Annibale Carracci The Farnese ceiling- 1597-1601 depicting the Loves of the Gods, ceiling frescoes in the Gallery, Palazzo Farnese, Rome.

     

Around the turn of the 1600s, a group of painters known as the Carracci were active in Italy, mostly in Bologna and Rome. This family workshop included Annibale Carracci, his brother Agostino, and their cousin Ludovico. Their work sits right on the edge between two periods: the late Mannerist style and the early Baroque. Some historians, like Marilyn Stokstad, categorize them firmly as Baroque artists, since most of their major projects happened right around 1600, which is generally considered the beginning of the Baroque era. For reference, the Baroque period usually spans from around 1600 to 1750, while the Renaissance is often said to begin with Giotto around 1300 and end around 1600.

The fresco was made for the Palazzo Farnese, which is a big Renaissance palace in the center of Rome, near the Tiber River. It was built for the Farnese family, one of the wealthiest and most powerful families of the time. The palace later became a kind of headquarters for French ambassadors, but in Carracci’s time, it was the home of Cardinal Odoardo Farnese. He was the patron of the fresco.

Cardinal Odoardo hired Carracci to paint the ceiling of a long upstairs room called the Galleria. This room opened onto a balcony and was used for gatherings and events. The fresco is called The Loves of the Gods. It shows scenes from ancient Roman mythology based on the writings of Ovid, a Roman poet. These scenes were not from the Bible. They were mythological, which was common in private art commissions, especially for people who wanted to show that they were educated in classical literature. At the same time, Church leaders were careful about what kinds of stories were told in religious spaces, but homes of cardinals often included both religious and classical themes.

One of the stories people sometimes talk about is how Carracci’s style was seen as a new direction for ceiling painting. He used a quadro riportato technique, where each scene looks like a framed painting on the ceiling instead of blending into the architecture. This was different from what Michelangelo had done on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, where the figures seem to float in space. Carracci’s style was more like looking up at paintings hanging above.

The ceiling is titled The Loves of the Gods, which tells us that the subject is not Christian. It’s based on stories from ancient mythology and shows different romantic or sexual encounters between gods. The painted scenes include many nude or partially nude figures, often shown in pairs. Surrounding them are small winged children called putti, which were commonly used in Renaissance and Baroque art to suggest love or playfulness. The lighting in the paintings is designed to match the natural light that would fall into the room, which helps the painted architecture blend with the actual space.

Carracci built on Michelangelo’s ceiling from the Sistine Chapel but added more complexity and visual effects, like painted frames and elaborate trompe l’oeil (illusionistic) details that make the ceiling appear like sculpted architecture. His figures are muscular and dynamic, similar to Michelangelo’s, and sometimes exaggerated in the same way. He was referencing and reworking Michelangelo’s style, especially in the way bodies are shown and arranged.

The overall mood of Carracci’s ceiling is sensual rather than moral. This separates it from earlier Renaissance ideals, especially those from 14th- and 15th-century Florence, where scholars and artists believed that studying humanities—like literature, history, and philosophy—would lead people to become more virtuous and wise. That kind of learning was closely tied to Christianity at the time. In contrast, The Loves of the Gods focuses on pleasure and mythology without trying to teach a religious lesson.

Carracci’s approach shares something with earlier artists like Correggio, who also painted mythological scenes with erotic overtones. One of Correggio’s famous paintings is Jupiter and Io, which shows the god Jupiter seducing the mortal woman Io. Paintings like these were often more about celebrating beauty or storytelling than promoting spiritual values.

Art historian Leo Steinberg introduced a theory called the “slung leg theory,” which he explained in a book. The idea is that when you see one person’s leg draped over another person in a painting, it’s a sign that the artist is suggesting sexual activity. In Carracci’s ceiling, there are several examples of this pose, such as in the scene with Venus and Anchises. The specific myth being illustrated doesn’t always matter—in many cases, these stories were chosen mostly as an excuse to paint sensual images.

One scene includes a male nude that looks like it was directly inspired by a figure from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. Carracci borrowed poses and figure types but reworked them in a mythological setting instead of a biblical one. So while he was still drawing on Renaissance art, he was also helping shift painting toward the Baroque period, which often emphasized movement, emotion, and theatricality.

 

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Appius Claudius Caecus

 

Appius Claudius Caecus

Most government officials in Rome were a kind of first citizen whose roles in the government were seen as a responsibility and a bit of an honor.  One of the important principals that influenced the Roman patricians was dignitas.  We don’t really have an equivalent in English for dignitas, but it was a kind of earned celebrity that was based in ethical, civic, and social behaviors that could distinguish a Roman.  It was also something that could easily be lost and it was impermanent.  One way to earn it and keep it, was to do great things for Rome.  Appius Claudius Caecus was a Roman censor who is a good example of dignitas.

The census involved assessing the wealth, property, and social status of Roman citizens to determine their tax obligations and military service eligibility. In addition to this, censors had the authority to revise the list of senators and equestrians, ensuring members met moral and legal standards. This gave them a significant role in shaping the political and social elite.  As censor in 312 B.C., Appius Claudius undertook ambitious projects like the Aqua Appia, Rome’s first aqueduct, the Via Appia, its first major road, and early improvements to the sewer system. These innovations were more than mere practical solutions to a growing city’s needs—they were statements of Rome’s ambition, resilience, and capacity for enduring greatness. Appius Claudius’ motivations, however, present a complex picture, intertwining civic-mindedness with calculated self-interest, a dynamic that finds a compelling parallel in Perikles of Athens.

Appius Claudius lived in a Rome on the cusp of expansion, where the demands of governance required vision and decisive action. His projects addressed critical needs: a stable water supply, better transportation for military and economic purposes, and improved sanitation. Yet these works were not solely pragmatic. They also served as tools to bolster his dignitas, the Roman concept of personal prestige tied to public service. By providing tangible benefits to the Republic, Appius Claudius not only met immediate needs but also left an indelible mark on Rome’s infrastructure and identity. This blend of civic service and self-promotion mirrors the achievements of Perikles, whose leadership in Athens a century earlier similarly fused public good with personal legacy.

The Romans developed cement by mixing lime, volcanic ash (pozzolana), and rubble, creating a material they called opus caementicium. This cement was highly durable, even hardening underwater, and became the foundation for much of their advanced construction. It enabled the creation of large and complex structures like arches, domes, and vaults.

Early forms of Roman concrete work included opus incertum, where irregular stones or rubble were set into cement, primarily for walls and foundations. As techniques advanced, they developed opus reticulatum, a more decorative style using square or diamond-shaped stones arranged in a net-like pattern. Later, they combined techniques for greater strength, such as opus latericium, which used bricks as facing, and opus mixtum, which mixed patterns like reticulatum with brick bands.

The Roman arch works by distributing weight evenly across its curved shape. Its key component is the keystone, the central wedge-shaped stone at the top of the arch. When the keystone is in place, it locks the other stones, called voussoirs, into position. The stones transfer the weight of the structure outward and downward, channeling it into the supports, or piers, on either side. This design allows arches to support heavy loads and span wide openings without collapsing.

The Roman arch was developed from earlier designs used by the Etruscans, who built true arches with voussoirs. The Romans refined the technique, using precisely cut stones and concrete to create durable structures. They applied this method to bridges, aqueducts, and monumental buildings, demonstrating the practical advantages of the arch. The efficiency of the Roman arch became the basis for larger engineering projects, including the construction of domes and vaults.

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Cup, c2600–2500 Mesopotamia/Sumerian from Nippur Now in the MET

 

Cup, c2600–2500 Mesopotamia/Sumerian from Nippur
Now in the MET

The cup, dating to approximately 2600–2500 BCE, originates from Nippur, an ancient city in Sumer, Mesopotamia, located in present-day Iraq. This piece, now part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a small and simple artifact, measuring 4.49 inches (11.4 cm) in height. It can be viewed through the museum’s online collection here.

Made from clay, the cup is unadorned and reflects a utilitarian purpose rather than ceremonial or funerary use. The surface appears smooth, likely the result of careful shaping and finishing before firing, though it retains the natural texture of its material without evidence of buffing or polishing. The lack of painted decoration or intricate designs indicates it was probably crafted for everyday use, serving practical needs in a household or community setting rather than as a grave good or symbolic object.

The cup’s form is simple, with a functional shape designed for holding liquids or small quantities of substances. It lacks representational or abstract designs, and no space or forms are delineated on its surface. This contrasts with more elaborately decorated pottery from the same period, which often includes geometric or symbolic patterns. The absence of such detail underscores the cup’s everyday function, aligning it with items used in the daily life of ancient Sumerians rather than in ritualistic or high-status contexts.

Its historical context provides further insight into its role and significance. Nippur was a major religious and cultural center in Sumer, and objects like this cup would have been part of the material culture of its inhabitants. While some artifacts from this era were included as grave goods, this cup’s simplicity and lack of adornment suggest it was not created for ceremonial or afterlife purposes. Instead, it likely reflects the everyday tools of ordinary Sumerians, offering a glimpse into daily life in an early Mesopotamian city-state.

Provenance is the history of ownership and origin of an artifact, tracing where it came from, who owned it, and how it ended up in its current location. It’s important because it helps establish an artifact’s authenticity, cultural context, and legal ownership, while also providing insight into its historical and archaeological significance.

The provenance of the cup ties it to Nippur, a site extensively excavated by archaeologists since the late 19th century. Many artifacts from Nippur, including this cup, were removed during these excavations and distributed to museums worldwide. While this has raised ethical questions about the removal of cultural heritage, such objects have allowed for significant advances in the study of Mesopotamian history and daily life. The cup remains in good condition, with no visible signs of significant restoration, reflecting the durability of the fired clay and the care with which it was made.

Although the cup’s maker is unknown, it was likely crafted under conditions typical of early Sumerian pottery production, involving skilled artisans who shaped and fired clay by hand or with rudimentary tools. Its lack of decoration does not diminish its historical value, as it provides important evidence of the practical objects used by ancient Sumerians in their daily lives.

Clay and the Development of Pottery

Clay and the Development of Pottery

Pottery has always been one of the earliest crafts developed by ancient cultures due to its practical uses. In Mesopotamia, clay and mud were abundant resources, really the only resources, thanks to the region’s geography. The prevalence of reeds suggests that the people of Mesopotamia may have also had a strong weaving tradition, which could have influenced the decorative patterns seen on some pottery.

The earliest pottery was created using the coil method, where clay was shaped into vessels by layering coils of clay and smoothing them together. These early pots were fired at low temperatures, making them relatively fragile. Everyday pottery was often simple and undecorated, while vessels intended for tombs or special purposes featured more elaborate designs. Over time, advancements in technique led to the coil and turn method, in which a pot was rotated slowly (using a rudimentary wheel-like device) to shape and join the coils more precisely. The potter’s wheel, as we know it today, was a later innovation.

Decorated pottery in ancient Mesopotamia was incised, etched with patterns, or finished with glazes. Much of this decorated pottery is classified as slipware, which refers to ceramics coated with a thin liquid clay mixture (slip) or a similar material called engobe:

• Slip: A mixture of clay and water applied to pottery for decoration or as an adhesive layer. Slip can be colored or left natural and typically provides a smooth surface for additional decoration.
• Engobe: A type of colored slip mixed with metallic oxides or other pigments. It is more opaque than regular slip and is often used to create a base coat or decorative designs before firing.

Examples of Ancient Pottery

            Pottery is a great starting point for understanding ancient cultures, and there are several reasons why it’s so important. For one, pottery is one of the most common artifacts found in archaeological digs. It’s incredibly durable—made from fired clay, which can last for thousands of years. Even when broken, archaeologists and curators can often reassemble the pieces to study their original form. Pottery offers insights into everyday life, showing us what people used for cooking, storage, and rituals, as well as what they considered visually significant or beautiful.

The four pots I’m introducing here highlight a range of uses, from practical to decorative. They also show how pottery designs reflect broader cultural patterns. The decorations and imagery on these vessels, such as incised patterns or painted motifs, often resemble or overlap with forms seen in other media, such as cuneiform. Through pottery, we can see connections between functional objects and the symbolic or artistic traditions of the cultures that made them.

Many of the pottery pieces and artifacts we study were found in funerary contexts, meaning they were recovered from burial sites or tombs. These artifacts were often created for significant individuals, though occasionally items from the tombs of less prominent figures have also been preserved. The state and decoration of the pottery—whether simple or elaborate—help us understand not only the daily routines of the people who used it but also their spiritual or cultural practices surrounding death and the afterlife.

Navajo Textiles

 

Textiles

Textiles are an important part of Navajo culture.  Textiles are evidence of cultural and geographic changes.  Textiles preserve many of the rituals, symbols, and stories of the Navajo.  

The Navajo people have experienced multiple forced relocations in their history, including in the 1860s and 1974:

1860s

In the 1860s, the U.S. Army used a scorched-earth policy against the Navajo, burning their homes and fields, and killing or stealing their livestock. In 1864, the U.S. Army forced around 9,000 Navajo to march over 300 miles from Fort Defiance, Arizona to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico for internment. This forced march, known as "The Long Walk", was intended to be a reservation, but instead functioned as an internment camp where soldiers prevented the Navajo from leaving. The Navajo were given inadequate resources and faced a dark period known as "The Fearing Time". Four years later, the U.S. established the Navajo Indian Reservation, allowing the tribe to return to their homeland.

1974

The Land Settlement Act of 1974 divided 1.8 million acres of jointly owned Navajo-Hopi land in northern Arizona, creating an artificial boundary that required families to relocate. The law made eligible families eligible for relocation expenses, and the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation was created to carry out the relocation. By 2018, over 3,600 families had relocated, and the office was still operating.

Navajo weaving has a history that dates back at least 300 years, with written records dating back to the early 18th century. The tradition began when the Navajo, a semi-nomadic tribe that settled in the American Southwest in the 10th and 11th centuries, learned from the Hopi how to weave. The introduction of sheep by Spanish colonizers in the 1500s provided a steady supply of wool, revolutionizing the weaving process.  

Navajo women, who owned the sheep in their matriarchal society, were the primary weavers. They initially wove women's dresses by sewing two blankets together, eventually evolving into single blankets, or mantas, and then Chief's blankets. Navajo blankets were originally used for clothing and for trade with the Spanish and Plains Indians. In fact, in the past, a Navajo woman couldn't marry a man unless she could weave him a beautiful blanket. 

As the need for warm blankets diminished, Navajo weavers began to create decorative rugs and tapestries, known for their distinct style and colors. Over time, Navajo rugs became more diverse and sought after, with some pieces selling for over $100,000 at auction.

The first blankets were traditional geometric designs that were almost neutral in terms of meaning.  Many were based on geometric designs representing natural elements and possibly alluding to the story of the Spider Woman who taught weaving to the Hopi and Navajo.  However, around 1910 the US government introduced French Rambouillet sheep to the reservation to increase meat and fleece production. However, the quality of the wool was poor, making it difficult to clean, and some weavers lost interest in the process.  However, two things occurred with industrialization and tourism. 

 

2 Navajo Eye Dazzler Blanket 1880's

The arrival of railroads brought an influx of tourists seeking authentic Navajo textiles as souvenirs. This demand sparked a transformation in the weaving industry, as commercially produced and dyed wool became readily available. The introduction of higher-quality wool and vibrant colors revolutionized the craft, making the blankets more desirable and valuable. This shift led to significant financial gains for the weavers and paved the way for the mass production of blankets for export, catapulting Navajo textiles into the global market.

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Shortly after 1910, Hosteen Klah began weaving blankets that, for the first time, incorporated ritual designs. One of the earliest examples of these depicted a ceremonial dance and sacred masks worn by the dancers. This was highly controversial and some of the other clan elders condemned it as sacrilegious.

In 1911, Hosteen Klah created a controversial blanket featuring Yei Be Chei dancers and sacred masks. Local singers deemed it sacrilegious and demanded that Klah perform a ceremony to expel evil spirits and destroy the weaving. Instead, Klah sent the blanket to Washington, DC, without facing any consequences.  

Hosteen Klah, a renowned Navajo artist and spiritual leader, is widely recognized as an intersex individual, born with physical characteristics that don't fit typical male or female classifications. This aspect of Klah's identity is significant, as it empowered him to bridge traditional gender roles in his community. In Navajo culture, weaving is typically considered a female activity, while chanting is seen as a male domain. Klah's intersex status enabled him to transcend these gender boundaries, exceling as both a weaver and a chanter. His unique perspective and abilities allowed him to create exquisite sandpainting rugs and perform important ceremonial chants, leaving a lasting legacy in Navajo art and spirituality.

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Six years later, Klah shared his cultural heritage with Franc Newcomb, the wife of trader Arthur Newcomb. After witnessing a Nightway ceremony, she became dedicated to helping Klah preserve Navajo traditions through various art forms. Franc attempted to recreate the sandpainting designs from memory but struggled. Klah sketched them for her in pencil, which she then translated into watercolor reproductions. To avoid offending other Navajo, she displayed them in her bedroom. Encouraged by the lack of repercussions, Klah created 27 more paintings for her.

In 1919, Klah began weaving sandpainting rugs based on his ceremonial chants. His first piece, a whirling log design from the Nightway ceremony, marked the beginning of a new art form. Over the years, Klah collaborated with non-Navajo scholars, sharing his songs, ceremonies, stories, and sand paintings. Although his Navajo student, Beaal Begay, passed away in 1931, Klah continued to work with his nieces, Gladys and Irene, creating over 70 sandpainting weavings between 1919 and 1937. These artworks preserved the ceremonial sand paintings for future generations.

One of Klah's collaborators was Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who founded the Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art in 1937. With the Newcombs' introduction, Wheelwright recorded many of Klah's songs and established the museum to safeguard his medicine knowledge and sacred objects.

The design on these rugs is a good example of Navajo weaving because it’s the end result of the contextual, formal, and symbolic elements are shared by many of the sand paintings and blankets from the 19th through today. 

It is flat, stylized and almost diagrammatic in its rendering.  Although it contains forms based on nature, it is neither illusionistic or naturalistic.  There is no creation of depth or space, all the elements are pushed up against the front of the picture plane.  The composition is radially symmetrical.  The blanket made in the 1930s uses a less saturated or intense pallet of colors, but the one on the right uses more intense or saturated colors.  The change in color is probably the result of changes in taste, possibly to make the blanket more salable, and the availability of commercially dyed wool. 

The symbolism and content of the image also relates to the religion, ritual, and story telling of the Navajo.  It portrays a story called the Whirling Logs.

The Whirling Log episode is a pivotal element in the Nightway chant, appearing on the sixth night, as well as in the Feather or Plumeway and Waterway chants. This iconic sandpainting is also referred to as the Floating Logs episode.

In the sandpainting, four gods are depicted clockwise from the top:

- Talking God (B'ganaskiddy), the teacher

- Calling God (Hastye-o-gahn), associated with farming and fertility

- Two humpbacked guardians, dressed alike, representing seed gatherers and bearers

The gods carry prayer sticks, while Talking God also holds a medicine pouch in the shape of a weasel. The sandpainting shows the hero's encounter with a whirling cross, where he learns about farming and receives seeds from the Yei pair (male and female deities). The plants - corn, beans, squash, and tobacco - are depicted in the four sacred colors (white, blue, yellow, and black) according to their cardinal positions.

The Rainbow Yei, a guardian god, is portrayed on the right side, bottom, and left side of the sandpainting. A blue circle may be drawn at the intersection of the cross, representing the whirlpool that was the hero's destination. In Navajo sand paintings, figures typically move towards the sunrise or clockwise, with the east (top) being the orientation of the hogan's door, symbolizing the dawn's light.

The Whirling Log is a sacred symbol in Navajo culture that represents wellbeing, good luck, and protection. It's one of the oldest symbols depicted by humans, with recordings in rock and cave paintings dating back at least 6,000 years. Navajos used sand paintings to portray the Whirling Log in their religious ceremonies until the late 1800s, and by 1896 the symbol was also appearing on Navajo rugs. Some weavers still incorporate the Whirling Log into their textiles today.

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Art of the Northwest Coast

 

Tlingit Clan House

The idea of animal symbols relating to family lineage and name is part of the iconography of the art.  The exteriors of many of the plank houses are decorated with recognizable animals, such as ravens, eagles, frogs, bears, etc.  The use of animal symbols relates to the naming and status of the individuals who use the structure.  The central pillars of the house, the poles carved with totemic symbols or crests, is a stacking or combining of lineage and naming.  Sometimes, the doorways are portals that are metaphors for birth or transformation. 

Both the Tlingit Clan House and the Tlingit Grizzly Bear House Partition Screen, are a part of or a work of decorative architecture.  The clan house is made of planked and carved wood which is then painted.  The facade (front or facing) of the building is decorated with stylized anthropomorphic (human) and zoomorphic (animal like) forms

The decorations are sometimes enhanced by incising or carving lines around the forms in a type of relief sculpture.  Relief sculpture is when the features are attached or engaged with the surface they are carved from.  In this case the relief is very low (bass relief) and doesn’t project much from the surface.

The features and animal’s anatomy are unrealistic. They are not naturalistic even though they are based on animals and forms found in nature.  They look a bit like a cartoon depiction and are stylized in a way that was invented by the cultures that produced them.

The stylized and outlined renderings or design of these forms, according to art historian Marilyn Stokstad, consists of "two basic elements: the ovoid, a slightly bent rectangle with rounded corners, and the formline, a continuous shape-defining line."  The ovoid form is a stylized in a geometric fashion.  The formline could also be referred to as a contour line.  Both the partition and the facade of the clan house are symmetrical.  The doorway is at the center of the design. 

Tlingit, Grizzly Bear House, c 1840 cedar paint and human hair

Another shared element of art from the Northwest Coast is that there are images of faces and animals combined or placed within the bodies and forms of the largest creatures.  In the Grizzly Bear Partition, there are faces within the hands, eyes, and nose of the bear.  It is possible that this compounding of images is related to lineage in the same way that the stacking of crest animals in the poles is a kind of “family tree.”  It may also be related to the ideas of the spirit or soul of the animal being anthropomorphic or made up of another creature inside another.  Like the pine needle inside the Princess.  There are also shaman or priests who believe that they can transform or wear the body of an animal and travel about in it. 

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The house may be a symbol of transformation or birth.  In the case of the Grizzly Bear screen the doorway is place where a vagina is located.  Moving through the doorway is then a symbol of birth.  Some houses openings are painted to look like the mouths of animals and or birds.  Some are even hinged beaks.  The houses then consume or eat the person who enters the structure.  These kinds of visual metaphors of consumption are part of the Raven story.  At one point the princess consumes the Raven as a pine needle and then gives birth to him.  After the Raven steals the planets and releases them, he escapes from the King’s house and is reborn and transformed into a black bird. 

The totem poles and compound imagery of the partition and facade represent the history of the clan.  Each image represents the lineage of the clan that uses the house.  Each of the animals is associated with a society, family, or grouping.

Houses such as the one above were communal dwellings.  The screen at left was used to divide the chief's living area from the rest of the community.  Houses were also used as ceremonial centers in which special festivals such as the Potlatch and Hamatsa ceremonies were held.  The Potlatch was an elaborate feasting, dancing, and gathering that lasted for several days.  Often dancing societies, each with its own crests and dances, would perform and reenact important stories or histories central to the culture.  Gifts were exchanged and dances were performed.  The most powerful individuals were the ones who gave the feast and in some ways the festival was an elaborate way in which the participants battled in an economic fashion.  In 1885, the federal government enacted a law prohibiting the Potlatch, claiming that the Kwakwaka'wakw were harming themselves economically.

During the Potlach ceremonies, there are dancers who wear masks and costumes that depict supernatural creatures and reenact the stories that are associated with them.  The function of these performance and story telling is a way of unifying the culture the culture, keeping ideas alive, communicating cultural values.  They also entertain.  Two characters, Bakwas and his wife Dzunukwa are probably cautionary tales similar to ghost stories like La Llorona in Mexico.  La Llorona is a story that warns kids to stay home at night and keeps them away from water where they might drown.  In the case of Bakwas and Dzunukwa, the two are also ghosts.  They might have the benefit of communicating “stranger danger” to children and to warn children against wandering too far from home, accepting food from strangers and keeping them from places where the children could easily drown.

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Nuance Software (Dragonspeak) be careful!

Anyone using an old version of Dragonspeak dictation software by Nuance? Careful about reinstalling a legacy version!

I have been uaing Dragonspeak for years. Version 13.0.  When I bought a new computer, I tried installing the legacy version. I had everything, the serial number, activation key, everything.  Here's the tricky part.

After I installed it and clicked on the link within the program, it brought me to a website to register and or activate it.  The website had somehow hacked or diverted an address for the 5 year old version and was attempting to install malware. 

I Googled customer support and stupidly clicked on a "sponsored site" on Google, called the help line and it was a hacking scam. I didn't fall for it but the site and the scammer were really good and professional sounding. Still with me?

I found the right number on a Nuance site (not Dragonspeak) and asked for help with version 13.0.  They said no. Buy the newer $700 version. They don't support old software.

Okay.

Then I told them about the fake clone sites and the attempted scams. I tried to give them URLs etc. They clearly didn't care and I'm sure they thought I was too much trouble. I guess I'll never use a Nuance product again.