Saturday, February 24, 2007

Not New York...

...but a visit last week to the mountains of Arizona:

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Dog Show!

Yesterday my friend from work and I attended the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. It was quite an experience. The best part, by far, was being able to be "backstage" in the benching area where the dogs hang out and get primped for their big show moment. We watched some of the best of breed judging, but that part actually takes a really loooong time. And to my eye, when you put 50 Vizla's in a ring they all look alike. Cute, every darn one.

The other awesome thing is that Pedigree (dog food company) sponsered the show. What's so great about this fact is that Pedigree is in the middle of one of the biggest campaigns ever that promotes shelter dog adoption. So here you have these hundreds and hundreds of pure-bread dogs showing off their stuff, but the main sponser of the event is saying "don't forget that shelter dogs makes great pets, too!" I was really impressed by them. As you all know, Jack is a sehlter dog that we rescued. She was one day from being put down, and we saved her furry little life! Pedigree was handing out swag bags as well, and me and Mal got knitted ski hats that say "Dogs Rule" and treats for Jack and a frisbee, too. Good times.

I have put together a slideshow of some of the best pictures that I took backstage. It was too dark in the arena to take shots, but these will make you smile.

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery.php?instanceid=55516618 (here's the link to copy and paste if the promt doesn't send you to the slideshow.)

Ps: 3 inches of icy snow on the ground this morning!

Monday, February 12, 2007

Greenpoint, Home of the Largest Oil Spill Ever in the Whole Universe

Came across this tidbit in the New York Times the other day.

Seems my quaint little Polish-ghetto of a neighborhood is still suffering the effects of a massive oil spill that happened 50 years ago. (we're right on the water in the northern-most point of Brooklyn.)My favorite part is where they talk about the silt from the river being one-tenth toxic oil.

Sweet. The ground here is literally soaked with oil. That's really great.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Cosmic Collisions and Dinosaur Bones

Yesterday the husband and I took a trip to the Museum of Natural History. It was nearly tourist-free, which was nice. Actually, it was nearly empty. Which was really nice. Not that I mind tourists, I just like an empty museum experience a lot more.

We said hello the dinosaurs, stood in front of models of Pangea, and weighed ourselves on the moon. (I weigh about 20 pounds on the moon.) We sat in one of those huge dome theatres and watched an interective film about star collisions in the universe, and it blew our minds. Well, the film didn't blow our minds, but the general idea of the universe blew our minds. Trying to understand the enormity of it all blew my mind. The we had heated discussions about how awesome and wonderful science is and how people who don't believe in it or trust it must be delusional. I wish I had become a scientist instead of an actor sometimes.

We poked around in the gems and rocks and I (as I often am) was bewildered by the fact that so many people demand diamonds to wear when there are so many very beautiful and amazing stones in the world. We explored the Earth science section and watxched earthquakes happen all over the world (Hello, Central Valley!) and we jumped on a special spot that recorded our shockwaves like a little quake. We stared in awe at a slice of a tree that began growning in 1444 and didn't die until the mid-twentieth century. (!) We decided that we should take a vacation to Yellowstone someday.

We saw the big, blue whale that hangs from the ceiling of the sea life room. Nicole tells me that every child growing up in New York remembers this huge, life-sized whale from field trips. We saw a crab-spider that was about the size of Jack (ew) and learned that there are many species of sea-dwelling things that light up on their own. Which I think is pretty darn cool.

So, that was our day. Good times.

I heart science, and I heart NY.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

New York, New York. The city so nice...

...they named it twice.

My dad sent me this link.

If you even like New York City a teensy bit, this website will fascinate you.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Monday

Monday: A log

Bundle on as much clothing as possible, head outside to freezey cold wind.

Take the G train to the E train to the C train to the 1 Train.

Almost get hit by taxi while crossing street to go to doctor's appointment, late. Because I had to take 4 trains, which takes a while.

Get poked by way too many needles... things like tetnus shots and whooping cough (is that even an issue anymore?) and flu shot and blood drawn for things like cholesterol. Needles are not my friend, so I had to sit in the office for half and hour before I could walk away without passing out. I took four trains for this?

Pop into nice, New York land-mark tpe coffee shop for OJ and scrambies, so I can take four trains home without going into shock from my needle adventure.

Buy prosciutto. $4.99

Buy sunglasses. $9.99

Take the 1 train to the C train to the E train (get lost in 42nd street station) to the G train.

Gads... it's only 1pm and I feel like going back to bed.