The new lions are getting along great

I've been too busy to post anything for a while. Teaching again at UP and working hard on four or five research projects, trying to wrap everything up before my job ends in mid-December and I leave the country again.

One of my new research projects involves actual physical lions (at the zoo). Since my main samba band is also called the Lions, I've confused some friends recently when I've said things like:

"Well, the new lions have all been introduced to each other, and they're getting along great!"
or
"There's this one lion who's completely stressed out and has been threatening everybody. A big male. But we put him on Xanax and he's much mellower now."
or
"The lions won't move when they're supposed to, but we're thinking we might be able to train them."

(That last one definitely could have been the Lions of Batucada. Actually, I think the actual lions might be more trainable than the human ones....)

Most recently I said to a friend "The lions are all at the new exhibit at the zoo right now," and he replied "Did they all fit?" It really made me laugh, the image of all 50 Lions of Batucada, dancers and surdo players and all, milling around in on the little grassy hill in the zoo's Predators of Serengeti exhibit. The tamborim players would be playing in the pool, the feathered dancers basking on the rocks in the sun.... can't you just see it? As long as the actual physical lions weren't there too, it would be kind of fun! A whole different kind of wildlife exhibit.