Sunday, May 31, 2020
Spicy Meat Sauce with Italian Cut Green Beans and Mushrooms over Angel Hair Pasta
Topped with shredded Parmesan cheese.
Another Look @ My Little Garden Zoo: Four Additiona, One Shift
A new combined habitat was added featuring both African Penguins and Atlantic Puffin even though neither species would interact in nature--space is tight.
Current Roster by continent with newly added "habitats":NORTH AMERICA - 16 species
- American Alligator
- Atlantic Puffin (added Sunday)
- Collard Peccary
- Gila Monster
- Grey Wolf
- Harbor Seal
- Moose
- North American Black Bear
- North American Bobcat
- North American River Otter (added Sunday)
- Polar Bear
- Pond Aviary: Mallard Ducks and Trumpeter Swans
- Striped Skunk
- Timber Rattlesnake
- Wolverine
- Alpaca
- Aviary
- Blue & Yellow Macaw
- Hyacinth Macaw
- Keal-billed Toucan
- Scarlet Macaw
- Toco Toucan
- Baird's Tapir
- Black Howler Monkey
- Brown-throated Sloth
- Chilean Flamingo
- Giant Anteater
- Golden Lion-headed Tamarin
- Maned Wolf
- Southern Tamandua
EUROPE - 3 species
- European Badger
- European (Russian) Wild Boars (moved Sunday)
- Reindeer
- African Civet
- African Bush Elephant
- African Lion
- African Wild Dog (added Sunday)
- Burchell's Plains Zebra
- Cape Hippopotamus
- Common Chimpanzee
- Common Warthogs
- Fennec Fox
- Mandrill
- Okapi
- Parson's Chameleon
- Reticulated Giraffe
- Slender-tailed Meerkat
- South African Penguins (added Sunday)
- Southern White Rhinoceros
- Spotted Hyena
- Spur-thighed Tortoise
- Thomson Gazelle
- Western Mountain Gorilla
ASIA - 14 species
- Asian Elephant
- Bactrian Camel
- Bornean Orangutan
- Burmese Mountain Tortoise
- Giant Panda
- Himalayan Takir
- Indian One-horned Rhinoceros
- King Cobra
- Komodo Dragon
- Malayan Tapir
- Malayan Tiger
- Red Panda
- Scimitar-horned Oryx
- Sloth Bear
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA - 7 species
- Bandicoot
- Eastern Bearded Dragon
- Eastern Grey Kangaroo
- Koala Bear
- Numbats
- Possum
- Wombat
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Friday, May 29, 2020
Election 2020: Massachusetts
I do enjoy the political fray. And there's more going on out there than a battle between two old men! In one instance, it's a battle between an old man and a young man. The battle ground is Massachusetts, and the contest is an intra-party battle for the U.S. Senate seat. It is currently in Democratic hands and it will most certainly remain in Democratic hands, but who's actual hands is the question.
Massachusetts is one of the most reliably Democratic states in the union. There really aren't that many, and even among them it's not like Idaho for the Republicans--it's not a perfect deal. Still for a very long time the near total majority of Federal Congress persons have been Democrats: House and Senate. It's a fact that has also painted Massachusetts as a bastion of liberal sentiments. And compared to Idaho, sure. But like everything else, this liberal reputation wasn't without it's obvious contradictions.
Take the issue of gender. Two women represented the state in the House of Representatives between 1967 and 1983. One only served a single term, Democrat Louise Day Hicks. She won her seat promising to oppose busing for school integration, and then failed to deliver and was defeated two years later. The other was Republican Margaret Heckler who served the citizens of Massachusetts through 8 terms for 16 years. She still holds the record for longest serving woman in the House from Massachusetts. Then from January of 1983 to January of 2007, only men represented one of the most "liberal" states in America--24 years!
The drought was broken by the election of Nikki Tsongas. Elected a decade after the death of her husband who had served as both a Representative and Senator from Massachusetts, and was a presidential candidate in 1992; she was no stranger to politics and served for 14 years (7 terms). For the majority of her tenure, she was the only woman representing Massachusetts in Congress. In 2013 she was joined by Katherine Clark (full disclosure, I contribute to Representative Clark's 2012 campaign), and then upon her retirement, two more women were elected, Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan. Today, in a House delegation of 9 three are women, and in the Senate, Elizabeth Warren splits the gender representation in half. Still not parody, but a lot closer.
These recent electoral successes for women signal not only a new degree of gender equity, but also a generational changing of the guard in some cases, and that's really what the point of this post is about.
Massachusetts is a state that has produced some of the most well-known and powerful Senators to serve in the Federal Legislature. From John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster to John and Ted Kennedy and Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts' Senators have and are leaving their mark on American politics. In 2013, then House member Ed Markey made a bid for the seat vacated by John Kerry. He won and he's since been a rather milk-toast Senator by comparison. A fact that has led at least one other current House member to see an opening. And not just any House member. Perhaps not since John Quincy Adams has a member of a more storied American Political dynasty sought to elevate his profile of public service.
Ed Markey, age 73, who served for 37 years in the House of Representatives (1976 - 2013) and then won a special election in June of 2013 for his Senate seat, a seat he has held for the past 7 years; now, stands in judgment of another politician. His challenger is Representative Joe Kennedy...of the Kennedy's! Joe, age 39, was born a month before Ed Markey won his third term to the House of Representatives. You just can't accuse a Kennedy of being an underachiever.
Where do things stand? If I were a betting man, I'd let Senator Warren know she's about to have a ginger cutie as her "junior" Senator from the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
POLES:
UMass Lowell Poll shows Kennedy over Markey 44% to 42% a +2% advantage
Emerson Poll shows Kennedy over Markey 58% to 42% a +16 advantage
The Emerson poll did not allow participants to choose "undecided". It could just be a name recognition thing, but with a name like Kennedy, that means something.
Massachusetts is one of the most reliably Democratic states in the union. There really aren't that many, and even among them it's not like Idaho for the Republicans--it's not a perfect deal. Still for a very long time the near total majority of Federal Congress persons have been Democrats: House and Senate. It's a fact that has also painted Massachusetts as a bastion of liberal sentiments. And compared to Idaho, sure. But like everything else, this liberal reputation wasn't without it's obvious contradictions.
Take the issue of gender. Two women represented the state in the House of Representatives between 1967 and 1983. One only served a single term, Democrat Louise Day Hicks. She won her seat promising to oppose busing for school integration, and then failed to deliver and was defeated two years later. The other was Republican Margaret Heckler who served the citizens of Massachusetts through 8 terms for 16 years. She still holds the record for longest serving woman in the House from Massachusetts. Then from January of 1983 to January of 2007, only men represented one of the most "liberal" states in America--24 years!
The drought was broken by the election of Nikki Tsongas. Elected a decade after the death of her husband who had served as both a Representative and Senator from Massachusetts, and was a presidential candidate in 1992; she was no stranger to politics and served for 14 years (7 terms). For the majority of her tenure, she was the only woman representing Massachusetts in Congress. In 2013 she was joined by Katherine Clark (full disclosure, I contribute to Representative Clark's 2012 campaign), and then upon her retirement, two more women were elected, Ayanna Pressley and Lori Trahan. Today, in a House delegation of 9 three are women, and in the Senate, Elizabeth Warren splits the gender representation in half. Still not parody, but a lot closer.
These recent electoral successes for women signal not only a new degree of gender equity, but also a generational changing of the guard in some cases, and that's really what the point of this post is about.
Massachusetts is a state that has produced some of the most well-known and powerful Senators to serve in the Federal Legislature. From John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster to John and Ted Kennedy and Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts' Senators have and are leaving their mark on American politics. In 2013, then House member Ed Markey made a bid for the seat vacated by John Kerry. He won and he's since been a rather milk-toast Senator by comparison. A fact that has led at least one other current House member to see an opening. And not just any House member. Perhaps not since John Quincy Adams has a member of a more storied American Political dynasty sought to elevate his profile of public service.
Ed Markey, age 73, who served for 37 years in the House of Representatives (1976 - 2013) and then won a special election in June of 2013 for his Senate seat, a seat he has held for the past 7 years; now, stands in judgment of another politician. His challenger is Representative Joe Kennedy...of the Kennedy's! Joe, age 39, was born a month before Ed Markey won his third term to the House of Representatives. You just can't accuse a Kennedy of being an underachiever.
Where do things stand? If I were a betting man, I'd let Senator Warren know she's about to have a ginger cutie as her "junior" Senator from the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
POLES:
UMass Lowell Poll shows Kennedy over Markey 44% to 42% a +2% advantage
Emerson Poll shows Kennedy over Markey 58% to 42% a +16 advantage
The Emerson poll did not allow participants to choose "undecided". It could just be a name recognition thing, but with a name like Kennedy, that means something.
Senator Ed Markey
Representative Joe Kennedy III
Thursday, May 28, 2020
My Little Garden Zoo--Still Growing
Current Roster by continent with newly added "habitats":
NORTH AMERICA - 14 species
EUROPE - 3 species
AFRICA - 18 species
ASIA - 14 species
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA - 7 species
NORTH AMERICA - 14 species
- American Alligator
- Collard Peccary
- Gila Monster
- Grey Wolf
- Harbor Seal
- Moose
- North American Black Bear
- North American Bobcat
- Polar Bear
- Pond Aviary: Mallard Ducks and Trumpeter Swans
- Striped Skunk
- Timber Rattlesnake
- Wolverine
- Alpaca
- Aviary
- Blue & Yellow Macaw
- Hyacinth Macaw
- Keal-billed Toucan
- Scarlet Macaw
- Toco Toucan
- Baird's Tapir
- Black Howler Monkey (added Wednesday)
- Brown-throated Sloth
- Chilean Flamingo
- Giant Anteater
- Golden Lion-headed Tamarin (added Wednesday
- Maned Wolf
- Southern Tamandua
EUROPE - 3 species
- European Badger
- European (Russian) Wild Boars
- Reindeer
- African Civet
- African Bush Elephant
- African Lion
- Burchell's Plains Zebra
- Cape Hippopotamus (added Wednesday)
- Common Chimpanzee
- Common Warthogs
- Fennec Fox
- Mandrill
- Okapi
- Parson's Chameleon
- Reticulated Giraffe
- Slender-tailed Meerkat
- Southern White Rhinoceros
- Spotted Hyena
- Spur-thighed Tortoise
- Thomson Gazelle
- Western Mountain Gorilla
ASIA - 14 species
- Asian Elephant
- Bactrian Camel
- Bornean Orangutan
- Burmese Mountain Tortoise
- Giant Panda
- Himalayan Takir
- Indian One-horned Rhinoceros
- King Cobra
- Komodo Dragon
- Malayan Tapir
- Malayan Tiger
- Red Panda
- Scimitar-horned Oryx
- Sloth Bear
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA - 7 species
- Bandicoot
- Eastern Bearded Dragon
- Eastern Grey Kangaroo
- Koala Bear
- Numbats
- Possum
- Wombat
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Monday, May 25, 2020
Egg Salad Sandwich a la Neue Galerie New York, New York
I had gone there shortly after it had opened. The art museum features works by German and Austrian artists. There where some lovely Gustav Klimt, Franz Kline and Oskar Kockoschka were on display. I think they even had at one by Egon Scheile, though my memory may be confused. The museum had only recently opened and both it and its little cafe were getting lots of positive attention. Naturally, I had lunch there.
I looked at all the great Teutonic offerings and oddly settled on an Egg Salad sandwich. When do you go to an upscale cage and find egg salad on the menu? What I got was a revelation in the art of egg salad. Served on pumpernickel bread, the bottom slice was buttered. Then a layer of sliced of kosher dill pickle, followed by the creamiest, smooth egg salad I'd ever had. It was marvelous. I've developed my own recipe over the years that mimics what I had there pretty darned close--close enough for ein Eirsalat-Sandwich!
Memorial Day Weekend My Little Garden Zoo Is Open For The Season
Which, of course, technically means nothing. It's just fun to have an official opening weekend! On Friday, two more habitats and species were added, creating an opening day with 66 species in 59 habitats. Does this mean that the will be no more species added? Well not exactly. I still have one large container that over-winters on the deck to restore, and a handful of smaller containers that I can potentially call into service. It's one of my summer distractions.
Current Roster by continent with newly added "habitats":
NORTH AMERICA - 14 species
EUROPE - 3 species
AFRICA - 17 species
ASIA - 14 species
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA - 7 species
NORTH AMERICA - 14 species
- American Alligator
- Collard Peccary
- Gila Monster
- Grey Wolf
- Harbor Seal
- Moose
- North American Black Bear
- North American Bobcat
- Polar Bear
- Pond Aviary: Mallard Ducks and Trumpeter Swans
- Striped Skunk
- Timber Rattlesnake
- Wolverine
- Alpaca
- Aviary
- Blue & Yellow Macaw
- Hyacinth Macaw
- Keal-billed Toucan
- Scarlet Macaw
- Toco Toucan
- Baird's Tapir
- Brown-throated Sloth
- Chilean Flamingo
- Giant Anteater
- Maned Wolf
- Southern Tamandua
EUROPE - 3 species
- European Badger
- European (Russian) Wild Boars
- Reindeer
- African Civet
- African Bush Elephant (added Friday)
- African Lion
- Burchell's Plains Zebra
- Common Chimpanzee (added Friday)
- Common Warthogs
- Fennec Fox
- Mandrill
- Okapi
- Parson's Chameleon
- Reticulated Giraffe
- Slender-tailed Meerkat
- Southern White Rhinoceros
- Spotted Hyena
- Spur-thighed Tortoise
- Thomson Gazelle
- Western Mountain Gorilla
ASIA - 14 species
- Asian Elephant
- Bactrian Camel
- Bornean Orangutan
- Burmese Mountain Tortoise
- Giant Panda
- Himalayan Takir
- Indian One-horned Rhinoceros
- King Cobra
- Komodo Dragon
- Malayan Tapir
- Malayan Tiger
- Red Panda
- Scimitar-horned Oryx
- Sloth Bear
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA - 7 species
- Bandicoot
- Eastern Bearded Dragon
- Eastern Grey Kangaroo
- Koala Bear
- Numbats
- Possum
- Wombat
Pandemic Data
Trying to make sense out of the data. I am a man of the graphic. I made this one. It tells me that we're still not headed in the right direction as a region. It will be as a region that we come out on the other side. As some jurisdictions demonstrate success, others worsen, and even those with promising trend lines, have yet to maintain this trajectory for more than two weeks.
A Garden Surprise
I have not planted Foxglove in years. It was a surprise to me to see one pop up next to a Japanese Anemone back in March. Foxglove are biennial plants. They spend one year in foliage, and then the next the bloom and die. So my only thought was, "well, if you survive the year there, I hopefully will see a flower stalk next summer.
Not so. The little fellow went ahead and is blooming now! With only a few and malformed blossoms, but non-the-less beautiful.
Not so. The little fellow went ahead and is blooming now! With only a few and malformed blossoms, but non-the-less beautiful.
Friday, May 22, 2020
Rainy Day My Little Garden Zoo Portraits
Reindeer
Eastern Grey Kangaroo
Southern White Rhinoceros
Maned Wolves
Fennec Fox
Reticulated Giraffe
Bornean Orangutan