Selected Religious Holidays

Selected Religious Holidays

Ramadan, Islam, Begins January, 21: The fourth of the five pillars of Islam is to keep the fast of Ramadan, which celebrates Muhammad’s reception of the divine revelations recorded in the Koran. During the month-long fast, Muslims (except soldiers and the sick) may not eat between sunrise and sunset.

Ash Wednesday, Christian, February, 21: The start of Lent, a fast that begins 40 days before Easter. The ashes that are smudged of the foreheads of the faithful symbolize penitence.

Purim, Jewish, March 5: Named for the lots, or “pur,” that the Persian king’s adviser Haman cast to determine when the Jews should be killed. But the king’s wife, Esther, who was Jewish, uncovered his murderous plot and Haman was killed instead. During Purim, Jews dress in costumes and act out the story of Esther, and in synagogue, children with noisemakers try to drown out Haman’s name whenever it is read.

Passover, Jewish, April 4: The eight-day holiday reminds Jews that Moses led the Israelites from Egypt, where they had been slaves under the Pharaoh. At special dinners called seders, everyone takes part in reading the Israelites’ story and tasting foods that symbolize aspects of their journey.

Easter, Christian: The Christian religion’s most important holiday, Easter, celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the last day of Holy Week, which included Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, and it marks the end of Lent. The traditional Easter eggs are thought to represent new life and immortality.

Church enlightened. Photo by Elena

Baisakhi, Hindu, April: Hindu bathe in the Ganges or in other holy waters during the celebration of their new year. Charitable acts performed throughout the following month are considered especially good, so people give generously to the poor.

Rosh Hashanah, Jewish, September 14: The start of the Jewish new year if the first of the 10 High Holy days, during which Jews reflect on their sins of the past year and seek forgiveness for them. A hollowedout ram’s horn, called the shofar, is sounded in synagogue to remind people of the trumpets of Judgement Day.

Yom Kippur, Jewish, September: The Day of Atonement ends the 10 High Holy Days that begin on Rosh Hashanah and is the most important part of the Jewish year. It is a day of fasting and prayer, repentance and forgiveness.

Sukkoth, Jewish, September: The “feast of tabernacles” commemorates the Israelites’ wanderings after fleeing Egypt. In homes and synagogues, Jews build “sukkahs,” replicas of the small shelter in which the Israleites lived during their journey. It is also a celebration of harvest.

Dewali, Hindu, Late October/yearly November: The five-day festival of lights celebrates the human desire to move toward truth and light from ignorance and darkness. The streets are strewn with festive lamps and homes are decorated with flowers and colored paper. Festivities include fireworks, parties, and gift-giving.

Hanukkah: Jewish led by Judah Maccabee recaptured a temple in Jerusalem that had been seized by Syrian-Greeks, they had enough oil to light the temple’s lamp for a day. But the lamp burned for eight days, and Jews celebrate this miracle and Maccabees’ victory by lighting candles in the menorah (a special candelabra), adding one each night until all eight candles are lit.

Christmas Day, Christian, December 25: Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on this day (through his birth date is a matter of much debate among theologians and historians alike), but many familiar Christmas traditions actually stem from pagan beliefs. The ancient Druids, for example, worshiped holly and mistletoe, and Norsemen burned yule logs in the winter to scare off demons.

Selfie

Selfie

By Sandra McDonald

Dad pick me up from the selfie lab with a change of plans. We’re headed for the east coast of Florida instead of the Gulf of Mexico. The resort is named Murray Hall and it’s in Ruby Beach, outside of Jacksonville. Dad brought a note from Jessy to me. Her parents have dragged her off to one of those « techno free » resorts in Nepal for a month. She’s going to go crazy without her comms, but no more crazy than I’ll be in 1888.

Dad has another surprise. He paid for VIP access through the timeport. Shorter lines, faster screening, and no wallvids screaming out election stories.

By the tmime we reach Ruby Beach, I’m too beat to pay much attention. Selfies get tired like everyone else, although our reaction is driven by power levels and not biochemistry or psychology. Dad and I take adjoining rooms on the third floor facing the sea. The lack of air conditioning means I wake up with sunlight broiling my room. I flop around in the hot bedclothes like a fish yanked out of the ocean. It’s cruel to take a modern teenager anywhere without air conditioning. I hope Moon Susan is happy with herself, up there having fun while I sweat my way through the nineteenth century.

Dad nocks on my dorr with, « Come on, get dressed and let’s eat breakfast.»

Selfie. Photo by Elena

Food in 1888 isn’t very good. People eat meat and greasy eggs and biscuits that don’t even have chocolate on them. I watch Dad eat and pour extra sugar into my tea. The hotel manager stops by our table and thanks us for visiting. Murray Hall doesn’t get many time traverlers, although of course he hopes Dad’s work will bring more.

« It’ll be my pleasure to write about your fine establishment, » Dad says.

It wouldn’t be so much of a pleasure if he was the one stuck wearing a high collar, long skirts, and a ridiculously lacey camisole. I absolutely refused to bind myself into anything resembling a corset. Dad’s probably not much comfortable in the layers of his linen suit. Why couldn’t he specialize in twenty-first-century cruise ship travel, instead?

« You should come with us, » Dad says, after the manager offers a personal tour of the property.

I pick up my drawstring bag. «You do your thing, I’ll do mine. »

« Susan… » he says.

« Dad… » I mimic. « Go, have fun. »

Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015, edited by Rich Horton, Prime Books, 2015

Art and Literature of Iceland

Art and Literature of Iceland

Just over a hundred years ago, the first Icelandic painters graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Art in Copenhagen. Of this generation of painters, Jóhannes S. Kjarval is perhaps the best known. His contemporaries include Þórarinn B. Þorláksson, Ásgrímur Jónsson, Jón Stefánsson and Kristín Jónsdóttir. Well-known Icelandic artists of the past few decades are Louisa Matthíasdóttir and Nína Tryggvadóttir who both worked in America. Other artists of that period include Gunnlaugur Scheving, Gunnlaugur Blöndal, and Þorvaldur Skúlason.

Iceland has a variety of museums and art galleries, such as the National Gallery of Iceland that features primarily 19th and 20th century Icelandic art.

Statues in Downtown:

Pallas Athena - A Greek goddess of wisdom, situated in front of Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík.

Ingólfur Arnarson - The first man to settle in Iceland, situated on the top of Arnarhóll.

Hannes Hafstein - The first Prime Minister of Iceland, situated in front of the Government Offices of Iceland.

Christian IX King of Denmark and Iceland, 1863-1906, situated in front of the Government Offices of Iceland.

Ingibjörg H. Bjarnason - The first woman to have a seat in the Icelandic parliament, from 1922-1930. Situated in front of The Icelandic Parliament House.

A sculpture of an unknown god, Photo by Olga

Literature of Iceland

Iceland has a long and celebrated history of literature, with the City of Reykjavík being made a UNESCO City of Literature in August 2011. The invaluable heritage of Icelandic literature can be traced back to the Vikings, who passed stories and poems on by oral tradition, until it was committed to calfskin manuscripts in the early 12th century. An important historic text is the Edda, a collective of two medieval Icelandic literary works, containing the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda.

Together these provide an extensive resource on Norse mythology and are a comprehensive body of ancient, heroic legends. Equally important in medieval literature are the Icelandic Sagas, such as Njál’s Saga and Laxdæla Saga, characterized by epic accounts of conflicts, feuds, love and fate.

Halldór Laxness (1902-1998) is a well-known Icelandic writer from the 20th century and was awarded the Nobel Prizevfor Literature in 1955. His incredibly diverse oeuvre spans an enormous range of literary forms, although he is best known for novels such as Independent People and Iceland´s Bell. With the ascent of Laxness, Icelandic became a language of world literature once again, as the Academy acknowledged when it awarded him the Nobel Prize “for his vivid and epic power which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland”.

Currently, Iceland has many exemplary writers whose works have gained interest both in Iceland and overseas. Sjón is a celebrated Icelandic poet, novelist, lyricist and a playwright. He is known for his unusual and quirky style, such as in Skugga-Baldur (The Blue Fox) that has been translated into several languages and awarded the Nordic Council´s Literary Prize. In crime fiction, Arnaldur Indriðason is one of Iceland´s most celebrated authors, and has written many stories, such as Mýrin (Jar-City) that was adapted into a film in 2016. Another well-known writer is the award-winning novelist Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, known for her crime and ghost stories. Her novel,vÉg man þig (I Remember You), has been made into a feature film which was released in May 2017.

To celebrate this historical literary tradition, the city has hosted the Reykjavík Reads Festival since 2012, to celebrate reading for all ages.

The Case for Estrogen

The Case for Estrogen

The benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy for women

For women facing menopause, hormone replacement therapy is becoming as common as children attending college or dieting. Nearly 4 in 10 menopausal women say they are taking estrogen, or estrogen and progestin, a substance that mimics a hormone similar to estrogen, to help relieve the discomforts of menopause. These symptoms include the sudden feeling of being overheated known as a “hot flash”, as well as vaginal dryness, mood swings, thinning facial skin, headaches, and depression.

An important factor in helping keep the heart, bones, and skin healthy, estrogen production decreases sharply during menopause, which occurs at the average age of 51. Research has shown that women receiving a regular supplementation of estrogen during and after menopause have a significant lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis, the debilitating condition that causes bones to become fragile and to break. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) also helps spare many women the physical discomfort that can result from changes in the vagina during menopause. These changes, which include the loss of vaginal elasticity and lubrication, can ruin a woman's libido.

HRT is not without potential side effects, however. One large recent study has suggested that women who use HRT for five or more years after menopause run 30 to 40 percent more risk of developing breast cancer than those who don't. Taking progestin along with estrogen has been found to help protect the uterus against cancer in some studies, but it does not appear to protect against breast cancer.

In addition, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has reported that about 10 percent of women receiving HRT experience side effects that include breast tenderness, fluid retention, swelling, mood changes, and pelvic cramping.

The Case for Estrogen. Photo by Elena

Different dosages, hormone combinations, and ways of administrating the hormones can be tailored to individual needs. Women in a high-risk group for heart disease or osteoporosis may be prime candidates for estrogen supplements. If a woman has a high risk of contracting breast cancer, her doctor may recommend a low-fat diet and regular exercise instead of estrogen therapy. For those who face a high risk of breast cancer, a doctor may also recommend tamoxifen, an estrogenlike drug that has favorable effects on cholesterol levels and prevents bone loss and breast cancer. But tamoxifen does seem to increase the risk of uterine cancer, and women taking it are advised to undergo periodic examinations to check for uterine changes.

Still more studies are now under way on the benefits and drawbacks of HRT, but most of them won't be completed until a few years. By then, another 20 million women will have entered menopause and will have had to decide whether the benefits of HRT outweigh its uncertainties. The answer is likely to depend on individual risk factors.

Estrogen and Heart Disease

A study of nearly 900 women over the age of 45 found that taking estrogen supplements after menopause significantly increased the level of “good” HDL cholesterol, which prevents heart disease. The levl of “bad” cholesterol, LDL dropped.

New City, New School

New City, New School

How to pick the best school for your child when moving to a new town

Each year, hundreds of thousands of families with school-age children move because of job opportunities or company elocations. Parents have to find new homes and safe neighborhoods, and just as important, they have to find new schools for their kids. Dr. William Bainbridge, president of SchoolMatch in Westerville, Ohio, helped about 30,000 families make this difficult decision every year. Here, we recall how he challenged the assumptions many people made when choosing new schools:

What are the best indicators for an outsider to use when picking a new school?

One thing is the education level of the parents in the community, because there is a high correlation between the education level of parents and the success of their children in school. This is quite different when you look at income levels and property values. For example, some college towns around the country have extremely high test scores and moderate income levels, because you have a bunch of college professors' children in school.

Give me a school with very high parent education level and I'll turn out good students at a very low cost. The youngsters in such a community are born with the expectation that their parents graduated from college and they should too. Plus the parents are more equipped to help them in homework, and the parents have a higher expectation level for the children.

What should parents look for in a school?

In addition to the high parent education level, they should look at the scholastic examinations themselves. Also look at the awards a school has won. And look at a school's accreditation. It's almost frightening to think that some people are being steered to non-accredited schools, which creates a major problem for children when they apply to a college.

What awards reflect school quality?

We think that a state's department of education is very careful for the most part in the awards that they give each year for what they call blue ribbon schools and outstanding schools. The states select award-winning schools that we think are very good. Many private foundations give awards. But they usually specialize, awarding drug-free schools or schools with great computer programs.

Students marching through the city. Photo by Elena.

What test scores should parents use to compare schools?

The college entrance exams are extremely important. It is not necessarily important that the school be in the top ten percent of the country, but if you want your youngsters to go to college, it stands to reason that if the school is in the top third, that would be important. For elementary school children, there are about 11 different standardized tests around the country, and they are not intended to be used for comparison from school to school.  You should rather look at the scholastic exams from high schools that the elementary schools feed into. Even the developers of the tests will tell you that achievement tests are not a very good way to compare schools, because they are normed differently.

How can you tell if a school is coasting on its reputation?

Look at the accrediting association's summary reports. If the school is in the Midwest, you might look at the North Central Association, for instance. The summary report generally makes recommendations as to what's going on and what the needs are for a school. You can find some glaring things. SchoolMatch did a study for Money Magazine, where they took deomgraphically identical schools, but one school had good test scores, while the other did not. All a person had to do to find this out was to look at the final report of the accrediting association, which flat out said that in the school with worse test scores there was too much emphasis on athletics and that they had not replaced the director of instruction. A summary report is usually made public bu a board of education at the end of an accrediting association's visit. These visits average about once every four years.

It is better for a child if relocation takes place at the star of a new term?

Experts believe in mid-year relocations for small children, because it gives them a chance to meet other youngsters, so they don't have an isolated summer. Some people have the idea that it's better to relocate in June as soon as school is out. Frequently that child will spend the entire summer not knowing very many other youngsters. It is a better idea to go ahead and do the relocation mid-year in January and give them a chance to get acclimated to the school and to prepare for the unusually long summer vacation that we have in the United States. It also gives them a chance to meet some of their neighbors.

For high school kids, it doesn't make much difference. However, it is important to finish a term or semester. The child could end up losing three or four credits if his or her courses are not available at the new school.

What are the biggest mistakes families make in picking a new school?

They listen to friends – what might be right for one family might not be right for another. Elementary and secondary schools are as different as colleges. Take the issue of school size. That's the biggest single issue that people ignore. Everyone understands its importance when choosing a college, but school size can be just as important in terms of a child's opportunity to participate on the elementary and secondary school level. Small schools tend to be less competitive, so if you want to make the volleyball team or the debate team, you've got a better shot. However, some of the specialzied academic programs are not available at the small schools. It is most important to choose like-size schools. If you have a youngster in a school with 2,800 students, he or she is likely to be very unhappy in a school with 599, Conversely, the student in the school with 500 students is going to be very unhappy in the large school.

What advice do you have for a child being uprooted from a community and then dropped down in a new and unfamiliar situation?

I think it is very important for children to be involved in some activity, whether it is a musical, theatrical, or an athletic activity. The quicker the parents can get their child involved in an activity, the faster the child is going to make friends and be acclimated. Check out leadership programs such as student council and ask about competitive and non-competitive athletic programs.

Should the child be involved in the process of selecting a new school?

Absolutely. If the child can go to the school visits, that is great. Many schools, if asked will asign a buddy. The teachers or principal arranges for your son or daughter to be taken around by another student who will spend time with your child for the first few days.

It is also important to look in metro areas at schools where they already have a high incidence or relocation ,because they are probably better equipped to deal with it. You go into a lot of other places and the whole system seems to be stagnant and the same people have been there forever. The teachers and the students aren't used to having new kinds on the block.

It is important for parents to talk to teachers and ask questions about the curriculum?

Yes. It is more important though to talk to the administration. Check out computer hardware, text books, library resources, and teacher backgrounds. Ask if the curriculum emphasizes basic skills and if there is a diversity of program offerings. Ask if parent can't get an interview with a school principal when they are prospective parents, what's the situation going to be like when they are really there?