The Oakland Museum of California

We had a nice afternoon at the Oakland Museum. Here’s one of the exhibits.

‎There was also a Day of the Dead exhibit.

And here’s the work of yarnbomber Streetcolor across the street from the museum.

Afternoon at the Asian Art Museum

Here are a few pics from the Asian Art Museum taken today just with my iPhone. First Sundays are free!

Texas Trip

We’re back from our trip to Texas. I’ll work on a photo gallery for the website, but I do have some pics up on Flickr and Facebook. Despite getting sick near the beginning of the trip, we tried to make the most of it and have fun. We started in Austin and checked out the Texas State Capitol and the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library. We wanted to see the Congress Avenue Bridge bats come out at dusk, but it was too early in the year for that. We drove out to Johnson City and the LBJ Ranch to check out the Texas White House. We really enjoyed that and seeing LBJ’s Amphicar. Then it was time to head out to San Antonio for a conference I had to attend for work. We had the chance to check out the Alamo, the River Walk, and Luminaria, an art festival based on the White Nights that occur around the world. It was amazing.

We then drove out to Corpus Christi to have some fun at the beach, but we were still ill and it was rainy and very windy. We made a quick visit to the Days Inn where Selena was shot and visited her museum. All in all, I think we had a good taste of Texas. One thing we have to go back for is eating more good Texas BBQ. I had a little bit, but I didn’t have much of an appetite due to being sick. We want to go to Lockhart and have some of their famous BBQ.

And this is just a little rant here… Being sick for the past two and a half weeks has not been fun at all. It started off as a really bad flu, now it’s bronchitis. I am feeling better, but I’m tired of being sick. Luckily, the weather has been cold and wet, so I don’t feel as bad. There’s only so much TV, web surfing and reading one can do. Wah-wah-wah-waah

Body Worlds Vital

Plastination is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “a technique for the preservation of biological tissue that involves replacing water and fat in tissue with a polymer (as silicone or polyester) to produce a dry durable specimen for anatomical study.” Over the holiday weekend, I saw the Body Worlds Vital exhibit at the Tech Museum for the first time and got to see firsthand what plastination is all about. I had some trepidation going into the exhibit, but it turned out to be very fascinating. Despite being a trite remark I have to say it, “the human body is an amazing thing!” This exhibit was indeed amazing albeit morbid. Each major body system is covered – the circulatory system, the digestive system, the musculoskeletal system, the reproductive system, etc. And there are also full bodies made into artistic sculptures, i.e. the Flamenco Dancers and the Swordsman. How one comes to the creation of plastination boggles the mind and it’s all thanks to Dr. Gunter von Hagens. If you have a minute, google this doctor and check out the exhibit.

Photo Competition at the Academy

Happy New Year! I just submitted my pics to the California Academy of Sciences Love Life Photo Competition. How about you?

Click here for info: Love Life

Day at the Museum

  

 

We finally visited the new California Academy of Sciences. The big draw for me was checking out the Philippine coral reef as well as the rest of the Steinhart Aquarium. The schools of fish in the coral reef display were mesmerizing! All kinds of wrasses, anthias, clownfish, triggers, damsels, and others were zipping happily to and fro. But this couldn’t hide the fact that the coral weren’t the showcase yet. There were few specimens sparsely planted on the rock, and even they looked like they were still acclimating. There are stairs at the foot of the tank to sit down on and laminated cards to read about what fish were swimming in front of you. There were also benches at the back of the room. The room had a lot of activity; actually it was very busy and full of people throughout the Academy.

Overall, the Academy looks great and is very different than it was years ago. It does keep some of its past charm with a habitat for the albino alligator and the dioramas. The indoor rainforest is hot and humid and has birds and butterflies. At the bottom is a stream full with monster fish, very cool when viewed from below.

Another day at the museum

We checked out another museum this week. This time it was a visit to the SFMOMA. The galleries were full of tourists, art lovers, and loved ones dragged to come. I thought the Frida Kahlo exhibit was amazing! Symbology dominated her canvas – monkeys, bloody body parts, architectural details. Her self-portraits are painfully surreal and sweetly haunting. She is one of my favorite painters. Go to the Frida Kahlo web site to find out more.

A Day at the Museum

I finally visited the new de Young Museum yesterday. The architecture of the new facility   was a stark contrast to the old building. It was definitely modern, but definitely not so new. It reopened in October 2005. Where have I been?

The Chihuly exhibit was the main draw and was quite spectacular. Glass of all shapes and colors will make your eyeballs spin. I also really enjoyed the exhibit of sculptures made from rock sugar. And the icing on the cake was literally on top. The observation deck gave awesome views of the city. Click here to go to Dale Chihuly’s web site.