Knowledge Hog

Here is a link to a super interesting article I read tonight by Drew Boyd. I had some convo today with a couple of my friends about a knowledge hog. The article provides a well informed take on what hinders and fosters knowledge sharing. It’s titled The Golden Rule of Creativity and it’s worth the read. Following are a few quotes I liked.

“Innovation is a team sport~ groups produce better results than the lone genius.”

“Reputation is what matters.”

“You have to be seen as someone who gives and shares information with others, and has a reputation for returning the favor when others give to you.”

A Prayer for Betsy

How could I forget my friend and fellow writer Betsy? Betsy Randolph is a State Trooper and Spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety. I send prayers for her as she and others work to assist the injured, rescue those trapped, and recover those missing.

Betsy was interviewed by CNN tonight. She said “people are trapped. You are going to see the devastation for days to come.” Other news outlets reported that Betsy said the tornado caused “absolute devastation” and the tragedy is “like nothing” she has “ever seen before.”

Tonight Betsy was someone people were looking for. People wanted to be sure she was safe. I had hits to something I posted about her on my web site tonight. Glad to learn that she is ok and there to help others.

Deadly tornado hits Oklahoma City area

The Debate Over the Ethics of Photo Restoration

Reblogged from Michael Tormey's "Legacy Blog":

At first glance, one might question how photography and genealogy are linked. The reality is, however, that a big part of genealogy and historical research is simply basic detective work.

To do a complete study of an ancestor's past, a genealogist or family historian needs to put on their detective's hat, turn over every stone and investigate every clue at their disposal.

Read more… 1,346 more words

A great take on the ethics debate. ~~~~Felicia

Archivists Make the New York Times

Reblogged from The Cambridge Room:

"Archiving in the Digital Era," a video from the New York Times, published April 29, 2013.

Today's New York Times had a nice article and short video on archivists working in New York City, titled "Leaving Cloister of Dusty Offices, Young Archivists Meet Like Minds."  The article focuses on the social aspect of NYC archivists and the video features archivists' excitement around and challenge with the digital era. 

Read more… 17 more words

This is great! Felicia

Thrills, Magic, Health, Faith and Riches: In Pursuit of Treasure

If I had to create a definition for the word treasure, it would not be traditional. In my eyes treasure can be many things. I don’t believe that precious metals and gems are the only physical things which possess value. For example, an archaeologist would consider old bones to be a treasure, and a historian would find wealth in certain records. An entomologist would treasure the discovery of a new insect, while a lover of code may prize a new script.

Within the last couple of years, a book by the Santa Fe author Forrest Fenn has been sought-after by treasure hunters. Thrill of the Chase: A Memoir is a book Fenn has used to drive people into a maddened search for a treasure chest the author has hidden. On March 9, 2013, a 34 year old woman from Texas was found after she got lost in Bandalier National Monument while searching for the treasure. This month, officials with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish threatened to file charges against a man they found digging under a descanso (roadside memorial or grave marker) for the treasure. What are these people thinking?

Web sites across the world proclaim the words “somewhere in the mountains north of Santa Fe, a magnificent treasure box is hidden. Will you find the treasure? Join the chase!” The book is only being carried by one bookstore here in Santa Fe. The delirium led me to consider the human fascination with treasure, so I decided to peer into a small part of this history.

~Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary
of Folklore Mythology and Legend (©1949)~

Why are humans so fascinated with the hunt for treasures? Aside from the fact that many people are extremely broke right now, what drives them to partake in the hunt? According to the Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore Mythology and Legend (©1949), “gold has been consistently the most highly prized of metals thorough the ages…” The book says that “gold was so highly valued, it early became associated with religion. It was used to make idols, as tribute, and as offerings to the Gods.” This means that the symbolism of gold has been ingrained into humans since it was first discovered. Not only has the warm colored metal been associated with the heavens, but the Chinese “believed gold leaf” was “the most perfect form of matter; an unguent containing it was the most powerful remedy of Chinese medicine as it gave renewed life to the human body.”

I have discovered that gold was “a potent curative force” in “early medical practice,” and that it was associated with the Gods. I believe that the value of this metal is inherent in our collective memory for at least two good reasons. I found some interesting articles and books which explore lost treasures. I thought it would be great to share these stories which begin in 1902 and end in 1963. These stories shed light on the quest for treasure and the hunters who obsess about the hunt. The Dictionary of Folklore Mythology and Legend also describes hunters who “go into a trance” while being under the spell of “hunting magic.” A search for gold could not both invite and “repel” madness~ could it? For as long as many people can remember, there have been oral stories of: money walled up in houses; gold being buried in mountains; and unknown treasures which are not considered “lost.”

The Santa Fe New Mexican ran an article on July 24, 1902 in the “Special Correspondence” section of the paper. In this article, it was reported that there was “supposed hidden Spanish Treasure” in Grant County. The special report said that the treasure was hidden in an “old cave near San Lorenzo.” Apparently over the years many people tried to locate the Spanish treasure. I had to laugh out loud in the silent library when I read that the “treasure-seakers” had found many skeletons, but not any treasure. I guess if you were talking to a person interested in straight forward wealth, bones would just be worthless? On the other hand, an archaeologist would find much wealth in that type of finding.

~Article printed in the Roswell Daily Record
on August 3, 1922~

On August 3, 1922, in Racine, Wisconsin it was was reported that the “lure of hidden treasure” surrounded “an old building on one of the principal streets.” The Roswell Daily Record issued a news release titled “Wealth Hidden by Baker During the War Be Sought by K. of C.” This was a very interesting story. It was reported that a “miser’s hoard of gold” was “buried there, according to pioneers.” It was apparently a “mystery, more than half a century old” that members of the Knights of Columbus wanted to solve. The article seemed to speculate that a German baker starved his wife to become rich. The reporter described her as a “gaunt, silent woman.” During the Civil War, the baker feared “the loss of wealth” so he “withdrew his savings, cashed all his securities and bonds and under cover of darkness buried the treasure somewhere within his house.” The poor starved wife wasn’t even told where the treasure was buried. The baker figured that if she was captured, she would be tortured to reveal the secret location. After the baker died, the wife searched for the loot to no avail.

In the book Hidden Treasure in the Wild West by Oren Arnold (©1966), the author wrote about “Pancho Villa’s Mountain Bank.” Here was one case amongst many cases of hidden treasure being buried in a mountain scape. “The poor people of Mexico considered” Pancho Villa a hero. According to the book, Villa had told his friends “I have some money hidden away in a secret mountain bank.” The hero assured the people by telling them “when it is needed for our experimental work here, I will go get it. Perhaps we can build a testing laboratory with it and hire good scientists. I will look into the matter soon.” What a nice thought! Unfortunately Villa was killed on July 20, 1923. Arnold’s book says that “when he had driven his automobile to a nearby town, old enemies ambushed him.” Before he could reveal the location of his mountain bank, “the harsh staccato bark of machine guns sounded, and Pancho Villa, the great liberator, fell across the steering wheel, dead.”

“Writing in a geological bulletin published by the New Mexico Bureau of Mines in 1935, K.C. Dunham told” the story of Padre LaRue’s mine. In Mines of the Old Southwest by Jack D. Rittenhouse and Rex Arrowsmith (©1963), I located information on the “Organ Mountain Silver Mines.” Arrowsmith was a geologist and gave a particular professional flavor to his account of the mines. The report said that LaRue was “stationed at a hacienda in Chihuahua (Mexico)” and that the priest “was told by a dying friend of placers and a fabulously rich gold-bearing lode in the mountains two days’ journey north of Paso del Norte.” LaRue migrated north with others to the Organ Mountains so that he could find the gold. According to the report, they located the gold, and then buried it at the request of Padre LaRue. The priest was located by the Church in the City of Mexico and he was later “murdered” by a soldier for not divulging the location of the treasure. In case number three, the secret location followed LaRue to his grave.

~Treasure Land map in Arthur L. Campa’s book
Treasure of the Sangre de Cristos: Tales and
Traditions of the Spanish Southwest (©1963)~

The only thing I found in common with the small amount of stories I looked at for this research was the fact that all the men died without telling anyone where the treasure was buried. It is possible that all of these stories were simply not true. It is possible that there was never any treasure at all. Though I guess I could say that as an archivist, I do tend to value stories as a type of treasure. I do find a sort of wealth in that! The author who really put this into perspective for me was Arthur L. Campa. In his book Treasure of the Sangre de Cristos: Tales and Traditions of the Spanish Southwest (©1963), Campa published a “Treasure Land” map which focuses on New Mexico treasures. The map shows places from the north to the south (Taos, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Cuba, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Sandia Peak, Albuquerque, Tome, Magdalena Mountains, Santa Rita, Mesilla, and the Organ Mountains among others). I was particularly intrigued with Chapter 11~ “Natural Phenomena and the Growth of Legends.”

It is more than safe to conclude that the value of treasure is inherent in our collective memory for several reasons. Campa said that “legends are an interesting product of folk society, the origin of which dates back to pre~Christian days, to Greece, Babylon, and the valley of the Nile. They are so deeply imbedded in the cultural texture of the folk thinking that today, as in the days of the Greeks, even geological formations assume anthropomorphic shapes and are indued with the attributes of folk heroes.” Contemplating the forces which drive humans to insanity can be a good way to peer into the mind. Where are are these behaviors and beliefs rooted?

The treasure Forrest Fenn says he buried may or may not exist. We may never know. Maybe Fenn will take the secret to his grave like so many did before him? Then again “a simple story may be gradually embellished with whatever attributes are important to folk, and with whatever concepts are current and acceptable at the time when it begins.” According to Campa, “very often the actual fact or historical account that gives rise to a particular legend may be totally forgotten, lost, or modified to such an extent that only the legend growing from the original happening survives.”

Poetic Expression and the Innermost

Today Robert Pinsky published a great article about poetry on the Big Think (a site I really like). It is National Poetry Month and this piece by the 39th Poet Laureate of the United States is so thought provoking. I do know some people who don’t like poetry even though this article says Americans are just stereotyped with regard to that.

I actually think it is essential for humans to explore and develop poetic expression and understanding. Being matter-of-fact or literal all the time can simply destroy beautiful souls. As a deep and intricate being- I enjoy indulging my innermost feelings. My poetry is very fluid. It can be about something, somebody, nothing, and nobody all at the same time.

Pinsky’s article is titled Poetry Is Not an Ornament. It’s at the Center of Our Being. Yes– indeed it is. Those things which capture the heart of a poet are often riveted with complexity, rendering traditional forms of communication useless. The complex feelings of humans are often represented best rhythmically.

This afternoon a US Poet Laureate said it better than many could. Following are some of the quotes which stood out to me in Pinsky’s article about “the value of using poetic language in everyday life.”

“…the poem is a challenge to say something smart.”

“…you have to understand that a poem is a work of art and its purpose is not to make you feel puzzled…”
 
“…finding something that you would like to say aloud is, I think it’s the core of human intelligence, it’s quite fundamental.” 

“How does poetry or the act of writing a poem or speaking a poem help us to distill our experiences in a unique way that other forms of communication don’t allow for?”  

“I think art is not an ornament or refinement at the fringes of human intelligence. I think it’s at the center. It’s at the core.”

“…that hunger that ability that craving for art in relation to memory is right at the center of us.  And poetry, we use our own body to make it.  There is no fiddle, there is no paint, it’s the air that comes out of your body shaped in ways that have evolved and that are controlled by our brain.” 

Awesome!! I love this man. I got a good idea from that last quote. Read the full article if you get a chance. He also talks about the “Favorite Poem Project,” and nurturing poetic creativity in children.

Acknowledged by a Poet•Writer•Sommelier

It’s always awesome to hear that someone interesting has been able to connect to me. Today I was told that “a creative writer” who “pursues her passion for the vinous” mentioned me on her web site.

Tonight I took a peek and discovered a lovely site being managed by a woman named Erin Brooks. Her web site is called “brooksonwine” and you should make time for a visit there.

I would like to meet Ms. Brooks, because we seem to have some things in common. She lives in New Mexico and works in Santa Fe. She went to CSF, and she is a writer who dabbles in creative writing and poetry.

I am honored to have a food piece I wrote in 2008 picked up by Ms. Brooks. Even more so now that I know she works for “Geronimo, New Mexico’s only four-star, four-diamond  restaurant” as a resident expert of the spirits. She has been a “bartender, bar manager and sommelier” who dreams of being a Master of Wine one day.

I love this woman. She is an educated writer~ she is creative~ and she is giving me credit for some good food! Ms. Brooks said “here’s my favorite recipe for posole, which I found in an article titled “Tamales” by Felicia Lujan in Edible Santa Fe’s Winter 2008 issue.”

Thanks for the props Ms. Brooks. Maybe we will meet soon over a glass of your goods and a bowl of mine!

Of Kisses: The Story of Tongues

Kissing has been an essential part of relationships further back than many can remember. I am interested in how the passionate kiss and views on kissing have changed roughly over the last century. After being inundated with Valentine’s Day imagery, the timing for writing such a piece seemed appropriate. Is kissing a necessary part of falling in love? Can you love someone you have never kissed? What happens if couples stop kissing? Those are just a few of the questions which came to mind when I began to write this piece.

I believe that kissing is an important human need. I was able to identify several scientific and psychological studies which officially confirm this, but it isn’t really necessary to use these to agree with something all of us can simply feel. I’m not sure how many people would agree with me when I say that I find a kiss more erotic than sex itself. The mouth is a fascinating orifice. When we kiss we are face to face. There is no hiding. We are physically and psychologically connected in ways which uniquely identify us.

Over the last 100+ years the kiss and views on kissing have changed in thought-provoking ways. For the last couple of weeks my mind has been flooded with things romance marketing experts think will make me feel wanted and loved. The real question is what do I think makes me feel wanted and loved? I think that all the candy, jewelry, cards, gifts, and dinners are bizarre when it comes to romance. Why aren’t there more classes on the art of kissing? Why don’t we see ads encouraging lovers to make love? It’s because there is little money to be made by marketing those things. We have started to indulge more and more on chocolate and we are beginning to forget about psychological and fleshly indulgence.

“Washington, D.C.~ A soldier kissing his girl goodbye at Union Station” 1942~
Image No. LC-USW3- 011367-C
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

A kiss can indeed be integral to falling in love, especially when we are young. It’s not merely for physical reasons, it’s just that young people tend to have idealistic and preconceived notions about love and romance. Mature adults develop a deeper understanding of intellectual and carnal pleasures. The older I get the more my perception of these things changes, thus affecting my understanding of the kiss, love, sex, and that which I find sexy. At one time I did believe that you needed to kiss someone to fall in love with them. I can say without a doubt that education has stimulated my appreciation of that which is platonic. Not that I think those with platonic relationships should never or would never kiss, but my thoughts on that would only complicate this piece.

Between 1895 and 2012, the kiss has gone from conservative to liberal on the “osculating” rate scale. The Eau Claire Evening Telegram called kissing “osculation” in an 1895 article titled “Art of Kissing.” How many of you have heard that word before? My guess is not many! I prefer the word “frenching” myself. That 1895 news article claimed that the “kiss plays an important part in history.” A kiss was considered “commingled feelings of lovers,” or “a seal on the union of souls,” or “a signature to the contract of hearts.” I did find that the 1895 article confirmed my thoughts on the eroticism of the kiss. The author said that “on the whole, poets have been more enthusiastic over kisses than oven love itself.”

The Daily Iowa Capital newspaper published “The Delight of the Kiss” in 1896 and called “osculation a theme of the great poets and writers.” One writer goes as far to say that kissing isn’t really kissing at all. Dr. Taylor “declares” that tribes “rub noses” and he says that the “prevailing salute” used by “over half the world” is actually “smelling” or “sniffing.” I find it funny that after quoting Dr. Taylor and discussing the “prevailing salute,” the author quotes Aristanetus the ancient Greek epistolographer. Aristanetus once said that a kiss was “the sweet mingling of souls.” Here we can again see the deeper connection which surpasses that which is physical.

In the 1940s, journalists were still referencing the kiss with that mechanical word. In 1941, Walter Winchell speculated that there were “still people who” didn’t “know the joys of osculation” in the Daily Mirror. At this point I had to wonder if most didn’t know the joy because they were straight scared of that word? It doesn’t exactly push my mind into romance mode. What about you? He then goes on to talk about how a “Chicago gent once sued his wife for divorce because she kissed another man over the telephone.” Hum? Maybe it was actually a connection of minds that man was more troubled by? I’m sure Winchell didn’t exactly encourage others to kiss by saying that people were in legal trouble for kissing in parked cars, on doorsteps, or God forbid in “broad daylight!”

By 1962 the “public” paranoia about kissing was peaking. Gazette Mail ran an article which was simply titled “Public” and the headline was followed by a big question mark. It would be interesting to look at intimacy issues of the time period to see if there is any correlation to anything other than “how people are brought up.” This makes me wonder if the roots of candy and all the other Valentine’s Day junk got their start here? Dr. Robert O. Blood was questioned for this gem. The article says that “some people who might otherwise be disposed to show affectionate regard in public have learned not to do so through bitter experience.” The article features a large image with a caption which reads “Hello Kiss at airport between JFK and Jackie on her arrival home from Greece embarrassed him.” Really?

“She Gets the Kiss”
c1898~ Image No. LC-USZ62-66319
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

It wasn’t until 1978 that I was able to see that the views on kissing had really transformed. The Winnipeg Free Press ran an article titled “A kiss is just a kiss…or is it? Kissing customs changing.” I was happy to see the change, though that damn mechanical word was still there. The article read “kissing has gone through several metamorphoses through the years. The on-screen style of smooching has progressed from proper, closed mouth kisses and a let-your-imagination-be-your-guide fade-out to today’s erotic open-mouthed osculation, which leaves little to your imagination.” But isn’t this what everyone needed? In this piece we can even see a few pointers~ one of which recommends that we kiss with our eyes by “giving the object of your affection a loving, longing look across a crowded room.” There is that mind connection again.

The Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph published “The Kiss” in 1994. This is where it gets interesting because we start to see references to psychology. A quote in this article would seem superficial to most, but we must remember we are talking about a master of the mind. The “uniquely Freudian thought” which is quoted says “the kiss between the mucous membrane of the lips of two people is held in high esteem among many nations, in spite of the fact that the parts of the body involved do not form part of the sexual apparatus but constitute the entrance to the digestive tract.” Here we see Freud separate sex from the kiss and the mind. In the articles I found between 1895 and 1978, this had not been done.

“Meet Me at the Fountain”
c1908~ Image No. LC-USZ62-58857
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Today kissing and the connection of love, sex, and pleasure has been studied by neurologists and psychologists worldwide. In 2012 an article by William Loeffler was published in the Monessen Valley Independent. The article had the words science, psychologist, scientific, biologists, anthropologists, and historians. I loved this one! The word osculation is only in the dictionary now! It has been replaced by scientific or psychological terms, which I am ok with. Loeffler interviewed a woman who wrote a book on the science of kissing for this piece. Her name was Mary Kirshenbaum. He asked her “but does all this scientific analysis take all the romance out of the kiss?” She responded to Loeffler by saying “it really doesn’t take the magic away at all, but it gives us a better understanding of ourselves.”

When it comes to a holiday which is intended for romance and “magic,” we should remember what is really essential to our happiness. The mind is what is actually behind the art of a kiss and the “seal on the union of souls.” If our minds are not in it a kiss is indeed just a kiss, sex is just sex, candy is just candy, and we lose the face to face intimacy that makes us feel wanted and loved. A kiss~ even if it is only in the mind can be more sensual and satisfying than the most expensive box of chocolates~ so indulge.

Call Me ~Night Owl~

This was an interesting article in Psychology Today. Apparently, being a night owl is in my genes. I have noticed that if I go to bed early, I have trouble getting up in the morning. I usually only get about five or six hours of sleep a night. I also know that my creativity blossoms at night.
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Early Bird or Night Owl? It’s In Your Genes

By Michael J. Breus, Ph.D.
December 14, 2012

Are you a lark, someone who likes being up and active in the early morning? Do you do your best work early in the day, and do you wind down in the evenings toward a relatively early bedtime? Or are you a night owl, someone who tends to wake later and perhaps gains energy and focus as the day progresses, someone who likes to work (and play) in the evening hours? 

Whether you’re inclined toward one direction or another—or find yourself somewhere in the middle—these tendencies feel deeply ingrained. Scientists have been exploring for some time the notion that the circadian rhythms that regulate the sleep-wake cycle and many other of the body’s biological processes are influenced by our genes. Studies involving twins have provided evidence​ that our genes​ have a significant influence over sleep patterns and circadian rhythms. Scientists have in recent years identified​ a “wake up” gene that is believed to be responsible for activating the body’s biological clock in the morning. 

Now a team of researchers from the United States and Canada has identified​ a specific genetic variant that appears to determine whether a person will be an early bird, a night owl, or somewhere in the middle. The specific type of genetic variation an individual possesses may influence the tendency to rise earlier or later by as much as 60 minutes. 

Another significant finding? This gene variant—so common that it is present in most of the population—may also determine the time of day a person is likely to die. 

This information could have important implications for the treatment and monitoring of illness and disease, as well as for preventative medicine. 

The study​ that resulted in this genetic discovery began a number of years ago. Researchers studying disrupted sleep patterns among older people were looking for pre-disease markers that could be associated with the eventual onset of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. This study involved 1,200 healthy men and women aged 65. Their evaluation included annual neurological exams and psychiatric exams, as well as ongoing monitoring of sleep-wake cycles and activity levels using a wrist monitor.  Participants to this study also had agreed to donate their brains to the research project upon their death, so that scientists could gather additional information related to sleep-wake cycles. 

In the course of their research project, scientists learned that the same group of volunteers had also had their DNA genotyped—a process of identifying differences in individual genetic makeup. With these data, researchers were able to compare data on patients’ sleep wake cycles with their genetic profiles, which led to their significant discovery. 

They found that variations to a gene called PER1—part of a group​ of genes that affects circadian rhythms—are strongly linked to circadian timing, and to the tendency toward living as a night owl or a lark. Variations to this gene are so common, according to researchers, that nearly the entire population possesses one of several variants:

60% of the population has a variant called adenine (A)

40% of the population has a variant called guanine (G) 

Since each individual has two sets of DNA chromosomes:

48% of the population will have a combination of A and G

36% of the population will have two As

16% of the population will have two Gs 

According to the study results, people with the AA genotype—the early birds—tended to wake up 60 minutes earlier than those with the GG genotype. The third group—AG—tended to split the difference and wake right in the middle of this 60-minute timeframe. 

How does this gene variant—and its influence on circadian timing—affect a likely time of death? Our circadian rhythms are at work in regulating a broad range of biological processes affecting our health and basic functioning. Research has shown that circadian clocks play a role in influencing the timing​ of major medical events such as heart​ attacks. Scientists describe what they call a circadian rhythm of death, which results in people generally being more likely to die in the earlier part of the day. The average time? 11 a.m. 

Looking at the study population, researchers found that AA genotypes and AG genotypes tended to die around this most typical 11 a.m. time. The GG genotypes—the night owls—tended to die much later in the day, on average at around 6 p.m. 

This is some fascinating and important research. There’s more to study and to learn about how our individual genotype affects our circadian timing, but this knowledge could be applied in any number of ways to manage health and the treatment of disease. This information could be used to help people create sleep-healthy schedules, particularly for shift workers and people who travel frequently and experience jet lag—that’s everyone from a national sales rep to a major league ballplayer. Also, physicians could use this knowledge to create targeted treatment and prevention programs, using this information about when an individual is most vulnerable, to time procedures, medications, and exercise. 

We all can do ourselves a favor by paying attention to our natural tendencies for sleeping and waking, and using this information in making our daily schedules work for our sleep and our health. 

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
http://www.thesleepdoctor.com​

Murder and Mayhem: A Call to Mystery Writers

~Promotional flyer for the Hillerman Prize~
Designed by Felicia Lujan

Anne Hillerman was recently featured in a great article in the Albuquerque Journal. The article was written by Kathaleen Roberts and was titled Leaphorn and Chee Together Again. Anne Hillerman is a smart, sweet, and talented woman who is continuing a writing tradition which was started by her father Tony Hillerman. Her late father was a New York Times best-selling author of an 18-book series of mysteries featuring the characters Leaphorn and Chee. PBS has called Leaphorn and Chee “a classic crime-fighting duo.” In the fall of 2013, HarperCollins will publish Anne’s newest book and a continuation of this Hillerman mystery series. Her book will be titled “Spider Woman’s Daughter.” In the first quarter of 2013, I plan to sit down with Anne to interview her about the release of her upcoming book. She has agreed to a feature piece for my site, and I am excited for the opportunity to interview her.

I was honored to be asked by Anne to design a flyer to promote the Tony Hillerman Prize competition. The flyer was circulated at the New Mexico Book Association Holiday Party on December 6, 2012. The competition is sponsored by Wordharvest (LLC) and is co-sponsored by St. Martin’s Press (LLC). This prize is awarded annually for best first mystery set in the Southwest. The winner receives a contract with St. Martin’s Press for publication of the novel and $10,000. The Hillerman Prize is named after New Mexico’s best known mystery author, Tony Hillerman. It is open to any writer who has never been the author of a published mystery. The prize comes with awesome acknowledgment from a body of professional and amateur writers. I myself aspire to submit something someday. The book submission must include murder or another serious crime or crimes, which must be at the heart of the story. There also must be an emphasis on the solution rather than the details of the crime.

All entries must be received or postmarked no later than June 1, 2013. As of 2011, the prize has been awarded for The Replacement Child by Christine Barber, The Ragged Edge of Nowhere by Roy Chaney, The Territory by Tricia Fields, and City of Saints by Andrew Hunt. For further details, please visit the Wordharvest web site at http://www.wordharvest.com/contest.php. Here you can take a look at the official Rules and Guidelines for the Tony Hillerman Prize.

Consciousness and Brain Waves

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I really liked this article. Of course it was published online by my favorite~ Psychology Today. Dr. Brogaard and the researchers at MIT and Boston University ​ are exploring the intersection of the mind and consciousness.
I love this!
*F
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Brain Waves as Neural Correlates of Consciousness

by Berit Brogaard, D.M.Sci., Ph.D
November 23, 2012

When we are thinking, thoughts flicker in and out of our minds. What does that mean on the level of the brain? Recent research, conducted by researchers at MIT and Boston University, suggests that when thoughts are in our minds, corresponding groups of neurons are oscillating in synchrony in a high frequency range, around 30 or higher, whereas thoughts that are no longer in our minds oscillate at lower frequencies. When several, distinct thoughts are held in mind simultaneously, several oscillating bundles are out of sync with each other.

The normal waken brain has brain activity that fluctuates between 8 and 100 Hz. An alert and active brain will tend to have neural oscillations, roughly, in the 40 Hz range in at least some parts of the brain. These brain waves are also known as gamma waves. Alpha waves—oscillations in the 8 to 12 Hz frequency range—and beta waves—oscillations in the 12 to 30 Hz range—become more prominent when you are inactive, for example, when you are passively watching television. Brain dead people and coma patients can have oscillations that approach zero. And in seizure patients the brain oscillates even faster and more regions of the brain vacillate in the same frequency range. In a grand mal seizure large areas of the brain flicker in synchrony at extremely high frequencies.

To find out how neurons oscillate when we think or perform tasks, the research team, led by Earl Miller, the Picower Professor of Neuroscience at MIT​, first identified two groups of neurons in monkeys that encode specific behavioral rules by oscillating in synchrony with each other. The research animals were trained to respond to objects based on either their color or orientation. When the animals switched between the tasks encoded by the rues, the researcher measured brain activity in the prefrontal cortex, where working memory is located. The researchers found that the neurons associated with orientation oscillated in synchrony at higher frequencies when the monkeys were completing the orientation task, whereas the neurons associated with the color took over when the animals switched from thinking about orientation to thinking about color.

The team also found that the brain uses lower-frequency brain waves to inhibit neurons when they are not needed. For example, when the monkeys engaged in the color task, the neuron group corresponding to the orientation task would oscillate at a lower frequency, in the lower alpha range. This would inhibit these neurons sufficiently to enable the moneys to engage consciously in the color task.

It appears, then, that consciousness associated with working memory, the ability to keep a few pieces of information in mind at a time, correlates with groups of neurons oscillating at a high frequency but out of sync with each other. Its the brain’s ability to keep bundles of neurons simultaneously oscillating at 40 Hz that determines how much information you can hold in mind at any given time.

The findings, published in the November 2012 issue of Neuron​, are consistent with the so-called 40 Hz theory of consciousness. British molecular biologist and neuroscientist Francis Crick​, better known for his co-discovery of the structure of DNA, argued that consciousness arises when certain brain regions fire in synchrony in the 40 Hz frequency range. The researchers didn’t locate gamma-range activity in the moneys during task completion, but this could be because different frequencies are required for consciousness in humans and monkeys.

This 40 Hz theory of consciousness explains some of our findings in the St. Louis Syn Lab​. In our lab we have worked with several people who developed special abilities as well as obsession as a result of traumatic brain injury​ (TBI). TBI occurs when the brain is injured by an external force. TBI can occur either as a result of blunt force trauma or shock waves from a blast. In both situations, the inside of the accelerated skull comes into contact with one side of the brain, generating a secondary shock wave throughout the soft tissue. If the force is strong enough, it can cause the brain to “bounce” off the other side of the skull, resulting in another shock wave. The waves emanating through the brain twist and pull on the connections between neurons, tearing them apart, causing damage to different areas. Depending on the severity of the shock wave, TBI can be very extensive, and multiple TBI incidents can have compounding effects. It is a particularly devastating problem for soldiers who repeatedly sustain mortar shell attacks at close to mid range. Many of them report memory coordination problems years later.

Physical force to the head triggers a centralization of brain activity in local areas, causing a concussion. During a concussion the nerve function of several distinct brain regions become paralyzed as a result of the brain bumping into the skull as it shakes inside the head. When this happens, positively charged potassium ions inside the nerve cells rush outside the nerve cells and calcium ions replace them inside the cells. This shuts down the neuron’s internal engine preventing the nerve cells from burning energy sources (primarily glucose) and giving rise to huge uncontrolled release of neurotransmitters, which bombard or “frag” neighboring neurons. This neuronal fragging causes the affected neurons to die off, leading to scar tissue, whereas other affected neurons gradually regain normal function.

Though we don’t yet fully know the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury, it is possible that the uncontrolled release of neurotransmitters from dying neurons massively enhances brain activity in neighboring brain regions, giving rise to syncronized brain oscillations in the gamma frequency range, and that the brain activity in these regions remains abnormally high on a more permanent basis.

Visual imagery is far the most common way for the brain to represent the world. So it is unsurprising if brain waves in the high frequency range were to yield visual images corresponding to the hyperactivity. After being beaten up Jason Padgett experienced visual images are complex mathematical patterns, and Derek Amato experienced visual images of black and white musical notes after the impact with the pool floor. The visual images appear to make it possible for the two unschooled geniuses to act on excessive brain activity in ways that would not otherwise be possible.

Creativity and Wandering Minds

I absolutely love Psychology Today— definitely one of my favorites. This is such a great article by Dr. Beilock, which features a very interesting study.
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Want To Be Creative? Let Your Mind Wander
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by Sian Beilock, Ph.D.
October 2012

There is no denying it, whether at work, school, or in everyday life, we often encounter situations where thinking outside-the-box is necessary. It’s also true that sparks of insight can be somewhat hard to pin down. You just never know when creative thought will arise.

Fortunately, new research published in the journal Psychological Science changes this. Psychologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara have uncovered the very conditions that give rise to creative thought. As the researchers point out, there are countless anecdotal accounts of creativity happening when people take a break from whatever they are working on. The question, however, is whether any sort of break sparks creative thought or whether there is a certain type of activity that is best to perform during the break period. The answer, it turns out, is the latter. When stuck on a problem that needs a creative solution, turning your attention to another task that requires just a little bit of focus (but not too much) is the best way to jump start the creative process.

The UC Santa Barbara researchers began by having university undergraduate volunteers solve the Unusual Uses Task (UUT). The goal of the UUT is to generate as many unusual uses for a common object, say a brick, in a few minutes time. People are graded on the number of unique uses they generate and the originality of response – an index of creativity thinking.

Next, volunteers were randomly assigned to one of three incubation conditions where, during a 12 minute break period, they did something unrelated to the UUT. People either (1) performed a demanding memory task requiring them to juggle multiple items in their head at once – demanding group; (2) did an undemanding task where they were simply asked to respond to a signal that popped up on the computer screen every so often – undemanding group; or (3) sat and rested – rest group. Then everyone tried their hand at the UUT again. A fourth group (no break group) went straight into the second round of the Unusual Uses Task.

So what did the researchers find? Volunteers in the undemanding group showed a significant improvement in their ability to generate new uses for the objects from their first to second UUT attempt – improving in their generation by about 40%. In contrast, people the demanding group, the rest and no rest groups showed no improvement in their creative thinking.

But, here’s where the results get really interesting. Everyone filled out a self-report measure of mind wandering during the incubation period. The researchers wanted to know how often volunteers engaged in thoughts unrelated to the creativity task, like personal worries or future and past events. And, what they found was that people’s thoughts were much more likely to wonder off-task when they were doing something that required just a little bit of focus (this means that the minds of folks in the undemanding group wandered the most). Moreover, the more people had a propensity to mind wander in general, the more creative they were.

The legendary Greek philosopher, Archimedes, may have been the first to demonstrate the power of taking a break. Asked to determine whether or not a new crown made for the King was solid gold, Archimedes was stumped. He couldn’t melt down the crown or break it open to determine its contents because that would destroy it. And because the crown was in the irregular shape of a laurel wreath, there was no object of a similar shape to which to compare it. Interestingly, as legend goes, Archimedes didn’t come up with the answer until he stepped back from his task and stopped thinking about it altogether. As Archimedes was getting into the bath one day, he noticed that the level of water rose as he got in. He figured out that he could use the amount of water displaced by an object (either himself or the crown) to determine its volume and, with a little math, it’s density (whether the crown had dense gold or a less-dense silver inside). According to tradition, Archimedes was so excited by his “ah-hah” moment that he forgot to get dressed after he got out of the bath and ran through the streets naked yelling, “Eureka!”

Now we know that it’s not just any break that gets our creative juices flowing. Rather, when we are stuck on a problem and need an outside-the-box solution, turning to an activity that engages our attention just slightly so that mind wandering is maximized is the answer. Maybe it’s a walk in the woods (as I have blogged about before), surfing the sports scores, or even a bath that does it. Regardless, uncovering the conditions under which our most creative ideas will arise can help us function at our best.
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Baird et al. (2012). Inspired by Distraction: Mind Wandering Facilitates Creative Incubation. Psychological Science.

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Burning Old Man Gloom

Last week my brother and his son went to go see Zozobra burn to the ground. For over 85 years, this creepy and super-sized marionette has been put to death as part of the Fiestas de Santa Fe. His burning is symbolic, still the burning of Old Man Gloom may be the strangest thing you have ever heard of if you are not from Santa Fe, New Mexico. I would even venture to say that maybe some New Mexicans may be a little frightened by the thought of the huge paper man Santa Fe torches each year. What are we thinking? To understand this tradition one has to look deeper. Zozobra or Old Man Gloom has come to be a symbol of our collective worries, heartaches, troubles, and hardships. The community burns him away along with any negativity they wish to shed for that particular year. I have seen him burn several times throughout my life and I must admit, it can be a bit scary. The goal of the event is to walk away better then you were before, spiritually and emotionally. So even if you do not attend the physical burning of the puppet, you are still able to symbolically clear your problems once the gloom is gone.

Article about Zozobra_Santa Fe New Mexican_9.4.1926

Over the years people have asked to stuff Old Man Gloom with all kinds of physical things. These are always things that they feel connected to, but need to disconnect from physically and emotionally. I have heard of court records, old letters, photographs, trinkets, and even a wedding dress being used as filling. These all being symbols of worries and/or containing negative energies. I have seen Zozobra being made and it is something. I think the year I went to watch him being constructed, his eyes were made using record albums which were painted with bright green glow in the dark paint. Before he goes up in flames, a fire dancer dressed in a red suit and ghosts or spirits appear at his feet. They dance around and terrorize the puppet with torches. I was a ghost when I was young, and I believe that was with my old friend Becky? The marionette never goes quietly. He moans, groans, and howls until the very end. Finally he is consumed by flames and the calls of a chanting crowd. The crowd yells “burn ‘im, burn ‘im,” and then they cheer wildly once he is set aflame and fireworks grace the night sky.

My nephew Isaiah (in the black shirt)
and his buddies at Zozobra 2012 in
Santa Fe, New Mexico. Old Man Gloom
is making his guest appearance in the back.
~~Photo by Thomas Lujan (my brother)

This tradition is credited to an artist by the name of Will Shuster (1893-1969). New Mexico has forever been home to the artistically mad. The artist invented the puppet in the 1920s, and according the the State Historian “his inspiration for Zozobra came from the Holy Week celebrations of the Yaqui Indians of Mexico; an effigy of Judas, filled with firecrackers, was led around the village on a donkey and later burned.” The word Zozobra derives from the Spanish word for gloominess. In 2007, the local newspaper published an online documentary about Zozobra. Ray Valdez was interviewed by the Santa Fe New Mexican and according to Valdez, the huge puppet is created by at least “700 volunteers,” uses “over $50,000 in resources,” and the event takes “an entire year to plan.” Zozobra is constructed using a wood and chicken wire frame and then he is covered in paper and paint. Since he is strapped with fireworks and is made of flammable material, he is quickly exhausted by flames and smoke (well almost always).

Article about Zozobra_Farmington Daily Times_8.30.1950

You can see some of the action here for yourself. I have included three YouTube videos of Zozobra. The first is footage from 1991. That is the earliest footage I came across on the tube tonight. I do know we have some older footage in the archives. There is one video of the burning of Old Man Gloom last year (2011), and also part one of a documentary. Next year, if you have troubles to squander, be sure to come to Santa Fe and “burn ‘im.” Honestly, I really can’t picture Santa Fe without the old man. We all have a little gloom to burn.

HR 5987- A Bill to Establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park

The Oak Ridger published this article online today. This project plays an interesting part of New Mexico history in conjunction with the Los Alamos National Laboratory. This publication comes out of Oak Ridge, Tennessee where the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is located.

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Manhattan Project Nat’l

Historical Park testimony,

Part II

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. —

Continuing the summary of the testimony I was privileged to be asked to give at the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands on H. R. 5987, a bill to establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge, Tenn., Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington. The full text of the testimony can be viewed at the following: http://www.oakridger.com/columnists/x1655031678/Ray-Smiths-testimony-on-the-Manhattan-Project-Natl-Park-bill

In addition to the three government sites, covered last week, the city of Oak Ridge has assets that will contribute to the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The Guest House/Alexander Inn is among the most historic structures in the Manhattan Project. It is in a sad state of disrepair now, but has been included in the latest draft of a memorandum of agreement for historic preservation of the K-25 site at East Tennessee Technology Park as an alternative historic preservation initiative complimentary to the other historic preservation actions.

Other portions of the historic city of Oak Ridge may well serve as integral parts or guided tour portions of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, such as the Chapel on the Hill (first church), alphabet houses, Midtown Community Center, Jackson Square Town Site, the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, the Oak Ridge Public Library’s Oak Ridge Room and Center for Oak Ridge Oral History and the especially appropriate American Museum of Science and Energy.

The museum has been the mainstay of Oak Ridge Manhattan Project and other related history exhibits since March 19, 1949, when the secret city of Oak Ridge was opened to the public for the first time as the gates to the main roads were removed. That same day, the American Museum of Atomic Energy, as it was known until 1978, opened its doors for the first time and welcomed visitors.

When the museum moved to its present location it also changed its name to the American Museum of Science and Energy and expanded its mission for exhibits and focus to a broader energy related theme. However, it kept its role as a primary source of Oak Ridge history.

Today, the museum is the hub of tourist activity in Oak Ridge, being the first stop for most visitors and a must stop for all visitors. The museum’s Oak Ridge Room is the place where visitors first understand the unique history of the people who were notified first through a phone call from their Senator Kenneth McKellar to the Oliver Springs High School principal telling him to tell the students to go home and tell their parents about the coming changes in their neighborhoods. Lester Fox, still living today, swears that is the way the 3,000 people living in New Hope, Robertsville, Elza, Scarboro and other small communities in this area first learned that 60,000 acres would be used for the Manhattan Project that would become Oak Ridge.

Time for Feet, Hands, and Hearts to Burn

***How Fast Is Usain Bolt?***
“Usain Bolt is chasing living legend status, as the Jamaican sprinter arrives in London as the undisputed fastest man alive. ” —Graphic printed in Athlon Sports (July 2012)

Today the local newspaper had a special insert for the 2012 Olympics in London. There was a super cool graphic that I had to share. I can’t wait to see the opening ceremony on Friday. I have my eye on a few athletes that inspire me. Though I live in the United States, there are also a few other places I would like to see win. Team USA has me cheering on the super gymnast John Orozco of Colorado Springs, Colorado. I also like Sanya Richards-Ross of Austin, Texas. She is a Track and Field powerhouse. Of course I have to keep my eye on former Lobo Track Star Jarrin Solomon. Solomon will be representing Trinidad and Tobago though he lives in the United States and is from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He will do so to honor his father, who was also an athletic star. My final and absolute favorite to catch will be Usain Bolt the “World’s Fastest Man.”   Bolt will represent Jamaica. Maybe I should skip the pizza and hit the gym??? Hahahaa—- Can’t wait for feet, hands, and hearts to burn.