The earliest precursor to Halloween is a Celtic festival called Samhain, which was celebrated midway between the fall equinox and winter solstice, and marked the day when the barrier between the real and supernatural worlds was thought to be thinnest. This connection with the otherworld meant that both the dead and dangerous spirits could cross over, or so it was believed, and so Celts wore costumes to blend in and evade harm.
Jack-o’-lanterns come from an Irish myth about a man named Stingy Jack.
No matter what face you carve into your Halloween pumpkin, it will probably be called the same thing: a jack-o’-lantern. But how did spooky illuminated squash get that name? Turns out, the term we use to describe glowing pumpkins comes from Stingy Jack, the main character in a centuries-old Irish myth.
Americans haven’t always carved pumpkins; it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that squash was used for holiday fun. About 200 years before, those celebrating the harvest season in Ireland were making their own lanterns from turnips, beets, and other root vegetables as a way to ward off Stingy Jack, a phantom who roamed the countryside around the harvest. According to Irish lore, Stingy Jack (sometimes called Flakey Jack) was a swindler who took up drinking with the devil, though when the tab came due, he didn’t want to pay his share. After convincing the devil to turn into a coin, Jack trapped his drinking partner in his pocket, releasing him only with the agreement that Jack’s soul would stay free of the underworld. However, as in all folktales, there was a catch (and a warning about immoral behavior): At the end of his life, Jack’s trickster soul wasn’t accepted into heaven or hell, leaving him to wander the earth with naught but a coal (provided by the devil himself) inside a turnip-turned-lantern. By the story’s end, Stingy Jack became “Jack of the Lantern,” which eventually morphed into “Jack O’Lantern.”
Irish immigrants brought the Stingy Jack story to America, though the name and practice of jack-o’-lantern carving took some time to catch on. It particularly picked up following the Civil War, when a grief-struck nation became fascinated by spirits and ghost stories, and it’s a tradition that’s been a fixture of autumn in America ever since.
Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)
The stakes get higher as the election gets closer. We have many players in this game that have a lot hanging on the outcome. Judge Cannon with the promise or possible selection as AG under Trump if he wins. Musk for his nonsense of buying votes, illegally, and his calls for violence against Harris.
He is from a country that resolved everything with violence for many years and may still use that tactic just not so openly. He believes that whatever he has to say reference politics is protected speech and it is not. If the content of what is being said is calling for violent action to be taken against someone and that happens you can be held liable. Musk has government contracts and he still is in contact with Putin, not a crime by itself unless there is transfer of information of national importance. He has lots of money but that may not protect him as much as he thinks it will. Remember the French nobles were not spared because of riches, quite the contrary, they were punished because of them.
Trump is on notice that if he loses this election his fate is most likely being sent to prison, which is totally disserved. Far too many of the self proclaimed elitists need to have the rug pulled out from under them to get us back to equality. Since the 80’s more and more contracts have been written that give even a useless individual a golden parachute if they fail to meet expectations. The workers in these organizations are not even considered either for raises or benefits but the boss makes a bundle. Far too many executives fail to understand that if the workers weren’t there then there would be no profits. The rich aren’t getting rich because they are doing the work they are just screwing the little guy when they take the money and run.
Should owners and investors make money, yes, but they have to or should appreciate the efforts of those that make the entire business work before they decide that those people in the yard don’t need any more. We have not yet gotten to the place where machines run machines and don’t require time off, or rest or health insurance. When that day comes then we will have an equal problem because there will be no one earning a living so no one will be able to buy the goods. Do you see a dilemma here?
Going back to the players of the election that have a lot to lose. All the ones that have been tried and jailed and the ones waiting for that fate. If we have another riot, insurrection, or whatever you wish to call it, there are more people that will pay the price. Very possibly the members of the Supreme Court that have done the Trump thing and lied from day one. That error in judgment should cost them dearly, loss of position, loss of license, loss of freedom.
Justice for all is the bottom line for our democracy and if we have to send the rich, privileged class to jail to prove a point, that no one is above the law, so be it. Time for We The People to take back our portion of the pie.
Carrots offer many health benefits, but improved eyesight isn’t one of them. The myth that superhuman vision is attainable if your diet resembles that of Peter Rabbit persists all the same, and it has a surprising origin: World War II. While it’s true that everyone’s favorite orange vegetable is good for your eyes if you’re deficient in vitamin A, this truth was stretched past its breaking point by British propaganda during the war.
With meat, sugar, and other foods rationed for the war effort, carrots were among the vegetables that citizens were encouraged to grow and eat more of in their victory gardens, and Britain ended up with a large carrot surplus. This resulted in a promotional campaign led by Doctor Carrot, “the children’s best friend” who encouraged Britons to cook vegetable-heavy recipes and reduce the surplus, and a Disney cartoonist went so far as to create an entire family of anthropomorphic carrots based on the character. Britain’s Food Ministry told citizens that carrots could help them see in the dark during blackouts, which were common at the time in order to avoid German bombers. The myth may have served another purpose, too. It’s often reported that in order to conceal the invention of on-board Airborne Interception Radar from the Germans, the British attributed their pilots’ skills — particularly, the ability to hit targets in darkness — to the habit of eating lots of carrots.
With hundreds of thousands of travelers throwing wallets into bins every day, some loose change is bound to fall out and get left behind. Over time, that really adds up; in 2020 alone, the Transit Security Administration (TSA) gathered more than $500,000 in loose change, and that’s during a pandemic — in 2019, they picked up more than $900,000. The biggest source of lost change was Harry Reid (formerly McCarran) International Airport near Las Vegas, where passengers left behind $37,611.61.
The TSA has to submit reports to Congress every year on how much they’ve gathered and what they spent it on. They ended 2020 with $1.5 million, including money leftover from previous years, and spent much of it on pandemic mitigation measures like masks, gloves, and face shields.
Lyle Northey (Silent/Boomer)
It is eight days away from the election. People are still not sure which way they want to vote. The easy answer is to pick the place you wish to be in. Does the prospect of mass deportations bother you? How will they happen and who will be sent away? We know Trump considers only the white race as being worthy so anyone outside that will be deported. Where is he going to send the native Americans?
Do you want to be in a country that presents opportunities and has an upbeat tempo? It may not occur directly after the election as the MAGA crowd is probably going to go on a rampage because their great leader did not get reelected. At any rate the nation will still be a democracy and your rights will have meaning and be protected.
The choice seems clear to me and that choice is to keep Trump out of office. If you believe that he is just blowing smoke with his talk you have to remember that he has a program in the 2025 manifesto and that provides much of the intended actions to be taken. Will he be able to use the military to do his dirty work? Unfortunately there are Officers that will follow his orders as well as lower ranks to carry out the deeds. It is sad to think that all of the people in the military took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and yet are willing to violate that oath for the sake of favor from a dictator, or more correctly a dick.
No matter who is elected expect turmoil. If Trump wins we go into a tailspin of economic disaster as the whole world economy will most likely do a flip. We will no longer be a favored nation and the Chininesse or someone else will step in as the lead nation. If Harris wins the MAGA lot will most likely be called upon to disrupt as much as possible while Trump cries about losing again and tries to get the results overturned.
Will we see fighting in the streets? How truly committed to the cause are the followers? Jim Jones got a lot of people to drink the kool aid so we have to wonder how many of these followers are willing to put it on the line for the leader. Since his rallies have been shrinking and he is now getting hit with news reports that actually say he is wrong some may have second thoughts on going too far with the nonsense. Chances are that if they are met with their own brand of violence they may just quit. Inflicting pain on others is a lot different than having it inflicted on yourself.
Of the choices lets just remember that our nation was and is unique and that our goal is to become better for all of us, and move forward.
Superman originally couldn’t fly.
Since his 1938 debut in Action Comics No. 1, Superman has evolved into an even more powerful superhero than the original character. While he’s always been super strong and super fast, he didn’t initially have his now-famous ability to fly. You’ve probably heard the slogan “able to leap tall buildings in a single bound” — that comes from his ability to jump an eighth of a mile at a time, which is originally as close as he came to being able to fly.The first implied instance of Superman taking flight was on an August 1939 cover of the British magazine Triumph, where the superhero appears to be flying into space. It was also hinted at in the second episode of The Adventures of Superman radio program in 1940. Then came artist Leo Nowak, who, assuming the hero had been given the power of flight, mistakenly drew Superman hovering above the ground in 1941’s Superman No. 10, which some now consider to be the first example of the character midflight. Funnily enough, Nowak was also the first to portray the villainous Lex Luthor as bald (earlier drawings depicted him as having red hair).Superman officially gained the ability to fly in 1941’s The Mad Scientist, the first of 17 animated shorts from Fleischer Studios. The studio found it challenging to animate Superman’s leaping ability and asked DC Studios’ permission to make the character fly, which was easier to portray. (The request was granted.) In the comics, the first formal mention of this ability came in 1944’s Superman No. 30. While chasing a character named Mr. Mxyzptlk through the sky, Superman quips, “I thought I was the only one who could fly!!” |
“Happy Birthday to You” famously went through a huge copyright battle, despite being one of the best-known songs ever written in English. Sisters Patty and Mildred Hill initially published the song in 1893, and it remained under copyright, most recently to Warner Music Group, until a judge deemed the copyright invalid in 2015. But the original song written by the Hill sisters wasn’t “Happy Birthday to You” — the melody was for a greeting song called “Good Morning to All.”“Happy Birthday to You” was simply a variation that popped up in the early 20th century, although it eventually became the main lyric associated with the tune.
The oceans are becoming greener.
Climate change isn’t just raising the temperature of the world’s oceans — it’s also changing their color. As the oceans absorb the excess heat generated by greenhouse gases, that heat is altering the aquatic life in their waters. New research published in Nature in 2023 shows that the familiar blue hue of the oceans has been steadily transforming over the past 20 years into a greener shade, especially in tropical and subtropical areas of the world.
The color of the ocean is dependent on a variety of factors, but one key is the light absorption of H2O. Water usually readily absorbs longer wavelengths of light — red, yellow, and green — and scatters blue. However, a concentration of marine life can cause emerald waters. The newly green hue detected by the 2023 research likely reflects a change in the ocean’s phytoplankton — the algae responsible for 70% of the world’s oxygen, and which also provides the foundation for the marine food web. Scientists monitored ocean color using NASA’s Aqua satellite, and found marked shifts toward green in about 56% of the world’s oceans between 2002 and 2022. Statistical simulations showed that added greenhouse gases are to blame, although it’s not exactly clear how, since areas that warmed the most at the surface weren’t the ones that turned green the most. Some scientists theorize that the change may have to do with reduced mixing in the layers of ocean water, caused by the heat, which limits the nutrients that rise to the surface and consequently affects the types of plankton that can survive. But don’t go color-correcting your photos just yet: While satellites can detect the change in ocean hue, the change is slight enough that most humans probably wouldn’t notice a difference.
Esoteric Meandering Shouting Into the Void 
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