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EVERYTHING YOU NEVER NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT THE 4TH OF JULY

7/3/2020

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Since Fourth of July is upon us, I’m blogging about US Independence Day. I try to be timely by recognizing and writing blogs about holidays and observance days that we hold dear in the United States…or not so dear, as it appears sometimes.

But alas, after I did some preliminary research, I realized there isn’t much to write about the Fourth of July that everyone doesn’t already know. Or so I thought!
                                              Image credit: Library of Congress
▲Photo source: nashvillelife.com/4th-of-July                                                         Photo source: loc.gov/exhibits/treasures ▼ 
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HAVE YOU READ “THE DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE” RECENTLY?
Listening to the news over the last several months, I’ve wondered what the words “independence” and “freedom” mean to the people of the United States. We all seem to have our own version, and sometimes they are incompatible.

I’m willing to bet that only a small percentage of Americans have read the Declaration of In-dependence in the last ten years; a few, never.

According to some historians, it is the most important document ever written in this country; even more important than the Constitution, because it identifies the principles by which this nation holds together. Right now we need to be held together more than ever before. We only have ourselves to do that.

Read it. You may find out it does or doesn’t say some of the things you think it does. The word ”independence” isn’t even in the adopted title. Still, the words continue to resonate in the 21st century as fundamental truths.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT FOURTH OF JULY
Although articles are often entitled “fun facts”, they are usually “interesting” facts about the holiday. I did learn a few thing I never knew or didn’t remember after a hiatus of sixty years…and it’s always interesting to see how many “known facts” on the internet disagree with each other.
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​JUST LIKE TODAY, IT WAS ALL ABOUT TAXES
"Taxation without representation!"

At the beginning of the Revolutionary War [April 1775], not many of the colonists wanted complete separation from Great Britain, but gradually the population began to favor complete independence. You all remember that, right?

Of course you do. And you remember, when Richard Henry Lee introduced his motion to the Continental Congress for independence, it was tabled and a five-man committee appointed (Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York) to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain. Maybe you recall hearing that, too.

On July 2nd, 1775, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (NY delegation abstained) and on July 4th, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, written primarily by Thomas Jefferson.                  “Declaration of Independence” painting by John Trumbull 1818
                                                                                                                                                   ▼   Photo source: acei-global.blog/facts-about-the-4th-of-july
FACTS YOU’LL NEVER NEED ABOUT JULY FOURTH
I found these facts interesting although not of monumental significance in terms of the history of the United States. They are in no particular order and, as you can see, are not particularly memorable.

● John Adams believed July 2nd was the correct date on which to celebrate the birth of American independence, and would reportedly turn down invitations to appear at July 4th events in protest.
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● John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only two signers of the Declaration of Independence who later became presidents, both died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
◄​ Photo source: acei-global.blog/facts-about-the-4th-of-july
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● According to the editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, “Jefferson’s inveterate shyness prevented him from playing a significant role in the debate within Congress. John Adams, a leader in those debates, remembers that Jefferson was silent even in committee meetings, though consistently staunch in his support of independence…”  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Declaration-of-Independence
That was news to me. I never thought of Jefferson as being shy.
◄Jefferson’s portrait painted by Charles Wilson Peale, 1791
Photo source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Declaration-of-Independence
● “Only two Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The majority of signers penned their signatures on August 2, 1776.” http://www.rfdtv.com/story/32328872/4th-of-july-fun-facts#.WwhI_0gvzcc

Or was it only one?

● “Only John Hancock actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. All the others signed later.” https://acei-global.blog/2013/07/03/20-fun-facts-about-the-4th-of-julyindependence-day/
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● The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 men from 13 colonies. Of those 56, eight were born in Great Britain.
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● Benjamin Franklin, the oldest signer of the Declaration of Independence [70 at the time], proposed the turkey as the national bird but was overruled by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who recommended the bald eagle.

● The youngest signer was Thomas Lynch, Jr. [27] of South Carolina. https://acei-global.blog/2013/07/03/20-fun-facts-about-the-4th-of-julyindependence-day/
Or was he?
● “…Edward Rutledge was the youngest at age 26.” http://thepioneerwoman.com/fun-and-learning/twenty-interesting-things-about4th-of-july/

● The original draft of the Declaration of Independence was lost. http://www.rfdtv.com/story/32328872/4th-of-july-fun-facts#.WwhI_0gvzcc   Library of Congress   
Oh, well. I’m sure they have a copy of the one that was adopted and signed.

● Congress made Independence Day an official unpaid holiday for federal employees in 1870. It didn’t become a federal paid holiday until 1938.

● The first Independence Day celebration took place in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. This was also the day that the Declaration of Independence was first read in public after people were summoned by the ringing of the Liberty Bell.
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● The Liberty Bell was cast at London’s Whitechapel Bell Foundry. It arrived in Philadelphia in August, 1752. The metal was too brittle and it cracked during the test strike. It was recast twice by local workmen. In its early years the bell was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens about public meetings and proclamations.

● Every 4th of July the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is tapped [not actually rung] thirteen times in honor of the original thirteen colonies.

Photo Credit: posted to Flickr by Tony the Misfit at flickr.com/photos/
Photo source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liberty_Bell_2008.jpg

● The tune of the National Anthem was originally an English drinking song called “To Anacreon in Heaven.” The words have nothing to do with consumption of alcohol but the “melody that Francis Key had in mind when he wrote those words did originate decades earlier as the melody for a song praise of wine.”  http://www.colonialmusic.org/Resource/Anacreon.htm

READ THE DOCUMENT. THEN GO CELEBRATE THAT YOUR LIVE HERE.
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Sources:
https://parade.com/24863/kenjennings/america-101-take-our-fourth-of-july-quiz/
https://acei-global.blog/2013/07/03/20-fun-facts-about-the-4th-of-julyindependence-day/
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/july-4th
http://www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth/history/history-independence-day/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/02/fireworks-american-history_n_5552960.html
https://acei-global.blog/2013/07/03/20-fun-facts-about-the-4th-of-julyindependence-day/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/fun-and-learning/twenty-interesting-things-about4th-of-july/
http://www.rfdtv.com/story/32328872/4th-of-july-fun-facts#.WwhI_0gvzcc
2020
https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-life-real-independence-day-tt-0702-20190702-l3vl5kijdzci3jhbkbrecfaz2m-l3vl5kijdzci3jhbkbrecfaz2m-story.html
https://www.dtnext.in/Lifestyle/Spirituality/2018/08/13022008/1084010/What-is-the-true-meaning-of-independence.vpf
https://news.emory.edu/stories/2014/06/er_pursuit_of_happiness/campus.html
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-what-independence-day-really-means-20190704-teue64vyz5getk4jaq4v3z2qxe-story.html
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1776-1785/the-final-text-of-the-declaration-of-independence-july-4-1776.php
https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/declaration-of-independence
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1776-1785/jeffersons-draft-of-the-declaration-of-independence.php#par1
http://nashvillelife.com/Nashville-4th-of-July-Parades  
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/uc004215.jpg|
https://acei-global.blog/2013/07/03/20-fun-facts-about-the-4th-of-julyindependence-day/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liberty_Bell_2008.jpg

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WRITING A BOOK REVIEW

6/26/2020

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I’ve been thinking about adding Book Reviews to my website. Because I have not written many, I started analyzing reviews on various websites to determine what to think about while l’m reading a novel.
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The first thing I discovered is that you need a different mindset; reading for pleasure and reading to write a review are different. The second; many reviews don’t say much other than repeat what is written on the book jacket, or that the reader liked or didn’t like the book.

I needed to do some research and find out what the “experts” believe should be in a good book review.
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GENERAL GUIDELINES
After reading “how to” articles by a number of experts on book reviews, there were several things that all of them advised. Like everything else, most of the rules of thumb are just common sense – but common sense isn’t so common. Each of us needs to be reminded of every now and then. Remember, there are differences between books reviews of fiction and non-fiction. I am focusing on review of novels.

● Good Reviews are a lot of work.

● Be brief / pithy
In most cases, less than a thousand words.

● Target type and length of review to the place to be published/ sent
Goodreads, Amazon, and others have specific guidelines for reviews. Don’t use the same review for all sites. Write separate reviews.

● Prepare before reading the book
In order to write a good and complete review, you need to prepare yourself beforehand and know what you are looking for as you read.

● Review the novel you read, not the novel you wish the author had written.

● Remember, you are writing the review for the reader, not the author.

PREPARE TO READ THE NOVEL
Before reading the novel, decide whether or not you intend to write a review. Reading a novel for pleasure first, and then deciding to review either produces a less helpful review or requires more work.

● Determine how you will keep notes. It’s useful to note passages that demonstrate points in your review.

● Think about the genre of the novel and what expectations readers have for that genre. You are looking for whether or not the genre is correct.

● Consider what the title suggest to you. You may need to advise the reader.

● Be clear on what you are going to consider while you are reading the novel.

I love lists, so I have created my own checklist for these items with space to record my thoughts and examples as I read. I find the process similar to preparing to judge a context.
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​CONSIDER WHILE READING THE NOVEL
These and other appropriate questions should be kept in mind while reading. Note the places in the book which are outstanding or letdowns.

● Can you envision the setting, time period, atmosphere or mood, the season? Can you put yourself into the story?
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● What is the story about? How soon do you know what it’s about?
My own two cents: By the end of the first chapter, the reader should know what kind of novel it is, the mains characters (or at least one of them), and the first goal. The protagonists’ goals may change through the course of the novel, but there should be an initial goal.

● How is viewpoint handled and does that contribute to or detract from the story?

● Are the characters well-drawn and multi-layered? Believable? Likeable? Not particularly likeable, but intriguing? Which characters move the story?

● Is dialogue believable?

● What is the theme? How many pages does it take to really understand the theme of the novel? What elements make this apparent to the reader.

● How does the story begin: action or description? What elements are introduced to the reader in the first chapter? Is there a good hook?

● Does the genre seem to be appropriate for the story?

● Are the loose ends tied up before the end of the novel?

● Is the conclusion / resolution satisfactory?
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WRITE THE REVIEW

Gather your notes and thoughts
At this point you might want to think about your reaction to the overall experience. -- how you feel about the novel and why? Then review your notes.

● Is there a particular audience that the novel would, or would not, appeal to?

● What is the overall tone of the novel? Suspenseful? Thrilling? Melancholy? Reflective? Humorous? Pedantic? Heartfelt? This give the reader an idea of what to expect from the novel. The tone may not be spelled out, but should be clear by the tone of the review.

● How would you describe the author’s writing style?

● Is it well-edited? Are their inconsistencies in the storyline?

● Does the novel “feel” as though it needs more work?

● How does this book compare to other works of the author? Same themes?

Identify concrete examples and/or quotes which illustrate what you liked and disliked about the work.

Contents of the Review
Experts are consistent with what should be in the review, in general terms, but often define those differently.
One expert recommends the reviewer “Have an opinion. Even if your opinion is totally middle-of-the-line — you didn’t hate the book but you didn’t love it either — state that clearly, and explain why.”

● Title, author, and genre

● A brief synopsis of the storyline
Be sure to avoid major reveals or spoilers. Write in your own words and don’t just copy the book jacket. The synopsis sets the stage and gives the reader a sense of the book without explaining how the central issue is resolved.
The summary should also include (but without spoilers or story ending):
▪ The genre
▪ Theme
▪ Setting
▪ Main conflict
▪ Main characters
Exactly how much of the story should be contained in the review varies depending on the expert, but they all agree on “No spoilers”. Reedsy.com recommends not mentioning anything that happens beyond the midpoint of the novel.

● Critique / Evaluation
Dudleycourtpress.com says, “As a critical assessment, a book review should focus on opinions, not facts and details.”
A good review shares the reviewer’s good and bad experiences with the novel. Be honest but avoid being rude, offensive, and insensitive. Give an honest appraisal of the book from your perspective, and tell the reader the reasons you reacted that way. Any the considerations touched on above are appropriate for the critique, but only those that apply. Keep it short.

This is where you can use examples or quotes from the book to demonstrate what you liked and disliked.
Also, comments on the author’s other works might fit here or in recommendation, such as: “If you liked Jane Doe’s Bridges, you will enjoy River.”

● Recommendation
You don’t have to write, “I recommend…” Your opinions and recommendation should be clear by now if you have woven them into the text and selected words carefully.
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Praising the author is up to the reviewer, but only when they deserve it. Don’t sound like you are “sucking up”.
Identify which audience would appreciate the book, which wouldn’t.
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THE PITFALLS
Jay A. Fernandez, professional writer and editor, writing for Lithub.com/13-common-mistakes, lists thirteen common pitfalls in writing reviews. I’m sure there are a lot more, but keeping track of these is enough to keep you busy.

Length of the review has already been mentioned, but here are some of Fernandez’s others.
● “Grandiose claims
Beginning a review with a hyperbolic sentiment may sound good, but what does it actually mean?”
Personally, I would throw into this category of mistake statements like “This book changed my life.” I doubt that rarely happens in the short run.

● “Lack of clarity”

● “Repetitiveness and redundancy
This typically stems from your impulse to make sure the reader cannot possibly miss the incredibly insightful point you’re making.”

● “Casual narcissism
There’s a curious paradox at play with this one, and I see it all the time. Yes, you’re the one reviewing the book. Congratulations! But, for goodness sake, you don’t need to call attention to it.”

● “Over-explication of plot
Describe like dimensions of a pool without letting reader jump in the water.”
I really like this analogy.

● “Nonsensical arguments
This is not the same thing as lack of clarity, though they can overlap. One involves employing unnecessarily florid language and galloping sentence construction to obscure a perfectly good point, while the other was never a worthy point to begin with.”

● “Self-flattering literary references
I would suggest that you avoid throwing in those references to Heraclitus and Anna Akhmatova unless you’re sure they’re organic. Often they have only the most tenuous relevance to the point at hand. Their only purpose is to show the reader that you are a reviewer with a breadth of knowledge…”

● “Limiting assumptions
Let your deft description of plot and sharp analysis of the strengths and flaws of the writer’s work lead the reader to decide for themselves whether the book is going on the Buy Now list.”
This point is a bit inconsistent with advice of other experts to mention which audiences would and wouldn’t like the novel, but I strongly agree with good plot description and good analysis letting the reader decide. But what do I know?

● “Structural Seizeure
Make it flow A review that has random blocks of plot description dumped here and there, out of order, requires the reader to do too much work sussing out what’s happening.”

● “Inconsistent Pronouns
In making reference to the potential reader of the novel (and reader of the review), too often the reviewer uses a mix of pronouns that is disorienting. If you’re sometimes referencing “you” and sometimes “we” and other times “one” and somewhere else “reader” or “readers,” it’s sloppy and confusing.”
Never use “I” in a review. It is not about the reviewer. That I get, but I don’t believe readers of reviews get that confused with these “inconsistencies.” I believe some of them coming from an effort to avoid repeating the same words over and over and over.
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● “Lack of criticism
Unmitigated praise is logically absurd. Every work of writing has its weaknesses, especially once personal tastes are factored in. It is your job to point to them, in a clear-eyed but tactful (and tactical) fashion that measures the work against reasonable standards for literature and/or its genre. If the prospect of hurting an author’s feelings causes you to hesitate, that’s a good sign that you’re likely to be respectful. If you aren’t willing to run that risk at all, you oughtn’t be reviewing books.”
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​CONFLICT OF INTEREST
This is another of Fernandez’s pitfalls.
“Do not review anything by anyone you know or have had more than glancing contact with in your professional or personal life. The reason for this should be obvious. Otherwise authors may as well get their mothers to write the reviews. This goes for grudges, too.”

I believe Conflict of Interest warrants a section of its own. At one time, Amazon actually encouraged authors to have their friends use the Customer Discussions feature to promote their book, but that has changed.

Reviews by family, friends, and other authors was a hot topic for discussion among writers when Amazon came out with the policy of taking down reviews by other writers. The “handy hint” of not writing reviews for other author-friends and friends emphasized by nearly every expert of book reviews. Amazon’s current policy says, “We don't allow individuals who share a household with the author or close friends to write Customer Reviews for that author's book.”

David Wogahn, writing for Authorimprints.com/, defines the difference between customer and editorial reviews and gives an overview of what can and cannot be done in relation to reviews.
● “Customer Reviews
Reviews written by regular readers who also assign a number of stars (1-5). Most authors are referring to Customer Reviews when they reference a book's review count on Amazon.”

● “Editorial Reviews (According to Amazon)
An editorial review is a more formal evaluation of a book usually written by an editor or expert within a genre, but can also be written by family and friends.”

Sorry. Someone needs to help me understand. I find some of the suggestions about not writing reviews -- for authors you know -- a little confusing. After all, writers are also readers…big time.

However, I learned during my thirty-five years in government, that the appearance of Conflict of Interest can be damaging even if legally or ethically there is no real Conflict of Interest. If you value your reputation as a reviewer, or simply wish to avoid any “Appearance of Conflict”, regardless of real or legal conflict, then you should probably follow Jay Fernandez’s advice and simply not write those reviews.
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If you do have a connection with the author or have received an advance copy of the book to review, be honest with the reader and let them know. In any case, review and follow the book review guidelines for the intended site.
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​CONCLUSION
After researching all this, posting reviews for books I read on my website is starting to sound like a whole lot of extra work I don’t want to do.

Just sayin’.
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​Resource Links for Guidelines:
Amazon Customer Reviews (FAQs from Authors)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/customer-review-guidelines-faqs-from-authors

Amazon Community Guidelines
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/

Amazon Promotional Content
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId

Goodreads Review Guidelines
https://www.goodreads.com/review/guidelines

Author Guidelines
https://www.goodreads.com/author/guidelines

Sources:
https://readingladies.com/2019/01/12/how-i-write-a-fiction-book-review/
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/book-reviews/
https://www.dudleycourtpress.com/amazon-reviews-how-to-write-a-good-book-review/
https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/how-to-write-a-book-review
https://lithub.com/13-common-mistakes-in-book-reviewing-and-how-to-avoid-them/
https://www.lexico.com/grammar/writing-a-fiction-or-non-fiction-review
https://www.writing-world.com/freelance/asenjo.shtml
https://www.writing.ie/guest-blogs/do-book-reviews-have-genres-too/
https://www.authorimprints.com/amazon-book-review-policy-authors/#:~:text=Amazon%20says%3A,feature%20to%20promote%20their%20book.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=amb_link_1?ie=UTF8&nodeId=201602680&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=RZ3FMMTWWMEHSZ8ZM7CG&pf_rd_r=RZ3FMMTWWMEHSZ8ZM7CG&pf_rd_t=7001&pf_rd_p=0899374c-d640-4eb5-b09a-46f41837ca2b&pf_rd_p=
https://www.amazon.com/gp/community-help/customer-review-guidelines-faqs-from-authors
https://www.authorimprints.com/amazon-book-review-policy-authors/#:~:text=Amazon%20says%3A,feature%20to%20promote%20their%20book.
 

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What goes around, Comes Around: Language and Emoji

6/15/2020

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ARE HOMO SAPIENS BACK WHERE WE STARTED?
​The modern human species [Homo sapiens] evolved about 200,000 years ago in Africa. The ability to think and plan for the future, to remember and learn from the past, is what distinguishes humans as being a “higher order of consciousness.”

Researchers believe that language came into being only 100,000 years ago. [And you were worried when your child didn’t speak until age 3.]

Language, in this context, means a systematic way that members of a social group [in this case, homo sapiens] communicate with and express themselves to each other using verbal, manual, and written symbols.

The modern human species developed about 200,000 years ago. Researchers believe that language came into being only 100,000 years ago. [And you were worried when your child didn’t speak until age 3.]

​Language, in this context, means a systematic way that members of a social group [in this case, homo sapiens] communicate with and express themselves to each other using verbal, manual, and written symbols.
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​The oldest written symbols created by Homo sapiens -- discovered so far -- are the well-known cave paintings which exist on nearly every continent.

Because the oldest of ancient cave art has been dated at 64,000 years – the projected age is up for grabs depending on what you read -- it makes sense that linguists conclude verbal language developed before the written/artistic expression. That is an ongoing debate. Archeologists are always making new discoveries, and dating methodologies are becoming more versatile, sophisticated, and accurate every year.

The point is that humans presumably walked first, spoke second, and didn’t get around to written symbols until later in their evolutionary history.

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                             Lions, Chauvet Cave, France  (Courtesy Jean Clottes, Chauvet Cave Project)
                                                 Photo Source:  archaeology.org/issues/221-1607/
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​FAST FORWARD TO THE 20TH  CENTURY
Over the past 50,000 years or so, human society has come a long way.

Progress came very slowly at the earliest stages of development and population growth but began to accelerate about 1400 to become faster and faster along with technological advancements.
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The following graphs give a visual idea of the rate of population growth and technological advancement for the last 10,000 years and technological growth since 1400 AD. The indicators are fuzzy [my apologies] but the important visual aspect is the curve: the rate of growth.
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Technological growth since 1400 AD                                                                                               Population growth since 10,000 BC
Original source: Unknown                                                                                                                Photo Credit Scrapes project
Image source:whizolosophy.com/growth in technology                                                                    Photo source: scientificamerican.com/population-growth
ENTER THE COMPUTER AGE
Close to the top of the technology curve is the late 20th century when we began to use computers.

Computers initially produced text, which is only one dimension of communication. Evidently, text alone was not adequate to communicate completely.

In 1982, Scott Fahlman, professor at Carnegie Mellon, developed the emoticon because he felt user posts, specifically humor, on an internal online bulletin board were misinterpreted. Text alone didn’t effectively convey the context you get from other forms of communication: vocal tonality, hand gestures, body language, or facial expressions. [Note that emoticons are not the same as emoji.]

The need for conveying emotion did exist, and soon a proliferation of emoticons exploded on the internet, none of them consistent with the other. For example, the font Wingdings was developed and used by Microsoft. When I tried to give an example here, this platform won't accept that front. However, wingdings was not readable by me...and probably not readable by most people who were just beginning to buy and use cell phones. Emoticons, despite the name, were also unable to communicate emotion.
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At critical mass, in 1986, the Japanese stepped up to the plate with kaomojio [face characters] which convey emotion through eyes and mouth. Each character is crafted with letters, characters, and punctuations from multiple languages to extend the range of possibilities, but this system had its problems as well.
Kaomojio - Image source:
medium.com/@heytory/emojis
                                              
This was followed in the 90’s by a variety of digital smiley faces and pictograms, a different set on each platform, making them untransferable to another operating system, so to speak.

In 1987 the Unicode Consortium, a non-profit organization, was created to develop a universal character encoding scheme called Unicode. Before Unicode, there were hundreds of competing standards for text encoding, similar to the same problem pictorial symbols were facing.

RISE OF THE EMOJI
Eventually, the emoji* was born. Emoji in the strict sense refers to such pictures which can be represented as encoded characters. Any number of our modern languages use pictorial symbols for letters and words, so the concept isn’t new, but the need for this kind of written symbols originated with computer and cell phone communications. 
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In 2020, emoji are everywhere; they have taken over our lives. Back in 1999 things were different. Shigetaka Kurita, a Japanese interface designer, seeing the shortfalls of the current sets of symbols and their use, desired to design a better method of conveying complex meaning and intent. He created the first collection of 176 emoji for a Japanese internet platform I Mode.

They were so successful that other mobile carriers designed their own, which were then proprietary and couldn’t be used by other companies.                                           

                     The first and Original Set of Kurita’s Empoji                                                                                                           Shigetaka Kurita
                              Image Source: cnn.com/emoji-shigetaka-kurita                                                 Photo source: webdesignerdepot.com/history-of-emojis/    
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​Apple can be credited for popularizing the Unicode of emoji internationally by syncing its popular products and iPhones using emoji.

In 2007, a team at Google requested that the Unicode Consortium recognize and create universal standards around emoji to unify the pictograms cross-platform.

The original proposal was accepted, and 114 emoji were added to Unicode 5.2. By 2017 there were 2,666 emoji on the official Unicode Standard list.

The fact that emoji do not represent words but rather emotions lets people add emphasis through gesticulation. Essentially, by adding a gesture to a word adds a personal emotion which helps clarify the text.


IS EMOJI THE FIRST UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE?
English is often referred to as the universal language, but if you look at the numbers, that belief doesn’t hold up.

“English has 339 million native speakers, with a further 603 million speakers who use it as a second language. This means there are around 942 million more-or-less fluent speakers in the world. And with another 500-plus million users with some degree of fluency, that makes for more than 1.5 billion people alive today with proficiency in English. But here comes the undiplomatic put-down; in comparison, Emoji dwarfs even the reach of English.”
Vyv Evans [Professor of Linguistics | Language & Digital Communication Consultant | Author | Public Speaker | Broadcaster] 08-05-2017 |linkedin.com/pulse/emoji-new-universal-language

Evans statistical support of that last statement is rather overwhelming.

Fahlman, when he developed the emoticon, suggested that it might become the universal language, but it didn’t. While many agree that emoji, the offspring of emoticon, enriches communication, there are those who are withholding their opinions about it being the universal language. Just as there can be confusion between words in any language [such as flat versus apartment ] emoji can be easily misinterpreted and mean different things to different cultures, language and age groups.
​
The HighSpeedInternet.com conducted a study which found the following as some of the most confusing emoji internationally. Image source: https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/emojis-the-universal-language-of-the-internet
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“Emoji are interesting because they’re, in some ways, symbolic of the hyper-visual present we inhabit. They’re short-cuts, if you think about it, and are deeply culturally specific,” said Harmony Siganporia, Assistant Professor teaching Culture and Communication in MICA.

And because of that countries, cultural groups, communities, even social groups have attributed certain emoji with meanings that were not originally intended. Quite a few studies have been conducted which corroborate this. In China, for example, the simple smiley face may be interpreted as a sign of sarcasm. The V for victory emoji is offensive to those in the UK; Chinese consider the hand-wave to be a snub, and the thumbs-up and horn sign have sexually explicit undertones in certain countries. Eggplants and peaches have a similar problem. Emoji are even used by gang members to set up drug deals and commit crimes.

ARE EMOJI EVEN A LANGUAGE?
My own opinion, based on my research, is that emoji have become an integral part of the internet-electronic communication language which supplements the text portion by adding emotion and/or humor. It is also a playful relief to text, which can be painfully sterile.
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​Despite their contribution to communications, emoji can’t act alone without text with the exception of certain thoughts, particularly single word responses, such as thanks, or feelings, such as I’m sad.

Without the text, more complex thoughts and communications can be misinterpreted just as easily as words. After all, text was not the primary way the vast majority of humans communicated until the printing press was invented in the 1400s. On the evolutionary time line, that’s right next door to electronic communications, emoji, and exploration of Mars.

In an obtuse way, homo sapiens have come full circle in that we still need verbal, manual, written symbols to communicate with each other. The only difference is that we’re communicating on a different, much higher platform.

Just sayin’.
□

*Note: The word emoji can be singular or plural, but apparently discussions between linguists are moving toward plural.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoji
https://medium.com/@heytory/emojis-the-complete-history-6dc81a330144
https://www.todaytranslations.com/about/language-history/emoji-language-history/https:/www.todaytranslations.com/about/language-history/emoji-language-history/
https://zapier.com/blog/use-emoji/
https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2016/10/the-surprising-history-of-emojis/
https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/universal-language-or-culturally-specific-symbols-what-do-emojis-really-mean-1796371.html#:~:text=Many%20have%20said%20that%20emojis,can't%20read%20or%20write.
https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/emojis-the-universal-language-of-the-internet
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20151012-will-emoji-become-a-new-language
https://www.languageinsight.com/blog/2019/is-emoji-becoming-a-global-language/#:~:text=The%20word%20Emoji%20comes%20from,modern%2Dday%2C%20global%20language.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/emoji-new-universal-language-its-making-us-better-vyv-evans#:~:text=Emoji%20is%2C%20today%2C%20incontrovertibly%20the,highly%20instructive%20point%20of%20departure.
https://medium.com/@Wolfestone/the-full-circle-from-caveman-paintings-language-to-emojis-f0f92ee5c2
https://blog.frontiersin.org/2018/03/07/language-cave-art-mit/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/02/acoustic-caves-rock-art-language-origin-spd/#:~:text=Representing%20Thought,date%20back%20roughly%2040%2C000%20years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_Maltravieso
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/human-population-growth-creeps-back-up/https:/charnaflamscrapesproject.weebly.com/%22
https://whizolosophy.com/category/today-s-world-projecting-tomorrow/gallery-charts-graphs/accelerating-growth-in-technology
https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2016/10/the-surprising-history-of-emojis/
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/emoji-shigetaka-kurita-standards-manual/index.html
https://www.archaeology.org/issues/221-1607/trenches/4551-trenches-france-chauvet-dating  



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salute to old glory

6/12/2020

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I PLEDGE ALLIEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
Flag Day, celebrated on June 14, commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States which occurred on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.
 
Flag Day is not only to celebrate its creation, but to acknowledge the ideals behind it. It is a time to pay respect to what's become part of American iconography.
 ▲The Flag adopted by The Flag Resolution
 2nd Continental Congress, June 14, 1777
Photo source: http://www.davidcourreges.com/usflag.html​

The 1777 resolution, adopted during the American Revolution, states that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” Our “stars and stripes” was based on the “Grand Union” flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes.

AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS
Like our country, our flag is a work in progress. Changes have occurred periodically as needed. Each time a state is added to the United States the number of stars is changed to reflect the number of states. The stripes now remain at thirteen representing the original thirteen colonies.
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The Second Flag Act”, 3rd Congress, 1st Session,
January 13, 1794
“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, That from and after the first day of May, Anno Domini, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, the flag of the United States, be fifteen stripes alternate red and white. That the Union be fifteen stars, white in a blue field.”

 ▲The Second Flag Act”, 3rd Congress, 1st Session, January 13, 1794
Photo source: http://www.davidcourreges.com/usflag.html
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The Third Flag Act”, 15th Congress, 1st Session,
April 4, 1818
"STATUTE I, CHAP. XXXIV - An Act to establish the flag of the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That from and after the fourth day of July next, the flag of the United States be thirteen horizontal stripes,
 ▲Third Flag Act, 15th Congress, April 4, 1818           alternate red and white: that the union be twenty stars, white in a blue field.
Photo source: http://www.davidcourreges.com/usflag.html
​
 SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That on the admission of every new state into the Union, one star be added to the union of the flag; and that such addition shall take effect on the fourth day of July then next succeeding such admission.”
You'll notice each time something is changed, the text becomes more long-winded.
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Executive Order 1556, William Howard Taft, June 24, 1912
​At this point the Executive order becomes very specific about size, height of poles, and a lot of detail that probably went into the Flag Code later on.

◄Executive Order 1556, William Howard Taft, June 24, 1912
Photo source: http://www.davidcourreges.com/usflag.html
​

ONE NATION, UNDER GOD
Although Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, the “observance” of the flag took about a century. There are a variety of stories and opinions about who started the tradition.

No harm, no foul. Obviously, more than one person can come up with the same or similar idea.

● 1861 - Hartford, Connecticut claims the first celebration.

● 1885 – Grade school teacher Bernard J. Cigrand organized, for his students, the first recognized formal observation of a Flag Day at the Stony Hill School, Waubeka, Wisconsin, to celebrate the flag’s birthday. It was held every year after, and the observance caught on with individual communities and spread rapidly. Apparently, Cigrand had tried for a long time to convince the Congress to declare June 14 as a national holiday.

● 1897 – Governor of New York orders the display of the US flag on all public buildings.

● 1889 - The most recognized claim for initiating Flag Day, according to Wikipedia, came in 1889 from George Bloch, principal of a free kindergarten for the poor of New York City. Bloch had his school hold patriotic ceremonies to observe the anniversary of the Flag Day resolution. This initiative attracted attention from the State Department of Education, which arranged to have the day observed in all public schools thereafter.

Ironically, the man upon whom the honor of being known as the “Father of Flag Day” was bestowed, is William T. Kerr. He is credited for founding The American Flag Day Association in 1888 while he was still a schoolboy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (I don’t know who gave him recognition as the Father of the American Flag.)
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It always takes time to get things done.

Finally, both President Wilson, in 1916, and President Coolidge, in 1927, issued proclamations asking for June 14 to be observed as the National Flag Day. It wasn’t until August 3, 1949, that a National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. However, ​Flag Day is not an official federal holiday.

◄140th U.S. Flag Day poster.
Artist unknown – US Library of Congress
Photo Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_Day
 
INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
The flag represents the ideals of the United Stated and what it represents, and should be honored and respected as such. How's that working out? 

Yes, Virginia, There Really Is A Flag Code
Why are you not surprised? We have laws and codes for just about everything imaginable.
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True to form, there are conflicting references to the law itself. USFlag.org references Public Law 829 as the "Flag Code". However, in a report to Congress entitled The United States Flag: Federal Law Relating to Display and Associated Questions [April 14, 2008] states that "This report presents, verbatim, the United States in Title 4 of the United States Code and the section of Title 36 which designates the Star-Spangled Banner as the national anthem and provides instructions on how to display the flag…"                                                                             Image Source: sctimes.com/do-you-know-flag-code ▲   

Who knew? ​But onward! Another reference on the website https://www.legion.org/flag/flagmyths says, "The 77th Congress adopted this codification of rules as public law on June 22, 1942. It is Title 4, United States Code Chapter One."

The Meaning Of The US Flag
While the code does not articulate any definition of what the flag is supposed to mean, it is generally thought of as representing the principles of liberty, justice, and humanity, and the patriotic ideals and spiritual qualities of the citizens of the US.

FLAG MYTHS
​Most Americans know a little about the US flag. Some remember that the thirteen stripes in white and red represent the thirteen colonies and the stars on the field of blue represent the union of the states under one federal government. Also, we all have heard, been taught, learned, that Betsy sewed the first US Flag. There are a number of myths, or at least misinterpretations, related to the US Flag.
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● Betsy Ross Made The First American Flag
That’s what I was taught back in the day. In those days, if it was in print, it had to be correct, right? ​Wrong. There is no historic evidence that Elizabeth Claypoole [her maiden name] Ross was involved in either the design or production of the flag that made its debut in 1777.

It appears that this myth found fertile ground in 1870 when Betsy Ross' grandson, William Canby, first made this claim [100 years later].

▲Metal Print of Illustration of Betsy Ross Sewing The American Flag; Artist unknown. Photo source: fineartamerica.com/george-washington-watching
                                                                                             The Great Seal of the United States of America; Photo Source: https://www.greatseal.com/ ▼
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​● The Red, White, And Blue Symbolize American Sacrifice.
Nothing in the statues mentions an official reason or explanation for the colors of our flag. When people say the colors symbolize something, they are probably referring to the explanation given by Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress, about the meaning of the colors in the Great Seal of the United States which are also red, white, and blue. Thomson's report to the Congress in 1782, says the "white signifies purity and innocence; red, hardiness and valor; and blue signifies vigilance, preservation, and justice."
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● It has always illegal to burn the American Flag
Burning the flag was illegal until 1989, when the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in Texas v. Johnson that burning the flag is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court’s decision invalidated a 1968 national flag-desecration law, as well as similar laws in 48 states (all except Wyoming and Alaska).

In response, Congress passed the Flag Protection Act, but that law was also challenged and wound up in the Supreme Court. The court in 1990 essentially affirmed its earlier ruling, stating that any law banning flag burning violated free speech. Thus, in 2020, burning the flag is still legal, although there are those in Congress currently attempting to change that. 

● It's Okay To Wear Clothing Depicting The American Flag
Wait! Don't buy that T-shirt yet. The US Flag Code states the flag "should not" be displayed on any article of merchandise. [Other references say the words are "Shall never".]
.The Code also states that the flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever and goes on to say specify a number of things. Technically, if you wear garments or use beach towels bearing replicas of the US Flag, you are violating the Flag Code.

Don't worry! The law doesn't have any provisions for enforcement, so are there are no Flag Police lurking around the corner to fine you. However, we should respect the flag, and I don't believe that last photo shows a lot of respect...a lot of everything else, but not respect.

● The Pledge of Allegiance has been recited in Congress and other governmental bodies for a long time
The Pledge was written by Francis Bellamy [a magazine editor] in 1892, and was recited in public schools before 1898. The Pledge wasn't recited on the floor of the House of Representatives until 1988. The Senate began using it as part of the opening ritual in 1999.

● The US Has 51 [or 52?] States
The good old USA has only 50 states. The last one added was Hawaii in 1959. Apparently, some people [mostly outside the US] believe that the federal District of Columbia, Washington DC, is a state, which it is not. Others may include the unincorporated territories like Puerto Rice, Guam, and American Samoa, to name just a few.
​
The flag code does prohibit the display a US flag with fewer than 50 states. However, any officially approved American flag, irrespective of the number or arrangement of the stars and/or stripes may continue to be used and displayed until no longer serviceable.

MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL
Respect the flag and treat it properly.□
 
Sources:
http://www.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_United_States_Flag_Represent
http://www.usflag.org
https://www.nyhistory.org/web/crossroads/gallery/all/pewterers_banner.html
https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30243.pdf
http://search.excite.com/excite8/search/web?fcoid=417&fcop=topnav&fpid=27&q=flag%20etiquette
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/flag-day
http://www.debunkingmandelaeffects.com/51-or-52-states-in-the-united-states-of-america/
https://www.legion.org/flag/flagmyths
https://www.reference.com/geography/51-states-fa0d9935e4f12b61
https://www.aflag.com/flag-etiquette/
https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/flagdisplay.pdf
http://mentalfloss.com/article/547248/rules-displaying-american-flag
https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-mean-if-the-US-flag-is-upside-down
https://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/use-of-american-flag-as-car-cover-sparks-neighborhood-debate/article_e17bc242-6433-11e1-ad0c-0019bb2963f4.html
https://www.greatseal.com/
https://www.nbc-2.com/story/36587395/condo-resident-being-threatened-with-lawsuit-for-hanging-american-flag
https://www.congress.gov/109/plaws/publ243/PLAW-109publ243.pdf
http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/betsyross.html
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/vintage-illustration-of-george-washington-watching-betsy-ross-sew-the-american-flag-american-school.html?product=metal-print
2020 Research
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0614/Flag-Day-What-are-the-rules-for-displaying-an-American-flag
https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/celebrate/flagday.pdf
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/14/us/flag-day-2019-trnd/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_Day_(United_States)
http://www.davidcourreges.com/usflag.html
https://www.sctimes.com/story/opinion/2018/05/19/do-you-know-flag-code/619047002/
conclusion



​
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national Donut Day

6/5/2020

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​Put Your Hands Together for the Donut Dollies
The first Friday in June is National Donut Day. The purpose of a national day dedicated to donuts is not to remind us of good health practices, or lack thereof, but to honor the ladies of the Salvation Army who first served donuts to the soldiers on the front lines during WWI.
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Photo source: news.salvationarmynorth.org/dough-front-lines
In 1917, 250 women volunteers from the Salvation Army went to Europe during WWI to serve home cooked meals to the soldiers on the front lines. They set up service huts in abandoned buildings to cook, mend clothing, provide writing supplies and stamps, and provide medical assistance.

One day in France two of the Salvation Army officers, Helen Purviance and Margaret Sheldon, decided to make a surprise for the soldiers. They made sweet dough and patted it into shape by hand, but later discovered they could use a wine bottle as a rolling pin. Since they had no doughnut cutter, the lassies used a knife to cut the dough into strips and then twisted them into crullers

Frying them was back-breaking work using an 18” potbellied wood stove. Someone had to lean over and tend it constantly to keep the temperature even for frying. Finally Ensign Purviance ended up kneeling in front of the stove for hours. They worked nearly all night but managed to make only 150 doughnuts. The next day they doubled the count. With better equipment and more help, the ladies fried as many as 9,000 donuts daily.​
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    Ensign Purviance and helpers                          Ensign Stella Young                                  Doughnut Dollies
    Photo Credits: Various from the actual “dollies”                                                                                   Photo source: worldwar1.com/dbc/doughnut.htm 
The story goes that several soldiers asked for donuts with holes. An elderly French blacksmith devised a donut cutter from the top of a can of condensed milk for Ensign Purviance. Soon the Salvation Army ladies were known as the “Doughnut Girls” or “Doughnut Dollies” or “Doughnut Lassies.”
​
In 1938, the Salvation Army decided to honor these proclaimed "doughnut lassies" by recognizing an annual pastry holiday that could also raise awareness (and money) for their charitable efforts. National Doughnut Day was born.

  ▼Cover of the Salvation Army Magazine "War Cry" November 9, 1918, depicting "Doughnut Dollies"
Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain - Photo Source: mentalfloss.com/national-doughnut-day
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​ANCESTORS OF THE DONUT
The origin of the donuts is not clear cut. There seem to be numerous versions of where and how the food originated and, probably, most of them have a basis in truth. What people eat has to do with available materials and technology at the time.

Ideas or inventions, and recipes, do happen through pure synchronicity of thought. Two people are trying to solve the same problem with the same basic available knowledge, and come up with the same or similar answer.

Donuts are basically made from sweetened flour dough which has been fried. There are cake donuts and yeast-raised donuts, usually enhanced with fruit, sugar, honey, cream or other food stuffs. Just about every corner of the world has a local equivalent of the donut made in a similar manner, although not necessarily in the same shapes.
​
​  ▼Dutch olykoek (oily cake) - Photo source: wikiwand.com/doughnut_varieties
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The earliest origins to the modern doughnuts are generally traced back to the olykoek ("oil(y) cake") Dutch settlers brought with them to early New York (or New Amsterdam). These doughnuts closely resembled later ones but did not yet have their current ring shape. One of the earliest mentions of "doughnut" was in Washington Irving's 1809 book A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. Wikipedia presents an extensive list of donuts from around the world.
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_doughnut_varieties.

I’ve listed below some of those taken from Wikipedia which have different ingredients, going back to food stuffs that were available in that location in the past, and those with different shapes.

Today, just about every country has what Americans call donuts and refer to them as “donuts” or another word in their language. I didn’t list those. A donut is a donut is a doughnut. Also, all of these countries have a wide variety of donut variations, not just the one shown below.
_________________________________________________________________________      South Africa            Croatia                  China                    China                    India
      Koeksister              Hroštule / Kroštule     Gaoli dousha/ Jung       Mandarin  yóutiáo               Gulgula  
                                       Favored with zest, orange         Meringue filled w/ red bean paste,                                                    Sweetened deep-fried
                                                      liqueur, or limoncello.                made w/ egg whites, not dough.                                                                  flour balls  
       Indonesia                    Iran                       Iran                 Macedonia             Malaysia
     Donat kentang         Zoolbia / Zulbia                   Bamiyeh                       Mekici                          Kuih keria  
    Ring shaped fritter made w/                                                                                                                                                        Ring shaped fritter made w/ flour 
     flour and mashed potato                                                                                                                                                                   and mashed sweet-potato
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ 
        Nepal                    Italy                   Vietnam                   Spain           Caribbean Area 
          Sel roti                        Struffoli                       Bánh cam                         Churro                         Kurma
​Ring shaped rice doughnut       Made with Potatoe dough        Deep-fried, filled with mung
prepared for Hindu Festivals                                                         bean paste, a vegan/ vegetarian
                                                                                                         substitute for whipping cream.
     Costa Rica ​            Lithuania              Germany              Romania              Japan                  Puntarenas                   Varškės spurges             Berliner                         Gogoși                   Pon de Ring
​ Somehow the consistency             Filled with Cottage Cheese        Everywhere in Germany these                                           Eight separate balls attached,
   of dough keeps cream                                                                   are called Berliners except in Berlin.                                        made of tapioca flour and  
   inside in liquified state                                                             There they are called Pfannkuchen, Pancakes                                     and wheat flour
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Sources:
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-doughnut-day-first-friday-in-june/
http://www.holidayscalendar.com/event/national-donut-day/
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/88294/why-are-there-two-national-doughnut-days
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut
http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/doughnut.htm
https://news.salvationarmynorth.org/2013/06/a-taste-of-history-fried-dough-front-lines-the-salvation-army/
https://athenshistory.org/national-donut-day-june-2nd-2/
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Bite/2015/0604/National-Doughnut-Day-The-surprising-origins-of-America-s-most-American-holiday
http://www.worldwar1.com/dbc/doughnut.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughboy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/List_of_doughnut_varieties



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THE PSYCHEDELIC CAVES

5/29/2020

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Spelunking is the hobby or practice of exploring caves. Perhaps I’m claustrophobic; the idea of crawling around underground has never made the top of my “To Do” list. It is somewhere around cleaning toilets and root canals, but that's me.

The land forms and interesting geology created by nature are the main attraction of most caves tourists visit, and I do find geology interesting. 
Photo Credit: Karst World-Photo source: copelandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com
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​AS A TOURIST
In my non-spelunking state of mind, I have still visited a number of the famous caverns of the world as a tourist. Much safer and less exhausting. Below are photos (not mine) of formations in the Lechuguilla Cave, Carlsbad caverns, New Mexico.
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        Crystal Chandelier Ballroom                                                            Tall Columns                                                          Atlantis Chamber
           Photo Cedit: NPS/Gavin Newman                             Photo Source: traveltips.usatoday.com/carlsbad                        Image Credit: David Chailloux
           Photo Source: nps.gov/Lechuguilla cave                                                                                                                       Photo Source: santafenewmexican.com/
“Carlsbad Cavern formed between 4 and 6 million years ago, when water rich in hydrogen sulfide began to seep through cracks in the limestone that was formed hundreds of millions of years earlier by a vast sea that once covered New Mexico. As this water mixed with oxygen-rich rain runoff, the hydrogen sulfide combined with the oxygen to form sulfuric acid, which gradually ate away at the limestone to form the caverns that now exist beneath Carlsbad Caverns National Park.” https://traveltips.usatoday.com/carlsbad-caverns-new-mexico-59759.html
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As you can see, anywhere tourists go, the underground caverns are lighted, some with colors, for safety, ability to see, and visual effect. Some, however, illuminated with a dramatic array of colors, like the Silver Cave, Guilin, China, on the left below. The Chinese really go all out for the carnival effect. When I first looked at some of the photos, I thought the colors were natural (and was amazed), but that appearance is the colored lighting.​
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              Silver Cave, Guilin, China
              Photo Source: https://topyaps.com/top-10-famous-caves-in-the-world/
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              Waitomo Glowworm Caves, New Zealand
              Photo Source: https://fantasticroutes.com/waitomo-glowworm-caves/
The photo on the upper right shows an entrance into the Waitomo Glowworm caves in New Zealand. To visit these caves, we entered in boats from the ocean and went up fairly narrow tunnels like the one above which were lighted ahead of us but unilluminated where the boats were traveling so we could see the glowworms.

When the narrow waterway opened into a great cavern, all the lights were turned off. It is totally black inside and the worms resemble stars on a clear night with no light. Absolutely amazing. Lots of drama without artificial lights.

THE PSYCHADELIC SALT MINE OF YEKATERINBURG, RUSSIA
As I said before, the fascinating thing about natural caves are the geologic rock formations, the culmination of millions of years of land shifting and water flow.

Salt Mines are a whole different experience from exploring natural caves. Salt mines may have been natural caves when the salt deposits were discovered, and they made have contained awesome formations inside, but they have been internally shaped by the way humans and their tools have removed the salt over hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. The awesomeness of these caverns and tunnels is what the hand of man has revealed of nature’s wonders.​
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The​ salt mines of Yekaterinburg, which are located 650 feet beneath the Russian city (1,000 miles to the east of Moscow), display dizzying surreal swirls and waves of color which are layers of the mineral carnallite, distorted and twisted by tectonic forces over millions of years since it was deposited on the floor of a salty sea.

Carnallite can be yellow and white or even red, blue, or clear. The layers, sometimes containing magnesium and potassium (often used as an ingredient in plant fertilizer), paint rivers of color across the walls of this abandoned salt mine, dating back millions of years to when a salty sea dried up, leaving be-behind the mineral deposits. These had been mined for millennia and then for-
​    Old salt mine extraction machine                     gotten until recently rediscovered. 
   Image Credit: Radu Razvan/Shutterstock.com  
  Photo Source: britannica.com/salt-mining            The first photos of the Yekaterinburg mine came to light in 2014 thanks to the                                                                   young Russian explorer-photographer Mikhail Mishainik, who even spent whole
                                                              nights down in mines.
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All image credits: Mikhail Mishainik
All Photo Sources except last: atlasobscura.com/psychedelic-salt-mines                                                 Photo source: geologypage.com/psychedelic-salt-mine 
Only now, with these incredible photos taken by Mikhail Mishainik in 2014, is the rest of the world able to see this incredible sight. Some authors say it is a subterranean version of China’s stunning rainbow mountains. (The subject for another blog.)

Unfortunately, this site is not accessible to the public, but it may be possible to get a special government permit to enter. Good luck, if you go there. No doubt, at some time in the future, it will become a tourist attraction.
 
Sources:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/psychedelic-salt-mines
https://weirdrussia.com/2014/06/20/psychedelic-salt-mines-of-yekaterinburg/
http://awesomeplacesonearth.com/surreal-salt-mines-in-yekaterinburg-russia/
https://www.minerals.net/resource/property/color.aspx
https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-do-rocks-get-their-colors
http://www.geologypage.com/2016/10/psychedelic-salt-mine-russia.html
https://www.nps.gov/cave/learn/photosmultimedia/index.htm
https://traveltips.usatoday.com/carlsbad-caverns-new-mexico-59759.html
 
Image Credit:                                                                                                                                    Image Credit: Mikhail Mishainik
Photo Source: 
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Bears On The Moon

5/22/2020

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I kid you not. Bears are on  the moon, but not the kind of bears you're thinking about.​

MEET MY LITTLE FRIEND
Let me introduce you to a tiny eight-legged microscopic animal which you probably don’t know, or care, anything about … the Tardigrade (also known as moss piglets or water bears because of their stocky bodies and gait).
Image caption: A colored scanning electron micrograph of a tardigrade in moss
Photo Credit: Science Photo Library - Photo source: psbbc.com/news/tardigrade

Water bears aren’t very cute (unless you like really weird things) and, at less than a millimeter, these animals do not make good pets, although they would be easy to care for. Studies show that these small invertebrates originally lived in freshwater environments before adapting to land where they seek out moist habitats such as soil, mosses, leaves and lichen. They are ubiquitous, and live almost everywhere in the world including Antarctica and the deepest oceans.
Water bears are small, cylindrical invertebrates, divided into five segments. The first segment contains the head and the next four each have one pair of unsegmented legs ending (most often) in claws.
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The tardigrade body is covered with a flexible cuticle, which is smooth or covered with gibbosities, spines or plates. Despite being so small, they have a very complicated internal structure. Water bears have a complete digestive system, a well developed nervous system, and an abdominal chain with segmental ganglia. They also have various sensory organs like papilla, chemoreceptors and eyes. Water bears can be dioecious and bisexual.
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◄ A water bear egg, imaged by colored scanning electron micrograph
Photo source: bbc.co.uk/nature/ (Looks too much like corona virus to me)
                                                                 Image caption: They shouldn't be cute, but we don't make the rules
                                                                 Photo Credit: Getty Images - 
                                                                 Photo Source: psbbc.com/news/tardigrade.▼
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In 2007, thanks to the Italian Space Agency Project Biokis, tardigrades became the first earth animal to survive the exposure to space in sub-zero temperatures, solar winds, and an oxygen-deprived space vacuum.
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This is when scientists discovered that tardigrades, in their desiccated state, are exceptionally tolerant of extreme environments, including space. Obviously the toughest animals on earth, this discovery prompted a new level of research on their survival capabilities.
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Drawing Credit: Dave Kellett/ Sheldoncomics.com / color; Beth Morrell
Patreon.com / Sheldoncomics.com
Source: pinterest.com/201395414567139103/
Again in 2011, my little friend traveled into space for a second time on the NASA shuttle Endeavour. Its mission: to help scientists understand more about how this so-called "hardiest animal on Earth" can survive for short periods off it. Tardigrades join other microscopic organisms selected to be part of a project into extreme survival.
I call the tardigrade my little friend because he is a secondary character in a murder mystery I’m writing which takes at the South Pole.

After the tardigrade’s second venture into space, researchers discovered that a tardigrade protein named Dsup binds to chromatin -- DNA inside cells -- and forms a protective cloud against extreme survival threats such as radiation damage. They have also proved vulnerable to excessive heat, which may turn out to be their Achilles’ Heel. They are not indestructible.
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Another notable achievement of water bears was their successful revival and reproduction after being frozen for over 30 years. “A moss sample collected in Antarctica in Nov. 1983, stored at -20°C, was thawed in May 2014. Two individuals and a separate egg retrieved from the thawed sample were revived, thereby providing the longest record of survival for tardigrades as animals or eggs. Subsequently, one of the revived tardigrades and the hatchling repeatedly reproduced after recovering from their long-term cryptobiosis.” sciencedaily.com/releases/2016

BEARS ON THE MOON
Since out last visit with the water bear (which is not really related to any bear-type animal), they have immigrated to the Moon.
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Quite true, although the word immigrate makes it sound like they had a choice. Their presence violates the Outer Space Treaty which provides for, among other things like not putting nuclear weapons in space, not contaminating any environment in space. One hundred and nine countries are party to the agreement and another twenty-three have signed but not yet ratified.

The Arch Mission Foundation
There is a non-profit organization called The Arch Mission Foundation which keeps a "backup" of planet Earth; the archives of human knowledge and species of the plant earths biology the planet's biology, stored and sent out to various solar locations in case of a life-ending event.
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This was news to me, and I think it is very exciting.
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◄THE SOLAR LIBRARY: TESLA ORBITER (SPACEX, 2018)
Their first mission was launched by SpaceX on the Falcon Heavy Test launch and is now entering an orbit around the Sun for millions of years.  The first books in the Solar Library are Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy. ​
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LEO LIBRARY: CONSTELLATION 1 (SPACECHAIN, 2018) ►
SpaceChain launched a cubesat containing a live blockchain node into low-Earth orbit. Onboard is a copy of the English Wikipedia in solid-state storage, provided by the Arch Mission Foundation. 
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◄THE LUNAR LIBRARY: GENESIS (SPACEIL 2019)
The first major installation of the Lunar Library is a 30 million page archive(viewable under a microscope) that flew on the SpaceIL Beresheet Moon lander, in 2019: It is now believed to be intact on the Moon. ​
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THE LUNAR LIBRARY: PEREGRINE (ASTROBOTIC, 2021) ►
The Arch Mission Foundation is delivering the second installment in the Lunar Library,™ containing additional content, in an upcoming mission with Astrobotic to the lunar surface.
An Unfortunate Crash Landing
“On April 11, 2019, an Israeli lander named after the Hebrew word for “Genesis” attempted to mark a new beginning for space exploration by becoming the first privately funded spacecraft to touch down on the moon. Built by the Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL, the Beresheet lander tried to softly land within Mare Serenitatis, a vast volcanic basin on the moon's northern near side - but as it made its descent, the spacecraft's main engine failed. Engineers reset the spacecraft but lost communications, and the 330-pound lander ultimately crashed.”
nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/

Along with the second installment of the library and some equipment, the Beresheet carried human DNA and dehydrated tardigrades - some in amber and some stuck on tape. It is believe that all the contents of the lander survived the crash, which means there are now dehydrated tardigrades on the moon which could probably be revived with the introduction of some water.

So the water bears are there, shriveled into tiny balls and in a state of deep suspended animation that resembles death, waiting. In the meantime, SpaceIL has violated the Outer Space Treaty.
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I predict that the tardigrade has a bright future in research for years to come.
Just sayin’
□
Sources:
https://www.archmission.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160216104552.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200113104203.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191001102207.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160328101622.htm
htt://www.psbbc.com/news/newsbeat-49265125
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/04/spaceil-beresheet-first-privately-funded-israeli-spacecraft-crash-lands-on-moon/
https://www.americanscientist.org/article/tardigrades
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/12855775
http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/tardigrades/1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/201395414567139103/
https://elifesciences.org/digests/47682/how-tardigrades-survive-the-extreme
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Emotional Support Animals

5/15/2020

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​IN THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
I don’t believe that most reasonable people in this age of enlightenment would object to a physically handicapped person having a trained service animal. I don’t believe they would object to that person traveling on public transportation, airplanes, or taking them into public places and stores. People understand, pretty much, that disabled people have the same rights as anyone else, and that socially we all have an obligation to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.

So why has this become an issue worthy of many articles and opinions on the internet?
[That’s a naïve question, and I apologize. I can’t get used to the idea that many people want to not only share but force others to listen to their opinions and personal information with everyone in the world … and they do it over the internet. My bad. I suppose in that respect I’m a dinosaur.]

Regardless, for a segment of the population this scenario has become an issue that I was unaware of until I ran onto it researching something else and found it intriguing.

FIGURATIVELY AND LITERALLY, THEY’RE DIFFERENT ANIMALS
To discuss this issue, we have to understand that there are two distinct, but related, legal definitions involved.

Service Animals
Under Titles II and III of the American Disabilities Act (ADC) service animals are defined as dogs, and now miniature horses under certain circumstances, “that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.”

Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. There is no legal requirement that they be registered, but registration can save a lot of misery and discontent.
   Photo Source: pawswithacause.org
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The person with the disability should be trained to work with and control the dog and, as I understand it, is legally responsible for the dog’s / horse’s behavior. The animal must be leashed but can go anywhere the general public can go, and legally cannot be asked to leave. The operator of a public facility can ask only two questions about the animal:
     1. Is the dog/miniature horse required because of a disability? and
     2. What is the work the animal is trained to perform?
Proof cannot be required by the operator, but in California if you falsely claim service animal status, it’s a misdemeanor subject to a fine up to $1,000 or six months in prison.
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Emotional Support Animals
An emotional support animal (ESA) is one that provides comfort or a sense of relief to a person with an emotional or psychological condition. They are not trained to perform specific tasks or provide their owners with any service other than soothing their symptoms. As such, they’re not considered service animals. Dogs and miniature horses whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
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An Emotional Support Animal is usually a dog or cat but can be any species, whether it’s a dog, a peacock, or a pig. Health professionals claim animal therapy provides great benefits to people suffering from emotional or psychological disorders, and there is a body of scientific proof to support that. Qualifying ailments include but are not limited to anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, panic attacks and fear or phobias.

I absolutely support that. My cat Roxy helped me through a rough patch and was a great               Roxy                         comfort when I was feeling pretty low.
Those who wish to have emotional support animals and want to take those animals with them to public places must have a prescription by a licensed mental health professional. After receiving this, any animal that meets the guidelines for legal emotional support animals can be registered as such.
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However, your legal right to take emotional support animals in public places is dependent on state laws. California law allows persons with disabilities to bring trained service dogs or psychiatric service dog, but not emotional support animals, to all public places.

SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM, BIG GUY?
Assuming that most people are rational and are not out to cause disabled people grief for no reason, what’s got your panties in a twist?

Allergies
The first is the issue of allergies. Allergies to cats and/or dogs do not distinguish between service animals or emotional support animals, and some allergies are severe enough to be life threatening.          Photo source: youtube.com/anaphylaxis
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In many places, such as a restaurant, mall, or library, it is possible to make accommodations to keep the animal apart from the person with allergies, but it usually requires the understanding and cooperation of the employees making the accommodation. On a public bus at rush hour, a crowded airplane, or at the Department of Motor Vehicles where one is required to wait with a zillion other strangers for four hours, not so much. Not only is making an accommodation less possible, the employees involved often demonstrate little sympathy.

Legally, allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people needing service animals.

Variety of animals
The good old days of only dogs and cats is a thing of the past. Now people have every species under the sun as emotional support animals. Without debating the value and importance of the support provided, the variety sets the stage for further problems in tight spaces. A snake may sooth your fear of flying, but could make the person sitting next to you on the plane very uncomfortable.

Misrepresentation of Emotional Support Animals as an Excuse
A study conducted in 2017 on the public perception of service animals and ESAs states, “As assistance animals become more prevalent in society, there appears to be a parallel increase in the frequency of allegations of misrepresentation or fraudulent representation of animals as assistance animals.”
healthline.com/health-news/emotional-support-animals                                                                         Photo Credit: Petar Petrov/AP - Photo Source: oddee.com 
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Passing your pet off as an ESA just because you want to travel with it, is not doing any favors for those people who truly need this kind of emotional support. People who are either frightened or annoyed by the tarantula next to them may complain or become a “naysayer” about the entire issue. If the pet has to travel, let it spend a few hours in the storage compartment for animals.

The two tarantulas that escaped on an Air Transat Flight to Canada in 2016, were not truly Emotional Support Animals and may have done some emotional damage to other passengers.

On the other hand, the average person is not qualified to assess if another person is physically or mentally handicapped or what that handicap might be, and unwarranted complains are also filed.

Inadequate Training and/or Control of the Animal
Another problem is certified service and ESA animals which are not adequately trained or controlled.

Even though service animals are supposed to be trained, often the training is not provided by a qualified professional. Also, the owner may not have adequate control of the animal. Service animals must be on a leash or some similar restraint, but occasionally service animals attack other people. Sometimes the dog is trying to protect the owner from an action or sound it perceives as threatening; sometimes the owner just doesn’t have control of the dog. (I didn’t find any incidents of mini-horses attacking bystanders.)

There is no training requirement for a certified ESA, which ups the ante as the variety of such animals expands. People are less familiar with how non-traditional animals may react to outside stimulus.

Housing
Another point of conflict relates to housing, particularly but not exclusively, rentals. Any situation where limitation on animals or type of animal can become an issue. The relationship between renter-owner is clear, but also regarding purchase there are condominium rules and subdivision CC&Rs which may address animals. These situations fall under the auspices of housing discrimination.

“An emotional support animal is a type of assistance animal that is recognized as a "reasonable accommodation" for a person with a disability under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHAct, 42 U.S.C.A. 3601 et seq.). The assistance animal is not a pet according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD is the agency that oversees the FHAct and investigates claims of housing discrimination.” https://www.animallaw.info/article/faqs-emotional-support-animals

Housing is a complicated issue. I am simply pointing out that if you have a dispute regarding housing and Service or ESA animals, you need to get into details which I can’t address here. If you are an owner renting out a house, condo, or apartment, you need to be aware of this.

WHAT IS YOU FAVORITE NON-TRADITIONAL ESA?
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Daisy - She was kicked off a Frontier Airlines. She had a reservation but owner hadn’t declared animal was a squirrel. The flight was delayed 2 hours. PhotoSource: thesun.co.uk/travel
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​Dexter the performing peacock
Credit: thejetsettv / Bored Panda. Source:dailymail.co.uk/emotional-support-pets
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Photo Credit: Devinn Zeller / Bored Panda. Photo source: dailymail.co.uk/emotional-support-pets
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Hog Kicked off US Airways for defecating in the aisle and howling. Photo Credit: IamBremmer /Bored Panda
Photo source: dailymail.co.uk/emotional-support-pets
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Ronica Froese and mini-horse, Fred. Photo Credit: Reuters
Photo Source: marketwatch.com/emotional-support-animals
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Green serpent dropped from the overhead luggage compartment during Aeromexico flight.
Photo Credit: Indalecio Medina 
Photo Source: oddee.com
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Publicity photo - the four Koalas actually traveled in climate-controlled containers in cargo.
Photo Credit: Qantas Airways
Photo Source: oddee.com
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Photo Credit: Bored Panda
PhotoSource: thesun.co.uk/travel
WHOSE RIGHTS ARE MORE IMPORTANT?
The whole debate relates to whose individual rights take precedence when there is a conflict.

It’s typical for an individual to think about their own rights as more important than the other person’s. There is no formula for balancing them. Our laws make an attempt to do so, but there are always arguments pro and con.

Why are my allergies less important? Why do I have to sit next to a cat for hours when I’m allergic to it, so another person can fly to Chicago without putting their pet with the cargo? Well, maybe it’s because he is a veteran, wounded in action, who suffers from PTSD and having his cat with him is the only way he can tolerate being on an airplane, and he’s going to his mother’s funeral in Chicago. Or maybe that ESA is the tarantula we were talking about before. What then?

Although this is actually a complicated issue and its resolution would require time and effort for the benefit of a relatively small segment of the population, the government should get together with the airlines, health professionals, and other affected industries, and revisit the rules. They may have made sense at one time but things have changed.
Just sayin’.
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Sources:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7469717/The-strange-emotional-support-pets-people-brought-plane.html
https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/9943454/weird-animals-emotional-support-plane-kangaroo/
https://equalrightscenter.org/nontraditional-emotional-support-animals/
https://www.bustle.com/p/how-do-emotional-support-animals-help-people-7-benefits-of-esas-9002611
https://www.animallaw.info/article/faqs-emotional-support-animals
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/everything-about-emotional-support-animals/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_support_animal
https://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/an_uptick_in_service_animals_on_airplanes_is_sparking_controversy
https://www.nsarco.com/esa-registration-and-your-legal-rights.html
https://thegate.boardingarea.com/support-animals-versus-allergies-go/
https://thegate.boardingarea.com/service-animals-or-emotional-support-animals-pig-continues-debate/
https://www.oddee.com/item_99962.aspx
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/20/pets-allowed
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/emotional-support-animals-planes-flights-peacocks-marmoset-horse-a8190576.html
https://abcnews.go.com/US/airlines-crack-emotional-support-animals-plane-cabins/story?id=56791124
https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2020-02-29/letters-readers-emotional-support-animal-planes
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/finally-signs-of-a-crackdown-on-emotional-support-animals-on-airplanes-2020-03-02
http://www.amazing-service-dogs.com/do-i-qualify-for-a-service-dog/
https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
https://www.pawswithacause.org/what-we-do/assistance-dogs/service-dogs/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/emotional-support-squirrel-daughter-of-woman-escorted-off-plane-speaks-out-frontier-airlines-flight-incident-2018-10-11/

Photos:
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/things-that-fly-by-plane-pigs-mini-horses-cats-and-dogs-138543.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/emotional-support-squirrel-daughter-of-woman-escorted-off-plane-speaks-out-frontier-airlines-flight-incident-2018-10-11/
https://www.animallaw.info/article/faqs-emotional-support-animals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs_nUiEC9fA

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when It Rains Frogs and Pigs Fly

5/8/2020

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YEAH, THAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN PIGS FLY
When you get that response to a suggestion or comment, you can be sure the speaker does not believe what you are saying is even possible.              ▼    Photo source: abcnews.go.com/pigs-fly  ▼
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Real pigs can’t fly. We have visual proof they can’t fly commercial, either. The young lady in the picture was put off a US Airways flight out of Connecticut the plane with her emotional-support pig because, according to American Airlines, the parent company of US Airways, “the pig became disruptive, and the woman was asked to leave.” Actually, the pig defecated in the aisle and then began to howl. 
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YEAH, THAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN IT RAINS FROGS
You’re likely to get this response to the same suggestion or comment, but in this case the speaker is incorrect. It can, and occasionally does rain frogs … and fish and other things. 

Throughout history records document eye-witness reports of fish, frogs, and other small living things falling from the sky either “like rain” or “in the rain.” Even if you leave out Exodus, “documented” tales of raining fish and frogs are reported by Roman naturalist, Pliny The Elder, as far back as the first century AD. No doubt the phenomenon, however rare, has been around since ancient times.
​                                                                                                                           Passover Greeting Card - Drawing: C.McCoy
                                                                                                                                                                            Photo source: amazon.com/NobleWorks-Raining
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More recent reports include French soldiers, in 1794, reporting toads falling from the sky during heavy rain in Lille, France. Live lizards pelted Montreal, Canada, in 1857. It rained frogs in Kansas City in 1873. A hail of frozen frogs was reported in Dubugue, Iowa in 1882. Winnipeg was blessed with a rain of black ants during a thunderstorm in 1895. Moose Jaw got a downpour of fish and rain in 1903.

In July of 1901, Minneapolis, Minnesota, suffered a frog downpour. A newspaper reported: “When the storm was at its highest…there appeared as if descending directly from the sky a huge green mass. Then followed a peculiar patter, unlike that of rain or hail. When the storm abated the people found, three inches deep and covering an area of more than four blocks, a collection of a most striking variety of frogs…so thick in some places [that] travel was impossible.” weirdhistorian.com/raining-cats-and-dogs-is-one-thing-but-frogs-and-fish/

According to Julia Layton, science.howstuffworks.com, the frequency of such events has been increasing. “For unknown reasons, Britain appears to be especially susceptible in recent years. The cause of frog rain in general is less mysterious, although still a bit of a brow-furrower at times. It's also just as gross as many of us imagine. That final scene in the 1999 film Magnolia, which left most movie goers jaw-droppingly disgusted and a little impressed, is apparently a pretty accurate portrayal of the phenomenon, according to newspaper accounts.”

THE SCIENCE OF NON-AQUEOUS RAIN
There is a fairly understandable scientific explanation for this weird weather event which is related to watery tornados or waterspouts -- essentially whirlwinds that pick up water. These are usually caused by the high-pressure system preceding a severe thunderstorm.
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Photo Credit: Patricia Vazquez, Myshot - Photo Source: nationalgeographic.org/waterspout  ►

 ◄ Photo credit: Harald Richter (Public Domain) NSSL of NOAA
Photo Source: en.wikipedia.org/Tornado
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First of all, remember that frogs, lizards, insects, and fish can weigh only a few ounces, and these storms are very powerful. They rip off roofs and pick up cars and trucks.

Second, the center of the waterspout is a low-pressure tunnel within a high-pressure cone and picks up light objects. Since these are formed over large bodies of water, they suck up water and low-weight water creatures. Items carried in the vortex can be carried over land as the storm moves. The same thing happens with a land-based tornado, which can pick up water and creatures from lakes, ponds, and other water sources. Professor Ernest Agee from Purdue University says, “I’ve seen small ponds literally emptied of their water by a passing tornado. So, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for frogs (or other living things) to ‘rain’ from the skies” (loc.gov/everyday-mysteries)
​
So actually, a storm can pick up anything if it is strong enough, and things can get carried for even hundreds of miles in the vortex, so you don’t need to be near a frog pond to get frogs in your rain. The most common living, non-aqueous item to “rain” is fish, since most water spouts form over the ocean. Birds are not uncommon victims, particularly during migrations. Blackbirds fell from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas, in 2010.

Writer Julia Layton’s description of what happens when the critters land, is worth repeating.
“But it's when the frogs, fish and other water animals hit the ground that things really get gross. It's unlikely they survive the journey, what with the speeding low-pressure vortex and the impact once that vortex dissolves. Usually, the frogs die, although it's unclear when exactly that happens -- during the trip or as a result of the fall. However, sometimes the frogs luck out. When it rained frogs in a small town in Serbia in 2005, people walked outside after the storm to see their streets blanketed in frogs trying to hop their way back to water.”
 
RECENT INCIDENTS
Ancient happenings are always subject to skepticism. Very little can be “proved” about what happened in the ancient past. From the medieval period we have more unreliable legends and pieces of art work depicting the phenomenon.
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1557 wood cutting – Artist Unknown
Photo source: weirdhistorian.com/raining-frogs

When I searched for more recent events, I found many mentioned, but not many photographs. That makes sense, since these circumstances are localized and unpredictable. Unless you’re there with a camera for some other purpose, it is likely you’d lose the opportunity. Wikipedia has a list of reported occurrences. I’ve repeated only a few below, mostly reported in the US.
Raining fish in Northern Argentina – 1989▼ Photo source: leahsweather.wordpress.com/2012
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Fish
● Knighton, Powys, Wales, 18 August 2004
● Kerala State, India, February 12, 2008
● Bhanwad, Jamnagar, India, October 24, 2009
● Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 9 September 2016
● Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, 20 January 2016
● Mexico, Tamaulipas, Tampico, 26 September 2017
● Oroville, California, 16 May 2017
● Jaffna, Sri Lanka, 7 November 2017
● New Jersey, USA, 7 April 2020

​Frogs
● Calgary Canada, August 4, 1921
● Odzaci, Siberia,  June 4, 2005
● Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, June 2009 (occurrences reported throughout the month)
● Rákóczifalva, Hungary, 18–20 June 2010 (twice)
● Cabo Polonio, Uruguay, Since 2011 (twice)

THE MIRACLE OF LLUVIA DE PECES
Residents of Yoro, Honduras have only one claim to fame. They insist that every year they have a Rain of Fish. Some years it occurs more than once, but always after a violent storm. After such a storm, residents fill the streets carrying baskets and collect sardine-like fish from the ground. The fish that are said to fall as rain are not indigenous to the local area.  The Hondurans see it as a miracle and a blessing, since this is essentially a poor area and the only time they have fish to eat.
Photo source: allthatsinteresting.com/fish ▼                                                       Photo source: www.youtube.com/  ▼
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The story sounded fishy to me. The first thing I noticed in the photographs is that all the fish are on the street, and none on the sidewalks, plus the fish look bigger than sardine-like, whatever that means. Nevertheless, the town folk insist it’s real and not a hoax or a benevolent fish-donor who waits for the first big storm in May or June. I didn’t find any documents or articles that assert this is not a real meteorological event.

In 1970 a team from National Geographic, already on assignment in the area, were able to examine the grounded fish after a big storm. The fish turned out to be completely blind, so scientists suggested that they must live in underground caves or rivers where they are unexposed to light and that the flooding after a heavy rain forces them to the surface. Another possibility was a waterspout from the Atlantic ocean about a hundred miles away carries them there.

Since the real reason for the phenomenon hasn’t been pinned down by scientists, it must not matter to anyone except the residents of Yoro. Although the legend of the first recorded fish rain occurred in 1855, in 1996 the locals organized a festival which is now an annual event which takes place after the first big rain in the spring.

MY ADVICE – ALWAYS CARRY AN UMBRELLA AND A CAMERA IN THE RAIN.
□
Sources:
https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/rain-frog.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_of_animals
https://globalnews.ca/news/4371433/calgary-raining-frogs/
https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/item/can-it-rain-frogs-fish-and-other-objects/
https://www.popsci.com/weirdest-weather-ever/
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/laughingindisbelief/2017/08/america-copes-raining-frogs-bloody-red-waterways/
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2011/may/26/weather-watch-raining-frogs
https://www.livescience.com/44760-raining-frogs.html
https://www.weirdhistorian.com/raining-cats-and-dogs-is-one-thing-but-frogs-and-fish/
https://www.news24.com/SciTech/News/Its-raining-frogs-in-Serbia-20050607
https://commonplacefacts.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/todays-forecast-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-amphibians/
https://leahsweather.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/seriously-there-really-is-such-a-thing-as-non-aqueous-rain/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/proof-pigs-fly/story?id=27222136
https://allthatsinteresting.com/fish-rain-lluvia-de-peces
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF3ub0bpneI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lluvia_de_Peces
Further reading
Chandler, Barb. "Froggy weather." Weatherwise, v. 57, Jan./Feb. 2004: 42.
Christian, Spencer, and Antonia Felix. Can it really rain frogs?: the world's strangest weather events. New York, Wiley, 1997. 121 p. (Juvenile)
Corliss, William. Tornados, dark days, anomalous precipitation, and related weather phenomena: a catalog of geophysical anomalies. Glen Arm, MD, Sourcebook Project, c1983. 196 p.
Dennis, Jerry. It's raining frogs and fishes: four seasons of natural phenomena and oddities of the sky. New York, HarperCollins, c1992. 323 p.
Englebert, Phillis. The complete weather resource. Detroit, UXL, c1997-2000. 4 v.
"Frogs fall from the sky." Herald sun, Melbourne, Australia, June 8, 2005. p. 2.
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THE EPITOME OF HYPOCRISY

5/1/2020

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A SIGN OF THE TIMES
My husband asked me to buy him a washable facemask. We have the other type, but he wanted something more permanent that we could launder.

​No problem. The news media has been focusing heavily on the “new normal” and into the foreseeable future face masks are part of that discussion. Maybe he should get several.

As I was searching on-line, I simply looked up the product. Wow! In the blink of an eye, or at least in the blink of two months confined to my house, everything had changed. In addition to finding these ▼ on Amazon.com:
I also found these: ▼

THE NEW NORMAL
The news media and the medical profession have hinted or straight out said that the new normal will include wearing masks to carry on everyday living, at least until a reliable vaccine has been found for Covid-19. We can get used to seeing them in grocery stores and restaurants.
Photo source: marketwatch.com/masks    Photo source: wsj.com/face-mask         Photo source: nytimes.com/2020/

FASHION TREND OF THE FUTURE
Since some enterprising humans never miss an opportunity, already the “fashion face mask” is making appearances at the Paris, London, and New York Fashion Weeks -- the big events of the fashion year – as the “must have” fashion accessory of the season.
​
Whether or not masks prove to protect people from exposure to Covid-19, once the trend hits the couture fashion market, you can be sure they will be around for a few years … even if their prophylactic value is zilch.

    Photo Credit: Christian Vierig/Getty Images                  Photo credit: Getty Images                                  Photo Credit: Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows     Photo source: hollywoodreporter.com/paris                 Photo source: sbs.com.au/niqab-banned            Photo Source: nypost.com/face-masks 
Photo Credit: Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows       Photo source: cosmopolitan.in/masks latest fashion accessory
Photo Source: nypost.com/face-masks
                                     
LET’S GET TO THE HYPOCRICY PART
There is nothing hypocritical about wearing a face mask, voluntarily or by order. Nobody wants to get sick, a most people don’t want to make others sick.

Here’s the thing. It wasn’t more than a couple of years ago that the US and countries in Europe were considering or passing laws to prohibit Muslin women (or men) to cover their faces. Muslim women following their religious beliefs were told that covering the face interfered with the communication necessary in an open society and couldn’t be allowed for security and identification reasons. In some countries where these laws were enacted, Muslim women were arrested and fined for covering their faces. Now, all of a sudden, there is nothing wrong with it. Here are some of the headlines and statements from among many in the news.

● 2016
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13038095
On 6 December 2016, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the wearing of “full-faced veils should be prohibited” in Germany "wherever it is legally possible". This statement was made after Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere made a proposal in August, 2016, to outlaw the burka - or any full-face veil - in public buildings.

● 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/opinion/quebec-veil-ban.html
Quebec’s Anti-Muslim Ban on the Veil
By Martin Patriquin - Nov. 8, 2017
This article discusses that Quebec, in 2017, put a ban on wearing face coverings by anyone giving or receiving a public service must do so without a covered face for “security or identification reasons.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13038095
The Islamic Veil across Europe
May 31, 2018
Article reports that Austria’s ruling coalition agreed in January 2017 to prohibit full-face veils (niqab and burka) in public spaces such as courts and schools, with the law coming in to force in October the same year. The government said at the time it was considering a more general ban on state employees wearing the headscarf and other religious symbols. The coalition said that “full-face veils in public stood in the way of "open communication", which it said was fundamental to an "open society".

● 2019
https://www.economist.com/erasmus/2019/07/10/
Western governments are telling Muslim women not to cover up
By Erasmus - Jul 10th 2019
France enacted a face mask law in 2010. This article indicates that France regulates religious apparel, and religion generally, “in a stricter way than any other democracy. The summer of 2016 was a torrid one for that country’s beaches, as many local authorities decreed bans on the burkini, a full-body swimsuit favored by some Muslim women. After weeks of nasty seaside scenes, the country’s highest administrative court ruled that the bans were an unacceptable curb on liberty.” Not about masks, but you get the idea.

Excuse me, but to my way of thinking, what’s happening right now is the epitome of hypocrisy. And I’m not the only one to notice.
​
Samuel Leighton-Dore (sbs.com.au/face-masks  – March 10, 2020) writes, “ Social media users have pointed to the trend of face masks at Paris Fashion Week as evidence of hypocrisy from French leaders, after France became the first European country to impose a ban on full-face veils in public areas back in 2011."

I’m sure there are valid reasons why law enforcement and others want (and should) limit masks at certain types of events, but it should include all masks, face coverings, and face painting no matter who you are. Better minds than mine have debated this matter for a long time, and will continue to do so.

My only point in writing this is to point out how quickly society (human beings, if you choose) will drop one fear-opinion-prejudice in favor of something else we find more threatening. We ought to be able to admit that to ourselves.

WHICH OF THESE DO YOU FIND MOST THREATENING?

​Photo Credit: Estrop/Getty Images - Marine Serre Fashion Collection                                         Photo Credit: Kat, Creative Commons BY-NC 2.0 (cropped)
 Photo Source: insider.com/marine-serre masks                                                                             Photo Source: unu.edu/publications/prejudice 
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Masked demonstrators-Montreal-May Day Protest 2016     Police SWAT Team Leader-full gear                                                       Covid-19 Symbol               Photo Credit: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes          Photo source: https://wallpapersafari.com/w/zg4f0o
Photo Source: theepochtimes.com/mask-laws

To quote Namira Islam Anani@namirari
​“And here I was told covering your face was objectively offensive and a security threat.”

Just Sayin’.
 
Sources:
https://unu.edu/publications/articles/confronting-prejudice-against-muslim-women-in-the-west.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-mask_law
https://www.alamogordonews.com/story/news/local/holloman/2020/01/13/air-force-commissions-first-female-muslim-chaplain/4454664002/
https://nypost.com/2020/02/14/face-masks-are-must-have-accessory-of-london-fashion-week-amid-coronavirus-panic/
https://theconversation.com/muslim-women-who-cover-their-faces-find-greater-acceptance-among-coronavirus-masks-nobody-is-giving-me-dirty-looks-136021
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/opinion/quebec-veil-ban.html
https://www.aclu.org/other/discrimination-against-muslim-women-fact-sheet
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13038095
https://www.economist.com/erasmus/2019/07/10/western-governments-are-telling-muslim-women-not-to-cover-up
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/countries-that-ban-burkha-hijab-niqab-1514673-2019-05-02
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/2020/04/20/these-face-masks-can-help-stop-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus-and-theyre-available-right-now/#11402de33936
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fashion-brand-debuts-face-masks-at-paris-fashion-week-coronavirus-1281590
https://nocamels.com/2020/04/israel-fashion-accessories-face-masks-coronavirus/
Photos only:
https://www.shape.com/fitness/gear/face-mask-running-coronavirus
https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-it-time-to-wear-a-face-mask-11585855788
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/should-all-americans-be-wearing-face-masks-to-protect-against-coronavirus-these-scientists-say-yes-2020-03-31
https://wallpapersafari.com/w/zg4f0oa
https://www.amaliah.com/post/57037/french-niqab-ban-cardi-b-niqab-and-french-montana-niqabis-in-video


 

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    Author R. Ann Siracusa

    Novelist, retired architect and urban planner, world traveler, quilter, owl collector, devoted wife-mother-grandmother, great-grandmother, and, according to some, wild-assed liberal.

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