Lydia Schoch

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, graphs, videos and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

 How a Population Grows to 7 Billion. A short video graphing the population boom.

 The Early Bird Really Gets the Worm. Like many other traits I highly suspect that we have little if any control over being early birds, night owls or something else entirely. I’m 100% a morning person and have been for as long as I can remember. Staying up late is extremely difficult (and sleeping in is impossible).

The Last Words of 25 Geniuses. Not sure how historically accurate this list is but it was quite interesting.

Babies Understand How People Think at Just 10 Months Old. The next time one of our siblings has a baby Aunt Lydia and Uncle Drew just might have to test this theory. 10 months seems awfully young to understand how others think!

This is just plain awesome:

This week’s book recommendation is Valerie Martin’s Property. As a young bride Manon Gaudet moved to a sugar plantation in New Orleans. Ten years later she’s trapped in a stale marriage to an occasionally violent man who has fathered two children with her slave, Sarah. When Manon inherits a small fortune her husband decides to exercise his right to dispose of the property and money as he sees fit.

At this time in history, after all, even wealthy, white women were at the mercy of the men around them.  Manon is oppressed because of her gender (and hates every moment of it) but doesn’t have the insight to see how she is also an oppressor.

What have you been reading?

A few times each year I post a list of blogs and other websites that have snagged my attention over the past few months. 

Celebrate What’s Right.

Ok, I’ll admit it. Some of the quotes and photographs on this blog are a little too sentimental. A few are even downright cheesy. I adore the concept of celebrating everything that is right in this world, though. We need more of this.

Long Form.

A blog full of links to long articles on a variety of topics. This is one of my favourite sites to visit when I’m running low on library books.

Make Everything Ok.

What if you had a magic button that made everything ok?

Now you do! 😉

The Illiterate Scribe.

From Matthew’s About page:

So with a certain feeling of humility I come to pick up my pen. I may fancy myself a scribe, but I’m reasonably sure I’m illiterate.

But I’ll tell you stories anyway. And I’ll try my hand at reviewing those that others have told me. Maybe you’ll see a bit of the world as I see it. Maybe not. At least I pray that you will be entertained.

We Are the 99 Percent.

I don’t care which political parties you follow or where you live – these stories could happen anywhere and to any of us.

Random Acts of Kindness.

A website dedicated to inspiring people to be kind to one another. It offers a long, ever-growing list of suggested acts of kindness.

What are your favourite new sites?

Here is this week’s list of poems, quotes, comics, photographs and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

From Off the Trail:

We are free to find our own way
Over rocks – through the trees –
Where there are no trails. The ridge and the forest
Present themselves to our eyes and feet
Which decide for themselves
In their old learned wisdom of doing
Where the wild will take us.

Can You Spot the Owl? I found it! Great camouflage, though.

Sky Shadows. One of the most beautiful photographs I’ve seen in a long time. Did you know that mountains can cast shadows on clouds?

Cheese. What asexuals look for in a partner. Very funny stuff.

If I Ever Disappear. Cat-lovers, how true is this?

A final thought:

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all. – Oscar Wilde

Unfortunately I haven’t read anything Oscar Wilde would approve of this week. Have you? 😉

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, photographs, graphic novels, short stories and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

The Cask of Amontillado. This is by far my favourite Edgar Allan Poe short story.

From Only Happy People Can Fix the World:

Seriousness is a man-made disease, terminal in nature.

Linear Parks are Reshaping Urban Landscapes. Now this is a hopeful article. I wonder how else unused land in urban and suburban communities will be reclaimed as parks in the near future?

From The Saddest Toys in the Universe:

It is easy to forget that among the sexy nurses, and goofy decorations that Halloween is one of the few times a year that we engage with the idea of death…This still comes through in small ways in our modern Americanized Halloween.

Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic. This is how the CDC wants you to react in the event of a zombie uprising. I love that the CDC has such a fantastic sense of humour!

Sometimes what you need more than anything is a book that will make you laugh until your stomach muscles ache. F in Exams: The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers is just such a book.

What have you been reading?

Forgotten Heroes is a series of posts about extraordinary men and women who are (probably) not remembered by the average person.  Previous heroes include Alvin Ratz Kaufman, Fred and Cela Sloman and Ghandl and Skaay. 

If you know of a forgotten hero who should be included in this series let me know about him or her in the comment section or via my contact form.

Time: June 21, 1813

Place: Niagara Peninsula

If you’ve heard of Laura Secord it’s probably in this context.

The real Laura Ingersoll Secord was born in 1775. At 22 she married James Secord, a United Empire Loyalist. Soon after the Battle of Queenstown Heights James was wounded by a musket ball. The War of 1812 was raging on.

Remember, this happened well over a hundred years before the invention of penicillin. Wounds like this were serious. A systemic infection could kill even the healthiest person very quickly.

James had been recovering from his injury for about eight months when Laura learned that Lieutenant James FitzGibbon was planning a surprise attack at Beaver Dams. If the Americans carried out this attack successfully they would have gained even more control of the Niagara Peninsula.

Laura started walking. We believe she travelled about 20 miles (30 kilometres) through swamps and woodlands to warn British forces of an impending American attack. She was alone and the terrain was rough. If you’ve ever hiked off-trail you know how much more difficult is to climb over and around rocks, fallen trees and other obstacles. Walking one mile in this environment is like walking three or four on a flat, dry pavement.

Because of her warning the British were able to attack the enemy at Beaver Dam and capture almost all of the American soldiers despite the fact that the British had about 400 less men.

How did Laura find out about the attack?

We don’t know.

She told FitzGibbon that that an American soldier has told her husband about the attack but as an elderly woman she told her granddaughter that she learned of the plan by listening to the conversations of American soldiers she had been forced to feed and allow to sleep under her roof.

It’s possible that both of these stories were fabrications and that she was warned about the attack by a friend or acquaintance living in the U.S. who would have been hanged for treason had his or her identity been revealed.

Logo by Tara Logue.

This brings us back to the chocolatier.

In 1913  Laura Secord Chocolates was founded. The name was chosen to honor the original Laura Secord.

One of their most well-known sweets is dark chocolate moulded into a pendant with Laura Secord’s face carved into the white chocolate in the middle of it.

Unfortunately my dairy allergy prevents me from ever trying one. Readers who live outside of Canada should definitely add visiting one of these shops to their list of stuff to do on vacation here, though! 🙂

I ask you right here please to agree with me that a scar is never ugly. That is what scar makers want us to think. But you and I, we must make an agreement to defy them. We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived.  – Chris Cleave, Little Bee.