Friday, March 24, 2006

The Gathering @ The Big Bop

I saw The Gathering at the Big Bop last night in Toronto. It was an excellent show and I had an unbelievably good time. The venue was small, and the attendance even smaller, but those who showed up were an enthusiastic bunch. I could tell that the band appreciated the crowd, particuarly Anneke, and they played their hearts out.

Click here to see a slideshow of the photos I took at the show.

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Big Squid @ The Big Bop

Big Squid opened last night for The Gathering. They gave an intense and kinetic performance. Their lead singer, Aurielle Gregory, was absolutely gorgeous, all decked out in goth gear. It was truly love at first site :-)

Click here to see a slideshow of the photos I took at the show.

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Monday, March 06, 2006

Ripley's macromutations

Robert Ripley, the creator of Ripley's Believe it or Not!, had a thing for documenting macromutations, both in humans and in animals.

Most biologists believe that adaptation occurs through the accumulation of small mutations. However, some argue that macromutations (ie large-scale mutations) are responsible. This theory has generally been disregarded as the major explanation for adaptation, since a mutation on this scale is regarded as more likely to be detrimental than beneficial (eg. a frog with eyes on the inside of its mouth).

I visited Ripley's museum in Niagara Falls recently, and I got to see firsthand some of these oddities. I took some photos as I ventured through the facility (which, from the outside, resembles a fallen Empire State Building, including a defiant King Kong up top):

Two pupils in each eye.


Man with a horn sticking out the back of his skull.


Two-headed goat.


Two-headed magpie.


Two-headed boar.


An eight-legged frog.


This is most likely a fused twin rather than a macromutation.


Another fused twin.


One-eyed pig. Probably a fake.


And here are a couple of fakes:

Fur bearing trout.


The (in)famous mermaid hoax.


I love this one.