The Triceratops and the Whale

If you love the American Natural History Museum like I do, then these archived photos including the initial set-up of the space and the installation of exhibits is a must-see. If you don't love the AMHM, why are we friends?Check out this picture of them swabbing the elephant skin. The navigation for the photos is horrible but for some of the highlights, you can go here.I can't remember the first experience I had at the museum, or who took me, but...

Mr. Job's Wonder Emporium

After the iPocalypse when the new iPhone came out, I was wary of upgrading until I was sure everything was tip top. I realized that Apple wouldn't be fixing the bugs anytime soon and at a few friends' urgings, I had to just suck it up and upgrade.The new app store is ridiculous. I mean, there's a ton of junk in there but there are so many cool things that are already out there that I'm sad I got on the wagon so late. I have decided to not purchase...

No Money, No Problems

"I keep hoping the corporations will wake up and realize that publishing is not, in fact, a normal business with a nice healthy relationship to capitalism. Elements of publishing are, or can be forced to be, successfully capitalistic: the textbook industry is all too clear a proof of that. How-to books and the like have some market predictability. But inevitably some of what publishers publish is, or is partly, literature-art.And the relationship...

The Dark Knight (2008)

Man this movie came in hyped for me. All week long people have been asking me what I thought of it. I had to meekly reply, "I haven't watched it (yet)!" My geek cred was in serious dispute. People everywhere loved this thing and I was hoping to be swept away by Christopher Nolan's vision.Then again, seeing as I didn't enjoy Batman Begins that much, I had to be skeptical. Keeping my expectations in check, I finally got to watch it tonight. What...

Said the Shotgun to the Head

As a long time admirer and fan of Saul Williams' work, I was delighted to come across his piece titled "An Open Letter to Oprah Winfrey." In it, he provides his answer to a question she posed: "Are all rappers poets?" Excerpted below."Because of the competitive stance that all emcees are prone to take, they, like soldiers begin to believe that they can show no sign of vulnerability. Thus, the most popular emcees of our age are often those that...

WYSIWYG

Don't read books by their covers? Yeah right. Studies have shown that an eye-catching cover can increase sales a gazillion percent. Heck, when browsing through a bookstore all I'm doing is walking around picking up books to see if the cover material is matte, my favorite.A great book cover even alters my reading habits. Reading a book with a great cover makes you be more careful with it, because you're not only reading the art of work inside,...

Light My Candle

My love for musicals is well documented. I went (and am still going) through an obsessed with Wicked period. Recently though I've been listening to a lot of Les Mis and fiending to watch that and Phantom again. Actually, someone I met said that Les Miserables was her favorite book of all time so I should check that out first. Victor Hugo is way underrated.The thing with musicals is that it's sometimes seen as a semi-highbrow, somewhat feminine...

Hellboy 2 (2008)

Man it's been a pretty horrific summer for movies hasn't it? Quick, name a good movie you've seen in the last two months. I'd guess you'd have to date back to Iron Man to find something that was entertaining and well done. Everything else has been really hit or miss. I keep hearing good (and some bad) things about Wall-E so that may have to be the saving grace of the summer since I'm pretty sure Batman will underwhelm.I really thought Hellboy...

The Ghost Whisperer

While I can't say it's been a highly anticipated album, I have been waiting for Scarlett Johansson to get her much hyped (and vilified) album out. The big question was "Can she sing?" Well, if you've seen Lost in Translation, there's hints that she can give a charming vocally on-and-off performance -- but that's with her on-screen. Then her version of a jazz classic, Summertime, seemed to indicate that she could translate her awesome raspy talking...

K.I.T.

Do you want to improve your immune system functions? Decrease your levels of stress? Cope better with trauma and past emotional experiences? Increase your attention span and memory capacity? How about having longer lasting relationships? All this and more can be had by simply writing in a journal for as little as fifteen minutes a day.That's how Penzu.com breaks down the health benefits of keeping a journal. Strangely, the last bullet pointed...

Stuff I've Been Reading 7

BOOKS READ:Seventh Son - Orson Scott CardDespite Everything - Aaron CometbusReading Like a Writer - Francine ProseUnfinished Business - Jack McCallumBird by Bird - Anne LamottThe only (new) book I've read in the last six weeks has been the Card, which I just finished yesterday. All the other ones listed above I've either read before or just flipped through enough to feel like I finished it. I don't feel like I haven't been reading but I guess it's...