Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sorry
Sorry for the inconvenience, but our comment window is for some reason unknown not working correctly. It is posting multiple comments of the same type, so until we get this fixed, I hope you don't mind duplicates!! :)
Template Change
Okay, people. I have a serious question for you guys. Comment on this post on your idea of the following question: Should the Coffee Snobs change the template (basically the background and layout) of this blog? I don't want just a yes or no reply. I want to know WHY. The more comments, the better, so start the feedback, people!
NOTE: The blog will be exactly the same, it's just that it will have an all new look to it. :)
Here are some of the different options:
NOTE: The blog will be exactly the same, it's just that it will have an all new look to it. :)
Here are some of the different options:
What Is Easter?
Easter is the annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the principal feast of the Christian year. It is celebrated on a Sunday on varying dates between March 22 and April 25 and is therefore called a movable feast. The dates of several other ecclesiastical festivals, extending over a period between Septuagesima Sunday (the ninth Sunday before Easter) and the first Sunday of Advent, are fixed in relation to the date of Easter.
Connected with the observance of Easter are the 40-day penitential season of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding at midnight on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday; Holy Week, commencing on Palm Sunday, including Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion, and terminating with Holy Saturday; and the Octave of Easter, extending from Easter Sunday through the following Sunday. During the Octave of Easter in early Christian times, the newly baptized wore white garments, white being the liturgical color of Easter and signifying light, purity, and joy.
The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name for Easter. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.
An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company
Just another little fun-filled moment from yours truly. :) Hope you're having a great Spring Break, guys!
~Muffin.
Connected with the observance of Easter are the 40-day penitential season of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding at midnight on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday; Holy Week, commencing on Palm Sunday, including Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion, and terminating with Holy Saturday; and the Octave of Easter, extending from Easter Sunday through the following Sunday. During the Octave of Easter in early Christian times, the newly baptized wore white garments, white being the liturgical color of Easter and signifying light, purity, and joy.
The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name for Easter. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.
An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company
Just another little fun-filled moment from yours truly. :) Hope you're having a great Spring Break, guys!
~Muffin.
Monday, March 23, 2009
When Is Easter?
Easter 2009
Easter 2009 will take place on Sunday, April 12.
Easter Calendar
Easter 2010 will be Sunday, April 4.
Easter 2011 will be Sunday, April 24.
Easter 2012 will be Sunday, April 8.
Easter in the Early Church
According to the New Testament, Christ was crucified on the eve of Passover and shortly afterward rose from the dead. In consequence, the Easter festival commemorated Christ's resurrection. In time, a serious difference over the date of the Easter festival arose among Christians. Those of Jewish origin celebrated the resurrection immediately following the Passover festival, which, according to their Babylonian lunar calendar, fell on the evening of the full moon (the 14th day in the month of Nisan, the first month of the year); by their reckoning, Easter, from year to year, fell on different days of the week.
Christians of Gentile origin, however, wished to commemorate the resurrection on the first day of the week, Sunday; by their method, Easter occurred on the same day of the week, but from year to year it fell on different dates. An important historical result of the difference in reckoning the date of Easter was that the Christian churches in the East, which were closer to the birthplace of the new religion and in which old traditions were strong, observed Easter according to the date of the Passover festival. The churches of the West, descendants of Greco-Roman civilization, celebrated Easter on a Sunday.
Rulings of the Council of Nicaea on the Date of Easter
Constantine I, Roman emperor, convoked the Council of Nicaea in 325. The council unanimously ruled that the Easter festival should be celebrated throughout the Christian world on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox; and that if the full moon should occur on a Sunday and thereby coincide with the Passover festival, Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following. Coincidence of the feasts of Easter and Passover was thus avoided.
The Council of Nicaea also decided that the calendar date of Easter was to be calculated at Alexandria, then the principal astronomical center of the world. The accurate determination of the date, however, proved an impossible task in view of the limited knowledge of the 4th-century world. The principal astronomical problem involved was the discrepancy, called the epact, between the solar year and the lunar year. The chief calendric problem was a gradually increasing discrepancy between the true astronomical year and the Julian calendar then in use.
Later Dating Methods
Ways of fixing the date of the feast tried by the church proved unsatisfactory, and Easter was celebrated on different dates in different parts of the world. In 387, for example, the dates of Easter in France and Egypt were 35 days apart. About 465, the church adopted a system of calculation proposed by the astronomer Victorinus (fl. 5th cent.), who had been commissioned by Pope Hilarius (r. 461–68) to reform the calendar and fix the date of Easter. Elements of his method are still in use. Refusal of the British and Celtic Christian churches to adopt the proposed changes led to a bitter dispute between them and Rome in the 7th century.
Reform of the Julian calendar in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, through adoption of the Gregorian calendar, eliminated much of the difficulty in fixing the date of Easter and in arranging the ecclesiastical year; since 1752, when the Gregorian calendar was also adopted in Great Britain and Ireland, Easter has been celebrated on the same day in the Western part of the Christian world. The Eastern churches, however, which did not adopt the Gregorian calendar, commemorate Easter on a Sunday either preceding or following the date observed in the West. Occasionally the dates coincide; the most recent times were in 1865 and 1963.
Because the Easter holiday affects a varied number of secular affairs in many countries, it has long been urged as a matter of convenience that the movable dates of the festival be either narrowed in range or replaced by a fixed date in the manner of Christmas. In 1923 the problem was referred to the Holy See, which has found no canonical objection to the proposed reform. In 1928 the British Parliament enacted a measure allowing the Church of England to commemorate Easter on the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. Despite these steps toward reform, Easter continues to be a movable feast.
An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company
Okay, guys. You probably think I'm crazy, because I know that NOBODY will read all of this mind-boggling stuff. I just thought the top few facts were cool, and they're located at...check this out...the TOP of the post. Huh? How cool is that? Anyway, I'm going to be posting a question a day about Easter until I run out of facts, or at least articles on the Encylopedia. Peace out, homedogs.
~Muffin, the Easter expert.
Easter 2009 will take place on Sunday, April 12.
Easter Calendar
Easter 2010 will be Sunday, April 4.
Easter 2011 will be Sunday, April 24.
Easter 2012 will be Sunday, April 8.
Easter in the Early Church
According to the New Testament, Christ was crucified on the eve of Passover and shortly afterward rose from the dead. In consequence, the Easter festival commemorated Christ's resurrection. In time, a serious difference over the date of the Easter festival arose among Christians. Those of Jewish origin celebrated the resurrection immediately following the Passover festival, which, according to their Babylonian lunar calendar, fell on the evening of the full moon (the 14th day in the month of Nisan, the first month of the year); by their reckoning, Easter, from year to year, fell on different days of the week.
Christians of Gentile origin, however, wished to commemorate the resurrection on the first day of the week, Sunday; by their method, Easter occurred on the same day of the week, but from year to year it fell on different dates. An important historical result of the difference in reckoning the date of Easter was that the Christian churches in the East, which were closer to the birthplace of the new religion and in which old traditions were strong, observed Easter according to the date of the Passover festival. The churches of the West, descendants of Greco-Roman civilization, celebrated Easter on a Sunday.
Rulings of the Council of Nicaea on the Date of Easter
Constantine I, Roman emperor, convoked the Council of Nicaea in 325. The council unanimously ruled that the Easter festival should be celebrated throughout the Christian world on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox; and that if the full moon should occur on a Sunday and thereby coincide with the Passover festival, Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following. Coincidence of the feasts of Easter and Passover was thus avoided.
The Council of Nicaea also decided that the calendar date of Easter was to be calculated at Alexandria, then the principal astronomical center of the world. The accurate determination of the date, however, proved an impossible task in view of the limited knowledge of the 4th-century world. The principal astronomical problem involved was the discrepancy, called the epact, between the solar year and the lunar year. The chief calendric problem was a gradually increasing discrepancy between the true astronomical year and the Julian calendar then in use.
Later Dating Methods
Ways of fixing the date of the feast tried by the church proved unsatisfactory, and Easter was celebrated on different dates in different parts of the world. In 387, for example, the dates of Easter in France and Egypt were 35 days apart. About 465, the church adopted a system of calculation proposed by the astronomer Victorinus (fl. 5th cent.), who had been commissioned by Pope Hilarius (r. 461–68) to reform the calendar and fix the date of Easter. Elements of his method are still in use. Refusal of the British and Celtic Christian churches to adopt the proposed changes led to a bitter dispute between them and Rome in the 7th century.
Reform of the Julian calendar in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, through adoption of the Gregorian calendar, eliminated much of the difficulty in fixing the date of Easter and in arranging the ecclesiastical year; since 1752, when the Gregorian calendar was also adopted in Great Britain and Ireland, Easter has been celebrated on the same day in the Western part of the Christian world. The Eastern churches, however, which did not adopt the Gregorian calendar, commemorate Easter on a Sunday either preceding or following the date observed in the West. Occasionally the dates coincide; the most recent times were in 1865 and 1963.
Because the Easter holiday affects a varied number of secular affairs in many countries, it has long been urged as a matter of convenience that the movable dates of the festival be either narrowed in range or replaced by a fixed date in the manner of Christmas. In 1923 the problem was referred to the Holy See, which has found no canonical objection to the proposed reform. In 1928 the British Parliament enacted a measure allowing the Church of England to commemorate Easter on the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. Despite these steps toward reform, Easter continues to be a movable feast.
An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company
Okay, guys. You probably think I'm crazy, because I know that NOBODY will read all of this mind-boggling stuff. I just thought the top few facts were cool, and they're located at...check this out...the TOP of the post. Huh? How cool is that? Anyway, I'm going to be posting a question a day about Easter until I run out of facts, or at least articles on the Encylopedia. Peace out, homedogs.
~Muffin, the Easter expert.
Rainy Days
Twenty Things to Do on a Rainy Day
Aren't rainy days a real bummer? Well here are some fun things to do even while the sun is not shining. Don't worry, the sun will be back to play before you know it - and you'll be having fun in the meantime!
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/63195/twenty_things_to_do_on_a_rainy_day.html
lol, don't freak out guys. I didn't make this. I got it off of a Google search for "things to do on a rainy day" 'cause I'm really REALLY bored right now. I read through it, and it's kinda cheesy. But I love cheese, so there's no problem there. :)
Have a great rainy day, people of America, Switzerland, and Wisconsin!
~Muffin.
Aren't rainy days a real bummer? Well here are some fun things to do even while the sun is not shining. Don't worry, the sun will be back to play before you know it - and you'll be having fun in the meantime!
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/63195/twenty_things_to_do_on_a_rainy_day.html
lol, don't freak out guys. I didn't make this. I got it off of a Google search for "things to do on a rainy day" 'cause I'm really REALLY bored right now. I read through it, and it's kinda cheesy. But I love cheese, so there's no problem there. :)
Have a great rainy day, people of America, Switzerland, and Wisconsin!
~Muffin.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Eco Help
Okay, people. We have a mission here. There are two sides to that mission, and by that, I mean two outcomes.
Outcome Numero Uno: We all die, and Earth shrivels up into an unknown brown glob of who-knows-what. Life as we know it will cease to exist.
Outcome Numero Dos: We all survive, and Earth stays the same as it is now, except that it won't be degrading and the hole in the ozone over Antarctica won't be there, and there won't be any smog, and the world will run 100% off of solar and wind and hydro energy, and...well...maybe it won't be the same at all.
So, which one would you rather have? I'm guessing that, if you're sane, you chose the second one, because human beings tend to like staying alive. It's a weird little quirk, I guess.*
Anyway, to keep Earth from shriveling up, here are some simple things that you can do around your neighborhood:
1. Recycle. I know, you hear it a lot. "Recycle this, recycle that! Clean up your room, Johnny!" But if everyone recycled five soda bottles on the continental US, we would have almost a trillion pounds of recycled plastic.
2. Clean up. No, I don't mean your room. I mean, if you have trash in your yard, around your school, in a pond you know of, or even in an abandoned lot or field, go pick it up! Get some friends together, form a squad of eco-friendly people, and GO CLEAN IT UP! Sheesh, I need to stop drinking caffeine.
3. Spread the word. Tell your family. Tell your friends. Tell your teachers. Tell your teachers' family and friends. Call the POTUS on your cell and tell them that the world is going to explode (seriously, call Obama. I want to know what happens.)
Do these three totally awesome things that I just made up, and you'll be sitting pretty on a nice, green Earth without pollution, smog, smoke, holes in the ozone, etc. And if you don't believe me, go fall in a ditch, rot in a sack, roll into a river, and get eaten by a rabid sewer rat, because you're obviously being misinformed about something. Smell ya people later!
~Muffin.
*Quirk: –noun
1. a peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality; mannerism: He is full of strange quirks.
2. a shift, subterfuge, or evasion; quibble.
3. a sudden twist or turn: He lost his money by a quirk of fate.
4. a flourish or showy stroke, as in writing.
5. Architecture. a. an acute angle or channel, as one dividing two parts of a molding or one dividing a flush bead from the adjoining surfaces.
b. an area taken from a larger area, as a room or a plot of ground.
c. an enclosure for this area.
6. Obsolete. a clever or witty remark; quip.
Outcome Numero Uno: We all die, and Earth shrivels up into an unknown brown glob of who-knows-what. Life as we know it will cease to exist.
Outcome Numero Dos: We all survive, and Earth stays the same as it is now, except that it won't be degrading and the hole in the ozone over Antarctica won't be there, and there won't be any smog, and the world will run 100% off of solar and wind and hydro energy, and...well...maybe it won't be the same at all.
So, which one would you rather have? I'm guessing that, if you're sane, you chose the second one, because human beings tend to like staying alive. It's a weird little quirk, I guess.*
Anyway, to keep Earth from shriveling up, here are some simple things that you can do around your neighborhood:
1. Recycle. I know, you hear it a lot. "Recycle this, recycle that! Clean up your room, Johnny!" But if everyone recycled five soda bottles on the continental US, we would have almost a trillion pounds of recycled plastic.
2. Clean up. No, I don't mean your room. I mean, if you have trash in your yard, around your school, in a pond you know of, or even in an abandoned lot or field, go pick it up! Get some friends together, form a squad of eco-friendly people, and GO CLEAN IT UP! Sheesh, I need to stop drinking caffeine.
3. Spread the word. Tell your family. Tell your friends. Tell your teachers. Tell your teachers' family and friends. Call the POTUS on your cell and tell them that the world is going to explode (seriously, call Obama. I want to know what happens.)
Do these three totally awesome things that I just made up, and you'll be sitting pretty on a nice, green Earth without pollution, smog, smoke, holes in the ozone, etc. And if you don't believe me, go fall in a ditch, rot in a sack, roll into a river, and get eaten by a rabid sewer rat, because you're obviously being misinformed about something. Smell ya people later!
~Muffin.
*Quirk: –noun
1. a peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality; mannerism: He is full of strange quirks.
2. a shift, subterfuge, or evasion; quibble.
3. a sudden twist or turn: He lost his money by a quirk of fate.
4. a flourish or showy stroke, as in writing.
5. Architecture. a. an acute angle or channel, as one dividing two parts of a molding or one dividing a flush bead from the adjoining surfaces.
b. an area taken from a larger area, as a room or a plot of ground.
c. an enclosure for this area.
6. Obsolete. a clever or witty remark; quip.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Questions, Comments, Fits of Paranoia?
Guys of this awesome-tastic, super-colossal, totally amazing, and in all other ways inconceivably terrific blog: I need some information!!!
Okay, so first of all, we need followers. If you're a blogger, follow this blog. If you have a Google or IM account, follow this blog. One can never have enough followers.
Also, WE NEED COMMENTS, PEOPLE! You have NO idea how boring Spring Break can be without reading comments. Sometimes I'm unsure that people even read this blog, other than me.
Then there's the identity issue. Um...we've been having problems with people giving out other people's names, etc. Please don't do that. I mean, I didn't PUBLISH those comments, but I know someone out there hoped I did. And that's scary.
TTFN, guys!
~Muffin.
Okay, so first of all, we need followers. If you're a blogger, follow this blog. If you have a Google or IM account, follow this blog. One can never have enough followers.
Also, WE NEED COMMENTS, PEOPLE! You have NO idea how boring Spring Break can be without reading comments. Sometimes I'm unsure that people even read this blog, other than me.
Then there's the identity issue. Um...we've been having problems with people giving out other people's names, etc. Please don't do that. I mean, I didn't PUBLISH those comments, but I know someone out there hoped I did. And that's scary.
TTFN, guys!
~Muffin.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Earth Hour
Heyy!
Okay, people. There's something really important taking place this Saturday, and I want to make sure you all know what it is. In fact, call your family, friends, people you know, people you like, people you don't like, and the president of the United States about this: Earth Hour is going to occur on Saturday, March 28, 2009. What is Earth Hour, you might ask? It's an entire hour where everybody in the world shuts off their electricity and lights for one hour. Everyone's participating in it...and so should you! To learn more about this fabulous event, go to www.earthhour.com.
Yeah. It's this important.
TTFN, TGFN, and SYL,
~Muffin.
Okay, people. There's something really important taking place this Saturday, and I want to make sure you all know what it is. In fact, call your family, friends, people you know, people you like, people you don't like, and the president of the United States about this: Earth Hour is going to occur on Saturday, March 28, 2009. What is Earth Hour, you might ask? It's an entire hour where everybody in the world shuts off their electricity and lights for one hour. Everyone's participating in it...and so should you! To learn more about this fabulous event, go to www.earthhour.com.
Yeah. It's this important.
TTFN, TGFN, and SYL,
~Muffin.
Request
I was wondering if anyone besides Bob Zenith reads this blog? Do I even know you? And thank you for the comment. I want more comments, please. They make me feel like I'm important. :)
~Muffin.
~Muffin.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Betcha Didn't Know
Here are some things you probably didn't know:
~If everyone recycled 5 soft drink bottles (PET plastic bottles), over five thousand pounds of plastic would be recycled each day.
~Each day Americans throw out enough metal and aluminum to rebuild the US air fleet two times.
~America produces half a trillion pounds of recyclable garbage a year and ships it to China and elsewhere for disposal.
~Hawaii has no disposable system; they dump their garbage in a landfill off the coast of Maui.
~Every day, Americans use enough energy to power the whole world for a month with everything on nonstop.
Kinda scary to think about, you know? Hope you like this, Bob Zenith.
~Muffin, the green freak
~If everyone recycled 5 soft drink bottles (PET plastic bottles), over five thousand pounds of plastic would be recycled each day.
~Each day Americans throw out enough metal and aluminum to rebuild the US air fleet two times.
~America produces half a trillion pounds of recyclable garbage a year and ships it to China and elsewhere for disposal.
~Hawaii has no disposable system; they dump their garbage in a landfill off the coast of Maui.
~Every day, Americans use enough energy to power the whole world for a month with everything on nonstop.
Kinda scary to think about, you know? Hope you like this, Bob Zenith.
~Muffin, the green freak
Saturday, March 14, 2009
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