In the middle ages, there used to be a form of torture and execution where they would lay a person down, and then place a large board on top of them, like a door. They would start piling rocks on top of the board.
They were not large rocks, and any one of them alone wouldn't have really done much to hurt the person. Especially with the board distributing the pressure over the whole body.
But there were a lot of these small rocks, and they kept piling up. Eventually it would kill a person but it was very slow. And very painful.
I can imagine , at some point the person would wish for one large boulder to squish them quickly, rather than the pile of hundreds of small rocks.
This form of torture is like life. Sometimes, if you only see one little pebble piled on someone, you might not understand the person's reaction, because you don't know how many rocks came before it. We never know how many rocks each person has already squashing them down.
And if you can ever lift a pebble off of someone, you might think it's so small it would never make a difference. But all those pebbles add up.
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Monday, April 10, 2017
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Movie Review: Hereafter
**This review will contain spoilers**
Last night I watched the dvd of Hereafter, directed by Clint Eastwood. The movie is about 3 different people dealing with the concept of what happens after you die, the existence of an afterlife, etc. It's kind of an odd coincidence, I had this movie in my Netflix queue for a couple of months, long before my best friend died a week ago. Then I had returned another movie the day after she died and this was the next one that showed up in my mailbox. So I have been thinking a lot about life and death lately for obvious reasons, and it seemed like good timing to watch the movie.
There are three main characters in the movie, who don't know eachother. It's really 3 parallel stories. One of them is a French woman who has a near-death experience. Well not really "near", she basically dies, but then is resuscitated. She has a conversation with her lover, and asks him "what do you think happens after you die?"
He says, it's just lights out. Nothingness, the void. That's basically my feeling, at least it is what I have always hoped death would be (when thinking about my own death). I don't beleive in heaven or hell, reincarnation, or god. I don't want to go on or come back or any of that, I just want to cease to be. There's always been something very peaceful and comforting to me about that perfect nothingness.
But in the movie, all 3 characters have some evidence that there is something after. The woman has been there, and seen it. The man is a psychic, and can communicate with spirits of the dead. And the young boy has lost his twin brother and still feels a connection to him, the "ghost" of the twin saves him from a subway explosion.
Of the 3 stories, I found the little boy's story the most compelling. Before the twin brother dies, the movie did a wonderful job of establishing the very close and intuitive bond the brothers had with eachother, almost like two halves of one person. So when the older, more confident twin dies, you really feel the loss and grief of the other boy. The 2 child actors (twins in real life, obviously) were so good in this movie.
The ending was happy for all 3 characters, which was a relief after all the grief and sadness but was also a bit unrealistic, too "deus ex machina" for my taste. It would be nice if real life worked that way. I hope there is a happy ending for my friend's husband and children, some where down the road.
It did make me think about my friend who just died. I still don't beleive in an afterlife, but she definitely did. She was really into the paranormal, ghost hunting, stuff like that. She went on a ghost hunting weekend run by the TV show Paranormal State, which she was a big fan of. The memory of my friend will always live with me so that is a form of afterlife I guess, but I don't beleive in ghosts in the literal sense. But, I do think it's comforting to think of her still having some kind of presence to watch out over her young sons. I want them to have a thought of mommy as their guardian angel, or something like that. It's hard enough for most adults to contemplate nothingness, but a 2 year old and a 4 year old should not have to face it.
Anyway, I recommend the movie, it's very good. Clint Eastwood has turned out to be such a great director, who would have ever thought it after that low period with the monkey movies.
Last night I watched the dvd of Hereafter, directed by Clint Eastwood. The movie is about 3 different people dealing with the concept of what happens after you die, the existence of an afterlife, etc. It's kind of an odd coincidence, I had this movie in my Netflix queue for a couple of months, long before my best friend died a week ago. Then I had returned another movie the day after she died and this was the next one that showed up in my mailbox. So I have been thinking a lot about life and death lately for obvious reasons, and it seemed like good timing to watch the movie.
There are three main characters in the movie, who don't know eachother. It's really 3 parallel stories. One of them is a French woman who has a near-death experience. Well not really "near", she basically dies, but then is resuscitated. She has a conversation with her lover, and asks him "what do you think happens after you die?"
He says, it's just lights out. Nothingness, the void. That's basically my feeling, at least it is what I have always hoped death would be (when thinking about my own death). I don't beleive in heaven or hell, reincarnation, or god. I don't want to go on or come back or any of that, I just want to cease to be. There's always been something very peaceful and comforting to me about that perfect nothingness.
But in the movie, all 3 characters have some evidence that there is something after. The woman has been there, and seen it. The man is a psychic, and can communicate with spirits of the dead. And the young boy has lost his twin brother and still feels a connection to him, the "ghost" of the twin saves him from a subway explosion.
Of the 3 stories, I found the little boy's story the most compelling. Before the twin brother dies, the movie did a wonderful job of establishing the very close and intuitive bond the brothers had with eachother, almost like two halves of one person. So when the older, more confident twin dies, you really feel the loss and grief of the other boy. The 2 child actors (twins in real life, obviously) were so good in this movie.
The ending was happy for all 3 characters, which was a relief after all the grief and sadness but was also a bit unrealistic, too "deus ex machina" for my taste. It would be nice if real life worked that way. I hope there is a happy ending for my friend's husband and children, some where down the road.
It did make me think about my friend who just died. I still don't beleive in an afterlife, but she definitely did. She was really into the paranormal, ghost hunting, stuff like that. She went on a ghost hunting weekend run by the TV show Paranormal State, which she was a big fan of. The memory of my friend will always live with me so that is a form of afterlife I guess, but I don't beleive in ghosts in the literal sense. But, I do think it's comforting to think of her still having some kind of presence to watch out over her young sons. I want them to have a thought of mommy as their guardian angel, or something like that. It's hard enough for most adults to contemplate nothingness, but a 2 year old and a 4 year old should not have to face it.
Anyway, I recommend the movie, it's very good. Clint Eastwood has turned out to be such a great director, who would have ever thought it after that low period with the monkey movies.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Dead Skin
Snakes shed their skin all in one piece. I wish I could do that. I have eczema and I shed my skin in teeny tiny scaly flakes, constantly. It's like dandruff all over my body and face. It's worst on my face. The scaly dead skin is very itchy, and when I finally exfoliate it all off, (which I have to do very slowly and gently, every day) it feels some relief but the skin underneath is bright red and raw. It feels better but looks worse.
The eczema has been bad lately from stress, and from the high pollen counts. Mostly stress, it seems like everything I am feeling and not saying just comes out through my skin. I guess some people might think it's my terrible personality or my sins manifesting itself in my skin. Like the Portrait of Dorian Gray.
I shed so much dead skin every day, you'd think I should be a whole new person by now, but it's still just me.
How many layers until I get to the chewy center of this tootsie pop?
Friday, November 21, 2008
The New California Academy of Sciences
Yesterday I visited the newly re-opened California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. It had been closed for several years while they completely rebuilt it from the ground up. They just had the grand opening in September but this is the first time I have visited since it reopened. I had been to the old Academy of Sciences many times, from childhood school field trips into teenage visits to "Laserium" for the Dark Side of the Moon show, and as an adult many times. I loved the old Academy and the old Steinhart Aquarium, which were built in the 1920's and 30's.
The architecture was cool, the reptile and amphibian room for example had beautiful mosaic floors with snakes and lizards. The collections were somewhat old fashioned- lots of taxidermied animal specimens. But I liked that sort of musty turn of the century naturalist vibe of the old place.
But it was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, so the city decided to replace it with a more modern building. (which did not start construction until 2005)
The new building is bigger, or seems so from the front.
It's very modern and reminds me of my old high school. Exposed concrete, I-beams, lots of glass, it looks like a prison or a factory. It's also supposedly the greenest museum in the country. It uses recycled building materials, it's insulated with recycled bluejeans (how quintessentially San Franciscan, since Levi Strauss headquarters are here), and it has a much-discussed "living roof" planted with all native California species and wildflowers.
This dome is the roof over the rainforest exhibit, with lots of skylights.
All this construction isn't cheap. The price of admission is much higher than I remember from the old Academy. It was $25 for one adult, but you can get a $3 discount if you took public transportation and show your bus transfer.
When I got inside I got the little map guide and right off I noticed how many things were missing. Many of my favorite exhibits from the old Academy are completely gone.
What's missing:
1. The hall of gems and minerals- this was small, nowhere near as good as the one in the Los Angeles natural history museum which I visited this past April. But it was still interesting and beautiful and it didn't take up much space so I don't know why they got rid of it. Many of the rock specimens were also native to California and there was a nice display about the gold rush. Another important piece of local history which is missing from the new museum.
2. California coastal life exhibit, which had dioramas of animals like elephant seals and tule elk, as well as greatly magnified models of krill and other microscopic critters. There was also a living display of tidal life and that is still there.
3. The entire geology section is gone! I was shocked. The old academy had a great exhibit about the "Ring of Fire", of which California is part. Lots of great displays about volcanoes and earthquakes, including a big display about the 1906 Earthquake and an "earthquake simulation" room where the floor shook at the same intensity and duration as the 1906 earthquake. Now considering this is San Francisco where earthquakes are a reality not just something you read in books, and considering the new museum was built because of earthquake safety, it makes no sense to not have any exhibits about geology. It's a subject of great local importance!
4. The Wattis Hall of Anthropology is gone. Now admittedly this was not one of my favorite rooms, I usually skipped it because I am more interested in animals than humans. But it did have some nice examples of arts and crafts from native California tribes, etc.
5. The North American Hall of Birds and Mammals is gone. All the dioramas with taxidermied birds, bears, coyote, moose, cougar, buffalo, etc. All gone. They DID keep a similar hall full of taxidermied African mammals and birds. But they lost the animals that actually live in our own state and country. This is another weird decision to me. It seems like the old museum was more relevant to our local sciences here in California. The new museum focuses on Africa, Madagascar, Costa Rica, all these distant places.
6. The fish roundabout is gone. This was a huge donut-shaped tank that you could stand in the middle of and fish species who swim constantly and never rest would swim all around you. There were some really large specimens here including sharks. I don't know where they went.
7. The marine mammal exhibit is gone. The old aquarium had a few dolphins and harbor seals, which are now gone. I know there was always a lot of protest about keeping whales or dolphins in captivity so there used to be signs saying that they would only keep their current dolphins until they died (because they were born in captivity and could not be released to the wild) but they would not be replacing them with new wild-caught dolphins. So maybe those old dolphins died?
Ok so that's what is missing, now I wanted to know, what new things do they have and are they as good as what we lost?
The first thing I saw when I entered was the Philippine tidal lagoon and reef exhibit.
The lagoon has rays and sharks, and rays are one of my favorite fish to watch.
There was a cool leopard-spotted ray
Then I went through the African hall of mammals, which is pretty much the same as it was in the old Academy. The one difference is they have moved the African penguins (live ones) to this room, when they used to be in the aquarium. These guys are so fun to watch, all the little kids were especially entertained.
Then I went to the far left hall of the museum, which is shared by a Galapagos exhibit and a Madagascar exhibit. These take up a lot of floor space but it's all basically videos, still photos, and text to read. It is informative and educational but you could just read a book if you want text and photos. I have to say it's a bit boring, I want something a little more 3-D when I pay $25 to get into a museum. There are a few life sized models of Galapagos tortoises but otherwise it's just lots of photos and text. At this point I was rather disappointed with all the cool stuff that was missing and this is what they replace it with!
Then I saw the Foucault Pendulum which is something they saved from the old academy. I was glad to see it! I even got to see it knock over a peg.
Then I went to see the Planetarium show which was about looking for life in space and exo-planets. It was good but the recliner chairs are so comfortable I almost fell asleep in the dark. LOL
Then I went to see the alligator pit, now dubbed "The Swamp".
One nice touch is they saved the old railing from the old alligator pit, which features beautiful bronze seahorses.
The famous albino alligator doesn't look very happy. He is blond, so he sits on his rock all day and he doesn't go in the water because the female alligator and the turtles bite him!
Next I went over to the far right side of the museum, where there is a big hall devoted to climate change and ecology. More photos and text and videos. Yes I know it's important but honestly it was presented in a pretty boring way. I guess I am shallow, I want to see cool animals, not read a preachy textbook.
Next I went up to the second floor to watch a 3-D movie about bugs. They have a large screen, not Imax size but still pretty good for seeing a 3-D movie. That was fun and it's another opportunity to sit and rest for a little while, if you have been walking around all day.
Next I went into the much publicized Rainforest dome exhibit. Now this is what I'm talkin about! Two big thumbs up for the rainforest. Definitely save at least an hour just for this alone.
The dome has a spiral ramp around the edge which goes up to 3 levels. There are birds and butterflies flying loose and lots of cool animals in glass tanks. The second level is the best- that is Madagascar animals. Take some time to really watch the amazing reptiles and amphibians here. I saw a lot of people just rush by, they'd say "I can't find it" and they'd move on. Many of these animals are really well camouflaged in their exhibits but if you are patient you will find them. And oh my gosh they are so fascinating and entertaining! The Panther Chameleon for example was so cool. He was beautiful bright colors, he has creepy eyes that move in different directions, his feet are really neat, he walks super slow like a robot.
There was a big fat green caterpillar in the tank with him, which crawled right up the bottom of the branch the Chameleon was sitting on. Caterpillar crawled right over Chameleon's toes! I thought for sure he was going to be dinner. Then caterpillar crawled to the end of the branch, reared up and swayed back and forth right in front of Chameleon's face! By now a small crowd had gathered and we were all waiting to see that worm get et! He was practically begging to get et. We wanted to see Chameleon unfurl his long tongue and grab that cocky worm. But apparently Chameleon was not hungry that day. He just slooooowwwly reached out for another nearby branch and walked away from the worm.
The top level of the dome is Costa Rica, which is also very cool but I recommend the Madagascar level.
The exit from the dome is to take the elevator down the center to the basement, which houses the new Aquarium. I spent a LONG time at the Aquarium. There is a huge tank for the Philippine coral reef, and I got to see a feeding in that tank which means the fish are very lively. There are benches in front of this tank so you can really relax and be hypnotized by the gorgeous swirling colors and movement of all the tropical fish. I could also watch the Moon Jellies for hours. Jellyfish are natures Lava Lamp! They are so beautiful and graceful and just relaxing to watch, I'd love to have a tank of these at home. Then I saw something so bizarre and beautiful, a leafy seadragon. Actually they have a whole bunch of them. I had seen these on television but never in person. I love these guys! So that would have been an awesome day if it ended there but the best thing was still yet to come.
If you go to the Academy, make SURE you find the Burmese Vine Snakes in the aquarium. And make sure you spend some time watching them. Don't just spot one in a tree, say "ok I have seen that" and move along. Look towards the back of the tank near the floor, and you will see at least a dozen of these slender green snakes hanging upside down over a small pool of water. Their bodies are all curled into S-shaped curves, they hang by their tails from a branch and their heads are about 3-4 inches over the water. They stare at that water VERY intently. I watched them fascinated. "What are they all looking at?" I wondered. Well, there are teensy little fish in that pool. And these snakes eat the fish. They are the only arboreal snake in the world which eats fish! Thy do not swim, they aren't water snakes. They just hang there and wait for a little fishy to come close to the surface, and then STRIKE! I watched 6 or 7 of them catch little fish and eat them. The fish are still wiggling and flipping their tails as they are swallowed, and even afterwards the lump in the snakes throat is kind of squirming. I got disappointed by the Chameleon but the snakes delivered!
Any person who came by and couldn't find the snakes or only noticed the ones draped over the upper branches, I told them where to look to see the fishing snakes. They were all so fascinated once they slowed down and really looked. These little snakes are utterly fascinating to watch, they are rare and were only discovered in 2002. Before that no one believed any arboreal snakes ate a diet of fish. The exhibit at the Steinhart is the only place in the world they live in captivity.
More info about Burmese Vine Snakes
More info and a photo
video of one catching a fish
Burmese Vine Snakes WIN!
They were the stars of my visit.
The new cafe is very nice too, I had a snack of apple caramel bread pudding while watching a bigass fishtank they have facing the cafe.
I had originally planned to spend the day visiting both the Academy of Sciences and the De Young museum across the street, because the De Young has a luscious retrospective exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent fashions, 130 garments! But I spent so much time at the academy that I would have only had an hour or two left for the De Young, which is a waste. So I skipped it and I will go back another time when I can spend a full day at the De Young. I went to the Vivienne Westwood exhibit at the De Young last year and I arrived late in the day and really didn't have time to do it justice.
So my overall review is positive, there are a lot of old favorites missing but there is still plenty of neat stuff to look at. I'd recommend focusing your visit on the Aquarium and the Rainforest, especially if you have limited time. Those two areas have the most entertainment value and "oooh" and "eeew!" value.
The architecture was cool, the reptile and amphibian room for example had beautiful mosaic floors with snakes and lizards. The collections were somewhat old fashioned- lots of taxidermied animal specimens. But I liked that sort of musty turn of the century naturalist vibe of the old place.
But it was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, so the city decided to replace it with a more modern building. (which did not start construction until 2005)
The new building is bigger, or seems so from the front.
It's very modern and reminds me of my old high school. Exposed concrete, I-beams, lots of glass, it looks like a prison or a factory. It's also supposedly the greenest museum in the country. It uses recycled building materials, it's insulated with recycled bluejeans (how quintessentially San Franciscan, since Levi Strauss headquarters are here), and it has a much-discussed "living roof" planted with all native California species and wildflowers.
This dome is the roof over the rainforest exhibit, with lots of skylights.
All this construction isn't cheap. The price of admission is much higher than I remember from the old Academy. It was $25 for one adult, but you can get a $3 discount if you took public transportation and show your bus transfer.
When I got inside I got the little map guide and right off I noticed how many things were missing. Many of my favorite exhibits from the old Academy are completely gone.
What's missing:
1. The hall of gems and minerals- this was small, nowhere near as good as the one in the Los Angeles natural history museum which I visited this past April. But it was still interesting and beautiful and it didn't take up much space so I don't know why they got rid of it. Many of the rock specimens were also native to California and there was a nice display about the gold rush. Another important piece of local history which is missing from the new museum.
2. California coastal life exhibit, which had dioramas of animals like elephant seals and tule elk, as well as greatly magnified models of krill and other microscopic critters. There was also a living display of tidal life and that is still there.
3. The entire geology section is gone! I was shocked. The old academy had a great exhibit about the "Ring of Fire", of which California is part. Lots of great displays about volcanoes and earthquakes, including a big display about the 1906 Earthquake and an "earthquake simulation" room where the floor shook at the same intensity and duration as the 1906 earthquake. Now considering this is San Francisco where earthquakes are a reality not just something you read in books, and considering the new museum was built because of earthquake safety, it makes no sense to not have any exhibits about geology. It's a subject of great local importance!
4. The Wattis Hall of Anthropology is gone. Now admittedly this was not one of my favorite rooms, I usually skipped it because I am more interested in animals than humans. But it did have some nice examples of arts and crafts from native California tribes, etc.
5. The North American Hall of Birds and Mammals is gone. All the dioramas with taxidermied birds, bears, coyote, moose, cougar, buffalo, etc. All gone. They DID keep a similar hall full of taxidermied African mammals and birds. But they lost the animals that actually live in our own state and country. This is another weird decision to me. It seems like the old museum was more relevant to our local sciences here in California. The new museum focuses on Africa, Madagascar, Costa Rica, all these distant places.
6. The fish roundabout is gone. This was a huge donut-shaped tank that you could stand in the middle of and fish species who swim constantly and never rest would swim all around you. There were some really large specimens here including sharks. I don't know where they went.
7. The marine mammal exhibit is gone. The old aquarium had a few dolphins and harbor seals, which are now gone. I know there was always a lot of protest about keeping whales or dolphins in captivity so there used to be signs saying that they would only keep their current dolphins until they died (because they were born in captivity and could not be released to the wild) but they would not be replacing them with new wild-caught dolphins. So maybe those old dolphins died?
Ok so that's what is missing, now I wanted to know, what new things do they have and are they as good as what we lost?
The first thing I saw when I entered was the Philippine tidal lagoon and reef exhibit.
The lagoon has rays and sharks, and rays are one of my favorite fish to watch.
There was a cool leopard-spotted ray
Then I went through the African hall of mammals, which is pretty much the same as it was in the old Academy. The one difference is they have moved the African penguins (live ones) to this room, when they used to be in the aquarium. These guys are so fun to watch, all the little kids were especially entertained.
Then I went to the far left hall of the museum, which is shared by a Galapagos exhibit and a Madagascar exhibit. These take up a lot of floor space but it's all basically videos, still photos, and text to read. It is informative and educational but you could just read a book if you want text and photos. I have to say it's a bit boring, I want something a little more 3-D when I pay $25 to get into a museum. There are a few life sized models of Galapagos tortoises but otherwise it's just lots of photos and text. At this point I was rather disappointed with all the cool stuff that was missing and this is what they replace it with!
Then I saw the Foucault Pendulum which is something they saved from the old academy. I was glad to see it! I even got to see it knock over a peg.
Then I went to see the Planetarium show which was about looking for life in space and exo-planets. It was good but the recliner chairs are so comfortable I almost fell asleep in the dark. LOL
Then I went to see the alligator pit, now dubbed "The Swamp".
One nice touch is they saved the old railing from the old alligator pit, which features beautiful bronze seahorses.
The famous albino alligator doesn't look very happy. He is blond, so he sits on his rock all day and he doesn't go in the water because the female alligator and the turtles bite him!
Next I went over to the far right side of the museum, where there is a big hall devoted to climate change and ecology. More photos and text and videos. Yes I know it's important but honestly it was presented in a pretty boring way. I guess I am shallow, I want to see cool animals, not read a preachy textbook.
Next I went up to the second floor to watch a 3-D movie about bugs. They have a large screen, not Imax size but still pretty good for seeing a 3-D movie. That was fun and it's another opportunity to sit and rest for a little while, if you have been walking around all day.
Next I went into the much publicized Rainforest dome exhibit. Now this is what I'm talkin about! Two big thumbs up for the rainforest. Definitely save at least an hour just for this alone.
The dome has a spiral ramp around the edge which goes up to 3 levels. There are birds and butterflies flying loose and lots of cool animals in glass tanks. The second level is the best- that is Madagascar animals. Take some time to really watch the amazing reptiles and amphibians here. I saw a lot of people just rush by, they'd say "I can't find it" and they'd move on. Many of these animals are really well camouflaged in their exhibits but if you are patient you will find them. And oh my gosh they are so fascinating and entertaining! The Panther Chameleon for example was so cool. He was beautiful bright colors, he has creepy eyes that move in different directions, his feet are really neat, he walks super slow like a robot.
There was a big fat green caterpillar in the tank with him, which crawled right up the bottom of the branch the Chameleon was sitting on. Caterpillar crawled right over Chameleon's toes! I thought for sure he was going to be dinner. Then caterpillar crawled to the end of the branch, reared up and swayed back and forth right in front of Chameleon's face! By now a small crowd had gathered and we were all waiting to see that worm get et! He was practically begging to get et. We wanted to see Chameleon unfurl his long tongue and grab that cocky worm. But apparently Chameleon was not hungry that day. He just slooooowwwly reached out for another nearby branch and walked away from the worm.
The top level of the dome is Costa Rica, which is also very cool but I recommend the Madagascar level.
The exit from the dome is to take the elevator down the center to the basement, which houses the new Aquarium. I spent a LONG time at the Aquarium. There is a huge tank for the Philippine coral reef, and I got to see a feeding in that tank which means the fish are very lively. There are benches in front of this tank so you can really relax and be hypnotized by the gorgeous swirling colors and movement of all the tropical fish. I could also watch the Moon Jellies for hours. Jellyfish are natures Lava Lamp! They are so beautiful and graceful and just relaxing to watch, I'd love to have a tank of these at home. Then I saw something so bizarre and beautiful, a leafy seadragon. Actually they have a whole bunch of them. I had seen these on television but never in person. I love these guys! So that would have been an awesome day if it ended there but the best thing was still yet to come.
If you go to the Academy, make SURE you find the Burmese Vine Snakes in the aquarium. And make sure you spend some time watching them. Don't just spot one in a tree, say "ok I have seen that" and move along. Look towards the back of the tank near the floor, and you will see at least a dozen of these slender green snakes hanging upside down over a small pool of water. Their bodies are all curled into S-shaped curves, they hang by their tails from a branch and their heads are about 3-4 inches over the water. They stare at that water VERY intently. I watched them fascinated. "What are they all looking at?" I wondered. Well, there are teensy little fish in that pool. And these snakes eat the fish. They are the only arboreal snake in the world which eats fish! Thy do not swim, they aren't water snakes. They just hang there and wait for a little fishy to come close to the surface, and then STRIKE! I watched 6 or 7 of them catch little fish and eat them. The fish are still wiggling and flipping their tails as they are swallowed, and even afterwards the lump in the snakes throat is kind of squirming. I got disappointed by the Chameleon but the snakes delivered!
Any person who came by and couldn't find the snakes or only noticed the ones draped over the upper branches, I told them where to look to see the fishing snakes. They were all so fascinated once they slowed down and really looked. These little snakes are utterly fascinating to watch, they are rare and were only discovered in 2002. Before that no one believed any arboreal snakes ate a diet of fish. The exhibit at the Steinhart is the only place in the world they live in captivity.
More info about Burmese Vine Snakes
More info and a photo
video of one catching a fish
Burmese Vine Snakes WIN!
They were the stars of my visit.
The new cafe is very nice too, I had a snack of apple caramel bread pudding while watching a bigass fishtank they have facing the cafe.
I had originally planned to spend the day visiting both the Academy of Sciences and the De Young museum across the street, because the De Young has a luscious retrospective exhibit of Yves Saint Laurent fashions, 130 garments! But I spent so much time at the academy that I would have only had an hour or two left for the De Young, which is a waste. So I skipped it and I will go back another time when I can spend a full day at the De Young. I went to the Vivienne Westwood exhibit at the De Young last year and I arrived late in the day and really didn't have time to do it justice.
So my overall review is positive, there are a lot of old favorites missing but there is still plenty of neat stuff to look at. I'd recommend focusing your visit on the Aquarium and the Rainforest, especially if you have limited time. Those two areas have the most entertainment value and "oooh" and "eeew!" value.
Monday, December 31, 2007
2007 best and worst list!
Well there's about 9 more hours of 2007 left so it's customary to make a best and worst list, here's mine pretty quickly thrown together.
Now this blog usually just covers such a tiny part of my life, that it might be easy for people who don't know me to think the events covered in this blog were the most important things in my life. That would be totally incorrect. In reality and in the big picture, this craft stuff is just a small facet of my life. I keep my private life pretty private in public areas like blogs and Etsy forums.
Best time of 2007-
Spending a month in Europe this summer, staying with 6 different friends and their families (friends I originally met online, and became real-life friends with). Seeing Paris for the first time with my bf, spending my birthday in The Netherlands with him.
This whole concept of "online community" is not something new. It's something I have lived, something I have worked in, and it's a reality to me. I have been a part of online communities that really do care about eachother, where people meet up and travel together and form real-life relationships that support eachother through illness, death, and celebrate weddings and births of babies. Plus, it's great to make friends that live in European capitals so you can crash on their couches! Haha. (now seeking friends in Berlin and Prague)
Other highlights of the year are:
* Going to my friend's wedding, a friend who survived an aggressive brain tumor that gave him less than 50% survival odds. I don't have many heroes but he's someone who is really inspirational to me (and equally his wife who stood by his side during the whole treatment). It was really the most beautiful and emotional wedding I've ever seen. They couple just skipped the vows about "in sickness and in health" because they have already faced pretty much anyone's worst case scenario and they came through it strong, united, optimistic.
He has such a fantastic sense of humor, whenever I feel sorry for myself about any of the STUPID trivial bullshit that would be on my "worst" list, I have to think about how lucky I am.
I am healthy.
I have a roof over my head.
I love and am loved.
Anything else is meaningless.
The worst of 2007
In the big picture, the war and especially the growing evidence of torture by the U.S. is probably the greatest tragedy of 2007. Every time I hear them debate about waterboarding on the news with these dry and analytical attitudes, it makes me physically ill. How can any sane person even consider, for a moment, that this could be acceptable way for civilized societies to operate? Is this the Spanish Inquisition? Did the Enlightenment never happen? I'm ashamed to be human, much less ashamed to be American.
All in all I really didn't have that many bad things in my own little life. I had some friends who had cancer scares, but all of them have recently had good test results and are going to be OK.
I had some trivial problems, but if that was the worst thing that happened to me all year I'd have to be pretty happy with my year, because it was really an insignificant blip on the radar.
Best live show of 2007:
This is a tough one because I saw some great music this year. The amazing return of Iggy and the Stooges, an absolutely transcendent solo performance by Lisa Gerrard from Dead Can Dance. But the best show was probably the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club show I saw in Amsterdam in July. I've seen many good shows from them but the Amsterdam show just set the bar even higher.
Best Movie of 2007
oh this is tough because I really haven't seen hardly any movies this year! I used to see tons of movies, at least 2 a week, and lately I haven't gone to any for ages. I have been watching dvds, but they are older than 2007.
I have most of the movies from the critics "best of 2007" lists on my netflix queue so I probably won't know the best movie until 2008. :p
Of the movies I did see, I liked Grindhouse (the Rodriguez half, not Tarantino's film), Stardust, and Black Snake Moan.
Tarantino's "Death Proof" , half of the Grindhouse double feature, might well be the worst movie I saw this year. Well, the worst movie I paid for. I did see some stinkers on airplanes (like "Failure to Launch"- UGH!!) but I don't really count them because I didn't choose to see them.
Well, it's nearly 2008 so I wish everyone a Happy New Year.
*flings silver confetti*
Let's hope the next year brings happiness and success to those who deserve it, justice and truth to those who deny it, a Democratic president to this country, and an end to the horrible war. I wish Peace, love, puppies and cupcakes(with sprinkles!) to all my friends, and I wish bad hair days, traffic jams and papercuts to those who have fucked with me. Ouchy! LOL you crossed THE WRONG FISH!
Now this blog usually just covers such a tiny part of my life, that it might be easy for people who don't know me to think the events covered in this blog were the most important things in my life. That would be totally incorrect. In reality and in the big picture, this craft stuff is just a small facet of my life. I keep my private life pretty private in public areas like blogs and Etsy forums.
Best time of 2007-
Spending a month in Europe this summer, staying with 6 different friends and their families (friends I originally met online, and became real-life friends with). Seeing Paris for the first time with my bf, spending my birthday in The Netherlands with him.
This whole concept of "online community" is not something new. It's something I have lived, something I have worked in, and it's a reality to me. I have been a part of online communities that really do care about eachother, where people meet up and travel together and form real-life relationships that support eachother through illness, death, and celebrate weddings and births of babies. Plus, it's great to make friends that live in European capitals so you can crash on their couches! Haha. (now seeking friends in Berlin and Prague)
Other highlights of the year are:
* Going to my friend's wedding, a friend who survived an aggressive brain tumor that gave him less than 50% survival odds. I don't have many heroes but he's someone who is really inspirational to me (and equally his wife who stood by his side during the whole treatment). It was really the most beautiful and emotional wedding I've ever seen. They couple just skipped the vows about "in sickness and in health" because they have already faced pretty much anyone's worst case scenario and they came through it strong, united, optimistic.
He has such a fantastic sense of humor, whenever I feel sorry for myself about any of the STUPID trivial bullshit that would be on my "worst" list, I have to think about how lucky I am.
I am healthy.
I have a roof over my head.
I love and am loved.
Anything else is meaningless.
The worst of 2007
In the big picture, the war and especially the growing evidence of torture by the U.S. is probably the greatest tragedy of 2007. Every time I hear them debate about waterboarding on the news with these dry and analytical attitudes, it makes me physically ill. How can any sane person even consider, for a moment, that this could be acceptable way for civilized societies to operate? Is this the Spanish Inquisition? Did the Enlightenment never happen? I'm ashamed to be human, much less ashamed to be American.
All in all I really didn't have that many bad things in my own little life. I had some friends who had cancer scares, but all of them have recently had good test results and are going to be OK.
I had some trivial problems, but if that was the worst thing that happened to me all year I'd have to be pretty happy with my year, because it was really an insignificant blip on the radar.
Best live show of 2007:
This is a tough one because I saw some great music this year. The amazing return of Iggy and the Stooges, an absolutely transcendent solo performance by Lisa Gerrard from Dead Can Dance. But the best show was probably the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club show I saw in Amsterdam in July. I've seen many good shows from them but the Amsterdam show just set the bar even higher.
Best Movie of 2007
oh this is tough because I really haven't seen hardly any movies this year! I used to see tons of movies, at least 2 a week, and lately I haven't gone to any for ages. I have been watching dvds, but they are older than 2007.
I have most of the movies from the critics "best of 2007" lists on my netflix queue so I probably won't know the best movie until 2008. :p
Of the movies I did see, I liked Grindhouse (the Rodriguez half, not Tarantino's film), Stardust, and Black Snake Moan.
Tarantino's "Death Proof" , half of the Grindhouse double feature, might well be the worst movie I saw this year. Well, the worst movie I paid for. I did see some stinkers on airplanes (like "Failure to Launch"- UGH!!) but I don't really count them because I didn't choose to see them.
Well, it's nearly 2008 so I wish everyone a Happy New Year.
*flings silver confetti*
Let's hope the next year brings happiness and success to those who deserve it, justice and truth to those who deny it, a Democratic president to this country, and an end to the horrible war. I wish Peace, love, puppies and cupcakes(with sprinkles!) to all my friends, and I wish bad hair days, traffic jams and papercuts to those who have fucked with me. Ouchy! LOL you crossed THE WRONG FISH!
Monday, December 17, 2007
Great Speeches of Vengeance
I was just thinking today about some of the great and moving speeches of vengeance from history, movies, theater, and television. I thought I'd share some of my special favorites. I love language, it has such power to strike terror in the hearts of the weak.
Klaus the goldfish from American Dad
Jules (played by Samuel Jackson), Pulp Fiction
Act 5, Titus Andronicus
Oh yeah, he's bad. But you know the villains are always the best characters, and they get all the best lines!
Allow me to impress upon you the severe mistake you have made.
For years my conduct has been largely benign, and yet without provocation you have severed our détente and forced me to unleash upon you the vengeful flames of a thousand suns.
You shall curse your mothers for the day of your birth!
So go now, GO, and begin your life of fear,
knowing that when you least expect it, the looming sword of Damocles will CRASH down upon you, cleaving you in twain,
and as you gaze upon the smoking wreckage that was once your life, you will regret the day you crossed THE WRONG FISH!
Klaus the goldfish from American Dad
The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
Jules (played by Samuel Jackson), Pulp Fiction
LUCIUS
Art thou not sorry for these heinous deeds?
AARON
Ay, that I had not done a thousand more.
Even now I curse the day--and yet, I think,
Few come within the compass of my curse,--
Wherein I did not some notorious ill,
As kill a man, or else devise his death,
Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it,
Accuse some innocent and forswear myself,
Set deadly enmity between two friends,
Make poor men's cattle break their necks;
Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night,
And bid the owners quench them with their tears.
Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,
And set them upright at their dear friends' doors,
Even when their sorrows almost were forgot;
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,
'Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.'
Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things
As willingly as one would kill a fly,
And nothing grieves me heartily indeed
But that I cannot do ten thousand more.
Act 5, Titus Andronicus
AARON
O, why should wrath be mute, and fury dumb?
I am no baby, I, that with base prayers
I should repent the evils I have done:
Ten thousand worse than ever yet I did
Would I perform, if I might have my will;
If one good deed in all my life I did,
I do repent it from my very soul.
Oh yeah, he's bad. But you know the villains are always the best characters, and they get all the best lines!
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