Today I completed the triumvirate of the best museums in the world (according to me). For art, you have the Louvre; for human history, you have the British Museum; and for natural history, you have the aptly named American Museum of Natural History. The wonders held here are simply astonishing, as is their presentation. The many dioramas of the animals of the world are beautifully done, and it's great to see some extinct and nearly-extinct animals, like the Passenger Pigeon and the California Condor (not great that they're extinct, but great to be able to see them, of course). Then there's the dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, and our 8 year-old dinosaur-fan selves burst out of our chests like implanted aliens and go a little silly with excitement. The halls at this museum are a total who's-who of Notable Extinct Things - archaeopteryx, deinocheirus, anatotitan (which totally means "giant duck," thus making it the Best Dinosaur Name Ever), mammoths, giant ground sloths, the Great Irish Elk, those ugly armour-plated giant fish I can't remember... it's just too awesome, really.
The only downside to the museum is the wing of human cultures. These are a bunch of dated displays on non-European cultures, which is problematic for a couple of reasons: a) what kind of message does it put across when non-European cultures are placed with the animals in the natural history museum, and the European cultures are represented in the art museum? and b) why is such a distinction made in New York City of all places, probably the most diverse city in the world?
The whole trip, however, was spoiled by the words heard from a particular tour guide, who I sincerely hope is not employed by the museum. To quote: "Asia is a misogynist country, and misogynist means woman-hating." Wow. It's like, how many idiocies can you fit into a sentence? First of all, Asia is not a country. Secondly, 'misogynist' does not mean woman-hating. Finally, way to rudely dismiss an entire continent, moron. That woman needs to be kept away from other people, so as to not taint them with her idiocy. Blegh.
Wandered through Central Park again, and I reckon that, whilst it's not especially garden-pretty, it is great to see a park being so well-used, what with all the baseballers, kite-fliers, runners, roller-bladers, and everyone else. I suppose when you've got one park to share among two million people, it'll certainly be well-used.
