"Limitless Knowledge"

"The History Of Chocolate"

2012-08-17T21:11:00.003+08:00

Chocolate Through the Years

The story of chocolate, as far back as we know it, begins with the discovery of America. Until 1492, the Old World knew nothing at all about the delicious and stimulating flavor that was to become the favorite of millions.

The Court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella got its first look at the principal ingredient of chocolate when Columbus returned in triumph from America and laid before the Spanish throne a treasure trove of many strange and wonderful things. Among these were a few dark brown beans that looked like almonds and seemed most unpromising. They were cocoa beans, today’s source of all our chocolate and cocoa.

The King and Queen never dreamed how important cocoa beans could be, and it remained for Hernando Cortez, the great Spanish explorer, to grasp the commercial possibilities of the New World offerings.

Food of the Gods

During his conquest of Mexico, Cortez found the Aztec Indians using cocoa beans in the preparation of the royal drink of the realm, chocolatl, meaning warm liquid. In 1519, Emperor Montezuma, who reportedly drank 50 or more portions daily, served chocolatl to his Spanish guests in great golden goblets, treating it like a food for the gods.

For all its regal importance, however, Montezuma’s chocolatl was very bitter, and the Spaniards did not find it to their taste. To make the concoction more agreeable to Europeans, Cortez and his countrymen conceived of the idea of sweetening it with cane sugar.

While they took chocolatl back to Spain, the idea found favor and the drink underwent several more changes with newly discovered spices, such as cinnamon and vanilla. Ultimately, someone decided the drink would taste better if served hot.

The new drink won friends, especially among the Spanish aristocracy. Spain wisely proceeded to plant cocoa in its overseas colonies, which gave birth to a very profitable business. Remarkably enough, the Spanish succeeded in keeping the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly a hundred years.

Chocolate Spreads to Europe

Spanish monks, who had been consigned to process the cocoa beans, finally let the secret out. It did not take long before chocolate was acclaimed throughout Europe as a delicious, health-giving food. For a while it reigned as the drink at the fashionable Court of France. Chocolate drinking spread across the Channel to Great Britain, and in 1657 the first of many famous English Chocolate Houses appeared.

The hand methods of manufacture used by small shops gave way in time to the mass production of chocolate. The transition was hastened by the advent of a perfected steam engine which mechanized the cocoa grinding process. By 1730, chocolate had dropped in price from three dollars or more per pound to within the financial reach of all.

The invention of the cocoa press in 1828 reduced the prices even further and helped to improve the quality of the beverage by squeezing out part of the cocoa butter, the fat that occurs naturally in cocoa beans. From then on, drinking chocolate had more of the smooth consistency and the pleasing flavor it has today.

The 19th Century marked two more revolutionary developments in the history of chocolate. In 1847, an English company introduced solid “eating chocolate” through the development of fondant chocolate, a smooth and velvety variety that has almost completely replaced the old coarse-grained chocolate which formerly dominated the world market. The second development occurred in 1876 in Vevey, Switzerland, when Daniel Peter devised a way of adding milk to the chocolate, creating the product we enjoy today known as milk chocolate.

Chocolate Comes To America

In the United States of America, the production of chocolate proceeded at a faste pace than anywhere else in the world. It was in the prerevolutionary New England–1765, to be exact–that the first chocolate factory was established. Chocolate has gained so much importance since that time, that any interruption in its supply would be keenly felt.

During World War II, the U.S. government recognized chocolate’s role in the nourishment and group spirit of the Allied Armed Forces, so much so that it allocated valuable shipping space for the importation of cocoa beans. Many soldiers were thankful for the pocket chocolate bars which gave them the strength to carry on until more food rations could be obtained.

Today, the U.S. Army D-rations include three 4-ounce chocolate bars. Chocolate has even been taken into space as part of the diet of U.S. astronauts.

Growing the Cocoa Bean

Cocoa beans are the product of the cacao tree. The origin of the cacao tree is in dispute. Some say it originated in the Amazon basin of Brazil, others place it in the Orinoco Valley of Venezuela, while still others contend that it is native to Central America.

Wherever its first home, we know the cacao tree is strictly a tropical plant thriving only in hot, rainy climates. Thus, its cultivation is confined to the lands not more than 20 degrees north or south of the equator.

The Need For Shelter

The cacao tree is very delicate and sensitive. It needs protection from the wind and requires a fair amount of shade under most conditions. This is true especially in its first two to four years of growth.

A newly planted cacao seedling is often sheltered by a different type of tree. It is normal to plant food crops for shade, such as banana, plantain, coconuts or cocoyams. Rubber trees and forest trees are also used for shade. Once established, however, cacao trees can grow in full sunlight, provided there are fertile soil conditions and intensive husbandry. Cacao plantations (trees under cultivation), and estates, usually in valleys or coastal plains, must have evenly distributed rainfall and rich, well-drained soil.

As a general rule, cacao trees get their start in a nursery bed where seeds from high-yielding trees are planted in fiber baskets or plastic bags. The seedlings grow so fast that in a few months they are ready for transplanting, container and all.

The First Fruit

With pruning and careful cultivation, the trees of most strains will begin bearing fruit in the fifth year. With extreme care, some strains can be induced to yield good crops in the third and fourth years.

Everything about the tree is just as colorful as its history. An evergreen, the cacao tree has large glossy leaves that are red when young and green when mature.

Overlays of clinging moss and colorful lichens are often found on the bark of the trunk, and in some areas beautiful small orchids grow on its branches. The tree sprouts thousands of tiny waxy pink or white five-petaled blossoms that cluster together on the trunk and older branches. But, only 3 to 10 percent will go on to mature into full fruit.

The fruit, which will eventually be converted into the world’s chocolate and cocoa, has green or sometimes maroon-colored pods on the trunk of the tree and its main branches. Shaped somewhat like an elongated melon tapered at both ends, these pods often ripen into a golden color or sometimes take on a scarlet hue with multicolored flecks.

At its maturity, the cultivated tree measures from 15 to 25 feet tall, though the tree in its wild state may reach 60 feet or more. The potential age of a tree is open to speculation. There are individual trees known to be over 200 years of age, but no one has determined the real life span of the species. However, in 25 years the economic usefulness of a tree may be considered at an end, and it often becomes desirable to replant with younger trees.

"The Origin Of Birthday Cake"

2012-08-15T16:51:00.004+08:00

In the 1800 London edition of Christian Salzmann’s book Gymnastics for Youth (translated from German) we find the following brief passage “before his sixth birthday cake is put in the oven.”

How and when the tradition of a birthday cake spread to the rest of Europe is unclear. There are very few references to birthday cakes prior to 1850. In a widely circulated article published in 1843, Mrs. Abell writes that the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte was given on his birthday from an English friend a “cake ornamented with a large eagle”. In a fictional children’s story published in 1834 we find the following dialog, “ `On the morning of the 17th of May,’ (continues his papa,) `the day on which he completed his ninth year, he said to his mother, `Mamma, I should like to have a birthday cake.” (Anon 1834, 176)

Prior to 1850 in United States, the observance of birthdays was not a universal tradition as it is today. The newspaper Richmond Whig observed in 1865 “Mothers who have a dozen little ones to care [for] are apt to neglect birthdays; they come too often.” The Ladies Repository in 1871 noted that “Americans make too little account of anniversary occasions” and “rush through life with such velocity as to find little time to lay garlands on the milestones [of life].”

The Ladies Repository continues by pointing out that some Americans in adhering to the values of their Puritan ancestors have taken the early Protestant prohibition against religious festivals too far by rejecting family centered events like birthdays. It is clear there were both practical as well cultural and ideological reasons for not celebrating birthdays. It is likely that economic reasons also played a role especially for large working class families.

Interestingly, both the Richmond Whig and Ladies Repository articles made a passionate argument for the universal adoption of birthdays for children. The writers of these two articles were part of a larger social trend which emphasized children’s birthdays. This trend began in the 1850’s. (The evidence for an emerging trend can be seen in dramatic increase in the number of references in the period literature to birthdays.) Many of these celebrations include a birthday cake. The Americans were well aware of the German birthday festivals and detailed accounts were published in various publications (cites). It is likely they adopted the concept of a special cake for birthdays from the Germans. Although there was a strong emphasis on children’s birthdays, adult’s birthdays were also being celebrated as well.

The Americans were slow to adopt the German tradition of lighting a candle for each year of a person’s life. The earliest references in American newspapers and journals to the birthday candle tradition do not appear until the early 1870’s. The Ladies Repository article (1871) is one of the earliest American publications to promote the German candle tradition in America. It states “The huge, decorated, birthday cake is placed in the center-table, and around it are ranged lighted candles, graduate in length and number by the age of the child. As the first slender taper, signaling babehood, goes out, the assembled family and guests united in singing one verse of an appropriate hymn, and thus they go in order to the last, each year expiring in music. What could make a sweeter, holier impression on the heart of a child?” The singing of verses from hymns never gained momentum but the singing of a song after the candles have been lit has become a part of the tradition.

The tradition of the birthday boy or girl blowing out the candles (rather than letting them

burn down) can be traced back to the 1880’s. In Switzerland during the year 1881, folklore researchers collected the following “superstition” from the Swiss middle class, “A birthday-cake must have lighted candles arranged around it, one candle for each year of life. Before the cake is eaten the person whose birthday it is should blow out the candles one after another.” [anon 1883, 380-381) There is no mention of making a wish. A different version of this tradition emerged in America during the early 1880’s. In New York state, the Watertown Daily News reported that around the birthday cake, “were placed 10 candles, 9 of which were kept burning, and one representing the year begun, and not passed, [remained] unlit. The youthful host selected nine of his friends to serve as well-wishes, each to make one wish, and to blow out one candle …” (6-2-1882) The nine well-wishes spoke their good wishes out loud before blowing out the candle. It should be noted that the birthday boy did not blow out any of the candles. In Michigan, the practice of adding an extra “growing candle” was also observed. Unlike New York, the extra candle was lit. Like the New Yorkers, certain guests were asked to make a wish for the birthday person and blow out a candle. (Michigan Farmer 11-18-1884) This tradition of having the guest blow out the candles continued into the first decade of the 20th century. The book Correct Social Usage (1909) written in New York, recommend this practice but instructs that guests to keep their wishes a secret.

One of the earliest references in the United States to the birthday girl or boy blowing out all the candles (rather than the guests) is found in the March 1909 edition of St. Nicholas, a children’s magazine. Three candles were stuck into the frosting of the cake and lit. Then, “Bab cut a piece of cake for Ned, and Ted, and for Nursie, and then she blew out the candles and so her beautiful part was over.” At some point in the 20th century, it became a tradition that your birthday wish only came true if the birthday boy or girl successfully blew out all the candles in a single breath.

In America, children’s birthday parties had become socially fashionable by the 1880’s. The Michigan Farmer (1884) writes “In this city birthday parties are very much in the fashion. Where the little ones attend the kindergarten, a birthday serves as a semi-holiday.” During this decade, it was common to see descriptions of children’s birthday parties appearing in the social columns of the local newspaper. Some of the longer accounts even include a list of guests in attendance. (ex. Watertown Daily News 6-2-1882; New Haven Register 11-10-1888 and 10-24-1888)

Birthday’s had been being celebrated with Birthday Cakes for about fifty years when Mrs. Owens published her cook book in Chicago, Illinois in 1899. Yet she felt it her duty to explain how a birthday celebration in particular the part with the cake should be handled.

She explained a large cake was to be baked in the “dripping pan and heavily Birthday Party from St. Nicholas (1909) frosted.” When the frosting was partially dried “mark it off in small squares and put half an English walnut meat on each.” The next step was to cut a narrow “paste-board” [cardboard] frame to go around the edge. Small holes were cut in the paste-board to hold the candles. To dress up the frame, fancy colored paper was added.

Then she explained how it was to be served. “The lights in the room should be put out and the cake brought in with candles lit and placed before the person whose natal day is being celebrated and he should cut and distribute it.”

"The Neurobiology of Love"

2012-08-13T05:02:00.007+08:00

Brief outline of the neurochemistry of love

The areas that are involved are, in the cortex, the medial insula, anterior cingulate, and hippocampus and, in the subcortex, parts of the striatum and probably also the nucleus accumbens, which together constitute core regions of the reward system. The passion of love creates feelings of exhilaration and euphoria, of a happiness that is often unbearable and certainly indescribable. And the areas that are activated in response to romantic feelings are largely co-extensive with those brain regions that contain high concentrations of a neuro-modulator that is associated with reward, desire, addiction and euphoric states, namely dopamine. Like two other modulators that are linked to romantic love, oxytocin and vasopressin (see below), dopamine is released by the hypothalamus, a structure located deep in the brain and functioning as a link between the nervous and endocrine systems. These same regions become active when exogenous opioid drugs such as cocaine, which themselves induce states of euphoria, are ingested. Release of dopamine puts one in a ”feel good’’ state, and dopamine seems to be intimately linked not only to the formation of relationships but also to sex, which consequently comes to be regarded as a rewarding and “feel-good’’ exercise. An increase in dopamine is coupled to a decrease in another neuro-modulator, serotonin (5-HT or 5-hydroxytryptamine), which is linked to appetite and mood.

Studies have shown a depletion of serotonin in early stages of romantic love to levels that are common in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorders. Love, after all, is a kind of obsession and in its early stages commonly immobilizes thought and channels it in the direction of a single individual. The early stages of romantic love seem to correlate as well with another substance, nerve growth factor, which has been found to be elevated in those who have recently fallen in love compared to those who are not in love or who have stable, long-lasting, relationships. Moreover, the concentration of nerve growth factor appears to correlate signiﬁcantly with the intensity of romantic feelings.

Oxytocin and another chemically linked neuro-modulator, vasopressin, seem to be particularly linked to attachment and bonding. Both are produced by the hypothalamus and released and stored in the pituitary gland, to be discharged into the blood, especially during orgasm in both sexes and during child-birth and breast-feeding in females. In males, vasopressin has also been linked to social behaviour, in particular to aggression towards other males. The concentration of both neuro-modulators increases during the phase of intense romantic attachment and pairing. The receptors for both are distributed in many parts of the brain stem which are activated during both romantic and maternal love.

It is noteworthy that sexual arousal activates regions adjacent to – and in the case of the hypothalamus overlapping with – the areas activated by romantic love, in the anterior cingulate cortex, and in the other subcortical regions mentioned above. Especially interesting in this regard is the activation of the hypothalamus with both romantic feelings and sexual arousal, but not with maternal love. Its activation may thus constitute the erotic component present in romantic, but not in maternal attachment. Moreover, sexual arousal (and orgasms) de-activate a region in the frontal cortex that over-laps the de-activated region observed in romantic love. This is perhaps not surprising, given that humans often take ‘‘leave of their senses’’ during sexual arousal, perhaps even inducing them to conduct which they might later, in more sober mood, regret. In fact, this intimacy in terms of geographic location between brain areas engaged during romantic love on the one hand and sexual arousal on the other is of more than passing interest. Judged by the world literature of love, romantic love has at its basis a concept – that of unity, a state in which, at the height of passion, the desire of lovers is to be united to one another and to dissolve all distance between them. Sexual union is as close as humans can get to achieving that unity. It is perhaps not surprising to ﬁnd, therefore, that the areas engaged during these two separate but highly linked states are juxtaposed. Indeed the desire for unity through sexual union may be a consequence of it.

Cortical de-activations and the madness of love

It may seem surprising that the face that launched a thousand ships did so through this limited set of areas. But the story of Paris and Helen of Troy should in itself be enough to tell us that these neurobiological results, viewed on their own, can lead to deceptive interpretations. For romantic love is all-engaging, transforming people’s lives and inducing them to both heroic and evil deeds. It is not surprising to ﬁnd therefore that this core of brain areas that become engaged during romantic love has rich connections with other sites in the brain, both cortical and sub-cortical. Among these are connec-tions with the frontal, parietal and middle temporal cortex as well as a large nucleus located at the apex of the temporal lobe, known as the amygdala. Increase in activity in the romantic core of areas is mirrored by a decrease in activity, or inactivation, of these cortical zones. The amygdala is known to be engaged during fearful situations and its de-activation, when subjects view pictures of their partners as well as during human male ejaculation, implies a lessening of fear. As well, the all-engaging passion of romantic love is mirrored by a suspension of judgment or a relaxation of judgmental criteria by which we assess other people, a function of the frontal cortex.

This cortical zone, along with the parietal cortex and parts of the temporal lobe, has also been commonly found to be involved in negative emotions. Its inactivation in romantic as well as maternal states – when faced with the loved one – should not therefore be surprising because, when deeply in love, we suspend those critical judgments that we otherwise use to assess people. The prefrontal cortex, the parieto-temporal junction and the temporal poles constitute a network of areas invariably active with ‘mentalizing’ or ‘theory of mind’, that is, the ability to determine other people’s emotions and intentions. It is noteworthy, from the point of view of “unity-in-love’’, that one feature of mentalizing in terms of the ‘theory of mind’ is to distinguish between self and others, with the potential of ascribing diﬀerent sets of beliefs and desires to others and to oneself. To obtain an imagined ‘‘unity-in-love’’, so that the self and the other are merged, this process of mentalizing, and thus distinguishing between self and the other, must be rendered inactive. But critical judgment of others is also often suspended with the trust that develops between individuals and certainly with the deep bonding that develops between a mother and her child. Here, then, is a neural basis not only for saying that love is blind, but for the concept of ”unity-in-love’’. It is not surprising that we are often surprised by the choice of partner that someone makes, asking futilely whether they have taken leave of their senses. In fact, they have. Love is often irrational because rational judgments are suspended or no longer applied with the same rigour. In Plato’s Phaedrus, Socrates comments: ‘‘the irrational desire that leads us toward the enjoyment of beauty and overpowers the judgment that directs us toward what is right, and that is victorious in leading us toward physical beauty when it is powerfully strengthened by the desires related to it, takes its name from this very strength and is called love’’. Nor are there moral strictures, for judgement in moral matters is suspended as well.

After all, moral considerations play a secondary role, if they play one at all, with Anna Karenina, or Phedre, or Emma Bovary or Don Giovanni. And morality, too, has been associated with activity of the frontal cortex.

Euphoria and suspension of judgment can lead to states that others might interpret as madness. It is this madness that poets and artists have celebrated, Plato considering it in Phaedrus as a productive, desirable state because this kind of ‘‘madness comes from God, whereas sober sense is merely human’’. But of course if it comes from God, it transcends the world of rationality and is beyond the grasp of the intellect or logos. Perhaps the neurological explanations, of a de-activation of those parts of the brain that are involved in the making of judgments, makes the frequent apparent irrationality of love more comprehensible. As Nietszche once wrote, ‘‘There is always some madness in love. But there is always some reason in madness’’, the reason to be sought in the pattern of neurobiological activation and deactivation that romantic love entails, which serves the higher purpose of uniting for biological purposes even unlikely pairs, and thus enhancing variability. If ‘‘the heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing’’, it is quite literally, because reason is suspended. When Blaise Pascal uttered these words he could not have known that reason is suspended because the frontal lobes are (temporarily at least) also suspended. In fact, we can draw a neurobiological lesson from this selective suspension of judgment. For, if those in love suspend judgment about their lovers, they do not necessarily as well suspended judgment about other things. They could, for example, be perfectly able to judge the quality of a book or of a scientiﬁc work. They could as well be perfectly able to have a theory of mind regarding persons other than the one they love. The suspension of judgment is selective, and argues for a very speciﬁc set of connections and brain operations when it comes to love.

Neural correlates of maternal love

Equally interesting is that this pattern of areas activated by romantic yearnings shares parts of the brain that also become active when mothers view pictures of their own children, as opposed to other children. Maternal and romantic love share a common and crucial evolutionary purpose, that of maintaining and promoting the species. They also share a functional purpose, in that both require that individuals stay together for a period of their lives. Both are thus calculated by nature to ensure the formation of ﬁrm bonds between individuals, by making of them rewarding experiences. It is not surprising to ﬁnd that both sentiments share common brain areas. But, given the neurological axiom stated above, that if you can tell the diﬀerence it is because diﬀerent brain areas are involved, it is also not surprising to ﬁnd that the pattern of brain activation that correlates with maternal love is not identical to the one that correlates with romantic love. An interesting diﬀerence lies in the strong activation of parts of the brain that are speciﬁc for faces in maternal love. This may be accounted for by the importance of reading children’s facial expressions, to ensure their well being, and therefore the constant attention that a mother pays to the face of her child.

Another interesting diﬀerence is that the hypothalamus, which is associated to sexual arousal, is only involved in romantic love. The commonly activated regions between the two types of love are located in the striatum, part of the reward system of the human brain. It is also true that in maternal love, no less than in romantic love, judgment is somewhat suspended, in that mothers are a good deal more indulgent with their children and perhaps less likely to fault them. Once again, we ﬁnd that there is a pattern of cortical de-activation produced by maternal love which is remarkably similar to the one produced by romantic love and in particular the frontal cortex that is involved in the formation of judgments.

Brain concepts of the lover

It is a truism to say that most people develop a preference for the kind of person they want to love, and hence a concept of their potential lover(s); their likelihood of falling in love with that kind of person is that much greater. These preferences come in many diﬀerent forms and are almost certainly conditioned by, among other things, parental inﬂuences, cultural predelictions and the kind of person that they may have met. A recent study has in fact charted the ‘‘average’’ man with whom women are most likely to fall in love. He is smooth-skinned and remote from the kind of macho type that many believe are attractive to women. The characteristics associated with the most desirable (virtual) man are not only linked to sexual attractiveness but also ones that suggest a caring attitude. Clearly, this average man, chosen by female students at St Andrews University in Scotland, is the result of a concept and may apply only to the environment in which the study was conducted. The importance of the study lies in showing us that we do indeed form a concept of the kind of person we would like to love. In the literature of love, perhaps nowhere is this more emphatically stated than in the work of Dante, whose love for Beatrice is one of the most celebrated love aﬀairs in the Western literature. Yet Dante stated quite clearly in his ﬁrst work, La Vita Nuova (The New Life), that what he really wanted to write about was not about Beatrice (who was dead by then) but about ‘‘lo gloriosa donna de la mia mente’’ (the glorious lady of my mind).

In matters of love and attachment, we can go a little further and sketch in outline form the chemistry that underlies the concept of the loved one that the brain forms. Unfortunately, we cannot do so for man yet but for much simpler animals, the prairie voles, rats, mice, marmosets and monkeys. But it would be hard to believe that similar, though almost certainly inﬁnitely more complex mechanisms, do not operate in humans.

Perhaps the ﬁrst step in this enquiry is to look at the chemistry of the human brain areas that are activated during romantic love, and in particular oxytocin, vasopressin and dopamine. Most brain regions, including subcortical regions, that have been determined to contain receptors for oxytocin and vasopressin are activated by both romantic and maternal love. To better understand the role of these chemicals in bonding, we have to rely on recent experiments on prairie voles.

Oxytocin and vasopressin have many eﬀects but most relevant from our point of view is that, not only are they involved in bonding between individuals but have also been found to be eﬀective in learning and memory, but only in a social context. Both are released when prairie voles have sex. They are intimately linked to dopamine, which is associated with reward. And although prairie voles are a long way from man, the release of these hormones in other animals, including man, under similar conditions makes it likely that their human counter-parts are also strongly involved in activities associated with romantic and maternal love, which is not to say that these are their only functions. The story of voles is actually of great biological interest, especially when one contrasts two species, the prairie and the montane vole, the former having monogamous relationships (with the occasional ﬂing thrown in) and the latter indulging in promiscuous sex without long-term attachment. If the release of these two hormones is blocked in prairie voles, they too become promiscuous. If, however, prairie voles are injected with these hormones but prevented from having sex, they will continue to be faithful to their partners, that is to have a monogamous though chaste relationship. One might have imagined that injection of these hormones into the promiscuous montane voles would make of them virtuous, monogamous, animals too. But that is not how things work out and injection of these hormones into montane voles does not render them monogamous. This may seem at ﬁrst paradoxical, but there is a simple biological way of accounting for it and it is of substantial interest in the context of concept formation.

Once secreted by the pituitary, these neuro-hormones can only act if there are receptors for them. In the prairie vole there is an abundance of receptors for vasopressin and oxytocin in the reward centres of the brain. These centres are not clearly deﬁned as yet but include many structures that have been found to be active in reward conditions. Many are located in the sub-cortex. Receptors for oxytocin and vasopressin are missing or not as abundant in the reward centres of the montane voles. Hence injecting montane voles with a surplus of these two neuro-hormones does not make them monogamous, since there are not suﬃcient receptors for them in the reward centres. It is as if these two hormones, strongly implicated from other evidence with bonding, are the ones that keep voles faithful and monogamous and as if the absence of receptors for them makes of their relatives promiscuous animals. There is no evidence that these two neuro-hormones act in the same way in humans; it would be surprising if they did, given the inﬁnitely more complicated structure of the human brain. But it would not be surprising if we ﬁnd in the vole a vestigial system to account for the sexual and romantic nature of humans. Mankind is often, but very mistakenly, considered to be monogamous. The evidence from divorce rates, adultery and other more or less clandestine and casual encounters, as well as the ﬂourishing trade in prostitution and pornography, suggests otherwise, which is not to say that many among the human race do not maintain monogamous, or serially monogamous, relationships. It would be highly interesting to learn whether monogamous humans have a higher concentration of oxytocin and vasopressin, as well as a richer concentration of receptors for them in the reward centres of the human brain compared to their more promiscuous counterparts. One might even ﬁnd that humans can be divided into three or more categories –ranging from the extremely promiscuous to the strictly monogamous, and that this distribution reﬂects the distribution of receptors for vasopressin and oxytocin, which is known to vary in species as far apart as voles and humans.

Oxytocin and vasopressin seem to play a crucial role in forming a concept of the kind of partner that an organism wants to be with, at least in the world of vole ideas. They appear to do so by building a strong proﬁle of the mating partner through odour and, once they do so, the odour-derived concept seems to be very stable. The odour comes to be associated with a pleasurable and rewarding encounter with a particular partner. The same works in the visual domain, as has been shown in sheep – once oxytocin is released in the presence of a baby, the sheep will visually recognise the baby and behave in a motherly way toward it until it is grown up. If the gene for either of these two neuro-modulators is disabled before birth by genetic engineering in a mouse, the mouse will no longer be able to form a proﬁle – or a concept – of the mice that it meets. It becomes totally amnesic in this regard and hence promiscuous. It is not outrageous to suggest that this neurochemically mediated experience has all the hallmarks of concept formation, though concept formation at a very elementary, chemical, level. The concept formed is that of an individual; it is based on an encounter and sexual experience, is acquired postnatally and is associated with a pleasurable, rewarding, experience with a partner of a particular odour.

Love and beauty

A beautiful person, as is commonly known, is perhaps the surest way of evoking the sentiment of love. Throughout history, from the days of Plato onwards, the path to love has been described as being through beauty. Dante falls in love with Beatrice because he ﬁnds her beautiful, and longs to see that which is hidden in her physique. The Lord Krishna ‘‘steals the mind’’ with his beauty and Majnun, in his love for Leila, is obsessed by her beauty, even if she does not seem beautiful to others. ‘‘To see her beauty’’, he declares, ‘‘you must borrow my eyes’’. Beauty and love are themselves never far from erotic desire, since the most intense love is strongly coupled to sexual desire and the two faculties share common areas in the brain, as described above. It is not surprising to ﬁnd therefore that an attractive face and sexual arousal, as well as the experience of visual beauty, engage a part of the brain known as the orbito-frontal cortex. Nor is this the only common brain region engaged by the two aspects of romantic love. The face of a loved person engages two cortical regions, the insula and the anterior cingulate, as do sexually arousing visual stimuli.

Attractive faces, as well as the faces of a loved person, de-activate not only the frontal cortex but also the amygdala (mentioned above), which is also de-activated when viewing the face of a loved person. This suggests that not only is judgmentless severe when looking at a loved or desired person, but that the curiosity and apprehension with which we often survey faces for discomﬁting signs are suspended. Moreover, the orbito-frontal cortex is connected with the amygdala and with other cortical areas and sub-cortical areas – the anterior cingulate cortex, the putamen and the caudate – that are engaged during the experience of romantic love. Hence the intimate experiential connection between love and beauty is probably nothing more than an expression of the intimate anatomical connection between the centres that are involved in these two experiences. So intimate must the anatomical link between them be that the experiences themselves become diﬃcult to disentangle.

"History of the Violin"

2012-08-12T07:22:00.000+08:00

The violin is a descendant from the Viol family of instruments. This includes any stringed instrument that is fretted and/or bowed. It predecessors include the medieval fiddle, rebec, and lira da braccio. We can assume by paintings from that era, that the three string violin was in existence by at least 1520. By 1550, the top E string had been added and the Viola and Cello had emerged as part of the family of bowed string instruments still in use today.

It is thought by many that the violin probably went through its greatest transformation in Italy from 1520 through 1650. Famous violin makers such as the Amati family were pivotal in establishing the basic proportions of the violin, viola, and cello. This family’s contributions to the art of violin making were evident not only in the improvement of the instrument itself, but also in the apprenticeships of subsequent gifted makers including Andrea Guarneri, Francesco Rugeri, and Antonio Stradivari.

Stradivari, recognized as the greatest violin maker in history, went on to finalize and refine the violin’s form and symmetry. Makers including Stradivari, however, continued to experiment through the 19th century with archings, overall length, the angle of the neck, and bridge height.

As violin repertoire became more demanding, the instrument evolved to meet the requirements of the soloist and larger concert hall. The changing styles in music played off of the advancement of the instrument and visa versa.

In the 19th century, the modern violin became established. The modern bow had been invented by Francois Tourte (1747-1835). Its weight, length, and balance allowed the player to produce power and brilliance in the higher ranges. It was Louis Spohr’s invention of the chin rest around 1820 that made it possible for the player to hold the violin comfortably and play in the higher positions. Spohr’s chin rest also resulted in the significant advancement of playing technique and allowed the violin repertoire to reach its virtuoso level. The advent of the shoulder rest (no known date) was also an important contribution to the ease of playing.

Players in Bach’s day held the violin by placing a chamois on their shoulder so the violin would not slip, but stay in place by gentle pressure from the chin and shoulder. The instrument was angled towards the floor constricting movement of the arm underneath the neck and thereby prohibiting playing in the upper positions. The Bach E Major Violin Concerto was composed at a time (ca. 1720) when the violin had no chin or shoulder rest, had a shorter fingerboard, and was strung entirely of gut strings. Players also used little or no vibrato. All this combined with the bow in use (shorter and lighter than the present day Tourte bow), made for a soft, muddy, rough sound. Today’s performances sound louder in volume, but softer in texture. The sound has a brilliance and clarity to it that would not have been possible in Bach’s day.

Despite the fact that violins in Bach’s time were not “modern” by today’s standards, his solo string instrument compositions are some of the most challenging repertoire for any serious student of the violin, viola, or cello.

"Bloody Mary: Mary of Portsmouth"

2012-08-11T08:22:00.001+08:00

Everyone has heard of the myth of Bloody Mary but where did it come from?

There are many rumors when it comes to the origins of Bloody Mary. Some people say it originated in Europe in the Middle Ages but this is simply false. There are three stories of the origin of Bloody Mary that is considered to be widely accepted among folklore researchers today. The first takes place in 1666 in colonial Portsmouth, New Hampshire. According to the legend, an orphan child, known simply as Mary, would wonder the woods and often taunt the people of Portsmouth whenever she was in town.

Mary of Portsmouth, as she is often referred to as, would carry a hand mirror that had a crack running down the middle. When the townsfolk told her that her time in town had been spent, she would reply holding up the hand mirror, “Gaze into the mirror and your fictional horrors will turn to truth!”

Strange things started happening in the town of Portsmouth. Items began to be misplaced, arguments among friends, and marriages that lasted years began to crumble; all lead to the thought that Mary of Portsmouth was a participant of witchcraft.

An “angry mob”, so to say, gathered and went to find Mary to trial her of charges of witchcraft. As the mob approached the spot where Mary usually camped, they found her body full of blood. Her face had scratches that went deep into her flesh. Her eyes were ripped out of their sockets. Lying next to her was the cracked hand mirror with blood only on the glass. The body was burnt and thrown into the river and the mirror was tossed into the ground and coved up with dirt.

"The History Of Opera"

2012-08-10T07:20:00.001+08:00

Opera has existed for more than four hundred years. Opera incorporates all varieties of other art forms; dance, visual arts, music, costumes, sets and make-up. The word "opera" meaning "a work" is essentially a story told to music. Operatic stories come from many sources; history, mythology, fairy tales, folk stories, literature and drama. What all of these stories have in common is that something about their musical and/or dramatic qualities inspired a composer to set it down in music.

Stories and story telling seem to tap into a basic human need and all cultures have story telling traditions. They teach us about life and death, love and hate, good and bad; in short, the human condition. Music is also found in every culture and when used in combination with a good story can clarify, define, elaborate on or even contradict the original story. It is this combination of music and story that makes opera and all forms of musical theater so powerful.

Opera has survived wars, collapsing monarchies, depressions, and plagues, to expand beyond all geographic and cultural boundaries to remain one of the most exciting and creative of all the performing arts. Since opera does not exist within a "bubble", included in this operatic history are also world events that helped to shape opera into the form we are familiar with today.

One could argue that opera actually had its beginnings during the height of ancient Greece when a chorus would be included as part of a dramatic performance, usually at the beginning or end of an act. However, most historians place the birth of opera at the end of the 16th century. This was the great flush of the Renaissance, when Shakespeare was at the height of his powers, Spain had launched another unsuccessful armada against England and most of Europe was either at war with each other, or bidding to colonize the Americas. The Roman Catholic Church had lost much of its hold on Europe, in particular Germany with Martin Luther and his Protestants, and the relative freedom of expression was in full swing. It was into this time of upheaval and great creativity that opera was born. A group called the Florentine Camarata, headed by Vincenzo Galilei (father of the famous astronomer), published a Dialogue about Ancient and Modern Music in 1581. In this book, Galilei stated that multiple vocal texts, melodies and rhythms could never clearly express the text and instead created a chaos of contradictory impressions. Therefore, the correct way to set words was to use a solo melody, "monody", which would enhance the natural speech inflections. Galilei did set some verses from Dante's Inferno for tenor solo with accompaniment, but the music was not preserved. The first example of a true opera DAFNE was written in 1597 by Peri, a singer who did not adhere to Galilei's theory, but did continue writing in the monodic style. However the best known operatic composer at this time was Claudio Monteverdi (1597-1643). Most of his operas were performed in Venice where opera mania became as great as Beatlemania in our own time. By the middle of the 17th century, opera was being heard all over Italy and had spread to France and Germany. Even two of the popes wrote operas and at its height, Venice had over 30 opera houses and premiered over 1,700 operas. Thus ends the Renaissance and begins the Baroque period.

The explosion of art and music throughout Europe was staggering with various monarchies and noblemen competing to see who could build the most opera houses and work with the most important artists of the day. The Baroque period (approximately 1600 - 1725) saw the paintings of Rembrandt van Rijn, writings of Descartes, Moliere and John Locke, the establishment of Boston by Puritans (1630), the building of the Taj Mahal (begun in 1653), the reign of Peter the Great in Russia, the Salem witchcraft trials (1692) and the music of Johann Sebastien Bach, Georg Friedrich Handel and Antonio Vivaldi. The Baroque Opera flourished throughout much of Europe with the Italian school prevailing in most of the opera houses and royal courts. This time period is often called the "Age of Enlightenment" and the operas which were written and performed during this period were clear, simple, rational, of universal appeal, and were used as purely entertainment. Handel was the most famous opera composer of his day and his operas were performed throughout Europe.

The 18th century brought opera to its baroque height with an incredible number of works being written and performed which then led to the classical period of Franz Joseph Hadyn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig von Beethoven. The Classical period (approximately 1725-1827) was a time marked by the toppling of monarchies and the exploration of our world. The French Revolution (1789-1794) reshaped its government and sunk its population even further into poverty, the American Colonies declared independence from England, George Washington became President, Napoleon began (and ended) his conquest of Europe, and Lewis and Clark began their expedition across the United States.

Opera continued to flourish throughout the Classical era, though it went through some changes of its own. Italian composers began to bring opera into harmony with changing ideals of music and drama, making the entire design more natural, more flexible in structure, deeper in content and more varied in other musical resources. The orchestra became more important for both its sake and for adding harmonic depth to accompaniments. The consummation of this new style of opera was in the work of Christoph Gluck. He began writing operas in the Italian style, but was deeply influenced by the reform in the 1750s. He collaborated with the poet Calzabigi to produce ORFEO ED EURIDICE (1762) and ALCESTE (1767). Other composers during this time period tried their hand at writing operas, Haydn wrote more than 75 for the Esterhaus family, and Mozart supported himself with several popular operas; THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, DON GIOVANNI and THE MAGIC FLUTE.

During the 1820s, a new "class" who highly valued individual expression and freedom arose out of the ashes of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire - the middle class. Thus a new type of opera was needed to appeal to this relatively uncultured audience who thronged the theatres in search of excitement and entertainment. New operas that underscored the public's "new" interests were required and composers scrambled to find topics. Many found inspiration in the literature of the time and instead of using Greek mythology as a basis for the opera, composers were using Shakespeare, Goethe and Victor Hugo. This became Grand Opera which used all artistic elements such as ballets, choruses and crowd scenes, to appeal to its new audience.

Opera comique, which was less pretentious than grand opera, flourished along side the grand opera. Opera comique required fewer singers and players, and was written in a much simpler musical idiom; its plots presented straightforward comedy or semiserious drama instead of the huge historical pageantry of grand opera. Opera bouffe emphasized smart, witty and satirical elements of comic opera and appeared in Paris in the 1860s. Other composers took note and began developing operettas in other countries; Gilbert & Sullivan in England composing THE MIKADO, THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE and HMS PINAFORE, Johann Strauss, Jr. in Vienna composing DIE FLEDERMAUS, and eventually Victor Herbert in the United States composing BABES IN TOYLAND and NAUGHTY MARIETTA. Another type of opera began to emerge called "lyric opera" which combined earlier opera comique with the current style of the grand opera, though on a much smaller scale. The landmark of lyric opera was CARMEN. Composed by Georges Bizet in 1875, CARMEN followed the traditional path of late 19th century Romantic opera; exotic locations, spare in texture and beautifully orchestrated.

There has been some “controversy” over the exact end of the Classical period and the beginning of the Romantic period. Most points agree that Beethoven was a pivotal figure in this transition in that his compositional early style was definitely rooted in the Classical tradition but his later works were trending towards a Romantic period style. For these reasons, this paper has listed the end of the Classical and beginning of the Romantic periods as 1827, the year that Beethoven died.

The Romantic period (approximately 1827-1900) touched off a second explosion of creativity throughout Europe, Russia and the United States. In the late 19th century art community, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin and Renoir were the rage with Impressionism. In literary circles, the populations of Europe and the United States were reading Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, Whitman, Twain, Stevenson and many more. While in the musical community, composers such as Brahms, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky and Bruckner were changing the symphonic form and Wagner, Verdi, Rossini and Puccini were changing the opera.

Perhaps this explosion was due to the fact that throughout most of Europe, Russia and the United States, the last 40 years of the 19th century were relatively quiet. Aside from the Franco-Prussian war, most countries were enjoying a respite from conflict and many used the time to find ways of bettering mankind. Bell invented the telephone (1876), Edison invented the phonograph (1877) and the incandescent electric light (1879), Koch discovers the tuberculosis germ (1882) and Pasteur begins inoculating against rabies (1884). America gets the Statue of Liberty (1886), Wilhelm Roentgen discovers x-rays (1894), Queen Victoria is the longest reigning monarch in England's history (1837-1901) and Russia crowns its last tsar, Nicholas II (1894).

Some of the best known and loved operas were created during this time period. Italy had its own explosion of native composers such as Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti all of whom had a penchant for both the dramatic and comedic operas. Gioacchino Rossini's THE BARBER OF SEVILLE is perhaps the best example of Italian comic opera of the earlier 19th century with witty dialogue, unforgettable characters and beautifully crafted music. However, the most famous of all the Italian opera composers during the Romantic period was Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). With the exception of a few songs and a string quartet, all of Verdi's works were written for the stage. Verdi became so popular throughout Italy, that his name became a patriotic symbol and rallying cry "Viva Verdi!" Verdi viewed opera as human drama to be conveyed through the use of simple, direct, vocal solo melody. With the exception of one, all Verdi's operas deal with serious subject matter from Shakespeare's OTHELLO to Victor Hugo's RIGOLETTO. Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and early Verdi all composed in the BEL CANTO style which was characterized by long, fluid, melodic lines throughout the opera.

This marriage between music and literature was one of the distinguishing marks of the 19th century opera and German composers in particular used this to their full advantage. The culmination of German opera came in the form of Richard Wagner who not only created a new genre of operatic theater, but whose influence was so profound, it is still being felt today. Wagner felt that the function of music was to serve the ends of dramatic expression, therefore his operatic scores vividly outlined what was happening on stage. The Ring cycle, consisting of four operas, is Wagner's masterpiece which uses Norse mythology as its story base. To keep consistency between all four operas, Wagner used the leitmotif. The leitmotif is a musical theme or motive associated with a particular person, thing, or idea in the drama. This idea is used today in movie scores. In the Star Wars series, written by John Williams, each main character has a theme, as does the idea of "the force" and "the empire". These themes are woven throughout the picture as characters and ideas appear, thus giving the score some musical cohesion.

The heir to Wagner was another German composer, Richard Strauss. Though he was influenced by Wagner, Strauss had even more lush orchestrations and often used dissonance or would completely abandon tonality to emphasize a particular scene in his operas. His most famous operatic works include SALOMÉ (1905), ELEKTRA (1909), DER ROSENKAVALIER (1911), ARIADNE AUF NAXOS (1912), and DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTAN (The Woman without a Shadow) (1919). Strauss’ symphonic works were equally stunning in their orchestration and scope, often including enormous numbers. His final tone poem, ALPINE SYMPHONY (EINE ALPENSINFONIE – 1915) included 123 players, a huge number for most orchestras who typically range between 60-75 players on average.

The end of the Romantic period brought about significant change to all musical forms. The idea of tonality was being stretched in France by Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, while in Italy, Giacomo Puccini was writing dramatic operas which used a new style called "verismo" which means realism or naturalism. Puccini would choose a libretto that presented everyday people in familiar situations acting violently under the impulse of primitive emotions and wrote in a musical style that was appropriate to such a libretto.

The veristic opera was the grandfather of television and cinematic shock drama. It was typical of the post-Romantic period which used dissonance, hugeness and other musical devices to titillate the now jaded audience. LA BOHEME, TOSCA and MADAMA BUTTERFLY all had elements of the veristic opera.

The 20th century was a turbulent time, both in the world and within the musical community. Much of this century has been spent at war, population increases, fighting disease, and developing medical miracles. Musically, opera continues to grow and expand beyond the traditional boundaries of Europe and Russia to include other countries such as Australia, Canada and South America. The great names of early modern opera include Kurt Weill, Igor Stravinsky, Benjamin Britten, Paul Hindemith, and Anton Berg, to name just a few. There had never been a more exciting age operatically, when every taste wanted to be satisfied and curiosity for the unfamiliar was constantly increased.

Early 20th century opera was moving from the veristic style of Puccini to a broader experimentation with sound, polytonality (the musical use of more than one key simultaneously) and tone clusters (a musical chord comprising of at least three consecutive tones in a scale). Opera composers were now experimenting with polytonality, minimalism and the blurring of the lines between musical theatre and opera.

Noted composers of this period include Claude Debussy (Pelléas et Mélisande 1902), Arnold Schoenberg (Erwartung 1924), Alban Berg (Wozzeck 1925), George Gershwin (Porgy and Bess 1935), Benjamin Britten (Peter Grimes 1945), Carlisle Floyd (Susanna 195, Of Mice and Men 1970 and Cold Sassy Tree 2000), Igor Stravinsky (The Rake’s Progress 1951), Leonard Bernstein (Candide 1956), Philip Glass (Einstein on the Beach 1976 and Akhnaten 1984), Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd 1979), John Adams (Nixon in China 1987, Death of Klinghoffer 1991), John Corigliano (The Ghosts of Versailles 1991), Mark Adamo (Little Women 1998), Tod Machover (Resurrection 1999) and William Bolcom (A View from the Bridge 1999).

The 21st century appears to be just as exciting for new operatic compositions as previous centuries. Everything and anything is possible in terms of subject matter, technology in staging, and compositional styles. Noted composers include Jake Heggie (Dead Man Walking 2000, The End of the Affair 2004 and Moby Dick 2010), John Adams (Doctor Atomic 2005), Mark Adamo (Lysistrata or The Nude Goddess 2005), Osvaldo Golijov (Ainadamar 2005), Tan Dun (The First Emperor 2006) and Paul Moravec (The Letter 2009).

The most important thing to remember about the history of opera, as with art and music, is that it is a reflection of world events. Early opera combined a humanistic outlook with a blending of mythology and “every day” realism. It became the most important of all art forms during the Baroque period when it was spectacular, but not intellectually or spiritually challenging. The classical age of opera was linked to enlightenment and philosophers like Rousseau and Voltaire. The Romantic revolution turned opera in a new direction, away from ancient history to works of Shakespeare, Goethe, Schiller and Victor Hugo and it was often involved with national, revolutionary and political history. During the 20th century, opera became part of the era of Picasso, James Joyce, Freud and astonishing new worlds uncovered by science. And now into the 21st century, opera has no limits in terms of inspirations or aspirations.

Opera is truly a reflection of the human condition and whether the story is Shakespeare, Aesop or Hugo, it will continue to delight audiences of all ages and cultures, because on the most basic level, opera is telling the story of our lives.

"Regulate Your Weight With Almonds"

2012-08-09T08:20:00.001+08:00

Scientists have noticed for many years that people who regularly eat almonds tend to weigh less than people who do not — even though they tend to eat more calories over the course of a day. Why? A new study published in the September 2007 issue of the British Journal of Nutrition sheds light on the mechanisms behind almonds’ ability to provide valuable nutrition and help lower (low density lipoprotein) LDL cholesterol levels without contributing to weight gain.

In the study, women were instructed to eat 344 calories worth of almonds (slightly more than 2 ounces) every day for one 10-week period, and then eat their customary diet for another ten weeks. The women did not gain weight during the period they consumed almonds. In addition, because of the high vitamin E and magnesium content in almonds, they met the daily dietary recommendations for those two nutrients that most Americans don’t consume in adequate amounts.

The researchers determined that the study participants felt satisfied, so they naturally compensated for most of the calories in almonds by replacing other foods in their normal daily diet with the almonds. They also noted a decrease in total carbohydrate intake, suggesting almonds may have replaced carbohydrate-rich foods.

Additionally, the researchers found that the fiber in almonds appears to block some of the fat they contain. So, in reality, almonds may provide fewer calories to the body than the amount the food label states. This raises broader questions about the availability of energy from foods, indicating that many may not actually deliver the amount listed on the nutrition facts label.

“Solid data has shown that eating one to three daily ounces of almonds can help lower (low density lipoprotein) LDL cholesterol levels,” said study co-author Rick Mattes, Ph.D., R.D. from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. “But many health care providers have been hesitant to recommend almonds as a daily snack because they’re a relatively high-calorie food and could contribute to weight gain.

This study challenges that assumption. The study indicates that the nutrition facts label may overstate the amount of energy available to the body from eating almonds.”

Study Details

A research team at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana conducted a study with 20 women, most of whom were overweight. One group was instructed to eat a normal diet for 10 weeks, but make one change — add 344 calories worth of almonds every day, slightly more than two ounces. The other group was instructed to eat their customary diet and no almonds. The groups then took a break for three weeks, and switched, so the second group ate almonds and the first group ate none.

Researchers measured body weight, metabolic rates, and physical activity at various points during the study. Compliance to almond consumption was assessed through diet records, as well as by measuring blood levels of vitamin E; this was because eating almonds, among the leading sources of vitamin E, has been shown to increase vitamin E levels in the blood.

The researchers found that when people were eating the 344 calories worth of almonds every day, they were in total, only taking in an extra 77 calories each day.

This is because the participants naturally compensated for the great majority of the calories in almonds, or about 74 percent, as they found the almonds satiating, or satisfying.

A further portion of these extra daily 77 calories was offset because the fiber structure of almonds blocked the fat in almonds from being fully absorbed. Also, although not statistically significant, the researchers noted an increase in energy expenditure through an increase in resting energy expenditure, or the number of calories used while participants were at rest. Based on the various measures in the study, the researchers concluded that the calories from almonds were compensated for by natural substitution of other foods, by some of the fat from the almonds passing through the body without being digested, and by an increase in resting energy expenditure.

Also notable, eating almonds led to significant increases in the intake of several important nutrients: polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat, vitamin E, magnesium and copper. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 notes that Americans don’t meet the recommendations for vitamin E and magnesium. But in this study when participants ate almonds, on average, they met the daily recommendations for both nutrients.

Similar studies have shown that subjects can consume up to 570 calories worth (3½ ounces) of almonds per day without leading to weight gain. Another benefit of the almond’s nutrition is it may help reduce spikes in blood sugar when combined with high-carbohydrate meals.

So why don’t we try to add Almond into our diet menu?

"Almonds For A Healthy Heart"

2012-08-08T17:21:00.000+08:00

Almonds contain several phytochemicals including beta-sisterol stigmasterol and campesterol which is thought to contribute to a healthy heart. A handful of almonds a day helps reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering low density lipoproteins (LDL), or ‘bad’ blood cholesterol by as much as ten percent.

Recent research associates inclusion of almonds in the diet with elevating the blood levels of high density lipoproteins (HDL) the ‘good’ cholesterol (‘good’ because HDL escorts LDL to the liver where it is broken down and excreted), and of lowering the levels of low density lipoproteins (LDL), or ‘bad’ blood cholesterol (‘bad’ because it clogs your arteries).

Almonds are rich source of folic acid; folic acid reduces the levels of homocysteine, which is an amino acid that can contribute to the buildup of plaque in the arteries.

Ongoing research hypothesizes that almonds may have a prebiotic effect that can provide benefits supportive of the GI tract in maintaining immunity and overall well-being. The human gut or gastrointestinal tract (GI) plays a key role in promoting overall health, with approximately 80% of immunity starting there. It’s also where prebiotics come into play. Prebiotics are non-digestible food substances that act as food for “good” bacteria in the GI tract as the human body constantly tries to keep a perfect balance. And while more research is needed to prove the prebiotic effect of almonds, this is just one more reason to introduce them into your diet. Because when your body functions better so do you.

Their high monounsaturated fat content, a key fat found in many Mediterranean diets, gives them much greater benefits than simply being cholesterol-lowering.

Nearly every research study shows those who eat a traditional Mediterranean diet not only have a lower risk of heart disease and cancer, they also live longer.

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes whole grains, root and green vegetables, daily intake of fruit, fish, poultry, olive oil, and raw nuts and seeds, along with little ingestion of red meat and not much use of butter and cream.

One of it’s heart protection secrets is in it’s healthy balance of Omega-3 fatty acids (found in fatty, cold water fish, flaxseeds, and chia seeds), Omega-6 fatty acids (found in raw almonds, raw walnuts, and raw seeds, and Omega-9 fatty acids (found in extra virgin olive oil, olives, avocados, raw seeds and raw almonds).

As almonds are high in protein (6 grams per one ounce), and contain virtually no carbohydrates, they are ideal for diabetics, pre-diabetics or anyone with blood sugar issues.

Almonds also contain more alkaline forming minerals than acid forming minerals, which makes them a rare protein-rich, bone protecting, alkalizing food.

Almonds are a great source of vitamin E, (one ounce — 28 grams — of almonds provides about 7.4 grams of alpha-tocopherol vitamin E, 50 percent of the recommended daily allowance). Of all the antioxidants, vitamin E not only reduces

low density lipoproteins (LDL), but also increases high density lipoproteins (HDL), and it increases the breakdown of fibrin, a clot-forming protein.

Raw, whole almonds (with skins) provide the most heart healthy benefits. The flavonoids found in their skins team up with the vitamin E found in their meat to more than double the antioxidant punch. Twenty potent antioxidant flavonoids were identified in almond skins in studies, some of which are well known as major contributors to the health benefits derived from other foods, such as the catechins found in green tea, and naringenin, which is found in grapefruit.

Emerging research demonstrates that the combination of dietary fiber along with the protein in almonds contributes to overall satiety and therefore may play a role in controlling caloric intake. Most protein sources do not provide dietary fiber such as is found in almonds. Cheese and eggs, for example, are good sources of protein but do not supply dietary fiber.

Warning: If you suffer with cold sores (HSV Type 1) or genital herpes (HSV Type 2) you should be aware that Lysine has been found to be active against the herpes virus in vitro, due to its ability to inhibit the metabolism of arginine, an amino acid required by the herpes virus for replication. Arginine is in essence the food source for the virus, without it it cannot grow, replicate or cause symptoms. Increasing the availability of Lysine inhibits the utilization of Arginine and slows virus replication. Arginine levels have an effect on results as well, so if you want to suppress herpes virus growth with Lysine supplements, it may be necessary to restrict Arginine (i.e. almonds, walnuts, and other nuts) in the diet as well to keep the lysine to arginine ration in a favorable range.

"Beliefs & Customs in Greek"

2012-08-07T05:05:00.001+08:00

Greek Gods and Myths

The Gods of Greece

Ø Greek gods looked like humans, only more powerful and beautiful-had human emotions, got involved in peoplesʼ lives

Ø Zeus ruled the gods-12 major gods, goddesses lived on Mount Olympus, Greeceʼs highest peak

Ø Each city protected by a god or goddess, such as Athena for Athens-Athena was goddess of wisdom, a warrior, patron of crafts

Greek Mythology

Ø Myths—stories people tell to explain beliefs about the world-often begin as oral stories, might be written down later

Ø Greek myths explained creation of world, humans-also described relationships between gods, goddesses, humans-Prometheus stole ﬁre from gods, gave it to humans, was punished-myths often made humans, like Prometheus, heroes

Honoring the Gods

Holy Festivals

Ø Important to honor gods; did so with statues, temples, events-Greeks believed angry gods could cause trouble for humans

Ø Monthly holy days included festival of Noumenia for new moon

Ø Important festivals honored Olympian gods, such as Athena-featured weaving, procession, races, athletic games, poetry

The Olympics

Ø In Greece, games were part of religious festivals

Ø Olympics—largest games, held every four years to honor Zeus-were held in stadium in city of Olympia; only men competed

Ø Oldest Olympic records date to 776 B.C., but may have started earlier-races, wrestling, jumping, throwing tested soldiersʼ skills

Ø Girls competed at same time to honor goddess Hera, Zeusʼ wife

Early Greek Literature

Epics of Homer

Ø Epic poems—long tales of ancient heroes; show us early Greek life-most famous were said to have been composed by Homer: Iliad and Odyssey

Ø Iliad—Troy besieged; Trojan War fought over stolen wife of Greek king-story of heroes, such as Greek warrior Achilles; one weakness was heel

Ø Odyssey—an epic about Odysseusʼ difﬁcult return home after Trojan War

Aesop’s Fables

Ø Fable—short story, often with animals, that teaches moral lesson-storyteller Aesop said to have written down many Greek fables

Ø Aesopʼs fables include “The Hare and the Tortoise” race story-overconﬁdent hare beaten by steady, hard-working tortoise

"The Bermuda Triangle"

2012-08-06T03:19:00.001+08:00

Do You Believe It?

The Bermuda Triangle is a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by a line from Florida to the islands of Bermuda, to Puerto Rico, and then back to Florida. It is one of the biggest mysteries of our time that isn't really a mystery.

The term "Bermuda Triangle" was first used in an article written by Vincent H. Gaddis for Argosy magazine in 1964. In the article, Gaddis claimed that in this strange sea a number of ships and planes had disappeared without explanation. Gaddis wasn't the first one to come to this conclusion, either. As early as 1952, George X. Sands -- in a report in Fate magazine -- noted what seemed like an unusually large number of strange accidents in that region.

In 1969, John Wallace Spencer wrote a book called Limbo of the Lost specifically about the triangle. 2 years later, a feature documentary on the subject -- 'The Devil's Triangle' -- was released. These along with the bestseller The Bermuda Triangle (published in 1974) permanently registered the legend of the "Hoodoo Sea" within popular culture. Several books suggested that the disappearances were due to an intelligent, technologically advanced race living in space or under the sea.

Phenomena noted in the area of the Bermuda Triangle included:

● glowing "white water" scanned from satellites

● a glowing green fog

The Bermuda Triangle is obviously a space/time anomaly. It is linked to rips in the fabric of space/time created by the time travel experiments conducted during WWII.

The Bermuda Triangle

The area of the Atlantic Ocean popularly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle is a complete enigma and has proven to be so for much of recorded history.

Many seemingly inexplicable occurrences and disappearances have taken place in this particular area. No rational explanation that will satisfy the materialistic parameters of the typical scientist has been offered that would account for all the mysterious happenings that have taken place in the Bermuda Triangle during the course of many thousands of years.

Where is the Bermuda Triangle?

Many of us believe that the Bermuda Triangle is situated more-or-less in the middle of an area of the Atlantic Ocean that once housed Atlantis.

While many eminent Atlantean authorities express differing opinions and ideas as to precisely where Atlantis was situated, I would like to refer to a reading given by Edgar Cayce in 1932:

"The position that the continent of Atlantis occupied is between the Gulf of Mexico on the one hand and the Mediterranean upon the other. Evidences of this lost civilization are to be found in the Pyrenees and Morocco, British Honduras, Yucatan, and America. There are some protruding portions that must have at one time or another been a portion of this great continent. The British West Indies (or the Bahamas) are a portion of same that may be seen in the present. If the geological survey would be made in some of these especially -- or notably in Bimini and in the Gulf Stream through this vicinity -- these may be even yet determined".

When Atlantis was destroyed, it sank to the very bottom of the ocean. While the ruined temples now play host to multitudinous underwater creatures, the great Atlantean fire-crystals that once provided so much of the tremendous power and energy that was found in Atlantis long ago still exist. And they are still emitting strong energy beams into the Universe.

Unfortunately, however, when the destruction occurred some of these fire-crystals were partially damaged, which has resulted in them only being able to project their energy rays at random. It is said that each fire-crystal would have been at least 20-feet high and some 8-feet wide. In Atlantis, these fire- crystals would have been erected in a series of three, thus creating a vortex of astronomical energy and a power of the first magnitude!

From time-to-time, the force field emitted by these damaged Atlantean fire-crystals becomes very powerful and any plane or ship coming within the influence of this force field disintegrates and is transformed into pure energy. Hence the inexplicable and mysterious disappearances that has very often been blamed on the area of the ocean known as the Bermuda Triangle!

Some scientists have advanced the theory that many of the planes and ships that have been lost and that have disappeared within the Bermuda Triangle have been transported into some kind of Black Hole or time warp. And it's true.

On a few rare occasions, ships that had been reported as having vanished have actually returned.

The crew members, though, have all appeared to be insane, incoherent, and babbling wild stories. This has occurred because there are certain times when the force field projected by the Atlantean fire-crystals is not strong enough to effect total disintegration. Mental disorientation results instead!

It is very similar to someone who receives an overdose from a shock treatment to the brain. Not enough, perhaps, to kill or destroy the person. But enough to seriously damage the brain structure and to cause insanity and other forms of madness. The ramblings that all these crew members have related are hallucinations, thoughts of fear and of unknown indescribable horrors with which their minds cannot possibly cope.

In addition to the damaged Atlantean Fire-Crystals, the Timekeeper Crystal still stands guard within the ruined Atlantean Temple of Healing. The great Timekeeper Crystal, however, does not project its energies in the same way as the fire-crystals because it is hermetically sealed.

The Timekeeper Crystal is waiting patiently for the time which is yet to come when once again it will play its important role in the affairs of the World!

In 1970, Dr. Ray Brown -- a naturopathic practitioner from Mesa, Arizona -- went scuba-diving with some friends near the Bari Islands in the Bahamas, close to a popular area known as the "Tongue of the Ocean". During one of his dives, Brown became separated from his friends and while searching for them he was startled when he came across a strange pyramid shape silhouetted against the aquamarine light.

Upon investigating further, Brown was surprised by how smooth and mirror-like was the stone surface of the whole structure, with the joints between the individual blocks almost indiscernible.

Swimming around the capstone which Brown thought might have been lapis lazuli, he discovered an entrance and decided to explore inside. Passing along a narrow hallway, Brown finally came to a small rectangular room with a pyramid-shaped ceiling. He was totally amazed that this room contained no algae or coral growing on the inner walls. They were completely spotless!

In addition, though Brown had brought no torch with him, he could nevertheless see everything in the room with his normal eyesight. The room was well lit, but no direct light source was visible.

Brown's attention was drawn to a brassy metallic rod 3 inches in diameter hanging down from the apex of the center of the room and at its end was attached a many-facetted red gem, which tapered to a point. Directly below this rod and gem sitting in the middle of the room was a stand of carved stone topped by a stone plate with scrolled ends. On the plate there was a pair of carved metal bronze-colored hands, life-sized, which appeared blackened and burnt as if having been subjected to tremendous heat.

Nestled in the hand, and situated 4 feet directly below the ceiling rod gem point was a crystal sphere 4 inches in diameter. Brown tried to loosen the ceiling rod and red gemstone but neither would move.

Returning to the crystal sphere, he found -- to his amazement -- that it separated easily from the bronze hand holders. With the crystal sphere in his right hand he then made his way out of the pyramid. As he departed, Brown felt an unseen presence and heard a voice telling him never to return!

Fearing, rightly, that his unusual prize might be confiscated as salvage-treasure by the American Government, Dr. Brown did not reveal the existence of his strange crystal sphere. Nor did he relate his experiences until 1975 when he exhibited his crystal for the first time at a psychic seminar in Phoenix.

Since that time, the crystal sphere has made only a very few public appearances. But on each occasion, people who have seen it have experienced strange phenomena directly associated with it.

Deep inside the crystal form, one gazes upon 3 pyramidical images, one in front of the other in decreasing sizes. Some people who enter a deep meditative state of consciousness are able to discern a 4th pyramid in the foreground of the other three.

Elizabeth Bacon -- a New York psychic -- claimed while in trance the crystal sphere had once belonged to Thoth, the Egyptian God who was responsible for burying a secret vault of knowledge in Giza near the 3 great Pyramids.

Perhaps the positions of the 3 pyramidical images in the crystal sphere hold the long-sought key to finding a fourth, as yet unfound. Looking at the crystal sphere from the side, the internal images dissolve into thousands of tiny fracture lines. Brown feels that these may prove to be electrical in nature like some form of microscopic circuitry. From yet another angle and under special conditions, many people have been able to see a large single human eye staring out serenely at them. Photographs of this eye have also been taken!

Dr. Brown's crystal sphere has been the source of a wide variety of paranormal and mysterious occurrences. People have felt breezes or winds blowing close to it. Both cold and warm layers surround it at various distances. Other witnesses have observed phantom lights, heard voices, or felt strange tingling sensations surrounding it.

A compass needle -- when placed next to the crystal sphere -- will spin counter-clockwise, then commence turning in the opposite direction when moved only inches away. Metals become temporarily magnetized when they come into close contact with the sphere. There are even recorded instances where healing has taken place by merely touching the sphere.

Seismographic surveys carried out across the Atlantic Ocean have shown that there are many deviations and unexplained contours to be found right at the bottom of the ocean.

Perhaps Brown's Bahamas pyramid once formed part of Atlantis. It has been suggested that this sunken pyramid once attracted, accumulated, and even generated some form of cosmic force.

The suspended rod may have conducted forces accumulated in the capstone. The faceted red gem at its end may have been used to concentrate and project the energies to the crystal sphere below it. The burnt and blackened hands -- showing the evidence of an energy transfer -- probably amplified the release of these energies while the crystal sphere acted as the tuner and broadcaster of the energies.

In 1933, Edgar Cayce suggested in two readings that the Atlanteans possessed some form of atomic power and radioactive forces: "Through the same form of fire the bodies of individuals were regenerated by burning, through application of rays from stone, the influences that brought destructive forces to an animal organism. Hence the body often rejuvenated itself and it remained in that land until the eventual destruction, joining with the peoples who made for the breaking up of the land, or joining with Belial at the final destruction of the land. In this, the entity lost. At first, it was not the intention nor desire for destructive forces. Later it was for ascension of power itself.

"As for a description of the manner of construction of the stone, we find it was a large cylindrical glass (as would be termed today), cut with facets in such manner that the capstone or force that concentrated between the end of the cylinder and the capstone itself.

"As indicated, the records as to ways of constructing same are in 3 places in the earth, as it stands today: in the sunken portion of Atlantis (or Poseidia) where a portion of the temples may yet be discovered under the slime of ages of seawater near what is known as Bimini, off the coast of Florida. And (secondly) in the temple records that were in Egypt, where the entity acted later in cooperation with others towards preserving the records that came from the land where these had been kept. Also (thirdly) the records that were carried to what is now Yucatan in America, where these stones (which they know so little about) are now -- during the last few months -- being uncovered." (December 20, 1933)

One particularly interesting piece of information in the above reading is the reference to Bimini. In 1969, steps were discovered leading down under the ocean at Bimini. These have always been believed to have once formed part of Atlantis although it appears that little further excavations or explorations have ever taken place on this site. But -- and really it is not too big a "but" -- it does seem that the balance of probability is firmly tilted towards the supposition that Atlantis was more than a legend -- that in reality it was a historical fact.

In the meantime, however, the damaged Atlantean fire-crystals will continue from time -to-time to have an effect upon some of the planes and ships which pass through the area known as the "Bermuda Triangle".

"The Mystery Of Flight 19"

2012-08-05T02:33:00.000+08:00

The Flight 19 Mystery

The tale of 'Flight 19' started on December 5th, 1945. 5 Avenger torpedo-bombers lifted into the air from the Navel Air Station at Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 2:10 in the afternoon. It was a routine practice mission. The flight was composed of all students except for the commander (a Lt. Charles Taylor).

The mission called for Taylor and his group of 13 men to fly due East 56 miles to Hens and Chicken Shoals to conduct practice bombing runs. When they had completed that objective, the flight plan called for them to fly an additional 67 miles East, then turn North for 73 miles, and finally straight back to base -- a distance of 120 miles. This course would take them on a triangular path over the sea.

About an hour-and-a-half after the flight had left, a Lt. Robert Cox picked up a radio transmission from Taylor. Taylor indicated that his compasses were not working, but he believed himself to be somewhere over the Florida Keys (the 'Keys' are a long chain of islands south of the Florida mainland).

Cox urged him to fly North toward Miami, if Taylor was sure the flight was over the Keys. Planes today have a number of ways that they can check their current position including listening to a set of GPS (Global Positioning Satellites) in orbit around the Earth. It is almost impossible for a pilot to get lost if he has the right equipment and uses it properly. In 1945, though, planes flying over water had to depend on knowing their starting point, how long and fast they had flown, and in what direction.

If a pilot made a mistake with any of these figures, he was lost. Over the ocean, there were no landmarks to set him right.

Apparently Taylor had become confused at some point in the flight. He was an experienced pilot, but hadn't spent a lot of time flying East toward the Bahamas which was where he was going on that day. For some reason, Taylor apparently thought the flight had started out in the wrong direction and had headed South toward the Keys instead of East. This thought was to color his decisions throughout the rest of the flight with deadly results.

The more Taylor took his flight North to try to get out of the Keys, the further out to sea the Avengers actually traveled. As time went on, snatches of transmissions were picked up on the mainland indicating the other Flight 19 pilots were trying to get Taylor to change course. "If we would just fly West," one student told another, "we would get home." He was right.

By 4:45 pm, it was obvious to the people on the ground that Taylor was hopelessly lost. He was urged to turn control of the flight over to one of his students, but apparently he didn't. As it grew dark, communications deteriorated. From the few words that did get through, it was apparent Taylor was still flying North and East -- the wrong directions.

At 5:50 pm, the ComGulf Sea Frontier Evaluation Center managed get a fix on Flight 19's weakening signals. It was apparently East of New Smyrna Beach, Florida. By then, communications were so poor that this information could not be passed to the lost planes.

At 6:20, a "Dumbo Flying Boat" was dispatched to try and find Flight 19 and guide it back. Within the hour, 2 more planes -- Martin Mariners -- joined the search. Hope was rapidly fading for Flight 19 by then. The weather was getting rough and the Avengers were very low on fuel.

The 2 Martin Mariners were supposed to rendezvous at the search zone. The second one -- designated 'Training 49' -- never showed up.

The last transmission from Flight 19 was heard at 7:04 pm. Planes searched the area through the night and the next day. There was no sign of the Avengers.

Nor did the authorities really expect to find much. The Avengers -- crashing when their fuel was exhausted -- would have been sent to the bottom in seconds by the 50-foot waves of the storm. As one of Taylor's colleagues noted, "they didn't call those planes 'Iron Birds' for nothing. They weighed 14,000 pounds empty. So when they ditched, they went down pretty fast."

What happened to the missing Martin Mariner? Well, the crew of the SS Gaines Mill observed an explosion over the water shortly after the Mariner had taken off. They headed toward the site and there they saw what looked like oil and airplane debris floating on the surface. None of it was recovered because of the bad weather. But there seems little doubt this was the remains of the Mariner. The plane had a reputation as being a "flying bomb" which would burst into flame from even a single, small spark. Speculation is that one of 22 men on board -- unaware that the unpressurized cabin contained gas fumes -- lit a cigarette, causing the explosion.

So how did this tragedy turn into a Bermuda Triangle mystery? The Navy's original investigation concluded the accident had been caused by Taylor's confusion. Taylor's mother refused to accept that and finally got the Navy to change the report to read that the disaster was for "causes or reasons unknown." This may have spared the woman's feelings, but it blurred the actual facts.

The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle. The planes and their pilots even found their way into the science fiction film classic "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

Where is Flight 19 now?

In 1991, 5 Avengers were found in 600 feet of water off the coast of Florida by the salvage ship Deep Sea. Examination of the planes showed that they were not Flight 19, however, so the final resting place of the planes and their crews is still the Bermuda Triangle's secret.

"History Of Guitar"

2012-08-04T15:36:00.000+08:00

The word guitar conjures in the contemporary American mind images of rock stars and ten million dollar annual incomes, incredible solos and blaring amplifiers, shaggy-haired bassists and dynamic lead guitarists wailing until they lose their voices and numb their fingers. Evidence of this is to be found on the shelves in any Borders or Virgin Records in the country, where Metallica and Nirvana sit comfortably on the countless rows of the compact discs of hundreds of other similar artists; it resides in the basements of most prepubescent boys, where the standard wreck of a hand-me-down guitar squeaks in a horribly out-of-tune version of something approximating “Stairway to Heaven.” America is indeed enthralled by the guitar. Whether Muddy Waters dons a slide or NoFX attacks modern society in musical form, America is listening intently.

However, at one time this instrument was considered secondary and even unfit for playing in public venues, and in fact cannot even be traced back before the 15th century with any real certainty or before the 13th at all. At certain times in history, one would even be hard pressed to identify one of the predecessors as a guitar at all, as size, shape, number and type of strings, body structure, and sound quality have varied tremendously over time. Of these, many older models have fallen apart or become unplayable; only brief historical allusions and artists’ renderings have survived, and those in scarce quantities. However, experts have come to accept a certain general historical progression of the development of the modern guitar.

The guitar family seems to be traced back to the Arabic oud, a stringed instrument actually still in use today. The oud spawned many popular instruments throughout time, such as the once well-loved lute and cittern. Although in practice it no longer resembles a modern guitar, it carried the seed of the basic theory behind the guitar and its cousins into Europe through the Crusades and the Moorish conquest of Spain, which was to become its birthplace. The very first instrument recognized as a guitar is said to have been invented by the people of Malaga. Early versions, which were exceedingly small by modern standards, included tied frets (if any) and gut strings arranged in courses. A course is a pair or group of strings played together as a single unit. Modernizing this example, one may look at the 12-string guitar, in which two strings are treated and perform in the same manner as a single string, though they produce a different sound. This fledgling instrument remained local for many years, its first mention appearing in the 1265 publication “Ars Musica” by Juan Gil of Zamora. The development in the interim can only be imagined, as no real documentation exists of the earliest progress in the creation of the guitar.

In order to understand the progression of the guitar, one must first examine the music popular just prior to and during the early stages of its creation. At this time, the lute was the predominant instrument used for public performance. Containing between six and ten courses, it varied between twelve and twenty individual strings. These were made of catgut, and were originally extremely quiet. Throughout the lute’s development, methods to increase volume were discovered; this perhaps led to belief that eventually the originally quiet guitar could also be adapted for large performances. Despite its predominance, however, the lute possessed several major flaws which may have prevented it from retaining its popularity into later eras. The peghead of the lute rests at a 90-degree angle to the neck, making it nearly impossible to tune. It also did not have a saddle. The simpler guitar, at this point, similar to the lute, tuned to A, could produce a somewhat comparable sound with a great deal less effort on behalf of the artist.

Bridging the gap between the lute and the guitar is the cittern. Considered an instrument of the peasantry, and often used as a slang word to describe a promiscuous woman, it grew to extreme popularity but never great artistic respect. However, it originated the pear-shaped body, somewhat foreshadowing the form of the modern guitar. It employed 4 to 5 courses, tuned in fifths. Furthermore, the ease of maintaining the instrument rivaled the lute, as the peghead was mounted vertically and the instrument was available in chromatic or diatonic forms. Also, it overcame the obstacle of volume and could be played quite loudly.

The obvious next step in such a progression is the guitar itself, in its infant state. In the 13th century, the Guitarra Moresca originated in Spain. This four course instrument retained a slanted peghead, reminiscent of the lute but not nearly so difficult to tune. Its oval body may have been covered with a skin soundboard; pictorial and written sources differ on this point. It still relied on tied frets, as did the nearly concurrent Guitarra Latina. This particular version was much smaller than the Moresca, employing only three to four courses, but also represented advancement as its soundboard was constructed from wood. How long these instruments existed before they rose to any sort of prominence is unknown. The first major literary reference to said instruments was in the collected works of the Archpriest of Hita, which, between 1283 and 1350, mentioned them multiple times.

Though at this point the early guitar was an accepted instrument, it was still considered unfit for large performances and real art. The model which began to lend credibility to the guitar, the first trace of its current popularity, was the Guittern. This five-course instrument actually had permanent frets and was played with a pick. The strings courses themselves could be tuned in unison or in octaves, a flexibility previously not allotted to the guitar. Its body was violin-shaped, somewhat akin to the modern guitar but still significantly smaller. Other differentiating features between the Guittern and the current guitar were the lack of a saddle and the movable bridge and tailpiece of the Guittern. Also, though some dispute remains about the exact date, wire strings were first employed at this time. The Guittern would have been the first instrument to have them. Marking the advancement of this instrument to a viable performance piece, it was played publicly at the Feast of Westminster in England in 1306.

For the next 150 years, the form of the guitar stayed mostly stable. Small changes were made throughout this period and new versions of older models of the guitar began to emerge. Among these was the Ghittarra Battente. This instrument did not significantly alter the form or sound of the guitar, but updated pre-existing pieces. For instance, it added the saddle to the guitar, a fixed or movable bridge, and began the trend towards metal frets. Another offshoot during this time, which did not influence the development of the guitar but rather demonstrated its growing popularity, was referred to as the Bandora and was the predecessor to the bass guitar. This time may be interpreted as an incubation period, at which the guitar had reached musical viability and no longer needed change to survive. Though it was far from complete, its development could slow appropriately as its then-current forms were enjoyed by the populace.

In the early to mid 1500s, the final steps before the modern guitar began to solidify. The Vihuela de Mano, which can actually still be found occasionally today, was by far the largest guitar to date; it set the size for the modern instrument. Though it used gut strings, it was the first instrument to consistently be played with six courses. It was also played with a pick, unlike the very early guitar forms, which were bowed. Several soundholes were inset into the top of the guitar. As one can clearly see, this guitar very closely resembled the twelve-string guitar played currently. In fact, the Viheula came to America through Mexico and into Lousiana and Texas, where it evolved directly into the twelve string. The first actual publication of music for the guitar, "Tres Libros de Musica en Cifras para Vihuela,” published in 1564, was intended for this guitar.

At this point, the development of the guitar diverged to create the several different forms we know today. The four-course guitar began a movement towards single strings, and was the first to attempt a slightly rounded back still visible in Ovation brand guitars. It retained the size of the Vihuela, cementing what was a trend into a dogma. From this, two new forms of guitar evolved: the five course and the English Guitar. Each of them adopted one extra course from the four-course guitar, and action credited to Vicente Espinel. In 1551, Adrian Le Roy published nine books of tableture for these five-course instruments, reflecting the English Guitar’s growing popularity outside of Spain. A piece dedicated to Louis XIV, “Guitarre Royale,” increased the popularity of the guitar to the point where it superceded the lute as the predominant string instrument of the day. By the early 17th century, the Baroque Guitar had originated nylon strings and thinned the body of the guitar slightly. It too adopted permanent frets. Only shortly afterwards, in 1750, the six string guitar became a reality. Courses had been almost entirely replaced by single strings, and many prominent composers such as Fernando Sor, Mauro Guiliani, Matteo Carcassi, and Dioniso Aguado not only performed but instructed students in the art of guitar playing. During the mid 1800s, the classical guitar emerged from Spain and moved to America, where in 1915 the X-bracing still used today was invented. Simultaneously, Manuel Torres discovered new methods to increase the resonance of the acoustic guitar, finalizing its progression to the modern guitar. By 1946, nylon had entirely replaced gut strings and the transformation of the acoustic guitar was complete.

At about the same time, a new breed of guitar was being born. The acoustic’s popularity had risen to such an extent that the industry began to innovate new ways to capitalize upon this popular instrument, and musicians actively sought out new improvements and ideas. However, as Big Band and Swing styles grew in popularity, even an acoustic fitted with steel strings simply could not produce the necessary volume to be heard in amongst a large group of players. Noting this, two young blues musicians in Los Angeles, George Beauchamp and John Dopyera, began to seek out a way to create a louder guitar. After several attempts and failures, they pioneered the idea of placing aluminum disks in a metal body. The resultant guitar could produce a volume 3 to 5 times greater than the existing acoustic, and thus the two men patented the design and opened the National String Instrument Company. This model proved especially popular with slide guitarists; however, it fell into disuse when the two inventors had a falling out and sold the company.

Beauchamp, however, did not cease his study of the guitar. Having experimented with electricity in his youth, he was quite familiar with the theory that a wire passed through a magnetic field could create a change in the intensity of that field which could in turn create an electrical current in a couple wire coil. From this, he formed the idea that a device could be developed which, when attached to a single string, would convert the resultant vibrations into a proportional variation in electrical current.

This could then be amplified in the same manner as the radio and loudspeaker systems of that day and age. After months of experimentation, Beauchamp, in conjunction with his friend Paul Barth, created the original “pickup” out of two horseshoe magnets and six pieces of pole. The original wire coiling was done with motors cannibalized from the creators’ washing and sewing machines.

All the effort proved worthwhile after Beauchamp contacted Harry Watson, the plant superintendent of the National String Instrument Co. and skilled craftsman. He handmade the neck and body of the first electric guitar, dubbed “The Frying Pan” because of its small, flat, circular body and long neck. This was then taken to Adolph Rickenbacher, a young man with name recognition due to his famous cousin and considerable financial resources. The Rickenbacher, as the guitar was thereby named, became an instant hit with Hawaiian and slide guitarists.

Shortly following this, an acoustical engineer for Gibson, Lloyd Loar, decided to switch his area of specialization from mandolin to guitar. He created Vivi-Tone, a subdivision of Gibson with one goal only: the creation of a Spanish-style electric guitar.

Ironically enough, the company was a miserable failure. The poorly designed, special interest instrument could not yet single-handedly support a small company, and Vivi-Tone closed within the year. Though this might have been the death knell for the electric guitar, Gibson saw the potential for this instrument and worked with artist Alvino Rey and Chicago-based company Lyon and Healy to perfect it.

In 1936 Gibson unveiled the first Spanish Electric Guitar, the ES- 150 or the “Charlie Christian.” The first one ever was built by Gibson employee Walter Fuller and shipped on May 20 from Kalamazoo, Michigan. By 1937 the single-bar pickup instrument was being widely distributed at a price of $150, including 15 foot cord and EH-150 amplifier. It strongly resembled an acoustic in appearance, but displayed the f-shaped sound holes, a trapeze tailpiece, and two knobs - one for tone, and one for volume. Its popularity prompted Gibson to create “the best electric guitar possible to make." (Gibson AA Catalog, 1940) The ES-250 featured a bar pickup with individual miniature blades instead of a single, a larger body, and a deluxe fingerboard. The price rose to $250, but the instrument remained en vogue and was played religiously by such figures as T-Bone Walker and Tony Mottola. Next in the series came the ES-175, launched on August 1st of 1949. This was the first to begin to shape the electric guitar’s body into the silhouette we see today, with the cutaway semicircle in the upper left creating the Florentine, or point. Its cousin, the ES-175D, which came out in 1953 with P-90 pickups, has to this day not been discontinued. As Gibson’s first dual pickup guitar, it became the instrument of choice for giants and legends, including B.B King and Elvis himself.

The Gibson models did retain one major undesirable characteristic. Due to the vibrations within the hollow body of the guitar, distortion and feedback often interfered with the music when amplified. Searching for a response to this phenomena, jazz guitarist Les Paul invented “the log”- the first solid body electric guitar. Though it was later carved to resemble the shape of the current guitars, the original design was simply two pickups mounted to a piece of 4x4 pine. In 1946, he brought this design to Gibson.

However, the company felt that this new model would not appeal to consumers and rejected it. At the same time, the owner of a radio repair shop in Anaheim released his own version of the solid-body guitar. His Esquire, released in 1949, and later renamed Telecaster, became the first successful model in this genre. Its lack of appeal to jazz guitarists, who preferred the more mellow tones of the hollow body, was balanced by the popularity it gained with blues, country, and, of course, rock and roll. The inventor was to become a household name for generations; Leo Fender began an era with his Fender Telecaster. Of course, after the success of the Fender became evident, Gibson reconsidered Les Paul’s original design. After some improvements, they too released a solid body guitar dubbed the Les Paul. With its historical value and versatile P-90 pickups from the mid-forties, the Les Paul today is extremely coveted and often sells for upwards of a thousand dollars.

After this final development, the electric guitar had more or less reached its final form. A few more innovations, such as the humbucking pickup, came to enrich the sound of the guitar without really altering its basic form. First incorporated into the Les Paul model, these two coils wrapped out of phase with each other eliminated the hum of the magnetic coils unavoidable in previous guitars. The semi-solid body of the ES-335 constituted another innovation, and grew popular with musicians such as Chuck Berry.

Cosmetic changes graced the final stages of the guitar’s development, eventually producing the Gibson SG and the Fender Stratocaster. By 1961, the electric guitar had reached full maturity. The growth of the guitar throughout the ages has been on a twofold path. Of course, the technical developments have been fascinating and crucial. However, feeding that progression has been the social element of the instrument’s popularity. Each major new mechanical change was prompted by some sort of social demand for better, louder, more pure-sounding instrumentation. Therefore, the documentation of the guitar’s journey to the present day is far more than a compilation of details. It is an examination of how culture has changed over time, finally evolving, just as the guitar evolved, into the world we live in today.

"Comic Books's Old-Time Authors"

2012-08-03T06:25:00.000+08:00

C.C. Beck

Clarence Charles Beck transformed every boy’s fantasy into four-color reality: he gave us a magic word that could transform young Billy Batson into the red-and-gold-clad Captain Marvel. That word? SHAZAM! Beck was born on June 8, 1910, and joined Fawcett Publications in 1933 as a staff artist. Beck’s whimsical, cartoony style was a perfect fit for the new medium of comic books, and in the first issue (which sports a #2 on the cover due to a pre-publication name-change) of WHIZ COMICS, Captain Marvel was born. Gifted with the Wisdom of Solomon, the Strength o Hercules, the Courage of Achilles, the Power of Zeus, the Stamina of Atlas, and the Speed of Mercury, Captain Marvel was the World’s Mightiest Mortal. Mighty, indeed, as it’s reported that “The Big Red Cheese” (as the Captain was affectionately called) sold over 1,000,000 issues per month.

After Fawcett folded its comics line in the early 1950s (due to losing a copyright infringement suit brought by DC Comics, who claimed Captain Marvel was an imitation of Superman), Beck dabbled periodically in comics, which he saw as having grown far too realistic and downbeat. He died on November 22, 1989.

Jack Cole

Creator and illustrator of one of the strangest superheroes ever to grace the four-color page, Plastic Man. Jack Cole was born on December 14, 1918, and got his start in comics in 1937, working for Harry “A” Chesler. He went to work for Lev Gleason in 1939, where he created Daredevil (no relation to the Marvel character of the same name), and assisted Will Eisner on The Spirit. In 1941, Cole created Plastic Man, a former crook who gained the ability to stretch his body into any shape imaginable. Surreal and bizarre, Cole’s Plastic Man stories remain a high water mark of the Golden Age, and his work is increasingly studied by those interested in graphic story-telling. Beginning in 1954, Cole became the premiere artist for Playboy, and his gag cartoons graced that magazine for several years until his death by suicide on August 15, 1958. The reasons for his suicide have never been made public.

Jack Davis

Born on December 2, 1924, one of the finest caricature artists of this or any age, Jack Davis began his career working for Bill Gaines’ EC Comics’ titles. Particularly adept at the goriest and creepiest stories Gaines could produce, Davis also had a comic flair that was well-displayed in his work for MAD. Currently, Davis’s work can be seen in everything from movie posters to product ads to magazine covers.

Steve Ditko

An intensely private man, Steve Ditko rarely gives interviews, and has mostly left his comics work behind him. An unfortunate state of affairs for the co-creator of one of the most popular comics characters of the last half of the 20th Century: The Amazing Spider-Man.

Born on November 2, 1927, Ditko began his comics career in the 1950s, first at Charlton, then at Atlas/Marvel, where he produced mystery, sci-fi, and horror tales. In 1962, he and writer Stan Lee created Spider-Man for the final issue of AMAZING FANTASY (#15), and a legend was born. Spider-Man received his own title shortly thereafter, and Ditko stayed with the book until issue #38, when he left due to creative differences with Lee. During this time, he also co-created Dr. Strange, and worked on the Hulk, Iron Man, and other Marvel characters.

After leaving Marvel, Ditko returned to Charlton, where he created Captain Atom and revamped the Blue Beetle, then went to DC to bring to life such offbeat heroes as The Hawk and The Dove and the Creeper. In later years, Ditko would briefly return to Marvel before abandoning company-owned comics all together in favor of his own creations.

Steve Ditko is, reportedly, a staunch adherent to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, which states, in Rand’s own words, “My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” (excerpt from Atlas Shrugged, 1957)

Will Eisner

One of the most innovative and influential creators the medium has ever known, Eisner’s career spanned the history of comics. Born on March 6, 1917 in Brooklyn, NY, Eisner sold his first cartoons at the age of 19 to WOW!, WHAT A MAGAZINE, published by Jerry Iger. The magazine lasted only a short time, but it led to a fortuitous collaboration between Eisner and Iger, who formed their own comics company. In 1939, Eisner dissolved his partnership with Iger and created his most famous and lasting character, The Spirit, who appeared in newspapers nationwide until 1952 (during Eisner’s stint in the service during World War II, The Spirit was “ghosted” by Eisner’s assistants on the strip, including Jules Feiffer, Lou Fine, and Jack Cole).

Throughout the 1960s, Eisner turned his talents to advertising and marketing, but in 1970, he returned to comics, creating what would come to be called the “graphic novel.” A CONTRACT WITH GOD, AND OTHER TENEMENT STORIES told tales based on Eisner’s childhood in Brooklyn, and revolutionized the industry. This pioneering publication would set the stage for a graphic revolution, the effects of which are still being felt today. A true giant in a field full of giants, Eisner continued writing and drawing almost until the day he died, on January 3, 2005.

Bill Everett

Bill Everett’s fame rests squarely on the shoulders of one character: Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Originally created for a comic book called MOTION PICTURE FUNNIES WEEKLY in the late 1930s (the intent was to hand the book out to kids for free at movie theaters to kids as a promotional item), it was never distributed, and the Sub-Mariner story was repackaged for the first issue of Martin Goodman’s flag-ship comics title, MARVEL COMICS. Perfectly paired with Carl Burgos’s Human Torch, who premiered in the same issue, Namor became one of the leading characters of the Golden Age. After a brief revival in the 1950s, the Sub-Mariner entered the Silver Age in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR #4, to become a key component of the Marvel Age of Comics. In fact, in 1972, with the fiftieth issue of SUB-MARINER, Everett would return to draw the adventures of the character he created more than three decades earlier. After suffering a series of heart attacks, Everett passed away on February 27, 1973.

Lou Fine

A master draughtsman and illustrator, Fine, born in 1914, is known for his “fine line” technique of illustration, particularly noticeable on his classic covers for Fox and Quality comics. His best-known work is found on “The Flame,” published in WONDERWORLD COMICS and “The Black Condor,” who appeared in CRACK COMICS. Fine passed away on July 24, 1971.

William Gaines

Son of M.C. Gaines (credited as the “father of the modern comic book), Bill, born on March 1, 1922, was the driving force and head writer behind the infamous EC Comics of the 1950s. After the Senate Hearings on Comic Books and Juvenile Delinquency and the institution of the Comics Code Authority all but shut EC’s doors, Bill focused on his comic magazine, MAD, which became one of the most popular comics ever published. He passed away on June 3, 1992, but MAD, fortunately, lives on.

Graham Ingels

“Ghastly” Graham Ingels, born on June 7, 1915, certainly put the “grue” in “gruesome.” With an artistic style that made his panels almost look as if they were cut from blocks of wood, Ingels is rightly hailed as one of the kings of the horror comics genre. His work for EC Comics stands as some of the best put out by that legendary publisher. After EC folded their comics line, Ingels left the field to become part of the faculty at the Famous Artist’s correspondence school. He refused to acknowledge his prior career until shortly before his death on April 4, 1991.

Bob Kane

Bob Kane will always be remembered as the main creator of The Batman in 1939 (writer Bill Finger is now credited as co-creator), inspired, at least in part, by his love for the Douglas Fairbanks film “The Mark of Zorro,” and Mary Roberts Rinehart’s “The Bat.” Born on October 24, 1915, Kane learned quickly from the mistakes Siegel and Shuster had made in selling Superman outright to National, and signed a lucra- tive contract in which, in exchange for outright ownership, Kane was guaranteed credit on each strip, whether or not he was actually involved, and a handsome salary, in addition to other benefits. Kane’s actual day-to-day involvement with Batman pretty much ended in the 1940s, as he handed over more and more responsibility to “ghosts” within his studio, while he more and more enjoyed the life of a minor celebrity, especially during the “Batmania” days of the mid-1960s and the popular revival that accompanied the Tim Burton-helmed film, “Batman,” which starred Michael Keaton. He died on November 3, 1998.

Jack Kirby

Born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1918, Jack Kirby was the undisputed “King” of comics. An innovative and influential artist beginning in the Golden Age, Kirby worked for virtually every publishing house in town, from Timely to DC to Harvey, before forming his own studio in the late 1940s with frequent collaborator Joe Simon. During this time, the pair invented and inaugurated the genre of romance comics, beginning with YOUNG ROMANCE COMICS #1 in 1947. Co-Creator of Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Mister Miracle, and more long-lasting characters than you can shake a stick at, his career can hardly be encapsulated in such a small space. He brought an operatic, nearly Wagnerian sense of drama to his comics, with bigger-than-life characters that practically leapt off the page in all their cosmic glory. No doubt, “Star Wars” owes more than a small debt of gratitude to the work of “The King.” Just remember: when you think of comics, you’re probably thinking of Jack Kirby, who passed away on February 6, 1994.

Stan Lee

Born Stanley Martin Lieber on December 28, 1922, he began his career at Timely in the early 1940s (his earliest published credit is on a text piece in CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #3 [1941]) as an assistant to Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. He later became the editor and head writer of Marvel Comics, where he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Iron Man, the X-Men, Daredevil, and countless other characters. In the 1970s, Stan moved to California to head Marvel’s burgeoning media efforts. He is currently the head of POW! Entertainment, and is still creating characters and content for a variety of media. He has had cameo roles in such films as “The X-Men,” “The Fantastic Four,” and “Spider-Man.”

William Moulton Marston

Born on May 9, 1893, psychologist and feminist William Moulton Marston was a man ahead of his time. He is credited as one of the early inventors of the “lie detector” (specifically, he is credited as the creator of a device to measure changes in systolic blood pressure to detect deception. This device became one of the components of the modern polygraph machine), he was a noted psychologist whose book, “The Emotions of Normal People,” became an instant classic in the field of passive/aggressive emotional studies upon its publication in 1928. He also believed very strongly in the great educational potential of comic books.

His stand on comics came to the attention of Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for his line of comic books, Detective Comics. Marston quickly noted the fact that all of the current heroes were male, and decided to create a super-female character, based on his wife, Elizabeth, and his former student, Olive Byrne (with whom he and Elizabeth then lived in a polyamorous relationship, and upon whose appearance Moulton’s new character would be based). Using the pen name Charles Moulton, and assisted by illustrator H.G. Peters, Marston soon gave birth to “Suprema.”

An Amazon from an island inhabited entirely by warrior women (the often overt themes of bondage and lesbianism are hard to miss), Wonder Woman (as Suprema was renamed by Sheldon Mayer) made her debut in the pages of ALL-STAR COMICS #8, and went on to a cover-featured spot in SENSATION COMICS #1. WONDER WOMAN #1 wasn’t far behind, and the Maid of Might became one of only three characters (the others are Superman and Batman) to be published continuously throughout the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Marston passed away from cancer on May 2, 1947, but Elizabeth and Olive continued to live together until Olive’s death in the late 1980s. Elizabeth died at age 100 in 1993.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

The creators of Superman, arguably the single most influential comics character ever set on paper, Siegel was born on October 17, 1914 and Shuster on July 10, 1914. They sold all the rights to their super-character in 1938 to National for the sum of $120, and were thereafter paid only page rates for their work on Superman. Their battle for recognition and compensation during the 1970s stands as a landmark in the field of creator’s rights. Joe Shuster died on July 30, 1992; Jerry Siegel passed away on January 28, 1996.

"History Of Diving"

2012-08-01T04:39:00.000+08:00

Navy. The U.S. Navy is a leader in the development of modern diving and underwater operations. The general requirements of national defense and the specific requirements of underwater reconnaissance, demolition, ordnance disposal, construction, ship maintenance, search, rescue and salvage operations repeatedly give impetus to training and development. Navy diving is no longer limited to tactical combat operations, wartime salvage, and submarine sinkings. Fleet diving has become increasingly important and diversified since World War II. A major part of the diving mission is inspecting and repairing naval vessels to minimize downtime and the need for dry-docking. Other aspects of fleet diving include recovering practice and research torpedoes, installing and repairing under- water electronic arrays, underwater construction, and locating and recovering downed aircraft.

The origins of diving are firmly rooted in man’s need and desire to engage in mari- time commerce, to conduct salvage and military operations, and to expand the frontiers of knowledge through exploration, research, and development.

Diving, as a profession, can be traced back more than 5,000 years. Early divers confined their efforts to waters less than 100 feet deep, performing salvage work and harvesting food, sponges, coral, and mother-of-pearl. A Greek historian, Herodotus, recorded the story of a diver named Scyllis, who was employed by the Persian King Xerxes to recover sunken treasure in the fifth century B.C.

From the earliest times, divers were active in military operations. Their missions included cutting anchor cables to set enemy ships adrift, boring or punching holes in the bottoms of ships, and building harbor defenses at home while attempting to destroy those of the enemy abroad. Alexander the Great sent divers down to remove obstacles in the harbor of the city of Tyre, in what is now Lebanon, which he had taken under siege in 332 B.C.

Other early divers developed an active salvage industry centered around the major shipping ports of the eastern Mediterranean. By the first century B.C., operations in one area had become so well organized that a payment scale for salvage work was established by law, acknowledging the fact that effort and risk increased with depth. In 24 feet of water, the divers could claim a one-half share of all goods recovered. In 12 feet of water, they were allowed a one-third share, and in 3 feet, only a one-tenth share.

"Ancient History Of Athletics"

2012-07-31T06:30:00.000+08:00

Athletics has an ancient history. For the ancient man or woman to survive, they had to hunt for food. In doing so they had to throw stones or spears at animals in order to kill them for food. The very same throwing techniques were used to defend them against the enemy or predators.

The ancient man or woman often had to travel vast distances to hunt for food, and when they had the target in sight, they had to move fast to capture it, or to avoid it from escaping. In their endeavours, they had to negotiate hostile terrain and often had to jump far or high to be able to reach the targeted objective or to move to a safer environment.

The need to determine who is the fastest, the fittest or the strongest already started with the ancient man. Originally, only men were allowed to engage in activities, now labelled as athletics. The evolution of athletics did not all happen at the same time or at the same place.

Until fairly recently, it was dangerous for both participant and spectator during athletics events. Incidents of officials, athletes and spectators being beheaded by a hammer throw implement, penetrated by a javelin or falling to their death from an elevated platform were common occurrences in ancient athletics.

According to cave drawings from the Stone Age, animals were originally used as hurdles. Later hurdles were used, but the construction of the hurdles was robust and contact was avoided due to the injuries risk involved. When hurdling was introduced to the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 the construction and design of the hurdles became less dangerous for athletes to make contact with.

Steeple Chase running regularly took place during the middle ages. Soldiers were required to run on the walls of the castle from one steeple (the spire of the castle tower) to another steeple to remain fit during times that the castle was besieged by the enemy. It often developed into a competition with death defying results.

In ancient time, in Long Jumping, the athlete was required to hold weights while jumping in a dug up and levelled area from a standing position. The athlete was allowed to jump from an elevated take-off area.

The practice of jumping with weights from an elevated area often lead to serious injuries and broken limbs. The athlete was also allowed to take more than one step during the landing process. This form of landing where more than one stride could be taken after landing was one of the reasons why Triple Jumping as a sport started.

In Shot Put during ancient times it was required of the athlete to throw a stone with a weight of 7.26 kg as far as possible from a square approximately 2m (7 foot) wide drawn on the ground. These rules were still practiced during the 1st Olympic Games in 1896.

In Discus Throw the athlete was required to throw from a standing position, a small wagon wheel or a discus shaped object from a square area of approximately 2.5m. The Hammer Throw evolved from Discus Throw and came as a result of athletes trying to throw a wheel from a standing position further by attaching a rope to the wheel. First recordings of Hammer Throw were made in the early 1800’s when athletes tried to swing a wagon wheel attached to a rope as far as possible. In the early 1600’s a form of “Sledge” Throw competition existed which required swinging and then throwing a sledge attached to a rope. The sling shot used by David to slaw Goliath also refers to a form of Hammer Throw. The most common Discus Throw technique was to stand sideways and swing the “Hammer” over a straight line in the same manner that a pendulum swings in a “Grandpa” clock.

A spear was used in ancient times as a weapon to kill the enemy or to hunt for food. Originally it was required from an athlete to throw a spear from horseback or a raised platform to a target. The thrower was not allowed to fall to the ground after delivering the Javelin. In some competitions the Javelin Thrower was required to throw a Javelin from both arms simultaneously and the winner was the athlete with the best average distance. The Javelins often landed among the spectators. Later Javelin Throw evolved to a run-up with the javelin landing in a prescribed landing area. The modern day Javelin Throw technique evolved in the mid 1950’s.

"Polar Bears"

2012-07-30T04:41:00.001+08:00

In some areas of their Arctic home, polar bears are in decline. Their drop in population can be traced to another decline: that of sea ice, reduced by global warming. Sea ice is the polar bears’ primary habitat and they rely on it for survival. Unless major actions to reduce global warming are taken, two-thirds of the world’s polar bears are likely to be gone by 2050.

What are the problems polar bears face?

Climate change:

The burning of fossil fuels, the release of sequestered hydrocarbons into the Earth’s atmosphere, and extensive agriculture and deforestation are causing climate change, which in turn is causing the biggest threat faced by polar bears: the rapid loss of Arctic sea ice. Since 1978, scientists have recorded a decline in late summer Arctic sea ice area of 7.7 percent per decade, as well as a decline in the perennial sea ice area of up to 9.8 percent per decade. In some places, a thinning of the Arctic sea ice of as great as 32 percent or more from the 1960s and 1970s to the 1990s has been shown.

More important, ice is melting earlier in the year and reforming later as a result of climate change. Thus, the time available for bears to hunt on the ice and store up fat reserves for the summer and autumn is decreasing.

As the periods polar bears must go without food become longer, their overall body condition declines. Habitat loss due to global warming in the Arctic is by far the most important factor potentially affecting the future survival of polar bears.

Oil and gas:

Petroleum industry activities in the Arctic are another human disturbance factor stressing bears in their habitat. There are already large oil and gas operations in the Arctic, and the industry is set to expand in the years ahead - especially offshore. Onshore Arctic oil installations are currently found in Russia, Canada and Alaska.

Disturbances due to seismic exploration, construction, transportation and the operation of facilities, as well as contamination from oil spill cleanup operations, may negatively impact polar bears. Furthermore, exploration for oil and gas continues to pollute the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, which is the leading cause of global warming and the loss of the polar bear’s sea ice habitat.

Toxic pollution:

As top predators, polar bears are exposed to high levels of pollutants through the food chain. Seals, their preferred prey, are often contaminated with the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that are prevalent in Arctic waters. When a polar bear eats a seal contaminated with POPs, the chemicals become concentrated in the bear’s fat and are stored in its vital organs. Bears with high levels of some POPs have low levels of vitamin A, thyroid hormones, and some antibodies, which are important for biological functions such as growth, reproduction, behavior and the ability to fight off disease.

Hunting:

The International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears allows the hunting of polar bears by indigenous people using traditional methods and exercising traditional rights. WWF respects the rights of indigenous peoples to harvest marine mammals in a responsible manner. Most hunting is done in a sustainable manner, but overhunting is an additional stress on some polar bear populations. Currently, the hunting of polar bears by nonnative sport hunters is legal in Canada and Greenland.

Historically, hunting was the biggest challenge faced by polar bears. But according to the U.S. Geological Survey, hunting has become less of a stressor. It does remain an important factor as the sea ice retreats, because retreating ice will make onceremote habitats more accessible and more bears will occupy terrestrial habitats. As harsh conditions become milder in certain areas, people will have new access to remote lands and the potential for human-bear interactions will likely increase.

What can I do to help protect polar bears?

ü Reduce CO2 (and other greenhouse gas) emissions in your everyday life.

ü Support and vote for political decisions that aim to achieve considerable and swift greenhouse gas reductions.

ü Demand from the Arctic states that human activities there are managed in ways that take into account biodiversity conservation.

Polar bear facts

Population status:

There are 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears. They are classified on IUCN’s Red List as vulnerable and they are on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Where they live:

Greenland, Svalbard (Norway), northern Canada, Alaska (United States) and Russia.

Biology:

Polar bear fur appears white but actually is transparent. This fur combines with their black skin, which absorbs sunlight, to make them superbly adapted to the harsh Arctic environment, where temperatures rarely exceed 10°C (50°F) in summer and hover around -30°C (-22°F) in winter. Their lifespan is 20 to 30 years. Adult males measure 200 to 250 cm (6.5 to 8 ft) in length and weigh 400 to 600 kg (880 to1,300 lbs). Adult females measure 170 to 200 cm (5.75 to 6.5 ft) and weigh 150 to 300 kg (330 to 660 lbs). Standing on its hind legs, a polar bear is as tall as a small elephant.

Hunting habits:

In fall, winter and spring, polar bears dwell near the edge of the pack ice, where they are most likely to find food. In the summertime, as the southern edge of the Arctic ice cap melts, some bears follow the retreating ice north to stay close to prey, while others spend their summers on land, living off body fat stored from hunting. Bears that spend their summers on land always head back to hunting off the sea ice when it reforms close to the coast in the fall.

Reproduction:

The mating season for polar bears is March through May; however, pregnancy is delayed so that gestation will last into the winter months. Around November or December, the female digs a maternity den in a snowdrift. Soon she gives birth to cubs - often twins - that take refuge in her thick fur. New mothers cease to feed in winter months and instead live off their stored fat. Their milk, high in fat content, enables the cubs to keep warm and grow rapidly before leaving the den in March or April.

"History Of Gymnastics"

2012-07-29T03:39:00.000+08:00

Although gymnastics has existed for more than 2,000 years, its development as a competitive sport began only slightly over 100 years ago. During the 1800’s exhibitions were held by some clubs including the Sokols and Turnvereins. Gymnastic competition was probably born as a result of these exhibitions.

As an activity, gymnastics was introduced to the United States and its school system in the 1830’s. Gymnastics flourished in athletic clubs and such ethnic organizations as the Turnvereins and Sokols although it was slow to catch on in the schools. It was in the Turnvereins and Sokols that competitive gymnastics started in the United States after the Civil War.

However, the sport never really became popular in the world until the advent in 1896 of the modern Olympics.

The AAU assumed control of most amateur sports, including gymnastics in 1888. Prior to this time gymnastic competitions were disorganized and “championships” were held by various clubs and organizations. Before the AAU assumed the responsibility as the central controlling agency, it was impossible to arrive at any standards of competition regarding such ideas as amateurism, events, and especially rules. So, in 1888, when the AAU held its first championship gymnastic meet in the New York Athletic Club, rules of an unknown origin were used and resulted in considerable confusion.

However, by 1890, the North American Tumer-Bund joined with the AAU, and together they carefully established the rules for competition which were used for the next 30 years.

When the United States became interested in intemational competition in 1920, it became apparent that in order to compete successfully, rule changes would be necessary for the United States so that all-around gymnasts rather than specialists would be developed. Adjustments were made in 1921 and then again in 1953 so that the rules would cover the traditional United States events and international events as well.

Perhaps the men most responsible for AACJ leadership and rule changes during these critical years were Roy E. Moore and George J. Gulack. Moore was chairman of the National AAU Gymnastic Committee from 1920 until his death in 1957. It was through this position that he enthusiastically directed the post-World War II revival of gymnastics, although his greatest accomplishments were probably promoting American participation in Olympic competition starting in 1920 and gaining AAU membership in the FIG in 1923. After Gulack retired from competition in 1932, the two men worked together for the next 30 years. They, at some time, served on most of the national and international gymnastic committees.

Surely these two men played a significant part in the AAU as it maintained the dominate role in United States gymnastics for many years. Thus since 1888, the AACJ has provided the leadership, rules and organization for national championships and has represented the United States internationally through its membership in the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the FIG. Before World War II there was little doubt in gymnastics that the AAU was rightly the sponsor of our national meets and correctly our representative to the FIG. Most of the gymnasts and most of the programs were AAU sponsored, promoted, or supported through their own or participating YMCA, Turnverein, Sokol or club organizations. This situation was, however, to gradually but drastically change.

As early as 1870, the colleges were having gymnastic exhibitions, both individually and in groups. After the AAU developed a set of rules for competition, the colleges had new incentive for demonstrating their gymnastic skills. There is some discussion as to when the first college gymnastic meet took place, because a meet at that time was very much like a demonstration or exhibition, but with the addition of judges. Most authorities agree that the first meet was either at the University of Chicago on March 5, 1898, or New York University on March 22 1899. Yet the growth of college gymnastics was very slow and sporadic until after World War II. There have been many explanations for this lack of growth, but most agree that the move away from a formalistic type of gymnastics and a trend toward games in the early part of the twentieth century delayed the development of gymnastic competition. Games, such as basketball and volleyball, were to push gymnastics out of the gyms.

Despite the slow growth of college gymnastics, gymnastic leagues did develop across the country in the early twenties. The major leagues were as follows: the Eastern Intercollegiate League; the Western Conference (Big Ten) in the Midwest; and the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in the West. In 1928, the NCAA set about developing a standard set of collegiate gymnastic rules, but because each of these conferences had their own set of rules, the NCAA Rules Committee had great difficulty in getting conferences to accept national rules. In 1931 the rules were finally agreed upon, but it was not until 1938 that the first NCAA national gymnastic meet was held. In 1934, a national meet was scheduled in Chicago, but was cancelled because there were not enough colleges who could afford to attend. The 1938 championship meet was won by Chicago University while the University of Illinois won the next four. Until World War lI the national NCAA meet attracted little attention with never more than eight schools attending. Then during World War II most colleges dropped gymnastics and other “minor” sports for the “duration.”

"Horse-Back Riding Safety Tips"

2012-07-28T19:07:00.000+08:00

General safety tips

ü Ensure that the skill of the rider is matched to the horse’s temperament.

ü Become familiar with horses and their behavior and safe horse-handling practices.

ü Regularly inspect riding equipment and replace anything worn or damaged.

ü Ensure the horse’s tack fits well and is suited for the type of riding being done.

ü Do not drink alcohol or use drugs while riding or working around horses.

ü Avoid loose-fitting clothing that could get caught in riding equipment and cause dragging or trapped limbs.

ü Ensure that horse trainers /instructors are trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and basic first aid.

Head, neck and spine injuries

Head, neck and spine injuries are often the most severe horseback-riding related injuries, and head injuries are the most likely to result in death. The likelihood of death from a head injury is greatly increased if the rider is not wearing a helmet. In one study, riders not wearing a helmet were four times more likely to die when injured than those who wore helmets.

Helmets worn while riding and working around horses should be certified by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the Safety Equipment Institute (SEI). The helmet should fit snugly on the head, with firmly secured but comfortable chin straps. Any helmet that has undergone an impact should be discarded and replaced. Many helmet manufacturers also recommend that helmets be replaced every three to five years due to wear and tear and possible compacting of cushioning materials.

International studies of equestrian-related injuries emphasize that the use of appropriate helmets significantly reduces the number and severity of head injuries.

Modern helmets are affordable and much more comfortable than older versions thanks to better ventilation, lightweight materials and their availability in multiple sizes. Helmets are even available with a Western hat style!

"History Of Archery"

2012-07-28T13:18:00.000+08:00

Archery is one of the oldest arts of ancient times which is still practiced today. From its first development until the 1500s, the bow was man's constant companion and has been the most widely used of all weapons in recorded history. The bow allowed the prehistoric human to become the most efficient hunter on earth, providing him safety, food and raw materials such as bone, sinew and hide. From that time on, archery has played an important role in many of the world's civilizations.

Starting with the reign of William the Conqueror, the bow was England's principal weapon of national defense for several centuries. Around the year 1200, Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes conquered much of the known world employing short, powerful bows. For Native Americans, archery was the means of subsistence and existence during the days of English and later American colonization.

Finally, after the bow's replacement by firearms as a weapon of war, archery became a favored sport, thus securing its continuous practice throughout history.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, archery's importance as a cultural advance ranks with the development of speed and the art of making fire. The use of the bow appears in folklore from over 3000 years ago, although its invention probably predates that era.

The development of archery followed a course of key innovations by many historical cultures. About 3500 BC., Egyptians were using bows as tall as themselves. Their arrowheads, originally constructed of flint, were later made of bronze.

Almost 2000 years later, the Assyrians developed the shorter recurve bow, which provided more power and easier handling. One central Asian clan, the Parthians, became famous for their ability to shoot backwards from a galloping horse, making the Parthian shot a meaningful phrase in our language.

At about 1200 BCE, the Hittites developed the skill of shooting from moving chariots, and around 500 AD, the Romans, formerly second-rate archers, began to draw the arrow to the face rather than the chest, giving the shot more accuracy.

Crossbows and the later developed longbow were the primary defense against massed cavalry. In the battles of Crecy and Agincourt in France, in the 14th century, English longbows overcame frightful odds against mounted, fully armored knights to win the advantage. These longbows had draw weights of from 60 to 120 pounds, and were often used at ranges up to 250 yards. From 1330 to 1414, English kings banned all other sports because they diverted time from archery and a royal decree of 1363 required all Englishmen to practice archery on Sundays and holidays. The advent of gunpowder lead to a decline in popularity for archery as a tool of war, but it never completely died away, particularly among peasant poachers in the King's woods.

The National Archery Association of the United States had its origin as a result of just such a turn in our own country's history. After the Civil War, Confederate soldiers were not allowed to own firearms. Two brothers - J. Maurice and William H. Thompson - learned to hunt with the bow and arrow and became accomplished archers in Florida.

Maurice's seminal book, "The Witchery of Archery", along with his poetry, continues to charm people to archery to the current day. They were both founding members of the NAA in 1879 at Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Archery tournaments, as we know them today, can also be traced back to England. Competitions were held as part of community festivals as early as the 17th century. By about 1600, three kinds of shooting were practiced in England, and they still survive in some form. In butt shooting, the ancestor of Olympic target archery, bowmen aimed at targets mounted on earthen butts at ranges of 100 to 140 yards. In clout shooting, the target was a piece of canvas, about 18 inches across, with a wooden peg in its center. Arrows are shot high into the air to descend on the target, which lies on the ground rather than being upright. Roving, the predecessor of modern field archery, grew out of casual hunting with bow and arrow. Archers are presented with targets of various shapes and sizes, simulating small animals, and they shoot at unknown ranges over rough ground, not a prepared course.

Archery became an official event in the modern Olympic Games in 1900 and was also featured in 1904, 1908 and 1920. International rules had not yet been developed, though, and each host country used its own rules and format. Because of the resulting confusion, the sport was eliminated from The Federation Internationale de Tir a l'Arc (FITA), was founded in 1931 as the international governing body for the sport of archery. The organization implemented standardized, international rules for competition which allowed the first World Championship to be held that same year. In 1972, after enough countries had adopted FITA's rules, archery was re-admitted to the Olympic Games.

Since that time, technology has greatly advanced the equipment, and some competitive formats have become obsolete. Archery has become wedded to skiing in the sport of Ski-Archery, with running in Arcathalon, and the compound bow, invented in 1966 by Wilbur Allen of Missouri, has been accepted in FITA and may soon join the Olympic recurve bow in Olympic competition.

"Wild Edible Berries"

2012-07-27T04:17:00.005+08:00

Among the common wild edible plants, berries are probably those that are tried first by people. The Pacific Northwest is fortunate to have many wild fruits available to gatherers. The following edible berries and small fruits are found in Western Washington:

Blackberry

The trailing blackberry is our only native blackberry. It has weak, bluish stems and is often found in fairly deep woods. Its berries are not large or over-abundant, but are delicious. The Himalayan and Evergreen blackberries are the ones we commonly see by the roadsides. (And, all too often, they come up in our gardens from seed sown by passing birds.) The fruit is big, delicious and plentiful.

Cultivated blackberries, such as Marionberries and Loganberries, are crosses of various wild blackberries. The “improvements” are not that significant (other than the thornless types) in my opinion.

Blackcap

These delicious wild raspberries are the favorite of many wild food fanciers. Like a cultivated raspberry, the berry pulls away from the white “core” as you harvest. The most common is black when ripe, though there is one that matures red.

Blueberry

These deciduous shrubs with bluish black berries in the late summer are more common in the mountains than the lowlands, but they are worth travelling to collect. Keep your eyes and ears open while harvesting; they are a favorite of bears.

Cranberry and Lingonberry

These lowgrowing plants, usually found in bogs, have tiny, evergreen leaves. The juicy, red berries are small, but seem large for the plants. They are not very sweet, but useful as a snack or in various cooked dishes. Currant Currant fruit is edible.

Elderberry

Clusters of tiny, seedy, bitter, bright red elderberry fruit must be cooked before eating, since raw berries may cause nausea. Blue elderberries are less common, but much more useful. Huckleberry There are two common lowland huckleberries. The evergreen huckleberry has small, leathery, toothed leaves and dark purple-black berries. They are most common near salt water. They don’t ripen until fall and then hold well on the plant, so they are a nice winter treat.

Red huckleberries are found further inland and often grow out of rotten logs or stumps. Because of their flavor and abundance, they were very popular with native peoples. They are slightly sour fresh, but make excellent piesand “raisins”.

Indian plum

One of the first plants to flower, clusters of chartreuse flowers appear before the leaves in spring. The fruit looks like a tiny plum as it turns from pink to dark blue. It’s slightly bitter until very ripe, by which time the birds may have already eaten them. Since they are mostly pit anyhow, it’s no great loss.

Kinnikinnick

Commonly planted as an evergreen groundcover in dry, sunny sites. The flavorless red berries are edible, but mealy and full of rather large seeds.

Oregon grape

This shrub can be tall (6+ feet) or low (under 2 feet). Its compound, holly-like leaves, bright yellow flowers and long-lasting blue berries make it a popular landscape plant. The clustered fruit is tasty and easy to harvest, but tart and filled with relatively large seeds. With plenty of sugar, the juice makes a good lemonade-type drink or jelly.

Rose Hips

These are the fruit of the wild rose found in open meadows. The rinds of the hips can be eaten raw. Cooked hips are better if the seeds are removed before using in teas, jams or jellies. Rose hips contain high levels of Vitamin C.

Salal

Extremely common, leathery leafed plant of the Puget Sound area. The sweet berries taste and can be used like blueberries.

Salmonberry

These berries can be golden or reddish orange. There is equal variety in the flavor of the berries with some being much better than others are. They are most valuable because they are earlier than most other berries (June). They are very delicate, so pick them into a shallow container or the weight of the lop layer will turn the lower ones to mush.

Serviceberry, Juneberry or Saskatoons

This tall deciduous shrub has pretty white flowers in the spring and sweet, blueberry-like fruit in August. If you don’t eat them, the birds will.

Strawberry

Needs no introduction. There are several kinds, but all are excellent though small. Thimbleberry Their big, fuzzy maple-like leaves make this caneberry distinctive, as does the fact that it is blessedly thornlessness. Again some of these red raspberry-like plants are more flavorful thanothers. Sometimes they are quite enjoyable and other times the somewhat hairy fruit seems bland. I often ignore them, if there are other berries to be had.

Make sure of the identity of the plant before you start sampling. Be sure not to pick berries if the plants look like they might have been sprayed with an herbicide. And, of course, get the property owner’s permission before harvesting on private property.

Sample widely before harvesting in earnest, since flavor often varies. In general, plants in the sun, but where they get plenty of water, usually will be the biggest and sweetest.

"Homemade Cheese"

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Cheesemaking techniques vary depending upon the intended final use or consumption of the cheese. Cheese can have widely varying characteristics.

Italian mozzarella-type cheese, used in pasta dishes, must have good melting quality and mild flavor. Hard cheese such as Romano and Parmesan must be dry with distinct flavor. Mexican cheese, often used in fried foods, must be stable at high temperatures. The variety among cheeses has arisen from differences in milk quality, diversity among native microflora (microorganisms naturally occurring in a given region) and differences in handling during processing. In North America cheese is usually made from the milk of cows (Bos taurus) or goats (Capra aegagrus). In India cheese is often made of milk from water buffalo (Bubalus arnee). Yak (Bos grunniens) cheese is made in the interior of Asia.

Cow’s milk consists of 88% water with 3.7% fat, 3.4% protein, 4.8% sugar (lactose), and 0.7% minerals and vitamins (USDA, 2005). The process of making cheese involves forming a curd from milk solids such as fats, protein and minerals that are separated and concentrated (Hill, 2006). The discharged liquid, whey, contains most of the lactose, water, simple proteins, minerals and vitamins (Hill, 2006). About 10 pounds (1.25 gallons) of milk are required to make one pound of cheese.

Making cheese is a dynamic process, affected by time, temperature and the bacterial culture (lactic acid bacteria) and coagulating enzyme (rennet) that are used to concentrate and separate the casein (milk protein) and fat from the whey. Exceptions to this include cheeses such as Queso Fresco or Queso Blanco (traditionally eaten in Latin American countries) and Paneer (traditionally eaten in India), which are made without bacterial cultures or rennet. These cheeses are made by curdling hot milk by adding an acid such as vinegar or fruit juice. This type of fresh cheese is simple to make and has higher yield because all the whey proteins normally lost are included in the cheese.

The enzyme rennet causes casein to form chains and to develop a mesh-like network or gel, trapping water and fat. This semisolid gel is the curd. When the gel is firm enough, it is cut into small pieces and, after cooking, the whey is removed. The whey may be partially drained from the curd and the curd washed with water to increase its moisture content. The temperature during cooking and handling of the curd affects the texture of the curd and the type of final product. When the curd has reached the desired moisture and acidity, salt can be added. Salting may be achieved through brine, as with Gouda; surface salt, as with Feta; or dry salt, as with Cheddar. After salting, the curd may be partially drained and again washed with water to increase the moisture content. When the curds have reached the desired moisture and acidity (pH), the whey is separated from the curd.

The cheese curd formed is a result of bacterial action on lactose converted to lactic acid. The acid acts as a preservative, removes water from the cheese curd, and develops cheese texture (Hill, 2006). Initially the enzymes from native microflora produce the flavor components, which change during aging.

Commercial cultures have been developed to produce a particular cheese type. Yogurt and buttermilk contain live bacteria that can be used as a culture to make cheese.

Once the whey is removed, the curd is allowed to stick together, forming a mat. The mat is transferred to a hoop or mold lined with cheesecloth, which contributes to the final shape. The mold can be pressed to form a dense cheese (Cheddar) or can be left to settle under its own weight to have an open texture (Feta).

Soft cheese can be made at home without specialized equipment. Because soft cheese contains over 45% water, it is highly perishable and has a refrigerated life of only five to seven days.

"The Maple Leaf Cruise"

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“THE MAPLE LEAF CRUISE” (since 1904)

This is a review of Maple Leaf Cruise. Hope you enjoy it! And please leave comments below.

Ship Type: Schooner

Sails:

1. Main sail

2. Fore sail (gaff rig)

3. Stay sail

4. Jib

5. Fisherman

Length overall: 92 feet

Length on deck: 75 feet

Beam: 15 feet

Draught: 11.5 feet

Home port: Victoria, B.C.

Materials: Yellow cedar, Douglas fir, mahogany

Year built: 1904

Waters travelled each year:

Entire B.C. coast and southeast Alaska

How she makes her living: Adult eco-cruises (natural & cultural history); Youth sail training

Maple Leaf is B.C.’s oldest tall ship. She was built in Vancouver in 1904, the same year that Jenny Butchart opened her now-famous Butchart Gardens, and the first bricks were laid in Victoria’s Empress Hotel.

The Coast’s Most Expensive Ship When Maple Leaf was launched, she was the envy of the boating world. She was the first ship north of San Francisco with electric lights. Her “new-fangled” external lead keel and fast hull were designed to win races.

Her design was so new, shipwrights weren’t sure of the size of timbers needed to sport a 30,000-lb. keel. So Maple Leaf was “over-built”: her hull made stronger than necessary. That would be key to her survival over the next century.

Journey by sail in one of the world’s great wild places.If you are looking for a holiday away from crowds, consider a cruise on Maple Leaf.Relax, rejuvenate and learn as you sail on a schooner through wildliferich areas.

On Maple Leaf, the proximity you feel to the coast’s natural and cultural wonders is incomparable with any other form of ocean travel.A professional crew, including naturalist and chef, ensure your days are comfortable and fulfilling.

Maple Leaf’s journey’s are top-ranked by travel writers. They are a Frommer’s “Best Travel Experience” and in Explore magazine’s “Top 5 Guided Trips” in Canada.

"SUGAR MAPLE"

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Sugar maple was designated as Canada’s national tree in 1965. The maple leaf adorns the Canadian Flag. Aboriginal people in North America used the tree’s sap to make maple sugar. The practice was later adopted by European settlers. Today, as the primary source of sap for the maple syrup industry, sugar maple is an important crop tree for farmers and woodlot owners.

Sugar maple is an important commercial hardwood. It’s valued for hardness, dense grain and light colour. Sugar maple is used for furniture, flooring, farm tools, veneer, general construction, cutting blocks and other products. This species is also valued as a fuelwood for home heating because it produces a large amount of heat and burns slowly.

Sugar maple is important to wildlife. Moose, deer, squirrels, rabbits, hares, porcupines, mice and many species of birds feed on maple bark, buds, twigs and fruit. Heavy feeding by deer can kill, deform and stunt the growth of maple trees. By reducing the number of maple trees in the forest, deer can change the species composition of the forest. Mice and voles also kill maple seedlings and saplings by girdling trees (girdling removes a strip of bark from around a tree).

HOW TO IDENTIFY SUGAR MAPLE

TREE SHAPE

Mature sugar maples are large, with dense rounded crowns. In forests, sugar maple trunks are usually straight and free of branches for two-thirds or more of their height. In open fields, trunks are shorter, with a few large branches supporting a wide crown.

Sugar maples can live to be 400-years-old, reaching heights of 20 to 35 metres and diameters of 50 to 90 centimetres.

LEAVES

Sugar maple leaves are eight to 13 centimetres wide. They’re a deep yellowish-green on the upper side, and paler and hairless on the under side. In autumn, they turn a brilliant red, orange or yellow.

The leaves are arranged in pairs along the twig, with each leaf opposite another. They’re flat, with three or five long pointed lobes. The leaf can be easily distinguished from other maple species by two “u-shaped” notches that separate the side lobes from the centre lobe.

TWIGS

Sugar maple twigs are reddish-brown, hairless and glossy. The sharp pointed buds lie opposite each other along the twig.

BUDS

The reddish-brown buds have several pairs of faintly hairy scales.

BARK

The bark is light to dark grey and divided into long irregular strips that often curl to one side.

FRUIT

The fruit is a winged seed about 2.5 to 3 centimetres long. It matures in autumn.

WHERE SUGAR MAPLE GROWS BEST

Sugar maple is the predominant species in the Deciduous Forest Region and a common species in the Great LakesSt. Lawrence and Acadian forest regions. In southern Ontario, sugar maple is an important component of many woodlots.

SOIL

Sugar maples grow on a variety of soils, but grow best on deep, moist, and well drained soils with medium or fine textures.

SHADE OR SUNLIGHT?

Sugar maples are tolerant of shade. They survive in the shade of other species for years until an opening in the canopy occurs and they are released to grow in partial or full sunlight.

STAND COMPOSITION

Sugar maples grow in pure and mixed stands, and evenaged and uneven-aged stands. They are commonly found with ironwood, beech, basswood, white ash, black cherry, yellow birch, white pine and red oak. As forests grow older, sugar maple becomes a predominant species.

STAND LOCATION

Sugar maples grow well on flat sites and slopes. Southern slopes, which are generally warmer, are preferred for maple sap production.

"CLOUDS"

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HIGH-LEVEL CLOUDS

High-level clouds are formed in altitudes above 20,000 feet. Because the temperatures are so cold at this elevation, these clouds are formed from ice crystals.

Cirrus clouds are thin and wispy clouds that are blown by high winds. They usually mean the day will have fair or pleasant weather, and follow the direction that the air moves at the altitude they are found at.

Cirrostratus clouds are like very thin sheets of clouds that cover large parts of the sky.

Cirrocumulus clouds look like small round puffs in the sky. Sometimes they are called mackerel clouds because they look similar to fish scales.

MID-LEVEL CLOUDS

Mid-level clouds are found in altitudes between 6,500 to 20,000 feet. They are formed mainly of water droplets, but can also be made up of ice crystals when the temperature is cold enough.

Altocumulus clouds are composed of water droplets and are gray and puffy. These clouds are usually seen on warm and humid summer mornings and are usually a sign that thunderstorms will follow later in the day.

Altostratus clouds are made up of ice crystals and water droplets. They can cover the entire sky and form before rain storms.

LOW-LEVEL CLOUDS

Low-level clouds are found below 6,500 feet and although they are mostly made up of water droplets. They can also be composed of ice particles and snow in very cold temperatures.

Stratus clouds are among the low-lying clouds. They are gray clouds that cover the entire sky and can be the result of very thick fog lifting in the morning.

Nimbostratus clouds are dark gray clouds that produce falling rain.

VERTICAL CLOUDS

Cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds are both known as vertical clouds.

Cumulus clouds are also called fair weather clouds and look like floating cotton. They have very flat bases and are not very tall clouds. When cumulus clouds are first formed from droplets, they have very distinct edges, but as they move through the sky, air causes the edges to appear more ragged and broken apart.

Cumulonimbus clouds can take up several miles across the sky and can reach elevations of 39,000 feet or higher because of very strong updrafts in the atmosphere.

Low level cumulonimbus clouds are made up of water droplets, but at higher elevations, they consist of ice crystals. Cumulonimbus clouds are they type of clouds that bring lightning, thunder, violent tornadoes and other intense weather situations.

Edible Flowers

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Safety Reminder
Be careful not to pick flowers exposed to pesticides or those growing by the roadside. Also, be cautious if you have hay fever, asthma, or allergies.

From Garden to Kitchen
Harvest flowers in the morning after the dew has evaporated. Choose flowers at their peak for best flavor. Put long-stemmed flowers in water and keep in a cool place. Use short-stemmed blossoms within a few hours of harvest or store between layers of damp paper toweling or in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Just before using, gently wash flowers, checking thoroughly for insects and soil.

For Best Flavor
Remove the stamens and pistils from flowers. Also remove the sepals (except on pansies, violas, and Johnny-jump-ups, in which they add flavor).

To Dry Edible Flowers
Some flowers dry well, while others lose their flavor. Check by drying a small sample before drying an entire crop. Gather flowers in early morning before the sun shines on them. Hang upside down by the stems in a dark, well-ventilated area.
(Flowers without stems can be dried on a fine screen.) Once dry, label and store in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.

Example of common edible flowers:

Roses (Rosa species)
Flower size, fragrance, and flavor vary among the many rose species and varieties. Generally the flowers of the older types, such as rugosa roses, are the most flavorful. Roses need full sun and a rich, welldrained soil. They usually require regular watering, fertilizing, and pruning. Roses have a perfumed taste. Pick off the petals and remove the whitish, bitter base. Add to salads or make jelly.

Violets (Viola odorata), Johnny-jump-ups (Viola tricolor), Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana)
These three low-growing violas grow in sun or shade in fertile, moist, welldrained soil. They bloom best in cool weather. Violets are hardy perennials that can be divided and moved around the garden. Johnny-jump-ups and pansies are annuals. They are typically purchased as transplants in garden centers and planted in the garden in early spring. Johnny-jump-ups often reseed. Violas have a sweet, wintergreen or perfumed flavor. Use petals to color butter. Float flowers in punch, use in fruit salads, or candy for decorating cakes and pies.