In Which We Celebrate Caroline's Birthday, And Maybe Teacups

Caroline's Birthday was earlier this month, and since we haven't seen much of each other since my birthday we tried to organize a meet-up.  It was difficult, and even though it happened a week and a half after, we did it!  This is the reason why I'm doing this post today and not Friday.

We met yesterday morning, downtown in our hometown.  It's been a little dead in that area in the past few years, but there are still some good little treasures down there.  We went in a consignment shop and a "high-end antique store." (This is what I'm calling it, because it just looked expensive.)  My favorite place we visited, though, was Rowand's.  It's an antique mall that's been around for many years, and I've always enjoyed visiting it.

We dressed Mori Girl for the day.  The theme was Woodland Creatures, but we only followed it loosely because neither of us really have anything animal-like.  We both ended up in dark Mori, coincidentally.  Caroline wore a fox pin for the theme and I dressed in black and grey and called myself a wolf.

 

My Camera was making everything blue before I fixed it.  Skirt from Old Navy.  Black sweater from JC Penney.  Belt from Kohl's.  Necklace made by me.  Everything else is thrifted.

I love her velvet skirt! VELVET!

The ladies at Rowand's were preparing for the upcoming Olustee Festival, which is the biggest event of the year for Lake City.  It's a festival commemorating the Battle of Olustee, the biggest Civil War battle in Florida.  There will be tons of vendors selling things, battle reenactments, people wearing Civil War costumes, a beauty pageant, and a fun run.  People come from all over the country to be in the reenactment.  At Rowand's they were decorating the big front display windows with props and clothing.  There was a beautiful crinoline period dress in the display, and Caroline and I both agreed that we would totally wear it.  I just wish the glare on the glass hadn't made the pictures so awful.

Isn't it lovely?

We spent a while perusing the place.  There were teacups galore, and I wanted every single one of them.  I nearly bought one, but I restrained myself.  Instead I just took pictures of every one I saw.  There were so many that I think I'll just show you some of my favorites.

I love the design on this one. 

I almost bought this one because it was only $9. 

This was one of the most beautiful teacups I saw. 

I really loved the one on the bottom left. 

 

This was probably the most unique one in the store. 

I almost missed this one hiding in a case. 

Loving the dogwood print. 

These were so cute and tiny! 

See, look how tiny it is compared to my hand!

There were plenty of other things to see there too.  There was a collection of Civil war clothing upstairs that I totally forgot to photograph.  Special me.

There were a lot of little figurines of children doing strange things.

I think this child is feeding a squirrel. And her friend is practicing his karate chop.

I don't know what they're picking. 

Or what's going on here. 

That girl on the right looks like she's about to fall asleep. But her outfit is cute.

The girl on the right has such big eyes it's creepy.  And the other girl has tied grapes to the gift she's carrying.

Downstairs there was a section that had glass cases filled and topped with jewelry and other smallish things.

 

There was a whole section of pipes. 

And this cool horn. 

 

I loved this bowl of old photos.  We found some Mori Girls in there. 

I also loved this collection of cameos.  I need more brooches. 

The one in the center with the three girls was my favorite. 

 

 

I also want a pocket watch. 

 

 

I really liked this scarf clip, which I first thought was a brooch.  I ended up buying it later on.

Caroline loved this doll, but I thought she was creepy.

Along with this wall of masks. 

And this clown.

 The creepy clown was guarding this beautiful lace bonnet.

And these curtains. 

And this awesome antique sewing machine.

There were a couple of old baby carriages.  Caroline really wanted to buy the dolls in this one. 

This one ad a funny little umbrella on it. 

I wanted these teapots that I almost missed.

 

 

Apparently this place is for all your Rococo needs. (For your inner Lolita)

This mirror was so ornate. 

I really want a silver tea set. 

I think this was supposed to be a fox. 

I'm pretty sure this was a bell.  I just wanted it because it's pretty and there's German on it.

A picture of a Shirley Temple doll printed on a plate.  I don't know who would buy this. 

 

I would put these prints in my Mori Girl house. 

A view as we were going upstairs. 

I wanted to buy this collar but it didn't have a closure and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get it over my head.

We both wanted this pretty chair. 

I loved this bag.  It was in such good condition.  I did need a brown purse.  I bought it.

While I ended up buying the purse and the scarf clip Caroline bought a beautiful dickey that had a pretty collar.  Later we went to lunch at Applebee's and had frozen yogurt at Mochi.  Some people there stared at us, but the Rowand's ladies had been so nice to us that we didn't care.  After that we perused the many thrift stores that Lake City has.  Caroline didn't buy anything but I found a couple of patterns that I can't wait to sew on.  They were vintage and only a quarter each.  It was a really great day and I can't wait to do it again.  Caroline is going to try to come back for the Olustee Festival and we might try to be Lolitas!  In the mean time I'll dream about all those teacups at Rowand's.

The Short Story of It

In the not-so-distant past I wasn't really into short stories, but I think that's because I was forced to read really awful, boring ones in school.  In my creative writing classes I came to know short stories very differently, because writing them myself (or with friends) meant controlling how awesome they were.  And then I began to come across collections of short stories that I actually liked.  They tended to be unique and sometimes very fairytale-like.  Now I own several short story collections.

My favorite short story authors right now are Shaun Tan and Emily Carroll.  Shaun Tan is the author of Tales From Outer Suburbia.  I first borrowed the book from the library, and then immediately put it on my Christmas list.  The stories remind me of the things Caroline and I write, and they are all very read-aloud worthy.  That's one of the ways I know a story is really good.  Tan also illustrates his stories, which makes them even better.


Cover


Illustration from "Eric"


Illustration from "The Water Buffalo"


Illustration from "Wake"


The most recent author I've come to like is Emily Carroll.  Caroline introduced me to her work last summer during one of our late-night internet parties.  Like Shaun Tan, she also illustrates her work, but Carroll's technique of storytelling is far different.  She employs a more graphic-novel-like approach, which I hope to try with one of my stories very soon.  Caroline gave me her book, Through the Woods, as a graduation present, and I was too excited about it.  While it only contains five stories it's more than twice as thick as my Shaun Tan book, which contains fifteen stories.  Carroll's stories are far darker than Tan's as well.  I noticed that as the book progressed they seemed to get darker.  They make my mind really think: every time I reread I imagine a different reason for the events.


Cover


Illustrations from "Our Neighbor's House"


"Illustrations from "A Lady's Hands are Cold"


Illustrations from "My Friend Janna"

Emily Carroll has many more stories on her website, emcarroll.com.  My favorite story of hers is called "His Face All Red," which can be found in her book and on her website.  You can click here to go directly to that story.

I really hope to work on a story inspired by Emily Carroll's technique this year, even if it's just in my spare time.  I'm really excited about my writing, art, and book-making all coming together.  Big things are coming this year, I can feel it.

Rising from the Dead

My first "resolution" of the year is to claw my way out of the darkness and back onto this blog.  I haven't written anything in months (since I graduated, actually), mostly because there hasn't been that much to write about, but also because I've been a little busy.  I'm going to try to write way more often, even if it's just about dumb things, or a silly poem.  I miss writing for my handful of peoples.

My second "resolution" is to get rid of one piece of clothing for every one I buy or receive as a gift.  So far it's working out judging by the yard sale stack beside my door.

This week I can't think of anything philosophical to write, so I'll just talk about what I've been doing.  In September I started babysitting my nephew a few days a week.  I didn't have a job and my sister needed to get things done, so, you know.  I still haven't found a job and I'm still sitting him, but it's fun.  Since he's starting to talk he says all sorts of entertaining things, like butt, rama(llama), wat(water), and doggy.  He calls me Keet.

Since I haven't been working I've been a maid/sous chef/gardener/happily-endentured servant to my mother.  She gives me a list of things she needs done during the day and I do them.  She has to make a list because I'm notorious for forgetting things.  I am my mother's daughter, after all.  She's never made me do anything too bad, at least not compared to changing a mushy poopy diaper with curds in it.

I've also been crafting and arting and sewing, all kinds of creative things!  I turned a skirt into a dress, sewed a whole entire dress, and even made books for Christmas presents.  Currently I'm crocheting a ridiculously huge scarf.  I have so many things on my list that I need to do.  It's ridiculous.

This is the dress I made.  My mom helped me because I'm no master sewer, but I'm trying to get better.  I made it for my birthday "party," which consisted of Caroline and I drinking tea and watching movies.  We also made cookies and and read our tea leaves, which is never boring.  The dress is supposed to be regency style, and we made it by altering a pattern for a 90's dress.  The pictures of the dress and the tea were taken by Caroline.

We used my mom's glass teapot and drank our vanilla rose tea out of teacups from my collection.

Speaking of my teacup collection, do you remember this?

Since the post where I announced my plans to collect teacups, my collection has exploded!  Not too long ago I passed the 50 mark, and my grand total as of today is 61!

Some with saucers.

Some more with saucers, and me photobombing.

These are above my TV.

And these flank it.

They also fill the shelves above my desk.

This one lives with the miscellaneous things atop my bookshelf.  Yes, that is an Alpaca with ear-warmers on.

And this one keeps the books company.

This mini cup lives on my night stand with the scentsy.  I sometimes put hair ties and bobby pins in it.

I even have them below the TV.

These guys don't have a home yet.  I'm still in the process of putting up more shelving.  The one in the middle I've had for a while, and the one to the right I got for Christmas from my cousin and her husband.  The ones in the back came from my aunt's free yard sale.

This is my current everyday cup.  I'll use it for my morning tea, or any tea, until I feel like switching it up.  It lives in the kitchen with my mom's rooster paraphernalia.

I got these two today from some thrift shops.  The one on the right makes my fourth wheat themed cup.

My mom gave me these for Christmas.  Today.  I still love her.

As always, Christmas was one get together after another.  My favorite is always when we go to Panama City and have Christmas at my grandma's house.  We play this never-ending game where people steal gifts from each other.  I came away with a gingerbread house cookie jar that I'll use one day when I have my own home.  We also gorge ourselves on finger food and home-made cookies.  I ate so much, and I don't care what you think of me for it...he he!  We stayed for a week, and partied till out pants didn't fit.

I stayed with my Auntie Jewel, who shares my love of tea and pretty things.  Her spare room was finally finished and it was beautiful!  The window had frilly white curtains and was flanked by two ceiling-high bookshelves stuffed with books!  AHHHH!  There was even a little cushy chair and table beneath the window to sit and read!  There's only one sentence in this paragraph that isn't excited!

We shopped and played games, of course.  And ate.  My favorite game was Quelf.  It's the most ridiculous game I've ever played.  At one point I had to spending most of the game talking like a pirate, much to the enjoyment of all.  I called everyone lass, threatened to run people through, and started every sentence with "Aye!"  My mom said I sounded Scottish.

For New Years my parents and I spent the night creeping around the house because my nephew was sleeping over.  I drew all evening and then went to bed when my computer rang in the new year, amidst all the rednecks shooting their guns outside.

This has been my post-college life so far.  I don't know how it could get better than this.

Magnanimous Coolata

I write this on the eve of battle.

Tomorrow I end an old season of my life and start a new one.  I'm so scared that I probably won't be able to sleep much tonight.  Six years ago I was in this same situation, but I felt like I could see so much farther into what my life could be.  Of course, I never believed it would bring me through some of the things it has.  Even though I'm so much more scared than I was then, the future looks more promising than I could have ever hoped.  I can't help but have faith in that.

But I know that it's also going to be hard.  The field of work I want to go into isn't an easy mountain to climb and comes with a landslide of rejection, something that I've never taken well.  I guess it's because I love my work and I want other people to love it too.  It's strange, and something I've never understood, that God would give this kind of gift and this kind of dream to a sensitive and introverted person like me.

After 18 years of nothing but school I'm standing in a strange place.  I've heard advice to go to grad school immediately and I've heard advice to wait a bit, but for now I have no desire to go back to school and I don't feel any pull from God to keep going right now.  And yet, even though I'm pretty tired of classes day after day, such an abrupt end to something so familiar is frightening.  But most unknowns are.  So if you'll excuse me, I need to go buff up my armor.

If You Like Frozen, Don't Read This

Last year, probably last spring if I remember correctly, Caroline brought to my attention a small group of concept art pieces for a new Disney movie that was in production.  I always get a little worried when I hear the phrase "new Disney movie," but we looked at it anyways.  Needless to say, the concept art got us both really excited.  But something was still there niggling in the back of my mind.  Maybe it was Disney's past track record with adapting fairy tales.  Not too long later our excitement was given a good punch in the stomach when more information came out, including the addition of a goofy snowman character.  I just had no words for how awful I felt it was going to be.  Further loathing came with the teaser trailer, and then again with subsequent trailers.

During this period of time we also noticed a big fan base building up, and the film hadn't even come out yet.  People were basically obsessed.  And most people who know me know that I tend to stay away from hyped up things (unless they are actually good), so basically I was thinking that I really didn't want to see it, at least not if I had to pay money.  At one point Caroline was persuaded to see it with a member of her family and she reported that she wasn't very impressed.  I found that after that point I was only basing my dislike of the film on what I had seen of the fandom and what Caroline had told me about it.  She pointed it out to me, and I realized that I really did need to see it for myself before making a final judgement.  Very recently I finally got a chance to see it (for free, of course) and I decided that a review was worth a blog post.

I watched it twice.  The first time I watched it all the way through without any interruptions, to get a good sense of things and take it all in.  The second time I watched it with a word document open and typed out notes as I watched, sometimes even pausing for extended commentary or thoughts.  Sadly, the vast majority of my opinions were only confirmed.

To begin, Frozen is supposedly based on The Snow Queen, a story by Hans Christian Anderson.  I say supposedly because the movie retains very little of the original story.  I was really sad about that because it's a good story and I would have loved to see a more faithful adaptation.  This being said, there are still numerous issues I have with the film.

The story basically centers around two sisters, Elsa and Anna, who also happen to be princesses. Elsa, who has magical snow powers, is the elder of the two.  When they are very young Elsa accidentally hurts Anna (and gives her a stylish new highlight) when she strikes her in the head with her powers.  The king and queen take her to a magical colony of boulder trolls where an elder troll heals Anna by taking away her memories of magic.  The king and queen then shut up the castle and confine Elsa to her room after the troll elder tells them that her powers are beautiful, but dangerous uncontrolled.  And of course, Anna doesn't know why her sister, who used to be her best friend, will no longer play with her, or even come out of her room.  Her parents make her wear gloves to help with the powers.  Years go by and the king and queen go on a trip by sea, where they die.

There are a lot of issues here:
1) Where did Elsa's powers come from?  The film states that she was born with them, but we get no back story as to how that happened.  Did it have to do with her parents?  Was she cursed?  Blessed?  Who really knows?
2) Why did Elsa's powers give Anna a highlight in her hair?
3) How does the king just instantly know where to go for magical healing?  Does this kind of thing happen often?
4) Does Kristoff not have a family?  In the beginning (which I failed to mention) he is seen with a group of ice breakers.  He is following them around like he knows them.  But when he sees a trail of ice, he leaves them and follows the trail to the boulder trolls and watches them heal Anna.  They then take him in.  This is a big plot hole.
5) How do the boulder trolls know magic?  Also, why are they boulder trolls?  I guess they can't just be normal trolls.
6) Why do Elsa's powers affect Anna the way they do?  The only reason I can see for this is to draw some faint parallels to the original story, but that doesn't explain it away.  Also, why is the troll's remedy to remove all memories of magic?  To me it seems like a very convenient element that the story wouldn't be able to happen without.
7) The parents don't seem to be any help at all.  Their first response is to make Elsa a veritable prisoner, even though she is just a child.
8) How do the gloves help? The only way I could see them helping is if they are magical, otherwise, it's just cloth.  Caroline says that it might be a mental thing.  I'll give that some consideration.


After a few years, when Elsa is finally old enough, the castle gates are opened and she is to be crowned queen.  She's worried her powers will get out of hand, though.  Anna is more excited that the gates are opening and she finally gets to see the world.  Before the coronation she goes out into the town and happens to meet a handsome prince, who she thinks she is in love with instantly.  Then the coronation takes place with a nervous Elsa.  Afterwards there is a ball.  There we are introduced to the character the Duke of Weselton, who I will refer to as Weasel Man.  Anna barely talks to her sister.  Instead she spends the whole night with the prince, whose name is Hans, which I forgot to mention.  By the end of the night, and a song, they get engaged and ask Elsa to approve, but she doesn't.  When Anna presses the matter, Elsa's powers are accidentally revealed to all.  She runs away to the mountains, unintentionally leaving the kingdom in a wake of ice and snow that won't go away.  During a song she makes a whole entire ice castle and does a wardrobe change, all while singing.

9) Everything from before the coronation takes place in about the first twelve minutes.  It goes by so fast that it can be too much.
10) I just love that Anna thinks she has fallen in love over the course of one song.  My only consolation is that Elsa refused to bless the marriage.
11) The first response to Elsa's powers is the typical "WITCHCRAFT!" of the days of yore.  And this is from someone who is supposed to be an ally (yes, I'm talking about Weasel Man).
12) Why is Weasel man suddenly trying to take charge? What authority does he have?
13) I don't understand why "Let it Go" is so popular.  It's only a mediocre song, and some of the lyrics sound so strange.
14) During "Let it Go" Elsa's hair seems to pass right through her shoulder.  This mistake is one I've cringed over since Caroline showed me a gif of it last year.  I don't understand how a mistake like that can be missed.  The film had to have been reviewed thousands of times before they put it out.  But really, did you not see that when you were animating it?


Anna takes it upon herself to go find her sister, leaving Hans in charge of the kingdom while she is gone.  After a few mishaps she runs into Kristoff, an ice man (and his reindeer, Sven) who seems to know where the snow is coming from.  After doing him a favor, she gets him to take her to the mountain.  Along the way they lose Kristoff's sleigh to a pack of ravenous wolves and must continue on foot.  They then meet a talking, walking snowman with wit and a longing for summer, and who also happens to know where Elsa is.  After a song the snowman, named Olaf, leads them to Elsa's ice castle.  Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf wait outside while Anna goes in to talk to her sister.  Elsa wants to be left alone, and Anna wants to help.  She tells Elsa about what happened to the kingdom, and in a fit of fear Elsa accidentally strikes Anna again, but this time in her heart.  Elsa then creates a snow monster to kick Anna and her friends out.  Unsure of what to do now, and with her hair turning white, Anna lets Kristoff take her to his family, which turns out to be the boulder trolls from the beginning.  Claiming to be "love experts"  over the course of a song they try to get Anna and Kristoff together.  When Anna becomes weak, the elder troll says that only an act of true love can heal what's been done.  Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven then take her back to Arendelle so that a kiss from her true love, who she thinks is Hans, can make everything better.

15)  I don't understand how they let a princess who’s been shut up in a castle for years go off into the unknown by herself in the middle of a blizzard in a fancy dress.  I just...I can't.
16) How does Kristoff know the snow is coming from the North Mountain?
17) Where did Anna get money?  Does she just carry it around all the time while she's shut up in the castle?
18) Olaf is the only good, even though he doesn’t seem to be very useful or push the plot forward.
19) I don't understand the situation with Weasel Man.  Why does he want to kill Elsa?  and what authority does he have to do it?
20) The whole business with the trolls trying to put the two together is really annoying.  Apparently two characters can’t be friends, they have to be together.
21) Why does Anna's hair turn white? What does that have to do with anything?
22) The elder troll seems to be omnipotent or something, which is confusing.
23) When they say an act of true love, they immediately assume it has to be a kiss.


Meanwhile, when Anna never returned, Hans took a group of men to find her, and the queen.  Weasel Man sends two of his henchmen along with the intent of killing the queen.  When they get to Elsa's castle, they are greeted by the snow monster, who they begin to fight.  The Weasel henchmen go around it and into the castle to try to kill Elsa.  Hans intervenes when she is very near killing them in defense.  After Elsa is somehow knocked out, they take her back to Arendelle and imprison her, putting metal mitts on her hands.  Hans promises to try and help her, then goes to meet with some important-looking people, including Weasel Man.  While they are talking Kristoff arrives with Anna, then leaves with Sven.  The important people leave Anna and Hans alone together.  When Anna tries to get Hans to kiss her, he almost does, then reveals that he is the villain and gives the obligatory speech about his evil plot.  He then locks Anna in the room to die (her hair is now completely white).  He goes back to the important people and says that Anna is dead, killed by her sister, but he married her before she died, making him ruler.  He then decides Elsa should be put to death.  But when he goes down to carry out the sentence, Elsa breaks out.  Somehow she starts up a crazy storm.  

24) Throughout the movie Elsa goes through bouts where she seems to be 100% in control of her powers, and then she will suddenly act like she doesn't know how to control it.  That's really strange.
25) Okay, so Elsa is imprisoned.  By who?  Hans acts like Anna left him in charge, and yet Weasel Man and the important people who are with him seem to be the ones who imprison Elsa.  Then, later Hans gives Elsa the impression that he's not in charge. I couldn't tell if he was doing that intentionally or if the creators messed up.
26) These people are supposed to live in Scandinavia, but they act like they don’t know what winter is.
27) They don’t do anything for or ask questions of Kristoff whenever he brings Anna back.  I guess so he can be conveniently away and have to come racing back.
28) Hans is a fairly good villain twist.  That’s about it.
29) The marriage vows thing isn’t suspicious at all to anyone?  No priest, nothing in writing, no proof…
30) Elsa doesn’t get a trial, he just charges her and sentences her in one breath.


Meanwhile, Olaf has found his way into the castle and breaks into the room Anna is in.  He then makes a fire for her and they talk.  He basically gets her to realize that Kristoff is her true love.  When Olaf sees from the window that Kristoff is coming back for Anna, they try to go out to meet him, but are forced to go out a window because Elsa's powers have blocked the way out.  Kristoff and Anna then try to make it to each other through the storm, while Anna is beginning to totally freeze.  Meanwhile, Hans has found Elsa in the storm and tells her that Anna is dead.  In grief, she drops to the ground and the storm stops.  The important people look on from a balcony while Hans swings back his sword to kill Elsa.  Anna abandons her pursuit of Kristoff when she sees her sister in danger, and runs in between Elsa and Hans.  As his sword comes down, Anna turns to ice and the sword breaks.  Elsa hugs her ice sister and cries.  Kristoff is bummed.  Hans is temporarily out of commission.  The important people are still looking on.  Anna then turns back into her non-icy self and they realize that love can also turn the winter thing around, so Elsa lifts winter and everyone is happy again, except Hans, who gets deported, and Weasel Man, who loses his shipping buddy.  Elsa then keeps Olaf alive with his own snow cloud.  Anna presents Kristoff with a new sled, and they end up kissing.  Finally, Elsa uses her powers to turn the courtyard into a skating rink and everyone skates.  They live happily ever after, the end.

31) So if, according to Olaf, Kristoff bringing Anna back and leaving her forever is an act of love, then why didn’t that fix her frozen heart?
32) Elsa can’t find her way through her own storm?
33) Elsa has sudden and immediate control of her powers.  Ummm….
34) The weasel guy is ridiculously annoying.
35) What’s with the peanut gallery watching from the balcony and doing absolutely nothing?
36) Best friend to the hair-through-the-shoulder mistake is the thumb-through-the-body mistake when Kristoff picks Anna up.


So, if you couldn't tell, I have A LOT of issues with this movie.  My basic assessment is that it was very underdeveloped.  The makers of the movie seemed more concerned with the awesome technology they came up with to make the film rather than the making of the film itself.  Apparently Elsa has more hair on her head than an actual human being.  I don't understand how that's relevant to the movie, and I certainly didn't notice anything special about the hair in this film.  However, while it is a pretty stinky movie, I still think it's characters are deserving of some awards.

Best Impression of a Cockatoo:  Elsa

Most Annoying Character:  Weasel Man

Ugliest sideburns:  Hans

Best Male Character:  Olaf

Best Female Character:  This woman who loves to skate.

Best Outfit:  Sven

Best Impression of the Horse from Tangled:  Hans' horse

Best Impression of Triplets:  Anna, Elsa, the Queen

Most Likely to be Bad Parents:  the King and Queen

Most Likely to be Useless:  the important people

Best 80s hair:  Anna

A much better film that I saw recently was How to Train Your Dragon 2.  The plot and characters were pretty sound, and the soundtrack was brilliant (I can't stop listening to it).  In my opinion it trumps Frozen, even though it is far less popular, and the concept art that backed the credits was so amazing that Caroline and I stayed until they were over just to look at it.  But, then, we love that kind of thing.

The moral of today's post?  Be careful where you step in a plot hole minefield.

I Promise I'm Not Batty

I'm really tired and sad of seeing people who are afraid of bats.  I'm not trying to say that someone else's fear isn't legitimate, especially considering that I'm the one over here that has issues with touching raw meat.  But time and time again bats have been labeled bad news by people who don't know them very well, and it makes me too sad for words.  So let's get to it, and see how bats aren't what most people think they are, and maybe by the end you'll think they're as cool as I think they are.

 

Let's start with the misconceptions:

1) Bats will swoop and attack people.

Nope.  I think this myth comes from a combination of movies and real life experiences.  You've seen those movies where a colony of bats comes swooping through a cave to harass a group of people only to get stuck in someone's hair.  Bats don't do that.  When bats are feeding they use a swooping-down motion.  They like the insects your outdoor lights can attract, so if you're standing by an outdoor light at night, it's possible you might see a bat swoop down for a tasty treat, one that doesn't include you.

2) Bats have rabies.

Bats are mammals, and all mammals have the possibility of getting rabies, including your cute little kitty cat.  But this doesn't mean that all bats have rabies and are out to get you.  In fact, less that .5% of bats have rabies.  As one article puts it , "You stand a better chance of being hit by lightning or winning the state lottery than you do of being bitten by a bat with rabies."

3) Bat's drink blood. (Yeah, some people still think this.)

This one is a popular generalization that is only partly true.  Nearly all bats claim insects and/or fruit as their diet staples.  Only one species of bat survives on blood, and that is the vampire bat.  But guess what?  You're only going to encounter this species if you go out at night in Central or South America.  Besides, they're more likely to feed on other animals than you.

 

Bats are pretty amazing, and they're far more likely to be helpful than harmful.  Besides the amazing fact that they are the only flying mammal, they can eat from 600 to 1000 bugs in only one hour.  That includes those pesky mosquitoes that eat you alive, and even bugs that hinder farmers from growing the food you eat.

Bats are also not blind, they merely have poor eyesight.  That's the reason for their beyond cool echolocation system in which they send out high frequency sounds that bounce off of objects.  This lets them know how big something is and what shape it is.  Bats are even better than our own radars: they can "detect something as fine as human hair in total darkness."

I've even had my own amazing experience with bats when I got to see a huge colony of Mexican free-tailed bats fly from Carlsbad Caverns for their dinner a few years ago.  I even wrote an essay about it later because it affected me so much.  It's basically the only reason I would ever go back to New Mexico.  I'll leave you with the essay and this: "Often, people who've never seen a bat automatically react poorly when they are mentioned. The constant negative deluge hurts them. In China, bats are held in high esteem and are considered omens of good luck and happiness. The word for bat means happiness and good luck in Chinese." - Traci Wethington, endangered species biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources




 Exodus
 
    I was not happy.  The hot dogs and the beans were okay, but the bugs that feasted alongside us weren’t.  And don’t get me started on the petting zoo fifty feet away.  “Visit New Mexico!” I thought in my head, “ Where you can eat hot dogs in the desert as you breath in the deep aroma of goat crap.”  I was relieved to get in the tent.
    The next day wasn’t much better.  Lack of a tree line set the sun fully in the sky and you couldn’t even close your eyes to escape it.  The only place to retreat was a man made establishment or one of the few hulking trees that had attached themselves like parasites to the banks of the nearby Pecos River.  Or, as many of us naïve tourists did, you can drive a few miles out of town through the dust to a little park on top of a perfectly situated hill.  As you drive around this twisting knoll in the middle of the desert you might think that any second you will surely dead end in a mass of cactus.  I assure you that it’s not so, but I pity the person whose car goes toppling down the hillside.
    Once we reached the top of the hill and found a parking spot between Washington B562IA and Iowa 89A225 we found ourselves sprinting across the sizzling asphalt to seek refuge in the visitor center.  We paid our surprisingly low ticket fees and shuffled along to wait for an elevator.  In all my life I have never seen such elevators.  These dimly lit metal boxes gave me the feeling that I was descending into some secret government facility, and I might not come back out.  The windows on either side held an unwavering one foot view of solid rock.
    Once we entered the chamber below, the mood changed completely.  Cool damp air washed over our skin and filled our lungs, inviting us into the shadowy recesses of its chambers.  We had stepped into another world altogether, where the earth moved itself into a multitude of rippling and creviced formations. I could only stare in wonder and utter, “Holy crap” in a whispered tone.
    When the initial shock does wear off, the first thing you want to do is yell something undeterminable at the top of your lungs. You just can’t help it. To hear the echo almost makes your skin crawl with goose bumps. As you continue walking on you can sometimes hear the faint echo of a voice as someone wonders over a great rippling column. Then you might think twice and swear that you are hearing things. The feeling never goes away.
    We continued on our way, taking fuzzy pictures with our cameras and christening the formations with our own names as we went. When we happened upon other people it was very interesting to hear their comments. At one point, as we stood with our heads leaning into a small domed room, a man behind us exclaimed, “That looks like the inside of my microwave!” I could only hope that he was planning to clean it out. Once we had finished our tour it was back out into the searing heat of the desert to eat lunch and pass the rest of the day.
    As the sun came to meet the horizon, we ventured once more to the park, hoping that our visit here was worth the heat we had endured during the day. We walked silently down the sloping path toward the natural cavern entrance listening to the people talk all around us. Once we came to the amphitheater the crowd thinned out as people found their seats, waiting and chatting away about their experiences below. We sat and waited and hoped with them, and soon we were rewarded. At around eight o’clock we began to hear a faint high-pitched screeching noise echoing from the dark pit before us. As it grew louder, the crowd became silent, and everyone peered into the blackness holding their breath.
    In a fury of noise, they surged up from the ground. They circled higher and higher, a vortex of little bodies and beating wings. They rose until they flooded the sky and set off on their nightly journey across the desert. For nearly an hour they emerged from below and took to the sky and we sat in awed silence and stared up at these magnificent and misunderstood creatures. It was then that I knew it was worth it to be here at this moment, to see something genuinely beautiful. It is at night when this place truly comes alive. And the bats are the masters of this night, racing across the desert through the starlit skies over New Mexico. 



Misconceptions About Bats