Whine and Cheese

Genealogy and genetics have always fascinated me. It probably started long before I even knew what genetics was really. Everyone always made comments about me and the twin whenever they were told we were twins. "Wow, they don't look anything alike," people would say. We were amazingly opposite in appearance back then, the twin being slim and having that blond (nearly white) hair and hazel eyes in contrast to my stocky build and dark hair and eyes. Yet, looking at other family members, I saw familiar pieces in them in each of us.

Considering that it is supposed to be a dominant genetic trait, the dark hair and eyes appear in very few of us. In the 21 kids in my generation, only three of us do not have blue eyes -- my sis, the twin, and me -- and only I have those nearly black eyes where the pupils are hard to see without a light. I could play a Star Trek Betazoid without the need for colored contact lenses (geek reference).

One of the big mysteries in my family was where this dark hair and eyes came from. There is a "vein" of people in the family who have these characteristics -- my great-grandmother, my grandfather (her son), my mom (his daughter) and me and my sister. Doing the family tree provided no clues as the documentation wasn't the best and my family has been here for 170+ years (in the same county no less). We long suspected that we had some Native American ancestry. There was also the possibility of some Portuguese descent that is relatively common in Eastern Kentucky, or African genes that could have been undocumented.

A couple of years ago, guinnesscub posted his results from his "23andMe" DNA test that provided some info about his genetic diversity, where genetically his ancestors hailed from based on his DNA. I thought that was pretty cool and wanted to do it for some time. The FDA cracked down on 23andMe because of some disease diagnostic stuff in their data, so they aren't doing the test right now until it gets cleared up.

So around Christmas time, I bought the AncestryDNA kit online and sent it off for testing. Well, the results are in:



The results are only estimates, but they provide some clues to things and offer up a few surprises that go against what I had anticipated. The largest percentage is Western Europe which is primarily the areas of France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, etc., but may also include England and Denmark. We don't have a lot of family names that reflect these areas, but maiden names are hard to find. Great Britain includes England, Wales and Scotland, which were no surprises as I knew of several ancestors from those areas, but the percentage was a bit lower than I expected. Ireland was not a surprise either, but the lower percentage was, as I'd always guessed we had a lot more Irish ancestry.

The "trace region" data is curious to me, especially the "Iberian peninsula" data, which includes Portugal and Spain. This may actually support that the dark hair and eyes could be from ancestry of this region, which also is thought to be the reason for the "Black Irish" phenotype in Ireland.

One of the biggest surprises was that I had no Native American or African DNA. Having Native American ancestry was always a family rumor, but it seems it was just a rumor now.

I'm glad I did this because it was fun and informative. However, I admit I am curious now what the 23andme data set would have said about me for comparison.

I managed to walk through two days of the Cincinnati Comic Expo and had a good time. I even talked longtime MIA cubtharsis into joining the melee.

The main attraction for me was meeting George Perez. I got there as it opened and made a bee line for his booth. There was a small line already, which quadrupled in minutes after I got there.

I normally don't get ga-ga over celebrities. I admire their work, but as a person I don't feel the need to get autographs or photos. George Perez is one of the very few I have dreamed of meeting. I've been a fan of his for over 30 years and have tried to emulate his work, his amazing sense of detail, etc. After two hours in line, I got to the table where I asked him to draw Marvel's Hercules. It took him four minutes and then got a photo with him with the drawing. Yeah, I'm acting like a goober, but it truly does reflect how I felt at that moment -- pure amazement. It was a bucket list moment for me.


George drawing Hercules, George and Me with the Hercules drawing, and George working on Firestorm for another attendee
We ran around for the rest of the day, buying comic books, tee-shirts and posters, and saying hi to other friends who were attending.

Afterward, we went to dinner then cubtharsis and I hit the USS Nightmare for a scare, caught up over coffee at Starbucks, and hit the 701 Bar for a beer. I got home at 1 AM, exhausted.

I went back to the Expo yesterday for a couple of hours. George Perez had a much shorter line on day two. I heard that the crowded line had already been there and gone that morning. I got back in line and watched him draw Aquaman for a pretty blonde lady. I thought about getting Wonder Girl or Troia drawn, but instead wanted the long-haired and bearded version of Aquaman instead (it fits the bearish theme of the art on my walls in my comic book room). It was amazingly detailed and just stunning. Both of the pieces I had him do are below:


Hercules and Aquaman
After all that walking around on concrete floors, running my usual four mile run, and my chest and back workout, I'm worn out. I took today off to recover, but it was a great weekend.

[happy comic geek mode]

After a late start to work and even later start heading home, I was happy to stop by my local comic book shop to pick up a few things.


I snagged a copy of Infinite Crisis #1. Great artwork by Phil Jimenez and awesome cover by George Perez.

No spoilers, but that last page... WOW!!!!

... I never thought I'd see him appear in comics again.... :)

[/happy comic geek]