It's the last day of my Museum Musings theme week, and I have to conclude this week of posts by saying that I was startled to see the devil at the Field Museum last Friday. It wasn't so much the fact that I saw him as much as it was the place where I saw him.
Turns out the Mexican nativity scene tradition (there's a special room at the museum put aside featuring various displays) is to include him in the creche, to represent temptations that the shepherds faced on their journey to baby Jesus. I collect nativity scenes (and chess sets -- the goal is one different one for each room as I decorate) and I've yet to have the devil as a figurine. In my other-cultural ignorance, it struck me as an odd juxtaposition.
Speaking of odd juxtaposition in religion (here's this week's Amazing Race Aside) -- one of the stops on last week's episode was a church that the communists forced into being a museum of atheism during their heyday. No matter what your beliefs, you have to admit that's a pretty damn effective way to prove your point! And -- look back through the episode for these "celebrity" cameos -- Betsey Johnson as a Russian circus clown and Jack Kevorkian running the gorodki courts -- maybe?!
POSADAS, PASTORELAS and NACIMIENTOS:
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2624-mexico-s-christmas-traditions-posadas-pastorelas-and-nacimientos
LEARN TO PLAY GORODKI:
http://www.russia-channel.com/blog/learn-to-play-gorodki
ST ISAAC's CATHEDRAL's COMMUNIST PAST:
http://www.nevsky-prospekt.com/isaacs.html
Showing posts with label Theme Week: Museum Musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theme Week: Museum Musings. Show all posts
November 11, 2010
November 10, 2010
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/10/10
Wah Wah Mountains (of Utah).
Rephrased in Jeopardy style: "Where is the only place in the world to find bixbite?"
It's day 5 of Theme Week: Museum Musings, and, for whatever reason, while walking through the Grainger Hall of Gems at Chicago's Filed Museum last week, I found all of the above information funny. Bixbite. Wah Wah Mountains. To me, it sounded made up (not the Utah part, per se).
And speaking of made up, the choice I nearly went with for today's wordplay was Okapi -- which my nephew Jack brought up on the way to the museum. At the time, I thought he was fabricating this animal that is a cross between a giraffe and a zebra ... and then I thought that it was literally a cross (as in, mule is to donkey & horse as okapi is to giraffe & zebra) ... which made me wonder if okapis were sterile like mules are (mostly) sterile ... which made me think about the people who say that mules mess with God's overall plan ... which made me realize that I had strayed too far from my original thought path.
Bixbite. Wah Wah Mountains. Too funny ...
BIXBITE SAMPLES (MINED FROM THE WAH WAH MOUNTAINS OF UTAH):
http://www.mineralminers.com/html/bixmins.stm
OKAPI or HERE's ANOTHER ANIMAL THAT WASN'T FEATURED IN SWEET PICKLES:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-okapi.html
THE SCIENCE OF MULE OFFSPRING TO DEBUNK THE STERILITY MYTH:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4056372?dopt=Abstract
Rephrased in Jeopardy style: "Where is the only place in the world to find bixbite?"
It's day 5 of Theme Week: Museum Musings, and, for whatever reason, while walking through the Grainger Hall of Gems at Chicago's Filed Museum last week, I found all of the above information funny. Bixbite. Wah Wah Mountains. To me, it sounded made up (not the Utah part, per se).
And speaking of made up, the choice I nearly went with for today's wordplay was Okapi -- which my nephew Jack brought up on the way to the museum. At the time, I thought he was fabricating this animal that is a cross between a giraffe and a zebra ... and then I thought that it was literally a cross (as in, mule is to donkey & horse as okapi is to giraffe & zebra) ... which made me wonder if okapis were sterile like mules are (mostly) sterile ... which made me think about the people who say that mules mess with God's overall plan ... which made me realize that I had strayed too far from my original thought path.
Bixbite. Wah Wah Mountains. Too funny ...
BIXBITE SAMPLES (MINED FROM THE WAH WAH MOUNTAINS OF UTAH):
http://www.mineralminers.com/html/bixmins.stm
OKAPI or HERE's ANOTHER ANIMAL THAT WASN'T FEATURED IN SWEET PICKLES:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-okapi.html
THE SCIENCE OF MULE OFFSPRING TO DEBUNK THE STERILITY MYTH:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4056372?dopt=Abstract
November 9, 2010
Random Tune for Tuesday 11/9/10
Sometimes these things just about write themselves.
What else would I think of on Day 4 of my Theme Week: Museum Musings featuring my experiences at the Field Museum in Chicago where the dinosaur Sue's 10th anniversary is being celebrated [btw, Sue's gender is unknown]? Below is the link to the late great Johnny Cash singing Shel Silverstein's "A Boy Named Sue", and to increase the randomness of it all, it's a clip from a Danish TV show (where he sang "son-of-a-bleep" to avoid the censors).
[And, a postscript -- I decided to not interrupt this theme week with a Reba song, but that doesn't mean I can't not mention her new album hit the streets today!]
MY NAME IS SUE, HOW DO YOU DO?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BJfDvSITY
NEW REBA TODAY!:
http://www.reba.com/
What else would I think of on Day 4 of my Theme Week: Museum Musings featuring my experiences at the Field Museum in Chicago where the dinosaur Sue's 10th anniversary is being celebrated [btw, Sue's gender is unknown]? Below is the link to the late great Johnny Cash singing Shel Silverstein's "A Boy Named Sue", and to increase the randomness of it all, it's a clip from a Danish TV show (where he sang "son-of-a-bleep" to avoid the censors).
[And, a postscript -- I decided to not interrupt this theme week with a Reba song, but that doesn't mean I can't not mention her new album hit the streets today!]
MY NAME IS SUE, HOW DO YOU DO?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BJfDvSITY
NEW REBA TODAY!:
http://www.reba.com/
November 8, 2010
Random Memorial for Monday 11/8/10
Gone but not forgotten: the metal skate shoe.
I walked around the corner at the Field Museum last Friday (Day 3 of Theme Week: Museum Musings) and was surprised by an exhibit of nothing but footwear from floor to ceiling. Ancient Japanese clogs on little wooden stilts, authentic snow shoes, crampons for icy mountain climbing, fancy Manolo Blahniks -- all these faded from view when I spotted the item I knew well from my youth. What I didn't see was the skate key (which was true to form as that was always lost)! Call me "on my way to old fuddy duddy", but the current sneakers with wheels just don't come close!
Fun from the family toy box that collected rust all too quickly causing them to do less than "turn" as we shuffled down the sidewalks of yesteryear, you are missed.
I'M OLD ENOUGH NOW TO CONSIDER MAKING A "VINTAGE" PURCHASE:
http://www.aw-wrdsmth.com/offers/Vintage-All-Metal-Roller-skates.html
AND, IF YOU PRACTICED, YOU MIGHT END UP SUCCESSFUL HERE:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=78220564764
WALK A MILE IN SOMEONE ELSE's SHOES:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/exhibit_sites/living_together/shoes1.htm
I walked around the corner at the Field Museum last Friday (Day 3 of Theme Week: Museum Musings) and was surprised by an exhibit of nothing but footwear from floor to ceiling. Ancient Japanese clogs on little wooden stilts, authentic snow shoes, crampons for icy mountain climbing, fancy Manolo Blahniks -- all these faded from view when I spotted the item I knew well from my youth. What I didn't see was the skate key (which was true to form as that was always lost)! Call me "on my way to old fuddy duddy", but the current sneakers with wheels just don't come close!
Fun from the family toy box that collected rust all too quickly causing them to do less than "turn" as we shuffled down the sidewalks of yesteryear, you are missed.
I'M OLD ENOUGH NOW TO CONSIDER MAKING A "VINTAGE" PURCHASE:
http://www.aw-wrdsmth.com/offers/Vintage-All-Metal-Roller-skates.html
AND, IF YOU PRACTICED, YOU MIGHT END UP SUCCESSFUL HERE:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=78220564764
WALK A MILE IN SOMEONE ELSE's SHOES:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/exhibit_sites/living_together/shoes1.htm
November 7, 2010
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/7/10
What Chicago is talking about this week:
"Thar's gold in them thar exhibits!" It's day 2 of Theme Week: Museum Musings, and it was a blast to see the new temporary main exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum last Friday. Things I learned:
1) I knew about the San Francisco gold rush, but was actually surprised to see the information about the earlier one in Georgia! Somehow I missed that part of history when I was growing up, possibly because it was an east coast version of how badly we treated the natives.
2.) The most memorable parts for me were the sunken treasure (exhibited in a water tank display to prove the point that there's little damage decades after it arrived in Davey Jones' locker [btw -- not Davey the Monkee]) and the Academy, Emmy, Golden Globe and Olympic medals on display (having indefinitely postponed any career in entertainment, it may be the closest I get).
3.) For anyone unhappy that they've packed on a few pounds (I pretend I've done it to prepare for the cold cold winter ahead in Chicago -- and my fear is I'll double in size now that I'm working from home where I can graze all day), be sure to stop by the final room to determine the value of your weight in gold (for me, I'm up to about 4.5 million dollars)! It was all the more "meta" since gold is measured in ... wait for it ... troy ounces!
GEORGIA GOVERNOR FREE TO TAKE LAND FROM CHEROKEES (FOR THE GOLD!!):
http://content.sos.state.ga.us/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/adhoc&CISOPTR=14&CISOSHOW=11
EXHIBIT ACTIVE UNTIL MARCH 6, 2011:
http://www.examiner.com/midwest-getaways-in-chicago/go-for-the-gold-at-the-field-museum-chicago
FIND YOUR VALUE IN GOLD:
http://www.onlygold.com/tutorialpages/yourweightingold.asp
"Thar's gold in them thar exhibits!" It's day 2 of Theme Week: Museum Musings, and it was a blast to see the new temporary main exhibit at Chicago's Field Museum last Friday. Things I learned:
1) I knew about the San Francisco gold rush, but was actually surprised to see the information about the earlier one in Georgia! Somehow I missed that part of history when I was growing up, possibly because it was an east coast version of how badly we treated the natives.
2.) The most memorable parts for me were the sunken treasure (exhibited in a water tank display to prove the point that there's little damage decades after it arrived in Davey Jones' locker [btw -- not Davey the Monkee]) and the Academy, Emmy, Golden Globe and Olympic medals on display (having indefinitely postponed any career in entertainment, it may be the closest I get).
3.) For anyone unhappy that they've packed on a few pounds (I pretend I've done it to prepare for the cold cold winter ahead in Chicago -- and my fear is I'll double in size now that I'm working from home where I can graze all day), be sure to stop by the final room to determine the value of your weight in gold (for me, I'm up to about 4.5 million dollars)! It was all the more "meta" since gold is measured in ... wait for it ... troy ounces!
GEORGIA GOVERNOR FREE TO TAKE LAND FROM CHEROKEES (FOR THE GOLD!!):
http://content.sos.state.ga.us/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/adhoc&CISOPTR=14&CISOSHOW=11
EXHIBIT ACTIVE UNTIL MARCH 6, 2011:
http://www.examiner.com/midwest-getaways-in-chicago/go-for-the-gold-at-the-field-museum-chicago
FIND YOUR VALUE IN GOLD:
http://www.onlygold.com/tutorialpages/yourweightingold.asp
November 6, 2010
Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/6/10
I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... if you really don't like people, please get a job somewhere other than a public museum!
One of the nephews came with other relatives to town yesterday for a last supper in Chicago before heading off to basic training and all things Air Force, and we spent the afternoon at the Field Museum. (Which, by the way, will supply the next six days of posts in a long overdue return of one of my occasional Theme Weeks - this one called Museum Musings.)
Included in our admission was the 3D movie "Awakening Sue" (a feature on the famous tyrannosaurus rex that is celebrating her 10 year anniversary this year), and we had pre-arranged ticket times for the 3:20 showing. We all headed over to the theater after exiting the climate change exhibit (which concluded with an interactive feature where museum-goers could add their conservation tips to a display by writing on an index card -- said one non-team-player, "feed Al Gore to Sue") and an angry child employee (who was on her cell phone) huffily told us that we could not line up outside the door until 10 minutes before the show.
I asked her what time it was and, when she replied "3:08", I responded: "Would you like to discuss that policy for the next 120 seconds or could my group just be first in line?" She walked away, only to be seen again when she threatened the whole crowd that the 3D glasses she passed out had a security device in them so that she would know if we tried to steal them.
What I really learned from that experience -- she should get a new job, and I should see if I can start a consulting company where I go around and test the limits of the patience of people who must deal with the public. That would be a win-win!
ALL ABOUT SUE:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/sue/#index
EIGHT JOBS THAT REQUIRE NO EXPERIENCE:
http://www.suite101.com/content/eight-jobs-that-require-no-experience-a83405
AS ALWAYS, THERE's A GROUP FOR EVERYONE ON FB:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2375846781
... if you really don't like people, please get a job somewhere other than a public museum!
One of the nephews came with other relatives to town yesterday for a last supper in Chicago before heading off to basic training and all things Air Force, and we spent the afternoon at the Field Museum. (Which, by the way, will supply the next six days of posts in a long overdue return of one of my occasional Theme Weeks - this one called Museum Musings.)
Included in our admission was the 3D movie "Awakening Sue" (a feature on the famous tyrannosaurus rex that is celebrating her 10 year anniversary this year), and we had pre-arranged ticket times for the 3:20 showing. We all headed over to the theater after exiting the climate change exhibit (which concluded with an interactive feature where museum-goers could add their conservation tips to a display by writing on an index card -- said one non-team-player, "feed Al Gore to Sue") and an angry child employee (who was on her cell phone) huffily told us that we could not line up outside the door until 10 minutes before the show.
I asked her what time it was and, when she replied "3:08", I responded: "Would you like to discuss that policy for the next 120 seconds or could my group just be first in line?" She walked away, only to be seen again when she threatened the whole crowd that the 3D glasses she passed out had a security device in them so that she would know if we tried to steal them.
What I really learned from that experience -- she should get a new job, and I should see if I can start a consulting company where I go around and test the limits of the patience of people who must deal with the public. That would be a win-win!
ALL ABOUT SUE:
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/sue/#index
EIGHT JOBS THAT REQUIRE NO EXPERIENCE:
http://www.suite101.com/content/eight-jobs-that-require-no-experience-a83405
AS ALWAYS, THERE's A GROUP FOR EVERYONE ON FB:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2375846781
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