08.12.01 - 5:54 p.m.

Cultural fun for the day: I went to the Field Museum to see the Julie Taymor exhibit and the butterfly gardens. Apparently my fear of birds swooping at my head does not transfer to small moths swooping at my head, although I did cringe once or twice. I saw a crimson something or other that had fluorescent red bands on its wings. I think I was the only one to see it, and it was way more interesting than the thousands of monarchs hanging around. There's a fully orange species of butterfly called "Julia," so the Beatles song of the same name played in my head as I walked around.

Since it was a sunny and practically perfect in every way day, the butterflies were flitting about in full force. Not like in stupid Canada where they were all hibernating or something. (No! Not to imply that Canada is stupid, just that the butterfly garden was subpar!)

And the Taymor exhibit was just great, completely gorgeous and fascinating. I studied her in my theatre design class freshman year, with the professor who looked like Eric Idle in drag. It's too bad, she was such a nice woman and a good professor to boot. I kind of want to email her and tell her I saw it, I wonder if she'd remember me? I mean, I AM a big nerd and all, but not a complete theater geek so who knows. She did talk to me at all the art openings though.

Museums rock. Rocks rock. I think I am a complete, wacked-out scientist geek in some alternate universe. I love everything about these places - the hall of gems and minerals, the dioramas, the old-school color schemes and the soothing glass cases. I especially love the botany sections. Poor plants. No one ever goes in there, no one wants to see a lemon tree behind glass. But I do! It's actually kind of...sexy. I think museums turn me on.

Oooh, and hey Bassett, I went to the creepy brown Native American masks section, just to say hi and look at the mask with the teeth. There were people in our little TV cubby hole so I couldn't stop and sit. Boo.

Then I saw Billy Corgan as I was crossing to Michigan Ave. by the Art Institute. He was walking with some scraggly looking guy and had a dopey black bucket hat on, but it was unmistakably Billy. Part of me wanted to stop and say, "you whiny bitch! Why can't you be happy with life?", part of me was thrilled to see an alterna-rock celebrity/icon, and part of me was disgusted with myself for being a stargazer. But I am kind of excited about it. I never get to see anyone of importance. I wonder where he was going?

Coelacanth. Archaeopteryx. Compsognathus. Ankylosaurus. Ground sloth.