Author: Brianne Bilyeu

Sever’s Corn Maze

Brianne Bilyeu, 1,355 Comments

On Sunday the Hubby and I went to Sever’s Corn Maze in Shakopee, MN.  The weather was beautiful – sunny with a clear blue sky, and a cool nip in the air to give it that perfect fall feeling.

This is a view of this year’s corn maze, Vikings 50th Season (the Vikings are the MN football team for you non-native, non-sports readers), from the air:

The maze itself is gigantic – it took us about two hours to wander through it and find all 26 of the hidden signposts that were scattered throughout the maze.  That little tan board to the left of the picture above is actually a bridge where probably 40 people or so can stand side-by-side and look out over the maze.

At Sever’s they have pony and camel rides (yes, camels in freaking Minnesota – right der alongside dah corn, eh!).  They’ve got an area where an old-timey band plays and visitors can buy “state fair food” like corn dogs, cheese curds, roasted corn, and fresh-squeezed lemonade.  There’s a petting zoo, a corn “pool”, hayrides, a miniature hay bale maze for the younger kids, a pumpkin patch, magic shows, carnival games and all sorts of other entertainment.

We had a blast.

Sever’s Corn Maze
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CUP #2 Winner

Brianne Bilyeu488 Comments

And the winner for CUP #2 is Jeremy!  Jeremy was the first one to correctly identify this photo:

Jeremy’s guess, “This is an image of the place on the base of a stapler that bends the staple in the correct direction.”, wins him 100 internet points.  Congratulations!

I also decided to credit all other commenter guessers 25 internet points.

I’ve started keeping track of winners and points on the CUP Winners Page, which is accessible through my “Pages” links in the sidebar to the right of the blog frontpage.

Thanks for playing, and keep your eyes open for the next Close-Up Photo Contest!

CUP #2 Winner

Close-Up Photo Contest #2

Brianne Bilyeu751 Comments

I had a lot of fun on Facebook this weekend.  Saturday was a house-cleaning kind of day, and one of the things I did between chores was check FB, watch FB videos, read FB links, and add a little original content myself. 

One of the posts that I did had a LOT of positive feedback.  It was my “Things Around My House Quiz: What is this picture?” 

Vicki won 100 internet points for the first correct guess “Bubbles in the kitchen sink! You’re doing the dishes!”

It was a lot of fun, and I had several people playing, so I’ve decided to try out the Close-Up Photo Contest as regular post on the ol’ blog.  I’ll keep track of winners on the “CUP Winners” Page and as this evolves I’ll set some rules for “winning” and “prizes”.  For now, correct answers will be worth 100 points unless otherwise specified.  Particularly awesome answers that tickle my fancy will be worth additional points of my choosing.  We’re going with the Hogwarts/Calvinball points system here, that is, totally made up and at my discretion.

If this really gets going I’ll consider setting a regular post time and date for future contests so that everyone who wants to play will know when the new contest is going up.  For now answers submitted via the blog comments section and FB will be accepted.

So for the Second Close-Up Photo Contest we have this very common household/office item:

The Winner will be announced within 24 hours.

Close-Up Photo Contest #2

Would you lie?

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , 484 Comments

Seen on Nothing to Do With Abroath

Original article: NZHerald

New Zealand museum bans pregnant women from attending exhibit

A clash of cultures over a rule forbidding pregnant or menstruating women to attend a Te Papa exhibit has been criticised by feminists. An invitation for regional museums to go on a behind-the-scenes tour of some of Te Papa’s collections included the condition that “wahine who are either hapu [pregnant] or mate wahine [menstruating]” were unable to attend.

Jane Keig, Te Papa spokeswoman, said the policy was in place because of Maori beliefs surrounding the Taonga Maori collection included in the tour. She said the rule was one of the terms Te Papa agreed to when they took the collection.

“If a woman is pregnant or menstruating, they are tapu. Some of these taonga have been used in battle and to kill people. Pregnant women are sacred and the policy is in place to protect women from these objects.”

If an object is tapu it is “forbidden” and in Maori culture it is believed that if that tapu is not observed, something bad will happen. Women who plan to attend the tour on November 5 are expected to be honest about whether they are pregnant or menstruating as a sign of respect to Maori beliefs.

So the argument for keeping certain women out of the special tour is because the women are sacred, forbidden, and need to be protected.  And if they do go on the tour, tapu will be violated and something bad will happen. 

I have nothing to lose in this debate, so I don’t know if I would lie or not to get in.  But if I was affected by this ban, I might.  Or I might try to organize a boycott or protest.  The group imposing the restrictions doesn’t have the right to insist that I respect their beliefs. They have a right to not let me see their private stuff, but do they have the right to open their collection to the public except for the people they don’t want to see it? This particular museum is a public institution that accepts public funding.

Does the owner of a private collection have a right to place restrictions on who gets to see it, even if they allow it to be displayed at a public institution?

If only I had a seestor with a concentration in museum studies…

Would you lie?

Secret Powers of Time

Brianne Bilyeu, 228 Comments

Last night I was reintroduced to the name of Professor Philip Zimbardo.  I remember discussing his Stanford Prison Experiment in college, but I couldn’t have told you that he was the one involved with it.

I saw this video of one of his lectures yesterday.  It was remarkably engaging!  The lecture is fast-paced – he jumps from topic to topic, and along the way manages to hit on differences in world and regional cultures, teaching theory, business, multi-tasking, family values, and many more.  The visuals are unique and kept me rooted to my seat.  After it was over, I couldn’t believe that I had been watching this video for 10 minutes.

A cursory google search tells me that Dr. Philip Zimbardo has only worked on about a gazillion and a half projects, including a couple dozen books and articles.  A youtube search for “Philip Zimbardo” brings up 237 videos about the man.  So I know what I’ll be doing tonight!*

Thanks to Aaron M. for posting the Secret Powers of Time video on Facebook.

*Well, tomorrow night, maybe.  Tonight I’m going to see Michael Shermer at the University of Minnesota!

Secret Powers of Time

Backpack across Asia! Pack your kayak and jet ski.

Brianne Bilyeu, 167 Comments

Let’s go on a road trip from Tokyo to New York!  And we don’t need no stinkin’ airplanes, either.  Just plug that junk into Google Maps and off we go!

Okay, looks easy enough.


Hmmm…number 21 says we’re gonna need a kayak…

Well, maybe we’ll have to skip for now New York.  Let’s try a shorter trip.  Maybe Japan to China?

There!  That’s better.

A jetski?  Rly?  How the hell do you fit that in a backpack?

Thanks to M. for showing me the neat Google Maps humor.  It really works; ask Google Maps for these starting points and destinations, they direct you to kayak across the Pacific Ocean.  I think that beats the bad rap GPS units get for telling drivers to steer into marshes.

 

Backpack across Asia! Pack your kayak and jet ski.

Flash Mob: Homophobia Kills Die-In

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , 296 Comments

Act on Principles is a group promoting “Full LGBT civil rights now. No delay. No excuses.” The group is currently attempting to get the American Equality Bill (AEB) filed in the Senate.  The AEB would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as federally protected statuses. 

Queer SOS is an activist project of the Act on Principles group that is focusing their attention on Senator Gillibrand of New York.  Queer SOS wants Sen. Gillibrand to file the proposed American Equality Bill.  Last Friday Queer SOS hosted “Flash Mob: Homophobia Kills Die-In” in Grand Central Station:

Aside from hosting energizing flash mob art-performances-with-a-message, Queer SOS is demonstrating daily outside of Sen. Gillibrand’s offices.  This is part of the the communication that the AEB Project sent to Sen. Gillibrand on 9/17/10 (bolding is original):

Dear Senator Gillibrand,

I’m writing to request again that you commit to and file a Civil Rights bill for our community immediately.

As you know, it is the prime duty of Government to protect its citizens from discrimination and Congress has failed over 30 million LGBTQ people in this regard.

We can not wait any longer for action to redress this.

To press this issue, activists will be launching a daily, friendly vigil outside your campaign offices starting Sept. 27th until the American Equality Bill (AEB) is filed.   If no bill is filed as of October 11th we plan to go 24/7, and then on Nov. 2nd to begin group fasting. 

This is a very serious matter as people will be risking their health standing outside and fasting for basic human justice.  We should not have to take these steps, but talking about this has failed and there is no other option.

We will broadcast our work daily, seek as much media attention as possible, and try to join you at other public campaign appearances.

Please know that this is not an opposition action in any way and that we are very happy your campaign is doing so well! But we NEED YOUR HELP now! We need this bill to organize around and there is no excuse for not filing it immediately.

rest of letter omitted

I support public demonstrations that do not harm or unduly inconvenience the audience to the point where they are coerced into taking action.  Get out there, make your message known, go first amendment-protected speech! 

But group fasting?

It appears to me that threatening a fast is a coercive action – Hey Senator, I’m going to hurt myself unless you do what I want you to do.  I support the goals of this group and I want to support the group itself, but I have reservations about fasting as a political statement.  I know that hunger strikes aren’t new, but why are they okay?  Why is holding one’s health hostage an acceptable means of political pressure?  Can anyone tell me why hunger strikes are appropriate, or give me arguments about why they are not?

Flash Mob: Homophobia Kills Die-In

Minneapolis is a great city

Brianne Bilyeu, , , 164 Comments

I’ve been in a funny gray mood lately. 

It’s not anything you would notice if you saw me; it’s just an increase in the underlying noise or static – one of those little funks that everyone seems to have now and then. 

For the most part I feel great – my daily mood is happy and forward-looking.  This grayness really only strikes me when I’m by myself and undistracted by some pursuit or another.  Maybe it’s a seasonal biochemical change or just some issue or combination of issues with which I’m not satisfied. 

I’m a very optimistic person, and I really believe in the effect that forcing a smile and positive thinking can have in making me feel good about myself and the world around me.  It’s really been an odd week; between feeling down and trying to make myself feel up I’ve been having these odd jumps between elation – real, true joy – and meh-ness.

I went for a bicycle ride after work yesterday because I find that physical exercise is a good way to get the endorphins going and to clear my mind.  I went biking around Lake Calhoun and was once again amazed that I live in such a beautiful area of town.  I live less than a mile away from this gorgeous lake that offers bike and walking trails and canoe/kayak/paddleboat rentals.  Awesome!

My view of the downtown Minneapolis skyline from Lake Calhoun at dusk last night.

I wasn’t as enamored of Minneapolis when I first saw it as I am now.  First, I remember being shocked that downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul were about 10 miles away from each other.  I was bummed out because I had this image in my head of one large metro area, not two smaller cities with a bunch of residential and suburb-like areas between the two.

Second, I was taken aback by how small Minneapolis was.  I grew up near Chicago; you could see the city from all the way out in Tinley Park – the suburb in which I grew up –  and that was 30 miles away from downtown!  When I was little and we drove on the highway toward Chicago, I would watch from the backseat as the skyline would grow to fill more and more of the windshield until we arrived in the city and I had to start craning my neck up to see the tops of the buildings.

I was reminded again of how small Minneapolis is when I visited New York City.  When we got off the plane at JFK I was struck by how buildings filled the horizon.  I didn’t just have to crane my neck up in NYC, I had to crane my head from left-to-right just to see the entire skyline.

From a distance I can stretch out my arm, hold my thumb up and close one eye to “hide” Minneapolis.  In Chicago, I have to hold up both hands, and in New York I couldn’t hide the skyline at all.

Minneapolis skyline

Chicago skyline

New York skyline

But being in a smaller urban city definitely has its advantages:  Rent is affordable – even right downtown, parking is reasonable, and traffic is tame.  Most events and festivals aren’t exorbitantly priced or over-crowded.  It’s pretty easy to get involved in community planning and local politics.  I have the culture and variety that inevitably pops up when you cram a lot of very different people together in a small space.  If I want to get away to the country all I have to do is drive 20 miles in any direction and I’m in prime motorcyle riding land, pumpkin patches, state parks, etc. 

There’s a lot to love in Minneapolis. 

At least for another month or so until the blizzards start. 

Photo source 

I found this photo at Nokohaha – it looks like an awesome Minneapolis blog with a lot of other Minneapolis sites in it’s blogroll!

Minneapolis is a great city

Biology Pareidolia

Brianne Bilyeu, , , , 4,770 Comments

Forget Mary in the grilled cheese sandwich Jesus in an MRI scan; my officemate and I saw a seriously spooky image today.  We both saw something, but we can’t agree on what exactly we saw.  

What do you think: Does this sunlight reflected off of a glossy-covered industry journal onto the ceiling looks more like a golgi apparatus or an endoplasmic reticulum?

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Biology Pareidolia