#not polar exploration this time but feels appropriate for summer

[full-of-terrors]

Starting my July exploration read early

[maddie-grove]

The Top Twenty Books I Read in 2018

My main takeaways from the past year’s reading:

Growing up is hard, whether you’re a working-class college sophomore trying to adjust to an Ivy League college, a chronically ill medieval kid trying to beat witchcraft charges, or A GHOST THE WHOLE TIME.

You can go to Kansas City or the Congo or SPACE, but you can never escape the past. 

Maybe I should be more worried about getting murdered?

Anyway:

20. East by Edith Pattou (2003)

Rose, a sixteenth-century Norwegian farm girl, loves her large family, but sometimes feels at odds with their rather staid personalities. So, when a talking polar bear offers to end her family’s poverty and her sister’s illness if she’ll stay with him for a year, she accepts not only out of desperation, but also wanderlust. This expansive retelling of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” (already a winner because of its determined, flawed heroine) shines because of its vivid use of multiple settings and its well-developed minor characters. I initially thought it was a little slow, but I really came to appreciate Pattou’s skill over time.

19. Joe College by Tom Perrotta (2000)

Danny, a working-class Yale sophomore in 1982, thinks he has a lot to worry about. His rich friends are clueless, his townie coworkers at the dining hall resent him, and his crush is dating a professor. Then he goes home for spring break, where he’s confronted with a pregnant ex and a bunch of mobsters who try to interfere with his father’s lunch-truck business. I mostly read this book for completism--I love Perrotta, but The Wishbones made me wary of his earlier work--yet this seemingly lighthearted story contains some fascinating moral and ethical dilemmas, plus a hero who is sympathetic despite his callowness. 

18. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (2010)

In the explosive conclusion of Ness’s Chaos Walking trilogy, the protagonists find themselves in the middle of a war with an enemy they don’t understand, forcing them to wrestle with questions of right versus wrong, forgiveness versus revenge, and the possibility of redemption. This was an intense read, but there was a lot of genuine joy and love mixed in with the death and war.

17. Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (2014)

In the less literally but just as emotionally explosive conclusion of Han and Vivian’s Burn for Burn trilogy, former revenge-partners Lillia and Kat try to move on in the wake of a tragedy, as well as the abrupt departure of Mary, the other member of their retribution-themed trio. The future is looking bright, but then it becomes clear that Mary is neither gone nor happy with their life choices. I read the first book of this trilogy way back in 2014 and, while I enjoyed it well enough, I wasn’t blown away. This spring, though, I had the sudden urge to read the next two books, and they were both a wonderful mix of affecting human drama and ludicrously soapy plot twists.

16. The Charm School by Susan Wiggs (1999)

Isadora Peabody, the awkward scion of an otherwise graceful old Bostonian family in the 1850s, decides to take her fate in her own hands and become a translator on a merchant ship bound for Brazil. The captain, freewheeling Ryan Calhoun, isn’t too happy with this unusual arrangement, but he comes to admire and sympathize with the independent-minded and painfully self-conscious Isadora. At the same time, Isadora realizes that Ryan’s untidiness and occasional bouts of drunkenness disguise a heart and principles and a talent for making out in lush Brazilian gardens. I was absolutely delighted by this romance novel, which is an absolute romp with some terrific character development. 

15. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness (2009)

In the middle book of the Chaos Walking trilogy, the protagonists reach the end of a long journey, only to find themselves separated and caught between two warring factions. This installment does a great job of elaborating upon the world introduced in the first book, offering new perspectives on old characters, and introducing compelling new conflicts. 

14. Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (2013)

In the middle book of the Burn for Burn trilogy, classmates Kat, Lillia, and Mary deal with the fallout of their semi-successful Strangers on a Train-lite revenge scheme. Kat and Lillia want to call it quits, but their sympathy for Mary causes them to agree to one last score, so to speak. Unfortunately, FEELINGS and PAST TRAUMA and DANGEROUS PSYCHIC POWERS complicate matters. Despite my love for Ashes to Ashes, Fire with Fire has a special place in my heart because it’s the first book to explore the characters’ emotions in depth, as well as the first one to go way over the fucking top.

13. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara (2018)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a rash of horrifying home invasion rapes, seemingly meticulously planned, plagued the bedroom communities of Sacramento. Then a series of uncannily similar home invasion murders broke out in the Southern California. In this book published after her death in 2016, McNamara makes the case that this was the work of one person, dubbed the Golden State Killer. McNamara has a clear, humane way of describing grisly and/or convoluted events, and her portrait of the dark side of California suburbia is enthralling. 

12. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998)

In 1960, a dangerously determined and self-righteous reverend from the American South travels to the Belgian Congo, even though his own church begged him not to go. He makes the questionable decision to take his exhausted wife and four daughters--vain Rachel, suck-up Leah, nearly mute Adah, and baby Ruth May--along with him. Their new home is a shock to all of them in various ways, and that’s before a personal tragedy and the Congo Crisis enter the picture. Kingsolver makes excellent use of her five viewpoint characters, all of whom have distinctive voices and enjoyably unpredictable (yet entirely appropriate) character arcs.

11. Lighter than My Shadow by Katie Green (2013)

As a young child, Katie has seemingly minor issues around food, but during adolescence she develops a serious eating disorder and almost starves herself to death. A diagnosis and the ensuing support of her parents seem to signal hope, but recovery is more complicated that one might expect. This graphic memoir offers a nuanced portrait of the sheer range of stuff that gets wrapped up in an eating disorder: religion, gender, sex, control, trauma, the desire for independence, and so much more. Green’s “cute” art style enhances the story, both because it makes an interesting contrast to the upsetting material and because it grounds the reader in the humanity of the characters. 

10. Mindhunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker (1995)

Throughout the 1970s, FBI agent John Douglas, along with the rest of the Investigative Support Unit, compiled information about an increasingly common type of criminal: the serial killer. Gradually, they developed the practice of criminal profiling. As gruesome as it might sound to call this an excellent beach read, that’s essentially how I experienced it (not that I went anywhere this summer, but still). The pace is fast, the style is engaging, and the authors are frank but not overly lurid in their presentation of the nasty details.

9. The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro (1977)

In this collection of connected short stories, Rose, a bright Canadian girl, grows up in a rough, deprived neighborhood with her sick, stern father and prickly but not unloving stepmother. Life in the wider world brings her mingled pride and shame at her background, a largely disastrous early marriage, and eventually a satisfying but decidedly unglamorous acting career. Munro is a master of description, and she has a sense of fun that puts her head and shoulders above most short story writers. And the title story is just the most perfectly painful exploration of why someone would stay with a partner who is deeply wrong for them.

8. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (2009)

In 1985, seven-year-old Libby Day narrowly escaped death at the hands of her teenage brother, but her mother and two older sisters weren’t so lucky. Except that Libby doesn’t feel so lucky, either, because she’s thirty-one years old with massive trauma, dwindling funds, and few adult life skills. Then a true-crime enthusiast contacts her with an offer: cash in return for investigating whether her brother was actually the murderer. Dark Places may be the awkward middle child of Flynn’s novels, but that reputation is undeserved; it has a thrilling plot, a perversely lovable heroine, and a sly critique of the “Morning in America” view of the 1980s.

7. The Hostage by Susan Wiggs (2000)

In the confusion of the Great Chicago Fire, frontiersman Tom Silver kidnaps heiress Deborah Sinclair, hoping to force her industrialist father into compensating the victims of his negligence. He’s not prepared, though, for her dogged escape attempts, her hard-earned resilience, or the hints that something was horribly wrong in her life even before the kidnapping. I had my doubts about reading a kidnapping romance, but Susan Wiggs proved me wrong. (It helps that Tom’s motives are both understandable AND not presented as an excuse for dragging Deborah into his revenge plan.) The super-slow-burn romance pairs wonderfully with the action-packed plot, and I love Deborah so much.

6. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (2006)

Troubled reporter Camille Preaker returns to her small Missouri hometown to investigate the grisly murder of one tween girl and the ominous disappearance of another. As upsetting as the case is, it doesn’t hold a candle to what waits for her at home: a softly cruel mother, a barely there stepfather, and a teenage half-sister who alternates between adoring Camille and tormenting her. Sharp Objects entirely deserves its reputation as the best (if not most popular) Flynn novel; it has a beautifully constructed plot, descriptions so lush that you feel like you can reach out and touch Wind Gap (not that you’d want to), and a deeply flawed yet admirable heroine.

5. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (2008)

At nearly thirteen, Todd Hewitt is the youngest resident of Prentisstown, and nobody is ever going to take that distinction away from him. Just after his birth, a plague killed most of the humans on New World, including every woman and girl. What’s more, the same plague made it so the thoughts of men (and most other living creatures) are audible to all. And the mayor of Prentisstown is a religious fanatic who won’t let anyone watch videos or teach kids to read. It’s...not awesome. Then Todd makes a shocking discovery that forces him to flee his community and question everything he knows. This book is a fascinating sci-fi take on the frontier horror story (ala The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, and, more recently, The Witch) with a read-hundreds-of-pages-a-night plot and astonishing moment of wonder.

4. After the Wedding by Courtney Milan (2018)

Lady Camilla Worth, daughter of an earl who committed suicide to avoid treason charges, has passed from home to unwelcoming home ever since, finally ending up as an unknown housemaid. Adrian Hunter, a mixed-race ceramics heir on a desperate mission to make his family happy, happens to visit the house where she’s employed. Under some very strange circumstances, they’re forced to wed at literal gunpoint. Working together to unravel the mystery and get an annulment, they grow to like each other, which complicates things. This is one of my favorite romance novels ever, with wonderful characters (especially Camilla!), an explosive plot, and masterfully explored themes of healing and being true to oneself.

3. Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult by Bruce Handy (2017)

A famous magazine writer and father of two young children, Handy expounds upon the classics of children’s literature (The Cat in the Hat, Goodnight Moon, the Little House series, Narnia, the Ramona books, etc.). As someone who frequently rereads the favorites of my youth to de-stress (House of Stairs 5eva), the subject was tailor-made for me, and Handy’s execution is impressive. He covers an amazing amount of ground, switches deftly from one mode of analysis to another, and shares plenty of funny anecdotes and moving reflections on parenthood.

2. Blankets by Craig Thompson (2003)

In this autobiographical graphic novel, Craig, a creative, devout, and deeply lonely teenager in rural Wisconsin, meets his first love, Raina, at a church retreat that otherwise would’ve been miserable. They become pen pals and are finally able to arrange for him to spend a few complicated, wonderful weeks with her and her family. Their relationship and its subsequent fallout drive him to confront his conflicted feelings about his faith, his art, and his family. This is an absolutely beautiful story, complemented perfectly by the wintry landscapes and expressive human figures.

1. Breath by Donna Jo Napoli (2003)

Salz, a twelve-year-old boy in medieval Saxony, is dismissed and sometimes even reviled by most of his community, including his own father and brothers, for the unnamed illness that stunts his growth and makes it difficult to breathe. Still, he’s got a lot going on; he helps his beloved grandmother around the house, studies for the priesthood, and belongs to a secret coven. When an abnormally wet spring drives the rats indoors and causes a strange disease to spread among the locals, Salz’s sharp intellect and thirst for knowledge are more needed than ever. This novel is a historically grounded retelling of “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” where the protagonist has cystic fibrosis, and did I ever think I would type that combination of words? No, I did not, but I am so glad things worked out that way. Napoli’s treatment of disability is unusually gratifying, because she illustrates the essential things that a society loses when it dismisses the sick and disabled (as well as some other marginalized groups, such as women). At the same time, Salz’s family and neighbors aren’t cruel for the sake of cruelty; they’re just uninformed, scared, and/or bad at managing their own problems without lashing out at others, which does not absolve them but makes for a more thoughtful story than if they were just bad seeds. The portrayal of Salz’s struggles to reconcile the different sources of wisdom in his life--Church orthodoxy, pagan folk practices, and the knowledge slowly filtering in from the Arabic world--is also fascinating, plus the pathological mystery makes for a tight, exciting plot. All this in less than 300 pages! And do not get me started on how much I love Großmutter.

[palaeophilist]

I’m here to check in with myself in the way that only words formed into sentences can do for me.

I’ve got a persistent headache, likely from the flippant fall weather we’ve been having in San Diego, and that reminds me that I ought to probably stay more hydrated.I had a pleasant and then slightly offensive interaction with a teller at the bank when I was dropping off the rent check, where she complimented my hair, and then told me she pregnant, and then we started talking about children, and I was giving her my best current advice on having a baby for the first time. It’s quite a bit more measured than when I first had CS and would just blanketedly tell people, “Probably don’t have a kid; that is my advice.” I mean, I was joking, sort of, but there were several months there where I would guiltily google, “Is it bad that I regret my child?” and whether or not I had postpartum depression or I was just freaking exhausted from not sleeping for half a year, it was just hard all around and a big, massive shift in my identity.

Anyway, my advice is more measured now. It is of this nature: try to be present for all of it, the best you can. Some parents get stuck in the “just you wait” cycle when you in any phase of development. If you’re sick of hanging out with your boring potato sack of a baby, they say, “Just you wait until they’re walking! Then it gets REAL hard,” and I think this is a load of baloney. Every phase brings its own challenges, and its own reliefs. I enjoyed the moments when I was able to let CS sit under his mobile for half an hour while I drank coffee, but he was a pretty basic baby at that point. These days, I revel in taking him to the park at sunset, and letting him explore and run and point out the bunnies and eat handfuls of sand and meanwhile, the black birds soar in flocks above us and the setting sun casts golden light through trees and our shadows grow long, and I have felt -- since only June of this year -- that perhaps having a child is making my life better. I used to feel that it was only a sacrifice of my life, that he had somehow subsumed my life and that I didn’t have it any more. These days, though, I sometimes just think, what would I do without you here?

I didn’t hear this from any mother, and so while I feel a little vulnerable to admit that I regretted him early on, I think it’s important to mention because we each have different ways that we come to love our families, our offspring. As I told KP long ago, “There are many ways to be alive,” and the collective we sometimes doesn’t make a lot of space for all of them to be “appropriate.” This is how the story went for me.

This week has been a tiring week, because of the headache, and because CS is going through a new thing where he wakes up very, very early and is just totally ready for socializing. For the past several months, he’s been waking up early and then lounging in bed, and reading, but this week, he’s up up and ready for chatting. So I’m tired, and also, there’s a growing anxiety atmospherically around the state of the nation.

I had this thought about polarization, though, this week when I was driving to school to pick CS up from daycare. We often discuss polarization like it’s a bad thing, like, oh gee, we can’t talk to each other because we’re so polarized, but I was thinking, what was it before? When it wasn’t polarized, then wasn’t it just... ignorant? Before we were polarized, we (white people) were largely comfortable ignoring civil rights issues that didn’t directly impact us. This summer, I read Angela Davis’s autobiography where she discusses the horrific police brutality against Black and Brown bodies that happened during her lifetime. Things in history that have felt “so long” ago, like the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963 that injured 20 people and took the lives for four young Black girls, Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Carole Rosanond Robertson, and Cynthia Dionne Wesley. This happened in the neighborhood where Angela Davis grew up, and she knew the girls who died; one of them was a close friend of her little sister. It has been easy in the history of this naiton for white people to de-prioritize the issues that do not affect them. I think everyone tends to use their vote to benefit themselves to some extent, but I also think that -- maybe? hopefully? -- the tide is turning so that what people understand the fundamental principles of In Lak’ech, a Mayan-inspired poem that is frequently recited in unison at the start of Ethnic Studies classes:

Tú eres mi otro yo.

You are my other me.

Si te hago daño a ti,

If I do harm to you,

Me hago daño a mi mismo.

I do harm to myself.

Si te amo y respeto,

If I love and respect you,

Me amo y respeto yo.

I love and respect myself.

To me, this is a reminder that the harm of white body supremacy is one that we are all experiencing, regardless of the color of our skin. Those of us who hate, fear, judge, and oppress do harm to others, and we also do harm to ourselves. 

I grow tired of the persistent narrative that to recognize these fundamental violations that have be the literal foundation of this nation is somehow un-patriotic. Last month, an executive order was signed by 45 to ban diversity trainings in federal workplaces, claiming that the discussion of systemic racism amounts to “divisive, anti-American propaganda.” As a history major, a history teacher, and as a current doctorate candidate who’s dissertation focuses on Ethnic Studies, a class which centers the experiences, beliefs, and perspectives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, I find this rhetoric to be absurd. Studies have long demonstrated Eurocentric bias in all of the education that students receive throughout public school. Many of the teachers who I’ve spoken with during my dissertation research talk about the fact that they never learned anything about their own people during any of their K-12 schooling years. When they got to college, only then did they begin to receive any formal education on their own histories. 

To me, that is divisive and anti-American.

So this is where we’re at. We are polarized. And I say, good. Perhaps, finally, we have enough people in this nation who are willing to say, look, hey, we are a nation of immigrants. Every child receiving public education deserves to learn about different perspectives and different histories. Every person -- regardless of their race, sex, class, or gender -- deserves to have their rights protected. The fact that this is now controversial? Only because formerly, the opposite was widely accepted, and this is the “great America” that some people want to go back to. But I don’t. I am hopeful that this is changing now, and I know that we’re not “there” yet, so I am committed to doing what I can as a scholar, as an educator, and as a person to change this in the future.

This has been a challenging year. One of my therapists (I see more than one now!) reminds me, when I complain about how hard things are, that that is the nature of things. It reminds me of a favorite prayer by Rilke, who says that it is not our duty to do what is hard, because there are only hard things, but to love what is hard. We should hold what’s hard close to us, lovingly, like a child, and refuse to let anyone take what’s hard away from us. And it is there, he suggests, that we find God. Where else would they be?

[scifigeneration]

Dear diary: the Sun never set on the Arctic Mars simulation

by Jonathan Clarke

Jonathan Clarke has just returned from another mission to simulate life on Mars. This time he was on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic, where the sun never sets in the northern summer.

It’s all part of a project to see what some of the challenges are, should humans one day decide to live on Mars. He’s detailed some of the events as they happened across 52 days of his most recent experience.

The crew outside station. (Left to right) Yusuke Murakami (Japan), Paul Knightly (USA), Anastasiya Stepanova (Russia), Anushree Srivastava (India), Alexandre Mangeot (France), and Jonathan Clarke (Australia). Mars Society, Author provided

Day 16, Sol 1 (A Sol is a Martian day)

Can’t believe it, after more than two weeks of waiting we are finally here at Devon Island. It looks very alien, very Mars-like in appearance: stark, a visual symphony in brown, orange and grey.

We landed about 2.5km from the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) habitat, gleaming white on the distant ridge in the evening sunshine. We forded two creeks and climbed the rocky ridge to get there.

Read more: The new space race: why we need a human mission to Mars

The habitat was in better condition than we had feared, but there was still some mould and it smelled a bit musty. We opened everything up, and settled into the least grotty rooms and mattresses.

There was lots and lots of junk, lots of tidying to do. I went back with the quad bike and trailer to ferry our stuff back to the habitat while the others began to make the station operational.

Felt odd and exposed by myself in the Arctic. No bears though; maybe carrying a shotgun kept them away. Then went down to the creek with some jerrycans and collected water. By the time we were ready for bed it was 1am. Still bright daylight of course.

Unloading the the gear from the aircraft. Jonathan Clarke, Author provided

Sol 6

Today is July 20, an appropriate day for us to start the main part of our mission, because 41 years ago Viking 1 performed the first successful robotic landing on Mars.

The FMARS habitat is very similar to the unit in Utah I stayed in previously. It’s a two storey cylinder with two decks; eight metres in diameter and eight metres high. The upper deck has our cabins, galley and wardroom, the lower deck airlocks, lab, workshop, toilets, and shower. There is a small generator that provides us with power.

Going into simulation mode means we will be only going outside while wearing our simulated space suits, with a few exceptions. These include heavy engineering tasks – water management, rubbish burning and so on – and of course shotgun duty, where every outside team is accompanied by an armed lookout. A very non-Martian threat here is the possibility of polar bears.

Shotgun duty. Jonathan Clarke, Author provided

Nearby is Haughton crater. An asteroid impact 39 million years ago blasted this crater 22km across and hundreds of metres deep. Even though reduced by erosion, it’s still 14km from rim to rim.

Haughton crater is actually similar in size to Endeavour crater on Mars, currently being explored by the Mars Opportunity Rover mission.

The FMARS habitat is perched on the northwest rim of the crater, and affords us a spectacular view of the crater with its complex geology, meltwater steams and residual snow patches. From here we can proceed on foot, or quad bike to study the geology and biology of the area, much as we would on Mars.

Anushree and Paul did the first extravehicular activity (EVA) outside the FMARS this afternoon. They went to the snow melt zone below the habitat, with Alex riding shotgun. Paul was checking his environmental monitoring stations he had put in a few days ago.

I spent the day planning future work, setting up spreadsheets, planning excursions. All plans are tentative of course, being so dependent on weather and other factors. This will be less of an issue on Mars of course, as all but the most intense dust storms and solar radiation events will have little impact on day-to-day activities.

Yusuke (left) and Paul (right) carrying out photographic surveys on polygons in Haughton crater. Jonathan Clarke, Author provided

Sol 13

When I got up it was foggy and the cloud was low on the ridge, although the crater was more clear. The cloud lifted during the morning, which was good. There was no wind; also good.

Went out on EVA 6 with Anastasiya, and Yusuke as shotgun. Worked southwest along the crater rim from the habitat, and then down across the crater wall looking at some mounds. Lots of issues with helmet fogging though.

On the ridge I was sampling different limestone lithologies. On the crater floor it was a bit boggy in places, so we had to walk on the stones to avoid sinking. This usually worked, although there were some close calls in places. This is not something we will expect on Mars.

In the afternoon I worked on photos, EVA notes and field science, and emails for the family and friends. While we don’t have a specific time delay built into communications, contact with the outside world (except in an emergency) is certainly asynchronous.

The Sun came out this afternoon (hello stranger) but all too briefly. The cloud closed in again soon after. The habitat is now completely fog-bound. A bit like living on Mars during a particularly dense dust storm.

Anushree looking at samples in the lab. Mars Society, Author provided

Sol 21

Woke up to a great silence. Looking out the windows (after wiping all the condensation off them) I saw the reason: we were still enveloped in thick fog. Visibility was down to less than 200m, far worse than we would like to have on Mars, even with the worst dust storms.

It stayed like this most of the day. The ground is also very wet, pools of water everywhere, saturated by the recent rain. The depth of soil above the permafrost here is so thin that it does not take much rain to saturate it.

So no EVA again today, which was frustrating. We have lost three EVA days because of bad weather so far. The ground was too wet for trenching, the visibility too poor for driving, and even for 3D imaging, which is the simplest field task.

So we spent the day working inside. Cleaning, rigging lights (or trying to), sorting old food and equipment, writing up notes, doing psychology tests for the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow, and planning for the day when we will be able to do a proper EVA.

Breakfast in the wardroom. Clockwise: Paul, Anastasiya, Alex, Yusuke and Aushree. Jonathan Clarke, Author provided

Days like this are a good opportunity to consider the differences between life here and last year at MDRS in Utah. One of the biggest differences is the very limited power situation. We ran the generator for only eight to nine hours a day, so having more than three things on at once (two hot plates and a heater for example) trips the safety switches either in the station or on the generator.

Hopefully on Mars our equipment will be more reliable, with more abundant power, and resets more easily achieved.

At the FMARS though, it is often chilly, damp and even dark on days like this. We also have even more limited internet resources, so the sense of isolation is much greater.

Then of course there is the humidity, condensation, leaks and constant battle with mould that ensues. This can sometimes be a problem on space stations, so we are not alone in battling this problem.

Sanitation is also somewhat primitive; we pee into a funnel that runs into an outside drum, and we poo into plastic bags that are then incinerated. On Mars solid waste would most likely be incinerated as well (despite what was shown in The Martian film), but urine would be recycled, as is already done on the International Space Station.

The rest of the crew availed themselves of the shower this evening (after a few of us washed yesterday), so we are all clean and human looking again. Due to the cooler temperatures and higher humidity we don’t get as grotty as we did in Utah.

Day 48, Sol 32

We are now out of simulation mode, in preparation for our leaving. In the morning we received email confirmation that the first flight out was midday. I was on the first flight, with the samples and the trash.

Leaving Devon Island. Jonathan Clarke, Author provided

Mixed feelings on leaving – sad to leave Devon Island, the end of an experience I will mostly likely never repeat, satisfaction at a job well done by all of us.

Day 49 and after

It’s sad to leave the Arctic, but the changing weather and the start of sunsets tell us it’s time to go.

As we fly out separately there are sad farewells to the rest of the crew. It’s the breaking of the fellowship, and these people over the past year have become like family.

As I fly south, it’s strange to see fields again after two months of desolate landscape. I become aware of how humanity has transformed the surface of the Earth, for better and for worse. Maybe that’s one reason some of us want to go to Mars: to find a new world, apply the lessons of the old and perhaps avoid some of the mistakes.

Speaking of lessons, what have I learned about Mars missions, and indeed myself? We have completed our mission despite delays, bad weather, and various other problems, and are a closer and better knit team than when we have started.

Our success has shown, through an operationally realistic analogue mission, that a crew of six can, over 30 days, perform work that on Mars would cover more ground, study more sites and find out more than all the unmanned Mars missions to date.

A twin otter aircraft flying over the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island. Mars Society, Author provided

Jonathan Clarke is an Associate member of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology at UNSW

This article was originally published on The Conversation. 

[pawpromedia]

As we get ready to celebrate 50 years since man landed Apollo 11 on the Moon this July, I recently had the privilege of visiting a location on Earth that resembles a lunar landing. The White Pocket area of Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, a spot that feels out of this world, is nestled between Page, Arizona and Kanab, Utah. It’s guarded by remote, and rugged terrain, so it sees far fewer visitors each year than its neighbors at Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon. However, each year its recognition among photographers and adventurers grows.

If you’ve visited Horseshoe Bend, AZ for a sunrise photo facing west you couldn’t miss the Vermilion Cliffs and the Paria Plateau 10 miles in the distance because the first light of sunrise illuminates this elevated, red rock wilderness before anything else.

Horseshoe Bend with Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs getting first light.

This 112,500 acre “island in the sky”, as some have referred to it, is accessed from the west and north sides via Kanab and 89A where the dramatic step off becomes invisible once you’re on it.  Stretches of 89A are said to roughly follow the path of early Franciscan explorers, as well as the route taken by early Mormons on their way to be married at the nearest temple.  Once you’re off the pavement, it’s a long trail to reach these relatively small geological masterpieces on primitive paths mostly maintained by usage.

Geologically, White Pocket is one of a kind with its relatively thin, drippy coating of white stone resembling cauliflower or brain matter on the surface–giving rise to the lunar sensation.  Just beneath is the striated, slick rock, sedimentary, Navajo, red

sandstone of varied hardness so common in the area.  What’s uncommon is the well-preserved and chaotic layering where time and clearly violent movement tell the untold, almost photographic, story of what occurred here. Some geologists theorize that the area was created by a massive sand slide during the Jurassic Period, probably triggered by an earthquake, where soft, saturated sediment deep below the surface rapidly descended over a large pond or oasis resulting in unstable pockets of

Moqui Marbles

trapped water and wet sand shifting, burping and bending beneath as if layers of rubber.  As sedimentary layers settled under the weight of the new surface, trapped water bubbled and migrated, forcing its way to different places in volcanic-like movements of soil.  What’s left are a varied and unusual array of hoodoos, fins, cones, ridges and ravines coated in white polygonal shaped icing that at times can resemble marble cake. There is the unmistakable feeling that while the rock was still wet a large hand was sculpting and working it; as if you were dropped inside the deep layered topography of paints—red, orange, yellow, pink, and white– within a Van Gogh painting where heavy-handed brush strokes and the gouges and smears of a palette knife prevailed to create masterful depth.  That’s as close as I can come to describing it.  Hopefully, the photos help.

White Pocket Gallery

We learned that the little black pebbles in-between many of the fractured polygonal formations are called Moqui Marbles which are iron oxide concretions that form underground where iron minerals collect in the form of a shell with a sandstone core.  Similar formations were discovered on Mars in 2004 by the Mars Exploration Rover.

Nearby is the more well-known, North Coyote Buttes commonly referred to as, The Wave, where access is limited to 20 visitors a day by lottery, and South Coyote Buttes which requires daily permits and limits, as well–even if you have a guide. (BLM Coyote Buttes Permits)  White Canyon doesn’t require a permit.  The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees all of these areas.

South Coyote Buttes Gallery

South Coyote Buttes colorful teepees.

South Coyote Buttes Control Tower

Half and Half Rock

Getting There

I considered trying to access South Coyote Buttes on my own, BLM permits in hand, but was glad I didn’t once I saw the conditions.  The roads are tough and require a true high clearance, 4X4 vehicle.  Your basic AWD, rental vehicle probably won’t cut it in the deep sand, potential deep mud, combined with steep inclines, large rocks and ditches. It’s also easy to forget the elevation because of the plateau.  As with any mountainous region, conditions can change quickly.  I spent most of the day in the area that started out with sunny blue skies, but quickly devolved into a disorienting, extended snow squall.  If you get stranded or stuck you’re not likely to see a passerby until the next day. Ignorance, isolation and preparedness are formidable and the most common predators of visitors, say the locals. Even if you have the proper vehicle and feel comfortable behind the wheel in these conditions, navigating the infrequently marked, dirt trails, from one area to another could be another wheel spinner.

That being said, I can’t imagine how hot and uncomfortable it must be here in the summer months, an added danger for visitors.  To me, March, April, and October are an ideal time to visit for this very reason.  The temperatures can vary wildly but generally remains in a manageable range.  Again, visitors must stay aware of conditions and be prepared for quick changes.

Our Guides and What I Wore?

Witnessing the Native American petroglyphs, abandoned and deteriorating corrals and cabins now protected within this National Monument makes a visitor imagine what life was like for those early inhabitants. Early Native Americans–especially Puebloans– were thought to use the area for refuge while moving from one area to the next.  During the wild, wild, west the formations functioned as hideouts.  The remote, small, wooden structures along the primitive one lane roads are served by the ubiquitous wind mill-powered wells spinning nearby; an ode to turn of the century West. I imagined hearing the squeak of the spinning blades during the still of the night.

We chugged along safe and sound in our large SUVs equipped with satellite phones in case of an emergency.  Getting stuck and having to spend the night out here is a reality for any visitor—no matter how prepared.  Our guides from Dreamland

Safaris Tours were professional, well-equipped, knowledgeable and fun—most importantly.   Each guide had their own individual style and stories about the places we visited. We had a great time getting to know them. (#DreamlandSafariTours)

Goofing around

We were treated to many archeological and geological artifacts throughout the exploration, but reminded not to take souvenirs.

As far as my outwear, I was happy to have many layers to keep myself warm as the temperature fluctuated and then dropped precipitously. During the snow squall the wind was howling and the temperature probably dropped 20˚, or more.  A hard shell is a must to stop the wind and to stay dry.  As a person who can feel cold when the temperature drops below 72˚ F, I am a big proponent of wool base layers, or any base layer for much of the year.

Being comfortable and knowing what you need in terms of layers is a learned skill. (See more specific selections below.) It’s different for each person. If you want to be certain you have the right outerwear, you must do some homework and know what works for you–wool, synthetic, down, fitted or loose, bluesign®, ethically sourced, etc.  I prefer efficient, fitted, lightweight layers that breath and dry quickly, so that I don’t feel restricted by my clothing.  And, always be prepared for the unexpected, whether that’s heat or cold.  As far as shoes are concerned, a hiking shoe for extra traction will be helpful on this mild hiking experience.  You might also want to wear gaiters to keep the sand out of your shoes, but it’s not a necessity.

During this adventure I also ran in the Antelope Half Marathon, visited Monument Valley, as well as several slot canyons.  Check back for posts about those experiences very soon. Please do me a favor and take a moment to follow me here on my blog and on Instagram–especially if you found this entry helpful. More to come!

© Amy Linn Doherty and Pawpro Media 2009-2019.

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Amy Linn Doherty with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

OUTERWEAR

•250 weight wool base layer (#Smartwool, #KariTraa, #REI, #Odlo are my favorites.)

•lightweight polar tech fleece (#OutdoorResearch Deviator or Patagonia R1/R2® w/            Polartec®, Alpha® Power Grid™ fleece is lightweight and efficient.)

•synthetic or down mid-layer (Patagonia Nano Air®, Arc’teryx Atom LT® are my favorites)

•Lightweight, Waterproof, Hard Shell Gore-tex® (The North Face® HyperAir® a favorite of mine because it’s lightweight and breathable.)

•wool socks #Stance ®, Smartwool®, REI®

•Fleece, Wind Stopping Gloves

•Hiking shoe or mid-boot (Salomon® Outline)

#WhitePocket, #PariaCanyon_VermilionCliffs, #Dreamlandsafaris, #PageAZ, #Bryce, #Zion, #FindYourPark, #OutdoorPhotography, #adventurevacations, #hiking, #travelphotography, #amydohertyphotos, #landscape photography, #kanab, #89A, #geology, #redrock, #southwest, #Arcteryx, #OR, #Patagonia, #outerwear, #outerwearguru, #whattowear, #hikingclothing #Navajo, #PublicLands, #ProtectPublicLands, #lunarlanding, #outofthisworld, #REI, #OptOutside, #ForceofNature, #AntelopeCanyon, #slotcanyon, #VacationRaces, #AntelopeCanyonHalfMarathon #MoquiMarbles

Sources:

 http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/coyote_buttes/south-coyote-buttes.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2012/02/vermilion-cliffs-national-monument/

https://www.dreamlandtours.net/day-tours/tours-of-the-paria-canyon-vermillion-cliffs-national-monument/white-pocket-photography-tour/

https://www.dreamlandtours.net/day-tours/tours-of-the-paria-canyon-vermillion-cliffs-national-monument/white-pocket-photography-tour/

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/03/white-pocket-vermilion-cliffs-national.html

Playing the Slots: Slot Canyon Touring in the SouthWest As we get ready to celebrate 50 years since man landed Apollo 11 on the Moon this July, I recently had the privilege of visiting a location on Earth that resembles a lunar landing.

[homepictures]

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Steven Schlitt, Special to TCPalm Published 5:20 p.m. ET Dec. 17, 2018

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Steven Schlitt(Photo: CONTRIBUTED BY COLDWELL BANKER PARADISE)

Smell is one of our best important senses.

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Smell is additionally awful emotive; altered fragrances can back a all-inclusive arrangement of affections and feelings. So, it’s no abruptness that aroma can appear into comedy back you’re aggravating to advertise your home.

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The catechism is what aroma sells a abode and what can you do to ensure that you actualize a admirable smelling home for abeyant buyers?

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All you accept to do is let the baking soda sit for 10 to 15 account afore vacuuming it up. It alike works abundant in debris cans, sinks, toilets, and more.

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During the winter, I acclaim application ambrosial and balmy flavors such as biscuit and/or cloves, which arm-twist a faculty of the holidays.

During the bounce and summer, you can use auto or orange case for a beginning citrus aroma instead.

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Don’t be abashed to experiment, but accomplish abiding you try out anniversary aroma afore your accessible house.

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Avoid application able scents that can accept a polarizing aftereffect such as patchouli, sandalwood, or ylang-ylang.

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Give your -to-be buyers added allurement to acquirement your abode by authoritative it aroma like a home they can see themselves in. Your ambition is to accomplish every bedfellow feel like they belong. Aloof be abiding you use scents that arm-twist alone the best memories and feelings. It can be the added agency you charge to accomplish the sell.

Steven Schlitt is co-owner and agent of Coldwell Banker Paradise. For added information, acquaintance the capital appointment at 772-778-2029.

For advice about agnate advertiser-submitted columns, acquaintance a TCPalm.com announcement adumbrative at 772-221-4244.

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[jasonseligson]

Hello, Friend: Mr. Robot, Decrypted

Mr. Robot is having a moment. Rami Malek, the show’s insanely talented leading man, just won an Emmy—and less than a week later, the show brought its mind-bending, action-packed second season to a close. Basically, it’s a good time to be a fan—or to jump on board with Elliot and the other hackers of f society, if you haven’t already. Last summer, Mr. Robot was one of the most buzzed about shows, and earlier this year, it took home two Golden Globes for its first season, including Best Drama Series. The show is on an upwards trajectory, and there’s still plenty of room to climb. It’s also fantastic: one of the best, most beautifully-directed dramas to come around in a while.

Season 1 of Mr. Robot is a dark, trippy, adrenaline rush, but it’s compelling, nuanced and incredibly entertaining. As a viewer, you can’t look away. The show plays with reality, and therefore occasionally ventures into dream-logic territory every now and then, but it remains surprisingly grounded—not merely by Rami Malek’s phenomenal performance as Elliot, but the supporting cast as well. The cast has some amazing female performers front and center, which shouldn’t be overlooked, and the story is all the better for it. The thing that really resonated with me in those early episodes was how remarkable the show was at conveying feelings of alienation and profound loneliness that aren’t stilted or simplified; things we don’t see much on TV. After a pitch-perfect pilot (and I can’t emphasize that enough), Mr. Robot raised an immensely high bar, one it held throughout the remaining episodes. But the biggest thing that got people talking was the twist that came at the end of episode 8.

The twist, which I won’t go into too much detail about here, would come to dominate the discussion of Mr. Robot (appropriate, for how game-changing it was for the characters). And then in Season 2, another twist came. A lot’s been written about the polarizing twist that happened this season. Quick spoiler alert for those haven’t seen it: after lying to the audience for several episodes, Elliot reveals he was arrested at the end of Season 1 (which many predicted well in advance) and wasn’t staying at home with his mom and attending church group on the side. Personally, I didn’t mind the twist, but thought it could have come a bit earlier. The reveal happened more than halfway through the season, at the end of episode 7, and that felt somewhat dragged out. Furthermore, the couple of episodes after the premiere—which mostly focused on Mr. Robot and Elliot fighting—started out promising, but ultimately stagnated. Subplots and supporting characters like Craig Robinson’s Ray seem like they vanished the minute Elliot got released.

Conversely, one thing the twist did accomplish was to spare us from spending seven episodes with Elliot stuck in prison—and I can only imagine how much fans would have complained if the story had taken that direction (prison by itself can only stay interesting for so long; why not explore Elliot’s psychosis a bit more?) Instead, Sam Esmail and his writers took advantage of developing its core cast. The female characters on the show have always been great, but they had some amazing stuff happen this season: Angela executing the FBI hack; Darlene killing Susan Jacobs in the fantastic F Society-centric episode. the shootout between Dom and the Dark Army in China; and the bloodbath that occurred at the diner. Elliot’s reduced presence did wonders for fleshing out the people around him.

Season 2 also showed viewers that while this is an ongoing story, Esmail is clearly telling it in chapters. Esmail has said that he originally conceived of Mr. Robot as a film, and it’s interesting to keep that in mind when analyzing the overall narrative of the show. The story is still in its early stages, so we shouldn’t expect to have all the big questions answers at this point. Esmail says he plans on the show having between four and five seasons, so we’re just about, if not even halfway through.

The first hour of the Season 2 finale took us to some pretty strange territory (Did that scene with the little girl and Angela evoked Twin Peaks for anyone else?) The second was an equally odd hour that was primarily focused on Elliot’s mental state with regards to Tyrell and Mr. Robot, but we also got a fantastic sequence with Dom and Darlene, and that amazing post-credits scene with Mobley and Trenton. In a post-Lost world, I get such joy when a show relishes in the smallest, quietest character interaction, and where even minor players in an ensemble can be a part of an explosive moment. “Python,” was a solid, if somewhat quiet installment of Mr. Robot. We didn’t get to spend anytime with Phillip Price or Whiterose in the final hour; we learned what Phase 2 of the hack is, but we didn’t learn everything (personally, I really want to know what Whiterose told Angela!)

Whereas Season 1 was more singularly focused on building toward the Mr. Robot reveal and the 5/9 hack, Season 2 has been less cohesive. At times, it’s been difficult to follow, but honestly, I’ve embraced this aspect of the show. As the story’s scope widens, it can occasionally feel convoluted, but it doesn’t really become incoherent—if you’re ever feeling lost, there’s always space to track follow Elliot, Darlene, or Angela’s emotional state. I felt the same way in Season 1. It’s not as though I understand close to the entirety of the hacking that happens in this show, but that shouldn’t affect my investment in the story, and it hasn’t.

Another impressive feat the show has made: being single-handedly responsible for the creative reinvention of a network. As one minor character cracked last night, “this isn’t Burn Notice. Characters are not welcome here.” It’s a cheeky meta-joke about USA, and it’s also a reminder that while Robot might borrow heavily from other films and shows that came before it, it’s also doing its own thing.

I hate to bring it all back to the Emmys, because as we all know, award shows have never been the sole factor for determining what quality television is, but if this year’s Emmys proved anything, it’s that they’re more in tune with what’s current now more than ever. Let’s forget about the fact that Mr. Robot didn’t win for Best Drama series. Game of Thrones had perhaps its best season ever this year, and it deserved the big win. If anything, I lament that Sam Esmail lost out on a writing win for the show’s pilot (seriously, go re-watch that pilot; it’s perfection). But Mr. Robot will be here for a couple more seasons as least, and there will be time for more accolades.

Now that Season 2 is complete, we can let it wash over us, and look at the whole picture with fresh eyes—as happens with some shows, maybe those earlier episodes will play better in binging. For now, we wait until this weird, wonderful show returns. As Elliot would say, goodbye for now, friend. See you in Season 3.