Swift Seizer

[rinue]

I love Jurassic Park. I read the paperback at least 13 times, most of them in the same summer, and although I thought both Sam Neil and Jeff Goldblum were entirely miscast in the movie, I also think that, generally, casting either of them in a science fiction movie is a win, and here are both.

HOWEVER!

I was always annoyed that Crichton used Velociraptor. I know he's going for a Montana thing. Sure. But he wrote Velociraptor like it was Deinonychus, aka "Terrible Claw," aka my favorite dinosaur, and why didn't he use Deinonychus? Which has also been found in Montana and Oklahoma.

In another blow to Crichton's Velociraptor, paleontologists at the University of Manchester now think Velociraptor couldn't actually use its claws to tear flesh, and didn't really have that kind of leg strength. Probably they perched in trees and jumped on things. Which is still Barbarella biting dolls creepy, and anyway Crichton lost his science cred when he smeared around a lot of global warming pseudoscience. But I guess what I'm trying to say is:

1. Velociraptors are pretty cool, but
2. They are not Deinonychus.

Thank you.

Comments

[narcolepticcat.livejournal.com]

seriously. yes. when i first saw the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (and i then read the book before seeing the movie when i was 11 - there's that number again) i thought, oh, "look deinonychus!" and then i felt a little sad, and then i got over it because i was 11. LOL

[rinue.livejournal.com]

Yes. Let it not be denied that I go a little overboard when it comes to holding a grudge. This is going to run several more decades, even though the author I'm holding a grudge against is dead.