never was intended to be a competition to anything. It was never a competition on JPL either. If the goal was to be the biggest Jurassic Park forum right off the bat, this place would probably cease to exist especially with social media dominating every asspect of discussion pertaining to film.
I already answered to this same exact argument couple of posts before. And anyway I think you are overreacting to what I said
You know when I look at the number of joined new members since I registered here four months ago, and see it's only 32, I would be lying if I said that's impressive or even adequate. Also despite being about the same in size, Jurassic Outpost forum still gets the #1 spot if you do a google search for "jurassic park forum". I guess because of the association of that site/brand.
But still, given that forums in 2017 are not the powerhouse they once were, like 10-15 years ago, it's not bad at all. And also, more importantly, at least the active and semi-active community that is here, is quite talkative. Maybe with JP5 the traffic will increase a bit too. Of course getting to JPL traffic levels is probably never going to happen, not here or elsewhere that's not twitter/facebook/etc, but nobody expects that anyway. I think 500-100 by JP5 would be nice, even acknowledging 75% of those accounts would be inactive/non-posting.
This isnt and never was intended to be a competition to anything. It was never a competition on JPL either. If the goal was to be the biggest Jurassic Park forum right off the bat, this place would probably cease to exist especially with social media dominating every asspect of discussion pertaining to film.
You know when I look at the number of joined new members since I registered here four months ago, and see it's only 32, I would be lying if I said that's impressive or even adequate. Also despite being about the same in size, Jurassic Outpost forum still gets the {#}1{/#} spot if you do a google search for "jurassic park forum". I guess because of the association of that site/brand.
But still, given that forums in 2017 are not the powerhouse they once were, like 10-15 years ago, it's not bad at all. And also, more importantly, at least the active and semi-active community that is here, is quite talkative. Maybe with JP5 the traffic will increase a bit too. Of course getting to JPL traffic levels is probably never going to happen, not here or elsewhere that's not twitter/facebook/etc, but nobody expects that anyway. I think 500-100 by JP5 would be nice, even acknowledging 75% of those accounts would be inactive/non-posting.
Alonso to drive in the Indy 500, skipping Monaco GP www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/128926/alonso-to-race-in-2017-indy-500
Like many others, when I saw this in the morning, I was shocked beyond belief. Mainly because McLaren-Honda allowed it (okay technically they are sort of there in ICS as well), but because he had never really talked about the 500, only Le Mans. Which is something he still is planning to do later, when possible. I'd bet on next year now already. Exciting times.
The hype has now calmed down, only {#}24{/#} in Google Trends, but it was {#}1{/#} for long time this afternoon https://trends.google.com/trends/?hl=en
I think S5 and S6 were still pretty great and enjoyable, although the rate of "pointless deaths" has increased to exponential levels. My friend would fiercely oppose me on that one, but her opinions are hers and I won't take them away.
I also have admit that the Bran story line is so god damn boring, and has been ever since he escaped from Winterfell. The newly introduced "flashbacks" aren't much batter. If there's one character that should've been massacred seasons ago, it's Bran.
IMO 13 episodes is just enough for the final push, and I'm sure few of them will go past 60 min mark. 8 seasons is 6 seasons longer than Rome (still my actual #1 HBO series ever) and they should be glad they got that long of a run when Rome didn't. I am not looking forward to potential spinoff, potential to ruin quite perfect saga with pointless stories from another time is quite high.
Oh don't get me wrong I still think it's great tv. Like I would still put S5 or 6 on a pedestal compared to most other shows. I personally just think it has gone down hill. Personally I think they are in such a tough spot. I have heard the books kinda went downhill as well and it must be tough having to go past the book, and deciding what to keep and what not etc.
I agree with you on pointless death scenes. And I'm curious to which deaths you would consider pointless. Personally I think they are banking way too much on shock value. Yes I know in the books Stannis kills his daughter. But in the show I felt it was handled so terribly. They purposefully made Stannis care more for her in S5 just so her murder would be more shocking imo. I couldn't stand the way they did it.
Rickon was also a death that was so pointless imo. I understand he was a minor character but in that scene I was just thinking "I know he's going to get hit, but it would be such a cool change to not have the shock value and him live". But nope. Too easy to predict.
I'm sorry but I still can't personally accept the final 13 episodes thing. I already know the full spoilers for S7 mostly and I don't see 6 being enough. Unless like you said they pull a Westworld and have episodes that are basically movies. For reference Westworld had a around 90 minute finale in you're unaware
Also this was bound to happen and I knew it was coming... so this isn't any fault but mine. But I Feel like there are 3 types of game of thrones fans.
1. People who are really into the fantasy aspect.
2. People who watch the show mostly for the politics and like a little fantasy here and there.
3. And people who full on enjoy both full force.
I am number 2 firmly. I like the fantasy but dragons and white walkers have always been at the bottom of my list of why I watch. So you understand my inevitable disappointment since that all has to come to a head.
But I'm interested to hear a nice long post from you on what you like and don't like. And what you're looking forward to seeing.
I think S5 and S6 were still pretty great and enjoyable, although the rate of "pointless deaths" has increased to exponential levels. My friend would fiercely oppose me on that one, but her opinions are hers and I won't take them away.
I also have admit that the Bran story line is so god damn boring, and has been ever since he escaped from Winterfell. The newly introduced "flashbacks" aren't much batter. If there's one character that should've been massacred seasons ago, it's Bran.
IMO 13 episodes is just enough for the final push, and I'm sure few of them will go past 60 min mark. 8 seasons is 6 seasons longer than Rome (still my actual {#}1{/#} HBO series ever) and they should be glad they got that long of a run when Rome didn't. I am not looking forward to potential spinoff, potential to ruin quite perfect saga with pointless stories from another time is quite high.
How do the JP sequels rank in your books, from best to worst / least best? I acknowledge that we do indeed have another thread for your favorite film, where some ranking admittedly has occurred, but let's have it in poll form and without Jurassic Park taking the automatic number {#}1{/#} spotlight in most cases.
Paul Feig's all-female Ghostbusters team will meet the originals in IDW Ghostbusters 101 #1. issue.
I'm surprised that they're even canon in the comics considering how much GB2016 bombed. Unless they are ret-conned as relatives of the originals, I don't see how this can work.
Alternate universes. The original team has already crossed over with the cartoon team via alternate universes.
Paul Feig's all-female Ghostbusters team will meet the originals in IDW Ghostbusters 101 #1. issue.
I'm surprised that they're even canon in the comics considering how much GB2016 bombed. Unless they are ret-conned as relatives of the originals, I don't see how this can work.
Well, from my perspective, it is impossible to overtake JP in the {#}1{/#} spot, and that goes for any flick in the world. There is absolutely no question about that. It is in the league of it's own.
So right at the start the highest possible position for JP5 to achieve is {#}2{/#}. Now, given that I don't really love TLW, in fact not even think of it as great film but merely as "alright", you'd think such feat to not that difficult of a task at all. And in a way, it isn't. What you just need is a good solid sit through that I enjoy and that I can see enjoying years later. However, TLW even with it's faults, at least has all the excuses of being the very first sequel. JP5 does not have the same liberties. So even if the new film would have flawless execution in every other area of film making, be it in cinematography and characters and action and effects and whatever else, if the old "island dinosaur escape" and other very much rehashed theme lines from the 90's are there again in any meaningful form, it will rank immediately below the {#}2{/#} spot. I do not appreciate seeing the same thing over and over again - something needs to happen finally to break off the generic formula chains. That is the benchmark of reaching number {#}2{/#}. On top of that almost all of the aspects that made me hate JW would have to be removed and turned into workable solutions, including technical aspects which means making it look like a film and not video game. And from everything I've seen of the production and rumored premise so far, it strongly suggests that there needs to be a miracle to reach this level. I suppose it's still possible, it's not really asking *that much*, but I'm not believing in it.
Now, spot {#}3{/#} is the hot seat. This is the realistic best chance as far as I'm concerned, and I said the same for JW when the new park premise was leaked for the first time. To beat JP3, but still rank below TLW, I merely need a competent film. There can be semi-serious flaws in places, but not so much that one can make giant list of them. What you need first off is decent coherent plot and themes that actually move the series ahead as whole and have some sort of meaning, even if it's minor. On top of that, likeable characters, proper animatronics, no in-your-face fanservice, and canon/continuum of TLW/JP3 should not be totally ignored again. The Nublar return would have to be only a very minor part.
For {#}4{/#}, the requirements really aren't that high. Just something generic that resembles somewhat/barely passable product there or thereabouts. I don't know what else to add there.
Finally to be in the last position {#}5{/#} would require it to be total and utter garbage. It's yet unclear to me how this could be managed to be achieved.
The Disaster Artist finally premiers tomorrow at South by Southwest. Can't wait for the wider release, this is easily {#}1{/#} film I've been looking forward to ever since it was announced. I haven't actually read the book yet, because I've been trying to get my hands into the audiobook narrated by Greg Sestero himself (it's supposed to be amazing and I fully believe it from the clips I've heard). Anyway a film about The Room is just so delicious prospect that I can't wait for it. I don't even care what the reviews will say, or that James Franco is anchoring it, this will be a must watch.
I'm pretty sure T-Rex was already {#}1{/#} before JP came out, sharing the place with Triceratops and your generic "Brontosaurus" sauropod image. It's in the movies and literature already in the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's as the generic 'carnivore dinosaur'.
Allosaurus was never a "big thing", I mean it was up there but your average Joe wouldn't have known anything about it if asked except that it was probably a dinosaur judging by the -saurus at the end.
Disney•Pixar’s Finding Dory crossed the $900 million mark globally yesterday, becoming the fourth Walt Disney Studios release to reach the threshold this year. The third-highest grossing Pixar release of all time, Finding Dory has surpassed the original $871 million gross of its 2003 prequel Finding Nemo and is approaching that film’s $936 million lifetime gross.
Finding Dory opened June 17 with $135 million in the US and Canada, the biggest debut ever for an animated film and the #3 opening of 2016 overall. The film is already the #1 domestic release of the year and the #7 domestic release of all time with $476.9 million. Its international gross is $423.5 million with upcoming releases in Italy, Germany, and other territories.
Finding Dory is the 16th Disney release to reach $900 million and joins Captain America: Civil War ($1.15B), Zootopia ($1.02B) and The Jungle Book ($949M) among the studio’s 2016 releases, with the four ranking as the top four industry releases of the year worldwide.
Finding Dory picks up six months after the first movie, with Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) living a quiet life among the clown fishes. After going with Nemo on a class trip to see manta rays migrate back home, her home sickness leads the forgetful Dory on a quest to find where she came from. The film features returning favorites Marlin, Nemo and the Tank Gang. Set in part along the California coastline, the story also welcomes a host of new characters, including a few who will prove to be a very important part of Dory’s life, such as her parents.
Findng Nemo helmer Andrew Stanton (John Carter) returns to the directors chair for the animated film, which features the voices of Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Michael Sheen, Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton.
Short version: Some people just want JPL back, and 5 of them are trying to bring it back. It's currently got a Twitter, and eventually they want to make a website and a forum .While they may be members here, this project is not affiliated with us, and the Portal will stay regardless of what happens. I think that sums it up.
6 core people but also receiving help from others. All good people who only want to try and restore the good memories and feels of JPL. Will it be exactly the same? No, that's impossible, the old version is gone. Rebuilt from scratch with similar elements(one element that has already been mentioned in this thread) and some new things. We already have a couple of exciting new ideas in the pipeline.
The rest of the group will be unveiled at a later point, but I feel we have a tremendous team capable of honoring the old JPL in the right way. If we fail it is on us and will never take away from what the original JPL had going for it. Our attitude from day one was to create a place for the fans by the fans. We have no intention to compete or back stab or anything else like that, we only want to coexist and continue to add new things for Jurassic fans. The Jurassic community as a whole is the most important thing to us, there won't be any walls on our sides. In fact we will constantly promote other sites like this one and hope that there could be fun future crossover projects to continue to only strengthen this community. We have no desire to be #1 or anything like that, we only want to exist.
Sooooo why cant the good memories be restored on here? I dont understand what reviving a site with the old name accomplishes to be honest. That was the entire point of this site's existence. To me, people never gave this place a chance because they never wanted to move on after the original JPL closed and IMO it'll never be the same.
Short version: Some people just want JPL back, and 5 of them are trying to bring it back. It's currently got a Twitter, and eventually they want to make a website and a forum .While they may be members here, this project is not affiliated with us, and the Portal will stay regardless of what happens. I think that sums it up.
6 core people but also receiving help from others. All good people who only want to try and restore the good memories and feels of JPL. Will it be exactly the same? No, that's impossible, the old version is gone. Rebuilt from scratch with similar elements(one element that has already been mentioned in this thread) and some new things. We already have a couple of exciting new ideas in the pipeline.
The rest of the group will be unveiled at a later point, but I feel we have a tremendous team capable of honoring the old JPL in the right way. If we fail it is on us and will never take away from what the original JPL had going for it. Our attitude from day one was to create a place for the fans by the fans. We have no intention to compete or back stab or anything else like that, we only want to coexist and continue to add new things for Jurassic fans. The Jurassic community as a whole is the most important thing to us, there won't be any walls on our sides. In fact we will constantly promote other sites like this one and hope that there could be fun future crossover projects to continue to only strengthen this community. We have no desire to be #1 or anything like that, we only want to exist.
@Nublar7 I'm not against you and others reviving JPL, or at least keeping it's spirit alive but I have to ask.
Isn't it far too soon for a revival? Wouldn't it be better off for you to have waited until 2016 was over and all the sadness from the shut down was gone/massively reduced? With all due respect, it feels...tacky to revive a site that has been shut down for a little over a month. Not only that, but by looking at the negative responses, I really think that a lot of this wouldn't have been as bad then as it is now.
I'm not as against this like a lot of the old members are, since I wanted Ty to sell off the old site. (In fairness, I don't blame him for not doing so like a few members here do.) It's just that I think you and the other staff members were so focused on reviving JPL that you failed to see the larger picture and didn't see what the fanbase here, not to mention those who went to other sites, would think about reviving it so soon.
Short version: Some people just want JPL back, and 5 of them are trying to bring it back. It's currently got a Twitter, and eventually they want to make a website and a forum .While they may be members here, this project is not affiliated with us, and the Portal will stay regardless of what happens. I think that sums it up.
6 core people but also receiving help from others. All good people who only want to try and restore the good memories and feels of JPL. Will it be exactly the same? No, that's impossible, the old version is gone. Rebuilt from scratch with similar elements(one element that has already been mentioned in this thread) and some new things. We already have a couple of exciting new ideas in the pipeline.
The rest of the group will be unveiled at a later point, but I feel we have a tremendous team capable of honoring the old JPL in the right way. If we fail it is on us and will never take away from what the original JPL had going for it. Our attitude from day one was to create a place for the fans by the fans. We have no intention to compete or back stab or anything else like that, we only want to coexist and continue to add new things for Jurassic fans. The Jurassic community as a whole is the most important thing to us, there won't be any walls on our sides. In fact we will constantly promote other sites like this one and hope that there could be fun future crossover projects to continue to only strengthen this community. We have no desire to be #1 or anything like that, we only want to exist.
It's not yours though. Despite the rather annoying self-indulgent attitude of the digital world in general, unless you paid for it you don't own it. Simply being on a site for free isn't the same as it being yours. I don't approve of this at all tbh.
Short version: Some people just want JPL back, and 5 of them are trying to bring it back. It's currently got a Twitter, and eventually they want to make a website and a forum .While they may be members here, this project is not affiliated with us, and the Portal will stay regardless of what happens. I think that sums it up.
6 core people but also receiving help from others. All good people who only want to try and restore the good memories and feels of JPL. Will it be exactly the same? No, that's impossible, the old version is gone. Rebuilt from scratch with similar elements(one element that has already been mentioned in this thread) and some new things. We already have a couple of exciting new ideas in the pipeline.
The rest of the group will be unveiled at a later point, but I feel we have a tremendous team capable of honoring the old JPL in the right way. If we fail it is on us and will never take away from what the original JPL had going for it. Our attitude from day one was to create a place for the fans by the fans. We have no intention to compete or back stab or anything else like that, we only want to coexist and continue to add new things for Jurassic fans. The Jurassic community as a whole is the most important thing to us, there won't be any walls on our sides. In fact we will constantly promote other sites like this one and hope that there could be fun future crossover projects to continue to only strengthen this community. We have no desire to be #1 or anything like that, we only want to exist.
I've already sort of left this place myself. My interest for JP period has been fading lately, and the shutdown of JPL was kind of the nail in the coffin for me. I've been focusing on SW a lot lately, just because I've been becoming somewhat disillusioned with the fandom. Too many self serving people, and too much immaturity. And honestly, the separated Twitter accounts is only further indicative to me that people are separating the JW trilogy from the JP franchise. OG JP fans aren't the target demographic anymore. Universal is looking for a new gen to woo. This is why I've been sticking to SW lately. At least Disney/LFL cares enough about the OT SW fans to cater to them while simultaneously marketing towards the children of the OG SW.
Universal, they just do not care, and treat JP like a bastard child. I just can't relate to the JP fandom anymore, and Universal has partly had a hand in that. I cannot support trying to differentiate the JW movies from the originals, but that seems to be the future of the franchise. To me, it's still JP 5, but to everyone else, even Universal, it's Jurassic World 2. I've resigned to that fact. If Universal was smart, they'd treat it more like Star Wars, and welcome the nostalgic crowd. But they're not. Like Ghostbusters, they're creating Jurassic Park: The Next Generation. And they're treating it with out with the old and in with the new. We're just not the target demographic. The target demographic is younger Millennials. The people that are children and teenagers now. Not the 20-somethings and 30-somethings that grew up with the originals.
It's an unhealthy relationship, JW and I. I will always have JP, TLW and JP///, and maybe someday I can learn to appreciate JW for what it is. I'm just uncertain about where this franchise is going,but the direction it's hinting to is somewhere I cannot follow. Star Wars is being taken in the right direction, and it's a much healthier relationship between fan and studio. It's something I've had since childhood, just like JP. I started watching SW around the same time I saw JP, so it's always been there with me. Heh, I can still remember when I used to where my hooded bathrobe and swing my Ep. 1 Darth Maul lightsaber around my house when I was six. Then my Dad took it away from me because I kept hitting the walls with it. I like those memories. I have equally pleasant memories of JP. I used to walk around my back yard thinking I was Roland hunting dinosaurs. I'd wear my cowboy hat and run around my backyard with my Disney rifle. But that's all I have of JP, memories. JP isn't the same as it was in 2001. It's no longer a terrifying, action packed romp with dinosaurs. Now there's genetic hybrids and that's looking like the future of the franchise.
The iRex was well received by both fandom and audiences, so that means Universal is going to try more of that. Being well received means that more hybrids might be well received. However that's not the JP I know and love. It's the new JP, and it's here to stay. The JP I knew and loved didn't need genetic hybrids. It just needed dinosaurs, or at least dinosaurs as we perceived them in great 1990s. The JP I loved used environments, was atmospheric and used some of the greatest animatronics ever built. JW has none of that. I can only hope Bayona creates a JP like I remembered, but with the direction the themes are going, I'm not sure I can get used to the idea.
So what if we're not the target demographic? That doesn't mean we won't like the new films. I'm 22 and I love both JP and JW. I'm still very excited about the sequel to JW but JP will always be my #1 favorite film.
Topic: 
Subject: 
Tue Mar 06, 2018 9:54 pm
Book of Dinosaurs ( 
