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Post by Vanye on Apr 28, 2005 2:38:47 GMT -6
This might not be the proper spot for this, But ...I decided it looked like the most appropriate place, to me anyway. If someone thinks that it belongs somewhere else feel free to move it! I have gotten some info off the internet about Middle-earth calendars & specifically Shire Reckoning. I'm not a big enough fanatic that I worry about all of the different calendars used in M-e. I just find it interesting to learn about the Shire calendar as it is referred to a lot in the books. Basically it does something I've always thought was a great idea: that is they even up the months so that they are all 30 days long. The Shire year begins with the winter Solstice which is also different. I think that it is appropriate because if you live in the north that part of the year from about Thanksgiving till the end of January feels slower & more closed in, if you get my drift. It's between growing seasons, it cold outside everything is resting & waiting for the warmth to return. What they do w/day #366 every leap year is even more amazing i.e. they stick it in the middle of summer (the day after Midyears Day, 2 July) . Today, 28 April, is the 8th of Thrimidge, which is their 5th month. The days of the week fall on the same dates every year because leap day & a few other 'extra' days are inserted in diferent places throughout the year in order to use all the days since 12x30=360, but it does not change the order of the names of the weekdays. It could be a bit much to get used to! But it also has it's advantages, such as you would not need a new calendar every year since it does not change year to year. Kind of in keeping w/the simple (but 'rich') lifestyle of the Hobbits! Just thought I'd share this w/ all of you & of course if none of this is new to you then I'm so embarassed !!This geek will shut her beak & go to bed at this time(1:30 AM PDT) Vanye
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Post by Desi Baggins on Apr 28, 2005 6:20:11 GMT -6
So far all I have done is looked at the names of the months. What you have written is interesting to me. I will have to read up on the Shire calendar some, seeing how I claim to be a Hobbit I should know this sort of thing. I like the idea of every month having 30 days, I can never remember the saying that is supose to help you figure which month has how many days.
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Post by Magpie on Apr 28, 2005 7:23:33 GMT -6
I like the idea of every month having 30 days, I can never remember the saying that is supose to help you figure which month has how many days. Thirty days has September April June and November All the rest have thirty one except February.... (It can go on with the leap year exception) Here's an easier way to remember Look at the back of your hand. There are four knuckles (I'm talking about the ones at the base of your fingers, not the ones in the middle of your fingers). Touch the knuckle of your little finger then the space between that knuckle and the next, then touch the knuckle of your ring finger then the space between that knuckle and the next, then touch the knuckle of your longest finger and the next space, then the knuckle of your index finger and the next. X = knuckle _ = space X _ X _ X _ X now... start over again from the beginning - when you do the whole sequence it looks like this X _ X _ X _ X (start over again) X _ X _ X _ X When you do this sequence say the months X = January _ = February X = March _ = April X = May _ = June X = July (now start over again) X = August _ = September X = October _ = November X = December Why are you doing this? Well either X or _ means 30 days and the other means 31 days. But which is which? Is X = 30 days or is _ thirty days. I always remember that February is like a short '30 day' month. It's in between two 31 day months. And when I touch knuckles/spaces February is a space. That means _ = 30 days (with the exception of Feb) and all the rest are 31. And so, X = January = 31 _ = February = 30 oops... 28 or 29 X = March = 31 _ = April = 30 X = May = 31 _ = June = 30 X = July = 31 (now start over again) X = August = 31 _ = September = 30 X = October = 31 _ = November = 30 X = December = 31 I actually use this to figure out the length of months. Notice there is a distinct pattern of 30/31 (with February altering the 30 part) except for those two months July and August. Why don't they fit the pattern. The two months are named after Julius and Augustus Caesar. They gave Julius a month that was 31 days long, then later gave Augustus the following month. They couldn't have Augustus with fewer days than Julius so they made August 31 days as well. www.infoplease.com/spot/99aughistory1.htmlOr, you could remember that my birthday, September 30th, is on the last day of the month so September - or a space month - is 30 days long. ;D Vanya I loved your 'geek beak' thing... did you mean to rhyme. I wanted to start saying, "Geek Beak!" "Geek Beak!" So here's the mildly useful burst of my geek beak.
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Post by Vanye on Apr 28, 2005 10:14:14 GMT -6
Magpie, you have just boggled my mind w/that disertation & it's too early in the morning to have one's mind get boggled! I shall need to get unboggled in order to deal w/it...later...some other day maybe? Yeah, I did mean for those words to rhyme I was pretty pumped when I was writing that. We had had a lot of fun on the last leg of our Role-Playing Tour & was not yet feeling sleepy, so I decided to share w/all of fellow TR denizens what I was immersed in at the time! Ain't geekdom grand! All that stuff that fascinates one of us is generally lost on our families but you can always share it w/ your website mates. Well, I had best go start getting unboggled so I can face the Real World! Like later Gator ;D Vanye
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Post by Magpie on Apr 28, 2005 15:42:04 GMT -6
It would have taken me 25 seconds to explain it in person. One of the defintions for "magpie" is this: an obnoxious and foolish and loquacious talker what can I say.... (speaking of early mornings... it was a sleep in day for me except my husband shouted out at 6:30... "Don't you have school?" I didn't, but there was no going back to sleep for me.)
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Post by Stormrider on Apr 28, 2005 20:36:36 GMT -6
Very interesting! and funny the way you both explained it all! lol!
After Magpie's explanation it all makes sense! Wow! But I think it would be much easier to have all months set to 30 days as the Shire Reckoning calendar!
Afteryule (Jan), Solmath (Feb), Rethe (March), Astron (April), Thrimidge (May), Forelithe (June), Afterlithe (July), Wemath (Aug), Halimath (Sept), Winterfilth (Oct), Blotmath (Nov), Foreyule (Dec)
The name Winterfilth is strange! You would think that would be what the sloppy, melty months after winter would be called!
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Post by Vanye on Apr 28, 2005 21:24:19 GMT -6
Magpie: Another definition of magpie is a large crow-like bird, related to Myna birds & capable of talking! We had one her name was Maggie (how original) & boy did she talk! She mimiced voices, she called the dogs in my father-in-law's voice & my father-in-law in my mother-in-law's voice among other things. She escaped from her cage & perched in a neighbor's tree; they kept hearing voices but it took a while to figure it out. We brought her back home & she outlived those dogs. She was still calling them when they were long dead! Vanye
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Post by Magpie on Apr 28, 2005 21:37:39 GMT -6
Vanya, magpies also collect bright shiny things, which is why I was given the name by my husband for collecting small shiny things... or not shiny... or small... acorns, pine cones, bits of bark, grape vine tendrils, rocks, shells, viewmaster slides, roosters, blue glass bottles, wooden handled kitchen tools, folk dolls, cut glass salt shakers missing their tops and mates, tokens from games (the things you move around boards), joker cards, fans from the state fair, buttons, McDonald toys...
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Post by Vanye on Apr 29, 2005 12:01:40 GMT -6
The wild Magpies stole the eggs right out of the henhouse. But we had some Trade Rats on our place who would trade shiny tools in our toolshed for dog food in the barrel in the toolshed. Our tools for our dog food! A Trade Rats version of a fair trade. Every morning there was a nest of shiny objects in the barrel on top of the dog food. Life in the country is never dull. Vanye
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Post by Magpie on Apr 29, 2005 12:06:49 GMT -6
I used to read a book to my students called "Pebbles, A Pack Rat" by Edna Miller that dealt with this trading behavior. It was cute book... she wrote a whole series on Mousekin the mouse... all are out of print though.
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Post by Vanye on Apr 29, 2005 19:00:21 GMT -6
Yes, Magpie, I remember that you are a teacher as am I. Though not teaching full-time I still sub, right now only taking on Special Ed. assignments. My daughter teaches Head Start-my, brother is a teacher- guess it runs in the family. What level do you teach? That may explain our urge to explain things to whomever will listen. I have found it frustrating to try to teach to children who did not want to learn (especially History) : some of them would tell me straight out that they did not care about what has happened in the past! That is frustrating when I see the applicability of history to everything that is happening in today's world. Anyway we have that (teaching) in common as well as our love of Tolkien & M-e. Vanye (Geek-at-large)
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Post by Magpie on Apr 29, 2005 21:16:03 GMT -6
I used to work with K-2 students as an Educational Assistant. But I was smart and they allowed me to write my own lesson plans and teach along with other teachers in a reading collaborative. I read books that I compiled in units with accompaning activities for 1 & 2 grade. Then I did phonemic awareness for kindergarten as a tutor for lagging first graders.
My position was 'excessed' and I was placed in an early childhood program where I essentially did child care and housekeeping. That was the incentive to quit and go back to school.
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Post by Vanye on Apr 29, 2005 22:11:22 GMT -6
I worked at factory jobs until 1980 when I was let go for being involved in trying to unionize our plant They told me another 'story' of course! Deciding that it was a 'sign' that I needed to make a big change I appled for financial aid & started college at 40 years of age. I have not had a full-time teaching job, but have done a lot of subbing at all levels. However,at anything above 3rd grade I have encountered some real bad attiitudes from students (Middle school being the worst). So special-ed has become my specialty of late.
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Post by Desi Baggins on Apr 30, 2005 6:24:25 GMT -6
I have always wanted to teach, but I don't like going to school. So I have not finished my schooling so being a teacher won't happen for me. If I did teach I would only like little kids because want to learn.
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Post by Vanye on Apr 30, 2005 10:43:35 GMT -6
Desi: For yours truly, liking school is no problemo! I'd be in school right now being the perpetual student if only time & money were not in short supply. It took 6 years to achieve my Bachelor's & loved every minute of it! My daughter teaches 4 year olds in the Head Start program- an age she loves! When I taught in regular classrooms the K-3 classes were the days it seemed that more teaching & less policing was done! They usually want to learn!
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