AUTHOR R. ANN SIRACUSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The destination doesn't matter -- It's the journey that counts!

Using Birth Order To Develop Fictional Characters

8/18/2017

What effects do you believe birth order has on how people develop, their character
traits, and values?

DEVELOPING FICTITIOUS CHARACTERS
All authors, when they first begin writing, search for ways to develop characters and their motivations out of nothing but an idea. None of the innumerable approaches are right or wrong. Whatever works for the writer.

My novels tend to be driven by external conflicts, so I usually have the story idea before I start developing the characters. That provides clues about the personality traits my characters will need to support and move the storyline. What sort of people, under what circumstances, could reasonably get themselves into that situation? And what kind of character would figure a way out? Other writers start with the characters, some meld both situation and characters.

There are innumerable books on how to develop characters, basic personality types, and what traits go with each. Those authors are more qualified to give advice to other writers.

A writer can always use real people as models for characters or create a written biography of the person. The biography approach has never worked for me. I like to discover who the characters are is and what they like and dislike. Part of the joy of writing is when they do or say something I never expected or planned.

A couple of other fun methods I've tried include: Astrological signs [which works best for matching the personalities of the hero and heroine and their compatibility issues]) and birth order [which can provide strong motivations].

To tell you the truth, I've never put much stock in either astrology or birth order … you can always make a case for or against the traits and/or motivations of any particular character … and real person. But they can provide a beginning point and are fun to play around with.

BIRTH ORDER
Although birth order has been studied extensively over the years, it's a difficult area to study, which makes the topic controversial … both the studies themselves and the findings. Studies have always been complicated by the genders of siblings as well as the birth order and the time span between children.

Today, making studies even more confusing, we have blended families of step-siblings and half-siblings which obscure the "real" birth order. We have single parent families. Ethnically blended families. Also, large spacing between siblings and other factors skew birth order effects.
Many families are different than the typical ▼

Nonetheless, birth order does affect, but does not determine, how we interact with the others, our personality traits, and romantic compatibility. Birth order has a great deal to do with how parents treat children, which is part of what forms personality.

When I write, I use birth order to help me identify the characters' motivations.

First-Born
These traits showed up in all or most of the sources I reviewed as characteristics of first-born children:

● Conscientious, reliable, serious, mature, cautious
● Natural leaders
● Diligent, high achievers, goal-oriented, want to be the best at anything they do
● Ambitious to succeed
● Structured, controlling
● Perfectionist
● Strong need for approval from people in charge
● Don't easily admit they are wrong
● Don't like surprises
● Protective

Middle-Born
In my opinion, the character traits of middle-born children are questionable. After all, in many families with more than one child, the middle-born may be a last-born child for a number of years, and the poof … suddenly he or she finds himself [herself] now in the middle. I suppose that's why spacing between children is so important in studies.

Middle-borns are difficult to categorize, but you can be sure they will develop different interest and skills from those shared by the family. They will also prioritize friends and peer groups since they don't feel they have a special place in the family. These traits are identified as characteristics for middle-born children:

● People pleasing, good friend, peace-maker, go-with-the-flow attitude
● Social, thrives on friendship
● Rebellious, doesn't like being told what to do, doesn't like to be boxed in
● Adaptable
● Independent and resourceful
● Insecure and secretive
● Obsessed about fairness

There seems to be more agreement among the experts on the middle-born personality traits, although to me rebellious seems to be in conflict with other traits such as adaptable.

Imagine - Four Older Brothers The Kennedy Family The Only Child

The Only Child
Only-children are similar to first-born, only more so. They are typically mature for their age. This may have something to do with spending time with adults. Many only-children are high achievers, some are rebels who march to the beat of their drum. Remember, first-borns are also only children for a period of time.

● Mature, confident
● Comfortable with adults as children which makes them comfortable with people when they are adults
● Perfectionist
● Conscientious
● Diligent
● Verbally precocious
● High achievers
● Don't take criticism well
● Tend to do well in school as children

WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE?
According to Chinie Diaz [http://www.rappler.com/] "Whatever the case – whether you're true to you birth order personality type or not – it's always good to remember that personality type theories only serve as a tool for greater self-awareness. And any tendencies we many have are simply that – TENDENCIES.

If they're good ones, then by all means nurture them and allow them to blossom. If they're bad, well … that's the beauty of being free and intelligent human beings. We always have the choice and ability to overcome that which makes us less than great."

THAT ABOUT SAYS IT ALL!

Resources
http://www.parents.com/baby/development/social/birth-order-and-personality/
http://www.lexiyoga.com/birth-order-can-predict-romantic-compatibility
http://www.parents.com/baby/development/sibling-issues/raising-only-child/
http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/ispeak/35606-birth-order-personality
http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-people-dont-understand-about-only-children/

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TURKISH DELIGHT ON A MOONLIT NIGHT?

8/11/2017

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How many of you remember the 1953 swing-style song "Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople" and the line, “Now it’s Turkish Delight on a moonlit night”? Probably not many, but you still may have heard of Turkish Delight. [Not the Erotica kind]

WHAT IS TURKISH DELIGHT?
Actually, Turkish Delight, or Lokum, is a family of absolutely yummy confections concocted of a gel made from starch and sugar and dusted with icing, sugar, copra, or powdered cream of Tartar, to prevent clinging. The Turkish term for the confection, rahat lokum, literally means "throat's ease".

Oh, I’m gaining weight just writing this.

When I was in Turkey I visited the Spice Market (Misir Carsisi) in Istanbul and learned there are many varieties of Turkish Delight, consisting largely of chopped dates, pistachios and hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel and most frequently flavored with rose water, mastic, lemon, cinnamon or mint.

Originally, honey and molasses were used for the sweeteners, and water and flour as the binding agents, and rosewater, lemon peel, and bitter orange as the most common flavors. They are usually made in bars or logs and cut into approximately 1” square pieces. But I saw several other shapes labeled as Turkish Delight. The following are just a few.

ORIGINS
The Turkish words lokma and lokum are derived from the Turkic luqma(t), meaning morsel and mouthful. Egypt, Bulgaria, Syria, Greece, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina all have their versions of the delight and their own names. In English, it was formerly called Lumps of Delight.

Its precise origins are unknown. Like most foods, it no doubt existed in some form, for centuries, made from locally available ingredients. Turkish legend has it that a Turkish sultan, tired of rumbling of discontent with his harem, summoned all confectioners in the land and ordered them to come up with a new dessert to quell the unrest. As a result, lokum was born.

The sweet as we know it today is credited to Bekir Effendi, who moved from his hometown Kastamonu, Turkey (although some references say Anatolia – maybe that’s the region) to Istanbul and opened a confectionery shop in 1776. He was a hit. Soon, fashionable ladies began giving Turkish Delight to their friends in special lace handkerchiefs. These were also used as acts of courting between couples, as documented by traditional Turkish love songs of that era. The confection was introduced to the western world in the 19th century. Again, unconfirmed stories tell of an unknown Briton become fond of the delicacy, purchased cases of lokum, and shipped them to Britain under the name Turkish Delight.

Turkish Delight can be a euphemism for hashish candy, as hashish (an extract of cannabis) is sometimes thought to have been an ingredient in the original recipe. The candy’s other claim to fame is its mention in C.S. Lewis’ "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" where the White Witch tempts Edmund with Turkish Delight.

RECIPES
And speaking of recipes, here are a few. I’ve never made Turkish Delight, or seen it made, but the ones I had in Turkey all had pistachios or other nuts in them.

● Recipe 1
From http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dessertssweetspastries/r/turkishdelight.htm
by Saad Fayed, About.com.Guide

Since I wrote this blog a few years ago, I checked this website recently. Since it is current date-wise, I'm not sure that the recipe posted now [July 2017] is the same as the one which follows. The following photo [by Rosemary Calvert/Photographer's Choice RF/Getty Images] is with the current recipe.

Preparation time:         15 minutes
Cooking time:               1 hour, 10 minutes
Total Time:                   1 hour, 25 minutes

Ingredients:
4 cups granulated sugar                              1 1/4 cups cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar                           4 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon juice                             1 1/2 tablespoons rosewater
1 cup confectioners sugar                           Vegetable oil or shortening

Preparation:
In a 9 inch baking pan, grease the sides and bottom with vegetable oil or shortening. Line with wax paper and grease the wax paper.

In a saucepan, combine lemon juice, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water on medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar dissolves. Allow mixture to boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine cream of tartar, 1 cup corn starch and remaining water in saucepan over medium heat. Stir until all lumps are gone and the mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring when the mixture has a glue like consistency.

Stir in the lemon juice, water and sugar mixture. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Once the mixture has become a golden color, stir in rosewater. Pour mixture into wax paper lined pan. Spread evenly and allow to cool overnight.

Once it has cooled overnight, sift together confectioners sugar and remaining cornstarch.

Turn over baking pan containing Turkish delight onto clean counter or table and cut with oiled knife into one inch pieces.

Coat with confectioners sugar mixture. Serve or store in airtight container in layers separated with wax or parchment paper.

● Recipe 2
From April 1997 Gourmet at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pistachio-Rosewater-Turkish-Delight-14057

Cuisine:                                 Middle Eastern
Dietary considerations:         Low sodium
Yield:                                     Makes about 36

This recipe is called non-evil Turkish Delight.

Ingredients
Four 1/4-ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin (about 3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup shelled natural pistachios
2 3/4 cups cold water
1 cup cornstarch
Four 1/4-ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin (about 3 tablespoons)
3 cups granulated sugar
5 teaspoons rosewater
1 drop red food coloring if desired
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar plus additional if necessary

Preparation
Oil an 8-inch square baking pan and line with plastic wrap. Oil plastic wrap.

In a small saucepan of boiling water blanch pistachios 3 minutes and drain in a sieve. Rinse pistachios under cold running water and pat dry. Rub skins off pistachios.

In a small bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water and let soften. In another small bowl stir together 1/8 cup cold water and cornstarch.

In a 4-quart heavy kettle stir together remaining 1 1/2 cups cold water, granulated sugar, and rosewater and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in gelatin and cornstarch mixtures and boil over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula, 10 minutes (mixture will be very thick).

Stir in pistachios and food coloring and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Pour mixture into baking pan, smoothing top with spatula, and cool. Chill confection, loosely covered, until set, about 4 hours.

Sift 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar onto a work surface. Invert confection onto sugar and peel off plastic wrap. Cut confection into 1/8-inch cubes. Sift remaining confectioners' sugar over cubes and toss to coat. Wrap cubes in parchment paper (do not use wax paper, plastic wrap, or airtight containers because confections will weep) and chill.

Turkish delight may be made 2 weeks ahead and kept chilled, wrapped in parchment paper.

Just before serving, recoat Turkish delight in additional confectioners' sugar.

ENJOY!

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FERRAGOSTO

8/4/2017

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CLOSED FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST
Ferragosto, translated from Italian, means August holiday. It also means three to four weeks of vacation for most Italians. Everything except tourist attractions are closed for the month, and the Italians head for the beaches or mountains. If you travel in Italy during August, most of the people you encounter in the cities are other tourists, foreigners, and a few disgruntled Italians who work in the tourist industry.

Chiuso Per Ferie - Closed for the Holidays

The idea of getting an automatic, mandatory three to four weeks off would be unheard of in many countries. But when the company, government office, or business you work for closes for the month, what else can you do? The Italians have done this for hundreds of years, regardless of the economy. They may have to work harder in July to get projects and tasks completed, but come August, they are out of there. A mass exodus from the big cities always creates traffic problems, news articles, and the incessant question, "Where are you going this year?"
Beaches in Italy in August Italian Alps in the summer

ANCIENT ORIGINS
Like most holidays in Italy and much of the western world, the origins of Ferragosto date back nearly 3,000 years to the early Romans. The festival of the Consuali, dedicated to Conso, the god of the harvest, took place on August 23 (or, if you accept Plutarch's version, on August 18) and workers and animals were granted a time of rest after the harvest. It was unique in that it was the only festival when masters, freemen, and slaves celebrated together.

Legend tells us it was initiated by Romulus, founder of Rome and, according to the ancient stories, it was at the first games for the Consuali that the Sabine women were abducted as future wives for the Romans.

Romulus' followers were mostly men, so after the founding of Rome they tried to negotiate with a nearby city state, the Sabines, for wives. The Sabines, however, feared the emergence of a rival society, and they brought negotiations to a screeching halt.

So the Romans planned an abduction during a festival--some sources say it was the Festival of Neptune Equester, others say the festival of the Consuali, or maybe they were the same thing. All the surrounding peoples and city states were invited, including the Sabines. During the festivities, the Romans snatched the Sabine women, then battled and defeated the Sabine men.

According to the writings of Livy and Plutarch, there was no sexual assault involved—rape in this context means taking the women away by force. However, Romulus offered the women free choice and, if they accepted Roman husbands, promised civic and property rights to them.

Apparently, many accepted because, not long after, there was a war between the Sabines and the Romans. The Sabine women who had become Roman wives stopped the fighting by inserting themselves between their Sabine fathers and Roman husbands on the battlefield and demanding that the war cease. They said they would rather die than to lose both husbands and fathers. The fighting stopped.

In my opinion, this is an example of how much better off the world would be if women were the leaders, not men. We operate on a more compassionate win-win level.

The Rape of the Sabine women has been a favorite subject for sculptures and paintings over the centuries, and I think it would make a terrific historic novel.

Another version of the origins is that the name is Latin (Ferie augusti) for Augustus holiday. Some sources indicate that the tradition began in 18 AD when Emperor Augustus celebrated the end of the harvest season with three weeks of rest and activities. These sources also cite the unusual practice of mingling all social classes at these events.

Take your pick of legends. Actually, they're are not mutually exclusive.

IN THE MIDDLE AGES
With the rise of the Roman Catholic faith, church authorities stepped in and turned the pagan festival into a religious celebration, proclaiming Ferragosto, celebrated on the fifteenth of August, as the Feast of the Assumption. This is the Roman Catholic feast day that celebrates the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the end of her earthly life, physically ascended into heaven.

While origins of this religious belief remain vague, by the fourth and fifth centuries AD it was mentioned in religious texts. There are debates about it, but by 847 it was solidly embedded in Roman Catholicism.

At some time during the Renaissance, to celebrate the assumption, the Church made it obligatory to recognize workers with a bonus in relation to this feast. That was, apparently, the beginning of the modern Italian practice to give workers a tredicesima, or thirteenth month paycheck in December.

To this day, my husband, who gets a pension from the Italian government, receives a 13th month payment every year. However, because he lives outside Italy, he isn't entitled to it. Still, each December, the Italian government sends his tredicesima. Then, in May they send a letter telling him he isn't entitled to it, and that they're deducting it from his June payment. It's happened that way for years. Don't these people have computers?

FERRAGOSTO IN ITALY TODAY
In addition to swarming the beaches and going to the mountains, contemporary Italians celebrate the holiday in various ways, many of them traditions that have existed for centuries. And, of course, everyone has a big family feast. Italians never miss an opportunity for a feast.

In Sienna the famous horse race Il Palio dell'Assunta is held on August 16 in honor of the Assumption of Mary. Ten horses, whose riders wear the colors representing the ten city wards, ride bareback through the streets. It's a very exciting event and a "must see" if you're in Italy in August. Photos by Patricia Winton

At one point in time, the Romans used to flood Piazza Navona and hold boat races. Another source claims it was customary to spray everyone with water and push them into this artificial lake. This is linked to the older rites focusing on Neptune and purification with water. This particular tradition has been discontinued.

Another ancient rite associated with the harvest festival was purification with fire, so in the countryside, you'll see many bonfires. In Trapani, there is a procession where the townspeople burn the grass along the procession route.

In the City of Messina, my husband's home town, there is a procession called La Vara. La Vara, which is derived from the verb meaning to launch, itself is actually a three- to four-story statue representing The Assumption of Mary. It is pulled through the streets of Messina, mounted on wooden beams like railroad ties, by people wanting to do penance. Dressed in white and barefoot, they pull on huge ropes to drag the statue about five miles to the cathedral.

A city water truck drives in front of the procession spraying water on the cobblestone streets to make the pulling easier. It's a very moving spectacle. I remember one year they tried putting the statue on wheels, so it would be easier to pull, and everyone complained. They went back to the wooden beams.

Another tradition that I've experienced is Cocomerata, or watermelon feast. August is the time for watermelons. On August 15, my husband's family in Messina eats a big feast (usually at someone's beach house), gets inebriated in various degrees, and finishes with watermelon for dessert. That turns into a food fight where everyone chases each other around and smears other people's faces with watermelon.

ECONOMICALLY SPEAKING
Closing down for three to four weeks in the middle of the tourist season may not make sense to others or seem economically feasible in today's world-driven economy, but it's been a tradition in Italy for eons. Employers may be looking at a shorter Ferie (holiday) in the future, and Italians may have to chose more affordable locations to enjoy their days of rest, but Ferragosto has survived through hard times, two world wars, and a myriad of other crises. It will come this year, and next year, and the year after that. I don't see it going away.
So on August 15, sit back, relax, drink a glass or two of wine (or other beverage of your choice), and eat some watermelon. The food fight is optional.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
□
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferragosto
http://goitaly.about.com/od/festivalsandevents/qt/august-italian-holiday-ferragosto.htm
http://voices.yahoo.com/the-italian-holiday-ferragosto-sacred-profane-11321.html?cat=16
http://www.visit-rimini.com/blog/ferragosto-an-italian-holiday/1,056 words

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RUBY FRIDAY: The july Birth Stone

7/28/2017

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In keeping with the birthstone for July, I had to write about rubies. The heroine in my romantic suspense series is named Harriet Ruby, so I couldn't pass up the connection. Harriet's last name was originally Rubinetto, which means faucet in Italian. It was changed by an immigration officer who must have thought no one should be named after a plumbing fixture.

WHEN IS A SAPPHIRE NOT A SAPPHIRE?
Answer: When it's a ruby.
Huh?
That's because both rubies and sapphires are created from corundum (aluminum oxide plus various traces iron and sometimes small bits of chromium and titanium). Mineral Corundum creates two distinct gemstones: Rubies and Sapphires. The only difference is color.

While sapphires come in many beautiful colors, only red corundum with a certain saturation of color is considered a Ruby. Otherwise, it is classified as a pink sapphire. Until the 1800s, gemologists didn't understand that rubies and sapphires come from the same mineral.

Corundum is a tough mineral second only to diamonds in hardness. Although it is found in many places throughout the world, including the US, rubies have become hard to find and stones over three carats are quite rare. Most rubies today, even expensive ones, have been treated in some manner. Heat treatment is the most common.

All natural rubies have imperfections in color and inclusions of rutile needles known as silk because of their thread-like pattern. Gemologists use these, which are found in all natural rubies, to identify them from synthetics, substitutes, and treated stones.
Below - Photos of rutile patterns in rubies

WHAT ARE RUBIES USED FOR?

Jewelry, jewelry, jewelry! Yes, yes, yes!
Ruby is one of the oldest gemstones known to man. Representing passion and power, rubies been around for thousands of years and worn by Kings, Queens, royalty, and priests throughout history. In addition to their great beauty, their hardness and durability make them particularly ideal for jewelry.

Industrial Uses
Corundum and very low grade rubies have industrial uses because of the hardness. It's mainly used as an abrasive known as emery (like in emery boards).

The mineral also has refractive properties. Because I can't explain something I don't understand, I'll simply point out that the refractive properties of corundum were used by Theodore Maiman in 1960 to made the first successful laser.

Medicinal Uses
Clearly, the use of ruby and most other gemstones for medicinal purposes falls into the folklore category. However, leading gemologist and gem expert George Frederick Kunz's book The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, published in 1913, reflects his belief that there was a great deal to be learned by studying the ways such stones were used by different cultures at different times. The roots of folklore stems sometimes from some intrinsic quality of the mineral, sometimes from the symbolic significance of the gem.
● Ruby works with the flow of blood as an aid to circulation. It aids the cleansing and removal of infection or germs in the blood. "Ruby is helpful for blood-related health issues, such as anemia, menstrual issues, and poor circulation." http://www.beadage.net/gemstones/gemstonesT_Z.shtml
● "Gemstone meanings are derived based upon how the vibration level of a specific stone affects our bodies, minds, and soul. Gemstone Healing is real and allows us to take advantage of this natural magic (energy) as we bring the energy we need into our lives."
http://gemstone-dictionary.com/

SOME WORLD FAMOUS RUBIES

● The Sunrise Ruby
The most expensive colored gemstone in the world, "The Sunrise Ruby," the cushion-cut stone of almost 26 carats set between two shield-shaped diamonds of almost three carats each brought $30.3 million at Sotheby’s Geneva in May, 2015, breaking the world auction record for the gem." (May 23, 2015 2:42 pm, By Danielle Arnet The Smart Collector)

● The Rosser-Reeves Star Ruby
The Rosser-Reeves is the finest and largest 138.7 carat star ruby placed at Smithsonian Institution Washington D.C. This brilliant stone was found in a Sri Lankan mine. Named after Mr. Rosser Reeves who donated it, this stone is clear (almost translucent) with a six rayed star. In 1966 it was insured for $150,000.

● The Liberty Bell Ruby
This is the largest mined ruby in the world. I've included it because in 2011 it was stolen in a gem heist from a jewelry store in Delaware. At that time, the four-pound stone had been appraised at $2 million. Most of the articles predicted it would never be seen again. Instead, it was recovered in 2014 (more or less a fluke) and four men were arrested. Later newspaper articles about the recovery refer to it as being worth $4 million.

● The De Long Star Ruby
It is a 100 carat oval cabochon displayed at American Museum of Natural History New York. Martin Ehrmann sold this piece of beauty to Edith Haggin De Long for $21,400.

● The Edwards Ruby
Named after Major General Sir Herbert Benjamin it was 167 carat Burmese ruby donated by John Ruskin in 1887 to British Museum of Natural History.

VARIOUS MEANINGS OF THE RUBY
Over the centuries, various cultures have contributed to the legends and folklore of gems. Because rubies are among the oldest known gems, the stone has a rich heritage of meanings and has inspired philosophers and mystics to attribute unusual powers to rubies. A few of the folklore "meanings" and "uses" include:

     ● The most powerful gem in the universe, and it is associated with many astral signs.
     ● A strong healer for the heart and blood.
     ● To bring about a positive and courageous state of mind.
     ● To bring enlightenment to humanity.
     ● To encourage passion for life.
     ● To provide a powerful shield during controversy.
     ● A shield that sends out protective energies to surround you at all times.
     ● To provide a protection from misfortune and bad health.
     ● To open the heart and promote love.
     ● A symbol of friendship and love, when given as a gift.
     ● A symbol of vitality and royalty.
     ● To bring contentment and peace.
     ● To bring success in business & good fortune in money matters, if you dream of a ruby.
     ● A ward against bad dreams, when placed under a pillow.
     ● A stimulant to nurturing emotions and economic stability.
     ● To shield from psychic attacks.
     ● To amplify energy.
     ● To give the courage to be best potential that a person has.

The list goes on and on, and I won't bore you with it. It's Mythology. Today, owning ruby jewelry it's undoubtedly a status symbol.

WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU IF SOMEONE GAVE YOU A RUBY?
Originally posted on RB4U blogsite
Resources
http://www.gemstoneeducation.com/Rubies.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby
https://crystal-cure.com/ruby-gem.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Bell_Ruby
http://gemstone-dictionary.com/
http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/mandalayruby.html
http://meanings.crystalsandjewelry.com/crystals-r
http://www.jewelinfo4u.com/World_Famous_Rubies.aspx
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/01/09/irreplaceable-2-million-ruby-stolen-in-wilmington-jewelry-heist/
http://www.beadage.net/gemstones/gemstonesT_Z.shtml
http://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/spring-2014-gemnews-tucson-rutilated-quartz
http://www.ruby-sapphire.com/the-silk-road-rutile-in-corundum.htm
http://www.gemselect.com/other-info/gemstone-meanings.php
http://tucson.com/lifestyles/the-sunrise-ruby-sale-breaks-world-auction-record/article_56881674-5de9-59dd-a571-9cae46811a62.html

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an Italian-American Love Story

7/21/2017

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Everyone Has A Story
Everyone has a story, and for many people that story is a romance … although not all of them have happy endings in real life. That's one of the wonderful aspects of the romance novels. You can become anyone, go anywhere, and experience every emotion, without leaving home and without risk. And you experience the joy of H.E.A.

My Story: How I Met My Husband
After graduating from UC Berkeley in 1963 with a degree in architecture, I went to Rome to study at the University of Rome. I arrived via London, where I'd spent a week with a friend from Berkeley. On July 26, my first day in Rome and at the Fountain of Love in Piazza Esedra (also called Piazza Della Republica), I met the man I married and am still married to after more than fifty years.

The Fountain of Love in Piazza Esedra The Day We Met: July 26, 1963

I’d just arrived by train that afternoon from London, and had eaten nothing all day. Once I found a place to stay for a few days, I went looking for an American Bar that I remembered from my first time in Rome. I was dying for a hamburger after a week in England.

The café (I can't recall the name anymore) wasn't far from my rooming house near the train station, located on Via Nazionale, which intersected with Piazza Della Republica. However, there were, and still are, at least five streets traversing that piazza. I planned sit down by the fountain in the center of the piazza to figure it out.

In those day (long before air conditioning), during the hot summer afternoons, the Italians sat around the rims of the fountains seeking cool relief from the heat in the light fountain spray. The only cool place around. And, of course, it was packed with photographers taking pictures of tourists.

Love At First Sight: Well, Maybe.
When I got there and waited for a break in the traffic to cross the street, I noticed, sitting on the rim of the fountain, a good looking man who made me think of the Italian actor, Marcello Mastroianni.

Pretty cool. I didn't delude myself that it was the actor, but the man looked a lot like him. That was good enough. I skipped across the street, dodging cars and motor scooters in my three inch spiked heels, and sat down next to him.

After a while, he started talking to me (Heh! Heh! Heh!), but I don't remember how we communicated. He spoke a little English, I spoke a few words in Italian from one semester of the language at Berkeley. Despite the communication problem, I learned he was a Guardia of the Pubblica Sicurezza, a state policeman, who worked in the passport office.

Guardia di Pubblica Securezza Luciano is the one goofing off Main Police Station in Rome

And when he invited me to dinner, I accepted. Oh, yeah. We found other ways to communicate, as young people usually do. Things got very friendly on the steps of the Palazzo Della Civitá, but it was dark by then—thank goodness— and we were up a million steps from street level, under the arcade. Palazzo Della Civitá

Under other circumstances, I probably would have slapped his face (that's my story and I'm sticking with it) and left, but I had no Italian money and didn’t know where I was or how to get to my hotel. Well, I was young, inexperienced, and not the brightest bulb on the tree.

When he returned me to my pensione late that night, we made a date for the next afternoon. A date I almost missed because I had to register for Italian classes at a language school. I met two other American girls who wanted to share a room, and the time slipped away. I had to run all the way from the bus to the rooming house to catch him before he left.

H.E.A.
After that, I was smitten. A couple of months later, I had to look up the word fidanzata in my Italian-English dictionary to find out I was engaged. In December we got married in a civil ceremony at City Hall (the Campidoglio).

But that's just the beginning of the saga. I'll save the rest for another time.

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TIME MANAGEMENT FOR AUTHORS

7/14/2017

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FEELING OVERWHELMED?
Most writers experience, at times, the feeling of being overwhelmed. Sometimes I feel like I'm running on a railroad track, and the train behind me is getting closer and closer. Now, even more so with the growing pressure to have a presence on the social media. One class I took advised writers to do a hundred tweets a day to five hundred people.

I don't know. I don't have a hundred things to tweet about in a day, much less interesting things.

MANAGE YOUR TIME
Wisdom and experience suggest that many writers could do a better job of managing their time, particularly during those high-intensity weeks or months when everything seems to come crashing down. Well, duh! That's a no brainer.
.
There are lots of blogs and books about how to do just that. Writers have advice and tips for others and personal experiences to share. And, if you've been part of corporate America at one point in time, you've probably either read books or taken courses on time management.

Yes. Time management is a good thing. It's a skill we all should practice. Taking one class isn't enough. You need a refresher course about every six months to regroup and get back on track.

It's worth doing and there are lots of things writers can learn, particularly from each other, about what works and what doesn't, such as using a kitchen timer and limiting your time on social media. Listen when your friends want to share their ideas.

WHERE DID WE MISS THE BOAT?
In our efforts to do it all, it's possible to lose our way.

Point One: The Vital Few vs. The Trivial Many
Controlling the time you spend on your different activities isn't enough. Sure, you have to do it, but you need to apply the Pareto Principle (the Golden Rule of Time Management) in the process.

"Which is?" she asked.

Without going into all the gory details of its history, the Pareto Principle states that "20 percent of a person's effort generates 80 percent of the results."

No matter the nature of the work you're talking about, 20 percent of the work (the first 10 percent and the last 10 percent) consume 80 percent of your time and resources. According to F. Hohn Reh:
     "The value of the Pareto Principle for a manager is that it reminds you to focus on the 20
     percent that matters. Of the things you do during your day, only 20 percent really matter.
    Those 20 percent produce 80 percent of your results. Identify and focus on those things.
    When the fire drills of the day begin to sap your time, remind yourself of the 20 percent
    you need to focus on. If something in the schedule has to slip, if something isn't going to
    get done, make sure it's not part of that 20 percent." [Pareto's Principle - The 80-20 Rule By
     F. John Reh] http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Pareto081202.htm

Thus, writers, like everyone, should shift their focus to those activities that produce results rather than on activities which do not.

Point Two: Urgent vs. Important
To apply the Pareto Principle, writers must learn the difference between urgent and important activities.

A good share of the 80% of your work that doesn't produce results falls into the "urgent" category. And if you don't think about it, and if you don't set goals and priorities, it's easy to fall into the trap of responding to tasks that may be urgent, but not important.
▪ Important activities have an outcome that leads to the achievement of your goals.
▪ Urgent activities demand immediate attention, and are often associated with the achievement of someone else's goals. We concentrate on these because they are the "squeaky wheels that get the grease." They demand attention because the consequences of not dealing with them are immediate.

And we tend to set aside the important tasks until later “when I have time.”

Right. And that “time” never comes. Those back-burner items never seem to get done. Here are three examples of "The Urgent":
     ▪ Pressing or burning imperatives that must be completed
       immediately.
     ▪ Critical or vital tasks that someone else insists be
       performed without delay.
     ▪ Unrelenting and persistent routine demands on your time.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn't address the Urgent. But instead of dropping what you’re doing, ask yourself the following and then decide if you are going to stop working on the important activity for the urgent one.
     ▪ Is it a priority? Will it produce a longer time, important result?
     ▪ Does the task need to be done right at this moment, or is there something else on
       your list that should come first?
     • Could someone else do it?
     ▪ Is it going to take your focus off of more important tasks with long-term results?
   ▪ Does the task need immediate attention, though it has only small and short-term
       results?
     ▪ If left undone, is the problem likely to grow into something important as well as urgent? What are the consequences of not doing it right now?

Point Three: Effective vs. Efficient
Many writers often don't have a clear understanding of the difference between working efficiently and working effectively.

We all should strive to use our time both effectively and efficiently; there's a difference and we need to be aware of it.
     ▪ Effective (adj.) Adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result. Being effective is all about doing the right things (to produce the results, achieve the goals, etc.)
    ▪ Efficient (adj.) Performing or functioning in the best possible manner with the least waste of time and effort. Being efficient is all about doing things in the right/correct manner.

Tim Ferris, in his 2007 bestseller The 4-Hour Work Week suggests we learn to focus our attention on the 20% of our activities that contribute to 80% of the results. Gee, that sounds familiar.

Point Four: Overcome Procrastination
Procrastination is a time stealer that can be eliminated. People tend to procrastinate for two reasons.
     ▪ The task is considered to be unpleasant. To overcome a reluctance to engage in less pleasant tasks, tackle the difficult ones first and get them over with. Otherwise, you will fret about it and not do anything and it still needs to be done.
     ▪ The entire task looks overwhelming. So much so that a person doesn’t know where to begin. Break the task down into smaller tasks based on sequence and priority, and tackle them one at a time.

Point Five: Doing the Right Things
How do we figure out what "the right things" are? Well, they are those activities that produce the results we want.

There's rub. You have to know what results you want. Not enough writers take the time to really understand what they want out of writing or what results they want to produce.

I know, I know. Every writer wants to be on the New York Times best seller list. We all want to sell millions of copies of our books and earn a seven figure salary. We want it all...and most of us probably can't have it all. And ... it isn't all about what we want, or think we want?

WHY DO I WRITE?
We all know the answer to that. We write because we are compelled to write. Our DNA demands it. No choice. I think of it as a genetic defect all writers share.

However, we do make choices about what we write, how often, the genres we write in, how or if we publish, and so on. Just like our characters, those decisions are driven as much by what results we need as those we want.

When we create a character in a novel, we write down what the character is most afraid of, what he/she wants (goals), and what he/she needs (internal motivation). And as a writer, you know "wants" and "needs" are not necessarily the same thing. That works in novels because those motivations also drive real live human beings. Us.

Do you have a handle on what you need as a writer? Not what you want, but that subliminal inner need that compels you to write?

Can you articulate your need to write? If you can, you shouldn't have any trouble figuring out "the right things" to spend your time on.

MY 2 CENTS, FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH
● Know why you write
● Know the results you need and want from your writing
● Set goals and priorities
● Focus on those activities that produce the results
● Be aware of time management and don't leave it to chance
● Avoid Procrastimation
● Ask yourself constantly, "What is the best use of my time right now?" and
● PUT YOUR BUTT IN THE CHAIR AND WRITE

If you're not actually writing, then most of the other activities aren't going to matter anyway.
There! Now, that was easy. I feel so much better and relaxed.

Resources
http://www.procrastinationhelp.com/time-management/gurus.html
http://derekstockley.com.au/guru.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Pareto081202.htm
http://www.pinnicle.com/Articles/Pareto_Principle/pareto_principle.html
http://management.about.com/cs/generalmanagement/a/Pareto081202.htm

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New Release: All For A Fist Full of Ashes

7/7/2017

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Readers always want to know where authors get their story ideas. This is how my new release All For A Fistful Of Ashes, second novel in the Tour Director Extraordinaire series, came about.

The first book of the series, All For A Dead Man's Leg, was an experiment to see if I could write in first person and write humor. I'd never done either. The romantic suspense featured a young tour director finding out what life was all about and a Europol spy with a dark past. I loved the characters, and I loved the voice, but I never intended to write a series featuring Harriet Ruby and Will Talbot. So, needless to say, the second book wasn’t planned.

THE INSPIRATION
In early 2005, my Italian-American daughter-in-law and some members of her family decided to take a trip to Italy. She was taking her son, my grandson, so I decided to make the trip with another grandson who was about the same age.

After mass confusion, and a lot of family members wanting to go and then opting out, it ended up with thirteen Italian-Americans, including four teenagers, and my daughter-in-law's father, Vita Zaso, who grew up in Palermo.

Oh, man! Knowing the way Italians make group decisions, the trip was going to be a predictable disaster. So I decided I should at least get the material for a book out of it.

A group of Italian-Americans taking a tour of Italy was a natural setting for my heroine Harriet Ruby, Tour Guide Extraordinaire. And if Harriet was my heroine, I needed Will Talbot on the trip with a spy story for him to chase after. So I came up with a story idea based on some family history and wrote the first three chapters before the trip, in part so I knew what to look for. The working title was "The Italian Train Wreck" and, as you can imagine, that's what the trip turned out to be: A Train Wreck.

The characters in the book are fictitious, and not based on my relatives―a reviewer for Coffee Time Romance, wrote she didn't think there was a more obnoxious family on the planet than the Spinella/Mazza clan―but the trip provided many incidents that spiced up the novel and quite a few that didn't get into the book.

Part of our Italian-American family The four teenagers and Italian friends plus Vito Haley, Christian, Tyler, and Nick

Another ironic piece of the story behind the story is the brouhaha over the cremated ashes. A year after this book was written, Vito Zaso died. At his request, he was cremated. He also requested that his ashes with other family members in Palermo.

My daughter-in-law and her siblings went through all kinds of misery and discontent getting the ashes into Italy. To get permission, they had to have another death certificate issued with the address of the final location. They didn't have the address and went through a lot to get it. Ultimately, they didn't have to smuggle the ashes wrapped in cigars, but at one point it seemed like that might be the best shot. The incident validated my research, and I dedicated the book to Vito.

Of all the books I've written, this was the most fun.

Also, my oldest son has raised and bred green tree pythons and other constrictors since he was in middle school, so I have had somewhat "unwilling" experience with snakes. However, no one brought a snake on the real trip.

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
Part of this story is based loosely on my husband's maternal grandmother, Orsola Giannoni, born in Florence. She met a Sicilian sailor at a festival in Pisa and married him against her family's wishes. As a result, they disowned her and severed all contact.

In those days, Sicilians were considered lower than pond slime by northern Italians, and even today that is somewhat the case. My husband says his grandmother had red hair, blue eyes, and never spoke Sicilian in all the years she lived in Sicily because she thought it was such an ugly dialect.

She never heard from her family again.

During WWII, when the Americans were bombing Messina (Sicily), my husband, in his early teens, and his family left the city and lived in Bordonaro, a mountain town not too far away. Three families lived together in an old barn. Orsola, then an old woman, died during the heaviest part of the bombing.
WWII photo - bombing in Messina ▼

Because of the attack, there was no one to take her body away. The families that lived in the barn built a coffin out of the dining table, the only wood available, and used the casket as a table for several days. My mother-in-law used to tell the story of crying all through the meals and asking, "Mamma, do you want a glass of wine?" When the bombing stopped, government officials took away all the dead bodies
en mass -- many had been killed -- and the family never found out where Orsola was buried.

ABOUT ALL FOR A FIST FULL OF ASHES

OVERVIEW
In All For A Fist Full of Ashes, tour director Harriet Ruby and Europol spy and special operative, Will Talbot -- who've been seeing each other for a year since meeting in Morocco -- come together in Italy where their work assignments again overlap.

Harriet is conducting a custom tour for fourteen members of an Italian-American family from New Jersey. The family matriarch is on a quest to find the unknown location of her mother's grave so she can bury her brother's cremated ashes which have been smuggled into Italy wrapped as Cuban cigars. Will has one of the family members under surveillance as a suspect in an assassination conspiracy.

Charming the matriarch, Will coaxes an invitation from her to join the tour. The quirky family members, including the four unruly teenagers and a pet green tree python named Fluffy, sweep through Italy in search of relatives and a lost grave and leave chaos, hilarity, and danger in their wake.

Will and Harriet find traveling together for twenty-four hours a day threatens their budding relationship which is fraught trust issues. Harriet wants to be involved in everything, and Will won't – or can't -- tell her anything about his case. Harriet's intervention leads her to intuit the time, place and victim of the conspiracy. Unable to reach Will, she puts herself in danger to thwart the assassination.

BLURB
I’m Harriet Ruby: Tour Director Extraordinaire. At least, I thought I was worthy of that title.

My first mistake: Agreeing to conduct a private tour of Italy. Fourteen Italian-Americans from New Jersey? All family, for three weeks, with four teenagers? What was I thinking? Fate responds to my engraved invitation by placing one of the family members under surveillance as a suspect in an assassination plot. And who is assigned to the case? None other than my favorite drop-dead-gorgeous spy, Will Talbot.

My second mistake: Allowing Will to coax an invitation from the family matriarch to join the tour.

And that was just the beginning. The matriarch, searching for the unknown location of her mother's grave so she can bury her brother's cremated ashes (which have been smuggled into Italy wrapped in Cuban cigars), and her quirky family members sweep through Italy leaving chaos, hilarity, and danger in their wake.
□
This blog will be posted also on the Romance Books 4 Us [RB4U] Blog on July 10, 2017

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BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

6/30/2017

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IN SEARCH OF GIN JINN
No! I didn't mean that kind of gin; I mean the genie kind.

Before I wrote the short story, Time In A Bottle, everything I knew about genies I'd learned from the original book One Thousand and One Nights or Walt Disney movies. When I researched the topic, I was in for a surprise.

Actually, jinn or djinn (both plural), which means genies, predate Walt Disney by quite a few thousand years, and also they predate Islam in the form of Arabian Mythology.

The word Jinn comes from the Arabic verb Janna and means "hidden from sight." Jinn refers to any class of spirits, lower than angels, capable of appearing in human and animal forms and influencing humankind for either good or evil.

The English word genie comes from the Latin word genius, which means a guardian spirit thought to be assigned to each person at birth. The French translators of One Thousand and One Nights used the word genie as a translation of jinn or jinni because it was similar to the Arabic word in sound and in meaning. And it stuck.

IN ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY
Throughout history, humans have been attracted to the supernatural and unseen. The spirit world has always held a fascination for people everywhere, from prehistory through modern times. Just look at the popularity of the paranormal genre.

It doesn't come as a surprise that the belief in invisible spirits existed in Arabian, Greek, and Roman mythology, as well as in the primitive beliefs of many other locations from Africa to the Canary Islands.
   ● In ancient Greece, Daemons were benevolent or benign spirits who served humans, at the will of Zeus, like spirit guides but who were invisible and known only by their acts. Nature spirits.
   ● The Roman equivalent of a Greek Daemon was a protective spirit call a genius. In ancient Roman religion, the genius was the individual instance of a general divine nature that is present in every individual person, place, or thing. Every man had a protective spirit, or genius, assigned to him, every woman, a juno. In reading the descriptions, it seems to be regarded almost like the soul of a person or place.
   ● In Arabian mythology, preIslamic beliefs of the Arab people, the jinn or djinn were one of a myriad of gods, demigods, and other deities. They were not gods, but supernatural spirits of free will who could be good, benign, or evil. These spirits had the ability to possess human beings, both in the sense that they persuade humans to perform actions (good or bad), and like the Christian perception of demonic possession.

There were several types of djinn in the preIslam beliefs. I found references to eleven types in general, but only two in relations to mythology. My guess is that all of them are found in mythology, but that's only a speculation.

Marids – The most powerful, with the ability to grant the wishes of mortals, but that usually required battle or a lot of flattery to accomplish.
◄ (Drawing by Lisa Brown)

Ifrit or Effrit– Spirits below the level of angels and devils, noted for strength and cunning. They were large winged creatures of fire who lived underground. They generally married among themselves but could also marry humans. Ordinary weapons could not kill them but they were susceptible to magic. They were also good or evil, but are most often depicted as wicked and ruthless.
(Drawing by Lisa Brown) ▼

Ghoul — This tribe traveled to the northwest and is known in English as an "undead monster" or "undead." In the ancient Arabic myths, ghouls are zombie-like Jinn for limited intelligence who haunt graveyards and eat human flesh. They were considered demons and incapable of goodness.
◄ (All drawing by Lisa Brown - aliftheunseen.com/the-five-types-of-jinn/ )

Vetla — This Jinn is the original vampire. Vetla are malevolent spirits from Indian folklore. They can possess human corpses and prevent them from decaying and convince other human into believing they are ordinary people. They can change shape at will, and believed to be able to tell the future, gain insight into the past, and read minds.
◄

Sila — Sila are believe to be shape-shifters more tolerant of human society than ▲
other tribes of Jinn. They don't correspond to the Arabic root pattern, and are more likely northern European. The name may be derived from the Middle English word seelie, which means good faerie. They are often portrayed as female, are very intelligent, and are the rarest of the Jinn who only appear occasionally in folklore. They do not seek to do harm to humans, but are fond of meddling in an attempt to help. (Drawing by Lisa Brown - aliftheunseen.com/the-five-types-of-jinn/)

GOD CREATED ANGELS, JINN, AND MANKIND
In mythology, there is a belief that every human has a jinn (called a qareen or quarin which means companion) like the roman genius, assigned to the individual at birth.

According to my research, neither the word nor the concept of jinn is found anywhere in the original Hebrew text of the Bible, but the word is used in old Arabic translations of the Bible. In Isaiah 6, the seraphim (which are described as burning, fiery ones) appear as creatures with their six wings used to cover their bodies, face, and feet (the description of the Ifrit). Also, in other scriptures, Jesus drives demons out of humans that are possessed. While not called jinn, these are spirits that possess the characteristics of jinn.

As I understand the references, in Islamic theology the jinn are creatures created by God (Allah) from smokeless fire just as humans were created from the clay of the earth. They are spirits, just as angels are spirits, but a lower order than angles.

They are physical beings with free will, just as humans have free will, and are able to interfere physically with mankind and objects and, likewise. can be acted upon. They are believed to inhabit an unseen world beyond the dimensions of the visible world occupied by humans.

Then, of course, there is the Hollywood interpretation of where they live.

They are believed to live in social communities, with government, courts of law, weddings, mourning rituals, etc., and they have the ability to travel long distances at incredible speeds. They even die, but are much longer lived the mankind. Jinn are usually invisible to humans, but they can see humans clearly. Like mankind, they will be judged on the Day of Judgment and be sent to Paradise or hell according to their deeds.

EAST MEETS WEST
Culture shock!

In Muslin cultures, some people still believe that Jinn exist. It is part of the Muslim religion that God (Allah) created three kinds of beings: Angels, Jinn, and humans. And according to the Quran 51:56 "I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship me."

I found it interesting that the article on www.islamreligion.com/ indicated that, because of their free will, "Jinn can thus be Muslims or non-Muslims. However, due to their fiery nature, the majority of them are non-Muslim." However, those are considered by Muslims as part of the army of Satan.

The Jinn were given greater powers and abilities than humans as a test. Among other things, they have the power to take over the minds and bodies of other creatures. This however, has been prohibited as it is a great oppression to possess another being.

WHAT WOULD YOU WISH FOR?
If you had your own personal genie, a qareen or quarin, what would you wish for?
Below is the genie I want for a gareen.

Resources
http://genies.wikia.com/wiki/Jinn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinn
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/jinn
http://aliftheunseen.com/the-five-types-of-jinn/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seraphim
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+6&version=KJV
http://cryptozoologycryptids.wikia.com/wiki/Jinn
http://strangeworldofmystery.blogspot.com/2010/02/genie-jinn-or-djinn.html
http://www.jinndemons.com/jinn-in-quran/
http://www.islamawareness.net/Jinn/hyjinn.html
http://thedivinefire.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/ancient-arabian-mythology/
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/669/
http://shaikhsohail.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/belief-in-the-jinn/

This blog by R. Ann Siracusa was originally published on Romance Books 4 Us blogsite August 10, 2014

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VICTORIA FALLS: one of the Seven Natural Wonders Of The World

6/23/2017

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Readers always want to know where authors get their ideas. The answer is everywhere. Newspapers, TV, things people tell you about, things you see and experiences first hand. Just keep your eyes and ears open, and ask "What if?"

The last book in my humorous romantic suspense series, Tour Director Extraordinaire, is set in southern Africa. I outlined the novel in 2008 while I was traveling in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. This blog is about one of the most outstanding sights I saw there.

Victoria Falls is an amazing waterfall located on the Zambezi River, at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe in southern Africa. It is named as one of the seven natural wonders of the world on the 1979 CNN list. On the map below, the falls are located about in the center, where Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia come together. Botswana is slightly to the west.

The first white man known to see this amazing work of nature was Scottish explorer David Livingston, in 1855, who named it in honor of Queen Victoria. The native name is Mosi-oa-Tunya. Victoria Falls was designated as a UNESO World Heritage Site in 1989. And, in my opinion, it's one of the Must See locations in the world.

MOSI-OA-TUNYA
THE SMOKE THAT THUNDERS
There's a good reason why it carries that name. The falls are not the highest or widest in the world, but Mosi-oa-Tunya is the largest falling sheet of water in the world. In the wet season, the full width of the Zambezi River (5,604 feet – over one mile wide) plummets straight down for 354 feet in a single sheet.

GEOGRAPHY
The Zambezi River, the fourth longest river in Africa, flows through six countries from central Africa to the Indian Ocean. Along the central plateau of Africa, the wide river moves through a shallow valley over a level sheet of basalt bounded by low sandstone hills far in the distance. There are many islands, increasing in number as they approach the falls.

Photo above by Mike Myers ▲
Where are the mountains? This is the part of the uniqueness of the falls. There aren't any mountains or deep valleys as you would expect. Just flat land with a wide river…and then you see a billowy column of what looks like white smoke.

It's not smoke. It's a plume of water spray, rising sometimes a mile high and visible for 20 Kilometers, as the river drops into a deep horizontal chasm carved by the river along a fracture zone in the basalt.
Well, heck. Where does it fall to?

It plummets into a deep vertical chasm caused by water erosion over thousands of years in the fracture zones. Underneath the plateau of hard basalt, lies much softer sandstone. Where the fractures exist in the surface material, the cracks have filled with sandstone which the river has eroded.

Water pours over the edge into the first gorge, which varies in depth from 260 feet to 354 feet at the western end. The outlet is only 360 feet wide. The fracture and resulting chasms zigzag across the central stretch of the plateau. The falls are considered the dividing line between the upper- and the central-Zambezi zones. Considering that during the wet season, 540 million cubic meters of water per minute fall into the first of the Batoka Gorges, that's very restricted outlet.

From the air, during the dry season, the gorges look like this. When I was there, the river was about as dry as it gets and not that much of the width was covered with water. It was still impressive.

The Zambizi River from helicopter in dry season ▼ Satellite view of the river, the falls, and the gorges.▼

JUST A BEAT MORE
Sometimes the unpleasant places and experiences are as important in our writing as the beautiful ones. Although Victoria Falls is mentioned in the book All For A Blast Of Hot Air, the part that got the most attention was the awful airport at Victoria Falls (the name of the town) in Zimbabwe.

It may not look too bad in this photo, but I describe what it's really like in the excerpt from one of my novels: All For A Blast of Hot Air – Book 5 of the Tour Director Extraordinaire series coming out in print December 2019.

Excerpt
     We arrived at Victoria Falls an hour and a half later, unprepared for the long wait to come. After two hours inside the worst airport I'd ever experienced, waiting for our luggage, we were tempted to abandon the bags, return immediately to South Africa and forget the safari.
     At best, the airport smelled like an unwashed armpit and rotting fruit. The rest rooms were so filthy even the insects avoided them. Instead, the annoying little creatures buzzed around our heads and flew into our eyes, noses, and mouths. Another set of angry passengers swarmed the airline officials, complaining about their bags being broken into after they were checked in by the airline.
     If the building had air conditioning at all, the near-hundred degree heat and ninety percent humidity rendered it useless. Oh, the fans rumbled and groaned—yes, they did. Loud enough to be distracting even above the high-pitched incessant shouting and yelling, but they did nothing to move the stale muggy air.
     In seconds my clothes were more than moist and my hair assumed the appearance and texture of steel wool struck by lightning.
     The facility offered no seating for passengers while the Zimbabwe customs officials went through every bag looking for anything they could tax, which took forever. Every inch of the building was old, worn, and beyond depressing.
     Welcome to Victoria Falls, seventh natural wonder of the world!
     "I'm not overly impressed." I panted the observation as we hauled our bags outside after the unbearable hours of torture. No luggage carts or baggage handlers to be seen anywhere. Neither one of us carried much although, for this flight, we'd packed all our electronics in our carryon bags. I'd been warned not to check such items if we ever wanted to see them again, that is. "It looked better in the photos."
     Will frowned, his lips thin, and shook his head slightly, unwilling to go there.
     "You think? Pfft." He spit a bug out of his mouth and held the exit door open for me while I shoved our bags through to the outside.
□
Resources
http://www.zambiatourism.com/travel/places/zambezir.htm
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/zambezi-river-africa-photos/
http://www.africanworldheritagesites.org/natural-places/earths-crust/victoria-falls-zimbabwe-and-zambia.html
http://www.victoriafalls.com/
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/509

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iNVASION OF THE BODY SHAPERS

6/16/2017

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TIME TO SHAPE UP FOR SUMMER!
While most women yearn for an awesome, modelesque shape, most of us are real people. We weren't born that way or we didn't stay that way, and the ideal images set by celebrities are unrealistic for many of us. But humans, being the innovative creatures that we are, have come up with a solution of sorts.

SHAPEWEAR! YAY!

Ah, but it's not a modern innovation we're talking about. Both men and women have been using various sorts of shapewear under their garments for about 5,000 years.

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CORSET
In Ancient Times
The first evidence of a corset-like garment for women originated in the Bronze Age Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. There, a cupless bra was first worn around 2500 to 3000 BC. Based on surviving artifacts, the bodice of a dress was constructed of a stiff fabric, tight enough to hold in the waist and emphasize the bare bosom.

Body shaping in the Minoan culture wasn't only for women. Men wore codpieces in that culture as well.

Minoan Greek Toga Roman Toga

In ancient Greece, women wore corsets of leather bands to define their hips and busts under the Greek Chiton. From birth, girls were swaddled for six months, their legs and arms bound to restrict their movement and keeping limbs straight. Greek girls were forced to keep trim and mothers used woolen bands to keep the developing bodies slim. -- Pauline Weston Thomas for Fashion-Era.com

In Rome, loose fitting robes (togas) and shapers similar to the Greek leather bands were worn. The more elaborate the layers of cloth of the toga, the richer the wearer. To provide shape, both men and women added pins and sashes (called girdles).

Fast Forward to the Middle Ages
Women of the Middle Ages were covered from head to foot, since the religious beliefs taught that the body was sinful. Donning underwear was something to be ashamed of, even underpants.

Legend has it that in 1370 the Roman Empire issued the following edit: "No woman will support the bust by the disposition of a blouse or by tightened dress." By the end of the 14th century, clothes were cut and shaped to the body. The corset, now designed to cover and flatten the breasts, was reborn. Eventually, the garment was remodeled to lift the bustline and push it outward and cinch in the waist.

16th Century Iron Cage C.De Medici corset 1590

The 16th Century Iron Cage
The funnel-shaped "iron cage" corset was brought from Italy to France in the 1500's by Catherine de Medici when she married King Henry II of France. She is often (and mistakenly) given credit for inventing the corset. The women of the French aristocracy soon deemed it an indispensable garment.

By the 1600's, the iron instruments of torture were softened and fashioned from silk and other fabrics stiffened by stays of whalebone, other bone, and wood. Freed from being a part of the dress bodice, the now-stand-alone corset was demoted to the status of underwear.

During the Renaissance, men, as well as women, sculpted their silhouettes with padding, including fake calves, paunches (why, I can't guess), doublets that puffed up a man's chest, and codpieces. The codpiece was a sign of virility and wealth. Some waistcoats, designed to be corset-like, were worn by men as an outer garment. And speaking of padding, let's not forget the codpiece (cod meaning scrotum in middle English). This was a man's "signature piece".

To the left, Denis Bruna holds up reproduction codpiece by Hollis Bernhart.

The corset stays made it very difficult to move, so I assume these garments were worn mostly by aristocrats who didn't need to move around much. Working people didn't have that luxury.

In fact, corsets all but disappeared during the French Revolution in 1789 when it became unpopular to be identified with the aristocracy. If wealth equaled corset wearing, and corset wearing equaled aristocrat, and wealth equaled guillotine, then corset = headless aristocrat. ( http://www.bigbustsupport.com/history_of_the_bra.html)

Perhaps that's the reason for the advent of the high-waisted empire style of the 1790's which deemphasized the natural waist and the need for the tight corset.

The Corset Slides Downward: A Near Death Experience
When the waistline returned to its original position in the 1800's, women's waists again needed narrowing, and the corset was back in style. This time, instead of ending at the waist like a funnel, the garment was more curvaceous and went below the waist -- the corset slid downward, so to speak -- and was not laced as tightly. A thriving market of mass-produced corsets made them cheaper and more accessible to everyone.

Nonetheless, by the late 1800's and early 1900's, the corset also slid downward in popularity as well as shape.

The straight-front corset -- called the S-bend corset or the health corset -- was worn from circa 1900 to the early 1910s. It was designed to be better for a woman's health because it exerted less pressure on the stomach area. Unfortunately, that benefit was offset by injury to the back due to unnatural posture forcing the torso forward.

At the same time, the bustle became popular. It didn't shape the body in the same way as the corset, but instead expanded and supported the fullness at the back of women's dresses.

The woman's movement in the early 1900's led to more women in the job market and participating in outdoor activities, and the popularity of the corset and bustle slid. WWI dealt a near-death blow in 1917 when the U.S. War Industries Board asked American women to give up corsets to save the steel for war production. According to Wikipedia, this step freed up 28,000 tons of metal, enough to build two battleships.

Girdles made with elasticized materials that ran from the waist down to various lengths and garters or garter belts persisted through the 1950's but, by the 1960s Hippie era, the girdle had slid all the way down and off the modern woman's body.

REVIVAL
After nearly a hundred-year breathing spell (or at least fifty) we can thank current celebrities for the remarkable revival of modern shapewear.

The first honor goes to Oprah Winfrey for declaring, in 2000, Spanx as one of her favorite things. In eight years, the market tripled to $750 million in annual sales in 2008. – NPD Group, Market Research

According to Lindsay Putnam, we "have the Kardashians to thank for making a torture device from the 16th century relevant in 2014." The waist-cincher. http://nypost.com/2014/11/19/how-to-get-waisted-like-a-kardashian/

Today women no longer have to put up with ominous names like "the iron cage" and can enjoy wearing: It Figures!, Yummie Tummie, Feel Foxy Shapewear, Squeem Shapewear, Bare Necessities, InstantSlim, Her Room, Va Bien's, ResultWear, Not Your Daughter's Jeans, Whatsawaist, Spanx Bod-a-Bing!, and Spanx Hide & Sleek.

I found a more limited list of brands for men. I'm sure there are others: PowerSlim, Durafit, Leo, Hoter, InstaSlim, Zero Body, Ardyss Abdomen, etc.

KNOW YOUR COMPRESSIONWEAR
The fact that the industry calls shapewear by the name of "compression clothing" might give a hint to what we're actually doing to our bodies. Fortunately, knowledge and technology have come a long way since the days of the iron cage, and the industry claims that "Today's body shapers are comfortable, effective, and give a natural-looking shape." Yeah, right!

So What's Your Problem, Lady?

Shaper Type            Areas Shaped
Minimizer bra                   Bust, upper back

Control brief                     Abdomen, rear, hips; sometimes waist if extends upward and thighs if extends
                                        downward

Slip shaper                      Abdomen, rear, hips, thighs

Shaping top                    Upper and lower back, stomach; waist if long enough and bust if bra is
                                        included

Waist cincher                  Waist, abdomen if extends downward

Thigh slimmer Abdomen, rear, hips, thighs

Bodysuit                          All-over shaping for upper and lower back, waist, abdomen, rear, hips, and
                                        thighs; bust Included if the shaper has a built-in bra

Note that this chart doesn't account for the fact that not everyone wants to smooth and minimize. There are those who want to add … where it counts. We all know about padded bras but padded undies for men and women, butt lifters, compression T-shirts, you name it. They are all shapewear.

The Dos And Don'ts Of Shapewear

Make the most of your shapewear by focusing on the problems you want to ameliorate and by knowing how to select and take care of it. The following dos and don'ts come from several sources.

●    Don’t buy a piece of shapewear without having the answers to three questions
      1) The specific problem area(s) on your body you’d like to address, 2) How often you’d
      like to wear the garment, and 3) Which level of control will bring you the greatest
      satisfaction given the piece’s combination of comfort and performance.

●    Don’t fall for the tricks in Before-and-After Shapewear Ads

●    Do know which shapers help which body parts.
      Zone in on target areas, and decide how much control is needed (for all garments or
      just a specific garment). Do know how often the garment will be worn.

●    Do try on shapewear before committing to buy, and don't avoid the fitting room
      Don’t be complacent about vpls, ride-up, or roll-down.

●    Don’t forget to consider the call of nature when selecting a new piece of
      shapewear

●    Don't buy shapewear that is too small or too large
      1) Don’t size up or down; 2) Don’t wear waistline styles if you’re larger around the
      middle: 3) Don’t wear a Bodybriefer, or any garment providing extra-firm control, if
      you’re tall.

●    Don't be afraid of seams
      Don’t wear seamless shapewear if you’re looking for the best shaping results.

●    Do pay attention to care instructions
      Shapewear (and anything with spandex) is not dryer-friendly. Don’t ignore care labels.

●    Do learn how to put on shapewear correctly
      Don’t put shapewear on over your head; step into it.

●    Do wash new pieces before wearing

●    Don’t choose elective cosmetic surgery over shapewear
      Don’t sacrifice your favorite bra for control of upper body problem areas, and Don’t rely
     on shapewear as a substitute for watching your diet or an exercise regimen.

Where Does The Fat Go?
That's the big question. Experts tell us body fat can move into spaces where muscle is compressed, such as the abs. It can also be moved directionally toward more desirable places. The flab is made more compact by shapewear which can compress up to 1 or 2 inches. Shapewear is designed so the fat comes out in more sexy and appropriate places.

Are There Some Downsides?
Absolutely. Just remember the saying "Beauty knows no pain." Suck it in and suck it up. Here are some quotes from various articles on the subject.
● "It's too hot."
● "There's no graceful way to take this thing off."
● "I have to get completely undressed just to go to the bathroom."
● "You can trap yourself and get stuck trying to get out in a hurry."

SMOKE AND MIRRORS: The Industry Today
Today our psychological desire to feel confident, to be accepted socially, and to attract good mates fuels a multi-billion-dollar industry which includes makeup, skin and hair care, fragrances, cosmetic surgery, health clubs, diet products, and fashion. The industry presents to us the promise of an idealized image that is new and improved.

“People have been conditioned over the years to believe that achieving a certain level of success is only possible if you also attain a certain level of beauty and physical attractiveness,” says Lisa Amans, department chair of Advertising and Fashion & Retail Management at The Art Institute of Washington, a branch of The Art Institute of Atlanta. “Since that surrounds so many of us, both men and women easily fall into the trap of believing that if they are not beautiful they will not be successful.”… The beauty industry has had an influence on how people view attractiveness. – Darice Britt, A Revealing Look At Beauty Advertising
https://www.artinstitutes.edu/blog/a-revealing-look-at-beauty-advertising

DO YOU HAVE A "SHAPEWEAR" STORY TO TELL?
In all this research, I read some very funny experience women have had in relation to shapewear. Please make a comment.

Resources
http://www.beautybend.com/shapewear-body-shapers/
https://www.artinstitutes.edu/blog/a-revealing-look-at-beauty-advertisinghttps:/www.artinstitutes.edu/blog/a-revealing-look-at-beauty-advertising
http://www.npr.org/2015/05/09/405029054/shake-what-your-mama-didnt-give-you-shapewear-through-the-ages
https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/03/20/bodyshapers-give-you-latino-curves/
http://www.ebay.com/gds/The-Dos-and-Donts-of-Wearing-Shapewear-/10000000177630036/g.html
http://blog.cupidintimates.com/2011/03/15/15-shapewear-%E2%80%9Cdon%E2%80%99ts%E2%80%9D-to-beware-in-march-and-every-other-month/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_corsets
http://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/8-reasons-you-should-avoid-wearing-shape-wear-everyday-po0115/
http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/beauty-style/science-shapewear
http://www.historyextra.com/lingerie
http://www.marquise.de/en/themes/korsett/korsett.shtml
http://www.spsp.org/news-center/blog/category/meeting/
http://www.angriesout.com/family6.htm
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704328104574515481839938404
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/fashion/fashion-underwear-victoria-and-albert-museum.html?_r=0
http://nypost.com/2014/11/19/how-to-get-waisted-like-a-kardashian/

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