19th Century Miscellany

Your vote does matter

In the 2010 general election: 10 million voted Tory 8.6 million voted Labour 6.8 million voted Liberal Democrat 15.9 million did not vote

Kitten season is here so this is just a reminder to have your cats and kittens neutered so as not to add to the desperate problem of unwanted and stray felines.  Those that don’t find homes live lives that are often short and miserable in the streets, or are put to sleep by shelters unable to cope with the huge intake. 

Not everyone is aware that kittens are sexually, if not fully, mature from a very early age indeed.  A kitten of barely six months recently brought to the sanctuary where I volunteer, gave birth to a large litter this weekend.  Three of the kittens died at birth and one a day later.  The outlook for the remaining two is as yet uncertain.  They are being fed by hand by sanctuary volunteers because their little mum, who really ought still to be enjoying kittenhood herself, is unable to produce milk. 

If the cost of neutering is problematic you may be able to get some assistance, so google low cost neutering services for your area.

The end of an 8-page form that women now have to sign to declare they’ve been raped.

That’s right, women now need to declare the baby who was non-consensually conceived or face having their tax credits withdrawn.

This was put into law without a parliamentary vote.

Dress and spencer ca. 1796-1802

At age 27, Vincent Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school.   At age 28, J.K. Rowling was a suicidal single parent living on welfare.

At age 28, Wayne Coyne ( from The Flaming Lips) was a fry cook. At age 30, Harrison Ford was a carpenter.  At age 30, Martha Stewart was a stockbroker.  At age 37, Ang Lee was a stay-at-home-dad working odd jobs. Julia Child released her first cookbook at age 39, and got her own cooking show at age 51. Vera Wang failed to make the Olympic figure skating team, didn’t get the Editor-in-Chief position at Vogue, and designed her first dress at age 40. Stan Lee didn’t release his first big comic book until he was 40. Alan Rickman gave up his graphic design career to pursue acting at age 42. Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get his first movie role until he was 46.

Morgan Freeman landed his first movie role at age 52. Kathryn Bigelow only reached international success when she made The Hurt Locker at age 57. Grandma Moses didn’t begin her painting career until age 76. Louise Bourgeois didn’t become a famous artist until she was 78. Whatever your dream is, it is not too late to achieve it. You aren’t a failure because you haven’t found fame and fortune by the age of 21. Hell, it’s okay if you don’t even know what your dream is yet. Even if you’re flipping burgers, waiting tables or answering phones today, you never know where you’ll end up tomorrow. Never tell yourself you’re too old to make it. 

Never tell yourself you missed your chance. 

Never tell yourself that you aren’t good enough. 

A Third Collection of Literary Maps

Narnia, from The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis

Nautical Route of the Dawn Treader, from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis

The Kingdom of Wisdom, from The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster

Earthsea, from the works of Ursula K. Le Guin

Shannara, from The Shannara Chronicles, Terry Brooks

Pellucidar, from the Pellucidar series, Edgar Rice Burroughs

Barsoom (Mars), from the Martian Tales, Edgar Rice Buroughs

Bas-Lag, from the works of China Miéville

New Crobuzon, from Perdido Street Station, China Miéville

@ComedyCentralUK:

#Brexit: A Titanic Failure

Original Photographs of Napoleons Veterans taken in the 1850s