Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Charm Bracelets

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As a child I remember my Grandmother had a golden bracelet that was filled with charms that represented all of her children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.  All the links of the bracelet seemed to be filled and she would only wear it for special occasions, it would make a lovely “jingle” sound as she would move her arm.  My mother also had a similar bracelet but our family was much smaller and there were not quite so many charms.  I also received a golden charm bracelet as a present for my 16th birthday that I still have in my jewelry box.

The popularity of charms is not a new fashion trend and has been around for a very long time.  In fact, the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, Romans and the Medieval knights all wore charms as decorative pendants and amulets to ward off evil spirits or charms that were worn into battle for good luck or charms that were worn to signify a person’s heritage or their religious belief.

As she has influenced so much of our modern traditions, Queen Victoria wore a charm bracelet and started a popular fashion among the European royalty back in the late 1800s.  Sadly when Prince Albert died, the Queen made mourning charms popular and these charms were lockets containing the hair of a deceased loved one or a miniature portrait of the deceased and the bracelets were made of black jet which was a popular gemstone used during the traditional mourning period.

After World War II, charm bracelets became very popular with the American women and their daughters.  The custom of purchasing or receiving charms to mark special events is another lovely tradition.  Movie stars worn them in their films and they were also seen wearing them for photos shoots in the movie magazines and this is the trend that I remember from my childhood.

After my daughter was born I decided that I wanted to start collecting charms for her to remember special events of her life with the hope that it would become a wonderful keepsake for her as she grows older.  I actually started with charms for one bracelet and have now collected so many charms that there are enough for not just one bracelet but several more!

The first one is a traditional charm bracelet with charms that mark my daughter’s special events, hobbies or activities.  From left to right: a baby shoe, ballet and tap shoes, a little gymnast, a dog to represent our three rescue dogs, ice skates and a hula dancer for when she took lessons, skis and boots, High School Musical and Hannah Montana charms (I’ve got to find a One Direction charm!), a little girl praying on her knees for her first communion, a piano with a musical note added to mark her weekly piano lessons and also for her participation in the school choir.  As you can see from the photo shown below, there is a space left for the cheerleader charm that I recently ordered.  I hope that my daughter remembers all the fun things she did while growing up and I think the charm bracelet is also a wonderful way to remember those special events from her childhood.

Childhood charm bracelet

The next collection of charms was bought during our family vacations and trips around the United States that we have taken since my daughter was born.  I also found a great online source to purchase “state” charms to go with the other travel souvenirs, the web site is bluemud.com.  With such a large collection of travel charms there is no way they could all fit on a bracelet, so I have decided to attach them to a necklace that I have recently purchased but I have not got around to attaching the charms yet.  Below are two photos: one of the travel charms and the other the state charms.

travel charms    state charms

Another collection of charms were bought on our many visits to Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida.  As many of you know from previous posts, our family loves everything Disney!  In the photo shown below, I have collected quite a number of the Disney charms.  Once again there were so many charms to put on a bracelet, so I will be attaching them to the other necklace that I recently purchased.

Disney charms

Charms are not just for bracelets and necklaces and here is a story to tell of a great idea I had for an alternative way of displaying them.  When we lived in California, our family tried to visit all of the 21 Missions scattered across the state.  We had a great time exploring most of them during weekend trips or summer vacations and by the time we moved to the Midwest we had only three more to go!!  Each time we visited the Missions I would purchase one of the Mission medals so I had another collection of charms.  I didn’t want to display the medals on a bracelet so I came up with another idea.  During one of our visits I had purchased a small poster showing the California Missions.  I framed the poster and then hot glued the medals along the border and left space for the missing medals.  It looks great hanging in our home and next time we visit California we are going to visit the last remaining California Missions to get those missing medals!

California Mission print

Another idea for using charms that I saw when shopping in a gift store recently was charms attached to rubber and metal “hair ties” which were sold to be used as a “bracelet”.  These bracelets were priced at $5 and I thought I could make ones for my daughter for a much lower price.  I found similar rubber and metal hair ties at my local retail store and I used some ocean themed silver charms because we had a planned summer vacation to the North Carolina coast and my daughter loved them when she wore them during the trip.  As you can see from the photo below the bracelets were so easy to make and they look great!!

charms attached to hair ties

The last collection of charms is unusual and not the traditional metal ones but small resin charms that I found in our local craft store.  As you can see from the photo below, the charms are cute animal characters and my daughter absolutely loves them.  I am not sure if I will put them on a bracelet or a necklace, I haven’t decided yet!

Resin charms

So, in conclusion I hope you enjoy this post about charm bracelets.  If you collect charms, send me a picture because I would love to see your collection.

Nichelle Nichols Birthday

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Hello again, it’s Jeff here to talk about Nichelle Nichols, who was born on December 28, 1932.  I, like most people, knew Nichelle from her role as Uhura in Star Trek and didn’t think much beyond that.  When Barbara asked me to write a post about Gene Roddenberry I found out through my research that after the network refused to give Nichelle a contract he kept her on at a week to week basis.  In trying to confirm this I ended up doing further research on Nichelle and became fascinated by her life story.  

Nichelle, who’s birth name is Grace Dell Nichols, was born in Robbins Illinois, originally a small town south of Chicago, but now part of the greater Chicago metro area.  The area was first proposed as a suburb of Chicago in the early 1890s and lots were sold to whites at exorbitant prices with the expectation that Chicago would grow that way after the World’s Columbian Exposition, but the city did not grow as anticipated and most of the speculators lost their investments.  In the early 1900s Henry Robbins acquired the land and began marketing it to African Americans.  The town grew and had a population of 300 by 1917 when it was officially incorporated, one of the first towns to be incorporated by African Americans and one of the few towns.  The town supported one of the few airports that allowed African American pilots.  This airport, which was destroyed by a tornado in 1933, was the model for the Tuskegee Airmen.  The town was also a hotspot for African Americans from Chicago supporting green spaces for picnics and an active nightclub scene. By 2010 the population was 5,337 with 96% of the inhabitants African American and it is one of the poorer Chicago suburbs.  This being said, for so small a town, it has produced a number of notable celebrities, including Nichelle, Dwyane Wade, Joe Montgomery, James Loving and Shaun Wiggins.

Nichelle’s was a gifted dancer who started ballet when she was 7.  When she was 14 she auditioned for the Chicago Ballet Academy.  At first the instructor refused to let her audition because “Black people can’t dance ballet.”  After her father insisted that she would be able to audition, she did and was admitted to the dance school.  During this time she also took Afro-Cuban dance lessons and started getting jobs in hotels.  She was discovered by Duke Ellington and started touring with him.  By the end of the tour she was the lead singer and her career kept growing from there.  In the mid 50’s she had earned enough money to move her extended family to Los Angeles where she could focus on her career in television, which lead to Star Trek role and her current fame.

Her role in Star Trek wasn’t what I found so interesting though.  Instead it was her commitment to being a role model that caught my eye.  After the first year of Star Trek she was ready to quit.  The network was treating her as a second class citizen and constantly downgrading her role.  The same week that she told Gene of her intentions she also attended a NAACP fund raiser.  There she met Dr. Martin Luther King who told her:

You have opened a door that must not be allowed to close. I’m sure you have taken a lot of grief, but you changed the face of television forever. You have created a character of dignity and grace and beauty and intelligence. Don’t you see that you’re not just a role model for little black children? You’re more important for people who don’t look like us. For the first time, the world sees us as we should be seen, as equals, as intelligent people–as we should be…Remember, you are not important there in spite of your color. You are important there because of your color.

This changed her mind about quitting and she stayed on the show until it was cancelled, but never stopped being an inspiration to the black community.  In the 70’s she gave a speech criticizing NASA for not selecting women and people of color to the astronaut programs.  NASA challenged her to help with the recruitment effort.  In response she created Women in Motion, a company dedicated to attracting minority candidates to the space program.  While it is hard to say the direct impact she had, the number of applicants jumped from 1,500 to 8,000 during this time and we do know she directly inspired Dr. Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space, as well as Col. Guion Bluford, Dr. Ronald McNair and Dr. Sally Ride.  She also inspired Charles Bolden who is now the Administrator of  NASA.

Finally, she is a member of the board of Governors of the National Space Society and actively works to get kids interested in Science and Technology, something I really support!  It has been a lot of fun researching Nichelle.  If you have a minute take a look at these short interview clips or check out her autobiography Beyond Uhura – Star Trek and Other Memories.  Maybe some day I will be lucky enough to meet her in person!

Here are some of her works if you don’t already have them:

Jeff Jones

C. S. Lewis’ Birthday

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cs lewis

Hello, it’s Jeff again here to talk about one of my favorite authors, C.S. Lewis (or Jack as he was known by family and friends). He was born on November 29th, 1898 and died November 22, 1963.  I’m not sure how I stumbled across his books, but I remember reading “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and then the rest of the series when I lived in California in 1976. I remember checking them out of the library repeatedly during that year.  Fortunately, I purchased them at a book sale because the library burned down in 1982, and unfortunately I only have one or two of those volumes now.  Before I move off the topic of the Narnia series, if you are going to read them, be sure to read them in the original order, starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  Later versions of the series put “The Magician’s Nephew” first, which while chronologically correct is not how they were published.  (The Magician’s Nephew is my least favorite of the series)

Before delving into his works, let’s take a brief look at CS Lewis’ biography (a more complete biography can be found here or here).  He was born in Belfast, Ireland to a lawyer and the daughter of a priest.  When he was four, his dog Jacksie was killed by a car and he took on the name, later shortened to Jack, which he kept for the rest of his life. (Sorry I digress a little, but during the research for this post I came across some interesting information – Dublin  only had 38 cars in 1900, so there could not have been many cars around at the time!)   Anyway,Lewis attended a number of schools and had a number of different private tutors until he received a scholarship to Oxford in 1916.  In 1917 he joined the military and was commissioned in the 3rd Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry.  In 1918 he was wounded in the legs, arms and chest by a friendly fire incident when a British shell fell short.

After the war he returned to Oxford to continue his studies.  The story goes that Lewis made a pact with his roommate “Paddy” Moore that if either were killed in the war the other would take care of their friend’s family.  Since his friend had died, once back at Oxford Lewis arranged to have Jane Moore, Paddy’s mother, and her daughter move in with him. Historians question the nature of their relationship (she was 17 years his senior) but all agree he cared for her until her death in 1951 and called her Mother (his own mother had died when he was 10).

Lewis completed his studies in 1924 and was made a Fellow at  Magdalen College where he taught philosophy, English and literature for the next 29 years.  During this time he met J. R. R. Tolkien and started a lifelong friendship.  Long discussions on religion with Tolkien eventually led Lewis back to Christianity, a faith he had abandoned when he was 15.  Their association eventually led to the creation of the Inklings, an informal,  jovial group of writers that met regularly to discuss fantasy literature and Christianity.  This group included such notables as:  Charles Williams, Hugo Dyson, Owen Barfield, Dr. Robert Havard, Weville Coghill, Lewis’s brother Warnie and Christopher Tolkien.  In 1955 Lewis accepted the newly formed Department of Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University where he worked until he died in 1963.

Lewis was a very prolific writer.  While the Narnia series is one of Lewis’ best known series, with over 85 million copies sold and many movies about the series, he wrote many books in many genres over his lifetime.   They include children’s books, science fiction, non-fiction and christian apologetic.  His most notable works are:  The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, The Allegory of Love, The Screwtape Letters, The Space Trilogy, Till We Have Faces, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life.

As I previously stated, C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors.  In addition to the Narnia series I also like The Screwtape Letters.  This is a story about a low level demon trying to corrupt a soul.  It is told in a series of letters between  the senior Demon Screwtape and his nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter.  I also enjoyed the Space Trilogy, starting with That Hideous Strengh, followed by Perelandra and Out of the Silent Planet, although the final volume wasn’t really to my taste.

Many of Lewis’ works have been made into movies and radio dramatizations.  I particularly like the Family Radio Theater version of the stories.  There are also several live action movies and radio dramatizations created by the BBC of Narnia that are quite good.  Of course there are the Disney movies that started coming out a couple of years ago that are also very good.  My only complaint is that they changed the plot in my mind unnecessarily, particularly in The Dawn Treader.  Others have different complaints such as can be found in this article about the opening of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” movie.  This being said, the movies are very entertaining and well worth watching.

I hope this post has been interesting and informative.  Please send me a comment, I would love to know your favorite CS Lewis book or movie … and it would be nice to know someone read all the way to the bottom of this post!

Jeff Jones

The Lion King Musical

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The Lion King Musical

On today’s date in history the Lion King debuted on Broadway in 1997.  Even though this animated film was not one of my favorite Disney stories, (I prefer the “Lion King 1&1/2” prequel), I think the musical’s staging, costumes and scenery are absolutely wonderful!  I was fortunate to have seen the production twice and it was just as exciting seeing it the second time with my children and the whole family enjoyed the show.

As mentioned, “The Lion King” musical is based on the 1994 Disney animated film and featured music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice with an additional musical score by Hans Zimmer.  The theatrical production was directed by Julie Taymor and the story is brought to life by actors dressed in animal costumes and also features cleverly designed puppets with some very unique staging.  The musical was previewed at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City before officially opening on Broadway on November 13, 1997.

The play’s original director and costume designer, Julie Taymor, had become fascinated by the elements of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, Bunraku, shortly after graduating from college in 1974 while she was on an extended trip to Indonesia and Asia.  When she returned to the United States after five years to begin a career in the theater, she began mixing the traditional form of Western storytelling with the Asian techniques of using rod puppets and masks creating a new and innovative mixed-media style of production and staging.  During the 1980s, she was very successful as a costumer/set designer and later as a playwriter and director.  She eventually came to the attention of the Disney Theatrical Company in 1994 when they decided to turn “The Lion King” story into a large scale musical production for the stage.

By 1995, Taymor had proposed an ambitious production blending actors wearing elaborate masks with oversized puppets and an innovative set design of the African plains as depicted in the Disney animated film.  With a huge budget of almost $29 million, Taymor was able to expand the 75 minute animated film storyline into a dramatic and at times humorous two act stage production with a brilliant staging and unique design concept.

Opening scene        Pride Rock

For the musical stage adaption, several changes were made, such as the character of Rafiki from a male mandrill monkey to a female character because it was felt that the addition of another female lead was needed in the story.  In addition, several songs and scenes were added, such as the “Madness of King Scar” scene and the “Shadowland” song that depicts Nala asking and receiving permission to leave the Pride Lands after she refuses and rejects Scar attempts to make her his mate.

There were over 300 puppets specially created for the production and Taymor took inspiration from the look and style of the animated film as well using the influences from African tribal design in the pattern of the cloth used in fabricating the costumes and puppets.  Taking into account the style of each individual character, the design the Mufasa mask appears strong and powerful while the Scar mask is extremely angular and asymmetrical in design to signify his hostile personality.  Both the Mufasa and Scar costumes had a mechanical device that with the press of a button can be lowered and raised to give an illusion of these lion characters lunging at one another during a dramatic scene.  Some of the animals in the production were portrayed by actors with extra devices to create movement, such as the giraffes with the actors on stilts or numerous gazelle attached to the actors who leap across the stage creating an illusion of a stampeding heard at a climatic point in the production.  In addition to costumes, Taymor and her creative team used music and choreography as well as set design and lighting to bring “The Lion King” musical to the Broadway stage.

Scar and Mufasa            Gazelles

“The Lion King” Musical went on to win six Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Director for Taymor, who became the first woman to win in that category.  She also won a Tony Award for Original Costume Design, which I think was well deserved!  “The Lion King” Musical has gone on to become one of the highest grossing Broadway musicals of all time earning $853.8 million.  Currently there are several national and international productions worldwide in over 15 different countries.

Simba and Nala    Timon and Pumba

Carl Sagan’s Birthday

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Carl_Sagan_Planetary_Society

As you may have realized by now, Barbara is extremely organized.  As she was going over topics for her blog last month she noticed that November 9th was Carl Sagan’s birthday.  I only know a little about him and begged Barbara to let me write this post so I could get to know more about this American icon.

Carl was born in Brooklyn, NY on November 9th, 1934 and died December 20th, 1996.  By all reports he was an inquisitive child with an interest in space from a very early age.  Key to his early development were a trip to the World’s Fair in 1939 and his parents providing him with both a sense of wonder and skepticism.  His family moved to New Jersey in 1948 and he graduated from Rahway High School in 1951.  He attended the University of Chicago where he earned degrees in physics, astronomy and astrophysics.  While there he also worked with notable scientists such as Gerard Kuiper and Melvin Calvin.  After college he was one of the first groups of Miller Fellows at the University, a fellowship that is only awarded to eight to ten of the most promising scientists each year.

After his 3 year Miller Fellowship he worked at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory before lecturing and researching at Harvard.  When he did not receive tenure at Harvard he went to Cornell University where he became a full professor in 1971 and where he became the director of the Center for Radiophysics and Space Research.

Voyager-Golden-Record

Being one of the brightest minds in the country and passionate about space, Sagan worked with the US Space program from its beginning.  Among his many contributions to the space program were the messages included in the Pioneer and Voyager missions.

NASA_Distinguished_Public_Service_MedalSagan also supported the search for extraterrestrial life, lobbied to get funding for and was on the board of Trustees of the SETI Institute,  an organization where signals from radio telescopes are searched for signs of intelligent life.  You can help with this search by signing up for Seti@home and letting your computer process signals while your computer is sleeping!  He also helped write the message aimed at informing potential aliens about earth sent out by the Arecibo radio telescope on November 16, 1974.  In addition, he “co-founded The Planetary Society, the largest space-interest group in the world, with over 100,000 members in more than 149 countries, and was a member of the SETI Institute Board of Trustees. Sagan served as Chairman of the Division for Planetary Science of the American Astronomical Society, as President of the Planetology Section of the American Geophysical Union, and as Chairman of the Astronomy Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).” [Wikipedia]  He won many, many awards and honors over his life including the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, A Pulitzer prize for General Non-Fiction, the Oersted Medal and the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal.

Despite his tremendous scientific and academic achievements, Carl Sagan was best at, and is most known for his ability to popularize complex scientific concepts.  He wrote a number of bestselling books including “Cosmos” and the fiction work “Contact” which was made into a major motion picture.  Cosmos was turned into a 13 part PBS program which was watched by over 500 million people in 60 countries.  This series won both a Peabody award and an Emmy.


I’m glad Barbara let me research and write about Carl.  He is the kind of person the scientific community needs around to help people understand what they do and keep interest in research alive.  I wish I could have gotten to know him in person, but at least we have his books and television programs to inspire us.  Thanks for reading and if you want to help with any scientific research check out Seti@home or the Galaxy Zoo.

Sincerely,

Jeff Jones