The California Academy of Sciences

I read an article on SFGate.com about the opening of the new California Academy of Sciences today and I can't wait to visit it for myself. I'm really excited about the swamp, rain forest, and living rooftop exhibits. The sustainable design is wonderfully sci-fi, most notably the rooftop where there are living plants which acts as insulation against weather for the Academy.

The coolest thing of all, however, is the penguin exhibit. This exhibit has always been a favorite of mine. PENGUINS! The new Academy outdoes itself this time around with a live, streaming cam feed of the penguin habitat. That's right: STREAMING. How awesome is that?

Below are some photos I found on Flickr. I'm definitely bringing my camera.













Bonus photo:


On a side note: Lysol wipes are amazing! I used one sheet to wipe off my dirty keyboard, scanner, table, and even the garbage can before I threw it away. I've got a full canister waiting for me and I can't wait to use them.

David Foster Wallace

In the last day, three of my friends¹ alerted me to the suicide/death of David Foster Wallace. First it was shocking, then it made me extremely sad. I own two of his books and have only read one². Today I will start the other one.

RIP, DFW. You've been a good to me³.


This is the first image of DFW I ever saw, the one on the back cover of ASFTINDA.

__________________________________________________
1. I've shared DFW stories with Audrey, Tristan and Ross. Maybe we should all go see the John Krasinski's film together. 

2. I started my relationship with DFW some time back in college when I got an offer in the mail from QPB (Quality PaperBack) for 5 or 6 books at a dollar a piece. Even though I had never heard of DFW before, I thought A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments was a charmingly long title so I bought it. Why not? It was only a dollar. I also order some art reference books that I've never attempted to read. Once I received ASFTINDA, it sat on my shelf for a loooooong time. I didn't quite have the ambition to tackle the lengthy book, most of which was set in tiny, tiny type via footnotes. 

After reading it, there hasn't been a televised tennis match where I don't think of DFW. Last year I bought Infite Jest when it was released at a reduced price of only $10 (!!). It hasn't been read yet, but I will make time for it.

3. DFW's stories have kept me company while waiting to be called for jury duty and rekindled my interest in David Lynch which led me to buy his films at inflated prices on eBay.

It's been a while

Work, and life in general, have kept me away from my blog, but I'm back.

Since my last entry, I've been (predictably) addicted to my iPhone. I've been downloading apps, uploading photos, and Twittering (which helps me stay up to date with friends like Ross and Nicole!).

To those who have to interact with me on a regular basis (e.g., Patrick), I apologize for ignoring you in favor of my iPhone. True, it can't give me the same companionship that friends and lovers can, but it has Bejeweled 2 and texting.

On that note, I'll take my leave. There is freelance work to do and it's a resolution of mine to tie up the loose ends on these projects. TTYL

One more thing. Patrick posted a YouTube video of Fatass.