"To a person uninstructed in natural history, his country or sea-side stroll is a walk through a gallery filled with wonderful works of art, nine-tenths of which have their faces turned to the wall. Teach him something of natural history, and you place in his hands a catalogue of those which are worth turning around. Surely our innocent pleasures are not so abundant in this life, that we can afford to despise this or any other source of them."
Thomas Henry Huxley, On the Educational Value of the Natural History Sciences (1854).
From Collected Essays (1893). Vol. 3, 63.
Unless otherwise indicated - and without intruding on the copyrights of others - all photographs displayed in 'A Natural Selection' (2007 - 2011) are under the copyright of Adrian Thysse . The use of these photographs, for any purpose, is not allowed without permission of the copyright holder.
Contact: earthfriendly@telus.net
Comment Policy
Topical comments and corrections welcome - however I reserve the right to withhold any messages which are irrelevant,vulgar or insulting.
American militia firing at the British infantry from behind a split-rail fence during the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, March 15, 1781.
Alfred Jacob Miller – Snake Indians Testing Bows
There are several versions of the text of the Second Amendment, each with slight capitalization and punctuation differences, found in the official documents surrounding the adoption of the Bill of Rights.[5] One version was passed by the Congress,[6] while another is found in the copies distributed to the States[7] and then ratified by them.
As passed by the Congress:
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.[8]
Our southern neighbors have chosen today as National Fossil Day, part of Earth Sciences Week, established by the American Geological Institute to “…help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Earth Sciences and to encourage stewardship of the Earth. While Canada is well known for its fossil sites, (and its fossilized Conservative government) we don’t seem to take part in the celebration. Allow me to offer my best wishes to all those south of the border who are paying tribute to the earth by honoring fossils:
(Shell fossil photographed high in a mountain pass above a glacier in Jasper National Park. Deposited there by the mighty hand of God when he caused a world wide flood to destroy all people who sinned more than Noah by the massive forces of plate tectonics that continue to shape the earth.)
Creating a stir in Alberta, Corporate Ethics International has begun a campaign to make people think twice before visiting the province. From the CBC:
Corporate Ethics International launched billboards in four U.S. cities Wednesday that compare Alberta’s oilsands to the environmental disaster caused by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
“We’re just trying to create pressure that motivates the Alberta government to come to the table to talk to these groups about a solution,” said Michael Marx, executive director of the group.
The billboards were placed in Portland, Ore., Denver, Seattle and Minneapolis, four centres that generate many U.S. visitors to Alberta.
Smithsonian.com has launched a new video page which has covers history, science, nature, the arts, travel, world culture and technology. This selection covers the evidence of natural selection and evolution at the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum.
Here I am, a Canadian who doesn’t care about hockey. So I turn on the TV to catch a bit of the Olympic Games. What do I see? Two players in a face-to-face collision and then a third falls over them both. All three are Canadian hockey players.
If I had known hockey was so entertaining I would have begun watching ages ago…
