CM Studio
Pt. I: Know Thyself
Pt. II: Likes & Dislikes
Likes:
- National Parks
One of my favorite past times is either visiting the National Parks, or watching nature documentaries about them. Ken Burns released a documentary in 2009 titled, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” and I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment. The documentary goes through the discovery of Yosemite Valley and the attempt to tame Yellowstone (pictured above) as Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir, among others, endeavor to protect these natural environments for all to see.
As Americans began to journey further and further West, some wanted to obtain these gems for themselves in order to profit off their beauty and to create a tourist attraction. So was the course of Niagara Falls for a time. But when the majesty of Yosemite and Yellowstone became more well known, it was clear that these natural treasures should not be privately owned by anyone, but rather publicly available to everyone. Yellowstone became the first National Park in 1872, followed by Yosemite in 1890. One of the quotes from Ken Burns’ documentary suggests that whereas Europe and Asia have incredible architectural and historical artifacts, in America, our treasures are these majestic natural landscapes.
I love the power that nature has to suggest to us that there is something greater than ourselves. I almost always prefer to be outdoors, I am exhilarated by the seasons changing, and fascinated by all the wild activity that happens in these wild places. A goal of mine is to visit each of these wonderful parks and take in the beauty that nature has to offer in so many various forms.
- Dogs
How could anyone not love dogs? Dogs descended from wolves, and studies suggest that they became more domesticated as they moved closer to hunter/gatherer camps, with the more friendly docile wolves scavenging for leftovers more successfully. I am so grateful that natural selection brought about this mutation because there are not many things in our world that bring as much joy as a good and loyal dog. I am “that girl” who will always stop what I am doing if a good dog is nearby. I think dogs can sense who wants to give them attention so they tend to gravitate towards me too. I have begged and pleaded with my husband Jake to get a dog, but he says we cannot until we have a house with a yard (big sigh). I hope to get an Australian Shepherd (pictured above) or a border collie one day, and I have a soft spot for Golden Retrievers too.
- Everything Bagels
Almost any millennial will say that they love a good cup of coffee. But what goes better with coffee than an Everything bagel? Plus, a toasted everything bagel with good cream cheese and a cappuccino is about as good a balanced breakfast as one can get. The flavors perfectly compliment one another and it is just so satisfying that my mouth waters even now.
The Atlantic shares that, “The first written records of the bagel date to the year 1610. They showed up then in the community regulations of the Polish city of Krakow, which dictated that bagels were to be given as a gift to women after childbirth. Back in medieval Poland, their round shape led to the belief that bagels had magical powers. Like the round loaves of challah we eat at Rosh Hashanah to symbolize a full and complete year to come, the round shape of the bagel was believed to bring good luck in childbirth and to symbolize long life.”
By now you are probably wondering where the best everything bagels with good cream cheese in Denver, and hands down they are at Rosenberg’s. Do yourself a favor, make the trip to Five Points or the Stanley Market and you will not only see, but taste true bagel perfection.
Dislikes:
- Horseback riding (or any animal for that matter)
Fun fact about me: I have ridden on horses, camels, and elephants, all in different countries. And the bummer is that even though the experiences are memorable, I just do not enjoy riding an animal as a transportation mode or for entertainment. Thankfully we have cars.
The exact history of horseback riding, camel riding, and elephant riding are foggy. Pertaining to horseback riding, historians believe that horses originated in North America, crossing the Bering Land Bridge multiple times to Asia, and on to Europe. Whoever was brave enough to discover that riding a horse would be quicker than going on foot was a genius. Although horseback riding is pretty self explanatory as to why people began to do it, having horses played a key role in civilizations traveling (either to conquer or for peacemaking purposes), trading with other people groups, and discovering new places. I can appreciate the sense of adventure and purpose as a result of riding horses, but I cannot say I enjoy it in practice.
- playing board games
When I was in undergrad, there was this phenomena in my freshmen dorm that everyone loved to play games. Board games, card games, video games, phone games: you name it and they did it. I never found any enjoyment in putting loads of effort towards something that seemed arbitrary to me.
One time, a friend of mine had me over to her parents house for what I was unaware was a game night. We played some card game that apparently her dad was a master of and would always win. They pleaded with me to play the game, so I conceded and lo and behold the final round came down to her dad and I, and then I won triumphantly. So it’s not really that I am unable to play or not good at games, I don’t like all the effort for something that does not reap much reward.
Board games are nothing new, the oldest known board game is called, Senet, and it was found in Ancient Egypt, roughly 3000 B.C. There are also rumors that dice may have come before even that time and that games were around before written language even. They can have their games though, I’ll spend my time else where!
- Star Wars & Marvel movies
Having grown up in a home with only sisters, Star Wars and Marvel movies were not a rite of passage in my childhood. This is probably why I do not feel any sort of nostalgia or affection towards Star Wars or Marvel. The term “cheap entertainment” (which is ironic given how exorbitantly expensive these movies are to make), does not resonate with me because I find the stories in many of these movies are lacking, the CGI over compensating, and the subject matter rather dull. Not to mention, the humor is so basic that the jokes become more irritating than jubilating.
When my husband Jake and I were dating, I spent a summer in California with him at his parent’s house. We were running out of activities to do in Morro Bay, so Jake made me watch all of the Star Wars movies with him in a span of two weeks… and it was horrible. Every now and then he tries to get me to watch a Marvel movie, but he usually ends up watching them alone because they are so boring to me. I hope to never have to watch any of these movie franchises again, there are much better ways to spend time, especially watching other movies that are actually good to watch.
In case you were unaware, Star Wars is the brainchild of George Lucas (who coincidentally had a beach house near my alma mater Westmont College and one time I stayed next door to him). Star Wars began with what we now call Episode 4: A New Hope, so chronologically the way the movies were created is out of order. It goes episodes 4–6 (1977–1983), episodes 1–3 (1999–2005), and the most recent trilogy (2015–2019) with various offshoots here and there such as Rogue One (2016) and Solo (2018). Why it happened like this? I’m not sure, might as well ask George himself.
Marvel movies, on the other hand, came from the comic books of the same name which originated in 1939. Many of the heroes were portrayed fighting the Nazis and Japanese during World War II, but superheroes soon went out of vogue during the 1950’s as sci-fi and westerns became the go-to. DC Comics came out in the mid 50’s and the two were considered the premier comic book producers from here on out. Marvel went bankrupt in the late 1990’s and about ten years later were bought by Disney. Well, as they tend to do, Disney went to work on Marvel and pumped out movie after movie of superheroes creating the Marvel Universe as we know it today. Most of the superheroes were the creative figments of Stan Lee, and illustrated by Jack Kirby with many writers since then bringing their own creative liberties to the characters. Either way, I find most of them dull and would prefer Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy any day.
