Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.

Blue Poison Dart Frog

Dendrobates azureus, commonly known as the blue poison dart frog or okopipi, is a poison dart frog found in the forests surrounded by the Sipaliwini savannah in southern Suriname. Authorities have recently treated it as a variant of Dendrobates tinctorius rather than a distinct species as before.

RedBack Spider

The redback spider is a species of venomous spider indigenous to Australia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus Latrodectus, the widow spiders. The adult female has a black body with a prominent abdominal red stripe (pictured). Females have a body length of about 10 millimetres (0.4 in), while the male is much smaller, being only 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long. Mainly nocturnal, the female lives in an untidy-looking web in a warm sheltered location, commonly near or inside human residences. It preys on insects, spiders and small vertebrates that become ensnared in its web. Males and spiderlings often live on the periphery of the female's web and steal leftovers. The redback is one of few arachnids that usually display sexual cannibalism while mating. It is widespread in Australia, and inadvertent introductions have led to established colonies in New Zealand, Japan and in greenhouses in Belgium. The redback is one of the few spider species that can be seriously harmful to humans. An antivenomhas been available since 1956, and there have been no deaths directly due to redback bites since its introduction.

Service

“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.”
― Walt Whitman

Helping Others_Rx

You gave on the way a pleasant smile 

And thought no more about it. 

It cheered a life that had been dark the while 

Which might have been wrecked without it. 

And so for that smile that was given there, 

You'll have a reward sometime-somewhere.

You spoke one day a cheering word, 

And passed to other duties. 

It cheered a heart; new promise stirred 

And painted a life with beauties. 

And so for that word of golden cheer, 

You'll have a reward sometime-somewhere.

You lent a hand to a fallen one; 

lift in love was given. 

You saved a soul when hope was gone 

And helped him on toward heaven. 

and, so for that help you proffered there, 

You'll have a reward sometime-somewhere.

Quote

The best thing you can do for your fellow, next to rousing his conscience, is — not to give him things tothink about, but to wake things up that are in him; or say, to make him think things for himself.

José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage (1823-1907)

A Portuguese zoologist and politician. He was the curator of Zoology at the Museum of Natural History in Lisbon. His work at the Museum consisted in acquiring, describing and coordinating collections, many of which arrived from the Portuguese colonies in Africa, such as Angola, Mozambique, etc. He published more than 200 taxonomic papers on mammals, birds, and fishes. In the 1880s he became the Minister of the Navy and later the Minister for Foreign Affairs for Portugal. The zoology collection at the Lisbon Museum is called the Bocage Museum in his honor. He was responsible for identifying many new species, which he named according to the naturalist who found them.

Nelson Mandela

Former President of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela dies at the age of 95.

Black Crazy Ant

Paratrechina longicornis is no slow walker. This ant's name "crazy" stems from its erratic and rapid movement. It has the ability to successfully survive in highly disturbed and artificial areas, including ships at sea. Since it can live indoors with humans, it can exist at any latitude. This ant has been reported from as far north as Sweden and Estonia, and as far south as New-Zealand. It is considered a pest, nesting in apartments and other buildings, as well among others in trash, efuse, plant and tree cavities, and rotten wood. In houses nests are built in walls, narrow spaces, house plants, and empty containers. Colonies tend to be small to moderately sized, including as many as 2,000 workers and 40 queens. The colonies are highly mobile and relocate when conditions become unfavorable to these insects.

Japanese

The remedy is often worse than the disease; Burn not your house to rid it of the mouse.

December The Sixth

Ambohimanga is a hill and traditional fortified royal settlement (rova) inMadagascar, located approximately 24 kilometers (15 mi) northeast of the capital city of Antananarivo. The hill and the rova are considered the most significant symbol of the cultural identity of the Merina people and the most important and best-preserved monument of the precolonial Kingdom of Madagascar. The walled historic village includes tombs of the Vazimba, the island's first inhabitants, and the residences and burial sites of several key monarchs. It remains a place of worship to which pilgrims come. Founded by King Andriamasinavalona (1675–1710) as the capital of the Avaradrano region, Ambohimanga is one of the twelve sacred hills of Imerina and contains the house of King Andrianampoinimerina (1787–1810), who led the successful effort to unify most of Madagascar under Merina rule. Ambohimanga was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sitesin 2001. Its historic sister city, the Rova of Antananarivo, was destroyed by fire in 1995. Numerous governmental and civil society organizations support the conservation of Ambohimanga by restoring damaged features and preventing further degradation. 

Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) was the eighth President of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. Earlier, he was the eighth Vice President (1833–1837), and before that, the tenth Secretary of State (1829–1831), both under Andrew Jackson.