Linda's Blogspot

The Need for Balance Holding Two Truths: Injustice and Gratitude in the Same Breath: We live in a time where complaint travels faster than kindness, where outrage gets a microphone and gratitude gets whispered— if it gets spoken at all. Every scroll another reason to be angry. Every headline another reminder of what’s broken. And yes— things are broken. Deeply. Historically. Systemically. But somewhere along the way we forgot how to hold two truths in the same breath. We forgot how to say: This hurts. And— This still matters. We forgot how to say: There is injustice. And— There is also goodness happening quietly while nobody is filming. See, protest has a sacred history. It was born from love for life, not addiction to rage. Our ancestors didn’t march because they hated existence. They marched because they believed existence could be better. Somewhere along the line we started feeding the fire but starving the flame. Fire destroys. Flame illuminates. We’ve mastered destruction. We are ...

Honoring Life Through Energy Every choice we make to protect, restore, and sustain our energy is a quiet tribute to our maternal lineage. Mitochondria remind us that life is not simply ours — it is a river of energy carried through generations. When we nourish our bodies, rest deeply, move gently, and live with awareness, we honor biology, ancestral wisdom, and the enduring legacy of mothers. Energy, in this light, is sacred. It is life. It is love. It is history moving through us. A way to think of it: each time you care for your energy, you are not only supporting yourself — you are tending the lineage of vitality entrusted to you by those who came before.

Below is a  WikiExplorers meetup session: The themes are biological intelligence, ancestry, and living knowledge. This WikiExplorers Meetup Session is designed  with a gentle script, learning flow, and research assignment: WikiExplorers Meetup:   Theme: Intergenerational Knowledge & Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Facilitator: Ms. Rivers Duration: 60–75 minutes Opening Reflection (5 minutes) Ms. Rivers: “WikiExplorers, today we’re going to explore a special kind of knowledge — the kind that lives inside our bodies as well as inside books. Some knowledge is written in libraries. Some is passed through stories. And some is carried quietly inside our cells.” She pauses. “There is a tiny part of every cell called the mitochondria. And mitochondria are passed down almost entirely from mothers to children. This means each of us carries a living biological connection to generations of women before us.” Gentle Introduction to mtDNA (10 minutes) Ms. Rivers: “Mitochondrial DNA —...

  The Genetic Time Traveler: How Albert Perry Rewrote Human History ​In 2012, a DNA sample from an African American man named Albert Perry did the impossible: it reached back over 300,000 years and rearranged the human family tree. Perry, a formerly enslaved man from South Carolina, carried a Y-chromosome lineage so ancient that it predates the emergence of anatomically modern humans. ​This discovery, known as Haplogroup A00 , eventually led researchers from the labs of South Carolina to the mountainous forests of Cameroon , specifically to the Mbo and Bangwa people. ​The Journey of a Lineage: From Cameroon to South Carolina ​The story of Albert Perry is one of survival—both of a family and of a genetic code that bypassed the "bottlenecks" of human migration. While most modern human lineages can be traced back to a common ancestor roughly 140,000 years ago, Perry’s lineage branched off significantly earlier. Initial studies estimated this split at nearly 338,000 years a...

WikiExplorers Meetup Facilitator Script Biological Intelligence: Energy, Culture, and the Living Body Facilitator: Ms. Rivers Opening Welcome (5 minutes) Ms. Rivers: “Good evening, everyone. I’m so glad you’re here. Today, we’re exploring an idea that shows up in both modern science and ancient cultures — the idea that the body carries its own intelligence. Not artificial intelligence… not intellectual intelligence… but biological intelligence — the quiet wisdom that helps life organize, repair, and renew itself. We’ll explore how Wikipedia documents this across science and culture, and we’ll also practice making small improvements to articles.  No pressure, no perfection — just curiosity and shared learning.” Icebreaker – One Word Energy Check-In (5 minutes) Ms. Rivers: “Let’s start with one word. In the chat, type a word you associate with energy.” (Pause) “I’m seeing words like: flow, breath, power, warmth, movement, calm. Notice how many of these words describe processes, not o...

Commons.gallery and WikiPortraits , two projects that make high-quality photography on Wikimedia Commons much more accessible and visually appealing. ​Here is the breakdown of what these tools are and how they work together to create those "stunning portfolios" you mentioned. ​🖼️ Commons.gallery ​ Commons.gallery is a relatively new, sleek platform designed specifically for Wikimedia Commons contributors. While the traditional Wikimedia Commons interface can feel a bit technical and dated, this tool acts as a portfolio generator . ​ Sleek Design: It pulls images directly from a user's Commons contributions and displays them in a modern, high-resolution grid. ​ Sharable Portfolios: It allows photographers to share their Wikipedia-related work with the world through a clean, professional URL (e.g., commons.gallery/user/YourUsername). ​ Discovery: It makes it easier for editors and the public to find "Featured" or "Quality" images that might ...