Photo(s) of the Week: The June Trio

First a small life update: I changed schedules at work recently so I will be posting between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m. instead of my normal time of 3 a.m. except, possibly, on weekends.

Now, since the 15th is the midpoint of June it is only right to post about the June Trio of Grand Duchesses Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, who were all born this month.

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia was born on this day June 10, 1897

 

Photo of the Week: Don't drop the princess!

 

Gardening: Nature is an Autocrat

As the title says, Mother Nature is an autocrat. All of the cantaloupe seedlings died and all but one of the sunflower seedlings died. So here comes Round 2. Tons of bird and squirrel-planted sunflowers have popped up though. I also scattered a bunch of marigold and California poppy seeds a little over a month ago and they are just no beginning to grow. I've also sown columbine under the existing crabapple tree (because I'm sick of mowing under there) and butterfly weed seeds in the mulch around the house.

As for trees the potted maple has begun leafing out although it's been slow going. I repotted it into a larger pot to try and help it out. Lazarus has has also leafed out although the main stem appears dead as it's begun sprouting leaves from a new stem. I've taken two cuttings from a ginkgo tree and potted them so here's hoping that in ~2 months they'll have taken root. I've also managed to save and pot two crabapple seedlings. Most exciting of all is that I was recently eating an apple when I discovered that a seed had sprouted inside of it, producing a root about a quarter-inch long. So I potted that and am now praying that it will survive. The Lord taketh but He also giveth.

Photo(s) of the Week: Jumping Frogs

 

Every week

 

Photo(s) of the Week: Rainy Day

It's been raining all day here in Iowa and I really could have used a raincoat at work.

Photo(s) of the Week: Kittens

 Source: Album 6 - Yale University Library

Photo of the Week: Rock band album cover

Source: Album of Tatyana Nikolaevna, 1916

 

The Alcohol Industry and Their Lies

"The alcohol industry falsely claims that their business helps the nation’s economy, in an attempt to justify the sale of their harmful products. When in reality they harm the economy. Our nation spends more money each year dealing with the social, medical, and economic damages caused by alcohol use than the alcohol industry makes in sales.

The alcohol industry claims that their businesses will bring in tax revenue. In reality, the federal, state, and local governments spend far more money dealing with the problems caused by alcohol than they ever receive in taxes, and most of those costs end up being paid for by higher taxes on the rest of us.

The alcohol industry claims that it brings business to communities. In reality, their business siphons consumer money away from honest businesses, damages workforce productivity, fosters increased violence and crime in neighborhoods, and in many other ways contributes to an environment that is less suitable for most other businesses to operate. Alcohol businesses grow by sucking the life and vitality out of the communities in which they reside.

The alcohol industry promotes habitual alcohol use, increased alcohol use, and addiction, so that it can profit off exploiting users, without regard for how it will negatively affect the users and other people around them. All too often, their profiteering drains away money that could have been spent by people to meet their needs or the needs of their families, that could have been spent on something that would benefit their lives rather than harming them, and that could have been spent on supporting honest businesses and their workers.

On top of that, the damaging mental and physical effects of alcohol damage use productivity and harm the ability of people to make a living. The effects of alcohol use produce a variety of illnesses and injuries, which lead to shortened lives and increased medical costs.

The alcohol industry and its products contribute to increased poverty, to childhood poverty, to the abuse and neglect of children, to increased violence and crime, and so many other things that serve to deprive people of a decent life.

The alcohol industry does not bring the prosperity it claims. It never has and it never will. It will just make our communities sicker, poorer, and more highly taxed. The alcohol industry profits off exploiting and harming others, while the rest of us are forced to pay the costs of the damages.

The alcohol industry peddles lies to try to deceive the public into accepting their practices because they know that when enough of the public understands what’s really going on, they will be put out of business. The alcohol industry thinks that if they repeat their lies enough times that they can continue to deceive the public. But we hold that if the truth is repeated enough times, then public awareness will grow. That one day enough people will be aware of the situation, that the alcohol industry will no longer be able to keep up their charade, and their glass house of deception and excuses will come crashing down."

Source: Prohibition Party