Art of Darkness
Hello World,
Beware the Ides of March! They'll be upon us Saturday morning, ready or not, and the superstitious among us would be well advised to keep a sharp lookout, lest they suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or worse. Some of us may think we've already suffered enough slings and arrows, what with Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, causing us to "spring forward" into the gloom, with all of its attendant nuisances of disrupted sleep, haphazard clocks, confused pets, and people showing up everywhere either very late or way too early. Technology is not always your friend here, because although many computers will change the system time to take DST into account, a lot of older equipment will not do that until several more weeks, since it still expects the time change to occur later in April, as it used to. At work, we're just resigned to the fact of having the wrong time on our computers for six weeks, until the software's little pea brain catches up to the idea that it needs to change the time to keep in step with the rest of humanity. And please don't even get me started on the copier and fax machine, for heaven's sake.
This year, I didn't have any problems with losing an hour to the fiendish Daylight Stealing Thugs, because I took off Monday and Tuesday from work, and didn't go to church on Sunday, so it didn't matter to me what time it was, whether in actual hours for normal people, or the ludicrous "spring ahead" realm of hypothetical absurdity. Since I had nowhere to go, I didn't have to worry about being late, or early, and if some of the clocks had one time, while others had a completely different time, it was all blissfully inconsequential. This is my idea of Daylight Saving Time for sissies, and I have to say, I'm all for it.
It was great to have a nice long weekend to relax and putter around, and while I would not consider this the very best week at work, at least it was good and short, which really helped. When I came back to work on Wednesday, my desk looked like a disaster area, and I found that both my voice mail and email were full of ridiculous messages that make you question your own sanity, much less the state of American business in general. I was glad to get home after a long day of stamping out fires and beating off the forces of darkness all around me. The next day was even worse, as the forces of darkness that I thought I had beat off previously, all seemed to return with renewed vigor, and while I would like to say that I was only able to subdue them because my heart is pure, I have the feeling it had more to do with my evil twin than anything else. But when everything seemed at its worst, at least I was able to grasp onto the glimmer of hope that I needed, when I realized that there was no point in walking all the way over to the main building to jump out a window, because after all, it was already Thursday. That gave me all the strength I needed to get through the rest of the week, and the forces of darkness would have to fend for themselves.
Tuesday was my birthday, and having the day off was a nice treat. I felt disappointed in the way our anniversary dinner turned out, so I asked Bill if we could go out to dinner for my birthday, which we usually don't, and this time, go some place familiar where we would be sure of getting a predictably good meal. Bill is a good sport and aims to please, so after he came home from work, we set off for Mamma Francesca's, which is a local Italian restaurant along the water, that is a fixture in the Queen City, and we have been there many times. As soon as we stepped in the door, we were greeted warmly and whisked to a comfortable table, plus presented with menus and a chalkboard of specials, which I don't need to point out, was in stark contrast to our dining experiences from the previous week. The service was attentive and helpful, and while there were other people already eating there, it certainly wasn't cramped. I was pleased to find carrozza on the menu, since it's an appetizer that's hard to find nowadays, and Bill described their garlic bread as some of the best he's ever had. He was also happy with their manicotti with marinara sauce, while I took a chance on their rigatoni ai formaggi, which I had never heard of before, but I figured with ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella and gorgonzola, what's not to like? It was heavenly, and I was glad I tried it, and even more so, since there was too much to eat, that I could take the rest home and enjoy it again another time. We also had nice desserts, and the whole outing was so pleasant, we were really happy that we decided to go there. There's a lot to be said for the tried-and-true, especially after the new and unknown turns out instead to be like a bad experiment gone woefully awry.
After that, as if one person could stand any more wonderfulness, there were presents, and a welcome sight they were, too. I got more gifts of entertainment, apparel and gadgets, including a snazzy new 19" monitor, which I am really looking forward to (get it?!) and a stylish laptop case so I can carry my world and still be fashionable. It's true that I might not have any idea what I'm doing, but I'm certainly going to look good doing it, by golly. I may not be able to defeat the forces of darkness with my brilliance, but if nothing else, I can dazzle them with my glamor.
I know it would seem impossible under normal circumstances that a mere five days after my birthday, it would be Palm Sunday, but that's the plain truth of it in a nutshell, or perhaps a marshmallow peeps would be more appropriate. And just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about Easter, along comes the real scoop, the whole scoop, and nothing but the scoop, so help me, Peter Cottontail.
===================================
Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox, which is March 20.
This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar. Here's the interesting info.
This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives!
And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early ( 95 years old or above! )
And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!
Here are the facts: 1) The next time Easter will be this early ( March 23 ) will be the year 2228 ( 220 years from now )
The last time it was this early was 1913 ( so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that! )2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 ( 277 years from now )
The last time it was on March 22 was 1818.
So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!
===================================
Well, I certainly found out some things I never knew, and gained a lot more respect for this early Easter, now that I realize how long ago and far apart these occurrences are, in the whole scheme of the cosmos. I mean, when you take into account the whole continuum of time and the stately progression of years, plus throw in the nefarious monkey wrenches of the Daylight Switching Twits and Comrade Sergei and his infernal date machine, not to mention, the forces of darkness, it's a wonder that anything happens when it's supposed to, and that's not just the marshmallow peeps talking, believe me.
Beware the Ides of March! They'll be upon us Saturday morning, ready or not, and the superstitious among us would be well advised to keep a sharp lookout, lest they suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or worse. Some of us may think we've already suffered enough slings and arrows, what with Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, causing us to "spring forward" into the gloom, with all of its attendant nuisances of disrupted sleep, haphazard clocks, confused pets, and people showing up everywhere either very late or way too early. Technology is not always your friend here, because although many computers will change the system time to take DST into account, a lot of older equipment will not do that until several more weeks, since it still expects the time change to occur later in April, as it used to. At work, we're just resigned to the fact of having the wrong time on our computers for six weeks, until the software's little pea brain catches up to the idea that it needs to change the time to keep in step with the rest of humanity. And please don't even get me started on the copier and fax machine, for heaven's sake.
This year, I didn't have any problems with losing an hour to the fiendish Daylight Stealing Thugs, because I took off Monday and Tuesday from work, and didn't go to church on Sunday, so it didn't matter to me what time it was, whether in actual hours for normal people, or the ludicrous "spring ahead" realm of hypothetical absurdity. Since I had nowhere to go, I didn't have to worry about being late, or early, and if some of the clocks had one time, while others had a completely different time, it was all blissfully inconsequential. This is my idea of Daylight Saving Time for sissies, and I have to say, I'm all for it.
It was great to have a nice long weekend to relax and putter around, and while I would not consider this the very best week at work, at least it was good and short, which really helped. When I came back to work on Wednesday, my desk looked like a disaster area, and I found that both my voice mail and email were full of ridiculous messages that make you question your own sanity, much less the state of American business in general. I was glad to get home after a long day of stamping out fires and beating off the forces of darkness all around me. The next day was even worse, as the forces of darkness that I thought I had beat off previously, all seemed to return with renewed vigor, and while I would like to say that I was only able to subdue them because my heart is pure, I have the feeling it had more to do with my evil twin than anything else. But when everything seemed at its worst, at least I was able to grasp onto the glimmer of hope that I needed, when I realized that there was no point in walking all the way over to the main building to jump out a window, because after all, it was already Thursday. That gave me all the strength I needed to get through the rest of the week, and the forces of darkness would have to fend for themselves.
Tuesday was my birthday, and having the day off was a nice treat. I felt disappointed in the way our anniversary dinner turned out, so I asked Bill if we could go out to dinner for my birthday, which we usually don't, and this time, go some place familiar where we would be sure of getting a predictably good meal. Bill is a good sport and aims to please, so after he came home from work, we set off for Mamma Francesca's, which is a local Italian restaurant along the water, that is a fixture in the Queen City, and we have been there many times. As soon as we stepped in the door, we were greeted warmly and whisked to a comfortable table, plus presented with menus and a chalkboard of specials, which I don't need to point out, was in stark contrast to our dining experiences from the previous week. The service was attentive and helpful, and while there were other people already eating there, it certainly wasn't cramped. I was pleased to find carrozza on the menu, since it's an appetizer that's hard to find nowadays, and Bill described their garlic bread as some of the best he's ever had. He was also happy with their manicotti with marinara sauce, while I took a chance on their rigatoni ai formaggi, which I had never heard of before, but I figured with ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella and gorgonzola, what's not to like? It was heavenly, and I was glad I tried it, and even more so, since there was too much to eat, that I could take the rest home and enjoy it again another time. We also had nice desserts, and the whole outing was so pleasant, we were really happy that we decided to go there. There's a lot to be said for the tried-and-true, especially after the new and unknown turns out instead to be like a bad experiment gone woefully awry.
After that, as if one person could stand any more wonderfulness, there were presents, and a welcome sight they were, too. I got more gifts of entertainment, apparel and gadgets, including a snazzy new 19" monitor, which I am really looking forward to (get it?!) and a stylish laptop case so I can carry my world and still be fashionable. It's true that I might not have any idea what I'm doing, but I'm certainly going to look good doing it, by golly. I may not be able to defeat the forces of darkness with my brilliance, but if nothing else, I can dazzle them with my glamor.
I know it would seem impossible under normal circumstances that a mere five days after my birthday, it would be Palm Sunday, but that's the plain truth of it in a nutshell, or perhaps a marshmallow peeps would be more appropriate. And just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about Easter, along comes the real scoop, the whole scoop, and nothing but the scoop, so help me, Peter Cottontail.
===================================
Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox, which is March 20.
This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar. Here's the interesting info.
This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives!
And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early ( 95 years old or above! )
And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!
Here are the facts: 1) The next time Easter will be this early ( March 23 ) will be the year 2228 ( 220 years from now )
The last time it was this early was 1913 ( so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that! )2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 ( 277 years from now )
The last time it was on March 22 was 1818.
So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!
===================================
Well, I certainly found out some things I never knew, and gained a lot more respect for this early Easter, now that I realize how long ago and far apart these occurrences are, in the whole scheme of the cosmos. I mean, when you take into account the whole continuum of time and the stately progression of years, plus throw in the nefarious monkey wrenches of the Daylight Switching Twits and Comrade Sergei and his infernal date machine, not to mention, the forces of darkness, it's a wonder that anything happens when it's supposed to, and that's not just the marshmallow peeps talking, believe me.
posted by El Tango Fandango @ 7:55 PM
1 Comments:
At 12:43 PM,
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