I Need My Space

When I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut, but then my 4th grade teacher quickly dispelled me of that ridiculous illusion by pointing out the cruel realities of my bad eyesight and even worse grades.

Watching that video above has just reignited that childhood dream of one day going into space. Sure it's insanely expensive, but over time it'll become more affordable and much more common place. To put things into perspective, in 1903 the Wright brothers were the first to fly in a plane and by the 1950s airports and airplanes were totally ordinary.

So it may take fifty years to get there, but at least the notion doesn't seem so absurd anymore.

Take that, Mrs. Prem!

My Holiday

Now that I’ve had a day to readjust to the “real world” I can reflect a bit on the last two weeks. So what did I do for the holidays? First I finally got married to my beautiful and patient girlfriend (wife), Marjorie, and then we went to Italy for our honeymoon. Lots of pics ahead so I’m going to post them as links so as not to clog up this post.

The wedding is something of a blur. I remember Marge looking beautiful as she walked down the aisle and when I opened my mouth to tell her so I said something like, “You look awesome,” instead. Aren’t I the articulate one? Another brief flash of memory is the dreaded dance, which turned out really well despite me having the grace of a newborn giraffe. All in all, I have to admit it was pretty wonderful.

Wedding:

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Italy was just fantastic. The ancient ruins of Rome, the museums of Florence, the waterways of Venice… I loved every minute of it. I'm still a bit groggy from the return flight so I'm going to let the photos do most of the talking.

Rome:

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Florence:

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Venice:

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I'm sure you all enjoyed seeing me in one of those newsboy hats.

Prince and the Pauper

No, this handsome devil isn't me in a wig. This isn't a photoshopped illusion or some other kind of gag. This is in fact a 1387 portrait of Pietro Morosini of Venice, Italy. He wasn't really a prince, but he was part of the noble Morosini family. Actually, he was a Senator as well as Venice's ambassador.

When I visited the Correr Museum I was completely taken aback by the resemblance between us, which is why I took a picture despite the strict “No Photos” rule. I mean give me a fancy wig and golden sash I could totally pass as Mr. Morosini.

As a librarian, another cool thing about this guy is that he convinced Cardinal Bessarion not to bequeath his considerable collection of books to some stuffy old Benedictine monks, but instead to donate them to the Republic of Venice, which was the beginning of the Library of San Marco.

Approaching the Finish Line

I’m a runner and so forgive me for using a running metaphor to describe what is surely a tender and joyous event: my wedding. For those that know me, I don’t have to say that I’ve been a dynamo of nervous energy these past few days (weeks?). I’ve been crackling with anxiety and vibrating with excitement. The friction created by my speedy footfalls super-heating any chances of cold feet. I’m sure FPL could light 500 homes with the rapid beating of my heart… But that was yesterday; right now I’m as calm and focused as a laser. As I zero in on this finish line called marriage, I’ve entered, what runners call, the zone. It’s as if I’ve broken the anxiety barrier and left all worry and anticipation a few miles back.

All I see now is the prize ahead and she's enough to push me to run a little faster.

Taino Speak

The other day some friends and I were sitting around talking about how language changes and evolves, not only over time, but over different countries. Eventually we got to discussing the Cuban version of Spanish. They were saying that they didn’t understand some of the words I used and they didn’t know how these words came about…. The answer is simple. These words are not Spanish at all, but Taino. It’s fascinating just how much the Taino influenced Cuba linguistically. Just for fun I’m going to compile a small dictionary of Taino words that are commonly sprinkled with Cuban Spanish (especially by my Dad):

Taino- Spanish- English

jicotea – tortuga- turtle

sanaco- idiota-idiot

caguama- tortuga marina- sea turtle

jutia - no translation- Caribbean rodent

maja- serpiente- snake

jimagua-jemelos- twins

mata- planta/arbol- plant/tree

guagua- bus-bus

guanajo- pavo- turkey

tiburon- no translation- shark

guajiro- campesino- farmer

jibaro- man of the forest

And of course, my personal favorite,

cocuyo- lucilirnaga- lightning bug

I’m not even including the Taino words that have been incorporated into the English language such as tabaco (tobacco) , iguana, manati (manatee), jurakan (hurricane). jamaca (hammock), canoa (canoe), barbacoa (barbecue) , maraca (rattle) sabana (savanna).

My DNA Revisited

I’ve got additional information concerning my own personal blue print. It seems my grandfather on my mom’s side was Haplogroup E3b, mostly associated with the Berbers (Moors) of North Africa and Spain. Even though I can’t really be tested for it, since I get my Y chromosome from my dad’s side of the family, my uncle got tested through the National Geographic Genographic Project. Ultimately, I am 25% Berber/Moor, which explains why I don’t look particularly Scandinavian as both my Y and Mitochondrial DNA suggests.

On a rather cool note, genetic testing of the mummy of Ramses II shows that he was also of Haplogroup E3b. It is also known that he had 110 children! If you increase that exponentially over time, chances are my grandfather (and myself) could very well be distant descendants of Ramses the Great.

Learing to Grow Up... The Not-So-Easy Way

To be perfectly honest I still consider myself a kid, albeit a big kid. I still eat my Lucky Charms while watching Saturday morning cartoons, but this year I’m going through two of those life altering rites-of-passage. 1) My fiancé and I bought our first home. 2) We’re getting married. After 29 cushy years of life I’ve finally entered the strange world of wives, mortgages, and responsibilities. So the most important thing I’ve learned this year is how to be an adult and so far it’s not as scary as I thought.