⪮ Good Morning

Feb 02024
⪮ Good Morning :: ⪮ s03e02: Dragons!
Dragon fountain: Nikko, Japan.

It's a dragon-themed newsletter this month, featuring four interesting dragon-related links that take us to some fascinating destinations: movie soundtracks, mammoth parks, and the BBC archives.

Year of the Dragon

The Chinese zodiac operates on a twelve-year cycle. On February 10th, 02024, we usher in the Year of the Dragon. This is based on a Lunisolar calendar, meaning the exact start of each new year shifts.

Easter, the Spring and Mid-autumn festivals are Lunisolar holidays.

Chinese Zodiac on Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_zodiac

Lunisolar Calendar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunisolar_calendar

How to Train Your Dragon Soundtrack

If you enjoy podcasts where two people delve deep into their geeky areas of expertise and discuss movie soundtracks, then Settling the Score perfectly fits that Venn diagram.

In each episode, hosts Jon and Andy provide a super deep analysis on plenty of the movies you've seen and enjoyed.

Settling the Score Podcast: #61 – How to Train Your Dragon
https://www.settlingthescorepodcast.com/61-how-to-train-your-dragon/

Settling the Score Podcast
https://www.settlingthescorepodcast.com

Here Be Dragons

The Latin phrase: "hic sunt dracones", is only found one ancient map: Hunt–Lenox Globe, dating from 1504, and translates as "Here be dragons".

During medieval times, mapmakers illustrated dragons, sea monsters, and other mythological creatures on the uncharted areas to represent potentially dangerous or unexplored territories.

The oldest map discovered to date, dating back 25,000 years, is on a mammoth tusk. Perhaps we should change the saying to "Danger, here be mammoths!".

Wikipedia Article about Here Be Dragons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_be_dragons

Here Be Dragons: National Geographic's
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/here-be-dragons/

Pleistocene Park on Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleistocene_Park

In 01956, a very young Sir David Attenborough was the first to capture video of the Komodo Dragon for the BBC.
In 01956, a very young Sir David Attenborough was the first to capture video of the Komodo Dragon for the BBC.

Komodo Dragons

The Komodo Dragon is the largest living lizard species at 3m (10 ft) in length. With fewer than 1,400 mature individuals living in the wild, they are classed as endangered by the IUCN.

They are also one of the few venomous lizards on the planet. Their native habitat can be found on a handful of islands in Indonesia. Despite their size, they are surprisingly mobile and fast, and occasionally attack humans.

Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute: Komodo dragons
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/komodo-dragon

Komodo Dragons on Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon

Zoo Quest For A Dragon (01956) With Sir David Attenborough | BBC Earth - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omKm7jOkbcg