Marilyn's Photos - July 2 2025 - Which Country is up next

 

Which country is up next?  Celebrating or commemorating its existence.  There's quite a cluster on July 1st - Canada, British Virgin Islands, Burundi, Hong Kong, Madeira, Rwanda, and Somalia.  Up next is Curacao with their National Anthem and Flag Day on July 2nd, then Belarus on July 3rd.  Finally, the United States on July 4th (with its arguments over whether it should really be July 2nd).  It might be independence from France - that's Algeria on July 5th, Cape Verde's independence from Portugal and Venezuela's independence from Spain. All the differentiations of a Nation Day. Our celebration day is about a coming together.   The Wikipedia description:  "commemorates the creation of Canadian Confederation, the process by Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into one federation called the Dominion of Canada in 1867."  The Province of Canada became Ontario and Quebec.  Other countries celebrate their "independence from."  One looks at a list of conquering and colonizing nations such as Spain (Kingdom of Spain), Portugal, United Kingdom (or the British Empire), France, and so on.  Isn't France distinctive with Bastille Day - the storming of the Bastille on July 14th 1789.   Mexico celebrates its Independence Day on September 16th - the beginning of the War of Independence from Spain.  It probably took a while to complete. Not one country celebrates itself on December 31st, the last day of the year.  Turn to January 1st and there's more optimism. Cuba, Haiti and Sudan celebrate their national day. China seems to have a few days and it celebrates January 1st as Founding Day.  But then China has much history as a nation.  I wonder how long it takes to study their history in school. And what about Australia?  On January 26th it celebrates Australia Day, commemorating the establishment of a British prison settlement at Port Jackson in 1788.  It is also known as Survival Day and Invasion Day - lots going on there. And the United Kingdom?  It does not seem to have a recognized national day and celebrates the King's Official birthday.  Nothing for Wales or England.  Ireland has March 17th (of course) Saint Patrick's Day, and Scotland has the Feast day of Saint Andrew. With all the events in the world, one starts to wonder about the birth of a nation.  Some seem to  evolve, some are unifications of similar or disparate groups.  Others are declarations through conflict.  I wonder how these beginnings are embedded in  social fabric of a nation. Canada seems quite young.  Who is the oldest nation?  It is considered to be San Marino, tracing back to 301 AD with unbroken self-governance. There are older nations based on different criteria.  Look at Egypt - it was founded in 3150 B.C.E. - the estimated beginning the reign of Narmer.  And who but England would have the oldest constitution - the 1215 Magna Carter.   I seem to think that Shakespeare could only have come from England because of this historic start.

Here's something I created quite a few years ago - light painting with a sparkler in the dark  Seems like a good image for today.

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Marilyn's Photos - June 30 2025 - Strong Words

 

When we were children, if someone was going to have "strong words" with you - it meant trouble - a scolding or similar.  At least it was verbal.  Today strong words are called power words.  0- persuasive terms meant to evoke emotional responses and influence actions.  Trying to retrieve the origin is a dilemma, as the phrase isn't acknowledged as a phrase.   I did find 'strongly-worded' as in She sent a strongly-worded letter to the manager.  He received a strongly-worded email from his boss.  The committee issued a strongly-worded statement against the proposal. Do you know that when you search for strongly-worded jokes, Dad jokes is what comes up: What do you call a fake dad? A faux pas. Why do dogs float in water? Because they’re good buoys. What should you do if your puppy isn’t feeling well? Take him to the dog-tor. Why couldn’t the lifeguard rescue the hippie? Because he was too far out, man. Anything can be called a Dad Joke.

More roses from the RBG rose garden.

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