Honey Badger Don't Care

If you were exposed to popular culture in 2011, you are probably aware of the honey badger. A video featuring clips of the animal with narration by "Randall" went completely "viral," with views or "hits" reaching 35 million on You Tube by January 2012.

Surprisingly, this animal is more closely related to a weasel than it is an American badger. It's a Mustelid, as are the minks I saw wild in Noble County. Honey badgers live in Africa, SW Asia, parts of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and parts of Iran. What you may not know, is that you can see a male and female pair up close at the Fort Wayne Children Zoo. Their modern enclosure features a Lucite front so that the animals are just a few feet away, and it's possible for the kids and everyone to get a great look.

In the videos, the animals are fierce and ferocious. They have almost no natural predators. Their thick skin is so loose, they can easily twist and turn in it, so much so that if attacked and bitten by dogs, they can turn in their own skin and bite the dog back. Africans say honey badgers' hides are nearly impervious to arrows and spears, so that they must be shot to be killed.

They are carnivorous, and attack and kill many types of animals, including poisonous snakes. They also dig into termite mounds and bee hives, eating larvae, impervious to the hundreds of stings they receive. No wonder people are obsessed, fascinated by these creatures, and all they take on. People compare other people to them now, as they would a person to a bulldog or a barracuda. It's now a complement to be as tenacious as a honey badger.

Something you don't learn on Randall's video is that the h.b. has what's called a reversible anal pouch. I guess you must use your imagination, but from this pouch the animal releases what has been dubbed a suffocating odor. It's thought to help immobilize the bees, for example. The formidable h.b. has a life span of up to 24 or so years.

Animal fads and popularity come and go. It's great when they "go" - remember the pot-bellied pig craze? We don't need lots of those running around as house pets. Randall's 15 minutes of fame has come - supposedly he started a mini book tour last week in Santa Monica, promoting a book about fearsome creatures. Check out the You Tube video - you'll see the h.b. surviving a cobra bite, and go on to eat the offending snake. As Randall has whined, "that's nasty!". But it's an amusing video, and the honey badger is an awesome species. Make a trip to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo when it opens for the year to see one for yourself. You'll feel almost famous.

Moneyball is on the money

When the weather drops to temperatures in the teens, it's fun to hibernate indoors and settle down for a good movie. One of my favorites this season has been Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt as the Oakland Athletics' General Manager who fashioned a new way of creating a winning baseball team.

In 2002, the A's had $41 million to spend on player salaries, while competing teams often had much more to spend, such as the NY Yankees with $125 million for salaries. But using what later would be called sabermetrics - a more analytical, computerized, objective way to pick players on teams - general manager Billy Beane led the A's to win a record 20 consecutive games in '02. This true story was the inspiration for the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis, and movie of the same name in 2011.

It's a smart movie that is fun to follow, without seeming like a brainy movie - it's baseball! But legendary writer Aaron Sorkin brings the dialogue to life. Dynamite actor Jonah Hill portrays a fictional analyst who tells Billy the old way of scouting and picking players was flawed. Antiquated were the flashy but risky moves of stealing bases. Runs batted in was not a meaningful statistic. More important was picking players for on base percentages, and slugging percentages.

It tells a good story, a true story, an American story. And maybe best of all, it does it while celebrating the romance of baseball. There is a love of this game, watching and playing it, that doesn't have the same flavor as some of our other favorite sports. This movie really brings it.

Although Billy is still trying to win a World Series, the introduction of saber metrics has changed the game of baseball. After the Boston Red Sox tried to hire away Billy, he declined and they implemented this strategy on their own. Two years later they won the Series. Now teams such as the NY Mets and Yankees, San Diego Padres, Saint Louis Cardinals, and Arizona Diamondbacks all reportedly use these techniques. Brad Pitt heads up a great cast - Philip Seymour Hoffman disappears into his role magically. Use of old game films is priceless and brings back memories. This is a movie with stuff for all of us, not just us baseball fans.

Yoga at the Fort Wayne Dance Collective

I didn't grow up with yoga. I don't know the language of it very well, or much about the different forms. I do know it's an ancient discipline, and that it's growing on me. I didn't jump into yoga years ago, partly because of a strong interest in dance and sports ahead of it. But slowly I like the way it strengthens my weak spots gently and although challenging, I can make my own goals and not have to "crank out 20 reps" or something similar.

Yoga can mean all sorts of things, some more ancient and spiritual, but in the West, we are mainly talking about Hatha Yoga. This is the sets of asanas or poses for exercise and, well, meditation. I suppose it's hard to think meditation if your idea is you'll be forced to contort into painful poses and hold them forever. I promise what I'm doing is not that bad.

I'm taking a noon class at the Fort Wayne Dance Collective, in old downtown Fort Wayne. It's located on the top floor of the Artlink and Cinema Center building on E. Berry. It's a unique school in Fort Wayne, with classes for adults and kids. They teach modern dance, belly dance, drumming, pilates - and yoga. This is a class that a man would like as well as a woman - the strong poses, downward dog, saluting the sun - no tricky steps or timing, and plenty of strength involved. And no freezing in painful poses like out of a bad characature. This is flowing yoga using a mat and an occasional block or strap - there are a few props involved and it helps.

The breathing helps you calm down, center and focus. I don't know how it works but it does. I leave class feeling taller, more evenly distributed. My shoulders are back; I am unblocked. It is definitely worth it. At the end of the class, the teacher has me open my chest by putting a pillow behind my back and having me lie arched open over it, facing up towards the ceiling. She dimmed the lights; I became so relaxed I almost fell asleep. Good class, nice environment. Try it some time.

A poem for January

When the clouds roll flat and slow across the sky, just like a moving airport walkway, and the bird feeders swing like wind chimes in the bare trees, you'll be coming home to me.

When I see the look in my old friends' eyes, and just by looking, I can read their thoughts and silences, you'll be thinking of me too.

When I hear of the suffering and death of other's loved ones, and struggles with pain and passing, I wonder what your death will be like. Will I see it, or will it come after mine? Will we find each other after the great divide? Or just sift back into the soft earth like candle wax into a tablecloth? Will our sparks unite? Will my spirit flame out like a sparkler, while your light just snuffs out? Will you reincarnate into a wizard from a phantasmal novel? A big brown dog? A bug named after a month?

When the ice is so fragile and newly frozen that it looks like cellophane, when the dusk darkens like a bad mood, you'll be halfway home.

When the moon's face pops out of the cirrus clouds to play peek-a-boo with me, and laughs at my sadness, you'll be touching down. And then what? Will you chide me for not eating enough of the leftovers? Oh well, I win: you are missing Garrison Keillor. Will I overcook the pasta writing this poem? I think not.

I'll love you anyway.

-SLG

Skiing at Caberfae is the bomb in Cadillac, Michigan

We wanted to go snow skiing from Fort Wayne this holiday, and to do so driving, we needed to go 4 1/2 hours north to find snow in 2011. So we made the trip to Caberfae in Cadillac, MI. Caberfae means "stag head" in Gaelic, and this place has some old world charm. Built in 1938 as a joint venture between the U.S. Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps, Caberfae was Michigan's first ski resort.

It was cut into the Manistee National Forest, and $5 contributions were collected from skiers. By 1940, enough has been raised to fund the first rope tow. Now the Meyers family of Cadillac owns the resort, and it has 34 runs on 485 vertical feet. There are four chair lifts on the 200 acres. The snow making machines keep the place busy in the early season when there's very little snow. The ski school and rentals seem to do a brisk business.

We stayed in the 36-room MacKenzie lodge, and although it was very close to the lifts, I was actually expecting something nicer. The place needs a serious update. There's no in-room coffee makers, fridges, or hair dryers. The beds are tired and springy, the drapes and furnishings worn. Be careful not to drape items over the heat registers. But the showers were warm, and I did like the in-house restaurant. I had the best fish tacos, made with tilapia, I've had in a very long time. All the food was good. We also liked their outdoor heated pool, and nice, warm hot tub with jets.

Back on the hill, some of us were on skis, and some on snowboards. All of us wore helmets. Try it, you'll like it - the helmets are actually light weight and warm, and so cosy and comfortable in the snow one forgets about wearing one. More concerning could be other people. Watch out for dangerous beginners and young kids hurdling past out of control.

It was nice to walk away from the let down of post-Christmas clean up, blast out of the Fort and head to pristine Michigan for a couple of days. Out on the ski hill a person hears plenty of quiet- the sounds of shushing snow, wind in one's face, and the muffling stillness of a light snow fall. It brings a new appreciation of the season. We had fun in sweet Caberfae, and we'll be back.

Lights, so many Lights

I write this at Christmas time, when one pastime can be watching old holiday movies. A Christmas Story, a film made by Bob Clark, was released in 1983. Not a lot of people saw it at first, but over the years it has become a modern Christmas classic. It's the story of Ralphie, a boy who dreams of nothing but a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. Set in 1940s Indiana, Ralphie tries to convince everyone the gift is perfect, and everyone replies with the same phrase, "you'll shoot your eye out."

It's a funny movie, a story well told, about growing up in the U.S. and running the alley gauntlet from the neighborhood bullies. The boys' friend Flick is the victim of the freezing flag pole-playground dare "I triple-dog dare you to lick it!". Loyal to the end, he doesn't rat on his friends even after a local fire house is called to bring a hose and detach him from the pole.

One wonders where the story is going, as the idealistic father wins a prize in a contest - when it arrives, it's a lamp in pieces in a big crate. As it's assembled, it comes together as a stockinged, stilettoed leg, and its short skirt is the lampshade. The husband is thrilled; the wife, horrified. I won't give anything away here but let me just say it becomes a point of contention.

The kids listen to radio shows and win decoder rings as prizes for sending off to Ovaltine. Ralphie's teacher only gives him a C+ on his essay about his carbine BB gun, writing in red letters at the bottom, "you'll shoot your eye out!". Ralphie even goes so far as to hedge his bet by making a visit to the department store Santa, in pursuing his perfect Xmas gift.

I like their Christmas morning - younger brother Randy gets a toy Zeppelin, the father a can of Simonize - there are paper and boxes everywhere. The story has twists and surprises up until the end, and I can see why some consider it a classic. Get your hot chocolate, egg nog, champagne or whatever helps you celebrate and sit down with the family for this one. Light, a comedy, the movie comes up with the real flavor based on a true story.

I close with a note about the photos - interior shots of the Madonna Inn in central California. Stop and see it sometime. There's a little bit of Christmas everywhere, just as long as people care.

New Harmony, Indiana

New Harmony, Indiana was founded by a group of people who had separated from the German Lutheran Church. In 1814, The Harmony Society built a communal, Utopian village and many of the original buildings are still there today. In the southwestern corner of Indiana, it's a great place to visit and explore.

The brown dome in the photo is actually part of the Altar of The Roofless Church. There are labyrinths, mazes, a museum (the white building pictured, called the Atheneum), and many historical buildings.

The Harmonists were deeply religious people, and had a very successful society at this site for about eleven years. They established self-sufficient farming on 2000 acres, a steam engine, cotton and wool factories, and a complete communal society. For reasons I do not know, the entire town was sold to Robert Owen in 1825 and the group moved back to Pennsylvania. But they had prospered in Indiana, and the town has been well-preserved.

The second wave into New Harmony attracted scientists and educators. Owen's ambition was to create a more perfect society through free education and the abolishment of social classes. The town is laid out beautifully, with simplistic lines and lots of modern art and architecture mixed in with the plain, beautiful wood.

I love to go and visit, and stay overnight. I love to wander the gardens and mazes. The town is so tranquil; yet has a positive energy. Restaurants and antique stores make shopping and dining unique and fun. It's worth more discussion, so I'll be coming back to lovely New Harmony later.