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Welcome to a potential future. Utopian Frontiers is the story of a possibility for the future….

About Utopian Frontiers – The Book

What if there was a secret city at work on finding answers to the survival of humanity? Technologies beyond your imagination; a city expanding, recruiting and evolving. There is no government, no money, no bosses, institutions, cars or roads; and age takes on new meaning.

This “facity” is one big research product in and of itself, and nothing else quite like it exists on this Earth. This is the city that Erwin Sharp and his family are drawn into on the fringes of a national park. They fall headfirst down the rabbit hole into a world of space probes, cancer cures, and a core myth that defies belief. They soon realize that some doors are only meant to swing one way. This is a parable of trust and hope–a flashing beacon of hope in a world hell-bent on destroying itself. It is ultimately a story of ambition, of owning up to life, showing up and trading up. In a story that is as controversial as it is reassuring, sometimes it is possible to find something you always hoped existed, and in finding it, you confront your own truth as much as that of the world you live in.

Nikki Leigh – You have been invited to share your promotional experience with others. What does the future hold for you and your project?

John Roach - Who knows?

We’re not into hype, rah-rah, bell ringing, flag waving, charismatic leadership sort of personifications. It’s not about individuals, personalities. It’s about core values, what we believe, the utopian message expressed through imperfect humanity.

We wonder about the human collective, like most I suspect, and I play with related ideas and tell stories, fictional, science and technology related myths. It just so happens I believe the future can be utopian, near perfect, in our zany way, that we can facilitate effective change at systemic and personal levels.

We may not yet know what we must do to correct our ways but that doesn’t stop us from wondering, considering options. Eventually, we’re going to sort things out, don’t you think?

If there are any snickering misanthropes in the background, please be patient…

I hope and pray for a sane, healthy world, yet I don’t see that as a current reality, hence this project as a positive message of hope. I’m a realist, and I just don’t know whether we’re capable of redemption spiritually if you consider the current state of unsettled affairs among the Gods. That doesn’t stop me from dreaming, trying my best to promote healthy options. Truth be told, however, I feel at times we’re curiously dysfunctional and in need of a jump start, a re-set.

It’s about research, personal and collective… Anyone can do research.

We are committed to the ongoing cultivation of this project through the website/blog, book, potential TV series and/or film, and ongoing events. If there’s no interest, find the good. Move on. Always do your best… Consider it therapy.
What sort of comments have you gotten about the content of the book and the Utopian Frontiers project?

Those who have read the book and have gotten back to me are saying: “This is so NOW!”

Over time, encouraging comments, from a core, vigilant community of supporters may help build an effective history based on the myth. Will it grow as a living myth? Who knows? We’re all so busy getting by… What makes long term collective health and well being possible?

People who have read the book have shared a heightened awareness of caring about our presence and where we’re going.

This is about a quantum leap in human endeavor.

Nikki Leigh - What makes this a book that people NEED to read and WHY?

John Roach - Let’s explore and play with the difference between wants and needs.

First, I need breathable air and clean water to drink. Otherwise I’m a done deal within minutes or days…

OK, thanks for that, whew… I’m alive, I’m breathing relatively clean air, and I have so-so clean water to drink. Time’s a wasting…  What’s next? A good meal with friends! Got that too, lucky me! Now, let’s get going and do something special!

Seeing as I may need to get somewhere: How am I going to get there?

I may dream about getting there by sports car, yacht, or private jet, but maybe all I really need is an available form of transportation. En route, if the seas are rough, and the boat takes on water, any port in a storm will do. From there, I can walk away, ride a bike, or rely on public transit. Do I really need the luxury of private mobility? That depends… How hungry am I now?

Oops! I tripped, fell and broke my leg. I need to see a doctor, get a leg cast if necessary, and take time to heal. Until then, my friends need to drive me around until I’m healed, healthy, better again and capable of walking and getting around on my own. I just want to skip forward in time and heal, but as they say, nothing replaces time…

Suddenly, I experience hunger pangs again. I’m very hungry now and thirsty too. Need or want?

I may want a steak with all the trimmings, an expensive bottle of wine, something rich for dessert. But really, what I really need is protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water, preferably at appropriate quantities and intervals throughout the day so as to maximize energies, health and well being. And hey, I need to sleep well on a cyclic basis. Know what I need/mean?

By the way, I want to chill now and then, relax, take it easy but honestly, I also feel the need to do my core strengthening exercises, power walks, and stretches, if I intend to stay healthy and limber over time.

Then again, I need to complete this interview on time as well, preferably before late afternoon because my niece is visiting and it’s her birthday. I need to get the house ready for the party. We wouldn’t want to let the child feel like we don’t consider her life a celebration because, as everyone should know, children need to feel loved and appreciated for who they are here and now, a joy to behold, knowing their presence is a celebration of life. That’s very important to healthy development, no matter the age and/or time of being. Know that by now?

Oh, and I want a hot, sexy romance, something eternal, if possible, once we’re of age of course, and until then, yes please, protect us. Eventually and eternally, we all need a significant other who we can share life with, rely on, someone else who needs a hot sexy partner to chill with, drink the odd bottle of wine, and maybe sometimes rent that movie or sports car. Maybe we should take that vacation we need right about now. You know? Really, we need everyone to connect at this level…

It’s about the hierarchy of needs. Check that out. Self actualize…

So, who really needs to read a book? Are you sure you don’t have anything else better to do right now?

Let’s just do a reality check: If you were cold, needed a fire, had no wood, perhaps you would need to burn a book to stay warm, survive the night. What if it was your favorite book? Would that effect your perception of needs? Why?

Do you really need to be bothered by the future of this planet after a hard day’s work? The TV news may not be your viewing imperative after work, so be it. Maybe you just need to take it easy and relax, although your friends want you to join them for a late night draft, chat, laugh….

Meanwhile: Who wants to be a kazillionaire? How much money do you really need? What drives you? For me, it’s not money, although money is the stuff with which we do things. Are you lucky enough to have “mad money”, money you don’t NEED to survive? How lucky! What are you going to do? Buy lottery tickets, play the slots? Isn’t freedom wonderful?

I don’t know. Perhaps we’re travelling a different path.

We want to see the book “Utopian Frontiers” developed into a film and/or TV series and in order to do so, we need to secure financial support. That’s a very important priority, a real need, but it must be the right kind of money. This is not a solicitation for funds, just a statement.

We suggest you read the book because Utopian Frontiers has an important message of hope for the future well being of humanity, and we need to pass positive vibes and messages on to the upcoming generations. We can’t think or feel that we’re done for, as a civilization, and we can’t saddle youth with pessimism. We need to cultivate their abilities and mind set so as to motivate and better prepare them for the challenges ahead.

Nikki Leigh – What sort of people NEED to read this book and WHY?

John Roach - People who have given up on our future should read this book. Anyone with a feeling that we’re done for, that we are doomed to fail utterly as a species really should consider the fact that we do indeed have options worth exploring. How many of us feel trapped in a life not worth living, suffering needlessly as empathic individuals who feel powerless to do anything about our plight, personally and as a collective? The message of hope contained within Utopian Frontiers may help you realize things can change for the better, maybe not for this generation, yet our children and their children have the potential to be a part of something wonderful, the renaissance of humanity.

We really do need to believe in the potential for the well being of humanity if we are to put our best feet forward, step outside the box, and collectively work on making myths like UF come to life. Do you really have to ask why?

Nikki Leigh – What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own creativity?

John Roach - Life should be lived as a challenge, and we should be motivated to do our best, don’t you think? It’s easy to coast, do the half mile, or just put in the minimal effort. Besides, why bother trying to do our best if no one seems to notice or care? Even then, we’re only as good as our last effort, and it’s so easy to be discouraged and give up on ourselves, the world…

Why care if others around seem to lack passion and commitment? Let’s be careful with the crowd we hang with: Birds of a feather flock together. Different strokes for different folks. Are we loners of a social creatures? If we’re social, maybe we should join/form a writers club. Righter’s club?

What you need to know is we don’t typically tread water very well. We get tired and start sinking. It’s that or become a stronger swimmer, moving forward, with a goal. Creativity is like that: We need to continuously put in the effort and try to develop, enjoy and appreciate the experience as a gift of life, an ongoing challenge to spend our time in meaningful ways.

Think of it as personal/collective therapy. Consider the mind as our collective/personal play pen, one of the last true bastions of freedom. Who knows what we’re capable of if we don’t try to do and be our best?

So life in general sparks our flame, and we are willing to put the effort in as a challenge, a therapeutic exercise that keeps us in a state of play, and don’t be overly concerned with creative angst, if we go there. It’s part of the territory, just a reminder that perhaps one should be doing something else while the subconscious mind cooks up ingredients. Just be ready when it’s time to harvest, manifest efforts!

Nikki Leigh – If a potential reader thinks that your book wouldn’t interest them, what would you say to convince them to buy? I’m thinking something better than “It is the greatest book ever.” Give me something more specific

John Roach - Have you ever experienced a crisis of conscience? Tasted your own tears? Stood on a bridge? Are you truly aware of the precarious realities that we are currently experiencing as a civilization? Greed, corruption, hedonistic escapes seem to rule the day, if one can afford the going rates… Do we care at all? Are you thinking, or have you ever thought that one person cannot achieve anything useful when it comes to solving the human equation? It’s useless, so why bother?

Well, if that’s how you feel, actually, I don’t care if you buy or read the book. It’s more important that you buy, read into the ideas, or at least the potential for ideas to spark meaningful change. If the information on our website and interviews like this don’t appeal to you, move on. That’s OK. It’s a big world out there.

If, on the other hand, you have an interest in social/political/economic options open to humanity and believe that science fiction is a good way to explore, then this book may possibly make you think about life anew.
Nikki Leigh – Why does the topic of your book interest you? Why would it interest potential readers? Give us a hook to reel in new readers.

John Roach - The relationship between humankind and technology has fascinated me for decades.

Put yourself in a situation that is difficult to read: You’re out for a walk and suddenly come across a man holding a knife. Are you afraid? What do you fear most, the man or the knife?

Think applications: There are so many uses for a knife. Isn’t it interesting that a knife can be used to stab someone or save a life on an operating table?

Even words, as an abstract form of communication, can be used to help or hurt. Combined with emotive expression, words can terrorize or make one feel blessed, enlightened, loved.

Such is the challenge for applied technology: it’s there to be utilized in many potentially menacingly destructive and/or wonderfully creative ways.

What if there is a way for us to explore positive applications of technology in service to social humanity? And what if some of us got together and formed a clandestine research organization dedicated to the task? Now, what if over the years we developed world wide connections and influence? And what if we’re headquartered in a secret city located on the fringes of national parkland somewhere in the Americas, and we’re recruiting researchers, people like you, because we all have the potential to research?

Are you ready for your interview? Do you want/need to visit the city and experience how such a culture operates before you decide whether or not to join us? Are you interested in how the myth may take on a life of its own? Read the book! Who knows? It may inspire you in ways unanticipated!

John Philip Roach

About Utopian Frontiers Non-Profit Organization

UTOPIAN FRONTIERS FOUNDATION is a non profit organization dedicated to developing multi-media works intended to educate and provoke meaningful discourse on global environmental concerns – including the relationship between humankind and technology.

To educate and increase the public’s understanding of the environment and its importance by offering courses, seminars, conferences and meetings and by collecting
and disseminating information on that topic.

For information about Utopian Frontiers, the book, the organization or the music, visit http://www.utopianfrontiers.com. To learn more about the book and to get your copy, visit http://www.amazon.com/Utopian-Frontiers-Story-Drew-Tapley/dp/1927005124/.

Join me for a conversation with Sue Kasson the author of Zero Stress Selling

You have been invited to share your promotional experience with others.

Your Name: Sue Kasson

Where you are from and where are you now?

I’m originally from New Jersey and have lived on the west coast of Florida since 1980.

How did you get started writing?

When I started my coaching and consulting business, I wanted to have books that I could give my clients and potential clients.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I love to travel and I am a voracious reader!

What inspired your first book?

Previously, I had been in sales for more than 25 years, with the last 10 years as a sales manager for a Fortune 500 company. I was extremely busy with work eating up all my time and draining my energy. Unfortunately, this stress was taking its physical and mental toll.

I knew I had to make a change. I already had one stress-induced disorder, fibromyalgia. So I took some time off from work and made some tough decisions to eliminate everything that stressed me out. It took a while but I finally started to feel better. And eventually, I experienced a feeling of joy that I had not felt in a very long time. Then I was able to start my dream – my own coaching and consulting practice.

How many books have you written?

Two

What are the titles of your books and what genres are they?

“Zero Stress Selling: 7 No-Fail Strategies to Lose Your Stress Now” is in self-help and “Zero Stress Selling: 5 No-Fail Strategies to Get More Clients & Fill Your Practice” is in business and marketing.

Why are you specially qualified to write about this topic?

I was in sales for more than 25 years, with the last 10+ years as a sales manager for a Fortune 500 company

How do you manage to keep yourself focused and on track when you’re writing a book?

I’m very organized and write a plan for each week on Sunday nights.

Do you write to make money, for the love of writing or both?

Love of writing and to help my potential clients and current clients.

Do you sell through a website? If so, what’s the address? If not, why not?

www.getmoreclients-fillyourpractice.com had 3 bonuses worth $197 when you buy the book from Amazon. www.amazon.com/author/suekasson

Where can people order your books?

www.amazon.com/author/suekasson and www.getmoreclients-fillyourpractice.com

What format are your books – e-book, print, audio etc?

Kindle versions and paperback versions

Will you write more books?

Yes, I certainly will

What do you have in the works now?

A book on relaxed, confident selling for coaches and consultants

What does the future hold for you and your books?

The books are just part of my overall business, Zero Stress Selling.

What was the most successful thing you did to promote your books?

A virtual book tour and a separate website with bonuses when people purchase the book

What makes this book special to you?

When I wrote my first book, 7 No-Fail Strategies to Lose Your Stress Now, it took 4 months. This book just flowed out of me in two weeks!

What sort of comments have you gotten about the content of the book?

The reviews on Amazon have been great! I love the idea that my books can be purchased inexpensively by any coach or consultant that needs help with marketing or with stress and work/life balance.

What makes this a book that other people MUST read and WHY?

Check out the reviews on Amazon and the free bonuses at www.getmoreclients-fillyourpractice.com

What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own
creativity?

I just wait till I feel like writing. Thank goodness I write in spurts because the writing “feeling” only comes once a week or so!

What do you think motivates people to become authors? What motivated you to get into this unusual industry?

They have a message that needs to come out.

I love the idea that my books can be purchased inexpensively by any coach or consultant that needs help with marketing or with stress and work/life balance.

Tell me about the most unusual things you have done to promote any books?

I have sent my book to complete strangers that are in my same niche.

If a potential reader thinks that your book wouldn’t interest them, what would you say to convince them to buy? I’m thinking something better than “Its the greatest book ever.” Give me something more specific

Check out the reviews on Amazon and the free bonuses at www.getmoreclients-fillyourpractice.com

Why does the topic of your book interest you? Why would it interest potential readers? Give us a hook to reel in new readers.

I want women entrepreneurs to know how to market their businesses online. I love the idea that my books can be purchased inexpensively by any coach or consultant that needs help with marketing or with stress and work/life balance. (Sue’s other book is “Zero Stress Selling: 7 No-Fail Strategies to Lose Your Stress Now”.)

I would like to introduce you to Susan Avitzour, she is the author of And Twice the Marrow. It is a memoir where she shares the very personal story about her daughter and her family after her daughter’s cancer diagnosis. It is a daughter’s struggle and a mother’s struggle as she works to help her daughter navigate a journey no mother and child want to face. Through the pages of this book she shares their personal story and shows others how they can face illness, disappointment, loss and find resilience in their lives despite trials and hardships.

Your Name: Susan Petersen Avitzour -

Nikki Leigh - Where you are from and where are you now?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - I’m originally from Coney Island. I’ve lived in various places including Connecticut, Berkeley California, and Paris, but for the past thirty-plus years I’ve lived in Israel – Jerusalem, to be exact.

Nikki Leigh - How did you get started writing?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - I’ve been writing since I was a child. I wrote my first story in second grade, and have been doing creative writing – both fiction and nonfiction – on and off ever since then.

Nikki Leigh - What do you do when you are not writing?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - I’m a clinical social worker, and work as a psychotherapist both in a public hospital clinic and in private practice.  Besides that I love to read, sing, dance, hike, and (most important) spend quality time with family and friends.

Nikki Leigh - What would readers like to know about you?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - I raised seven children – six girls and a boy. I’m now on my fourth career, having been a lawyer, a mediator, and a translator/commercial writer before going back to school to get my MSW.

Nikki Leigh - What inspired your first book?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - My fourth daughter, Timora, died of leukemia in 2001.  I knew early on that I wanted very much to capture my experience both as the mother of a child with cancer, and as a mother who lost her child to cancer, in a way that may help and possibly even inspire others who have or are experiencing hardship – or are interested in how others overcome life’s challenges.

Nikki Leigh - What are the titles of your books and what genres are they?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones – Memoir

Nikki Leigh - Why are you specially qualified to write about this topic?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - I happen to be a person who has always both felt my experiences keenly and reflected on their meaning for me; this is exactly what I do in my book.

Nikki Leigh - How do you manage to keep yourself focused and on track when you’re writing a book?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - Because of its special nature, the book I wrote was on my mind all the time anyway.  But even when I’m writing stories that have nothing to do with the loss of my daughter, once I’ve started them they kind of take me over, so that I don’t really have any trouble staying focused.

Nikki Leigh - Do you write to make money, for the love of writing or both?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - For the moment, for the love of writing, but also in order to reach out to my readers – kind of start a conversation with them.  I wouldn’t object to making money, though I intend to donate any profits from my memoir to charity.

Nikki Leigh - Where can people order your books?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - On Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Twice-Marrow-Her-Bones/dp/9659146426

Nikki Leigh - What format are your books – e-book, print, audio etc?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - Print, though I do intend to publish to Kindle as well.

Nikki Leigh - What do you have in the works now?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - A collection of mixed-genre stories that I’ve tentatively entitled Scenes from My Life and Other Stories.

Nikki Leigh - What does the future hold for you and your books?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - If only I knew!  I hope very much that my memoir will reach as many people as possible who may benefit from it.

Nikki Leigh - What was the most successful thing you did to promote your books?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - I spoke about the book in several public forums.

Nikki Leigh - What makes this book special to you?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - The book is a memorial to my wonderful daughter; and the culmination of an intensely creative and therapeutic process in which I revisited and explored my own tragedy and its personal and philosophical implications in a way that can help other people deal with their own difficulties – all rolled into one.

Nikki Leigh - What sort of comments have you gotten about the content of the book?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - All the comments I’ve gotten have been very positive, and very intense.  A great many people have told me they couldn’t put it down – and many of those stayed up all night reading it.  Some have told me they found it uplifting or inspiring; others have thanked me for writing it and told me that it’s helped them deal with difficulties they are facing in their own lives, even if these difficulties are very different from those I describe in the memoir. No one has said anything noncommittal or polite, such as “it was interesting.”  Everyone has used expressions such as “beautifully written,” “powerful,” and “extremely moving.”

Nikki Leigh - What makes this a book that other people MUST read and WHY?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - Life is trauma.  All of us, at one time or another, must confront the loss of someone who is precious to us, or some aspect of our lives with which we find it difficult to part.  Many of us must also deal with the disruption of normal life that serious illness or disability brings with it.  My book both shows others that they are not alone in the emotional, physical, and family stress that inevitably accompanies these tragedies, and depicts how I personally have dealt with it.

Many people also struggle with their faith in a loving God under these circumstances.  My book deals with this question head-on.  Although the memoir deals specifically with my relationship with Judaism, and how it affected and was affected by the loss of my daughter, my reflections are relevant to people of all faiths.

Nikki Leigh - What people NEED to read this book and WHY?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - People need to be interested in entering into the book’s intense emotional world, as I pull no punches and describe my experiences and thoughts directly and honestly.

Nikki Leigh - What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own creativity?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - I wish I knew! I mostly find that sitting down and actually starting to write is the best spark to creativity, but (of course) it’s no guarantee.

Nikki Leigh - If a potential reader thinks that your book wouldn’t interest them, what would you say to convince them to buy? I’m thinking something better than “Its the greatest book ever.” Give me something more specific

Susan Petersen Avitzour - If you or someone you care for has ever faced extreme difficulty or loss, or if how others confront such difficulty or loss interests you, this book will speak to you. It also both tells my story in an emotionally evocative narrative, and reflects on it in a personal and philosophical journal, so that if you like either genre it has something for you.

Nikki Leigh - Did I miss anything you want to tell my blog readers?

Susan Petersen Avitzour - Readers are more than welcome to visit my blog, “Loving, Losing, and Living,” (http://www.fiveyearslater.blogspot.com/) where I continue to share my reflections on the subjects I touch on in the book, and (especially) on resilience – that stubborn refusal to let adversity get the best of us.

To learn more about Susan Avitzour, author of And Twice the Marrow of Her Bones, we invite you to visit her site – http://www.fiveyearslater.blogspot.com. For the full virtual tour schedule, visit http://bookpromotionservices.com/2011/01/06/twice-the-marrow-virtual-tour/

I admit – I’m a huge fan of the older movie stars and some of the old TV shows. I’ve had fun watching short excerpts from What’s My Line and want to share some of those. Here’s one for your watch enjoyment -

~*~

~*~

Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here’s Lucy and Life With Lucy. One of the most popular and influential stars in America during her lifetime, with one of Hollywood’s longest careers,^[2] especially on television, Ball began acting in the 1930s, becoming both a radio actress and B-movie star in the 1940s, and then a television star during the 1950s. She was still making films in the 1960s and 1970s.

Ball received thirteen Emmy Award nominations and four wins.^[3] She was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986 and the Governors Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1989.^[4]

In 1929, Ball landed work as a model and later began her performing career on Broadway using the stage name Dianne Belmont. She appeared in many small movie roles in the 1930s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures. Ball was labeled as the “Queen of the Bs” (referring to her many roles in B-films). In 1951, Ball was pivotal in the creation of the television series I Love Lucy. The show co-starred her then husband, Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo and Vivian Vance and William Frawley as Ethel and Fred Mertz, the Ricardos’ landlords and friends. The show ended in 1957 after 180 episodes. They then changed the format a little – lengthening the time of the show from 30 minutes to 60 minutes (the first one went 75 mins), adding some characters, altering the storyline somewhat, and renaming the show from “I Love Lucy”, to “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”, which ran for three seasons (1957–1960) and 13 episodes. Ball went on to star in two more successful television series: The Lucy Show, which ran on CBS from 1962 to 1968 (156 Episodes), and Here’s Lucy from 1968 to 1974 (144 episodes). Her last attempt at a television series was a 1986 show called Life with Lucy – which failed miserably after 8 episodes aired although 13 were produced.

Ball met and eloped with Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz in 1940. On July 17, 1951, almost 40 years old, Ball gave birth to their first child, Lucie Désirée Arnaz.^[5] A year and a half later, Ball gave birth to their second child, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV, known as Desi Arnaz, Jr.^[6] Ball and Arnaz divorced on May 4, 1960.

On April 26, 1989, Ball died of a dissecting aortic aneurysm, at age 77.^[7] At the time of her death, she had been married to her second husband, standup comedian and business partner Gary Morton, for twenty-eight years.^[8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_ball

Standing beside his father, Frank Lloyd Wright and watching the construction of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, John Lloyd Wright was inspired. Interlocking beams in the hotel’s basement were designed to handle the little “earthquake problem” that the hotel could encounter. John Lloyd thought, “what if children had a toy version of those beams, shaped like notched tree trunks to build little log homes”?

The architect’s son followed through on his inspiration and the John Lloyd Wright Company manufactured and sold Lincoln Logs from the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. The sets even came with instructions on how to build Uncle Tom’s Cabin as well as Abe Lincoln’s log cabin. Introduced in 1916, the Lincoln Log construction and figure sets came in two sizes available for $2 or $3 dollars.

But here’s the strangest part: the naming of the toy wasn’t a tribute to Honest Abe. It’s a homage to his father. Here’s the scoop: Frank Lloyd Wright was born Frank Lincoln Wright, but he legally changed his name when his parents split. So, Lloyd Jones was his mother’s maiden name and Frank’s name change was to honor her.In any case, whichever Lincoln the toy was honoring, we’re pretty sure Honest Abe would have gotten a kick out of the little logs.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/11738

Halle Berry custody battle re-opens ‘one drop rule’ debate

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