Friday Dinomania and other links

Every time I think I'm finally going to get down to writing a nice, juicy epic post there's some new dinosaur news or discovery that comes up and throws me off the rails. I'm still working on the sailbacks piece (hopefully I'll finish it this weekend; my term paper took precedence during the week, understandably), but for now here's some fun paleo stuff to check out on the web;

• There's a biographical piece about paleontologist Thomas Holtz in the Washington Post called "Geeking Out on Dinosaurs." And being that Christmas is quickly approaching, keep in mind that Dr. Holtz's new book Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages recently came out and would be a great gift for anyone interested in dinosaurs (I haven't been able to get a copy yet, but I've skimmed through a copy at the AMNH and was impressed).

• National Geographic is really packing it on with the dinosaurs this month, and they've released some new websites full of interactive media to celebrate their new documentaries Dino Death Trap and Dino Autopsy. "Dino Central Park," for instance, has a "webcam" where you can introduce passers-by to Guanlong or Mamenchisaurus (I won't lie, it's a "canned" feature that is not a real webcam, but it's still a little fun). Now if only someone would get around to trying to find the long-lost dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins that might still be buried in Central Park... Anyway, if you have cable (I don't, unfortunately) you can check out the two documentaries, with trailers being available here and here, and there's plenty more games and information available at the dinosaurs main page, too.

• They're not dinosaurs, but some more recent mammalian creatures have recently been making some news, too. Relatively recent Cuban Crocodiles and birds have recently been found out in the ocean, and on Cyprus a cave full of dwarf hippos is being studied.

• Unfortunately North Carolina is a bit too far of a drive for me, but if you're in the area tonight paleontologist Dale Russel will be giving a lecture called "Parenthood and Life's Hazards for Dinosaurs," followed by a showing of the 1925 film The Lost World, all at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.[Hat-tip to Bora]

• The ever-resourceful Michael Barton tells me that there's a play about Darwin and Wallace playing in New York City as we speak, but I've only got until the end of the year to see it! The play is called Trumpery and is being put on by the Atlantic Theater Company, focusing on the time when Darwin and Wallace simultaneously had their ideas about natural selection emerge. You can read a New York Times review of the play here.