Languages Spoken in the United States

     I love the following maps, created by Ben Blatt on Slate Magazine. He obtained the data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey website. The first map is no surprise, as it shows that Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the U.S. today (actually in some states it's French or German). It is interesting, though, to see what happens when you remove Spanish and English from the database. What about Native American languages, or Scandinavian languages? I was surprised that Swedish was dominant, though I am still confused about whether Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish are the same language. Ben Blatt has more maps in the original article.

Basement Dogs - Introvert Explosion

Those crazy dogs are at it again, singing about introvert angst. Oh, what do they know about isolation and misery?

Mary, Lisa, Jennifer, Emily, Madison, Sophia

Check out these great graphics, featuring over six decades of the most popular girls'  names by state in the United States. I have many questions:
1. What emerges in society to make a name popular? 2. Is it an advantage or disadvantage to have a popular name? 3. What causes the popularity of one name to fade and another to emerge? 4. Are some names always in the top ten? 

If you want to see the full graphic, click here:
http://jezebel.com/map-sixty-years-of-the-most-popular-names-for-girls-s-1443501909

Crimson and Clover with the Basement Dogs

My friends are way too cool for school!

Where the Wild Things Are

Here is fantastic artwork by some of the younger children that I work with. I love these!

Raccoon Dinner

The Raccoon Dinner will be happening this Friday somewhere in Newton Mass., so say ye all. 

Sorry I have not written in such a long time. Will try to be back soon.....

Retro Barbie

Bell Bottoms!

I never owned Barbie dolls when I was a little girl, but now I appreciate Barbie for her 'camp'. My friend Steph had some retro Barbie dolls and clothes she wanted to get rid of. Needless to say I was delighted to take them. Here is a sampling of an early 1970s Barbie.

With those feet? 

Hula Hooping

Molly a hula-hooping at Jenny's 50th birthday party. BTW, I could never hula-hoop when I was a kid. 

The Wily Moors

     While I was in England I completed my long awaited and long anticipated pilgrimage to the Bronte Parsonage. As is often the case, the actual journey from South Shields to Haworth took a lot longer than it appeared on the map-- but of course it was worth it! 

     I was surprised by Haworth and how large and modern a town it was. Locals had told me it was a small town with nothing much to see. Perhaps the town has grown tremendously in the past years, because I actually got lost and also got a ticket for parking illegally! The town looked kind of ordinary, and did not seem to highlight the Bronte parsonage. As I drove around I thought: Don't these people appreciate the holy genius that once walked the streets here! 

     When I posted about my journey on Facebook Jonathan made the comment about the 'wily moors,' in reference to Kate Bush's brilliant song "Wuthering Heights." I always thought the word was 'wild' in the song, having never heard the word 'wily.' I looked it up and it means cunning, sly, or deceitful, but I guess it is somewhat archaic. At times the lyrics of the song have listed the word as 'wild,' 'winding,' or 'windy.'

     My greatest impressions of the Bronte home are as follows. I could not take pictures, but walked around the place with the greatest attention, trying to suck in every detail. 

1. Charlotte Bronte's Dress- It reminded me of Emily Dickinson's dress at her house in Amherst, MA. Emily had a small pocket sewn on her dress, so she could stow away small snatches of poetry as she went about her daily household chores. What struck me about Charlotte's dress was how small she was. 


2. The 5 little books- The tiny "juvenilia' books that all the Bronte children wrote, are quite amazing to see. I can't imagine how they wrote in such a small script. 


3. First precious editions of 'Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre."
 

4. The portrait Branwell painted of his three sisters, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. He originally included himself, but removed himself later. 

Girl Power!

Here is my niece Natalie playing with her soccer team. She is old enough now to definitely experience team camaraderie. They are so cute and so supportive of each other. And they win most of their games too!

Walk on Hardrian's Wall

On Sunday of our first week at Fort Arbeia, we went out and explored Hadrian's Wall. Nick gave us a tour of the sites, and explained the history of the wall. The Romans started building the wall in AD 122. The purpose of the wall was to provide a military barrier, so that the 'heathen' tribes of Scotland would be less inclined to attack. Along the wall are several forts and turrets.The wall is an amazing 72 miles long.

We hiked from Homesteads Fort west for about 2 1/2 miles, through very windy but very beautiful country on both sides.

After lunch we visited a fort called Vindolanda, which had a fantastic museum. Vindolanda has been excavated since the 1970's. The site is especially unique compared to other Roman sites because the chemical composition of the soil allowed for the survival of items such as leather, wood, and cloth. 

The most amazing items in the museum were the hundreds of excavated Roman shoes---soldiers and citizens, women, men, and children. Also there were leather items such as horses' harnesses and bridles. By far the most exciting finds at Vindolanda are written tablets, of ink on very thin wood. The written correspondences depict the day to day life of the fort.

Most exciting from my feminist perspective is the discovery of a woman named Claudia Severa's letter to her friend Sulpicia Lepidina, inviting her to a birthday party.

Apparently this is one of first known examples of a woman's writing to survive from ancient times.

Second Day at Fort Arbeia

Heather & Diane at the dig

Today was our second day digging at Fort Arbeia. Yesterday we dug as well but we really didn't get started until 1:30. When we first arrived on Monday we had an orientation and tour. The Arbeia site has been excavated by archaeologists since 1875, so there's lots to see. I learned that a typical Roman fortress consisted of four gates, walls, barracks, the principia, (headquarters with vault), religious shrines, and granaries. Arbeia is unique because for certain periods it was used principally for grain storage. At one time there were 24 granaries.

Romans typically built their forts near rivers, and Arbeia is situated at the entrance of the River Tyne. This gave the Romans the ability to transport goods all along the Northern frontier of the Roman occupation, or along Hadrian's Wall.

Fort Arbeia has several reconstructed buildings, such as the West Gate, the soldiers' barracks, the centurion's quarters, a latrine for the foot soldiers, and the commander's house. We toured all these on Monday.

Yesterday soon after we began digging a little girl local volunteer found a coin from 350 AD.

It had an the Emperor Constantine on one side and wheat sheaves on the other. It was quite amazing to see. Another volunteer found the tip of a bone needle, and someone

found a small buckle from a horse's bridle, and a hairpin.

Today was a less exciting day, but I felt more comfortable. We did not find anything of import but I found a piece of an amphora. Interestingly I had just watched a program about these common Roman vessels- frequently used to carry wine or olive oil- on a tv program just before I left for England.

Acquisitions in the Museum of the Baronesque

The Museum of the Baronesque has been somewhat quiet these days. Money and space are the constants. If only the Baron had more room, (and lots of extra money) there would be an ever-growing collection of goodies. In some ways, thank goddess space limitations keep the Baron in check. Otherwise her apartment might turn into a landslide. 

Here are some newbies in the Museum of the Baronesque. My favorite is definitely the Amish Man and Lady salt and pepper shakers. 

1. Happy Amish Man and Lady Salt and Peppers Shakers

                                                             

2. Avocado Salt and Pepper Shaker

3. Owl Plate

4. Fab Juice Glasses

Edward Gorey Vintage Book Covers

Another great article from the website Brain Pickings caught my eye. This article highlighted many of Edward Gorey's vintage book covers from great literature. Here are some of my favorites. I think the War of the Worlds cover is the best, though that reading would not be my first choice. Check out Brain Pickings for more.

Merry Clayton

Having just seen "Twenty Feet From Stardom," (a documentary about backup singers) I have a newly developed respect and knowledge about some of  music history's most 'unsung' talented singers. Though all of their stories are compelling, Merry Clayton's story about recording "Gimme Shelter" with the Rolling Stones in 1969 is singular.

I've always really loved the timelessly haunting "Gimme Shelter" track by the Rolling Stones, not only for Keith Richards' masterful guitar playing, but also because the song captures a tumultuous and dark period in American history. Despite this, I have never given any thought to the woman singing back up vocals on this song. Many of us have not.

In 1969 the Rolling Stones were in LA recording their "Let it Bleed" album. Merry Clayton was sleeping at home when she received a call from a

Merry in the 1970's

friend at midnight, asking if she could come and do a gig with a British band. The 'boys' could find no one else at the last minute.

Merry Clayton was well known as a back up singer at the time, and had worked quite a bit in the 1960's singing with Ray Charles, Tom Jones, Carole King, and Burt Bacharach. Still, she had never heard of the Rolling Stones, and was ten months pregnant at the time. She was reluctant to go, but her husband finally persuaded her. By the time she finished recording in the studio it was 4am.


Mick Jagger says Merry was able to effortlessly pick up the vocals. She sang "Oh children, it just a shot away" first. When they introduced the lines "rape, murder, it's just a shot away," Merry was a bit taken aback. Mick explained the lyrics, and then Merry persisted, despite feeling bloated and faint. Merry sang with such emotional intensity, and hit such high notes that her voice cracked. Hear her here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqXyjbgs5rU

Sadly, Merry miscarried and lost her baby later that day, perhaps due to the strain of singing. She said that for many years she could not listen to the version of "Gimme Shelter" that she recorded with the band that night, due to the painful memory.

By the way, Merry Clayton also sang back up for "Sweet Home Alabama," and "Southern Man." She is a gem of a woman. See "Twenty Feet From Stardom," it's awesome!

The Missing Earring Mystery

Perhaps my grandmother Gwen channeled in from the great beyond

Margaret Gwendolyn Downing

recently. If I believe in the paranormal at all, it's always been around the occasional spooky happenings regarding my grandmother, since she passed in 1997.

In June I participated in a student/ instructor exhibit over at the Eliot Street School in JP. I have taken a couple of assemblage classes there. I entered one piece that I had completed in 2011. It was of my grandparents. It was a black, painted cigar box containing letters, photos, and buttons. There was also a pink and black earring glued on the side of the box, which belonged to my grandmother. 

I gave the box to my mom as a gift, so I had to drive up to Maine to retrieve it. When I got to Maine we noticed the earring was missing. We searched frantically in all the obvious places that my mom would put it. We figured one of the kids might have broken it off. 

I submitted the box to the show anyway, without the earring.

Earring now intact

When I arrived at the exhibit, I stood looking at all the entries, including my own. Suddenly I realized, lo and behold, the earring was attached! I seriously thought I was seeing things. I began to wonder if --- having just turned 50-- I was having a huge senility brain fart. Did I find the earring and attach it, but forget?

Apparently while setting up the exhibit, the earring fell out of the box. Somehow it was inside the box, hidden away behind something. Some good Samaritan, and very observant person, glued the earring back on in its original spot!

Nan would not have it any other way.

Walden Pond July 1st 2013

    

Natalie and Gavin

My sister says the kids had a blast during their recent visit. I admit I've been recovering, and  I missed them right away, despite the relief of returning to my familiar habits and comforts. On my birthday we went to Walden Pond and went swimming and walking. We arrived just in time, when it was relatively uncrowded, and still fairly sunny. We left just in time too, when it became more crowded, and started raining. 

     They enjoyed the swimming very much. We found a nice secluded inlet. Luckily I brought along shorts for Zach, though he said he wouldn't be swimming. I knew he would want to swim as soon as he saw the water. ( I suspect it's a self-conscious teenager thing: he wants to wear pants and a sweatshirt everywhere-- Or he's just like me)

    

As usual Walden Pond was somewhat magical. One of my favorite places. Sorry the pictures aren't that great.