Monthly Archives: September 2024

Slow And Steady

Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise, is recognized as the world’s oldest known living land animal. Born around 1832, Jonathan is at least 192 years old and resides on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. His exact birth year isn’t known, but he was fully grown when he arrived on the island in 1882, leading to estimates of his age.

Jonathan has become a symbol of longevity and resilience. Despite his age, he still enjoys a peaceful life, spending his days basking in the sun and eating a diet of fruit and vegetables. While his senses of sight and smell have diminished over time, Jonathan remains active, with a keen sense of hearing.

He lives on the grounds of Plantation House, the governor’s residence on Saint Helena, and has become the only celebrity and a tourist attraction for the tiny, remote island.

Lovely

Some factslaps about ladybugs:

  • A group of ladybugs is called a “loveliness”
  • Not all ladybugs are red: While most people associate ladybugs with their red shell and black spots, they can also be yellow, orange, brown, or even pink.
  • They are considered good luck: In many cultures, seeing a ladybug is believed to bring good fortune and prosperity.
  • Voracious predators: Ladybugs are beneficial to gardeners because they eat pests like aphids. A single ladybug can eat up to 5,000 aphids in its lifetime.
  • They secrete a toxic fluid: When threatened, ladybugs exude a foul-smelling fluid from their legs that can deter predators.
  • Ladybugs hibernate: During winter, ladybugs seek out warm places to hibernate in large groups, sometimes thousands at a time.
  • They aren’t bugs: Despite their name, ladybugs are not technically bugs. They belong to the beetle family, scientifically known as Coccinellidae.
  • There are over 5,000 species: Worldwide, there are over 5,000 species of ladybugs, with about 500 species in North America alone.
  • Their spots fade with age: A ladybug’s spots become lighter and less pronounced as it gets older, giving some older ladybugs a washed-out appearance.
  • Ladybugs are named after the Virgin Mary: The name “ladybug” is derived from “Our Lady’s bug,” referring to the Virgin Mary in Christian tradition. The red color was associated with her cloak, and the seven spots represented her seven joys and seven sorrows.

Welcome to The Terrordome

There’s a cruel irony in watching Israel, a state born from the ashes of genocide, now employ tactics eerily similar to those used by the terrorists it fights. This week, Israel allegedly rigged pagers and cell phones to explode, killing Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon.

The justifications ring familiar: “We are under constant threat.”

But when does survival become sadism? When does defense morph into revenge?

Each explosion, each “precision” strike that leaves civilians as “collateral damage,” doesn’t just take lives—it eats away at Israel’s soul.

The booby-trapped pagers and phones aren’t just a tactical evolution; they’re a moral devolution. When a nation founded as a haven for the persecuted becomes indistinguishable from the persecutors, something fundamental has been lost. These aren’t the actions of a state defending itself; they’re the desperate flailings of a country losing its identity.

What separates Israel from those it condemns? The line grows thinner with each explosion, each “targeted” killing that leaves a wake of civilian casualties. Israel isn’t just fighting terror; it’s becoming the very thing it swore to destroy. In its quest for security, it risks securing only its own moral downfall.