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.

Aquarium Bound

Yesterday Gavin, Zach, Natalie and I went to the New England Aquarium in Boston. They thoroughly enjoyed the day, especially riding the subway. There's a special exhibit of jellyfish at the museum, and a tank in which you can touch stingray. That was fun. They also have a special kind of tiny penguins- incredibly adorable. The big tank had an enormous sea turtle, and Zach spotted an eel. The big tank also had the usual small sharks and puffer fish. The top of the tank is off limits right now for reconstruction. 

the shadowy beast lurks

I was also impressed with the beautiful coral displays they had-- unicorn fish, blue starfish, clown fish, and lion fish. Really great.

Harvard Bookstore Summer Warehouse Sale

     At the last minute I found out that the Harvard Bookstore was having its semi-annual warehouse book sale! Even though I have no business whatsoever buying new books, I drove over there like a buzzing bee, delighted and giggly the whole way. 

     I scoured every table and bookshelf several times until I was satisfied. I also saw many possible gift items, but did not buy any gifts. Books are difficult to give as gifts. There were some beautiful books. Here are the latest contributors to my bulging bookshelves. 

     The list author says: "Here are the recently acquired books from the Harvard Bookstore Warehouse Book sale. Two are not listed, because I already bought them at the last book sale!" 

1.  Bread and Roses: Mills, Migrants, and the Struggle for the American Dream by Bruce Watson

2.  Peterson Reference Guide to the Behavior of North American Mammals (Peterson Reference Guides) by Mark Elbroch

3.  Sacco and Vanzetti: The Men, the Murders, and the Judgment of Mankind by Bruce Watson

4.  Finding Our Tongues: Mothers, Infants, and the Origins of Language by Dean Falk

5.  The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson

6.  A Brief History of Mankind by Cyril Aydon

7.  Kaufman Field Guide to Mammals of North America by Kenn Kaufman

Rodents? Weasels?

During our nature walk on Sunday, I was quizzing Jonathan about the difference between a weasel and a mink. (We had just strolled by Mink Pond in Concord). He has a pretty vast knowledge of animals, and he knew the difference, explained it, and I've already forgotten.

Nevertheless, the whole discussion made me curious. While browsing on a website called Brain Pickings, I came across a recommended science book from 2011 called "Trees of Life: a Visual History of Evolution" by Theodore W. Pietsch. It had this interesting image,

but it didn't satisfy my curiosity because all the Latin names do not identify the animal for me. So I found a few other websites, including Wikipedia. Here are some fun facts. 

The African pygmy mouse is one of the smallest rodents. 

The capybara is the world's largest living rodent. 

Ever growing incisors

"Rodents are mammals of the order Rodentia, characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing.

Forty percent of mammal species are rodents, and they are found in vast numbers on all continents other than Antarctica. Common rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, porcupines, beavers, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Rodents use their sharp incisors to gnaw wood, break into food, and bite predators. Most rodents eat seeds or plants, though some have more varied diets." from Wikipedia.

Add to this list: voles, groundhogs, lemmings, chinchillas, gerbils, muskrats, chipmunks, agouti, prairie dogs, marmots, woodchucks, and gophers. 

I remember having a discussion with my ex girlfriend. She's an exotics vet. Most people think that rabbits are rodents, but they are not. Bats are also not rodents, nor are weasels or minks, which I probably don't have to tell Jonathan. 

(in case you want to know, apparently rabbits were classified as rodents until 1912, when they got their own class). 

Finally, if you think rodents cause humans problems now, consider the giant beaver of prehistoric times. It was the size of a black bear.

What's in a word?

My sister thought I would be interested in this link, and she was correct. Recently a study was conducted, examining at least 700 Eurasiatic languages.  As linguists are aware, certain words reoccur in many languages in similar form or sound. This finding indicates that at some point, like human evolution, languages branched off from earlier languages. Some of the words I would predict to be consistent in many languages would include 'mother, hand, you, man, fire, or this.' But 'to spit' is weird, and 'worm' is bizarre. 

By Wilson Andrews and David Brown, Published: May 6, 2013
  "A research team led by Mark Pagel at the University of Reading in England has identified 23 “ultra-conserved words” that have remained largely unchanged for 15,000 years. Words that sound and mean the same thing in different languages are called “cognates”. These are 23 words that have cognates in at least four of the seven Eurasiatic language families. Those languages, about 700 in all, are spoken in an area extending from the British Isles to western China and from the Arctic to southern India. Only one word, “thou” (the singular form of “you”), has a cognate in all seven families."

All 23 “ultra-conserved words”

Listed by the number of language families in which they have cognates. 

7 - thou
6 - I
5 - not, that, we, to give, who
4 - this, what, man/male, ye, old, mother, to hear, hand, fire ,to pull, black, to flow, bark, ashes, to spit, worm

Linguists identify 15,000-year-old ‘ultra-conserved words.' To hear the words, click here.

The Wayward Explorers

Woodpecker!

With JD guiding the way, our wayward explorers --- the Baron, MK, and JD's friend Gary walked about two miles through the back woods of Concord today. We parked at a lesser known entrance of some Concord conservation land, and took the road less traveled. 

It made all the difference for us. 

We're cute, don't you think?

Mink Pond?

The weather was somewhat overcast but not raining, and not too hot or muggy. There was mud and mud and many ponds and streams. We saw a water snake, a salamander, frogs, two orioles, a downy woodpecker, chipmunks, and many signs of beavers.

Grandmother's Buttons

Me with Rachel about 1982, I'd guess.

My grandmother Rachel Charlotte kept every button she ever came in contact with. She kept a lot of other things too. She was a practical, organized, and shrewd woman. 

Like many other women of her time, she also lived through the Great Depression trying to feed and clothe eight children.

Last week my Dad gave me some of her buttons. 

The buttons were housed in an ancient Maxwell House coffee can. (She routinely kept containers too-- jars, bottles, and tins).

I was very excited to sort through my grandmother's buttons and pick out some interesting colors and designs. I arranged them by size and then by color. I think about the various family members that may have worn these buttons.

I will use them in an object assemblage.

very small buttons, probably for baby clothes

the yellow flower one is very interesting

National Geographic Project DNA Results

The National Geographic ancestry results came back, and I've been slightly confused and intrigued. Here is the breakdown of my results.

• Northern European

  44%

• Mediterranean

  35%

• Southwest Asian

  18%

• Native American

  
  

  2%

The Mediterranean and Southwest Asian percentages are what confused me the most. I never considered my heritage to be Mediterranean or Asian. But from what I understand, the National Geographic Project analyzes ancient DNA. The Mediterranean and Southwest Asian components reflect the out of Africa theory, in that all Europeans originally came from the hunting and gathering and farming populations in Northern Africa and Southern Europe. 

My reference populations are British and German. These are the modern populations I am most genetically similar to. I was surprised that I was not from a Scandinavian reference group, but the only reference group in that category is Finnish and Danish. Finns and Danes are 57% and 53% percent Northern European, which I am not.

I am also intrigued about the Native American percentage. I emailed the National Geographic Project and they said this percentage is indeed very small. The individual contributing this DNA would probably go back six generations. It could be that the rumors are true about my paternal grandmother's female line in Newfoundland, or it could be that one of my ancestors in Michigan had some Native American ancestry.  My only American born great-grandparent, David M. Taylor, is the only g-grandparent I have had difficulty tracing. How ironic!

My Family in the Olden Days

Wow! Look at these photos of my family, all from around the mid to late sixties. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. 

Janet & me; My  grandmother; Janet. 

Nana & Aunt Norma; Janet: Me, Janet, and cousin Mark- 1968.

Grandfather; Mom and Janet; Janet; Aunt Norma- 1966.

Helen Keller Speaking

This is amazing footage from 1930 of Helen Keller with her teacher Anne Sullivan. It's a great lesson in speech language therapy too!

http://youtu.be/Gv1uLfF35Uw

Jonathan on Mad Men

Here is Jonathan's appearance on the set of Mad Men. He's walking by on the left. Too bad we can't see his face. Oh well. When he was out in LA, he was on a lot of television shows. It's always difficult to find the exact show and moment. 

I've never seen Mad Men yet, but everyone says I'd like it. Perhaps this is my incentive to watch the show. I do wonder who those two hot woman are... Main characters?

My Ancient DNA

After getting my DNA analyzed by the National Geographic Ancestry Project, I discovered the percentage of Neanderthal and Denisovan ancient DNA I have. I knew that I'd have some Neanderthal component, as most Europeans do, but the Denisovan is a surprise. I even have more Denisovan. Where did I get Denisovan DNA? (At present they are most associated with Asia and Siberia).

It is amazing that just a decade ago, the question of whether modern humans and our ancient cousins interbred was controversial. Now that we have mapped the human genome, the Neanderthal, and the Denisovan, I'm amazed that even percentages can be calculated.

As stated below, though, the analysis is still in the beginning stages. The amount of DNA contributed from neanderthals to modern humans is very small. Still, researchers postulate that one advantage Cro Magnons may have gotten from neanderthal interbreeding was increased immunity to certain diseases common in Europe.

By the way, since we have the DNA of the ancient Denisovans from a pinky bone, we can map the genome. But we do not know what the Denisovans looked like, because we have very little anthropological evidence! We know very well what our Neanderthal friends looked like. (In fact, neanderthals are definitely getting an image upgrade lately. These brute 'cavemen' were much smarter and cultured than we suppose).

Baron- This is Your Hominid Ancestry

When our ancestors first migrated out of Africa around 60,000 years ago, they were not alone. At that time, at least two other species of hominid cousins walked the Eurasian landmass: Neanderthals and Denisovans. Most non-Africans are about 2% Neanderthal. The Denisovan component of your Geno 2.0 results is more experimental, as we are still working to determine the best way to assess the percentage Denisovan ancestry you carry.

• 2.1%

  Neanderthal

  

• 3.2%
  
  

  Denisovan

Somerville Open Studios

Good looking bunch

Apparently Somerville Open Studios is the largest open studios event in the country, in terms of artists displaying their work, and attendees. In the past I've wandered around Vernon Street and the Washington Street Studios, but this year I only went to see a couple of friends. 

Steph and Jonathan both had their work displayed over at the Joy Street Studios. I've never been over there. For Steph, it was her virginal debut. (I don't know if she'll embrace that adjective) She had some drawings and Jonathan had some paintings and multimedia shadow boxes.

Steph's opining a thing or two

Anyway, on Saturday a few other friends came by. Jonathan took some photos. Today I saw Rosalie, Ellyn, and Jen.

JD's work

Steph's work