Retro: The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same

                                                                       May 31, 1966

We bid a fond farewell to "Mad Men" and a host of people and things from our past that collectively make up our "Right Now."  Where are we re-hee-ly?  Alphonse Karr, (1808-1890) the French critic is credited with the philosophical observation:

                              The more things change the more they stay the same.

Actually, Karr wrote, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, in his literary journal "The Wasp" in 1849. Literally translated it states, the more it changes, the more it's the same thing. There is no difference in meaning. 

By now you may be wondering what's your point.  It all comes down to "Welcome to Me" in a Kristen Wiig sort of way.  We are all a little self-possessed. The above caption of me in 1966 as compared to the recent mini skirt fashion show at Saks pictured below are a distinction without much of a difference. 

                                                                      2015

While the packaging and methods may change over the years, the fundamentals of human existence remain the same.  What's next?  More of "ME"

                                                               Diva Vodka--$1 million 

                                                   Don't Even Ask--Paleo Secrets            

Bottom line, the rich are going to get fabulously more rich and the poor...                               

#RedNoseDay: Harlow Graduates & Importance of Pre-K

                                                   Pre-K Graduate Harlow--Yay

Today is #RedNoseDay a celebration of access for all children to the fundamentals of life with an emphasis on "fun". Providing all children worldwide with the essential tools they need for success in life and school including; healthy food, school safety and education.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Deputy Director of Early Childhood, Ellen Frede is spearheading a movement to expand effective and affordable preschool for all children.

"We now know that high quality preschool, often called pre-K, can be provided at large scale and still be effective at improving children’s school success. Because pre-K is so important to creating lifelong benefits, we are passionate about expanding opportunities for young children to access high-quality, effective and affordable preschool education." Dr. Ellen Frede, May 20, 2015 Impatient Optimist Blog.

Today is a very special day indeed!  My granddaughter Harlow Marie graduated from Pre-K and her school held a beautiful celebration of the event. Her teachers emphasized the importance of family, education and developing social skills.  Hip Hip Hooray for the graduating class of 2015.

Giant Pandas Diet Is Killing Them

                                             Yang Guang (Sunshine) 2011 Edinburgh Zoo

According to The National Post, the diet of the Giant Panda consisting mostly of bamboo is leading the endangered specie to extinction.  A study conducted at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding concludes the gut bacteria of the modern panda is ill-suited to digest bamboo. The Giant Panda is a carnivore. 

According to China Highlights, a census conducted in 2014 find that only 1864 Pandas exist in the wild. The Giant Pandas diet is 99-percent bamboo and the life expectancy in the wild is 15 to 20-years. In captivity the Panda may live up to 30 years.

Apparently, the Pandas exclusive bamboo diet with only about one-percent consisting of other plants and meat began nearly two million years ago. Unlike other herbivore species the Pandas digestive bacteria never evolved.  The Panda is only able to digest 17-percent of the bamboo and spends approximately 14-hours a day munching away at the tough fibrous plant.

The study has far reaching implications for staving off the ultimate extinction of the glorious Giant Panda.

#ToyLikeMe: Inspired by Special Needs Children

                                                 Photo Credit: Beth Moseley

Parents of children with disabilities challenge toy makers to include their child in play time. Parents; Rebecca Atkinson, Karen Newell and Melissa Motsyn decided to start an awareness campaign aptly named, #toylikeme. Their facebook page, toylikeme community has gone viral. Parents around the world are contributing their opinions and challenges to Lego, Disney, Mattel and small toy manufacturers.

Thanks to this era of 3D reproductions going main stream, accessories such as tiny canes, mobility chairs, hearing aids and the like can be produced. Makies a UK doll maker company answered the challenge by creating a range of accessories and modified dolls that may be ordered.

Play time is essential for childhood development. According to parents of children with special needs their children have been ignored and left out of play time. Creating play time dolls, super heroes, and action figures with various forms of disabilities provides a positive self image for special needs children and acceptance by others. 

The future looks very bright for advances in medical technology and robotics. Playtime may be tomorrows medical technology engineering advances. After all, in order to make advances you have to spend time experimenting (playing) and understanding the challenges.

Can American Pharoah Break Triple Crown Jinx: Yes & Handily

                                              The Preakness--May 16, 2015

Thoroughbred racing fans have gone a long stretch without a Triple Crown winner--Affirmed in 1978 to be exact. I was lucky enough to be at the rail to see Affirmed win the Kentucky Derby with hometown boy Stevie Cauthen on board. Sure there have been some two jewel victors, but for a creepy jinx they have fallen flat. There are reasons: Belmont is a tough track, but the Triple Crown schedule is daunting for even the toughest horse and jockey. Sometimes, a horse just runs out of gas or has a bad day.

In 1998, Real Quiet was a perfectly great horse, good temperment, handily won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. It was a beautiful day at Belmont, the train ride from D.C. to New York was filled with fun loving racing fans. With a blink of the eye, Victory Gallop won the race by inches. You have never seen a more depressing party train for the ride home.

Can American Pharoah beat the jinx? Should he continue to wear cotton ear plugs because he hates loud noises? American Pharoah has proven he can run in slop, sunny days and has tremendous endurance and strength.Whatever he has been doing he should continue with some rest time sprinkled in until the June 6th Belmont Stakes.

The interesting component is that Tale of Verve in the current Preakness and Victory Gallop in 1998 had one thing in common. They hung loose in the back of the pack and closed with a sprint that was formidable. 

Go American Pharoah--You Can Do It!

Update--June 6

We have a Triple Crown Winner. American Pharoah handily won the Belmont Stakes 2015. 

                                            American Pharoah--Led All the Way-The American Way

Opinion- Pennywise Culture: Highways, Railways and Food

A passionate gripe of mine is the so-called "conservatives" mangling of the term conservative. Regardless of which political party has been in power over the last 75-years until recent decades, the true mark of a conservative was the adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cures."

Healthy diets prevent catastrophic disease, public transportation reduces pollution, and our highways and railways transport healthy perishable food stuffs to you before it spoils.

As a nation, the USA has tilted in favor of Jerry-rigging. a blind eye or dismissing necessary upgrades and maintenance with an offhanded comment, make-do and be grateful for what you have.


The recent passenger train wreck on the outskirts of Philadelphia with hundreds of injuries and to date eight deaths points out the fallacious reasoning of Congress.  Notwithstanding, the horrible train wreck, Congress turned down funding requests by Amtrak and instead chose to decrease funding for the entire rail industry.

Funding for rail lines, upgrades for railroad cars, technology upgrades and maintenance have been steadily declined since the 1990s. Regardless of use and regardless of the utility of rail travel for food and people.

Coincidentally, the same penny-wise attitude that cuts the transportation of healthy foodstuffs to the young and old has additionally opted for boxed and canned cheap food loaded with starches, carbohydrates, sugar and salt.

The long health cost is astronomical; obesity, diabetes and coronary artery disease aren't cheap to treat. These costs cannot be measured entirely in penny and pounds. An unhealthy diet is a loss of brain power and optimum quality of life.

Instead of looking for temporary quick fix sugar rushes. Wouldn't it be nice to change the conversation to a solid no-frills plan of action.

Mushroom Madness

Mushrooms pack a huge health benefit. Many foodies classify the not so glamorous mushroom as a plant. In fact, the mushroom's family is the fungi. The common mushroom found in most supermarkets and farmer's market contain; fiber, Vitamin B, D, thiamine, potassium, selenium, iron, copper and an array of anti-oxidants which support the immune system. Best of all, the mushroom is low in calories and contains zero fat, according to Medical News Today.

Dr. Andrew Weill MD an authority on the mushroom finds that certain Asian mushroom possess cancer-fighting properties. Specifically the Shiitake, Enoki, Maitake and Oyster mushrooms provide support for the immune system, may reduce tumors and lower bad cholesterol, according to WebMD.

The humble mushroom is recommended for people with Type 1 and II diabetes.
The hard outer skin of the mushroom may make it hard to digest for people with digestive disorders. Cooking the mushroom releases the nutrient value and diminishes the anti-digestive property. Grilling, baking and sauteing the mushroom makes it more palatable and tastier.

I recommend, remove the stem, place mushrooms on a cookie sheet, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, sprinkles of cheese and grated fresh garlic. Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees and within minutes you have an appetizer, salad ingredient or nice addition to any entree. 

Back to Nature: Gates of the Mountain

The visitor is transported back in time to a day of discovery on the Gates of the Mountain river tour located a short drive from Helena, Montana.  The days of operations run from May 24 to September 20.  You will have a choice of various river boats for a one and a half hour tour of the pristine waterway with cliffs jetting some 1200 feet and the bluest skies in the west.  Awestruck, Meriwether Lewis named this area "Gates of the Rocky Mountain."

If you are interested in the natural inhabitants of this majestic spot you may be lucky to view the Longhorn Sheep making their way above the rocky cliffs. The bird life is abundant. You may see a hawk, an osprey or a variety of blue birds as well as ducks, loons, tanagers and meadowlarks.

The boat tour makes one stop along the way at Meriwether Campground where passengers can disembark and enjoy the scenery. If you travel early enough you can stay, have a picnic and catch the next boat for a ride back to the marina dock.

The Hilger Family is owed a great debt of gratitude. They were one of the more vigilant stewards of the land and water. Each and all of them loved the place and protected the area as if it was a special duty. The son of the original owner Brian Hilger was the embodiment of the western gentleman. "

The river cruises schedule and fare for 2015 is available by clicking this link.

CERN's Hadron Collider Up: What Does It Matter?

Thirty-years in the making, and responsible for the creation of the world wide web, CERN's Large Hadron Collider takes a look at our sub-atomic world known as Particle Physics. This is the stuff that occurred shortly after the Big Bang. The documentary Particle Fever provides a palatable version of the big questions raised by the multi-billion dollar and multinational experiments emanating from this colossal man-made machine located in Switzerland. 

In 2012, the Collider was set in motion collecting data which later led to a corroborative finding of the Higgs-Boson, sometimes referred to as the "God Particle". The scientists behind this theory were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2013.

Since the initial trials in 2012 other important discoveries have been made utilizing data from CERN's experiment. However, the machine has been shut down for the past two-years to make necessary upgrades which will allow scientists to speed up the accelerator with the hopes of taking the experiments to a higher level. CERN will roll out the next level beginning in June, 2015 if everything is a go and thus far all systems are a GO,

 

Cinco de Mayo 2015

Cinco de Mayo is a minor holiday in Mexico. The holiday celebrates the victory of Mexican loyalist against the French troops sent by Napoleon III to create a dependent territory. To the surprise of the well armed French troops, a small band of Mexicans defeated the insurgents on May 5, 1962.  The state of Puebla where the battle took place celebrates the victory, but for most Mexicans it is a day like any other day.  

In the United States and Mexican communities in other places the holiday is set aside as a day of fun, food and cultural appreciation.  It is not as some think a day of liberation or independence. Mexican Independence from Spain is celebrated on September 16th. Read On.

Good food and drinks symbolize Mexican hospitality and culture. If you are looking for some spirits and heart warming good food, check out AllRecipe/CincodeMayo.  Enchilada Verde, City Ceviche and Chili Relleno are my favorites.

Viva Mexico!

Gardening Tips: Natural Deer Deterrent

By: Mary Anne Simpson

Deer are strict vegetarian. Co-existing with the deer in town or in the country requires planting items the deer do not like. There are at least 600 plants that deer either find offensive or simply do not like. Interestingly sage is one plant that deer do not like. Other plants include Peony, Poppy, Mock Orange and Morning Glory to name a few. A list of vegetables and plants by their common name can be viewed at deer-departed.com

There are numerous products on the market that promise to deter deer from eating up your ornamental plants and vegetable gardens. Some products are abhorrent to deer. Specifically, blood meal is disliked by deer. The only problem here is that blood meal has a raunchy smell that most humans do not like either. If you enjoy evenings in the garden, the aroma of blood meal emanating from the garden is not a welcome smell.

Other items suggested by various self help web sites include using human hair, soap, creosote, rotten eggs and garlic. Some of these techniques can be further reviewed by checking out: homemade deer repellent recipes. The problems with all of these home products and commercial products is that while they may deter the deer they also deter human beings.
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Wind Chimes and Garden Ornaments:
 
The other unique feature of deer is their sense of hearing. While many deer have become accustom to human beings because of their change in habitat, they do not like sharp or unexplained clanging sounds. It is a feature intrinsic to the deer and a survival mechanism. If the deer hears sharp, or even clanking sounds they usually will speedily make an exit.

I moved a chime and bell ornament near the plant area I was trying to protect. For larger areas I have heard about using tin pie plates affixed to one another and clanking objects within the plates. All you need to do is hang them from ornamental trees and shrubs.

Co-existing with urban deer is a challenge for gardeners, but wise planning will make the task easier and mutually beneficial to you and the deer population.