BOOK REVIEW: Khyung The Stone Age Astronaut

by Dr. Derek Cunningham,
Clan Cunningham Historian

If you love a great mystery like I do, then your collection is not complete without this work! Especially if you have an open and inquisitive mind.

Do you have a proclivity for adventure? Do you enjoy travel, exploration, and the sciences? Then indulge yourself with the amazing research of Dr. Derek Cunningham in this fascinating book which not only reveals, but also ties together the cutting-edge technologies, as well as the historically significant locations of the ancient world.

Having visited some of the ancient wonders of the world myself... like the Greek Island of Santorini where one theory has it as the lost island of Atlantis, like the megalithic standing stone alignments, dolmens, and menhirs of France and Great Britain, and like having visited the Château Royal d'Amboise of French King François 1st who gifted his nearby Château de Clos-Lucé to Leonardo da Vinci (where this renaissance man of singular genius lived and worked from 1516 until his death on May 2, 1519) asking nothing in return but the pleasure of listening to Leonardo converse ...this book struck a special chord with me!

Astronomy was the equivalent of the 21st century GPS for the ancient traveler. Mythology to the ancients in all its globally disparate forms was tantamount to our modern history and cultural anthropology. Dr. Cunningham has investigated the diverse clues that remain from ancient civilizations, and through the application of the scientific method proposes an iconoclastic solution to one of the most intriguing, but least understood mysteries of our species; the origins of human civilization-- and conveys it in a delightfully entertaining manner!

A click on the Amazon link will allow you to purchase this book directly from the vendor.

Reviewed by Clan Cunningham Chairman, Larry Augsbury

Chairman Rides On... Following Bike Saga

Harley Does Right by Chairman

Vehicle City Harley-Davidson made right by their kilt-clad customer-- long-standing Clan Cunningham Chairman, Larry Augsbury, following an accident that occured during a test ride after minor routine maintenance service was performed on his bike; reducing it to a mere assemblage of spare parts and scrap metal!

Details about the resolution of the wrecked bike are available at the Bizscoop Customer Satisfaction web site by clicking on the following Bizscoop Customer Satisfaction report link.

How Safe's Your Harley at a Dealership?

Customer Satisfaction Report

Ever wonder what would happen to you and your valued bike if you left it with Vehicle City Harley-Davidson for service - or any other Harley-Davidson Dealership - and during a test ride by one of their employees it was involved in an accident in which the damage done to it rendered it a total loss according to insurance claims procedures?

My bike, shown at right, was totaled on 12/12/12 while on a test ride by a service technician of Vehicle City Harley-Davidson. See what kind of customer satisfaction Harley owners receive under these unfortunate circumstances by visiting the Bizscoop web site for all the details.

TURN OF THE TIDE Book Review

This book published in November 2012, is a masterful achievement in historical fiction that flows not unlike a Scottish burn, with all the undercurrents, subtleties, and smoothness of the finest single malt scotch. And like a wee dram of Laphroig 15 - which the connoisseur does not merely drink, but rather savors as an experience - so is one captivated by the storytelling and intrigue of this novel.

This story is expertly woven through just one pleat's worth of tartan fabric if the Cunningham-Montgomery feud were equivalent to a full nine yard kilt; the plot commencing with one of the most momentous events of the feud's duration… which was carried out as another one of the feud’s self-perpetuating reprisals.

The Clan Cunningham of today is resigned, in the Clan Cunningham of auld's role in this novel, to serve as the villain in this microcosm of time for its hands weren’t exactly clean throughout the ordeal. Which does not tarnish an otherwise honourable and esteemed legacy as evidenced over the course of its distinguished history under the leadership of its chiefs, the 15 Earls of Glencairn. One need only peruse the events surrounding the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488 to understand the passionate motivations of retribution which fueled this bitter rivalry with the great power and wealth surrounding the favour of the Scottish crown at stake!

A worthy addition to any literary collection, especially of the Scottish and Celtic genre.

Bravo, Margaret Skea!

After having had interest rekindled in the events during, and surrounding, the Cunningham-Montgomery feud by the reading of this book and its subsequent review published herein, the April 15, 2013, full-color, Clan Cunningham Communiqué international newsletter will likely feature this feud in a much broader scope. This review on our blog will also be reprinted and published in our January 15, 2013 issue and distributed to our current members with a world-wide membership of presently 994.

Reviewed by Clan Cunningham Chairman, Larry Augsbury

In spite of the risk to the scandalous Cunningham reputation that a modicum of magnanimity might do, nevertheless for our readers convenience, a click on the Book Depository link or Amazon link will allow you to purchase this book from either vendor.

New Forum Topics

Three new forum categories History, Origins, and Newsletter Articles have just been added to our Members Only FORUM for discussion amongst our international membership accessible at http://www.clancunningham.us/members/login.jsp.

Current topics under discussion include:

CLAN CUNNINGHAM HISTORY FORUM ~ Glengarnock

CLAN CUNNINGHAM ORIGINS FORUM ~ Origins article by Dr. Cunningham in Oct 15, 2010 international Communiqué newsletter.

CLAN CUNNINGHAM NEWSLETTER FORUM ~ Origins of Clan Cunningham : Volume 1 - Issue 37.

So log in and post your comments, or create your own new topic of discussion!

New Clan Cunningham Research Uncovers ORIGINS

Another Clan Cunningham exclusive publication, was distributed to our current members in our October 15, 2010 international quarterly newsletter, and posted in the Resource Library of our Members Only web environment accessible to current members at our Members Only portal.

This ground-breaking research is made public for the first time by Dr. Derek Cunningham which unlocks the mystery of the origins of Clan Cunningham previously relegated to myth and legend!

This first installment is just the tip of the Unicorn horn as the author reveals over the next year or two - exclusively through newsletter and web site publications of The Clan Cunningham Society - the missing links in the history and legacy of the Cunningham name! These publications are protected from plagarism and pirating infringement by copyright © 2010 Clan Cunningham Society of America, Inc., All Rights Reserved. (No part of these publications may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any Personal, Public, Nonprofit, or Commercial use without the expressed written permission of Larry A. Augsbury, High Commissioner & Chairman of the Clan Cunningham Society of America, Inc., or likewise from its author and CCSA member, Dr. Derek Cunningham.)

For more information contact us at Clan Cunningham, or join us in supporting Clan Cunningham with a membership to our society.

Tartan Day Celebration 2010 in France

Tartan Day France

by Dr. Doris Tucker, Director

Never one to be stimulated by routine, our High Commissioner took the Clan Cunningham Tartan Day celebration of 2010 to France. Filling the latest seat on the CCSA governing Board of Directors, I am delighted to continue my contributing role to the Clan Cunningham newsletter, and begin sharing our society news on this blog as well.

Larry spent three weeks in March visiting friends in Chambéry, la Côte Bleue, and la Vallée de Belleville in the French Alps where he wore his Clan Cunningham kilt on the slopes of Les Menuires and Val Thorens ski resorts. As you might expect, this sartorial attire drew many a curious gaze like the one from the gent in front of the "Danger Avalanches" sign (below). The kilt also prompted many a query like, "...so what part of Scotland are you from?" to which our Chairman replied, "the ancient District of Cvninghamia via Colorado!" By the end of the day after conversations and photos with the French, and skiers from all over Europe and Asia, Simone said in French, "Your kilt was a grand success today, Larry."

But, Larry wanted to hang-glide on skis like he did in France in 1990, only this time in kilt! After several inquiries, however, which led to the highest point at Val Thorens (left), he never found a pilot offering those services on that day! Nor was there any para-sailing to be found along the Côte Bleue of the Mediterranean. Ahh, but there was one last stop on this French Tartan Day celebration 2010. Of course, where else but the "City of Light - Paris!"

The world's most renown, and prestigious cabaret, the Moulin Rouge, has been operating now, spanning three centuries. They have a strict dress code of "elegant attire" required to dine and attend the show. Larry was pleased to learn that the kilt is welcomed as befitting their sartorial decorum. Our Chairman was so impressed with the cuisine, the ambiance, and the spectacle, that he considers it among his favorites alongside the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, Super Bowl XXX, and Riverdance. Although the Moulin Rouge also has a strict policy against photos in its establishment, there was nothing to deter the crowd outside where Larry was a subject in the foreground of many a photograph that evening following the performance, from where he composed this image to commemorate the event.

I was delighted to be part of the kilted Tartan Day celebration in Colorado 2010 at the Loveland ski area on April 10. Especially since Larry brought the lunch items which included many goodies from his French trip like P'tit Basque Pur Brebis cheese, French wine, baguettes, homemade sausage from Larry's own hands as apprentice sausagemaker!, (below) and raspberries in genuine homemade Savoyard eau de vie with all the French accessories, of course!

If you have an image of your Tartan Day 2010 celebration, please feel free to submit it for posting here, or send it to webmaster@clancunningham.us for publication consideration in our quarterly international newsletter, "The Communiqué," or on our web site.