Haplogroup A and the Nicarao People

My wife's genetic test from National Geographic finally came in and she belongs to the mitochondrial Haplogroup A.


This group originated in Asia and is shared by a 10% of the Han Chinese, 7.7% of Koreans and Japanese, and the Chukchi people of Siberia.


In North America it accounts for the majority of the Eskimo-Aleut populations. In the Southwest United States it's assosiated with the Apache and the Navajo. In Central America with the Maya and in South America with the Inca.

Since my wife is Nicaraguan (Central American), it's safe to say she's of Nicarao descent. There is linguistic evidence that the Nicarao people are related to the Mayans. Although the Mayan empire didn't really reach Nicaragua (there are no Maya ruins in the country) it seem a large group broke of and headed south. Pretty awesome!

Strike Back!

The writer’s strike may be coming to an end this week and a lot of people are breathing a sigh of relief. I didn’t really mind the strike too much, not because I don’t watch TV, but because I fully support the writers.

The reason for the strike for those who don’t know (or who didn’t even notice there was a strike going on at all) was because the writers wanted to see some profit or royalties from their work being used on some form of emerging technology (like people watching a show online instead of watching it on TV).

Some people have said that the writers are just being greedy, but it’s called “emerging technology” for a reason. In 10 years I guarantee that TV and the Internet will be the same animal and if people are mostly (or only) downloading shows and movies, the writers will never get paid. It’s not that they’re concerned with not seeing a single cent from the millions of dollars generated a week from geeks watching Heroes online, (okay I’m sure they’re concerned about that too) but their main concern is for the future of their career.
If the strike does end this week I hope they get a good deal, because I’m really looking forward to going back to downloading my favorite shows and now I’ll at least know that these talented writers are getting paid.

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).