Comments | tardis_stowaway: An open letter to Sleepy Hollow regarding biogeography (a biology rant more amused than angry)

tardis_stowaway

An open letter to Sleepy Hollow regarding biogeography (a biology rant more amused than angry)

Oct 15, 2014 21:47

Sleepy Hollow, I love you so very much, but we need to talk ( Read more... )

trees, biology, botany, sleepy hollow, rant

Comments 7

rap541 October 16 2014, 04:55:19 UTC

Dude, I threw up my hands and accepted the crack when the Mohawk medicine man was using scorpions to induce hallucinations in Ich and Abby. I grew up in upstate ny steeped in the headless horseman story, the freemasons, the Iroquois, etc.

I can't say its *impossible* for scorpions to live in upstate ny but I was raised there, and I never saw one in nature until I moved to the southwest. The whole nonsensical thing made me jump. Then I let it pass as stupid and fake.

tardis_stowaway October 16 2014, 07:15:14 UTC

Ha! I wasn't even thinking about the scorpion, but you're right. I think I overlooked that because if I recall the shaman had it captive rather than having to go find it out in nature, so it could have been imported from somewhere that actually has scorpions. But then why would it be part of this supposedly-Mohawk ceremony?

If it's not clear from my entry, I'm not actually annoyed! Ludicrous disconnect from reality is part of this show's charm. I just enjoy a good rant from time to time.

davesmusictank October 16 2014, 06:54:40 UTC

There are some flaws with the series but overall I have really enjoyed it.

joking October 16 2014, 13:15:14 UTC

I have actually driven through Sleepy Hollow on my way to other places, and no, there are no cypress forests.

tardis_stowaway October 17 2014, 00:57:33 UTC

I'm glad you made it through Sleepy Hollow with your head still attached to your neck! :)

Thanks for the confirmation! I would have been ENORMOUSLY surprised if there was anything resembling bald cypress near the real Sleepy Hollow, but I definitely appreciate knowing for sure.

kaydeefalls October 17 2014, 00:33:32 UTC

I was wondering what the fuck those things were! Because I did grow up (and still live) in New York, and I know the Hudson River Valley, and that shit is NOT local.

tardis_stowaway October 17 2014, 01:11:10 UTC

Ha! Glad I could spread some knowledge about weird-ass swamp trees of the South. Bald cypresses are lovely, and I like the fact that their root protuberances are called knees. They just don't belong in Sleepy Hollow. Like, less than the 18th-century English guy belongs there.

Also, thanks for the confirmation that there's not some Yankee tree with similar knees that I just didn't know about!