California vacations are all about doing things with the entire family, and one of the best things to do while in the Golden State is visit one of the state’s top-notch aquariums. From San Francisco to La Jolla, there are several awaiting your discovery.

If you have young kids, a trip to an aquarium can be richly rewarding experience as you watch the wonder in their eyes as they get an up-close look at the other-worldly creatures swimming in tanks designed to look like native habitats. With elaborate signing and fun hands-on exhibits, an aquarium seems almost like a theme park to most children. They’ll discover sealife and various creatures that will offer hours of stimulation.

Here is where you can find some great aquariums in the state of California:

Monterey Bay Aquarium

With its colorful history and Cannery Row sightseeing, Monterey is a popular destination for many California travelers. And Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the biggest reasons people travel to Monterey. You can easily spend many hours in this first-class facility housing more than 6,500 fascinating sea creatures.

Housed in one of the former cannery buildings, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is a fascinating exploration of the undersea life found near Monterey. The aquarium covers everything from tide pool creatures to sharks and even features a 31-foot high kelp forest that is visible in one of the aquarium’s huge tanks. Two-story viewing windows give visitors the feeling they are truly 20,000 leagues under the sea.

One of our first impressions was how unique and artistic many of the exhibits are. They combine living creatures with art displays in a very unsual way. The great thing is that exhibits are always changing. So, while we enjoyed the Jellies during our visit, you’ll see other interesting exhbits when you go: Living Art exhibit which featured not only the always colorful jellyfish, but artwork and installations by such well know art figures as Dale Chihuly, David Hockney and Cork Marcheschi.

Among the other parts of the aquarium we enjoyed were the sharks and schools of fish in the Monterey Bay Habitats section, the unusual animals found only at great depths in the Mysteries of the Deep exhibit, and the California Sea Otters, always a crowd favorite.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is located at 100 Aquarium Way in Long Beach. For more information, phone 1-800-756-3737 or visit www.montereybayaquarium.org.

Aquarium of the Pacific

If you haven’t been to Long Beach yet, you’re in for a treat. You’ve no doubt heard about the famous Queen Mary – worth an hour or two of exploration all by itself – but nearby is Rainbow Harbor, which offers a multitude of activities that are all within a short walk. The “boardwalk” around the harbor’s shoreline takes you past a host of sea-going vessels ranging from huge excursion boats to paddle-wheel riverboats to historic schooners to garden-variety fishing boats. Several boats offer harbor tours while others will take you whale-watching.

One of the must-see attractions right in Rainbow Harbor is the Aquarium of the Pacific. Home to more than 12,500 ocean animals, the Aquarium also features 19 major habitats and 32 focus exhibits. We spent a couple hours wandering through the exhibits and found each one fascinating and a fun experience for oldsters as well as youngsters.

The Shark Lagoon is one of the most popular exhibits at the Aquarium of the Pacific. With more than 150 sharks, the lagoon includes large sharks, rays and shark touch pools where you reach down and feel them as they swim by. The Aquarium also has exhibits on various geographic areas including the Northern Pacific, Southern California/Baja and the Tropical Pacific.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is an example of major redevelopment that has made Long Beach one of the most surprising and interesting destinations in California. This is a former Navy town, which some people say spawned businesses that mainly catered to enlisted men and were not the family-oriented type of businesses they needed to be a major tourist attraction. All of that has now changed and the stylish condos, new restaurants and colorful shopping areas such as Shoreline Village and Pine Avenue have made Long Beach a popular spot for families and couples from all over California.

Aquarium of the Bay

Next time you visit Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, the Aquarium of the Bay is right in the center of the action. Even in summer, the chilly breezes blowing down on the wharf may convince you it would be good to take a break and see a great exhibit that happens to be located indoors.

Uniquely, the Aquarium of the Bay has about 300 tunnels that visitors can walk through that makes it feel like you’re walking through a fish tank. Sharks, eels, octopus – whatever sea animals you’re interested in, chances are you’ll see it swimming somewhere at the Aquarium of the Bay.

The kids will be especially interested in the touch pools where they can touch starfish, bat rays and even small sharks.

But here it’s not just the aquarium that brings the ocean to life – the many seafood restaurants and tourist attractions along Pier 39 create a festive atmosphere with great vistas of the San Francisco Bay. Take a walk along the pier and you’ll probably spot dozens of sea lions sprawling on the docks below. It’s as if they’re holding court for the tourists who can’t resist their charms.

For more information on the Aquarium of the Bay, visit www.aquariumofthebay.com or call 1-888-732-3483.

Birch Aquarium

The village of La Jolla, near San Diego, is worth a getaway any time of year with its spectacular coastal views, great restaurants and trendy shopping. But one of the best local attractions for kids is the Birch Aquarium.

This is not a huge facility like the aquariums in Monterey and Long Beach, but rather a smaller, more intimate experience where the kids can take their time viewing the exhibits and where parents won’t have to deal with large crowds.

Exhibits at the aquarium are organized by type of fish, and by type of environment. For example, the “Gateway to Baja” looks at fish from that particular region. Another exhibit is on the various species found in tide pools. You can see the difference between the fish found in Southern California waters and those found in the tropics.

Among the most popular exhibits at the Birch Aquarium is the seahorse exhibit where you can view a wide variety of these creatures ranging from tiny half-inch seahorses up to sea dragons. Kids also will learn a lot about oceanography through various interactive exhibits. They can ride an earthquake machine or learn the properties of water and how waves are made. Videos offer extraordinary glimpses of life beneath the sea.

For more information on Birch Aquarium, call 858-534-3474 or visit http://aquarium.ucsd.edu.

When you think about Maui Ocean Center, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Maui Ocean Center are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

Located on the south side of Maui is Ma’alaea Bay, home to the Maui Ocean Center. The center is the largest tropical aquarium in not only the state of Hawaii, but in the United States altogether. If visiting the island of Maui, this spectator spot should not be missed. The ocean center has a huge aquarium that has water filtered into it from the Bay. This aquarium is as real as it gets. This tank has a tunnel that you can actually walk through. This makes for great pictures. You can get a picture of yourself standing face to face with a sand shark. While walking through the tunnel, you will see sharks and rays, and tons of different types of fish.

The best thing about the tunnel is that you can see the underside of the creatures as they swim above you. The tanks also boast a coral and tropical fish display that will amaze anyone. The coral itself is breathtaking. In fact this coral collection is the largest of any aquarium in the world.

Another amazing display inside the aquarium is the giant cylinder columns of jelly fish. They are several feet wide, and you can watch the jellyfish float above you. The sight of these creatures is both terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time.

Next you move along through the aquarium to the sea turtles tanks. These sea turtles have been injured at some point in their lives and their stay at the aquarium is only a temporary one. They will be reintroduced back into their natural habitat once they have recovered. This is my favorite exhibit in the aquarium. If you happen to visit during feeding time you can actually feed the turtles. It’s great to watch these huge docile creatures chomping happily on their lunch.

The ocean center also has an interactive display on whales, where visitors can learn about these giant mammals. Whale watching is a big hobby in Hawaii. There are several whale watching tours available. Turtle bay resort located on the north shore of Oahu boasts that during the winter you can actually see whales from your balcony.

So far, we’ve uncovered some interesting facts about Maui Ocean Center. You may decide that the following information is even more interesting.

The Maui Ocean Center is a perfect place for families to visit. They offer a wide variety of exhibits for children that are both informative and exciting. There is also a touch pond, where children can pick up some of the creatures and actually handle them. They can see sea stars and sea urchins, as well as skates and rays. Be careful when stroking rays, however, you should always stroke them from head to tail in order to avoid being stung by there tails.

No kid friendly aquarium would be complete without food. The ocean center offers a cafe where you can grab lunch. They have light fare such as salads and sandwiches, and of course, ice cream. Also don’t miss the great picture taking opportunities that the center has to offer. Along the backside of the aquarium there are some spectacular views of Ma’alaea Bay, and there is a dolphin statue located in the very front of the center that also makes for a great souvenir photo.

If you’ve picked some pointers about Maui Ocean Center that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won’t really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don’t use it.

Explore South Africa’s Underwater Animal Life
South Africa is the meeting-point for two oceans with completely different temperatures and ecosystems: the the chilly Atlantic and tropical Indian Oceans. This mixing and meeting of the oceans means that the South African coastline throngs with a fascinating variety of marine species, which are featured in South Africa’s world-class aquariums.

South Africa’s aquariums are not just made up of walls of fish tanks. The aquariums are among the best in the world, and showcase spectacular marine life in innovative and educational displays. They also give visitors the opportunity to closely observe the aquarium’s fishy inhabitants, by allowing them to dive in or near the tanks. Not only focused on fish, the aquariums display the magnificent and, in many cases endangered marine mammals and sea birds of South Africa.

Where two oceans meet

The aquarium best situated to show off the unique diversity of life at the meeting of the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans is Cape Town’s Two Oceans Aquarium, located at the V&A Waterfront. The Aquarium boasts more than 8000 live specimens, representing approximately 300 species of fishes, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles and birds, and plants.

This amazing underwater world is presented in six creatively designed galleries. The Indian Ocean gallery features colourful tropical fish from the warm Indian ocean, and you can walk through a 3m wide cylindrical exhibit to really experience the jewel-like colours of the fishes. In contrast, the Atlantic Ocean Gallery displays that ocean’s resident species, including endangered Knysna seahorses and weird giant spider crabs. Another gallery houses the captivating Cape fur seals, which are not trained to do traditional sea shows, but are shown in their natural state, and visitors can view them from above and below water. A river exhibit and kelp forest display educate visitors about these fragile habitats and the animals that live in them.

A definite must-see is the predator display, with its massive ragged-tooth sharks, which you can view close-up through an enormous acryclic panel. If you have a scuba qualification, you might like to have an even closer view of these amazing creatures, as you can dive with the sharks and other predatory fish, or amongst the fish of the fascinating kelp forest tank.

Meet the dolphins

If you’d like to meet the friendly and intelligent bottle nosed dolphins that frolic off South Africa’s coastline, the best place to go is the Bayworld Aquarium and Oceanarium in Port Elizabeth. Bayworld’s main attraction is its huge dolphin lake where a playful group of dolphins entertain audiences several times a day. The dolphin lake is among the largest in the world, and the oceanarium is home to a significant dolphin research centre.

There’s also a spectacular tropical fish tank and a large tank full of large fish, sharks, rays and turtles, as well as a breeding colony of penguins and other sea birds. A large seal pool provides the habitat for a small colony of Cape fur seals and a huge stranded elephant seal.

Dive into Sea World

uShaka Sea World, on Durban’s Golden Mile, is the fifth largest aquarium in the world and offers interactive and exciting ways of viewing the ocean’s amazing animal life. Many of the aquarium’s displays are underground and viewed through the portholes of a replica 1920s shipwreck.

For a really unique view of diverse aquatic species, try out the snorkel lagoon where you can float gently over a lagoon filled with marine life and maritime relics such as a 16th century ship’s cannon, before you enter the shipwreck, where you can face up to some sharp-toothed predators, who are fortunately safely behind glass. You can also dive in the exhibit of magnificent reef fish found off the KwaZulu-Natal coast.

One of the highlights of Sea World’s tank exhibits is the Dangers of the Deep tank, occupied by sharks, sea snakes, devil fire fish and stone fish – try to head here at feeding time, and you might even be able to touch a shark as it swims past the feeding balcony. Don’t miss the beautiful fish of the Coral Gardens, or the Deep Zone, which displays some of the weird animals inhabiting the dark world at the bottom of the ocean.

You can meet bottle nosed dolphin Gambit and his friends at the entertaining shows in the 1200 seater dolphin stadium. Specially designed viewing windows enable vistors to see the dolphins both above and below the water, where you can appreciate their beauty and strength up close. Don’t forget to also visit the seal stadium, where the intelligent and agile seals entertain visitors. The African penguin is an endangered species, and the aquarium’s breeding colony is a great place to see these rare birds.

There’s the adjoining uShaka Wet ‘n Wild waterpark, with super tubes and tunnel rides, so you can end off your exciting marine experience with a splash.

Laila in Yousry Nasrallah's "The Aquarium"

Popular cinema is often the victim of criticism when compared to more “sophisticated” art films. They are thought to be base, unintelligent, and generally full of cliché and stereotypes. Bill Nichols offers an interesting counter argument when he describes the difference between documentary and fiction. What separates them, he argues, is the fact that fiction acts as “wish-fulfillment.” We all share a basic idea of what ideal love, success, hate, fear, suspicion feel like. Popular cinema performs a broad psychology of the human experience  by collectivising our dreams/fantasies/nightmares in a recognizable way.

As a case study, we begin by looking at Egyptian cinema, which can be described as the loud, obnoxious and rather silly cousin of an otherwise artistic and socially realistic family of Arab filmmakers. Interestingly, however, these Egyptian films far outnumber the art films and have a considerably larger fan base within the region.  Popular Egyptian cinema is still the most popular cinematic form in the region and is seen by just about everyone.

How did Egyptian cinema come to dominate? It was lucky enough to have some wealthy private investors in the beginning, be protected politically, and have a wealth of existing talent and popular entertainment material to work with. We briefly discussed the contributing factors to Egypt’s prominence as a film producer and distributor in the region:
-Private Investment
-An established star system
-Imported talent from Europe and other Arab nations
-Protection from Britain during wars
-Nationalization of the film industry led to technological advances.

Without fail, every Arab youngster is exposed to Egyptian cinema. Dramatic tales of love, daring, and star-crossed romance were common in every theater and television set in the Arab world. It leaves a lasting impression, and one that is often seen as a difficult obstacle for young Arab filmmakers. Not only do they come to dislike the Egyptian cinema for its embarrassing antics, but they also have to compete with it. By taking a closer look at why these films appeal to a mass audience (in particular, films that deal with love relationships), we generated a list of qualities that were typical of the Egyptian love story on film:

-”over the top”
-a generation gap in values
-class struggle (a ppor boy in love with a rich girl)
-forbidden love
-dreamy, or idealized
-centered around musical performances
-”Pure Love” as the ideal love
-societal constraints
-cheating

All of these traits seem to culminate in an overall simplification of characters’ internal romantic motivations and instead set the terms of the romance in the complex, often non-negotiable external motivations (I love him, but my family, my religion, my class, etc). It’s as if, when watching an Egyptian love story on the screen, you are watching it from above, like an exaggerated play on a stage.

Films that fit this kind of description can be likened to the melodrama genre. Melodramas can be defined as having:
“… heart-tugging, emotional plots (requiring multiple hankies) usually emphasize sensational situations or crises of human emotion, failed romance or friendship, strained familial situations, tragedy, illness, neuroses, or emotional and physical hardship within everyday life. Victims, couples, virtuous and heroic characters or suffering protagonists (usually heroines) in melodramas are presented with tremendous social pressures, threats, repression, fears, improbable events or difficulties with friends, community, work, lovers, or family. The melodramatic format allows the character(s) to work through their difficulties or surmount the problems with resolute endurance, sacrificial acts, and steadfast bravery.” (filmsite.org)

Our film for the evening was “The Aquarium” by Yousry Nasrallah (2008). It’s a brooding and meditative series of dialogues set in Cairo that center around two young and lonely professionals who resist opening their hearts to love. The characters, whose professional life ironically bring them in close contact with other people’s secrets, hide their emotions at all costs and are trapped by fear of exposure – fish that can’t leave the aquarium, but live looking outward through the glass. In a way, it’s a love story (they finally meet in the end), but certainly not one that would resemble any “traditional” Egyptian cinematic love story.

In some ways, “The Aquarium” fits the above description of the melodrama, but in others completely defies it.

Students are encouraged to relate their reactions to the film here. Also, we might consider how “The Aquarium” fits into Egyptian cinema, in a contemporary sense. In particular, how can it be understood as a commentary on Egyptian melodramas? How is love different in this film?

(content stolen from http://heiruspecs.com/)

Between Luther and Fargo, Twinkie, Muad’dib and I stopped by the 331 club and had some fancy drinks. Bloody Mary’s for them, and a Mamosa for me.

Then back on the road. (Drink responsibly and know your limits)

Vintage style posters…

Vintage style cash box…

We’ve been around this block before so we already knew it’d be fun. Jade brought us up again and low and behold, it was a rap show.

These guys didn’t even bother to stick around for the whole show so I don’t mind talking a little shit here. I can’t believe rappers are still singing along to their album tracks! Please stop lip syncing!

Still, I’m grateful and appreciative of the energy and it sounds like your mixtape is probably going to bang. Just get your show right.

Then….

and after Big Quarters…

^^^^I know, I know, I know….. blurry again^^^^

Oh, and by the way, we have all this stuff at EVERY SHOW. Sometimes more! Right now the 10 years strong hoodies are just 20 dollars if you pick one up at a show. (I’ll be working on the online ordering part of this stuff soon)

Meeting new people is half the fun. Friends of friends become just friends.

I didn’t forget your picture!

Oh snap! Is that a new TMF Opposition shirt?

A big special thanks has to go to Rob, who was the soundman for the nights show. He made Peter’s kick drum sound magical. Rick Ruben would have applauded. Rob is part of a band which can be found here –> http://www.myspace.com/battlefieldsdoom

THANKS ROB!!!

Between Luther and Fargo, Twinkie, Muad’dib and I stopped by the 331 club and had some fancy drinks.  Bloody Mary’s for them, and a Mamosa for me.

Then back on the road.  (Drink responsibly and know your limits)

Vintage style posters…

Vintage style cash box…

We’ve been around this block before so we already knew it’d be fun.  Jade brought us up again and low and behold, it was a rap show.

These guys didn’t even bother to stick around for the whole show so I don’t mind talking a little shit here.  I can’t believe rappers are still singing along to their album tracks!  Please stop lip syncing!

Still, I’m grateful and appreciative of the energy and it sounds like your mixtape is probably going to bang.  Just get your show right.

Then….

and after Big Quarters…

^^^^I know, I know, I know….. blurry again^^^^

Oh, and by the way, we have all this stuff at EVERY SHOW.  Sometimes more!  Right now the 10 years strong hoodies are just 20 dollars if you pick one up at a show.  (I’ll be working on the online ordering part of this stuff soon)

Meeting new people is half the fun.  Friends of friends become just friends.

I didn’t forget your picture!

Oh snap!  Is that a new TMF Opposition shirt?

A big special thanks has to go to Rob, who was the soundman for the nights show.  He made Peter’s kick drum sound magical.  Rick Ruben would have applauded.  Rob is part of a band which can be found here –> http://www.myspace.com/battlefieldsdoom

THANKS ROB!!!

Good god I’m slacking on this…

Hey All,

Sorry for the long delay.  We’ve all been very busy and I’ve been working on some music of my own.  We just played at the MN State Fair thanks to the Current who put us in Carousel Park (spelling?) for Minnesota Public Radio Day.  Good looking out!

Would you believe that after a largely slow month, we’ve got a bunch of shows coming up?  True story…     ….and there was much rejoicing.

9/12/2009 Heiruspecs will be performing at Pizza Luce in Duluth.  http://www.pizzaluce.com/

has you

covered if

you need more info.  Our good friends Big Quarters will be joining us for this show and it’s gonna be fresh.  Last time we were in Duluth, we played the UofM campus and it was pandamonium.  Now imagine trying to cram all of these lovely folks into a smaller room;  Exactly.

9/13/2009 Heiruspecs will be at the Concrete and Grass Festival (at Mears Park in downtown St. Paul)  http://www.concreteandgrass.com/.  It’s really worth noting that we are playing right after the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.  There are a lot of kids we know in that bunch.  See you this weekend!

9/18/2009 Heiruspecs will be at Sauce Spirits & Soundbar (3000 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis) http://www.spiritsandsound.com/

9/26/2009 Heiruspecs will be live at The Aquarium in Fargo (226 Broadway – Fargo ND) http://www.myspace.com/theaquariumfargo is a good place to get more info.

Oh, but there’s more!

BIG TROUBLE will be playing too;

Friday Sept. 11th at Eclipse Records In St. Paul for the No Bird Sings (all ages) CD Release Party.

Friday Oct. 9th @ the Dakota for the Dakota Late Night series.

In other news, Big ups to New MC for using the Heiruspecs instrumentals in his solo set.  I caught him at the Nomad the other night and it was awesome.   Just to plug a long time friend of Heiruspecs, he can be found on http://www.myspace.com/newmcsoloreleaseshow and is constantly holding up rap shows in South Minneapolis.

Word on the street is that a lot of people were, and still are buzzing about our song GET UP being used prominently in P. Diddy’s Making His Band.  We still get feedback on it even though it’s in it’s millionth round of re-runs.   No, I’m not posting a pic of Diddy.  That would be too easy.

More to come soon.  Including details on a huge sale of some Heiruspecs Hoodies just in time for the cold to start creeping in.  We live in the upper midwest, we know how to look good in the fall.

Awesome Enough,

Felix

The Loro Parque Aquarium

The Loro Parque Aquarium should be visited to see all the creatures of the deep, a very large collection too.

You can really get face to face with all these creatures that inhabit the oceans of the world and immerse yourself in the deep. Beyond the aquarium is the awe inspiring glass shark tunnel which really puts you at the bottom of the ocean face to face with some very large and active predators. See the sharks circling overhead looking for their kill. There are so many of them it is a bewildering sight.

Read more about the Loro Parque and the many other attractions you will see when you visit.

Blog posted by Expedia Property SL – Tenerife Estate Agents for Tenerife Property

DUBAI: Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Centre in The Dubai Mall has clinched the Guinness World Record for the ‘World’s Largest Acrylic Panel’. The aquarium, which opens its doors to public on Tuesday is free to view for mall visitors.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Splatter Exhibit has opened at the Aquarium in London. I wish they had Exhibits like this in SJ, I’d be there in a heartbeat. What’s crackin’ with the Expo this weekend? We rollin?

P.S. Yes that is Bugs Bunny shooting Donald Duck

Dans la catégorie artistique “irrévérencieux, shocking et totalement blasphématoire”, qui retrouvons-nous en tête de gondole ?

Les angliches.

Au moment où m’envahit le vieux souvenir d’une visite à la Saatchi Gallery, pour l’expo des Young British Artists présentant des quartiers de boeufs sous verre et des crânes emplit d’hémoglobine….. Voilà que je tombe sur la présentation d’une expo pour le moins singulière :

“Splatter” de James Cauty, à partir de demain et jusqu’au 8 novembre, à la galerie Aquarium L-13 de Londres.

Si nous sortons aujourd’hui du cadre de la publicité alternative, nous n’en restons pas moins Hors:Cadre, car les concepts remettant en questions des normes symboliquement “intouchables”, ben c’est notre dada.

1ère impression : Horrible ! ou Drôle ! Selon que l’on ait 11 ans ou plus.

Voilà qu’après un demi-siècle de course poursuite effrénée et vaine, Grominet éclate sa grande gueule à Titi ! Que Tom défonce le crâne de Jerry !! Que Daffy Duck décapite Bugs Bunny d’un atémi circulaire !!! Ou encore que Coyote dégomme cette tarlouze de Bip-Bip !!!!

C’est sanglant, c’est immoral et ca avait été annoncé par les légendaires “Itchy & Scrachy” qui rendent hilares les mouflets Simpsons.

Mais qu’est ce qui choque ou surprend au fond ?

Le sang ? Ca on a l’habitude : journal télévisé, Terminator, Rocky, Platoon, Urgence, nan ça le sang on sait que c’est du chiqué, d’autant plus en dessin.

Non, ce que James Cauty évoque ici, c’est l’impossiblité même de la mort dans un cartoon et surtout de la remise en question du statut de héros.

Et ceux pour 2 raisons à mon sens :

1 – La morale “officielle” oblige à défendre le plus faible face aux attaques du plus fort, l’immuable David contre Goliath (concept fort aux Etats-Unis depuis toujours en inversion totale avec sa politique étrangère ndlr)

2 – Et puis, si Titi ou Bip Bip claque, ben y’a plus d’histoire. C’est aussi bête que ca.

James Cauty donne donc une revanche (voire un marteau) aux mal-aimés, condamnés depuis 60 ans à perdre, face aux “héros” arroguants et adoubés par la bonne morale et la ménagère.

Les intouchables se cassent la figure. C’est la crise, quoi.

Toute ressemblance avec des événements d’actualités ne serait donc que purement fortuite…

Preparation for my stem cell transplant officially started last week!

I’m done with my bone marrow biopsy and although the final analysis won’t be ready until early next week, my oncologist informed me that the initial pathology review was very encouraging. Although the procedure went well, I was “glued” to my bed for 2 days as my hip was sore. (my marrow samples were extracted from my right rear hip bone).

Good thing i was back home in time for Mommy’s birthday last July 14. We had dinner at Lime Tree, a restaurant that serves Southeast Asian Cuisine.

Because of my “restricted diet” I wasn’t able to try their famous roti pratha and curry noodle. I just had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, a very small serving of tofu and mushrooms in olive oil and a half serving of potato cake. Bitin. Bitin.

Cheers to the best Mom in the world! Happy Birthday Mommy! Words are not enough to express my gratitude for your selfless love and devotion. I know we’ve been through a lot and your strength and faith are keeping the family intact. I can’t thank God enough for giving you to me. I love you so much Mommy.

The next day was another big day as my “baby bro” Godo celebrated his 20 plus birthday (he he he he). we went to fisherman’s wharf for lunch, went window shopping (he he he) at pier 39 and then visited the bay aquarium.

As expected, the place was full people and the restaurants are on-SRO. I think we waited for almost 45 minutes for a table. Nevertheless, I really had a great time exploring the area.

Although the trip has practically drained my energy I felt really great because somehow I am now at a “normal” place, living and moving as a “normal” person. I’m experiencing the crowd again, appreciating God’s creation and enjoying a great time with my family. (I’m missing someone though, sigh).

some pictures at the bay aquarium:

!!!

Today, I have a scheduled spinal tap at 11am and more tests are scheduled the coming days so please keep me in your prayers. Thank you to those who made comments in some of the entries. I really appreciate it and It really lifts my spirit. God bless all of you. (I’ll answer them all next time promise!)

As I always say…..the journey from brokenman to betterman….continues!! aja! aja! aja!

]]> http://aquapress.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/new-titles/ Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:44:52 +0000 aquapress http://aquapress.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/new-titles/

We have new titles in this week! ‘The Aquarium’ 1954 complete year…so far all look really great.

Auf SkatePerception bin ich gestern zufällig übder diese HD Promo gestolpert (720p / 86MB). Nach kurzem hin und her schreiben mit dem verantwortlichem Künstler war Panasonics “Big Betty” aka HVX200 und das 16×9 Super Fisheye für das Bild verantwortlich. Außerdem wurde eine Ladder Dolly verwendet die auch schon in Ty Evan’s “FullyFlared” reichlich zum Einsatz kam.

Skateboarding in HD, Enjoy

Day 21 -A-Thing-A-Day (Well, we made it to the aquarium.)

Today we had this bright idea that we would take Autumn and her best friend Raeya to the aquarium. We have a membership from when Izzy and Zanne visited and we thought we should use it again. We also wanted to take them to see the mummies at Ye Olde Curiosity Shop since they are Daphne and Velma. They loved the thought of solving a mystery but the mummies are a little freaky!

All went well, until the ride home when Autumn had a hunger crash and turned into The Night of the Living Dead. And of course mid-freak out, a train went through town, the South Park bridge went up and Autumn nearly had to hitch hike home. Ah, family time. And we wonder why we never leave the house on our days off.

This last saturday, January 5th, I had my first shift as a High School Volunteer for the Seattle Aquarium.

Scary as hell.

I’d gone through a grand total of three trainings mind you…but three was definitely not enough for me to feel prepared. I waved my nifty little badge to open the door to get in, I walked inside and stepped onto the sanitizing pad, I signed in on one of the fancy sign-in computer, I walked upstairs to the teen lounge with the amazing view from pier 59, I took a deep breath and it was time to get to work.

The Seattle Aquarium was just finishing up with their winter event known as “Fishtival,” So all of us teen voluteers were helping out with the special events taking place. It was bird day so we were in charge of running the bird related activities for the kids. I actually ended up having a really amazing time and got used to everything really quickly. Little children are amazing in their differences. You start to notice how each one of them have their own little quirks. There was this one activity where we were pretending to be birds hunting for food. It involves using various kitchen utinsils to fish out plastic bugs buried in this huge tub of rice. The point is to teach kids about how different birds have different beaks that can get different types of food. But give kids some rice and platic bugs and trust me–they really could care less about the lesson behind it. I had one little girl inform me that birds were icky for eating bugs. But yet she couldn’t stop picking up the bugs with the tongs. Then there were little kids that would just kick and scream when their parents made them leave to see the rest of the aquarium. That rice is just way too much fun. It was interesting though to see how each kid handled his or herself though. I know that everybody has a tendancy to kind of lump kids behavior into a certain stereotype…but as i quickly learned. They’re all very different.

I did a bunch of other stuff too…like pass out binoculars made from toilet paper tubes and colorful string so kids(and adults) could go birdwatching. I also passed out prizes for finding all of the birds at the aquarium. It’s fun to see peoples faces when you tell them you can keep something like crappy toilet paper role binoculars. They get sooo excited…it’s like they’ve won the lottery. I think I should just randomly give people toilet paper rolls on a day to day basis. Because that happiness was the coolest thing to experience. I don’t think it would have the same effect outside of the aquarium though :[

I got to talk about oil too, and it's harmful effects on our marine environment. That was really disheartening...people just don't seem to care. Little kids would seem intrigued but then their parents would yawn or sound bored and you could tell that they really didn't care. The little kids would then pick up on that and would start to seem really apathetic as well. And in my head I was just sooo disgusted by how people were reacting to what I was saying and it made me really sad.

Despite that, I had such a wonderful time. I can't even believe that I'm doing this, it's crazy. The atmosphere is so amazing and the people around me have such spirit and it's obvious they all want to be there just as much as me. There were definitely a few exceptions but for the most part, we were all just there doing something good, having a good time doing it.

I'm excited for the rest of this year!! It's gonna be fun :]