Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
The Monterey Bay Aquarium. I’ve been there a bunch of times now and the place never ceases to amaze. It has to be the best in the world, right? I enjoy all of it. I’m pretty sure my favorite place within is the jellyfish. You don’t get to see them often and the lighting helps a lot. I also enjoy the huge tank that has the Bluefin tunas which weight something like 400 pounds. When you see them swim fast, you know they could easily impale a human. Where was the mola mola? The sun fish might be my favorite fish of all. Maybe it’s better that they stay in the wild. This is great, it’s like watching a movie. You can sit back and take it all in. I like schools of fish. The stare down. Dragonfish. I think that’s what it’s called. It’s a seahorse in the end. The crab master I’m tucking this at the end:Here’s one idea. They sell memberships, and if you’re rich, sure, why not? But if you’re not, why don’t they make the memberships sort of like a subscription. You pay up front and you can go in let’s say three times which would cover the price of the membership (let’s say it’s $90 – an entry fee is $30) So basically you pay up front. Otherwise, you buy a membership, and if you don’t go back, then that’s cool, but these days, it would be nice to know that you can pay up front and just use it when you go back, whether it’s in two or three years or even more. I’m guessing a huge percentage won’t go back anytime soon, some will forget, some will even lose their membership card, so the aquarium is getting fronted money to operate with, and I’m sure people in the middle would totally do this.
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Just got back from yet another trip to New York. Besides sampling NY’s awesome cuisine I made sure to go and check out the newly opened High Line Park. The High Line was originally an elevated train line that serviced the meatpacking district in NY. It was made to help alleviate street level delivery traffic on the west side of town. Unused since the 60′s someone had the great idea it into a park instead of tearing it down. It was designed by landscape architects, James Corner Field Operations and architects, Diller Scofidio + Renfro.It’s a wonderful idea for a park. Because it is elevated off the ground it allows unique views of the city that you wouldn’t normally get at ground level. Above is the entry at Gansevoort Street.The High Line snakes through the west side going through buildings. You can still see the old rail tracks peeking through the plants in some parts.The details are amazing, everything from the concrete to the rusted steel planter boxes(ala Richard Serra) are elegantly designed and well thought out. There are plenty of benches and chairs to sit and get away from the city while still being in the city. This nicely designed tanning bed actually sits on the old rail tracks and can be moved along the tracks just in case the guy next to you farts.From the street, you can see the High Line snaking it’s way up town peeking out from the buildings.Above is an amphitheater like seating area with a giant picture window that looks out onto the street. This is probably my favorite design feature. If you are in NY you should definitely make some time to check this place out. I think cities around the world can learn a lot from this project in terms of how to creatively reuse architectural features that may no longer be useful. It’s a perfect way to integrate the new with the old. Often times, city governments don’t see the value in preservation so they just tear them down but when something is done right like the High Line, it can add vitality to the city. If you want to learn more about The High Line Park click here.
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I shot this at my boy Terence’s birthday gig. I was playing around with the HD video feature on my Canon 5D MkII. I was really amazed at the quality that I got and I didn’t even light it. There is no auto focus when shooting in video so I had to pull the focus myself and because I was using a telephoto lens that made the depth of focus short it was hard to stay on him. Turns out it created a nice effect with his singing, which was very much on point that night. Terence Yin Sings Hallelujah from Daniel Wu on Vimeo.
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Mr. JBS sent this one over to me. I lost count of how many times I yelled out Jesus Christ while watching this. I am always amazed at what the human body is capable of and Damien here is one capable dude. Really really impressive.
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This is crazy. I have been into martial arts pretty much my whole life and I love watching fights but I have never seen this before. Two good right hooks landing at the same time with the same effect. Amazing. Even the ref is confused. I wonder how this goes down on their record, two losses or a tie or two wins? I think the best thing is to forget it even happened.
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