Hat tip to Michelle A. for the link!

Labels: canada, devonian, fossils, humor, music

I'm on the big island of Hawai'i for the Thanksgiving break; and I've really enjoyed trooping around and checking out the volcanic features. (Photos once I get back to DC...) The other night I saw Bela Fleck and the Flecktones perform in Waimea, and they were playing lots of Christmas tunes from their brilliant new album. The next day, hiking on Mauna Kea, the residual music mixed in my brain with the cool igneous geology I was seeing. The result? The Twelve Days of Volcanoes... Enjoy!

On the first day of Christmas my island sent to me:
a bunch of pahoehoe

On the second day of Christmas my island sent to me:
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

On the third day of Christmas my island sent to me:
3 aa's
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

On the fourth day of Christmas my island sent to me:
4 falling blocks
3 aa's
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

On the fifth day of Christmas my island sent to me:
5 volcanoes
4 falling blocks
3 aa's
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

On the sixth day of Christmas my island sent to me:
6 basalts flowing
5 volcanoes
4 falling blocks
3 aa's
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

On the seventh day of Christmas my island sent to me:
7 tubes of lava
6 basalts flowing
5 volcanoes
4 falling blocks
3 aa's
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

On the eighth day of Christmas my island sent to me:
8 steam explosions
7 tubes of lava
6 basalts flowing
5 volcanoes
4 falling blocks
3 aa's
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

On the ninth day of Christmas my island sent to me:
9 green sand beaches
8 steam explosions
7 tubes of lava
6 basalts flowing
5 volcanoes
4 falling blocks
3 aa's
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

On the tenth day of Christmas my island sent to me:
10 billion vesicles
9 green sand beaches
8 steam explosions
7 tubes of lava
6 basalts flowing
5 volcanoes
4 falling blocks
3 aa's
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

On the eleventh day of Christmas my island sent to me:
11 craters glowing
10 billion vesicles
9 green sand beaches
8 steam explosions
7 tubes of lava
6 basalts flowing
5 volcanoes
4 falling blocks
3 aa's
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

On the twelfth day of Christmas my island sent to me:
12 voggy lungfuls
11 craters glowing
10 billion vesicles
9 green sand beaches
8 steam explosions
7 tubes of lava
6 basalts flowing
5 volcanoes
4 falling blocks
3 aa's
2 Pele's hairs
and a bunch of pahoehoe

Labels: basalt, hawaii, humor, music, travel, volcano

Two of my favorite things to talk about, global warming and the Talking Heads, are combined in this trailer for a new program on PBS:

Hat tip to Babak R. for passing this on to me. I'm a day behind the curve in posting it (the show aired last night), but I'm a day behind in just about everything these days, so I'll post it anyhow.

Labels: climate change, global warming, music, tv

I saw David Byrne (formerly the frontman of the Talking Heads) perform last night in Baltimore. He did a great job, as he always does. (This was my fourth time seeing him in concert.)

One of the Talking Heads biggest hits (featured on NPR's list of the most influential songs of the previous century) was "Once in a Lifetime" (1984). Listening to him sing it again last night, I was struck by the geological undercurrents. I thought I would share a few of the topical lyrics that have a peripheral relevance to this blog:

On hydrology:

"Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground"

On oceanography:

"Water dissolving...and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Carry the water at the bottom of the ocean
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!"

On the principle of uniformity ("uniformitarianism"):

"Same as it ever was, same as it ever was,
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was"

Also, from a different Talking Heads tune ("Life During Wartime"), Mr. Byrne offers us this epistle, clearly referring to the value of studying for open-book geology lab practicals:

"Burn all the notebooks
What good are notebooks?
They won't help me survive!"

Mr. Byrne may be coming to a concert hall near you. Check out his tour dates here. Listen to his new album for free online here. He also keeps a blog (which he calls a "journal," and it occasionally features geological musings, as in this example.)

Labels: geology, music, oceans, water resources