Fun Summer Facts: Watermelon

Most closely related to cucumbers, pumpkins and squash. It's made of 92% water and is a fantastic source of Vitamin C. 

Although the interior is typically pink, it is possible to find other coloured flesh: orange, red, and yellow.  There are more than 1200 varieties of the fruit, ranging from 2 pounds to 200 pounds.


In the Vienamese culture, watermelon seeds are consumed during the Vietnamese New Year's holiday, Tết, as a snack.


Fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL started a tradition of hollowing out a watermelon and wearing it as a makeshift football helmet (the color of the Roughriders is green). During the 2009 Grey Cup in Calgary (between theMontreal Alouettes and the Roughriders), thousands of watermelons had to be imported to Calgary supermarkets to prevent a shortage being caused by Rider fans.


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Ever tried watermelon logs with fruit filled rectangles? Or how about Kung Pao Watermleon Shrimp? Check out the  National Watermelon Promotion Board for a large selection   of recipes involving watermelon.






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CHOOSING THE RIGHT WATERMELON:

1. LOOK – Your watermelon should be firm, symmetrical and free of major bruises or scars. Some minor scratches are okay, however. After all, the purpose of that thick rind is to protect the delicious contents inside. Ripe watermelons should also be dark green in color.

2. LIFT – The ripest watermelons have the most water. And since watermelons are 92 percent water, your watermelon should be relatively heavy for its size.

3. TURN – Turn your watermelon over and check out its bottom, which should have a creamy yellow spot (also called “the ground spot”). This is where the watermelon sat on the ground while it soaked up the sun at the farm. If this spot is white or greenish, your watermelon may have been picked too soon and might not be as ripe as it should be.

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SQUARE WATERMELONS

Farmers in Japan started to grow square watermelons due to lack of space in their refrigerators. The square shape allows them to stack and store the fruit more easily. Farmers insert the melons into square, tempered glass cases while the fruit is still growing on the vine.

The square boxes are the exact dimensions of Japanese refrigerators, allowing full-grown watermelons to fit conveniently and precisely onto refrigerator shelves.

WATERMELON CARVINGS

Talented people around the world are doing amazing things with watermelons. It is unreal to think that these carvings are made from watermelons. The details and precision are amazing.

Take a look below at some samples of watermelon art.

   

Summer has arrived

Source: National Geographic

The summer solstice is a result of the Earth's north-south axis being tilted 23.4 degrees relative to the sun. The tilt causes different amounts of sunlight to reach different regions of the planet.

Yesterday, June 21st, the North Pole was tipped more toward the sun than on any other day of 2011. The opposite holds true for the Southern Hemisphere, where  the winter solstice, is the shortest day of the year.

As a result, at high noon on the first day of summer, the sun appears at its highest point in the sky—its most directly overhead position—in the Northern Hemisphere.

That doesn't mean the sun will be exactly overhead at noon for everyone, said Cornel University astronomer James Bell.

It depends on the viewer's latitude—the sun will shine down directly overhead at noon only along the Tropic of Cancer, an imaginary line that circles the Earth at about the latitude of Cuba.

"It's still at a low angle if you're up in Alaska," Bell explained.

The above multiple-exposure photo shows the figure 8 path of the sun over the course of the entire year, this is known as an analemma. Photographs are made by taking a picture of the sun from the same place at the same time of day once or twice a week, generating 30 to 50 frames.This one in ancient Delphi, was made in Greece in 2001.

No matter where you are in the Northern Hemisphere, the path of the sun across the sky—which rises in the lead-up to the first day of summer, then begins descending over the rest of the summer—seems not to change for the few days before and after the summer solstice. (See pictures of the sun's path across the sky—an entire year in a single frame.)

In reality, the sun's position is still changing, but at a slower rate.

Summer Solstice Wobbles Around the Calendar

While the June solstice generally occurs on the same day every year, the date can change from year to year. For example, in 2008, the summer solstice occurred on June 20.

This date shifting is a result of the discrepancy between a human calendar year—which is usually counted as 365 days—and an astronomical year, which is about 365.24 days.

Our leap year system—which adds an extra day to the calendar every four years—ensures our calendars are accurate, but it also causes the solstice date to flop around a bit.

Solstice Is Longest Day of the Year—Not Hottest

On the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere receives more sunlight than on any other day of the year, but that doesn't mean the first day of summer is also the hottest day of summer.

Earth's oceans and atmosphere act like heat sinks, absorbing and reradiating the sun's rays over time. So even though the planet is absorbing lots of sunlight on the summer solstice, it takes several weeks to release it. As a result, the hottest days of summer usually occur in July or August.

"If you think about turning up an oven—it takes it a long time to heat up," explained Robert Howell, an astronomer at the University of Wyoming. "And after you turn it off, it takes a while for it to cool down. It's the same with the Earth."

First Day of Summer Sparked Ancient Celebrations

The summer solstice is recognized and often celebrated in many cultures around the world, in both the past and present.

The ancient Egyptians, for example, built the Great Pyramids so that the sun, when viewed from the Sphinx, sets precisely between two of the Pyramids on the summer solstice.

The Inca of South America celebrated the summer solstice with a ceremony called Inti Raymi, which included food offerings and sacrifices of animals and maybe even people. (See a picture of an Inca summer solstice festival.)

Recently, archaeologists discovered the remains of an astronomical observatory in a long-buried Maya city in Guatemala in which the buildings were designed to align with the sun during the solstices. During such times, the city's populace gathered at the observatory to watch as their king appeared to command the heavens.

Summer solstice celebrations at Stonehenge.

And perhaps most famously, Stonehenge in the United Kingdom has been associated with the winter and summer solstices for about 5,000 years.

Observers in the center of the standing stones can still watch the summer solstice sun rise over the Heel Stone, which stands just outside Stonehenge's stone circles. (Read about pagans' campaign to enter Stonehenge on the summer solstice and other sacred days.)

This year modern-day Druids will gather at Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice for the first time as members of an officially recognized religion in the U.K., following a controversial vote by the national Charity Commission for England and Wales last fall.

Happy Father's Day/Feliz Día del Padre

Boxer to Receive Citizenship- The Brampton Guardian

It's always inspiring to see youth putting their energy into positive activities. We especially enjoy hearing about Latin youth striving for excellence, particularly in the situation where they immigrate and all the while deal with all the changes of their new life, learning a new language and they choose to be involved and come out on top.

Congratulations on all your successes Luis!

From an article in The Brampton Guardian by FRANK JUZENAS:

Just one day after he receives his Canadian citizenship on Monday Luis Valdiva will be heading to Germany to represent Canada in an international boxing tournament.
The 17-year old from Brampton feared last week that his citizenship would not arrive in time to represent this country at the Brandenburg Cup in Frankfurt, Germany, beginning next week.
However after an article in The Guardian on Friday the family received a phone call from the Department of Immigration that their request for citizenship was being fast-tracked.
They are to be sworn in as Canadians on Monday. Bal Gosal, the MP for Bramalea-Gore-Malton and the newly minted Minister of State for Sport in the federal government said he saw the article in The Guardian explaining Valdiva’s plight. He said he spoke with other Brampton MPs Kyle Seeback of Brampton West and Parm Gill from Brampton Springdale and the Department of Immigration and there was no reason why the citizenship should not be granted.
“I read the article and I felt for the boy,” said Gosal. “The federal government is the largest supporter of amateur sport in this country, contributing $200 million and we want our athletes to excel at the international level.”
A native of Chile, Valdiva has lived in Canada since the age of 7. The family began the process of obtaining Canadian citizenship about two years ago. While they had completed all the requirements they were still waiting to receive the final documents allowing them to be sworn in. Valdiva, who boxes out of Brampton’s Champion Gym has had a sparkling amateur career with a record of 32-4.
That included winning the gold medal in the 64 to 69 kilograms division earlier this year at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax. As the top rated boxer in Canada in his division, Boxing Canada selected him to compete at the Bradenburg Cup running June 21 to 26. He is also scheduled to go the Commonwealth Youth Cup on the Isle of Man in September. If he had not received his citizenship someone else would have been sent.
Valdiva, who was travelling with his family on the weekend could not be reached for comment, but his coach John Melich, who had been making numerous calls on Valdiva’s behalf to government officials and media is happy that the citizenship issue appears to be resolved. He said it is crucial that Valdiva get international experience because there are few fighters in the  province willing to go into the ring with him.
“It was getting frustrating. I’ve taken him to so many tournaments and people have cancelled, somebody suddenly gets a broken leg or something,” he said.
Valdiva, who is a student at Turner Fenton, said his goal is to compete for Canada at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.
Melich feels with his skills he can be successful at the international level but he needs to gain the experience against the top competition.

Guerrero Law's Toronto office now open!

We are pleased to announce that our Toronto office is now officially open. Our team continues to expand in order to better serve our clientele.

Guerrero Law staff in the Toronto office specialise in Personal Injury cases, however, we continue to serve all of our clients' needs and are able to accommodate matters regarding Family and Real Estate as well, therefore do not hesitate to contact our office, as we are here to help you.

We welcome staff members who are able to work with the Tamil speaking community in order to better serve you.

Before opening for business, we were honoured to have a puja performed in order to bless the new location and its staff members.

Offerings of prayer.

Getting comfortable in his new digs.

 

Guerrero Law Toronto Office Address:

31 Progress Avenue, Suite 202

Toronto, ON M1P 2S6

Guerrero Law Toronto Office Phone Number: 

(416) 297-0205