Friday Snippets and Soundbites

It's Friday—and that means it's time for "Snippets and Soundbites!” If this bit of the news of the weird isn't enough for you, be sure to check out page 38 of the September (and every) issue of ec for more!


Live Life Loud
Hawk Nelson released their new video "Live Life Loud"on MySpace yesterday. The band is preparing to release its 4th studio album, Live Life Loud, on September 22. The guys will also be touring the U.S. extensively this fall as part of the “Awake & Alive" tour. Hawk Nelson is also partnering with TOMS shoes to provide shoes to children in Haiti as part of TOMS “One for One” initiative. For the band’s effort, every pair of shoes purchased via Hawk Nelson’s Web site equals a pair of shoes that TOMS donates to a child in Haiti towards the band’s ongoing involvement with the Hands & Feet Orphanage. Hawk Nelson has also partnered with TOMS to release a shoe designed by the band in the fall of 2009. For more on Hawk Nelson, go here or follow them on Twitter (@HawkNelsonfans).

Last Letters
The last letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots, will be on display in the National Library of Scotland through September 21. The letter, which is more than 400 years old, isn't often displayed, but the library has a new visitor's center and wanted to celebrate by opening the vaults and bring out some of the treasures they often keep there. After this, it's unlikely the letter will emerge from the vaults again for a long time. Mary penned the letter in 1587 at 2 a.m. as she sat in Fotheringhay Castle awaiting execution. The letter is written to her brother-in-law, the king of France, and in it, she writes to tell him of the sentence that has been handed down to her: execution at 8 a.m. the next morning. Mary had briefly been queen of France and had been ousted from the Scottish throne. She fled to England and threw herself on the mercy of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Many Catholics saw Mary as having more right to the throne than Elizabeth. Mary was confined in various English castles and prisons and convicted of plotting against Elizabeth. She was condemned to death for treason (which she denied) and was executed on February 8, 1587. To read more about the letter, go here. To learn more about Mary and the circumstances of her death, click here.

Creepers! Jeepers!
Sure, you've seen grasshoppers. But have you ever seen a pink grasshopper? An 11-year-old boy in England recently discovered a hot pink grasshopper at a wildlife event he was attending. The boy noticed something pink and thought it was a flower. Then, the pink thing jumped! Knowing that flowers don't generally jump, the boy went to investigate and discovered the pink grasshopper. The experts aren't sure what caused the mutation, but apparently, grasshoppers often come in colors other than green. This find was rare because of the intensity of the shade. To learn more about the pink grasshopper and see her picture, go here.