Body Worlds

We all went to see the Body Worlds 2 exhibit in San Jose last week.
It was absolutely fantastic!
A couple of years ago Carol and her brother Ken went to the Body Worlds 1 exhibit in Los Angeles and even since then she has been eager to share the experience with Michael, Nancy and Nicole.
It is such a fascinating exhibit, very educational.
They are real human bodies that have been plastinated....which is a process much the same as when a piece of wood becomes petrified, each molecule of the wood transforming into, or actually being replaced by stone - yet retaining it's original appearance. This is done to these bodies with plastic. The bodies are transformed at a molecular level. The organic cells are replaced by plastic and the bodies retain their original colors and forms. And due to the nature of the plastic they are able to pose the bodies any way they want, which enhaces the learning process.
We saw the human body from every angle possible. We even saw different organs of the body at different stages of health. For example, there was a set of lungs that were healthy, another set that was filled with tar from smoking, and yet another set that was blackened by coal mining (black lung).
It is an experience not to be missed.
We all recommend it highly for everyone, especially for students who might have biology classes. You can learn so much about yourself.
Check the website out.
http://www.bodyworlds.com/en.html
If the tour comes anywhere near you, be sure to get there.

The Swinging Monkeys

This was an installation that was run on solar and bicycle power. The monkeys swung around as we peddled the bicycles and it appeared as if the monkeys were just dangling from their arms, swinging around and around. But it was more exciting than that. Check it out. Watch closely.

Dust Storm on the Playa!

More Fun Art

This is our friend Drue talking to God.


This is one of our favorite camps!

Here's Carol playing around on a giant, spinning damsel fly.


Michael and Carol gaining some perspective.

Interactive Art

Guardian of Eden
by Kate Raudenbush
She is the Sacred Lotus of ancient creation myth and the avatar of enlightenment. She is the Life Force of all that is struggling to survive on this dying planet. She is the Guardian of Eden. Her origins evolved from a cross-pollination of Hindu and Egyptian creation mythologies, Buddhist symbolism and the ancient symbol of the life force of creation, the Flower of Life.

An imposing 18-foot tall plasma-cut steel lotus flower, this Guardian symbolizes Earth's creator and protector. Her intention is to further the awareness of interconnectedness of all life by gathering us together to be enfolded in her symbolic seat of enlightenment. For it is within this awareness that we might nurture our desire to care for her spirit, and realize, in turn, that her survival is intimately connected to our own. Enfolded in her petals, we contemplate that we too can be creators and sustainers of our world, and, more significantly, we too are its Guardians.

Michael was climbing on it. And as you can see, some people have clothes on.....

and some don't!

More Playa Art

Koilos
by Michael Christian
An oversize human figure crouches on the playa with its legs ready to move, pounce or play. The figure reflects restraint, knowledge and wisdom while still feeling anxious, excited and oblivious. An audio/visual element lies embedded within its flower/tentacle head. Koilos is a Greek word which means hollow.

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!

A few months ago Carol and Nancy attended a fundraiser for Nicole's school. It was really fun. There was lots of food and drink and there was a silent auction and a paddle auction for products, services, and resaurants all around the bay area. Well, Nancy and Carol got caught up in the tone of the evening and bid on a few things.....and won! In the silent auction Nancy got a nice haircut at a local salon, and Carol got a new business card from a local graphic artist.
But the best part was the paddle auction where Carol bid on and won a BMW Fantasy Weekend in a Z4 Convertable!!
So, here's a few pics of us tooling around in our fun car.
We had it for the weekend, and we only had one day of clouds.
But, boy was that car fun!





Here's Michael driving around San Francisco.

Our first time over the Golden Gat Bridge in a convertable....which we highly recommend, even on a cloudy day.


Up the coast.

Nancy catching the sunset.

Carol in her speedy, autumnal, convertable, roadster outfit.

Spot and Tiger

We're 2 for 2!
Both of the gecko eggs hatched and both of the young lizards are healthy and beautiful.
So far we're calling them Spot and Tiger.
If you look at their backs, just above their tail you can see that one of them has a three spots and the other has two.
They are too young to sex yet, so we don't know if they're boys or girls or both, but we'll let you know as soon as we do.

Here's a shot of the two eggs after the first one hatched. The second one hatched the next day.


Tiger emerged first.

Here's Tiger checking out mom.

Here's Spot searching for a way out.

They are a couple of smilin' cuties!