No More Paris

This news anchor absolutely embodies how I feel about all of the coverage of this story. I love this...

Take me to the Zoo

I love the LA Zoo for so many reasons.

For one, zoos are just fun. It is a whole place dedicated to learning and play...what could be cooler than that. I so enjoy science, especially behavioral sciences that I could spend hours watching the animals interact with each other and trying to figure out what it all means.

The LA Zoo is extra special for me, though. I feel like I grew up there. I can remember visiting as a kid and loving it. As a teenager, I went to high school there and trust me...it was absolutely as fun as it sounds. We took classes and did research in front of animal exhibits, we got into areas that weren't open to the public, and I even got to touch a giraffe once.

As an adult, I am of course a member. If you find me bored on a Saturday afternoon, odds are I will head out to the zoo to take pictures. I was even able to do a programming project for work in one of the new buildings...talk about coming full circle. I love that as a grown-up, I can still have such a fun kid-like time there. As the responsibilities and problems of the world press down on us, everyone needs a place they can go to be a kid again.

Now I only wish they still sold those great animal shaped french fries! On a hot summer day I can still taste them...dipped in a cherry icee of course.

The Hills Still Aren't The Same

As many of my friends know, I was very sad about the Griffith Park fire.

Don't get me wrong. I fully appreciate how lucky everyone is that no one was hurt and I think the firemen were amazing to save all of the historic structures and homes. I just love the park and I hated to see it scarred.

Staying out of the park the last month has been difficult. It is my favorite regular hiking spot. I am the first to tell people how wrong I think it is to try and sneak into the burn areas as the land needs to heal...and it doesn't need us stomping all over it while it does. I also share in the frustrations held by many that we are be kept out of large portions of the hills where there has been no fire.

Conspiracy theories abound that the reason the majority of the park is closed is to make it easier for the powers-that-be to push through a new master plan allowing for more paving and deveoloping of the land. It is getting harder to call these theories crazy. There is definitely a group of people that would like to see Griffith Park opened up for more commercial uses. Parking lots, restauraunts, paved roads...the list goes on and on. All of these plans backed by arguments that talk about opening the park up for everyone and helping it to pay for itself. The problem is, of course, that the plan calls for a destruction of the very thing it is "developing".

Things change, time marches on, but sometimes you have to let things remain. Not everything should change. Not everything has to be fully accessible to everyone. Not everything has to be able to generate money for the city. When you are blessed with an urban wilderness as special as Griffith Park, it is the responsibility of the City of Los Angeles and the residents of the city to protect it.

http://savegriffithpark.org/

How Many Do You Count

This is very tricky. Give it a try and let me know how you did.