The Manitoba Museum...

I've uploaded a collection of images to my Zoos, Museums, Aquariums, more... set on my Flickr account, here. These photos were taken during various trips to the Manitoba Museum (or if you're old enough, you might recall it as the Manitoba Museum of Man & Nature). Anyone who has been to the museum will recognize the iconic buffalo hunt diorama that greets you upon entry (as far as I know, it hasn't changed since I first visited the museum ages ago).



Once you've started into the museum and made it past the orientation gallery, you'll soon encounter the early history gallery , which contains some neat fossils, bones, models and dioramas (I've always been a big fan of models and dioramas)...


... from their you'll likely cross paths with a polar bear (albeit stuffed ;P) in the arctic/sub-arctic gallery.



Once you've made it past the polar bear, you'll find yourself in the second section of the arctic/sub-arctic gallery, where once again you'll encounter some neat displays, models and dioramas.



As you continue touring the museum, the next gallery you'll likely come across should be the boreal forest gallery...



A visit to the museum wouldn't be complete without checking out the Nonsuch and Hudson's Bay galleries (above image: a ram's head snuff container amongst the many items on display within the Hudson's Bay Company gallery).

I've always loved visiting museums, and have always felt that the Manitoba Museum is highly underrated (I'd definitely consider it to be 'gem' in our fair, little, city). Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed the pics... I didn't even mention (or show you) the additional galleries which include, the parklands/mixed woods gallery, the grasslands gallery and the urban gallery! You can see my collection of images from all the galleries, taken during my various visits to the Manitoba Museum on my Flickr account, here.

I'd encourage you to visit the museum, if you ever decide to visit Winnipeg or if you've never been to it before. Visit the Manitoba Museum online to learn more, or you can take a virtual tour of the galleries. Cheers!

Recommended Viewing | Dinosaur Dynasty...

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Manitoba Museum to check out the Dinosaur Dynasty exhibit. Excerpt from the Manitoba Museum website:

Get ready for a Jurassic experience when Dinosaur Dynasty: Discoveries from China opens on November 20th. This immense, large-scale exhibit from China features over 20 full size dinosaur skeletons, fossil dinosaur eggs that are millions of years old, and a dino dig pit for kids. Dinosaur Dynasty is open during regular Museum hours.

I found the exhibit to be quite interesting... the scale of some of the dinosaur skeletons was rather surprising...


...ranging from poodle size...


...to the size of a small building.


The velociraptor was quite a bit smaller than I expected... though I still wouldn't want to be chained to a bunkbed with one. ;)

It's great to be able to see such a diverse range of dinosaur skeletons/fossils on display in the city and I applaud the Manitoba Museum for doing so! I highly recommend that you check it out while you can... visit the Manitoba Museum online to learn more, here - cheers!


Images from my visit to Dinosaur Dynasty can be found on my Flickr account in my Zoos, Museums, Aquariums, more... set, here - enjoy!

The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies...

As you should be aware, I'm a fan of museums. The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies is an online collection of, well just that, 'forgotten' art supplies.

I hate to admit it, but I can name most of the items on display (even owning a few, here and there). It's an interesting collection... though I don't necessarily agree that all the items belong. I'm sure that many traditional artists still use a slew of these items of a regular basis. Check it out for yourself... perhaps you'll agree? Enjoy!

Recommended Viewing | The American Package Museum...

If you're a fan of nostalgia or packaging, I highly recommend that you take the time to visit The American Package Museum... where curator, Ian House has taken his personal collection of early 20th century packages and created an online gallery/archive to share with everyone.


There are some really neat old packages in this gallery, it's interesting to recognize some familiar brands and see how they've evolved... check it out at http://www.packagemuseum.com/ - cheers!

A Trip to Toronto...

I recently returned from a 6-day whirlwind trip to Toronto to celebrate a friend's wedding... I've compiled a number of images from the trip into a Toronto Flickr set, here. Photo above - famous Toronto landmark, the CN Tower.




One of the first things I did was visit the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). I took a number of photos while there... which have been compiled into a ROM Flickr set, here.



As part of the wedding festivities, we spent the weekend in Niagara Falls... playing 'tourist'. Photos from my time spent in Niagara Falls have been compiled into a Niagara Falls Flickr set, here. ;)


Next thing you know, we were back in Toronto... pictured above is Dundas Street West (part of Chinatown) at night. Needless to say, I did a lot of walking during my trip. Which resulted in a number of visits to the local reflexology clinics for foot massages. 60 minutes of painful-bliss at very reasonable rates. ;D


While waiting for my friends' massage sessions to finish, I couldn't help but notice this pair of sandals in the reception area... things that make you go hmm...(?)


...all fun and games aside, it was a beautiful wedding, and a blur of a trip. Oh Toronto... 'till we meet again. Thanks to my friends for being such gracious hosts and congratulations once again - cheers!

Viva Las Vegas...

For anyone who may be interested, I've uploaded pictures from my recent trip to Las Vegas, Nevada to my Flickr account. Vegas is one crazy place... from the vastness of the hotels and attached shops, to the crazy variety of shows, casinos and entertainment for all. I'd recommend visiting at least once in a lifetime... ;)


Highlights from the trip for me, aside from checking out the vast variety of shops inside the casino/hotel resorts included (above image: The giant wooden 'Trojan' horse at the entrance to F.A.O. Schwartz toy store inside the Caesars Palace shops):


The Shark Reef exhibit at the Mandalay Bay...


...where we saw all types of cool sharks and aquatic/marine life.


Visiting Madame Tussauds Interactive Wax Museum, which was a total blast! ;)


While we were there, we also had the opportunity to see Ka: Cirque du Soleil (at MGM Grand), which was awesome and the Bodies Exhibition (at the Luxor). It was quite an experience to say the least! My only complaint (if any), all the second-hand smoke... ugh.

View my Viva Las Vegas photo set on my Flickr account, here - enjoy!

COOL! The Great Robot Exhibition...

There's a wicked post over on PingMag about the Great Robot Exhibition currently being held at the National Museum of Nature and Science, in Ueno, Tokyo. They've got a great review of the exhibition with pictures! Makes me wish I was in Tokyo... personally I find the PBDR (Personal Ballroom Dance Robot) a little creepy. You have to check it out, see the post here. Enjoy!

Wicked! Poladroid...

A really neat link to share today, via Tina Roth Eisenberg over at swissmiss, from her blog post:

Poladroid - a polaroid image maker:
1. Download the free POLADROID application and launch it
2. Drag & Drop your photos
3. Wait... wait.... wait again... or shake the picture. Then look at or print your POLADROID picture.

It's an awesome little application IMO. You can even save the image in the various stages of 'poladroid' development. I've embedded the official demonstration video below. Go check it out for yourself at http://www.poladroid.net/ - enjoy!

Official POLADROID demo video - v0.9.5
Uploaded by paul_ladroid

Thanks for the link Tina! My first few 'Poladroid' attempts have been collected in a new set called My Poladroids... on my Flickr account. Check out what other people are doing via the be Poladroid! group pool on Flickr, here - cheers!

Image: 'Messing around with the Godfather', created from a picture taken at Madame Tussauds Interactive Wax Museum in Las Vegas... me thinks I'm going to have lots of fun with 'Poladroid'.