Happy Other Day

I'm getting really tired with all of the xenophobia around my land, lately. Apparently, anybody whose skin is a little darker than average is a problem in the eyes of much of America. And too much of it is centered around my birthhday, 9-11. And as I'm sure I've previously mentioned, it's pissing me off.

So, I'm instituting a new holiday today (sorry for the lack of advanced warning). It's a xenophilists dream holiday. I call it "Other Day". Other Day is a day to get out and experience 'The Other'. Take it slow this year. We can ramp up more next year when we've got more time to prepare.

Some ideas to celebrate:
= Go out to a foreign restaurant (are you comfortable with your choice? pick something different, then. Go morrocan instead of mexican, or vietnamese instead of chinese!)

= Watch a foreign film, or a film about some demographic with with you are unfamiliar (competetive pigeon racers? brazilians? transvestites? hindus?).

= Say Hello to a stranger (with a skin tone different from yours... or with clothing that is unfamiliar... or with an accent you don't recognize).

= If there's an group you are appalled by, spend some time looking up and reading the websites supporting their side of the question.

= Attend an interfaith meeting.

= Visit a business in that part of town that 'your people' never visit.

But stretch for it. Push yourself a little. We've all got blindspots. We've all got people we don't trust. Let's try to wear down that discomfort with those who differ from us with a little more experience of that Other. It might be good for us all.

And next year (or next week, if you find you've caught the bug), we can push it a little further. Eventually, this country may be an even better place to live!

Birthday Surprise!

My Dear Wife and Sister-in-Law surprised me with these last night. It's a cupcake representation of the periodic table - well, the first 41 elements - in celebration of my 41st birthday. What a sweet thing to do. Made my day. Thanks!

I took them into work today and let me tell you, if you're ever in desperate need of a pick me up, just load 41 chocolate cupcakes into a car and drive around for an hour. I arrived at work in the best mood ever.

This geeky "birthday cake" was much appreciated by my co-workers, too. There was substantial curiosity over whether anyone would take the Arsenic cupcake. I'll end the suspense - Viola Zuppa did.

Nemo Bested

Now that's a bottle rocket war! The caption of the Reuters photo reads: "Rockets fly over bell tower of Ayios Marcos church during Greek Orthodox Easter celebrations on the eastern Aegean island of Chios in Greece late on April 26, 2008. Two rival parishes of Vrontados village fire thousands of rockets every Easter Saturday aiming at the opposing church's bell tower in a centuries-old tradition. (REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis) Looks like the perfect spring vacation destination for Nemo and friends! Failing that, maybe you guys could get a couple of the churches involved in the Knott Lane area? (Click the pic for the full sized view - it's gorgeous!)

Twiddling...

It's 6:30 am Christmas morning, and I'm the only one out of bed. You might think this is because TheGirl is a bit too old, TheBoy a bit too young for Christmas morning excitement. Or you might think it's because we got home late last night, and the kids are still tuckered out. I doubt these explanations, since this year's slumber is a repeat of last year's and that of the year before. I'm not sure of the cause, myself. But I do know that there has never been a Christmas morning where I lingered so late in bed.

A pile of presents from Santa (family gifts will be given on Orthodox Christmas, in January) lies under the tree, awaiting frenzied unwrapping. The fireplace still lies open where Santa emerged to hastily consume a biscotti (no cookies handy at bedtime!) and glass of milk before depositing the loot beneath the tree. Still, no children emerge. I grind coffee, make a large pot. Still no kids; no wife either - she's smart enough to take advantage of our offspring's aberrant behavior.

A batch of scratch faux-cinnamon roll muffins is baking. Clanking bowls and muffin pans have not stirred the wee ones. Nor has the smell of cinnamon and fresh-brewed coffee dislodged a single reveller from their blankets. It's peculiar... perplexing... and so I wait. What else can I do? Although I have to say, those muffins are looking pretty tasty. I wonder if there'll be any left by the time the rest of my household emerges. If there are, it'll be a Christmas miracle!

A Visit to the Mall Santa

After a patient wait of 45 minutes TheBoy, two years old, reaches the front of the line and boldly strides up to Santa. Santa boosts him onto his lap. TheBoy suddenly not as brave, stares mutely at TheFishmonger, with a question in his eyes. TheFishmonger answers his gaze with a confident smile. TheBoy looks at Santa, and decides smiling is out of the question.

Santa: And what do you want me to bring you for Christmas?

TheBoy: [mumbles]

Santa: What's that?

TheBoy: [whispering] pamk-akes...

Santa (turning to TheFishmonger): What did he say?

TheFishmonger: pancakes

Santa: pancakes?

TheFishmonger: yep, pancakes.

Santa: we'll mark that as 'subject to change'...

It's strange scenes like this that make me love visiting Santa. Once the kids are both too old to visit him, I may have to start kidnapping strangers' kids, just so I have someone to take to see the old elf. Of course, if Santa thinks "pancakes" is a strange Christmas request, how will he react to "I just want to see my family again"? Not well, I'd guess. I may have to rethink this one.

Happy 75th Anniversary of Repeal!

On this day 75 years ago, alcohol prohibition was repealed. Most of us agree this was a good thing, and that our country is safer for it, and that life is better for it. So let's sit down with a glass of beer, or whiskey, or what the hell, a glass of each, and celebrate! And while we're at it let's think about the parallels between the violence brought by alcohol prohibition back then, and the violence spawned by drug prohibition now. Here's hoping for another repeal soon!

PS: Thanks to BA for the reminder of today's importance!

Non-canon Critters

I guess this is a bit hard to read. Click on the image to go to Wondermark for the full-sized toon.

Thanksgiving for Gamers

If you're looking for a way to make old-school paper-and-dice gamers happier than pigs in shit this Thanksgiving, why not take a shot at baking this icosahedral (that's the same shape as a d20) pecan pie. Full instructions, from building the pans, to baking the pie sections, are available here. The recipe isn't included int he instrucitons, but there are a variety to select from in the sidebar on the site.

Beat an 18 for your saving throw against gluttonous consumption!

Applebee's Veterans Day

Free meals for US veterans on November 11th at participating Applebee's! Prove you're either a US vet or on active duty, and you get a free meal, your choice of: House Sirloin, Riblet Basket, Fiesta Lime Chicken, Quesadilla Burger or Oriental Chicken Salad. Details are here. A list of participating locations is here. Nice gesture, Applebee's!

(That's the Fishmonger's Pop at left)

Halloween Pumpkins - 2008

From left to right, TheFishmonger's, TheWife's, TheBoy's, TheGirl's.

TheWife picked out an excellent warty pumpkin to carve. Sadly, it turned out to be virtually uncarveable,with a super hard shell which claimed the lives of two knives before she gave up. Who knew?

Oh, and TheBoy didn't actually carve his own pumpkin, but he did tell me where to put each facial feature, and what shape it should be. So we can say he designed it.

'Nuff said?

Click the image for more details! Only 8 hours til the official start!

Racine 2008 Fireworks

(more in flickr - realloy digging the fireworks setting on my camera!)

Easter Approacheth...

and with it, comes the perennial discussion about the determination of the date on which Easter will fall each year. Now, I'm a pragmatist from way back. So when, as a youngster, I got to wondering about the determination of Easter, I pulled out that year's calendar, and one from the previous year, and attempted to figure it out. I'd heard that it had something to do with the full moon, and with the start of spring, but no matter how I tried, I couldn't make the dates on those calendars obey a fixed rule.

Fast forward a dozen or so years, and I'm dealing with the comparison between the Western and Eastern (or Orthodox) church calendars. For most holidays (Christmas and New Year's, for example), you simply add 13 days to the Western date to get the Eastern date. This, I knew, was due to the different versions of the calendar the assorted churches used. Western churches used the Gregorian calendar, Eastern churches, the Julian calendar. No biggie. After all, if you use the appropriate calendar, Christmas falls on December 25th. The argument is over when December 25th is.

But Easter isn't so simple. At first it seems like it should be. After all, if Easter is determined based on Full Moons and the start of spring, it shouldn't matter which calendar you use. Spring is spring and a moon is full whether the calendar you use if Gregorian, Julian, Hebrew, Coptic, Mayan or Fischer Universalist, right?

Well, this is where we hit trouble. For it seems that the Western church stopped paying attention to the sky when figuring spring and full moons about 1500 years ago. Instead, of using the actual full moon and actual equinox, they used the ecclesiastical full moon and ecclesiastical equinox(March 21st) when calculating the date of Easter. The Eastern Orthodox churches, however, base the date of Easter on the actual Full Moon and actual equinox.

The long and the short of it is that the dates vary. So, in 2007, both systems produced the same date for easter, April 8th. This year, on the contrary, the dates differ wildly, giving March 23rd in the Western Church, and April 27th in the Eastern church. There's a useful table of dates here, if you're interested in planning your easters-yet-to-come.

Thanks to infoplease for filling me in on the details of this puzzling situation.

Sretan Sveti Patrick

As you may have guessed from the above, I just realized that St. Patrick is not only a Saint in the Roman Catholic church, but also in the orthodox churches. So, in celebration of St. Patrick's day, check out these various Orthodox icons depicting Saint Patrick:

Paper Strip Music box

Whereas most music boxes these days play from commercially prepared disks or cylinders with raised nubs on them, this Mechanical Music Box Kit captures the musical data as holes in a paper strip. The bonus? You can punch the strips yourself. The kit is only $16 plus S&H at the Curiosity Shoppe Online (unfortunate spelling, gentlemen). This is an excellent idea! This is the perfect gift from a poor college student to his beloved. Punch up a version of your song for it and you've got a great Valentine's day gift!

If you'd like to see one in action, check out the beginning of this youtube video by Yael Naim, which is where I first saw it. That woman has a fascinating voice. I guess she's french? Based on her name, maybe she's morroccan? I'm not sure. Israeli (thanks, Wiki!). I found Yael Naim by googling the lyrics for "New Song", after hearing it played on a commercial for the new MacBook Air commercial. Have you seen how slim that thing is?! And have I mentioned how much I love the internet?

Chemist Santa

It's probably too late now, but wouldn't these be excellent christmas cards for scientists? They're from defetko's etsy shop. Why don't I look for this stuff at etsy in the first place?!?

A Visit from the Solstice Dwarves

You may be unaware that the Winter Solstice occurred last night at 1:08 am (unless you're in the southern hemisphere, In which case it was your Summer Solstice). I once again made up some Yule Toddy, and torched a mess of logs in celebration. I was in bed long before actual minute of the solstice, but it turned out that my solstice celebration was not finished yet. For early this morning, about 3am, my house received a visit from the Solstice Dwarves.

Why they visited this year and not last year cannot be accurately determined. Was it because I drank a lot more Yule Toddy this year? Or perhaps they visited the scene of my Solstice Fire, which was out in the yard last year, in the fireplace this year? Or maybe it's because I had the most sincere Solstice Celebration in the county?! Whatever the reason, at about 3am, these mischievous creatures crept into my home and started playing tunes on TheBoy's toy piano.

Imagine the scene: It's 3am, Mama The Wife in her kerchief and I in my cap had long ago settled down for a long winter's nap. When out int he living room there arose such a clatter tinkle of notes drifting through the house that I sprang from my bed awoke. "Did you hear that?" I whispered to TheWife. "Yeah, what was it?" she replied muzzily. I'm not sure. One of TheBoy's toys. Then we heard it again. Music coming from the Living Room. We sprang crept from our bed and into the Living Room. The flickering glow of the piano spread across the room as music once more flowed from TheBoys toy piano. We were, I think understandably, a bit creeped out.

After a moments hesistation, I bravely rushed the piano and flipped the power switch to 'off'. The music and lights were over. And having accomplished their goal of awakening us from a sound sleep at 3am, the Solstice Dwarves departed. It was a trying time, but one met with bravery and sleepiness. And remember, it could happen to you too! So be careful with your Solstice parties. Keep them insincere, or you too may be visited by the Solstice Dwarves!

A Pagan Frosty

I find this frosty the snowman animation a bit disturbing. It's obvious after the first scene that this isn't just any frost video. This video is designed to showcase the culmination of some sort of pagan celebration wherein a snow sculpture is animated and set loose to wreak havoc upon an unsuspecting world. Watch the video and see what you think:


Did you note the young pagans dancing and chanting around their creation as they bring it to life? Did you note that by connecting the "dots" represented by the boys and by the girls, a pentacle is produced? Did you see the soulless black eyes on the newly-animated beast? Did you note the way that the coven circles the town square containing a cannon (representing firearms) and the barren tree (representing burning of witches at the stake)? Did you notice how they cheered upon circling them, indicating that their magic made them impervious to such dangers? Did you shudder in fear as Frosty was released into the wilds at the end of this short? Released to build more undead snowmen, and eventually, to crush those who oppose the coven when he comes "back again someday"? I did.

Un-Christmas Cards

Heh-heh. I'm digging this card. I'm feeling Christmassy right now, but I guarantee, before this season is over, I'll have had it up to here with it. There are 4 different cards in the pack, including "Have a Rubbish Christmas" "Merry Christmas. Now Get Stuffed", and "Christmas is all about me", as well as the one pictured. Funny cards, with great graphics, but $12 for 4 cards? C'mon. We send out way too many cards for that. Oh well. Maybe I'll add it as the message on our photo card next year. Buy the cards here:Vintage Un-Christmas Cards-Mod Retro Indie Clothing & Vintage Clothes

World Famous photographer

The title of this post refers to me. Yes, one of my photos has been published in a newspaper in Japan! Better still, the photo is of a work of art created by... me!

A few weeks after I posted the pic of my first turnip-carving to flickr, I was contacted by someone from a japanese freebie newspaper who wondered if they could use it in their paper. They agreed to restrict use of the photo to a single use, give me credit for the photo,and send me a copy of the paper when the issue came out. Well, my newspaper arrived just before thanksgiving, but I've only just got around to taking some pics of it. Check out the images above right:

Now I just need to know what it says. Is some part of this my name? Which part? Can anyone help me out with a translation? (close up of the text here).

Incidentally, I quite enjoyed the graphics in this little paper. I'll include a mosaic in the post - click the mosaic to see the full-sized pics, and my comments.