Mermaids

A few years past I viewed The Secret of Roan Irish, a movie shot near Donegal, Ireland that tells the tale of a Celtic legend of marriage to a Selkie, one who could transform from seal to human. I thought of that film this morning as my husband and I sat on the beach and watched a colony of grey seals bobbing in the Atlantic. Irish mythology tells of selkies swimming in the water all day, but as evening comes, they remove their seal skins and hide them, becoming human. Selkies, who have dark hair and eyes with white skin, bewitch humans, who fall deeply in love. To keep a selkie from returning to the sea one must find the selkie's skin and hide it. However, selkies always yearn to return to the sea, and in keeping the selkie land bound, there is always the possibility of loss, because in doing so you keep the person you love from their true self. The seals we watched seemed to be watching us as well. They seemed human and it was easy to anthropomorphize their actions. Many beachcombers stopped and observed these pinnipeds perform daily tasks, like surfing over sand bars and catchings fish. The wind, being a constant on the Atlantic coast, keeps one cool, so one can sit for hours, watching their machinations. The wind plays on the sand, drawing hypnotizing designs in the sand. Pockets are filled with treasures, which are later sorted and arranged.

Who Knew

Next year's garden will be highlighting Asparagus. We love and eat both on a regular basis and in the garden they look pretty cool. Who knew asparagus grew like a tree? Interesting. Some folks don't fancy them, but many consider asparagus tips a delicacy. When my son was small he would get very upset when they were served and cry. "Don't make me eat the necks!" He would then shiver and his nostrils would flare. He grew up to be an attorney, so mothers take heart. But I digress. I have just learned that between 40-50% of the population produces a digestive enzyme that results in odoriferous urine about 30 minutes after ingestion. This must have been a much bigger social problem when toilets or toileting had a more communal nature. Additionally, there is only a segment of the population who can smell the results of that chemical breakdown. The chemical in question is methyl mercaptan and the smell, in my opinion, is reminiscent of overcooked asparagus. Methyl mercaptan is that which gives a skunk its defensive smell. Setting that side effect aside, asparagus are really good for you. Researchers at researchers at the University of California-Davis have identified an enzyme in asparagus that appears to detoxify malathion, a commonly used pesticide. While malathion itself is of low toxicity, ingestion readily results in its metabolism to malaoxon, which is substantially more toxic. When researchers compared rates of malathion degradation among extracts of carrot, kale, spinach, broccoli and asparagus under the same conditions, they found that asparagus came out on top, reducing the malathion concentration to undetectable levels. (Eat your asparagus.) Asparagus has long been considered an aphrodisiac, possibly due to its phallic shape, but also because according to traditional Indian medicine, it increases circulation in the genito-urinary system. Research on asparagus, much of which has been done at Rutgers University, has uncovered two phytochemicals, protodioscin and rutin, that show promise in inhibiting a number of cancers cells (colon cancer and leukemia), and lowering cholesterol. It is of interest to note that they have also identified that protodioscin, which is present in asparagus, has been linked to improvement of sexual performance! (Oh, you'll have seconds?")I love it when modern medicine confirms traditional medicine. Yeah bro, we knew that all along, it is the dawning of the age of asparagus.

Flattery

The National Institute of Health recently returned information on a study reported in the August 14th journal Science. The researchers, Annika Paukner and Stephen J. Suomi of the NICHD, Elisabetta Visalberghi of the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies of the National Research Council in Rome, and Pier F. Ferrari of the University of Parma, found that cappuchin monkeys preferred the company of researchers who imitated them to those who did not. The monkeys not only spent more time with their imitators, but also preferred to engage in a simple task with them even when offered the option of performing the same task with a non-imitator. Now, anybody who has hung out with teenagers for any amount of time could have predicted these findings, but that is not the point. This is the first time that any scientific data has been collected on cappuchin monkeys, suggesting that monkeys differentiate by initiating interaction between those where a bond has been established. The study suggested that "how imitation promotes bonding in primates may lead to insights in disorders in which imitation and bonding is impaired, such as certain forms of autism." What do they mean? I think where research will go with this is in the biological, specifically chemical range. They can do a lot of things with monkeys that regulations prohibit with humans. While that is sad, and I do feel bad for the monkeys (one kissed me on the lips in my youth, but that is another story), this is the way science drills down to find out causes of conditions. As far autism is concerned, there is a ton of research going on right on, because the rate of increase is astronomical. While there are many moms who avoid immunization because of their fear that an element in the vaccine causes autism, and I certainly understand their fear, the research doesn't point the finger in that direction. Meanwhile, people are messing with monkeys and this can lead to things.

Nostaglia

When I was young my family went to Chatham in the summer, to visit a friend and former neighbor . I can remember leaning on her split rail fence and watching meteor showers, or shooting stars as we called them back then. The sky was full of stars and it was not unusual to see two meteor bursts at the same time. It was one of the most magical moments of my life. Our hostess Yvonne had a thick French accent and wore her silver hair swept up in a twist. She always appeared with sparkling drop earrings, red lipstick and high heels, even when wearing slacks, which was unusual at that time. I slept in a downstairs bedroom on a silk covered feather bed. In her bathroom was a large jar of potpourri, redolent with spices and roses from her yard. We went to Cockle Cove beach, which was just down the street across from her home. She had a sister named Gem, and a cat for whom she would go to the Chatham pier daily to get fresh fish. She worked at the Chatham Bars Inn and had made friends with coworkers who had somewhat unusual pets: descented skunks named Arpege and Chanel.

Reportedly last evening there were shooting stars aplenty in the sky, but it was too cloudy here to see them. The meteor shower currently gracing our skies is called The Perseids because, when viewing it, the meteors appear to emanate from the constellation Perseus, which is also known as Perseides. The Perseids occur each summer when Earth moves through debris that was scattered when the Swift-Tuttle comet passed by Earth's orbit in 1992. Obviously the showers I saw as a child were from a different source, but it is comforting to know that some events continue to occur like clockwork. Then...now. When I visit Cockle Cove next I will close my eyes for a moment and revisit the sweetness of summers past.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

I watch a lot of travel TV. I love to sit in my Queen Anne wingback chair, sip Pellegrino, and be transported hither and yon all over the world. On occasion one hears of what is referred to as a World Heritage site. Recently I watched the movie In Bruges and a few weeks later I discovered that this medieval historic settlement is on "The List" due to its beautiful architecture. My antenna for World Heritage History sites was primed. I then discovered that the banks of the Seine in Paris were "List" as was the Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris, two places I had already been. Mentally I began to form a goal: to visit all the sites that were "List." That was prior to finding out that the List includes 890 properties: 689 cultural, 176 natural, and 25 mixed. Yikes! So I did the math. My projected life expectancy minus my actual age divided into total number of sites equals about a site a week, if I give myself time off for holidays, birthdays, and a couple of years at the end to deteriorate. I would be way too busy. This would become a job. I already have one of those. So I think I have to weed out sites that are not really necessary to visit. I also have to subtract the sites that I have already been to. That doesn't add up to much. Maybe I should just reframe the goal to include a World Heritage site that is in the U.S. that is also local. Taadaa...the Statue of Liberty. No, I know it is shocking, but I have never been. And this year they reopened her crown, so I checked out the availability. As of this evening there are but spotty times and dates in November, so all the good warm autumn days are gone already. Then the holidays are upon us. I think I will stock up on some more Pellegrino and pencil in something in the spring. Thoreau said that, in the long run, we only hit what we aim at. My aim is to hit the Statue of Liberty ( in a good way) in the next 6 months. Photos to follow.

Mad Men

The countdown has begun. Pulses are quickening and anticipation is rising as the week marches on toward Sunday evening, when Mad Men returns. What will happen with Don and Betty Draper? How will Betty deal with her pregnancy? Will Duck take over Sterling Cooper and what will that mean for Don and the crew? Will Peggy Olson's son with Peter Campbell affect Peter's marriage and will their be an inheritance issue? I want to know more about Don's shadowy past. An image that lurks in my mind is where Don is shown visiting Peggy in the ward of a mental hospital.
This show beguiles me. It is full of that which I abhor, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, antisemitism, and adultery. It is packed with smoking, and yes, I do want to have a cigarette when I watch. The excessive drinking is reminiscent of the 60's. The sound of holiday cocktail parties was the tinkling of ice cubes in highball glasses, rather than jingle bells, and the smell of the season was Canadian Club, rather than balsam. There is a sexual current that drives the show and that was probably very real in the 60's also, but I was too young to know about it. It is a more powerful lure that has me addicted and that is the feeling of a time that will never be again. The writers of this show have nailed it:
Nostalgia. It’s delicate, but potent…Teddy told me that in Greek, nostalgia literally means the pain from an old wound. It’s a twinge in your heart, far more powerful than memory alone. This device… isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, forwards. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the Wheel. It’s called the Carousel. It lets us travel the way a child travels. Around and around and back home again, to a place where we know we are loved. "Mad Men" Season 1, Episode 13, "The Wheel"

Facebook

So it is true, I joined Facebook. There has been a lot of discussion of this in the family for some time. My daughter was the instigator (supporter?) of this idea and she assured me that not only she would help me, and she has, but she listed two handfuls of people who would friend me, and they did. Her brother, on the other hand, has been vehemently against it. Not just against me joining Facebook, but on the concept, the entity of Facebook. No one, not even his wife, can figure exactly why he feels this way. My husband has made little snarky noises about how this new facet of my life will just take more time away from him. That's right, let's make this about him. He also warned me that Facebook is forever, so I should monitor whatever I post, i.e. no pictures of me riding Lady Godiva style, etc. Not to worry, I am the soul of decorum and discretion. As for me, embracing this technology has been like a quick trip to the fountain of youth. I feel connected and fully participating in life. This morning I feel vital, although I did have a great night's sleep and perhaps that is more the cause. Regardless, I think jumping into life with both hands and both feet forces one to experience life in a different way. Henry Miller said, "The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." Right on. Who needs to sit and dribble in their cups when there is much fun to be had? And let's reflect on how this new learning is changing my brain. In fact, this is just the remedy for keeping one's brain young, adding new synopses and neurons. So in fact, it is not like, but truly is a trip to the fountain of youth. Facebook. It is what's good for your brain.