hodie mihi, cras tibi: January 2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

Postcrossing Favorites for January

Here are this month's favorite postcards received via Postcrossing.com:

From Australia

From Pennsylvania, USA

(See http://myturntodayyourstomorrow-cheryl.blogspot.com/2010/07/postcrossing.html for details about Postcrossing.com.)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Ophiuchus Is Just Not Sexy

Okay, I don't know how to feel. To use airline parlance, have I been upgraded or have I been bumped?

I spent some time this morning reading about the latest debate in the astrological sign industry. The addition to the Zodiac of a new (yet very old) constellation has resulted in a revision of the astrological charts and an adjustment in several sign categories. Apparently, this has also caused much panty-bunching among the faithful.

As one who fails to set her course according to the planets, I've been interested in astrology only in the way that one muses over the placemats in Chinese restaurants, wondering whether or not to feel fortunate in having been born in the Year of the Dog. When I was younger, my experience with astrology was limited to being asked in bars, "What's your sign?"

The new sign is Ophiuchus, and Wikipedia tells us that:

"Ophiuchus is a large constellation located around the celestial equator. Its name is from the Greek word for 'serpent-bearer,' and it is commonly represented as a man grasping a snake. Ophiuchus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the second-century astronomer Ptolemy. It was formerly referred to as Serpentarius."

First of all, we need to know how to pronounce "Ophiuchus," because no good can come from telling the guy who's buying you drinks in a bar that you are a "serpent bearer," and if you mispronounce Ophiuchus, the guy is likely to reply, "Gesundheit!"

According to the North Houston Astronomy Club (and why wouldn't they know?), Ophiuchus is pronounced "off-ih-YOU-kuss," which sounds a bit like "office mucus." That's not going to help anyone get laid.

According to those ever-reputable online sources, people operating under the sign of Ophiuchus are "interpreters of premonitions and dreams." They are "favored by their fathers and other authority figures."

Oh, I know those people. In high school, they ran for student body president, and the principal was their pal. Hmm...I wonder how many "serpent bearers" are among our newly-elected congressional representatives?

For some, the acknowledgment of Ophiuchus has changed their astrological sign, while others' signs remain the same. Below is a chart that reflects the new seat...er, I mean, sign assignments. [Click on the chart to enlarge it.]

I was formerly a Sagittarian. Here, according to our finest astrologers (if not our finest grammarians), is "Sagittarius in a Nutshell":

"Sagittarius are guided by luck, good things happen to Sagittarius and this is usually because of their optimistic outlook and positive disposition which attracts good fortune. Sagittarius have a vibrant, expansive personality that is free like a bird, Sagittarius cannot be contained. They are full of curiosity. Sagittarius are detached from emotions because emotions hold a person back, they do not like to talk about their feelings, they simply experience them and move on. Sagittarius can be reckless and irresponsible because they will jump at a suggestion of something new before they weigh the advantages and disadvantages."

Now, however, I'm Scorpio, and my nutshell contains:

"Scorpio is the astrology sign of extremes and intensity. Scorpios are very deep, intense people, there is always more then meets the eye. They present a cool, detached and unemotional air to the world yet lying underneath is tremendous power, extreme strength, intense passion and a strong will and a persistent drive. Scorpios have a very penetrative mind, they are trying to delve deeper and figure things out and survey the situation. They always want to know why, where and any other possible detail. Scorpio's are very weary of the games that other people try to play. Scorpios tend to dominate and control anyone that lets them, or anyone that they find weak. The person that a Scorpio respects and holds close to them is treated with amazing kindness, loyalty and generosity. On the outside, a Scorpio has great secretiveness and mystery. This magnetically draws people to them. They are known to be controlling and too ambitious but only because they need control for this makes them feel safe."

Nutshell, indeed. At least I'm not office mucus.

Gesundheit!

Friday, January 14, 2011

"The Joy of Stats: 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes"

Check out this YouTube video:
http://www.flixxy.com/200-countries-200-years-4-minutes.htm
Statistics come to life when Swedish academic superstar Hans Rosling graphically illustrates global development over the last 200 years.
Take note of China's sudden dip in the late 1950s. That's due to a famine and the Cultural Revolution.

Monday, January 3, 2011

New Year's Day Mah Jongg Party

We welcomed the new year with a Mah Jongg Marathon! Twelve players gathered at my house for Mah Jongg, wine, and a potluck lunch.
Lately, we've been playing the Chinese version of Mah Jongg, which differs from the American version, the most significant way being no use of the National Mah Jongg League's card of acceptable winning hands.

Our Chinese Mah Jongg maven is Iris, who is from Hong Kong. She contacted me after she read an article about our efforts to start a public Mah Jongg players group in our local newspaper (see link).
http://www.journalnet.com/news/local/article_659edbac-c734-11df-b644-001cc4c03286.html

Prior to the party, I had fun setting up the tables and making cards that identified places for beginning, middle-skilled, and advanced players. The kitchen was where the beginners sat.

Sabrina coaches beginners Alicia, Donna, and Connie.

Alicia was our youngest "Baby Bird."

Iris, Penelope, Michelle, and Joann got down to business quickly at the advanced players' table in the piano room.

Iris counts fan at the experts' table.

The living room was ready for the middle-skilled players: Betty, Janet, Maggie, and anyone else who was nervous about the speed with which the advanced group played.

Two other differences between Chinese and American Mah Jongg are that no Jokers are used in the Chinese version and the scoring of hands is more complex. Despite this, our consensus is that the Chinese version is better, or at least, less stressful to play.

Mah Jongg is definitely experiencing a revival here in the U.S., and people in China are taking note of that fact. In September, I was interviewed by a journalist in China, who sent me a copy of her newspaper article:

When Iris translated the article for me, I learned that the headline reads, "Old Woman Learns Mah Jongg." This made me laugh, even though an extra 5 years were added to my age--maybe to make me appear even older than I already am? However, I didn't mind, because I do love the game!

[To see other posts about Mah Jongg, go to the March 2010 archive of this blog.]

Saturday, January 1, 2011

2010's Top Ten Posts

Hodie mihi, cras tibi is a year old now, and posting photos here has been one of the great pleasures of my first year of retirement. Beginning with The Great Pocatello Chicken Project, 57 posts ranged from a Mah Jongg tutorial through a variety of holiday celebrations.
Since discovering the "Stats" option that Blogger.com provides, I've been fascinated by the way readership grows in numbers and spreads throughout the world. Who would have thought that my Agatha Christie tribute blog would be popular in Argentina or that someone in The Netherlands would read Walking Pocatello's stories or that people in Belarus would be interested in the posts about American politics on the SnarkAttack blog?
[Links to these other blogs may be accessed by clicking on "View My Complete Profile."]

To start off 2011, I decided to list the ten most popular Hodie mihi, cras tibi blog posts of 2010. Consulting the "All Time Page Views" statistics revealed the top ten posts to be (in reverse order):