Good morning, it’s the Tuesday of a short week, and there’s not a lot of mystery in what the subject of today’s post would be:
It’s Mardi Gras, AKA Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, the last day to live it up before Lent gets underway on Ash Wednesday. The holiday gets its name from the French words for “Tuesday” (Mardi) and “fat” (“gras”) from the custom of the need to use up all the fats in in the house before the 40-day period of fasting and abstinence that is Lent.
As an aside, a good way to put those soon-to-be forbidden foods is to make pancakes, dripping with butter and syrup – and maybe with a side of bacon or sausage? Today is also National Pancake Day.
Technically speaking the celebratory season of Carnival (or Carnaval, if you prefer), of which Mardi Gras marks the end, started way back on Jan. 6 (Epiphany, AKA Three Kings Day or the Twelfth Day of Christmas). As an aside, the world “carnival” has its roots in the Medieval Latin word “carnelevarium“, which means to take away/remove meat.
Theres is a theory that the origin of Mardi Gras has nothing at all to do with the Catholic Church, but rather lies in the ancient Pagan celebrations of spring and fertility like Lupercalia and Saturnalia.
When the Church came into power in Rome, it was easier for its leaders to co-opt existing traditions than to try to do away with them altogether. The result – Mardi Gras – spread from Italy to other European countries.
Mardi Gras is known for its costumed parades and masked balls, hosted by krewes – clubs or organizations that exist solely to celebrate Carnival – the playing of music, the throwing of beads, the wearing of bright colors – especially green (representing faith), gold (representing power), and purple (representing justice) – and the consumption of King Cake (also known as a Three Kings Cake).
The King Cake is traditionally made of twisted strands of rich cinnamon dough, sometimes with sweetened cream cheese or some other filling inside, and decorated with sugar dyed in the aforementioned colors of Mardi Gras – purple, gold, and green – and has a small plastic baby figurine hidden somewhere inside it.
If you are lucky enough to find the baby in your slice of cake, you’re rewarded with good luck – and the task of bringing the King Cake to next year’s celebration.
Brazil, Venice and New Orleans hold some of the most well-known Mardi Gras festivities that draw thousands of tourists/revelers from all across the world. Louisiana is the only state in the US where Mardi Gras is a legal holiday, and New Orleans held the first American celebration on March 3, 1699.
But a number of other communities in other states and countries, including but not limited to Alabama and Mississippi, also have Mardi Gras celebrations.
Unfortunately, this year’s Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans (the second year was marred by violence. Five people were shot at a parade over the weekend, and one died.
If you’re planning on celebrating locally, I hope you’re planning on doing it indoors. Skies will be cloudy throughout the day, with rain developing later in the afternoon. Temperatures will be in the mid-40s.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden made an unprecedented trip to Kyiv early yesterday, his first since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago.
Biden traveled covertly to Kyiv aboard the anonymous train with a skeleton team of advisers accompanied by armed and edgy Secret Service agents. It was a journey that no modern American president had taken before.
The American president was the most prominent Western leader to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded, and the capital was swept up in the excitement.
Biden reiterated US support for Ukraine, announcing new military assistance and sanctions against Russia while meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky as air raid sirens could be heard around the capital city.
The president’s visit sparked anger and embarrassment among many of Russia’s hawkish military pundits, increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin as the Russian leader prepares to justify his stuttering invasion in a national address.
Far-right Republicans trashed Biden’s trip to Ukraine, claiming the visit to support Kyiv was an “insult” to Americans.
Covid can cause damage to the heart on a cellular level that can lead to lasting problems, including irregular heartbeats and heart failure, preliminary research suggests.
Getting infected with COVID-19 can result in flu-like symptoms, respiratory issues, brain fog, and in very rare cases temporary facial paralysis known as Bell’s palsy.
The U.S. has dodged a major wintertime Covid-19 surge as the pandemic continues to recede into the background. But the death toll is still growing.
Nearly two months after confessing to The NY Post that he was guilty of “embellishing my resume,” embattled Long Island Rep. George Santos has admitted being a “terrible liar” — but blamed his serial fabrications on the demands of politics.
Santos said in an interview with Piers Morgan that he did not think people would find out about his resume fabrications because he “got away with” the same falsehoods during his unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2020.
Santos, who has faced calls from within his party to resign, said the scrutiny he has been subjected to is “uncomfortable,” adding: “I can’t stand it and a lot of people think I love it, I just can’t stand it… you need to learn how to deal with it and that’s what I’m doing.”
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s flirtation with a presidential run is a test of abortion politics, Republican media strategy and the durability of the MAGA mentality. “I’m conservative,” he says. “I’m just not an extremist.”
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley pitched herself for the White House gig to hundreds of Iowans by knocking the age of the former and current president.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an unannounced 2024 candidate, visited three Democratic cities appealing to embattled police officers and crime-concerned citizens, pledging more law enforcement support and vowing to fight liberal-minded criminal justice reforms.
A special campaign song played, but you could hardly see DeSantis, as he was mobbed by supporters after a Presidents Day foray into what might once have been enemy territory, the land of Donald Trump.
DeSantis told a restaurant full of supporters that “the foundation of Florida’s success has been a commitment to law and order and support for the men and women who wear the uniform.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams greeted DeSantis with a sarcastic tweet yesterday morning ahead of the GOP star’s visit to the borough of Staten Island.
DeSantis’ team fired back at Adams after the mayor offered to teach the Florida governor about the crime-ridden city’s “values.”
Adams faced intense backlash on Twitter after offering a chilly welcome to DeSantis.
Former Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin joined DeSantis at his Staten Island event and introduced the Florida governor before he spoke.
“Right now the state of Florida has an exceptional governor who has spent years now taking this state in the right direction,” Zeldin said at the event.
State Police investigators are probing whether troopers in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s security detail have been cheating taxpayers by claiming they’re on the clock when they’re actually blowing off their shifts.
Suburban Democratic lawmakers want to drive Hochul’s plan to boost the payroll tax on businesses to fund the beleaguered MTA off the tracks – at least for their own constituents.
The lawmakers – Sens. James Skoufis, Monica Martinez, Michelle Hinchey and Rob Rolison – questioned whether suburban communities would benefit.
A program meant to help find highly skilled immigrants in New York jobs that match their experiences and skill set is set for a $4.4 million expansion, Hochul’s office announced.
New York’s political leaders will not speak about the state’s failure to raise $150 million for the equity-focused portion of its legal marijuana market rollout, though those same leaders were front and center in calling for a socially just cannabis industry.
New York has seen a sharp rise in the number of people age 65 and older living in the state over the last decade, and more funding for services is needed to provide for them, Assemblyman Ron Kim said last week.
The North Castle Town Board unanimously approved a resolution urging the state Legislature to remove Hochul’s Housing Compact from the budget process and to protect municipal home rule throughout New York.
Democratic Hudson Valley Sen. James Skoufis has become the main sponsor of a three-year-old bill to restore the name of the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo bridge back to the Tappan Zee.
An oversight program tasked with inspecting nursing homes and assisted living facilities, partially as a safeguard against abuse and neglect, has regularly failed to check on elderly residents, according to a recent AARP report.
Adams and the union that represents New York City’s hotel workers are bringing their pitch to host the Democratic National Convention to Washington, D.C., this week in a television ad that’s set to start airing today.
A woman set fire to a restaurant in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood early yesterday by igniting a gay pride flag hanging on the business’s facade in an act of arson that was being investigated as a possible hate crime, the police said.
Created for a New York Hasidic group in 1989, the Kiryas Joel Village Union Free School District has directed millions of taxpayer dollars to the community’s network of private religious Jewish schools.
Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton threw his weight behind George Grasso, a retired judge and former high-ranking cop, in support of his bid to become the next Queens district attorney.
The rising tide of death that began during the pandemic is now the “new normal” for the New York City medical examiner’s office.
Nearly 100 people gathered in Brooklyn yesterday to mourn a man who was killed and rally for another who was critically injured when a crazed U-Haul driver mowed them down during a terrifying rampage last week.
To commemorate Yoko Ono’s 90th birthday this past Saturday, more than 50 artists and fans gathered at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park to take part in “Morning Piece for Yoko Ono,” a 1960s-style art happening that doubled as a celebration.
Two storm systems will be hitting the Capital Region this week — one that will be largely rain and snow showers tonight, and another that will bring possibly treacherous, icy conditions Wednesday night into Thursday’s commute.
The Albany International Airport issued an advisory urging travelers to arrive at their airline ticket counters two hours prior to the scheduled departure of their flights due to “a significant increase in Presidents Week travel.”
A Florida-based real estate executive has purchased the historic St. Patrick’s Church building in the North Central Troy neighborhood for $249,500, according to land records in the Rensselaer County Clerk’s Office.
Development impacts along and near the U.S. Route 4 corridor shared by the towns of North Greenbush and East Greenbush is getting an intensive review by the towns and the Capital District Transportation Committee for the first time in nearly two decades.
Birch Bark Eatery, a vegan spot in Glens Falls famed for its doughnuts that closed five weeks ago, announced that it is rebranding as Bitchin’ Donuts and moving to Lark Street in Albany.
Schenectady Restaurant Week is underway and will run through Sunday.
Shake Shack is expanding in Upstate New York beyond the Thruway. It has been issued a special use permit for a new location near Rochester. It would replace a vacant Denny’s at 245 Clay Road in the Town of Henrietta.
Aaron Judge didn’t rule out the possibility of shattering his American League single-season home run record he just set a season ago when speaking to reporters after the completion of the Yankees first full-squad spring training practice.
New editions of the works of Roald Dahl — the best-selling British novelist whose children’s classics include “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” — have been rewritten in an effort to make them less offensive and more inclusive. Critics abound.
Prosecutors have downgraded the involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin, significantly reducing the possible prison time for the actor, who was holding the gun that discharged on the “Rust” movie set, killing the film’s cinematographer.
