Threadjacking!

[JayzusB.Christ]

Yeah, even though I've been down with the feathers for a good number of years, it's still hard to shake the images of baldy dinos hanging out around a volcano, doing a bunch of baldy dino stuff.

...which is exactly what I'm painting!  The brief was a volcano, but you can't have a volcano without baldy dinosaurs, in my book.  I just couldn't bring myself to add the feathers - sorry, science.

[Mikey]

...but thank you Harryhausen.

[Hawkmumbler]

The best.

[Colin YNWA]

I was just saying to the kids the other day we should watch that. To my horror they turned their noses up at the chance... I hate my children...

[The Legendary Shark]

Did you know that the "language circuit" (the particular arrangement of neurons and such responsible for human-level language) in the human brain is absent in other primates but exists in dolphins, whales, and certain birds such as ravens, parrots and hummingbirds.

One of the possible reasons for this is the advantage archaic species may have gained through the ability to recognise and reproduce the calls of prey animals and rivals. So it's entirely possible that some dinosaurs had forms of language.

[JayzusB.Christ]

The best.

Now THAT'S a tyrannosaurus rex.  Menacingly upright and scaly like a dragon looks way cooler than horizontal and feathery like a chicken; therefore the science is incorrect and they looked exactly like Satanus.

Sharky, that's mental.  Jurassic Park would have been way more interesting with subtitles for the dinosaurs.

[The Legendary Shark]

It is an intriguing idea.

(SHARKSPLAINING ALERT)

There are, the theory goes, three basic components to language.

The first component is understanding (mainly) that noises have an effect on the outside world. An (imperfect) example is cats, who know that making a noise can get them fed or let outside, but can't really modulate the sounds they make very well, so "meow" means just about everything.

The second component is an understanding that outside noises have meaning. An example of this is dogs, who better understand that different words have different meanings, which is why they're easier to train. They cannot, however, make their own meaningful noises, either physically or mentally. (This, alongside the first level is the level our ape cousins have achieved, although to a higher sophistication, but they still cannot connect concepts to individual sounds of their own making (words)).

Human-level communication (shared with the aforementioned animals) consists of the first two elements combined with the ability to physically modulate our voices with great precision and the cognitive ability to attach abstract meanings to sounds so that we can not only recognise sounds and meanings but also reproduce them accurately.

Our language skills may have been honed even further, it is suggested, by our hands. How often do we talk with our hands without even realising it? Our language may have started out as a basic survival advantage as with dolphins and birds but, crucially, we also have expressive hands. So I guess that means Adam was Italian. (For Grud's sake don't tell the Pope.)

(SHARKSPLANATION ENDS.)

Harryhausen trumps Darwin every time.

[Colin YNWA]

Now THAT'S a tyrannosaurus rex.  Menacingly upright and scaly like a dragon looks way cooler than horizontal and feathery like a chicken; therefore the science is incorrect and they looked exactly like Satanus.

Allosaurus - its an allosaurus old chap...

[The Legendary Shark]

It's a Hausensaur.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Feck - I'd forgotten about the T-Rex's earlier cousin.  The younger me would weep at what I've become.  Sharky - I've had a few and will read your post about language in the morning, when I have the wherewithal to do so.

[Funt Solo]

Doing some meg-indexing and found Rennie's Bile Duct where he made predictions for 2004...

Alas, Shako will still not return to the pages of 2000 AD.

He was right - Shako didn't return in 2004. We had to wait until 2020 for Shako to appear in every single story published that year.

Neither will Ant Wars.

Well, again, right. But we got Zancudo in 2005, and The Red Seas vs. Ant Wars in 2020. Was Spurrier reacting to Rennie's bile by writing Zancudo? Or just a co-inky-dink?

Rogue Trooper will again take his leave of the pages of the Galaxy's Greatest Comic. Years from now, some other idiot will take a stab at the character. He, too, will encounter the problems inherent in trying to write a tough, gritty war story featuring a talking hat.

Realpolitik (by Rennie) was the last RT until 2010's Dead Ringer (GFD), then Guy Adams has a go in 2014, and on it goes with several writers having brief stabs at the character (including Rennie again, of course).

Blackhawk will still not return.

True. Although, Aquila was inspired by it years later.

The Mighty One will run an Earthlet's letter claiming that his script droids are riddled with a dangerous and delusional notions of Stalinist Liberalism. Nerve Centre lettercol chaos and internet message board outrage will ensue for months to come.

This just happened, last week.

2000 AD will run a cover featuring one of its characters – possibly Dredd – aiming a gun out of the page at the reader.

   

[JayzusB.Christ]

Heh. Used to love that page of the Meg, me. Rennie being an unashamed shit stirrer.

[Funt Solo]

Yeah - he has a go at artists (226) and editors (227) then takes a month off, so Bishop takes over the column and has a go at writers (229). Hardy har.

[von Boom]

I picked up some very, very, very, very, very, VERY, very, very, very dark blue socks today.

[von Boom]

https://youtu.be/-S8a70KXZlI