Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Of mothers and an apple tree

Petchary's Blog

A dear friend lost her mother in April of last year. We attended her memorial service in Kingston; at last, her five children and their families were able to say goodbye to her properly, and as she herself would have liked. Sitting by the open window in the church and staring out at the parked cars in the mid-morning heat, the tangled traffic, the hills ever-present beyond, my thoughts turned to my own mother. The date of the service, June 30, happened to coincide with that of her passing, in 2006.

It is easy to hide one’s feelings behind a mask. We were social distancing, and we seemed to be waving at our friend and family members from a distance as we were scattered among the pews.

The blossoms, and fruit, on our apple tree.

I reminded my husband that our friend’s mother had given us an otaheite apple tree…

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The Days of Wine and Rosie’s

Shangri-La

In the summer of 1982 my sister Sheila and I worked as waitresses at Rosie O’Grady’s in midtown Manhattan. Rosie’s was a haven for all those Irish and all those who wished to be. Co-owners Mike Carty and Austin Delaney both Irish born, could always be counted on to find work for a new arrival, fresh off the plane from their homeland sometimes holding nothing more than a few dollars in their pocket and hope in their heart. Everyone, sooner or later found their way to Rosie’s. It was that sort of place. My father Bill Dickinson, was General Manager and suggested that a stint learning the restaurant business would be a summer well spent for my sister and me. So on a hot afternoon clad in white blouse, black skirt and comfortable shoes we left our Long Island home headed to W. 52nd Street, NYC. That summer almost…

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El rompecabezas

¡Bueno!

Santiago Galicia Rojon Serrallonga

SANTIAGO GALICIA ROJON SERRALLONGA

Derechos reservados conforme a la ley/ Copyright

Las piezas del rompecabezas cayeron al suelo. Estaban dispersas en el piso, cerca del librero y de otros muebles, aquí y allá, como reto para acudir a su rescate. La labor paciente de tantos días y semanas, se desbarató inesperadamente al efectuar un movimiento involuntario. Reuní las piezas y las coloqué en su caja original. Era el tiempo de mi niñez en que mis tías, Noemí Bolio y Rosi Martorell, me regalaban estampillas, libros y rompecabezas. Una vez que reuní las piezas y las deposité en la caja, entendí que mi trabajo estaba roto y que tendría que iniciar de nuevo. Y así fue. Alguna vez, años después, cuando el rompecabezas casi estaba terminado, volví a tirarlo accidentalmente, y de nuevo comencé, días más tarde, a armarlo. En la hora presente, al contemplar aquel episodio de mi infancia azul…

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Climate Change Is Driving Jarring Changes at Yellowstone National Park – Mother Jones

Annual snowfall has declined by nearly two feet since 1950. Because of steady warming, precipitation that once fell as snow now increasingly comes as rain. Annual precipitation could increase by 9 to 15 percent by the end of the century, the assessment says. But with snowpack decreasing and temperatures and evaporation increasing, future conditions are expected to be drier, stressing vegetation and increasing the risk of wildfires. Extreme weather is already more common, and blazes like Yellowstone’s massive 1988 fires—which burned 800,000 acres—are a growing seasonal worry. The assessment’s future projections are even bleaker. If heat-trapping emissions are not reduced, towns and cities in the Greater Yellowstone Area—including Bozeman, Montana and Jackson, Pinedale, and Cody, Wyoming—could experience 40 to 60 more days per year when temperatures exceed 90 degrees F. And under current greenhouse gas emissions scenarios, temperatures in the Greater Yellowstone Area could increase by 5 to 10 degrees F by 2100, causing upheaval in the ecosystem, including shifts in forest composition.

Source: Climate Change Is Driving Jarring Changes at Yellowstone National Park – Mother Jones

More evacuations in B.C. Interior as crews battle 175 wildfires around the province | Globalnews.ca

“All the times we’ve watched on TV and seen other people going through this, you think ‘Man what a mess they’ve got.’ Now we’ve got it, now we know this is a horrible mess.”

Source: More evacuations in B.C. Interior as crews battle 175 wildfires around the province | Globalnews.ca

*New Series* Birds from Walden Red-winged Blackbird

Words from Walden

“The birds I heard today, which, fortunately, did not come within the scope of my science, sang as freshly as if it had been the first morning of creation.”-Henry David Thoreau-

When I moved to Walden pond there were many unknown’s to discover, both inside and out.

One of these unknown discoveries is the many different birds that live so intentionally and peaceful in a harmony, rarely seen in man.

I have arranged some of the most intriguing birds into a series of articles that will appear weekly for your enjoyment.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” -Henry David Thoreau-

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Red winged blackbird

The red-winged Blackbird represents re-birth and renewal…

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We Will NOT Forget!

“How can we simply forget about what happened and what might have been had it not been for the poor planning of the fools who stormed the Capitol, and the actions of the Capitol Police and others? How can we simply shrug our shoulders and move on? If somebody attempted to murder your daughter, would you forget about it? No, and neither can we forget that many ‘somebodies’ tried to murder our nation. No, this is not an exaggeration … had the insurgents accomplished what they set out to do, President Biden would not likely be sitting in the Oval Office today, certain key legislators would likely be dead, and this nation would likely be under strict martial law.

So no, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell … we will not forget! We will not sit down and shut up! We the People demand answers! We demand that we receive a full briefing of every single person who had any involvement at any level! As we said after 9/11: We Will NOT Forget!”

Filosofa's Word

Y’know … if someone breaks into my home or place of business, causes massive damage, and threatens my life, I am going to find that person or persons and they are going to pay a hefty price.  It’s that simple.  No, I’m not going to say, “Oh well, no harm done, it was just a normal day.”  No, I’m not going to say, “Oh well, what’s done is done and now I need to just move on with my life.”  No, I am going to say, “Let’s find the sons of bitches that did this and make sure they never see the light of day again except from behind steel bars, never have the opportunity to do this to somebody else again.”  For at the end of the day, criminals who are not captured, not punished, not even pursued, gain strength, gain momentum and confidence, and their…

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Ethiopia shows a downward trend in democracy.

Instability of the region keeps the pot boiling – with wannabe “leaders” able to move cross border for raids or protection. Sad , everyday people just want to make a living, raise a family…

Beyond The Lines

Source – France24

The revolutionaries are consolidating their hang on the capital, Mekelle, and its edges after Ethiopian government powers withdrew, in an emotional turn in the eight-month common conflict.

The Ethiopian government proclaimed a one-sided truce on Monday after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) region increased.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed at first said the withdrawal was an essential move in light of the fact that the city was no longer “the focal point of gravity for clashes”, yet he later affirmed it was to keep away from additional setbacks.

Source – theguardian

“We’ve seen an exceptionally huge change in the conflict,” says Will Davison, senior examiner for Ethiopia at the International Crisis Group.

“Occupants are celebrating in various parts of the city. Firecrackers were seen in the sky, vehicles and cruisers sounding. I saw individuals in the roads waving territorial Tigray banners, moving, reciting, and singing.

Alex de…

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