I’m amused. Sitting at the coffeehouse, working my way through emails and Ohio bookings – overhearing kids talking about what they want to play. “Pirates and bad guys” is what they plan to get up to when they get home. Just like when I was younger and the rebels were the good guys, I like hearing how whatever’s in pop culture redefines our concept of who’s good or bad. Just as the wars on the television screen would’ve challenged my concept of who was right or wrong in the war of the establishment vs that terrorist rebellion who came out of nowhere to detonate the capital of the established ruling body in Star Wars – the pirates off the coast of Somalia would be quite unsympathetic examples of Jack Sparrow’s fantastic breed.
Good music has been filtering through my head all afternoon. Acoustic versions of new songs that I’ve discovered just recently, covers of older tunes. All in all, as I’ve been working my toes have refrained from sitting still and I’ve appreciated the overall background aesthetic of my environment.
Whether it’s the eyecandy (yuppie women, no matter what I think of the Lifestyle, are almost invariably are lithe and interestingly dressed – enter the long hair and tall boots and long, clinging artsy skirt – speaking German, I think) or the earcandy (Indigo Girls fades into an acoustic version of that creepy stalker tune that I Love so much “You’ve got to spend some time Love… with me… and you will see I will own your heart” or whatever it is. Creepy but appealing… Either one it’s a pleasant enough way to spend the time, even as I hammer away at the booking that so endlessly disappoints my professional self.
I’m finally coming to the realization that there really DOES need to be some massive revamp to our strategy. We can’t do it this way forever. I always knew that, but finally the difficulty and depression is settling in.
The Saint Louis Zoo! And it’s cow rabbit? Oh the horror. Lobster crickets can hang on the ceiling?! I’m so glad that so far this is a trick I’ve only seen at the zoo. If this ever becomes a known superpower in the outside world, it’s all over. Bird-eating tarantulas. I’ve never seen one and was absolutely horrified to see one in person. The leaf-cutter ants had been loosed upon the Halloween decor at the Saint Louis Zoo. We’ve been to a number of butterfly houses at this point. The first one, in Pittsburgh, opened my eyes to these wonderful monuments to fritillaries – the one attached to the Natural History Museum in Houston, TX is huge – but I think the Saint Louis butterfly house might have the most interesting creatures in it. It’s tiny by comparison but exquisitely crafted and had creatures that I’d never seen before, including this guy above us, with his dead-leaf exterior and brilliant interior colours. Another butterfly at the Saint Louis Zoo in Saint Louis, MO. The James Bondian Butterfly House of the Saint Louis Zoo in Saint L
We arrived at the Grizzly pen right in time for them to be fed and watched them acting up for cameras and fish. I’ve never seen Grizzlies in person and was kind of shocked by how HUGE they are. One of the things that I really Loved about the Saint Louis Zoo was the completeness of the environment. The walks were beautiful and artfully overgrown and exhibits and sculptures were hidden everywhere. Artificial snakes reared out of crevices and lizards clung to stones – and in the trees there were nests and animals and hidden larders. There was a real sense of exploration. By the time we were done with the day we realized there were whole huge sections of the zoo that we hadn’t yet explored. I’m eager to go back. A capybara always seems so grumpily cuddly. You just want to give him Love even though you’re pretty sure he doesn’t want it. Some shaggy galumphing Giant Anteaters. They were Lovely and snouty and I wanted to take one for a walk.
Yeah. Seals wait for aliens. That’s my only hypothesis. Even when there’s a rock in the way. They watch the skies.
