Butterflies in Flight Mandarin
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria /vɪkˈtɔriə/ is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 80,017, while the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, has a population of 344,615, making it the 15th most populous Canadian urban region.
Victoria is about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from BC's largest city of Vancouver on the mainland. The city is about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Seattle by airplane, ferry, or the Victoria Clipper passenger-only ferry which operates daily, year round between Seattle and Victoria and 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Port Angeles, Washington by Coho ferry across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
This video is targeted to blind users.
Attribution:
Article text available under CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons image source in video
Alfred Russel Wallace | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:03:37 1 Biography
00:03:46 1.1 Early life
00:08:37 1.2 Exploration and study of the natural world
00:14:13 1.3 Return to England, marriage and children
00:16:15 1.4 Financial struggles
00:17:59 1.5 Social activism
00:22:42 1.6 Further scientific work
00:24:10 1.7 Death
00:25:29 2 Theory of evolution
00:25:39 2.1 Early evolutionary thinking
00:31:03 2.2 Natural selection and Darwin
00:38:55 2.2.1 Defence of Darwin and his ideas
00:40:16 2.2.2 Differences between Darwin's and Wallace's ideas on natural selection
00:42:33 2.2.3 Warning coloration and sexual selection
00:44:59 2.2.4 Wallace effect
00:46:35 2.3 Application of theory to humans, and role of teleology in evolution
00:50:43 2.4 Assessment of Wallace's role in history of evolutionary theory
00:53:52 3 Other scientific contributions
00:54:03 3.1 Biogeography and ecology
00:58:58 3.2 Environmental issues
01:02:38 3.3 Astrobiology
01:04:35 4 Other contributions
01:04:44 4.1 Poetry
01:06:56 5 Controversies
01:07:05 5.1 Spiritualism
01:15:09 5.2 Flat Earth wager
01:16:36 5.3 Anti-vaccination campaign
01:19:20 6 Legacy and historical perception
01:22:44 7 Awards, honours, and memorials
01:24:35 8 Writings by Wallace
01:25:38 8.1 Selected books
01:27:19 8.2 Selected papers
01:29:59 9 Bird specimens collected by Wallace
01:30:10 10 See also
01:30:29 11 Further reading
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.8997522565361964
Voice name: en-US-Wavenet-E
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, and biologist. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural selection; his paper on the subject was jointly published with some of Charles Darwin's writings in 1858. This prompted Darwin to publish his own ideas in On the Origin of Species. Wallace did extensive fieldwork, first in the Amazon River basin and then in the Malay Archipelago, where he identified the faunal divide now termed the Wallace Line, which separates the Indonesian archipelago into two distinct parts: a western portion in which the animals are largely of Asian origin, and an eastern portion where the fauna reflect Australasia.
He was considered the 19th century's leading expert on the geographical distribution of animal species and is sometimes called the father of biogeography. Wallace was one of the leading evolutionary thinkers of the 19th century and made many other contributions to the development of evolutionary theory besides being co-discoverer of natural selection. These included the concept of warning colouration in animals, and the Wallace effect, a hypothesis on how natural selection could contribute to speciation by encouraging the development of barriers against hybridisation. Wallace's 1904 book Man's Place in the Universe was the first serious attempt by a biologist to evaluate the likelihood of life on other planets. He was also one of the first scientists to write a serious exploration of the subject of whether there was life on Mars.Wallace was strongly attracted to unconventional ideas (such as evolution). His advocacy of spiritualism and his belief in a non-material origin for the higher mental faculties of humans strained his relationship with some members of the scientific establishment.
Aside from scientific work, he was a social activist who was critical of what he considered to be an unjust social and economic system (capitalism) in 19th-century Britain. His interest in natural history resulted in his being one of the first prominent scientists to raise concerns over the environmental impact of human activity. He was also a prolific author who wrote on both scientific and social issues; his account of his adventures and observations during his explorations in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysi ...
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne | Audio book with subtitles
Around the World in Eighty Days (version 2) Read by Mark F. Smith.
Jules VERNE , translated by UNKNOWN ( - )
Mysterious Phileas Fogg is a cool customer. A man of the most repetitious and punctual habit - with no apparent sense of adventure whatsoever - he gambles his considerable fortune that he can complete a journey around the world in just 80 days... immediately after a newspaper calculates the feat as just barely possible.
With his excitable French manservant in tow, Fogg undertakes the exercise immediately, with no preparations, trusting that his traveling funds will make up for delays along the way. But unbeknownst to him, British police are desperately seeking to arrest him for the theft of a huge sum by someone who resembles him, and they will track him around the world, if necessary, to apprehend him.
This is an adventure novel of the first water, with wholly unexpected perils, hair-breadth escapes, brilliant solutions to insoluble problems, and even a love story. And can this be? - That he returns to London just five minutes too late to win his wager and retain his fortune? (Summary by Mark F. Smith)
Genre(s): Action & Adventure Fiction
Chapters;
0:33 | Chapter 1
11:34 | Chapter 2
20:12 | Chapter 3
35:19 | Chapter 4
43:01 | Chapter 5
50:07 | Chapter 6
59:32 | Chapter 7
1:05:37 | Chapter 8
1:13:58 | Chapter 9
1:25:32 | Chapter 10
1:37:10 | Chapter 11
1:56:00 | Chapter 12
2:11:12 | Chapter 13
2:25:11 | Chapter 14
2:38:58 | Chapter 15
2:52:22 | Chapter 16
3:03:48 | Chapter 17
3:16:20 | Chapter 18
3:25:42 | Chapter 19
3:40:38 | Chapter 20
3:53:15 | Chapter 21
4:10:32 | Chapter 22
4:25:20 | Chapter 23
4:39:04 | Chapter 24
4:52:56 | Chapter 25
5:07:22 | Chapter 26
5:18:53 | Chapter 27
5:32:38 | Chapter 28
5:49:40 | Chapter 29
6:04:31 | Chapter 30
6:19:28 | Chapter 31
6:31:58 | Chapter 32
6:39:55 | Chapter 33
6:57:24 | Chapter 34
7:04:37 | Chapter 35
7:16:26 | Chapter 36
7:24:35 | Chapter 37 Audio Book Audiobooks All Rights Reserved. This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer visit librivox.org.
Maryland | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Maryland
00:03:32 1 Geography
00:04:29 1.1 Description
00:07:24 1.2 Geology
00:08:10 1.3 Flora
00:09:53 1.4 Fauna
00:11:40 1.5 Environment
00:12:50 1.6 Climate
00:15:22 2 History
00:15:31 2.1 17th century
00:15:40 2.1.1 Maryland's first colonial settlement
00:17:31 2.1.2 Persecution of Catholics
00:20:29 2.2 Border disputes (1681–1760)
00:22:34 2.3 18th century
00:24:56 2.4 19th century
00:25:59 2.4.1 Civil War
00:27:32 2.4.2 After the war
00:29:50 2.5 20th and 21st centuries
00:30:00 2.5.1 Early 20th century
00:33:06 2.5.2 1950–present
00:34:43 3 Demographics
00:36:33 3.1 Birth data
00:37:06 3.2 Language
00:37:41 3.3 Settlements
00:39:14 3.4 Ancestry
00:45:16 3.5 Religion
00:47:21 4 Economy
00:50:36 4.1 Baltimore port
00:52:07 4.2 Agriculture and fishing
00:53:36 4.3 Biotechnology
00:54:48 4.4 Tourism
00:55:54 5 Transportation
00:56:18 5.1 Roads
00:59:35 5.2 Airports
01:00:25 5.3 Rail
01:02:46 6 Law and government
01:04:29 6.1 Taxation
01:05:49 6.2 Elections
01:09:38 7 Media
01:09:51 8 Education
01:10:00 8.1 Primary and secondary education
01:12:05 8.2 Colleges and universities
01:14:11 8.3 Public libraries
01:15:04 9 Sports
01:17:18 10 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Maryland (US: (listen) MERR-əl-ənd) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after the English queen Henrietta Maria, known in England as Queen Mary.Sixteen of Maryland's twenty-three counties border the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay estuary and its many tributaries, which combined total more than 4,000 miles of shoreline. Although one of the smallest states in the U.S., it features a variety of climates and typographical features that have earned it the moniker of America in Miniature. In a similar vein, Maryland's geography, culture, and history combines elements of the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, and South Atlantic regions of the country.
One of the original Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain, Maryland was founded by George Calvert, a Catholic convert who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England. In 1632, Charles I of England granted Calvert a colonial charter, naming the colony after his wife, Queen Mary. Unlike the Pilgrims and Puritans, who enforced religious conformity in their settlements, Calvert envisioned a colony where people of different religious sects would coexist under the principle of toleration. Accordingly, in 1649 the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act Concerning Religion, which enshrined this principle by penalizing anyone who reproached a fellow Marylander based on religious affiliation. Nevertheless, religious strife was common in the early years, and Catholics remained a minority, albeit in greater numbers than in any other English colony.
Maryland's early settlements and population centers clustered around rivers and other waterways that empty into the Chesapeake Bay. Its economy was heavily plantation based, centered mostly on the cultivation of tobacco. The need for cheap labor led to a rapid expansion of indentured servants, penal labor, and African slaves. In 1760, Maryland's current boundaries took form following the settlement of a long-running border dispute with Pennsylvania. Maryland was an active participant in the events leading up to the American Revolution, and by 1776 its delegates signed the Declaration of Independence. Many of its citizens subsequently played key political and military roles in the war. In 1790, the state ceded land for the establishment of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C.
Although a slave state, Maryland remained in the Union during the U.S. Civil War, its strategic location giving it a s ...
Maryland | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Maryland
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Maryland (US: (listen) MERR-əl-ənd) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after the English queen Henrietta Maria, known in England as Queen Mary.Sixteen of Maryland's twenty-three counties border the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay estuary and its many tributaries, which combined total more than 4,000 miles of shoreline. Although one of the smallest states in the U.S., it features a variety of climates and typographical features that have earned it the moniker of America in Miniature. In a similar vein, Maryland's geography, culture, and history combines elements of the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, and South Atlantic regions of the country.
One of the original Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain, Maryland was founded by George Calvert, a Catholic convert who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England. In 1632, Charles I of England granted Calvert a colonial charter, naming the colony after his wife, Queen Mary. Unlike the Pilgrims and Puritans, who enforced religious conformity in their settlements, Calvert envisioned a colony where people of different religious sects would coexist under the principle of toleration. Accordingly, in 1649 the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act Concerning Religion, which enshrined this principle by penalizing anyone who reproached a fellow Marylander based on religious affiliation. Nevertheless, religious strife was common in the early years, and Catholics remained a minority, albeit in greater numbers than in any other English colony.
Maryland's early settlements and population centers clustered around rivers and other waterways that empty into the Chesapeake Bay. Its economy was heavily plantation based, centered mostly on the cultivation of tobacco. The need for cheap labor led to a rapid expansion of indentured servants, penal labor, and African slaves. In 1760, Maryland's current boundaries took form following the settlement of a long-running border dispute with Pennsylvania. Maryland was an active participant in the events leading up to the American Revolution, and by 1776 its delegates signed the Declaration of Independence. Many of its citizens subsequently played key political and military roles in the war. In 1790, the state ceded land for the establishment of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C.
Although a slave state, Maryland remained in the Union during the U.S. Civil War, its strategic location giving it a significant role in the conflict. After the war, Maryland took part in the Industrial Revolution, driven by its seaports, railroad networks, and mass immigration from Europe. Since the Second World War, the state's population has grown rapidly, to approximately six million residents, and it is among the most densely populated states in the nation. As of 2015, Maryland had the highest median household income of any state, owing in large part to its close proximity to Washington, D.C. and a highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, services, higher education, and biotechnology. Maryland has been ranked as one of the best governed states in the country. The state's central role in American history is reflected by its hosting of some of the highest numbers of historic landmarks per capita.
Maryland | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Maryland
00:03:32 1 Geography
00:04:28 1.1 Description
00:07:22 1.2 Geology
00:08:08 1.3 Flora
00:09:51 1.4 Fauna
00:11:38 1.5 Environment
00:12:48 1.6 Climate
00:15:19 2 History
00:15:28 2.1 17th century
00:15:37 2.1.1 Maryland's first colonial settlement
00:17:28 2.1.2 Persecution of Catholics
00:20:27 2.2 Border disputes (1681–1760)
00:22:32 2.3 18th century
00:24:53 2.4 19th century
00:25:56 2.4.1 Civil War
00:27:28 2.4.2 After the war
00:29:47 2.5 20th and 21st centuries
00:29:57 2.5.1 Early 20th century
00:33:03 2.5.2 1950–present
00:34:40 3 Demographics
00:36:29 3.1 Birth data
00:37:02 3.2 Language
00:37:37 3.3 Settlements
00:39:09 3.4 Ancestry
00:45:10 3.5 Religion
00:47:14 4 Economy
00:50:28 4.1 Baltimore port
00:51:59 4.2 Agriculture and fishing
00:53:28 4.3 Biotechnology
00:54:40 4.4 Tourism
00:55:46 5 Transportation
00:56:10 5.1 Roads
00:59:27 5.2 Airports
01:00:16 5.3 Rail
01:02:37 6 Law and government
01:04:19 6.1 Taxation
01:05:39 6.2 Elections
01:09:28 7 Media
01:09:40 8 Education
01:09:49 8.1 Primary and secondary education
01:11:54 8.2 Colleges and universities
01:14:00 8.3 Public libraries
01:14:53 9 Sports
01:17:08 10 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Maryland (US: (listen) MERR-əl-ənd) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after the English queen Henrietta Maria, known in England as Queen Mary.Sixteen of Maryland's twenty-three counties border the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay estuary and its many tributaries, which combined total more than 4,000 miles of shoreline. Although one of the smallest states in the U.S., it features a variety of climates and typographical features that have earned it the moniker of America in Miniature. In a similar vein, Maryland's geography, culture, and history combines elements of the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, and South Atlantic regions of the country.
One of the original Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain, Maryland was founded by George Calvert, a Catholic convert who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England. In 1632, Charles I of England granted Calvert a colonial charter, naming the colony after his wife, Queen Mary. Unlike the Pilgrims and Puritans, who enforced religious conformity in their settlements, Calvert envisioned a colony where people of different religious sects would coexist under the principle of toleration. Accordingly, in 1649 the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act Concerning Religion, which enshrined this principle by penalizing anyone who reproached a fellow Marylander based on religious affiliation. Nevertheless, religious strife was common in the early years, and Catholics remained a minority, albeit in greater numbers than in any other English colony.
Maryland's early settlements and population centers clustered around rivers and other waterways that empty into the Chesapeake Bay. Its economy was heavily plantation based, centered mostly on the cultivation of tobacco. The need for cheap labor led to a rapid expansion of indentured servants, penal labor, and African slaves. In 1760, Maryland's current boundaries took form following the settlement of a long-running border dispute with Pennsylvania. Maryland was an active participant in the events leading up to the American Revolution, and by 1776 its delegates signed the Declaration of Independence. Many of its citizens subsequently played key political and military roles in the war. In 1790, the state ceded land for the establishment of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C.
Although a slave state, Maryland remained in the Union during the U.S. Civil War, its strategic location giving it a s ...
Victoria, British Columbia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:03:05 1 History
00:03:14 1.1 Early history (1770–1871)
00:07:04 1.2 Modern history (1871–present)
00:10:44 2 Geography
00:10:54 2.1 Topography
00:12:18 2.2 Climate
00:20:11 3 Neighbourhoods
00:20:41 4 Demographics
00:22:17 4.1 Ethnic origins
00:22:26 4.1.1 Population by ethnic origin
00:22:41 4.1.2 Visible minorities and Indigenous population
00:22:52 4.2 Social issues
00:24:08 5 Economy
00:25:13 5.1 Retail
00:26:53 5.2 Technology industry
00:27:50 5.3 Tourism
00:30:48 6 Culture
00:36:20 6.1 Attractions
00:39:38 6.1.1 Outside the city
00:41:06 7 Sports
00:44:15 7.1 Events
00:45:12 7.2 Sports teams
00:47:48 8 Infrastructure
00:51:06 9 Transportation
00:51:15 9.1 Air
00:52:14 9.2 Cycling
00:55:25 9.3 Ferries
00:56:29 9.4 Public transit
00:58:18 9.5 Rail
00:59:09 9.6 Roads
01:02:23 9.7 Other services
01:03:27 10 Education
01:05:46 11 Media
01:06:37 12 Sister cities
01:07:01 13 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
Listen on Google Assistant through Extra Audio:
Other Wikipedia audio articles at:
Upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
Speaking Rate: 0.8815363966974779
Voice name: en-US-Wavenet-C
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 85,792, while the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria has a population of 367,770, making it the 15th most populous Canadian metropolitan area. Victoria is the 7th most densely populated city in Canada with 4,405.8 people per square kilometre, which is a greater population density than Toronto.Victoria is the southernmost major city in Western Canada, and is about 100 km (60 mi) from British Columbia's largest city of Vancouver on the mainland. The city is about 100 km (60 mi) from Seattle by airplane, ferry, or the Victoria Clipper passenger-only ferry which operates daily, year round between Seattle and Victoria, and 40 km (25 mi) from Port Angeles, Washington, by ferry Coho across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and, at the time, British North America, Victoria is one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest, with British settlement beginning in 1843. The city has retained a large number of its historic buildings, in particular its two most famous landmarks, Parliament Buildings (finished in 1897 and home of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia) and the Empress hotel (opened in 1908). The city's Chinatown is the second oldest in North America after San Francisco's. The region's Coast Salish First Nations peoples established communities in the area long before non-native settlement, possibly several thousand years earlier, which had large populations at the time of European exploration.
Known as The Garden City, Victoria is an attractive city and a popular tourism destination with a thriving technology sector that has risen to be its largest revenue-generating private industry. Victoria is in the top twenty of world cities for quality-of-life, according to Numbeo. The city has a large non-local student population, who come to attend the University of Victoria, Camosun College, Royal Roads University, the Victoria College of Art, the Canadian College of Performing Arts, and high school programs run by the region's three school districts. Victoria is popular with boaters with its rugged shorelines and beaches. Victoria is also popular with retirees, who come to enjoy the temperate and usually snow-free climate of the area as well as the usually relaxed pace of the city.
Maryland | Wikipedia audio article
Maryland (US: (listen) MERR-əl-ənd) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are Old Line State, the Free State, and the Chesapeake Bay State. It is named after the English queen Henrietta Maria, known in England as Queen Mary.Sixteen of Maryland's twenty-three counties border the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay estuary and its many tributaries, which combined total more than 4,000 miles of shoreline. Although one of the smallest states in the U.S., it features a variety of climates and typographical features that have earned it the moniker of America in Miniature. In a similar vein, Maryland's geography, culture, and history combines elements of the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, and South Atlantic regions of the country.
One of the original Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain, Maryland was founded by George Calvert, a Catholic convert who sought to provide a religious haven for Catholics persecuted in England. In 1632, Charles I of England granted Calvert a colonial charter, naming the colony after his wife, Queen Mary. Unlike the Pilgrims and Puritans, who enforced religious conformity in their settlements, Calvert envisioned a colony where people of different religious sects would coexist under the principle of toleration. Accordingly, in 1649 the Maryland General Assembly passed an Act Concerning Religion, which enshrined this principle by penalizing anyone who reproached a fellow Marylander based on religious affiliation. Nevertheless, religious strife was common in the early years, and Catholics remained a minority, albeit in greater numbers than in any other English colony.
Maryland's early settlements and population centers clustered around rivers and other waterways that empty into the Chesapeake Bay. Its economy was heavily plantation based, centered mostly on the cultivation of tobacco. The need for cheap labor led to a rapid expansion of indentured servants, penal labor, and African slaves. In 1760, Maryland's current boundaries took form following the settlement of a long-running border dispute with Pennsylvania. Maryland was an active participant in the events leading up to the American Revolution, and by 1776 its delegates signed the Declaration of Independence. Many of its citizens subsequently played key political and military roles in the war. In 1790, the state ceded land for the establishment of the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C.
Although a slave state, Maryland remained in the Union during the U.S. Civil War, its strategic location giving it a significant role in the conflict. After the war, Maryland took part in the Industrial Revolution, driven by its seaports, railroad networks, and mass immigration from Europe. Since the Second World War, the state's population has grown rapidly, to approximately six million residents, and it is among the most densely populated states in the nation. As of 2015, Maryland had the highest median household income of any state, owing in large part to its close proximity to Washington, D.C. and a highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, services, higher education, and biotechnology. Maryland has been ranked as one of the best governed states in the country. The state's central role in American history is reflected by its hosting of some of the highest numbers of historic landmarks per capita.
Around The World In Eighty Days (A Luke Indran Audiobook)
This is an original reading of Jules Verne's Around The World In Eighty Days.
Auburn Coach Wife Kristi Malzahn Agrees with Match & eHarmony: Men are Jerks
My advice is this: Settle! That's right. Don't worry about passion or intense connection. Don't nix a guy based on his annoying habit of yelling Bravo! in movie theaters. Overlook his halitosis or abysmal sense of aesthetics. Because if you want to have the infrastructure in place to have a family, settling is the way to go. Based on my observations, in fact, settling will probably make you happier in the long run, since many of those who marry with great expectations become more disillusioned with each passing year. (It's hard to maintain that level of zing when the conversation morphs into discussions about who's changing the diapers or balancing the checkbook.)
Obviously, I wasn't always an advocate of settling. In fact, it took not settling to make me realize that settling is the better option, and even though settling is a rampant phenomenon, talking about it in a positive light makes people profoundly uncomfortable. Whenever I make the case for settling, people look at me with creased brows of disapproval or frowns of disappointment, the way a child might look at an older sibling who just informed her that Jerry's Kids aren't going to walk, even if you send them money. It's not only politically incorrect to get behind settling, it's downright un-American. Our culture tells us to keep our eyes on the prize (while our mothers, who know better, tell us not to be so picky), and the theme of holding out for true love (whatever that is—look at the divorce rate) permeates our collective mentality.
Even situation comedies, starting in the 1970s with The Mary Tyler Moore Show and going all the way to Friends, feature endearing single women in the dating trenches, and there's supposed to be something romantic and even heroic about their search for true love. Of course, the crucial difference is that, whereas the earlier series begins after Mary has been jilted by her fiancé, the more modern-day Friends opens as Rachel Green leaves her nice-guy orthodontist fiancé at the altar simply because she isn't feeling it. But either way, in episode after episode, as both women continue to be unlucky in love, settling starts to look pretty darn appealing. Mary is supposed to be contentedly independent and fulfilled by her newsroom family, but in fact her life seems lonely. Are we to assume that at the end of the series, Mary, by then in her late 30s, found her soul mate after the lights in the newsroom went out and her work family was disbanded? If her experience was anything like mine or that of my single friends, it's unlikely.
And while Rachel and her supposed soul mate, Ross, finally get together (for the umpteenth time) in the finale of Friends, do we feel confident that she'll be happier with Ross than she would have been had she settled down with Barry, the orthodontist, 10 years earlier? She and Ross have passion but have never had long-term stability, and the fireworks she experiences with him but not with Barry might actually turn out to be a liability, given how many times their relationship has already gone up in flames. It's equally questionable whether Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw, who cheated on her kindhearted and generous boyfriend, Aidan, only to end up with the more exciting but self-absorbed Mr. Big, will be better off in the framework of marriage and family. (Some time after the breakup, when Carrie ran into Aidan on the street, he was carrying his infant in a Baby Björn. Can anyone imagine Mr. Big walking around with a Björn?)