Like A Rolling Stone

I watched the Martin Scorsese film 'Shine A Light,' after buying it for ~$3.00 in a clearance sale. It's documentary style, following the Rolling Stones around before and during a big show in NYC. Guest appearances include Jack White, Christina Aguilera, Buddy Guy, and even Bill Clinton.

Intermittently, clips are inserted from interviews that originate from the beginning of their stardom to now. Those were the most interesting part, in my opinion, however the only criticism I had with the film was that only bits about the Stones' longevity as a band were included. E.g.: 'Why do you still do this?' and 'Did you ever think you'd make it this far?' and 'Have you ever thought about quitting?' - when to me, those questions have obvious answers. They do it because they love it, it's a passion and a lifestyle. No, they probably never thought it would get this big or last this long, but one can dream. And yes, we all think about quitting at some point. Mick himself said that he was tired of being asked. "It's a stupid question." I'd like to know more interesting things: the band's funniest memory, stories from on tour, trouble-making, family dynamics (were touched on slightly), things like that.

That being said, a few beauties of the video stood out. The music was great, of course, those guys still have it (even though they played 0 of my favorite songs). The cinematography was excellent and I loved the up close and behind-the-scenes shots. Lastly, seeing Mick Jagger young was a startling aesthetic surprise I wasn't expecting - though he's a kind of funny looking old dude now, he was a super cutie back in the day! I tried to find a picture of the smile, but mostly my search returned sultry looks. Albeit, here's my tributary collage... isn't youth wonderful?

Biosphere II: The Final Frontier

This will be the first of a slew of postings related to 'what I do'. I recently began a 'journal' of Biospherian adventures. That is, what sorts of things I get up to when I'm there: projects, education, events, research... the exciting and the mundane. Although I've worked there for about 2 years now, I never kept a log like this. Thus I sanctioned the first couple pages for remembering what I've done. At a place like the Biosphere II, we as student workers get so many opportunities for resume material that it can become a big blur and things do get forgotten.

If you've never checked it out, you should. It is in Oracle, Arizona, and there are visitors from all over the world. I can't rattle off all the statistics about it a guide could, but I can firmly say that the place is amazing, and in many ways. It's an architectural wonder; the engineering that went into it is so cool. The entire structure is comprised of glass panes and white trusses, giving it a surreal futuristic feel.

For example, this spiral staircase, from the side, and a birds-eye view.

Or just tell me this isn't Stonecutters!

A tour would start in the kitchen shown above and take you through each of the 5 biomes - rainforest, ocean, grassland savannah, desert scrub, and marshland - and then wind you through the basement and into a lung. Each of the biomes is independently controllable for temperature, humidity, rain schedule and wind. Pictures of them are to come in a future post. Here is the Biosphere II from the outside.

The three arches you see above were once the agricultural area for the original missions (which are not still going, if you were wondering). The Biosphere II is now being used as a scientific space for educating and researching all things Earth-related. Biology, Atmospheric Science, Geology, Plant Science, Chemistry, you name it. It is a great for bridging the gap between small, controlled lab experiments and large, real-world multi-factorial experiments that are harder to control. The Hillslope Experiment will be built in that area now: a ten year study on water runoff and it's geomorphological and chemical impacts on transects of variously composed/stratified soils and plants.

It is under construction and they are bringing dirt in.
Here is some of the basement and the lung!

Welcome to the spaceship! I'm just having a ball, aren't I?


There are two lungs. They are special rooms designed for pressure expansion and contraction. When the Biosphere II was closed off completely, a rubber roof in here prevented explosion when the air got hot and expanded. Great acoustics!

The Energy Center has circle windows!! It's where all the generators, water circulation/filtration, electricity, etc go through. Highly technical.

The casita "village" is a cute aggregation of tiny houses for people to stay at during conferences and visiting research projects.

Lastly, this is one of the things I do when I'm there: educational demos to teach people something about science and conservation!

Far Away Places

"It's been hard to be strong with all of this going on." - Away With Murder

Every day starts with some hardcore positivity training, it has to. I do my warmup and practice Kung Fu for a little while. They say exercize makes people happy. I know Kung Fu changes my entire day. I'm more energetic, calm, less anxious and figety, definitely more centered. Happiness? Well it at least makes me less emotional, which is good for me. We'll call it a natural anti-depressant, what could be better? I also remove external factors that could weigh on me - i.e. things are tidy, projects are finished or stashed - so I can be free to do what I want, not what I have to. Rosko and my plants are made happy.

"But if the blood pumping through my veins could freeze, like a river in Toronto, then I'd be pleased." - Forests and Sands

I'm planning to go to Vancouver next summer for an internship. I have to get out of here! I say it every summer but this Tucson heat sucks the life out of me. In fact, it's been one year I've had this blog now, and it was started just to look on the bright side, to find the pearls under the wreckage, if you will. Sometimes I have to remember that. I've been jealous of the Northwest photos I've been seeing too. What I wouldn't give for just a little rain. And the forest is like a dreamworld I could find gnomes and faeries in. I may end up there eventually - Washington or Oregon - with the forest and the Puget Sound (Orca whales!) I could be in heaven, and not ridiculously far from family.

"When you're lucid, you're the sweetest thing..." -The Sweetest Thing

Tonight was good though. I made a new Indian recipe for Coconut Pulav (rice dish) and Aloo Kurma (a potato curry) which turned out to be absolutely devine, if I may be so modest. I give credit to Madhu's Vantalu, she's quite incredible.

Today's lyrics were brought to you by Camera Obscura's latest album, My Maudlin Career. My new favorite band.