The Conical Glass: Academy of crowds

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Academy of crowds

My friend Janet A. has started a blog, and she was kind enough to link to me. One of the features of her blogroll is a little widget that displays the title and date of the most recent post. So when I read Janet's regularly updated blog, I can see that I last updated my blog six days ago, and feel appropriately guilty.

However, I have an excuse this time as my friend Neal is visiting for a week and I'm keeping busier than usual. Of course, one of the advantages of having out of town guests visit is that it provides you with an opportunity to visit touristy spots you never seem to get to on your own. (I refuse to escort people to Fisherman's Wharf, though -- I have my limits.) I had been itching to visit the newly reopened California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park and thought Monday would be a great day to do it. My thinking was that kids would still be in school, and Monday is a low-attendance day at museums -- a lot of them don't even bother opening on Mondays. Plus, the admission fee to the Academy is $24.95, and the economy's supposed to suck, right?

Well, there were about one zillion people at the Academy, so things can't be too bad here in the City by the Bay. Everyone has lots of money and vacation time! I hate crowds, so it was a little rough going, but I can tell that it's an amazing place. There's a huge aquarium with all sorts of weird creatures, exhibits on the biodiversity of exotic places like Madagascar and coral reefs, a planetarium (which was already sold out by the time we arrived) and a rainforest conservatory (which had a Disneyland-esque line waiting to get in -- when I saw that it stretched way past the "30 MINUTES AT THIS POINT" sign I decided the one at Meijer Gardens, which I've visited a bunch of times, would have to suffice for me). I was also interested to note that their cafe, with its many different food stations, is quite reminiscent of the (employees-only) one at Google -- I would love to know if the folks who designed it had visited the search engine giant's Mountain View campus. Of course, the Google cafeteria is free, whereas the Academy's is a bit pricey with all of its locally sourced, organic specialties.

If you pony up the cash to join the Academy, you can beat the crowds and get in an hour before everyone else on Tuesdays and Sundays. I think that for now I'll stick to watching the live Penguin Cam.

Last night, I faced the dilemma common to so many people: should I stay home and watch the "Dancing With the Stars" finale, or go see August Wilson's acclaimed drama about the post-Reconstruction migration of African-Americans from the agrarian South to the industrial North? I got a half-price ticket offer from Berkeley Rep, and I'd been wanting to see "Joe Wilson's Come and Gone," so I figured I could rush home afterwards and see who won "Dancing." We didn't get home 'til around 11:30 PM (it's a long play!), but I managed to fast-forward through most of the show and saw Brooke Burke take the disco ball trophy around 12:15. If Warren (who came in second) had won, I think Brooke might have thrown a fit -- there was a Tracy Flick-like look of certainty and determination on her face throughout the show. Still, she did a great job, she deserved it, and now my Monday and Tuesday nights are free again until a new set of C-list celebs don dancing shoes next March.

posted by 125records @ 2:42 PM

4 Comments:

At 3:57 PM, neal said…

Fisherman's Wharf! That's a great idea. A perfect Thanksgiving outing. Let's do that tomorrow :)

neal (writing from Sue's kitchen. Amusingly, I got the google alert from Sue updated blog post here too, so I know what she's doing in her office)
At 6:12 PM, yellojkt said…

My wife and I tried to get into the California Academy of Science a few weeks ago on a Saturday and it was fully sold when we got there at two.

We went to the art museum across the way instead and watched them put together a Maya Lin exhibit get put together.
At 6:14 PM, yellojkt said…

That last sentence made no since at all. No more commenting on blogs after having an amaretto after-dinner drink for me.
At 10:59 PM, Janet A said…

Sue,
Thanks for the link to my Blog. I am glad you have updated your Blog. I missed your wonderful view on the Bay Area.

Happy Thanksgiving.