Embrace Your Geekness Day

Every July 13th is Embrace Your Geekness Day

“There are many categories of geeks, such as: science geeks, math geeks (maths geeks, in British English), computer geeks, history geeks, gaming geeks, etc.” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek

“Enjoy Embrace Your Geekness Day to the fullest. Spend plenty of time with your computer. Talk computer lingo and jargon. If you are a geek, stand tall and proud. Isn’t it great to be so brilliant and gifted!?” – http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/July/geeknessday.htm

May we all enjoy “geeking out” today.
~lisa

Video Games Day

July 8th is Video Games Day.

Today, no matter what your platform (Xbox, Sony, Nintendo), you should relax with a video game. Or, if you prefer, have a competition with your friends (make sure you have enough controllers for everyone).

Enjoy a game today.

~lisa

Video Games Day http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/July/videogamesday.htm
Lists all fantasy video games http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fantasy_video_games
RPG forms and explanations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game

For those who don’t want to play one of the amazing array of video games out there, wish the Wall Street Journal a happy birthday. Its debut was July 8th, 1889.

Zulu Mythology

In keeping with my rainbow theme, the first goddess of Zulu mythology would be Nokhubulwane (Mbaba Mwana Waresa). Besides being the goddess of rainbows, Nokhubulwane is also the creator of beer and the goddess who presides over agriculture and rain.

Unkulunkulu, the greatest one also the Ancient One, is the creator of humans. He was born in a swamp of reeds and then came to earth. He is the First Man, and is in everything that he created.
He created everything that is the inanimate to the living. He also taught the Zulu all of their skills from fire to hunting and growing food.

Unkulunku is sometimes a combined personage with Umvelinqangi (uKqili), the sky god, also god of earthquakes and thunders. Umvelingangi has been there since the beginning of time. According to Zulu myth, humans are mortal because of a very slow chameleon named Unwaba. The chameleon’s color changes from green to brown because it is mourning the sloth that lost humans their immortality.

Another prominent deity is the goddess of the rivers, Mamlambo. She is variously described as a large snake-like aquatic creature or as a half-fish, half-horse monster. She has a hypnotic gaze and glows in the dark. Mamlambo drowns her victims. She loves thunderstorms.

More fun Zulu cryptozoology includes:

Tikoloshe is described both as a dwarf-like water spirit or as a dwarf with only half a body. It fights humans and usually kills them. It is often used to scare children into behaving. If a human somehow manages to defeat it, the Tikoloshe will teach them its powers.

If one sleeps to close to the ground, a Tokeloshe will strangle them in the night. This is given as the reason most Zulus sleep on beds raised on 3 or 4 bricks at each post.

My favorite Zulu Proverb – “No sun sets without its histories.”

~lisa

Zulu cryptozoology http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php?title=Category:Zulu_mythology#ixzz34WjIIcCb
Zulu creation myth http://www.realalternativesite.com/zulu-creator-myth-belief-unkulunkulu-a-1329.html
More about Nokhubulwane, the goddess of rainbows http://www.mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/myths/english/eng_zulu_pantheon.htm
Everything one could ever want to know about Tokoloshe http://www.vanhunks.com/tokoloshe1.html
Zulu Proverbs http://www.proverbs-and-quotes.com/zulu_proverbs.htm

 “He was kicked by a horse in the chest.” – refers to one who gossips and cannot keep a secret.

Happy 4th

“The United States is the only country with a known birthday.” ~James G. Blaine

Happy Independence Day

“Liberty is the breath of life to nations.” ~George Bernard Shaw

“We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls.” -Robert J. McCracken

Also on this day:

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804. A novelist and short story writer and the source of lots of great quotes.
Two of my favorite Hawthorne quotes:

“Every individual has a place to fill in the world and is important in some respect whether he chooses to be so or not”.- Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne

And on to another favorite
“To jazz, or not to jazz, there is no question!” – Louis Armstrong

July 4th is also the birthday of Louis Armstrong. He was an incredible musician. Enjoy some of his great jazz music today.

“If you have to ask what jazz is, you’ll never know.” – Louis Armstrong

Be safe and enjoy ~lisa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States)
http://www.egreenway.com/months/monjul.htm
http://www.usacitylink.com/usa/independence-day/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Armstrong

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html
http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Independence-Day.shtml
The Fourth of July, or Independence Day, is a federal holiday that celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.  Fireworks,  Firework Laws by State,  Fireworks Safety,  National Mall Celebration,  Find Celebrations at National Parks – http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Independence-Day.shtml

“We all do ‘do, re, mi,’ but you have got to find the other notes yourself.” – Louis Armstrong

July Awareness Lists

It’s the second of the month and that means we look at what the Awareness Months, Weeks and Days are.

First there is Independence Day. In America we celebrate Independence Day on the 4th of July. However independence is a popular theme for the month of July.  The following countries all celebrate their Independence Days this month: Keti Koti in Surinam, Belarus, Phillipines, Algeria, Venezuela, Argentina, South Sudan, Bahamas, Revolution Day in Egypt, Maldives, and Vanuatu (Vanuatu is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanuatu )

I did not find very many health awareness months. Let me know if I have left any out.
Hemochromatosis Screening, International Group B strep, Eye Injury Prevention, International Women with Alopecia, Juvenile Arthritis, National Cleft & Craniofacial
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) Education & Awareness Week is July 18-25.
World Hepatitis Day is on the 28th of July

Foods are a big thing, especially during National Grilling Month (also National Picnic Month) and not surprisingly the foods on the menu each have their own “awareness” month. I’m not quite sure why food needs us to be aware of it, but here is a list of foods we celebrate this month:

Blueberries, Lasagna, Baked Beans, Horseradish, Hot dog, Ice Cream, Pickle, Garlic, Nectarine, Berries, California Wild King Salmon, Chicken Wings, Chocolate, and Caviar.

National Wheelchair Beautification Day http://www.caremedicalsource.com/blog/celebrate-national-wheelchair-beautification-month/ This is a cool thing.
National Pet Fire Safety Day http://www.akc.org/press_center/article.cfm?article_id=3907

On this day in 1962, the Civil Rights Act was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race.

Flitch Day also known as bringing home the bacon. http://marriage.about.com/od/customstraditions/qt/flitchday.htm – “As far back as 1104 in Dunmow Priory, England, monks offered a side of bacon (flitch) to any married couple proving a year and a day after their wedding that they had lived in harmony and fidelity for the past year and had not wished they were single again.”

Now for what I consider the more unusual.

World UFO Day http://www.worldufoday.com/
Pandemonium Day http://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/pandemonium-day/
“Chaos, madness and unexpected surprises abound on Pandemonium Day, when nothing can be predicted and everything can go wrong. Embrace the pandemonium, and do something crazy!”
International Cherry Pit Spitting Day http://holidayscentral.com/calendar/july/international-cherry-pit-spitting-day – “July 7th is International Cherry Pit Spitting Day. If you think you can break the world record, you will have to spit your pit farther than 100 feet 4 inches.”
International Town Criers Day http://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/town-crier-day/ – “Town Crier Day celebrates the historical role of the town crier by encouraging people to take up the role of the town crier in their town or city.”
Shark Awareness Day – http://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-scuba-ocean-news/official_shark_awareness_day/ I find this unusual because if you’re swimming in shark-infested waters, it seems to me that you should be aware of them at all times. Oh wait. This day is dedicated to shark appreciation and conservation.

These days will get their own posts: Moon Day (Space Exploration Day), Ratcatcher’s Day, 4th of July, Embrace Your Geekness Day, Nelson Mandela International Day, Uncommon Instruments Awareness Day

A few significant birthdays: Thurgood Marshall, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Stephen Foster (the songwriter that gave us over 200 songs including Oh! Susanna, Camptown Races, Swanee River and so forth), Josiah Wedgwood, Henry David Thoreau, Woody Guthrie, Rembrandt, Joshua Reynolds, Edgar Degas, Ernest Hemingway, Alexandre Dumas, and George Bernard Shaw.

Health Resources
Hemochromatosis www.hemochromatosis.org
International Group B strep http://www.drum.amedd.army.mil/news/2010/0710/Strep_Awareness.htm
Eye Injury Prevention http://www.foh.dhhs.gov/Public/NYCU/eyeinjury.asp
International Women with Alopecia http://blog.puravidabracelets.com/2013/07/23/july-is-international-alopecia-in-women-month/
Juvenile Arthritis http://www.curearthritis.org/juvenile-arthritis-awareness-month/
National Cleft & Craniofacial http://www.nccapm.org/
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) http://www.sleepassociation.org/index.php?p=rlsawarenessweek
World Hepatitis Day http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/WorldHepDay.htm

Food – just because it’s one of my favorites: Blueberries www.blueberry.org
I always support library days and it is Read an Almanac Month: www.libraryhq.com/calendar.html

General Lists of July Days
For a list of daily observances in July go to: http://www.butlerwebs.com/holidays/july.htm
http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/diversityeventcalendars/a/nat-month-july.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commemorative_months#July
http://www.buzzfeed.com/samimain/july-is-national-month-5pfv
You can find a complete listing of famous people born in July at: http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/quotes/month/7

~lisa

Dog Days of Summer

The dog days of summer typically are in the months of July and August in the Northern Hemisphere (January and February in the Southern Hemisphere)

The term “dog days” comes from ancient Rome and even more ancient Greece. The name coincides with the rising of Sirius. Sirius is the brightest and most visible star in the night sky and is part of the constellation of Canis Major (Large Dog). Sirius, the dog star, is one of the companions of Orion in Greek myth and in also in the constellation of Orion. The other companion of Orion is Canis Minor.

“Summer has set in with its usual severity.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Like Coleridge, the ancient Greeks were not fans of hot July. They attributed the hotness and woes of summer to the Dog Star, Sirius. The ancient Romans also believed that the star caused dogs to pant more and that it made all more susceptible to disease.

In other mythologies Sirius is also seen as a wolf, a coyote, a white horse, and I digress…

Back to the Western concept of the dog days of summer which means it’s July already.

“I came, I saw, I conquered.” – Julius Caesar
July was named after the ancient Roman Julius Caesar. I suggest William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar for summer reading or a jaunt to summer theater.

“Experience is the teacher of all things.” – Julius Caesar

July’s birthstone is the ruby and the flowers are Water Lily and Larkspur. More on those in a later post.

 “The glowing Ruby should adorn
Those who in warm July are born,
Then will they be exempt and free
From love’s doubt and anxiety.”

“Live in each season as it passes: breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit.” – Henry David Thoreau

~ lisa

Great site on the month of July. http://projectbritain.com/year/july.htm
July Trivia http://voices.yahoo.com/trivial-facts-july-6231792.html
Ten July Facts http://www.ten-facts.com/interesting_facts_about_july.html#.U3bULnQU_b0
How to see Sirius, the Dog Star http://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/sirius-the-brightest-star
Julius Caesar Biography – http://www.biography.com/people/julius-caesar-9192504#synopsis&awesm=~oIlfu0GBzbmZuj

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” – Sam Keen