Manhattan, view from above

Looking south

In one of my classes today we looked at a shop in Manhattan in which every item was free.

New York state map

Niagara Falls is in New York!

In one of my classes tomorrow we will be looking at New York, so please take a look at the map of New York state.

Uluru / Ayers Rock view from above

No climbing!

It was given the name Ayers Rock by white settlers to Australia, but the original aboriginal name is Uluru, which is fast becoming the common name.

Not so many years ago hundreds of people would climb this rock every day, it only took a few hours. But the local people objected strongly since, for them, Uluru is a sacred site, so now hardly anyone climbs, and most people enjoy this fantastic site from the ground or the air.

Tahiti sunset

Tahiti, the main island of French Polynesia

Many of you will know of my liking for the island of Bora Bora, which I think is the jewel of French Polynesia, but the main island, Tahiti, is also blessed with stunning beauty.

One hundred thousand

Normally I don’t get excited about statistics, but today my number of viewers passed the magic 100,000.

Thanks to all my students, and everyone in blogland.

Blue frog

dendrobates azureus is the real name

There are green frogs, orange frogs, red and yellow frogs, purple frogs, and even translucent frogs and now you can see a blue frog.

Many species of frog are in danger, it is thought that about half of all frog species will soon be extinct. There are two reasons: loss of habitat, and a disease that is spreading to  frogs all round the world.

The frog’s skin contains a protective oil, and in this oil can be found some incredible chemicals. Now one of these chemicals is used to treat cancer.

India map

More than 1 billion people live here

In one of my classes we looked at the inspirational story of Babar Ali, a 16 year old Indian, who is headmaster in a school with 800 students.

He lives in West Bengal, which you can see on the map above (if you click on the map you can see a bigger version).

Every Bigday

This must be the best name I have ever seen for a supermarket; direct and powerful, but what does it mean?

Friday 13th, part 3

Next week we will have Friday 13th, which is considered to be an unlucky day in some Western cultures.

In one year there can be one, two or three Friday 13ths. In 2009 there are three, there was one in February, and one in March, and now there is one in November.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia is fear of Friday 13th. It comes from three old Greek words, ‘paraskevi’ means Friday, ‘dekatria’ means 13, and ‘phobia’ means fear.

Where is Jason?

Why is Friday 13th considered an unlucky day? Nobody really knows, but it seems that it is the combination of the unlucky number 13, with the bad day, Friday, which equals the mega-unlucky day of Friday 13th.

There is no doubt that 13 is considered by many people to be unlucky, for example:

Many buildings have no 13th floor.

Many condominiums have no apartment 13.

Many cities have no 13th Street nor 13th Avenue.

Many airports have no Gate 13.

Many hospitals and hotels have no Room 13.

Many people will leave a party or a meal with 13 guests.

And there are many more examples, plus of course Apollo 13!

So why is 13 so unlucky?

The most popular view is that there were 13 guests at the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, before he died, as shown in a famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Added to this is the view that 12 is a ‘complete’ or ‘perfect’ number. There are 12 months in the year, 12 signs of the Zodiac, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 tribes of Israel, and many more, which suggests that 13 is an imperfect (and evil?) number.

And what about Friday?

Christian belief is that Jesus Christ died on a Friday, and it is also thought that Eve gave Adam an apple on a Friday.

So, 13 and Friday make a strong combination. On Friday October 13th 1307, about 700 years ago, King Philip of France arrested, tortured and killed thousands of Knights Templar, who were a very powerful group that protected Christians (though there are many stories of their corruption), and who are included in the  book, ‘The da Vinci Code’.

There is also the fact that every month that includes Friday 13th starts with Sunday 1st which, according to Christians, is God’s day of rest, but why this is a sign of bad luck I don’t know.

One other fact: research in the UK shows that on Friday 13th there is less traffic on the streets (lots of people stay indoors), but there are more traffic accidents than normal. Is this because of bad luck, or because people get more nervous and panicky?

To be honest I’m not at all superstitious about Friday 13th, but I’m glad that my children weren’t born on this day.

Hallowe’en 2

Hallowe’en is a big festival in the United States, but its origin is from the ancient Celtic people of Britain and northern France.

If you are a football supporter you may know that the star Japanese footballer, Shunsuke Nakamura, played for one of the top teams in Scotland, Celtic.

More than 2,000 years ago the Celtic people celebrated Samhain on October 31st. At that time this was the last day of the year and the Celtic people believed that the spirits of the dead could visit their house on this day. But evil spirits, often appearing as animals (especially cats), could also visit. To frighten the evil spirits people dressed in scary costumes and carried lanterns made from turnips which were painted with scary faces.

Over the centuries the Christian religion spread through Europe and, in the year 835, November 1st was made an important Christian holy day (holiday) to honour all the Christian saints. This day was (and still is) called All Saints Day, or All Hallows (to hallow means to make holy).

On the day before All Hallows people continued to celebrate Samhain, which gradually changed its name to the ‘Evening before Hallows’ to ‘Hallows’ Eve’ to ‘Hallowe’en’.

In the United States the first big Hallowe’en festival was in 1921. The idea of Trick or Treat was started in the US, as did the use of pumpkins for lanterns instead of turnips.

These days Hallowe’en is a fun-day for many people, but there are some who still follow the traditions of Samhain.

Agama

New species

Recently a new species of lizard was discovered, which you can see in the photo above. It belongs to the agama family. Agama lizards can be found all across Africa. Colourful, isn’t it?

Here are a few other members of the agama family.

This is a flat-headed rock agama

Soaked

The word ’soaked’ came up in one of my classes today. It means very very wet, like the people in the photo below will soon become.

Don't try this at your graduation!

Isle of Skye

Panoramic view

Another photo which is difficult to believe was taken in the UK. This is also in Scotland, in the Isle of Skye.

Rannoch Moor

Does this photo look like somewhere in the UK?

To most people probably not.

However this is Rannoch Moor in Scotland, where some of the finest, rugged countryside can be found.