Arthur C. Clarke dies at 90

Well once again this year, in less than 3 weeks I am knocked for a loop. Gary Gygax died about 2 weeks ago and tonight as I am reading the news items online I see that science fiction writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke has died.

How depressed am I?

I remember checking out Clarke's books from the library when I was a in middle school. My brother and I would pedal our bikes the 16-20 blocks to the library and spend hours browsing the shelves, reading magazines, and delving into the books that we were planning to check out while sitting in the big comfy chairs that the library had.

They were leather and squeaked a bit when you sat in them. I remember fondly my legs sticking to the chairs as my shorts didn't cover my legs to my knees and often the back of my legs got sweaty and stuck to the chair. The library is and was a magical place for me full of adventure and knowledge where anything can be learned if you look for it.

Part of my education was science fiction books by the likes of Asimov and Clarke. He will be missed. He is going on that last great adventure into the unknown, I promise to introduce my son to your writing and your great capacity for innovative thought and imagination.


Sci-fi guru Arthur C. Clarke dies at 90

John Adams Miniseries

I just finished watching the first two episodes of the John Adams miniseries and I am happy to say that I thought it was amazing!!

The acting was superb, the setting was believable and I just can't say enough really. If you missed the first two episodes tonight then try and catch them before next Sunday. it was brilliant, simply brilliant.

~ Terhune

SNOW!!!

I took a video of the snow that hit our corner of Arkansas on the 7th. A usual 20 minutes drive home took me a little over an hour and a half. See, it does snow sometimes in the city built over one of the shafts leading to Hell.




~ Terhune

One More Week!!

A spring break is only a week away for me, and I can not wait. Its not that I don't like my job, or the students that I teach - I need a break. Of course I won't get a break really because I plan on finishing up my projects for my Masters and some things I need to get done for my job, but I won't have to drive to work and see my students for a week.

So I was thinking about Spring Break so I did a search for Spring Break's history and this is what I found:

Like so much in our world, Spring Break originated with the ancient Greeks. As winter would lessen its chill, and thoughts turned to regeneration, rejuvenation, and new birth, Athens's elders noticed that the young people became particularly frolicsome.

Socrates then proposed, and the Greeks adopted, a wild rite to welcome Spring and allow young people to vent their ingrained urges… and Spring Break was born.

Immediately thereafter were heard the first complaints that these strange new rites were destructive of morals and caused undue hardship upon the local residents of the seaside towns in which the festivals were held.

Those making these complaints were quickly rounded up and stoned. A variation of this practice occurs to this day.

In the Middle Ages, after Christianity's triumph over paganism, it was determined that Spring Break should end. There followed many years of turmoil.

Every Spring it would take armed bands of monks and papal legates to stop young people from partying like it was 999.

Then, in 1237, St. Adledkopf proposed a solution- what if the Church co-opted Spring Break? Taking the uninhibited, riotous celebration that Spring Break had become, and turning it into something mannered and decent, alas, turned out to be a pipe-dream.

All attempts at substituting good fellowship and worship for drunken bonhomie and cheap thrills failed.

Other than Mardi Gras in New Orleans, America never really caught the Spring Break bug… until the First World War, when American Doughboys serving in France watched, wide-eyed with wonder, as the Europeans would temporarily halt Spring Offensives, and instead, party.

Miraculously, scantily clad women would appear over the trenches, dancing and prancing about like nymphs… unfortunately, it was discovered that many, if not most, of these "ladies" were in fact men. America's farm boys and day laborers were horrified, and therefore made the phrase "Show us your tits!" a Spring Break staple (which has since been adopted by Mardi Gras).

From 1929 to 1959 America was too busy with a Great Depression, another World War, and the reconstruction of much of the world to seriously party during Spring Break.

It wasn't until the 1960's became "the swinging Sixties" that America truly took to Spring Break. Baby Boomers flocked to the beach in Detroit steel, eager to forget the War, social progress, and exams… and get drunk and get laid. Spring Break was back!

Florida became the focus of Spring Break in the 1970's. Warm weather, beautiful beaches, and alcohol meant that somebody was going to get naked. Soon Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Panama City Beach were famous for drink and debauchery.

It was during this heyday that a particularly bad Spring Break ritual was begun. Locals called it "balcony diving." Drunk Spring Breakers would climb and swing from balcony to balcony on multi-storied hotel towers, looking for a party or a partner. Many fell to their deaths. Unfortunately, every year or two, some student finds the idea appealing and makes a terrible mistake.

Spring Break improved dramatically in the Eighties. In a decade that glorified over-consumption, a yearly event that reveled in sex, drugs and drink was a sure-fire hit.

More students than ever broke the bank, or their parents pocketbooks, and hustled a ride south. Moralists countered by offering planned activities- sporting events, dive trips, scavenger hunts, even church services. No one noticed.

Breakers in the Nineties eased up a bit on the over-indulgence, but just a bit. Superclubs, MTV, and corporate sponsors livened things up with concerts, shows, and give-aways.. but the Breaker's focus remained the same- get drunk and get laid.

The presence of so many television and video cameras during Spring Break meant two things… somebody was going to get naked, and somebody else would bitch about it.

A few nationally spotlighted cases, and Panama City Beach and Spring Break were savaged in the media. Savvy locals knew what that meant… even more Breakers next year!

And there you have it, the history of Spring Break. An honorable rite of ancient origin, one that you should proudly proclaim your part in, and whose traditions you should do your utmost to uphold.

I found it an interesting read anyway!! Here is the link for the original article, all of the quote above is of course the work of the author and not my own, I just wanted to share it with the people who read my blog.

I guess its good to have a tradition. I would hate to not adhere to a celebrated tradition such as Spring Break. I guess the only thing I can do, according to the article, is get drunk and get laid. Doesn't sound too bad, I can go to the store and buy alcohol; now if only my wife drank... :)

~ Terhune