This and That
Those elegant California White Pelicans have come back to the park near my house. I have to take this as a sign that life will always be beautiful. Tomorrow morning I have to go to the hospital for some surgery. I'll get out the same day, though I might not feel the same as when I walked in. I certainly won't be able to eat the same. Hope to be healed by Thanksgiving. Wouldn't want to miss candied yams or pumpkin pie. In the meantime, I will think of those lovely pelicans and relax!
Back in the U.S.A.
I dreaded the flight to the U.K., and it exceeded those expectations. Awful flight--thought I'd have to turn around and go home--but one shower and an Italian dinner later, I felt fit enough to continue on. I'm glad I did. I had a wonderful time. Though as you can see from this photo, taken the next morning, I'm not all that sure how this trip is going to work out.
Later on, I look more content. I'm about to eat dinner at one of the oldest pubs in London.
More about the highlights of my trip later.
My upcoming trip to the U.K.
I plan to visit England,
Scotland and Wales. I’ve
been to Europe a few times, but I never made it to the British
Isles. Being an avid reader of Golden Age British mystery novels,
I am excited to see the type of quaint villages they set their stories in. And
course, as a fan of all Jane Austen novels, I can’t wait to see Bath, where some of her
stories took place.
The one thing I am dreading is the plane from Los Angeles to London.
It’s over ten hours. Somehow, I will have to get at least seven hours sleep
during that flight. I opted to take a nonstop because packing and unpacking
creates many opportunities for losing and forgetting things, at least for me. On
one European trip I had a layover in New
York, and when I spent a very short night in a hotel
I ended up losing my contact lenses. On a trip to Ontario, Canada
last year I left my mouse pad in the hotel because it
blended in with the desk I was using, and I didn't notice it. Not this time. The mouse pad I’m taking for
my laptop now is bright blue. Maybe this trip will inspire me to write a
mystery about a forgetful sleuth. In the meantime, I’ll comfort myself by
reading a Jane Austen novel on the plane. It's a bit worn around the edges, but if I lose it or someone mistakes it for my wallet, it won't cost much to replace.
Join Me This Sunday, May 22, 2016 7-9 EDT on The Writer's Chatroom
Join me this Sunday, May 22, 2016 7-9 EDT on The Writer's Chatroom at
http://www.writerschatroom.com/Enter.htm. During the chat I will be giving away a copy of The Legacy Of Fear, book 1 of Horror At The Lake, my vampire mystery.
To participate, just register for a free account at http://www.writerschatroom.com/Enter.htm
and pick a user name and password.
http://www.writerschatroom.com/Enter.htm. During the chat I will be giving away a copy of The Legacy Of Fear, book 1 of Horror At The Lake, my vampire mystery.
To participate, just register for a free account at http://www.writerschatroom.com/Enter.htm
and pick a user name and password.
I hope to see you there!
The Uncanny Intelligence of Geese
I live near a park with a small lake--really, just a man-made pond--that is alive with waterfowl, squirrels and turtles. Every year a flock of Canadian geese come back to the park. One couple each year will mate and have babies. It's fun to watch the babies grow up. At first they are all brown and fuzzy and eventually, those feathers give way to the distinctive brown-black and white markings of the adult Canadian geese. This year there were seven babies born to one very smart couple. I say smart because they obviously realized seven is a lot to keep safe from predators so they enlisted the services of two other geese who are regulars in the park. One is a large white goose and the other is an even larger African goose. They've been hanging out in the park for years. And now they act as surrogate parents or body guards for the seven babies.
Before I realized one Canadian geese couple had given birth, I saw these two non-Canadian geese on the grass, shielding something with their wings while two Canadian geese stood on the walkway warding off passersby. I realized the adult geese were protecting Canadian goslings. Now the whole diverse tribe is inseparable--eating and swimming together like one big happy family.
Well, it makes sense. What else can stressed-out parents do when they have a lot of kids? They hire a couple of baby sitters to make life a easier for them.
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Before I realized one Canadian geese couple had given birth, I saw these two non-Canadian geese on the grass, shielding something with their wings while two Canadian geese stood on the walkway warding off passersby. I realized the adult geese were protecting Canadian goslings. Now the whole diverse tribe is inseparable--eating and swimming together like one big happy family.
Well, it makes sense. What else can stressed-out parents do when they have a lot of kids? They hire a couple of baby sitters to make life a easier for them.
Vanessa A. Ryan is the author of:
Horror At The Lake, A Vampire Tale mystery trilogy:
Follow Vanessa A. Ryan at:
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http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2543030
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Strange Mysteries That Are Still Unsolved
I'm sure many of you read Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mysteries when you were a kid. I certainly did. And I always hoped somehow I would stumble on a mystery that I could solve. Nancy Drew always seemed to find scraps of paper on the ground or sidewalk that linked to other mysterious events that she eventually solved. How I wished I could be like her. But though I scoured the ground for clues to some unknown mystery, I never found anything. But I the other day, I did find beautiful grounds and a garden wall during my search for unknown clues--pictures are below. And I found an article about mysteries that are still unsolved. Gives me some thoughts of solving some of them in a story:
http://listverse.com/2015/02/25/10-strange-mysteries-from-around-the-world-that-are-still-unsolved/
http://listverse.com/2015/02/25/10-strange-mysteries-from-around-the-world-that-are-still-unsolved/
My Recent Trip To Cuba
My recent trip to Cuba at Christmas has given me
some ideas for new stories. Far from being a “police state,” as we have been
led to believe, the Cubans seem reasonably content with their government, enough
to poke fun at it. While spending four days in Cuba doesn’t make me an expert,
what I discovered was people leave Cuba not because of government repression
but because they want a better standard of living. They can own a house in the
city and in the country, but they can’t buy new houses, because no banks have
financed new housing projects in Cuba since the embargo. That means
people have to live in the homes of their parents or grandparents. Also cars and
travel are expensive (yes, Cubans are allowed to travel) and public
transportation is spotty. My tour guide lives in the country because she feels
that’s a better place to raise a child, but she has to take a succession of
taxis to get to work. And it takes her an hour and a half. The vintage cars are
mainly owned by taxi companies who cater to tourists.
To improve their standard of living many people make money on the black market. Unless they do it on a large scale, the government looks the other way. This is why I saw many Cubans arriving at the airport with a pile of hats on their heads they planned to sell. They get the same TV shows we get. They like their healthcare system and the fact that college is practically free. It’s also a more liberal place for artists and musicians than it was in the 1970s when the government forbid listening to Beatle’s music.
To improve their standard of living many people make money on the black market. Unless they do it on a large scale, the government looks the other way. This is why I saw many Cubans arriving at the airport with a pile of hats on their heads they planned to sell. They get the same TV shows we get. They like their healthcare system and the fact that college is practically free. It’s also a more liberal place for artists and musicians than it was in the 1970s when the government forbid listening to Beatle’s music.
Especially inspiring on my trip was visiting the Hemingway Museum, the house where Ernest Hemingway
lived for a number of years. It’s about fifteen miles outside Havana. According to my tour guide, Mary
Hemingway deeded it to the Cuban government if they would keep it intact as a
museum. However, as some online articles point out, the Cuban government
confiscated it. At any rate, it’s a quiet, idyllic spot in a tropical
setting––a great place to write.
Another highlight of the trip was a talk by Marta Nunez, the
Minister of Gender Relations. She discussed the problems Cuba faces. She
is a sociologist and former Harvard professor, whose family supported the
Revolution in the early days. According to Nunez, the fact that men have
compulsory military service and women do not has resulted in more women
becoming college graduates, but because of that, men lag behind intellectually.
That results in more divorces, and one-child families––not from family planning
but because the marriages don’t last long. In addition, it is a machismo
society. Women raise their sons to be manly––gays are not that tolerated––and
to view housework and child rearing as “women’s work.” As I said, Cubans are not
reluctant to criticize their country.
This is the view from my hotel: Havana at sunset.
Convertibles are the best to ride in because all cars use leaded gas.
My take on Cuba is it's an interesting, colorful place to visit. The people are friendly and relatively content. The food, the music and entertainment were fabulous. The plumbing--not so much.
Vanessa A. Ryan is the author of:
Horror At The Lake, A Vampire Tale mystery trilogy:
Follow Vanessa A. Ryan at:
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An Exciting Giveaway Of Three Intriguing Mystery/Thriller Novels
In Dark Shadow of the Past, Christina Connors and police detective Dan Mallory find themselves caught in a deadly game of conspiracy, murder, and vengeance. While the detective fights to save Christina and protect his career, she must discover how to play the game without revealing her true identity. But her secret won't stay buried for long, and the truth could mean death for them both.
Trigger is full of suspense and murder. Jordan Shaw knows the only way to stop the man hunting her is to kill him. She also knows the other men who came after her are dead, some of their blood is on her hands, and she wouldn’t have survived this long without the help of the intriguing and secretive Chase Hudson. Even though she isn’t sure she can trust Chase, she believes she needs him to discover the truth.
And of course, in A Palette for Murder, my first cozy mystery with Lana Davis, Lana's search for a missing heir brings her into the inner circle of a powerful art gallery in Santa Fe, owned by the daughter of a wealthy family. Although Lana's knowledge of art is limited to the one art history class she took in college, she soon discovers, when art and greed collide, the result is deadly. But her knack for finding dead bodies makes the police nervous. And finding herself a target for murder is more than she signed up for.
So here's the way to enter the contest. Don't delay:
Rafflecopter giveaway
Native American Indian Art
Music plays an important role in the Native American culture,
but there is a very special place for art, too. American Indians have used art
as a way of expressing themselves for many hundreds, if not thousands, of
years. Most of their art is symbolic with bears, eagles, people or walruses
playing a huge part, and much of the artwork is made from rocks, feathers, clay
and fabric.
In colder areas, the Native Americans enjoyed creating art
as a tribute to their animal friends. Walruses were carved out of whale’s teeth
and bears and eagles were made out of rock. Statues were often created to show
the Native American love of animals. Even weapons and musical instruments were
considered to be art for the Native American tribes.
When you think about Native American art, one of their most
cherished art forms instantly comes to mind. The Indians are famous for their
use of the legendary totem poles, which were tall wooden sculptures that showed
several generations of a family. Each of the “faces” in the pole showed
different representations of different family members—some were human and some
were animal.
Basket weaving, too, was considered by the Indians to be a
form of art—albeit one that served a very important role in their everyday
lives. Cornhusks and reeds were woven together to create the baskets, and then
the material would be dyed to make the fascinating tribal patterns that Indians
are so famous for. In fact, the Navajo tribe is most famous for their handwoven
baskets.
Vanessa A. Ryan is the author of:
Horror At The Lake, A Vampire Tale mystery trilogy:
Follow Vanessa A. Ryan at:
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Five Stolen Paintings The World Nearly Lost
Mona Lisa, Leonardo
da Vinci:
Would the Mona Lisa receive the same amount of attention if
it hadn't been stolen? Prior to its theft, the painting was hardly known
outside the art world. But interest in the painting peaked after it was stolen
right off the wall by Vincenzo Peruggia, a thief imitating the cleaning staff.
The ensuing panic closed the doors to the Louvre for a week, and the painting
wasn't found for two years. You can see it -- sort of -- behind a thick wall of
tourists and bullet-proof, alarmed plexiglass at the Louvre in Paris, France.
Adoration of the
Mystic Lamb, Hubert and Jan van Eyck:
Better known as the Ghent Altarpiece, Mystic Lamb, painted
in 1432, it seems to be beloved by Germans -- soldiers, in particular. The
first heist of two panels occurred by German forces in WWI. The second heist,
in 1942, was commissioned by Hitler because he wanted the painting to hanging
in Neuschwanstein Castle -- the famous "Disney" castle. The painting
can still be found in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, its original
location, although one panel, "The Just Judges," remains missing.
Boy in the Red Vest,
Paul Cezanne:
At the outset, this painting is no more famous than any of the
others listed -- although its $109 million value begs to differ. It's just a
boy wearing an Italian red waistcoat. But what's intriguing about the boy is
that Cezanne's work was one of three paintings stolen from the private Bührle
Collection in 2008. The other paintings include a Van Gogh, Monet and Degas.
The combined price of these works exceeded $300 million. The painting is back
at the E.G. Bührle Collection, Zürich, Switzerland, although, hopefully, under
tighter security measures.
Jacob de Gheyn III,
Rembrandt:
The 12-inch by 10-inch portrait is of the son of the canon
of Utrecht. What's most interesting about this painting is that, since 1966,
it's been stolen four different times, the most of any artwork. Because of
this, it's commonly known as the "takeaway Rembrandt." It's only a
matter of time before the painting disappears again. Currently, it's hiding at
the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, England.
The Scream, Edvard
Munch:
Munch's The Scream ranks among the most iconic figures in
art history. The piece's bent-skull, long chin and wide eyes even inspired a
series of over-dramatic horror films and a Halloween costume craze in the '90s.
But even more fascinating is that The Scream has been subjected to many thefts.
The most recent theft occurred in 2004, when the $150 million painting wasn't
recovered for two years. You can find it in the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway.
Vanessa A. Ryan is the author of:
Horror At The Lake, A Vampire Tale mystery trilogy:
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