This time last week I was in Vancouver with Cherry. She is one of my dearest friends and I was thrilled to get a chance to visit her. The time we had to together was wonderful but much too short. Next time I must find a way to stay for longer; as I sorely misjudged how quickly 4 days would go by and was heartbroken to have to leave so soon. We began each day with tea and chats...eventually getting dressed and going on grand adventures throughout the day. Below are some of the photos she and I took while I was visiting:
While walking to the bakery...
Where we sat to eat breakfast...
Little friends who like to drop in on breakfast...
Taking walks in Chinatown...
And shopping in Chinatown...
Sunset in a serene garden...
Sweet treats...
About to eat the best Unagi I've ever had...
Two of my most favorite people...
The Japanese take on an American favorite...
Be sure to lock up your broom...
The first thing I'd see each morning...
Vancouver at dusk...
I am hoping to get back out there again either in the spring or summer. In the meantime, I shall be trying to convince Cherry to come visit me in Pennsylvania sometime in the coming year. I am thinking that if I can help her set up some Hopefuls and SG shoots while she is out here, it will help fund her trip and she will be more apt to come visit .
So if you know any SGs or Hopefuls in the PA, NJ, DE, NY, or MD area....be sure to contact Cherry or me! Maybe we can all tempt her to take a trip to the East Coast soon.
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While in Canada, I got an e-mail from Missy asking if I could do a quick video intro for my newest set. Cherry and I took a bit of time to do a silly interview vid (which you can view in my Videos section).
For added bonus, I put together a short series of out-takes and mistakes for your amusement:
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In other news...
I am very excited to boast about a recent acquisition of mine!
This week I managed to score tickets to the revival of John Gabriel Borkman. I am absolutely thrilled because not only do I absolutely adore the theater (which is one of the reasons I refuse to move too far from NYC) but I am a HUGE fan of Alan Rickman (who stars in the play). I wont get into how big of a fan I am because I really dont want to creep out Mr. Rickman nor his wife should they ever stumble upon any of my obsessive ramblings about how sexy he is. But I do owe my Harry Potter obsession to Alan Rickman. I seriously doubt I would have gotten so into the series if it wasnt for the fact that he took one of the more prominent roles.
So far I have tickets for two different performances (front row in one case!) but I most likely will end up going a third time as some of my friends have been expressing interest in going now. If you are also a fan of the theater (and of course, Alan Rickman) check out the BAM Centers website.
They have some really great shows coming up! I am definitely going to be getting tickets for Derek Jacobis performance in King Lear. (yaaaay!) My boyfriend and I adore Derek Jacobiin factwe frequently do impressions of him. (It is an inside joke and would take too long to explain.) So we are delighted to get a chance to see him perform!
While walking to the bakery...
Where we sat to eat breakfast...
Little friends who like to drop in on breakfast...
Taking walks in Chinatown...
And shopping in Chinatown...
Sunset in a serene garden...
Sweet treats...
About to eat the best Unagi I've ever had...
Two of my most favorite people...
The Japanese take on an American favorite...
Be sure to lock up your broom...
The first thing I'd see each morning...
Vancouver at dusk...
I am hoping to get back out there again either in the spring or summer. In the meantime, I shall be trying to convince Cherry to come visit me in Pennsylvania sometime in the coming year. I am thinking that if I can help her set up some Hopefuls and SG shoots while she is out here, it will help fund her trip and she will be more apt to come visit .
So if you know any SGs or Hopefuls in the PA, NJ, DE, NY, or MD area....be sure to contact Cherry or me! Maybe we can all tempt her to take a trip to the East Coast soon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While in Canada, I got an e-mail from Missy asking if I could do a quick video intro for my newest set. Cherry and I took a bit of time to do a silly interview vid (which you can view in my Videos section).
For added bonus, I put together a short series of out-takes and mistakes for your amusement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news...
I am very excited to boast about a recent acquisition of mine!
This week I managed to score tickets to the revival of John Gabriel Borkman. I am absolutely thrilled because not only do I absolutely adore the theater (which is one of the reasons I refuse to move too far from NYC) but I am a HUGE fan of Alan Rickman (who stars in the play). I wont get into how big of a fan I am because I really dont want to creep out Mr. Rickman nor his wife should they ever stumble upon any of my obsessive ramblings about how sexy he is. But I do owe my Harry Potter obsession to Alan Rickman. I seriously doubt I would have gotten so into the series if it wasnt for the fact that he took one of the more prominent roles.
So far I have tickets for two different performances (front row in one case!) but I most likely will end up going a third time as some of my friends have been expressing interest in going now. If you are also a fan of the theater (and of course, Alan Rickman) check out the BAM Centers website.
They have some really great shows coming up! I am definitely going to be getting tickets for Derek Jacobis performance in King Lear. (yaaaay!) My boyfriend and I adore Derek Jacobiin factwe frequently do impressions of him. (It is an inside joke and would take too long to explain.) So we are delighted to get a chance to see him perform!
VIEW 25 of 40 COMMENTS
I just feel like "embargoing" findings that are available through a quick Google search is "hype" appealing to a lowest common denominator.
There are better way to encourage interest in astrobiological research. It's such an exciting area of study...it doesn't need to be "hyped."
When people like us read "astrobiological discovery announcement" it has different connotations than the "average joe" reading it. We expect more than rehashing research that we've been following for some time. To suddenly "embargo" it to "announce" it to the public is a bit of a let down for us.
I respect the importance of substantial proof that can now go on to confirm theory. And, hopefully this excites the general public's interest in the possibility of non-carbon based extremophiles. But, again, the general public's understanding of the idea that when life is discovered it's going to be at a microbial level is limited and, to be honest, conflicts with their "close encounter" idea of what extraterrestrial life will be like. And, could possibly do more to discourage interest than anything else when they discover ET's smaller than expected.
If it's an announcement concerning such high-level issues, it should appeal to a higher level of the scientific community. And, as such, wouldn't require such "cloak-and-dagger" media swaggering. A simple press release regarding the confirmation of findings would suffice and would still spark interest if explained in the right way. (Theory confirmations of this sort are handled this way in archaeology all the time...the presence of the Neanderthal gene in modern humans for example.)
I just feel like the hype for something that has been around and researched for so long is anti-climactic.
Granted, the media and even ourselves are responsible for much of that hype, but still...
I just had higher hopes...something like the discovery of fossilized extraterrestrial extremophiles.
Plus, I'm gonna be a lawyer. If I didn't love a good debate, I'd be in the wrong profession.
Besides, it's not really a debate, just a discussion.
I know it definitively expands the habitable zone and creates the possibility of more Goldilocks planets. But, I remember Titan specifically being a contender for life as far back as my 7th grade research paper. Even Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson was talking about drilling into Titan in various documentaries from the late 90's early 2000's. I know there's one on Netflix, but I don't remember the name wherein he says, "I just want to drill in, drop a camera down there, and see if something swims up to see what we're doing."
It's confirmation, but I feel like it's confirmation of something that's been widely accepted as the dominant theory for a long time.
For example, the discovery of latent Neanderthal genetics totally overturned the idea of human evolution, genetics, and interbreeding of different species producing fertile offspring (something which never happens)...but no one held a press conference about it. I just felt like the whole "pseudo-secrecy" of an embargoed press conference to announce conclusive findings for something everyone already agreed upon is a little heavy-handed.
But, we can save up all this Astronomy talk for when you come to visit!