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Sorry for Lack of Blogs
Just a quick note to apologize for the lack of blogs over the past few days. We´re a bit removed from civilization, and the internet connections are both expensive and terrible. When I have to spend 5 minutes waiting for a page to load, blogging becomes a bit too frustrating.
We´ve had a good time in the last few days in the mountain town of El Chaltén, up in the Andes. Most of the streets in the town are still unpaved, and the scenery we´ve encountered on our hikes has been amazing!
In a couple of days, we´ll be in a bigger city and will be able to spend a little more time online, during which we should be able to update the blog a bit.
In other news, can the Redskins rewind the clock a few days? What a horrible week for a football team.
March with the Penguins
We arrived early this morning in Puerto Madryn, on the Atlantic coast, about 850 miles or so south of Buenos Aires. We had called to make reservations for lodging last night, but every place in our travel book that was in our price range was sold out. So, the first order of business involved finding a place to stay, which we managed to take care of pretty quickly, while somehow finding a place that´s actually a pretty good value, and not too far from the center of town, so we were happy about that.
We had planned on going sightseeing on the Peninsula Valdés today, which is home to all sorts of marine life that is fairly difficult to see, especially in similar numbers, nearly anywhere else in the world. Among the highlights of such a tour was to be a whale-watching boat trip. This time of year is when the Southern Right Whales venture toward the shallower waters to give birth, and they frequently swim right up next to tour boats, affording amazing and dramatic views just a few meters off the boat.
However, when we got off the bus, we were immediately slapped in the face by a brisk, chilling wind, and it turned out that all the boat tours were closed, so we were forced to postpone that until tomorrow.
Instead, we found a tour going south to Punta Tombo, a spot on the coast about 125 miles south of here, to a nature reserve that is home to several hundred thousand Magellanic Penguins, as well as numerous other birds, and llama relatives called guanacos, which live amongst the penguins, but only eat plants. It´s a comical sight to see them walking with the penguins, as the guanacos are easily taller than I am.
We were certainly not disappointed. Home to the largest penguin colony outside of Antarctica, there were times when we had to stop in our tracks to let a fearless set of penguins cross the trail within a few feet of us. We took pictures of each of us only 3 or 4 feet from a penguin, and then penguins seemed content to stand there and pose for us. Everywhere we looked, we saw penguins. Many were down in holes they had dug under scrub bushes typical of the Patagonian soil (tall trees don´t grow because of the constant wind). Others were out sunning themselves when the wind would die down for a few minutes, while still others waddled along in a seemingly aimless fashion. Still others were out fishing in the frigid waters, diving and then resurfacing, while riding the waves back to the shore. The penguins thrive in this area due to having virtually no predators.
Perhaps most remarkable of all was the sight of numerous mother penguins nursing their young. This time of year is generally when eggs hatch, and we probably saw about 50 penguins sitting on their eggs, and at least that many caring for their newborns. Some of the newborns were old enough to be out sitting beside the mom (while still in their protective holes), while others were clearly no more than a few days old and, despite their best efforts, were not allowed out from underneath the mother´s protective warmth. We took quite a few pictures and movies, so we´ll have to see how they come out when we get home. Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable experience.
On our way home, we stopped at a Paleontological museum in the city of Trelew, which, while nowhere near as cool as a penguin colony, was still interesting. It had many fossils and recreations of various prehistoric creatures that lived in what is now Patagonia. From there, we drove through a traditional Welsh town, which exists down here due to the fact that the Welsh were the first Europeans to permanently settle in this particular part of Patagonia. Argentina is quite the melting pot, with distinct immigrant groups from nearly any European country you could imagine.
When we got home, we walked along the beach and managed to see a whale within about 100 yards of the shore. I can´t say for sure exactly what kind it was, but it was at least 5 meters long, and was swimming on the surface for quite some time. It certainly managed to whet our appetite for tomorrow!
Ok, time to go sample some of the area´s famous seafood!
Go Hoos!
Just wanted to wish everyone back home a happy Thanksgiving!
It´s been a bit strange this year, celebrating Thanksgiving away from any other Americans. In other words, not celebrating it at all, beyond saying, "Happy Thanksgiving" to each other. Naturally, everything around here is just as it´s been every other day we´ve been here.
Today, rather than celebrate as usual by eating a lot and sitting on the couch watching football, we completed a 20-km hike in the Cajón del Azul, which is a beautiful canyon in the low Andes, and the Azul is a river that is, shockingly for Spanish speakers, quite blue, as it´s fed by glacial waters and snowmelt. At the top of the hike, the river carves a high and very narrow gorge and makes for an amazing sight. It´s about 40 m deep and only about 2 m wide. Pretty amazing, for sure. We also had some great views over some alpine meadows and on to some of the higher, snow-covered peaks.
Anyway, I´m going to sign off. We´ll detail these last couple of days in El Bolsón more when we get a chance, but we´re going to catch our bus to the east coast of Argentina where we hope to see penguins and southern right whales.
Chocolate Lanugage Barriers
This entry refers to the above entry "Bariloche," specifically the section toward the end about buying some of Bariloche´s well-known chocolates.
With the whole camera fiasco, we were running a bit late on time, and I wanted to call ahead to El Bolsón and make sure we had a place to stay for the night. As such, I left Erin in the chocolate store while I went off to make some phone calls.
Right before I left, Erin asked me, "How do you say that word?"
"Circuela," I replied, having no idea what it meant.
So, I made my phone calls, came back and found Erin holding a box of chocolates. I confirmed that she had no problems, and we moved on.
As we got settled on the bus, we decided to cheer ourselves up by treating ourselves to one of our chocolates. Erin had bought two of each kind, so we each picked out the same thing.
Immediately following my first (sizeable) bite was the unmistakeable taste of a really big, horrible-tasting raisin. Apparently, in the interests of regularity, Erin had decided to buy us each a chocolate-covered prune. We finished our "treats," but had to follow it with a substantial helping of water to wash the aftertaste away.
I can safely say the following:
1 - It was the best-tasting prune I´ve ever had.
2 - It was the worst-tasting chocolate I´ve ever had (taken as a whole, not the chocolate alone).
I guess it depends if you´re a glass is half-empty or half-full kind of person.
Fortunately, the rest of the chocolates have been what we had hoped for.
The River Wild
We´ve been spending the last couple of days in the charming town of El Bolsón in Patagonia. Our days here were planned as low-key and relaxing days, but it seems like a sense of adventure seems to follow us wherever we go.
This morning, we headed to the Lago Puelo National Park, which is a small park based around a stunning lake that borders Chile. We wanted to do some hiking, and had heard about a great trail that takes you up to the Chilean border. We asked about the hike in the Park Ranger's office, and they were concerned about the height of the river and wanted to check it out for themselves before we were cleared to go. So, we had a nice, guided walk over to the river with a very helpful ranger. We got to the river's edge and he said declared it as "likely passable." Now, you must know that this trail involves you crossing through the river three times each way on the trail. So, that's six river crossings with approximately 7 hours of trail hiking in between. The river is also fed by snow melt from the Andes glaciers, so the water was nice and brisk, as well. The water was also moving very fast, so the ranger wanted to watch us cross the first arm of the river before he left us to our own devices. Rob graciously asked me if I was comfortable with this, to which I replied that I was a little nervous and intimidated, but still game for the experience. So, we decided to give it a shot. Rob headed out first, and then I braved the glacial waters. We waded in, wet up to our thighs (and hips for me), and I was struggling to remain standing. The ranger had found us both a couple of good walking sticks, but those were doing very little to help me with the current moving so fast. Rob, astutely reading the concern and mild panic in my eyes, again checked in to see if I was ok. If we only had to do this once or twice, I wouldn´t have hestitated to continue. However, at this point, we were going to have to cross like this 5 1/2 more times. So, I said "uncle" and we both headed back.
I thought I'd had my adventure for the day, but there was more in store for me. We decided to take a guided boat trip across the lake the the Chilean border, and ended up with a private tour. We had an amazing guide and were just about the only people out on this gorgeous lake, which had some of the clearest blue water we've seen. Our guide took us on a short hike around the area where the lake meets the Rio Puelo. We enjoyed our hike, and had incredible views of the rapids. We were crossing back to the shore were we docked our boat and came to a narrow part of the Rio Puelo. It was a short crossing and there were plenty of rocks to act as step stones, so we thought it would be fine. I was the last one across, and got out the middle of the crossing with no problems. Then, I took a step with a little too much momentum, completely lost my balance and fell backwards into the river. I got a couple of scrapes and bumps, but was otherwise fine. Apparently, I looked a little panicky and disoriented, but once Rob was there to help me out, I was fine and laughing about the whole thing. AT least I fell into a river in one of the most scenic places I've seen!
Sunday was spent in the fantastic Andean town of Bariloche. We arrived late Saturday night, settled into our hotel, found some food, and had an otherwise early night and got some needed sleep.
The next morning we awoke to an unbelievable view (though for said view, I had to lean about 2/3 of my body out the window and crane my neck around a building). Bariloche lies on the shores of Lago Nahuel Huapi, which is a large lake and the basis for one of the largest national parks in Argentina. Bariloche is the southernmost town of any size in the Andes, and serves as the gateway for the Lake District and the ski slopes, depending on the season. As the town slopes upward from the shore of the lake, it is generally possible to see the lake from nearly any point in the town. This time of year, after ski season and before summer vacations begin, the town is quite peaceful, although we were glad to not be there in a month or so.
We began our day by boarding a bus for the Hotel Llao Llao (pronounced "zhow zhow" - Argentines pronounce y and ll like a soft j sound, which makes understanding them even harder than it should be). The hotel is a luxury resort, complete with its own golf course, at the end of a long road that goes along the lakeside for some 30 km. The hotel is perched atop a hill with unbelievable views of the nearby lakes and snow-capped mountains, and while it would cost our entire retirement accounts to spend a night there, it was certainly fun to walk around. Adding to the charm of the town is that it was originally settled by Swiss immigrants, and thus features many Swiss chalet style alpine chalet buildings in the downtown area.
After some walking around, we got on the bus back toward Bariloche, and got off about halfway back in order to take a cable car up to the top of one of the nearby mountains, hoping for a nice lunch at the top with panoramic views of the lakes, but we found that it was closed for renovation and repairs. After punching Marty Moose in the nose and shooting John Candy with a bb gun, we got back on the bus bound for a chair lift to the top of another mountain, and then got off.
When I got off the bus, immediately as it pulled off, I realized that I no longer had my camera. We felt around for it in all our pockets and backpacks, and couldn´t find it at all. Since the buses were on a loop, I waited until our bus came back around, had the driver ask if anyone had seen a camera, but alas, it was gone. I was wearing a baggier than normal pair of pants with shallow pockets, and the camera must have fallen out of my pocket while I was sitting on the bus. Not surprisingly, it had disappeared by the time we got back on the bus. I don´t think it was a pick-pocket situation because the bus wasn´t crowded, and I´m extremely attentive to that type of thing (eastern European buses will do that to you).
Feeling somewhat dejected, we headed back toward town to get some food and ponder our options. We debated buying a new camera if we could find the camera we wanted, but it seems like the Canon Powershot line, which we love (gratuitous product placement) hasn´t arrived in this part of the world yet. I did some brief camera research on cnet for some of the types of cameras they did have for sale, but all of the decent ones were selling for well above what they would cost in the US, and it just wasn´t worth buying a new one. Fortunately, we brought our old camera, and will use it for the remainder of the trip (while keeping it in more secure pockets, of course). Expensive lesson learned, but then again, if that is the worst tragedy to befall us in the next few years, we´re doing pretty well for ourselves.
Fortunately for our mild state of depression, Bariloche is known for, perhaps most of all, its exquisite selection of chocolate. As such, before leaving, we purchased a box of chocolates before getting on the bus to El Bolsón, where we find ourselves now.
Here´s the summary from our trip to Iguazú Falls.
Last Wednesday night, we boarded a Via Bariloche bus bound for Iguazú Falls in the northeastern rainforest of Argentina. No one´s ever excited about an overnight bus, but I particuarly detest them, since I have a fair amount of trouble sleeping on moving vehicles. However, as soon as we boarded this bus, we wondered if we would ever have to get off. The seats lean nearly all the way back (at least as far as your friendly dentist chair, but a lot more comfortable), and leg room isn´t at all an issue for anyone smaller than Yao Ming. As soon as we got on, they served us coffee and cookies, followed by dinner, with wine, and then champagne after dinner. All the windows are blocked by curtains, and it gets nearly completely dark on the bus. They played one movie after dinner, in English with Spanish subtitles, and then another the next morning after breakfast, so before we knew it, we had arrived in Iguazú.
We dropped our belongings off at the Residencia Noelia, a charming though (very) rustic family-run lodging in the town of Puerto Iguazú, some 15 km from the actual national park containing the waterfalls. Our Brazil fiasco detailed in a prior entry ensued, so we headed to the friendlier Argentina side of the park.
Being relatively late in the afternoon already, we walked around the relatively massive visitor center, hiked a short jungle trail, and then boarded a quiet gas-powered train for the far end of the park. Although the train didn´t go faster than about 5 mph, it was a pleasant ride. We disembarked at the trail called the "Garganta del diablo" (Devil´s throat), and walked for perhaps a mile along a catwalk sort of trail over a series of branches of the main river, lagoons, etc, through the jungle wetlands en route to the view of the falls.
To attempt to describe the initial view of the falls without pictures is extremely difficult, but I suppose I have to try. Anyone who has visited the Grand Canyon has known a similar feeling. The initial breathless moment when one first comes into view of the falls is one that can´t really be put into words. We were standing on the end of the catwalk, not quite completely over the edge of the falls, but close enough to make us glad that we weren´t on the construction team that built the trail. An unbelievably powerful surge of water was falling several hundred feet to the river below, and although I never found an exact report of the volume of water flowing, I can state scientifically that it was "a lot." We stood there for a while, noted that we were delighted to not be afraid of heights, and then went back toward the train.
We took the train back, and then walked the set of trails known as the Upper Circuit, which walks for a mile or so along the upper rim of the falls, providing less spectacular, but more panoramic views of the overall falls. As the falls run for at least 2 miles, it´s quite a sight to behold.
The next morning, we got up and did a relatively long hike into the jungle that allegedly was good for wildlife viewing. I´ll list below the animals we saw, but it was a nice hike to get us away from the tourists that clog the main trails in the park. This one is on the other side of the park from the falls and requires a bit more fitness, repelling a lot of the tour groups closer to the falls. The hike culminated with a trip to the top and then the bottom (not in a barrel) of a smaller (100 foot) falls, and it was quite a view to have to ourselves.
We came back to the visitor center, cooled off a bit, and then walked the Lower Circuit. It was, not surprisingly, similar to the Upper Circuit, except it was lower. Shocking. The trail allowed us to walk down closer to some of the falls, providing similar panoramic views, with the added advantage of getting wet. The trail went all the way down to the river, where all sorts of boats take off to go under the falls.
Animals we saw on our hikes:
2 Toucans
Ridiculously large lizards (over 2 feet long).
Coati (look like insanely huge raccoons, we even saw some in trees)
Idiots feeding the coatis from their hands, despite them carrying all sorts of diseases, and standing 2 feet from signs discouraging feeding the coatis.
Some marmot-looking thing.
Vultures (tons of different types, circling above the falls)
Hummingbirds (really bright, many different colors, some got within feet of us)
Numerous other birds I´d never seen before.
A poisonous butterfly
A non-poisonous butterfly the size of an adult human hand
Ants over an inch long
Sparrows - not exciting in and of themselves, but they actually live in the cliffs behind the waterfalls, and to get to their nests, they dive through the falls at fantastic speeds...quite a sight.
I think that´s it.
We had our favorite dinner in Argentina at a restaurant called La Rueda. I had homemade ravioli, Erin had gnocchi, and we split some smoked surubí, a fish caught locally in the Rio Iguazú. Combined with the atmosphere in the restaurant and a bottle of Torrontés, it was hard to beat!
Ok, this is long, so I´ll sign off and write more tomorrow.
Patagonia Bound
Today was primarily a travel day. As it´s late, I won´t post much, since we need to get some food. We left the Iguazu Falls this morning and flew down to Bariloche, which is in the Andes, about halfway down the length of the country from north to south.
We left the rainforest this morning to already hot and humid temperatures, so the current temperature of about 46 degrees and fairly breezy has come as something of a shock. On the other hand, it´s probably a good thing for those around us, since we can finally wear our cold-weather clothes, which is the bulk of what we brought. Suffice it to say that our short-sleeve stuff could use a healthy scrubbing.
We had a great time at the falls, and will post more about it later on when time allows. We´ll stay in Bariloche for tonight and most of the day tomorrow before taking a bus down to a smaller and less tourist-infested town a couple of hours south of here, called El Bolsón, and then will spend a few low-key days there.
Rob and Erin
A Run for the Border
So we arrived this morning after a long and ridiculously comfortable bus ride (more in another entry) in Puerto Iguazu, the town at the junction of Brazil, Paraguay, and Arentina, and near the site of the famous Iguazu Falls, the largest (though not highest) waterfalls in South America.
Our guide book recommended seeing the falls from the Brazilian side of the border one day, and then the Argentine side the next. It said that the Brazilian side required less time, and since we arrived late in the morning, we decided to head for Brazil once we got settled.
In general, American citizens need visas to enter Brazil. This wouldn´t be a problem, but they charge US $100 for each visa, and that would be a fairly frivolous expense to spend 2 hours in their country. Fortunately, however, our guidebooks and various travel message boards said that a visa is not required to simply visit the falls in a day visit, so we got on the bus to Brazil.
We cleared Argentine immigration without a problem, but you can probably guess that I wouldn´t be typing this story if everything went smoothly. When we got to the Brazilian border, we noticed that all the buses were simply flying through the border, and we assumed we would do the same. However, the driver stopped, made us get off (everyone else was Brazilian), and go to immigration. When my mild protest fell on deaf ears, we began a walk of shame back to the Argentine border. The real problem with this, however, was that the border offices were each about 3 km from their respective borders, so we got to walk over 3 miles back to the Argentine office, get stamped back in the country (while explaining why we had left the country for an hour in the first place).
Fortunately, it wasn´t an unpleasant walk. The border itself is the middle of a river, and the bridge crossing it towers over the river by at least 200 feet, and affords long views in each direction along the river. Plus, we at least got to walk for a while in Brazil, so I can sort of scratch another country off my list. As an additional bonus, we were able to take pictures of us sitting on the border, with one cheek in each country. Go us! Seriously, how many people can say that?
When all was said and done, we got to the border, got another Argentine stamp, and caught a bus back into town. We did have to somewhat nervously eye a passing policeman as we walked, but other than a few weird expressions at the dumb American tourists, we had no real problems. U-S-A!!!!
We´re famous!
Well, not really. But we might be.
While we were waiting in line to buy our tickets to go to Uruguay, we noticed a news crew filming people in line and interviewing them. Making our American passports very visible, I assumed naturally that they would skip us and move on to other people. Wrong.
So, it turns out that in Argentina, Tuesday the 13th is an unlucky day. It´s very similar to our Friday the 13th, in that if you´re a believer in bad luck, you shouldn´t travel, or do anything that could be potentially dangerous. As such, we were violating Argentine rules of luck by traveling on the 13th, so they were asking people about it.
They were conducting the interview in English, so we naturally answered in English. They asked if we were aware of the bad luck associated with Tuesday the 13th, so I explained that our bad luck day was supposedly Friday the 13th. I said that I was okay with traveling because I don´t really believe in luck, and I certainly wouldn´t alter my plans to accomodate a bad luck day. Erin said more or less the same things.
We assume that we´ll end up on some comedy show where they flash Spanish subtitles across the screen that don´t in the least match what we said, but that´s ok. At the very least, maybe we´ll end up on youtube or something!
Don´t Cry for Us, Buenos Aires
With all the monuments to Eva Peron (Evita) down here, you had to know an Evita reference was going to show up eventually. Well, there it is, and I promise not to make any more.
Our time in BsAs is coming to a close, as we prepare to head up to the northeast corner of Argentina to see the fabulous falls of Iguazu. We leave for an overnight bus ride here in the next hour or so, but apparently the seats lie nearly all the way back, so it should be reasonably pleasant, as far as long bus trips go. Certainly compared to the Greyhound (see our Trips section), it should be a walk in the park.
We had a great time today touring the barrio known as San Telmo, the bohemian/artsy area of the city. We saw a mini-milonga in one of the main squares, as all sorts of people were tangoing to the delight of the assembled crowds. We think it was part of a TV shoot, as there were cameras everywhere and the main section was cordoned off.
We also spent some time walking along the waterside area, near the main port of BsAs, which is being fashioned into a chic restaurant-filled area where things cost far, far more than in the other parts of the city. On the other side of the canal, there´s a wildlife and ecological reserve, so it made for some pleasant walking.
But, we need to go catch our bus!
Mmm...You can really taste the goat.
Well, country #2 is in the books, as I write this blog entry from Uruguay, from the town of Colonia del Sacramento, a small city across the Rio Plata from Buenos Aires, at a distance of about 35 miles or so. The town has a quaint barrio historico in the Portuguese colonial style, surrounded on three sides by water. The weather hasn´t cooperated like we would have hoped, but we´ve still had a great time exploring this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many of the streets are as they would have been 200 or more years ago, with uneven rocks (quite a trick in today´s weather) and houses lining both sides of the street, in many cases only 15 feet apart. There is an old lighthouse that stands some 30 m above the water, and afforded some great views of the surrounding countryside and the rest of the city, including 5 km of beaches that would have been nice on a better weather day.
The title of the blog entry, for those who aren´t Simpsons fans, is a quote from Homer, and was fitting today, as I tried a local specialty called "chivito," or baby goat. I´ve had to fend of PETA folks all day, but it was in fact quite good. Come to think of it, PETA probably wouldn´t be huge fans of this part of the world in general, as most people seem to be rather carniverous.
A couple of side notes:
1) Birds in Buenos Aires have good aim. I got hit twice yesterday, while Erin got hit once. I´ve now been pooped on by birds on three different continents.
2) Typing over here is a pain. The keyboards are similar enough to seem familiar, but different enough so that all the special characters are changed, and causing one to type all sorts of random characters if not careful. As an example, to type a "@", you have to hit one of the two alt keys, in addition to the 2 key. The other alt key doesn´t work. Go figure. sdñºç.
Well, it´s time to resurrect this puppy.
As many of you know, I´m in Argentina for the next 5 weeks with Erin. We´re heading all over the country during our first jaunt to the Southern Hemisphere.
We arrived late Sunday morning to find that Erin´s bag didn´t make it. Fortunately, they said that the bag was still in Dallas (evidently a 2.5 hour layover was insufficient) and that it would be here today (Monday), and sure enough, they delivered it to our hotel this afternoon.
Sunday was relatively low-key for us, as we obviously didn´t get a ton of sleep on the plane overnight. We took a fairly long nap upon our arrival at the hotel in Buenos Aires, and then went out and toured the downtown area of the city. We saw the widest street in the world (according to the Argentines, anyway), called the Avenida 9 de julio, which in places has 11 lanes going in each direction. We saw the Casa Rosada (pink house), where the head of government lives, and for fans of Hollywood and show tunes, where Evita addressed empassioned throngs from the balcony back in the 40´s. We also went in the Catedral Metropolitano, which is the primary cathedral of the city. Otherwise, we walked around a lot, and had our first bottle of Argentine wine, for about $5. I haven´t seen a single bottle on a menu here that is over $30 US.
Today, we saw two of the more posh neighborhoods in the city, called Recoleta and Palermo. Recoleta has a famous cemetary, in which many famous porteños (residents of BsAs) are buried, including Evita herself, as well as past presidents and military leaders. It is basically a small city unto itself, as everyone is buried in large mausoleums with no space between them. Palermo is where a lot of the old money in BsAs is, and there are many old buildings in the colonial style next to chic boutiques and the like. Both of these barrios have ample green space, and on a perfect weather day such as this, people were outside en masse.
They say this city is the "Paris of South America", and while I don´t entirely agree with that (porteños are nicer than Parisians), it´s pretty easy to see why. While there are plenty of less than savory parts of town, much of the downtown area is full of beautiful parks, classical/colonial architecture, and wide, tree-lined boulevards.
Tomorrow, if all goes as planned (never a certainty down here), then we´ll head to the town of Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay for the day. It´s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and we´ve heard nothing but great things about it. The weather is supposed to be horrible, but compared to what we expect in Patagonia, it´ll be a walk in the park, so hopefully it won´t be too bad!
We´re on e-mail fairly frequently, so write whenever you want to say hi!
Rob - rfm6z@hotmail.com
Erin - erin_moncure@yahoo.com


Winter can get dull, we all know this. So bringing in some fresh florals will add color to your everyday.
Brynn Larsen shares how to make pretty flower bundles to brighten up this season.
Find more inspiration from Brynn on her website, www.bloomsandco.com.


Hamilton has done an amazing job.
Lin always dreamed of being a multi-millionaire.
Scot is having an allergic reaction to something he ate.
Could you just go help Dustin?
Rolf took a step backward.
Tal went for three weeks without shaving before his wife complained.
Evelyn and Hein reached the front door at the same time.
It looks like Diane doesn't want to talk to Marsha.
I'm sure Glen is just as scared as you are.
Brooke urged Stephanie to study art.
Janice had no intention of waiting that long.
Hilda doesn't like classical music.
I no longer remember Irwin's smile.
Jean-Pierre helped me to clear snow away.
Hurf is wearing a black dress.
Brandi lied about what had happened.
Jordan will never do that.
Ruth enters the park with the children.
Shouldn't Scott be here by now?


text:
AGs push back against EPA 'environmental justice' rule, say it will increase energy costs
by The Georgia Virtue
(The Center Square) – Twelve attorneys general have submitted comments to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan expressing concerns about a new proposed rule they argue will increase energy costs and risk Americans' safety.
At issue is the EPA's proposed rule, "Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs under Clean Air Act; Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention." (87 Fed. Reg. 53,556), which Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues is another attempt by the Biden administration to revive an Obama-era "environmental justice" regulation. If implemented, it would far exceed the statutory authority of the EPA, the attorneys general argue, which was curtailed by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
The rule would require a range of American facilities and industries to implement costly new processes to minimize "climate change risks," which the EPA hasn't proved will reduce such risks, they argue. Those impacted by the regulations would include petroleum refineries, chemical manufacturers, water and wastewater treatment systems, chemical and petroleum wholesalers and terminals, food manufacturers, packing plants, cold storage facilities, agricultural chemical distributors, midstream gas plants, among others.
The proposed rule would impose "burdensome new regulatory requirements that do not lead to improvements in preventing accidental releases or minimizing the consequences any such releases," they write, and "would come at the cost of a greater regulatory burden without providing sufficient corresponding benefits."
It would also cripple the U.S. energy industry and subsequently create a serious national security risk, the attorney generals from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, and led by Oklahoma, argue.
Worse still, another requirement would jeopardize Americans' safety, they argue, because it requires certain facilities to publicly disclose information about specific locations of dangerous chemicals. This would only expose Americans to "risks of intentional releases by bad actors," they write. "There is an inherent security risk in requiring public disclosure of information of sensitive information about chemical facilities without protections sufficient to mitigate that risk."
The EPA has offered no evidence that imposing additional regulations "would have any effect on the number of chemical accidents that occur at the regulated entities," they say. Instead, it "would increase costs and add onerous reporting requirements on the regulated facilities."
Several commenters offered support for the rule change during the 2019 reconsideration comment period, but none provided information to support security concerns. The AG's argue the Biden administration is revisiting the same "security shortcomings we warned about" before.
They aren't alone. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also has been pushing back against EPA overreach in the Permian Basin, and supported the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in West Virginia v. EPA in June. He said it correctly ruled to restrain the EPA when the agency has attempted to impose costly regulations without input from Congress.
Abbott said the ruling was "a victory against an out-of-control administration" as Americans were grappling with "skyrocketing energy costs due to expensive federal regulations that threaten our energy industry. President Biden cannot keep attacking the energy industry and the hardworking men and women who power our nation."
And while other states continue to be hamstrung by federal regulations, Texas continues to lead the U.S. in oil and natural gas production and job creation. Such a rule would stifle that growth, Abbott said.
Oil & Gas Workers Association Board Member Richard Welch told The Center Square a so-called "environmental justice" rule would devastate the economy, drive fuel prices up and hamper production at refineries that are already producing at capacity and under the strictest regulations already.
The rule isn't about "justice," he argues, but is "simply a 'strong arm' of an already weaponized EPA aimed at suffocating the already over-regulated oil and gas industry."
Welch also says the administration doesn't regulate the wind, solar and electric vehicle industries to the extent that it regulates the oil and natural gas industry. These industries also receive significant subsidies from the federal government while the harvesting of resources and production to create so-called green energy "causes significant harm to the environment," he added.
He also said the U.S. oil and gas industry "remains confident in the AGs commitment to protecting it from ongoing federal overreach" and the Texas oil and natural gas industry "remains confident in the efforts of AG Paxton and Gov. Abbott to ensure Texas remains the oil and gas powerhouse that fuels America and the world."
By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor
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Racial Healing Comes Only By Understanding the Past, as '400 Years of African-American History Act' Is Introduced in Congress
Posted byBy David Love	| February 15, 2016 CommentsComments (1)
The enslaved people of General Thomas F. Drayton, 1862 © Henry P. Moore
A group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to recognize the 400 years of Africans in America. In a nation whose citizens do not know their history–where Black people know little of their millennia of existence before slavery, and whites know absolutely nothing about Black people aside from negative media imagery—this legislation is significant and something we must examine carefully.
The legislation, named the 400 Years of African-American History Act, is sponsored by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, Congressmen Bobby Scott, Don Beyer and Congressional Black Caucus Chair G.K. Butterfield, as WVEC reported. Co-sponsors of the legislation include Congressmen Randy Forbes and Scott Rigell of Virginia, and civil rights veteran Congressman John Lewis, with support from the NAACP and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
The act would establish a commission to plan activities and programs in 2019, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Africans in America. Further, the commission would focus on the resilience and contribution of African-Americans, and acknowledge the pain and harm caused by slavery and racial discrimination.
"One of the things that I always stress in my classes… is that African-American history is American history," Asst. Prof. Andrew W. Kahrl, who teaches African-American studies and history at the University of Virginia, told the Cavalier Daily. "This is not something that is some sort of an addendum or something that is separate and apart from what we traditionally think of as so called 'American history.'"
The legislation is similar to others that have established commissions for English and Hispanic heritage, the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, Virginia and the 450th anniversary of St. Augustine, Florida. "If English lives matter, if Latino lives matter, then African-American lives matter, and they mattered every day since the landing" of the first Africans in America, Sen. Kaine said at a press conference, adding that the country would be "unrecognizable and much the poorer" without the contributions of African-Americans. "The story has a lot of pain to it, but it's a story that has to be told to commemorate that we as a nation – had it not been for 400 years of African-American history – would be absolutely unrecognizable. What we hope to do with this bill is engage in something we should do to tell the story in a different way than it may have been told 50 to 100 years ago," Kaine added.
"It's a story that we need to continue to talk about, study and frankly get better at," Sen. Warner said. "And I can't think of a better opportunity than creating a federal national commission that would focus from both the [historical perspective], but equally important, looking forward about how we create a more perfect union that includes all Americans."
"The commission established by this legislation will play a key role in recognizing, understanding, and celebrating the resilience and contributions of African-Americans in the history of our nation," said Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP Washington Bureau, noting the commission would also create an opportunity to discuss the growing influence of Black people in American life.
At a time when America is struggling with the racial sins of the past and present, it is impossible to set things right unless we know what actually happened. How does a nation heal itself if it fails to acknowledge who was hurt and who inflicted the damage, or is even unaware that the damage was done?
Rob Sigler wrote in the Oxford Eagle, a book of interviews with former enslaved Africans written during the Great Depression, as part of the Federal Writers Project, a division of the Works Project Administration of President Roosevelt's New Deal program. At the time, the emancipated enslaved people of the prior century were dying out, and their oral histories were to be recorded and preserved for generations to come. Oral histories from around the South were published by the FWP in Washington, DC, and each state and county had at least one historian to record and transcribe the interviews and send them to the Library of Congress. "Due to the nature of some of the interviews, they were suppressed and filed away in the basement of the Archives building. When the various states volumes were printed, Mississippi had fewer interviews than many of the states. It was not until the 1970s the balance of the interviews were bundled up and sent to Washington," Sigler said.
…[One] of the former slaves that was interviewed was Jane McLeod Wilburn. She had been born a slave near Lafayette Springs, east of Oxford. Her first owner was a man named Scrivener, who later moved to Oxford and Jane Wilburn came with the family. Later Angus MeLeod purchased her mother, three siblings and herself. He gave Jane to his wife Betsy.
She was to help with the house and be a nurse to the McLeod children. Miss Betsy taught her to read but she tried and failed to learn to write. She related to the interviewer that it was just fine with her that she never learned to write. As she stated, she might have ended up in "de pen" just like some other folks.
And as Steven J. Niven of The Root reported, this Slave Narrative Project provided compelling accounts of what Black people faced during their enslavement and struggle for liberation. One example is a Civil War-era letter written by Spotswood Rice–a soldier in the 67th Regiment of the United States Colored Infantry who had escaped from the plantation –to Kittey Diggs, the white woman who still owned his children. Rice wrote the letter from an Army barracks hospital bed near St. Louis:
I received a letter … telling me that you say I tried to steal, to plunder my child away from you. Now I want you to understand that Mary is my child and she is a God-given right of my own. You may hold on to her as long as you can, but I want you to remember this one thing: that the longer you keep my child from me, the longer you will have to burn in hell, and the quicker you will get there …
I want you to understand, Kittey Diggs, that wherever you and I meet, we are enemies to each other. I offered once to pay you forty dollars for my own child, but I am glad now that you did not accept it. Just hold on now as long as you can and the worse it will be for you. Never in your life did you give [my] children anything … not even a dollar's worth of expenses. Now you call my children your property. My children [are] my own and I expect to get them.
There are many untold stories from the 400-year legacy of Black folks in America. Lest we conclude that slavery is merely ancient history with no connection to the present, it is important to reclaim this legacy and retell all its troubling, unsettling details, so that we may understand its impact on present day realities. If those who fail to learn from the lessons of history are condemned to repeat that history, then America has much to learn when it comes to its Black heritage and what it has done to African people on these shores.
Tags400 Years Slavery in AmericaAbolishing Slaveryafrican american historyAmerican historyamerican history liesamerican history mythsblack civil war soldiersBlack History MonthBlack Slavery in AmericaBlacks Civil WarSlavery in America
One thought on "Racial Healing Comes Only By Understanding the Past, as '400 Years of African-American History Act' Is Introduced in Congress"
Nzingha Shabaka says:
This is not what we need or should have, there is much, much more to learn long before we get to America. we need African History in the curriculum. We need African History, before the colonizers, and slave holders came to Africa, and move from there, up to today. I know this will be watered down, and why are the blacks not in the head of this? I wish Atlanta Black Star would have given the party affiliation, I only recognize John Lewis. If the head sponsors of this legislation are whites, I know it will not be about much.
Oh please we need African History before colonialization, taught to our children. That is the problem with African students not liking these schools, because there is nothng taught about the great accomplishments of African people before colonization. Our children has to sit in these racist classroom and have their self esteem insulted because there is nothing taught about where they are from, who they are and the accomplishments of their ancestors, before colonization in Africa.
When our children start to learn their history they will love school, and can hold their head up high and be proud of who they are, after all we created everything, we created computer math before whites made the computers of today we were doing this math in ancient Africa, everything. Dr Clarke, "All history is a current event".
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A compound related to a drug used in humans to prevent organ-transplant rejection attacks a key biochemical process in the faulty immune cells of lupus-prone mice, suggesting a possible new approach to combating the disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.
"We found that an analog of rapamycin is very effective in improving all aspects of the disease in lupus-prone mice," said Dr. Chandra Mohan, professor of internal medicine and senior author of a study appearing in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. "Our next step will be to see if the same biochemical pathways exist in humans. If they do, this research and treatment could prove very significant."
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body's cells and tissues. In a normal immune system, foreign intruders are recognized by special immune cells called B-cells, which produce antibodies. In patients with lupus, however, the antibodies created by the B-cells start to attack the body itself.
Certain genetic strains of mice are prone to developing lupus. In the current study, a research team led by Dr. Mohan discovered that an analog of rapamycin shuts down specific biochemical processes in the B-cells of the mice. Rapamycin has been used in humans to prevent organ transplant rejection and for treating cancer. The analog of rapamycin halted production of antibodies and the development of lupus in all the strains of lupus-prone mice, as well as improved symptoms, despite each animal having a different genetic makeup that led to the disease.
"Though lupus in different mouse models may originate from different genetic triggers, those triggers ultimately funnel through a shared series of biochemical pathways that lead to the disease," Dr. Mohan said. "These shared biochemical pathways represent an attractive target for future therapeutic intervention in lupus patients."
In humans, lupus can cause life-threatening damage to the kidneys, lungs, heart, central nervous system, joints, blood vessels and skin. It can be associated with severe fatigue, joint pain, skin rashes, hair loss and neurological problems. Although treatable symptomatically, there is currently no cure for the disease, which affects up to 1 million people in the U.S.
Other UT Southwestern researchers involved with the study were Dr. Tianfu Wu, assistant instructor of immunology; Xiangmei Qin, research assistant in immunology; Zoran Kurepa, immunology resident; Kirthi Raman Kumar, postdoctoral trainee in internal medicine; Dr. Kui Liu, instructor of internal medicine; Hasna Kanta, research assistant in internal medicine; Dr. Xin J. Zhou, professor of pathology; Dr. Anne Satterthwaite, assistant professor of immunology; and Dr. Laurie Davis, associate professor of immunology.
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Alliance for Lupus Research.