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We went to the four legged zoo
Jul. 14th, 2023 04:53 am[Edited to remove DnD notes that I did not mean to copypaste with the rest of my words, whoops.]
Today mek and I went to the zoo, where we decided which animals were fake!
The Sacramento zoo is a nice little space --we had about two hours to kill there, and it perfectly filled the time. I think we got a chance to see everything except one or two exhibits in the back (fuck pandas, really1) without feeling particularly rushed or overwhelmed.
Anyways, okapi are the most fake, by far. Weird fake conglomerate animals. Giraffes are pretty dang fake, but they get significantly less fake when they are younger and shorter. (Also there was a young giraffe with what looked like toddler pigtails on its ossicones2, super cute). Chimpanzees are pretty fake, and what started the whole debate. mek thinks zebra are fake in general, I think they're just horses with paint on (so a different kind of fake).
Generally small mammals were not fake --those meerkats were not at all fake, we've seen rodents, this is just another kind of squirrel. Otters were not fake. None of the birds were fake, and some of them were quite amazingly pretty. The Bateleur Eagle is not fake, very huge, and absolutely gorgeous --probably my favourite animal from them all!
Sneps3 were not fake --my roommate would disown me if I tried to claim that! And shockingly, since it is a big animal and that seems to somewhat correlate with fakeness, the lioness was one hundred percent real and I could feel that in my bones. She is real, and I know because there is a part of my brain from thousands of years ago who looks at her and says "danger" and "avoid" and "respect the fuck out of that thing from very far away". I think it's the best adrenaline/fear spike I've ever gotten without being in line for a roller coaster!
We ended with a good long visit with the alligator (not fake, probably doesn't have the same fear spike, also never got as close to us as the lioness did --she was only about six feet away, on the other side of her glass walls) and a tour through the reptile house. No reptiles are fake, but I want to hold several of the frogs regardless, because I think that would be very pleasing. They are large, you understand.
So it was a very good zoo trip, and we made it home in plenty of time for me to play DnD, and then we wiled the evening away playing video games with Ash. Ash, who made their version of the Ethiopian lentils recipe what is one of the three things I can actually cook! It was neat to taste the original, and pleasing to realize I haven't drifted _too_ far away (although I usually serve mine with rice or potatoes instead of meat). The three of us played a goodly chunk of Plate Up, and then mek and I played bonus Plate Up just the two of us. Our franchise business "Pizza is the Only Thing" is doing quite well!
Now is bed. Tomorrow is too fucking hot, and also laundry and hopefully pool? Should probably pool. Goodnight!
~Sor
MOOP!
1: I don't think I can say "my feelings on pandas are well documented" because I'm not sure I've ever written them down, but I do not like them and find them intensely overrated. Convince them to actually eat and actually fuck and maybe I'll be more okay with the situation. Also yes, the Sac zoo has red pandas, not giant, and those are technically much better, but blehhhh fuck pandas, look, I try so hard to not be a killjoy on all the other mammal-love that I encounter, please just let me have this one.
2: learned a word! SacZoo has very good docents who are more than happy to talk about stuff --we purposely sought out one of them as she was cleaning up from a presentation and she was thrilled to answer our questions like "what the hell is that noise" (gibbon) and "what's up with the juvie giraffe's little fluff tufts?". Later we were hanging near the Alligator and his docent bestie came up to hang and be thrilled about how his friend ate all the other alligators and also one duck a year (the rest of the ducks notice when Greg never comes back from the pond...)
3: Snow Leopard
Today mek and I went to the zoo, where we decided which animals were fake!
The Sacramento zoo is a nice little space --we had about two hours to kill there, and it perfectly filled the time. I think we got a chance to see everything except one or two exhibits in the back (fuck pandas, really1) without feeling particularly rushed or overwhelmed.
Anyways, okapi are the most fake, by far. Weird fake conglomerate animals. Giraffes are pretty dang fake, but they get significantly less fake when they are younger and shorter. (Also there was a young giraffe with what looked like toddler pigtails on its ossicones2, super cute). Chimpanzees are pretty fake, and what started the whole debate. mek thinks zebra are fake in general, I think they're just horses with paint on (so a different kind of fake).
Generally small mammals were not fake --those meerkats were not at all fake, we've seen rodents, this is just another kind of squirrel. Otters were not fake. None of the birds were fake, and some of them were quite amazingly pretty. The Bateleur Eagle is not fake, very huge, and absolutely gorgeous --probably my favourite animal from them all!
Sneps3 were not fake --my roommate would disown me if I tried to claim that! And shockingly, since it is a big animal and that seems to somewhat correlate with fakeness, the lioness was one hundred percent real and I could feel that in my bones. She is real, and I know because there is a part of my brain from thousands of years ago who looks at her and says "danger" and "avoid" and "respect the fuck out of that thing from very far away". I think it's the best adrenaline/fear spike I've ever gotten without being in line for a roller coaster!
We ended with a good long visit with the alligator (not fake, probably doesn't have the same fear spike, also never got as close to us as the lioness did --she was only about six feet away, on the other side of her glass walls) and a tour through the reptile house. No reptiles are fake, but I want to hold several of the frogs regardless, because I think that would be very pleasing. They are large, you understand.
So it was a very good zoo trip, and we made it home in plenty of time for me to play DnD, and then we wiled the evening away playing video games with Ash. Ash, who made their version of the Ethiopian lentils recipe what is one of the three things I can actually cook! It was neat to taste the original, and pleasing to realize I haven't drifted _too_ far away (although I usually serve mine with rice or potatoes instead of meat). The three of us played a goodly chunk of Plate Up, and then mek and I played bonus Plate Up just the two of us. Our franchise business "Pizza is the Only Thing" is doing quite well!
Now is bed. Tomorrow is too fucking hot, and also laundry and hopefully pool? Should probably pool. Goodnight!
~Sor
MOOP!
1: I don't think I can say "my feelings on pandas are well documented" because I'm not sure I've ever written them down, but I do not like them and find them intensely overrated. Convince them to actually eat and actually fuck and maybe I'll be more okay with the situation. Also yes, the Sac zoo has red pandas, not giant, and those are technically much better, but blehhhh fuck pandas, look, I try so hard to not be a killjoy on all the other mammal-love that I encounter, please just let me have this one.
2: learned a word! SacZoo has very good docents who are more than happy to talk about stuff --we purposely sought out one of them as she was cleaning up from a presentation and she was thrilled to answer our questions like "what the hell is that noise" (gibbon) and "what's up with the juvie giraffe's little fluff tufts?". Later we were hanging near the Alligator and his docent bestie came up to hang and be thrilled about how his friend ate all the other alligators and also one duck a year (the rest of the ducks notice when Greg never comes back from the pond...)
3: Snow Leopard