Giant pandas

When I asked my daughter what she was most excited about seeing in  China, she replied immediately, "Pandas."

First, baby panda cuteness.


Giant panda males are filmed in the wild by David Attenborough for the BBC, as they mark their territory. Pandas live solitary lives in the wild:


This great National Geographic documentary "Young Explorers: Secrets of the Wild Panda" gives a lot of detail about how pandas live in the wild, (see the whole thing here).
Watch more free documentaries

It has proven very difficult for pandas in captivity to breed or for their babies to survive their first year.  Their wild habitat has been so degraded by human expansion that  one in ten pandas now lives in captivity, as various places attempt to breed pandas in captivity in ways that might ensure their survival. All pandas on loan from China, and any of their offspring, must be returned to China eventually.

The biologist Professor Pan Wenshi has dedicated himself to studying pandas in the wild, and his research has been very important for improving the care of pandas in captivity with the hopes of releasing more pandas into the wild.

The baby panda is born about the size of a stick of butter, naked and blind. Within three weeks its eyes will open and it gains weight rapidly. One discovery from studying baby pandas in the wild is that the mother will leave the cub for hours to feed on bamboo; this was mistakenly interpreted as abandonment, and cubs were taken from the mothers, but did not thrive. Now, zoos have better understanding of how mothers care for cubs, and some zoos that have more successfully raised cubs recently include the Smithsonian, Atlanta, San Diego, Madrid, and zoos in Thailand and Japan.

Pan Wenshi's work has shown that habitat conservation is crucial to panda survival. His own imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution has shaped his drive to study pandas in the wild. He also showed how species conservation is directly linked to alleviating human poverty in a region to relieve pressure on habitat. In addition to pandas, Prof. Pan has contributed to the conservation of other species such as langurs and dolphins.

On to Chendgu 成都

(Crossposted at Tigers on the Road)
The flight from Lijiang to Chengdu is only 360 miles: just a hop compared to the other plane rides they have had!

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province, in the heart of China, and has been inhabited for over 4000 years. In the summer the climate is humid but relatively mild (temps in the high 70s). People speak the Chengdu dialect of Sichuanese, and the food is delicious and some of it is very spicy. Although it is a large and bustling city, it also is home to many historical attractions, and, of course, Pandas!

Film director Zhang Yimou made this short promotional film for the city:


Another film director visited Chengdu for inspiration:

 Some of the places the group will visit on their first day include the Sichuan University and the  Jinsha Museum. This museum is actually an archeological park, with excavations as well as displays of relics. The site was only discovered very recently, but the site shows layers of history going back 3000 years.

In the afternoon, they will have the chance to see a part of the city that has been preserved called "The Wide and Narrow Lanes," combining architectural preservation with shops and restaurants. Maybe they will see one of the sugar candy blowers make a dragon, as in this video:

New York, New York!

Today the Senate of New York voted to pass a bill making same-sex marriage legal. Gov. Cuomo signed it, and it will take effect in 30 days. New York joins Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermoont and Washington D.C.
Twitter and Tumblr were bursting with celebratory messages. This song kept running through my head. Liza Minelli  performed it in Martin Scorcese's amazing film New York, New York (1977). This performance from "Liberty Weekend" in 1986 (the centenary of the Statue of Liberty). I love her incredible stage presence.

 This wonderful picture of the rainbow-lit Empire State building is making the rounds on Twitter.

When I was six, I was a horse for a whole year.

Iker Casillas is riding a horse, backwards.

New technologies! I'm overwhelmed!

Tigers on the Road

These tiger pictures are from a May Day parade.

My daughter has been studying Mandarin in high school for 3 years. Now, she will be traveling around China with her teacher, another chaperone and seventeen other students for about a month.


They have a great itinerary, and Mr. Yu has led many such trips in the past. Since I can't go myself, I made a blog so those of us who have to stay home can follow along, virtually. Their school mascot is the tiger ("the Gallant Tigers") so I called it Tigers on the Road. This gives me an excuse to post lots of tiger pictures to my Tumblr.

Tony Awards: duelling hosts duet

The Tony Awards Show was so much fun this year, and not just because Neil Patrick Harris was the host. One of my favorite bits was his duet with Hugh Jackman:
 

Rachel Maddow's "consequence-o-meter"

Rachel Maddow adds Anthony Weiner to the "Consequence-o-meter" which charts politicians' sex scandals by "more creepy/less creepy" axis and the "prosecutable" axis. As they say, smh (shake my head).

Dan Sinker aka "@MayorEmanuel"

pdf2011 on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Dan Sinker, the author/creator of @MayorEmanuel (the fake Twitter account of then-mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel), talks about his experience, which started as a way to entertain friends and later became a Twitter novella.
He was one of the speakers at the Personal Democracy Forum, where many other fascinating talks were delivered. I appreciate their availability online to those of us who can't attend.

Vitamin D deficiency: do you have it?

About 3 month agos, I discovered that I was severely deficient in Vitamin D. I had gone in to see my back doctor because my chronic pain and fatigue symptoms of fibromyalgia had gotten worse, and I had new pain associated with back problems. The doctor ordered some blood work to rule out rheumatoid arthritis (which a family member has) and a few other things. The results were surprising.

One of the blood tests they did is called VITAMIN D, 25-OH. What one hopes to see is  a blood level within the standard range: 30 - 80 ng/mL (Over 80 can be toxic).

The Optimum Level: 30-80 ng/mL
Insufficiency: 20-29 ng/mL
Deficiency: <20 ng/mL

My results? 19 ng/mL, or "severe deficiency." No wonder I felt like crap! I have no idea how long I have been this way.

My primary care doctor put me on a regimen of megadoses, once a week for 12 weeks, to replenish the supply in my body. Since Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, it is not enough to just take a daily dose in order to recover; one has to build up the stores in the body. This is why you should get your blood tested to find out what your levels are, rather than just popping supplements. In addition, you can get too much Vitamin D, and this can cause significant problems.

After the 12 weekly doses, I was retested, and my level is now up to 40 (yay!) but I'll need to continue to take daily supplements, because even sun exposure and drinking milk are not enough at these northern latitudes.

One thing I noticed after four weeks of treatment was that I started to remember my dreams, to the point where I wondered if I was metabolizing my anti-depressants differently (they suppress my dream memory). I also noticed a huge improvement in my digestion and regularity (ahem), a major life improvement. Most significant is a noticeable improvement in   levels of daily pain, fatigue and inability to focus. The more I read about recent research on Vitamin D's role in metabolism, the more I believe that everyone can benefit from finding out what their levels are, just as we do for cholesterol, iron, or other important metabolic factors. Research is showing links between adequate Vitamin D levels and protection against skin cancer, Crohn's disease, colon cancer, autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, and other conditions.

My mother, who is recovering from chemotherapy, has been having excellent results from her treatment, but also was tested and discovered she was Vitamin D deficient. I'm hoping her treatment will also mean less fatigue and pain for her.

Rhubarb!

Via Forkful of News, courtesy of Heavy Table
I actually have all the ingredients to make this tomorrow:

Rhubarb Apple Crunch
Makes 1 14-inch oval dish.

3 cups rhubarb, diced (about 12 ounces)
1 Gala apple, cored and diced
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons flour, divided
1 tablespoon wheat germ (optional)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (8 tablespoons), melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup rolled oats

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss the rhubarb and apple with the white sugar and 3 tablespoons of flour. Pour into a small baking dish (9″ cake pan would work).

Combine 1 cup flour, wheat germ, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and oats in a separate bowl and mix until crumbly. Top the rhubarb mixture with this crumbly stuff and bake for 40 minutes.

Serve hot or cold, with or without generous scoops of ice cream.

Gil Scott-Heron

I'm so sad! Gil Scott-Heron has left us so many amazing songs, so many true words. Another soul stolen from us by his demons, our demons.

"The Bottle"


"Home is where the hatred is"


"Winter in America"


"Rivers of our Fathers"


"And I Think I'll Call it Morning"

Now, more than ever
All the family must be together

Peace go with you brother
Don’t make no sense for us to be arguing now
Time is right up on us now brother
Don’t make no sense for us to be arguing now
All of your children and all of my children are gonna have to pay for our mistakes someday
Yes - and until then may peace guide your way
Peace go with you brother; wherever you go
Peace go with you brother

"Perform this way": Weird Al does Gaga

The parody

The original (which works just fine as a self-parody, if you ask me).
Yes, the lyrics are laughable in some spots, but have you listened to Beyoncé's new song "Rock the World (Girl)"? It's grotesque, but not it a good way.

How to tie your shoes so they stay tied.

DIY is big these days, but a lot of things that would require me to take a class are things my mother learned to do when she was young or taught herself to do when she was older. She can do anything Martha Stewart can do, but without a staff.
  I learned enough about knitting to be able to make a scarf, but my attempts to make a sweater were pretty much a failure.  I can cook fine, but unlike my mother and sister, I can't bake a pie from scratch without looking at a recipe. This is what the internet is for: all the wiki-how and YouTube videos that helpful people have shared so that we can learn just about anything. Like how to tie your shoes "correctly":

Thinking about things I "should" know how to do, but don't, the first that came to mind:

I should know how to thread the sewing machine a friend gave me before she moved away, but I can't figure it out without a manual. You would be surprised at how many videos there are on YouTube that "show" you how to do this, but don't actually SHOW or explain the important bits. I have tried for hours to figure it out on my own, but  I would make a lousy engineer; I just can't figure out a machine by dinking around with it, so I may have to take it to the store where they reconditioned it to have someone show me how to do it right.

I should know how to make a good pie-crust. My mother and sister are the pie queens (and my sister was a professional baker) but I never learned from them while we were living in the same state. I suppose I could have my mother explain it to me on the phone.

I DO know how to file my own taxes, balance a check-book, and live within my means, but don't ask me to explain how to invest in the stock market. But do I really want to know? it's so depressing, seeing how much of it is a big con, even though I have a pension plan.
I DO know how to drive a car with manual transmission, and I should know how to change a tire or change my oil, but frankly, I'm glad I can afford to pay someone else to do it, and I love AAA.

I DO know how to use a drill and a screwdriver, but the thought of painting a room just makes me tired, and my fibromyalgia goes crazy when I have to do the kind of repetitive motions involved in painting something above my head.

What are some things you think you should know how to do, but don't?

Tornado strikes North Minneapolis

Dear friends and readers, we are safe and fine!



A big tornado touched down in North Minneapolis this afternoon. They are saying that it's the worst tornado to strike the city in 30 years. Yesterday, I saw some cloud rotation as we left the Art-A-Whirl event in Northeast Minneapolis (across the Mississippi from North) so we knew that there was a chance of severe weather this weekend.
My daughter and I live in South Minneapolis, and we are safe and sound. We had to take cover during the storm while we were out shopping and the tornado sirens sounded, but nothing bad happened in our neighborhood. I was able to follow the news on Twitter in the moment, but the full extent of the damage is just beginning to become apparent.

I am heartsick for our neighbors in northern Minneapolis and the suburbs, whose homes or businesses have been affected.  Huge trees have fallen on almost every block, on cars and powerlines; houses and buildings are damaged, cars crushed, windows blown out. As is often the case, the damage skips around and one house might be leveled while another is untouched right next door. On TV, I can see pictures of homes with missing roofs (they are estimating one in five) and others with substantial damage. The trees did not snap and fall straight down, but were uprooted completely and fell over causing greater damage.
This video compiles some of the immediate TV coverage:



The City of Minneapolis is asking people to stay away to emergency services can get in and go door to door to check on people. There are a few gas leaks and evacuations. The police, the firefighters, Park and Rec employees, inspectors, traffic control agents, are have been deployed to the area.

A Family Assistance Center has been set up at the Armory on Broadway and Central. A shuttle will take people from 1926 Plymouth Ave. N. to take people to the shelter.

So far, one person is dead, but mostly minor injuries are being reported. It will take time to clear away the fallen trees, and many homes are without power. People are already out with their chainsaws, cutting up fallen limbs and trees.

Light rail coming to the UMN campus

Because I grew up in San Franciso riding buses and streetcars, I'm really excited that light rail is being extended in the Twin Cities with the Central Corridor line, under construction now, to connect downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The current existing Hiawatha line that runs from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America and the airport, with stops along the way, has been a resounding success, especially for working people with no cars, folks coming to the new Twins Stadium, and commuters who don't want to deal with the high parking rates and horrible traffic of working downtown.
This animation shows what the reconfigured University of Minnesota campus route will look like. I can't wait for the busy, dangerous street that currently cuts the campus in two to be replaced with a more pedestrian and bike-friendly zone. Students will be well-served by having public transportation options increased.

Some people are concerned about how the LRT will fit on University avenue, where there are currently four lanes of traffic. In fact, there used to be streetcars there, and their right-of-way corridor still exists. The LRT will be routed along that existing slot, and not displace current traffic.

The history of steam and then electric streetcars in the Twin Cities,  and how the system was dismantled and plundered by embezzlers after WWII is an instructive one.

David Byrne's birthday today

Today is David Byrne's birthday. He is 59.

This is a film set to a recent collaboration between Byrne and Brian Eno "Strange Overtones."
I was an ardent fan of Talking Heads. I saw them in concert first in 1978 at the club The Boarding House in San Francisco, whose name I forget but that was a very famous venue. They were very young, hardly talked to the audience at all, but ripped through their set with complete intensity. I would see them again in their various incarnations: still a foursome on Lower Sproul Plaza the day Moscone and Milk were murdered; as a grooving expanded ensemble (Adrian Belew! Nona Hendryx!) during their "Burning down the House" phase at the Greek Theater; in Jonathan Demme's documentary movie Stop Making Sense when it debuted at the Castro Theater.
Brian Eno and David Byrne's 1981 collaboration My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, with its analog sampling, was formative for me, shaping my aural palate. The music he produced and shared through his label Luaka Bop, especially the earlier Cuban and Brazilian compilations are also etched in my cranial music library. His curiosity, sense of exploration and collaboration inspire me still.
Here's an interview with George Stroumboulopolous that highlights many of his accomplishments and captures that combination of complete freedom and social awkwardness that infuses his work.

Here is the band talking about their early days on the road:

I'm know the band broke up and there was bad blood between Byrne and the other members, but I prefer to remember seeing them do this:

Goshawk flying in slow motion

From a BBC show about animals, this amazing footage showing how a goshawk can fly through narrow spaces, as it does when it flies through dense woods.

May Day 2011 videos

I love the the parade to Powderhorn park. A band warmed up the crowd before the parade started. Kids drew on the street with chalk; bikers rolled up and down the street; folks staked out their spots with blankets.

When the parade begins, there is music all the way through.

"Songbird," by my idol Christine McVie

Eva Cassidy's version is also wonderful