The Houston Museum of Natural Science has a corpse flower nicknamed "Lois". These are interesting flowers and they bloom very rarely. I saw Lois. She was fine, an interesting flower. She had a smell about her, that's for sure, but she didn't smell as bad as the media would lead you to believe.
Speaking of media, I am torn about the media and Lois. The media really taked up this flower and the blooming event, and it seemed like the whole city showed up to see it. Every newscast carried reports on it, and the Houston Comical, er, Chronicle, had her on the front page every day. The HMNS had extended hours to accommodate the large crowds. The HMNS is a VERY deserving entity, at least. If ever there was a place that could use revenue generated by sensationalism, the HMNS is that place. But still, like most things that are hyped, the event wasn't all that. (Because of the crowds, I couldn't spend any time composing a nice shot, and the lighting was very poor.) Additionally, the extended hours by the HMNS were essentially a bust since the butterfly center (which is where the corpse flower was located) at night is full of sleeping butterflies that, for the most part, can't be seen. I think that the HMNS should have reduced the price for admission for anyone going after, say, 8 p.m. since they would not see a whole lot of anything. But anyway, that's the end of my rant.
