Faith in Politic(ian)s Rebalanced

It's easy [for me] to get jaded about the state of politics...you might have picked up on some of that from a recent post. Then there comes along a reminder of the hard work some politicians [and diplomats] are doing, and more importantly, doing well. It gives me hope that there are far more deliberate, open, understanding and generally level-headed public figures at work in the world than there are the other kind...ahem.

The link below arrived in my email via my grandmother because this particular ambassador is related through marriage, so there is, admittedly, a bit of familial pride in this post. There is also a large dose of national pride that my country can still recognize a great ambassador when it sees one.

"America's Outspoken Ambassador", an interview with U.S. Ambassador to Estonia Michael C. Polt by Scott Diel, ERR News, Estonian Public Broadcasting.

"United States Ambassador to Estonia Michael C. Polt has developed a reputation as a diplomat who doesn't shy away from good discussion. ERR News spoke with the ambassador about Wikileaks, recent Tallinn city government events, as well as the American view of Russia."


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The Elusive Two-Headed San Joaquin Kit Fox

The above photo can be seen in its entirety on Smithsonian Magazine's website, and the photo by B. Moose Peterson/ARDEA was actually flipped horizontally for use in the March 2011 print issue of the magazine.

Had I known this, I would have called up the electronic copy earlier to do the sketch. As it was, I struggled through my first ever reflective sketch.

Had you known that you were not actually going to see a two-headed San Joaquin kit fox, you might not have visited.

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Kermieeeeeee!

A few moments of sketchiness at the end of the day were inspired by a Kermode bear.

"The Kermode bear, or spirit bear, is a native to the temperate rainforests along British Columbia's Pacific coast. This rare bear is not an albino (its nose, eyes, lips and paw pads are colored) but rather a black bear with a recessive [dizzy blond] gene that causes snow-white or cream-colored [dirty blond] fur. This genetic quirk means that a Kermode mother can give birth to black offspring." How do I know? The "Flora & Fauna" article written (and slightly embellished above for my personal amusement) by Jennifer Winger for Nature Conservancy magazine, Spring 2011, told me so.

I'm a little bummed that the spell checker doesn't recognize the spelling, and by inference validity, of the word "rainforests." Have rainforests become so endangered that we've begun to wipe the word from our dictionaries in anticipation of their extinction!?!? Doh!

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