#Place de l´Independence

[city-of-ladies]

A pioneering female composer, Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) defied the norms of her time. Unlike many women of her era, she was not a wife, a nun, or a courtesan; but an independent woman devoted to her music.

The heiress of the Muses

Barbara was immersed in music from an early age. Her father, Giulio Strozzi, an illegitimate member of the noble Strozzi family, played a significant role in Venetian musical life, writing librettos for major composers and poetry. Her mother, Isabella Garzoni, was Giulio’s longtime servant, possibly of Greek origin, as she was known as “La Griega” or “La Greghetta” (“The Little Greek”).

Unlike Nannerl Mozart, Barbara benefited from a supportive environment. Her father acknowledged her and provided her with a comprehensive education, allowing her to develop her talents from a young age. She trained with opera composer Francesco Cavalli, and by the age of 15, Barbara was already performing at gatherings in the Strozzi home. She possessed an impressive and flexible soprano voice, capable of singing complex compositions.

Her talent was widely recognized. In 1635 and 1636, composer Nicolò Fontei dedicated two volumes of solo songs to her. She also performed at meetings of her father’s intellectual circle, the Accademia degli Unisoni (“Academy of the Like-Minded”). Among the attendees was Giovanni Francesco Loredan, a supporter of feminist writer and nun Arcangela Tarabotti, who remarked that “had she been born in another era, surely she would have usurped or expanded the place of the muses.”

An extraordinary career

Barbara went on to publish her own compositions. In 1644, she released Il primo libro de madrigali (First Book of Madrigals, Opus 1), dedicated to Vittoria della Rovere, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, known for her patronage of female convents and musicians—a strategic choice on Barbara’s part.

Despite the dominance of opera, Barbara achieved recognition as a composer of chamber music. Her compositions showcased her vocal talent, though she sometimes wrote with other female voices in mind. Her songs explored themes of love, jealousy, joy, despair and sensuality. Most of her work was secular, but she also composed religious pieces in Latin—a unique accomplishment for a Catholic laywoman in early modern Europe.

Barbara’s work was more than just a portrayal of women as sensual temptresses; she also demonstrated a powerful and dramatic voice. An example of this is “Lagrime mie” (“My Tears”) from 1657, a poignant expression of a lover’s despair that fully utilized her vocal abilities.

Over her lifetime, Barbara published around 125 compositions across eight volumes, making her more prolific than any other female composer of her era. By 1656, her works were included alongside those of male composers in printed collections. While she did not perform publicly, her music has been preserved.

A troubled personal life

Barbara never married but had four children, at least three of whom were fathered by Giovanni Paolo Vidman, a friend of her father. Long-term concubinage relationships like theirs were not uncommon at the time.

The nature of their relationship remains unclear. An anonymous commentator wrote in 1677 that Giovanni Paolo had raped Barbara. This might seem contradictory given the length of their relationship, but societal norms of the time regarding female virginity sometimes forced women to remain with their aggressors to protect their reputations.

Through her work, Barbara was able to provide for her children. Giovanni Paolo died in 1648, leaving provisions for her and their children. Both of Barbara’s daughters entered convents, with the entrance fees paid by Giovanni Paolo’s wife, Camilla. Barbara rented a house from Giovanni Paolo’s brother until 1677 when she traveled to Padua, where she died of illness.

My Ko-Fi

Further reading

Kendrick Robert L., “Intent and textuality in Barbara Strozzi’s sacred music”

Magner Candace, “Barbara Strozzi, a brief history”

Ray Meredith K., Twenty-five women who shaped the Italian Renaissance 

[whencyclopedia]

James Armistead Lafayette

James Armistead Lafayette (l. c. 1748-1832) was an African American Patriot who served the Continental Army as a spy during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). During the Siege of Yorktown, he infiltrated the British camp to bring crucial intelligence to the Americans. After the war, he was freed from slavery with the help of the Marquis de Lafayette, whose name he adopted.

Early Life

James Armistead Lafayette was born into slavery around the year 1748 in New Kent County, Virginia (some sources give his birth year as 1760). He was born on the property of Colonel John Armistead, and became the colonel's slave; although later writers and historians would refer to him as James 'Armistead', he never adopted his master's surname during his lifetime and was instead simply referred to as 'James'. James was raised alongside Colonel Armistead's son, William, with the intention that James would eventually serve as William's personal manservant. For this purpose, James was given a basic education and was taught how to read and write, skills unusual for enslaved persons in Colonial America, but which James needed to know to be an effective servant. When William Armistead came of age, the colonel gifted him James as his manservant, with William inheriting the rest of his father's slaves and lands when the colonel died in 1779.

James likely would have remained a manservant for the rest of his life, fading into historical obscurity in much the same way that most of the other 450,000 enslaved individuals living in the Thirteen Colonies at the time did. However, in 1779, the same year that Colonel Armistead died, something happened that would change the course of James' life forever: the American War of Independence came to the south. By this point, the war was well into its fourth year; the United States of America had declared its independence, the decisive Battles of Saratoga had been fought in New York, the Continental Army had reorganized itself at Valley Forge, and the Kingdom of France had entered the war on the American side. But up until now, most of the fighting had taken place in the north, particularly in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania; the British had been focused on seizing key American cities like Philadelphia and New York City, while simultaneously isolating New England, believed to be the heart of the American rebellion.

But after the failure of several northern campaigns, the British turned their focus to the southern states, which were rumored to be replete with Loyalists eagerly awaiting the return of royal authority. The British implemented their southern strategy, capturing Savannah, Georgia, in December 1778 and laying siege to Charleston, South Carolina, in early 1780. With the arrival of the redcoats on their shores, southern colonists were forced to choose where their loyalties lie; this included the tens of thousands of African Americans, such as James, who had to decide whether the Patriots or the Tories (Loyalists) offered the better chance at freedom.

Continue reading...

[tansyuduri]

Merlin Loregasm Rewatch S1E9

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my rewatch of Merlin focusing on the lore. I am a giant nerd so pretty excited about this. We’re on EXCALIBUR

Uther: Do you solemnly Swear to govern the peoples of this kingdom and their dominions according to the statutes, customs, and laws, Laid down by your forebearers,

Arthur: I do Sire

Uther: Do you promise to exercise mercy and justice, in your deeds and judgments?

Arthur: I do Sire

Uther: And do you swear allegiance to Camelot now and for as long as you shall live?

Arthur: I, Arthur pendragon, do pledge life and limb to your service And to the protection of the kingdom and it's peoples.

Uther: Now, being of age, And the Heir apparent, from hence forth you shall be crown prince of Camelot Okay so Arthur is now crown prince of Camalot. And of age. we know hes at Least 20 so of age is likley 21 in this world which is interesting because it implies lifespans are longer due to the more advanced medicine, Normally the medieval OF AGE was 16 years old. Also, see the golden ring placed around Arthurs head? Yeah thats called a Coronet and was traditionally worn by crown princes at formal occasions (Like we will see Arthur do)

It is a bit odd he was not considered crown prince already since he was the oldest royal child (And only royal child as far as people know) So even if Primogeniture (Inheridence by oldest son) was not a thing he would STILL be crown prince. See a crown prince IS the heir apparent of a royal kingdom. And Heir apparent is the one who is going to succeed the king. And cannot be displaces by the birth of another prince. So if he was heir apparent he pretty much was already was Crown prince. My guess is this is traditionally reaffirmed in Camalot when a prince comes of age,

I also like the use of the word peoples because it kinda hints that Camalot is big enough to have multiple peoples within its lands. Which if the theory from the Lancelot episode is true would be the case.

WHOOO Okay I think we have an answer. Devil is VERY Christian. So I'm going with there being some very weird semi paganized version of Christianity existing in Camalot that is left over from the Romans and just got mixed with local traditions. I therorized about this in one loregasm and I'm sticking with it because they ARE VERY MUCH not full on Catholic or Eastern Orthadox. And there are still a lot of pagan elements.

Throwing down a Gauntlet as a challenge is a custom of the late medieval era. It was considered a GRAVE insult and HAD to be picked up to accept the challenge if one wanted to keep ones honnor.

HI Sir Owain! Lesse in the original legends you were a Child of Urrian of Gore and Morgana. You had a pet Lion! You defeated a evil knight and married his widow, Then neglected your wife because you were too busy doing knight stuff. She ditches you and you go mad with grief and live naked in the woods. Then Morgana cures you and you win back your wife. Also, you are one of the last to die before Arthur at Cammlan. Have I mentioned how much I love that Merlin sometimes just goes NAH let's kill em instead?

Geof: Gaius thank god

Gaius: you know why I'm here

Geof: The black knight

Gaius: So it is he

Geof: you saw his crest

Gaius: have you confirmed it?

Geof: it is the crest of Tristan De Bois

Gaius: And he is the only knight ever to have carried such a crest

Geof: yes acording to the records

Okay this is a HUGE boon for us lore wise, See we don't know that much about the personality of Yygraines family. (or a ton about her's for that matter) BUT if it's his crest not a family crest it means HE picked it. So we can use heraldry to learn a bit about him!

So the symbol he uses is an Eagle this represents strength and courage and often has to do with military skill and leadership. It can also represent freedom, and independance and the ability to see things clearly. black represents constancy or grief and white peace and sincerity.

So Tristan was likely a strong man and military leader who was sincere and constant in his personality. He likley tended to perfer peace but when pushed to it would fight well. He might have been independent minded as well showing by making his own crest.

OOCLY the show could be telling us that it is likley telling us this man was RIGHT about Uther being at fault. One way or another. And his act in standing up to Uther was a courageous one. OR its also possible he took up this sigil after Ygraines's death If so his very crest and oufit is blaming and taunting Uther! But that is just my assessment!

HI Sir Pellinor! Lesse in the original legends you were the king of Listeoise (Lake District) Or of "the Illes." You killed king Lot, And hunted the Questing Beast relentlessly. You were killed by Gwaine. You were also Percival's dad. (Among other kids.)

Othanden can mean Out Of Hand in Danish. Otherwise I cannot find much on this. My guess is this battle would have taken place in the previously mentioned war with Mercia

Gaius: Tristan De Bois was the brother of Ygraine -- Uther's wife

Merlin: Arthur's Mother?

Gaius: Ygraine died in childbirth. He blamed Uther and came to the gates of Camalot and Challanged him.

Merlin: to single combat?

Gaius: Uther won, but with his dying breath Traistan cursed Camalot to one day suffer his return. I thought it was the ramblings of a dying man. People Estimate the chances of death in childbirth in the middle ages to be the cause of 50 percent of young female fatalities. Giving birth was incredably dangerous. (And most woman did it many time though less so in the Merlin world) For in the actual birthing process and the chance of childbed fever afterward. So this is likley an early clue to the fact that there was somthing supernatural going on with Arthur's birth. No one in their right mind blamed a man for the death of their wife in childbirth ESPECIALLY if said wife was having their first birth and not too old or too young.

Now in the Merlin world I would guess death in childbirth of woman is at a much lower rate. For two reasons. First of all The more advanced medicine would make it a bit less common. (Though they do not have modern medicine or germ theory or modern technology so not by much) The other reason being IN merlin families seem to be small compared to the huge ones of the middle ages. (Hinting Child Mortality is not as high) So less chances for a woman to die. STILL it likely would have been fairly common.

Now to the interesting fact that Ygraine came from France! Implying contact and trade with them. See Ygraine is the french version of Arthur's mother's name And we've talked about the last name in previous posts.

"Came to the gates of Camalot castle and challenged him" is interesting because it means he was not in Camalot. SO HOW would he know about Uther's involvement in Ygraine's death? My guess is it lies in the "one day suffer his return" See here we have another "How would he know." My guess is the man was some sort of seer. Or magic user. Ygraine was said to have been pretty friendly with many magic users. It's possible magic (or being a seer) ran in her family. The other option of her somehow writing him and knowing about the whole magic to conceive thing is also possible but doesn't explain knowing he would return, Nimue could just have been using something he said randomly but I don't really think so? OR he was just crazy? And was attacking Uther for what he thought was a normal childbirth death? That would be REALLY weird. though. And the later "it was magic that killed her not I" and "never the less it was you he blamed" Seems to go against this option

Gaius: My guess is we're dealing with a Wraith.

Merlin: A wraith?

Gaius: The spirit of a dead man conjured from the grave.

Merlin: So this is the work of a sorcerer

Gaius: Powerful Magic can harness the greif and rage of a demanted soul and make it live again

Merlin: How do we stop it?

Gaius: We can't, Because its not alive no mortal weapon can kill it

Merlin: Surly there must be somthing

Gaius: Nothing can stop it until it has achived what it came for

Merlin: And what's that

Gaius: Revenge.

Wraith is a Scottish word for ghost that has become a more general term. It can also mean the exact likeness of a person seen before death as a death omen, (A soul who was on the verge of death or recently passed on) From there the meaning has evolved to many many different things.

Geoferry is not in on it! Its likely Arthurs birth magic is not in the court records of the purge! (Theorized about this perviously)

Uther: Havn't you tired of revenge?

Nimueh: Haven't you? You Began this war when you threw me from the court and salughtered all of my kind

Uther: you brought it on yourself you practiced evil

Nimueh: I was your freind Uther, You welcomed me here

Uther: you betrayed that freindship

Nimueh: I did as you asked I used the magic you so despise to give your barren wife the son you craved

Uther: Don't ever speak of her in that way She was my heart, My soul, and you took her from me.

Nimueh: She died giving birth to your son. it was not my choice. That is the law of Magic. to create a life there had to be a death, the balance of the world had to be repaired

Uther: you knew it would kill her

Nimueh: No you're wrong. If I had forseen her death and the terrible retrebution you would seek. I would never have granted your wish.

Ok first of all we know from later Nimugh has a bit of control of who dies. Hinting that something interfered here causing it to be Ygraine. (I totally don't have headcanons about this you will eventually see in my fics)

ALSO, I find it interesting he says "Evil" not "evil sorcery," I think he truly belives all magic is evil. I mean every villain is a good guy in their own mind.

BUT he was also freinds with Nimueh and welcomed her to Camalot. So he didn't always think all magic was evil. It seems it truely was Ygraines death that caused that. I always wondered if part was just an excuse in his mind because he was insecure that other people had so much power and perhaps helped him build the kingdom with it. So they could tear it down. I think Nimueh was court sorcerer. And helped him take over the kingdom, but that's just my headcannon.

Also gotta wonder what kinda person Ygraine was that Uther fell so deeply in love with her.

Geoff: Well several fables speak of Ancient swords

=Merlin: that can kill the dead?"

Geoff: The swords the fables speak of could destroy anything alive or dead.

Merlin: can you show me one of these fables"

Geoff: welll let me think, yes

(Later)

Goef: this is the chronicle of Beltane, now then, ah were we are 'Sir Marhaus looked at the great sword, begotten in the dragons breath and found it passing good"

Sir Marhaus was the son of the king of ireland and his sister was the queen of Ireland and a knight of the Round Table in folklore. Beltane as we addressed is celebrated may 1st! So this book is the chronicles of a holiday on May 1st

Merlin: I've come to ask for a sword. The strongest sword your father's ever made

Gwen: What for?

Merlin: To save Arthur (Cut to latter but continuation of this scene so keeping it here)

Gwen: My father's been saving this. Hes always said it was the best sword he's ever made.

Merlin: its perfect

Gwen: He'll kill me if he find's I've taken it

Merlin: He'll understand, You did it for arthur. I've talked about this before but this is more evidence that Gwen's family, while commoners, are not the same level of poor as most. Making swords and armor, especially good ones was a skilled art. And those things were EXPENSIVE. Tom is not the royal swordsmith so its HIGHLY likely he rivals the royal swordsmith in skill enough to have some knights of Camalot (The people who can actually afford arms and armor) Buy or get repairs done from him instead. (This is a big deal he must be VERY good) There are not many other people he could be making swords and armor for. I suppose there might be some mercenaries and freelancers who are rich enough for swords and perhaps VERY RARLY full on armor. He makes armor that is of the quality nobles wear, And can afford to just give it to people. we know this from Lancelot. I think he must do other typical blacksmithing AND Arms and armor for knights. So I see two possibilities. Either they consistently live at a level above the poverty of most commoners

OR Every now and then he gets a commission that makes them richer for a bit. With Gwen ALSO being such a good seamstress and Also considering they seem to be able to give away armor (Cough Lancelot cough) I think the first option is more likely, or perhaps its a mix of the two. To be clear they are not rich. I'm not saying they are rich. I'm saying they seem to be above most commoners in wealth. Also, wealth did not matter as much as Class in the middle ages anyway.

Him putting his best sword away might be some form of insurance He's still a commoner and is not guaranteed work because he is not the royal smith. And what if there is some emergency or a time when he doesn't get any of the fine commissions for a while?

Uther: You knew that one day this business would come back to haunt me.

Gaius: not quite so litteraly

Uther: I should have listened to you. You said that no good would come of using witchcraft at Arthur's birth

Gaius: you wanted an heir you thought it was the only way.

Uther: Nimueh told me there would be a pice to pay

Gaius: You weren't to know that price would be Ygraines life

OKAY first of all does this mean that GAIUS was not the one to suggest using magic? Then WTF was Uther talking about in that conversation about something being stupid to do "because Gaius said it was so" back in the poisoned chalice? Was Gaius just the messanger? It means it might explain more why Gauis lived if he was not the one to suggust it. Perhaps Uther asked Gaius if he knew a way and Gaius said he did but no good would come of it? Or Gaius was indeed just the messenger? BUT WHY DID HE NEED A MESSENGER IF NIMUEH WAS AT COURT. I swear when this is all done I'm going over all of these and doing a summary of possible answers to some questions!

Merlin: will your Bunrish it to save Arthur

Killy: The dead do not return without reason, who has he come for.

Merlin: Uther

Killy: Then let him take his Vengance and the wraith will die without my aid.

Merlin: But it's Arthur who is going to fight him! You have to save him

Killy: That is your destany young warlock not mine

Merlin: But if Arthur fights the wraith and dies camalot will have no heir, I will have no destany

Killy: A weapon forged with my assistance will have great power

Merlin: I know

Killy: You do not know You can only guess. You have not seen what I've seen. If you had perhaps you would not ask this of me.

Merlin: what do you mean?

Killy: In the wrong hands this sword could do great evil

Burnishing typically means polishing metal until it shines. Figuratively it can mean to enhance or perfect something. I think this is an interesting word to use and possibly implies a sword like Excalibur would never need to be polished again.

Also I'm pretty convinced one thing Killy is talking about here is how most of the high priestesses died. Remember mortal swords can not kill Morgana by the time of her death. There could be many other incidents too. However seeing as Excalibur mostly functions as a normal sword until one is up against undead or borderline imortals I think this could be a main focus. Of course it does bring up the question of if there were other swords and what happened to them if this is true. Because if this was the case I SERIOUSLY doubt Uther would have let such swords just vanish. Then again as far as we know the sword that killed Arthur was just used as a grave maker. ALSO as far as we know those are the only dragon-burnished swords we see in the show. Which means there are others either just hidden places, or out there with people having no clue as to their powers because they just found them somewhere and were like cool sword! The later kinda amuses me. Just some random dude around having no idea their sword is a WOID (Weapon Of Immortal Destruction)

Uther: Who made it?

Merlin: uh, tom the blacksmith

Uther: Its worthy of a king

Merlin: You would be better off with a sword your trusted

Uther: No, It has almost Perfect balance. Tom's not the Royal swordsmith I'm supprised Arthur went to him.

Merlin: That was me.

(This is the line I keep referring to about how Gwen's dad is not the royal swordsmith.)

The balance point on a sword is where you can lay it over a finger and not have it fall, Its center of weight. Usually its just a bit above the hilt. This is why most swords had pommels

If there is too much weight in the direction of the grip the trikes from it will not be fast and smooth, Also you will have a hard time pushing your opponents blade around. while if there is too much on the blade it will take longer to recover from a blow.

[nonvaleantredeo]

Marius de Romanus Appreciation Week, day 7

Prompt: My independence, which is my strength, implies loneliness, which is my weakness (P. P. Pasolini) The poet Gallus dreaming (L. A. Tadema)

In the final day I present the most difficult (for me) piece, the Grave of Loneliness, that was named after the Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

This sonet needs a little excurs in Russian philosophy that I placed under it, please read it after sonet, it'll add another sence to the text

~The Grave of Loneliness~

I will be lonely for eternity, perhaps, more or a less

And heart of mine will turn into a mystery for everyone

But pain of hesitation gnaws the soul so deep and permanently

Melancholy and heartburn are my deadly sins garland

Won’t witness joyful amusements of my resemblings

And suffering of martyrdom in fullness eke

Bewitched by unknown goddamn armor piece

Will cover with a cerement vampire hearse

Through hundreds years voice desolated will awake

The shadow, ancient ghost is modern bogochelovek (emphasis is marked, read the caption)

Sepulcher song, litania of him – the voice of God

Not long enough last getaway from ell to heaven

The tremble of a grave catch him so far away

Conclude in ice of underground poet’s soul

Based on the Θεάνθρωπος or the Theanthropos term, bogochelovek is the essential part of Russian religious philosophy, that were invented (in sociocultural environment) by the V. S. Soloviev in 1878 in the work called «Lectures on a God-like-humankind». Basically, it’s a studies on a modern to him culture that leads (and now we know he’s right) people to self-destruction, and only work on culture can turn humankind to the direction of God-like-humankind, where everyone will be teacher to themselves, will work for the peace, wisdom and beauty in the word like the first Theanthropos – Jesus.

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 46, 2024

A Feature-Space Theory of the Production Effect in Recognition. Caplan, J. B., & Guitard, D. (2024). Experimental Psychology, 71(1), 64–82.

Dentate gyrus ensembles gate context-dependent neural states and memory retrieval. Coelho, C. A. O., Mocle, A. J., Jacob, A. D., Ramsaran, A. I., Rashid, A. J., Köhler, S., … Frankland, P. W. (2024). Science Advances, 10(31).

Neural Signatures of Evidence Accumulation Encode Subjective Perceptual Confidence Independent of Performance. Dou, W., Martinez Arango, L. J., Castaneda, O. G., Arellano, L., Mcintyre, E., Yballa, C., & Samaha, J. (2024). Psychological Science, 35(7), 760–779.

Neural representational geometries reflect behavioral differences in monkeys and recurrent neural networks. Fascianelli, V., Battista, A., Stefanini, F., Tsujimoto, S., Genovesio, A., & Fusi, S. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 6479.

Recurrent inhibition refines mental templates to optimize perceptual decisions. Jia, K., Wang, M., Steinwurzel, C., Ziminski, J. J., Xi, Y., Emir, U., & Kourtzi, Z. (2024). Science Advances, 10(31).

Models of human preference for learning reward functions. Knox, W. B., Hatgis-Kessell, S., Booth, S., Niekum, S., Stone, P., & Allievi, A. G. (2024). Transactions on Machine Learning Research, 1313.

A feature-specific prediction error model explains dopaminergic heterogeneity. Lee, R. S., Sagiv, Y., Engelhard, B., Witten, I. B., & Daw, N. D. (2024). Nature Neuroscience, 27(8), 1574–1586.

A ventral pallidal-thalamocortical circuit mediates the cognitive control of instrumental action. Leung, B. K., Chieng, B., Becchi, S., & Balleine, B. W. (2024). Current Biology, 34(15), 3315-3326.e6.

Subcortical origin of nonlinear sound encoding in auditory cortex. Lohse, M., King, A. J., & Willmore, B. D. B. (2024). Current Biology, 34(15), 3405-3415.e5.

Control and recalibration of path integration in place cells using optic flow. Madhav, M. S., Jayakumar, R. P., Li, B. Y., Lashkari, S. G., Wright, K., Savelli, F., … Cowan, N. J. (2024). Nature Neuroscience, 27(8), 1599–1608.

Determinantal point process attention over grid cell code supports out of distribution generalization. Mondal, S. S., Frankland, S., Webb, T. W., & Cohen, J. D. (2024). eLife, 12, e89911.3.

Modeling confidence in causal judgments. O’Neill, K., Henne, P., Pearson, J., & De Brigard, F. (2024). Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 153(8), 2142–2159.

Prefrontal neuronal dynamics in the absence of task execution. Pu, S., Dang, W., Qi, X.-L., & Constantinidis, C. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 6694.

Space is a latent sequence: A theory of the hippocampus. Raju, R. V., Guntupalli, J. S., Zhou, G., Wendelken, C., Lázaro-Gredilla, M., & George, D. (2024). Science Advances, 10(31).

Different learning aberrations relate to delusion-like beliefs with different contents. Rossi-Goldthorpe, R., Silverstein, S. M., Gold, J. M., Schiffman, J., Waltz, J. A., Williams, T. F., … Corlett, P. R. (2024). Brain, 147(8), 2854–2866.

Multitask learning of a biophysically-detailed neuron model. Verhellen, J., Beshkov, K., Amundsen, S., Ness, T. V., & Einevoll, G. T. (2024). PLOS Computational Biology, 20(7), e1011728.

Probabilistic neural transfer function estimation with Bayesian system identification. Wu, N., Valera, I., Sinz, F., Ecker, A., Euler, T., & Qiu, Y. (2024). PLOS Computational Biology, 20(7), e1012354.

Development of neural circuits for social motion perception in schooling fish. Zada, D., Schulze, L., Yu, J.-H., Tarabishi, P., Napoli, J. L., Milan, J., & Lovett-Barron, M. (2024). Current Biology, 34(15), 3380-3391.e5.

A potentiation of REM sleep-active neurons in the lateral habenula may be responsible for the sleep disturbance in depression. Zhang, Z., Zhang, W., Fang, Y., Wang, N., Liu, G., Zou, N., … Zhao, H. (2024). Current Biology, 34(15), 3287-3300.e6.

Axo-axonic synaptic input drives homeostatic plasticity by tuning the axon initial segment structurally and functionally. Zhao, R., Ren, B., Xiao, Y., Tian, J., Zou, Y., Wei, J., … Tai, Y. (2024). Science Advances, 10(31).

[le-trash-prince]

Okay here is the final list of all the books I’ve finished this year! (since it doesn’t look like I’m going to get anything finished or even started this week.)

I tend to not finish things if I’m not enjoying them (two exceptions on this list because sometimes I am spiteful), so I liked all of these—but the ones in bold are those I particularly loved (I only bolded one per series or it would just be a wall of The Murderbot Diaries lol).

LGBT+ books read: 48

wlw books read: 22

trans/nb books: 17

I’m very happy with my year in reading. I hit my new year’s goal of 52 books finished. And I read a lot of things that I really fucking loved. Lots of robots. LOTS of scifi/fantasy sapphics which I am SO happy about. Some good horror, some good fucky “romances”. A lot of things written in response to the Trump era or written during 2020 lockdown.

I also enjoyed partaking in online book fandom for the first time in possibly ever! Especially Murderbot fandom, which is very active and creative and lovely.

(If you followed me for my bookblogging, thank you for enduring my Thai BL vroom vroom omegaverse brainrot. It will not be stopping anytime soon.)

For 2024, I am going to keep my goal at 52 books and save any extra time I have for rereading old things.

Anyways the list, for posterity:

After Midnight: A History of Independent India by Meghaa Gupta

The Old Place by Bobby Finger

Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell

The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monae

Women and Girls With Autism Spectrum Disorder by Sarah Hendrickx

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

Unmasking Autism by Devon Price

Divergent Mind by Jenara Nerenberg

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

Strictly No Heroics by B. L. Radley

Love after the End edited by Joshua Whitehead

Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom by Nina Varela

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Network Effect by Martha Wells

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi

Flux by Jinwoo Chong

Burning Roses by S. L. Huang

In the Lives of Puppets by T. J. Klune

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

No One Will Come Back For Us by Premee Mohamed

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

The Witch King by Martha Wells

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

Last Dance on the Starlight Pier by Sarah Bird

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Galveston’s Maceo Family Empire by T. Nicole Boatman et al

Blood Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max Fury Road by Kyle Buchanan

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Galveston’s Red Light District: A History of the Line by Kimber Fountain

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

In the Vanisher’s Palace by Aliette de Bodard

The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Linghun by Ai Jiang

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

The Salvation Gambit by Emily Skrutskie

Spear by Nicola Griffith

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older

Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starking

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night by Iona Datt Sharma & Katherine Fabian

System Collapse by Martha Wells

Silver Nitrate Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Out There Screaming edited by Jordan Peele

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Kimi Katiti

Published: Jul 3, 2024

The eruption of fireworks made me want to crawl out of my skin. I fully believed that the night of July 4, 2017 was a celebration of white supremacy, and I couldn't understand why anyone would participate in a festival of hatred. The power was also conveniently out in my apartment for the entirety of the evening, which made the jarring pyrotechnics all the more inescapable and amplified—as garish as a performance of sirens and headlights in my living room, unrepentant in their hours-long parade. Red, white and blue—over and over again. 

The people on the outside celebrated a country that was not only founded on slavery, but used the 13th amendment to preserve it. A country that also maintained the lynching of black men like Michael Brown and Philando Castile through the shield of law enforcement. And even though it elected its first black president, it slipped on the familiar when it elected Trump as its leader—a President who had no qualms with using xenophobic dog-whistles to rally his base. 

And these were just the visible warts on the face of the nation. What about the abscesses that oozed beneath its stripy, starred garb? The invisible system of racial discrimination and microaggressive harm? The walls built into every industry to keep the marginalized away from the American Dream? The emotional labor required by black women like myself to educate anyone on all the above? 

From my 2017 perspective, those who celebrated the 4th of July reveled in the murder of the innocent, and clapped in the defense of the assailant. Anyone who waved a flag, might as well brandish a whip. Anyone who took the day off to corral friends and family around a grill and under an umbrella of explosives or worse—under the presidency of Trump—might have as well donned a swastika pin and raised an arm into the sparkly skyline. 

This was my lens for a good number of years, and one that I look back on with grief. Why did I let a holiday wreck me so well? In hindsight, I have a few theories as to why, and it boils down to a worldview I unintentionally adopted—one that only lent to the fragility of the observer.

For the race-essentialist, the 4th of July is a semiotic nightmare. Oftentimes, interpersonal gestures and words take the spotlight when discussing microaggressions, but in the emoji-age, we ought to consider the role symbolism plays in drilling in groupthink, deteriorating meaning and expanding the modern idea of harm. What made the celebration of American independence an abyss of grief for me was the meaning I placed on every sign that marked the day.   

Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure defined a sign as any motion, gesture, event, or pattern that conveys meaning. The green light at a traffic stop means 'go', and blue on a faucet indicates 'cold' water. Meaning has been given to these shapes to form signs, and through repetitive use and education of the meaning behind the signs, we can add it to our symbolic lexicon. 

After two-dozen revisions, our current Star-Spangled Banner is meant to represent the nation of the United States of America. But how did it go from a mere symbol of a nation, to a symbol conveying conspired hate—at least in the minds of a radicalized few, my former self included?

I'd suggest it has something to do with concept creep—a term Jacob L. Mackey referred to during a previous conversation I had with him on microaggressions. Concept creep, coined by Nick Haslam, and popularized by The Coddling of the American Mind, refers to the ever-expanding meaning of harm-related language, such as trauma, or even the word 'harm' itself. In my case, harm came to include the symbol of the American flag. And in a reciprocal sense, the flag didn't just represent a nation, the concept behind it crept to represent a bad nation. Sure, one can look at a flag and think critically about the flaws of its country's government or systems. In my case, however, I felt like I was under attack at the sight of it. So what energized that progression of meaning—what taught me to reinterpret the meaning behind a symbol to the point of physical distress?

I'd like to nominate the mainstream media narrative for that progression of definition. Everything from social media to sports told me exactly what kind of meaning I should ascribe to the American flag, and its companions. One of fear, not fondness.

With the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, followed by the catastrophe-confirming appointment of Trump, the media streets in the mid twenty-tens were saturated with posts on police brutality, the national anthem and white America. This came with a flood of symbols to aid the viewers' dissection of events. Images of symbols such as the MAGA hat, The Thin Blue Line flag, the Trump posters, and The BLM fist—to name a few—often accompanied stories detailing the brewing cultural tension. 

Law Enforcement and the Thin Blue Line flag existed in opposition to the BLM movement. So if one was only familiar with the pro-BLM argument, and was as disheartened with grief as I was to hear any opposing cases, the meaning assigned to the Thin Blue Line flag no longer communicated the courage and bravery of law enforcement, but rather that the bearer of that symbol sided with police officers who murder innocent, unarmed black men. 

If you supported athletes' choice to stand during the singing of the national anthem, rather than kneeling in protest, in over-simplified reasoning, you supported the killing of black men. The further this meaning-to-symbol relationship was exacerbated through fear-mongering media—especially social media, where news travels best when laced with negativity—the further the meaning ascribed to certain symbols waxed sour.

Therefore, the progression of meaning in my mind, energized by the media, devolved this way: 

Wearing or waving the American flag is associated with patriotism. 

If you're patriotic, you're most likely a conservative. 

Only conservatives oppose BLM. 

Opposing BLM means that you support the killing of black people. 

Therefore, waving the American flag means you support the killing of black people.  

We also see this same re-education of benign signs into something indicative of harm in the recent lawsuit filed against Penn State at Abington, where the boss of plaintiff Zack K. DePiero, Liliana Naydan, allegedly told writing faculty that “white supremacy exists in language itself, and therefore, that the English language itself is ‘racist’ and, furthermore, that white supremacy exists in the teaching of writing of English, and therefore writing teachers are themselves racist white supremacists…”

Now imagine that it's not just the American flag that warrants this ungracious interpretation of meaning, but other icons of American culture: an eagle, American football, a pair of cowboy boots. For those steeped in critical social justice ideology, interfacing with these objects (and I'll speak for my former self) is aggravating on an average day. But seeing these concept-crept-visual-ideas all in one weekend, over and over again, paired with loud explosives and laughter, distorts the character of loved ones opting to celebrate the 4th of July, and as a black individual, lends to a sense of distrust because once more, bearing the American flag with pride means you support the killing of black people—with pride.

All of this—the concept creep, the concentration of offensive symbolism, the narrative—contributed to a sense of catastrophization on the 4th. Catastrophization is a cognitive distortion that leads you to assume the worst case scenario out of a relatively generic circumstance. In my case, I was brought to tears under a burden of anxiety because I allowed my brain to interpret every sign of America, including a date dedicated to the celebration of its independence, as something just left of a lynch mob dancing on my lawn.

What Changed My Mind

If you aren't familiar with how I broke the grip of cultish indoctrination as a whole, forgiveness played a key role in setting me free. But my attitude shift towards the 4th of July began amid the insanity of 2020. 

I was hit with the sting of cognitive dissonance after COVID-minded public health officials failed to call George Floyd protesters back indoors. The protesters were instead given the green light to do what we had been warned against repeatedly out of love for others. I couldn't quite tell—did these people who declared support for BLM, actually care about black lives?   

They allowed good people to go outside and do the thing we had been warned would kill us all. That transcends inconsiderate. The people that were supposed to be the 'good guys' were no better than Derek Chauvin. And that forced me to think more critically about who the 'good guys' were, and what exactly caring for the marginalized really looks like.

I started to question what was in it for them to maintain such dangerously contradictory positions. Somehow, somewhere, someone was lying. But why lie? Why distort the compassion of well-meaning individuals? This line of questioning led me to the obvious-–money and power.

Around this time, I turned to a refreshing pair of news anchors, Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, who at the time had a segment on The Hill's YouTube channel called Rising, and I was impressed by their similarly aligned remarks concerning the contradiction of stay-at-home orders—especially since Krystal and Saagar's observations were from both the right and left—and felt some peace and validation in questioning the powers that be. 

I questioned the fear that fueled media, and the censorship machine that went to work to squash varied opinions on COVID and quarantine measures. I questioned the power that tech corporations had to minimize voices at will. I questioned every one from Don Lemon to Patrisse Cullors, to the celebrity cohort that marched in lockstep with the 'right' idea. I had always questioned Donald Trump, but I allowed myself to question Joe Biden—why was a white old guy all of a sudden the arbiter of blackness? 

I questioned so much that I began to question questions—specifically why people were paying dearly for merely voicing them? That led me to revisit a little American idea called Free Speech—once a textual sign for intolerant rednecks, and now, my last hope towards freedom from a form of slavery that I had no idea was slowly choking out my mental health.  

I realized that it was this freedom to think, to express new paths of reasoning, to outwardly question those in authority, to protest injustice, or to express oneself uniquely, that many Americans remembered and honored when they beheld the symbol of the flag.  

Over many months, I meditated on the reality that the United States is ultimately structured to protect the smallest minority—the individual. There is something to be said about how even the collective identity of blackness turns on its own once certain questions threaten sacred cows like the Black Lives Matter movement or the status of oppression. Anywhere that groupthink can be formed, totalitarianism has a chance to consume the participants of said group. 

Being told what to think by conforming to group ideals made me a slave to fear, and allowing myself to reorganize how I thought set me—the individual—free. Learning how to think has afforded me the freedom to reinterpret symbols with more grace. It's also placed the control to assign meaning to symbols, signs, gestures and words back into my own hands. I don't need to depend on cash-hungry newscasters to tell me who to love or hate. And I won't leave it to billion-dollar corporations to manipulate me into surrendering my ability to reason—they won't get me to roll-over on command. This freedom to question popular ideas, re-evaluate their truth and efficacy, and communicate my findings without jail time—as I am doing now—is partly why those annoying fireworks pop-off as fiercely as they do. 

For those who have grown up here in the United States in struggle, I'm not diminishing your experience by declaring my old beliefs completely moot. The economic disparity grieves me. The American Dream slowly fading away from my generation and the one to come, frightens me. Wrongful sentencing in this country's brutal penal system breaks my heart. The glaring disparities that rip through various demographic lines infuriate me. No, rather, my new position is founded on the reality that without American ideals—voting rights, freedom of speech, checks and balances—those issues will be so much harder to address, let alone fix. (Trust me, I'm ethnically Ugandan) 

While the United States has a lot to work on, given its checkered past, maintaining the freedom to progress towards a better future, or preserve what has worked for us in the past, is worth celebrating. This year I celebrate freedom from the lens that was my own imprisonment.

[josefavomjaaga]

Happy Birthday, Marshal Soult!

This is probably a rather weird birthday post. Also, it has little to do with Napoleon. But as it sums up Soult’s life in a way, I do find it strangely appropriate: Soult’s letter of resignation to King Louis Philippe (quoted and translated from L. Muél, »Gouvernements, ministères et constitutions de la France«, 2nd edition, Paris 1891, and the memors of François Guizot).

Soult-Berg (Tarn), 15 September 1847.

Sire,

I was at the service of my country, sixty-three years ago, when the old monarchy was still standing, before the first glimmers of our national revolution. A soldier of the Republic and a lieutenant of the Emperor Napoleon, I took part unceasingly in this immense struggle for the independence, liberty and glory of France, and I was one of those who supported it until the last day. Your Majesty deigned to believe that my services could be useful in the new and no less patriotic struggle which God and France have called upon her to wage for the consolidation of our constitutional order; I thank Your Majesty for this. It is the honour of my life that my name thus occupies a place in all the military and civil activities which have assured the triumph of our great cause. Your Majesty's confidence supported me in the last services which I tried to render. My devotion to Your Majesty and to France is absolute; but I feel that my strength betrays this devotion. May Your Majesty allow me to devote what is left of it to recollection, having reached the end of my laborious career. I have dedicated to you, Sire, the activity of my last years; give me the respite from my old services, and allow me to deposit at the foot of Your Majesty's throne my resignation from the presidency of the Council with which Your Majesty had deigned to invest me. I shall enjoy this repose amidst the general safety which Your Majesty's firm wisdom has given to France and to all those who have served your Majesty and who love him. My gratitude for Your Majesty's kindnesses, my wishes for His prosperity and that of His august family will follow me in this rest until my last day; they will not cease to equal the unalterable devotion and the profound respect with which I am

Sire, of Your Majesty, the most humble and obedient servant,

Maréchal Duc de Dalmatie.

At the time he wrote this, Soult was 78 years old. He would live for another three years. As to Louis Philippe’s July Monarchy, it would last for another five months after Soult’s resignation – it’s almost as if everybody had just waited for him to leave. In February 1848, the monarchy was overthrown, and the Second French Republic installed - who, another four months later, would bloodily oppress the workers’ uprisings, killing 5,000 and incarcerating over 10,000, and who in December of the same year 1848 already would elect a certain Louis Napoléon Bonaparte as president, thus paving the way for the Second Empire.

Soult died six days before future Napoleon III’s coup d’état.

By the way, his letter of resignation would be commented on in a book called »Histoire de la révolution de 1848 et de la présidence de Louis-Napoléon«, Paris 1850, as follows:

[…] On September 19 the Moniteur published long awaited news: in a letter to the king, in which the courtier can be found in its entirety, Marshal Soult resigned from his functions as president of the council, justifying his decision on the grounds of his old age and his urgent need to rest in the general safety that the wisdom of Louis Philippe had given to France! This meant closing with a lie a career which had originally been glorious, but which had been seriously compromised by a passion for gain, by a restless ambition and by servile complacency.

[nordleuchten]

Are there any instences Adrienne got mad upset at Gilbert or a situation where they had very different opinions? (Or the other way around)

They got along well and loved each other but they were two individuals with differing values, so I was just wondering whether there were some information about such things.

Dear Anon,

You are absolutely right. Even in the most loving relationships there are times of disagreement and friction and Adrienne and La Fayette were certainly no exception to this rule. They both generally seemed to agree on most subjects and could tolerate each other’s opinion when their ideas and values differed. The La Fayette’s would never quarrel in public or cause some sort of dramatic scene – disagreements were discussed in private, and it is therefore sometimes harder to say where they agreed, disagreed or simply put up a good front. Right now, I can think of one memorable incident where Adrienne very prominently did not go along with La Fayette’s wishes.

The clergy in revolutionary France was ordered to swear the Oath of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (January 3, 1791) - some clergymen took the oath, some refused to and some even fled the country. Adrienne was absolutely against the idea that a priest should swear this civic oath - and she was quite open about this. The Archbishop of Paris, Antoine-Elénore-Léon Le Clerc de Juigné, who had sworn the civic oath as well, left France in 1790 because he became alarmed by the turn the Revolution had taken. In his place Jean-Baptiste-Joseph-Gobel became Archbishop of Paris. Now, Gobel was never recognized by the pope, he was described by some of his contemporaries as an atheist and he was opposed to some of the pillars of the roman-catholic believe - in short, he was no one with whom devout Adrienne would ever get along. Here is what Adrienne’s daughter Virginie wrote in her book:

My father often received constitutional clergymen at dinner. On those occasions, my mother would express before them her attachment to the cause of the former bishops. She would discuss her opinion with those whose personal character she esteemed, and in these conversations she manifested such enlightened views, gave proofs of so much sincerity, and was, at the same time, so careful of offending, that no one could be wounded by the expression of her feelings. Independently of their conduct or opinions, all were received by her according to my father’s wishes, without her own consideration being diminished, because she preserved on every subject the liberty of expressing her way of thinking. Once only did she depart from the rule she had laid down for herself, that of receiving all sorts of persons equally well; it was the day when the bishop of Paris, after his instalment, came to dine at my father’s. He did not, like his colleagues, come as a private individual and she declined receiving him as bishop of the diocese. Accordingly, she dined out that day, although her doing so was much remarked.

Mme de Lasteyrie, Life of Madame de Lafayette, L. Techener, London, 1872, pp. 194-195.

Now, we do not know what La Fayette’s reaction was. He was himself not the greatest fan of Gobel and he knew full well that religion was one of the very few aspects where Adrienne would never compromise – not even for him. And Adrienne would continue to disobey new laws and practices - if she felt they were restricting her religion.

While I have no written evidence for it, I strongly suspect that money was at times also a matter of dispute between the two of them because La Fayette’s management of money was often less than ideal.

Lastly, I could think of some subjects that bothered one of them or was a cause of anxiety but that they nevertheless would not change about the other person because that was simply who they were.

I hope that helped and I hope you have/had a fantastic day!

[hsenvs3000w24]

The most beautiful thing about nature!

What is the most beautiful part of nature? One could argue that it's the glow of bioluminescence, or the way that golden hour lights up the world, or even the flowers growing in your backyard. My favourite part of nature is the ocean. I love the way it shimmers at night, and the feeling of water just submerging your toes. 

Recently I had the pleasure of experiencing the ocean for the first time, and I could not get enough of it. In February, I went to Portugal and we did a day trip to a town called Cascais. Cascais is a beach town, and children come after school for an afternoon swim. The first thing we did was visit Boca de Inferno. This translates to “mouth of hell” in English. The ocean is extremely rough in this area, and it brutally crashes against the rocks. It's an ancient cave of eroded limestone cliffs (Cascais, 2024). This was amazing to see, I remember seeing it from a far and then truly seeing it up close. The way the waves crashed along the arches of the cave was beautiful. I kept saying the foam coming from the ocean looked like the fizz on top of coke. 5 minutes turned into 30 and next thing you know we were sitting on the rocks watching the Atlantic ocean crash against us. “Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in… where nature may heal and cheer and gives strength to body and soul.” This is a quotation by John Muir that describes how nature can reveal beauty and focuses on how nature can even heal people (Beck et al, 2018(21)). I understand this quotation more after experiencing this magical moment. Interpretation is for everyone, and everyone can interpret, whether it's to learn historical and natural features or to try and relate more to the world around you (Beck et al, 2018 (21)). Interpretation is a powerful tool, and I’m glad that when looking back on this memory, I am able to interpret it differently each time. 

After this we went to a beach. I was so excited to finally dip my toes into the ocean. The walk there seemed like forever, but it was the best feeling to go up to the water, roll up my pants and stand in the ocean. The rest of the day my friend and I laughed at the seagulls, slept in the sun, made fun objects in the sand and had the best day. I can still picture it perfectly whenever I close my eyes. When I got home I told my parents all about it, which made me almost emotional. Storytelling is a powerful method of interpretation; telling vivid stories can create clear images in the listener's mind, but it can also bring the interpreter back to the moment they're sharing (Beck et al, 2018 (9)).  

That whole trip was absolutely amazing, and my friends and I already have plans to go back. But my first time experiencing the ocean will always be my favourite moment from the trip. I will remember the sand, the sun and the water forever. I end this by asking if any of you have had similar experiences with your first time in the ocean? 

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. (Chapter 9). SAGAMORE Publishing. 

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. (Chapter 21). SAGAMORE Publishing. 

The best Independent guide to Cascais . The boca do Inferno, Cascais. (2024). https://www.cascais-portugal.com/Attractions/Boca-Inferno-Cascais.html

[nesiacha]

New Caledonia

I am observing with concern the events taking place in New Caledonia. I will refrain from commenting on things I am not familiar with. Apparently, it is the electoral reform contested by the independence supporters that was approved by 351 votes to 153 by deputies (France Bleu has done an excellent job of providing context; I invite you to see this link: https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/societe/nouvelle-caledonie-pourquoi-l-archipel-est-en-proie-a-des-emeutes-depuis-lundi-8560641), not to mention that the New Caledonia referendum has been contested. There have been deaths (five dead, including two gendarmes), but I do not think the army should intervene; at most, more gendarme reinforcements could be sent, but I do not want a repeat of the events of May 1988. In my opinion, the army should not intervene. In fact this will either make the problem worse or postpone it and it will get bigger again.

I am extremely worried for New Caledonia and I hope I am wrong in my reasoning.

[alenvs3000f24]

Unit 9 Blog Post

Nature is a vast and complicated thing that many of us take for granted. It's difficult to see when looking into say a forest how much the ecosystem relies on all parties present. From first glance it would seem as if there's only trees and dirt and maybe some other small vegetation making up the ecosystem. These pieces may even seem independent of each other. When taking a deeper look though it is clear that there are so many aspects that go into the successful running and health of any small ecosystem but also all ecosystems entirely. Even within what you can think of as an ecosystem such as a forest actually includes so many different elements that there are most likely hundreds of other ecosystems within each having its own structure and function and contributing at different levels to other ecosystems (Rutledge et al., 2024). I think the different levels of ecosystems and the individual importance of each and every one of them is extremely fascinating. 

​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=103&v=7G2uPwIJqb4&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fclient%3Dsafari%26sca_esv%3D05b80d25c258e3c0%26rls%3Den%26sxsrf%3DADLYWIKUwOlYsyGq_NBle-cj5DYHhCAssg%3A17308514792&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjMsMjM4NTE

This brief video provides an overview of the organization of the environment.

To begin we have to determine what is considered an ecosystem. I define an ecosystem as a community of abiotic and biotic elements that interact with one another. Even you probably don't think about the ecosystems that you may have on your person right now. Yes, that's right you have micro-ecosystems on and throughout your body. One of these being your skin microbiome. So while you may think that after taking a shower that your skin is perfectly clean, it never really can be… But this isn't a bad thing as the microbiome can facilitate defense against bad bacteria and pathogens and promotes the overall health of our skin and immune system (Carmona-Cruz et al., 2022). Pictured below are some of the common organisms that can be found on our skin.

Image sourced from Carmona-Cruz, S., Orozco-Covarrubias, L., & Sáez-de-Ocariz, M. (2022). The Human Skin Microbiome in Selected Cutaneous Diseases. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 12, 834135–834135. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2022.834135 

Now think about this level of micro-ecosystems and expand it to all organisms in each ecosystem. Squirrels for example have their own ecosystem on their fur, the soil even has its own ecosystem. There are so many ecosystems each with their own level of importance that supports the overall thing we call nature. It is just so amazing to me that all of these factors can work together to form a functioning ecological space that is able to provide for us and all the other creatures within. From supplying a place to live/grow for the organisms and nutrient cycling to supply things such as oxygen to the air. Without these micro-ecosystems working hard in the background many functions and structures within an ecosystem would be non-existent. Important nutrient cycling such as the carbon cycle would not be made possible without the soil microbiome hidden within the dirt. This would devastate the earth as the makeup of the atmosphere would shift significantly causing a completely different climate. One that would most likely be inhabitable (Naylor et al., 2020). 

So next time you walk outside remember to be thankful for the little things, the small bug that lands on your sweater or the blowing dirt on winding days. Each of these things may seem unimportant but in reality make up the bigger picture that is nature. 

Sources

Carmona-Cruz, S., Orozco-Covarrubias, L., & Sáez-de-Ocariz, M. (2022). The Human Skin Microbiome in Selected Cutaneous Diseases. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 12, 834135–834135. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2022.834135 

Naylor, D., Sadler, N., Bhattacharjee, A., Graham, E. B., Anderton, C. R., McClure, R., Lipton, M., Hofmockel, K. S., & Jansson, J. K. (2020). Soil Microbiomes Under Climate Change and Implications for Carbon Cycling. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 45(1), 29–59. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012320-082720 

Rutledge, K., McDaniel, M., Teng, S., & Hall, H. (2024, October 31). Ecosystem. National Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ecosystem/

[nordleuchten]

24 Days of La Fayette - December 24th: Doctor James McHenry

I hope that everybody who celebrates Christmas has a most happy and blessed day!

There were no posts these last few days because life simply got in the way. But they will follow in a few days. :-)

On this last day we focus on the most famous (and probably the most beloved by the modern audience) aide-de-camp of La Fayette – Doctor James McHenry. I purposely kept the part about his life before and after his tenure as aide-de-camp to La Fayette brief. Not because there is not enough information, quite the contrary – McHenry was very involved in the politics and social life of the young Republic, and one could fill volumes with his life and actions.

He was born on November 16, 1753 in Dublin and was educated there before emigrating to Philadelphia in 1771. After a short pause, he continued to study medicine under Doctor Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He joined the war effort out of patriotism for his new home and worked at the American Continental Hospital in the fall of 1775 before being appointed surgeon for the 5th Pennsylvania Regiment on August 10, 1776. He was captured during the assault on Fort Washington on November 16 of the same year and spend his time treating fellow prisoners of war. McHenry was part of a prisoner exchange in March of 1778, and he returned to the army and served as a surgeon during the encampment in Valley Forge. In May of 1778 he accepted George Washington’s offer to become one of his assistant secretaries. Two years later, in 1780, McHenry was yearning for a change.

James McHenry wrote to George Washington on July 18, 1780:

I would beg leave to mention to your Excellency, a matter, in which I feel too much to be longer without laying it before you. The approaching campaign opening an interesting field, makes me desirous to appear, in a more military character, than that I now hold. I have also had before me for some time past, a prospect of visiting Europe; and especially those places where our interest is most cherished: And as my present character, of secretary, is not in the same estimation, there, as with us, I would therefore request your Excellency, that I may be considered as a volunteer. Hitherto, I have acted without pay, and it is my intention to receive none in future, unless some alteration in my circumstances render it necessary. If I receive your permission, to come as a volunteer, or accept such a station in the army as may place me, wholly, in a military light, I shall be happy, because, in it, I combine, with what I owe myself, that duty proper to my country.

“To George Washington from James McHenry, 18 July 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 27, 5 July–27 August 1780, ed. Benjamin L. Huggins. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2019, pp. 175–176.] (12/21/2022)

In alignment with McHenry’s remarks that he desired a more “hands-on” position in the army and desired to be employed in a military position, he transferred to La Fayette’s staff in August of 1780 and became the Marquis’s voluntary aide-de-camp. While an aide-de-camp was still a far cry from a field-command, the position was more military than the position of a secretary.

Alexander Hamilton wrote to James Duane on July 22, 1780:

I take the liberty my Dear Sir to request your interest for a friend of mine and a member of the family, Dr McHenry. He wishes to quit a Station which among foreigners is not viewed in a very reputable light and to get into one more military. He will go into the Marquis’s family as an aide. He has been in the army since the commencement of the War—first in the medical line, since the 15th of May 78, as a Secretary to the Commander in Chief. You know him to be a man of Sense and merit. A more intimate acquaintance with him makes me hold him as such in an eminent degree. He has now no military existence properly speaking—no rank. I believe he is not immoderate.

“From Alexander Hamilton to James Duane, [22 July 1780],” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 2, 1779–1781, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, pp. 363–364.] (12/21/2022)

In his new position, McHenry was a direct witness to one if not the greatest scandal during the American Revolution – McHenry was at the breakfast table with Benedict Arnold when Arnold received the letter informing him of John André capture. La Fayette wrote to the Chevalier de La Luzerne on septembre 26, 1780:

When we left Fishkill yesterday we were preceded by one of my aides-de-camp and the aide of General Knox, who found General and Mrs. Arnold at table and joined them for breakfast. While they were there, two letters were brought to General Arnold informing him of the capture of a spy. He ordered a horse to be saddled, then went upstairs to his wife to tell her he was ruined, and commanded his aide-de-camp to tell General Washington that he was going to West Point and would return within an hour.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 3, April 27, 1780–March 29, 1781, Cornell University Press, 1980, pp. 179-180.

It was around the same time that McHenry set out to secure a fixed rank for himself, since under La Fayette he was only employed as a volunteer. He benefited in his endeavor from the help of his former fellow staff-member, Alexander Hamilton. Philip Schuyler wrote to Alexander Hamilton, his future son-in-law, on September 16, 1780:

I have communed with the Governer on the Subject of McHenrys wish; he is very much disposed to use his Influence on the occasion but doubts if he should be able to obtain a lieutenancy unless the Ensigns that now are could all be provided for. If McHenry merely wants military rank for the campaign and will not accept of an Ensigncy, The Governor can and will give him a Lieut Colonelcy in the State levies, which will always give him rank in our militia and Consequently in the army when the militia is in the field; but this must be determined before the legislature rises; please therefore to desire McHenry to write me on the Subject without delay, and to assure him of my best services in my power.

“To Alexander Hamilton from Philip Schuyler, 16 September 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, [Original source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 2, 1779–1781, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961, pp. 432–434.] (12/21/2022)

Congress eventually granted James McHenry the rank of Major (although not everybody was exactly happy with this agreement) in April of 1780. General Greene had spoken out in McHenry’s favour and had possible tipped the scale in McHenry’s favour.

Report

9th and 10th That Tench Tilghman Esq: receive the Commission of Lieut. Colonel to take Rank from and Doctor McHenry the Commission of Major to take Rank from.

Remarks

9th—and 10th—Mr Tilghmans Commission to be dated the 1st of april 1777. Mr McHenrys from the time at which Genl Greene applied in his favr—(last Octobr).

“Report and Remarks, 3 April 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.] (12/21/2022)

In the General Orders for June 5, 1781 we can read the following:

That Doctor James McHenry receive the Commission of Major in the Army of the United States to take rank from the 30th of October last.

“General Orders, 5 June 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.] (12/21/2022)

General Greene was an important proponent of McHenry’s and wrote to George Washington on May 3, 1781:

When I was appointed to the command of this army, I solicited Congress to give Doctor McHenry a majority that he might serve me in the character of an aid. This they refused. I was perswaded when I made the application of the necessity, and since have felt it, most sensibly. Your Excellency can scarsely tell how happy you are in your family and therefore can hardly judge of my situation. I cannot make a second application to Congress upon this subject, nor should I have hopes of succeeding if did, but I shall esteem it a peculiar mark of your Excellency[s] friendship and esteem if you will interest yourself in the matter and get him a Majority.

“To George Washington from Nathanael Greene, 1 May 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.] (12/21/2022)

Washington had been aware of Congress initial refusal and was quite angry at the time. He had written to Joseph Jones on January 27, 1781:

I was concerned when I came to Congress to hear so small a favor was refused Genl Greene then going to his new Command as that of granting his request respecting Dr McHenry—from my conversation with Gentlemen on the subject many think the Genl shod have been indulged and if it [can] be done the question will probably be revived This however the Dr shod not be acquainted with least the attempt shod be unsuccessfull.

“To George Washington from Joseph Jones, 27 February 1781,” Founders Online, National Archives, [This is an Early Access document from The Papers of George Washington. It is not an authoritative final version.] (12/21/2022)

Although this affair left some aftertaste, life went on with McHenry as a Major under La Fayette – who was very warmly attached to McHenry. La Fayette wrote on February 15, 1781:

Every Body Says You Are Going to Get Into the Governor's Council. If You Quit the House for the field, I shall Be Very Happy to obtain the Preference in Your Military Employements, and Hoping You know My tender friendship and affectionate Regard for You, will Not lengthen this letter with Assurances from My Heart While the Heart itself must Be known to You. 10 I intend to write You Again in a few days and with Every Sentiment of Attachement and Esteem Have the Honor to be Yours

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 3, April 27, 1780–March 29, 1781, Cornell University Press, 1980, pp. 322-325.

La Fayette was alluding to the fact that McHenry tried to become a member of the Maryland Council. This appointment never came to pass but he instead became a member of the Maryland Board of War and La Fayette often commented in his letters, how industrious McHenry was on behalf of Maryland. His diplomatic ties and great patriotic zeal brought him in an ideal position to function as a liaison officer between La Fayette and civil authorities in Maryland in Virginia. He served under La Fayette during the complete Virginia campaign and during the Battle of Yorktown.

Towards the end of 1781 Nathanael Greene wrote to La Fayette and asked if McHenry may be transferred into his own staff. La Fayette replied to the request on August 12, 1781:

My Dear General

I Have Received Your letters Concerning Mr. McHenry, And Have Considered them with that Attention I pay to Every thing that Concerns You, and that interest which is founded upon My Most affectionate friendship.

McHenry is So well Acquainted with My Sentiments for Him that He knows My attachement is independant of whatever Steps He Might take on the occasion. He knows I am not of a temper that finds faults with the Measures of My friends, and that I will ever feel an obligation to the Man who obliges General Greene.

Give me leave to observe, My dear Sir, that upon Every principle

which Makes Mr. McHenry Useful to you, He Must in My Circumstances Be Still more useful to me. I May add that Clel. Nevill and Mr. Langhorne Being prisoners, I Have No aid de Camp But McHenry and Washington, But I am willing to give up My interest to your wishes, and McHenry's Remaining Some time with me is owing to an other Circumstance.

He is far from Being determined to Accept of a Military Commission. He Has Expectations of a Seat in the Senate and would much prefer it. This will Be determined Next Month and was He Now to join you it would Seem He Renounces an object which He expects without Sollicitation But which He would Seem to give up By going to So far a Distance.

The Matter Being Such Stated, My dear general, You will Be able to determine what to wish. You ask My Consent, and I Give itHeartly or to speak Better affectionately for tho' I will Be glad He joins you I Cannot Help Being Sorry to part from Him. But I Sincerely think if He Has no Senatorial prospects He ought to pay you a visit. It is His Intention, and I will not only Consent But join with you and with Him in that desire and that opinion. Should I go to France towards the End of the winter, and Should He wish to devote that time to travels I am Sure you would Return me the Sentiment I evince to you when I advise McHenry to join for a time your family. With the Most tender affection Your friend for ever

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 4, April 1, 1781–December 23, 1781, Cornell University Press, 1981, pp. 318-219.

Greene had previously on July 24, 1781 written to McHenry:

I wish you with me exceedingly; but there is no inconvenience to which I will not subject my self to oblige the Marquis

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 4, April 1, 1781–December 23, 1781, Cornell University Press, 1981, p. 319.

Since McHenry was elected to the Senate of Maryland on September 12, 1781, he never joined Greene’s staff and resigned his commission in December of that year. He would continue to have a prosperous career as a physician as well as a politician. Among other things, he served as Secretary of War, both under President George Washington and under President John Adams.

James McHenry died on May 3, 1816.

[viitale]

                                    there is something MOON SOAKED                                                             and DAWN FLAVORED about her                                     something kissed by the WILD                                     and loved by L I G H T N I N G

independent roleplay blog for Avery Vitale this muse is private & a sideblog to @endeavvor , interactions will likely be limited to plots involving my main blog , but am open to plotting. muse information will be under the cut.

B A S I C I N F O R M A T I O N

Full name.   avery vitale Nickname.   ave Height.  5'3    Age.  28 Face claim. ana de armas

P H Y S I C A L C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S

Hair colour.  brown Eye colour. green   Body type. petite   Dominant hand.   left handed    

C H I L D H O O D

Place of birth.  earth   Hometown.  new orleans, louisiana   Siblings.  younger brother, thomas (alive)  Parents.   joseph vitale (father, alive) , nina vitale(mother, deceased)

O C C U P A T I O N

Mission Specialist - as the name suggests, is to make him or herself an expert in the current mission. A combination of a science officer and a tactical officer, the Mission Specialist researches the mission, briefs senior staff and helps come up with strategy to implement the mission.

R A N K

Lieutenant

C U R R E N T A S S I G N M E N T

USS ENTERPRISE

[arbre-moi]

An Inspiring Earth Day Art Exhibition: arbre/moi Chalet Bellevue, 27 Bellevue Road, Morin-Heights, QC J0R 1H0 April 20 - April 23, 2024, 10:30 am - 4 pm Opening reception: Friday, April 19, 2024 4pm - 7 pm Refreshments A free family event

The participants of arbre/moi invite you to see the art they have created celebrating their love of trees. The connection between people and trees is the inspiration for this art and nature project organized by Morin Heights artist, Elizabeth Whalley. Over the course of a year the participants, who have come from many corners of the MRC des Pays-d’en-Haut and beyond, gathered in workshops and independently created artworks and texts.

Like a forest of trees, the participants are interconnected and yet each is unique. Claudel Lacroix and Shirley Metka evoke family ties and a sense of place. Sharon Goldberg and Marie-Françoise Condamin remember a loved one. Jana Novy, Claire Contant and Jocelyne Annereau Cassagnol celebrate the vitality and evolving forms of trees. Marci Babineau and Léo Cóté, Rossy L. Fuentes and Holly Blenkhorn immerse us in the timeless life cycles of nature. Kim and Nadia Bertrand show the beauty and symbolic force of trees while Lilija Gedvila and Sylvie Duval explore their expressive abstraction. John Pohl, Monique Bélisle and Joanne Hayes share their close observations of trees. Rachel Gagnon and Brigitte Simon find the spirit of the tree in the wood itself while Lawrence Bass and Hélène Lemyre discover it in anthropomorphic trunks and branches. Carole Beaudet, Chantale Royer, Nuri Alcala, Diane Brodeur, Julie Marcoux, Mélanie Chartrand, Magali Ross, Andréanne Ouellet, Alain Durepos, Richard Petitclerc, Lucy Lafontaine, Ginette Pelletier and Sandra Kowalski imaginatively channel the tree spirit. Diane Viau, Louise Ladouceur and Jo-Anne Edger powerfully project the life force of the whole, dynamic forest.

The participants thank the Fonds culture et patrimoine de la MRC des Pays-d’en-Haut, the Municipality of Morin Heights, the Bibliothèque Claude-Henri-Grignon (Sainte-Adèle), the Bibliothèque de Saint-Sauveur, the Morin Heights Municipal Library, the Bibliothèque municipale of Wentworth-North, Galerie L’Apostrophe, L’Échelon des Pays-d’en-Haut, and the Biodiversity sub-committee of the EAC of Morin-Heights.

[lcvezayn]

Digital Reflection: Voices Unheard: Navigating the Intersection of Representation, Equity, and Identity in Canada

Canada means different things to different people. To some, Canada is just a collection of intrinsically equal and mostly independent provinces. To others, Canada is a country that celebrates multiculturalism and encourages everyone to live up to their full potential. But does this dominance of diversity today make all questions regarding Canada's history, and especially its Black history, irrelevant? Unbeknownst to many people, the story of Black Canadians started all the way back in the 1600s and spans multiple centuries, and includes slavery, abolition, and the civil rights movement (De Bruin, 2013). The history of Black people in Canada spans an incredibly extensive timeline, and their influence and presence in the region is not limited to just the establishment of Canada itself. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to limit the sharing and understanding of the full history of Black Canadians to only the 28 days of February. If the experience of being Black in Canada is a year-round thing (because Black people aren't Black for just one month), then how could it make sense to only discuss Black history in February? If the experiences of White Canadians are on full display year-around (for example, on the news, or in the academic or entertainment industries), then the stories and histories of Black Canadians should be shared all 365 days as well. It doesn't make sense for just one narrative to be shared, especially since Canada is praised for its diversity. Even though Black History Month is celebrated in Canada, there are still negative and stereotypical narratives about Black Canadians being spread. This is why it's essential to share the full history of Black Canadians without the stereotypical lens of the white gaze in order to help us address anti-Black racism in Canada and appreciate and understand the long, deep history of Black Canadians.

We all know that representation matters. It's an indescribable feeling to look at a screen and see someone portray how it feels to be you everyday. However, the true meaning of representation goes beyond the screen. For example, George Floyd's murder at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department put the spotlight on systemic Black racism in the US, resulting in protests around the country and the world, demanding for change in an incredibly flawed legal system (and other institutions) that doesn't hide its discrimination (Silverstein, 2021). However, only two years later, a study showed that approximately 52% of Black Canadians don't believe that anything is different when it comes to institutions and workplaces, where many Black people feel ignored, under-utilized, and underrepresented (Beezer, 2022). The Canadian workplace isn't the only place where Black Canadians are not properly represented. In fact, the lack of race-based data is a significant issue in healthcare. Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada highlighting how certain groups, most notably Black Canadians, were being disproportionately affected based on higher infection and death rates, we still don't know the full extent of these effects since the Canadian government doesn't collect race-based data (Kemei et al., 2023). Whether this stems from not wanting to "discriminate" by collected data based on race, or wanting to focus on equality in the healthcare system, the reason doesn't really matter here. We shouldn't be only focusing on equality but also equity. There are evidence-based differences in how certain diseases, like cardiovascular disease, present differently in White versus Black Canadians, with genes and the environment playing a big role in why these differences occur (Ramraj et al., 2016). If physicians don't know what signs to look for, they can't make accurate and timely diagnoses, explaining why Black Canadians are more likely to die of certain diseases compared to White Canadians. If the lack of representation of Black Canadians is so serious that it's resulting in unjust deaths, then why shouldn't we put pressure on government officials to allow for race-based data collection so we can address these inequities? Race-based data on social outcomes, including education, unemployment, and health wouldn't just be helpful for healthcare inequities, but it would also explain why Black Canadians are over-represented in prison systems, for example.

Now, trying my best not to sound self-conceited, I would like to talk a bit about myself. I have a multifaceted identity. I'm a student, always navigating the opportunities and challenges that come with that. I wear the hats of a sister, a daughter, and a friend, which keeps me grounded and true to myself. Beyond these roles, I value creativity a great deal in my life. I'm an artist for fun, focusing on abstract art (and if I'm up for the challenge, realism). I like to lose myself in cinema, music, and in books. I'm a first-generation Canadian; my parents began their journey from Pakistan to Canada in 2001, after getting married. Navigating two polar-opposite cultures as a chid was both difficult and confusing. Often times, I felt I wasn't Western enough to fit in with friends, or Asian enough to fit in with family. As I progressed through my teen years, and now that I'm in my very early 20s, I've learned to stop forcing my two worlds, Pakistani and Canadian, to compete with each other. Today, as I try my best to embody all aspects of myself, I place a lot of importance on how my community is represented here in Canada. I recall that my high school would play music just before the last bell rang and the National anthem played and it would always be music in the English language, regardless of what genre it was. I remember thinking, "Do they know that music also exists in other languages?", until one day, they played the song "Tum Hi Ho", a song I remember listening to in the car on drives with my parents. In one way, it's sad that my first time seeing myself represented in Canada in a way that truly resonated with me personally was when I was a teenager, but in another way, I'm grateful to have that representation at all. Since then, I've started to see my community represented more and more in Canada. For example, my high school started a "multicultural day" during my final year. Seeing South Asian culture be represented in such a beautiful way, through the food, music, dancing, and clothes was an enchanting experience. Learning about clubs devoted to the South Asian experience here at the University of Toronto is also empowering. Therefore, knowing how important accurate representation is for me, I can imagine how important it is for other communities in Canada.

Written By: Manahil Maryam for HLTD22

References:

Beezer, L. (2022, March 1). Black Representation Still Lacking In Many Workplaces, Including Canadian Media. CTV News. https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/you-re-isolated-black-representation-still-lacking-in-many-workplaces-including-canadian-media-1.5801225.

De Bruin, T. (2013, February 19). Black Canadians. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/black-canadians.

Kemei, J., et al. (2023). Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Black Communities in Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 1580. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021580.

Ramraj, C., et al. (2016). Equally inequitable? A cross-national comparative study of racial health inequalities in the United States and Canada. Social Science & Medicine, 161, 19-26. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.05.028.

Silverstein, J. (2021, June 4). The Global Impact of George Floyd: How Black Lives Matter protests shaped movements around the world. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-floyd-black-lives-matter-impact/.