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YIKES! THAT AGAIN? OH, PFFT! Interjections, Onomatopoeia, and Prevarications

4/9/2021

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Not long ago I was searching for the correct spellings for uh-huh (agreement) and uh-uh (negation), since I invariably mix up the two, and in the process ran on to a number of articles on interjections. The definitions from one article to the next seemed inconsistent and the word lists given were definitely mixing parts of speech…or so it appeared.

My favorite soap box topic is “Know the rules. If you then choose to break them, it should be on purpose, not out of ignorance.” And, preferably, for a reason you can articulate. After all, words are the tools of the writer, so let’s get them right.

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THE OH-SO-TEDIOUS PARTS OF SPEECH
Since this article is aimed at fiction writers, you don’t need a grammar lesson on parts of speech. However, it never hurts to remind yourself every now and then. I had learned – at least a hundred and fifty years ago – that there were eight parts of speech, but I found nine listed in Wikipedia.

​1) Noun; 2) Verb; 3) Adjective; 4) Adverb; 5) Pronoun; 6) Preposition; 7) Conjunction; 8) Interjection; and 9) Article or (more recently) Determiner.

I must have lost one over the years and, frankly, the term “determiner” was new to me in this context. Ah, well… It really doesn’t matter. We all know everything in English grammar overlaps just about everything else at one time or another.

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THE SPONTANEOUNS UTTERANCE
The best definition of an “Interjection”  ‒ for me as a writer – is this: “An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling or reaction.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interjection

​
Some grammarians deem interjections as least important of the nine parts of speech because they are not generally required in order for the meaning of the sentence to be clear. That might be true for technical writing and some non-fiction but, in fiction, anything that expresses on the page a spontaneous feeling or emotion is important.

Words on the page is all writers have to work with.


This part of speech occurs most often in informal dialogue, interrupting the flow of conversation with a word or phrase that indicates the speaker’s or view point character’s emotion or reaction to the content of the discussion. They are also found in letters or other written communications between people, or even in internal thoughts.

Almost any word or part of speech can be used as an interjection, but they are usually one or two words followed by an exclamation point. The interjection “Oh, gosh!” is a complete and grammatically correct sentence although it doesn’t have the requisite verb and subject.
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/interjections/what-is-an-interjection.html.

Who knew? Not many of the writers who judge writing contests… in my experience, anyway.

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GETTING A BANG OUT OF ONOMATOPOEIA
“Onomatopoeia” has been one of my favorite words since grammar school, probably because it sounded so strange and no one else in my class could spell it.

Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia, and it is not a part of speech but more of a figure of speech.

The purpose of this literary device in writing is to add sensory description and depth to your writing. The reader can almost hear those sounds as they read through a written work. The words mimic the sounds, painting a more visual picture, and help the writer show and not tell.

There are a large variety of these categories of words: animal sounds, water sounds, music sounds, people sounds, ad infinitum. Good vocabulary and creative use of o
nomatopoeia can help a writer conquer the dreaded cliché by their coming up with a fresh description or by simply using one or two words.

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​​WHEN LISTS MERGE
​I’ve come full circle. Remember, I was concerned only about correct spelling, and I found this lovely list of “Interjections” which gave me the spelling I was looking for. In addition, the list contained words I suspected were not interjections: “belch”, for example.

Except in the case of little boys and teenagers, a blech is a spontaneous utterance and can definitely interrupt a conversation, but I challenge anyone to convince me the word “belch” expresses a feeling or reaction to the conversation. One might intuit
 physical feelings of the “belcher”, but the word is not intended to do so, and stomach upset most likely has nothing to do with the conversation. The same goes for a sneeze, a fart, and a number of other basic – or base – human onomatopoeia.

Keep in mind that onomatopoeia and interjections are two different concepts. They are not the same although many words can be both, as well as being a noun or verb at the same time. While there are many onomatopoeic words used correctly as interjections, it’s not all the time that an interjection imitates sounds. People don’t commonly use “oink” as an interjection in a conversation.


Just be cautious with lists from the internet unless you are confident of the writer’s credentials.

LITERARY PREVARICATIONS
​Onomatopoeia mimics a sound. Interjections interrupt with a spontaneous word or phrase that expresses a feeling or reaction related to the conversation. And either one might be both, depending on context and punctuation. What could be simpler?

Still a source of ambiguity for me are words or human sounds which simply prevaricate. They are Time buyers. Place holders 
for a pause. A momentary lull in order to redirect one’s attention or to think of what to say, how much to say, a substitute for not knowing the answer when you should, etc. We’ve all been there.

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For my own purposes, I have bestowed the term "Literary Prevarications" on these words/sounds.

Time buyers show up on lists of Interjections and, occasionally, on lists of onomatopoeia. The operative thought being that often they are intended as neither.. Some of the most obvious examples, from various lists, with explanations – by others, not me – of what they mean:
​

“ahh… ” ‒ this means relief or delight.
"er”         ‒ (sometimes “erm”) plays for time.
“hmm”   ‒ extended as needed, suggests curiosity, confusion, consternation, or skepticism.
“huh”     ‒ a sign of disbelief, confusion, or surprise. With a question mark, repetition.
“mmm”   ‒ conveys palatable or palpable pleasure.
“oh”        ‒ is among the most versatile of interjections. Use it:
               • to indicate comprehension or acknowledgment;
             
 • with question mark, a request for verification;
               • to preface direct address (“Oh, sir!”);
               ​• as a sign of approximation or example (“Oh, about three days”);
               • to express emotion or serves as a response to a pain or pleasure.

“sst” / “psst” ‒ calls for quiet or may be intended to attract someone’s attention.
“uh”        ‒ is an expression of skepticism or a delaying tactic.
​“umm”   ‒ is a placeholder for a pause but also denotes skepticism.

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NO AMBIGUITY, PLEASE
My point is that when writing fiction meanings should not be ambiguous. I’m convinced most authors want their readers to understand what they’re reading – unless the author is making something confusing or ambiguous on purpose. That’s okay.

The potential pitfall comes with the author who knows what the words and sentences mean, what the characters are thinking, their backgrounds, and everything that ultimately goes into the meaning of their words, actions, and thoughts.

Most of the time, the rest of the dialogue and actions render an interjection or onomatopoeia perfectly clear, so it is only occasionally that there might be some confusion. And if the author is aware of the possibility, he or she will most likely select the best words.

For example, when there could be doubt 
about the intent, the word “shh” is more likely to be understood as “be quiet”, “stop talking”, or “stop making noise” than the word “ssst”, which might be someone trying to attract someone’s attention without being too obvious.

Also, consistency can make a difference. I have a spy character who always hums “Mmm” when he can’t or doesn’t want to answer his girlfriend’s questions. He does not use that sound to mean anything else, not even – and I quote – palatable pleasure, which is the definition or feeling given to “Mmm” by one of the list-makers.


JUST SAYIN’
□

Note: See my "Resources" page for the best list I found for interjections, plus a few other I added from other lists.

Sources:
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus-category/british/written-representations-of-sounds
https://surveyanyplace.com/the-ultimate-interjection-list/
https://blogs.transparent.com/english/onomatopoeia-the-sounds-we-make-and-how-to-spell-them/
http://writtensound.com/index.php
https://www.dailywritingtips.com/100-mostly-small-but-expressive-interjections​
https://www.howtolinks.com/how-to-spell-grunt-sounds
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378216614002422
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271141148_distinguishing_onomatopoeias_from_interjections
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onomatopoeia
https://thinkwritten.com/onomatopoeia/
https://writingexplained.org/grammar-dictionary/onomatopoeia
https://writingexplained.org/grammar-dictionary/interjection
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/interjections/what-is-an-interjection.html
https://www.examples.com/education/onomatopoeia-sentence-examples.html
https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/grammar-rules-for-writers
https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/quiz/jeu-quiz-onomatopees-interjections-onomatopoeia-eng
https://www.gigapromo.com/?q=grammar%20writing%20book&asid=giga_us_ba_gc4_02&de=c&ac=10025&cid=316705730&aid=1364494360306783&kid=kwd-85281133597227:loc-190&locale=en_us&msclkid=fedb7e152b6e1604564d1e743375519c
https://www.thoughtco.com/sounds-in-english-language-3111166#:~:text=%20the%2018%20consonant%20sounds%20%201%20b:,yawn%2018%20z:%20zipper%20and%20zap%20more
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-with-Sound-Interjections-Exclamations-and-Onomatopoeia-Words-4572492

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EASTER BEFORE EASTER BUNNIES: Medieval Easter Customs

4/2/2021

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​​​Easter is of the one of the most important days in the Christian tradition. It is the Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the foundation upon which the Christian religions are built. In the New Testament of the Bible, the event is said to have occurred three days after Jesus was crucified by the Romans and died in roughly 30 A.D. The precise year is debatable.

AFTER THE RESSURECTION
After the resurrection of Jesus, the apostles set out to spread the Word of Jesus Christ to the rest of the world. The early Gospel message was spread orally, probably    Image Credit: By Surgun100 - Own work, Public Domain    in Aramaic. 
Image Source: commons.wikimedia.org/index.php ▲     There was no real. “organized” religion or church at that 
                                                   time. Instead, there were enclaves ​ of Jewish Christians who tended to develop their own interpretations and doctrines.

   Dark blue-Spread of Christianity to AD 325 / Light blue-Spread of Christianity to AD 600
Christians in the 3rd-4th Century & Constantine - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
   
▼​Image Souree: islideserve.com/zachary-dean/christians-3rd-4th
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​Because the early Christians were Jewish, it is logical that they were first to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Such observances took place in relation to Passover. A more Christian observation of Easter, the festival of Pascha, first appeared in the middle of the 2nd century.
​
By then, there was a more formal structure which evolved from early Jewish-Christian communities, and variant Christian doctrines developed. Christianity grew apart from Judaism, creating its own identity.

In 325 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine the First called together a council of about 300 Christian bishops in the city of Nicaea, to develop a consensus regarding the issues that divided the leaders, including the name of the religion, and also the date upon which Easter (Ressurection Sunday) would be celebrated.
​

WHAT’S IN A NAME?
“Easter” is the English word for “Pascha” which is directly related to the Jewish Passover, the commemoration of the Jewish Exodus from Egypt.
▼ Image Source: christianbook.com/ecclesiastical-history-of-the-english-people/          

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This name in Hebrew was פֶּסַח pesach; in Aramaic; פָּסחָא pascha; Greek, Πάσχα (Pascha); and Latin, Pascha. The earliest written mention of Pascha in reference the Resurrection of Christ was in the middle of the 1st century AD by Paul the Apostle, writing to the Christians in Corinth.

The word “Easter” appears in the 6th century’s “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” written by Saint Bede the Venerable. This text claims the word Easter derives from “Eostre (or Eostrae)”, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. Other historians claim the name derives from a Latin phrase which, in plural, means dawn. The word dawn/alba became “eostarum” in German, a precursor to the English language.

Isn’t etymology fun?

WHAT’S IN A DATE?
Following the etymology of the name for this celebration is a piece of cake compared to figuring out the day to celebrate the Resurrection.

The calculation begins simply. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is cited in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day after his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans, which occurred in 30 AD -- A piece of cake!

A five-part Russian Orthodox icon depicting the Easter story.
Eastern Orthodox Christians use a different computation for the date of Easter than the Western churches.
Image Source:  commons.wikimedia.org/3200390   
▼​

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Then the calculations get complicated. According to Flavius Josephus, Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea from AD 26 until he was replaced by Marcellus, either in AD 36 or AD 37, establishing the date of the death of Jesus between 26 AD and 37 AD.

According to the Gospel of John, the resurrection of Jesus happened to fall on Saturday, not Friday. aethelmearcgazette.com/medieval-easter-traditions/

And why does Easter (aka Resurrection Sunday) fall on different dates in various parts of the world and among different denominations of Christianity? Eastern Orthodox Christians and Western Christians celebrate at different times because the west still goes by the old Julian calendar to set the date of Easter, even though we use the Gregorian calendar for fixed feasts like Christmas.
​

The controversy over when to celebrate Easter continued for years because of the differences between the Hebrew and Julian calendars and the way Passover is established in the Bible.                                                                                 Hebrew Calendar
▼ image source: pinterest.com/495958977703692715

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​The matter was not settled until the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD), which decided to ditch the Hebrew lunisolar calendar in favor of the Julian Calendar (developed under Julius Caesar), a solar calendar based on the best scientific and astronomical information available at the time.
​

That was later modified under Augustus Caesar and used until The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582l. Over the years, that calendar has been refined to be more accurate, but not without more controversy and complications.
​
Today Easter “comes the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
If that doesn’t clarify things, forget the calculations and look on the internet for the date.

EASTER IN THE MIDDLE AGES

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▲ Art from a 13th Century Missal
Image Source: tor.com/the-medieval-origins-of-easter-traditions/
The early middle ages date from around 500 to 1000 AD; the high middles ages run from 1000 to 1300 AD. The material I found on Easter in the middle ages makes no distinction between the two eras, nor does it identify where these customs developed. Most likely these are European traditions.

The Easter celebrations are surprising similar to today’s practices, with a few major difference.


● Holy Week
Holy Week is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. The three days before Easter — Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday — were called the Triduum. The people spent most of the day in almost-completely-dark churches for the services called Tenebrae. During this period, no one was allowed the Holy Eucharist.
​

While today Christians attended services on those days, they are not held in the dark. I guess they didn’t worry about public liability in those days.


● Sunrise Service
Easter Sunday began at dawn with the congregation gathering outside the church to sing hymns. Then the priest would lead them into the church for a joyful service, and the congregation received Holy Communion. At the end, the people would be dismissed in grace and forgiveness, and then enjoy a great feast.
​

In the twenty-first century, Easter celebrations often include going to church followed by a special meal, except that nowadays we haven’t been fasting for three days.
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​● New Clothes              Image Source: steel-mastery.com/middle-ages-clothing ►
This was the time of year when people got new clothes. It was the custom that the local nobility had their new clothes made for them, and then passed their older clothes to the servants. The servants kept some and handed the rest to relatives, and so on. And if you were going to sew new clothes for yourself, this was the time of year to do it.

How often have you had new clothes for Easter? Maybe we don’t walk in the Easter Parade, but it’s often a good time to have something new to wear.
​​

● The Big Feast
Following the Church services, there was a big feast. After eating only fish for forty days, the people were ready to party.

Feasts were a serious matter in the middle ages. At least for the nobility, they were colorful and a great deal of attention went in to appearance. In some cases, the lord of the manor would give a feast for the servants. Some believe that was a symbol for Jesus washing his disciples’ feet and serving them. The practice is also reminiscent of certain Roman festivals.
If you were fortunate enough to dine with the nobility, you would enjoy jesters, minstrels, troubadours, acrobats, or conjurers. Demonstration of falconry and jousting were also forms of entertainment.

The menu often consisted of three to six courses. The first course would probably include a civet of hare, a quarter of stag, stuffed chicken, and loin of veal. For the second course, gilt sugar plums and pomegranate seeds covered in German sauce, plums stewed in rose-water. Sliced cheeses, creams, ham, and strawberries might be another course. The last was the finest wines. And don’t forget the eggs.

● Eggs
Eggs at the Easter meal were a big treat, because they were forbidden during lent. Eggs laid during the period were boiled and preserved. For forty days? Pew!

However, I learned that fresh eggs (the ones you collect from the chicken coop on the farm) can stay unrefrigerated for a month or more.  
organicfeeds.com/fresh-chicken-eggs-last/

▼​Image Source: medievalisterrant.wordpress.com/medieval-easter

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​Since pickled eggs were popular from the middles ages into the 1800’s, I imagine that this was one of the methods used to preserve them during Lent.
​
But the Medieval folks did more than eat them. They also painted them and rolled them down low hills as a game. The practice of painting eggs dates far back in history when decorated shells were part of the rites of spring. One source said these were Ostrich eggs, which probably applied to eastern Christians, rather than Europeans.


“Early Christians of Mesopotamia painted them red to symbolize the blood of Christ. The Medievalist Errant notes, “In 1276, Eleanor and Simon de Montfort bought 3700 eggs for their celebration, and in 1290 Edward I’s accounts show that he paid to have 450 eggs decorated with gold leaf.” Eggs were hidden for children to find as an allegory for the disciples finding the risen Christ in the tomb on Easter morning."
https://aethelmearcgazette.com/2015/04/05/medieval-easter-traditions/

Other accounts claim that hiding eggs was a German practice that didn’t come about until the 1700’s. Germans painted them green and hung them on trees.

● “Hock Monday and Tuesday”
“Hock” Monday, the day after Easter, young women would “capture” young men and not release them until they made a donation to the church. On “Hock” Tuesday the young men would capture the girls. I’m not sure this practice exists today.
There are places still where the day after Easter is a holiday as well, but for most of us, it’s back to work or school.

So all in all, there isn’t much difference between the medieval celebrations and our own, except for the Easter Bunny phenomenon which is another whole blog -- and just as  controversy as everything else.
​
Just Sayin’
□
Sources:

https://aethelmearcgazette.com/2015/04/05/medieval-easter-traditions/
https://medievalisterrant.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/medieval-easter-traditions/
https://medievalisterrant.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/medieval-easter-traditions/
https://www.tor.com/2019/04/19/the-medieval-origins-of-easter-traditions/
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/history-of-easter
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/easter-ideas/g191/history-easter-traditions/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Easter-holiday
http://ww1.antiochian.org/node/17394
https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/worship-in-the-supposed-dark-ages/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Christianity#Early_Christianity_(c._31/33%E2%80%93324)
organicfeeds.com/how-long-can-fresh-backyard-chicken-eggs-last/
https://www.ancient.eu/article/1205
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/...
https://merovingianworld.com/2015/04/03/easter-and-co-ordinating-time-in-the-early-middle-ages/#:~:text=In%20the%20early%20Middle%20Ages%2C%20as%20Roman%20imperial,portion%20of%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20liturgical%20calendar.
https://themiddleagesportfolio.weebly.com/medieval-food-and-feasts.html#:~:text=Some%20types%20of%20food%20that%20were%20traditionally%20served,plums%20and%20pomegranate%20seeds%20covered%20in%20German%20sauce.
https://realfoodforager.com/recipe-purple-pickled-eggs/#:~:text=Pickled%20eggs%20were%20popular%20in%20the%20middle%20ages,rage%20in%20pubs%20and%20bars%20until%20the%201970%E2%80%99s.
Sources of Photos/ images
https://aethelmearcgazette.com/2015/04/05/medieval-easter-traditions/
https://www.tor.com/2019/04/19/the-medieval-origins-of-easter-traditions/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=313273
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P%C3%B6tting_Kirchenfenster_7_Osterlamm.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3200390
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=313273
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8724640
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/a-history-of-the-english-church-and-people_bede/282805/item/1238888/?mkwid=Vp0rZzwJ%7cdc&pcrid=11558858428&pkw=&pmt=be&slid=&product=1238888&plc=&pgrid=3970769502&ptaid=pla-1101002859940&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_camp

https://www.wattpad.com/237404088-the-goddess-eostre-eostre-and-eos
https://www.slideserve.com/zachary-dean/christians-in-the-3rd-4th-century-constantine
https://steel-mastery.com/middle-ages-women-s-clothing.html




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Feline Facial Expessions

3/26/2021

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THE MYSTERY
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​​​    "How cute is that? My cat is smiling at me,” Virginia says and claps her hands.
    “Don’t be stupid,” her father scoffs. “Cat’s don’t smile. They only have on expression!"
​

Poor Virginia. Maybe there really isn't a Santa Claus.

CAT WHISPERERS
Even cat people will agree that most domestic cats have somewhat unexpressive faces. If you are a true “cat whisperer” you may not agree, but for most of us, reading a cat’s expression is more difficult.

Some scientists believe that the stone-faced expression on cats is because they started on the path to domestication only 12,000 to 9,500 years ago and have been “socialized” only a few thousand years. They may gradually evolve more expressive faces.

What? Twelve thousand years seems long enough, even on the evolutionary scale, to develop as expressive a face as is needed to live with humans. But what do I know?

Human faces, compared to cats, are much more expressive. [Duh!] We have lots of muscles and nerves and other things going on. People depend at lot on reading facial expressions of others to assess people’s feeling, personality, and intent but, whether people realize it or not, body language plays a large part in that assessment.

Is it possible cats are hard to read because we pay more attention to their mouths and eyes. Most breeds of cats have large eyes and a down-turned mouth. If we try to superimpose human feelings onto those features, the result is bound to be off.


ANATOMY
Some sources indicate the fixed expression of cats is due to the anatomy of the cat concerned, and not a true facial expression. Different breeds of cats do have varying anatomy which modifies the “expression” slightly from breed to breed.

A few examples are below. Frankly, I didn’t find the differences that pronounced, but I’m not familiar with many breeds of cats and perhaps didn’t choose the most diverse ones.
​
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        ▲ Sphynx --  Image source:               ▲ Modern Persian -- Image Source:              ▲Cornish-Rex --Image Source: 
      pictures-of-cats.org/cats-unexpressive                          petzlover.com/persian-cats                                     cat-breeds-encyclopedia.com/Cornish-Rex

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  ▲ Calico -- Image Source:                              ▲ Burmese -- Image Source:                 ▲ Tabby -- Image Source:
         
thepaws.net/calico-cat                                                         bowwowinsurance.com.au/cats/                                 coleandmarmalade.com/facts-about-tabbys
NEVER FEAR… CATFACS ARE HERE!
CatFACS stands for Cat Facial Action Coding System, a scientific tool for observing, identifying, and coding facial movements in cats.

This system was adapted from a widely used system created in 1978 to study human facial expressions. The system “allows an objective and comprehensive analysis of facial movements based on the movements of facial muscles. Each of the individual facial movements is called an Action Unit (AU) and defines a specific set of appearance changes visible on the face due to the contraction of specific muscles. Action Descriptors (ADs) are additional codes created to classify broader movements such as head direction changes. In CatFACS, there is also a set of additional movements to describe the incredibly complex range of ear movements in the domestic cat, called Ear Action Descriptors. Together, AUs, ADs and EADs cover all potential movements on the cat face, including very subtle and small… ” feline-friends.org.uk/facial-expressions-of-cats/
​
Thank goodness you have to be a trained and certified coder to use the system, so we are all safe.

In another study performed by Georgia Mason, a professor in the University of Guelph's Department of Animal Biosciences, a large number of participants [mostly cat owners] studied photos of cats and indentified for each whether the expressions was positive or negative [without any other information]. The scientific team had already spent hours perusing videos of cats in various situations and rating the cats’ expressions. About sixty percent of the general participants judged incorrectly compared to the scientists. dailymail.co.uk/Scientists-claim-cats-facial-expressions
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      POSITIVE EXPRESSION                      NEGATIVE EXPRESSION                          NEGATIVE/FRUSTRATED             EXPRESSION - Its owner                      Cat is about to throw up        Has been prevented from reaching food
      holding bag of treats                                  
     Source of images: dailymail.co.uk/Scientists-claim-cats-facial-expressions

Mystery Solved! Virginia, you can relax now. Even though these studies do prove that cats to have different expressions, they can be difficult to read. The cat’s entire body language is as important, if not more, to intuit what your cat is feeling.
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For example: Does the smile on a cat’s face mean the cat is happy? The following cats look happy to me, but are they?   
Cats smiling below courtesy of boredpanda.com/smiling-cats/
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According to Viktorija Gabulaitė writing for boredpanda.com “these aren't true smiles, as their facial muscles are not the same as humans. So, technically, smiling animals aren't really smiling. More often than not, your cute cat will express happiness via the obvious purring, closing their eyes, and relaxing their head backward.”

Well, I’d bet these cats were all purring.


CASE STUDY -- REXIE
In case you’re not convinced, take a peek at Rexie, a 3-year-old cat which was rescued as a kitten, with a broken backbone and no control over his two back legs. Restored to health by his owner, Dasha Minaeva, but still unable to use his legs, he has no problem with facial expressions.

Credit for Images: Owner Dasha Minaeva
Sources of Images: boredpanda.com/handicapped-cat-rexie-the-handicat.
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It’s a remarkable story and a remarkable cat. He has the coolest cat “wheelchair”. Read about him at boredpanda.com/handicapped-cat-rexie-the-handicat.
JUST SAYIN’
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Sources:
https://catappy.com/tips-to-take-care-of-your-sphynx-cat
https://pictures-of-cats.org/the-domestic-cats-unexpressive-face.html#google_vignette
http://www.feline-friends.org.uk/topics/the-facial-expressions-of-cats/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_short-haired_cat
https://www.boredpanda.com/smiling-cats/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
https://ultimatepetnutrition.com/cat-expression/
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/finally-know-cats-facial-expressions-mean/
https://icatcare.org/do-facial-expressions-help-adoption/
https://catappy.com/tips-to-take-care-of-your-sphynx-cat
https://bowwowinsurance.com.au/cats/cat-breeds/burmese/
https://myanimals.com/health/care-and-well-being/tips/6-cat-facial-expressions-and-what-they-mean/
https://www.petzlover.com/us/persian-cats-for-sale-in-castro-valley-289310
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/11/30/cats-do-have-facial-expressions-you-probably-cant-read-them/

https://coleandmarmalade.com/2018/12/22/8-fun-facts-about-ginger-tabby-cats/https://myanimals.com/health/care-and-well-being/tips/6-cat-facial-expressions-and-what-they-mean/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7746017/Scientists-claim-cats-facial-expressions-humans-really-bad-reading-them.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/219339444334103737/https:/www.researchgate.net/figure/Two-cats-with-typical-feline-social-behavior-Courtesy-of-I-Rodan_fig3_7730242
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Lesser-Known Women In History: WHEN THE ENEMY IS AT THE GATE, THE WOMEN GO OUT FIGHTING

3/19/2021

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​The Trưng sisters, Trắc and Nhi, are largely unknown in the west, but in today’s Vietnam they are national heroines. In 40 AD the two sisters lead the Vietnam rebellion against the first Chinese Domination of Vietnam, and ruled the country for three years until the second Chinese invasion.
Note: In Vietnam, as with most Asians, the surname/ family name goes first: Trưng. The first name is written last.
    Image Credit: Painting by Bac Ninh  ▲                                                                                                                           ▼ Map of Current Republic of Vietnam 
     Image source: en.wikipedia.org/Trung_sisters'_rebellion                                           Image
 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War

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​WHERE THEY WERE
To give the reader an idea of where this story took place, the map shows the current Republic of Vietnam and the adjacent part of China. In 40 AD there was no country called Vietnam but many  districts of kingdoms. References used herein to current geographical terms are for ease of understanding.
                                                                                               The arrows at the top are routes used by the Chinese to invade in 1979. The center set of arrows depicts the general area of where the ​
Nanyue existed in 40 AD.

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THE TRƯNG SISTERS
The Trưng sisters were born around 12 and 14 AD into a military family in a rural village, Giao Chi, in what is now northern Vietnam. Although their birth dates are unknown, Trắc was the eldest. Nhị, the younger by a few years. Their father, being a prefect of Mê Linh [now a rural district of Hanoi] made sure they grew up well-trained in the martial arts, the art and strategies of warfare, and physical combat. Both were in line to inherit their father's land and titles. In addition, they were highly educated in all other subjects.

Without going into detail about the long history of the area, Nanyue was part of the Trieue  dynasty. The Chinese Emperor Wu of Han sent troops in 111 BC to annex the territory of Nanyue and surrounding districts. Under the Han Chinese, the new rulers imposed political and cultural control over the territory and assigned governors to oversee existing local leadership.

This was the environment in which the Trưng sisters grew up, and they were well aware of the cruel treatment of the Viets by the Chinese overlords. Much friction was caused by the Vietnamese social structure based on a more equal status between the sexes. Unlike those in China, women in Vietnam could serve as judges, soldiers, and even rulers and had equal rights to inherit land and other property.

THE REBELLION
Trưng Trắc was probably still a teenager when she fell in love and married Thi Sách, the son of another prefect and young district chief and nobleman. Together with sister Nhi, husband and wife outwardly protested Chinese rule and secretly plotted to overthrow the invaders.

Trưng Trắc was described as having “a brave and fearless disposition,” and Chinese records claim that Thi Sách followed his wife’s decisions, not the other way around. It is thought that the teen sisters were in charge of recruiting Vietnamese lords to fight in a rebellion. When the Chinese governor discovered their plan, he brutally executed Trac’s husband, hanging his body from the city’s gate as a warning to the rebels.
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Another version of the story tells about how Thi Sach, in 39 AD, lodged a formal protest to the governor about increasing tax rates. As a result, the Chinese governor executed Thi Sach. It’s not impossible that this action might have been part of the three’s plan to overthrow the Chinese.

The governor may have expected Trắc, the young widow, to go into seclusion as would a Chinese woman, but he was sadly mistaken. Instead, she and her younger sister raised an army of 80,000, many of them women, and launched a rebellion against the Chinese. Within months, they took about 65 cities from the Chinese and liberated Nanyue after 150 years of Chinese rule.

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The Trưng Sisters are often portrayed going into battle on Elephants with a army mostly of women
Image source: ancient-origins.net/history/trung-sister-freedom-fighters

QUEEN TRƯNG TRắC’S REIGN
After expelling the governor who killed her husband, Queen Trưng Trắc ruled for three years. She was strong and intelligent. During the three year reign, the sister traveled about the region on their battle elephants, endeavoring to keep their troops trained and well-motivated.                                                                                                
Image Credit: Gwen Stiria
                                                                                                         Image Source: wattpad.com/453708183-female-warriors

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 In her wisdom, Queen Trưng Trắc suspended taxes in the first two year to give the chance for the population and economy to stabilize after the harsh taxes of the Chinese. Food stores were replenished and allowed the Viets to adequately feed themselves. She also She also sent men out to repair roads and bridges and to begin restoring the realm. But her actions to suspend taxes and re-establish the food supply kept the Queen in the people’s hearts.

In her third year as queen, Trưng Trắc became aware the Chinese were preparing to retake Nanyue. In the spring of 43 AD, Chinese General Ma Yuan left Han with a hugh army which followed the coastline and entered the Sui Mountains. Ma and his forces traveled over 310 miles to reach Lãng Bạc. There the Chinese battled with the queen’s forces.

Trưng Trắc realized the Chinese army was much larger than hers. She considered her own forces to be less well-trained and feared it could not stand against General Ma. Therefore, she withdrew to Jin River. Her followers thought the queen, being a woman, could not be victorious and deserted her and her sister.


DEFEAT AND DEATH
The accounts of the sisters’ deaths vary enough to fall into legend rather than history. The Trưng sisters were defeated in battle in 43 AD. The Chinese and Vietnamese records about their fate vary a bit.
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One report is that the Trưng sisters were killed by Ma Yuan, presumably in battle. Another version from a different source reports that they died fighting after the other rebels deserted them. The Book of the Later Han indicates they were beheaded by the Chinese General who sent their severed heads back to the Han leaders. The other recorded version is that they committed suicide.

There are less likely legends claiming the sisters fell sick, vanished in the sky, or took their own lives by jumping into a river and drowning. According to one legendary account, when they were finally overwhelmed by the enemy armies, Trắc and Nhi threw themselves into the Hat Giang River in order to avoid capture. They then turned into statues. These eventually washed ashore and were placed in Hanoi's Hai Ba Trung Temple for worship.

In short, Queen Trưng Trắc and her sister Nhi died in this battle, or as the result of it, and that ended their rule and independence for the northern area of Vietnam.

“The Trưng sisters' rebellion marked a brilliant epoch for women in ancient southern China and reflected the important of women in early Vietnamese society. One reason for the defeat is the desertion by rebels because they did not believe they could win under a woman's leadership. The fact that women were in charge was blamed as a reason for the defeat by historical Vietnamese texts.

Vietnamese historians were ridiculing and mocking men for the fact that they did nothing while "mere girls", whom they viewed with revulsion, took up the banner of revolt-the Vietnamese poem which talked about the revolt of the Trung Sisters while the men did nothing was not intended to praise women nor view war as women's work as it has been wrongly interpreted.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trung_sisters%27_rebellion
 

NOT FORGOTTEN
Even though these events took place nearly 2000 years ago, and despite how the men felt about women fighting, the Trưng  sisters and their contribution to the homeland are not forgotten. Not only are there temples and statues to honor them, but their accomplishments are celebrated annually in February to commemorate their deaths.

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                          Trưng Sisters, national heroines of Viet Nam are honoured with a prade of elephants and floats in Saigon, 1961
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Image Source: connectedwomen.co/the-trung-sisisters    
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The valor of the Trưng sisters is a reminder to today’s society of what can be accomplished with passion, bravery, and courage. These Vietnamese national heroines are indeed real symbols of resistance and independence and their uncommon story, as female war heroes, should not be forgotten.
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Image ource: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr_sisters

Note 1: The Indian Elephant is native to mainland Asia, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Laos, China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is regionally extinct in Pakistan. The Indian elephant appears frequently in ancient Asian art and legends. Elephants are present in almost all narratives of battles in ancient Asia.

Note 2: The popular saying, "When the enemy is at the gate, the women go out fighting" often has been cited as evidence of women's stature. The actual phrase in Vietnamese is "Giặc đến nhà, đàn bà cũng đánh" which means literally “When the enemy troops came to the house, the woman also went to fight the enemy.” It is intended to mean that fighting in war is inappropriate for women and that it is only when the situation is so desperate that war has spread to their home that women should enter the war.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trung_sisters'_rebellion#/media/File:Hai_ba_trung_Dong_Ho_painting.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C6%B0ng_Sisters
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/12/20/the-trung-sisters-the-national-heroines-of-vietnam-who-successfully-repelled-a-chinese-invasion-for-three-years/#:~:text=The%20sisters%20represent%20Vietnam%E2%80%99s%20independence%20and%20they%20are,are%20powerfu
https://www.thoughtco.com/trung-sisters-heroes-of-vietnam-195780
https://www.britannica.com/topic/trung-sisters
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Tr%C6%B0ng_Sisters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C6%B0ng_Sisters
http://www.hoangthanhthanglong.vn/blog/chuyen-ke-ve-hai-ba-trung/458
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trung_sisters'_rebellion#/media/File:Hai_ba_trung_Dong_Ho_painting.jpg
http://hanoimoi.com.vn/Ban-in/Van-hoa/641952/nha-hat-cheo-ha-noi-cong-dien-vo-vuong-nu-me-linhhttp://hanoimoi.com.vn/Ban-in/Van-hoa/641952/nha-hat-cheo-ha-noi-cong-dien-vo-vuong-nu-me-linh
https://beyondword.com/blogs/beyond-words-blog/the-trung-sisters
https://www.wattpad.com/453708183-female-warriors-tr%C6%B0ng-tr%E1%BA%AFc-tr%C6%B0ng-nh%E1%BB%8B
https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/hell-hath-no-fury-trung-sister-freedom-fighters-002199
https://www.connectedwomen.co/magazine/herstory-the-trung-sisters-brave-heroines-of-vietnamese-history/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:T%C6%B0%E1%BB%A3ng_Hai_B%C3%A0_Tr%C6%B0ng_%E1%BB%9F_Su%E1%BB%91i_Ti%C3%AAn.JPG
http://www.vnhelp.org/blog/celebrating-international-womens-history-with-the-trung-sisters/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trung_sisters'_rebellion#/media/File:Hai_ba_trung_Dong_Ho_painting.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_conquest_of_Nanyue
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/12/20/the-trung-sisters-the-national-heroines-of-vietnam-who-successfully-repelled-a-chinese-invasion-for-three-years/#:~:text=The%20sisters%20represent%20Vietnam%E2%80%99s%20independence%20and%20they%20are,are%20powerfu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/hai-ba-trung-the-story-of-vietnams-elephant-riding-warrior-princesses/\
https://taobabe.rocks/the-trung-sisters-part-4/
https://www.augustman.com/my/travel/trung-sisters-vietnams-famous-heroines/
https://www.sahapedia.org/asian-elephants-history-and-culture-overview

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The Luck of the Irish

3/12/2021

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THE LUCK OF THE IRISH
​Most people take the phrase “The Luck of the Irish” to mean that the Irish are a particularly lucky people, luckier than others. People who are Irish or of Irish heritage are proud of the fact.

ORIGIN OF THE TERM
The term Luck of the Irish was originated in the United States. There are varying theories regarding how it got started, and some of the time the phrase was not intended to be a particularly complimentary one.

● Sad History Theory
According to some historians, this is a phrase intended to describe the sad history of Ireland and the tragedy of the Irish having to leave their beautiful country to survive: i.e. Bad 
Luck of the Irish, poor dears..

The Irish potato famine began in 1845 when a fungus-like organism that ruined the potato crops spread through Ireland. The Irish relied heavily on potatoes as a food source. Before the end of the infestation in 1852, about one million Irish had died of starvation and related causes, and at least another million left the homeland as refugees.

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 Sketch of widow with wstarving son
Image Credit: Photography by Granger
Image Source:    https://fineartamerica.com/art
Emigrants Leave Ireland
ImageCredit: Henry Doyle 1868
Image Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki
     The Irish Potato Famine
    Image Source:pinterest.com/kevinkristl/
In those days, emigration to America, Great Britain, or Australia undoubtedly meant they would never see their families, friends, or homeland again. The goodbye party for emigrants was like a wake.
● Irish Success From Luck, Not Hard Work Theory 
 The Irish in American had a tough time and were not well regarded at the beginning of the mass emigrations. Integrating into the American culture and becoming successful was a struggle: it took a lot of character and determination. Ungraciously, other Americans used the term Luck of the Irish to mean the Irish had success only because they were lucky, not because they were hard-working.
A variation, or perhaps continuation, of this theory is related to the gold and silver rushes. "During the gold and silver rush years in the second half of the 19th century, a number of the most famous and successful miners were of Irish and Irish American birth.... Over time this association of the Irish with mining fortunes led to the expression Luck of the Irish. Of course, it carried with it a certain tone of derision, as if to say, only by sheer luck, as opposed to brains, could these fools succeed." From "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History," by Edward T. O’Donnell, Associate Professor of History at Holy Cross College.

Case in point. John William Mackay (1831 – 1902) was an Irish-American who made his fortune by being one of the four men who discovered the Comstock Lode [silver] in Nevada in 1859.    ▼Comstock Miners of the 1880’s - Image source: praoh.org/john-mackay
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In the peak years of the Comstock Silver Mine, 1876–78, silver ore worth approximately $36,000,000 was extracted on an annual basis.

Mackay became one of the major industrialists in American and also headed a telegraph business that laid transatlantic cables. He helped finance the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway Company. 
The Luck of the Irish, combined with hard work and brains.
 
● Good Luck Theory 
"The luck of the Irish" means good luck. People use it when a person of Irish descent inexplicably beats the odds. (Beating the odds isn't inexplicable, it just looks that way, but it surprises observers.)” Posted by R. Berg, phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/

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​CELEBRATING THE IRISH
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Whether or not The Luck of the Irish is good, bad or the same as anyone else’s, the Irish have great pride in the homeland and their heritage plus an awesome sense of humor.
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On Saint Patrick’s Day [the patron saint of Ireland ], March 17, the heritage of the Irish is celebrated worldwide and all the rest of us can take part as well. And looking at the festivities that go with the Irish Heritage Day, the Irish are indeed lucky.

ÓCH! SAINT PATRICK WASN'T IRISH!
In spite of being the Apostle and Patron Saint of Ireland, Patrick was born in Roman Britain, near Dumbarton, Scotland, in the year 387. His father, Calphurnius was a deacon from a Roman family of high standing, and his mother, Conchessa, was a close relative of St. Martin of Tours.

At the age of sixteen [perhaps as young as fourteen], Patrick was captured by a band of Irish pirates attacking his father's estate. He was taken to Ireland where he was enslaved for six years near Slemish, County Antrim. [Other scholars claim he was taken to County Mayo near Killala.]

Where ever he was held, he worked as a shepherd. Alone and afraid, he turned to his religion for comfort and direction. It was then he became a deeply devoted Christian. The rest of the story is another blog.


Just Sayin’
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Sources:
https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/irish-potato-famine
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/where-does-the-term-the-luck-of-the-irish-come-from
https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/9/messages/214.html
http://www.epictimes.com/03/18/2015/why-do-we-say-it-luck-of-the-irish/
https://daily.jstor.org/yes-women-participated-in-the-gold-rush/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Mackay

https://www.etymonline.com/word/luck
https://shmaltzandmenudo.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/famous-sayings-53-the-luck-of-the-irish/
https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-luck-of-the-irish.htm#didyouknowout
https://unrealfacts.com/phrase-luck-irish-supposed-offensive/
https://theuijunkie.com/o-mc-mac-irish-surnames/
http://www.briticannica.com/place/Comstock-Lode
https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/9/messages/214.html
https://praoh.org/john-mackay-the-forgotten-bonanza-king/
https://www.theirishroadtrip.com/the-luck-of-the-irish/#:~:text=%20The%20Origin%20of%20%E2%80%98the%20Luck%20of%20the,Although%20many%20Irish%20American%20websites%20and...%20More

Photographs
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/irish-potato-famine-1846-47-granger.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emigrants_Leave_Ireland_by_Henry_

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IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

3/5/2021

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​March is Woman’s History Month, a time dedicated to highlighting “the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society.”

Unfortunately, not everyone – man or be. History is fickle: sometimes the simplest events are immortalized while major events are forgotten. woman – with noteworthy accomplishments gets credit for their achievements, however awesome they may The limelight may shine on those whose contributions, if they can be called that, are much less significant.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME
Not all heroes are born destined for greatness. Sometimes they are just in the right place at the right time. The import thing is that these people prepared themselves for something. Then, they recognized an opportunity-responsibility-necessity when it came along, picked up the ball and ran with it… without knowing where it would lead them or intending to make their mark on history.
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​Consider the case of "V", a girl born in 1937 to a farm worker [a tractor driver] and his wife. "V"s father will killed in WWII in 1939. The girl’s mother, left with three children to raise, went to work at a cotton mill. This girl didn’t go to school until she was ten years old, but graduated at seventeen. In 1954 she went to work at the same textile mill as her mother, but continued her studies through correspondence courses.

Perhaps to add some excitement to her hard life, she took up sky diving in the spare time she had, and made her first jump at 22. While still working full time she trained as a competitive parachutist without letting her family know. That’s a notable achievement right there!

Was this girl destined for greatness? She was a hard worker and competitive, for sure, but that’s not always an adequate background to hit the ground running in the race for international fame. Nonetheless, Valentina Tereshkova was the first, and youngest [26], woman in the world to go to space. She still holds the record as the only woman to fly a space mission solo.                                                                             
Valentina Tereshkova
                                                                                                                                      Image Credit: www.kremlin.ru.
                                                                                                                      Image Source: stormfront.org/t1202584/

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​A KICK IN THE BUTT
In 1961 after the Russians sent Yuri Gagarin into space, the American media gave the Russian Director of Cosmonaut Training, Nikolai Kamanin, a kick in the butt by printing stories that the United States was training females to become astronauts.

Whether the reports were true or not isn’t mentioned in the research, but it prompted the Kamanin to write in his diary,
"We cannot allow that the first woman in space will be American. This would be an insult to the patriotic feelings of Soviet women."

Kamanin saw to it that the next group of trainees [who were to begin in 1963] included women. The only requirements for a female to apply were that she be a parachutist under 30 years of age, less than 5’7” in height and 154 in weight. Four hundred applicants were selected as candidates for consideration. Of those, only 58 passed the first cut. In 1962;Tereshkova and four others were selected to be trained as cosmonauts for the upcoming Vostok missions.

Taken into the Soviet Air Force at the rank of “private”, but without any military experience, the five women started their rigorous training 9 months earlier than the male cosmonauts. During that time, Tereshkova also attended the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy, although she didn’t graduate until a few years after her flight.
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As the flight grew nearer, two of the five dropped out, leaving Tereshkova as one of the three potential pilots. On May 21, 1963 Tereshkova was assigned to pilot Vostok 6 and promoted to lieutenant before her flight. She was promoted to captain in mid-flight.

UP, UP AND AWAY
Vostok 5 launched on June 14, 1963 with male pilot Valery Bykovsky in command for a five day mission. Two days later, June 16, “Tereshkova and her backup Solovyova were both dressed in spacesuits and taken to the  launch pad by bus. Following the tradition set by Gagarin, Tereshkova also urinated on the bus tire, becoming the first woman to do so.” en.wikipedia.org/Valentina_Tereshkova

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Image credit: Roskosmos                                                              Image Credit: RussianSpaceWeb
Image source: russianspaceweb.com/vostok6                          
 
Image Source: russianspaceweb.com/vostok6
The launch was perfect. The first female astronaut was on her way to stardom.
Voskos 5 and 6 spent three days in orbital planes about 30̥° apart and came within 3 miles of each other for one obit. They could talk but could not see each other’s ship.


Tereshkova was in flight for a few minutes short of three days and orbited the earth 48 times, logging more flight hours than the combined times of all American astronauts who had gone into space before that date.

Her flight log and the photos she took of the horizon were subsequently utilized to identify aerosol layers in the atmosphere.
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She ejected at four miles above the earth and made good use of her previous parachuting experience to land, with a bit of difficulty but safely 385 miles north east of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, with only a bruised nose. Nothing indicated whether or not this was the scheduled location for touch down. A statue commemorating her feat was constructed at the landing site.
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                                                                                                                      Image source: tumblr.com/tereshkova

​IS THERE LIFE AFTER SPACE FLIGHT?
Tereshkova was immediately a hero. She and Bykovsky were awarded the “Hero of the Soviet Union” medal in Red Square in front of a massive crowd. They also received the “Order of Lenin” at the Kremlin. Of all the Soviet astronauts, she was the most popular and made 42 trips abroad between 1963 and 1970.

In November of 1963 Tereshkova married cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev. The party was attended by Kruschev and top government officials.

Image Credit: RIA Novosti Archive/Alexander Mokletsov
Image Source:
astrobitacora.com/valentina-tereshkova
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According to Wikipedia, “The marriage was encouraged by the Soviet space authorities as a ‘fairy-tale message to the country’. General Kamanin, head of the space program, described it as ‘probably useful for politics and science’”

A year later she gave birth to a daughter named Elena [spelled several ways] Andrianovna Nikolaeva-Tereshkova, the first person with both a mother and father who had travelled into space. In the U.S. a rumor circulated that they were forced to marry by the government for the purposes of scientific study. There was no information about the daughter except one reference indicating that Elena grew up to become a doctor. 

Treshkova wanted to pursue her career as a cosmonaut and engineer, but the government had other plans. She was too valuable to them in other roles. Not long after she graduated from the Air Force Engineering Academy, the women’s cosmonaut corps was disbanded, and she was appointed to a political position.

 In 1976, after being promoted to a colonel in the Air Force and earning her doctorate in aeronautical engineering, Tereshkova tried to qualify for another class of women astronauts, but she never had the chance to go to space again. The Russians did not send a second woman into space until  Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982. [The first American woman, Sally Ride, went to space in 1983.]

Later, Tereshkova told her biographer that the marriage with Nikolayev ended in 1977, but they didn’t divorce until 1982. Later, she met and married Yuli Shaposhnikov, a surgeon, and they remained married until he passed away in 1999.

NO LONGER A HOUSEHOLD NAME

Tereshkova remained active in government for her whole career. She retired from the Air Force with the rank of Major General in 2007 at the mandatory age of 60, and in 2003 she was elected to the State Duma [Parliament].

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When invited by Prime Minister Putin to celebrate her 80th birthday in 2017, she indicated to him she was ready to command a mission to Mars, even if it meant a one way trip.

During her career Tereshkova has earned and been awarded so many medals and honors there are too many to name, and she is one of the few living people with crater on the moon named after her.


March 3, 2017 – You do the math.
Image Credit: www.kremlin.ru.
Image Source: 
it.qaz.wiki/wiki/Tereshkova

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Sources:
https://www.stormfront.org/forum/t1202584/
https://it.qaz.wiki/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56855121
https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/valentina+tereshkova?sort=top
https://www.astrobitacora.com/valentina-tereshkova-la-primera-mujer-en-el-espacio/
https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-first-woman-in-space-was-valentina.html
http://listverse.com/2018/09/08/10-incredible-women-forgotten-by-history/
https://www.stormfront.org/forum/t1202584/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/178525572703073504/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova
https://www.biography.com/astronaut/valentina-tereshkova
https://thestickyfacts.com/valentina-tereshkova-facts/
https://www.designobserver.com/feature/mothers-of-invention/39580
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/vostok6_flight.html
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/valentina-tereshkova-6586.php
https://fineartamerica.com/art/valentina+tereshkova?msclkid=8368ca58367715b228c2aa6fe3643933&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=OD%20-%20FAA%20-%20NB%20-%20DSA&utm_term=%2Fart%2F&utm_content=Art%20Pages
https://02varvara.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/a-multimedia-presentation-the-cinderella-of-the-stars-major-general-valentina-tereshkova-the-first-female-cosmonaut-the-female-achiever-of-the-century/03f-valentina-tereshkova/
https://www.designobserver.com/feature/mothers-of-invention/39580

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FAITH RINGGOLD – AMERICAN ARTIST

2/26/2021

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TRIBUTE TO BLACK WOMEN IN THE ARTS
While researching prominent black women artists for this blog, I was delighted to find Faith Ringgold, a quilter who paints stories with textiles. She is also famous for tankas (inspired by Tibetan textile paintings), oil paintings, prints, drawings, masks, sculptures, and original illustrations from the artist’s award-winning book "Tar Beach." She is also an author of children’s books, a teacher and civil rights activist. 
      Image Source: britannica.com/bio-Faith-Ringgold

FAITH RINGGOLD - HER STORY
The youngest of four children, Faith Jones was born in New York in October 1930. She grew up in Harlem during the Great Depression. Surrounded by her loving family, she says she was neither poor nor oppressed.

Ringgold's mother, a fashion designer, and her father, an avid storyteller, raised their daughter in an environment that encouraged her creativity. “Ringgold’s parents made sure their children experienced the vibrant cultural happenings of the Harlem Renaissance. Neighbors included future legends like Duke Ellington and Langston Hughes, and Faith’s childhood friend, Sonny Rollins.” [crockerart.org/faith-ringgold-an-american-artist]

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She knew by the time she was in high school that she wanted to be an artist. She received her degrees in fine arts and education from City College of New York [1955] and a M.A. in fine arts in 1959. She taught art from the mid-1950’s to 1970 in the New York City Schools. When she married her second husband in 1962, she began using the name Ringgold professionally.

THE "AMERICAN PEOPLE SERIES"
In the 1960’s her work reflected her maturing political consciousness. In 1963 she began to create a a body of work entitled the "American People Series," portraying the civil rights movements from a female point of view. She is well known to have said, "I have always wanted to tell my story - or, more to the point, my side of the story."

This series of art works is her story and reflects what was happening around her which she brought to life in oil painting.

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         #3–“Neighbors”                                #2–“For Members Only”                                #?–“Between Friends” 
One of the best-known and perhaps most disturbing is #20 – “Die”. The Museum of Modern Art [MoMA] in New York City acquired the work in 2016 and caused a stir three years later when it placed the painting near Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) in an effort to diversify the presentation of its collection.
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#20 – “Die” [representation of contemporary 1960’s race riots]
During the 1970’s she continued to seek sexual equality and racial integration in the field of art and socially. At the same time, she expanded her art interests to include soft sculptures and masks.

THE STORY QUILTS
Ringgold began to channel her amazing artistic efforts into developing the story quilt, her most famous works, which tell original stories in the context of African American History. The artist is an expert at presenting ugly truths in beautiful ways. There have been times when people have spectacularly missed those layers.
 

The artist turned to quilting out of necessity. She enjoyed sculpting in wood and clay but the dust provoked her asthma, so she started experimenting with “soft sculpture”, combining fabric, painting and narrative. She produced her first such work, Echoes of Harlem, in 1980 in collaboration with her mother, Willi Posey Jones.

“With story quilts, this activist artist—concerned throughout her career with issues of feminism and race—creates a new expression that acknowledges cultural and personal history. Domestic arts—sewing, quilting, weaving—have long been associated with women, and quilting reflects the folk traditions [and the struggles and achievements] of black women.” [https://www.metmuseum.org]         
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                             Tar Beach #2, 1990                                                  Dancing on the Washington Bridge
                   Silkscreen on silk, 
ACA Galleries                                                        
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       The Sunflower Quilting Bees at Arles, 1997                         Museum of Arts and Design   
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       American Collection #4 - Joe Baker’s Banana
           National Museum of Women in the Arts

“Street Story” [1985] shows a Harlem building as a grid of windows. Each of its three panels shows three distinct moments in the story which takes place over a period of ten years. The handwritten text above each window tells the story. 
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The first panel is called “The Accident” introduced the character Graces who narrates the story of ten-year-old A.J. and his grandmother, Ma Teedy, who have witnessed the automobile accident that killed A.J.’s mother and his four brothers.

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The central panel entitled "The Fire," depicting the devastation caused by a fire set inadvertently by A.J.'s drunken father, who dies in the fire.

In the text, A.J. runs away from home after the funeral of his father, and is picked up a few days later for selling narcotics to a policeman. The traumas results of the fire and the problems A.J. experiences continue, one compounding the other, but through it all, Grace notes: "Say what you want 'bout Ma Teedy but she was a real woman … I like her because she a survivor. Always keep herself and her family lookin’ good."


The third panel, "The Homecoming," depicts A.J. as an adult who has fully redeemed himself and become a successful writer and actor, returns to Harlem to bring up his grandmother to California with him. Grace describes her insights: "I knew that boy was special from the day he was born. He was just different, with his badness. Peoples used to talk bout him after his Ma died, then his Pa died and he had to run and hide from the Mafia. That's that kick in the ass the black man gets. But A.J. done made that kick into a kiss. And I just love him cause he ain forget Ma Teedy. An he ain forget where he come from, or who he is."

AUTHOR 
While the series of story quilts was progressing, Ringgold accepted a teaching position In 1987, with the University of California at San Diego in the Visual Arts Department at the University of California, San Diego.

As if she didn’t have enough to keep her busy, in 1990, Ringgold went from story quilts to story books. In 1991 her Tar Beach quilt was adapted into a children’s book with the same name. That book was named a Caldecott Honor Book in 1992. It tells the story of a young Black girl in New York City who dreams about flying.

In addition to autobiographies, Ringgold’ has published 17 books, many of them children’s books including Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky (1992), My Dream of Martin Luther King (1995), Harlem Renaissance Party (2015), and We Came to America ( 2016). Her memoirs, We Flew over the Bridge, were published in 1995.
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In the 21st century she continues to work on quilts and on various commissions. She has now received over 80 awards and honors and 23 Honorary Doctorates.
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Faith Ringgold at 90
Image Credit: By Brooklyn Museum, CC BY 3.0
Image Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83671645


Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Faith-Ringgold
https://gothamtogo.com/take-a-sneak-peek-at-the-new-moma-expansion/
https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/The-American-People-Series--15--Hide-Lit/23D8F6A232BEB538
http://iraaa.museum.hamptonu.edu/page/Faith-Ringgold%2C-Who-I-Am-and-Why
https://glasstire.com/2020/07/03/stars-and-stripes-flags-from-soul-of-a-nation/
https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/The-American-People-Series--15--Hide-Lit/23D8F6A232BEB538
https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/metkids/2019/art-freedom-ringgold-red-star
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jun/04/faith-ringgold-new-york-artist-serpentine-gallery-london

ttps://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/73456.html#:~:text=Faith%20Ringgold%27s%20%22God%20Bless%20America%22%20is%20an%20expression,can%20be%20applied%20today%20in%20the%20year%202001.


https://www.houldsworth.co.uk/artists/73-faith-ringgold/works/9604-faith-ringgold-american-people-series-16-woman-looking-in-a-1966/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_Ringgold#:~:text=In%201995%2C%20Ringgold%20published%20her%20first%20autobiography%20titled,her%20professional%20career%20and%20accomplishments%20as%20an%20artist.

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WHEN OCEANS COLLIDE

2/19/2021

1 Comment

 
A GRANNY MYTH-BUSTER COURSE CORRECTION
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THE MEETING POINT
Not long ago I received an e-mail from a friend containing a link to a video taken from a cruise ship at the point where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet.▼
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Text points out that the two colors show the oceans meet, but they do not mix because there is a huge difference in salinity between the clear water that comes from melting glaciers, which is cool and low in salt; while the water from the ocean has a high salt concentration. therefore, the two oceans have different densities, which makes it almost impossible for them to mix.

I found that interesting and the explanation plausible, but I’ve been around the headlands of Cape Horn and the southernmost end of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile. That tip of land marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage and the place where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans merge. The photo below shows the point of land which isn’t, of course, the exact point of confluence. ▼
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Photo taken on the cruise I was on to Antarctica
Image Credit: Joseph Luk
The point of confluence is a tip of land to the left of the man in the white hat, and that marks the northern boundary of the 500 miles wide Drake Passage where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet.

The waters around Cape Horn are particularly hazardous, owing to strong winds and ocean currents. Large waves, strong currents and icebergs have made it notorious as a sailors' graveyard. Sometimes, I have read, this passage is smooth, but the times I went through – once we got beyond that point – it looked and felt more like the photos to the right. ▼
              
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Image Credit: Google Maps                                            Image Source: pinterest.com/pin/272045633713852861/
Image Source: rbelow66south.blogspot.com/
Since I’ve been doing this blog, I’ve learned one thing. Anyone can put anything on the internet. So I looked for other sources to corroborate the video. What I found was nothing. At least nothing to support the location where the photos were taken or the explanation from any credible scientific source.

Oh, the video is real enough, but misleading. I discovered that the video, and others similar, circulate periodically on youtube and gets thousands of views.

COURSE CORRECTION – THE REAL POOP

According to David Mikkelson, writing for snopes.com/fact-check/ in March 2015, “Photographs purportedly showing 'the place where two oceans meet'… have circulated online for several years. Although the images are real, there are several misconceptions about what they actually depict.”
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Image credit: Ken Bruland
Image Source:
snopes.com/fact-check/
The first videos to go viral were taken by Ken Bruland, a professor of ocean sciences at the University of California-Santa Cruz, during a research cruise in 2007. Bruland explained the picture does not depict oceans meeting but sediment-laden waters from glacial rivers emptying into the Gulf of Alaska. This photograph is frequently shared with the claim that it depicts a place where “two oceans meet,” but that is not the case.

Bruland explained that the picture actually captures what occurs when sediment-laden water from glacial rivers empties out into the ocean. “Glacier rivers in the summertime are like buzzsaws eroding away the mountains there,” Bruland said. “In the process, they lift up all this material — they call it glacial flour — that can be carried out.” Once these glacial rivers pour out into the larger body of water, they are moved by ocean currents, east to west and begin to circulate there.lateet.com/gulf-alaska
 
The reason for the strange phenomenon shown in the photo is, in fact, due to the difference of water density, temperature and salinity of the glacial melt water and off shore waters of gulf of Alaska, making it difficult to mix. The temperature and salinity level differences. They do eventually mix. However, their intersecting borders are not static. The border between one type of water and another is always moving, sometimes disappearing completely according to the level of sediment in the water and other factors.

The same video has also been said to show where the Congo River meets the Atlantic Ocean; even the dividing line between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic.” Alexandre Capron observers.france24.com/

The Northern and Southern Patagonian Icefields of Chile certainly have plenty of glaciers, so I imagine that the conditions along the western coast might of Chile replicate the phenomenon photographed by Professor Bruland in Alaska.
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Drake Passage in winter
Image Source: wildfoottravel.com/drake-passage

OCEANS HAVE BORDERS
Historically, there were only four oceans on the earth -- namely Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic -- all of them connected with each other to form a continuous body of water. One would think that since these oceans have existed a lot longer than humans they would be left alone to establish their own borders.
 

They’d done a good job where land formed somewhat permanent boundaries but where they came together, there was confusion and indecision. Humans, in their wisdom, decided the oceans needed help and created the International Hydrographic Organization which identifies the borders of oceans and other large bodies of water, but not seas.
 
In 2002, this august body carved out a new ocean surrounding the least populated body of land at the bottom of the world -- Antarctica -- because the body of water has a unique ecosystem and it impacts global climate. Now called the Southern Ocean, this fifth ocean is fourth largest.

Note that not everyone agrees with these borders. Imagine that! It would be a shocking “first” if they did. 
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          The Pacific Ocean                                    The Atlantic Ocean                                  The Indian Ocean                  
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             The Arctic Ocean                                The Southern Ocean

​YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE

Looking at the maps, one can see how many places in the world the five oceans interface with other large bodies of water not qualified to be oceans. However, there are only a handful of places where one can see an ocean in confluence with another.

The Pacific and the Atlantic meet at Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America, and the line extends to the Southern Ocean.

The confluence of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean is at Southeast Cape, the southernmost point of Tasmania. It takes a lot of effort to go there. You would have to drive from Hobart to the farthest point anyone can drive in Australia, and from there it’s a two to three hours walk. The Border between the two oceans follows the meridian to the Southern Ocean.

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                Image Source: britannica.com/place/Tasmania                                                                   View of South East Cape, Tasmania, Ausatralia                                                                                                                                                                                         Image Credit: Tom Jastram/Shutterstock.com
                                                                                                                                                                   Image Source: amusingplanet.com/2019/ 

The Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa, 109 miles southeast of Cape Town, South Africa. Many people believe that Cape Point [also The Cape of Good Hope] is the place where the oceans come together. Not so. Cape Agulhas’ meridian (20° E) is the official boundary between the Indian and Atlantic oceans.              
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                        Image Credit: 2016 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.                                                Cape Agulhas  Faro del Cabo Agulhas.
                               Image Source: britannica.com/place/Cape-Agulhas                               Image Source: commons.wikimedia.org
/AgulhasLighthouse 

You have to be on a ship to experience the meeting of the Atlantic, Pacific, or Indian Oceans with the Southern Ocean, but it is easy to see on the map because there are no other land masses nearby.

The Arctic Ocean’s merging with the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is complicated to explain because of the land borders. “Generally, the Arctic Ocean overlies the North Pole touching North America in the Western Hemisphere and Scandinavia and Siberia the in Eastern Hemisphere. It joins the Atlantic near Greenland and Iceland and joins the Pacific Ocean at the Bering Strait.” amusingplanet.com/2019/

You can visit the Bering Strait from Nome, Alaska [111 miles] or from Uelen, Siberia. 
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                         Image Source: networthroll.com/bering-strait                                           Nome, Alaska
                                                                                                                                                  
Image Credit: Erin Kirkland
                                                                                                                                                  
Image Source: akonthego.com/theres-no-place-like-nome


TAKE AWAY
Visiting all these places might be fun, just so you could you’d been there, but unless it’s your thing, I only put than Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope on my bucket list. If you are a real adventurer, you might want to take a fishing boat from Nome to the Strait. It’s pretty brutal, I hear.

Just Sayin’
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Sources:
http://rbelow66south.blogspot.com/2011/12/drake-passage-december-8-10-2011.html
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/merging-oceans/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borders_of_the_oceans
https://observers.france24.com/en/20180925-debunked-oceans-atlantic-pacific-meet-video
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borders_of_the_oceans
http://www.expeditioncruising.com/2015/08/rough-weather-in-drake-passage.html
https://www.wildfoottravel.com/blog/the-drake-passage
https://earth.usc.edu/~stott/Catalina/Oceans.html
http://www.geologypage.com/2017/11/atlantic-pacific-ocean-not-mix.html
https://www.lateet.com/gulf-alaska-two-oceans-meet-not-mix/
https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-68.47,-49.34,658/loc=-66.47,-42.249
https://www.britannica.com/place/Cape-Agulhas
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AgulhasLighthouse.jpg
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-creek-that-connects-the-atlantic-and-pacific-oceans.html
https://networthroll.com/blog1/bering-strait-net-worth/
http://www.findtripinfo.com/south-africa/cape-town/cape-point-two-oceans.html0#:~:text=Sea%20cliffs%20rise%20more%20than%20800%20feet%20abov
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2019/09/where-do-worlds-oceans-meet.html#:~:text=To%20see%20the%20Atlantic%20and%20the%20Pacific%20Ocean,if%20weather%20permits,%20disembarks%20visitors%20on%20the%20headland.
https://answi.blogspot.com/2017/08/why-dont-waters-of-atlantic-and-pacific.html#:~:text=The%20waters%20of%20the%20Atlantic%20Ocean%20and%20the,difference%20is%20also%20a%20reason%20behind%20the%20fact.

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LOOKINGT AT 80 IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR: A Perspective on Decluttering

2/12/2021

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​Some years ago, a friend of mine paid $6,000 to a professional for help decluttering her home. Although she needed to dispose of a lot of stuff, I thought that rather costly. Ten years later, I’m beginning to change my mind. It can be an overwhelming task to take on by yourself.

Have you ever looked around you and realized that every surface in your office is covered with something? How did this happen? Then you look around and see that your office isn’t the only room? Time to declutter. Clutter causes too much stress.

Everyone knows decluttering is not a simple task. But there are a few “need-to-knows” before you begin.


DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HOARDING, CLUTTERING, AND COLLECTING

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Hoarding is a medical condition which leads the individual to save trash as if it were treasure. Hoarding owns the hoarder and doesn’t allow the owner to get rid of any object, no matter how useless, like ten thousand packets of ketchup. The disorder can become so severe that it interferes with a normal lifestyle, like sleeping in a bed or taking a shower.

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Cluttering may be a marker of a hoarding disorder, but it may simply be the result of not cleaning up after one’s self. It is not that the clutterer can’t clean up or throw things away when necessary, and the circumstances do not require any kind of “intervention.”

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Collecting is an organized display of items appreciated by the collector and may serve as a recreational hobby. Collections can become cases of cluttering or hoarding.

his blog only addresses cluttering, and that primarily in relation to seniors.

WHY ARE YOU DECLUTTERING?
This seems like a useless question, but it isn’t. Knowing the reason you are doing something becomes an integral part of the decision making process. Some of the motivations for declutterling may include:
  • Moving to a different house. Larger or smaller? Nearby or far away?
  • Retirement (often goes with downsizing).
  • Making room for an additional household member e.g. Grandmother or new baby.
  • Removing personal items after the death of a spouse or a child who has married.
  • Moving in with a roommate or vice versa.
  • Need more space for new projects.
  • Feel embarrassed to invite friends over.
  • Can’t find anything or just can’t stand looking at the mess anymore; too distracting.

Whatever the reason, focus on it consciously and use it as one of the guides for decision making.


WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START?
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In addition to the “why?” there are some basic guidelines for the decluttering process which can be found in many articles and books. All of them are helpful, but always work with your own preferences, habits and tendencies, rather than against them. As with anything in life, the less you have to force things to work, the easier the process will be! Think about these things before you begin.

  ● First, the ubiquitous reminder that decluttering is neither quick nor easy, and it is not going to be a one-time effort. It will be an ongoing process.

  ● Second, know why you are doing this.

  ● Third, do some thinking and planning in advance. The most prominent reason for clutter is lack of space, and/or lack of organization.
    Think the process through from the beginning. Why do you have so much clutter? Do you have places for everything? Are they located conveniently in relation to their use? Could they be placed in your home more efficiently? Are there physical organizational helps you can use
?
    Think about how you will move those big bags of trash out of the house and to the trash bin. Will you need help? Do you know how and where to donate certain things to selected charities? Can you lift heavy boxes you want to store in the garage? Is there furniture you need to get rid of?

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Spend some time getting the phone numbers of places you want to donate items, and find out if they pick up or you have to deliver the items.

● Fourth, do you need someone else to help you? Do you need professional help? How do you find someone?

Process - The Multibox System
My friend’s professional declutterer brought three big bins and labeled them, Trash, Don’t Know, and Keep. Everything went into one of them.

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Already I disagree. First, I don’t believe in leaving more decisions for later and prolonging the angst. Second, there are more than three categories of items. Consider these instead:

● Trash – no good to anybody and should go to the land fill.

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● Shred – you don’t want to keep these papers [old tax files, maybe] but you don’t want personal information floating about at the dump.

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● Give Away – items that still have good life left in them but you don’t need or have no room for them. Give to friends or relatives, or give to Good Will, Am Vets, and other such charities.
The pitfall with friends and relatives is contacting so and so to see if they want the item, and having to store it until they come for it. A week? Maybe that’s okay. You may still be involved in the decluttering. When I can get around to it? Uh-uh! All you'll be doing is moveing the clutters to another space.

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● Sell – There are many things, particularly clothes, that can be sold to someone who will be glad to have them. It’s an option, but is it a good one for you? Do you want to price those items, place the ads [no big deal these days], package them and run them to the Post Office or UPS?

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● Put In Storage – There are things you will want to keep that you only use periodically, like Christmas or other seasonal decorations. That’s what garages are for [besides cars]: Storage. Be sure to mark the basic content on two sides of each storage box so no matter which way it fits onto a shelf, the content can be seen. This is necessary even with plastic see-thorough boxes. Also, it doesn’t hurt to keep an inventory list of what is in the box.

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● Put Away – Put away the Objects to keep in the room you are cleaning up but also in other rooms.

You may not find items in all these categories in each room, and you will figure out which categories fit each room.

Where To Start
Before you dive in, think about your decluttering goal. Do you want to get rid of visible mess, or do you want to create entirely new household organizational systems to use going forward? Knowing what your end goal [your “Why?”] will help you prioritize tasks.

One approach is starting with the room that is easiest. For example, if you know you need to do an overhaul of your entire wardrobe, don’t tackle your bedroom at the same time. Don’t be over ambitious and take on more than you can do. The theory is that starting small and succeeding empowers you to take on the bigger tasks. For me, starting with small tasks in the worst room [like cleaning off two bookcases in an office] works better. By the time I finish that room, the rest are easier.

GUIDELINES
By now you have considered why you are decluttering, and have decided where to start. You have planned to set aside the time, made arrangements for help, extra trash bins, tools, etc. and contacted people to take things away. Now you’re ready for guidelines!

  ● Set a realistic goal for your daily project.
If you can do it all in one day, you are merely cleaning a messy room thoroughly. Only take on as much as you can do. “Today I am going to clean out two book cases in my office and move one of them into the extra bedroom.”

  ● Reject the “I-might-need-it-someday” temptation
It’s true. You might, but probably not. And the item has no doubt been through the “maybe someday” test more than once. Don’t talk yourself into keeping something you don’t use and haven’t needed to some time.
A friend of mine and her husband have a small apartment. Every year they go through their closet and anything they haven’t worn for a year goes out [excluding tuxedos and ball gowns]. No matter how new it is, what they paid for it, how much they “love” it, etc. If you haven’t worn it in a year, you don’t need it. These are things you may feel better about away if you can find them a good home.

  ● Don’t let your mind guilt you into keeping things.
Many of us keep things we don’t use or even like “because Grandma gave it to me.” Or you spent way too much money and feel guilty every time you see it and don’t use it.
Melissa, writing for simplelionheartlife.com/ writes “It’s important to find ways to work through the guilt so you can focus on only keeping the things that add value to your life.”
Whether or not the item adds value to your life is the key. You may want to keep your Grandma’s gift, not because you like it but because it brings comforting feelings about your grandmother and makes you feel better. Don’t part with those things.

Ditch the item you paid too much for and never use. That can only bring stress to your life every time you see it.
​

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● Follow through and finish the job
Just deciding what to keep and what to throw out doesn’t count if you don’t finish. You have to clear the bookshelf, and pack the give-away books into a box for the “friends of the library” store. Then you have to see that the box gets there. Now that you’ve cleaned off the bookshelf, don’t leave it in your office to collect more junk. Be sure it gets moved into the extra bedroom.

● Don’t Try to reorganize or clean until you are through decluttering
Even though you should think about reorganization of your worldly goods before you start the process, once you are into it, stay focused on what you are keeping, not what you are getting rid of. And don’t try to organize things, clean, or put things away until the decluttering process is complete. Don’t buy an organization system before you complete the process.
All these things become distractions from the business at hand.

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● Don’t take a Trip down Memory Lane
In my opinion, this is one of the most common distractions from finishing the process. You start looking at pictures or reading something from college and pretty soon you are completely off track and the time is gone. Decide whether or not you are going to keep these, put them in the “Keep” box and get on with it.
​
Another similar trap occurs when decluttering an office and trying to assess with professional information and papers are still timely and worth keeping. You can get into readying every document. I’m a writer and have problems with notes from meetings about writing, procedures for contacting editors, yada, yada, yada. Tons of paper. Then it occurred to me that the publishing business has totally changed in the last twenty years, and none of the material was pertinent any more. I pitched the whole file cabinet.

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● Be Ruthless
Bite the bullet and make the hard decisions. You want to avoid that “I don’t know” box as much as possible. The more times you consider whether or not you want to toss something, the more unsure you’ll become. All those little interferences mentioned above come to haunt you again.

A SENIOR’S PERSPECTIVE ON DECLUTTERING
The reason people are clutterers depends on many factors, and getting old may be one of them. Elder adults have additional challenges to overcome. They've been around long enough to have collected a lot of possessions. The number and kind has, no doubt, been trimmed several, if not many, times over the years, but much of what a senior retains has made the cut more than once.

Despite previous decluttering efforts, elderly adults eventually slow down and it seems to take twice as much time and energy as it used to for any simple task. The day doesn’t go as far, and it’s easy to get behind. It’s not a big deal if the house or certain rooms become a bit cluttered. It’s harder to keep up.

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​● Often when seniors declutter, it is because he or she is moving to the home of a relative who will look after them or moving to retirement or senior housing. They may be going from a house they have occupied for years to a room or two. Downsizing can be a big challenge.

At this point, the elderly person is usually looking for a permanent home for possessions they have been saving to leave to members of the family when they die. If having enough space is an issue, it’s preferable, but not always possible, that Aunt Clara’s Limoges Dinnerware be taken away by the heir, not stored in the senior’s closet or garage.


● Even if the elder adult is are not moving to another location, the individual may still have many possessions that are no longer used or needed cluttering the living space. If the home is cluttered, loose carpets and things underfoot may cause real dangers such as increased fall risk, preventing emergency workers from helping the senior, and unsanitary living conditions. Cluttering can easily morph into hoarding, and it might also be a sign of serious conditions related to Dementia.
​

Too much stuff attracts dust mites that aggravate asthma and allergies. If the senior accumulates combustibles or stacks of boxes in front of doors, the person may be subject to fines from the fire authorities.

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● An important challenge for seniors is remembering where they put things. It’s normal in your elder years to become more forgetful. As people approach old age, certain parts of the brain shrinks, communications between nerve cells may not be as effective, and blood flow to the brain may decrease. Besides, a lifetime of accumulated knowledge and experience requires shuffling through more mental files to find things.
​
Seniors need a specific and unchanging storage spot for everything, particularly medicine and important items. Those locations need to be logical and convenient to the life style.
Once one establishes the habit of putting objects in the same place, if the location is convenient the person has enough triggers to remind them where it is. However, the place for medicine you need to take with lunch should not upstairs in the bathroom, but near where you eat lunch.

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● Elderly adults also acquire physical equipment such as wheel chairs, walkers, devices to help standing up, devices to help reach things from high places, etc. All of these take up space and have to be kept in locations where they can be accessible. A wheel chair does no good in the garage.

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​​● Lifting and reaching shelves which are too high and/or too low may be problems. Dishes may have to go on lower shelves, storage or infrequently used items on top shelves. However, climbing on ladders usually isn’t a good idea for seniors either. These challenges mean there is less useable space on lower shelves and perhaps under counters.

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● Walking and carrying things at the same time may be a problem. That's why location of needed objects makes such a difference.

​
● Seniors have a tendency to over-buy. One reason is economic. Another might be the person is dependent on others to get to the grocery store and doesn’t want to run out.

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​Those on fixed and low incomes are always looking for a bargain, and if you can get three for the price of one, why not? You’re saving money, right?
​  
For toilet paper, yes. But three half-gallons of pepper, maybe not. Even if you use a lot of pepper, by the time you’ve used a half-gallon and need more, you won’t remember where the others are. When you can’t find it – because it is stored in some unusual or hard to reach place -- you buy it again.

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● No one wants their parents’ or grandparents’ stuff.

​TAKE AWAY

In dealing with anyone, the issue of neatness and housekeeping is touchy; with seniors, even more so. It’s great when someone realizes their problem and seeks help. However, If the individual is unaware of the mess or doesn’t care, whomever is helping or trying to intervene needs to be very careful how the situation is handled. There are resources available to assist:
Recources:

There are a number of companies in every state who provide decluttering services.
Also check
•https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/?cmp=KNC-BRD-MC-REALPOSS-TODAY-GOOGLE-SEARCH-CAREGIVING&
• https://hoarding.iocdf.org/
• https://www.napo.net/
• https://savvysenior.org/

Just Sayin'
 
Sources:
https://seniorsafetyadvice.com/decluttering-tips-for-seniors/  **very good article

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/how-aging-brain-affects-thinking#:~:text=Blood%20flow%20in%20the%20brain%20may%20decrease.%20Inflammation%2C,younger%20individuals%20on%20complex%20memory%20or%20learning%20tests


https://simplelifeofalady.com/declutter-quotes/#:~:text=Declutter%20Quotes%20that%20will%20Inspire%20You%20to%20Declutter.,that%20you%20need%20to%20buy%20it)%20More%20itemsServices
​​.
https://www.servicemastersanfrancisco.com/difference-cluttering-collecting-hoarding/#:~:text=A%20person%20with%20hoarding%20issues,on%20the%20everyday%20household%20functioning

https://www.lean-news.com/decluttering-your-workspace-with-5s/
https://www.paulsrubbish.com.au/difference-between-clutter-hoarding/
https://individuals.healthreformquotes.com/aca/essential-benefits/mental/resources/organizing-hoarding-cluttering/
https://www.clutterhoardingcleanup.com/resources/hoarding/difference-between-hoarding-and-clutter
https://medium.com/swlh/the-difference-between-clutter-and-hoarding-d1da8ae7e349
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mess/201509/clutter-vs-hoarding-vs-collecting
https://www.clearwaterliving.com/news-blog/declutter-and-downsize-4-tips-for-older-adults
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/help-for-seniors-who-are-drowning-in-clutter_b_4094093
http://domesticmommyhood.com/10-free-resources-help-clear-clutter-organized-home/

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People Who Walk On Glass Bridges Shouldn't... that's it!

1/29/2021

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Since the beginning the year 2000, humanity and engineering have taken a new step together: Glass bridges and boxes hanging out in space. The newest way to experience beautiful scenery and the wonders of nature and still satisfy the need for an adrenaline rush.

A MESSAGE FROM AMYGDALA
All humans share a tendency to search for new and more complex experiences, and all humans experience fear. While it may feel uncomfortable, fear is your amygdala – a small almond-shaped bundle of neurons in the middle of your brain -- sending
Image Source:                             
you a message that you may be headed for danger.   
​
youtube.com/WVriShkwkc&featuree  
Apparently, Thrill Seekers have an unusually high craving for the sensation of new intense experiences, and an insensitive or malfunctioning amygdale. There have always been thrill seekers and risk takers who took on the impossible feats to achieve the exotic new experience. It takes a certain combination of traits and factors to create ultimate thrill seekers like Evel Knievel. For those less driven, we have many extreme sports. Both of these types are likely addicted to adrenaline.

​Then there are the rest of us. We have to resort to roller coasters and the like for the adrenaline rush, or if that is too intense, read a fingernail biting book or see a white-knuckle movie that makes you grip the arms of the seat. In other words, we want to experience the emotions and adrenaline rush without the risk.
​

The operative words being: "without risk".

HANGING OUT IN SPACE
If you can’t fly to space for the ultimate weightless experience, at least you can “hang out in space”. According to engineer Roopinder Tara, “Glass, never the first choice for bridge decks, is nevertheless becoming a thing… Impractical material and impractical bridges, but good entertainment.” Here are a few of the most popular glass bridges.

● Grand Canyon Skywalk
The Americans initiated the trend of walking in space as a tourist attraction with the opening of the Grand Canyon Skywalk in 2007, located at Eagle Point in Arizona near the Colorado River. The Skywalk itself is a bridge shaped liked a horseshoe cantilevered beyond the edge of the west side of the Grand Canyon. The bridge has a glass walkway allowing visitors to look straight down at the vertical drop of 500 to 800 feet.

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 ▲Image source: en.wikipedia.org/Grand_Canyon_Skywalk                                       ▲ Image Source: maverickairlines.com/skywalk-grand-canyon.aspx
The $30 million Skywalk, owned by the Hualapai Indians, is a joint venture between the tribe and David Jin of Las Vegas. Designed by Architect Mark Johnson, the cantilever can bear at least 71 million pounds, withstand winds over 100 miles per hour, and endure an 8.0 earthquake. Capacity is limited to 120 people at a time.

●  Tianmen Mountain Cliffside Glass Walkway
The Chinese, with their penchant for bigger, longer, taller, and more dramatic combined with their superb engineering skills, didn’t wait too long to get on trend with a series of glass walkways and bridges that inspire vertigo.

​
The Tianmen Mountain Cliffside Glass Walkway, Hunan, China, was the first in a series to open to the public in November of 2011. It is certainly the most dramatic. This one virtually clings to the vertical cliffs at an altitude of 4,600 feet above the ground … three Empire State Buildings on top of each other. https://earthtripper.com/glass-walkway-4600-feet

These mountains in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, is the location which inspired part of the Avatar movie. There are three glass walkways in this park.
 
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Image credit: Getty Images
Image Source: www.redbull.com/glass-skywalks
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Image Source: boredpanda.com/glass-bridge-tianmen
This portion of the walkway is named the Coiled Dragon Cliff which is only 5.2 feet wide. Still, the walkway is always full of tourists, and most of them 325-foot-long don’t seem to have any fear of heights.

▼This woman is posing herself for a selfie;      ▼The other doesn’t seem too sure of thing.
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          Image Source: boredpanda.com/glass-bridge-tianmen                                             Image Source: weirdasianews.com/2011/glass-bridge

● Dachstein Skywalk
Dachstein Skywalk, Salzburg, Austria, sometimes called the Bridge to Nowhere, is a glass overhang type of structure. Opened in July of 2013, the bridge resides at 8,858 feet in the Alps. Consisting of a glass bottomed viewing platform, a suspension bridge, and the Stairway to Nothingness -- an infeasible looking precipice of 14 steps offers a dramatic view over the Dachstein Glacier.

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                                                                                  Source of Images: nina-travels.com/dachstein-sky-walk

​● Aiguille Du Midi Glass Box
Opened in December, 2013, this glass box in Chamonix, France, hanging at an altitude of 12,600 feet, is claimed to be the closest you can get to Mont Blanc without crampons. This famous needle, which is one of the highest in Chamonix, has been a tourist destination for more than 60 years.

Now, in just 20 minutes -- after a very long wait, tourists report -- the Aiguille du Midi cable car will take you from the centre of Chamonix into the high mountains to the Aiguille du Midi viewing platform.

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Image Credit: B. Delapierre                                                                                                 Image Source:  darkroom.baltimoresun.com/french-alps
Image Source: redbull.com/8-amazing-glass-skywalks

Stepping into the glass box and looking down makes it worth the wait. There is nothing but 1,000 feet of emptiness under your feet looking down at Bossons Glacier, except for the half-inch-thick triple-layered glass which you won’t even see while you float in the air.

● Haohan Qiao Glass Bridge
Located in Pingjiang in Shiniuzhai National Geological Park, China, this suspension bridge is called Haohan Qiao, which means Brave Man’s Bridge. When it opened in 2015, CNN reported that it swayed a bit but assured readers that the glass panes are 25 times stronger than normal glass and encased in a steel framework. When you are almost 600 feet above the ground, and the nothingness beneath you is moving, that fact is small consolation.
Prior to 2015 there was a bridge made of wood stretching 1,000 foot over the chasm between two mountain peaks.
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Image Credit: Geddy Images                                                                                             Images Credit: ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images 
Image Source: redbull.com/amazing-glass-skywalks                                                    
Image Source: latimes.com//la-trb-china-glass-bridge 

●
Columbia Icefield Skywalk
Located in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada, opened in April 2014. Similar to the Grand Canyon overhang, it is also referred to as Glacier Skywalk. The area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

From this U-shaped walkway juts out 100ft from the cliff, giving tourists the thrill of looking straight down 1,000 feet or experiencing the powers of glaciers which formed this part of the Canadian Rockies.
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  ▲ Source of Images: banffjaspercollection.com/columbia-icefield    ▲                                                            Image Credit: GETTY Images ▲
                                                                                                                                                                          Image Source: redbull.com0/amazing-glass-skywalks 


● Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge
The Chinese outdid themselves when they constructed the Zhangjiajie glass bridge between two mountain cliffs in central Hunan province. The longest and highest glass bridge in the world, Zhangjiajie is 1,400 feet long, 20 feet wide, and almost 1,000 feet above the canyon below.

The bridge was opened in August, 2016, with a great amount of hoop-la and media events,”including one where people were encouraged to try and smash the bridge’s glass panels with a sledge hammer, and another where they drove a car across it.”  theguardian.com/2016/worlds-longest-glass-bridge.
​
                     
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Image Credit: vcg via Getty Images                                                                                                                     Image Credit: Getty Images
image source: huffingtonpost.com/zhangjiajie-grand-canyon                                                   Image Source: redbull.com/amazing-glass-skywalks
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Image Credit: vcg via Getty Images
huffingtonpost.com/zhangjiajie-grand-canyon

Unfortunately, the facility was closed just 13 days after it open to the public. A spokesperson from the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon’s marketing and sales department reported to CNN “We’re overwhelmed by the volume of visitors.”
​

The bridge is made of 99 panels of clear glass, and was designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan to carry 8,000 visitors per day. 

The spokesperson said the demand was ten times that. Officials said on Chinese microblogging site Weibo that while there hadn’t been any damage to the bridge, that it was being closed due to the “urgency to improve and update” the facility.
​
It has since been reopened, if you want to put this on your bucket list. If China is too far, there are many other such glass bridges and boxes springing up around the world. There are also plenty of walkways and suspension bridges which will leave you breathless. You can see from the photo below that the bridge doesn’t need to be glass.


Trift Bridge in Switzerland                                                               JUST SAYIN’
Image Source: latimes.com/travel/china-glass-bridge                 □             
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​Sources:
http://forwarddiving.com/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/201508/can-you-be-addicted-adrenaline
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-sky-walk-ready-bihars-first-glass-bridge-to-offer-great-view-check-pics/367856
https://www.engineering.com/story/glass-bridges-the-new-thrill-ride
https://triponzy.com/blog/glass-bridges-in-the-world/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201402/thrill-seeking-what-parts-your-brain-are-involved
https://www.coursera.org/learn/psychology-of-thrill-seekers
https://www.redbull.com/int-en/8-amazing-glass-skywalks
https://www.redbull.com/int-en/8-amazing-glass-skywalks#:~:text=Check%20out%208%20of%20the%20world%E2%80%99s%20wonderful%20glass,4%20Tianmen%20Mountain.%205%20Ngong%20Ping%20360.
https://www.capbridge.com/explore/
https://www.menarakl.com.my/index.php/attractions/tower-experience/sky-box
https://visitanf.com/kinzua-sky-walk-kinzua-bridge-state-park/
https://www.onetravel.com/going-places/glass-bottomed-spots/
https://www.weirdasianews.com/2011/11/24/glass-bridge-death-offers-tourists-thrills-chinese-mountains/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon_Skywalk
https://www.traveloffpath.com/the-top-5-most-terrifying-glass-bridges-in-the-world/#:~:text=Top%205%20Terrifying%20Glass%20Bridges.%201%201.%20Zhangjiajie,5%205.%20Glacier%20Skywalk%20-%20Jasper%2C%20Canada.%20
https://www.chinaeducationaltours.com/guide/article-glass-bridges-in-china.htm
https://www.redbull.com/ca-en/8-amazing-glass-skywalks
https://www.chinahighlights.com/zhangjiajie/attraction/zhangjiajie-glass-bridge.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/08/dont-look-down-officials-close-chinese-glass-skywalk-pane-shatters
https://www.chinahighlights.com/zhangjiajie/attraction/zhangjiajie-glass-bridge.htm
https://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/The-glass-bridge-across-China-s-Grand-Canyon-is-12861214.php
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/03/worlds-longest-glass-bridge-closes-for-maintenance-two-weeks-after-opening
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/travel/2017-08/03/content_30341367.htm
http://english.sina.com/news/2017-08-02/detail-ifyiswpt4981113.shtml
http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2013/12/step-into-the-void-french-alps/#1
https://www.boredpanda.com/glass-bridge-tianmen-mountain-zhangjiajie-national-forest-park-hunan-china/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
http://www.nina-travels.com/dachstein-sky-walk-schladming-austria/
https://www.upi.com/News_Photos/Entertainment/Glass-bridge-opens-in-Hunan/fp/9603/
https://www.weirdasianews.com/2011/11/24/glass-bridge-death-offers-tourists-thrills-chinese-mountains/
https://www.altoonamirror.com/life/area-life/2018/04/so-big-so-green-traveling-the-wilds-of-pennsylvania/
https://www.banffjaspercollection.com/attractions/columbia-icefield-skywalk
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zhangjiajie-grand-canyon-closed_us_57c97c4de4b0a22de09599ca?
https://earthtripper.com/glass-walkway-4600-feet-above-ground-tianmen-mountain/#:~:text=Up%20in%20the%20Tianmen%20Mountain%20there%20is%20a,State%20Buildings%20stacked%20on%20top%20of%20each%20other%21
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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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