A Small Scientific Discussion on the Physicality of Dragons

I've always loved dragons. When I was little, I told everyone that my favorite animal was a dragon. I wanted a dragon as a pet. I read books about dragons. I collected dragon stuffed animals. I was very invested. Which is why I could not pass up the opportunity to meet with a professor as he explained what dragons would have to look like if they were real. I really have to thank Meghan T. though for setting up the meeting, because she told me about it first.

A red European style dragon, although not as bulky a body.

Dragons roam the skies of our imaginations and light the fires of our dreams. Most people can describe a dragon to you. Common physical features including scales, claws, four limbs, spiked tail, horns on the head, sharp teeth and slit pupils.

A Hungarian Horntail from Harry Potter.
A stuffed animal version courtesy of B&N.

Dragons appear in the mythology of many different cultures and there are variations. Wings could be included in the common physical features if you are familiar with European dragons, but Asian dragons are usually wingless. Serpent-like is generally a good term to describe dragons, but it depends on where you're from, because these beautiful/magical beasts are diverse.

Another dragon I drew with the intent to show off the long curling tail.
You'll notice that the head and neck are very serpent-like.

However, the size of dragons and their wingspans are not physically compatible. Anything that can fly must be able to get into the sky, carry their body weight, and land efficiently. Consider birds, their bones are hollow and their wings make up a large part of their bodies.

Dragons would need a very long wingspan, especially when they're depicted as such bulky creatures (like in Game of Thrones). The amount of strength to lift their bodies in the air would also need to be increased, leading to more muscle mass. Then they must be able to land. A professor at NC State explained that current dragons wouldn't be able to make the quick stops/landings that we've seen. The dragons would need miles of space and preparation to even begin landing. The speed would create an impact that might create a vast crater. 

Therefore, the best dragons would have flat heads (more aerodynamic), a large wingspan (within reason), hollow bones (for lighter weight), and possibly something called a chanticleer (structural support for the wings)? 

Real dragons would scientifically have the appearance of lizards with wings (roughly imagined with the above modifications). It would probably interfere with the image of power that dragons bring, because scales would not be possible (since their weight would interfere greatly with a dragon's ability to fly). Dragons might be fast, but their strength would also be lessened. They wouldn't be much larger than prehistoric pterodactyls, because those are some of the only known creatures (of that size) to have been able to fly.

And how to get around all of the scientific restrictions? Magic. If you're not relying on reality, then you can use magic to create the dragons of your dreams. 

Whichever draconic templates you choose, remember to never wake a sleeping dragon and always be polite! 

Book Review: May

For this Season, I've chosen to review:

I was given this book by one of my high school teachers.
The book club at our school was run by me and a fellow classmate,
this teacher was one of our advisors and she suggested
several excellent books for us to read.
When it was time for me to graduate, she gave me this.

The Miser of Mayfair is a regency novel which means that it takes place in England during the Regency period which was named because England was ruled by a prince regent instead of a king. Fiction under this heading generally takes place from 1811 until 1820. While this novel is set in 1807, I think we can qualify it as a regency and forego the specifics.

Not only is it a regency novel, but a romance/adventure novel as well. 

To set the scene, it is important to know that the Season was when eligible young women came to London looking for husbands. People would come in from all over to rent a house and take part because husband-catching is a profitable business.

Mayfair is a part of London which is fashionable and its houses are rented for the Season. In particular, this story is focused around Number 67 Clarges Street. Any house for the well-to-do is stocked with a full staff, composed of a butler, a cook, a housekeeper, a footman, a chambermaid, and a pot boy. The story begins with a closer look at this staff, who are all stuck in their current positions; they form an informal family which looks after each other. 

What is great about Chesney's writing is that a reader can feel the story and time period. It's not overly stiff or complicated either, so a reader will have no trouble enjoying it. The details are thought out and nothing stands out as historically inaccurate (but then, I'm not a regency scholar). 

So the scene is set and the problem is told immediately. Number 67 Clarges Street is seen as cursed and the only way that the staff will get by is having some tenant rent the space. Needless to say, they need someone to come and soon.

Bring in Roderick Sinclair, a drinking enthusiast and retired lawyer. He has just learned about the death of his brother Jamie, and Jamie is wealthy. Roderick's pockets are threadbare and so he goes to hear the will, only to learn that his brother left him one thing: a ward, Fiona. 

When Roderick meets Fiona, he thinks of her as a simpleton. Fiona is beautiful, a stunning natural beauty and Roderick begins to scheme. He's heard about the Season and how else can he take care of her and himself.

Thus begins their journey. Roderick is poor though and it takes nearly everything to get there. Along the road, they have to stop for bad weather and meet Earls and Lords and Ladies. One man in particular stands out, Lord Harrington. If you know romance, then you know our dashing hero and stud has just arrived on scene.

However, he dismisses Fiona as well. What is a poor girl to do?

Unusual Statistics

The "Stats" tab is one of the most interesting features of blogger.
I can see how many people have viewed my blog.
I can see how many viewed each post.
I can see the general geographic location of these people.
I can even see which browser and operating system.

Most of the data isn't helpful to me and some of it is downright strange.

For instance, when I first began writing this blog, I had regular views from locations such as Portugal and Ukraine. Now, I'm all for the spread of knowledge and communication across the globe, but I find it highly unlikely that there were people in Portugal and Ukraine who were viewing my blog.

I've speculated with others before as to why this occurs:

• Perhaps bots are running across my site and triggering the cookies or something. 
• Perhaps some people have their computers set to bounce their location around so the actual countries aren't representative, but the views are. 
• Or, perhaps, there really are people in these countries that are viewing my blog.

If that last one represents you, dear reader, then welcome! It's nice to know that I have an international audience. It's amazing how the Internet has brought some of us closer together. 

As for the other data, it is useful for me to know which posts people have enjoyed. If a post has higher traffic, then that represents the content I should be displaying on my blog. I try to do a general mix of topics and include posts about my own work as well as others. 

If you have any suggestions or have questions about anything, feel free to comment and let me know!

Literature Lessons: Loss

In Island Whispers, Angelica has lost someone even before the novel has started. Her father has been missing for weeks and the end result isn't hopeful. At this point, she is on her own. Her mother died when she was a baby so her father was all she had.

There are different types of loss. Everyone has a different experience. The people that are important to us can't be replaced or easily forgotten. However, how we cope with that loss is vital to how we continue living.

For Angelica, living is hard and getting out of bed is a struggle. Many people may remember similar actions after losing a loved one, as though a sort of foggy lens has been put between you and reality. Grief makes us tired. It drains our energy and Angelica has been dealing with it hard.

Now, she does have a social worker, Estella, who comes to speak to her in the weeks after her father's disappearance, but as stated above, no one can replace or fill the void. We bear what we can and cope how we are able. There are different ways to cope too and we'll say that Angelica's initial coping mechanism isn't healthy. She isn't participating in life. She gets up later and is tired. She doesn't interact with others. Essentially, she is missing out on the good experiences that she could be having.

Her next method of coping is healthier and spurred by Estella's advice. Angelica applies for a partner. In this world, she can become bonded with a pegasus, gryphon, dragon or unicorn. Her visit to the Partner Adoption Center leads to a purpose and external reason for living. She is taking care of another creature and is responsible for Swift - her pegasus.

Responsibilities often wake us up. They give us purpose. When you have to care about someone else's well being, you find strength to get up and reasons to take action. However, that is not a long term solution by any means. You must live for yourself, but finding ways to get involved and active in life helps you find your way back.

Angelica starts going to classes with Swift and meets angels around her age. She becomes involved in the community and finds things to occupy her mind. In no way is she forgetting her father, but she is learning to live her life and find happiness of her own.