PBS Eons, a YouTube channel about Deep Time and evolution that I follow, is now doing a series with PBS proper about "Life and Death in Pangaea". It about life during the Permian Period up to and including the mass extinction, the largest in the world's history to date, that ended it (sometimes called "The Great Dying"). First two episodes are good. The first covers some key developments in evolution in the late Carboniferous Period that shaped the life of the Permian. The second looks at the pelycosaurs, the dominant land vertebrates of the first part of the Permian, including the famed Dimetrodon (no, it's not a dinosaur in spite of an old misconception). An interesting thing is that these beasts were synapsids, the group that includes modern mammals like us. The sauropsids, which includes modern birds and reptiles as well as the dinosaurs, did not really come to prominence until after The Great Dying.

This is the first episode, available on the PBS Eons YouTube channel:

And the full series will be on this page on the PBS website. 1 & 2 are up, remainder will be released weekly through August. Americans can get it on the PBS app, too, I believe.

https://www.pbs.org/show/eons/

Day off here in the Great White North. We generically call it the Civic Holiday and it falls on the first Monday in August. It's basically an excuse for a long weekend between Canada Day (which isn't always even a long weekend) and Labour Day. Different places call it different names and celebrate different things. I'm just crashing and enjoying the free day off.

Coffee is refilled with dark roast Costa Rican beans. Teas are Irish Breakfast and Earl Grey Cream, with hot water ready if you're craving something else. Cold beverages are stocked up, so there's pitchers of lemonade and unsweet iced tea along with an assortment of sodas.

Quote by verbal
We went to Rockygrass for my birthday this weekend. Insanely fun. Talia took me out to a nice steak dinner last night for my actual birthday.

Happy belated birthday!! I'd say that I hope you had good one, but it sounds like you did. 😊

Nice day here. Bit warmer than I like but not terrible. I smell smoke but it's probably local, someone with an outdoor fireplace or something. Air quality is 2.

Writing away on various things as time allows. Might talk more as I decide which ones will actually get written and which might go here.

Week is over. So is my vacation (well, except for the weekend). Getting some fairly normal July weather for here, so high 20s Celsius. Nothing too excessive, at least, though getting a bit warm for me.

Quote by verbal
I haven't watched much of Project Monarch, but it has some interesting lore too.

Yeah, I'm hearing more good things about the Monarch TV series than about the recent movies in the series. Of course, we went through that with Marvel and Star Wars at points, too (franchises where the TV shows got better than the movies). Cool that they had Kurt Russell and his son playing the same character at different ages.

BTW, Andy is the guitarist (and a helluva good one, right up there with other great prog guitarists like Steve Howe and David Gilmour) and Jess is the singer with long black hair to our right of him.

Been listening to UK neo-prog band Solstice for a rather sad reason. Their lead vocalist of the past six years, Jess Holland, is calling it a day, deciding she wants to focus on teaching going forward. She will finish this year's remaining concert dates but it has now turned into a farewell tour of sorts. Founder and band leader Andy Glass is quite clear the band is still happening and he is looking for a new lead vocalist. The band normally has c. 4 vocalists, a lead, a couple backup, and a violinist who also sings. This is because their speciality is very rich, beautiful harmonies.

One of my favourite Solstice tracks from the album Light Up, Jess' second of three with the band. This performance is from a set they recorded at Grand Chapel Studios.

From the same set, the album's title track.

The backup singer on our left is Ebony Buckle who is someone I think could take over the lead role. However, she has a career of her own and hasn't been in some of their recent shows, so may not be an option.

Good evening. We can never have enough space missions to the sun given the possible outcomes if a major solar event heads our way (fried satellites and hydro grids for starters).

Had a gorgeous day here. 20C, low (for July anyhow) humidity, breezy, sunny, no smoke. Felt like we had rewound back to late May or early June. Took advantage to get the lawn mowed since it looks like more of a mixed bag going forward.

Bardem is playing Max Cady, I assume? That alone is great casting. I love Bardem. I am also a fan of both movies so am curious about them doing it as a series. Don't have Apple TV, though.

At home. I suppose theater for something like The Odyssey that's in IMAX.

Cut flowers or a flowering plant?

Quote by gillianleeza

Hazy, hot, and humid here, so nothing new. The air quality alert is new, at the purple level. I was unaware that there was a level above red. It's mostly due to the Canadian wildfires. You can smell the smoke when you step outside. I immediately started coughing, so I will be indoors for the foreseeable future. I don't need an asthma attack.

I hope everyone has a good weekend. Cheers.

Yeah, take it easy out there. Been like that here since Wednesday afternoon but improved this morning (dropped from 10+ to currently 3) so hope it improves down your way, too. There is still a yellow alert up for our region so a chance it could return, I guess.

Fresh coffee and tea are on. Goodies are stocked. What besides the world smelling like a smoky bar is up in your world?

He's baaa-aaack. Actually, we've got both a sequel to Godzilla Minus One titled Godzilla Minus Zero and another Legendary Monsterverse Godzilla x King : Supernova coming. The Legendary movies seem to be leaning into the old Godzilla vs. approach of the Showa and Heisei era Japanese movies, except with Godzilla and Kong as a team. Meanwhile, Godzilla Minus One went back to basics with Godzilla stomping the hell out of postwar Japan and looks to be continuing that with Minus Zero. Of course, the thing that made Minus One standout was its handling of the human characters, with a dramatic story of a pilot with PTSD from World War II and a woman he befriends to help raise an orphaned child amidst the rubble after the American bombings in the late stages of the war. Godzilla is almost a plot point rather than the focus.

The teaser for Minus Zero:

Weekend coffee is brewing and there's Assam and Scottish Breakfast in the teapots. Fresh lemonade and iced tea are in the fridge, as is a selection of craft sodas. Freezer has ice cream and ice cubes for your drinks. And there's goodies.

Spider. Quite fond of my eight-legged neighbours. Though I'm pretty mellow on bees now. Wasps on the other hand ...

Spooky ghost story or funny, silly ghost story?

Depends what I am doing. For writing and similar, laptop. For reading or catching up on news, a tab.

Preferred mobile system: Apple (iPhone, iPad) or Android (Samsung, Google, etc.)?

Probably CDs since I still have some CD players around. Vinyl would require buying equipment as well as the media.

Order your discs online or hit a local record shop (assuming there's any left where you are)?

That sounds yummy. I don't eat dogs much anymore other than the Costco polish sausage. But chili-cheese-Frito dogs would definitely get me back.

Quote by verbal
We are socked in with wildfires from the south. They aren't threatening us, but the skies are cloudy and ashen.

My boss just got back from Alberta and says the smoke was bad in Calgary when they were passing through to fly home. So it's not just you.

Heat has tailed off here but it's still muggy out. Did the grass yesterday in spite of the heat because it's supposed to shower today. Today, it's indoor housework.

Trying to come up with something, anything, to write. My work on various stories has just stalled. Depression is likely a factor. Not sure what else. I'm taking vacay in a couple weeks, just a staycation with no real plans, so maybe that will help me focus a bit.

From Nightwish's original singer's solo career, we move to their current singer's solo work. Floor Jansen launched a solo career as a side project just before and during the pandemic. She is now working up to her second solo album, shifting from a power pop sound on the first back to her traditional world of metal. With Nightwish on an extended hiatus (they last toured in 2023 although they did release an album in 2024), she's keeping herself quite gainfully occupied. The first single from the upcoming album is a beauty entitled "Run". Powerful music, powerful message and, as always with Floor, powerful vocals.

Floor is doing several festival dates in Europe this summer, a couple home gigs in The Netherlands this Fall, then touring Europe and South America in the first part of next year.

250 years of the good ole USA! You have a great country in so many ways. Too bad about the nonsense you're going through right now.

I've put on some dark roast coffee. For those like me who prefer leaves to beans, there's Earl Grey and Darjeeling teas. Iced and lemonade are made up fresh in the fridge. There's sodas, too, and ice cream in the freezer. Here's some goodies, too.

I mostly eat whole wheat but that's because that's the flour I get easily for my bread machine. 15 grain sounds interesting. The multigrain I used to use disappeared during the pandemic and never came back. Discontinued, I guess.

Celebrate America's 250 or watch World Cup matches?

Meh

Xanadu - Rush

Guess Talia never realized she was marrying a repressed astronomer, eh. Sounds like fun. I have a small one that belonged to my son tucked away but I need to find a place to to use it. My yard has too many trees now to get good views of the sky.

Quote by rolandlytle
Here in the NC piedmont, it hit 35 °C (95°F).

33C here today. That now seems to be our maximum. Originally, they were talking 34-35.

Holiday here in the Great not-so-White North. Canada Day!!! The day for maple syrup and rye whiskey, not necessarily in that order. On this day in 1867, the British North America Act came into force, uniting the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Oddly, Prince Edward Island joined later even though one of the key conferences leading to Confederation was held there.

And that seems to be a real underlying difference between us and the US. The US began in revolution and bloodshed. We began with a political conference and an act of the UK Parliament. Draw what conclusions you will.

Right now, shady park. Too hot to be out in the sun (33C here today)

Honey or jam/jelly with peanut butter (or whatever non-allergenic substitute you use if you're allergic)?

Quote by rolandlytle
My Niece gave me a cake with pineapple and cherries.

I like the sounds of this. Not normally a fan of pineapple but in baking or on pizza, I find it like it more than if I am just eating it.

Good afternoon. Gettin' steamy in my area. Temps over 30C with some humidity. Still better than the heatwave that hit Europe last week but definitely getting into the high end of the range for this region.

Quote by rolandlytle
After understanding the character arc of her role, I believe Ms. Alcock did a fairly good job.

That's been the tone of the reviews I have seen. Movie is so-so at best but she's great as Kara.

Quote by rolandlytle
He was perfect for the role!

Momoa is an actor who needs the right part and Lobo would be one. I can't see him playing Hamlet, but Lobo for sure. Interesting that he's playing another role in a DC movie, though, because in DC's previous attempt at a Marvel-style cinematic universe, he played Aquaman.

I think if I was still watching movies regularly, this would be a wait for video. I'm not that big of a DC fan save Batman. As a kid reading comics, I was more into Marvel overall. My love of Batman actually began with the 1960s TV show and its spinoff movie moreso than comics.

For impromptu, I think the first is better. I'm a terrible bowler but it's just for fun anyhow.

Pickles or no on your burgers?

Quote by rolandlytle
I often use honey on my ice cream, especially if it contains bits of comb.

Oo, that's interesting. My family used to put maple syrup on, basically a maple syrup sundae. Yeah, how stereotypically Canadian, eh. (almost as stereotypical as saying "eh" 😊).

Quote by rolandlytle
Here in Albemarle, NC, on Wednesday afternoon, we had a huge thunderstorm with gusts reaching almost 130 kph. A huge tree branch in my backyard broke off and landed on my neighbor's raised deck and a small gazebo.

Yikes. We had a nasty storm blow through late yesterday afternoon but no damage noted or heard about. My phone was going nuts with tornado warnings just before, though. Heavy winds and a ton of hail. Had a pile of ice pellets on my deck that actually took most of the evening to melt.

Quote by verbal
Has that ice cream melted yet? It sounds tasty.

It's in the freezer so no melting. Go for it! And does this mean we get to call you Space Godzilla now?