Observing the transit of Venus: a salute to Ana Darcy!

Eclipses of the sun and moon come along every year or so, and they are always news. Millions of people enjoy watching these majestic evidences of the mechanics of the universe.

A similar, much less frequent phenomenon with a long, fascinating history will occur the fifth of this June, not to be seen again in the lifetime of anyone now on Earth, not until 2117: the transit of Venus.

During the transit of Venus, the shadow of that planet, Venus, can be seen (with special equipment) to pass across the face of the sun. See the photo above. It is not as dramatic as a lunar eclipse, but it was a crucial observation for astronomers in the 18th century, who hoped to use the principle of parallax to accurately calculate the distance from the Earth to the sun. More information may be found HERE.

Ana Darcy Méndez, who crossed 25 light years from her home planet Thomo to reach Earth, is naturally interested in celestial matters. (They are integral to her theology as well.)  There will no doubt be many gatherings and parties on June 5, 2012, to observe and commemorate this event, and we invite participants to sip a toast to the brave young woman who crossed a small corner of the universe to join her people with their home planet, Earth. Cheers to you, ma'am!

John Philip Sousa, the March King, wrote a march in honor of the last transit of Venus, in 1882. Ana was delighted to discover this! 

Meet the extraterrestrial Ana Darcy!

Ana remembers men on the moon

The music Ana says sounds like the engine of the galaxy

Ana's first interview: Planet Thomo, religion, history, culture

Ana's native language

Ana's thoughts on early education and math education

A celestial musical conundrum

See more music, art, and science in the index in the right column -->

Another little toot of the horn

It's always fun to receive, and to share, comments from readers. Here are some recent ones:

"Enormous fun! The very fast-paced plot is based on some interesting premises, there are many well-sketched characters (and some good character development), and the book is loaded with local color of several flavors. I'd add that there's a touch of innocence about the worldview that reminds me slightly of golden-age SF. I'm systematically reading my way through the series, and I recommend it highly. "

"What makes a book outstanding to me is that I am sad when I come to the ending and the characters stay with me for a long time after reading. This series is one of the few that is on my "Must Read" list when others ask me for book recommendations."

"esta espectacular... solo esta semana termine el Libro de Ana Darcy…. Muy bueno…… Es de esos libros que uno empieza y no quiere parar…..Mil gracias."

 "One of the interesting things about the series and the Mendez clan is that the action scenes aren't necessarily the main event. With a plotline like DC 5, most authors would spend the whole time concentrating on...Ana... . But in your case, it's only one ingredient. Clio's adventures...are equally important, etc. I think that's one of the things that makes your series distinctive, but probably also one of the things that would have a literary agent lecturing you about changing things. And yet why should stories always follow a particular formula? Obviously I'm not the only one that feels this way, since you've acquired a cult Kindle following!"

"I just finished Distant Cousin and downloaded the next book in the series. I have to tell you how much I love your writing! I have truly enjoyed Ana's adventures. It leaves me wishing I could meet her. I love how you bring seemingly unrelated things together so neatly."

"What a nice surprise "Distant Cousin" was - quite unique. It has humor, moves along at a pleasant pace, and the main characters have realistic flaws and faults that I could identify with. ...I found myself smiling the entire time I was reading it. There is a subtle wisdom and numerous life philosophies throughout this book. To sum it up: good story - thoughtful, comfortable, and fun!"

Meet Ana Darcy!

 

More about Ana's home planet, religion, history, life, and impressions of Earth

More horn tooting ("You suck!")

Excerpts from Distant Cousin

A reader thanks Ana for her help

An anniversary poem for the husband of an extraterrestrial!

Ana Darcy's husband Matt, being an English major, has an unsurprising taste for poetry. Recently, approximately a month before their anniversary, he ran across a poem that touched his heart.

We can only provide a link to a copyrighted work, but we can say that except for the ocean mentioned (there are no oceans anywhere close to southern New Mexico) there was much in it to remind him that his sweet wife had traveled trillions of miles from her home planet to get to Earth, and to their house. 

What in the poem spoke to him?

"I climbed / the stairs to the roof of the house and under a sky / strewn with stars I gazed...and I imagined you coming closer...."

and

 "The nearness, the momentary warmth of you...why did I believe you would come out of nowhere?"

He can never forget the last line, "Why with all / that the world offers would you come only because I was here?"

After years of marriage, Matt still can't understand why this glorious woman should have chosen him, of all the people on Earth, to love. His only guess: it was a miracle.

The poem is "Black Sea," by Mark Strand. The story of the meeting and courtship of Ana and Matt is told in Distant Cousin.

Note (2017): The link above has been closed. The very fine poem, however, can still be found using a workaround. Please see this suggestion!

Meet the extraterrestrial Ana Darcy!

Distant Cousin for ALL e-readers & computers

See more of Ana's favorite poetry, recipes, and art in the columns to the right

Art from kurgans in Khazakhstan: Ana's Earthly Ancestors?

Feline head

Readers of Ana's stories know that Ana is descended from humans who, some thousands of years ago, were transplanted to the planet Thomo, 25 light years away. The first to find her way back, she has been eager to pursue what few clues there are as to just where on Earth her people originated.

An argali (mountain sheep)

For the most part those clues are linguistic: her language, Luvit, has been shown (in Distant Cousin) to be an early spinoff of the large Proto-Indo-European language family, originally spoken by the peoples living north of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. They were nomadic and preliterate and thought to have left few durable items that might have survived to interest modern archaeologists--no cities, bridges, aquaducts, statues, or the like.

A raptor head

But that notion may be mistaken. There is now an exhibit in New York City of works of art discovered in kurgans (burial mounds) in Khazakhstan, the ninth largest country in the world, north of the Caspian Sea. These works were created from the ninth to the first centuries B.C. (slightly after Ana's people are thought to have been removed). 

A feline attacking a horned animal

As you can see, they are are remarkable, and reveal a love of the natural world and a wonderfully creative artistic instinct. If you care to note some of the art that Ana has loved elsewhere in this blog  you can see how she might like these ancient treasures as well. And not only that--you might also come to understand why she loves cats! 

Two deer heads

Meet the fascinating extraterrestrial Ana Darcy!

Learn her story!

See more of Ana's taste in art in the right column under the picture of the blue-eyed kitty, and under the photo of the LOVE sculpture, including:

El dia de los muertos

Wearable art from Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexico

Arpilleras: textile sculpture from Ecuador

Molas from Panama

The art of Claudia Quintero

This and that: a wearable arpillera, serval kitties, and a venue in DC: Reincarnation

Today we are going to take care of some leftovers from previous posts. Above, for example, is one more arpillera, the lovely, original textile sculptures from South America. (See more arpilleras below.) You would think they are delicate creations, not suitable for clothing. This is true in some cases, but not in all. The t-shirt above (click to enlarge) has just been washed, as it has been many times previously. This would shorten the life of the thing, one supposes, but, being portable, the pleasure it gives the wearer and the observers during its lifetime surely makes that worthwhile.

Below is a photo of the neighborhood (but not the exact house) in Queens, New York City, where Ana Darcy Méndez had her memorable encounter with the Russian Mafia in Distant Cousin: Reincarnation. Those who have read the book will certainly remember that scene!

Below are some new photos of serval kitties from Julie's Jungle. The Méndez family has a caracal, but would dearly love one of these beautiful, active cats as well. The first photo is of an expectant mother. The others are baby kitties of various ages. Thanks, Julie!

More arpilleras: Part 1  Part 2  Part 3

Distant Cousin: Reincarnation

MANY serval photos and photos of caracals and other cats in the column on the right, under the picture of the blue-eyed kitty, including:

Servals: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 

Caracals: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Meet the extraterrestrial woman who unites all these topics: Ana Darcy Méndez!

Wearable art from Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico!

We have mentioned elsewhere that the people on Ana Darcy Méndez's home planet, Thomo, are fond of decoration and the arts. In a forthcoming post we will show some samples of ancient art originating from the historical area on Earth her people are believed to have come from. 

We have also mentioned that Ana has been taken by the arts on Earth, and particularly by textile art. (See below for examples of arpilleras (textile sculptures) and molas (amazing fabric creations from the Kuna people of Panama). 

Now we have some examples of wearable art from Mexico, Guatemala, and Ecuador. We could not ask Ana to send photographs of her own clothing, but friends of hers have very kindly allowed us to present some examples of theirs, with our very grateful thanks. 

It's easy to see why Ana would love these creations. They are colorful, immensely creative, beautifully human, lively, unique, and not least important, comfortable to wear! 

Note: these photos are generously sized. Click any to enlarge!

Above, a huípil from Guatemala. Below, nine items from Mexico.

A jacket from Mexico (one of Ana's very favorites):

Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico (left to right):

Guatemala, Mexico, Guatemala (each photo):

Molas, from Panama: part 1, part 2

Arpilleras from Ecuador & Peru, part 1, part 2, part 3

The art of Claudia Quintero

Mexican dolls: handmade folk art!

Meet the fascinating woman from the planet Thomo who loves all this art.

Investigate Ana's innovative recipes and favorite poems, too, in the column on the right, and also her ideas on education, aliens on Earth (ahem), her favorite shoes, photographs from sites of her adventures, and much more!

More photos of Ana's first official home on Earth: Barbados

Ana Darcy Méndez has always had a soft spot in her heart for the island nation of Barbados. Barbados was the first country to offer her citizenship after she landed on Earth (though it is true they did not know at the time she was from another planet). The credit for that goes to her lawyer friend Harvey Braithwaite, who convinced the ministers of government there that it would be a good idea to give her an official home (in Distant Cousin). It wasn't until later that they realized just how good an idea it had been.

It was a good choice for Ana, too. She still loves the island and returns from time to time (as in Distant Cousin: Reincarnation). Barbados is the easternmost of the Windward Islands in the Caribbean Sea, only about fifteen miles wide and twenty five miles long. Ana loves the easygoing people and the beautiful beaches, hills, and sugar cane fields.

Here are some more scenes from Barbados. Thanks to Bill Brown, who took them on a recent trip to visit the site of one of his most pleasurable duty stations in his U. S. Naval career! (Right click to open in another tab for details.)

Above: an aerial view of the capitol, Bridgetown. Below, another aerial view showing the southern end of the island.

Below are a photo of a beachfront eatery very similar to the one where Ana and her friend Cheryl had lunch in Distant Cousin: Reincarnation, followed by one of the dishes the island is famous for, a flying fish sandwich (or "cutter," as it is called there). Below that, more typical scenes from this most beautiful place.

This photo is NOT reversed. Vehicles drive on the left!

There are many more photos of Ana's venues in the column to the right, under the picture of the blue-eyed kitty, including many from Barbados and the West Indies. West Texas and New Mexico, also central to Ana's history, are represented there as well.

If you haven't yet met Ana Darcy Méndez, this is your invitation!