The graphic at the Google site is a pretty cool interpretation of Leap Year's Day.
http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Too late! she cried as she waved her wooden leg ...
Today is the oneth of March. Only another 14 days to the ides ...
So, any of the single men here want to marry me?
Yeah, I thought as much
. At least you can say you were asked
Is there a tradition here which is inapparent?
Leap Year was the traditional time that women could propose marriage. In many of today's cultures, it is ok for a woman to propose marriage to a man. Society doesn't look down on such women. However, that hasn't always been the case. When the rules of courtship were stricter, women were only allowed to pop the question on one day every four years. That day was February 29th.
It is believed this tradition was started in 5th century Ireland when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose. So, according to legend, St. Patrick said the yearning females could propose on this one day in February during the Leap Year.
According to English law, February 29th was ignored and had no legal status. Folks assumed that traditions would also have no status on that day. It was also reasoned that since the leap year day existed to fix a problem in the calendar, it could also be used to fix an old and unjust custom that only let men propose marriage.The first documentation of this practice dates back to 1288, when Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice in that year. They also made it law that any man who declined a proposal in a Leap Year must pay a fine. The fine could range from a kiss to payment for a silk dress or a pair of gloves. Hmmmm, looks like all the single men on the board owe me a kiss or sumpin'
http://marriage.about.com/cs/holidays/a/leapyear.htm
...a law that allowed women to propose marriage to the man of their choice... (emphasis mine)- and -
So, any of the single men here want to marry me?You'll have to be more specific if it's gifts yer lookin' for...
*******
http://www.boondocksnet.com/twaintexts/frog/jf_jumpingfrog.html
It all began with those Saturday-afternoon movies at the Roxy Theatre in downtown Tacoma when I was a boy. It cost a dime for the bus, a dime to get into the movie, and a dime for popcorn. The management knew how to pack 'em in on Saturday afternoons: science fiction and monsters were all it took to fill every seat in the Roxy.
Later, it was Creature Feature on Friday night at eleven on Channel 13. One had to be a bit older to persuade the parents that it was okay to stay up so late on a Friday night but the reward was a black-and-white cheaply-produced film with bad acting, awful dialogue and lots of thrills produced by aliens and mutants.
"The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" is not about a time machine but is, itself, a sort of time machine. Made in 2001, it transports one back to the good old days of the Roxy Theatre and Creature Feature. Thanks, Larry Blamire -- who wrote it, directed it and stars in it -- for the trip.
The film is shot in black and white and recorded in mono, as it should be, for authenticity's sake. All the parts are there: a scientific scientist and his brainless but comely wife; a space ship stranded on Earth in seek of a rare element needed to power the ship for the return voyage; a skeleton with powers of mental telepathy, in need to the same rare element to be reanimated; a sexy woman made out of the parts of forest animals; a mutant with a huge rubber head and horrifying claws who is tamed by the beauty of a human female.
Ed Wood would have loved this movie .. and so did I. None of you cultured intellectuals will ever see it, but at least, if someone mentions it to you, you will have the benefit of my review.
Okay, father. I wan't going to see it -- no, I was going to not see it -- (even though, I have to say, some of the trailer is pretty funny) but on your say so...
"The Lost Skull" may not "work" on someone who was not brought up on the requisite diet of "The Creature who Devoured Cleaveland" and "The Invasion of the Eye-ball Eating Monsters from Outer Space."
Picking my way through the bits above, I just saw a terrific 1940s B&W flick of the Tacoma Bridge Disaster. All the more terrifying was it because it was real life.
It was used as a vehicle by the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, who provided a musical accompaniment which increased the terror factor significantly.
Hey! Welcome back, Rhuby. Good to 'see' you!
And here's some interesting lore, facts, factoids (!) and stories:
http://www.mystro.com/leap.htm
Many thanks, dixbie: it's good to BE back, with broken wrist mended and typing just as bad as ever
just as bad as ever
And you stay that way, you hear, now?
