oh, and happy february 29th.
i thought i'd re-post this very interesting article from the New York Times (source):
February 29, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
A Great Leap Forward
By CHRIS TURNEY
Exeter, England
WHEN Frederic, the hero of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance,” learns that his Feb. 29 birthday means that he is not 21 years old but 5, he figures he’ll have to serve out his apprenticeship to the Pirate King for 60 more years, and swears to the love of his life that he will return in his 80s and marry her. Such are the tales that have always been told about today’s date. But now we’re in the 21st century, and time is measured according to oscillations of vaporized atoms of cesium-133. Why do we still need something as oddly quaint as leap year?
The answer lies in the fact that days and years are not neatly synchronized. This problem has confounded calendar makers for centuries, and prompted corrections far more clumsy than an occasional extra day in February.
Many of the earliest calendars were based on the phases of the moon. Each 29.5-day cycle amounted to one month, and the first versions counted only 10 months in a year. That turned out to be too few months, but even when two more were added, the problem remained: the calendar could not keep up with the seasons.
A group of Roman priests was charged with the task of adding days through the year, but they were easily corrupted. They’d frequently add or delay the extra days either for personal financial gain or to see their preferred candidates hold offices of power for as long as possible.
By Julius Caesar’s time, the calendar was running 90 days behind. Acting on the advice of an astronomer, he created a calendar based on the time it takes the Earth to circle the Sun. During the well-named “year of confusion,” in 46 B.C., Caesar lengthened several of the months and added a couple of temporary ones as a correction. The jubilant Roman public believed Caesar had extended their lives by the extra 90 days (you just can’t buy publicity like that). And by 45 B.C., the calendar was back in phase with the seasons.
The Earth’s trip around the Sun does not take exactly 365 days, however. It lasts an extra 5 hours and about 49 minutes. By adding an extra day every four years, Caesar could roughly make up for the discrepancy. Even then his scheme ended up being 11 minutes a year too long. This may not sound like much; you wouldn’t notice the difference during your lifetime. But by the mid-16th century, the calendar had moved ahead 10 days.
This shift had serious implications for the question of when to celebrate Easter. In 1582, a task force called by Pope Gregory XIII proposed that 10 days should be removed from October that year. And to make sure the calendar would then be self-correcting, leap years were subtracted from the last year of most centuries. Only those divisible by 400 would get the extra day. (That means 1600 was a leap year, but not 1700, 1800 and 1900.) This way, the calendar would gain only half a minute a year, and it would take 2,880 years before another day would need to be added. The trusty Gregorian calendar had arrived.
This wasn’t the best time in history to establish a new calendar, however. The Reformation had swept across Europe, and Protestant nations were reluctant to accept the pope’s invention. Some countries devised their own ways of making corrections. In what is now Belgium, the calendar went from Dec. 21, 1582, straight to Jan. 1, 1583, depriving everyone there of Christmas.
By the time Britain adopted the calendar, in 1752, 11 days had to be eliminated, and many people were enraged at the loss. “Time rioters” took to the streets of London and other cities chanting, “Give us back our 11 days!” And so the stage was set, the next century, for Gilbert and Sullivan.
Chris Turney, a professor of geography at the University of Exeter, is the author of “Bones, Rocks and Stars: The Science of When Things Happened.”
Friday, February 29, 2008
prince harry
last night i dreamed i saw prince harry on the subway. he was heading somewhere perfectly mundane and not in afghanistan. we talked about mundane things and i thought to myself, what a really nice young guy this is. i was relieved he was no longer in afghanistan, thinking that it must make things really difficult for all of them when paparazzi show up in the hills and villages where they are stationed ("the blues and royals regiment").
after waking up and coming to check my email, i glanced at the headlines on people.com to find that he was being sent home because of the danger associated with people knowing he was there. i mean, i know he's royalty and all, but isn't that what military personnel do? risk their lives? i mean, i'd hate for him to die, but i hate for others to die, too. it's so weird; all he wants to do is fight in a war, but he keeps missing his opportunities die to security concerns. what a strange world we live in.
i saw eastern promises last night. really really good. it's one of my favorites that i've seen during the my quarantine due to the deadly flu virus i've contracted. i haven't seen there will be blood, but if daniel day-lewis beat viggo mortensen for the oscar, his performance must be incredible. i'm sure it was, though. i also saw the age of innocence (starring daniel day-lewis, michelle pfeiffer and winona ryder, directed by martin scorsese). i do like daniel day-lewis. other movies i've seen include the odd couple, la vie en rose (incredible!), michael clayton (really awesome), sherry baby (maggie gyllenhaal's performance was stunning but the movie was full of problems; a shame, really), and heaven can wait (directed by lubitsch, starring gene tierney and don ameche; pretty good, but not as good as the introduction by molly haskell led me to believe it would be).
in another interesting recent development, i received an email from someone i don't know, asking how it's been going. i replied that i am fine but don't know him, can he remind me how we know each other? he responded with the following "huh? your kidding right. Just wondering if your dating anyone at the time. Hope your having a great day!"
i'm tempted to think it's a virus but i don't know how it could be, so i just replied "no, i'm not kidding."
after waking up and coming to check my email, i glanced at the headlines on people.com to find that he was being sent home because of the danger associated with people knowing he was there. i mean, i know he's royalty and all, but isn't that what military personnel do? risk their lives? i mean, i'd hate for him to die, but i hate for others to die, too. it's so weird; all he wants to do is fight in a war, but he keeps missing his opportunities die to security concerns. what a strange world we live in.
i saw eastern promises last night. really really good. it's one of my favorites that i've seen during the my quarantine due to the deadly flu virus i've contracted. i haven't seen there will be blood, but if daniel day-lewis beat viggo mortensen for the oscar, his performance must be incredible. i'm sure it was, though. i also saw the age of innocence (starring daniel day-lewis, michelle pfeiffer and winona ryder, directed by martin scorsese). i do like daniel day-lewis. other movies i've seen include the odd couple, la vie en rose (incredible!), michael clayton (really awesome), sherry baby (maggie gyllenhaal's performance was stunning but the movie was full of problems; a shame, really), and heaven can wait (directed by lubitsch, starring gene tierney and don ameche; pretty good, but not as good as the introduction by molly haskell led me to believe it would be).
in another interesting recent development, i received an email from someone i don't know, asking how it's been going. i replied that i am fine but don't know him, can he remind me how we know each other? he responded with the following "huh? your kidding right. Just wondering if your dating anyone at the time. Hope your having a great day!"
i'm tempted to think it's a virus but i don't know how it could be, so i just replied "no, i'm not kidding."
what's been up.
[response to email from college roommate]
Hi friend!
it was so nice to hear from you! i am jealous of you living in asheville again. i have only even been back one or two times since college. it's very sad. there are fun things about atlanta, but i'm ready to move on with my life. i've been going home to visit greensboro some lately. most of my family is still around there. my brother baxter and austin got married a couple of years ago and they are still living in new york, where they will stay at least until austin graduates from acupuncture school. i know hooper and that woman he was/is dating moved there, too, although we haven't spoken in years. i'd love to go to new york--the first couple of times i visited i couldn't wait to leave but the last time, perhaps because i went to coney island by myself, i really fell in love with it. unfortunately, hearing my brother talk about the expense of living in new york is a good dissuasive factor, along with the geographical specificity of my field (professors can't really choose where they live).
for my part, i'm still in atlanta. the rumor is, i'll get my phd someday soon, but i feel kind of like a kid who is slowly but surely putting the pieces together that maybe santa claus doesn't really exist after all.. part of it is lack of interest in a career in "sociology" and part of it is the set of "cons" associated with my chosen profession (such as relative inability to choose where you will live, and the research requirement). i really want to move back to greensboro, as ridiculous as that sounds, because my parents are getting older, and my mom found out a few years ago that she has emphysema so i'd like to be close to her. if course, if i found a career i felt passionate about, perhaps living in my mom's backyard wouldn't be such a primary concern, but after years of teaching college kids about inequality only to watch THEM go out and change the world (actually my favorite part of the job), and after years of trying unsuccessfully to force myself to do research when all i want to do is write in my journal and drink tea, i'm starting to wonder if i'll ever find a passion-inspiring career.
probably too much information, but you found me at a very "transitional" point in my life, actually, and i currently have the flu, which allows me the luxury of also writing long rambly emails. :)
as for the rest of my life, i'm living in a small apartment in atlanta with my two sweet cats (sam and max). my orange cat todd died a few years ago of a freak asthma attack, and as you may remember, tubby is living with my mom. i've dated people off and on, but never found one that stuck. my cats have remained with me though, loyal and faithful.
hopefully soon i'll be able to grow up and commit to a career, and decide to find passion elsewhere.
anyway, i was happy to hear from you and i hope you and the ornery goat find a way to heal your friendship. the farm sounds very nice, and i'm very happy that you have found a place for yourself. i wish you and your partner the best of luck, and please do keep me informed of any changes. if i ever make it to asheville, i'd certainly like to make a point of coming to see you and/in your studio.
love,
charity :)
Hi friend!
it was so nice to hear from you! i am jealous of you living in asheville again. i have only even been back one or two times since college. it's very sad. there are fun things about atlanta, but i'm ready to move on with my life. i've been going home to visit greensboro some lately. most of my family is still around there. my brother baxter and austin got married a couple of years ago and they are still living in new york, where they will stay at least until austin graduates from acupuncture school. i know hooper and that woman he was/is dating moved there, too, although we haven't spoken in years. i'd love to go to new york--the first couple of times i visited i couldn't wait to leave but the last time, perhaps because i went to coney island by myself, i really fell in love with it. unfortunately, hearing my brother talk about the expense of living in new york is a good dissuasive factor, along with the geographical specificity of my field (professors can't really choose where they live).
for my part, i'm still in atlanta. the rumor is, i'll get my phd someday soon, but i feel kind of like a kid who is slowly but surely putting the pieces together that maybe santa claus doesn't really exist after all.. part of it is lack of interest in a career in "sociology" and part of it is the set of "cons" associated with my chosen profession (such as relative inability to choose where you will live, and the research requirement). i really want to move back to greensboro, as ridiculous as that sounds, because my parents are getting older, and my mom found out a few years ago that she has emphysema so i'd like to be close to her. if course, if i found a career i felt passionate about, perhaps living in my mom's backyard wouldn't be such a primary concern, but after years of teaching college kids about inequality only to watch THEM go out and change the world (actually my favorite part of the job), and after years of trying unsuccessfully to force myself to do research when all i want to do is write in my journal and drink tea, i'm starting to wonder if i'll ever find a passion-inspiring career.
probably too much information, but you found me at a very "transitional" point in my life, actually, and i currently have the flu, which allows me the luxury of also writing long rambly emails. :)
as for the rest of my life, i'm living in a small apartment in atlanta with my two sweet cats (sam and max). my orange cat todd died a few years ago of a freak asthma attack, and as you may remember, tubby is living with my mom. i've dated people off and on, but never found one that stuck. my cats have remained with me though, loyal and faithful.
hopefully soon i'll be able to grow up and commit to a career, and decide to find passion elsewhere.
anyway, i was happy to hear from you and i hope you and the ornery goat find a way to heal your friendship. the farm sounds very nice, and i'm very happy that you have found a place for yourself. i wish you and your partner the best of luck, and please do keep me informed of any changes. if i ever make it to asheville, i'd certainly like to make a point of coming to see you and/in your studio.
love,
charity :)
Thursday, February 07, 2008
my world without television...
I tell you what. I am addicted to TV after all. I knew it would be tough to begin yesterday since I would miss Project Runway. What I wasn't prepared for was the eerie calm while preparing dinner. I didn't even miss Project Runway, actually, since by that time I was already watching Blood Diamond. (I can't give up movies, too! But I'm not renting, so until my Netflix gets here, it's just eerie quiet from that corner of the room...)
Anyway, last night I couldn't even make a decision about what to eat with all the quiet. It was so strange. I started feeling agitated, like I needed some companionship, like I was crawling out of my skin. I called my mom, who told me just to turn on some music. The thought hadn't even occurred to me.
Me: "Oh, yeah, I'll just do that. That's a good idea. Isn't it funny that I didn't even think of it?"
Mom: "Yeah, well, Charity, I gotta go, if you don't mind. Family Feud is on, and it's my favorite part. The part where they...[Drifts off, I imagine to look at screen] That's ok, right?"
Me: "Yeah, that's ok, I'll just..."
Mom: "Ok, bye."
[click]
I decided to make the ratatouille again. It was good as usual. Tonight I'll make a stir-fry in honor of Chinese New Year. Happy Year of the Rat! Hopefully it will be a year filled with economic prosperity, although stories of a recession abound. This article gives tips on investing in these "troubling" times, and investments are supposed to pay off well if made wisely during a Year of the Rat (if you're into that sort of thing). It is supposed to be a year filled with socializing as well as bickering, but no lasting ill will. A great time for fresh starts.
We'll see. There are several fresh starts I'd like to make this year: a new start as a graduate of graduate school, a new start as someone who does yoga every day, a new start as someone who weighs twenty pounds less.
I've been re-reading the absolutely amazing Comfortable with Uncertainty and am on the quest to love myself as I am, no matter whether I make those fresh starts or not. It's amazing how conditional my love can be for myself. I'm going to work on that. I've been making good progress.
I've recently realized that I am responsible for my own happiness and that I alone am capable of creating it. It's pretty liberating, actually, since I realize that I don't have to worry about requiring something from someone else or even myself, but that I must just accept "now" and find happiness in the present moment. It's always there if we open ourselves to it.
The yoga helps. In fact, one reason I didn't think about putting on music while preparing dinner is because I have been listening to meditation "music" (a soft gong for thirty minutes, then a Tibetan singing bowl for thirty minutes) while I'm at home. It's very peaceful. I've been doing yoga by candlelight before bed, with meditation music in the background. It's been very relaxing, but I think it might be causing me to wake up in the night. I can't see why it would but I don't know how else to explain it.
Anyway, to fresh starts and loving unconditionally! I'll keep you posted as my world without television continues to unfold.
Charity :)
PS - I have been fiddling around with Dreamweaver, which I recently got at my part-time job. It's not as simple as I'd hoped, but it has inspired me to want to change the layout of my blog. So maybe I'll do that. Just FYI.
Anyway, last night I couldn't even make a decision about what to eat with all the quiet. It was so strange. I started feeling agitated, like I needed some companionship, like I was crawling out of my skin. I called my mom, who told me just to turn on some music. The thought hadn't even occurred to me.
Me: "Oh, yeah, I'll just do that. That's a good idea. Isn't it funny that I didn't even think of it?"
Mom: "Yeah, well, Charity, I gotta go, if you don't mind. Family Feud is on, and it's my favorite part. The part where they...[Drifts off, I imagine to look at screen] That's ok, right?"
Me: "Yeah, that's ok, I'll just..."
Mom: "Ok, bye."
[click]
I decided to make the ratatouille again. It was good as usual. Tonight I'll make a stir-fry in honor of Chinese New Year. Happy Year of the Rat! Hopefully it will be a year filled with economic prosperity, although stories of a recession abound. This article gives tips on investing in these "troubling" times, and investments are supposed to pay off well if made wisely during a Year of the Rat (if you're into that sort of thing). It is supposed to be a year filled with socializing as well as bickering, but no lasting ill will. A great time for fresh starts.
We'll see. There are several fresh starts I'd like to make this year: a new start as a graduate of graduate school, a new start as someone who does yoga every day, a new start as someone who weighs twenty pounds less.
I've been re-reading the absolutely amazing Comfortable with Uncertainty and am on the quest to love myself as I am, no matter whether I make those fresh starts or not. It's amazing how conditional my love can be for myself. I'm going to work on that. I've been making good progress.
I've recently realized that I am responsible for my own happiness and that I alone am capable of creating it. It's pretty liberating, actually, since I realize that I don't have to worry about requiring something from someone else or even myself, but that I must just accept "now" and find happiness in the present moment. It's always there if we open ourselves to it.
The yoga helps. In fact, one reason I didn't think about putting on music while preparing dinner is because I have been listening to meditation "music" (a soft gong for thirty minutes, then a Tibetan singing bowl for thirty minutes) while I'm at home. It's very peaceful. I've been doing yoga by candlelight before bed, with meditation music in the background. It's been very relaxing, but I think it might be causing me to wake up in the night. I can't see why it would but I don't know how else to explain it.
Anyway, to fresh starts and loving unconditionally! I'll keep you posted as my world without television continues to unfold.
Charity :)
PS - I have been fiddling around with Dreamweaver, which I recently got at my part-time job. It's not as simple as I'd hoped, but it has inspired me to want to change the layout of my blog. So maybe I'll do that. Just FYI.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Football and Diets
I watched the Superbowl today. It's not what I expected to do (I did have a lot of work to do!), but a friend promised binge-fatty-sugary-deliciousness since she's starting the South Beach diet tomorrow, so I couldn't turn down an invitation to watch it at their house. I'm sure glad I didn't. What a game!
I remember after Christmas one year Baxter and I found ourselves glued to the television watching the Giants play. He moved to New York, and has developed an identification with "New York" things, and I just like watching football, I guess. Anyway, Mom walks in the room and Baxter and I are standing there (not seated, mind you), yelling at the screen and gesturing. She had no idea who we were. We don't watch sports in my family really, but I've picked it up in the past few years. I'll learn all the rules eventually. The main problem is that I'm lazy. I always watch sports with sports fans, who tell me what's going on, so I never have to bother learning. It's been that way since high school. It always kind of feels like I'm an interloper in a different culture. It almost gives me a rush to pretend to be a part of the "sports fans" group, but I do think that somewhere down deep, I like football. Don't tell anyone. I don't want to ruin my "interloper" image.
Anyway, fun. The game was awesome. The disappointment I felt for the Patriots not securing the "undefeated" season was outweighed by the joy of watching the Giants come through even after being so un-favored. And also the food was great. I'm still stuffed.
I wanted to do the Zone diet, as I mentioned before, but it's hard for me as a vegetarian. The only thing that has worked so far is Weight Watchers. I guess I should go back to that, but ugh. It might help me save money, though, if I'm not eating as much.
In fact, after paying this month's insanely high gas bill and figuring out my budget for the rest of the semester, I realize that I may not have to join Weight Watchers to cut back on my groceries bill...
Oh, and my friends gave me a new printer! A really nice laser printer that they weren't using anymore but that works perfectly. I am so happy. I wish I needed to print something important. I could do it at home now! ;)
I remember after Christmas one year Baxter and I found ourselves glued to the television watching the Giants play. He moved to New York, and has developed an identification with "New York" things, and I just like watching football, I guess. Anyway, Mom walks in the room and Baxter and I are standing there (not seated, mind you), yelling at the screen and gesturing. She had no idea who we were. We don't watch sports in my family really, but I've picked it up in the past few years. I'll learn all the rules eventually. The main problem is that I'm lazy. I always watch sports with sports fans, who tell me what's going on, so I never have to bother learning. It's been that way since high school. It always kind of feels like I'm an interloper in a different culture. It almost gives me a rush to pretend to be a part of the "sports fans" group, but I do think that somewhere down deep, I like football. Don't tell anyone. I don't want to ruin my "interloper" image.
Anyway, fun. The game was awesome. The disappointment I felt for the Patriots not securing the "undefeated" season was outweighed by the joy of watching the Giants come through even after being so un-favored. And also the food was great. I'm still stuffed.
I wanted to do the Zone diet, as I mentioned before, but it's hard for me as a vegetarian. The only thing that has worked so far is Weight Watchers. I guess I should go back to that, but ugh. It might help me save money, though, if I'm not eating as much.
In fact, after paying this month's insanely high gas bill and figuring out my budget for the rest of the semester, I realize that I may not have to join Weight Watchers to cut back on my groceries bill...
Oh, and my friends gave me a new printer! A really nice laser printer that they weren't using anymore but that works perfectly. I am so happy. I wish I needed to print something important. I could do it at home now! ;)
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