Just Finished Reading: First Steps – How Walking Upright Made Us Human by Jeremy Desilva (FP: 2021) [274pp] 

I have LONG been interested in Evolution since reading Dawkins back in my 20’s. Not surprisingly, I’m particularly interested in the evolution of my own species. One of the most signature differences between ourselves and our Ape cousins is the fact that we walk upright, we’re bipedal whereas the other apes move around, by and large, on all four limbs. So, what gives – and more importantly what’s the advantage of two legs over four. 

At first glance moving around on two legs rather than four is a distinct DISADVANTAGE. Not only can chimpanzees, for example, run much faster than we can they can also climb much faster than us. But with such obvious disadvantages how did we compete successfully with similar quadrupedal ancestors in the deep past? What use is two legs after all is said and done? One advantage is that an upright posture allows a much better survey of the ground locally. Seeing threats further off allows even slow pre-humans to make it to the nearest cover. Furthermore being ‘hands-free’ allows bipeds not only to carry things that our quadruped ancestors couldn’t - allowing more food to be carried over longer distances as well as the ability to throw things accurately over distances to ward off predators and enemies alike – which must have come in very handy at times (no pun intended!).  

Along with the advantages there were, inevitably, downsides. Standing upright meant a compromise between energy efficient walking – chimps typically expend FOUR times as much energy per mile travelled – and the ability to give birth relatively easily, most especially as our brains and heads expanded over the millennia. This was, and still is, a significant risk in being female. Interestingly, the difficulty of per-human birthing might very well have led to group co-operation which boosted not only individual survival rates but boosted the evolutionary fitness of the entire species. 

As the process of evolution has, of necessity, to work with what it has and modify it as it can, compromises must be made – even beyond the restrictions in the birth canal. Even today humans die by falling much more than you’d think. Added to that is the commonality of sprained ankles, dislocated kneecaps and torn ligaments. We are a cobbled together species and our bipedalism is no exception. 

I really enjoyed this book. Not only did I learn a great deal about our pre-human ancestors, but I realised that the number of them has increased greatly since I last checked in. Some of them were familiar (now much more familiar) to me but some were quite new. Another thing I found very interesting indeed were later chapters on the impact of shoe wearing and the health benefits of walking – both mental and physical. It made me want to put the book down and go for a walk! If you have a general interest in human evolution or a particular interest in the development of upright walking or even walking in general, this is definitely the book for you. Highly recommended and a highlight of the year.  

It's a *start*.... [lol]

Happy International Children's Book Day....!

Welcome to April! As its my birthday later this month, April has been designated (by me obviously) Book Month here @ SaLT which means that you might notice a 'slight' uptick in book related posts. I hope that you enjoy them.

Just Finished Reading: Mrs Rosie and the Priest by Giovanni Boccaccio [54pp] 

First, some background.... Although I’ve been *aware* of these books I only really, really, thought about actually going ahead and buying the boxset of 80 of them after Marianne posted a review of an Oscar Wilde short book in this series on 14th March. What I’d failed to realise was that the boxset – if I’d actually paid attention – only contained the first 80 booklets (as far as I know there’s now around 127 in the set). The Wilde booklet is number 119... However, after the initial ‘disappointment’ I’m still pleased I purchased the set especially as they were on offer (half price) which makes each one about £1 each – which isn’t too shabby! Actually, I was SO impressed by the idea behind the boxset that I also bought the equivalent Penguin Modern classics which ‘only’ contains 50 booklets of which more later. My 'excuse', as if I need one, is that its my birthday soon so purchases like this simply don't count.  

Finally, the book itself... This was actually four stories extracted from the much larger work The Decameron and included the title story itself. My two favourite stories were, however, Andreuccio’s de Perugia’s Neapolitan adventures which was honestly a very funny farce where a young man on his first business trip to Naples gets scammed by a local beauty out of all of his money. Then, through a series of mishaps and adventures gains a ring far more valuable than any purse of gold he started with. Ricciardo da Chinzica loses his wife is somewhat less amusing but is an interesting critique of husbands who don’t pay enough attention to their much younger wives. I guess some themes are eternal! Overall, the four stories are rather amusing, somewhat ‘bawdy’ but not a patch on such tales today and often deeply critical of the Catholic church which got the author into a lot of trouble! 

Translated from the Italian by Peter Hainsworth. 

From Wiki:  The Decameron or Decamerone, subtitled Prince Galehaut and sometimes nicknamed l'Umana commedia ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dante Alighieri's Comedy "Divine"), is a collection of short stories by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men; they shelter in a secluded villa just outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. The epidemic is likely what Boccaccio used for the basis of the book which was thought to be written between 1348–1353. The various tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons also contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence (for example on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales), it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of early Italian prose. 

So, we’re definitely off to an ‘interesting’ start. What the set of booklets will allow me to do is expand my reading – I don’t think I’ll ever regard myself as ‘well-read’ but I’m going to try – read books translated from a host of other languages and maybe (at least) press up against the boundaries of my various comfort zones. One of the things it will do, and something I haven’t done in at least 50 years or so, is get me reading Poetry... Not usually my thing, but I’m willing to give it a try in booklet size chunks. It’ll be interesting to see where things lead.  

Ah, the French..... Known throughout the world for the enthusiastic way they protest.... Bless 'em....

Where in the World? - 2024/2025 edition 

For the last few years, I’ve been trying to expand various aspects of my reading – pushing the boundaries – and one way I’ve been doing to is by reading (or at least trying to read) novels based in various countries around the world and most especially countries that I’m generally unfamiliar with and, most especially, not in my comfort locations of the UK or USA. So, how did I do in the last 12 months? As always updates are in BOLD. NOTE: These are only fictional journeys, are only counted when location is clear (and is at least 50% of the book) and doesn’t count either SF or Fantasy locations. I (generally) count collections of short stories IF they’re in one or (max) two clearly defined locations. 

Afghanistan – 2
Australia – 1
Botswana - ½ (NEW)
Canada – 2
China – 1
Crete - 1
Cuba – 2
England – 86 ½ (+13)
Estonia - 1
France – 14 (+1)
Germany – 5 ½
Greece – 2
Holland - 1
India – 2
Ireland – 1
Italy – 4
Iraq - 1 (NEW)
Jamaica - 1
Japan – 3 ½ (+1 ½)
Norway – 2
Malaya - 1
Portugal – 3
Russia – 4
Scotland - 2
South Africa – 1
Spain – 3
Sweden - 3
Turkey - 2
Ukraine – 1
USA – 58 (+3 ½ )
Vietnam – 3 (+2)

Well, that’s nowhere near what I was hoping, and half expecting, it to be! Although I have managed to add two more countries, at this rate it’ll take the rest of my life to get halfway around the world. Hopefully my ‘plans’ for the rest of this year and some other ideas marinating in my lower brain stem might get me more towards where I want to be... Climbing out of a deeply entrenched comfort zone is HARD!  

I always thought that if they were any good that they'd contact YOU.

Happy Birthday: Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis, was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed the Academy Award-winning score to Chariots of Fire (1981), as well as for the films Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and Alexander (2004), and the 1980 PBS documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan.

Born in Agria and raised in Athens, Vangelis began his career in the 1960s as a member of the rock bands the Forminx and Aphrodite's Child; the latter's album 666 (1972) is recognised as a progressive-psychedelic rock classic. Vangelis settled in Paris, and gained initial recognition for his scores to the Frédéric Rossif animal documentaries L'Apocalypse des Animaux, La Fête sauvage, and Opéra sauvage. He released his first solo albums during this time, and performed as a solo artist. In 1975, Vangelis relocated to London where he built his home recording facility named Nemo Studios and released a series of successful and influential albums for RCA Records, including Heaven and Hell (1975), Albedo 0.39 (1976), Spiral (1977), and China (1979). From 1979 to 1986, Vangelis performed in a duo with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson, releasing several albums as Jon and Vangelis. He collaborated with Irene Papas on two albums of Greek traditional and religious songs.