View from the Porch

View from the Porch

An abundance of good stuff to be found online

Lorraine suggests some webinars, podcasts and collections for listening and viewing

I am still walking. Years ago, I won a pair of Nordic walking poles. Thought they would be great for walking the dogs in the winter. Put them in the closet and that is where they stayed. Now I have learned that using them when walking has a super effect on your overall health, turning a regular walk into a full-body workout, improving upper body strength and balance.

Check out a video “The Four Steps to Urban Poling Explained.” It is under two minutes and a great way to learn. There are other videos as well next to this one.

The Women’s Enterprise Centre is offering free legal webinars in partnership with the BLG Driven by Women initiative.

July 15: Deidre Huestis will present some options for breaking a contract during COVID-19.

August 10: Jennifer Choi will present a practical guide to dispute resolution.

To register and more information: www.womensenterprise.ca or call 1-800-643-7014, ext. 112.

The news can be sometimes distressing. Yet it can also highlight some of the issues that have been around forever (it seems). James Baldwin, an American novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, activist. August 22, 1924 – December 1, 1987 speaks on racial, sexual and class distinctions in Western society. Listen on YouTube, just enter his name.

A quote: “Pessimists are the people who have no hope for themselves or for others. Pessimists are also people who think the human race is beneath their notice, that they’re better than other human beings. Words like freedom, justice, democracy are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It takes enormous and, above all, individual effort to arrive at the respect for other people that these words imply. People can cry much easier than they can change.”

54 Degrees North, produced by Nikki Skuce and Pam Haasen, 54DegreesNorthPodcast@gmail.com. has a new podcast series digging deeper into food security in the broader Bulkley Valley region. A five-part series that explores gardening in the north, training and gardening programs, food producer stories, experience of farmers and suggestions for becoming a more food secure region plus one soon to be uploaded on food preservation. Download this series: www.buzzsprout.com.

The Life and work of George Hoshida, 1907 – 1985. A collection that includes 260 drawings and watercolors. He was incarcerated for the duration of the Second World War and recorded his daily life in a visual diary.

This collection contains 263 records and can be viewed at: www.janm.org/collections/george-hoshida-collections.

From the Japanese-American National Museum in Los Angles, this is a recording of his surroundings in drawings and watercolours.

Closing with: The artist’s job is to be a witness to his time in history – Robert Rauschenberg.

And one more:

Stalwart: marked by outstanding strength and vigour of body, mind, or spirit.

Smithers Interior News