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04/06/2024

Elspeth Beard has gone down in history as the first Englishwoman to navigate the world by motorcycle. At this time, she was only 24 years old.

Then an architecture student, she had been riding since she was 16, and had already taken a few solo trips to Scotland and Ireland. Not satisfied by this, she saved up some money and bought a 1974 BMW R 60/6 flat-twin from a friend of a friend and embarked on a journey of a lifetime. Starting in New York City, she rode up through Canada, headed south through Mexico and Los Angeles. From LA, she shipped her bike to Sydney. When her funds ran out, she apprenticed with a firm in Sydney.

Beard survived an accident on a dirt road in Queensland. Her bike somersaulted, and a bad concussion put her in the hospital. But there was no stopping Beard. In 2 weeks, she was back on the road. She rode through Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and India, went all the way across mainland Europe before finally returning back home. Her journey covered 48,000 miles and lasted 3 years.

Beard had begun her journey a sturdy, healthy woman weighing 143 lbs; she returned weighing only 90 lbs. Life on the road had taken its toll on her – but she returned triumphant, and with memories to last a lifetime.

Today, Elspeth Beard is still an active and very enthusiastic rider. And as if that weren’t enough, she also has her own award-winning architectural practice. There is truly nothing one cannot achieve with a little bit of wanderlust, an ounce of determination, a whole lot of gumption.

30/05/2024

Gregory Peck once considered becoming a priest. But instead, he decided to become an actor.

Peck was no stranger to hard work. While at university in Berkeley, he had to work as a kitchen helper in exchange for meals. So to go after a career as an actor, he was very much prepared. To pay the bills, by day, Peck worked as an usher at Radio City Music Hall in New York. By night, he appeared on Broadway shows, making his onstage debut in Emlyn Williams’ "The Morning Star" in 1942. His first film Days of Glory was released in 1944. From then onwards, Peck was catapulted into stardom, becoming—and remaining to this day—one of Hollywood’s most beloved leading men.

He shared the silver screen with legends such as Ingrid Bergman (with whom he had a brief affair) and Audrey Hepburn. His real-life leading ladies were his first wife, real estate broker Greta Kukkonen and his second wife, Veronique Passani. He met Passani when she interviewed him in 1953. He asked her for lunch six months later, and married her shortly afterward.

Peck was loved by so many, both on and off-screen. When not making movies, Peck directed his efforts toward civic, charitable and political efforts. He was chairman of the American Cancer Society, a board trustee for the American Film Institute, and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his humanitarian efforts.

Gregory Peck passed away on June 12, 2003. He may have walked away from priesthood once upon a time, but through his contributions both on- and off-screen, he left the world an infinitely better place.

18/05/2024

Jackie Kennedy Onassis once said of Aristotle Onassis, “Ari never stops working. He dreams in millions.”

Onassis was born in Smyrna in 1906. When the town was re-taken by Turkey, all his family’s wealth was lost, causing them to flee to Greece after the Great Fire of Smyrna. Onassis lost 3 uncles, an aunt, and a cousin, all of whom were burned to death in a church where 500 Christians were seeking shelter from the fire.

Determined to get back on his feet, Onassis moved to Argentina, where he got a job as a telephone engineer. He may have been poor, but he was very shrewd and would eavesdrop on many business calls, using the information to set up deals of his own. At the tender age of 25, he launched a to***co business that made him a millionaire. He went on to become a big shipping magnate and to found the Greek national carrier Olympic Airways (now known as Olympic Air), among other wildly successful ventures.

Onassis had many lovers, among them opera singer Maria Callas (said to be his true love) and Hollywood legend Greta Garbo. But perhaps one of the most famous—and controversial—was his marriage to Jackie Kennedy. Following the death of John F. Kennedy, Jackie turned to Onassis for friendship, but it quickly blossomed into a romance. They married on his privately owned island Skorpios. Onassis reportedly gave her about $ 5 million worth of jewelry in gifts, leaving her little surprises on her breakfast tray each morning. During their marriage, they lived in six different residences, including Jackie’s 15-room 5th Avenue apartment in New York City, her horse farm in New Jersey, his apartment in Paris, his house in Athens, his Greek island, and his luxury yacht named he Cristina.

Aristotle Onassis died in 1975. The beauty of his story lies in his journey from having almost nothing, to owning everything his heart desired. He was known to have said, “After you reach a certain point, money becomes unimportant. What matters is success. The sensible thing would be for me to stop now. But I can’t. I have to keep aiming higher and higher—just for the thrill.”

10/05/2024

Way before Games of Thrones ever came into being, Diana Rigg was already an accomplished actress, legendary s*x symbol and icon of 1960s feminism. She was once described by journalist Michael Parkinson as the most desirable woman he had ever met, who “radiated a lustrous beauty.”

Rigg was born in Doncaster, and spent her childhood in India. After boarding school back in England, she trained as an actress at the RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), where she frequently butted heads with the faculty, and was nearly kicked out for it. Later on, she had a very successful run with the Royal Shakespeare Company, although she worked for very meager pay. Her best known television role was as Mrs. Emma Peel in the 1960s television series The Avengers. On the silver screen, she played Tracy Bond, the only wife of super secret agent James Bond 007. But theatre has always been her true love, despite her success on both television and film.

Rigg lived 8 years with the already-married director Philip Saville. She then married Israeli painter Menachem Gueffen, which lasted 3 years. She then married theatrical producer Archibald Stirling, whose mad affair with fellow Brit actress Joely Richardson resulted in the end of their marriage. It seems that whether on-screen or off it, Diana Rigg has always been a headline-maker.

And it has not ended there. The cheeky, and ever-elegant Diana Rigg was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1994. She continues to enthrall audiences to this very day as matriarch Lady Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones – still very impactful, if not very different from her earlier days as a s*x symbol. As she once said, “I hope there’s a tinge of disgrace about me. Hopefully, there’s one good scandal left in me yet.”

06/05/2024

Throughout Richard J. Daley’s reign as mayor, which lasted from 1955 until his death in 1976, he was the unquestioned boss of Chicago, sometimes known ominously as “The Man on Five” because of his fifth-floor office.

Daley is now sometimes called “The Last of the Big City Bosses”, a tough-talking, plain-speaking “man of the people” who “got things done”. And these included things that a mayor more concerned with the actual political process might not have been able to accomplish. Under his watch, in an era when many other Midwestern cities, such as Detroit and Cleveland, began to collapse, Chicago endured, keeping a double-A bond rating when other cities were falling into fiscal crises.

Born in Bridgeport, the working-class Irish neighborhood on the south side, Daley was the son of a sheet metal worker and a former suffragette. He worked as a young man a newspaper delivery boy and a door-to-door salesman, and even worked for a time in the Union Stockyards. After obtaining a law degree, he practiced law, but by then he was already involved in politics, the field that would occupy most of his life. Many may have objected to his methods as mayor, and Daley seemed to inspire love and hate in equally oversized measures, but it is hard to argue with his achievements. Under his tenure, Chicago built most of its famous skyscrapers, including the Sears Tower, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, McCormick Place and the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago and countless infrastructure projects.

His record was far from spotless, however, and he became a target of the left wing of his own party after the riots in 1968. In the following years, rumors and evidence swirled implicating the mayor in various charges of corruption in city government. None of this was enough to cost him re-election, but his reputation and legacy were badly damaged.

Despite all these problems, it is likely that “the Man on Five” could have continued to be re-elected as many times as he liked, if his reign had not been halted by his death. In December 1976, Daley suffered a heart attack, putting an end to a remarkable term that lasted 7,183 days. He may not have died with an unblemished record, but Daley’s policies of urban renewal may have saved the city from collapse in an era when so many other cities did just that. Some believe that it was his strength as mayor that kept Chicago as a world-class city in the late 20th century.

http://bit.ly/1uCZyUU

01/05/2024

Sarah Bernhardt is often referred to as “the most famous actress the world has ever known.” And like most great dramatic actresses of the modern day, Bernhardt had a personal life as colorful as her career.

Bernhardt is said to have had affairs with both men and women. Her only son Maurice was the product of her affair with Belgian nobleman Charles-Joseph Eugene Henri Georges Lamoral de Ligne. Her dalliance with French impressionist painter Louise Abbema was immortalized in a painting by Abbema, which depicts the two women on a boat ride in Boulogne. When the painting was later donated to the Comedie-Francaise, the accompanying letter read, “painted by Louise Abbema, on the anniversary of their love affair.”

Bernhardt had a mad affair with Nikola Tesla. The inventor picked up the handkerchief that Bernhardt had dropped while at dinner; the two became inseparable for a short, maddening period of time. Bernhardt understood Tesla’s obsession with his work, which, unfortunately, he would later choose to pursue over her.

While performing in 1905, Bernhardt injured her right knee while jumping off the parapet in the final scene. The leg never healed properly, and when gangrene set in, she had to have it amputated. Bernhardt outright refused when a showman offered her $10,000 to display her leg as a medical curiosity. She continued her career even without the use of a wooden prosthetic limb, which she tried initially, but disliked greatly. While her mobility was limited onstage, she had her bright smile and her charming voice, which audiences adored even as she aged.
The great Sarah Bernhardt died in 1923, thankfully quite peacefully, and without suffering, in the arms of her son Maurice.

21/04/2024

Yul Brynner is best known for his role as King Mongkut of Siam in "The King and I," which he played not only in the legendary film, but also a grand total of 4,625 times on stage. He is the only actor ever to win both a Tony Award and an Academy Award for the same role.

Brynner had shaved his head for his role in “The King and I”. Following the huge success of both film and play, Brynner continued to shave his head for the rest of his life. This look was striking, and highly unusual in the 1950s. As fans started to copy him, the shaved head began to be referred to as the “Yul Brynner look”.

Brynner was a heavy smoker, having started at age 12. In 1983, mere hours before his 4,000th performance as King Mongkut, he received test results stating that he had inoperable lung cancer. Before he died, he coordinated with the American Cancer Society to create a public service announcement airing on all major US TV networks and abroad. In the commercial, Yul Brynner looks directly into the camera and said, “Now that I’m gone, I tell you: Don’t smoke. Whatever you do, just don’t smoke. If I could take back that smoking, we wouldn’t be talking about any cancer. I’m convinced of that.”

The great Yul Brynner died on October 10, 1985, leaving behind an impressive body of work, and the memory of one of the most handsome, talented, spell-binding actors ever to have graced both stage and silver screen.

11/04/2024

Bartolomeo Scappi is the great Renaissance chef who cooked for the beloved Pope Saint Pius V. But Scappi’s biggest claim to fame is that he compiled the first known cookbook in the world.

It is called “Opera Dell’arte del Cucinare”, and contains around 1000 recipes, information on cooking techniques from the Renaissance period, and – if that wasn’t cool enough yet – the first known picture of a fork.

In this cookbook, Scappi also deems parmesan to be the best cheese on earth, and talks about how Jews were among the first to practice the overfeeding needed to produce foie gras.

When Scappi died in 1577, he was buried in the church of SS. Vicenzo and Anastasia alla Regola, a special spot dedicated to cooks and bakers.

02/04/2024

In late February of 1962, Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe was invited to a dinner party hosted by British actor Peter Lawford and his wife Pat, sister to then-President John F. Kennedy. Monroe was notoriously late for everything and anything. At 9pm, she was still powdering her nose at her dressing table; dinner was set to start at 8. But JFK didn’t mind. Once Marilyn walked into the room, he had eyes for nobody but her.

Monroe and JFK embarked on a passionate, short-lived—and to this day, still unconfirmed—love affair that both dazzled and scandalized the world, especially memorable was her famously sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" performed at the third Madison Square Garden, located on 8th Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, on May 19, 1962.

It is said that JFK never actually told Monroe himself that their affair was over. Instead, he sent his brother Bobby to tell her never to call the White House again. This caused Monroe to spiral even further down into her already existing depression.

When Monroe was found dead at her Los Angeles home on August 5, 1962, it was said that JFK, the rumored love of her life, was the last person she had called. The great tragedy and irony of it all lies in that the most desirable actress in all the world, the blond darling of Hollywood, was not enough for JFK. To him, the great Marilyn Monroe was just another notch on his bedpost.

25/03/2024

Johnny Weissmüller was known for playing the heroic Tarzan in the 1930s and 1940s films. But before his days in the Hollywood spotlight, he was one of the world’s fastest swimmers in the 1920s. He won 5 Olympic gold medals for swimming, 52 US National Championships, set 67 World Records, and remained undefeated in official competition for the entirety of his competitive career. Tall, handsome, and athletic, the Romanian-Austro-Hungarian American Weissmüller popularized the distinctive Tarzan yell, which is still used in films to this very day.

Looking at Weissmüller as a child, one would never have guessed that he would grow up to be either Tarzan or a multi-awarded Olympian. At age 9, Weissmüller contracted polio. To help battle the disease, his doctor suggested that he get into swimming. Thanks to this doctor, in-born skill, and a whole lot of determination, Weissmüller the Olympic champion was put on the road to success. Weissmüller the movie star was born when he signed a seven-year contract with MGM, cementing in the public’s mind, the image of the strong, handsome, vine-swinging, loincloth-wearing king of the jungle, who battled crocodiles and befriended apes.

In 1974, Weissmüller broke both his hip and leg. While hospitalized, he learned that in spite of his lifelong regimen of swimming, exercise, and a good diet, he had a serious heart condition. Weissmüller passed away on January 20, 1984. As his coffin was lowered into the ground, a recording of the Tarzan yell was played three times.

http://www.museyon.com/shop/the-golden-moments-of-paris/

17/03/2024

In the early 1900s, Montparnasse was the heart of intellectual and artistic life in Paris. Painters, sculptors, writers, poets and composers came from all over the world to thrive in its vibrant, creative atmosphere. And at the center of all this, was the legendary Alice Prin, better known as Kiki de Montparnasse.

Hailed as the Queen of Montparnasse, Kiki was one of the first truly independent women of the 20th century. A talented artist, risqué performer, ardent lover, free spirit and eternal optimist, Kiki both flourished in and helped define the liberated culture in Paris. Kiki posed for dozens of artists, including Man Ray, who soon became her lover and immortalized her his famous photograph ‘Le Violon d'Ingres’.

Kiki was an artist herself, producing many daring self-portraits and distinctly expressionist paintings. She was also well known for her risqué performances at the Paris music halls, as well as her own cabaret named Chez Kiki.

A true bohemian, Kiki sought to maintain a positive attitude even in the most difficult of times. “All I need is an onion, a bit of bread and a bottle of red wine,” she once said. “And I will always find somebody to offer me that.”

http://www.museyon.com/shop/the-golden-moments-of-paris/

12/03/2024

Napoleon Bonaparte’s family was scandalized when he married Josephine de Beauharnais. For while she was indeed very beautiful, Josephine was six years older than him, a widow with two children, and by then had had several affairs with leading political figures. Napoleon’s mother and sisters were especially resentful, as they felt clumsy and unsophisticated in the presence of the regal Josephine.

But Josephine was the great love of Napoleon’s life, and the recipient of his many passionate – and now famous -- love letters. “I awake full of you,” Napoleon once wrote. “Your image and the memory of last night’s intoxicating pleasures have left no rest to my senses.”

Shortly after they married, Napoleon left to lead the French army in Italy. During their separation, Josephine began an affair with a handsome Hussar lieutenant, Hippolyte Charles. Napoleon was infuriated when he heard the news. His letters to Josephine became less loving, and he took on several mistresses. Shortly after they had been crowned Emperor and Empress of France, Josephine caught Napoleon in the bedroom of her lady-in-waiting.

When Josephine was unable to bear another child, Napoleon decided that in the interest of France, they must divorce so that he could remarry a woman who could give him an heir. Napoleon’s secretary said that he was in the next room when Napoleon broke the news to Josephine – and he heard screams.

Even after their separation, Napoleon insisted that Josephine retain the title of empress. When years later, he heard of Josephine’s death, he locked himself in his room for two days. Napoleon’s last words on his death bed were: “France, the Army, the Head of the Army, Josephine.”

http://www.museyon.com/shop/of-love-and-paris/

07/03/2024

Ingrid Bergman was one of the most beautiful actresses in all of old Hollywood, and also one of the tallest. At 5’10”, many of her shorter male co-starts like Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains had to wear lifts to avoid looking small next to her.

Bergman was known for her natural sweetness and considerate, charming personality. But this was not without strength and a healthy degree of stubbornness. When she first started out in Hollywood, producers wanted to change her name to Ingrid Berriman or Ingrid Lindstrom, but she adamantly refused. She also had a reputation as a tough negotiator. David O. Selznick once said of her, “Her angelic nature is not above being tarnished by matters of mere money.”

It was this pure, angelic image of Bergman’s that America so loved, and the reason that her fans were completely outraged when she began an affair with director Roberto Rossellini while still married to Dr. Petter Lindstrom. Her innocent image was tarnished, she was banned from American films for 7 years, and even denounced in Congress. It would take several years, her eventual separation from Rossellini, and an Oscar for her role in “Anastasia” before she won back the adoration of her fans.

Bergman passed away in 1982. Despite the scandal of her love affair, she is still remembered for her beautiful face, her impressive body of work both in film and onstage, her numerous awards, and her dedication to her craft. She continues to this day, to be hailed as one of the greatest actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Era.

01/03/2024

Victor Lustig has gone down in history as the man who sold the Eiffel Tower…TWICE.
The Eiffel Tower, created by architect Gustav Eiffel, was not always so beloved by the Parisians. Eiffel had himself expected it to be demolished after the Exposition Universelle of 1889 and built it for easy deconstruction. So when, in 1925, the brilliant, charismatic Victor Lustig came into town with one of the biggest cons of all time, he found very eager, easy victims.

Lustig invited 5 scrap metal merchants to a confidential meeting at the Hotel de Crillon. He lavishly entertained the 5 merchants, took them by limousine to the Eiffel Tower, and showed them around as if he owned it. He then asked for sealed bids to tear it down.

One of the dealers, Andre Poisson, questioned the need for secrecy. Lustig confessed he was acting illegally. The government had ordered him to open the project to public tender, he said, and he would be ruined should they learn he had gone into business for himself. He also told Poisson that this was his supplemental income, as he didn’t make enough money as a government official to pursue the lifestyle he enjoyed.

Poisson was convinced. He was no stranger to graft and bribed Lustig to accept his bid. When he later realized he had been conned, Poisson was too humiliated to complain to the police.

A month later, Lustig decided to do it again. But this time, he wasn't as lucky. His chosen victim reported it to the police. Lustig fled to America but was later caught and sentenced to 20 years in Alcatraz. But as a last bit of luck, Lustig was protected from harm in prison by orders of another legendary criminal, Al Capone . . . but that is another story for another day!

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27/02/2024

For women in the 1920s, the appearance of a woman’s head took precedence over anything happening inside of it. Nobody respectable went out in public without a hat. As for hair, it was her “crowning glory”. How she wore it symbolized social and s*xual status. Young girls wore theirs either loose and flowing, or in braids. The moment when they were permitted to pin it on top of their head signified adulthood. To “bob,” therefore, expressed contempt not only for style but the entire social order.

In Victor Margueritte’s novel “La Garconne”, Monique Lerbier is pushed into an engagement and ready to do her duty until she discovers that her husband-to-be has a mistress. Eyes opened, she embarks on a life of excess. She gets a job dancing n**e in a club, flaunts elaborate costumes, takes numerous lovers, including a female star of the music halls, and has a child out of wedlock. But before any of these, she first, symbolically, bobs her hair. The act announces her emergence as a new variety of individuals – neither boy nor girl but a “garçonne.”

By adding “ne” to “garçon”, Marguerite feminized the word for “boy,” creating a new term, poorly translated in the American title for the book, “The Tomboy”. There was nothing masculine about les garçonnes. Though some were bis*xual, wearing short haircuts and mannish suits, most didn’t dislike s*x. Rather, they adopted an aggressive male attitude to it. A bob was their emblem of s*xual and social liberation.

Eventually, the bob cut was accepted as just another style. As the 1920s ended, wiser heads wondered why there had ever been such a fuss.

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25/02/2024

It is the famed inventor Thomas Edison who electrified New York, the great city of cities.
Edison invited New York City’s aldermen to his New Jersey laboratory, served them champagne and a catered feast, then announced his latest invention: the incandescent lamp. There was a steady, brilliant illumination, a major improvement over the gaslight’s irregularly flickering flames. Edison recommended that city funds be spent to string electric wires throughout Manhattan, placing his new invention on every street corner. The aldermen balked and passed a law prohibiting Edison from doing such a thing.

Unfazed, Edison displayed his lightbulb to private users. Finally, he got backing from J.P. Morgan, one of the richest men in New York City. Morgan retained Edison’s company to install electric lights on his Madison Avenue home. Following Morgan’s endorsement, investors all over New York clamored for this new lighting system.

On September 4, 1882, Edison invited investors, scientists, and journalists to J.P. Morgan’s opulent bank at 23 Wall Street to watch his new lights come on at 3pm. A minute before the clock struck 3, one of Morgan’s directors cried out, “A hundred dollars the lights don’t go on.” Edison fired back, “Taken!” Then he turned on the switch, bringing all 106 lights in Morgan’s office to life in one historic gesture. That same day, electricity was delivered to 85 Manhattan addresses wired with 400 light bulbs, including prominent shops on Nassau Street, and 52 lamps in the editorial room of the New York Times office. As dusk descended, Manhattan was illuminated.

Edison’s genius and tremendous vision gave birth to two companies that New Yorkers know well today. The lightbulb manufacturing company became General Electric in 1893. The electric companies Edison established in various neighborhoods were eventually merged into one entity: Consolidated Edison, today’s ConEd, the original mass provider of electricity.

http://www.museyon.com/shop/chronicles-of-old-new-york-2nd-edition/

21/02/2024

King Henry VIII wasted no time. Only 1 day after the infamous Anne Boleyn was beheaded, Henry was already betrothed to Anne’s lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour. While Jane was not as highly educated or beautiful as Catharine of Aragorn or Anne Boleyn, she was said to be “the fairest, the most discreet and the most meritorious of all Henry VIII’s wives.” Her kindness and compassion made her popular with the common people and most courtiers.

On October 12, 1537, Jane Seymour finally gave birth at Hampton Court Palace to Henry VIII’s only surviving legitimate son, the future King Edward VI. Henry was ecstatic. The labor had been long and hard but Jane seemed to slowly recover and even wrote a letter to Thomas Cromwell announcing the birth. But after a few days, Jane was obviously sick. Although there are several theories on the exact cause of her death, it was clearly complications from childbirth. She succumbed on October 24.

Jane is rumored to be Henry’s favorite wife. Henry indulged her every whim. He truly mourned her, wearing black for the next 3 months and refusing to remarry for 3 years. It was during this time that he became obese and developed diabetes and gout. Henry is said to have asked for Jane while on his deathbed.

The kind and quiet Jane Seymour is the only one of Henry’s 6 wives to receive a proper Queen’s funeral, and the only one to be buried next to him.

http://www.museyon.com/shop/lust-lies-and-monarchy/

19/02/2024

Once upon a time, Michaelangelo wanted nothing to do with the Sistine Chapel. The great Renaissance man considered himself more a sculptor than a painter, and had no previous experience with frescoes. But Pope Julius II was determined that Rome should be rebuilt to its former glory, and was convinced that Michaelangelo was the only man for the job. After all, Michaelangelo was considered one of the greatest living artists in his lifetime. One has to wonder what the Sistine Chapel would look like today had he not accepted this commission.

Despite his fame and success, the great Michaelangelo once told his assistant Ascandio Condivi, “However rich I may have been, I have always lived like a poor man.” He often ate more out of necessity than pleasure. He never let his fame get to him, and he was by nature a more solitary and melancholy man.

But when Michaelangelo loved, he loved deeply. He had several lovers in his lifetime, both male and female, and wrote beautiful sonnets both to and about them. One of his great loves was the widow Vittoria Colonna, and he once told Condivi that his sole regret in life was that he did not kiss Vittoria’s face in the same manner that he had her hand.

At his deathbed, Michaelangelo made his will in three sentences, leaving his soul to God, his body to the earth, and his material possessions to his nearest relations. He was laid to rest in Santa Croce, and his fellow Florentines flocked to his tomb, paying tribute to the man they called and revered as “father and master of all the arts.”

http://www.museyon.com/shop/chronicles-of-old-rome/

16/02/2024

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley fell madly in love with Percy Bysshe Shelley. He was 5 years older, a dashing, radical poet-philosopher, and already married to Harriet Westbrook. Nevertheless, he and Mary ran away together, traveling through Europe by donkey, mule, carriage, and foot. Upon their return to England, Mary was pregnant with Percy's child. Over the next two years, she and Percy faced ostracism, constant debt, and the death of their prematurely born daughter. They married in late 1816, after the su***de of Percy Shelley's first wife, Harriet.

It was at the suggestion—and challenge—of their friend Lord Byron that Mary began writing the dark, horror novel that would bring her literary fame: “Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus” which is considered an early example of science fiction. The inspiration for the monster and his creator came to her in a dream. She started writing “Frankenstein” as a short story, but Percy encouraged her to expand it into a full novel. Regarding Mary’s literary aspirations, Percy was always very supportive.

However, Shelley’s relationship was fraught with adultery, heartache, and the death of 3 children. Still, Mary was devastated when Percy drowned near Viareggio, Italy in 1822, leaving her a widow at age 24. Mary returned to England, determined to support herself and their only surviving son, Percy Florence, through her writing. It is a tragedy that Percy Florence showed no sign of having inherited his parents’ literary gifts. However, he was devoted to his mother and came to live with her upon finishing university.

Mary Shelley died of brain cancer in 1851. On the first anniversary of her death, her son and his wife opened her box desk. Inside, they found locks of her dead children’s hair, a notebook she had shared with their father Percy Bysshe Shelley, a copy of his poem "Adonais", and a silk parcel containing some of his ashes and the remains of his heart.

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LOST IN ART - John Lennon and Westbeth

The Westbeth Artists Housing complex originally, comprised of 13 buildings, was constructed for Western Electric in 1868, and later taken over by Bell Laboratories in the late 1890s. Bell stayed here until 1966. The empty buildings were then turned into live-work spaces for hundreds of artists and opened in 1970 as Westbeth Artists Housing. The photographer Bob Gruen was a Westbeth resident and good friends with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In June 1975 Lennon came looking for Gruen’s studio at Westbeth and got lost inside the complex . . . http://www.museyon.com/shop/new-york-offbeat-walks/

Dreamy Cherry Blossoms “How many, many things they call to mind these cherry-blossoms!” — Bashō Matsuo “Ah, if in this world there were no such thing as cherry blossoms, perhaps then in springtime our hearts would be at peace.” — Ariwara no Narihira “The Japanese school year begins in spring. So mothers can send off their children as cherry blossoms fall from the branches.” — Cathy Davidson

Captain Jadon Green has been labeled the Border Butcher after a terrible tragedy between the US military and illegal immigrants forcing their way into the United States at the Mexico border wall. Dishonorably discharged from the Army, newly divorced, and resigned to a life of misery and loneliness, Jadon is offered the chance to redeem himself in the eyes of the world and his family. His new mission is to lead a Revolutionary Army and found Nueva Cordova, a Central American country from which no citizen will ever have to flee. Aided by Professor Luis Escárcega—Cordova’s only hope for rebirth—and his daughter Penelope, Jadon is on the brink of success when a bullet threatens to destroy it all. Will Nueva Cordova become a reality? http://www.museyon.com/the-wall/

Bearrrr!!! Thank you, Strand Book Store🥰 KUMA-KUMA CHAN by Kazue Takahashi #childrensbooks #kidsbooks #bookstagram #bearbooks #animalillustration #bearreading #picturebooks #kidlit #childrensbookillustration #kidsbookstagram #booksforkids #children #raisingreaders #picturebook #childrensbookstagram #bookworm #kidlit #storytime #booklover #childrensbook #bearart #smallbook #childrensliterature #museyonbooksr #kumakumachan #kidlitart #readaloud #read #kazuetakahashi #museyon

Humanity has sought eternal life since time immemorial. About twenty years ago, life-science discoveries were under public scrutiny and discussion — genes and genomes, cloning and regenerative cells — and all are linked to immortality and a new concept of life. Cloning, in particular, gave us a new avenue of inquiry regarding life. The potential to artificially create genetically identical life forms necessitates fresh new modes of thought with regard to both life and death. And I felt that in the future, even the way we view what it means to be human will change. —TED TAKASHIMA THE GENE OF LIFE by Ted Takashima https://amzn.to/3CIpyc0

“The book’s fun rests in its action, and in the interactions between the main characters.” —Foreword Reviews The Gene of Life 🧬 by Ted Takashima ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aHu7bg Apple: https://apple.co/3pBNZk1 B&N: https://bit.ly/3k9KGj2 Google: https://bit.ly/2NMbqtM Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-gene-of-life

Today I’d like to sit and read. Forget I have a job I need. Ignore the things I have to do. And just enjoy a book.😎 http://www.museyon.com/the-gene-of-life/

Happy release day! THE GENE OF LIFE is out today😍🤣😳❗️ Enjoy your adventure 🧬with Max & Katya❗️ ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! Amazon: https://amzn.to/3aHu7bg Apple: https://apple.co/3pBNZk1 B&N: https://bit.ly/3k9KGj2 Google: https://bit.ly/2NMbqtM Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-gene-of-life

Kuma-Kuma Chan supports initiatives to prevent climate change on the environment Ghost Forest by Maya Lin at Madison Square Park, NY https://madisonsquarepark.org/art/exhibitions/maya-lin-ghost-forest/

"I’d be grateful if you gave THE WALL: Refugees' Path to a New Republic a read. America is a strong and generous nation, and it possesses the power to change the world. In addition, THE GENE OF LIFE will be out JUNE 15. If you would be so inclined, please pick them up." —Ted Takashima, Author http://www.museyon.com/the-wall/ . . . #thewall #geneoflife #scientificthriller #politicalthrillerbooks #bookstagram #instabook #museyon #tedtakashima