But before you go to you bookshelf and turn the lights off, know this: reading in the dark won't necessarily cause you to have ametropies (such as myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism), but it can give you a headache because of the effort your eyes will make. If you think it'll be worth it, go ahead! But, just in case, it's nice to have a directional light source - it can be a flashlight, a lamp or even one of those cool little lamps you can attach to your book pages! - to increase the contrast between the words and the paper, preventing eye fatigue.
So now you have a pretty great excuse to continue reading that awesome book, even when the sun goes down! And I can't wait to tell that to my mom - she always annoyed me to stop reading when light was low. But before you go to you bookshelf and turn the lights off, know this: reading in the dark won't necessarily cause you to have ametropies (such as myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism), but it can give you a headache because of the effort your eyes will make. If you think it'll be worth it, go ahead! But, just in case, it's nice to have a directional light source - it can be a flashlight, a lamp or even one of those cool little lamps you can attach to your book pages! - to increase the contrast between the words and the paper, preventing eye fatigue. ~Ally
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The search for self-knowledge and happiness are the subject of this awesome Brazilian movie. It's fully available on YouTube (above). Watch. Enjoy. It certainly enlightened my day! ~Ally
Watch this video by Jason Silva, host of National Geographic's Brain Games and you'll get an idea. This video is part of his new YouTube series, "Shots of Awe". The performance philosopher uses his weekly videos to examine the human experience with energy and an uplifting sense of optimism. Enjoy. Be inspired! ~Ally
Nature never ceases to amaze me! The image above was made by the Norwegian nature photographer, author, and lecturer Kjell Bloch Sandved. He photographed butterflies in over 30 countries and found all the letters of the English alphabet as well as the numbers 0-9 in patterns in the wings of live butterflies and moths. I'll leave you today with some inspirational words from him: "To find beauty in the world, you have to look closely." ~Ally
Whenever I feel uninspired or unhappy, I turn to William Wallace and his fellow Scottish compatriots to cheer me up. However, some time ago, I heard that there were several historical mistakes and anachronisms in the movie. Time to figure out what are they! First of all, Wallace never had a romance with Isabel from France (portrayed by Sophie Marceau), since she only arrived in England three years after Wallace's death. And Longshanks - that was Edward the first's real nickname, along with Hammer of the Scots - wasn't dying when William was executed. He actually died in the battle of Burgh-a-Sands (Cumberland) in 1307, near the Scottish frontier, on his way to another campaign against Wallace's friend Robert Bruce. Finally, it is most unlikely that Wallace was just a commoner. It is said that he spoke several languages and was a cultured man - as it was shown in the movie -, but that makes historians believe that he and his wife Murron (who, by the way, was no secret bride) were part of Ellerslie's aristocracy. ~Ally
Using animals as a part of therapy began in the IX century, and it was first registered in Gheel, Belgium. Back then, people with special needs were allowed to take care of domestic animals. This type of therapy resurfaced during the 1960's in the USA, when the psychologist Boris Levinson used his labrador dog Jingles to help a kid with socialization problems. The child arrived early for his appointment and, in the waiting room, encountered the dog, with whom he soon started to talk about his distresses and afflictions. The experience motivated Dr. Levinson to use Jingles as a part of the treatment for authism, and he discovered that animals provided the kids the opportunity to express their emotions. Nowadays, his theories are taken seriously and it has been proved that living with animals is good for the mental and physical health of humans of any age, no matter what problem they have. ~Ally
Such a great tune from Ed Sheeran, I couldn't not post it here. Enjoy while we wait for the movie! ~Ally
One of my favorite days of the year! HURRAY!!! So, in celebration of this wicked day, let's learn a little more about this special night. Halloween dates back two thousand years to Britain and Ireland and a Celtic festival called Samhain which markerd the end of the “season of the sun” and the beginning of the “season of darkness and cold.” The first of November was considered the end of the summer period, when herds were returned from pasture and land tenures were renewed. It was also a time when the souls of the dead were believed to return to visit their homes. People set bonfires on hilltops for relighting their hearth fires for the winter and to frighten away evil spirits. They sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts they believed were present. That’s how witches, hobgoblins, fairies and demons came to be associated with the day. The period was also thought to be favourable for divination on matters such as marriage, health, and death. When the Romans conquered the Celts in the 1st century AD, they added their own festivals of Feralia, commemorating the passing of the dead, and of Pomona, the goddess of the harvest. In the 7th century AD, Pope Boniface IV established All Saints’ Day, originally on May 13, and in the following century, it was moved to November 1. The evening before All Saints’ Day became a holy, or hallowed eve and, thus, Halloween. By the end of the Middle Ages, the secular and the sacred days had merger. In North America, the celebration of Halloween was forbidden among most of the early colonists, but in the 1800s some festivals celebrating the harvest developed and incorporated elements of Halloween. Irish immigrants brought versions of the tradition with them to America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries adopted the holiday in the late twentieth century. Happy Halloween, folks! ~Ally
What if monsters, robots and aliens had been a real part (I consider them so, as preposterous as it may seem) of the world's history? That is what the book "Alternative Histories of the World" is all about. I haven't read it yet, but, from what I've seen so far, it is, in one word, genius. Wish it all was true - and who can say for sure it isn't? ~Ally
Whenever I need some feminist inspiration, I look upon this poster. But only today I got to know its history! The "We Can Do It!" was actually an American wartime propaganda (WWII, to be precise) poster produced in 1943 by J. Howard Miller for the Westinghouse Electric company as an inspirational image to improve worker morale. It was not initially intended just for women - they had another 41 posters featuring mostly men, work-people and managers. It is generally thought that this particular poster was based on a black-and-white service photograph of Geraldine Hoff, a factory worker. However, this poster was seen very little during that period (it was only used in the factory for two weeks, more or less). But it was rediscovered in the early 1980's and, then, widely reproduced in many ways, to promote feminism and other political issues. It is often called "We Can Do It!" or "Rosie the Riveter" poster, the last after the iconic figure of a strong female war production worker. After this period of rediscovery, observers often assumed that the image was always used as a call to inspire women workers to join the war effort. That was not the case. During the war, the image was strictly internal to Westinghouse, displayed only during February 1943, and was not for recruitment but to exhort already-hired women to work harder. Nowadays, feminists and others have seized upon the uplifting attitude and apparent message to remake the image into many different forms, including self empowerment, campaign promotion, advertising, and parodies. ~Ally
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