What's Black with Red Spots?

On a visit to Mount Etna a few years ago, the thing that struck us most (apart from the surrounding landscape and views of Catania) was huge number of ladybirds scattered across the vast and seemingly lifeless mountain top. Under each black volcanic rock you could guarantee to find an abundance of red. We were in amazement but very curious.  

© Manvir Rai 

Having done some reading the reasons behind this are actually quite understandable. Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily, lies in one of the shortest migration route of many birds and insects from Africa to Europe. Unlike birds, insects are completely dependent on the wind and air currents when it comes to their destination. For this reason a large number of insects are often found deposited at higher points, including light houses and ships. 

Mount Etna has an altitude of 3,350 meters. Another reason for the discovery of ladybirds so high up is a process called hilltopping. As the air around the volcano heats throughout the day, it begins to rise. It has been discovered that a current of hot air with strength no more than a puff of breath would be needed to lift small insects such as ladybirds. Some will then be left at the top, after a journey up that was much less strenuous than ours! 

Many people have commented across the internet on this fascinating finding, but as such an unusual sight I had to join them!

If you have any further knowledge on this please do share!

Be Competitive!

Today marked the first day of competition at the 20th Commonwealth Games in the proud host city of Glasgow. As we watch motivated sports men and women achieve their life time goals, and admire their determination, it's not unnatural to envy that feeling of success. 

However, the years of training, the gritted teeth and the tears of pain that bring these athletes to their peak, are a result of something that lies within us all. A competitive nature. (Key word here being nature, it's only human!) It may not be enlightened by the field of sport, it can be anything in life from desperately wanting a specific job, to going to obsurd (and often disguised) lengths to get the attention of that person you find attractive. Whatever it is, if you listen to your inner competitive self, you will discover what it is you want. 

Psychologist Lisa Firestone describes the negative effects of turning a blind eye to our competitive nature: 

• We become cynical and unproductive. 

• Develop jealousy. 

• Turn to gossip as a release. 

• Deny what it is we really want - self denial. 

Listening to your competitive nature doesn't have to mean being selfish and narrow minded to get what you want, regardless of side effects. It can mean being the best that you can be. Personally, I'm more competitive with myself than with anything or anyone external. But it serves as priceless motivation. 

So, my 'did you know' for today shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but it should be reinforced. However, did you know we can all succeed if we strive to what we actually want? Surprising!

Be competitive! 

Birth of Beddgelert

To offer some relief to the slightly dense material of yesterday, I take us to a small village I recently stumbled upon in North Wales. Beddgelert is surrounded by the peaks of Snowdonia National Park, in the valley of the confluence of the River Glaslyn and River Colwyn. 

Despite the beauty of the village, I am writing to tell the story behind the birth of the very name Beddgelert. At this point I prompt a slight reality check, in that the following ‘story’ is true in the eyes of legend, rather than proven fact. Nonetheless, you will see it is still set in stone.

In the village lies the grave of Gelert, who was the loyal hound of Welsh Prince Llewelyn the Great, marked by a stone monument. The story written on the tombstone reads as following:

In the 13^th century Llewelyn, prince of North Wales, had a palace at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without Gelert, ‘The Faithful Hound’, who was unaccountably absent.

On Llewelyn’s return the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The prince alarmed hastened to find his son, and saw the infant’s cot empty, the bedclothes and floor covered with blood.

The frantic father plunged his sword into the hound’s side, thinking it had killed his heir. The dog’s dying yell was answered by a child’s cry.

 Llewelyn searched and discovered his boy unharmed, but nearby lay the body of a mighty wolf which Gelert had slain. The prince filled with remorse is said never to have smiled again. He buried Gelert here.

And so, as the hound rests on his final bed, the village is appropriately name, Beddgelert. 

The Queer Case of 'queer'

Now for something that stuck with me from my first year university exams in May, something that demonstrates the broad range of both my English degree and this blog. 

The etymology of the word queer I feel reflects its social usage and changing attitudes towards homosexuality that later became associated with it. The Indo-European root of the word means to 'twerk' or 'twist'. Queer is something that describes a disturbance. The first entry of the word in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) came over 500 years ago in 1508. 

However, when reading An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory by Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle, I found it interesting that it is the 1922 entry of the word that has endured the test of time. This definition associates the word with homosexuality as an illness, suggesting that queer people can be separated from society by looking at them. This use of the word was popularised, yet I feel it is wrong that this is often the assumed definition of the word. The chart below is created by the Google Ngram viewer that searches books since 1800 for use of words. I think it is noteworthy that it shows how 'queer' and 'gay' followed similar trends in a period following the early 1920's.

Following the spread of AIDs in the 1980's and 90's, largely amongst gay men, the homosexual community decided to take ownership of the word 'queer'; this can be an example of 'linguistic reappropriation' and marks another twist in the development of 'queer'. In an attempt to create more positive connotations with the previously derogatory term, its original, purest definition of was used as an advantage. By making is appealing to be different from the norm, it made 'straight' individuals simply seems boring, living life well within the box! The result of this was a community of proud homosexuals. 

The point I would like to make about this subject, and the thing I found most important when I first learnt about Queer theory, is that 'queer' is not just about homosexuality, transgenderism, or bisexuality, it is not synonymous with gay or lesbian studies. Anything can be queer if it disturbs norms. Heterosexuality can be queer. 

I write this post aware that this is not new knowledge, I for one gained a lot of my understanding from the work of Bennett and Royle (I recommend you read their book), however I feel it is uncommon knowledge amongst the masses, and in the 21st century surely this should not be the case. 

Again I welcome your comments, you may strongly disagree with me or have experiences of your own that relate to this!  

Lighting the Dark

For my first post I have been inspired by something, or should I say someone, I discovered whilst doing some research for a new volunteer role I have taken on for the Black Country Talking Newspaper and Magazine. It is an excellent charity that makes local news accessible for the blind or visually impaired in the region. 

In my attempt to find an interesting story for listeners, I came across a remarkable man named Jacques Lusseyran. He was a French author and political activist born in 1924. However, blinded at just age 8 whilst at school, the will power and courage this man promoted is even more impressive. 

Perhaps because his blinding happened at a young age, he was was able to adapt and see how his life could continue in a positive light. Concerned by the uprising of Adolf Hitler, he decided to learn German so he could understand the German radio broadcasts. 

Aged just 17 in 1941, following the German invasion of France in 1940, Lusseyran started the resistance group the Volunteers of Liberty. After a pro-resistance campaign in July 1943 he was arrested and sent to Buchenwald concentration camp. During his time there his knowledge of the German Language gave him an advantage and he even helped developed a feeling of resistance within the camp. 

Emancipated in 1945 he survived the war, and went on to be an author and teach French Literature in the United States. One of his books included his autobiography, And There Was Light, which still serves as a source of motivation to this day. It demonstrates a man who 'considered his blindness a great blessing', and used it to create light in his world of darkness. It is for this reason that I've chosen to share this with you; although very different to WWII we are still living in a war-ridden world, so it is heroes like Jacques Lusseyran that need to continue making an impact on the lives of individuals if we are to hope for change on a bigger scale. There is always hope, I believe it is a value of humanity. 

His autobiography is available on Amazon, as a paperback and audiobook. 

Please leave your comments, I would love to know if you had knowledge of Jacques Lusseyran before reading this, and how the story of him makes you feel today!