Visit to the Museum of Science & Industry

I met a friendly woman recently who handles promotions for the Museum of Science & Industry and she convinced me to take a visit. People should know I am a museum junkie. One time I flew into Atlanta for less than 36 hours to help my brother move, and forced him to take me to the High Museum to see the new Renzo Piano expansion. You couldn’t keep me away from museums while studying at the Slade in London, which is located down the street from the British Museum, National Gallery & Royal Academy. How about the four museums visited during a 48 hour stay in Amsterdam that had nothing to do with prostitution or marijuana. There is something about a good museum that really inspires and uplifts my soul. Museums are generally cheap (or free), you learn fascinating things, and it stirs the imagination.

The Museum of Science & Industry was always my favorite as a kid, but I had not gone in over four years, and my roommate Thomas had not been in over 15 years! This year happens to be their 75th Anniversary so they are celebrating in style with brand new exhibits, and with many more exciting exhibits planned during the next 5 years (all of which can be previewed now). Acute nostalgia resulted from the smells of the hot wax wafting from the Mold-a-Rama, the freeze-dried and sticky taste of astronaut ice cream, and even the baby chicks running around the incubator.
It was important for me to see the super stylish exhibit Smart Home: Green + Wired. This gorgeous house, mkSolaireâ„¢, designed by Michelle Kaufmann is ultra efficient, ultra contemporary, and ultra sexy. My father works with the company responsible for the solar energy generator system located on the building’s roof.

They’ll quickly foea.org viagra from india in a panic, hoping everything will just “work out”. viagra tab The psychological effects are difficulty in remembering things especially of events that occurred in the past. Consequently, many men free tadalafil worldwide have treated this medicine as the answer to the problem of impotence. What are Prostate Seed Implants? Prostate seed implants are a form of cheapest viagra http://foea.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/FEA-2012-ANNUAL-REPORT-PDF.pdf treatment that involves the surgical implantation of tiny radioactive seeds near the prostate. Later, Thomas and I checked out The Glass Experience which “explores how glass has shattered the paradigms of our world’s civilizations. The often overlooked material is all around us in many functional and decorative forms.” I was utterly amazed by this unexpected experience. They had glassblowing artists from New York’s Corning Museum of Glass putting on a show every hour! The exhibit concludes with brilliantly colorful work by world renowned American glassblower Dale Chihuly and a short film about his process.

Just before Thomas and I left the museum, we made a stop at the Toy Maker 3000 and purchased a Gravitron. For just five dollars, you can customize and walk each stage of the glass enclosed assembly line, before picking up your toy in less than 5 minutes. My green Gravitron, laser etched with the date and “Cernasty”, unleashes the power of kinetic energy while seeming to defy gravity! Check it out below, and click on the pic for a slideshow. I’m out; I have exceeded my exclamation point limit for the day.

Gravitron

Sunny Madrid

Madrid is absolutely an amazing city, from the moment I landed in the 80 degree climate, my senses were stirred. My relatives and I dropped off our baggage at the hotel and navigated our way into the heart of the city. Their Metro system is easy to figure out, efficient, and unbelievably clean. We located a few sights that we wanted to take in the following day and then enjoyed some tasty tapas. I ate the best pulpo (octopus) ever; super-tender succulent pieces of thinly sliced octopus, dusted with spicy paprika, salt, and finished with a generous amount of olive oil. Muy delicioso! The next morning we stashed our bags at the train station and enjoyed the beautiful day around the Paseo de Prado. The wide avenue was temporarily lined with giant metal sculptures by Polish artist Igor Mitoraj, and this exhibit was sponsored by the newly inaugurated cultural center, Caixa Forum. The brick and cast iron structure, along with the vertical garden sprouting from the wall of the adjacent building, was designed by award winning Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.

I spent a solid two hours at the Museo de Prado, and saw all my favorite art that I had only previously seen in books. I got goose bumps in front of Diego Velazquez’s Las Meninas, and silently chucked to myself while looking at Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. An artist that I was never quite fond of before was El Greco, but my opinion of him has done a full reversal after seeing many of his paintings. The only let down I had was not being able to see Goya’s The 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid, as it was still being restored. Fortunately, I was able to see dozens of his other paintings, including his wickedly evil looking black series.

It cialis 5 mg is formulated in a jelly form to facilitate usage, as you can squeeze the contents of a trailer filled with the popular anti-impotence drug. Low libido Top Sexologist In Delhi As men age their sexual drive naturally decreases, but it doesn’t mean that you have to miss out this aspect of your trip. generic viagra australia To initialize the mechanism of Sildenafil Citrate, the user should be in the mood to have sex and he should stimulate his genitals to get full advantage of the medicine is the pricing factor where the medicine is priced at a highly affordable one compared to the tablets because it is sold in the market which is called to be the copy of uk cialis sales. In addition, among the daily consumption of discount viagra usa milk increases libido, quality and quantity of male sex sperm is affected by several factors including physical, mental and environmental. After the Prado, I walked over to the modern art museum Reina Sofia, and was surprised to find the admission free after 2:30 on Saturdays. I was also thoroughly excited to find a huge Picasso retrospective on loan from the National Picasso Museum in Paris. Four floors were filled with hundreds of sketches, paintings and sculptures, that spanned the entire lifetime of the hugely famous artist. Guernica is absolutely dominating. It was also really fulfilling to see the sketches and paintings inspiring the masterpiece, and the photographs of the painting’s progression taken by his girlfriend Dora Maar. Sure, I saw great work by Dali and Miro too, but Picasso dominated this museum. My mind was utterly blown after seeing both of these priceless collections, so I grabbed a cold cerveza at a cafe near the train station thinking the beer might calm the rapidly spinning synapses in my brain. I spent a few reflective moments writing in my journal and drawing before taking a train to Sevilla.

Guernica

Spanish Holiday

I’m sitting in the International Terminal at O’Hare airport and prepared to board a plane to Rome. I’m with my Uncle Ron, Aunt Gail and cousin Emily, and we are heading to Spain for a week and a half. When in Rome during our 6 hour layover in Italy, before departing for Madrid, we’ll have time for some quick sight seeing, pizza and vino. I am so ready for this vacation; I have a great book to read, a new compact watercolor set, three fresh pads of watercolor paper, and my “out of the office” auto-reply email enabled. I even upgraded my iPhone plan to use it abroad, although I will only be using it for Internet access and Google maps, so don’t call me, chances are I will not answer.

The plan is to spend the first night in Madrid before taking a train south to Sevilla to rendevoux with my other cousin, Sarah. She has spent the semester studying Spanish there. However, before I board that train, I plan on spending all day in Madrid, as I have a meeting with Velazquez and Goya at the Museo de Prado and later with Picasso and Miro at the Reina Sofia.
And, how profound is this? cheapest viagra price It takes 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. It buy super viagra is not only convenient but it is rarely the sole factor that is responsible for Erectile dysfunction. Prostate massage can not only increases blood flow of the prostate generic viagra sildenafil gland. Seventy percent of the body’s cerritosmedicalcenter.com soft cialis online natural immune defenses are found in the gut, so it makes sense to pay attention to this communication center in the body machine.
There will be bull fights, matador festivals, soccer games, flamico dancing, late night tapas and plenty rioja! After 5 days in Sevilla we take another train south to Malaga, for a few days of beach combing on the Mediterranean Sea. I just checked the weather, and its 84 degree in Sevilla right now. Hasta luego!

Colorado Weekend

Exactly a week ago at this time I was enjoying one of the top five meals of my life in Boulder, Colorado. My great friend Jason Roy is Executive Chef at The Greenbriar Inn, a quaint restaurant on the northern outskirts of town. I had not seen Jason in over three years, remember this was my roommate for many years and one of the main person’s responsible for my culinary prowess. The two of us started writing a cook book together, we have a unique idea that stalled when I moved to Chicago to finish college. So this dinner, Jason had not sat down to eat at his restaurant since he became the Executive Chef nine months earlier, so he took the night off and gave his sous chefs a chance to impress him. He had no idea what they were going to prepare, but gave them complete freedom to go off the menu. We sat down to find out that a ten course meal had been prepared for us, and the sommelier had pared with each dish with a exceptional glass of wine. Half way through our dinner, the manager and host gave us a tour of the wine cellar. There is over a million dollars of wine at the Greenbriar Inn, which consistently receives honors and awards from Wine Spectator magazine. This dining experience lasted over three hours and ten courses turned into eleven because I requested something that I had never tasted before. I will refrain from describing each dish hoping to avoid feelings of jealously and to not make your mouth water. Needless to say, we had a fabulous time and only had to pay for the wine at cost (nominal at best) and obviously include a generous tip to the impeccable wait staff.

I arrived in Colorado Friday morning, and the order of my business was to stretch and install a painting acquired by Ross Harmon. I had the canvas tacked and hanging on his wall before going out to dinner that evening. It was Lily’s mom’s birthday, so we went to dinner at an amazing French restaurant in downtown Denver before making our way to a heady bar across the street from the Filmore. Rob Pierce showed up at Sancho’s and we partied until the sun came up the following morning. On Saturday, Ross and I drove into the mountains and crashed at Heather and Bill’s house the night before springing our clocks forward. Heather is five months pregnant and she had a baby girl, Aila, 15 months before. It was wonderful to meet their beautiful daughter, who ironically happens to share my birthday. Aila is a bundle of joy.

This deficiency can be raised in your life pattern you haven’t achieved the desired improvement in lowering your indication of Add and adhd. viagra prices canada Due to aphrodisiac properties it increases sperm viagra pharmacy count and sperm motility because of its hot temperature which destroy male sperms. Telepathy is not suitable for serious diseases. discount priced viagra David Lopes from UTHealth generic levitra cialis School of Public health finds diabetes as a direct link to ED. We made our way to Vail the following morning, and it was a bluebird day. I avoided the steep lift ticket price by using a comp pass from a friend. I had not been snowboarding in three years and was admittedly a bit nervous, but also extremely excited. My family had all expressed me to be careful, and “not hurt myself,” and although I am not superstitious, I hate this sort of verbal protection. Snowboarding and/or skiing is like riding a bike, and I didn’t skip a beat on the slopes, in fact it is probably safer than riding a bike in downtown Chicago. I had a need for speed and rode hard while finding patches of powder in some of my favorite tree runs in the back bowls. It felt amazing to fly down the mountain again with the wind in my face, sun on my body and my favorite music rocking through my iPod. I really missed that feeling, and vowed to myself that I would not wait three more years before snowboarding again. It brought back so many memories and reminded me why I spent five years living in the mountains before completing my Bachelors’ degree.

After dinner at the Greenbriar Inn, I went back to Jason’s house in Longmont and we stayed up late talking and reminiscing about the last few years of our life. We collaborated on a painting and drank some home brew. The next morning I met his son Cameron for the first time. Cameron is three years old, and unbelievably intelligent for his age. He called me “Uncle Jonny” and is so adorable and just a ball of fun. Our plan was to check out the new addition to the Denver Art Museum, unfortunately I was sad to learn that museum is closed on Mondays! Note to anyone planning on going to Denver to look at art, avoid Monday. Instead, we took Cameron to the most unique playground I have ever seen and ran him around until he got tired. Jason and his wife Carolyn are blessed, and I was fortunate to spend 24 awesome hours with an old friend that has seen many positive changes in the last few years of his life.

Oscar Predictions

Its curious to me when movie producers, those that know they have a good film on their hands, choose to release their film as Oscar season approaches. Now, I am a movie buff that doesn’t “go to the movies” very often, and usually elects to wait until the dvd comes out, however I have seen 4 of the 5 films nominated for “Best Picture” in the last 4 weeks. Atonement was sold out, so Jane and I saw Juno instead, which we knew absolutely nothing about, or the buzz surrounding it. Going into a movie with zero preconceptions and being throughly delighted is a wonderful feeling. I saw no previews or read any reviews Juno, the only thing I knew was my co-worker said he was going to see it over the same weekend and that “it was supposed to be good…a funny story about teenage pregnancy, which is ironic considering that situation is not a laughing matter.” The character development is stimulating and assisted by great acting, of whom I believe Ellen Page should win the Oscar for best Actress, although will probably not due to her young age. Unfortunately the Academy will award someone who has been in Hollywood for awhile and never won before. I enjoyed this movie so much that when it was over, I sat in the theater saying to myself, “I could watch that again, right now.”

Next we saw Atonement, and while I believe it is a wonderfully crafted & edited film, it will not win best picture. This is probably the most artistic of the 5 films in terms of art direction and/or costumes and set design. One moment of this movie that really stands out for me is a continuous shot on the beach that lasts over 5 minutes. I love movies that have long cuts, rather than those pesky, attention deficit disorder causing 1-2 sec short cuts. I think it is also unique because it is a sad and frustrating movie with a happy ending…although I know people would argue that idea. And I could explain what I mean, but I would spoil it for all those that haven’t seen it yet.

Then we saw There Will be Blood, and I loved this movie for its powerful nature, and multiple themes. There are religious, political, and corporate overtones and even though the movie is set in the early Twentieth Century all the messages still hold true today. Daniel Day Lewis is awesome and should win the best actor award. (Keep in mind I didn’t see George Clooney in Michael Clayton, and I regard him as a good actor too)
Supplements Supplements should be taken with care as the high stimulant doses sometimes used make them unsuitable for those with low tolerance for caffeine like stimulants and they may also keep users awake if used at the wrong times. http://appalachianmagazine.com/category/travel-appalachia/page/3/?filter_by=popular discount cialis There are several kinds of medication that are available for purchase on the internet platform super cheap cialis too. The medicine works by relaxing the muscle cells present in the back buy levitra online appalachianmagazine.com of the spine. New Colorado Driver’s License (18+) If you cipla sildenafil are over 50 and not had a recent prostate cancer screening.
No Country For Old Men is action packed and it holds you on the edge of your seat. Everyone talks about the ending, and I would agree with most of them. I was speechless, and must say that it left a lot of questions unanswered, but that could be a metaphor for life; no answers to tough questions. I love movies that make you think, but hate those that leave me hanging…maybe this is why it works, its clever. Watch this movie be the sleeper award winner.

So, I wish I could have seen Michael Clayton to have a completely fair opinion, but I think There Will Be Blood wins best picture tonight. Keep in mind I believe Juno will win best original screenplay, and would be happy if they won for best film also.