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Approximating the Christmas Spirit

This is the first Christmas since my mother died. Purchasing something she wanted had always tough in recent years, as she said she wanted for nothing. Last year, I hit on a bathrobe she apparently really liked, plus her word puzzles she used to keep her mind sharp. I so wish I still had the aggravation of buying for her.

This is one of those “breakfast blog” posts, so dubbed by my friend Dan, the kind you read over oatmeal. Or something.

A few years back, there was this graphic that featured Stephen Colbert and a board with eight lines of text. I had used it a few times around 2007, but I couldn’t get it to work correctly a few weeks ago. Too bad; I had worked out my first message:
THERE IS NO
“WAR ON CHRISTMAS”.
“HAPPY HOLIDAYS”
JUST NOTES
KWANZAA, HANUKKAH,
NEW YEARS EVE
ET AL.
CHILL OUT, OK?

(But listen to Charles Ingalls doing his Linus van Pelt imitation.)

And besides, Christmastime, by the church calendar, doesn’t start until Christmas day, running to Epiphany, in early January.

We are currently in Advent. A party held right now would be an Advent party, if you want to get all technical/fussy about it. (Science tricks to impress/distract your family during said holiday gatherings.)

Every year recently, there has been a Medieval Faire in Albany in late October. I always look forward to it, in no small part, because that’s where/when I start my Christmas shopping in earnest. I know people who have finished their shopping before the summer solstice (Northern Hemisphere) is over. Actually, in the past, I had found presents earlier, then promptly hid them – from myself, only to rediscover them in February. A couple of months of hiding I can keep track of. And for the decade or so when the Faire was on hiatus, I’d really struggle, especially re: the wife’s gift.

This is the first Christmas since my mother died. Purchasing something she wanted had always been tough in recent years, as she said she wanted for nothing. Last year, I hit on a bathrobe she apparently really liked, plus her word puzzles she used to keep her mind sharp. I so wish I still had the aggravation of buying for her.

Oh yeah, here’s the John Lennon seasonal song.

Check out Scott’s Comic Book Cover Advent Calendar, not just this year’s but over the previous seven seasons!

Infamy

I believe there is wisdom to be gained from the past, but specifically, what is it we are supposed to learn?

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

I wasn’t born yet, but I do remember the distinctive voice of FDR in his radio address, and I remember many of the words he spoke.

I was thinking about this around 9/11 this year. Of course, most Americans don’t remember Pearl Harbor, 70 years ago, directly anymore, as the population ages. But if we did, what lessons are we to glean now?

“Never forget” is the mantra after many significant disasters. But Japan, and for that matter, Germany, are our allies now; maybe that’s the new message.

Incidentally, of the 16,112,566 Americans who served in the armed forces during WWII, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimated in November 2011 that only 1,711,000 nationwide are still living, and a greater number die each year.

And, as the population ages, we will forget 9/11 too, maybe not any time soon, but eventually, in a few generations. I believe there is wisdom to be gained from the past, but specifically, what is it we are supposed to learn? I think about this regularly, yet have no tidy answers.

St. Nick, the Real One

Is Saint Nicholas Day celebrated where you are?

I’m so fascinated by the various iterations of Christian gift-giving days, which stretch from about December 6, St. Nicholas Day in parts of Europe (it’s flexible) to January 6, Three Kings Day. Those dates, BTW, are the very earliest AND the very latest I’ll play what’s come to be known as Christmas music. Also intrigued by the guy who, at least partially, inspired Santa Claus.

From the Wikipedia:

“Saint Nicholas of Myra is the primary inspiration for the Christian figure of Santa Claus. He was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra in Lycia, now in the Antalya Province of Turkey. Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor, in particular presenting the three impoverished daughters of a pious man with dowries so that they would not have to become prostitutes.

A great gift, indeed.

He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. In Europe (more precisely the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Germany) he is still portrayed as a bearded bishop in canonical robes. In 1087, the Italian city of Bari, wanting to enter the profitable pilgrimage industry of the times, mounted an expedition to locate the tomb of the Christian Saint and procure the remains. The reliquary of St. Nicholas was desecrated by Italian sailors and the spoils, including his relics, taken to Bari, where they are kept to this day. A basilica was constructed the same year to store the loot and the area became a pilgrimage site for the devout, thus justifying the economic cost of the expedition. Saint Nicholas became claimed as a patron saint of many diverse groups, from archers and children to pawnbrokers. He is also the patron saint of both Amsterdam and Liverpool, among many others.

The Turkish Government announced that it would be formally requesting the return of St Nicholas’s bones to Turkey from the Italian government. Turkish authorities have cited the fact that St Nicolas himself wanted to be buried in his episcopal town. They also state that his remains were illegally removed from Turkey.

Is Saint Nicholas Day celebrated where you are? I vaguely recall that, when I was growing up in upstate New York State, the kids of central and eastern European ancestry had another holiday before Christmas, which made me jealous, but I did not yet have the intellectual curiosity to get the details.
***
Oh, and remember You’re never too old to sit on Santa

Cookie Monster’s Letter to Santa

U is for Upside Down

Being upside down isn’t always bad, though. On various rides at a carnival, or while tumbling, being upside down is what provides the thrill. The difference is that one is righted at the end.

Most everyone I’ve ever met who lives or has lived, in what we generally call the Southern Hemisphere suggest that there is a bias by their Northern brethren (and sisteren), in terms of language. It’s autumn! Except that it’s spring below the equator. I suppose it’s a function of the Northern Hemisphere being about 3/5 water, and 2/5 land, while the Southern Hemisphere is about 4/5 water and 1/5 land. So about 2/3 of the landmass is in the Northern Hemisphere.

But what if creatures came from outer space. Would they see it the same way that most cartographers have trained us to see the planet? Or would they assume that the landmass – Antarctica – we say is at the bottom of the world is actually at the top? Maybe when they draw the maps of that third rock from Sol, it would look like the map above.

I’ve discovered that “South Up” maps have a long history; check here for more information; one can purchase such maps from ODT, e.g.

Those of us in the North probably find the maps disconcerting. It IS uncomfortable being what we perceive to be upside down. Borrowers with negative equity, when one owes more than a property is worth, are said to be “upside down” on their mortgages, a too common occurrence in the United States in recent years.

Being upside down isn’t always bad, though. On various rides at a carnival, or while tumbling, being upside down is what provides the thrill. The difference is that one is righted at the end.

Then there is the pure joy of pineapple upside-down cake.

I have no better ending than the obvious: Diana Ross singing Upside Down.

ABC Wednesday – Round 9

These are a few of my favorite things

In the living room, with my feet up, reading the newspaper. This almost never actually happens.

Cherry-picking through Sunday Stealing, again. This one is from July 3:

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
The Muppets.

2. What book are you reading?
I’m slogging through a book written by a colleague, which I may soon abandon altogether.

3. Favorite board game?
I’d say SCRABBLE. But don’t you actually have to PLAY it occasionally for it to be your favorite? Backgammon and SORRY.

4. Favorite magazine?
I start reading a magazine, then the next one comes before I finish the first, and I end up with a pile of half-read, quickly dated periodicals. I don’t really read them anymore.

I find Newsweek’s new “hip” style annoying and journalistically thin. I usually switch back and forth between it and TIME.
I suppose, by default, Entertainment Weekly, which I skim more than read.

5. Favorite smells?
Freshly baked bread, or pastries generally. Lilac bushes, which remind me of the one adjacent to my home of 18 years in Binghamton, NY.

6. Favorite sounds?
Depends on the need. It can be white noise, to sleep. I love water, generally, from brooks to waterfalls. And, of course, there are all sorts of music.

7. Worst feeling in the world?
The realization that you have really messed up something that was very important to someone else. This tends to be at the personal, not work, level.

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
What time is it? Can I roll over and go back to sleep?

9. Favorite fast food place?
Wendy’s, maybe because it’s less ubiquitous around here than Mickey D’s or BK.

10. What’s under your bed?
My slippers, and clothes my wife stores.

11. Finish this statement. “If I had a lot of money I’d….?
Have to pull out the list. It depends on the definition of “a lot”. There are so many charities: food pantries, the Red Cross – the demand for their services is only going to increase. But also the arts.

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Well, not sleep WITH.

13. Storms – cool or scary?
Depends on whether I’m safely indoors or not.

14. Favorite drink?
I like mixed drinks; orange and cranberry juice, milk and Kaluaha…

15. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?
Actually watch all the shows I DVR, rather than record and eventually delete.

16. If you had to dye your hair another color, what would be your choice?
Green, of course.

17. Favorite place to relax?
In the living room, with my feet up, reading the newspaper. This almost never actually happens.

18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
Binghamton, Kingston, New Paltz, Jackson Heights (Queens), Schenectady, Albany, NY. Charlotte, NC.

19. Favorite sports to watch?
I can always watch baseball because I can read or do other things at the same time.

20. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Well, only if I could remember the mistakes, so I could go make new ones!