Amazon Wish List

1.		The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Hidden History by Margaret S. Creighton
2.		Who Cooked the Last Supper: The Women's History of the World by Rosalind Miles
3.		Within the Plantation Household: Black and White Women of the Old South (Gender and American Culture) by Elizabeth Fox-Genovese
4.		White Women, Black Men: Illicit Sex in the Nineteenth-Century South by Martha Elizabeth Hodes
5.		Ar'n't I a Woman?: Female Slaves in the Plantation South by Deborah G. White
6.		Good Wives, Nasty Wenches, and Anxious Patriarchs: Gender, Race, and Power in Colonial Virginia (Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American Hist) by Kathleen M. Brown
7.		Bones, Boats, and Bison: Archeology and the First Colonization of Western North America by E. James Dixon
8.		The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel by Alison Weir
9.		Mornings on Horseback: The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt by David G. McCullough
10.		When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone
11.		Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz
12.		Stealing Secrets: How a Few Daring Women Deceived Generals, Impacted Battles, and Altered the Course of the Civil War by H. Donald Winkler
13.		The First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Mamie Eisenhower, An Intimate Portrait of the Women Who Shaped America by Feather Schwartz Foster
14.		The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler
15.		Betty Boop Mini Tea Set  Vandor
16.		Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales by William M. Bass
17.		Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in Forensic Science by William M. Bass
18.		The Sims Medieval  by Electronic Arts
19.		The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language by John H. McWhorter
20.		Europe Between the Oceans: 9000 BC-AD 1000 by Barry W. Cunliffe
21.		The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World by Anthony David, David W. Anthony
22.		The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution by Gregory Cochran, Henry Harpending
23.		Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence by Richard W. Wrangham
24.		Stone Age Present: How Evolution Has Shaped Modern Life -- From Sex, Violence and Language to Emotions, Morals and Communities by William F. Allman
25.		Bodies We've Buried : Inside the National Forensic Academy, the World's Top CSI Training School by Jarrett Hallcox
26.		A History of Newfoundland by D. W. Prowse
27.		Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist by William R. Maples
28.		Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex by Alice Domurat Dreger
29.		Lives and Landscapes: A Photographic Memoir of Outport Newfoundland and Labrador, 1949-1963 by Elmer Harp
30.		Raise The Red Lantern: Original Soundtrack Album ~ Zhao Jiping

Carnival!

Disco shoes with goldfish. I want them.

Ellyn and I took a day trip down to P-town to see Carnival. This was my virginal experience with Carnival, but, as always, the 'boys' graciously led me through my first time. What an escapade! The Drag Queens do not disappoint, but deliver everything that is outstandingly outrageous and more at Carnival. 

((There were more than a few bemused and confused straight families wandering around.)) 

I thought: Here it is a Thursday afternoon, most people are working.... Most vacationers are just out for a day of shopping. And then suddenly the world fills up with decadent, drunk, half naked drag queens. What a show!

Let's just say I saw more 'packages' than a urologist does in a week, in two hours! Lol.

By the way, the theme this year was music. Next year it is 'space odyssey.' I'm getting my costume ready.....

One sexy Mozart

Charo! Every year a 'has been' celebrity shows up

100 Proverbs/ Sayings

1. ugly as buckley's goat
2. it takes two to tango
3. out of the frying pan, into the fire
4. it's raining cats and dogs
5. flat as a pancake
6. crazy as a lark
7. behind every great man there's a woman
8. a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
9. where there's smoke, there's fire
10. neither a borrower nor lender be
11. to err is human
12. frailty thy name is woman
13. I came, I saw, I conquered
14. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind
15. kick the bucket
16. disco inferno
17. are you a man, or a mouse?
18. she loves me, she loves me not
19. cry me a river
20. leaping lizards
21. ain't nothing but a g thang
22. hold your horses
23. well behaved women seldom make history
24. an apple a day keeps the doctor away
25. what's your sign; come here often?
26. don't look a gift horse in the mouth
27. Mama Mia!
28. boys will be boys
29. it's a dog eat dog world
30. you can't teach an old dog new tricks
31. don't make a mountain out of a molehill
32. like a rolling stone
33. a woman's work is never done
34. a friend in need is a friend indeed
35. the rich get richer, the poor get poorer
36. curiosity killed the cat
37. a rolling stone gathers no moss
38. father knows best
39. you can't get blood out of a stone
40. put one foot in front of the other
41. every dog has his day
42. let sleeping dogs lie
43. happy as a pig in shit
44. when in Rome, do as the Romans do
45. home is where the heart is
46. you can't put the cart before the horse
47. you can't put all your eggs in one basket
48. grow your own dope; plant a man!
49. wait til the cows come home
50. you can't see the forest through the trees
51. mind your p's and q's
52. I wouldn't want to walk a mile in your shoes
53. when the going gets tough, the tough get going
54. return to sender; address unknown
55. when in doubt throw it out
56. mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys
57. honesty is the best policy
58. the pen is mightier than the sword
59. you can't judge a book by its cover
60. read between the lines
61. nightie night don't let the bed bugs bite
62. let your fingers do the walking it's a snap
63. six feet under
64. don't worry; be happy
65. absence makes the heart grow fonder
66. when you care enough to send the very best
67. one day at a time
68. it was a dark and stormy night
69. now is the winter of our discontent
70. once upon a time
71. put it on the back burner
72. back to square one
73. beggars can't be choosers
74. with bells on
75. been there, done that
76. put your money where your mouth is
77. I got to blow this clambake
78. get a grip
79. knee high to a grasshopper
80. back to the drawing board
81. don't get your undies in a bunch
82. that's water under the bridge
83. mad as a hatter
84. what's your m.o.?
85. go to hell in a handbasket
86. smack dab in the middle
87. every Tom, Dick, and Harry
88. ebb and flow
89. a face only a mother could love
90. when it rains, it pours
91. Murphy's law
92. let the cat out of the bag
93. cat on a hot tin roof
94. far be it from me
95. face the music
96. few and far between 
97. have your cake and eat it too
98. wouldn't want to meet you in a dark alley
99. keeping up with the Joneses
100. through thick and thin

Sold!

During the past two weeks I've been selling books on Amazon.com., and so far I've sold 10 books. Profit wise I've barely broke even. I don't know if I will make any profit, but I'm trying to rationalize it all by saying it's fun and I'm getting rid of clutter. Also I'm putting any profits towards my fundraising. It's too bad books aren't worth much money.

Diaries of Anne Lisier 1791- 1840

Gone Fishing

My girl scream when I thought I caught something.

Welch Dickey Trail

On Saturday I hiked the famous Welch-Dickey trail in the White Mountains, NH. I have never hiked this trail before, but heard much about it. It is a very well maintained trail, and very unique. It deserves its accolades for not only the spectacular views it offers for a moderate effort, but the wide, granite slab trials you traverse for most of the way are unlike any other. The only other trail I remember hiking that is similar is Mt. Cardigan, and Mt Monadnock. Both have the wide open alpine trails, but on Welch-Dickey there is more openness. It is NOT a trail to try on a very windy or rainy day. Here are some pictures, including me with my Team in Training (TNT) pals.

Fearless

Cat Woman- Meow

Eartha Kitt 1968

Here is a review of Catwoman throughout T.V. and film history. My only complaint is: why was there such a long lull between Eartha Kitt and Michelle Pfeiffer? 

In my humble Baron opinion, the world could have seen more of catwoman, not less..... 

In the 1990's I had the comic book collection of "Catwoman" when they issued it. I had the first edition too. 

That's one possession I regret getting rid of......

Julie Newmar 1966

Lee Meriweather 1966

Michelle Pfeiffer 1992

Halle Berry 2004

Anne Hathaway 2012

T.V. Guide March 1967

For some reason I have a T.V. guide from March 18-24 1967 that belonged to my Uncle Dave. I leafed through it and found some fun advertisements and scheduled television shows, including a LIVE and IN COLOR fight between Cassius Clay and Zora Folley. I wonder who won? I'd guess Ali, since I've never heard of the other guy, but I'm sure my friend Jonathan can shed some light on that......

Wait no more! Here it is!

The Locks of Hair

I suppose all mothers do this, though it seems somewhat morbid--- I don't know why. I read a book by Edward Ball called "The Genetic Strand: Exploring a Family History through DNA." Edward Ball is the same author that wrote: "Slaves in the Family," a fantastic book about genealogy and American history. The "Genetic Strand" is all about how Ball inherited an old desk from a distant cousin, only to find several hair strands of his ancestors in a hidden drawer. He was able to analyze the DNA and get a clearer picture of his ancestry.

Here is my hair from a tender age, that my mother lopped off and kept. I guess I was a little more blonde back then.

My Braid June 3, 1970 age 6:11

Lock of Hair age 1 1/2 1965

I Wasn't Very Good At Math

     When I was a youngster I did not perceive myself as being very good at Math. It was a struggle for me. Here is a paper from my first grade class at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Somerville, MA. The year is 1969. 

    No doubt there were momentous events going on in the country in 1969, like men landing on the moon, riots, hippie gatherings, and political assassinations, but apparently I was busily concerned with mastering subtraction. Not a bad thing.
  
     This was one of my favorite papers, which I was proud of. 

A later 4th grade attempt at fractions

New England Circa 1940

Farm Auction Derby, Conn by Jack Delano

Children gathering potatoes, Maine by J. Delano

Brockton, MA by J. Delano

In honor of the 1940 census, soon to be released in April, 2011, I am posting these selected pictures from a Library of Congress photographic collection. All are taken between 1939- 1942, and they were part of a Farm Security Administration Office of War Project. Given that my relatives were all living in the East, I'm going to select pictures from the New England area.It's really worth looking at all the pictures, though, to get a snapshot of America at the time.See the whole collection at this Library of Congress link.

New Hampshire by John Collier

Bethel Vt by John Collier

Waiting for Bus
Lowell, MA by Jack Delano

Mt. Wachusett Hike

Saturday I went hiking with my TNT group at Wachusett Mountain. Though humid, it was a beautiful, breezy summer day. We had a very long, leisurely. moderate hike. The only troublesome aspect was the last 1/2 mile or so, which we had to walk on the road. It was very hot in the direct sun, and uphill, but we all made it.

We began our journey on the Bicentennial trail, which was relatively flat, but very rocky. It was difficult not to slip on moss or get your boot lodged in a crevice. We then proceeded up the High Meadow trail, and then the Jack Frost trail. We made jokes about the Jack Frost trail being cooler, but it wasn't. Next, we connected to the Link trail, then made our way to the summit via the Harrington trail. The summit offered hazy views of Boston in the distance, and Mt. Manadnock in New Hampshire. 

We also crossed the Midstate trail, which is a 92 mile hike beginning in Rhode Island, passing through Massachusetts, and then ending in New Hampshire.

After a little snack break we proceeded down the Pine Hill trail, making it back to the visitor center by mid-afternoon. We stopped and took pictures at Balance Rock about half-way down. Afterwards we all met for lunch at the Old Mill Pub in Westminster, MA, built in 1761. 

By the way, "Wachusett" means "near the mountain" or "mountain place" in the Natick Indian language. 

The Vain Brain-- by Jennifer Taylor

Introduction:
      You are about to read that which comes from a self-educated and self-trained mind that considers all life on earth (including modern humans) through a prism of evolutionary thought, reason and logic. Sort of like philosophy without the boner for human ego. I am also a lifelong student of free thought, which means you are urged to debate, question or utterly dismiss the belief system regarding the human brain I have gleaned from 20+ years of geeky armchair neuroscience. Lastly, I have been drawn to conclude an absolute: we are by the very nature of our working brain hopelessly, horribly biased. Therefore, my sources of information are pro science-based methodology and peer-reviewed literature. Onward to the brain behind the "self" and reality as we do not even close to know it..

     Your three-ish pounds of energy-vampire silken tofu-like control center of a staggeringly complex one hundred billion brain cells is quite probably the most cognitively rich in the history of our planet.It is the only known brain to have the cognitive ability to understand our own eventual mortality, both a gift and a curse. I am always a whore for knowing. Do not confuse this with the natural world's faulty-recipe strive toward an evolutionary pinnacle: hello horseshoe crabs, sharks, cockroaches...we may have guns and steel but after the microbial world, the lowly mosquito is arguably the most historically deadly creature to our species, aside from ourselves, of course. 

     Currently a hot topic amongst the nuerogeeks is how we begin to grasp that what we experience as waking, conscious  individuals is filtered, altered and distorted by the brain behind the curtain. The why is easy: protection from an uncertain and unknown existence. The How? There lies the paradox of trying to understand the brain with the brain. Your brain is the key master of the reality the "self" perceives through its senses. Your very concept of "self" is a brain construct.

The following are some of my notes of research-based generalities common to the vast majority of us: 

-our memory is faulty to a degree that it becomes one of the ego's greatest allies.

-we think our weaknesses are very common while our strengths are unique.     

-we overwhelmingly prefer explanations that cast us in the best light and memory will alter facts to fit our version of events in a matter of days.

-our self-serving bias works well below conscious thought.

That is a small taste of our very vain brain. Chaw on that for a while...

Jonathan's Great Adventure

More of that crazy JD out there in LA!