The Squid Calendar

Advent is here. The season of waiting and preparing for Christmas.

Learn a little more about the Advent Wreath, A Christmas Tradition from EagleScoutMom. You may need readings for your celebration of advent.  Check out The Greatest of These is Love – Readings for the Advent Season by rlmodranski. Have you ever used The Jesse Tree as Part of Advent?

Today is Black Friday – a day of shopping at ridiculously early hours in the morning.

Do you shop on Black Friday? or do you avoid the hype and the crowds and stay home?

Tell everyone what you think on this heymonkeybrain lens, Black Friday vs Cyber Monday, created by kiwisoutback.

Happy Turkey Day, everyone!

Squidoo has so many amazing lenses on Thanksgiving it would be WAY too hard a decision to chose only one (or even three), so instead I will defer to
The Official Squidoo Thanksgiving Cookoff (for Charity).  The lenses made for this competition were great, and the Lens of the Day winners are listed here.

There is also a plexo where you can choose your favorite, with the winner getting an additional $5000 donated to their charity of choice.  If you can’t decide which one to vote for, may I suggest Five Kernels of Corn for KIVA (the third on the list).  Kiva is an amazing charity that facilitates loans to entrepreneurs worldwide who could not get a loan by other means.  It is a great program.  There is even a Squidoo lensmaster lending team, SquidKiva.  Feel free to join us to help others.
(Photo by DeaPeaJay)

The pomegranate is one of my favorite fruits.  Why? Because it’s messy!  I love that.

It is actually a fascinating and healthy fruit as well.  Learn all sorts of amazing information about this little red fruit with a big taste, and big health benefits on LeanneChesser’s lens, titled Interesting Facts About the Powerful Pomegranate.

(photo by sarawestermark)

It is absolutely extraordinary how far the technology of flight has come in the course of one lifetime. In 100 years, we went from the Wright brothers pushing a glider in 1900, to stealth technology and NASA flying us to the moon and beyond.

November is Aviation History Month!

When you think squidoo and aviation, you should immediately think tirial. He has many lenses on aviation, including this one one RAF London – British Aviation Museum.

(Photo by rosemaniov)

Ah, yes, Fibonacci.  The Fibonacci sequence was named after Leonardo of Pisa.

0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 etc.

This seemingly simple sequence, adding the two prior numbers to get the next, is actually a much more complicated function which can be seen in art and nature.  Often called the golden ratio, the golden rectangle, or the golden spiral, it can be found in a sunflower, a pine cone, the Mona Lisa or The Parthenon!

The beauty of the math will blow your mind, and the beauty of the art will warm your heart.

Take a Fibonacci look at The Golden Spiral by monarch13.

(photo by M. Ruch)

Today is National Family Volunteer Day, a day to go out into the world and do some good with your family. This is a day to teach your children about the value of community service.

Some kids have already learned that message well. Take a look at some of these Kids Who Make a Difference (by poutine).

(photo by redakuma)

Today is The United Nations’ International Day of Peace.  It is a worldwide day to promote peace, and highlight efforts to end conflict.

That is exactly what imagineit is trying to do on her lens, One World For Peace Survey Projects.

So, take a moment out today and consider world peace. Say a prayer, write a letter, or maybe sit down with your children and do some Peace Coloring or Peace Crafts (from Pastiche).

(photo by . human after all)

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to remember and give respect to those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

Violence towards ANYONE is reprehensible.

55% of transgender youth report being physically attacked. 74% of transgender youth reported being sexually harassed at school, and 90% of transgender youth reported feeling unsafe at school because of their gender expression. 33.2% of transgender youth have attempted suicide. (source)

The statistics are startling.

Check out this lens by Rikki for some background info: TransHistory – A Colourful Past and Present

(photo by terry6082 books)

The Great American Smokeout gives Americans a reason to encourage people to quit smoking, encourage kids not to start smoking, and to encourage a healthy smoke-free lifestyle.

Check out these Lung Cancer Pictures by Megal – they aren’t pretty.

Also, join into this debate discussing if smoking should be banned in ALL public places by Christene.

(photo by Mykl Roventine)