COVID-19 Still All Around | SCOTUS Monumentally Sucks; Affirms Guns Have More Rights Than Women | Sapporo To Acquire Stone Brewing |

Toucan at San Diego Zoo (Taken 6.27.22)

It was a really rough week for news. So much so that every time I've tried to post I kind of end up just slamming my laptop shut and walk away from it. But we live in California which for all its faults, still means something. I can't even delve into minority rule and how our state population of like 23 states combined or some nonsense, so I'm just going to focus on what I can, put this post into the world, and find joy where I can, which as you know means almost daily visits at the San Diego Zoo. 

Depending on what time I can get there and how long I can stay, I have a lot of little routines. Lately, if I can get there before 6, I try and visit the golden lion tamarins in the Parker Aviary, and this funny thing has happened; I've kinda made friends with a toucan. Where they used to kinda hide up in the treetops, this particular toucan is loving all the new attention in its aviary and when it hears the camera snapping, will come down from the top of the aviary, flying down and landing sometimes inches from my camera. Not claiming this is just a me thing, but it is pretty special when it comes right down just inches from you. Last week I missed a couple days and was jonesing, but then more than made up for it with near-daily trips except for Friday when I went to work with Darren at the Safari Park. That morning he bought me a safari, Behind-the-Scenes: Saving Giants, that took us to the Nikita Khan Rhino Rescue Center, where we got to spend time with Olivia, a pregnant rhino who is due in the next couple months, we got to see Future, one of the young rhinos conceived by IVF, and then we got to spend some time between the two elephant yards while they snacked on some treats. It was a nice day, though hot AF, but it was a great distraction from politics and the embarrassing onslought of fundraising emails by every politician and PAC and progressive group. 

And so I guess that's where I am. I'm a Californian who feels pretty powerless. All I can do now is find little bits of joy where and when I can. I recommend that you do the same. 

Stay safe out there.  

BA.2 91% Of New Global Cases; Uptick In San Diego | Stone Beats Molsen Coors In Lawsuit | Biden Concludes Europe Trip Dissing Putin |

 

A New Golden Takin Kid at San Diego Zoo (Taken 3.26.22) 

It's a beautifully perfect day in San Diego so I'm gonna keep it short since I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. On Friday, Darren and I spent the afternoon at the San Diego Zoo and I was stunned to see a new Golden Takin kid!! Mei Ling was born last year and was the first Golden Takin born in the western hemisphere, so this new baby is another amazing addition to the herd. I don't know the sex of the kid, but it is so cute and must be under two weeks old since I always stop by to see them whenever I visit the zoo. 

It was a really good week though I guess you can tell how I spend my time is getting assessed. While it's not "pandemic over" for our household, it seems the rest of the world has moved on, which puts different demands on my time and attention. Posts may come more infrequently. I may spend Saturdays reading all 500 of Friday's emails. Or, like right now, I may catch up while watching this week's episode of The Dropout on HULU. I hope everyone has a great weekend and you'll hear from me again later in a fully devoted music post. 

Stay safe out there.  

Biden Meets With NATO, EU | COVID-19 BA.2 Rises In Some States | Yosemite Reservations Open | Governor Newsom Proposes $400 Gas Cards | IG Determines LA Sheriff Ranks Rife With Gangs |

 

Jose Gonzalez at Balboa Theatre (Taken 3.17.22)

I don't know if there is a correlation between allergies and anxiety or if the two just come from each side and knock you out when caught in the crossfire, but everything has been a little off this week, so I haven't had my daily trips to the San Diego Zoo to clear my brain, and I'm behind on posts, so a lot of what's here isn't exactly breaking news, but that's not why I'm here anyway. 

It was fun working for WWPJ on Tuesday, I busted ass to do listings on Wednesday before going to see Geese at the Casbah that night, and being able to take Nova with Darren and I to see Wet Leg on Thursday at Music Box. I'll get some posts up about those when I can. And for Jose Gonzalez, since I still owe that one, too. All of this has meant not having a data post in a couple days, so I tried to catch up with that, even though the data that is being reported is more limited. Like I don't know what is going on at the CDC's site, but I couldn't access any of their data today and San Diego has changed some of its reporting, too. I guess that's where we are now in this pandemic. At least for now. 

Stay safe out there.  

Press Sec Psaki Tests Positive For COVID For 2nd Time | Federal Funding For COVID Runs Out | Republicans Make Asses Of Themselves During SCOTUS Hearings |

 

Slinging Merch For We Were Promised Jetpacks (Taken 3.22.22)

I'm presently selling merch for a sold out WWPJ show at Casbah and it's surprisingly mellow enough that I can do a little laptopping, though it's a little harder to do listings here, so I'm not sure when I'll get those done. I'll do my best to have them before Wednesday night kicks in. 

Today was a little more chaotic than I anticipated because I wasn't confirmed to work until late in the afternoon and you gotta give an old lady enough time to nap if she's gonna be up working late.

I watched hours of the Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Senate Judiciary Committee hearings and we should all be so embarrassed by some of these *almost always* old white men asking the most fucked up questions and blowing the most obvious Qanon bullshit conspiracy dogwhistles. Yes, Cornyn, we theoretically can vote out legislators when we don't agree with them, but not when they have minority rule and have stacked the cards against voters. It was full on ugliness in a parade of horribles. 

I was also disappointed to hear that Press Secretary Jen Psaki tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time. I watch all the press briefings and I don't understand how with a 79 year old president, they don't go above CDC guidance. They should be testing daily. They should be masking in N95s. They shouldn't be meeting in close quarters without anyone who hasn't tested that day. They should have crazy air filtration in the old ass White House. Especially Jen, who has unvaccinated children under 5 who are obviously in preschool or some sort of care situation since their mom is one of the most important people to this administration. We don't expect the White House to act like they're just like us, because they're not. There are at least two reporters in the media pool who are pregnant at the moment, and to be told they're not close contacts after sitting in that briefing room with Jen for nearly an hour, even if masked, should be really concerned and also really pissed that their colleagues don't care enough to wear a fucking mask around them. This is a total failure that didn't need to happen if they just treated COVID-19 like the airborne virus that it is. And now federal funding is dry, so testing and treatments for the common person are no longer covered (though it isn't clear if this is true in San Diego County or the State of California, as our allocations may last a little longer. I'll see what I can find out.)

Be safe out there.  

CoViD-19: Free Masks Arriving At Pharmacies | More About BA.2, Cases In San Diego | LA Votes To Ban Urban Drilling | SCOTUS: Justice Breyer To Retire |

 

Utama, 27, The Oldest Rhino at  San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 1.26.22)

I woke up all sparkly and perky today, so after getting some work done and having some tacos from Pancho Villa for lunch, Darren and I headed back to San Diego Zoo Safari Park. I was a little bummed on my Sunday trip, surprised at how crowded it was and didn't get my usual rhino time at Kilima Point because all the juveniles were frolicking in the mud stream in the valley of their habitat, so I wanted to go back when it wasn't so busy. 

And let me tell you, we picked the perfect day. The weather was amazing, the crowd wasn't too bad, the tigers were more active than I've seen them in ages, and we got to ride the tram with no wait and we got to sit alone in the front car, so no screaming and coughing children or old ladies wearing too much perfume, both situations which made us disembark in previous attempts to ride before the tram even got moving. After the tram, I closed out the afternoon waiting for rhinos, and while 5 month old Kamaria and her mom, Kianga, stayed down in the valley once again, I was the only one up top when Utama came by. The animal specialist was driving the truck around -- she was the one who told me the rhinos name and age -- and then asked if I wanted her closer and thus gave her the "yummy treat" hay right in front so I could spend some time with her. It was pretty magical, there is something about being so close to the big animals -- the rhinos, hippos, elephants--that just kinda make you forget about all the other shit in the world, even if for just a moment as the hill gets quiet and you hear the rhinoceros snarfing up their food, making a noise somewhere between a cow, a hog, and a big sweet puppy. 

And then we got this amazing sunset on the way home. 

Stay safe out there.