Who is this “Goombella…”

…and what is this secret language she is referring to? Bonk indeed.
 

Mascots and Blue Monsters

The current beave meme is (of course) about some sort of furry creature.

lame! the phanatic could *totally* beat him up

mr. beaverman is considering this as his "fancy night out" outfit

this guy watches over mr. beaverman almost daily

“You come from a different world: you are not a jet-setter.”

Project Runway update (since the Beaveblog was kicked off on the topic, I thought I’d keep it going): harsh break for Angela, having flown to Paris with the rest of the designers, and now having to fly right back home. Back to the Ohio farm! Her hippie-casual style just didn’t play in the Paris fashion world, imagine that.

In other news, I and Bryna have been working ourselves to the bone this August at our jobs, but have a vacation planned for next week. We has planned to fly to Prtland but now think we may actually drive, as one can plan even laster-minute this way. In any case, we will get away from our routines and obligations, and hopefully experience some natural beauty (hot springs, volcanoes, beaver safaris) and tranquility.

Mr’ahhh (Mreh + ahhh)

Bryna brilliantly booked us a soak and massage at Elisa’s in Noe Valley. Last time I had a massage was November on Ao Nang beach in Krabi… felling FROPPY

Why don’t you go shove some Harry Winstons up your nose?

Project Runway last night, where the challenge was to craft an outfit (a dress?) from recycled materials (largely paper goods). Laura was upset that Angela Alison was cut instead of Vincent. Vincent is insane, and had — as usual — a lame dress which he kept insisting really “turned him on”, because it was supposedly so avant garde, with pieces of trash glued all over it. “You call that anything close to a walk that her model was doing out there” on the runway? shrieked Laura, when they returned backstage right after the judging. Vincent must have been falsely claiming his dress was flexible and wearable, when truth is it was stiff as cardboard. “Oh, why don’t you shove some Harry Winstons up your nose?” was his snappy retort. i.e.: shove it, snob. (Harry Winstons are apparently diamonds.) Heh. Still, Laura’s design was sharp! Jeffrey’s was probably the best; aesthetically it was pretty brilliant, and he managed to make the paper fall like fabric. Jeffrey is our favorite contender, even though he’s completely arrogant. After all, Bryna tells me he is friends with Santino Rice, who ruled the show with hilarious arrogance last season — and should have won. I think I like Jeffrey’s design style even more than Santino’s, but he’s less of a character.

Beaver Safari

Beavers IMAX is a great fix for a beaver jones. Unfortunately it’s only 30 minutes long, but the photography is incredible. Many beaver behaviors are featured, though inside-the-lodge scene is short and uninvolved, as it was impossible to get an IMAX camera and all the necessary lighting into a beaver lodge (in fact, the scene was filmed in a studio replica of a beaver lodge!). And though there is a scene where a beave gets chased by a bear (and escapes), there are no instances of tail-slapping… The film does show the beavers wrestling in the moonlight, which it sort of insinuates is a mating dance (maybe it is, though I’m not convinced). Some viewers complained that the beavers were tame (it’s true, they’re hand-reared “actors” rather than wild specimens), but I say that’s even cooler! What it means is that you can hear their vocalizations (wild beavers don’t speak as freely since the noise can attract bears and other predators). Beavers have weird voices!

Anyhow, this movie aptly displays and glorifies the true majesty of the North American Beaver. It came out in 1986, so I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of it earlier. Oh how I especially would have loved it in my younger beaver phase. Though I was 14 in ‘86 so maybe I was over beavers by then to a certain degree. Or was I? In any case, can you imagine how awesome this film would be in an IMAX theater?

UPDATE
This film has inspired us to go on our own beaver safari! In the wilds of beaver country, Oregon!!! Week after labor day… Looking forward to the beautiful hot springs up there too. Cougar Springs (true name Terwilliger) is what I call the most beautiful perfect spring I’ve ever seen. Rough stone tubs cascading down a forested hillside, getting progressively cooler, opposite a beautiful reservoir. I read one complaint that the Oregon springs are too crowded, and that southern Idaho has a nice cluster of springs that see less traffic. So, maybe we’ll go to Idaho. It’s in about two weeks so we have to decide pretty soon… Are there Beavers out in Idaho (probably).