Spring is the season after winter and before summer. It lasts from March through May in the Northern Hemisphere and from September through November in the Southern Hemisphere. In the middle latitudes, where there are four seasons, spring begins with the melting of snow, increasing daylight hours, and rising temperatures. These factors increase plant photosynthesis and growth with the awakening of nature's bounty. No longer blanketed by the winter snow, spring brings on the renewal of life. The name "spring" comes from the fact that new plant growth "springs forth".
All over the world people, animals, and plants feel this exuberant spirit. We feel full of curiosity and more energy than we feel at any other season. We see new life with trees budding, grass growing, and youth in all living beings. Hibernating animals awaken and come out of their winter sleeping places.
Throughout human history the year has often begun with spring. In some cultures March has been the first month. This has made September, October, November, and December the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months. Where did these months get their names? They came
from the Latin prefixes sept-, oct-, nov-, and dec-, for seven, eight, nine, and ten respectively. Many cultures today hold festivals celebrating the arrival of spring. Afghanistan celebrates the first day of spring as the start of the new year. Australia, where spring begins in September, holds their Spring Racing Carnival of thoroughbred horse racing. The first day of spring(which is also the new year) is on March 21st during the vernal equinox in Persia(Iran). This day is called Nowruz or "New Day". These are just a few examples.
Tropical climates barely notice spring because their temperatures barely change throughout the year. But for those of us in the higher latitudes, especially the temperate regions, spring is truly special. And I'm enjoying mine this year-it's in the 60s many days here in Ohio!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
St. Patrick's Day
A lot of things come to mind with St. Patrick's Day.
For one, my favorite Irish-American singer, Judy Garland, famous for Irish ditties like "Danny Boy", "A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow", and "It's A Great Day For The Irish".
And it is a great day for the Irish. But how did it come about? What is its history?
St. Patrick was born in 387 into a wealthy family of Church deacons in Britain, then under the Roman Empire, in the province of Britannia. When he was sixteen years old, he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland to be a slave. Held captive on Ireland's west coast, he had a dream where God told him to escape to the east coast. He did, and once there, boarded a ship to Britain, where he joined the Church and studied to be a priest.
By 432 he was a bishop. He returned to Ireland to convert the polytheistic Irish to Christianity, using the shamrock as a symbol of the Christian Trinity to evangelize to the Irish. He did this for almost three decades until his death on March 17th in 461.
Saint Patrick is remembered as the primary champion of Irish Christianity and is a major figure in the history of the Irish Church. So his death has been commemorated ever since. The symbolism associated with St. Patrick, especially the shamrock, changed from blue to green over the years, but has grown into a holiday cultural celebration by Irish people all over the world.
For one, my favorite Irish-American singer, Judy Garland, famous for Irish ditties like "Danny Boy", "A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow", and "It's A Great Day For The Irish".
And it is a great day for the Irish. But how did it come about? What is its history?
St. Patrick was born in 387 into a wealthy family of Church deacons in Britain, then under the Roman Empire, in the province of Britannia. When he was sixteen years old, he was kidnapped and taken to Ireland to be a slave. Held captive on Ireland's west coast, he had a dream where God told him to escape to the east coast. He did, and once there, boarded a ship to Britain, where he joined the Church and studied to be a priest.
By 432 he was a bishop. He returned to Ireland to convert the polytheistic Irish to Christianity, using the shamrock as a symbol of the Christian Trinity to evangelize to the Irish. He did this for almost three decades until his death on March 17th in 461.
Saint Patrick is remembered as the primary champion of Irish Christianity and is a major figure in the history of the Irish Church. So his death has been commemorated ever since. The symbolism associated with St. Patrick, especially the shamrock, changed from blue to green over the years, but has grown into a holiday cultural celebration by Irish people all over the world.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Fight of the Century
The Fight of the Century was forty years ago last night. And this morning forty years ago, the newspapers were full of coverage about the fight.
Muhammad Ali, who won the world heavyweight boxing championship from Sonny Liston in 1964, defended it seven times against top contenders in the next three years with his blinding speed and reflexes. But in April 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, he refused induction into the U.S. military because of his religious beliefs as a conscientious objector, and was promptly stripped of his boxing license and world title. He wouldn't be allowed to fight for three and a half years.
Joe Frazier, the 1964 Olympic heavyweight boxing champion, built a professional boxing career on his bobbing and weaving, counter-punching style combined with a great left hook. He mowed down the heavyweight division, winning the vacant world title by destroying Jimmy Ellis in four rounds.
In late 1970, Ali got his boxing license back and started his comeback by stopping Jerry Quarry on cuts in the third round of their fight in Atlanta, then knocked down Oscar Bonavena three times in the fifteenth round in Madison Square Garden in New York City for that knockout win.
So the stage was set. Given the political atmosphere surrounding the fight, America still embroiled in the Vietnam War with a growing antiwar movement, everybody was talking about the fight. Ali symbolized the antiwar movement, and Frazier symbolized the establishment still supporting the war. That night, March 8th, 1971, New York's famed Madison Square Garden was packed with celebrities. Actor Burt Lancaster was a commentator. So was former world light-heavyweight boxing champion Archie Moore. Frank Sinatra took a job as photographer for Life magazine just to get in, garnering a ringside seat. It was a circus atmosphere with everyone, including some gaudily dressed, trying to get into the Garden.
The fight lived up to the hype. Ali won the early rounds, with Frazier being a slow starter. But "Smoking Joe" Frazier kept up the pressure, eventually pinning Muhammad Ali to the ropes by the middle rounds. In the ninth round, Ali hurt Frazer with a combination, forcing Joe to back up, and winning that round. But two rounds later, in the eleventh, Joe nailed Ali with a terrific left hook that had Muhammad staggering all over the ring for the rest of the round. Rounds twelve and thirteen were fairly even, but Ali won the fourteenth handily.
Now the fight was pretty even, and the tension in the Garden, and to those watching on closed circuit TV all over the world, was palpable.
The fifteenth round was underway. About a minute into the round, fighting along the ropes, Ali threw a right uppercut. Frazier saw his chance, throwing his big left hook over Ali's uppercut, and nailing Muhammad on the jaw, sending him to the canvas. Ali would later say that he didn't remember going down, but woke up when he hit the canvas, thinking "Get up." He did get up when referee Arthur Mercantee got to three, and finished the fight on his feet and still looking okay.
The fight was close, with the referee's card showing that Frazer won eight rounds, Ali won six, and that one round was even. It was one of boxing history's greatest fights, and it led to two re-matches for the two great warriors we saw that night.
Muhammad Ali, who won the world heavyweight boxing championship from Sonny Liston in 1964, defended it seven times against top contenders in the next three years with his blinding speed and reflexes. But in April 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, he refused induction into the U.S. military because of his religious beliefs as a conscientious objector, and was promptly stripped of his boxing license and world title. He wouldn't be allowed to fight for three and a half years.
Joe Frazier, the 1964 Olympic heavyweight boxing champion, built a professional boxing career on his bobbing and weaving, counter-punching style combined with a great left hook. He mowed down the heavyweight division, winning the vacant world title by destroying Jimmy Ellis in four rounds.
In late 1970, Ali got his boxing license back and started his comeback by stopping Jerry Quarry on cuts in the third round of their fight in Atlanta, then knocked down Oscar Bonavena three times in the fifteenth round in Madison Square Garden in New York City for that knockout win.
So the stage was set. Given the political atmosphere surrounding the fight, America still embroiled in the Vietnam War with a growing antiwar movement, everybody was talking about the fight. Ali symbolized the antiwar movement, and Frazier symbolized the establishment still supporting the war. That night, March 8th, 1971, New York's famed Madison Square Garden was packed with celebrities. Actor Burt Lancaster was a commentator. So was former world light-heavyweight boxing champion Archie Moore. Frank Sinatra took a job as photographer for Life magazine just to get in, garnering a ringside seat. It was a circus atmosphere with everyone, including some gaudily dressed, trying to get into the Garden.
The fight lived up to the hype. Ali won the early rounds, with Frazier being a slow starter. But "Smoking Joe" Frazier kept up the pressure, eventually pinning Muhammad Ali to the ropes by the middle rounds. In the ninth round, Ali hurt Frazer with a combination, forcing Joe to back up, and winning that round. But two rounds later, in the eleventh, Joe nailed Ali with a terrific left hook that had Muhammad staggering all over the ring for the rest of the round. Rounds twelve and thirteen were fairly even, but Ali won the fourteenth handily.
Now the fight was pretty even, and the tension in the Garden, and to those watching on closed circuit TV all over the world, was palpable.
The fifteenth round was underway. About a minute into the round, fighting along the ropes, Ali threw a right uppercut. Frazier saw his chance, throwing his big left hook over Ali's uppercut, and nailing Muhammad on the jaw, sending him to the canvas. Ali would later say that he didn't remember going down, but woke up when he hit the canvas, thinking "Get up." He did get up when referee Arthur Mercantee got to three, and finished the fight on his feet and still looking okay.
The fight was close, with the referee's card showing that Frazer won eight rounds, Ali won six, and that one round was even. It was one of boxing history's greatest fights, and it led to two re-matches for the two great warriors we saw that night.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Debut
Hi!
Okay, this is my first commentary on Blogger. I'm here because I'm a non-techie who found out that Leighann Lord, the fast rising comedienne from New York known as the Urban Erma, is also not tech-smart about computers. I heard her on an online radio show called "Peoplegogy," podcast on BlogTalkRadio, talking about this, and it rang a bell with me. She talked about her struggles with learning how to put together a website, which everybody says you need to build any kind of career or business, which many of us still don't know how to do. But we're trying! WordPress drove her crazy, and I remembered last year when I couldn't figure it out either when I tried to post blogs there. So Leighann said that she finally found Blogger, a platform she found easy to handle and learn on, like baby steps. She also found that once she got her own domain and website, she could transfer her Blogger posts to her website easily.
Since then, her website and career have taken off!
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