family devotions: the Life of Abraham [II]

This past month our family's continued working through the life of Abraham. In two months we've successfully moved through two entire chapters! This coming month I plan on us returning to the Book of Revelation before picking back up with Abraham in June. 

~  Abram Returns to Canaan: Genesis 13  ~

~  The War of Kings: Genesis 14.1-16  ~

~  The Riddle of Melchizedek: Genesis 14.17-24  ~

~  Yahweh Cuts a Covenant: Genesis 15  ~

the month in snapshots

 

the year in books [IV]

Part of this year's Reading Queue are twelve fantasy books. While nothing has been as spectacular as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings - which I've added to my 2022 Reading Queue - there are some noteworthies in this first batch of two batches. 

The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French is a solid 4⭐️ read. A self-published books that won several awards and launched French into the spotlight, this story reads like Sons of Anarchy meets Lord of the Rings. The raunchiness was a bit much at times, and the parallels made with motorcycle gangs seemed a bit contrived at points, but overall this was a great novel. It broke more than a few molds by making orcs (or, rather, half-orcs) the protagonists rather than humans, as is seen in most Tolkien-esque fantasy novels.

Half a War by Joe Abercrombie is the third book in his Shattered Sea Trilogy, and I'm only giving it 3⭐️. I'm usually a big fan of Abercrombie, but the Shattered Sea Trilogy is written more for young adults or junior high kids, and so it lacks some of the gritty realism for which he's known. 

The Bone Ships by R.J. Barker comes in at 5⭐️. Barker writes a high-seas fantasy replete with excellent world-building, mythical creatures, and all sorts of intense conflict. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in his series next year.

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington only receives 2⭐️ from me, though most readers seemed to really enjoy it. This novel was more in the realm of 'High Fantasy' with lots of wizards and magic. I tend towards the grittier fantasy tropes. This novel suffers from the Tolkien Influence, in which fantasy readers tend to copy, whether they know it or not, that pattern laid down by Lord of the Rings, in which young-blood nobodies must overcome many obstacles to set the world to rights.

The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter also receives a mere 2⭐️, because it suffers from the same Tolkien Influence as Islington's The Shadow of What Was Lost. To be honest I didn't completely finish this book; the writing was choppy, the tropes in your face, and I just couldn't handle it after reading The Shadow of What Was Lost. 

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames receives 5⭐️, because it's an all-around excellent book that doesn't suffer the Tolkien Influence. The story revolves around a 'band' of ex-monster-fighting warriors who band together once more to save one of their daughters. The sequel, Bloody Rose, is on my 2022 Reading Queue. 

the reformation [1/2]

When I started this journey of getting back into shape in December 2018, I was 190 pounds at around 30% body fat. Last week I clocked in at 175# and between 22-23% bodyfat. As a side note, it's crazy that you can drop up to seven percent in body fat and only lose fifteen pounds. Of course, that's a net loss of fifteen pounds; I've added a significant amount of muscle over the last two-odd years. Over those two years I've focused on building muscle rather than losing weight, and this year my focus will be on cutting some of the fat that remains stubbornly affixed to my frame. 

My goal for December of 2021 - the three-year mark - is to clock in at 145 pounds. For my body shape and height, 156 pounds is considered in the 'healthy' range, so that'll give me plenty of leeway for focusing on muscle mass once more. These posts are, of course, my way of holding myself accountable. I plan on hitting that goal by employing a moderate caloric deficit - consuming between 1350-1500 calories six days a week with a 'refeed' of about 1800-2000 calories once a week, likely on Sundays when we go all-out for Sunday Brunch - and keeping consistent with my weight training. Lately I've been alternating between free weight and handle-bands for my workouts, along with your classic push-ups and pull-ups regimens, with good success. I've shifted from focusing on arms and chest to paying particular attention to my shoulders and traps, hoping to widen my upper body to counteract my pear-shaped gut. We'll see how it works!

Dino of the Week: Thecodontosaurus

Type Species: Thecodontosaurus antiquus
Classification: Dinosauria - Saurischia - Sauropodomorpha - Prosauropoda
Time Period: Late Triassic
Location: England
Diet: Herbivore

Another notable herbivorous dinosaur was the prosauropod Thecodontosaurus, which appeared in the Norian and became widespread in the following Rhaetian. It was bipedal and averaged about four feet in length (though one particular individual reached up to eight feet long), one foot in height, and weighed about twenty-four pounds. Most of its skeleton can be reconstructed, except for the front part of its skull. From the fossils available, we know that Thecodontosaurus had a rather short neck and a large skull with large eyes. Its jaws contained many small- to medium-sized serrated, leaf-shaped teeth. Its hands and feet each had five digits, and the hands were long and narrow with an extended claw on each. Its front limbs were much smaller than its hind limbs, and the tail comprised more than half the length of its body. Continuing research on Thecodontosaurus has shown that there were two main morphologies, one much more robust than the other. Some paleontologists believe these two morphologies represent separate species; others argue that it’s a matter of sexual dimorphism, which would imply that Thecodontosaurus engaged in gregarious (or social) behaviors like the much-larger prosauropod Plateosaurus. 

Dino of the Week: Liliensternus

a pair of feathered Liliensternus circle a Plateosaurus

Type Species: Liliensternus liliensterni

Classification: Dinosauria - Saurischia - Theropoda - Neotheropoda

Time Period: Late Triassic

Location: Europe

Diet: Carnivore

Liliensternus could grow up to nearly seventeen feet in length and, like Coelophysis, had a penchant for fossilization. It’s one of the better-known Triassic theropods from Europe – and one of the largest Triassic theropods. It was an active bipedal carnivore that likely preyed upon the larger herbivores in its environment, including archosaurian aetosaurs and the prosauropod Plateosaurus. It lived in ancient floodplains that were abundant with reptiles, therapsids, and a favorite roaming ground of Plateosaurus. Its slashing teeth would’ve enabled it to take down large prey, and its swift speed would enable it to chase down swift creatures.

a skull of Liliensternus; shadowed parts are hypothetical

A few pieces of interesting anatomy have led some paleontologists to speculate that Liliensternus was a transitional creature between more basal theropods and the early Jurassic Dilophosaurus. In both Liliensternus and Dilophosaurus the tibia is shorter than the femur, which isn’t the case in the coelophysoids. Its hip bone (ilium) is also unusually short, a shared characteristic between Liliensternus and Dilophosaurus. Though Liliensternus’ skull is not well-known, many reconstructions give it a head crest similar to that of Dilophosaurus – the crest, however, is a matter of conjecture born out of the ‘transitional link’ hypothesis. Liliensternus had five fingers on each hand, akin to its Upper Triassic contemporaries, but its fourth and fifth digits are smaller – again, this is argued to be a transitional feature, this time between the five-fingered Triassic theropods and the three-fingered theropods of the Jurassic.

Dino of the Week: Riojasaurus

Type Species: Riojasaurus incertus

Classification: Dinosauria - Saurischia - Sauropodomorpha - Prosauropoda

Time Period: Late Triassic

Location: South America

Diet: Herbivore

While a dearth of prosauropods are found in what was Laurasia (the northern half of the rifting Pangaea), peculiar ones are found in Gondwana (the southern half), and the “Rioja Lizard” makes an excellent Gondwana specimen. Named by Jose Bonaparte in 1967, this herbivorous Upper Triassic prosauropod could reach a massive 36 feet long. Though greater sizes would develop in the Jurassic, Riojasaurus is a wonder for any paleontologist: how mysterious for a dinosaur of such massive size to evolve so early!

Around twenty skeletons representing different stages of growth have been found in Argentina. The earliest skeletons lacked skulls, and scientists originally deduced that Riojasaurus had been a predator, since pointed teeth were found among the bones. More specimens—with skulls this time!—showed up, and the leaf-shaped teeth showed it to be herbivorous. The pointed teeth among the earliest skeletons probably belonged to either meat-eating dinosaurs or those of early crocodilians feeding on the carcasses; the Triassic’s trophic (or top-of-the-food-chain) predators weren’t theropod dinosaurs but dinosaur-like archosaurs that would send most early dinosaurs fleeing in terror. 

Riojasaurus’ limb bones were large, dense, and heavy; combined with over-sized shoulder- and hip girdles, not to mention forelegs that were only slightly smaller than the hind legs, it seems a safe bet to assume that Riojasaurus was fully quadrupedal, completely restricted to life on all fours. (In all fairness, a 2016 study by Scott Hartman shows that Riojasaurus may have been able to not only rear up on its hind legs but also walk in a bipedal fashion; more research has yet to be done.) If Riojasaurus were fully quadrupedal, it puts a curious twist in prosauropod evolution: it’s been assumed that prosauropods started off bipedal, branching away from bipedal archosaurian ancestors, but Riojasaurus shows up “large and in charge” early on in prosauropod history. The curtain has barely drawn back when Riojasaurus ungainly limbers on stage, blinking stupidly at the lights (and because prosauropods were among the dumbest of dinosaurs, stupid blinking isn’t a figure of speech). 

Riojasaurus’ backbone was punctured by the presence of hollow, air-filled cavities that kept the backbone from being too heavy (no one likes to be crushed by their own spine). These hollow spaces are rare in prosauropods but predominant in sauropods. These hollow cavities continued up through the neck, helping to keep minimize the weight so that Riojasaurus could lift its long neck to reach higher vegetation. The presence of these air cavities have prompted a number of scientists to wonder if Riojasaurus’ relationship with sauropods is closer than that of “second cousins.”

Dino of the Week: Herrerasaurus

Type Species: Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis
Classification: Dinosauria - Saurischia - Theropoda - Herrerasauridae
Time Period: Late Triassic
Location: Argentina
Diet: Carnivore

Herrerasaurus lived in the Upper Triassic of Argentina and reached up to twenty feet in length and up to 750 pounds in weight. This predator was lightly built with a long tail and a relatively small head. It was fully bipedal with strong hind limbs and long feet. The feet had five toes, but only the middle three bore weight. The tail, partially stiffened by overlapping vertebral projections, balanced the body and was an adaptation for speed. Herrerasaurus’ upper arms and forearms were rather short, but the hands were elongated. The first two fingers and the thumb ended in curved, sharp claws used for slashing and gripping prey. The other fingers were small stubs without claws. Its long, narrow skull lacked most of the specializations seen in later dinosaurs, but it had a flexible joint in the lower jaw that could slide back and forth to deliver a grasping bite. Its jaws had large serrated teeth for biting and tearing, and its slender neck was flexible. It lived in the same environment as Eoraptor and likely preyed upon the Upper Triassic's super-salamanders and herbivorous dicynodonts; it would’ve competed with rauisuchians and phytosaurs for food.