i'd like to buy the world a coke

The weekend with Noah was great fun. I finally went to the Georgia Aquarium, and I'm considering getting a membership. It was fascinating, beautifully laid out and executed. Even the Beluga whales pooping in the tank seemed like it was some part of a larger master plan. It's also a great backdrop for photography, I'll put some up later on.

We also popped into the new World of Coke -- it was their opening weekend, and Cirque du Soleil was on hand to do acrobatics on the plaza. I'm not really sure what the tie-in was, but it was fun. You enter into a loft area that's crammed with artifacts and ads from the decades -- and our official welcomer pointed out two adverts from the late 20s that featured Joan Crawford, apparently unaware of the irony of it all.

The new museum features a lot of the same memorabilia as the old one, but also includes a working bottling line (which was broken on its second day, go figure) and a 3D short-feature that was short on plot but high on propaganda and contrived actors...and kinda spiffy effects. Finally, you wind up in the TasteIt lounge, with fountains set up for each of the continents (except Australia, conspicuously absent... Pepsi fans?). North Americans are so limited in their soda choice. You wind up with a free bottle of Coke to take home and an exit through an over-stuffed Coke store with every imaginable product tie-in possible. It was an enjoyable couple of hours but I still prefer the Guiness factory tour in Dublin -- nothing can beat the ice-cold Guiness in the roof lounge at the end of it all.

The Jazz Festival was this weekend. I live right by the park so it was enormous lines of traffic all around the neighborhood. Occasionally not knowing how to drive pays off.

And in arm news, it's been about six weeks since I was discharged from the hospital. Some of my faculties are coming back. I can make a tight fist again. My thumb extends a little further than it did a few weeks ago, and the searing pain has mostly subsided. It's still swollen and there's still a lot of stiffness, particularly in my wrist. My arm is a minefield of ingrown hairs thanks to the Dial soap I've had to use on the incision. On occasion, my fingers will get numb and tingly, but apparently this is normal. I've gotten used to being broken, so it's strange to feel like I can actually DO something (and also being fully aware that I can't). I'm going back to the surgeon on the 12th, more x-rays, and see where I stand.

Finally, it's Memorial Day. I can't bring myself to say "Happy Memorial Day!" because it kind of contradicts what Memorial Day is supposed to be. I have two military brothers, 1 former and 1 current, and I'm lucky they're still around. Regardless of your opinion of the current war, take a moment to reflect on those who have worked tirelessly to keep us safe (no matter how misguided the commanding officer may be).