Cool & Creepy at the same time....

So, I was just thinking about "The Bodies" display that had been traveling around the world. For those of you not familiar, here's a little background.

This crazy German scientist started in the late 50s asking people to agree to donate their bodies upon their death so that he could use this strange plastic process to preserve the bodies and basically turn them into mannequins. He would then form, slice, peel back skin, and do all kinds of freakish things in the attempt to teach about the inner workings of the human form.

O.K. I tried, but that description did not do the man, or his hobby, justice, so here's the link.....

http://www.bodiestheexhibition.com/bodies.html

Well, this got me thinking of all the things in this world that are both cool and creepy at the same time. So, I am feeling a list coming on....





1. Kopi Luwak

That exotic coffee that is made from coffee beans that the Luwak (some weird animal) eat and then poop out. It's apparently a delicacy and very expensive.



2. The Vatican.

This one is a little random, but I am recalling the first time I was there in high school. I was so blown away by the size, the ornate buildings, and the majesty of it all. Then, it made me wonder about the exorbitant wealth of the Catholic church. And the years of slave labor on the backs of so called "heretics" that build it.



3. My friend from Wales who got his thumb cut off in a freak accident.

The doctors cut off his big toe, scaled it down, and sewed it on. Now he has a toe-thumb. It really looks cool, and unless you knew the truth, you wouldn't even notice.



4. Skydiving.

It was awesome. One of the greatest experiences of my life. The biggest high I have ever had. And I never want to do it again.



5. African Safaris.

Watching animals hunt down and eat each other from about 10 feet away.... Awesome. Having a lion stare right at you with bits of zebra skin hanging out of her mouth..... Scary.



6. Documentaries on Ants.

I know, sounds weird. I don't watch the Discovery Channel or National Geographic very often, but for some reason, I seem to catch a lot of ant documentaries, especially late at night. My 2 favorite are first - the one about the man-eating ants who move through the jungle in a complicated web of highways they dig and protect.

And second - the one where they take the natural factors that make humans stand out from other animals (ability to use tools; dominance over other animals; social organization, etc.), and show how there is a type of African ant that displays these traits also. Super intriguing.



7. Shooting a gun.

Disclaimer: I am not endorsing guns, or gun ownership. In fact, I am very much against handguns, and the trite, overused, so called "right to bear arms". I am just saying that a gun enthusiast friend of mine once took me to a shooting range. Since, as I have stated before, I do not like to condemn that I do not understand, I agreed to go. It was pretty exhilarating. But, after a round or two, I was done. It did start to make my hand shake, and scare me a little.


8. Movies that celebrate things the general public would consider taboo....where you are, sort of, routing for the bad guy.

Lord of War - I was totally wanting Uri Orlof, the gun runner arming crazy blood thirsty African gangs, to evade the American ATF Agent.

Matchpoint - I got behind the main guy who killed his pregnant girlfriend, excited he got away with it, and his wife never found out.

Little Children - I was hoping the 2 people having the affair both left their spouses to be together

The Shawshank Redemption - I was on the side of the inmates (I.E. convicted felons) over the wardens and prison guards