Verdict: The Ichthyosaur is Terrifying

Russ and I have been meaning to go to the Nevada Museum of Art for the past … I dunno… forever. You know those ideas that you have about how you’ll be when you’re a little more cultured? A little better dressed? A little more sophisticated? The type of people to go to museums?

Well, we’ve been too busy catching up on Doctor Who to be the kind of cultured people who can actually make it to the museum.

Today, Christmas Eve 2024, we officially became the cultured people we hoped to be!

We Visited the Nevada Museum of Art!

Here’s photo evidence of us in front of Fallen Fruit: The Power of Pollinators (And Other Living Things) —a breathtakingly beautiful installation of floral wallpaper and curtains.

Here’s the thing: Part of my desire to be the kind of cultured person who actually makes it to the museum is to be the kind of cultured person who is so casual about how cultured I am that I go to the museum cafe to just get a little work done now and then.

You know the people I mean, right?

I’m really more of a “work in the airport” or “work in the car in the parking lot outside of Starbucks because I have social anxiety and even though I ordered a drink in advance, I decided to get it from the drive-through because I don’t think I can do the whole social thing today” person. (I don’t claim to understand it.)

But in my imaginary self-perception, I wear whimsical, iconic clothes and work in museum cafes.

Still, I’m basically an 8 year-old in an adult’s body, so when we got to the 3rd floor AND THERE WERE DINOSAURS (is there a way to make confetti animation when you read that part? because that’s how I want you to read it)…

WHATTTTTT? This ultra cultured place and there are dinosaurs?

I knew about the dinosaur thing because I meant to go to the museum for a while (you know, since we’re very cultured) but I had forgotten.

You’re probably not surprised to learn that I have an overactive imagination. I was afraid to go into swimming pools after I read JAWS.

The Ichthyosaur is the Stuff of Nightmares

It’s an exercise in internal fortitude to look at these fossils of predators. These monsters were ONE HUNDRED FEET LONG and OUTSTANDINGLY FAST SWIMMERS.

It’s enough to give someone thalassophobia (which describes my very real fear of deep water).

Regard, Exhibit A:

I know Pangea doesn’t exist anymore (we broke up, and it was messy) and that Nevada isn’t underwater anymore. But look, water covers 71% of the earth, and a lot of that water is unexplored. Just because we don’t know about 100 ft predatory water dinosaurs doesn’t mean I won’t get violently attacked by one when I’m minding my own business at the beach (ok, aside from the fact that it literally couldn’t get its ginormous body close enough to attack me… but people who swim in the open ocean?!?!!? ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?).

“The earth is still 71% covered in water, and a lot of that water is unexplored. Just because we don’t know about 100 ft predatory dinosaurs doesn’t mean I won’t get violently attacked by one someday.” – Danielle Vincent

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Annie Alexander, Pioneer & Paleontologist

All my newly developed neuroses aside, we also found truly delightful documentation of Annie Alexander, who led an expedition into the desert to uncover these fossils. We looked at photos of this plucky early 1900s paleontologist out there living her eccentric best life at a time when women definitely weren’t welcome in the field.

However complex and difficult my own life, Annie Alexander backpacked into the rough Nevada desert to dig up dinosaurs (in a skirt, no less):

Even my worst days are better than her average day.

Of course, my best days probably aren’t as good as her best days... imagine uncovering a NEW KIND OF MASSIVE UNDERWATER DINOSAUR embedded in the side of a mountain… nowhere near the water.

The sweetness of victories is proportionate to the courage and effort it takes to win them. I may never know victory as sweet as finding a water dinosaur in the side of a mountain.

“I may never know victory as sweet as finding a water dinosaur in the side of a mountain.” – Danielle Vincent

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Time for a Little Light Magic

The weird dark room with a light display entranced the heck out of me:

Russ didn’t find this as weird or magical as I did, but I think I explored every aspect of how a person could interact with this installation:

Vapor in incredibly targeted light may not entrance you, but it definitely entranced me. This is how you know I am very cultured: I understand this art.

Alternatively, like a moth, bright lights attract me.

“We Were Lost In Our Country”

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Maps: They don’t love you like I love you

In Northwestern Australia, European settlers displaced many native communities (as we had a tendency to do).

I’m not going to be able to explain everything well enough, so read about the exhibit here.

But I’ll do my best: These are maps that show how well people know the territory, thereby proving their ownership of the land.

It’s incredible – The whole collection is incredible. The land vibrates with paths and colors. The water is sacred.

These maps provided enough proof of ownership, and the government returned the land to the native communities.

I’m a member.

All this to say, yes, I have joined the Nevada Museum of Art. It’s a whole $50/year and I can go as many times as I want, and I even can go to events and wear the fancy clothes I imagine I’ll wear all the time.