Museums Musings.

Friday 2nd June 2006
First up an apology for the erratic posts.I put this down to the slow computers at the hostel Im in and also the price.Its $1 for 10minutes and as it takes about 4 minutes to load this page even before writing a new post its just not worth it.I should have lugged my laptop over to New York with me.Seems looking round that internet cafe prices vary and that what Im paying here is average.
Anyways the last couple of days have been really hot here and Ive been concentrating on the middle part of Manhattan.I spent about 3 days looking round Battery Point and Little Italy before turning my attention towards mid Manhattan.
Yesterday,Thursday I ventured into the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the east side of Central Park.There were some massive Jackson Pollack paintings on display as well as Monet and VanGogh.What I like about American galleries is that you can get up really close to the paintings and sculptures.You can take photos as well as long as you dont use the flash and people are allowed to sit and draw and sketch.

However my favorite place so far has to be the Butterfly Conservatory in the Natural History Museum which is on the west side of Central Park.You pay $6 extra on top of the $15 admission fee but its money well spent as colorful,exotic butterflies flutter past you or even alight on you if one remains still for long enough.
The rest of the Natural History Museum has many dioramas,dinosaur skeletons,a walkthrough rain forest and a great Maritime room complete with life scale Blue Whale hanging from the ceiling.

Private Lives/Public Knowledge
Again Im struck as I wrote earlier by how impersonal this city seems yet at the same time you can hear people saying the most personal things out loud as they pass you on their cellphones or to their friends..eg.:"He`s such a bitch" or "I dont trust the babysitter" or one of my favorites."Im working on a script for TV but decided it was too good so am going to pitch it to Fox"

The weather broke last night after a fairly violent outburst of thunder and lightning and again today around 4pm the skies opened and rain bounced knee high off the pavement.The temperature dropped from 83degrees Fahrenheit down to 68degrees in a matter of 10 minutes or so and made for a far more comfortable night to sleep.
Theres no air conditioning in the small four bed bunkroom also the toilet on our floor has a propensity to overflow while the floor in the shower dips in the middle meaning the water tends to pool in the middle.Hardly first class accomodation but you get what you pay for...