The Pirate King by Laurie King - a book review

    Laurie King's mysteries have Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes traveling to interesting places to solve befuddling cases. They lead us on adventures with suspense and danger, while introducing us to history, geography and foreign languages. Her descriptions are vivid, making the reader feel like part of the story. The experience of traveling the world is especially inviting to me.

    Pirate King told the tale of a film company making a movie about making a movie version of the Pirates of Penzance.  They start in England and take a ship to Portugal. After a few weeks, they sail to Morocco. When they arrive, the actors playing pirates kidnap everyone else for ransom.

    The real crime is the sale of cocaine and guns that preceeds the time period  of Pirate King. Very little attention is paid to solving this crime. We read about romances in the cast, the process of making the film, and Mary's introduction to sailing. She is too busy making movies to investigate crime.

    I didn't mind the different tone of this novel. It is lighter than The God of the Hive. I never worried about Mary's life. Instead I enjoyed her adventure and I suggest you give it a try. 

Reality vs. "Truth" The Basis of Dystopia

Reality vs. "Truth" The Basis of Dystopia

    The precepts shared by a group of people form the basis of society. In great societies, the laws reflect ideas time has tested and remain relevant. When a theory is suggested, it can be judged based on these laws. In dystopian societies, laws are written to manipulate and consolidate power into an elite cabal. Information is collected, manufactured, and disseminated to support the law and the despots.  "Facts" cannot be judged. Reality is experienced by the characters in dystopian novels and judging the difference between their reality and the government's propaganda is the germination of resistance. Every feeling a person has is real to them. Love, often the first emotion a person conciously experiences, is real and is a reference point for evaluating "truth". When the "truth" is disproved by reality, an exception is created to the rule. 

    In 1984, Winston has the job writing errors into the government news releases and correcting them later. He writes about production rates of food and clothing. He writes that boots are being produced by the thousand, knowing that he needs boots and none are or will be made. He also knows the news release will be revised in the future to show no boots were made.  Dwelling on this opens Winston's mind to resisting the power of Big Brother; then he is capable of falling in love.

    In Brave New World, Bernard is an alpha in a society where caste is created by exposing embryos to differing levels of alcohol. Segregation is reinforced with brainwashing that begins at birth. As the upper class, Bernard has the opportunity to travel and meet John, the Savage. John believes in experiencing sadness. He believes in God.  John's philosophy allows Bernard to doubt the Ford which leads to prison, punishment and pulling out Bernard's hair. Love is what Bernard seeks instead of soma.  "Truth" doesn't hold a candle to faith and love.

    In Hunger Games, the Capitol controls the information flow to the districts. They create the deadly games and splice pictures of horror with the sound of a sports commentator. That combination works until Catniss and Peta only show love for the camera. Without the imagery of death, the Capitol's "truth" of control is destroyed. 

    Love cannot evaluated based on facts, true or false. It cannot be regulated by a government. It is based on each individual's reality, created and known by them. In a dystopian society love opens governments to resistance. Revolution begins with a kiss.

Where oh where do we two hide,
Bear oh bear I cede my pride,
There oh there Patricia cried,
Fair oh fair I'll sleep inside.

Food

    Food scientists study the nutrients in food to figure out what effect they have on health. It is very difficult to determine whether a particular nutrient is good or bad. They are not isolated from other nutrients in the foods, the other foods in the diet or how the food is processed. Food manufacturers, needing results that support purchasing their product, fund studies by scientists willing to focus on the nutrients in their product. This has led to reductionist science supporting industry instead of consumers. 

    The first food scientists focused on macronutrients- protein, carbohydrate and fat. Soon they realized that micronutrients- minerals and vitamins- were important too. Then they began the process of demonizing some individual nutrients and idolizing others. Whether it was Kellogg's cereal or margarine, real food was transfigured into an imitation that scientists claimed would make us healthier.

    Since many food scientists still believe that food can be reduced to its components,they continue to search for the magic nutrient. Today we take vitamins, fiber pills and antioxidants hoping to live longer. People may be living longer but they are not healthier.  Studying mortality obscures the fact that measures of health have been declining. Lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension cost hundreds of billions of dollars a year in treatment.  Improvements in medicine cover for the abysmal state of food. 

    One of the earliest failures of food science was baby formula. Scientists wanted to invent a replacement for human milk. They have not succeeded. While formulas have improved, infants are still healthier when fed human milk.  The formula may include 29 nutrients, but it has no antibodies from the mother.  Formula maybe nutrition but it is not food.

    Margarine was another food science failure. In an effort to create a healthier substitute for butter, they made trans fats. Both of my parents grew up with margarine instead of butter. Their moms were protecting their health by listening to the experts. Unfortunately the experts were wrong. Trans fats are  now banned in New York City.

    What is causing food scientists' repeated failures?If we set aside  the politicians, lobbyists and industry funding, the research is tainted anyway. It is impossible to do a randomized, double blind study on the effects of particular foods on health. There is no way to randomly choose people who eat broccoli. Instead food science is reduced to what we can study, without making note of methodology flaws.

     Food is more than the sum of its nutrients. It is a mother's antibodies, a grandma's recipe, Bareburger's ambiance and Sunday dinner. Scientists who hope to make us healthier must acknowledge their limits. The rest of us should  " eat food, not too much, mostly plants. " 1

1 Pollan, Michael. In Defence of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. Penguin Books, 2009. Print.    

The Renaissance

    There are few eras in history with the overwhelming impact of the Renaissance. The dominance of the Church that defined the Middle Ages was replaced by humanism. Man and his world transcended their place on Earth to become God in heaven. The art and architecture of the Renaissance included religious subjects represented by real people in real surroundings. Man superceded God and thereafter creates the world we inhabit.

    The Merode altarpiece is the earliest example of Northern Renaissance art. It is a triptych with Mary and Gabriel in the center panel. Mary is reading a book and Gabriel is about to announce that she will carry God's child. The right panel shows Joseph in another room with his carpentry tools. The left panel shows three people in the courtyard, including the person who paid for the altarpiece. The Annunciation happens to ordinary people on an ordinary day.

    Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It represents the height of the Italian Renaissance, commissioned by Pope Julius II. The ceiling is painted in fresco, applying pigment to wet stucco. Scenes from the Old Testament cover the surface. In the middle, God and Adam reach out toward each other, fingers stretched to nearly touching. Who is creating whom? If there were no angels, they might be brothers. Man and God are not so different.

    Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted peasants in their natural environment. He uses oil paint which has translucent quality well suited to realism. His subjects farm, hunt, and dance. Religion is not portrayed. This is emphasizing man's importance in the world.

    The rebirth of secular art was paid for by merchants like the Medici of Florence. Money drove the art world then just as it does today. People who paid for art wanted to influence what was in the picture. They wanted to be in the picture with their wives looking sensible and prosperous. The religious subjects were replaced by ordinary people.

    Renaissance art benefited from the development of perspective. It made landscapes realistic and the people sizes depended on distance instead of importance. Backgrounds became more detailed and nature was featured. Man's world was  central.

    If the artists of the Renaissance did one thing, it was to help us to appreciate ourselves and the world around us. We are worth being made into art. We are Michelangelo's David and Bottacelli's Venus. We live in Bruegel's fields and dance at his wedding. Most of all, we create the world inspired by Leonardo's inventions. We are reborn in every way.

How to make friends.

How to make friends 
Sit next to person, but not too close.
Introduce yourself.
Invite them for pediasure.
Ask what they like.
Get them to talk about themselves.
Care.

Turpe

Drizzling on the glass, 
Filtered water flows. 
Gazing at the glow,
Will, my turtle basks.