Animal
Tracks
 If
you ever find yourself in the unhappy position of
arguing with a creationist there are 100%-accepted-by-everyone-with-a-functioning-brainstem
facts that would come in really handy. Like the following,
courtesy of Richard Dawkins:
"The geographic distribution of species is
exactly as we would predict through evolution:
The pattern of geographical distribution of animals and plants is exactly as
it should be, on the assumption that slow, gradual evolution has taken place
on slowly drifting (plate tectonics) continents and islands. Archipelagoes such
as Galapagos and Hawaii are textbook examples, but the same kind of pattern is
seen the world over. Species are distributed exactly where evolutionists would
expect them to be (the pattern of distribution is not what you’d expect
if they had dispersed from Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat!)"
The belief among the faithful is, I suppose, that God sent a magic taxi for each
little lemur and snail and tortoise and gave them a lift back to their native
land,
or the muddy, barren wasteland that was left after a year's inundation. Yes,
the waters didn't instantly recede after 40 days and nights. They lasted, according
to
scriptire, for over a year. So under any kind of scrutiny the story of the
Great Flood
is complete and utter nonsense.
If you're interested Mr. Dawkins offers more argumental ammunition on this subject, which
you can find
here.
------------
 This
past weekend I
got my hands on a sort of advance copy (wink-wink) of a French-Belgium animated
film
called "Ernest and
Celestine". It has
yet
to
be
released
in the U.S. even though it just received an Oscar nomination for best animated
film and has already won the prestigious César Award. (It will open in
this
country
on
March
14th)
In a word,
it's wonderful. (Here's
a 3-minute except).
The story is adapted from Gabrielle
Vincent's charming children's books and, in this production,
centers on a young orphan mouse named
Celestine whose
job
it is
to
collect
the teeth of bears. (In France, where this story takes place, mice are the local
equivalent of our Tooth Fairy. What she does with the teeth shan't be revealed
here.)
Even
though
bears
and
mice
are
adversaries
in
this fantasy world Celestine eventually meets and befriends Ernest, a bear with
a
very
sweet tooth and some very bad luck.
The animation is hand-drawn and has a delightful watercolor feel to it. The story
is
in
turn funny and sad and sweet and, in the end, enchanting. I hope you'll look
for
it
when it opens in your area in March.
=Lefty=
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