Saturday, July 26, 2014

Daily Comics / July 26th - Summer Holidays



For Better and For Worse
Lynn Johnston

Canada Family Events
Dilbert
Scott Adams

Dilbert Office Events

Edmonton Journal
Malcolm Mayes
Politics Views from Canada

Doonesbury
Garry Trudeau

Politics Views from USA





  


** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very, very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.comDilbert.com and EdmontonJournal.com.

Don't Ever Give Up

Dean Reinke
Deans’ Stroke Musing
Saturday, July 19, 2014

I've seen this image a few times over the last week. Even using tineye.com I can't figure out who originated this.  This needs to be posted over every survivors bed.  I imagine the bird being my doctor.

It reminds me of the other frog story I've heard.

Two Frogs

By: Author Unknown

A number of frogs were traveling through the woods. Two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.

Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogswere saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story teaches two lessons:

  1. There is the power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.
  2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be the push over the edge. Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. Anyone can speak words that can rob another of the spirit to push forward in difficult times.




See the original article:
in

Sunday Stroke Survival ~ What Goes Up...

Jo Murphey
The Murphey Saga
Sunday, July 20, 2014

Credit
When I was in inpatient rehab, I made the statement..."It's not if I fall but when I fall." Well, I did it again Wednesday.

Let me backtrack to Tuesday's OT. I awoke later than usual so I decided to double up on my Baclofen before therapy. The tightness in my bicep and pectoral muscles gave me an inkling that therapy may have to stop after this week. Higher tone is the precursor for me that the Botox is wearing off with the spasticity to follow quickly after. Therapy confirmed it even after ice and heat were used but the fingers still stretched.

I got home to find the sitter gone and daughter #2 and her youngest son at the house. Triston (15 next month) is my yard man. They'd been at the house long enough for him to mow the front and half the back before I came home via the tractor. Next came the mandatory Skype call to our #4 daughter in AZ. During that time daughter #1 comes in from Savannah with daughter #2's oldest son and her two boys (13 &7). A houseful! I set each of them on a task, mostly outside to keep them busy. As you can imagine, my hubby and I were both exhausted by the time all of them left.

Wednesday morning was bad from the start. I had slept hard so everything decided it wanted to play at Rice Krispies (snap, crackle & pop). With a groan and several attempts, I got out of bed. I waddled my way into the living to administer my husband's medicines and empty his urinal. Then it was, hop into the shower for a bath before therapy at 11. Needless to say, all the energy from a good, solid night's sleep was diminished by half by just these simple acts including getting dressed. Getting dressed was more of a chore than it usually was. I got my panties in a wad, fought with my compression knee-highs, and my shirt wanted to bunch up and make life difficult. But I fed the animals, watered them, and gave each of them undivided attention that they craved. So now I've used six of twelve spoons via the spoon theory of energy.

Before leaving and the sitter arriving, I checked in with my hubby to see if he needed anything. Coffee. Keep in mind that the pressure sore on my foot ruptured three days ago and walking is difficult, I waddled to the kitchen and made his coffee. Thanks to my #2 daughter buying him a Keurig one cup coffee maker for Christmas, this was a quick fix.

SRC: Why You Should Ride Clipless Pedals

John C. Anderson
Stroke Survivors Tattler
Uploaded on Jun 29, 2011

SSTattler: Especially stroke survivors with Recumbent Tadpoles...

Wade, sales manager, of Skunk River Cycles of Ames, IA discusses the benefits of a clipless pedal system on your bike. Skunk River Cycles is Ames, Iowa's only locally owned and operated full service bike shop. We carry Cannondale, Raleigh, Marin, Schwinn and GT Bikes. Stop by and see us today!


Standard YouTube License @ SkunkRiverCycles

Stroke Survivors Tattler has Two American Cartoonists:
         - Scott Adams & Garry Trudeau

John C. Anderson
Stroke Survivors Tattler

From Analog to Digital Dilbert's Scott Adams

Published on Dec 16, 2013

Scott Adams, creator of the renowned comic strip, Dilbert, talks candidly about how moving from an analog to digital workflow added years to his drawing career. Scott began using a Cintiq interactive pen display in 2005 and has not looked back since. He cites many reasons for making the switch including the ability to work much faster and in a more comfortable fashion. Additionally, Scott finds that not having to worry about art supplies is quite the liberating experience. And speaking of a liberating experience, Scott speaks to Wacom's recent introduction of the Cintiq Companion and how its mobile capabilities are allowing him to create while traveling.

Learn more about the Cintiq Companion.


Standard YouTube License @ Wacom




Creator Garry Trudeau Talks About The Past, Present and Future of Doonesbury

Uploaded on Feb 18, 2010

Watch Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau talk about the creative process behind "40: A Doonesbury Retrospective"

Get more on G. B. Trudeau at SimonandSchuster.


Standard YouTube License @ Simon & Schuster

Ze Frank: Are You Human?

Published on Jul 18, 2014

SSTattler: Hmmm, nice probing questions!!

Have you ever wondered: Am I a human being? Ze Frank suggests a series of simple questions that will determine this. Please relax and follow the prompts. Let's begin ...


Standard YouTube License @ TED

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Daily Comics / July 19th - Summer Holidays



For Better and For Worse
Lynn Johnston

Canada Family Events
Dilbert
Scott Adams

Dilbert Office Events

Edmonton Journal
Malcolm Mayes
Politics Views from Canada

Doonesbury
Garry Trudeau

Politics Views from USA





  


** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very, very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.com, Dilbert.com and EdmontonJournal.com.

New Guest Blogger
         - Steven H. Cornelius from Music and Stroke !!

SSTattler: I will re-published Steven's biography in September. It is already in About Us.


Steven H. Cornelius
Music and Stroke
  • Mostly I have worked as a music professor
    • University of Massachusetts Boston
      (Lecturer, 2012-)
    • Boston University (Visiting Prof., 2008-2012)
    • Bowling Green State University (Prof., 1991-2008)
    • Bruckner-Konservatorium Linz (adjunct faculty, 1992-1997)
    • Pine Manor College (Asst. Prof., 1989-1991)
    • University of Wisconsin-Madison (Instructor of Percussion, 1984-86)
  • In addition to teaching at the college level, during the 2013-14 academic year I served as a Scholar in Residence at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA.
  • From 1996 to 2006 I served as music and dance critic for The Blade, Toledo, Ohio’s daily newspaper.
  • My major publications include:
    • Music: A Social Experience (co-authored with Mary Natvig) (Pearson 2011),
    • Music of the Civil War Era (Greenwood Press, 2004) and 
    • The Music of Santería: Traditional Rhythms of the Batá Drums (co-authored with John Amira) (White Cliffs Media, 1991).
  • Please look at my blog site - Music and Stroke

Sunday Stroke Survival ~ Back in the Saddle Again Finally!

Jo Murphey
The Murphey Saga
Sunday, July 13, 2014

Well, most of my Facebook friends know, but y'all don't know that I've started OT again on my arm. This was my first week back since September of last year. Why the delay? I couldn't arrange (read afford) a private sitter for my DH (darling hubby) for me to arrange for my therapy sessions...

 $15 an hour (1 1/2 hours with drive time)X 3 times a week X 4 weeks in a month = a HUGE expense on a very limited budget. Our insurance will pay for hospice but not for private sitters for my care issues. I just couldn't justify the extra expense nor did we have the money to spare for me to be in therapy. Although my insurance will pay 100% of the therapy bill, I've been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul for some months now and see no end in sight. No, I'm not whining.

When I spoke to an old friend of over twenty years, who is also a minister and volunteer with hospice, about my dilemma she flat told me it wouldn't do to hurt myself because of my husband's health issues. She arranged for a slew of volunteers to sit with my husband for free while I took therapy.

The only problem was my husband's paranoia about too many strangers in the house. This friend got volunteers who were off duty police officers and their spouses. Although most of the officers I worked with many years ago have retired, their children now work on the force. It becomes old home week playing catch up with all of them.

I started OT with a new therapist. My old therapist works strictly in pediatrics now. I was really leery about having to train a new therapist. My old therapist and I understood each other perfectly since both of us were willing to try anything to get results. I expressed my concerns with the director of rehab services when he stopped and talked to me. So in walks this new therapist. I do mean new because she only graduated last August. I begin clearing the air. I've never been shy to say what I want and what I expect. It's the only way to open a meaningful dialogue. AND, there has to be a meaningful dialogue for progress to occur.

She stepped out of the room for some heat packs for my shoulder, arm, and hand when the rehab director poked his head into the room. I could see the question in his eyes...'Well, what do you think?' I gave him a thumb up. The young lady was open and honest. It was a starting place.

Finesse’ - A Crucial Ingredient for Success with Speech and Language Therapy

Mark A. Ittleman
The Teaching of Talking
July 13, 2014

The first time I heard of the word finesse was learning how to play Bridge. I often bumbled through the game as a novice, while those experienced in the game would sit comfortably, bid, and play as if they didn’t have to think about it.  I wondered if I would ever learn to play the game as well and really did not realize that that finesse’ in cards, like the art of speech therapy only comes with consistent desire, dedication, play and practice.  Finesse’ is the ability to do something with ease or in an artful way.  The word implies skill, expertise, artistry and virtuosity.

The Teaching of Talking:
Training SLP’s, and Caregivers
in expert methods to improve 
speaking.
Speech therapy, especially for complex speaking difficulties such as aphasia, apraxia, and dysarthria, often requires finesse’.  It is mastered with time, and ingenuity.  Some people with speaking difficulties are frustrated with speech therapy  due to the complexity of it, in addition to the relative inexperience of those involved.  In addition, frustration may be related to the speed and length of time it takes for speaking improvement.  Let’s face it, for many of us, we want to achieve what we wish NOW.  We want instant food, instant mastery and instant success with what we endeavor.  The fact is that many disciplines take time and repetition to master, and it requires a steadfast commitment, and passion to achieve.  It often takes finding the right people or therapists to learn from and model.

Functional Electrical Stimulation Therapy
         - Dr. Milos Popovic

Published on Jun 4, 2012

Toronto Rehabilitation Institute researcher, Dr. Milos Popovic talks about Functional Electrical Stimulation Therapy.



Standard YouTube License @ RickHansenInstitute

David Kwong: Two Nerdy Obsessions Meet
         — and it's Magic

Published on Jul 11, 2014

SSTattler: Most stroke survivors want to solve a problem, a puzzle in Lumosity,  video games for rehabilitation, ...

David Kwong is a magician who makes crossword puzzles — in other words, a pretty nerdy guy. And for his next trick ...


Standard YouTube License @ TED

Edmonton: BIS - Be Inspired and Strong

A Toastmasters Club for People with Brain Injuries and Strokes


So you have a brain injury from a car accident, stroke, or other unfortunate life threatening tragedy :o(

You’ve been working hard on your rehabilitation, and although you may never get back all that was lost, you are still hopeful that you will be able to work through your disability and come through to the other side with a reasonably productive and satisfying lifestyle.

I was a public school teacher of 10 years who sustained a severe Traumatic Brain Injury (2 month coma) in a horrendous car crash on the way to work in June of 1987.  Over the past 27 years I have been to hell and back several times, but I have finally emerged with a meaningful, happy and positive outlook on life.

Since my accident I have been involved in a great many activities in the local education community. I have spoken about disability in classrooms from Kindergarten through University, I have facilitated over 400 workshops for other teachers on long term disability, and I have been involved in numerous disability related boards and committees.

A personal goal was to speak to Teachers’ Conventions about the rehabilitative opportunities that are available to disabled teachers.  But my brain injury has made it difficult for me to present in front of a large audience. So I scoured the WEB looking for educational opportunities that worked within the constraints of my disability.

What I found was Toastmasters International, a world wide non-profit organization dedicated to improving oral communication, confidence and public speaking skills in the English speaking world.  I joined a local Toastmasters club, and through benevolent instruction along with the opportunity to model effective behavior and presentation skills, my ability to speak in front of an audience has steadily improved.

Finally in February of 2014, I fulfilled a personal goal of giving a presentation on Brain Injury Rehabilitation to the Central Alberta Teachers’ Convention.

Since 1924, more than 4 million people around the world have participated in Toastmasters.  Today, the membership is 292,000 strong, with 14,350 clubs in 122 countries that make up a global network of meeting locations.

With dedicated assistance from incredible leaders in the Edmonton Toastmasters community, I have recently started a Toastmasters Club exclusively for people who are rehabilitating from the effects of stroke or brain injury. The club consists of long term survivors like me as well as people relatively new to brain injury.

 As EVERYONE in the club is a survivor there is absolutely no discrimination nor stigma.   BIS (Brain Injury and Stroke or Be Inspired and Strong) Toastmasters is just an ordinary Toastmasters Club in District 42, Alberta and Saskatchewan.  There is not any mollycoddling just because you have a stroke or a brain injury!  We are all in the same boat so we understand exactly what you are going through.  Everyone is more than happy to accommodate anyone else requiring extra assistance.

One thing for sure, in addition to awesome rehabilitative benefits (based on my personal experience) the club is LOTS OF FUN!  In addition to regular meetings, you have access to workshops, parties and conferences.  Last year I went to Fort MacMurray and the year before I went to Saskatoon!  This year the annual conference was held in Edmonton at the Radisson Hotel :o)

The cost is a one time only new member fee of $30.00 pus $60.00  payable twice a year. This includes all start-up manuals, the Toastmasters Magazine, and ongoing support from Toastmasters International. Financial support to the club over and above the afore mentioned individual fees has generously been donated by the Riverbend Safeway.

We are also supported by the Edmonton Networks Activity Centre for the Brain Injured, the Edmonton Brain Care Centre and the Stroke Recovery Association of Edmonton.

Meetings of the BIS Toastmasters Club are held every second Thursday morning from 10:00-12:00 at a venue in the Bonnie Doon Mall.  The official Inaugural Meeting of the club will be held when we reach 20 paid up members, but bi-weekly meetings will occur until then, providing ongoing practice and insight into the Toastmasters Community.  Our next meeting is July 10, 2014 and every 2 weeks thereafter.

Well that’s enough for now.  Please phone me if you are interested.  It will be well worth your while.  My cell is 780-499-4540.  Please leave a message with your name, email address and and phone number.


Thanks for listening!

Margaret Wardell BEd (my pre head injury job), CLL (Certified Laughter Leader), CC (Toastmasters Competent Communicator)
margwardell@gmail.com

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Daily Comics / July 12 - Summer Holidays



For Better and For Worse
Lynn Johnston

Canada Family Events
Dilbert
Scott Adams

Dilbert Office Events

Edmonton Journal
Malcolm Mayes
Politics Views from Canada

Doonesbury
Garry Trudeau

Politics Views from USA





  


** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very, very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.com, Dilbert.com and EdmontonJournal.com.

Sunday Stroke Survival ~ Striving for Perfection

Jo Murphey
The Murphey Saga
Sunday, July 6, 2014

Credit
Something has weighed heavily on my heart this week. It caused me to stop and rethink my attitude of where I am in my life. I honestly do this quite often as a reality check.

The gigantic WHY question.
No, not the why did the stroke happen to me? I know why. It was genetics and poor life choices I've made.

I still say the delay in my recovery in part is due to God teaching me patience. I still don't have that battle won, but I've come a long way in two years.

No, not the why haven't I recovered more of my body by now. I'm a victim of circumstance that overloaded my "golden" one to six months optimum recovery time with an injury.

These things I knew the answer to. My "why question" deals with something deeper.Which is why it made my heart heavy. Why do I want to recover what I've lost so bad?

Previous to my stroke I'd accomplished many things. In fact, I'd accomplished more than most people in my life both good and bad. So why couldn't I just be satisfied that this is the way my life should be now? Are we as human beings always so dissatisfied with our lives that we constantly have to strive to be better? Have more? Do more?

WHY? 

Malcolm Mayes Cartoons

Malcolm Mayes
Malcolm Mayes Cartoonist - Edmonton Journal
  • The Mayes cartoons has Copyright © so you can not copy it, but, Stroke Survivors Tattler can link to the cartoons with The Edmonton Journal (same as For Better or For WorseDilbert, and Doonesbury),
  • Every Mayes cartoon has the Canadain politics view with a humour slant (and coupled with the cartoons Doonesbury that has the American politics view).
  • I did not know that he is lives in Edmonton. At least a bonus...!!!


Malcolm Mayes Brief Biography

  • Malcolm Mayes was born in Edmonton, Alberta. 
  • He drew extensively throughout his childhood and by his late teens was selling his drawings on a regular basis. 
  • A love of cartooning and interest in newspapers steered him naturally towards political comment. He studied Design Art at Grant MacEwan College before starting at the Edmonton Journal in 1986. 
  • Mayes has been published in hundreds of publications and was twice nominated for a National Newspaper Award
  • In 1996 he published a cartoon collection entitled 'Political Asylum: Cartoons and Caricatures’
  • Mayes' work has appeared in most major newspapers across Canada and the United States, and has been featured on CBC, CNN, in the Montreal International Museum of Humour and numerous books and magazines, including Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year, Reader’s Digest and the Great Big Book of Canadian Humour
  • An early entry in cyberspace, Mayes created animated political cartoons for Microsoft's News Website
  • He is also the founder of www.artizans.com - a comprehensive online image service that delivers digital artwork to publications around the world. 
  • He is a long-time member of both the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists (ACEC) and the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC)
  • Mayes has twin daughters and happily he resides on a peaceful treed boulevard in central Edmonton.



Malcolm Mayes Goes To School

Uploaded on Feb 28, 2011

Watch a video of Edmonton Journal cartoonist Malcolm Mayes talking to Alannah Wasylkiw's grade 4 class at St. Martin's school in Edmonton.

Video by Bruce Edwards.


Standard YouTube License @ Edmonton Journal

Updated - Ikea Standing-Up Desk by SSTattler

John C. Anderson
Stroke Survivors Tattler
Update - Take a look about Ikea Standing-Up Desk by Stroke Survivors Tattler January 18, 2014 -- it will tell you about my history to built the Standing-Up Desk. Brief synopsis:
  • Cost for me is approximate $175.61,
  • The time is less than 8 hours of effort to build it,
  • Basically, it is much better about your health (I was told by various articles),
  • My “gimp-right-leg” from my stroke was a problem and I said, "The first week was hell about my legs!!"

Now, 6 months later, July 2014, my conclusion is mostly positive:
  • Further cost + effort is nil; TV bench + Frame make a beautiful desk and it is very solid - no vibration, no loose bolts, ..., a very, very nice desk.
  • I read articles about Standing-Up Desk. Why and How I Switched to a Standing Desk by Gina Trapani tell you various details +’ve and -‘ve but one details by Gina Trapani:
    • But don't Your Feet Hurt? Yes, very much. In fact, the first three days were brutal, so painful I doubted the whole endeavor. By mid-day 2, I had to sit down every hour or so. I was distracted and had a hard time focusing on anything but how much my feet hurt. At night I sat on the couch with my feet elevated. I collapsed into bed totally exhausted. I never appreciated sitting as much as I did the first three days.
    • Well my feet hurt a bit during the first month but my “gimp-right-leg” was a real problem and I told in Ikea Standing-Up Desk by Stroke Survivors Tattler (i.e. you have to move your leg/feet continuously) but about a few weeks it is cured.  
  • Unfortunately, my posture is awful especially when I’m tired. My belly sticks out resting on the top of the desk, and then my feet does not move at all, and then I have the same problem with my “gimp-right-leg”.  Cured is simple -- definition Standing from Wikipedia:  “... Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a human position in which the body is held in an upright ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static,the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the sagittal plane. The sway of quiet standing is often likened to the motion of an inverted pendulum.” It works for me!
  • I added a monitor HP25xi - 23” @ 1920x1080 pixels - I used the 13” laptop MacBook Air for about a year but the difference with 23” monitor is huge and now days the monitor is relatively cheap (≈ $150 to $200).  The laptop MacBook Air is below the monitor and still works :-) ; wireless keyboard+trackpad with Bluetooth from a old desktop iMac.
  • Linux / Microsoft laptop it is put on top of the colour printer (I use it approximate every month to check the web format of SSTattler with Linux and Microsoft).
  • Three externally disks (just behind the MacBook Air):
    • Backup every hour, 
    • Github (repository for software offsite + local cache), 
    • personalProjects,
    • Read or Burn disk - CD/DVD - used rarely.
  • Great Bose Radio & CD beside the MacBook Air - CBC News and all type of good music (especially lay down some code and listen to, usually, Baroque. See Music and Mathematics From Wikipedia).
  • Home telephone,  In/Out box, stapler, 3 Hole Punch, kleenex, box of pens/scissors, iPad, pictures of my granddaughter, ..., etc.
Conclusion:
I will stick to Standing-Up Desk - relatively cheap, solid, (now) I’ve good posture, plus expenditure of calories of is twice standing up vs. sitting down!
January to July 2014 - This is a picture of my standing-up desk below.

Updated - New Standing-Up Desk



January 2014 - This is a picture of my new standing-up desk below.  All is the same stuff with my "old desk" (and I'll put the radio back soon). The books in the "LACK" bookshelf took a lot of space. Changed stuff in my bedroom to the standing desk is - 1) my the second printer,  2) my Linux/Microsoft laptop and 3) backup hard-disks  - everything is here but the box of kleenex and a coffee mug!
New Standing-Up Desk



Before January 2014 - For some reason, the old desk seems clutter but it is about equivalent for space.

Old Sitting-Down Desk
























Joi Ito: Want to Innovate? Become a "now-ist"

Published on Jul 7, 2014

SSTattler: Hmm, I think Stroke Survivors Tattler is a "now-ist" ... :-)

"Remember before the internet?" asks Joi Ito. "Remember when people used to try to predict the future?" In this engaging talk, the head of the MIT Media Lab skips the future predictions and instead shares a new approach to creating in the moment: building quickly and improving constantly, without waiting for permission or for proof that you have the right idea. This kind of bottom-up innovation is seen in the most fascinating, futuristic projects emerging today, and it starts, he says, with being open and alert to what's going on around you right now. Don't be a futurist, he suggests: be a now-ist.


Standard YouTube License @ TED

Saturday, July 05, 2014

Daily Comics / July 5 - Summer Holidays



For Better and For Worse
Lynn Johnston

Canada Family Events
Dilbert
Scott Adams

Dilbert Office Events

Edmonton Journal
Malcolm Mayes
Politics Views from Canada

Doonesbury
Garry Trudeau

Politics Views from USA





  


** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very, very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.com, Dilbert.com and EdmontonJournal.com.

July National Holidays

July 1st   - Canada Day From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
July 4th - Independence Day (USA) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Public holidays in the United Kingdom From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia -- ... the United Kingdom has no national day holiday marked and/or celebrated. The lack of a formal founding date and no constitution may be the reason for the lack of a national day. (SSTattler: Same Australia, New Zealand, India, ...)


Children watch the Canada Day parade in Montreal
Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada) is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act, 1867 (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire. Originally called Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confédération), the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as among Canadians internationally.

Street hockey on Trafalgar Square,
in front of the National Gallery,
for Canada Day (in London, England !!)

Commemoration


Frequently referred to as "Canada's birthday", particularly in the popular press, the occasion marks the joining of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada being divided, in the process, into Ontario and Quebec) on July 1, 1867. Canada became a kingdom in its own right on that date, but the British parliament and Cabinet kept limited rights of political control over the new country that were shed by stages over the years until the last vestiges were surrendered in 1982, when the Constitution Act patriated the Canadian constitution.

Under the federal Holidays Act, Canada Day is observed on July 1, unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case July 2 is the statutory holiday, although celebratory events generally take place on July 1, even though it is not the legal holiday. If it falls on a Saturday, any businesses normally closed that day will generally dedicate the following Monday as a day off.

See the full article:
      Canada Day From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




New York City's fireworks display, shown above
over the East Village, is sponsored by Macy's and
is the largest in the country
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States of America commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain (now officially known as the United Kingdom). Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States.

Originally entitled Yankee Doodle,
this is one of several versions of a
scene painted by A. M. Willard that
came to be known as The Spirit of ’76.
Often imitated or parodied, it is a familiar
symbol of American patriotism

Background


During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:
The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.
Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.

Historians have long disputed whether Congress actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.


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