A few nice animal movie images I found:
The Yellow Brick Road at Universal Studios Japan
Image by Wootang01
With my friend Paul, I spend five days in Osaka, Japan. The trip provided much refreshment, and excitement, not to mention many challenges. It was my first visit to the country, and, I feel, it certainly won't be my last, as there are still many places left to see, and so many new things to learn.
We had several destinations highlighted on our itinerary, the foremost of which was Universal Studios. We spend an entire day there, going on rides and more often than not, queuing for them. The excruciating wait times were worth it, however, for such exhilarating fun, especially on the Hollywood Roller Coaster, my personal favorite. The next morning we followed up that successful endeavor with a trip to the Himeji Castle, a place which came highly recommended by my colleague, whose succinct description of the heritage site was, "awesome." Indeed, as a history buff, I enjoyed walking the storied grounds and climbing through the maze-like interior of the keep which was designed not so much to comfortably house the royal family as to confound the invading enemy. The castle is a must-visit. Other attractions of note include the Osaka Aquarium, and the Tennoji Zoo; both teemed with animals of every shape and size. We also at length ventured into several shopping districts inside of which were myriad stores, selling all sorts of fashion and gadgetry, countless restaurants and several gambling parlors - the Japanese, it seems, love their slot machines as much as the Hong Kong Chinese love their horse racing. Lest I forget, we frequented several video arcades to play the latest and greatest games; Paul played well, while I more often than not got 0wn3d. There is a lot to do in Japan.
Japanese culture, of which I've heard so much, really is distinct and separate from other Asian cultures. Their patterns of action and their peculiar artifacts certainly aren't the same as those which feature prominently in Hong Kong. For one thing, the MTR culture was more civilized and less stressful: people queued up for trains and let passengers alight first before permitting themselves to board; cellphones never rang and cabin cars were as quiet as bedrooms at midnight; and to imagine all of these people enforce their norms without public service announcements, without any coddling, conspicuous signs - that's amazing. What proved difficult was trying to find a garbage can. It was easier to find a vending machine, from which one could purchase a variety of drinks or cigarettes, than a bin in which to dispose of these delectable, perishable goods.
As for the general citizenry, they were most accommodating and hospitable, with several individuals going out of their way to help Paul and I find our way around the dense sprawl of the city. Language wasn't a concern despite our limited Japanese; amazingly enough, our comfort was their concern! I won't forget their selfless service, as one day, I hope, I'll be able to return the favor. That the girls were quite attractive and that I demonstrated a propensity to ask attractive girls for directions go without saying; however, I understand now that their sexiness and sophistication stem not from comely faces but coherent attire. Rather than adorn themselves like a typical Mong Kok girl in a ridiculous neon rainbow palette, with jeans or unseemly spandex underneath dresses, skirts or other tops better left to stand alone, Japanese girls opt for more somber, sensible colors - black and cream-colored - and what's more, they aren't afraid to whip out the tasteful pantyhose or to show some skin, even. We had plenty of time to ogle the ladies, and to their credit, freezing temperatures weren't enough to dissuade many of them from forsaking, icing their shorts, as we saw countless pairs being worn on the street. That's what I call fashion professionalism!
Overall, Japan is a marvelous little land full of the eccentric, as well as the endearing. It was a fascinating place to explore, and I'm thankful that it was done in the company of my friend , with whom candor was not at a premium. We both learned a lot and look forward to the next trip!
Kuwait Zoo
Image by miskan
I woke up around 12:30PM today and didn't have that much to do since I already watched most of the movies I had over the weekend. So, me and my wife decided to go to the Kuwait Zoo. It was our second time there in recent months, the last time we got there just before they were closing so we had like 30 minutes to quickly see everything. Today though we were there earlier and had all the time we wanted to really check out the place. We got there and found the parking lot full, many people had a day off today and the sun was out so the zoo had more traffic then usual. Entrance was 500fils per person which compared to the prices in the states is ridiculously cheap. The zoo has many problems though here in Kuwait, the main one being that its really unorganized and unpractical to walk through. When you first get in you have three different directions you can go. When you choose a direction (we chose right) the road then also divides in another 3 directions! This basically means there isn't one road that will take you through the whole park. You have to do a lot of back tracking and weaving across the whole zoo trying to see everything and making sure when you chose your route you didn't miss out on some animals. The animal cages are also tiny. There were around 4 large lions in a cage the size of my bedroom! Its very sad actually going to the zoo. You wonder how the animals can survive in a place like this. And it all really doesn't make sense. How come the leopard is all alone in a giant area with sand, water, hills and a tree, yet 4 lions are stuck in a small, tiny concrete cage!? Another issue is the proximity of the animals to the people. There really isn't that much separating the two and in some places all that separates you from the animals is a single ordinary fence. I saw one man pulling on an ostrich's feathers trying to pull them out to give to his son as a souvenir! Where are the animal caretakers and the security? We were at the monkeys cage and there was a large sign that said do not feed the animals stuck on the cage, yet there were a couple of kids with their parents throwing peanuts, chips and fruits at the monkeys. We later saw one animal eating a plastic bag which one of the kids had thrown in. The alligator's cage is unbelievable. I swear I could reach out and touch them because they were so close. Its really dangerous and then you see a stupid woman take her kid and carry them over and put them down on the fence so that the kid is now sitting just a meter away from a sleeping alligator. Also the way the animals are organized next to each other, its like, African Lions, Leopord, Tiger, Hippopotamus. Hippopotamus? Why are they next to the dangerous carnivores? Shouldn't they be with the other "friendly" animals? Oh and Pony is STILL spelt Bony at the zoo. Urgh.. it all pisses me off! The zoo has a lot of potential in becoming a wonderful place but the tiny cages, the maze like passageways and the way the people abuse the animals just makes the place very sad. I took a whole bunch of quick pictures at the zoo you can check them out by clicking here.
Dragonfly
Image by gingerchrismc
Taken in Hong Kong Wetlands park, it reminds me so much of the Alien movie with claws spread wide.
