Category Archives: true life 2010

Scooby Doo: The Mystery Mask Mix-Up

There’s no end to the horrifying ethnic stereotypes in some of the early episodes of Scooby-Doo. And by “early” I mean, “the first 60 or 70 or 80 episodes.”

The combination of cringe-worthy Chinese waiter impersonations and the insane music make season 2’s “The Mystery Mask Mix-Up” a real standout. As you may recall, there was a brief period at the end of the 2nd season where every chase scene was accompanied by a nonsensical pop song. See also: I’m in Love with an Ostrich.

Since I found the chase scene musical interlude for this episode on youtube, I thought I’d share it with you:

I was hunting around for commentary on this episode when I came across a funny website about the first few seasons of the show. This note about “The Mystery Mask Mix-Up” sums up my feelings about this episode perfectly: “The smugglers have to use golden masks and carrier pigeons to communicate with each other?! How expensive is the telephone?”

Happy holidays, everyone. Now quit trying to make polite conversation with your crazy relatives and go watch some TV instead!

Dinosaurland



IMG_0538, originally uploaded by meanlouise.

Perfect weather and perfect company made for a perfect day at Dinosaurland.

Husband, Beth B and I piled into the car and journeyed to Winchester, Virginia for a day of eating, wandering, and gigantic fiberglass dinosaurs.

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We saw an Epic Battle.

Epic Battle

Beth and Husband were devoured by a giant prehistoric shark:

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We saw a giant octopus of doom.

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And, of course, we saw King Kong.

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After we left Dinosaurland, we took a quick trip through West Virginia on our way to Frederick, Maryland for coffee, more eating, a little thrifting, and the requisite wackiness that ensues when a pair of hot chicks such as Beth and I walk into a comic book shop.

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Then, we returned to Alexandria, Virginia, where we ate some more, since none of us had consumed any pork products in hours.

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I loaded the rest of the photos into a set on flickr, if you want to see more.

Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef opens tomorrow at the Smithsonian

Starting tomorrow, Saturday, October 16, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History there will be a temporary exhibit depicting a coral reef and related eco-system. The reef is constructed of crocheted coral made of yarn, found objects, and recycled materials. The reef is installed in the Sant Ocean Hall, on the first floor of the museum.

The [Hyperbolic] Crochet Coral Reef resides at the intersection of mathematics, marine biology, handicraft and community art practice, and also responds to the environmental crisis of global warming and the escalating problem of oceanic plastic trash.”

The Smithsonian community reef is a satellite project that’s part of a larger project created by the Institute for Advanced Figuring, “an organization dedicated to the poetic and aesthetic dimensions of science, mathematics and the technical arts.”

Here’s IFF Co-Founder Margaret Wertheim’s TED Talk, “Margaret Wertheim on the beautiful math of coral.”

Other satellite reefs have been constructed in other places and there are more on the horizon, the Institute’s website has more information on that schedule.

I was pleased to be able to to contribute a number of pieces of coral that I made, which are now part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.

I was able to some devote some time to the assemblage and curation process and I can tell you – with no bias at all – that the reef looks amazing!*

More information about the exhibit can be found here and there will be lots of family-oriented activities in the exhibit area tomorrow, starting at 11. The reef will be on display until April 24, 2011.

*Maybe a little bias, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true!