Category Archives: true life 2010

The culmination of a week of ghosts, dinosaurs and coral

Yesterday Husband and I had lunch at a place with a dinosaur decor, a coral reef themed bar, and a haunted ladies room.

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Yes, we ventured into the T-Rex Cafe at Downtown Disney.

This place is always packed and you have to make reservations for dinner. We’re usually only in the area when we’re foraging for dinner and drinks or headed to a movie so we’ve never even bothered to go inside. Yesterday, we happened to be killing a little time, looking for lunch before heading to the airport. The bar was empty when we walked in since the restaurant was just opening for the day. We were glad we did – it was awesomely tacky.

It was no Dinosaurland, though. You just can’t replicate that kind of roadside charm, but we enjoyed it anyway.

Whenever the “meteor shower” lightshow would start, the Pterodactyl, dinosaurs and mammoths (I know, I know) came to life and started roaring and pitching a fit. This was noisy. I’m betting even when the place is packed with children you can’t hear any of their fussing or screaming over the din, so that might be okay.

Husband and I are both certain that the dinosaur roars used on Land of the Lost for Big Alice and Grumpy’s vocalizations are part of the T-Rex Cafe soundscape, but I’m too lazy to look into it.

A giant octopus formed a canopy over the bar and it would periodically menace us with it’s tentacles. I never got any video of this, but it amused me every time.

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Oh yeah, about those ghosts – I was the only one in the ladies room and I was standing at the sink washing my hands when the door to an empty stall suddenly slammed shut. It was probably a problem with an air conditioning vent or maybe an animatronic effect gone horribly wrong, but let’s chalk it up to ghosts just because we can.

A sister establishment, the Rainforest Cafe, has a similarly elaborate concept design. I found a short article by the sound designers, Frattalone & Associations about the concept design and installation of Rainforest Cafe system.

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!

artomatic update + real life horror: fractured foot edition

This story is so tragic it could almost be a country song.

About a year ago, I developed a stress fracture. (That’s not the tragic part).

It healed eventually, but then I developed a neuroma and/or some tendinitis. (That’s not the tragic part, either).

My foot apparently didn’t heal properly and now my right foot is slightly wider where my cuboid meets my tarsometatarsal joint. (Still not the tragic part).

The tragic part is that my adorable red Frye harness boots no longer fit. I would have been sad about this longer, but the day after I discovered this I saw a colleague from Nashville who’d been coveting a pair of red Frye harness boots. They fit her beautifully and we all lived happily ever after.

Oh right, about those Artomatic rumors….

Must be something about the crisp Fall air that puts Artomatic rumors into the wind. I don’t have any Artomatic news to report but I would like to remind you that the best way to stay informed is to hit the Artomatic website and sign up for the monthly newsletter. When things start hopping, you’ll be among the first to know.

Of course, I’ve been on sabbatical this year from the Board so I can’t rule everything out since there might be super-secret things happening even I don’t know about, but I doubt it. I’ll return to duty soon, so I’ll keep you posted. Or, you can just sign up for the newsletter….