SALTY DOG
Perchance to dream; Aye, there's the rub
Aye, Aye, Captain, to have a dream, I did indeed
about a shark at the Sea Dog Pub
C'ucullia lucifuga (the Large Dark Shark)
I came to partake of the ale, but perhaps to excess I did imbibe
for I had a vision quite difficult to describe-
the bloody carcass of a shark, like the Boston Harbor whale
whose skin had many cuts, but by no harpoon had been impaled
There has long been blood in these dark waters
The circling sharks are attracted to the scent
Our land has a price to pay, presaged by a madness descent
To explain the dream, to illuminate your darkest fear
comes a pirate, a bare-chested barefoot gypsy,
with a pet monkey on his shoulder... There he is now..
He is heading this way, coming down the pier
------------------------------------------------------------------
A Salty Dog
www.amazon.com/A-Salty-Dog-Procol-Harum/product.../B0026OIBHC?
A Salty Dog will take you on a journey not unlike the ancient
mariner, complete with images of old crusts, seaman's logs,
bowsun's whistles and the like.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Shark found at door of 'Sea Dog' pub on Nantucket
KCBD.comwww.kcbd.com/story/.../shark-found-at-door-of-sea-dog-pub-on-nantucket
In this photo provided by pub manager Jimmy Agnew, a dead shark
lies at the entrance of the Sea Dog Brew Pub Thursday morning
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncp/f/Flight%20into%20Fancy_Poe'
s%20Discovery%20of%20the%20Right%20Brain.pdf
One of the first of these days is June 30, which he says is the
thirteenth since the ship left Nantucket.
This setting of Pym's tale in a place somehow separated from
time has parallels in Poe's other works, most notably in "Dream-
Land," in which the narrator visits "a wild weird clime that
lieth, sublime, / Out of space--out of time" (Poetry and Tales
79).
Indeed, some of the incidents and scenes that Pym encounters
while ostensibly awake and sober have a surreal quality. As Doug
Mitchell has noted, the appearance of Pym's dog, Tiger, aboard a
ship on which he has been stowed away for days resembles the
illogical events of dreams
The climax comes when Pym--after surviving a mutiny and
shipwreck on the Grampus, coping with sharks and starvation on a
floating wreck, meeting a ghost ship, flirting with madness
------------------------------------------------------------------
What's Next for Romney? - alt.politics.org.cia | Google Groups
groups.google.com/group/alt.politics.org.cia/.../47dfe3afd5f36e99?
Nov 23, 2012 - called The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of
Nantucket, his only full novel. ... Arctic animals; the water in
temperate and tropical zones being
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://lurkerablog.wordpress.com/tag/sea-of-osr/
Large: you'll need a crane:
Cannons; cacao trees; meteorites; rum, wine, champagne; coffee,
tea; qat; experimental vehicles, engines, battlesuits; elephants,
giraffes, prize bulls; cult statues; shrines containing the
Truth of the World; silks; horses, pigs, alpacas, young dragons;
devil-summoning pipe organs; durian; glue; masts, spars, anchors,
vital ship parts, deck knees; roc eggs; fused-together crew
members; Thark lances; disabled fliers, Montgolfier balloons,
fighting kites, diving bells, MRI scanners; terracotta golems;
sarcophagi.
XL. Just steal the goddamn ship:
Grain, pepper, coriander, sugar or anything else that's just
loaded loose in the hold; quicklime; coal, coke, anthracite,
mercury, saltpetre, cinnabar; glazed temple bricks, carved
marble capitals from the First Cathedral of Constantinople/
Temple Mount/Parthenon, guardian statues; fishtanks, narwhals,
hallucinatory groves for transplanting whole into imperial
gardens
Toxic Tartary is Carcosa through a post-Soviet Central Asian
radioactive Arabian Nights filter. For a fantasy filter placed
over that, see HF Calder's handy guide to Sky Piracy Around The
Dune Sea ? of course all of this is happening somewhere in Toxic
Tartary, but with the time-spine ripped out of the historical
narrative so that everything is always happening at once ?
pyramids rising, pirates despised/resurgent, gods rising/falling,
nobody really knowing what's going on. Just like real life.
SECOND: "Siberia shmiberia," you say, "show me the really cold
and unfriendly places!" Blood of Prokopius' Alaskan nightmare
looks to me like equal parts militantly anticolonial Cthulhiana
(paging jason kielbasa!) and His Dark Materials arctic horror-
mining
On the allure of remote islands in the shadow of Antarctica.
I am never resorting to Mu or Lemuria again, these are much
cooler - and could be seaweed jungle exotica if they somehow
breached into view. Look at this handy Antarctic azymuthal: if
we add Rlyeh we get 3 points of? well, actually not a pentagram
but a square. Which in some sense is much creepier and more
suggestive: Wells gave his Martians tripods because nothing in
Earth biology (that he knew of) has 3 legs, and it's since
become a cliche that odd numbers mean alien. But the square, or
quincunx (drawing Antarctica's Mountains of Madness*** into the
loop) implicates human involvement about as clearly as it's
possible to do. Giving us a fourth (or fifth) point over the
South Sandwich islands near South Georgia.
Volcanic heat keeps the crater on Thule Island free from ice.
Just like Arthur Gordon Pym told us...
------------------------------------------------------------------
Shark found at Sea Dog Brew Pub in Nantucket, dead and mysterious
now.msn.com/shark-found-at-sea-dog-brew-pub-in-nantucket-dead-and-...?
A six-foot dead shark was discovered at a pub in Nantucket this
morning, but what can it mean?
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.oceanstar.com/shark/pym.htm
Note how the sharks arrive mysteriously, as if drawn by the
smell of impending doom, and disappear again just as
mysteriously. They don't seem like real sharks, but rather like
symbolic companions of impending death. -Fiona
Edgar A. Poe
from "The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym"
At the point where this excerpt begins, Arthur Pym, his friend
Augustus, and a dwarf named Dirk Peters are the only men left
aboard a severely damaged ship. They've had several adventures
so far, including a mutiny on board, an encounter with a death
ship containing only corpses
July 25 - This morning the gale had diminished to a mere ten-
knot breeze, and the sea had gone down with it so considerably
that we were able to keep ourselves dry upon the deck. To our
great grief, however, we found that two jars of our olives, as
well as the whole of our ham, had been washed overboard, in
spite of the careful manner in which they had been fastened. We
determined not to kill the tortoise as yet, and contented
ourselves for the present with a breakfast on a few of the
olives, and a measure of water each, which latter we mixed half
and half, with wine, finding great relief and strength from the
mixture, without the distressing intoxication which had ensued
upon drinking the port. The sea was still far too rough for the
renewal of our efforts at getting up provision from the
storeroom. Several articles, of no importance to us in our
present situation, floated up through the opening during the day,
and were immediately washed overboard. We also now observed that
the hulk lay more along than ever, so that we could not stand an
instant without lashing ourselves. On this account we passed a
gloomy and uncomfortable day. At noon the sun appeared to be
nearly vertical, and we had no doubt that we had been driven
down by the long succession of northward and northwesterly winds
into the near vicinity of the equator. Toward evening saw
several sharks, and were somewhat alarmed by the audacious
manner in which an enormously large one approached us. At one
time, a lurch throwing the deck very far beneath the water, the
monster actually swam in upon us, floundering for some moments
just over the companion-hatch, and striking Peters violently
with his tail. A heavy sea at length hurled him overboard, much
to our relief. In moderate weather we might have easily captured
him. [...]
July 30 - An excessively hot day, with no wind. An enormous
shark kept close by the hulk during the whole of the forenoon.
We made several unsuccessful attempts to capture him by means of
a noose. Augustus much worse, and evidently sinking as much from
want of proper nourishment as from the effect of his wounds. He
constantly prayed to be relieved from his sufferings, wishing
for nothing but death. [...]
August 1 - A continuance of the same calm weather, with an
oppressively hot sun. Suffered exceedingly from thirst, the
water in the jug being absolutely putrid and swarming with
vermin. We contrived, nevertheless, to swallow a portion of it
by mixing it with wine; our thirst, however, was but little
abated. We found more relief by bathing in the sea, but could
not avail ourselves of this expedient except at long intervals,
on account of the continual presence of sharks. We now saw
clearly that Augustus could not be saved; that he was evidently
dying. We could do nothing to relieve his sufferings, which
appeared to be great. About twelve o'clock he expired in strong
convulsions, and without having spoken for several days. His
death filled us with the most gloomy forebodings, and had so
great an effect upon our spirits that we sat motionless by the
corpse during the whole day, and never addressed each other
except in a whisper. It was not until some time after dark that
we took courage to get up and throw the body overboard. It was
then loathsome beyond expression, and so far decayed that, as
Peters attempted to lift it, an entire leg came off in his grasp.
As the mass of putrefaction slipped over the vessel's side into
the water, the glare of phosphoric light with which it was
surrounded plainly discovered to used to us seven or eight large
sharks, the clashing of whose horrible teeth, as their prey was
torn to pieces among them, might have been heard at the distance
of a mile. We shrunk within ourselves in the extremity of horror
at the sound.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Shark Weak - Quest - World of Warcraft - Wowhead
www.wowhead.com/quest=27699/shark-weak?
Gnaws ain't dead?! This kinda takes the quick outta my get rich
quick scheme... Them giant shark teeth are nice and all, but we
can't stop 'til that shiney is ours! ... If you have trouble
finding them, look for the skeletons "Salty Dog" and "Undead ...
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.livescience.com/603-military-plans-cyborg-sharks.html
Military Plans Cyborg Sharks
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) has taken
another page from science fiction writer William Gibson's book
by creating a neural implant to enable engineers to remotely
manipulate a shark's brain signals. This would eventually allow
them to control the animal's movements and possibly decode their
perceptions.
Given that sharks have senses that humans don't have (like the
ability to sense electromagnetic fields), it could open up some
interesting uses.
The implant consists of multi-channel neural ensemble readers
and stimulators, diverse controllers and sensors. In addition,
the DARPA researchers want to use their setup to detect and
decipher the neural patterns that correspond to shark activities
like sensing an ocean current, a particular scent in the water
or an electrical field. If they can succeed in these experiments,
it might be possible to control a free-swimming shark; it could
be trained to track enemy ships or submarines, or to detect
underwater mines or cables.
------------------------------------------------------------------
US Sec of Navy admits they oversee mind control research
omega.twoday.net/stories/3069883/?
Here below is a link to a document, made available on the web by
the Federation of American Scientists, in which the Secretary of
the U.S. Navy admits in writing ...
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1759585&page=1
Robolobsters and Mind-Controlled Sharks
By JONATHAN SILVERSTEIN
From the use of war dogs and horses by the Romans to Hannibal's
elephants to modern naval programs involving dolphins and beluga
whales, animals have long played a role in mankind's feuds.
In the quest to conquer the enemy, humans have looked to Mother
Nature for help and inspiration for thousands of years. And
today is no different.
"Animals have been part of military operations since there have
been military operations," said Noah Shachtman of DefenseTech.
org. "They have been the fighting man's best friend for
generations and in modern-day warfare that's still the case."
Mother Nature as Muse When researchers at the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency look for innovations to keep the U.S.
military at the top of the technology heap, they need only look
out their windows.
"Over the centuries, biological systems have evolved unique
capabilities to find a mate, find food, basically the things
they need to do to sustain life," said Jan Walker, spokeswoman
for DARPA.
Walker said that the beings that walk, crawl, fly and swim
across our planet have developed ways to survive and to
accomplish tasks, and we can learn from them.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, Edgar Allan Poe - eNotes.com
www.enotes.com/...gordon-pym.../narrative-arthur-gordon-pym-edgar-a...?
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym Criticism and Essays Edgar
Allan Poe ... As Pym begins, Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket,
Massachusetts, and his good ... His body is cast overboard and
is devoured by sharks as soon as it hits the water.
As Pym begins, Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, Massachusetts,
and his good friend Augustus Barnard go out on Pym's sailboat,
are run down by the whaler ship Penguin, and narrowly escape
death. Eager for adventure, Pym then hides as a stowaway in a
coffin-like space in the hold of Augustus's father's ship, the
Grampus, bound for the South Seas. He has enough food to last
him four days, but as those days pass, he discovers that there
is no way out to the main deck. He waits?nearly dying of
starvation and dehydration?several days for Augustus to return
to help him. In the meantime, he discovers that sailors on the
Grampus have mutinied and cast off Captain Barnard in a small
boat. One of the drunken sailors, Dirk Peters, helps Pym and
Augustus to hide and provides them with food. They manage to
kill all of the mutineers except one, Parker, but then endure a
terrible storm at sea. Although they survive, they are left
without food for days. In desperation they draw lots and decide
to kill Parker so that the other three men can live off his
flesh. In the meantime, Augustus has suffered an arm injury and
dies. His body is cast overboard and is devoured by sharks as
soon as it hits the water. Peters and Pym, almost dead from
thirst and surviving only on barnacles, are eventually rescued
by the Jane Guy, a sealing and trading ship from Liverpool bound
for the South Seas.
when the weather turns bad, they land on the island of Tsalal,
which is inhabited by mysterious and murderous natives who live
in complete "savagery."
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nytimes.com/1861/10/21/news/loss-of-the-british-
schooner-shark-of-liverpool.html
Loss of the British Schooner Shark, of Liverpool
October 21, 1861
Aug. 8, the British schooner Shark, of Liverpool, while entering
the Rio Congo, ran ashore on Shark's Point, and became a total
loss. She had a cargo valued at L5,000, which fell into the
hands of the natives, "Mussulongos," who gathered on the beach
in great numbers, armed with muskets, and commenced shooting at
the crew, who were obliged to make their escape in the boat to
save their lives. After they left the vessel the natives
continued to fire at them until the current had drifted them out
of range. Her Britannic Majesty's frigate Arrogant arrived eight
days after, but the natives had taken the vessel to pieces to
get the iron and copper bolts from her and with these, the cargo,
sails, and copper from her bottom, they made off into the
interior. The Arrogant destroyed a number of huts that were on
the beach, which was the only satisfaction they had received
thus far.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Shark sighted in Liverpool's Albert Dock | Bay TV Liverpool
www.baytvliverpool.com/vod/?vid=PBV50461b865b829?
The normally calm waters of the Albert Dock were disturbed this
morning by the sighting of a mysterious fin circling in the
water. Spotted earlier ...
------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon.com: Haunted Liverpool 11 eBook: Tom Slemen: Kindle Store
www.amazon.com - Books - Religion & Spirituality - Occult?
Edgar Allan Poe's connection with Liverpool- - The Anfield
Vampire and the various nocturnal assailants at large in the
city? ? The creepy ghost of a unsolved ...
------------------------------------------------------------------
Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe - Page 310 - Google Books Result
books.google.com/books?isbn=0807123218
We are reminded, momentarily, of that white and lofty and
enshrouded figure of the whiteness of the snow who stood above
Pym's cataract; but no, this is ...
------------------------------------------------------------------
Predicted by Edgar Allen Poe? |
drvhitz.comdrvhitz.com/predicted-by-edgar-allen-poe/?
In 1838 Edgar Allen Poe wrote his first and only full length
novel. The title of the book was The Narrative of Arthur Gordon
Pym of Nantucket. ... In the Pym story, a ship is lost at sea
with no hope of being rescued and no food.
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/06/edward-snowdens-
girlfriend-lost-at-sea/
Edward Snowden's Girlfriend 'Lost at Sea'
Snowden stepped from the shadows Sunday in an interview with the
U.K. newspaper The Guardian and said he was the source for a
series of recent news stories in The Guardian and The Washington
Post that detailed secret NSA surveillance programs ? far-
reaching programs he dubbed "horrifying." Snowden told The
Guardian that he had left his girlfriend in Hawaii weeks before
to hide out in Hong Kong and hadn't told her his plans.
The poetic blog apparently written by Mills under the initial "L"
has several references to a companion named "E" with whom she
moved to Hawaii. "E" is never named fully and in several
pictures of the couple, his face is not visible.
In the blog, Mills' last few entries mention her feeling "alone"
but it's her post Monday - the only one after Snowden's public
confession - that she calls "Adrift."
"Surely there will be villainous pirates, distracting mermaids,
and tides of change in this new open water chapter of my journey.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Edward Snowden jumps the shark in Moscow - Washington Post
www.washingtonpost.com/.../edward-snowden-jumps-the-shark-in-moscow...
Last month, I pleaded for an end to the breathless comparisons
between Edward Snowden and Daniel Ellsberg. News that the
present-day
------------------------------------------------------------------
Jumping the Shark on Edward Snowden | Mother Jones
www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/.../jumping-shark-edward-snowden?
Some random thoughts on the latest Edward Snowden news: Do I
blame the Obama administration for charging him with a crime and
seeking
------------------------------------------------------------------
Pym - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
www.eapoe.org/works/tales/pymb17.htm?
Chapter 17, Edgar Allan Poe, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. ...
The sea in which we now were was thickly covered with ice
islands, but had no field ... The cold did not seem to increase,
although we had snow very frequently, ... We remained in sight
of this island two days, and then only lost it in a fog.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Heller, Catch-22 -Death of Snowden
www.deathdyinggriefandmourning.com/.../100-Joseph-Heller-Catch-22-...?
Similar"I'm cold," Snowden said again in a frail, childlike
voice. "I'm cold." "There, there," Yossarian said, because he
did not know what else to say. "There, there.".
------------------------------------------------------------------
Snowden Case Has Cold War Aftertaste - NYTimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2013/.../snowden-case-carries-a-cold-war-aftertaste.html
Russia ignored demands by the White House to intercept the N.S.A.
leaker and return him to the United States, showing the two
countries still ...
------------------------------------------------------------------
Shark found at door of Mass. pub - CBS News
www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162.../shark-found-at-door-of-mass-pub/?
In this photo provided by pub manager Jimmy Agnew, a dead shark
lies at the entrance of the Sea Dog Brew Pub Thursday morning,
Aug. ... linkicon reporticon emailicon; liefromgetgo says: That
is what too many salty marlin
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.localnews8.com/news/Dead-shark-found-on-New-York-
subway-car/-/308662/21377702/-/159lxaqz/-/index.html
Dead shark found on New York subway car
Animal discovered near row of seats by passengers
By Sho Wills CNNPOSTED: 05:57 PM MDT Aug 07, 2013
A still wet 1-and-a-half foot shark carcass was discovered on
the floor of a subway car at around midnight in downtown
Manhattan.
"I thought it was just a plush toy or a prank," passenger Juan
Cano told CNN. "When I saw the teeth that's I knew it was real,
it was no toy."
The shark, described as weighing between five to 10 pounds, was
discovered near a row of seats by passengers on the Queens-bound
N train at the 14th Street stop.
The shark quickly drew a crowd, as entering subway riders began
to photograph and pose with the shark, even adding a subway fare
card, soft drink can and a cigarette to the supine shark as props
This is not the first case of a mysterious shark appearance.
In Nantucket last week, a 5-foot-long shark carcass was
discovered outside the door of a bar on Water Street.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Homosexual New York City Street Gangs Infiltrating Middle America
www.newsmutiny.com/pages/GayGangs.htm?
Originating from New York City, gay gangsters swearing
allegiance to Gotham rival sets the Sharks and Jets are "taking
the show on the road" in large numbers,
------------------------------------------------------------------
Gay Pride outside, Sharks and Jets inside
www.latimes.com/.../la-et-cm-sf-west-side-story-review-20130702,0,655...?
It's Gay Pride outside and Sharks and Jets inside as Michael
Tilson Thomas leads ... was radically exotic for a
quintessential New York musical.
------------------------------------------------------------------
VIDEO: Shark costume-wearing cat goes viral
NY Daily News (Today) - Meet Max-Arthur - the shark-suited cat
who just loves to rides a robot vacuum. The friendly feline
enjoys nothing more than dressing up and surfing on his owner's
Roomba floor...
------------------------------------------------------------------
Max the Roomba Cat: Video of 'Shark Cat' Chasing Duck Gets 3M
www.christianpost.com/.../max-the-roomba-cat-video-of-shark-cat-chasi...?
Max the Roomba cat is a 10-year-old Snowshoe Siamese mix, who
entered the limelight last year with his special shark costume
that went viral ...
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/feb/17/alvin-spivak-shark-
warning-didnt-deter-jfk/
Shark warning didn't deter JFK
One afternoon, the Honey Fitz was idling a bit farther out in
the Atlantic than usual. The sea was calm, and the ocean
temperature was invitingly warm. The president and Jackie both
dove off the stern for a refreshing swim.
The moment this occurred, the skipper of the Honey Chile, a
veteran of local waters, told us: "They must be crazy swimming
in this area. There are sharks all around here."
I promptly filed a story for United Press International saying
that the nation's president had gone swimming in "shark-infested
waters" off the coast of Palm Beach, quoting local observers as
saying it was a risky thing to do. The story captured the
attention of newspaper editors around the country, who played it
well on their pages.
A Kennedy staff member told me the next day of JFK's and Jackie'
s displeasure with the story. I was told firmly they disagreed
with the story and intended to keep swimming in the area.
For several days thereafter they were back, diving from the
stern of the Honey Fitz into the allegedly shark-infested sea
------------------------------------------------------------------
Wish I Might - Page 11 - Google Books Result
books.google.com/books?isbn=0545388902
"Let's go, Salty." JFK and I walk. My dog doesn't follow. "Come
on, boy," I shout, running up the beach a bit. Salty barks, but
stays next to my possible brother.
------------------------------------------------------------------
From Willa, With Love - Page 124 - Google Books
Resultbooks.google.com/books?isbn=0545388929
Coleen Murtagh Paratore
The handwriting is JFK's, the return address, Florida. My heart
begins pounding. I race up to my room, Salty Dog right behind me.
I close my door, plop on my ...
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.thechickenhawk.com/blog1/?cat=142
Mary Pinchot-Meyer
She carried on a three year affair with JFK and started an elite
girls club, dedicated to "turning on" (LSD) the most powerful
men in Washington, DC.
She visited, & became friends with, psychedelic trips guru &
Harvard professor, Timothy Leary.
She received LSD from Leary and consulted with him about her
mission & the best way to conduct a psychedelic journey.
The FBI, CIA & Jackie all knew about the affair. The CIA had
Mary's apartment bugged. They had full knowledge (& most likely,
full recordings) of Mary & The Leader of the Free World's acid
trip.
They had seen enough.
There were many people who would have liked to see JFK dead
including: the mob, the exiles, the chiefs, the right wing
extremists, & the industrial military complex.
On November 23, 1963, a frantic Mary called Timothy Leary and
told him: "They couldn't control him any more. He was changing
too fast. He was learning too much ? they'll cover everything up.
I gotta come see you. I'm scared. I'm afraid."
Less than a year later, Mary Pinchot Meyer was murdered as she
walked along the Chesapeake River in Georgetown.
Point blank: Bullet to the head, bullet to the heart.
In 2001, six weeks before his death, when asked who had murdered
Mary, ex-husband & CIA spook, Cord Meyer reportedly hissed: "The
same sons of bitches that killed John F. Kennedy."
SOURCE:
> I can't give you the details.
>(Person in Red Sox Organization) would kill me.
TCH:
- look, how'bout, i'll mention some names. if i'm wrong ? you e-
mail me back ? if i'm right ? then i'll assume i'm correct ? in
other words: plausible denial, like from All The President's Men.
Is it ? for a catcher?
SOURCE:
> No Reply.
TCH:
is the trade with texas?
SOURCE:
>No Reply
TCH:
Is it for salty dog, saltalamacchia?
------------------------------------------------------------------
'A Salty Dog' covered by Nostromo - Procol Harum
procolharum.com/99/mariner.htm
A Salty Dog, Procol Harum's album about the sea ... was that
ever really true? ... in that it sets out to dramatise, in music,
Coleridge's poem The Ancient Mariner.
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.doctormarysmonkey.com/PDFs/DMM-chap_01-the_pirate.pdf
Chapter 1: The Pirate
Coming down the pier towards us was the boat's skipper, a bare-
chested barefoot gypsy, looking every bit like the Ancient
Mariner himself. Never before had I seen such a character in
person. His leathery skin held a deep brown tan set off sharply
by his tattered sun-bleached pants cut below the knee. Long
curls of grey hair haphazardly fell from under the bandanna tied
around his head. On his shoulder sat a small, mischievous monkey
about twelve inches tall, tethered on a leash.
As we passed, the pirate smiled at us; his eyes sparkled. The
monkey studied us with his small round head and big brown eyes.
Despite my intrigue, I gave them a wide berth and tried not to
stare, but it was difficult.
My thoughts were now focused on the monkey.
I had seen plenty of monkeys before, mostly in the zoo, but I
had never thought about having a monkey as a pet. We had a dog.
Why not a monkey? It would be much more interesting.
So I asked my father, "Dad, can I get a monkey for
a pet?"
"No," was his immediate answer. After a pause, he anticipated my
next question by adding, "They carry diseases."
Some are weird viruses that we don't understand yet. Some of
them can kill you."
I was puzzled by his comment.
My first real question arose from my dad's cautiousness: Why
were Tulane's doctors not supposed to talk about the monkey
virus research program?
My father was dressed in his habitual sailing clothes, baggy
khaki pants, a blue cotton shirt, and a dark blue baseball cap
that covered his short-cropped head of completely grey hair.
This attire was as close as he could get to his old Navy uniform,
and he wore it whenever he sailed
The son of a country doctor, he graduated from Harvard Medical
School in the late 1930s and then served as an officer in the U.
S. Navy, in both the Atlantic and the Pacific, during
World War II
I was not interested in catching any weird fatal virus from
Africa, no matter how cute the monkey. I wondered if the pirate
knew the danger he was in. The fact that these diseases
obviously concerned my father more than rabies made a huge
impression upon me. His comments ended my desire for a pet
monkey, but they were the beginning of my curiosity about the
monkey virus research being conducted in New Orleans.
Several days after the pirate incident we had a substitute
teacher at school.
Then she moved the discussion to the frontier of medicine, where
researchers were battling the mysterious world of viruses. I
raised my hand to make a contribution to the discussion: They
were researching viruses down at Tulane Medical School. (I knew
the monkey subject was taboo, so I did not mention it.) "No,"
she said immediately, and turning toward the entire class, she
said, "That's wrong," in a definitive voice. "Tulane is just a
college and its purpose is to teach students, not to do research.
Virus research," she continued, "is a very complex subject and
is only done by very intelligent specialists at faraway places
like Harvard and Johns Hopkins universities and at special
government research centers which have special equipment."
I was embarrassed by her response, but there was nothing I could
do about it. I knew she was both right and wrong. Tulane's
faculty was full of people from Harvard and Hopkins. My father
was one of them. Many of them were doing research. For over 100
years the reputation of Tulane had been based on battling
tropical diseases like yellow fever and malaria. It was true
that the names Harvard and Johns Hopkins were in the news more
often than Tulane, each time announcing some medical
breakthrough or at least updating the public on their progress
in fighting some dreaded disease. Other than announcing its
pathetic football scores, Tulane's name hardly ever appeared in
the local press.
The next time I had a chance to talk to my father I asked him
why it was that we always heard on the news about the medical
research being done at faraway places like Harvard and Johns
Hopkins, but we never heard about the research being conducted
at Tulane.
"Not everybody wants publicity," he patiently explained.
Secondly, experimentation with carcinogenic viruses was
widespread throughout the network of primate research centers,
from the U.S., to Europe, to the U.S.S.R. Blood, tumor cells,
and viral extracts were routinely taken from a variety of
animals and injected into monkeys like a game of viral roulette.
One lab created tumors in as little as eight days.11 Another lab
injected human volunteers with the known cancer-causing monkey
viruses to observe the effects.
New diseases started to appear - diseases which were unknown in
the wild. One such disease that first appeared in the lab is now
called SAIDS or Simian AIDS
In the 1950s and 1960s, Soviet scientists were ahead of U.S.
scientists in certain areas of medical research, one of which
was the investigation of cancer-causing monkey viruses. The
Soviets were explicit, as early as 1951, about their
demonstration that certain simian viruses caused a variety of
cancers.46 This was six to eight years before American government
researchers produced the same results.
Whatever the motive, the U.S. government wanted the work done.
The money was provided for researching monkey viruses through
convenient channels, but the doctors were not supposed to talk
about it. In the process, New Orleans became one of the leading
centers of knowledge about immunology and retroviruses.
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