Coopernundrums

     I was just introduced to the most brain stimulating debate I have had in while and I thought I would share it with you.  It is not a new debate, certainly not when you’re dealing with millennia.  Late last night I sat at the old computer gathering info about the last ten years for my end-of-year blog post and I came to the frustrating realization that there is actually a great deal of debate about this subject.  It seems there is general confusion regarding how the decades and millennia are interpreted by the average Joe.

     I must admit that I fell into the trap of believing the hype and had it embedded in my mind that the end of the first decade of the new millennium is about to end.  Many people call this decade The Oughts or The ’00s. Clearly, then, the decade includes years that have zero as the third digit. Next year, that third digit turns to a 1, so the end of the decade obviously is at hand right?  Consider also the popular terms affixed to decades.  Since I am a child of the ’80s that would mean that can only years that include some derivative of 80 should be included.  In no way can 1979 be considered part of the ’80s. Using that logic, 2010 must mark the beginning of the next decade.   Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines a decade as “in common usage, a ten-year period beginning with a year 0, as 1920-1929.”  All of these factors prove that this decade will end on Dec. 31, 2009, Right?

     Another school of thought says that as we age, we are not said to be 1 until after living 12 months, and we do not celebrate a 10th birthday until after living 10 years. Logical conclusion: The next decade won’t begin until after 2010 concludes. If you think about millennia the first one thousand years started with the number 1 and thus ended with 1000.  This means those years 1001 through 2001 would equal the second millennium.  Following this logic the first decade of this millennium began with the year 2001, and the last year of the first decade of this millennium will be next year, 2010. This is a very compelling argument.

     Does that mean Webster’s dictionary is wrong? No, the definition mentioned earlier, pertained to the “common usage” of the word. The same dictionary also defines a decade as “officially, a ten-year period beginning with the year 1, as 1921-1930.” Webster apparently wants to make everyone happy.

   It seems like the debate itself will be lost in the sea of media outlets and emotional minds ready for this decade to be over.  I for one am happy, since it gives me two years to consider and be respectful of all the wonderful, wondrous and sad things that have occurred in the last ten years.

Happy new year all!

 No, it is not Southern slang for dodging things a chimp might throw at you.  Its a truly fascinating dish that seems to have it’s origins in the deep south of Louisiana.  The name Turducken is a portmanteau of turkey, duck, and chicken.  It is a dish consisting of a partially de-boned turkey stuffed with a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed with a small de-boned chicken. The chicken and the rest of the gaps are stuffed, sometimes with a highly seasoned breadcrumb mixture or sausage meat, although some versions have a different stuffing for each bird. 

     A November 2005 National Geographic article by Calvin Trillin traced the American origins of the dish to “Hebert’s Specialty Meats” in Maurice, Louisiana. They have been commercially producing turduckens since 1985, when an unknown local farmer brought in his own birds and asked Hebert’s to prepare them in the now-familiar style. The company prepares around 5,000 turduckens per week around Thanksgiving time.

     In all honesty the thing doesn’t look all that appetizing.  Still, I have always wanted to try one of these things but have never had the patience or skill to prepare one.  Its something that always grabs my attention when I see a newspaper article or a TV spot about it.  How bout you..are you ..GAME..?
   …sorry I had to, it was begging to be said.

    While October may be the favorite month of thousands of humans, who excitedly plan their costumes of spooks, vampires and monsters, in anticipation of Halloween, cats, particularly black cats, have little cause for celebration this month.

    I am no champion of Feline rights, but you may be interested to know that there are quite a few violent indignities that have been practiced on black cats at this time of year.

     In ancient religions, black cats were considered to be reincarnated beings with the ability to divine the future. During the middle Ages it was believed that witches could turn themselves into black cats. Thus when such a cat was seen, it was considered to be a witch in disguise or a familiar, resulting in many black cats being thrown into fire. The throwing of cats into a bonfire used to be a folk custom in France, Switzerland and Belgium and was done on St. John’s Eve in June. The custom was abolished by King Louis XIV in 1648, though it continued in the provinces until as late as 1796.

    Black cats have taken a bad rap throughout history. Greek mythology taught that a woman named Galenthias was turned into a cat and became a priestess at the temple of Hecate, the “Dark Mother,” and sometimes known as the Mother of Witchcraft.  During the 12th and 13th century, witches in Europe were often found with their “familiars,” usually black cats, and were said to turn themselves into cats at times. During the witch-burning era of the 17th century, witches’ cats were put into baskets and burned alongside the witches.

   Even in the 21st century, old superstitions have survived.  In many European countries and in the U.S., black cats signify bad luck, while in England, your luck is said to turn good if a black cat crosses your path.

    It is true that statistics on black cat torture during October are lacking – most of the stories we hear are here say, and some, no doubt, have been drummed up simply for the shock value.  Ritual sacrifice still exists.  Talk to almost any police officer in a rural area about it and you may hear a story or two about cattle found, completely drained of blood, often with vital organs missing. These stories crop up in newspapers once in awhile, and while some may be dismissed as “urban legends,” the possibility exists that some are true.

Happy Halloween!