Earlier in the week we phoned some Jessie-friends and invited them to come with us to go out to the Aquarium and to the IMAX movie.
All four invitees were happy to come.
There were at least two others we would have liked to have taken, but there was just so much room in the truck. I feel bad about excluding one girl, but hopefully she won't notice. The kids had a half day yesterday for the end of school, so I had lunch with her at home and went over her report card (very good). Yesterday was also the day I was supposed to attend a web conference with professor MF, but the hotel's internet connection crashed and burned yesterday morning, so I worked through the period of time I should have been presenting on line, and didn't have to participate. So I got to skip work early because I'd budgeted my time this week to eat up at least an hour for the conference (excellent!). I got home, changed, and we rounded up the troops and headed to Prince Pizza on Rte 1 in Saugus.
We'd never been there. The pizza was okay, the service was hectic and the place was mobbed. I doubt I'd go back, but it was a fun place for the kids and we were in and out of there in no time. We didn't want to be late for the IMAX you know.
We got down to the Aquarium, parked and had 40 minutes to goof off and hang out checking out the sea lions in their big swimmy display before the show. The Aquarium was rented out for a private function, so we couldn't even go into the gift shop, which was a total bummer. The girls were a bit whiney about that, like girls can be. We got them through the waiting time by walking around the building and checking out the harbor.
Then it was movie time.
Wow.
First of all -- if you live in the Boston area, you have no excuse. Go to the New England Aquarium and see one of their 3D movie presentations at the Simons IMAX Theatre. It is very affordable, and only about an hour long. So it won't chew up your entire day.
I highly recommend it.
Back in the 70s and 80s when people tried to do 3D stuff, it was good but not... mind blowingly good. The movie we went to see last night, Ocean Wonderland, really was 3D perfection. All the kids went kooky and Jessica especially was annoyingly trying to grab stuff as it swam towards her. I wanted to thwack her... but it was her birthday so I let her behave idiotically. Quality wise, I was truly impressed.
Content wise, I wish environmental documentary makers a would stop beating us the hell over the head with their message of imminent global death.
I mean, Do NOT get me wrong here -- I'm all for cleaning our shit up and making it so we are good stewards of our great bounty, and we make a difference and leave a living legacy instead of a watery death hole for our children's children.
But do we have to constantly be told that we suck and it's all our fault and everything is going to be poisoned and dead within 20 years? The sea turtle swimming around telling us that it's a shame this particular coral reef died because trees were cut down in the United States was pretty much what pissed me off the most. Please. I get it. I just want to see some 3D stuff now shut up!
I would like for learning about the earth and conservation to return to a more educational and less reactionary message. I recall being in fifth grade. We learned all about trees and oceans and soil and stuff, and about pollution and our impact on the planet. But I do not remember being guilted by EVERY single science/nature program I saw. There was science FACT, and then there was ECOLOGY. We learned both. We could see a movie about coral reefs that wasn't constantly telling us "This is going to be dead in 10 minutes unless you change your life!"
And cartoons, and Disney movies, and EVERYthing directed at kids in the guise of teaching them stuff is constantly veiled in this burkah of environmental demise.
Does anyone else notice this?
I mean, what should I expect -- the movie last night was produced by the United Nations Environment Programme, so of course they are going to agenda-ize the production... but for once can someone please show me a nice ocean movie with happy dolphins and sea lions and fish and stuff who are just doing their thing, and not all "oh we're doomed because of YOU" and in my face about it.
There's a limit to the amount of preaching a person can take before they rebel.
Think of children who are raised in really strict religious households -- don't most of them wig the hell out and get their noses pierced and start smoking and sniffing glue? Or they go on The Real World and get all freaked out?
I'm not saying I'll do the environmental equivalent of such and go dump raw sewage in the nearest harbor, all I'm saying is enough. We get it. Now show me a happy damn fish!
Anyway.
Getting out of Boston was interesting. I missed a turn to get onto 93 and had to back track into the Financial District and then onto 93 at the entrance of the Liberty Tunnel. While trying to drive to the tunnel, the girls all decided to sing.
And they sang loudly and out the windows - God Bless America, This land is your land, a bunch of crazy crap they learned in choir and second grade. They even sang a song about Mobius Strips. I mean, who learns songs about Mobius Strips?! What incredible NERDS!!!!
And it was lots of fun, but they were friggin loud and jacked up on end of school and sugar sugar sugar (I let them buy shitloads of snacky sweeties at the IMAX concession stand).
I fell into bed exhausted last night. It was a great day. And I think that she really enjoyed herself, the queen for a day.
And my husband bought her an Iron Chef book the other day... what birthday in this family is complete without a Food Network publication? None.
Today was Doug's last day in the world of education. He begins his new job on June 20th. He blew off the end of year luncheon to hang out with me and have lunch, and that was a very sweet thing.
Geoff gets his cast off tomorrow... we hope. I want them to X-ray the arm first before taking the cast off. My cousin's son broke his arm a few weeks before Geoff broke his. They took the cast off and then re-X-rayed the arm... only to find out it wasn't healed. So they had to get another cast and it took forever and blah blah blah.
I'd much rather they X-ray first and I'll have Doug insist upon that. No way we're gonna sit around and wait for them to put another cast on. Geoff will FREAK too. He wants that cast off and off NOW... so if it comes off and they have to put a new one on, it ain't gonna be purdy.
Alright -- I gotta jet. More later.
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