Hey, hey, you're a monkey! (or proto-hominid...)

[Mercutio]

The insert to today's paper is an annoying little "American Profile" thing, which I have never really warmed up to...but like "Family Circus", I can't help but read it.

Anyway, today's had a question about Micky Dolenz, formerly of the Monkees. Seems he has written a childrens' book, Gakky Two-Feet, (http://btobsearch.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?z=y&btob=Y&bnit=H&isbn=0399244689&kids=y) about the very first bipedal hominid. From the article:
I'm a big fan of anthropology and was reading about hominids evolving from walking on four feet to two feet. I thought, "Wouldn't it be interesting to fictionalize that moment?" It's about this little creature who's different, with the moral being that it's OK to be different--because one day it could come in handy. From Publisher's Weekly:The hero, a "fuzzy little fellow" named Gak, lives in Africa five million years ago. For reasons he can't explain, he alone among his spaghetti-limbed clan has chosen a bipedal lifestyle, though it earns him the sobriquet, "Gakky Two-Feet." Kids will love his mother's calm acceptance of his "difference," and that she picks fat, juicy bugs out of his sienna-hued fur-and eats them. Predictably, Gakky's idiosyncrasy proves valuable, and the story then becomes a familiar one in which Gak saves the day.

I really hope it is a good story...

[Dr Adequate]

* bangs head against wall *

But ... there was no such moment. How could there be?

Many apes and some monkeys are capable of bipedalism.

There was no first bipedal homind. I guess, logically, there must have been a first homind who never knuckle-walked after infancy, but his bipedalism would not have made him stand out.

Gah!

[brodski]

* bangs head against wall *

But ... there was no such moment. How could there be?

Many apes and some monkeys are capable of bipedalism.

There was no first bipedal homind. I guess, logically, there must have been a first homind who never knuckle-walked after infancy, but his bipedalism would not have made him stand out.

Gah! You mean that former boyband members aren't the most reliable sources for scientific information? :jaw-dropp
Should I stop asking Jason Orange to explain quantum mechanics to me then? :p

[Badly Shaved Monkey]

* bangs head against wall *

But ... there was no such moment. How could there be?

Many apes and some monkeys are capable of bipedalism.

There was no first bipedal homind. I guess, logically, there must have been a first homind who never knuckle-walked after infancy, but his bipedalism would not have made him stand out.

Gah!


Tricky. "Just-so" stories have always been a part of literature and do make good tales for kids. Maybe it's the current climate that makes us a bit touchy and desirous for scientific exactitude.

Next, you're going to be telling me that dilithium crystals can't power a warp engine. As if!

[sphenisc]

* bangs head against wall *

But ... there was no such moment. How could there be?

Many apes and some monkeys are capable of bipedalism.

There was no first bipedal homind. I guess, logically, there must have been a first homind who never knuckle-walked after infancy, but his bipedalism would not have made him stand out.

Gah!

[No... can't.....stop.... myself....]

Do you like Kipling?


[Ahhhhhhh!]

[Deetee]

I must point out that before we start arguing the toss about the "first" allegorical bipedal hominid that 5 million years ago apes did not call each other "Gakky two-feet" either.

Interestingly, I see that: People who bought this book also bought:
•Walter the Farting Dog Goes on a Cruise (http://btobsearch.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?z=y&btob=Y&bnit=H&pwb=1&ean=9780525477143) Glenn Murray, Elizabeth Gundy, Audrey Colman (Illustrator)

[Dr Adequate]

Tricky. "Just-so" stories have always been a part of literature and do make good tales for kids. And some of them have remained popular for several thousand years.

What was your point, again?

Maybe it's the current climate that makes us a bit touchy and desirous for scientific exactitude. No, I was born this way.

[Jeff Corey]

[No... can't.....stop.... myself....]

Do you like Kipling?


[Ahhhhhhh!]

Don't know. Never kipled.
(rimshot!)

[hammegk]

And some of them have remained popular for several thousand years.


Your favorite fable hasn't made it 200 years yet. Think it will?

[roger]

Oh, you have to love those have you stopped beating your wife questions. So full of intellectual rigor.

[Badly Shaved Monkey]

What was your point, again?


It was only small point: that they are not necessarily bad stories and there are other ways to judge a story than scientific rectitude.

[Overman]

Is Walter the farting Dog going on the Amazing Cruise?:scared:

[Dragonrock]

Your favorite fable hasn't made it 200 years yet. Think it will?

And computers have only been around for about 60 years, I wonder if they're gonna last?

Horseless carriages have only existed for 100 years, when do you think we'll be back to using oxen?

The internet? That thing won't last a decade, trust me, I know.

[KingMerv00]

Your favorite fable hasn't made it 200 years yet. Think it will?

Finally, a firm position on evolution from hammegk. About time.

[SteveGrenard]

There is a chimp that allegedly can play poker and another one who supposedly sold a script to Hollywood.

[Mercutio]

There is a chimp that allegedly can play poker and another one who supposedly sold a script to Hollywood.
Evidence?

Like...There is a chimp running the country. (http://www.bushorchimp.com/)

[CaptainManacles]

It's ironic, he's obviously a supporter of evolution, but it's views like this that opponents latch onto to make evolution look silly. Maybe the best way to squash ID would be to better educate those who are already "on our side" rather then trying to convert.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

But ... there was no such moment. How could there be?
Apparently Gakky chose to be bipedal. So it's another nature vs. nuture debate.

~~ Paul

[SteveGrenard]

Evidence?

Like...There is a chimp running the country. (http://www.bushorchimp.com/)

Here’s the blurb about Mikey the Poker Playing Chimp. They banned him from the World Series of Poker so he's working at a casino playing for the house.

http://www.gambling911.com/080106daily.html (http://www.gambling911.com/080106daily.html)



http://www.onlinecasino.org/news/mikey-the-chimp-plays-world-series-poker-online-gambling-1293.php (http://www.onlinecasino.org/news/mikey-the-chimp-plays-world-series-poker-online-gambling-1293.php)

PR Photo:

[SteveGrenard]

Here's the item about a chimp selling a script to Hollywood. I think the title was Secret Chimp or something like that. Look for it at a theatre near you in the next couple of years:


''Hollywood movie studio buys script from genius CHIMP! He's even got an agent!'' (Weekly World News)


reported in The Miami Herald here:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/15210867.htm (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/15210867.htm)

[Mercutio]

Heheheh...Weekly World News is as good a source as BushorChimp, I will admit.

The poker playing chimp...says just enough in those articles (honestly, the request for evidence was a joke!) to make this behaviorist wish there was a more in-depth article on his training. This could be true, or could be a great urban myth.

[SteveGrenard]

Heheheh...Weekly World News is as good a source as BushorChimp, I will admit.

The poker playing chimp...says just enough in those articles (honestly, the request for evidence was a joke!) to make this behaviorist wish there was a more in-depth article on his training. This could be true, or could be a great urban myth.

I just wanna know how many bannanas the green chips are worth?

[Soapy Sam]

I feel obliged to stress that there is no 'nn' in 'banana.' Whether there ought to be is annother matter enntirely.

I'm curious. What has this -" Many apes and some monkeys are capable of bipedalism." got to do with anything? Apes and Monkeys are modern creatures. We have no idea if they were bipedal 6 million years ago.
(Well we do, but that's beside the point .)

[sphenisc]

I feel obliged to stress that there is no 'nn' in 'banana.' Whether there ought to be is annother matter enntirely.

I'm curious. What has this -" Many apes and some monkeys are capable of bipedalism." got to do with anything? Apes and Monkeys are modern creatures. We have no idea if they were bipedal 6 million years ago.
(Well we do, but that's beside the point .)

So what was the point?

[Soapy Sam]

I can't remember, which suggests the involvement of alcohol, Alzheimer's or the fact that I just don't know what Dr.A. is getting at.
(All three are possible at this time).

[sphenisc]

I can't remember, which suggests the involvement of alcohol, Alzheimer's or the fact that I just don't know what Dr.A. is getting at.
(All three are possible at this time).

Great, I demand that you supply evidence to support the point that you can't remember, (but feel free to have another drink first.) :)