Happy Halloween
Category Archives: Holidays
Countdown to Halloween: The Mummy (1932)
Countdown to Halloween:Haunted Mine
As some of you probably already know, I am highly skeptical of most ghost videos on YouTube. Occasionally you do find a gem or two that provides some genuine scary or at least spooky images. These two about a guy who explores old abandoned mines caught my eye. Most of the time when exploring these mines nothing happens. His videos reveal a lot about these old mines and what they used to do. But when exploring one particular mine in Nevada, something weird did happen on the first visit. And then on the second visit towards the end something weird also happens. In the first one, old chains are hanging in the entry area. They were once used to support the platform that moved ore out. One in the rear seems to be moving unusually as if it is being deliberately moved. Of course it might be the result of vibrations caused by walking around the mine or a microquake. The second one appears to have a voice at the end and a what sounds like a French police siren. One likely possibility is that the camera, which records sounds, picked up a transmission that had nothing to do with the mine. Or it could be someone was pranking the guy. Some have suggested perhaps someone lives in that mine and created that message to scare people away. There is also another possibility: that it is all faked to create buzz. Whatever it might me, the videos are fun to watch and appropriate for the Halloween season.
Countdown to Halloween: Danse Macabre
French composer Saint-Saens started this in 1872 as an art song for voice and piano using text by poet Henri Cazalis. In 1874 he altered it into its present form replacing the vocals with a solo violin. Danse Macabre is based on an old French superstition that on Halloween Death will call forth the dead from their graves. While he plays a violin, they will dance for him until the sun comes up when they must return to the grave for another year. Here is an interesting rendition of it using some nifty graphics.
Labor Day (U.S.)
Labor Day is a U.S. federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. It became a federal holiday in 1894 to celebrate workers and their achievements. It has also become the “unofficial”end of summer as by this time schools have reopened and most summer vacations have ended. Also by this time the days (in the northern hemisphere) are starting to get shorter as we get closer to the autumnal equinox. As all fifty states observe the holiday, state and local government offices are closed as well. Banks are closed as are the U.S. financial markets. Most people who work in office jobs get the day off but retail stores do not observe the holiday usually offering special “Labor Day Sales” to draw customers in.
Battle Hymn of the Republic
The Star Spangled Banner and America The Beautiful are traditional favorites for Fourth of July celebrations (and other important days as well). The Battle Hymn of The Republic is another favorite. This rendition is performed by the U. S. Army Chorus. It is a stirring song written during the American Civil War by Julia Ward Howe.
Summer Solstice
Photo:Andrew Dunn (Wikimedia)
Today is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. For those below the equatorial line, it is the Winter Solstice. The June Solstice usually takes place between June 20-22. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, it usually is the longest day of sunlight as the North Pole tilts directly towards the sun. Which translates into more sunlight particularly the further north you live. For those more closer to the North Pole (Alaska, parts of Canada, and Scandinavian countries)the sun literally never sets during this time of year. Of course the reverse is true in the Southern Hemisphere. They get less sunlight on the June Solstice and the closer you are to the Antarctic Circle means less sunlight or total night.
The coming of summer is usually a time for celebration in many cultures. Festivals in Northern Europe celebrate summer and the fertility of the Earth. Bonfires are lit and homes are decorated to mark the festival. Many cultures honor the sun in some fashion. Modern day pagans and druids also celebrate the day with their own festivals and many go to Stonehenge in England to witness the first rays of summer.
Happy Father’s Day
Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress, digital id#fsa 8d19170)
Memorial Day 2016
Photo:Public domain
Today is Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember those who gave all to serve this country. At national cemeteries and smaller ones around the country, flags and flowers have been placed to remember them. We also remind ourselves that freedom is not easily granted, often requires great sacrifice. In wars long past and those close, we remember those who gave all. And the families who faithfully remember those who have fallen.
In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Happy Mother’s Day
