Category Archives: Miscellaneous
Welcome to July
Limbourg brothers (fl. 1402–1416)
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Welcome to July everyone! July is the seventh month in the Gregorian calendar and is named for Julius Caesar. On the old Roman calendar, it was called Quintillis meaning fifth as July was the fifth month on that calendar. It is generally the hottest month in the Northern Hemisphere and the coldest month in the Southern Hemisphere, which is in winter. The old phrase “Dog days of summer” has nothing to do with canines, but an event in the night sky. During the early parts of July–often the most hot and humid–the star Sirius can be seen in the night sky and is part of the constellation Canis Major (the largest dog). The hot days of July then became described as the dog days in reference to the astronomical event.
July has another astronomical event of note, a Supermoon. There are different names for it (Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, Hay Moon etc) This occurs when the Moon is the closest to the Earth making it appear larger than it normally would appear. It can be either a new moon or a full moon. The July Supermoon is often called a Buck Moon since it in this month new antlers appear on the deer buck’s forehead. It turns out that male deer shed their antlers every year and grow new ones.
There are many observances and events, but two biggest national holidays are Independence Day (U.S., 4 July) and Bastille Day (France, 14 July). Independence Day celebrates the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain on 4 July 1776 while Bastille Day in France commemorates the storming of the Bastille in Paris on 14 July 1789. It is considered the start of the French Revolution.
Happy Sunday
The Summer Solstice occurred back on June 21 where the North Pole tilts directly towards the sun making more sunlight the farther north above the equator you live. It typically means more warmer days and nights though that greatly depends on where you live. Some places are known for hot summers while others are known for more mild conditions. Now if you live 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. For them, it is the Winter Solstice. It is hard to believe Australia, for instance, gets cold but they do get cooler days and nights during this time.
Have a nice Sunday everyone wherever you may be.
Larisa Koshkina
publicdomainpictures.net
Happy Father’s Day
Public Domain (U.S. Library of Congress, digital id#fsa 8d19170)
Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in the United States. The movement to recognize fathers began in a West Virginia church in 1908. The sermon that day asked to remember 362 men who had perished in a mine explosion the previous December and many of the men were fathers. In 1909 Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington tried to establish an equivalent of Mother’s Day for male parents. She had been raised by a widower and believed the recognition was due. She promoted it so well to local churches, service organizations, and government officials that Washington State celebrated Father’s Day on June 19,1910. The movement to recognize fathers spread slowly but in 1924 President Calvin Coolidge urged state governments to observe Father’s Day. Since then most states now recognize the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day but it is not a public holiday (neither is Mother’s Day).
Father’s Day is also celebrated in many countries. In Europe and most Spanish speaking countries it is celebrated on St. Joseph’s Day on March 19. St. Joseph is the patron saint of fathers.
Happy Sunday
Photo:Petr Kratochvil(publicdomainpictures.net)
Please Stand By!
Old Indian Head test pattern from RCA used from 1940’s till color was used.
Public Domain
I apologize to not being able to post anything since last Friday. Due to technical issues, the site was not working properly but that has been fixed. I will be updating the blog in the next day or so with the missing posts. As they used to say in the old days, please stand by!
Mark
Welcome to June
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
June is the sixth month on the Gregorian calendar. It is named for the Roman god Juno. Juno was the equivalent of the Greek god Hera, though with a few differences. Like Hera, Juno was the wife and sister of Jupiter (the Roman version of Zeus, king of the gods). Juno was the protector of the nation and watched over women. On the old Roman calendar, June was usually the fourth month as their new year started in March. June has 30 days.
June is also the month that has the most sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere. The summer solstice (winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere) takes place during the month. It is a month of celebrations and weddings are very popular during this month. During Roman times getting married during the month of June was considered lucky and has become traditional since then as the month for preferred weddings.
The June symbols are pearl, alexandrite and moonstone for the birthstones, with the rose and honeysuckle for the flowers. Although officially summer does not begin until the solstice, for commercial and agricultural purposes summer begins when the month begins.
Blast from The Past: Steve Martin and King Tut
Many have perhaps forgotten but there was a mania for the boy king Tutankhamun known informally as King Tut. Tutankhamun was the king of Egypt from 1333–1323 BCE. He was the son of Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) who had during his reign instituted the the worship of one god–Aten–during his reign. He also had moved the capital to Amarna. His reign left Egypt in peril with the decline of imperial power, many upset with the worship of one god, and an economy that was not going well. After his death a period of restoration began and removing all references to Akhenaten from Egyptian history.
Tutankhamun took over after the death of his father though it is believed there were two pharaohs before he ascended to the throne. Not much is known of what happened to his stepmother (Nefertiti) after his father died. His reign was short and many thought he was a minor ruler. Recent evidence supports otherwise as he worked to restore Egypt after the reign of his father.
The finding of his tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter was one of the greatest archaeological finds of Egypt. Most tombs of the great rulers had been plundered so not much was found in them. In the case of Tutankhamun, they found a nearly intact tomb showing how the ancient Egyptians honored the pharaohs. The teen king may have died young but his tomb opened up a new world in understanding Egypt.
Artifacts from his tomb toured the world in 1972-1979. The Treasures of Tutankhamun and drew millions (including my family) to see. Naturally it increased interest in ancient Egypt and all kinds of things as well. Needless to say, it created its own industry as retailers came up with thousands of clever ways for people to participate in this mania. There were t-shirts, replica Egyptian artworks, caps, mugs, ancient Egyptian style earrings, jewelry and so on. It became a huge consumer event somewhat dwarfing the magnificent find of an intact tomb of ancient Egypt
Today the artifacts, especially the most fragile of them, never leave Egypt. His mummy is on display in the Valley of the Kings. Most other artifacts, such as the famous golden burial mask, are at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo but soon to be moved to the Grand Egyptian Museum
With all of the mania and consumerism that the traveling exhibition caused, it fell to that wonderful comic Steven Martin do a wonderful music skit on Saturday Night Live in 1978. It remains hilarious to watch today. Some have criticized this skit on social media as being an attack on Egyptian history or culture (the use of the term cultural appropriation is sometimes used). The skit does nothing of the sort. It is a satire on the industry that spawned from the traveling exhibition of this boy-king. So enjoy the skit remembering it is a satire on how commercialized this had become.
Happy Sunday
Happy Mother’s Day (US)
For our mothers, who have given us life and love, that we may show them reverence and love, we pray to the Lord.
For mothers who have lost a child through death, that their faith may give them hope, and their family and friends support and console them, we pray to the Lord.
For mothers who have died, that God may bring them into the joy of his kingdom, we pray to the Lord.
(CatholicCulture.org,:Book of Blessings: Blessing of Mothers on Mother’s Day)