The Slacker Returns

Thought for the day:  Time's fun when you're having flies.  [Kermit the frog]

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: some kinda dastardly plot must be afoot that makes time go faster than it used to. Have you noticed? If not, I bet you will some day, because it's a phenomenon most recognizable to old farts and fartessas. I swear, the hands on the clock in my office spin around so fast some days, it does double duty as a fan. So I reckon it only stands to reason my month-long blogging break would zip by faster than a Corvette on nitrous, right? (And if you didn't notice my absence, um, no need to mention it... ya know, no need to hurt my tender widdle feelings.)

Let's see, so what have I been doing with myself, other than not blogging? Geez, I dunno. Let's see... Smarticus and I went to the movies one day and saw Furious 7. We really enjoyed it, too. Verrry entertaining, with lots of action. I caught up on some magazine reading, and read quite a few good books. Most noteworthy: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. I highly recommend it, especially for those of  you who are history buffs. I wrote and edited four short stories, and have them just about ready for submission to a magazine. ( I wasn't a total slacker!) Also wrote about five thousand words for a novel, but the jury's still out as to whether I'll continue with it or not. And then there was a bunch of the usual stuff. You know, house and yard work. (I planted a wider variety of herbs than usual, including something called chocolate mint. Honest to goodness, it smells just like Thin Mint cookies!) Scraping and scrubbing pollen off of my poor little red car. What...? Not a usual something you ever have to do? I kid you not; the stuff was crusted in every nook and cranny. (And shhhhhh! Still IS... Every time I go out, I notice yet another place I missed.) We tried out a couple new restaurants. Fixed steamed crabs... three times! (For those of you who don't know, a meal of steamed crabs isn't just a meal; it's a delicious event.) Went to flea markets, and festivals and... (zippedy-doo-dah!)  museums!

Because, boyohboy, from April 25th until May 1 was Georgia's first ever Museum Week! A number of museums in the area offered buy one, get one free entrance fees... and some had no entrance fee at all! Talk about hog heaven for a museum slut like me. What...? Did I shock you? You didn't know? Cool. That gives me a good excuse reason to share an old post with you about just that. It'll help eeeease me back into blogging, and will also serve as a segue to next week's post, when I'll tell you about a couple of the museums we visited. I'm soooo lazy  considerate...

Oh, and it really  is good to be back. I missed you guys.

The following post originally ran in October, 2011, and was called (ahem) Museum Slut. (Go figure!)

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Thought for the day: There are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence.  Will Rogers

                                                                             
                                                                             

courtesy of dribbleglass.com

Michael C. Carlos Museum

Well, perhaps the word slut is a bit harsh, but I'll admit to being a pushover for a good museum. Absolutely love 'em. All kinds. How about you? Are you a museum kinda person? Over the years, we've been to countless fine art museums, wax museums, Ripley's Believe it or Not museums, the Smithsonian, and museums for baseball, railroads, the U.S. Infantry, ordinance, aviation, the Civil War, P.O.W.s, the Civil War Navy, Jimmy Carter, Martin Luther King, Jr., medicine, electronics, radio and TV, and on and on. And we've been to most of them multiple times. Like I said, I love museums.

So,  natch, I was pretty excited to see an article in last week's newspaper about the opening of a brand new exhibit in town. And even more excited when my sweet hubby offered to take me there last Thursday.

The new exhibit is at the Carlos Museum, located on the Emory University campus in Atlanta. The picture doesn't do the place justice at all. Its architecture is exquisite, but what really makes the building outstanding is the unique coloration and quality of its stone. Looks like marble, and has delicate pink veins throughout. Just gorgeous.

Anyway, this museum holds the largest collection of ancient artifacts in the Southeast, and the new exhibit we went to see is designed around a mummy. Now, I've seen lots of mummies before, and have always found them to be fascinating, but what's unique about THIS mummy is his position. He isn't lying on his back, like we usually see. He isn't stretched out all stiff (no pun intended) and formal-like, either.

No, he's positioned on his side, half-curled up, in a sleeping position. With his head on a headrest. As though he were taking a nap.

This is what the head rest looks like.

                                                                               

This is what one of the rooms of mummies looks like.

And THIS is how our star is positioned.

Pretty cool huh?

Smarticus says I'd go to any kind of museum, and judging by some of the ones I've dragged him to, maybe he's right. But to tell ya the truth, I'm not sure about some of these:

National Mustard Museum. Yeah, mustard, as in that yellow stuff  you put on a hot dog. This museum is located in Middleton, Wisconsin. Don't believe me? Here 'tis:

 Maybe the founder graduated from Poupon U?

Mutter Museum. Located in Philadelphia, this museum contains weird, gruesome, and unusual medical specimens. (So sue me. I think I'd like this place ...)

Cockroach Hall of Fame.  Located in Plano, Texas, this place got started by an exterminating company as a publicity stunt to advertise its business, but their collection multiplied like ... well, like a bunch of dirty roaches, and it ended up being a permanent display. Now they boast such "attractions" as Libe-roachi, a flamboyantly dressed creepy crawly. (I wonder if he has his own piano?) Good thing this place has free admission. I don't believe you could pay me to go. (For fear of causing you nightmares, I'll skip showing you a picture of one of their gargantuan specimens.)

Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers. The name says it all. Located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Museum of Bad Art. No kidding! And there must be a LOT of bad art, too, because this museum actually has three different locations in the Boston, Massachusetts area. 

I mean, B-A-D art!

New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum. Kinda self-explanatory. I'd probably have to drink a lot of Irish coffees before I'd be game to venture here.

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. If I'm ever in Farmington Hills, Michigan, I definitely want to visit this cool place. It looks like a boardwalk penny arcade gone wild. Busy, busy, busy. Lots of stuff to see, especially old coin-operated machinery and gadgets.  

So, what's the weirdest or neatest museum you've ever visited? And which ones listed here would you like to see? I might even enjoy that bad art one. (Might make me feel better about my own paintings ...)

                                        Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

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There. This first post back wasn't too painful. I might not respond to your comments right away, because... (Weren't you paying attention?)... it's Museum Week! Today (Friday) is the last day of it, so we're out exposing ourselves to some more culture.

                                                     Y'all have a super weekend.