Put me in the zoo

Last year on our vacation to Normandy and Brittany, we visited Branfrere animal park where we saw (and petted) wallabies amongst other animaux.

Although our holiday this year was was but three days and two nights, we thought we'd take in a nice big zoo. The Port Lympne Zoo looked pretty good, although had I seen a topo map of the place I'm sure we would have avoided it.

And the philosophy of the park was quite different. At Branfere - the animals were on show - but on their own little islands - giving them the illusion of freedom and us the illusion of proximity. And indeed many animals were allowed to roam free around the park. At the Port Lympne ticket booth we were warned that it wasn't a zoo, but rather a park dedicated to conservation, where the animals really do come first. And that meant that they kept the night shelters open during the day and that the enclosures were really big (and as turns out full of weeds) which meant that it might require patience to see the animals.

If we hadn't already stood in line for nearly an hour just to buy our tickets, I might have turned around.

When I pay a bunch of money to go into a zoo, I expect to see some animals. And they should either be available for petting or feeding or they should do some funny tricks.

Many of the cages at Port Lympne appeared to be empty. Animals were either hiding or sleeping in others - and given that the enclosures were so big - that meant that there was a heckuva lotta walking between boring animal displays. And given the steepness of many of the paths and us pushing a stroller full of baby and baby accessories, it was a lot of work to catch a glimpse of a "small cat" that looked suspiciously like the neighborhood tabby.

But they did actually have some cool animals:

We saw baby lions


gorillas


monkeys



(our own little ginger monkey?)

red pandas


and rhinos

Beside the sea side

We took a quick trip down to the sea side and to see some sights, just a short break - two nights away.





It was our first vacation with the Baby Cletus.

Every experience is a learning experience.

Actually, he was pretty good. We're pretty tired - more tomorrow.

Holiday

Don't be surprised if there's a paucity of posting over the next couple of days. I'm sure we'll have loads of lovely pics to share when we get back to blogging.

Conspiracy theories

If you want to criticize the handling of the War on Terror, I'm happy to listen. My theories as to why things have gone wrong include: poor governance, lack of evidence based policy, no respect for evidence based policy, a poor understanding of human nature, greed, venality and valuing personal loyalty over integrity and good outcomes.

Conspiracies? Maybe. If by conspiracy you mean mercenaries and consultants and crony suppliers working together and ripping off the US taxpayer with no-bid contracts and failing to deliver any sort of effective nation building, then yes, I'd be willing to listen to your conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy around 9/11. Not so much. No really - just shut up. The Jews didn't turn up to work that day (lies). Mossad did it (of course). Jet fuel doesn't burn hot enough to snap steel girders. Errmmm.... In what way is it surprising that a building collapses after a jet smashes into it? I only took half a class in civil engineering, but I know the difference between compressive and tensile strength and steel isn't as strong as you think - that's why it has to be used in conjunction with concrete - and to build to any height concrete has to be used with steel. (A nice long list of conspiracy theories and their de-bunkification is here at Popular Mechanics).

Do I think that we know everything about what happened that day? No, of course not. But if there were any conspiracies it was people after the fact trying to cover each others' asses for not waking up to the fact that Al Qaeda was planning something big earlier on.

Do I worry about 9/11 conspiracies? Well, a little. If we ever want to come to some peaceful accord with the "Arab Street" we need to understand that even the quackiest theory has some resonance there. And even the brightest and most rational folks you meet from the Middle East often at least entertain the what seems to me like ridiculous notions. And this matters because if two groups of people can't even agree on a relatively small set of facts, we certainly aren't likely to agree on a peaceful way forward

I was told by a person I thought quite reasonable that Jews normally employed at the Twin Towers didn't turn up to work on the morning of September 11. When I completely rubbished this, I was asked "Have you looked at some of the 9/11 websites, it proves it."

No. It doesn't. There are loads of kooky websites out there. Take a look around this one, for example.

But when you see 9/11 conspiracy theories mooted in a reputable paper, I find it a little harder to blame the gullible and the susceptible. And I find it a lot easier to suggest that a national newspaper is irresponsible and stirring up trouble.

When you're a Jet

The Vol-in-Law and I don't go to the cinema. I think he'd like to more often than we have done, but I won't do it. The Knoxville Dollar Theater spoiled it for me. Since then, I've always felt ripped off when I've seen a film. I don't particularly enjoy the cinema experience and I leave grumbling like an old codger "Arrgghh, they don't make films like they used to...."

I'm not a movie buff, I admit, but I like a good movie sometimes. In fact, we've just watched The Importance of Being Earnest - the one with Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon and it was fun. That was just a random Sunday night showing. But sometimes we buy DVDs as well. We'll buy them when we're in the mood and if they're cheap enough. Sometimes we'll buy a whole handful. We bought some about a month before Cletus was born - and have only just got around to starting watching them.

We bought Jarhead (It was OK, a bit anti-climactic). We bought some musicals. Guys and Dolls, The Wizard of Oz. Obviously, I've seen them before. They're great.

West Side Story. We bought that. Can you believe I'd never seen it? Well, I hadn't and I'd always wanted to.

And I still haven't seen it.

Oh - we tried. We put it on not long ago. And you know - I just didn't like it. We turned it off after the "America" song. The pacing dragged. It somehow didn't look right. It seemed like a weird out-of-date world with its quaint euphemisms for everything. And weirdly, it seemed kinda gay (not that there's anything wrong with that). But just that little bit too gay for a story about hot heterosexual passions and street gangs.

So, I've never seen West Side Story, and I don't guess I ever will. I feel a little weird hating such an icon of musical theater, but there you go.

Happy Equality Day

Happy Equality Day

find out more about it via The Tennessee Guerilla Women,

What's in the brown paper bag?

It was rumored when I was a lass, that certain Baptist preachers of Lawrenceburg would stake out the parking lots of liquor stores in the seat of our neighboring county - the nearest place to buy hard spirits.

I don't know if that was true or merely a means of keeping thirsty and wayward church-goers on their toes, but now watchful ministers won't need to drive so far.

Apparently, Lawrenceburg, TN my old home town of a mere 10,000 souls is going to allow packaged liquor sales within the city limits. The resolution passed earlier this year. I guess the town fathers were tired of seeing potential tax revenues leach to nearby counties.

Hell done froze over...and nobody told me. This seemed unimaginable when I was a kid.

From the local Rotary website:

Mayor Durham gave an update on the liquor store lottery that had been held the night before at the City Administration Building. He stated that after the Ordinance for sale of liquor passed this Spring the City Commission voted to limit the number of liquor stores within the city to four stores, which is one for every 2,500 citizens in the city.

Expect scenes of depravity as demon rum and mother's ruin are loosed onto the streets of the Burg.

Personally, I'm saddened a little that I will no longer be able to truthfully tell astounded Brits that I hailed from a bone dry town and a semi-dry county.

Gettin' ready for Freddie

A recent edition of the LA Times features Lawrenceburg, Tennessee Woo-hoo. It's all about how the town is getting ready for Freddie - that is Fred Thompson's announcement of his intention to run for the presidency. Apparently folks are convinced he's going to announce in the Big Burg. My old home town has cleaned up the square and forbidden trash by the side of the road. Does this mean they're getting rid of those old guys who inhabit the benches on the square? Has VolMom planted up the town square with flowers as she is wont to do - or has the drought and her librul politics overcome her civic pride and gardening passion?

Chunky Moore's menswear and the Ledbetter drug store sure are getting some good press out of all this. Here's a tip - Ledbetter's used to have awesome real milkshakes made right in front of you at the counter. I don't know if they still do that, but it's worth asking if you're a visiting journo or political junkie. The Vol-in-Law and the rest of the groomsmen rented their tuxes from Moore's - I don't know if you need to rent a tux while you're in town for the day - but maybe Chunky will sell you some wing tips real cheap.

As for me, I just think it's pretty wild that people I know are written up in the LA Times. I recognize every name in that article.

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HT: The Tennessee Politics blog

Baby wear

Cletus is measuring on the small side of normal - but even so, we're nearing the end of the 0 to 3 months range of clothing. Some 0 to 3s still swamp him, but others are a little snug. Still other outfits - like the adorable seersucker rompers are useless in the cold spell we're having.

VolMom bought a lot of outfits for Cletus. I mean a lot. Three big old suitcases full. They were all sorted into different size ranges and newborns and 0-3s were stored accessible areas - but further age ranges (he has pretty much the first year covered) were in the highest shelf of our closet - reachable only with the aid of a step ladder. At least that was the plan. I have to admit that I didn't pay too much attention when the clothes were first brought over because I had a brand new little baby and, as it turned out, a raging post-operative infection.

The other day, I dragged out the ladder and started going through the clothes. I found a whole little treasure trove of untouched 0-3s. Some of them still had their consignment store price tags along with their original labels - meaning at least one other baby never wore them either. I wonder just how many babies never wore them. There could have been an endless chain of baby wardrobes these rompers and onesies passed through essentially untouched.

I hope VolMom had a fun time buying them - 'cause I hate to admit - a few of them went right in the storage bag.

But there were some outfits I just had to put on him - even if he only wore them once.




I smile because my Mommy dresses me funny.

Cross cultural comparisons

A Tri-Cities area chicken farmer featured in the latest round of the US version of Survivor. It was filmed in China. And here's how Steve "Chicken" Morris summed up his observations.

“There’s no biscuits and gravy, and there’s no cornbread and beans. And not too many front porches,” he said. “A very unusual culture it is.”

Well, there you go. Genius. You could say the same about England. And Steve - you should see what they do to ice tea here!

(Of course, I do some pretty darn good cornbread and beans - if I do say so myself.)

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Hat tip to Big Orange Michael's TV coverage at Music City Bloggers.

Apropos of nothing

I've always wanted one of these.

Running hot and cold

For my readers in the South, you're not gonna like this, but I have to report: I'm cold.

I'm wearing a sweatshirt in my house. It's August. I have to bundle my baby up to take him out. (And I'm not a bundler.)


-0-

I note that Metro Davidson's [Nashville] school buses do not have AC. I had two thoughts:

Thought One:
Ha - those kids need to suck it up. Try commuting on the Underground when we do get a hot August. It's hotter than EU regulations allow - if you're transporting animals - no regulations exist for maximum allowable temps for transporting London commuters. It's crowded. And there's the underlying current of concern over the continued smooth running of the line. This concern is ready to tip over into panic at any moment - since the Tube trains have a tendency to stall in any weather that isn't dry and with temps hovering between 45 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. And there's not much worse than being stuck for upwards of an hour, stood with your face in your neighbour's armpit, sweating, straining to understand the driver's announcements. (Unless, of course, this happened in the Summer of '05 when we weren't just worried about trains stalling.)

And the smell... best not to mention the smell.

But, I admit, this is not a charitable thought. And the children...won't somebody (me?) please think of the children? I mean what would I do if Cletus were faced with such conditions? Knowing me - I'd probably tell him tales of commuting on the London Underground.

Thought Two:
At a cost of $15,000 a bus, I'm not sure Metro should be retrofitting air conditioning. They really only need the AC a few weeks a year. As the bus fleet is replaced, perhaps they could invest in a little cooling.

But I also note that Metro schools are open only half days this week because of the heat. (Here's Nashville News 2 film on that) - although there is a positive note:

Brunch will be served at all schools.

How civilised.

You know what. It's the South, it's August, it's hot. Yes, I know it's not usually that hot - not like it has been this year - but it's usually pretty darn hot. In August, kids should be at the pool, not sweating in school.

So why not roll back the start of the academic year? I don't really understand how it crept so far forward anyway. (Was it to match up with the semester schedule of the state Universities?) To be fair, the Mayor said a later start would be considered. I think Tennessee parents should push for it.

Holding down the fort

I got my first email from a work colleague in a while.

How's the world of work?

Dunno.

What's the latest project?

Dunno.

What's the future of xxxxxx in xxxxxxxxx?

Dunno.

My colleague sent me a link to this. A cat cam site.

It's really cool. She's thinking of getting one.

I can't decide if they really need me or if I'm really not missing much.

Maybe I should get a cat cam.

Speaking of must see attractions

I posted yesterday about some of the most exciting and most disappointing tourist destinations. I can't believe that Natural Bridge in Virginia didn't make the must-see list. Especially with such added attractions as the Dinosaur Kingdom for your education and amusement:

It's 1863 and Union soldiers have discovered a hidden valley filled with dinosaurs. Now the Yankees plan to use the dinos as weapons of mass destruction against the South.

Something tells me things kinda backfired for the Union Army.

I gotta see this place.















Hat tip: Hillbilly Savants, photo courtesy of The Anti-Zim check out the rest of her amazing Natural Bridge photo set.

Davy's birthday

It was Davy's birthday on Friday, and what did I get him? Nothing. But the taxpayers of Tennessee are gonna get him a brand new statue in Nashville.

Sharon Cobb has more on the monumental resolution passed this year.

Col. Crockett already has a lovely monument on the square in Lawrenceburg.



Apparently paid for by the people through the largesse of the Tennessee legislature.

Gone native

Now we all know that the situation in the Levant has been hot for a long time. No matter what side you come down on, it seems like everybody has a side. Personally, I plumped for Israel ages ago. It's not something I think much about. I don't discuss it much, because it's one of those things that I'm not likely to change my mind about. No, in fact, I won't change my mind. I guess it's tribal.

I could go on about the Palestinians this, the Israelis that, but if you have an entrenched position on the matter I'm not likely to change your mind either.

Suffice to say, little that the Palestinians do surprises me much. The photos of the wee kids holding some pretty heft weaponry and just waiting for the day that their martyrdom dream comes true is sickening but doesn't really work me up.

But this video from Palestinian children's tv showing a man in a bee suit abusing cats and lions in the Gaza zoo just floors me.

And there you go, I've gone British. They're abusing animals now. I may just have to write a strongly worded letter.

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HT: Harry's Place

Must see

What are the world's top ten most disappointing tourist attractions? Virgin Travel Insurance asked over 1,200 British adults what they thought, and it turns out they are a jaded bunch.

The top two most disappointing sights globally are in Paris: the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. I visited both for the first time just over a year ago. The Eiffel Tower is a big old open work tower. I had pretty low expectations to start with, but I have to admit it looked pretty darn cool. Now, if you had your heart set on going up in that thing, I guess it would be disappointing to wait for hours and fork out a shed load of money. We just walked up to it and had a look, that was free. The best thing about the Eiffel Tower is seeing it from different vantage points while you're in Paris. For that, check out Anglofille's fab collection of Eiffel shots



My crappy picture of the Eiffel Tower


Or you could always go to Vegas.


The Louvre on the other hand. If you don't like the Louvre, you just have no soul. I guess if you were expecting to find the burial place of Mary Magdalene and get some kind of divine revelation while being chased by an albino monk then I could see why you might be disappointed.

The rest of the list includes the Statue of Liberty, the White House (I was disappointed I didn't get to go in), and the Spanish Steps in Rome - which I admit were a bit anti-climactic.

The British list of disappointments include Stonehenge. I concur wholeheartedly. And my expectations were lowered time and time again. I will say that Stonehenge is a lot bigger than I imagined (not disappointing), but you can't get anywhere near the darn things (very disappointing) - and you have to pay a bunch to park. We drove out to Stonehenge during the hundred degree heat wave of 2003 - so it wasn't that bad since the car had AC but our house - just like pretty much every other house in the UK did not.

There was also a list of must-sees - and on the global list the only thing I have seen - the Grand Canal in Venice, well...I could take it or leave it.

LOLbaby

The Vol-in-Law's latest kick is the cultural marxists. Apparently, they want to ruin everything. Occasionally, I think he has a point. When you hear the phrase political correctness gone mad - well, that's my life - working in the British public sector.

He talks about it a lot. It usually sounds something like this:

blah, blah, blah

and now he's been telling the kid, too.

Blood sugar bonanza

An article in Wednesday's Tennessean provides recipes using some of the MidSouth's favorite sweeties. Including a cake recipe using SunDrop , that nectar of the gods, which the Tennessean describes thusly:

Quench that thirst

Another popular local soda pop, Sun Drop, which originated in St. Louis, started like many drinks of the day, with the parent company selling its formula to small bottlers across the country. One of the largest bottlers remains in nearby Pulaski, which feeds a strong and fiercely loyal pocket of fans in the counties south of Nashville that buffer the Alabama line.

Fiercely loyal? Addicted more like. Mmmmm - SunDrop. Once only available in a limited area - now you can order the stuff online. Do you think they ship transatlantic? In exchange for a permanent advertising space on this blog?

Hmmm, I think VolMom might know the Pulaski bottler - hook me up, let's make a deal.

A death in the [tacky] family

I've been "collecting" photos of floral tributes for a while. A great benefit of living near a cemetery. But today I saw the best one ever. A work of art. Seriously.



Sometimes you have to wait a while for someone with relatives tacky enough* to commission a truly elaborate floral tribute to die. But when they do...yeah.

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If you're wondering if anyone in your family is tacky enough and you're kin to me - well, you're just gonna have to wonder which side of my raging internal battle between cheapness and tackiness will win.