The Last Blog of the "Year"

In honor of the New Year -- 2008, here are some facts about Leap Years:

Technically, non-leap years are not true years--they are 8 hours short.

After 4 non years, the calendar adds a full day to make one bonus or leap year of 366days

The year is not measured in chronological time, but in distance, the distance it takes to revolve around the sun is aproximately 364 days and 8 hours.

Golden Leapers are those born on February 29 who celebrate their 29th birthday (although they are 116 years old).

--Source: LeapZine

I'm It... A Blog Meme

Thanks to Hal Manogue, I've been tagged. Here are the "IT" questions:

1. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BLOGGING?
Since Jan 2007. So not long at all.

2. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START A BLOG AND WHO ARE YOUR MENTORS?
The Writers Group as well as other professionals in the writing community.

3. ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE, OR JUST DOING IT FOR FUN?
Has to fun, because the money is in someone else's bank.

4. WHAT 3 THINGS DO YOU STRUGGLE WITH ONLINE?
Developing a larger community of friends (the nice people are cyber-shy)
Keeping up with the latest technology
Fighting pop-ups, downloads, and sifting through the eJunk!

5. WHAT 3 THINGS DO YOU LOVE ABOUT BEING ONLINE?
Meeting new people.
The speed with which news and information comes at you.
Learning...it never ends.

Thanksgiving: Facts from Myths

The first "thanksgiving" was a harvest feast held in October 1621. It was not a true day of thanskgiving in the religious sense of the word as the Puritans were unable to celebrate anything Biblical without an ordinance from their governor.

Thanksgiving was moved to the 4th Thursday of November by Congress in 1941.

Of the 102 Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth in 1620, only 50 survived to celebrate the harvest.

Native Americans (Massasoit and Wampanoag)outnumbered the Pilgrims almost 3 to 1 at the dinner. THe venison was courtesy of the guests.

If you play football or some sort of outdoor activity before the meal--you are continuing a Puritan tradition. Any festivity, religious or otherwise, always including games or sports. But only the men got to play.

--Source: PilgrimHall.org

Happy Haunting!

The origins of Halloween are not nearly as gruesome or frightening as the movies would have you think. Below, a little trivia for Samhain lovers.

Halloween. A contraction of the title of the feast: All Hallow's Evening. The holy day was a early Church move to help assimilate the new converts. The ancient Night of the Dead honored deceased loved ones, but was rife with supersition about spirits and demons. Combined with the Celt's Samhain (sam-ween) to become Hallow's E'ven, then Halloween.

Jack o' lanterns. Carved out pumpkins with lights are a tribute to a myth about lazy Jack who lost a deal with the devil. Sentenced to walk the darkness he was given nothing to light his way but a coal from hell stuck in a gourd. His full title: Jack of the Lantern.

Candy. The undisputed best part of Halloween, the treats of trick or treat night were not always so sweet. Originally, the Celts believed the Night of the Dead was not complete without sacrificies of the harvest--fruits, vegetables, flowers, plants and herbs. Later, gifts of small cakes were left out on doorsteps. Called mumming, the little offerings were said to appease the witches, fairies and demons who wandered about with the souls of the deceased.

Source: Library of Congress, Catholic Update, Britannica.com

Many moons ago...

Native Americans gave titles to the full moons. Here are a few worth viewing:

Wolf Moon. The first full moon after Christmas. In January, in the Northern parts of the US and Canada, the cold temps and frozen ground give very little for the wolves to eat. A full moon at night at this time of year helps their nocturnal hunt. Listen for the howls.

Worm Moon. The last full moon of Winter. In March, as the ground thaws worm castings make their way to the surface of the soil. Robins return and Spring is only days away.

Blue Moon. The name of the second full moon that falls in the same month. This year it was in the month of May. Despite what the poems and songs say, "once in a blue moon..." happens about every three years. Since the moon usually appears a whitish-blue, it's not so much the color of the moon but more the mood of the viewer.

Red Moon. Also called the Sturgeon Moon as the large fish are easiest to catch in the Great Lakes warmed by the summer sun. The moon appears to be a hazy orange-red and is larger than all other previous moons. This is because the moon (and earth) is close to the sun at this time of year. This is the last full moon before the kids go back to school.

Harvest Moon. The reason we have harvest dances (okay, a bit of stretch). The full moon that is closet to the Autumn Equinox -- usually the end of September or beginning of October. The corn, pumpkins and most summer crops are ready for harvesting. A great thing to celebrate.

Source: Joe Rao, Hayden Planetarium, New York. (Space.com)

Transatlantic crossings, the fastest and slowest

In honor of Columbus Day, here are a few facts about crossing the Atlantic. (Note: on his 4th voyage Columbus crossed in 21 days--from Spain to the Caribbean Islands--present day Martinique. Pretty fast considering he first went south to the Canary Islands then to the West Coast of Africa to catch the Trade Winds):

Fastest crossing (Eastbound) ship--SS United States, length--3 days, 12 hrs, 12 minutes in 1952

Fastest crossing (Westbound) ship--Master Cat, length--2 days, 20 hours, 9 minutes in 1998

Slowest crossing (Westbound) ship--Sea Wanderer, length--20+ days in 1957 (Her captain, Edward Alcard was circumnavigating the globe in 1957, so his recorded-keeping did not emphasize timeliness)

Humphrey Barton holds the record for the most transatlantic crossings: 20


Sources: http://www.oceanlinermuseum.co.uk/United%20States%20History.htm, http://www.cheoyleeassociation.com/vertueArticle2.htm, http://www.solocircumnavigation.com/SoloSailingCircumnavigation/SinglehandedCircumnavigators.htm

UFOs are becoming more popular...sort of

In 1947 a U.S. government survey found that only 10% of Americans thought that UFOs were really spaceships from other planets. In 2006, another survey asked similar questions and found that 24.6% of Americans thought that UFOs were E.T.I.

Most Americans believe that those lights and strange sightings are a result of their government experimenting with (and hiding) aerospace technology. Credible sources (i.e. astronaut Gordon Cooper) make UFO phenomenon hard to dismiss.


Source: Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion - American Piety in the 21st Century – September 2006.