Day 332 - Denver Museum

Thought of the day: We visited Denver Museum of Nature and Science today. One of the most interesting exhibitions was Expedition Health which gave us the opportunity to learn some amazing facts about human body through creatively designed activities and games. My favorite game was the brain wave game where two players sat at the opposite ends of a table trying to push a marble towards the opponent using brain waves. When you are more relaxed, the brain generates alpha waves which will put the marble in motion. Both David and I did a competition with Jasmine and we both lost spectacularly. The result was not too surprising as children are mentally more relaxed than adults. Their minds are not as cluttered and confused as ours. That partly explains why children are capable of learning fast and effortlessly as a relaxed brain is also more open, alert and focused, all of which are good traits for learning. That may also explain why they tend to be more creative as a relaxed brain also tend to be more creative. I learn something new of children all the time and my experience today have certainly increased my respect for them even more. 

Photo of the day:

Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  The "T-Rex Encounter" exhibit is very cool - it looks so real that we had to carry Lila out of the exhibit screaming because she got so scared by one of the mean-looking dinosaurs! I guess they are too much for a toddler brain to handle.

Day 325 - Les Misérables

Thought of the day: We went to the famed musical Les Misérables in Denver today. Since we don't come to the city very often, the night scenes of Denver left quite a dazzling impression on me. So many cars, so many lights, so many people - I felt like a country bumpkin enjoying a rare night out in the city. Of course, Boulder is not exactly the countryside, but it's infinitely calmer and quieter. It would not surprise me if the clocks ticked slightly slower in Boulder than in the city. The show was amazing and had an overpowering effect especially towards the end. I don't believe there was a single pair of dry eyes leaving the theater.  All in all, it was an interesting evening and was definitely worth the 45 minute drive each way.

Photo of the day:

At the end of the show, the main actor came out to receive a round of wild applause and standing ovation.

Day 284 - Amtrak Train

Thought of the day: The train was late for about five and a half hours at departure.  We didn't check the Amtrak web site before leaving the house so we ended up having the entire morning to spend in Denver's lower downtown (Denver LoDo). One great find was the famed Tattered Cover bookstore.  The bookstore had a dim, aged but comfortable ambiance which was perfect for a bookstore.  With a friendly cafe, intriguing patterns of light and shadow throughout the store and many small places to disappear into, this is a place that you can easily spend a couple of hours in as we did this morning.

Photo of the day:

Everybody was happy when we could finally board the train.

Day 278 - Denver Downtown

Thought of the day: The name of the musician we are hosting is Haeji Chang, a Korean soprano getting her artist diploma at the Boston Conservatory.  We attended her performance in the Chautauqua Auditorium last night.  She performed Fauvre's Requiem with a choir and a male soloist.  She sang beautifully and her voice had an emotional quality that was mesmerizing. At the end of the performance, the audience was wildly enthusiastic and gave them three standing ovations. Since I had the opportunity to spend some time with her, I got to know her a little and I found an interesting contrast between her off stage and on stage personas.  She was shy, reserved and soft spoken in person, but on stage, she radiated confidence, composure and charm that made it hard for people to take their eyes off her. In a way, it looked as if she had conserved her energy and guarded her emotions so that they would bottle up inside and come out forcefully during a performance and magically transform her into somebody else, somebody bigger.  That really made me wonder about who she really was - the one in real life, the one on stage, or someone in between?  Perhaps all of us have multiple personalities that can be brought out in different settings.  It's certainly something to ponder about.

Photo of the day:

A woman walking dog in downtown Denver.  I spent some time with Haeji there.  Unfortunately our destination, Denver Art Museum, was closed.  We had a nice lunch in Cherry Creek instead.

Day 185 - Smiling Boy

Thought of the day: Mike's Camera hosted an event in Denver Zoo today with Canon and Nikon.  They provided many different cameras and lenses for people to try out for free.  I spent a couple of hours there trying out different lenses.  The event was really fun as you got to try out some exotic and not-so-exotic lenses on animals and visitors. 

Photo of the day:

I knew that it was going to be my favorite photo of the day right after I shot it.  I used a mid-range telephoto prime lens for this picture - this lens was absolutely amazing and I don't think I will be able to get a photo like this with my current lens(es).  Time for an upgrade?