Do me a favor, would you? Start counting. I’m willing to lay pretty long odds that you counted like this:
and not like this:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Why does this matter? Because this is 2009 and, just as was the case in 2000, there are many out there calling this the end of the decade. Simply put (in deference to Kent [1]), this is the ninth year of the decade not the tenth – the decade won’t end until December 31, 2010.0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Don’t believe me? Go back to that counting you just did, only start with 2001. 2009 is only number nine on the list, not number ten. See – we’ve got a whole ‘nother year in the decade!
So why do people do this [2]? Partly laziness and partly a failure to think. The failure to think is obvious – just counting the years would show that this wasn’t the end of the decade [3].The laziness is a little less so. Because so many people have decided to go with the wrong answer, other folks assume that it is the right one [4]. And few of those who know better are willing to make the obvious point that the wrong answer is, well, wrong. They feel (not without reason) that there are more important things to worry about than a misplaced terminator [5] (e.g., the end of the world, the end of the world as we know it, and the end of the whirl as we know it).
To a certain extent I agree with them. But it still annoys the crap out of me that so many cannot even count, much less think about what they are counting!
John
[1] Geek points for the reference!
[2] FWIW, this is not a new phenomenon. There were folks in the 1800’s who were just as confused as to when the twentieth century began [a] and don’t even get me started on the whole change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendars [b]!
[3] Other than in the same sense that any year can be the end of a decade, if the decade is arbitrarily begun.
[4] Sort of like the idjits on TV that refer to Clinton, Reagan, Bush, and the other ex politicos as “President So and so”, even though they are no longer properly accorded that title once they have left the office of PotUS. Or the jukes who think that the seasons begin on the solstices/equinoxes and not half-way between them. Or the kallikaks who vote single party tickets.
[5] They also worry (again, not without reason) of being labeled as “party poopers” and pedants, simply because they would like things to be called by the correct honorific. IMHO, those who use the pejoratives do so because that is the only answer they can make.
[a] And that’s another source of confusion, isn’t it? The first century covers the years from 1 to 100, the second covers the years from 101 to 200, and so forth until we reach the twenty-first century, which covers the years 2001-2100.
[b] Proposed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 CE, it wasn’t the international standard until 1926, when Turkey finally adopted it. What this meant was that if it was Tuesday, March 9, 1926 in Belgium, it was Tuesday, March 22, 1926 in Turkey. Imagine drawing the International Date Line for 1900, when at leat eight major countries had not adopted the Gregorian calendar!
I don't remember seeing this sign on the wall of my doctor's office last year.
...because my cats are sleeping together again.
From the turkey and stuffing to all of the fixin's... Who's cooking your Thanksgiving dinner this year? What dish are you most looking forward to?
This year's Thanksgiving, as usual, will be at my sister Myrna's house. Today she and my other sister are getting the meal ready. I have spent my typical Thanksgiving Eve baking the pies. This year we have mince meat with an orange ginger crust,
pumpkin with cinnamon and spiced rum crust,
pecan with a brandy and vanilla crust,
and this year's wild card pie is apple cinnamon with a cardamom crust.
The only jobs left for me to do are to get these pies over to my sister's tomorrow and then eat myself silly.
Black Friday is known for its deals and steals. What items are you hoping to find in the stores this Friday?
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Absolutely none. I stay as far away from the stores as possible on that day. In fact, I have quilt camp at my house most every year, this year included, on Friday and Saturday. My big holiday shopping day is the Monday after Thanksgiving. The stores are empty of shoppers, the merchandise selection is still excellent, and the store clerks are still energetic and polite (or as polite as they are going to be). Most years I'm done with my shopping by lunch time!
Black Friday is known for its deals and steals. What items are you hoping to find in the stores this Friday?
Sponsored by Best Buy. Find holiday gifts for everyone on your list.
Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward Man; they are very scarce, but can be found with just a little work...
John
This week is the United States’ annual celebration of gratitude, our Thanksgiving [1, 2]. Though popular myth has this holiday more related to our early heretical settlers [3], the truth is that it is more a celebration of our armed forces than of our harvests.
Though the early settlers in Plymouth did celebrate a feast with members of the local Indian tribe [4], the first national celebration of Thanksgiving took place in 1777 [5, 6] to build morale in the populace and to celebrate the victory over the British at Saratoga. Following the Revolutionary War, thanksgivings were held sporadically up until the Civil War [7]. Washington announced a Thanksgiving in 1789 (in honor of the US Constitution and creation of the United States of America [8]) and again in 1795 (in honor of the Jay Treaty’s ratification). John Adams held thanksgivings in 1798 (to celebrate the end of the Quasi-War with France) and 1799. And Madison held three (one in 1814 and two in 1815) to celebrate the end of the War of 1812.
The next president to declare a national day of thanksgiving was also the one who changed it from a “whenever we feel like it” celebration to a “we ought to do this more often” rite. In 1863, Lincoln declared that the last Thursday in November should be a celebration that, even though the US was engaged in a painful and protracted civil war, the horrors of war had been largely restricted to the battlefield [9]. Each year, he repeated the declaration, as did those presidents who followed him. And, despite some minor meddling with the details [10], there it has remained.
Thus, this Thanksgiving, I ask you to do as our ancestors have done. Be thankful for all that you enjoy and be grateful to the members of our Armed Forces who make it possible. Please say “Thank you” to the next person you see in uniform. Go to the Xerox web site to send a card. Donate to the USO to show your gratitude in a more material sense. And never, ever forget that without their sacrifices, we would not be here.
John
[1] Unlike other holidays [a], this one has a name that means what it is. Nice change, that.
[2] Canada also celebrates Thanksgiving, on the second Monday in October. The origin of their celebration is similar to ours.
[3] The Pilgrims were a religious sect that was thrown out of England for refusing to be part of the Anglican Church, which they felt was corrupt; the only thing they hated more than an Anglican was a Puritan. The Puritans were another religious sect that was thrown out of England for refusing to be a part of the Anglican Church, which they felt was corrupt; the only thing they hated more than an Anglican was a Pilgrim.
[4] As did the settlers in the Virginia Colony (1619-1622), who held an annual celebration of the day that they landed, and the Spanish explorers in Florida (1565) and Texas (1598). So if your relatives give you a hard time for eating holiday tamales, you can point out that it is actually more authentic than the turkey and cranberry shtick!
[5] General Washington had actually held a Thanksgiving in 1775, but it only regional in nature.
[6] The text of the Continental Congress’ 1777 declaration is:
[7] Though national celebrations were always held by executive order, several states also held festivals from time to time. It was most common in the Northern states, as Southern states felt that it was a hold-over from the Puritans.FOR AS MUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success:
It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase: To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth "in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.
And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.
[8] Before that, we’d been a Confederacy. We changed to a republic after states refused to honor contracts written in other states and refused to pay taxes to the central government (which wasn’t all that central).
[9] Not saying that there were civilian casualties (on both sides), just that the US civil war was different from those that had gone before in that the general populace wasn’t considered fair game most of the time.
[10] E.g., Roosevelt’s changing it to the third Thursday in the month in order to create a longer retail season for Christmas. It was this act that spurred the Congress to establish the holiday as a matter of law instead of convenience – and to return it to the last Thursday in November.
[a] All Hallowed Saints Evening (Hallowe’en) or Christ’s Mass (Christmas) anyone?
There is an old Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs song that has the refrain "Oh, that's good! No, that's bad!", which now reminds me of this year's theme for my krewe [1]. The overall theme [2] this year is Fired Up, which naturally lends itself to fun and easy parody, e.g.:
However, a theme needs to harmonize with other things as well. For example, our King this year is Dr. John, who has selected Mother Miriam for his Queen. Thus, anything with a gris-gris influence would do well (Re Hot VooDoo Dolls?). However, our captain and company have decide to honor the king by riffing on one of his songs, so our theme is:Great Balls of Fire
Hot Chocolate City
Right Size, Wrong Pleas
Burning Saintsations
And now for the truly unfortunate part - our costume! The costume committee has decided that this will be our outfit this year:Walking on Burning Sphincters [3,4]
For some reason it reminds me of nothing so much as Josephine Baker's infamous "banana skirt" as worn by Heat Miser. Ah, well! at least I can still drink during the parade!
John
[1] The Krewe de Vieux, if you are interested. The only krewe that maintains the good old traditions, such as marching with brass bands and hand-pulled floats.
[2] The "mother krewe" (organizing body) selects the main theme, and each sub-krewe works out something that fits within the theme.
[3] In honor of his song "I walk on gilded splinters". Vengance, voodoo, and drugs - what could be more apropos for New Orleans?
[4] Actually, I could have worked with this. Imagine a giant, glow in the dark Preparation H tube...
