Teacup Café XLI

[Varnafindë]

Happy Mayday - now that sounds all wrong, doesn't it?

[GrayMouser]

As a child in New Westminster, B.C., Canada, we always had a Maypole Dance, though held on Victoria Day (May 24) to hopefully avoid the soggy spring weather.

Also noted for the Anvil Salute- lacking cannons to fire a 21-gun salute to celebrate Victoria's birthday, the fire department improvised by placing a blacksmith's anvil on top of another, and blowing off the top one by igniting gunpowder placed between them- a tradition started in 1870 and still carried on.

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by GrayMouser

As a child in New Westminster, B.C., Canada, we always had a Maypole Dance, though held on Victoria Day (May 24) to hopefully avoid the soggy spring weather.

In Sweden, there is what is effectively a Maypole on Midsummer Eve ...
It varies whether people dance around it or not, though.

Also noted for the Anvil Salute- lacking cannons to fire a 21-gun salute to celebrate Victoria's birthday, the fire department improvised by placing a blacksmith's anvil on top of another, and blowing off the top one by igniting gunpowder placed between them- a tradition started in 1870 and still carried on.

Wow - that's rather mind-blowing ...

[Earniel]

Always thought it was weird that the Day of Work is celebrated by not working at all.

Still, a day of recuperation comes in handy, we just spend the last four days putting in a new floor in the living room while we sent the parents on a well-needed city-trip.

Feet and arms are so very sore... *insert tired smiley*

[Mari]

You have the day off on the Dag van de Arbeid? We have to work. Well, not me because I have spring break, but people who do not work in education have to work.

[Earniel]

Yes, it's an official national holiday here. I believe you have Koninginnedag on the 30th as national holiday instead?

[Varnafindë]

It's an official national holiday here in Norway as well. There are celebrations, especially processions with slogans, and speeches given by members of the Labour Party or other socialist parties.

I noticed today, though, that several times the announcer on the radio called it "Day of Workers" rather than "Day of Work" (which I'm sure is something I have heard in the past).

"Day of Workers" makes even more sense as a holiday ...

[GrayMouser]

In Taiwan it's one of those holidays where only the affected group get the day off- you have to be in a job officially classed as "labour": construction, factory etc.- but not office or service workers.

Other holidays like this are "Teachers' Day" (Sept 28- Confucius's Birthday) and "Children's Day" ( April 4) which were huge pains because kids got both days off but parents didn't- finally last year, after years of complaints the government put Children's Day together with Women's Day as an official holiday.

Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September in the US, with Canada following- ironically, since May 1 as Workers' day has an American origin.

Wiki:

In the United States and Canada, however, the official holiday for workers is Labor Day in September. This day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, who organized the first parade in New York City. After the Haymarket Massacre, US President Grover Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported.[8]

In 1955, the Catholic Church dedicated May 1 to "Saint Joseph The Worker". The Catholic Church considers Saint Joseph the patron saint of (among others) workers and craftsmen,[9].

Right-wing governments have traditionally sought to repress the message behind International Workers' Day, with fascist governments in Portugal, Italy, Germany and Spain abolishing the workers' holiday, the official May 1st holiday in the US being Loyalty Day, and the Conservative party in the UK currently attempting to abolish the UK's annual May Day bank holiday.[10]

[GrayMouser]

Originally Posted by GrayMouser

Also noted for the Anvil Salute- lacking cannons to fire a 21-gun salute to celebrate Victoria's birthday, the fire department improvised by placing a blacksmith's anvil on top of another, and blowing off the top one by igniting gunpowder placed between them- a tradition started in 1870 and still carried on.

Varnafinde said:

Wow - that's rather mind-blowing ...

Yeah, they actually still light the gunpowder with a burning fuse held on a loooong pole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYxVDW9SBOY

[Valandil]

Going out for a Webelos/Boy Scout event. My middle son is 'crossing over' from Webelos (the oldest Cub Scouts) into Boy Scouts. And some of us dads... have made THE ULTIMATE WEBELOS CROSSOVER BRIDGE! Those of you who are Facebook Friends can see photos there. I may try to post some here.

[GrayMouser]

Flrst time I heard of Webelos- I went through Cubs, Sea Scouts and Venturers. When I was in Cubs we were all just lumped together, though I see Scouts Canada now splits them into Beavers (5-7) and Cubs (8-10)

[Earniel]

*crawls into café for a drink*

Man, working a day longer (got more hours at work) is something to get used to after having had the same work regime for five years. More pay too so first round is on me.

[Valandil]

Originally Posted by GrayMouser

Flrst time I heard of Webelos- I went through Cubs, Sea Scouts and Venturers. When I was in Cubs we were all just lumped together, though I see Scouts Canada now splits them into Beavers (5-7) and Cubs (8-10)

Yes - I think each national group does their own scouting program differently. I had never heard of Beavers. When we first got involved in Cub Scouts, we were with a small group, and they encouraged us to bring the younger siblings. Cub Scouts in the US is broken up by grade levels: 1st - Tigers, 2nd - Wolves, 3rd - Bears, 4th - Webelos I, 5th - Webelos II. Anyway, my oldest had two younger brothers there, and there were other younger kids around - so I jokingly referred to them as 'Badger Scouts' (a term which is not actually in use).

[Tessar]

Today during my finance test, with the butt-head teacher, one of the questions was that I was the treasurer for a car company and I had to decide whether to hire an expert technician or a stock expert and to justify my answer based on theories I've learned in the class. Then he said "keep your answers succient."

The theories arent in the book, and I dont remember them from class... So here's what I wrote:

"I would hire the stock expert. Clearly I was mistakenly hired as the treasurer given that I don't seem to know a great deal about finance. I would need someone to give me advice on financial things. I suspect that eventually he would take over my position when my lack of skill was discovered. This would leave me jobless, so I would probably have to attend a trade school to get into a new line of work..... Perhaps as a car mechanic?"


...... Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go shower off the stench of my own failure at all things related to finance.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Valandil

Cub Scouts in the US is broken up by grade levels: 1st - Tigers, 2nd - Wolves, 3rd - Bears, 4th - Webelos I, 5th - Webelos II.

I'm sensing a theme here, but I've never heard of a 'webelo'. Is it some kind of animal?

Originally Posted by Tessar

...... Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go shower off the stench of my own failure at all things related to finance.

You and me both, then. What does a car company need a stock expert for? Unless they're a multinational, in which case no treasurer of the company would ever have to chose between a technician and a stock expert... Hm... I'm obviously missing something.

[GrayMouser]

I think the obvious answer is "the stock expert", given that your prof is teaching finance, and wants that job himself.

He will assume that the great success of US car manufacturers in the last 30 years, as opposed to the period from Henry Ford to the 50s and 60s, was because of the takeover of senior management by finance experts, instead of those grubby engineering types who are actually interested in building cars.

This of course applies to the economy as a whole- more power to Wall Street!

[Valandil]

Originally Posted by Eärniel

I'm sensing a theme here, but I've never heard of a 'webelo'. Is it some kind of animal?
:
:
:

'Webelos' is one of those words... that you make from pushing other words together. It stands for 'We will be loyal scouts'.

[GrayMouser]

Have to post this one:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/rodda/fi...ime-travel.jpg

[Coffeehouse]

Glad to be back after a long pause from the Moot Have my MA and out in a job now! Pleased to see that it's still active. I hope The Hobbit movie spurs on a new wave of (bookish) fans

[Varnafindë]

Good to see you, Coffeehouse! Velkommen tilbake!

So what was your MA and what is your job?