Brad's best picture of the day, in my opinion. They're such beautiful animals!
Friday, July 28, 2006
Otter Carrying Soda
I involuntarily gave a really high-pitched squeal of delight when the otter came out carrying the soda. Rivals baby pandas for cuteness!
Bat Rays at Sea World
This was my favorite part of Sea World when I was about 6 years old. It was still just as fun!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Comic Con! #1
Brad and I returned on Monday from 5 days in California at the San Diego Comic Con. For those who haven't heard (as I hadn't, 2 years ago), Comic Con is a convention for comic book art, but it has grown to the point that it describes itself more as a convention for 'lovers of pop culture'. Comics, all kinds, movie companies, fantasy books and movies, Star Trek and other TV series past and present, Star Wars, artists, fans, publishers, and more all converge for 4 days. I'm going to blog a couple posts about my thoughts on it.
First, however, let me say quickly that we took a one-day detour to go to Sea World. I hadn't been there for over 10 years, and I'm almost embarassed to admit how much fun I had. Sea otters, orcas, dolphins, and such are high up on my 'cute' list, especially when they perform in a show. Well, 'cute' doesn't quite cover it, since killer whales are not the same kind of cute as an otter carrying a can of soda (picture to follow), but it's just a rare spectacle to see rare animals showing their intelligence through what they've learned, and I guess the best way to put it is that I appreciate that. I squealed and oohed and ahhed all day, as we went to about 5 animal performances, and Brad was extremely patient through the whole excursion. I think he was keeping his mind on the upcoming Con to keep from getting too bored, although he really enjoyed the animal shows too (and even touched a bat ray, albeit under duress- from me :-).
Wednesday night, however, we made our way to downtown San Diego, found an elusive parking space, and hit the Con for preview night. This was an early entry for all the 4-day pass holders to register and be the first to see the merchandise floor. Now the San Diego convention center is huge, and the Con filled it to overflowing. The ground floor, with the merchandise booths, was probably about a quarter-mile long and covered with booths and aisleways for its entire length. We wandered around for about an hour and a half, and most of the time my mouth was just hanging open, trying to take it all in.
Now, I saw myself rather as an interloper at this event, because I really know next to nothing about most comic books and characters. All I know about Batman, Spiderman, etc, comes from the recent movies and from Brad. I do know my Star Wars, and I've read Tolkien and Hitchhiker's Guide, so I didn't consider myself a complete ignoramus, but my knowledge is a cupful in the vast ocean that was presented at this Con. So I tried to take as much as I could in, but I also bordered on overload most of the time we were there. I helped balance the feeling by people-watching; and if you're a people-watcher, you should go to this event next year- it was a prime spot for the passtime. The crowd was not homogenous, by any means, but there definitely was a trend towards males in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Some people were in regular clothes, some had shirts or buttons proclaiming their particular allegiance (Green Lantern, anime series, Star Wars, etc), and others were in costume. Of the costumes, some were intended to be a certain character and others (this was more prevalent among girls) were an opportunity to dress however they always wanted to (mostly this was Hot-Topic-esque).
Probably the dominant impression in my mind, as we left that night, was that the escapism that comics and pop culture offer is hugely popular. There are plenty of other forms of escapism in the world, too, but this was a big representative slice. It made me think about why people want the escapism, and how much it's a part of my life, and what my attitude should be towards that. The next four days gave me a lot more time to think these things over.
First, however, let me say quickly that we took a one-day detour to go to Sea World. I hadn't been there for over 10 years, and I'm almost embarassed to admit how much fun I had. Sea otters, orcas, dolphins, and such are high up on my 'cute' list, especially when they perform in a show. Well, 'cute' doesn't quite cover it, since killer whales are not the same kind of cute as an otter carrying a can of soda (picture to follow), but it's just a rare spectacle to see rare animals showing their intelligence through what they've learned, and I guess the best way to put it is that I appreciate that. I squealed and oohed and ahhed all day, as we went to about 5 animal performances, and Brad was extremely patient through the whole excursion. I think he was keeping his mind on the upcoming Con to keep from getting too bored, although he really enjoyed the animal shows too (and even touched a bat ray, albeit under duress- from me :-).
Wednesday night, however, we made our way to downtown San Diego, found an elusive parking space, and hit the Con for preview night. This was an early entry for all the 4-day pass holders to register and be the first to see the merchandise floor. Now the San Diego convention center is huge, and the Con filled it to overflowing. The ground floor, with the merchandise booths, was probably about a quarter-mile long and covered with booths and aisleways for its entire length. We wandered around for about an hour and a half, and most of the time my mouth was just hanging open, trying to take it all in.
Now, I saw myself rather as an interloper at this event, because I really know next to nothing about most comic books and characters. All I know about Batman, Spiderman, etc, comes from the recent movies and from Brad. I do know my Star Wars, and I've read Tolkien and Hitchhiker's Guide, so I didn't consider myself a complete ignoramus, but my knowledge is a cupful in the vast ocean that was presented at this Con. So I tried to take as much as I could in, but I also bordered on overload most of the time we were there. I helped balance the feeling by people-watching; and if you're a people-watcher, you should go to this event next year- it was a prime spot for the passtime. The crowd was not homogenous, by any means, but there definitely was a trend towards males in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Some people were in regular clothes, some had shirts or buttons proclaiming their particular allegiance (Green Lantern, anime series, Star Wars, etc), and others were in costume. Of the costumes, some were intended to be a certain character and others (this was more prevalent among girls) were an opportunity to dress however they always wanted to (mostly this was Hot-Topic-esque).
Probably the dominant impression in my mind, as we left that night, was that the escapism that comics and pop culture offer is hugely popular. There are plenty of other forms of escapism in the world, too, but this was a big representative slice. It made me think about why people want the escapism, and how much it's a part of my life, and what my attitude should be towards that. The next four days gave me a lot more time to think these things over.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Tag- Sets of 4s
I've been tagged with this fun list thingy from Veronica. It's late, so I reserve the right to change these answers if I read them in the morning and think of better things to put. :-)
Four jobs I've had:
1. Office assistant at a CPA's office (read: copy, file, type)
2. 'Counselor' for summer daycare program (ages 6-14)
3. Social studies teacher- first at high school, now junior high
4. Sylvan Learning Center teacher
Four movies I can watch over and over again:
1. Say Anything
2. Wimbledon
3. An Ideal Husband
4. Garden State
Four places I've lived:
1. Torrance, CA (age 1-4)
2. Camarillo, CA (age 4-18)
3. Santa Clarita, CA (age 18-24)
4. Phoenix, AZ (current!)
Four places I've vacationed:
1. Italy
2. New York, NY
3. Washington, DC
4. Hungary
Four TV shows I watch:
1. Lost
2. House, MD
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. CSI
Four foods I love:
1. Ice cream
2. Pizza (and other Italian)
3. Strawberries
4. Sourdough bread
Four sites I visit daily:
1. Fox News
2. Comics.com
3. CNN News
4. IMDB (Internet Movie Database)
Four places I'd rather be:
Actually, my favorite spot is home with HH, where I am now, so this question doesn't really work. But as to places I would like to be (with HH)...
1. Australia
2. London, England
3. with my family in California
4. Italy
Four random things in my bag:
(does this mean purse?)
1. band-aids
2. gift cards
3. phone hands-free cord
4. movie tickets for the midnight showing of Pirates II (this Thursday!)
Four things most people don't know about me:
1. I love rubber stamping and cross-stitch
2. I feel most lonely at large parties
3. I miss my brother tons, now that we're grown and living in different states. When we were little I gave him no end of grief. :-(
4. Just once, I would like to dress goth-punk and dye my hair black
Four people I tag:
1. Stacy
2. Staci
3. Brad
4. You!
Four jobs I've had:
1. Office assistant at a CPA's office (read: copy, file, type)
2. 'Counselor' for summer daycare program (ages 6-14)
3. Social studies teacher- first at high school, now junior high
4. Sylvan Learning Center teacher
Four movies I can watch over and over again:
1. Say Anything
2. Wimbledon
3. An Ideal Husband
4. Garden State
Four places I've lived:
1. Torrance, CA (age 1-4)
2. Camarillo, CA (age 4-18)
3. Santa Clarita, CA (age 18-24)
4. Phoenix, AZ (current!)
Four places I've vacationed:
1. Italy
2. New York, NY
3. Washington, DC
4. Hungary
Four TV shows I watch:
1. Lost
2. House, MD
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. CSI
Four foods I love:
1. Ice cream
2. Pizza (and other Italian)
3. Strawberries
4. Sourdough bread
Four sites I visit daily:
1. Fox News
2. Comics.com
3. CNN News
4. IMDB (Internet Movie Database)
Four places I'd rather be:
Actually, my favorite spot is home with HH, where I am now, so this question doesn't really work. But as to places I would like to be (with HH)...
1. Australia
2. London, England
3. with my family in California
4. Italy
Four random things in my bag:
(does this mean purse?)
1. band-aids
2. gift cards
3. phone hands-free cord
4. movie tickets for the midnight showing of Pirates II (this Thursday!)
Four things most people don't know about me:
1. I love rubber stamping and cross-stitch
2. I feel most lonely at large parties
3. I miss my brother tons, now that we're grown and living in different states. When we were little I gave him no end of grief. :-(
4. Just once, I would like to dress goth-punk and dye my hair black
Four people I tag:
1. Stacy
2. Staci
3. Brad
4. You!
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