Ada Lovelace, a cameo in “Victoria”

Happy Belated Birthday, Dear Wolfgang!

261 years young & still delighting audiences...

http://www.bookswelove.net/authors/waldron-juliet/

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Ada’s cameo in “Victoria”

Like other history fans, I’ve been watching Masterpiece Theater’s latest offering, Victoria, wand marveling over the sets, costumes, as well as admiring the work of the actors. Here, in the title role, Jenna Coleman, (who I was not a great fan of during her Dr. Who days,) shows what she can do—and, let’s face it, anyone with a neck like she has deserves all the starring roles she acquire!

Much of “Victoria” is concerned with the royal family's sturm und drang. At simplest, the series is a high-minded and elegantly dressed soap opera, but it's also a wonderful entertainment for history junkies like myself. Beyond the scope of this television series, the Queen’s lengthy reign--only recently surpassed by that of her descendant, Elizabeth II—ranged from the birth of railways and wide scale industrial development, through the time of Industrial Robber Barons,  and all the way to 1901.

“Victoria” has been giving me fascinating glimpses of politicians whose doings I studied for “O” and “A” levels, figures like Victoria’s first Prime Ministers, the aristocratic, old-school Lord Melbourne, and his opposite, Sir Robert Peel, son of a wealthy industrialist. Peel, a Liberal in Tory clothing, championed modern criminal laws and policing, and even managed to pass a “radical” 3% income tax upon the rich. Although he did not do so quickly enough to have much impact on the horror of the Irish famine, he eventually repealed the protectionist, onerous-to-the-poor Corn Laws.

I was beyond delighted the other night , however, when Charles Babbage and his friend, Countess Ada Lovelace, and appeared on the scene. In “Victoria,” Lady Lovelace and Charles Babbage speak with the Queen while Babbage's complex and never completed “Difference Machine” (a forerunner of the calculator) is on display.

Ada was a rare bird in her time, an aristocratic woman who joyfully engaged with mathematics and logic. She has been credited, along with her mentor and friend, the inventor Charles Babbage, with having laid the groundwork for modern computing.  (Babbage’s scientific fame initially came from his work creating a book of Logarithm tables, a handy resource that until recently, every engineer kept close at hand.)

The Difference Machine, a calculator, hand cranked and hand-made, 

2,000 brass parts now resides in Science Museum of London. 

This too makes a brief, cameo appearance in "Victoria."

Babbage was working on an “Analytical Engine,” a machine which could do long computations mechanically, thereby removing the risk of human error. After he’d spoken before an Italian Scientific Society about his plan, one of the attendees, Luigi Menabrea, wrote a long in-depth article describing it from copious notes he’d taken. Ada enters the story when she offered to translate the article from Italian for Babbage.

Charles Babbage by Samuel Laurence (Wikipedia)

I’ll now quote Stephan Wolfram, mathematician and famed creator of Mathematica: 

   

“As something of a favor to Babbage, she (Ada) wrote an exposition of the Analytical Engine, and in doing so she developed a more abstract understanding of it than Babbage had — and got a glimpse of the incredibly powerful idea of universal computation.”*

“Ada Lovelace was the first person ever to glimpse with any clarity what has become a defining phenomenon of our technology and even our civilization: the notion of universal computation.”

As pleasurable to me as was the scene of the meeting between Ada and the Queen--as well as introducing Prince Albert into the equation (he was a patron of the sciences and all the new technologies)--well--my inner researcher/a.k.a. KILLJOY simply had to discover whether this had actually happened. That led me to Professor Wolfram’s comprehensive Wired article. Sadly, like many tantalizing scenes from historical movies, it transpired that neither Ada nor Babbage ever met Victoria or her forward-thinking husband in any sort of semi-informal, discursive social situation. 

Still, I'm grateful to the creators of "Victoria" that they gave us a warm, sympathetic glimpse of Ada, Countess of Lovelace, who has been justly elevated to be one of the 19th Century heroines of science. She's a fascinating human interest story for any little girls who are about to begin tackling math and science in elementary school.  

Who knows what Ada and Charles might have devised together had she lived-- and had been able to keep the roving interest of her polymath mentor focused on the Analytical Engine? But instead, tragically, and at what loss to science we shall never know, Ada died at 36 of ovarian cancer. Stephen Wolfram, in the article linked below, was sufficiently intrigued to speculate about what might have happened if she's survived as far into the century as her mentor Babbage. What a subject for any writer of alternate history!

Florence Nightingle, nursing pioneer and another of Ada's famous friends, wrote: “They said she could not possibly have lived so long, were it not for the tremendous vitality of the brain, that would not die.”

Ada, The "first software programmer," from iQ UK

If you are interested in learning more about Ada, check out these articles:

 iQ

https://iq.intel.co.uk/ada-lovelace-the-first-computer-programmer/

Wired(c), Untangling the Tale of Ada Lovelace by Stephen Wolfram, 12.22.15

https://www.wired.com/2015/12/untangling-the-tale-of-ada-lovelace/

The Mathematica site, for Wolfram's revolutionary mathematical "assistant":

http://www.wolfram.com/mathematica/

~~Juliet Waldron
See all my historical novels @
https:www.julietwaldron.com

http://www.bookswelove.net/authors/waldron-juliet/

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004HIX4GS

Whose's Story is it Anyway? by Connie Vines

point of view (POV)

• noun
• a particular attitude or way of considering a matter.
• "I'm trying to get Matthew to change his point of view"
• synonyms: opinion, view, belief, attitude, feeling, sentiment, thoughts; 
• More (in fictional writing) the narrator's position in relation to the story being told.

It’s almost impossible not to have committed to a POV by the end of the first paragraph.

Since I write in multiple genres, my point of view seems to remain the same within a specific genre. 
My YA/Teen/Tween stories and novels are told in the first person.  For me this is the most personal for the reader--meaning a reader is intimately involved in the story and steps into the main character’s mind.  The reader experiences emotions intensely, because he/she becomes the character.  And since few YA/Teens/Tweens are familiar with a ‘none-tech’ world, this is the best way to expose them to history/a new setting, etc. 

The single POV helps the story unfold in a way to allow the reader to understands life from an 1890 character.  No reaching for a cell phone, or grabbing a pizza for dinner!

When I write in first person, I do not change point of view of view.  I rely on dialogue or the main character’s observations to keep the reader aware of changes in plot etc.

The opening from my current release, Tanayia: Whisper upon the Water, Native American/First People Series, Book 1

1880, Apacheria, Season of Ripened Berries

Isolated bands of colored clay on white limestone remained where the sagebrush was stripped from Mother Earth by sudden storms and surface waters. Desolate. Bleak.  A land made of barren rocks and twisted paths that reached out into silence.

A world of hunger and hardship.  This is my world.  I am Tanayia.  I was born thirteen years ago.  My people and call ourselves “Nde” this means 
“The People”. The white man calls us Apache. 


Second person point of view is far more challenging for me. I find if an author uses second person in literature, he/she does so to engage the audience more and to make them part of the story and action or possibly make a thematic point about the characters. Second person is much more common in nonfiction, especially self-help books and business writing.

Benefits: Speak directly to/about the reader, teach him or her something.

Examples

• "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go." (Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Random House, 1990).

• Think back to when you were a kid and read Choose Your Own Adventure books. Weren’t those fun? You got to be the main character and decide where the story went. Well, those were all in 2nd person.


Third person point of view. Third person is most often used in novels. Many readers prefer third person because it is so popular. It can work from the omniscient viewpoint of the author telling the story even to informing the reader what the character or different characters are thinking. While I’ve read many novels using this viewpoint, I find myself not quite as involved with the characters themselves.

I write my Contemporary/ Romantic Suspense/ Paranormal in third person in a character’s limited viewpoint. Here a character tells their story through their own viewpoint and senses. It tells what they say, see, hear, feel or taste, and even what they think. Different characters’ viewpoints can be used, but a clear demarcation is used to show when the narrative switches from one character to another. I like this method because it remains very intimate to the reader, but allows easy change between characters, too, unlike first or second voice.

Opening scene: Lynx, Rodeo Romance, Book 1

Charlene hadn’t told Rachel that she’d fixed her up with a cowboy, much less Lynx Maddox, the “Wild Cat” of the rodeo circuit.  Rachel signed.  She should have known.  After all, Charlene only dated men who wore booth and Stetsons.

Rachel Scott cringed at the very thought even as her gaze took in the breadth of Lynx Maddox’s chest, his broad shoulders, and dark green eyes that scanned her with blatant masculine approval.

A snippet from: Brede, Rodeo Romance, Book 2

Brede couldn’t seem to stop watching and worrying about Kate.  Even though she was trying to hide behind the menu, he sensed her tension.  He had to grip the edge of the table to keep from taking the menu out of her hands and looking into those wide green eyes again, just to catch a glimpse of whatever it was he saw when she looked at him.  But he wasn’t going to do anything rash.  Not now, not ever.  He wasn’t going to take her back to the ranch—not even if Caldwell retired and it meant eating peanut butter sandwiches from here to eternity.

He might gnaw his tongue off trying to keep silent, but he wasn’t going to ask her to say.


For a change of pace: Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow, A Sassy & Fun Fantasy

Since her sister was contemplating the contents of a tin filled with Danish cookies, Meredith found herself cataloging the events that led up to her ‘accident’.

A charter member of the SoCal Arts Association, she’d been participating in the annual Zombie Walk Festival in Long Beach when it ‘happened’. . .



What point of view is your favorite?  Do you enjoy reading a novel with multiple points of view?

Music, Dance, and Food are the heart of a culture.

One way to slip into a main character's world is to taste a food that is part of his/her every day life.
Since rationing was instituted on Indian Reservations during the 1800s, fry bread became a staple of Native American life.

Here is a way to sample one of Tanayia's meals that is still a part of everyday life for many Native Americans.

Quick and Easy Native American recipes for Fry Bread.  

When I operate a Fry Bread stand during my school visitations or Native American Culture classes, I take liberties and offer a short-cut version.  I top the hot bread with either powdered sugar or honey.
Open 1 can of large biscuits from you grocery's cold case.  (Do not use flaky-type or Southern with butter.)  Pat the biscuit dough to form a small pancake, poke a hole in the center with your index finger.

 Heat oil (I like a good grade vegetable oil).  Fry a few seconds until golden brown.  Turn with cooking thongs.  Cook second side, remove to drain on paper towels.  Toss into a paper bag willed with 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar and shake.  Place on a paper plate and enjoy while still warm!

During Powwow, however, I used the tried-and-true recipe with the option of a Navajo Taco offering beef instead of lamb.

What You'll Need: a large bowl

1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups​ all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup water

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix together the salt, baking powder, and flour.
Mix in the oil and water.
Form the dough into a ball and pat between hands until you have the size you like (pancake size) not quite as thin as tortilla.. Poke a hole in the center of each flattened circles with your index finger.
Fill a large frying pan with about 3/4-inch of shortening or lard and heat the oil.
Fry the breads for a few seconds on each side until they are golden brown.
Set the breads on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
When warm, the breads can be covered in powdered sugar, like a powdered doughnut. Do this by placing the fried bread in a bag filled with a 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Give the bag a quick shake to cover the bread with sugar and remove the bread.

Or top with cooked beef (or chili), lettuce, onion, tomatoes, your favorite taco items.

Happy Reading,
Connie

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Am I or are you an alien from a planet far far away? by Vijaya Schartz

Find Vijaya's Science Fiction and Fantasy novels from BWL here

Over the past few decades, the scientific community turned to study the mysteries of our DNA and blood types, and found out we are all the same despite different skin color. All primates from this planet have Rh positive blood... except for the tiny portion of the human population with Rh negative blood, predominantly found in Basque country (Southwest of France and Northwest of Spain) and in smaller concentration in Ethiopia and far eastern Jewish tribes.

Interestingly enough, the Basque people are an enigma for anthropologists who are unable to trace their origins... as if they dropped from the sky 35,000 years ago. The Basque culture and their language are not related to any other known culture. Although I heard of a Basque mountain climber on an expedition to the Himalayas, who could communicate with the locals through his native language... another puzzle. 

Since my blood type is Rh negative, I found this interesting, and my writer's curiosity pushed me to investigate further. Here are a few characteristics of people with negative blood rhesus:

They cannot be cloned

They have green or hazel eyes that often change color

They often have red hair

They are highly intelligent

They can sing and have perfect pitch

Most healers and people with true psychic abilities are Rh negative

They have lower body temperatures

They have a slower heart rate

They do not like the cold

They are mentally and emotionally very stable

Most alien abductees are Rhesus negative

If you give them positive rhesus blood, they will die. (negative rhesus blood doesn't affect a positive rhesus patient as long as it is the same type - O - A - B - AB etc.)

The Rh negative women's chances to give birth with a positive rhesus male are slim and dangerous. Their body's natural defenses will attack and kill the fetus if not controlled by powerful pharmaceuticals.

I must say many of these characteristics do apply to me and I am French born. I have changing green eyes. I bleached my hair blond since my teens, but I was born with light reddish brown hair. I used to sing professionally. I had occasional and inexplicable premonitory dreams over the years, I have a slower than normal heart rate. I hate the cold (that's why I live in Arizona). I never became pregnant despite three marriages. All the pieces seem to fit.

Was I ever abducted by aliens? If I were, I don't remember it... but I remember a time in art school when I couldn't help but draw cool alien-looking faces after having a particularly strange dream.

Above all, I am fascinated with alien life in the universe, and I write science fiction and fantasy, characters with incredible powers, and technology that can take us across the universe. I believe we are all citizens of the universe, and this world is only a small part of it.

So let us forget our petty differences and be part of the infinite creation we are all part of. Soon we shall discover our universe in greater details. For me, I can't wait to explore the galaxy and maybe meet some distant cousins. In the meantime, they will populate my dreams and feed my imagination, and you will find them in my novels.

Happy Reading.

Vijaya Schartz, author

Romance with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com