History
I went to see the DINOSAURS. They live at the Natural History Museum. I had never seen any before which is why it was quite exciting.
I had read about dinosaurs before, especially a long time ago, so it was nice to see my old friends Iguanodon and Triceratops again. Disappointing to see no Tyrannosaurus skeleton. You could really say One Of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (a film the racist undertones of which are not condoned by this establishment).
The other disappointment was the Blue Whale - the world's largest mammal, but here presented as a feeble plastic model. It is life size, so you can appreciate the dimensions. You can imagine the real thing of course, but I don't really like to be told what to imagine. I think that defeats the object of imagining.
Dinosaurs are really an alien thing. Nothing much like them here now - unless you look closely and think of evolution. So the skeletons are worth seeing. Also the fossils of strange and varied megafauna. And the petrified tree stump.
But as for the animals which exist on Earth today, I don't really have much interest in seeing models and so on. They exist! But these models are not really real. I suppose it's supposed to give you an impression or appreciation of the real thing. I think it may do that, but it is rather a poor substitute.
I don't know if I am not using them correctly, but the museums in Kensington are not as good as I was expecting. They are good buildings, though. And enough good things in them to justify having a look. For a good museum I'd go to the British Museum in Russell Square/Bloomsbury. There's plenty to see there. But no dinosaurs!
I had read about dinosaurs before, especially a long time ago, so it was nice to see my old friends Iguanodon and Triceratops again. Disappointing to see no Tyrannosaurus skeleton. You could really say One Of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (a film the racist undertones of which are not condoned by this establishment).
The other disappointment was the Blue Whale - the world's largest mammal, but here presented as a feeble plastic model. It is life size, so you can appreciate the dimensions. You can imagine the real thing of course, but I don't really like to be told what to imagine. I think that defeats the object of imagining.
Dinosaurs are really an alien thing. Nothing much like them here now - unless you look closely and think of evolution. So the skeletons are worth seeing. Also the fossils of strange and varied megafauna. And the petrified tree stump.
But as for the animals which exist on Earth today, I don't really have much interest in seeing models and so on. They exist! But these models are not really real. I suppose it's supposed to give you an impression or appreciation of the real thing. I think it may do that, but it is rather a poor substitute.
I don't know if I am not using them correctly, but the museums in Kensington are not as good as I was expecting. They are good buildings, though. And enough good things in them to justify having a look. For a good museum I'd go to the British Museum in Russell Square/Bloomsbury. There's plenty to see there. But no dinosaurs!
Labels: excitements, living, wishing
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