Tim Severin's "The Jason Voyage"

A historian friend introduced Tim Severin to me a few years ago when I told him a favorite book (at the time) was Thor Heyerdahl's Kon Tiki. Heyerdahl (1914 - 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer. Probably his most famous work was his book Kon Tiki, which was a raft made following ancient craft-building traditions with vines for binding balsa logs and bamboo canisters for storing water. Thor and a five others sailed their raft from the Peruvian coast to the island reefs of Raroia in the Tuamotus 4,300 miles distant. No one died, the 1947 adventure was a success and his subsequent book of his endeavor -- from building the raft to the difficulties of sailing without contact to the rest of the world to being cast on an island and feared as spirits of the original Kon Tiki -- was publicly well received. He proved the hypothesis that ancient peoples could have followed sea routes to navigate the globe, particularly to relocate to the Polynesian Islands. He made subsequent voyages and in 2011, a few years after his death, the Thor Heyerdahl Archives were added to UNESCO's "Memory of the World" Register.

Tim Severin (1940 - present) made similar grand voyages of adventure. He is a historian, a navigator, and fortunately a writer, as he combines these three pleasures with grand adventure writing after research-based adventure seeking. As a navigator, he reads ancient texts and ponders on sea routes taken, e.g. Seeking Robinson Crusoe (2002), the Sinbad Voyage (1980-1981), In Search of Moby Dick (1999). He also did motorcycle and camel explorations when retracing the route of Marco Polo. He has been quite diverse in his explorations; his routes have been almost uniformly based on ancient ones documented in literature, e.g. The Jason Voyage (1986), or the non-fiction historical texts.

The Jason Voyage

The Jason Voyage: The Quest for the Golden Fleece (1986)

Since Wikipedia already wrote a brief summary of the voyage, there's no need to reinvent the wheel and summarize the book myself:

The epic poem Argonautica, first written down by Apollonius of Rhodes in Alexandria in the late 3rd century BC, became the basis for Severin's next expedition. He began his research into ancient Greek ships and the details of the text in 1981. Master shipwright Vasilis Delimitros of Spetses hand built a 54-foot (16.5 m) replica of a Bronze Age galley based on a detailed scale model of the Argo. In 1984, with twenty volunteer oarsmen, Severin rowed and sailed from northern Greece through the Dardanelles, crossed the Marmara Sea, and passed through the Straits of Bosphorus to the Black Sea—a voyage of 1,500 miles (2,400 km). Along the way they identified many of the landmarks visited by Jason and his Argonauts, and found a likely explanation for the legend of the Golden Fleece. Severin recounted the expedition in The Jason Voyage (1985).

Though historians have questioned the veracity that anyone like Jason could have existed, or at least existed but doubted whether the golden fleece existed, they have also questioned the navigability of the Argonauts' route from Athens to Georgia. With his commissioning of a boat as identical to the original Argos as possible, and with an equal number of men (minus the mythologically great Heracles, Castor and Polux, etc) Severin proved that a sea-route could done. En route to Georgia following the original argonaut route he made stops on islets and recorded tides; he experienced brutal storms like Jason had experienced in literature, and Severin identified the appearance of rocks, hills, and island formations that matched those on the route of the original Argonauts. 

While in Greece, no self-respecting girl would want the evil name of Medea, but in Georgia it is a very popular name. Medea had been a princess, daring, brave; she had chosen her own destiny, and the name of Medea is not twisted with subterfuge like it is further to the west. In Georgia it is a name of pride. Quick-witted princess Medea, to help Jason, had told Jason the solution to circumventing the sacred bulls. Then she had charmed the guardian snake that protected the golden fleece, and together with their golden possession the lovers had fled. Medea was a temptress but a beauty, the bulls are still part of temple worship, snakes are apparent in archaeological diggings and were cult objects. Evidence in the present-day points to the symbols of the past.

The voyage that Tim Severin embarked on was to demonstrate that the route could be taken, but he also was able to prove that the old literature isn't just dusty words but geographical, topographical and archaeological evidence supporting the veracity of the "tale". One of his final sentences in The Jason Voyage is "What had seemed as a far-fetched yarn when we began the Jason Voyage had found its solution in Georgia, 1500 miles away from its starting point in Iolcos" Greece. 

No more spoilers. The book is a travelogue entwining the historical and the present, a great journey!

Paris by Rutherford

I have just discovered another favorite author, Edward Rutherfurd. He writes like my favorite author of many years, James Michener (1907 - 1997) and author of more than 40 books, most of which were historical novels. Michener's historical fiction were typically on countries or geographical areas, and he would travel the area for months, interacting with locals, historians, researchers, delving into the history. Then he would organize a rich history in his mensa-brain and create novel characters (pun intended) to live from, often preceding, recorded time in the area to the present. His books are epics, they are historical dynasties of people not famous but who, by their very lives, were the foundation to what exists today, they are tomes of knowledge! I've read several of his books, which usually are 600+ pages, and I marvel that every page is filled with rich content. Michener doesn't waste words; he shapes thought and imagery with every word!

Edward Rutherfurd (1948 - present) writes rich historical novels in epic and tome-like multi-generational format like Michener. Since I've only read this book by Rutherford, I can't really compare overall content, but from looking at what Rutherford puts on the shelves, Rutherfurd writes on not only countries — e.g. Sarum (1987), Russka (1991), Dublin: Foundation (2003), Ireland: Awakening (2006), China (this year 2017) — but also on deep histories of big cities — London (1997), New York (2009), Paris (2013). 

Paris, the book I just finished, is 832 pages. The book opens with a light history of the days before Julius Caesar saw the possibilities of the mud-flats and islands and rich valley where the throbbing city of Paris now is. The tribal village on the Seine River was ideally located for development, a hub, a road to see what lay beyond, and so the village developed, shaped by conquerors, reshaped by the Huns, the Franks, the Dark Ages. 

Rutherfurd writes the dramatic history of Paris, starting in the year 1216, by following the dynastic line of four families. Each family represents a different socioeconomic class of people that contributed to building the city into the modern, refined and travel-venerated city it is today: a family of street persons descending from a cutthroat, a noble titled family blood-related to the king, a merchant family that directly contributed to the financial and socioeconomic development of the city and a branch of which broke off and represented emigration to Canada, and a Jewish family that developed the learned centers of Paris and in payment received ostracization, deportment and even death as their legacy. 

In the 1600s two other family dynasties were added: another merchant family strategically intermarrying with the Renard merchant family and which represented a growing hierarchy of merchant classes and the unspoken taboo of not marrying outside of one's economic level. The other family (the Gascons) was a look at the laboring class who with their blood and sweat built the physical foundation of the city. In fact, a greater part of the latter half of the book was about the Gascons and how this family met great people and how the social barriers of class started collapsing, particularly with world war, and how war brought these families into a tight network together, having to interact together, and this beginning of integration representing the modern Paris — families still separated by socioeconomic histories but integrating and recognizing that each socioeconomic class played its part in the Paris of the 20th century.

Giant Straw Animals, Japan

Viral on Facebook are images of giant straw art. The images are definitely impressive, smack of a new and trendy culture, and are certainly worth a re-share. The following is a Bored Panda article entitles "Giant Straw Animals Invade Japanese Fields ... They Are Badass"

Fall is a season of harvesting, and festivals to celebrate it are currently taking place all over the world. In Northern Japan, the Wara Art Festival recently rang in the September-October rice season, and it’s a wildly inventive and fun way to repurpose rice straw left over from the harvest. 

Wara Art Festival has been taking place in Niigata City since 2008, where it began as a creative collaboration between the city’s tourism division and the Musashino Art University. Rice straw was once widely used in Japan to produce various goods, such as tatami mats, but has now been replaced by wood and plastic in most instances. The students of Musashino worked together to fill the fields of Niigata with giant animal sculptures made of bound rice straw, and they’ve been doing it every year since 2008.

Featured are some of the best displays of the 2017 season:

The base of the structures are made from pipes and wooden sticks, and then the straw is added. One sculpture takes about a week to complete, and a lot of man power.

Another article entitled "Straw Dinosaurs in a Rice Field" and also published by Bored Panda in 2015, has more information regarding this new and trendy rice field activity.

What a way to end a season. Each year on the last day of August, Japan’s Niigata Prefecture celebrates the end of the rice harvest in a rather elaborate (yet resourceful) fashion: creating rice straw sculptures. 

Known as the Wara Art Festival, artists across the area transform the prefecture’s leftover wara (rice straw) into some truly stunning artwork, all available for public viewing.

Beyond pure artistic vision, each sculpture requires approximately one hundred bushels of straw, a team of workers and wooden frames, which serve as a “skeleton” for each sculpture. 

All of the subsequent works are impressive in their own right, but one artist in particular stands out: Amy Goda. Since 2013, the local sculptor’s massive dinosaur creations have captured the Internet’s attention, bringing the Wara festival fans from all around the world. 

Goda employs an array of techniques to create her straw statues, ranging from basket weaving to cottage thatching — even braiding. Whatever Goda’s process, her results are sturdy enough to allow festival goers to not just view her work, but fully interact with it. Festival patrons can pose on top of the giant effigies or stand underneath without fear of harm to themselves or Goda’s creations. 

From time to time, sculptors create variations that can float on water, like the giant duck featured at this year’s event. Reaching heights of up to 16 feet, the at the Wara Art Festival are truly a sight to behold. If your allergies or thin wallet prevent you from viewing the straw sculptures yourself, we’ve got you covered:

More info: Wara Art Festival (Japanese), Facebook

Animals that Paint

For sale on eBay: Original paintings by Oakland Zoo animals

By Carolyn Jones on September 9, 2014 at 12:59 PM

Oakland’s arts scene just keeps getting hotter. Even its zoo animals are getting in on it.

A giraffe, otter, chimpanzee, elephant and other creatures at the Oakland Zoo have created vivid and colorful paintings that the zoo is auctioning to raise funds. The framed paintings, which include photos of the animal artistes at work, are for sale on eBay.

Styles vary from the minimalist, tri-color masterwork by Drew, a squirrel monkey, to the rainbow blurred fantasia by Scrat, a large lizard. All the animals’ works are in the impressionist school, although each artist has highly unique expressions.

Bidding opened Friday. By Tuesday, no piece had more bids than a Seurat-like work by a Madagascar hissing cockroach who goes by the moniker Nameless. His piece had received 11 bids, driving the price to $77.

Bidding ends Sept. 14. All proceeds go to the Zoo’s conservation efforts for animals in the wild.

Amy and Jennifer the lemurs work on their collaborative painting.

Ben the giraffe paints his work of art.

Ben's finished product.

Woody, a Nigerian dwarf goat, adorably painting with his hooves.

Woody's finished product.

Drew the squirrel monkey, with an assist from a few friends, works on his painting.

Drew's finished product.

Ginger, a North American river otter, painted this work.

Scrat the chuckwalla paints.

Bernie the chimpanzee, who turns 21 this year, and his finished works.

A Madagascar hissing cockroach uses its legs to paint the canvas.

The Cincinnati Zoo has a similar animal-painting fund-raising program:

Elephant Artists!

Brush in Trunk Package includes:

• Custom Elephant Painting featuring the colors of your choice.
• Two, high-quality photos of the artist creating your one-of-a-kind work of art.

Money raised through the sale of artwork helps the Zoo support the International Elephant Foundation.

Rhino Rembrandts!

Support rhino conservation by purchasing original works of art by Seyia and Faru and buy our very own “Rhino Rembrandt”!

These one-of-a-kind masterpieces make wonderful gifts for rhino enthusiasts and nature-lovers alike, and are perfect, unique gifts for that “person who has everything.”

Proceeds from painting sales go directly to rhino conservation. Your generous contribution will help ensure that all rhino species and the wild places where they live will be ours to share for generations to come. Learn More >

Animals that Paint on YouTube

YouTube has quite a few clips on animals painting. A compilation of animals is Amazing Animals that Paint! (2:25). A particularly fascinating clip is The Truth about Elephant Paintings and gives a history on elephants painting. Basically, the first elephant documented to be given paints was in New York in 1940, and gradually this idea spread. Thailand which has numerous elephant painting programs now didn't incorporate the painting elephant in their tourism programs until 1977.

I first became aware of elephants painting from the 1996 book When Elephants Weep, the Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Masson. An amazing book, and a very high recommend. In one particular story an elephant was noticed to be picking up chalky pebbles in its zoo enclosure and doodling on the ground. A proactive keeper noticed the behavior and introduced paints to the elephant, which was a huge success! So big in fact that the other elephants wanted a piece of the action. The book is a collection of stories that researchers, anthrozoologists, scientists, etc have archived because they couldn't explain the unusual or unprecedented behavior of animals they witnessed. Masson dug through archives to uncover spectacular stories and then wrote them up from a psychological perspective. I love these kinds of books, and if anyone knows of others along this theme, please let me know!