A few leap day thoughts.
Saturday, 01 March 2008 01:29:40

(This doesn't have much to do with firefly except that I was able to sneak in one of Jubal Early's favorite words, 'imbue', but I don't think you'll mind me rambling on about it.) I'm a big fan of Stuart McLean's show 'The Vinyl Cafe' on CBC radio, but that doesn't mean that I agree with all of his opinions or writings. Last weekend he did a big spiel about disliking February that I have to take issue with for a few reasons. First, but not most importantly, he used a conceit that I really think should be done away with - that of pretending that the months of the year have weather patterns and spirits of themselves, divorced the periods of time that we as people have arranged them into and the cultural attitudes that we imbue them with. 'I know that February is the shortest month of the year, but if we could shorten it even further and add the extra days to June, we could get weeks more fine June weather.' Lately I'm not such a big fan of the June weather, but it obviously can't work like that anyway just by rearranging the months, it's not cute anymore, and everybody, especially Stuart, should just drop it. The bigger point that I want to take issue with, though, is Leap Years and Leap Days, and today, Leap day of 2008, seems like a good time to get this off my chest. First, I'm going to include a bit of the McLean ramble to which I am rebutting, with all of the usual disclaimers, this is his writing, not mine, and I include it here under fair use as explanation: "...this notion that a month can accordion in and out every four years, and I don't know how they got THAT past the Board of Regents. You're commissioned to codify the year, to design a system that makes the year solid and reliable, and you *do* that, eleven out of twelve months... And you leave February to some maniac from the basement, who has *radical theories* about child-rearing and what you should eat for breakfast, and has just been WAITING for a chance like this! ...This is what we're left with, a month that can't keep track of itself, a month that loses days willy-nilly... like those school notices your kids never bring home." There's a lot to nitpick in that passage, (WHAT board of regents, and who commissioned them?) but to me what sticks out is that the charge that Leap Day is somehow flighty, unreliable, or crazy just because it isn't part of every year like the others. Odd notion it might be, but something like leap day is the best way I've heard of to make a workable calendar on planet Earth, and I have nothing but respect for the people who came up with the idea and crunched the numbers for it. Let's start with the basics - the point of our calendar is to organize the solar days within the seasonal year - the number of times the sun rises and sets between winter and winter, to put it fairly simply. These periods of time are based on how fast the earth is spinning on its axis and orbiting the sun, and naturally, they don't match nicely with one being an exact multiple of the other. The seasonal year, (from one winter solstice to the next, say,) is close to 365.2425 solar days long. If you want every year to have exactly the same number of days, then you'd make a calendar that's just 365 days long, and not worry about the extra quarter-day every year. However, at that rate, if you started with winter in December, it would only take around 900 years to get to winter in summer. That's not much good. Around the time of Julius Caesar, I think, was when the notion of an extra day first got some momentum. Jules recognized a good idea when he heard it, supported the idea, and therefore that first system is known as the Julian calendar. (Calendars never get named after the people who come up with the ideas and do the math, they're named after important leaders who manage to get everybody to listen up.) This leap day system was pretty simple, one leap day every four years no ifs ands or buts, and it was LOTS better than what came before, but still not really close enough. A few hundred years ago, what with telescopes and abacuses and slide

On costuming...
Saturday, 01 March 2008 05:57:05

I'm seriously hoping I'll be able to make it to D*C this year in Atlanta, and I'm thinking about wearing a costume for at least one of those days. Though, I don't know what to wear. I have several options: [u]Zoe/browncoat[/u] I found a long khaki trench coat at Target the other day that's pretty close to Zoe's, and I know where I can find some dark brown pants that I can tailor to be knee length so they won't bunch up in the tall black boots that I've had for a while. (Yup, those boots are made for walkin'! :wink:) And, I also have an olive-drab dress shirt. All I'd have to do is make a vest and buy a gun belt, holster, and fake mare's leg (or other gun). However, Atlanta in August is guaranteed some of the most miserably hot weather known to man (those of you who are laughing at this have never known a summer in the South), so I may not want to wear a costume with that much gear. [u]Kaylee[/u] I have a top that is embroidered with an Indian design and a pair of olive-drab capris (as oppose to the jumpsuit). I do own a Japanese robe, but it's black with pink peacocks. A moody Kaylee? Maybe. [u]Inara[/u] I have this black skirt with a lot of nice lace work at the hem. All I'd need to do is get a top that would be Inara-ish. My best bet would be making one myself. However, my sewing skills aren't that good. Though, I do have six months to get it right. And it would be really nice to wear a skirt there. Hmm... [u]River[/u] [b]Pfft! That ain't gonna happen![/b] I've spent the past seven years being poked and prodded by doctors in RL, been on all sorts of prescription drugs that [i]has[/i] made a couple of heroine addicts jealous, and categorizing my days into "good" and "bad". Portraying a character whose schizophrenia was manufactured in a lab sounds less like a day of fun and more like digging up repressed memories. [u]Firefly/Serenity t-shirt[/u] Let's face it. I've been meaning to order one from CafePress.com. (TenthCrewMember, I'm talkin' to you! :biggrin:) Despite the above options, I [b]will[/b] wear one on one of the three con days. If I can make it. *crosses fingers* Anyways, any opinions?

Howdy
Saturday, 01 March 2008 11:39:38

I had an account here years ago, but I can't remember the email it was under or my password. This makes me a bit sad becauase I had submitted art, and I really wish I could find my old account. I guess I'll have to make new Inara and Mal art to make up for the loss. I'm glad this site is still going strong. Go Browncoats!!

I'm in a film!!!
Saturday, 01 March 2008 19:49:34

So it's a short film, but it's a film nevertheless, as once again we gear up for Can't Stop the Serenity this June. No shooting date set yet, but it's going to be at the Desert of Maine some time this spring. Of course I'm playing Mal, and I'll be speechifying a bit about the New England Browncoats and why we're involved with CSTS. The film will be shown just before the 'Serenity' screening in Boston on June 23, in whatever theater we end up booking. Keep your hopes and your prayers with me, friends, that I'll make it safely through the rest of this filthy winter without gettin' myself dead or debilitated. I'm powerful stoked about this and I DON'T wanna get left!!! And now, on with a Firefly mini-marathon to brush up on my Malediction. :biggrin: