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Saturday night, morning snow, British Museum!
2008.04.06
The fire tower from which we had such a spectacular view.
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The fire tower from which we had such a spectacular view.
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I want to make an animated .gif of the previous picture alternating with this one, then I can pretend there was lightning. Or a tarot card. But it's not really a very happy card ( http://www.learntarot.com/maj16.htm ) most of the time, so I'll just stick with lightning and spooky themes!
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I want to make an animated .gif of the previous picture alternating with this one, then I can pretend there was lightning. Or a tarot card. But it's not really a very happy card ( http://www.learntarot.com/maj16.htm ) most of the time, so I'll just stick with lightning and spooky themes!
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Same kind of thing with this and the following pic, re: animated .gif, only you'll be able to see the red flashing party lights. You can add your own soundtrack, too. Just go, "Oontz oontz oontz!" ...YEAH, BABY! Feel the techno!
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Same kind of thing with this and the following pic, re: animated .gif, only you'll be able to see the red flashing party lights. You can add your own soundtrack, too. Just go, "Oontz oontz oontz!" ...YEAH, BABY! Feel the techno!
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...OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ!
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...OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ!
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Gosh, in England they don't mess around with the warnings. Personally, I think they should take it one step further and tell people that tobacco turns your children into Cthulu.
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Gosh, in England they don't mess around with the warnings. Personally, I think they should take it one step further and tell people that tobacco turns your children into Cthulu.
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Dave, the fellow on the left, is one of the actual residents of the flat. He is known as "Dangerous Dave," probably to differentiate him from the other bucks competing for mates during rutting season.
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Dave, the fellow on the left, is one of the actual residents of the flat. He is known as "Dangerous Dave," probably to differentiate him from the other bucks competing for mates during rutting season.
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Actual morning, after some sleep. Woot, snow! Oh, wait -- I have to walk in this. Drat!
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Actual morning, after some sleep. Woot, snow! Oh, wait -- I have to walk in this. Drat!
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Needs more Santa.
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Needs more Santa.
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Whee! Walking in London snow! :D
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Whee! Walking in London snow! :D
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OMG! The British Museum! WOOOOO!
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OMG! The British Museum! WOOOOO!
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The last day of the First Emperor. Wow, that lady on the left really knows how to dress. I wonder if she did that on purpose.
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The last day of the First Emperor. Wow, that lady on the left really knows how to dress. I wonder if she did that on purpose.
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Sean! I found your meatloaf! http://people.tribe.net/sistaweotch/photos/f85031be-4ff9-49cf-9745-4d100ee6790a
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Sean! I found your meatloaf! http://people.tribe.net/sistaweotch/photos/f85031be-4ff9-49cf-9745-4d100ee6790a
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Clearest combat shot I could get of the Rosetta Stone. I did manage to get to the front in record time. Being wee and living in Naples, where driving is a contact sport, has really helped with my Elbowing Through Crowds skills.
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Clearest combat shot I could get of the Rosetta Stone. I did manage to get to the front in record time. Being wee and living in Naples, where driving is a contact sport, has really helped with my Elbowing Through Crowds skills.
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Gorgeous. Here's a bit on the different crown types of ancient egypt: http://www.egyptologyonline.com/pharaoh's_crowns.htm . I didn't see this on the exhibit as I zoomed past, just remembered it from a lecture series I listened to a few years back. This appears to be the Upper Egypt crown, from before the time when upper and lower Egypt were united under one pharaoh. Upper Egypt is south of Lower Egypt. I seem to recall it has to do with elevation (?) and the flow of the Nile, rather than modern day perceptions of north and south. Here's more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Egypt
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Gorgeous. Here's a bit on the different crown types of ancient egypt: http://www.egyptologyonline.com/pharaoh's_crowns.htm . I didn't see this on the exhibit as I zoomed past, just remembered it from a lecture series I listened to a few years back. This appears to be the Upper Egypt crown, from before the time when upper and lower Egypt were united under one pharaoh. Upper Egypt is south of Lower Egypt. I seem to recall it has to do with elevation (?) and the flow of the Nile, rather than modern day perceptions of north and south. Here's more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Egypt
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For a sense of scale.
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For a sense of scale.
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I think this was in the Assyrian section. Boo for not enough time in the British Museum!
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I think this was in the Assyrian section. Boo for not enough time in the British Museum!
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Pretty sure this was in the Assyrian section, too. I was trying to find a staircase to the upper level without going through the Great Court ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_II_Great_Court ), but probably spent more time being lost and looking at the map than I would have if I'd just lowered the blast shield and headed out into the masses. S'okay, though. Came across some nifty stuff I would have otherwise missed. :)
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Pretty sure this was in the Assyrian section, too. I was trying to find a staircase to the upper level without going through the Great Court ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_II_Great_Court ), but probably spent more time being lost and looking at the map than I would have if I'd just lowered the blast shield and headed out into the masses. S'okay, though. Came across some nifty stuff I would have otherwise missed. :)
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"Uh... ok, who took my towel?"
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"Uh... ok, who took my towel?"
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Doo de doo, I'm wandering through the museum, snappity snap goes the camera and -- OH MY! The Nereid Monument. You know, just sort of sitting there nonchalantly. It's like a quarter of a temple or something, geez!
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Doo de doo, I'm wandering through the museum, snappity snap goes the camera and -- OH MY! The Nereid Monument. You know, just sort of sitting there nonchalantly. It's like a quarter of a temple or something, geez!
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I just think it's pretty. See next picture for description.
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I just think it's pretty. See next picture for description.
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Wherever I went, I tried to remember to get pictures of the descriptions of things, because I knew I didn't have time to read and remember. Some came out better than others. This one was pretty clear, which is nice. Now... ZOOM to the next exhibit!
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Wherever I went, I tried to remember to get pictures of the descriptions of things, because I knew I didn't have time to read and remember. Some came out better than others. This one was pretty clear, which is nice. Now... ZOOM to the next exhibit!
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Here you can see the reflection issue that plagued this visit. Sigh. Anyway, I got to see more things in the Etruscan style. I really, really like it every time I see this type of design. Reminds me of this thing we used to do in grade school where you'd color with all kinds of brightly colored crayons or paints, then cover it all up with black crayon. Then we'd scrape through it and make neato designs, woot! ...Seriously, though, Etruscan stuff kicks ass.
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Here you can see the reflection issue that plagued this visit. Sigh. Anyway, I got to see more things in the Etruscan style. I really, really like it every time I see this type of design. Reminds me of this thing we used to do in grade school where you'd color with all kinds of brightly colored crayons or paints, then cover it all up with black crayon. Then we'd scrape through it and make neato designs, woot! ...Seriously, though, Etruscan stuff kicks ass.
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"I'M not putting on the Speedo..."
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"I'M not putting on the Speedo..."
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"Well, I'M certainly not going to be the one to put it on!"
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"Well, I'M certainly not going to be the one to put it on!"
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Ha ha, joke's on them!
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Ha ha, joke's on them!
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FINALLY! I KNEW the money was in Europe!
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FINALLY! I KNEW the money was in Europe!
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I took this as I was breezing through the Medieval Europe section because it looks almost exactly like a style of shoe I've seen at Renaissance Faire. Wow, guess they weren't totally off in the accuracy department.
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I took this as I was breezing through the Medieval Europe section because it looks almost exactly like a style of shoe I've seen at Renaissance Faire. Wow, guess they weren't totally off in the accuracy department.
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WOOHOO! I made it to the Egyptian section upstairs! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!
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WOOHOO! I made it to the Egyptian section upstairs! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!
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The stones were really quite brilliant up close, but the reflection issue popped up again. That's ok, though. Now you get to see ME!
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The stones were really quite brilliant up close, but the reflection issue popped up again. That's ok, though. Now you get to see ME!
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I always feel a bit guilty and like a lookiloo when viewing actual human remains. : / In any case, this was on display to show how the desert sands naturally mummified bodies before the introduction of coffins. Next to it was a display showing how the early coffins actually interfered with preservation, as the bodies could not properly dry out. (They needed more DESICCANT DO NOT EAT packets.) All that was left were bones. Wasn't until a bit later that the ancient Egyptians figured out the tricks to making Boris Karloff star vehicles.
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I always feel a bit guilty and like a lookiloo when viewing actual human remains. : / In any case, this was on display to show how the desert sands naturally mummified bodies before the introduction of coffins. Next to it was a display showing how the early coffins actually interfered with preservation, as the bodies could not properly dry out. (They needed more DESICCANT DO NOT EAT packets.) All that was left were bones. Wasn't until a bit later that the ancient Egyptians figured out the tricks to making Boris Karloff star vehicles.
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Too many pictures from the previous evening to fit on one page. Crossed over midnight at some point, anyway, so there are a few straggler pics from the party.
On Sunday morning I woke up to... SNOW! It was quite scenic and made some of the more commercial bits of London look almost pretty. (I sure hope the Prunus from the previous day is ok!) I only wish I'd thought to bring my long undies, like I did to Paris. Oh, well! Walking kept me pretty warm. The coach that took me to the British Museum was quite toasty, as well, so I had a chance to thaw out before braving the crowds.
And let me tell you, there were CROWDS! Not only was it the last day of the Chinese terra cotta army exhibit ("The First Emperor"), for which there were no tickets available, but the Olympic torch passed by while I was inside. Thought I'd be able to sneak in, browse for a few hours, then head off home. Well, I did, but it was under 2 hours and required riot gear and a cattle prod, RAWR!
For some of the exhibits, I wasn't really able to get clear shots (Rosetta Stone comes to mind, as does Cleopatra's mummy case), so I got the least cluttered shots I could. For others, I'd set up a shot, hold myself ready, wait for a clearing, then BOOM! HEADSHOT! Yeah, one shot, one kill, baby!
Well, ok, really, I am more of the, "I have yet to regret taking too many pictures of any one subject" school of thought, but it really did feel like a form of combat.
Objective: clear shot, no people.
Obstacle: people.
Method: use spidey senses to detect upcoming crowd openings and exploit them to the fullest measure of my ability!
Oftentimes, reflections off the glass cases were an issue. I tried to take advantage of it a few times and make something nifty, like I did with the Etruscan vase at the Colosseum last summer, but they came from so many angles (reflections and tourists!), it was difficult.
(More museum photos on the next page. Too many to fit here, even if the party photos didn't bleed over. I mean, it's THE BRITISH MUSEUM, fer cryin' out loud!)
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I doubt that anyone has had such a giggly time looking at ancient stuff as I just had, reading your comments. Good job, combat spidey!
