Emily and I went to St. Louis last Saturday and saw the Bodyworlds 3 exhibit at the St. Louis Science Center.  Bodyworlds is a traveling science exhibit that displays real bodies of dead humans.  It sounds grotesque, but the exhibit uses a scientific method called plastination, which preserves all of the body’s muscles, organs, and tissue after death.  The bodies look like fake plastic models, but they are actually real bodies that have been donated to the exhibit.  It is truly a remarkable experience to view the human body in this manner.  Imagine standing in front of your mirror without any skin on your body.  That is basically what the exhibit looks like, and it surprisingly not disgusting.  Emily has a fairly squeamish stomach and she had no problem viewing the exhibit.  Emily and I both came away from the exhibit with a greater appreciation of the human body and it’s staggering complexity.  It is impossible for me to believe that the human body was created exclusively from the evolutionary process.  The mark of God’s infinite wisdom and power are so clearly evident in his creation of man.  I encourage everyone within the St. Louis area to take a look at this exhibit, it is definitely worth the price.  The St. Louis exhibit is on display until March 2, 2008. 

This may well be the only post you will ever see on this site on the topic of sports. Well, I take that back, I did make a prediction about the FSU vs. Miami game which I went to a couple of months ago, but this will probably be the only post entirely about sports. Don’t get me wrong, I love sports, but there are plenty of people who know much more about the topic than I will ever know, and frankly I don’t care that much to learn more. However, I must comment on an incredible game the other night on Monday Night Football between the Arizona Cardinals and the undefeated Chicago Bears. If you didn’t see this game, you really missed out, it was quite entertaining. Go check out any of the sports sites for a synopsis of the game, but basically Arizona had the game won in the fourth quarter with 3:30 to go, a 23-10 lead, and the ball. Immediately after the announcer stated that if the Cardinals somehow manage to lose this game they should lock up the doors of the stadium and shut down the franchise, Arizona fumbles the ball and Chicago runs the ball back for a touchdown. Then Chicago runs back the punt to lead 24-23, and then Arizona misses a field goal from their clutch kicker. It was crazy, insane, unbelivable, and the only thing that could make the game any better is…..yes, you guessed it…Charles Barkley. Throughout the entire second quarter, Charles Barkley was a commentator in the football game. Has Charles ever played football professionally? no. Does Charles know anything about commentating football? no. Does anyone care that Charles has no idea what he is saying about football? absolutely not! I don’t care if Charles Barkley is commentating a water polo match, I want to listen! Barkley as a commentator is just brilliant, and the reason is because he is so incredibly honest, and he really just doesn’t care. All of the other commentators actually have to worry about keeping their jobs and feeding their families. Barkley doesn’t need this job, he just does it for fun, and thats why he is so enjoyable to listen to. So I for one am in complete support of MNF hiring Barkley as a full time commentator/analysist.

I had a great time at the Sufjan Stevens concert last weekend in St. Louis. I’m not going to give a full review of the show because I think Chase has done a much better job than I could ever do in his blog. But I will give my basic thoughts on the show and the experience. As expected, the show took attracted a very interesting crowd. It was your basic indie type crowd, complete with the people who know how to dress with style, and the people who think they know how to dress with style. Like the girl that wears the high boots that just aren’t quite working for her. But, nonetheless, it was a pretty amazing show. The show was opened by a girl that sings in Sufjan’s band/ensemble/orchestra/songbirds. From the first note that came out of her mouth, I knew that this girl had an incredible voice. Apparently she is classically trained in voice, and it definitely showed. The only thing that bothered me was that she was acting very strange. The kind of strange where people just say weird things to look strange. I just can’t figure these type of people out. I mean are they really that strange or are they just putting on an act for everyone? What is the thought process that is going on in her head when she says obscure things? I wonder if she is thinking…hmmm that sounds really strange..yeh..that will freak them out. It’s kinda like how Dave Matthews acts really strange when he is on stage. I don’t think he is really that strange in person, judging from many of the interviews and other footage I have seen of him. Granted, Dave is a pretty strange guy, but I think he still puts on a little show when he gets on stage. Sufjan seems to do the same thing when he is on stage. I have no problem with people being weird, but I think I do have a problem with people being weird just for the sake of being weird, or to make them more popular or “mysterious.”

Regardless of how weird or strange Sufjan was on Sunday night, his performance was nothing short of incredible. While I was listening to his ensemble perfrom intricate, technical passages of music, I found myself wondering if I was at a pop/band concert or a performance of the N.Y. Philharmonic. After seeing Sufjan perform, I think of him as more of a composer/songwriter than anything else. This is the true strength and genius of Sufjan Stevens. Yes, his voice is very good, the kind of voice that makes you want to just sit back and revel in its smoothness, but the true genius of Sufjan is what lies behind the voice, the lyrics and the music. His melodies are complex, yet simple enough to recall without listening. His lyrics are incredibly honest, and perhaps this is one of greatest traits, he sings about life, about his weanesses, his feelings, and his beliefs. Songs like John Wayne Gacy, Jr., Casmir Pulaski Day, and The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades are incredibly honest, almost to the point of being juvenile or childish. But just when you begin to pass him off as being childish or juvenile, you realize the beauty and genius of his composition, and the simplicity that creates complexity. Highlights of the night for me were definetely an acoustic version of John Wayne Gacy, Jr., The Dress Looks Nice on You, and The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades. Sufjan will never be a major touring act, but I believe he is on his way to becoming one of the most important artists of our generation.

Check out tao photography for some pictures from the show.

Its been a busy couple of weeks since school started. I have been spending nearly every moment working on schoolwork. It is to the point where if I am not doing something related to school I am falling behind. So I spend just about every waking moment attending class, teaching, preparing to teach, or preparing to attend class. Not to mention photographing on the weekends. I’m not complaining, I know this is where I need to be, working my butt off and trying to get through grad school. However, it gets a little tiresome at times and sometimes you can’t seem to see the end of what you are working towards. Thats when I pack up my things, head to St. Louis, and fly down to Florida for the weekend.

I”m trying not to build this up too much, but this weekend is truly going to be incredible. I am flying down to Tampa in 8 hours from now, and I will be chillin with my boys for the weekend. On Monday morning we head out early for Miami. We are planning on spending the day in Miami at South Beach, just chillin on the beach and admiring the art deco architecture. We’ll go from there to the Orange Bowl, where the Miami Hurricanes will be hosting the Seminoles from Florida State. It’s going to be amazing, I can’t wait to see the Noles take the field again. I honestly think we have a pretty good chance of winning. No doubt we will need a solid game from Drew Weatherford and Lorenzo Booker, but I think in the end the boys from Tallahassee will come through in the clutch. FSU 21 Miami 17 You heard it here first. Have a great Labor Day weekend, and I’ll see everyone when I get back.

All I gotta say is…

10th place in a 15,000 person poker tournament. I just won $40.00 playing poker online. Goodbye school, goodbye carbondale, hello Vegas.

Everyone knows that the perfect summer is not complete without a rousing game of ultimate frisbee. However, this is particulary hard to accomplish when you have no frisbee. Brad and I decided to remedy this problem by heading to Wal-Mart to buy a frisbee. You would think that in the dead of summer Wal-Mart would carry a large selection of frisbees, ranging from the little kiddie ones to the Wham-O competition disc that is needed for a proper game of ultimate. Wrong. Those jokers didn’t have one frisbee in the entire store!! How can you possibly call yourself a supercenter without a frisbee? Unbelievable. So we travel across the street to the mall hoping to find a small sports store or department store that would carry a frisbee. We went into K’s Merchandise, which is perhaps one of the most ghetto stores I have ever seen, but hey, its cheap. We get to the sports section and find a nice selection of billiards cues, poker chips, and weights, but no frisbees. So I ask one of the nice employees in the store if they have any frisbees and he says, “Uhhh no” with a kind of egotistical air in his voice. Like they are too good to carry frisbees, or frisbees aren’t really a true sporting item. Completely taken aback by this comment, I just walk away in disbelief. Carbondale has disappointed me today, and tonight I placed an order online for a Wham-O ultimate frisbee 175 gram competition disc. You know you live in a small town when you have to order a frisbee online….sigh.