Day: September 25, 2013

The Monkees.

enternity1030Leave a comment

VH1 documentary Behind the Music featured a 1960s band, “The Monkees” in the year 2000.

The show portrayed a profile of the Monkees starting with interviews with band members to tell the story of their rise from “pretend” band to bona fide pop stars, ones who sold 35 million records in 1967 alone.

The story began with the excitement of Monkees’ fans. They were screaming and so eager to break a fence to hug their stars.

Then following with archival footage and some stills, the story went back to the fall of 1965, when Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider, a pair of producers from Columbia Pictures, came up with an idea for a television series about a rock group.

Inspired by Richard Lester‘s groundbreaking comedies with the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, Rafelson and Schneider imagined a situation comedy in which a four-piece band had wacky adventures every week and occasionally burst into song.

The production began with The Monkees in early 1966 on NBC with fairly high popularity. The group contained four members – Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork and each of them was unique.

Later on they decided to form a real band instead of the comic actor-musicians. At their peak in 1967, the band outsold both the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

The show ended with each member’s life after the era of “Monkees” and their high point revival in 1986 in L.A.

The whole story brought the audience back to the 1960s which would be mostly favored by elder people, but it also provided the younger a sense of older generation’s life.

It could not be more comfortable to sit down and enjoy the past glory through the Monkees’ music.

Legless Legolas

indigoshellLeave a comment

There are snakes, and there are legless lizards.

Legless lizards are not snakes, they are legless lizards.

Legless lizards have eyelids while snakes do not. Snakes can unlock their jaw while legless lizards can not.

Snakes can use their belly scales to move around while legless lizards can only move with a side-to-side motion while also pushing up against something.

Russian Glass Lizard

Legolas was said to be one of the most vicious animals in our Reptile Room. The stories told was that the second you opened up his enclosure he would shoot out and bite your face.

I was not told of this little issue when I asked to take Legolas out, and neither did the current counselor in the room. I picked Legolas up with no problem at all and sat down onto the ground. Legolas simply laid there in my arms flicking his eyes back and forth to look at the many other reptiles occupying the room. His body was also much more leathery and stiff than a snake’s, as legless lizards’ bodies are much more muscled and has less movement dexterity.

The next day I asked to hold Legolas, but as this counselor had heard of his little antics I was not granted permission until I convinced her that I have held him before with no problems at all.

Legolas was a Russian Glass Lizard and had a very distinct slit starting from the neck and leading to the tail. When they get agitated they inhale deeply and puff up their scaly little bodies to scare away any potential enemies.

The counselor next to me seemed to be an enemy to Legolas so he puffed up and made a peculiar wheezing noise. I quickly scooted away from her and he relaxed instantly, laying quietly on my lap and continuing to eye the other animals in the room.

Legolas

Something about Legolas’s stiff body and behavior and such judgeful eyes made him one of my favorite creatures in that Reptile Room, also because not many other campers would like to handle such a ferocious creature.

Cape Point

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

I was in South Africa for five weeks, and every time I called my dad he would ask if I had been to Cape Point yet. I would tell him no, not yet, but that it was on our list of things to do. I couldn’t understand why he thought it was so important for me to go.

Finally, the day before I was supposed to leave, we found the time to drive out to Cape Point. We left the kids behind, and I went with the person who I was staying with. On the drive out we ate chocolate and listened to music, and stopped to take lots of pictures of the different coastal views.

When we got to the national park, we ran into some baboons who didn’t seem to know that sitting in the middle of the road was not a good idea.

Finally we got past the baboons, after taking pictures of course, and continued on our way to Cape Point. When we got to the parking lot, we got out of the car and began to hike up to Cape Point, which let me tell you, is not an easy walk.

First of all, it’s uphill. And then there are the stairs, which seem to never end. But once you get to the top, boy is it worth it.

There’s a view every direction you look, and a huge boulder with what must be thousands of different names from all around the world inscribed on it. The drop from where you stand down to the water makes your stomach drop just looking at it, but even from far away, you can see the transparency of the water.

Standing on the tip of Africa takes your breath away. It’s amazingly beautiful, and hearing the history of the sailors who would come around the Cape of Good Hope to finally see Cape Point, and know that they are finally there was amazing.

It’s an amazing place filled with history and beauty. After going, I finally understood why my dad had been so insistent that I must go see Cape Point. It’s hard to explain how powerful it is. But if you’re ever in Africa, you have to go.

P1000728