“We acted according to what we thought were the principles and traditions of this nation. We were wrong. We were terribly wrong.”
-- Robert McNamara 1916 – 2008: speaking in Washington, just before the twentieth anniversary of the American withdrawal from Vietnam, April 1995
It’s a cold and windy day. The 50’s brick ranch with original windows just doesn’t cut it when it’s below 30. Haven’t written in a while and I’m not feeling it now. Saw the liver doc yesterday. He confirmed my feeling that it’s an abused, but still functional, organ. He asked, and I consented, to take the cure. My only request was that I begin the regimen in the spring, which will allow me to take my medicine, so to speak, in the teaching off-season and warm weather.
B. and I traveled to Philadelphia over the weekend of November 19. On Saturday we went to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia's Mutter Museum. Here’s some stuff on that:
Our History 
In 1858, Thomas Dent Mütter, retired Professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College , presented his personal collection of unique anatomic and pathological materials to The College of Physicians of Philadelphia . Our collection now boasts over 20,000 unforgettable objects. These include fluid-preserved anatomical and pathological specimens; skeletal and dried specimens, medical instruments and apparati; anatomical and pathological models in plaster, wax, papier-mâché, and plastic; memorabilia of famous scientists and physicians; medical illustrations, photographs, prints, and portraits. In addition, we offer changing exhibits on a variety of medical and historical topics.
Our Treasures
Our one-of-a-kind treasures include:
- The plaster cast of the torso of world-famous Siamese Twins, Chang & Eng, and their conjoined livers
- Joseph Hyrtl's collection of skulls
- Preserved body of the "Soap Lady"
- Collection of 2,000 objects extracted from people's throats
- Cancerous growth removed from President Grover Cleveland
- Tallest skeleton on display in North America
This place was way cool. What isn’t mentioned above is their collection of shrunken heads. Too much! You’re looking at a shrunken human head. R.J., you would love this
joint.
A shrunken head is a severed and specially prepared human head that is used for trophy, ritual, or trade purposes.
Most known shrunken heads were manufactured either by indigenous peoples in Melanesia and the Amazon Basin, or by European or Euro-Americans attempting to recreate the practice. In Amazonia, the only people known to have shrunk human heads are the Shuar, Achuar, Huambisa and Aguaruna, collectively classified as the Jivaroan peoples of Ecuador and Peru. Among the Shuar, a shrunken head is known as a tsantsa.
The process of creating a shrunken head begins with removing the skull from the head. An incision is made on the back of the neck and all the skin and flesh is removed from the cranium. Red seeds are placed underneath the eyelids and the eyelids are sewn shut. The mouth is held together with three palm pins. Fat from the flesh of the head is removed. The flesh is then boiled in water that has been steeped with a number of herbs containing tannins. It is then dried with hot rocks and sand, while molding it to retain its human feature. The skin is then rubbed down with charcoal ash. The lips are sewn shut, and various decorative beads are added to the head.
In the headshrinking tradition, it is believed that coating the skin in ash keeps the musiak, or avenging soul, from seeping out.
Shrunken heads are known for their mandibular prognathism, facial distortion and shrinkage of the lateral sides of the forehead; these are artifacts of the shrinking process.
Among the Shuar and Achuar, the reduction of the heads was followed by a series of feasts centered on important rituals.
The practice of preparing shrunken heads originally had religious significance; shrinking the head of an enemy was believed to harness the spirit of that enemy and compel him to serve the shrinker. It was said to prevent the soul from avenging his death.[4]
Shuar believed in the existence of three fundamental spirits:
- Wakani - innate to humans thus surviving their death.
- Arutam - literally "vision" or "power", protects humans from a violent death.
- Muisak - vengeful spirit, which surfaces when an arutam spirit-carrying person is murdered.
To block the last spirit from using its powers, they decided to sever their enemies' heads and shrink them. The process also served as a way of warning those enemies. Even with these uses, the owner of the trophy did not keep it for long. Many heads were later used in religious ceremonies and feasts that celebrated the victories of the tribe. Accounts vary as to whether the heads would be discarded or stored.
Those damn South Americans are always up to something shocking. Check this story out:
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 11/20/09
LIMA, Peru (AP) — A gang in the remote Peruvian jungle has been killing people for their fat, the police said Thursday, accusing the gang’s members of draining fat from bodies and selling it on the black market for use in cosmetics.
He said the suspects, two of whom were arrested carrying bottles of liquid fat, told the police it was w
orth $60,000 a gallon.
Police officials suspect that the fat was sold to cosmetic companies in Europe, he said he could not confirm any sales.
At a news conference, the police showed reporters two bottles of fat recovered from the suspects and a photo of the rotting head of a 27-year-old man.
The gang would cut off its victims’ heads, arms and legs, remove the organs, and then suspend the torsos from hooks above candles that warmed the flesh as the fat dripped into tubs below.
The band’s fugitive leader had been killing people to extract fat for more than three decades.
The police had received a tip four months ago that human fat from the jungle was being sold in Lima. In August, police officers infiltrated the gang and later obtained some of the amber fluid, which a police lab confirmed as human fat.
The suspects were arrested in a Lima bus station with a quart of human fat in a soda bottle.
I suppose I should talk about the war (can you say Obama’s folly?).
I’m too lazy, so here’s some e
xcerpts from Bob Herbert’s Op-Ed piece in the 12/01/ 09 New York Times:
“After going through an extended period of highly ritualized consultations and deliberations, the president has arrived at a decision that never was much in doubt, and that will prove to be a tragic mistake. It was also, for the president, the easier option."
"It would have been much more difficult for Mr. Obama to look this troubled nation in the eye and explain why it is in our best interest to begin winding down the permanent state of warfare left to us by the Bush and Cheney regime. It would have taken real courage for the commander in chief to stop feeding our young troops into the relentless meat grinder of Afghanistan, to face up to the terrible toll the war is taking — on the troops themselves and in very insidious ways on the nation as a whole."
"More soldiers committed suicide this year than in any year for which we have complete records. But the military is now able to meet its recruitment goals because the young men and women who are signing up can’t find jobs in civilian life. The United States is broken — school systems are deteriorating, the economy is in shambles, homelessness and poverty rates are expanding — yet we’re nation-building in Afghanistan, sending economically distressed young people over there by the tens of thousands at an annual cost of a million dollars each.”
“Politicians are seldom honest when they talk publicly about warfare. Lyndon Johnson knew in the spring of 1965, as he made plans for the first big expansion of U.S. forces in Vietnam, that there was no upside to the war."s
"A recent Bill Moyers program on PBS played audio tapes of Johnson on which he could be heard telling Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, “Not a damn human thinks that 50,000 or 100,000 or 150,000 [American troops] are going to end that war.
McNamara replies, 'That’s right.'”
Nothing like those sentiments were conveyed to the public as Johnson and McNamara jacked up the draft and started feeding young American boys and men into the Vietnam meat grinder.”
Happy Holidays - Randy
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