Monday, January 31, 2011

Somebody really likes popcorn.

Today is a repeat holiday, National Popcorn Day. It's odd due the fact that the other National Popcorn Day was only about 12 days ago. Anyway, we've already discussed how to celebrate that holiday, and I've almost used all of the popcorn puns at my disposal doing it. For those of you who weren't here, grab a bag of your favourite popcorn today and go to town on it. Caramel, Cheese, Buttered, Plain, Kettlecorn, Mint, Toffee, or some of the weird flavours that I may not even know about. I think there's a bacon one available somewhere online.

Today is also Child Labour Day. A day to be aware of the fact that there are places in which children are being worked more than they should for way less than they need. Maybe find a charity that works with children that have been or are being put through these kinds of situations, and find donate something that could help them.

It is also the anniversary date of The Green Hornet's first radio broadcast, which gives me the perfect excuse to go see that movie today. I hope it's good... Haven't heard any reviews on it.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Es-kah-pey

Today is Escape Day. There isn't much about this holiday online, but I did manage to find one source that said it was a day to escape from anything and everything that causes you stress. I have recently come down with a mild yet very annoying sickness that I would absolutely love to escape, so I will be taking a lot of vitamin C and drinking water. But as I'm sure you think, that is a lame way to celebrate. Well, I'm sick and I can't go anywhere, so I'll have to find a new way to escape. Books are sometimes called an escape into another world, so I'll read a book or possibly write my own story. In fact, I'll write my own story and escape to an entirely new world altogether that no one else has been to. Now that's an escape.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Saturday, January 29, 2011

No place for a mighty warrior.

Today is National Corn Chip Day: a day to celebrate one of the most addicting snacks in the world! Just so the less food-educated are aware, corn chips and potato chips are NOT the same thing. Corn chips are usually dipped in salsa, cheese, chili, or crushed up and baked into some delicious crunchy mexican recipes. In my opinion, corn chips will reign supreme over potato chips for all time, as they are delicious to eat even alone and without any seasoning because they always taste great. So take some time today to stuff your face with corn chips in celebration of this day dedicated to them.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Friday, January 28, 2011

Clashing Rattlesnake Kazoos

Today is first and foremost, National Kazoo Day. A day to play the kazoo either in a group, or go for that wicked kazoo solo you've been practicing for all those years. Anyone who can hum has already mastered the kazoo as long as they can also carry a tune.

There are two more days that I couldn't find any solid info on, though. The first being Clash Day. I couldn't find out if it had to do with simply wearing clothes that clashed or whether it had to do with some sort of astrological animal sign clash that I can't even understand. So I'll do my best to just go with the clothing one, seeing as that got more google results.

The second day I can't wrap my head around is Rattlesnake Roundup Day. Am I supposed to go out and literally roundup some rattlesnakes? No, the internet was fairly clear on saying that I wasn't supposed to do that. I did get some results that entailed looking at snakes, playing snake games (whatever that means), reading articles about snakes, and just snake-related activities in general. I suppose I could watch a few snake movies, as there are quite a few of those now. I could also go for an hour or two of playing the classic video game: Snake. They even have a playable version of that on Youtube now, I hear.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Like Clockwork

Today is an odd mixture of holidays. First, there is Punch the Clock Day. A day that, I assume, is meant to be celebrated by punching in and out of any thing you do on time. I don't know of many businesses that still use an actual punch-clock, so I suppose just do your best to be on time coming and going. The second holiday is Thomas Crapper Day. As you may or may not have guessed, Thomas helped great improve the bathroom by inventing the flush toilet. The word "crap" was around before him, though so we aren't celebrating that. No we are going to spend time being VERY thankful that the flush toilet exists and we don't have to do whatever it is that people used to have to do. I imagine it was smelly and disgusting. So thank you, Thomas Crapper, for patenting such a device. And having a chuckle worthy last name.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Where women glow and men plunder.

Today is Australia Day! A day which, as you might have guessed, is celebrated mostly in Australia by australians! An age old tradition that has fairly recently become the largest annual public celebration, it is celebrated with outdoor sports, barbecue, concerts, and general partying around with friends and/or family. It celebrates the day of the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788. I can't really think of a way to celebrate this myself, as I don't have a concert on hand today, so I will instead listen to a little Men At Work, and try to cook up some australian dishes. Deviled Carrots, maybe? Sounds interesting.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Not a Witty Title.

Today isn't January 25th, and that doesn't mean that it's Opposite Day. Opposite day isn't celebrated by doing everything you wouldn't normally do in an opposite fashion. Yes isn't no, Right isn't left, up isn't down, and if Squidward wrecks your house, he really CLEANED it. I could write for a very short time about this because it's the easiest thing in the world, and isn't hurting my head at all. So I'll not stop here and call it bad.

No thanks for not reading!
~ Definitely not Kyle

Monday, January 24, 2011

What would you do?

Today is Eskimo Pie Patent Day! A treat certainly worthy of it's own holiday, as it is a mix between both candy and ice cream. It was supposedly the first treat to do such a thing. The most famous eskimo pie (at least to me because of it's catchy jingle) is the Klondike bar, which has had every coating from chocolate to cappuccino. Today is a day to go out and eat some eskimo pies of whatever your flavor preference is, and have a moment to silently thank Christian Nelson for patenting such an awesome thing. He got inspiration from a child in his candy shop who couldn't decide on ice cream or chocolate, and only had enough for one. Luckily his original name (The I-Scream Bar) isn't still what we call it by, although still a very common thing to say. So kudos to you, Christian, oh pioneer of tasty delights!

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Write with your feet. More hands for pie.

The first Holiday of January 23rd: National Handwriting Day. This holiday was made by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association to make the public more aware of the significance of handwriting in this increasingly technological age. Celebrate by writing as much as you can by hand (If I had a scanner, this would be in my REAL handwriting and not "Handwriting-Dakota"). Mail people letters by snail mail or just pass notes in class (don't tell anyone I gave that advice). EDIT... I couldn't even get the special font to work! :( 

The next holiday is National Pie Day! As you may know by now, I thoroughly enjoy food related holidays, and this one takes the cake (or pie) (I know you saw that one coming) ) so far. I love pie of any sort. I ate three pizzas and a banana cream pie for lunch, and am getting ready to watch Sweeny Todd, as I can't find any meat pies in stores near me, so that's what I'll settle for. So, yeah... eat pie today.




And to make this the first day with THREE holidays, today is ALSO Measure Your Feet Day. You celebrate by... well... measuring your feet. I did this by going to see what size shoes I wear, as you will soon see in the lovely picture below, my shoes for the past two or three years may indeed be on their last string... literally. So take the time to measure your feet in any way you can manage. And hey, have a great day... or what's left of it. I'm so sorry for this super late update.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The answer is always brownies.

Today is January 22nd, which means it is the absolutely perfect day to answer you cat's question. ... Because it's Answer Your Cat's Question Day. I don't own a cat, but today is a day for all you crazy cat owners or crazy people who own cats to spend some time with your cat and figure out what it wants (good luck).

The rest of the people in the world will be celebrating the much more sane holiday, Blonde Brownie Day. I have spent all day preparing for and partaking in their deliciousness, and web though I accidentally used 8 times the amount of salt I was supposed to, it still tasted great! (Not much difference between 1/8 tsp and 1 tsp) here is a link to the video of their preparation. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y56P7Yv9meM&feature=feedu

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle



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Friday, January 21, 2011

Hug it Out

National Hugging Day is upon us and with it come many ways to celebrate. The simplest way would be to hug your friends and acquaintances instead of shaking their hand, and generally hug more than you usually would. It's not like you should have to go out of your way to find the time to hug someone. If you wanted to take the holiday a little further, you could perhaps visit a nursing home and hug some people there to brighten their day. If you were so bold as to take the holiday very far, you could risk the public areas such as parks, malls, and (for only the very bold) swimming pools, and announce the holiday asking others to participate. Just don't be a creep about it. Check out these guys for an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4&ob=av3el

Other than that, have a great day! Virtual hugs for everyone!

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Thursday, January 20, 2011

A Better Crunch

I had no idea what buttercrunch was until today, and I owe that to National Buttercrunch Day. I went to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (an awesome chocolate place incase you were unaware of it) and asked them if they had any. Of course they said they did because they have almost every chocolate ever. (Godiva doesn't have buttercrunch OR vanilla truffles) All that aside, Buttercrunch is delicious. I bought two different kinds: one with nuts and one without. Both are delicious. I was at first afraid that it would be almost painful to bite like SOME toffee-esque things are, but it snaps pretty easily and doesn't stick to your teeth or any nonsense like that. So, go out and get some buttercrunch at your favourite chocolate shop. If you are lucky enough to live near a Thornton's then you should go there. I don't even know if they have buttercrunch, but they are just way too good either way. Here's a picture of my buttercrunch to give you an idea of what you should look for if you don't already know.


Delicious

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

A-maize-ing!

Today is National Popcorn Day! A day to celebrate one of the most enjoyable of all salty snacks. Known for being an avid theater goer, and a staple for almost every event that entails the silver screen, popcorn has been around since around 3600 B.C. In New Mexico. Does this mean that people of old have also enjoyed sitting with friends in a theatre while watching classic films? No. The first American film projection was in New York and in A.D. times. It does mean, however that it has had time to perfect. So enjoy yourself a big ol' bag of buttered up popping corn today! And while you wait for it to pop, look up Hot Butter's song titled - Popcorn. Good stuff.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Oh Bother

January 18th is Winnie the Pooh Day. Winnie is a bear that I grew up with as a child, and is the only character I know to often be named by what he is and not what his name is. It's "Winnie the Pooh" not "Pooh the Winnie". Besides, 'Pooh' was the swan that Christopher saw. Sigh... I guess now is not the time for semantics. For today is a day to celebrate to undoubtably brilliant series that Winnie the Pooh and all his friends in 100 Acre Woods have used to bring delight into several generations of children, and to make sure the legacy does not die. I know for a fact that my future possible children will most certainly know him, as should yours. He is a bear that I relate to in many senses, including but not limited to our thoughts on conversation and food as seen in this quote by him: “It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like 'What about lunch?'" Speaking of lunch, I skipped breakfast today and there is a rumbly in my tumbly. I go now to solve this problem. Oh and probably re-read some Winnie the Pooh books.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Monday, January 17, 2011

All Dogs go to Heaven

Today is January 17th, and according to sources it is "Blessing of the Animals at the Cathedral Day". I can't lie to you, I had to research this one a LOT to know what it was about. Turns out, it's pretty much what it says. In Los Angeles, California it is a tradition for animal lovers to take their pets to be blessed by several religious officials, and also to 'informally present' their pets to others. There is actually a book explaining it by a certain Diana L. Guerrero, so my advice to those who require an explanation of the day that will do a significant amount more justice to it would be to go read that, as I am still unsure I quite get the entire historical meaning of it all. It does date back fairly far though(1781 according to Diana), but I suppose I may have never heard of it since it seems to be fairly specific to California from what I've read. I've never been further west than Colorado. Learn something new everyday I suppose!

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Nothing To See Here

January 16th is Nothing Day. A day that I would fail at celebrating if I said much more than that, as the point is to do nothing. It may also be Hot and Spicy International Food Day, but Nothing Day would trump that, I believe. Just so I don't seem lazy, I'll put various spices on various things. Other than that, tune in tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Hats off! Er... On.

January 15th is a holiday so simple and easy to celebrate that I almost forgot to even mention it. Hat Day is exactly what you think it would be. Put on your favourite hat and bask in it's head-warming glory while others swoon and faint in the sheer presence of you and your cool hat. Baseball caps, ski caps, maybe a tarboosh? (For my one view that came from Turkey) No hat is the wrong hat for Hat Day. Visors if you feel like running the risk of being called out by all true hat wearers. Otherwise, the world is your hat oyster.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle


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Friday, January 14, 2011

Never Again

January 14th... is a day that I at first did not like the idea of, but it won me over. National Dress Up Your Pet Day at first would seem like a day that furthers the idea that it is okay to put your pet in a sweater during the winter, or that they need a sun hat in the summer. They don't. However, I thought about it and came to the conclusion that this holiday is okay in my book, as long as it is the ONLY day when this is allowed. Now, I know... I know... they look cute all dress up like us peoples do. Admittedly, yeah it can be pretty cool to see a well-thought out costume for a person an their dog on halloween. The best costumes however, do nothing to the dog! Got a little black yorkie and a brunette girl? One basket later, it's Dorothy and Toto from Wizard of Oz. Got an elderly man and a Jack Russell Terrier? Grab a cane and it's Eddie and Martin from Frasier. Got a yellow lab and a small child? Give the kid a gun and it's Old Yeller.

... That last one was a little dark, but my point stands. They don't need a costume or clothes to be cute or cool. That said, I'm not going to yell at people that I see who DO dress up their pets, I just don't see me ever doing it myself. However, it is the holiday of the day, so to make good on my promise, I have to. I only have an extra shirt from Build-a-Bear to use, though, as the pants do not fit. So here ya go. Business Casual Milo.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Thanks, Jiminy Cricket.

January 13th is yet another double holiday! Make Your Dream Come True Day was the harder of the two to celebrate, so i began with it. Now it didn't specify as to what kind of dream (night, day, life-long), so I went with the night dream. I ate none of my usual midnight snack oddities so that my dream would be as close to not-crazy and at least partially realistically fulfillable. I dreamt that I was at the mall just wandering around and there was a really expensive jacket that was awesome. I don't really know how to describe it, but just imagine the best material and fit ever. It was pretty cool. I imagine this stemmed from me discussing going to the mall the previous night with some friends, along with my want for a new jacket, and quite possibly my recent viewing of the first two episodes of The Cape. Back to the dream, though, I couldn't afford it and had to go do favours for all the stores to raise money (enter my knowledge of how side-quests in video games work). I woke up before I rose the money. The End.

To make this a reality, I needed to go to the mall. Check. I needed to find a jacket I wanted. Check. I needed to not have enough funds. Check, check, check. All systems go. I went to some stores (Build-a-Bear, Gamestop, Bose, Apple, etc.) and asked if they needed any favours done in exchange for petty cash. No such luck! Although, I DID get a few Godiva truffle samples for free, which was pretty cool of them. But in the end, I did not get the jacket. Not exactly how the dream went, as in the dream I raised at LEAST 1,500 dollars, and that would have been REALLY nice, but alas.

Actually, not 'alas'. It was quite disappointing to not get 1,500 dollars even if I wasn't technically promised any money at all just for trying. Which brings me to the second holiday, Blame Someone Else Day. I would like to thank a certain puppet's pet insect for telling me that "If I wished upon a star" My dreams would come true. I didn't wish upon a star, granted, but that's only because I didn't remember about it until I tried to come up with a kinda witty title for this entry. Also, by the time I woke up, the stars were out of sight. For which I blame the sun! Which, while technically a star, has yet to make it known whether or not it, too has any sort of wish-granting ability. So it's obviously all their fault.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Another Ladies' Day

Come now, was Man Watcher's Day on the 8th not enough for you? Only four days later, you need another holiday for the same thing? Or is it the same thing? I suppose I'll never figure women out. Regardless, the holiday for January 12th is the Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day. Now, I again put some research into this holiday, and it really is yet another day for women to go out and look at men, but with a few minor yet important changes. Instead of simply man watching, today is your day to find the "hunkiest" of them all and ogle and whistle to your hearts content. It' a lot like man watching, I assume, but this time you let them KNOW that you are watching and that you are watching THEM. So, have fun ladies. I'll probably just go watch Disney's Tarzan or something.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Painful Puddles

January 11th is Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend Day. It is an unfortunately placed holiday as all puddles today are frozen solid, and throwing an ice puddle at a friend is a delicate art that requires a certain elegant touch in order to not hurt your friend. However, the day is simply a day to enjoy the many ways in which you can have a little fun at the slight expense of some friends. A "Prank Day", if you will. I love this idea. Most of my pranks are done on the battleground of the mind, and less so on the realm of the physical. A little more Jim Halpert and a little less Larry, Curly, Moe. Feel free to celebrate today in whatever form or fashion of light hearted pranks suits you, and please keep it clean. Especially if you are at work today. No reason to get fired over it.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle


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Monday, January 10, 2011

I Can Be Your Friend

It is Monday January 10th, and I am feeling the Monday lazies. It doesn't help that there is snow outside and to go out I would have to get dressed up in layers that will become too warm once I come back in, and I'll have to keep changing as I go in and out. Luckily, today's holiday doesn't really involve going out. It could, but it doesn't. It's Peculiar People Day today and that means it's time to celebrate the oddities in the weirdos in your life. If you are anything like me, then you have already amassed quite a collection of peculiar people in you life, and have yourself already developed into a fairly odd person if you were to really evaluate yourself and compare to the popular social definition of 'normal'. I plan on finding some time today to send out some personally tailored e-mails, texts, and such to let the peculiar people in my life know that their peculiarities are in fact appreciated. There are many ways this holiday can be celebrated, and I encourage you to come up with creative ways to do it. I'll be trying to think of something, too, but right now it's cold outside and not even 9 a.m. on a Monday, so I'll have to wait for the other half of my brain to wake up.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Shoes to Fill

Today is January 9th, and it's snowing outside for the first time this year. The holiday today is Play God Day. When I first saw the name, I of course thought I would go out and buy an ant farm or play The Sims 3 all day. The actual celebration of the day is done by doing to others whatever God would. This is something I try to do often as is, but something I will admittedly never perfect. So today shall be a day to go into the bible and work on becoming better at it. I actually find it pretty cool that such a holiday exists.

By the way, here is a picture of the puppy I got in celebration of National Joygerm Day.





Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

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Saturday, January 8, 2011

The First Snag

Before I get started, here is my old rock from yesterday 


Now that all business is out of the way, I'm afraid I've hit somewhat of a snag in this year-long celebration, as this particular holiday is not celebrated by people of my gender. The holiday I speak of is, of course, Man Watcher's Day. This day is a day for women to go out an just look at men. By definition of this holiday, I can't celebrate it. I almost found it offensive until someone brought up the argument that "Everyday for you guys is girl watching day, so what's the big deal?" While I'd rather not think of myself as the kind of guy to do such things, I won't not admit that I don't not do it every now and then. That said, I can certainly try to help the lady-type celebrators of this holiday by doing my part and maybe just care a little more about my appearance in public on a saturday. That's about all I can think of when it comes to my part in this holiday. Otherwise, have a great day, ladies!

In other news, there is another holiday today that I can celebrate! National Joygerm Day also belongs to January 8th, and it's all about spreading the one germ that is both very infectious and only rarely deadly! Spreading joy is one of the easiest and most fun things to do if you know your audience, and joy is almost always returned to the giver exponentially, so it's a win-win holiday! I know what you're thinking! "Kyle, you already plan on trying to be handsome today for all the lady-type peoples out there, how much more joy could you possibly spread?!" The answer is: a lot more, actually! To the Beatles, happiness was a warm gun, and to Charles Shulz, it was a warm puppy! So I'm gonna go pick up a couple of rescue puppies with my mother today, and the house shall be filled with much joy! Every sentence in this paragraph ended with an exclamation point!

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Friday, January 7, 2011

I got a rock...

Well, the day we've all been waiting for has finally come. Old Rock Day! What's that you say? Never heard of it? ... Me either. At first I thought it was a day for appreciating the age of some minerals, but then I thought it must be about the older days of rock and roll. That's called classic rock, though isn't it? Yes. It is. I was right the first time. Research shows that there isn't much known about this holiday except for the name, date, and the fact that it does indeed refer to old rocks. Now, I'm no geologist so I'm not too savvy when it comes to knowing a rock's age simply by looking at one. I can only assume that most rocks are old unless they shine or are made fairly easily on a daily basis. That being said, I have NO idea how to go about celebrating this holiday. I will try my best to do it, though, as I will NOT give up on my resolution that quickly! So I'm going to go to the museum, which I assume is obligated to have at least one fairly old rock!

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Thursday, January 6, 2011

The Magical Fruit

It's Bean Day today and I think you all know what that means, or you at least have a good guess. It's a day to celebrate beans! You may have seen this holiday before on a lot of e-card sites, and it is not uncommon for teachers to have some sort of bean related activity for elementary students today. I looked into the origin of the day, and according to what I found, it is a tradition for some European countries such as Germany to bake a cake to celebrate Epiphany (a much more well-known holiday for obvious reasons). In this cake, they would put a single bean, and whomever got the slice with the bean in it would be king for the day. I've actually had that kind of cake before, although it was not on january 6th and it was not a bean, but instead a little crown. That said, if you feel up to that, it would be a great fun way to celebrate today, but you can also just do what I plan to do and drink coffee made of fresh ground beans, eat chili with beans, and eat jelly beans.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Polly Wanna Holiday

Today on January 5th, it is Bird Day! A day that is intended for awareness of the plight of birds that are being driven to extinction by game hunters or poachers. Parrots are especially high on this list due to their high demand in the market both legal and illegal. So today, maybe be that guy who brings it up in a conversation. It will make you seem more aware of what is going on in the world as you should already be striving to actually be. Not that I'm even a very avid reader of headlines. Still, it's always nice to be up-to-date on things. And nothing is more up-to-date than an awareness day that is, in fact, this date. So spread the news and don't be a jerk to birds today. Or any day, really. Don't give anyone the bird, either, that's just obscene.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Humble Pursuit

January 4th is an odd duo of holidays: Trivia Day and Humiliation Day. Trivia Day may be the obvious one when it comes to "How does one celebrate?" Celebrate by bringing the obscure truths into your friends' and family's lives today! Tell them that Lou Gehrig was the first athlete on a Wheaties box. Tell them that pretzels were once hidden on easter instead of eggs. Tell them that Philedelphia Cream Cheese was created in 1872 by William Lawrence. Mine are all food related because I haven't eaten breakfast yet, but I think you catch my drift.

Humiliation Day, however, is completely different, and only related to Trivia Day if you often gloat and rub your Trivial Pursuit winnings in other people's face. It is a day to go to anyone you have humiliated and apologize to them. Yes, I know, it wasn't what I was expecting, either. Fair enough, though. I'm sure there are a few of those people in my life, as I'm sure there are yours. So take the time to say something to them today in order to get full credit for today.

No going halfsies on a two-holiday day.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Monday, January 3, 2011

Grab your comfiest of pajamas.

Because January 3rd is the Festival of Sleep! Today is dedicated to those many hours of sleep you lost last year. To celebrate, you simply sleep. Don't let anyone call you lazy for it, but instead just tell them that they have no holiday spirit. Now, I realize that some people may have work or school today, which will make sleeping tricky. But rest assured there are many different methods of sleep for you to use. Anything above the 8 hours you always get (because that's healthy and you always do what is healthy) can and should be counted as a celebratory sleep session. Nodding off in a boring meeting? Consider each of those head bobs a nod of recognition and remembrance towards an hour of sleep you lost last year. Got a study hall and you have nothing to study? Power nap for the rest of those 45 minutes like you weren't already going to. You could even pay tribute to specific parts of sleep. Do you like the dreams you have? Then day-dream (also called using your imagination) today and discuss what the odd machinations of your inner mind are creating with your fellow dreamers. I'm sure you'll find a way to celebrate, and I'm sure there are many. As for myself, I'll be taking a few cat naps or doing something I like to call "Sleep Zoning"

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Sunday, January 2, 2011

New Ideas

The second day of celebration is underway, and I once again find myself with a somewhat easy day to celebrate. "Run it Up the Flagpole and See Who Salutes" Day is the holiday for January 2nd, and I at first thought "I have no flag or flagpole, and I hardly want to wait around all day under one and count who salutes as I can probably ballpark that number at somewhere under 10." Luckily for me and my immune system (it's 30ºF outside and a little windy), that is not what the holiday is truly about.

No, "Run it up the flagpole (and see who salutes)" is an old phrase from around 60 years ago and means something to the affect of "Put out a new idea to see the general reaction to it." Much easier than standing under a cold pole in the winter resisting the urge to see if my tongue would really stick to it, right? If you truly thought hard about it, we are at no shortage for new ideas, but our filtering system has gotten so quick at auto-deleting the ones we deem as "stupid", "inefficient", or "incredibly life-threatening" that we may never run them by anybody. We have also become a little quick to shoot down others' ideas if they inconvenience us. In simpler terms, we've replaced our childhood's "What if" with a grown up "How about not?".

So today, I will resist no urge to suppress any idea I have, no matter how outlandish. If I think of a solution, I will recommend it instantly. All thoughts of innovation will be noted and then scrutinized by others, but I will have at least tried. None of my ideas may work, but I will have contributed all that I possibly could, and who knows, maybe pieces of my ideas would work with another person's idea.

After all, it would seem to me that other people's strange ideas have worked at at least some level of success for them.

1879


1908


2004


Thanks for reading!
~Kyle

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Your New Year and You

Well, it's a new-fangled year again, and people everywhere are making resolutions that are more than likely vague and easily "loopholeable". I'm not saying that I am in any way immune to this pattern, but like everyone else, I am also saying "This year will be different!" You see, a few years ago I came across a handy list of holidays. There was at least one holiday listed for every day of the year, and I began simply using it as a conversation starter in such ways as "Did you know today was (insert obscure, question provoking holiday here) day? How do you even celebrate that?" However, after a year of what I can only describe as a down with about two ups, I've decided to make this year a little more exciting.

It took a while for me to find out how, but then it came to me. The list of holidays. I will celebrate every holiday on that list to the best of my ability. Luckily, after I post this post, I will be accountable. If I stop, I lose. However, some holidays are obviously out of my budget or past my ability to fully celebrate, so I may have to come up with my own way to celebrate them, but they WILL be celebrated. What better way to add a little uniqueness and excitement to a possibly boring day? ... Well there is probably plenty better, but this is what I'm doing.

I'v already celebrated one of today's holidays: First Foot Day. At first I thought I'd just find my first footprint and do some kind of artsy-fart activity with it, but then I found out the TRUE meaning of First Foot Day. In summary, during the viking days of old, Scotland had a tradition where a dark haired male being the first to step into your house on new years day was good luck, but a light-haired male or a woman was not. The man would bring coal and salt to wish warmth and flavour for the new year. Having walked into my house at about 1:45 a.m. last night after getting back from a new year's party, I have already celebrated, and luckily, I have darkish hair right now. I DID forget the coal and salt, but I'll just put extra salt on everything I eat today that merits having salt on it.

The OTHER holiday today is "Z Day". Now, I looked this one up, and supposedly it is a day when a class could celebrate by allowing the children with names that begin with "Z" be the first in line for everything, as they never are or will be when it comes to alphabetical order. This is not to be confused with "Zeitgeist Day", which is on March 13th, or the dreaded "Zombie Day" [Date unknown]. However I am out of school, and to my knowledge know only one person who has a "Z" name. They will be the FIRST person I tell "Happy New Years" to, though. As that's all I can really think to do, as I will most likely not see them today.

Now it seems I have gotten off easy for today, but rest assured, it will get more intense. It's always good to have an "ease-in" to such a large commitment, after all. I wouldn't want to rush what could be a beautiful thing.

Thanks for reading!
~Kyle