"BLUE MONDAY" - 16 January 2012

16 January 2012:

Gloomy weather, post-holiday debt and low motivation have earned the third Monday in January the nickname "Blue Monday."

Today, the so-called ‘Blue Monday’, is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year

It’s been suggested that today, the so-called ‘Blue Monday’, is the most depressing day of the year. If people do find themselves feeling low during the winter months, there are a number of steps that they can take to improve how they feel.
Blue Monday is a name given to a date stated, as part of a publicity campaign by Sky Travel, to be the most depressing day of the year.

This date allegedly falls on the Monday of the last full week of January. The date was declared by Arnall to be 24 January in 2005, 23 January in 2006, 22 January in 2007, 21 January in 2008, 19 January in 2009,18 January in 2010. In 2011 there has been confusion about the correct date. Some claimed it was on 17 January 2011 while others say blue Monday was on 24 January 2011.

According to a press release by a mental health charity, the formula is:

where weather=W, debt=d, time since Christmas=T, time since failing our new year’s resolutions=Q, low motivational levels=M and the feeling of a need to take action=N_a. 'D' is not defined in the release, nor are units.

The day was chosen in 2005 by Cardiff University lecturer and psychologist Cliff Arnall, who was asked to identify the most depressing day of the year for U.K.’s Sky Travel as a way to market vacations.
Arnall based the date on a calculation that included gloomy weather, post-holiday debt and low motivational levels. He admitted in 2010 that the calculation is meaningless. But the practice of marking the day continues, partly because it can’t be denied that the cold, damp January weather really affects people.

 

Part of why people feel so down at this time of year is because of the sense of loss that comes with the dissipation of feelings of good cheer, excitement and hope during the post-Christmas period. In addition, that holiday overspending finally comes home to roost during the month of January. “This is a very difficult time of year. It’s hard to get motivated and, on top of that, we all have to tighten our belts, both financially and physically,” said Laurie Campbell, executive director of Credit Canada.
Mid-January until March is the busiest time of year for the credit consulting agency for this very reason, she said.
Financial issues can trigger stress, depression, marital problems, addiction problems, and health problems in individuals, said Campbell.
“So to say that financial issues can cause this to be an even more difficult time of year is certainly valid,” added Campbell.
Maintaining relationships with family and friends beyond the holidays is the best way to deal with January winter blues, said Berber.
Exercising, having sex and going to the theatre may also help boost your mood, according to a recent U.K. study, conducted by Apple and the London School of Economics. The study, called the Mappiness project, asked 45,000 smart phone users to record their levels of happiness and location throughout 2011. After studying the three million responses, the happiest day was determined to be April 29, the day Prince William married Catherine Middleton. The lowest day, was 8 p.m. on Jan. 31, which was, of course, a Monday. (Toronto Star)

 

 

PARLEZ-VOUS PRICEY - The costs of bilingualism in Canada

Parlez-vous pricey.

The costs of bilingualism in Canada

(National Post pic)



Official bilingualism costs $2.4B a year: study



The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada" according to Canada's constitution. (Wikipedia)

Education Rights (section 23 of the Charter and section 59 of the Constitution Act, 1982):

Section 23 provides a limited right to receive publicly-funded primary and secondary-schooling in the two official languages when they are "in a minority situation"—in other words, to English-language schooling in Quebec, and to French-language schooling in the rest of the country.

The debate on whether the 40-year-old policy is still relevant at a time when, for example, Chinese is the mother tongue of 38% of people in Vancouver or Italian is the mother tongue of 9% of those in Toronto, where just 1.7% of the population is francophone.

Ontario spends more than any other province — including Quebec — on minority language services, a Fraser Institute study has found.

As more and more Canadians speak languages other than English and French, the federal and provincial governments are spending $2.4-billion annually on official bilingualism, according to a new report from the Fraser Institute.

Ontario spends $621 million a year providing French language services, including education, to 489,000 Franco-Ontarians, which amounts to about $52 per Ontarian.

That’s a far cry from the mere $7 per person Quebec spends on its 575,000-strong English-language minority.

The 10 provinces spend a total of $900-million annually on minority language services, with the bulk going toward French-language education outside Quebec and English-language education inside Quebec. Ontario spends the most, doling out $623-million — or $1,275 for each minority member. While Quebec ranks third in overall spending at $51-million annually, it spends the least per minority member — mostly anglophones — at just $85 a head.

^{(From the news)}

No pants subway riders strip for the fun of it

 

2012 - No pants subway riders strip for the fun of it

A great way to start the year!

Giggles, gasps and bare legs filled a Toronto subway train Sunday afternoon when more than 100 people dropped their pants and rode the rocket as part of the city’s fifth annual No Pants subway ride.



 

WHERE: A southbound train on the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line.

WHEN: Sunday, January 8th, at 3 p.m.

WHAT: About 120 people gathered at Museum Station and boarded a subway train. At Queen’s Park, they all began casually removing their pants, while fellow riders either looked away in disgust, or looked on in fascination. The No Pants! Subway Ride, as the event is called, is staged by Improv in Toronto, and it’s something of a tradition. This was Toronto’s fifth annual. The event also happens in other cities around the world.

“It’s about making people laugh,” said event organizer Cole Banning, 20, the creative director of Improv in Toronto.
“The world needs more people just having fun.”

The event, set in January every year, has since spread to more than 50 cities worldwide, including Toronto and Vancouver.
“It’s giving people something healthy and fun to do on a Sunday afternoon,” said Jenna Warriner, a third-time No Pants participant and Improv in Toronto member. “It’s just fun.”

Hundreds of hardy hipsters dropped their trousers for the 11th annual No Pants Subway Ride in New York City Sunday. The stunt has spread to several cities including Toronto, Madrid and London

http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/01/photos_of_the_2012_toronto_no_pants_subway_ride/

PORTUGAL:

Este ano realizou-se a "11th No Pants Subway Ride" e Lisboa participou pela 4ª vez. Os participantes andaram sem calças no metro da capital com o objetivo de "causar alguns sorrisos, sustos e gargalhadas", nos habitantes de Lisboa.

Iniciada em Nova Iorque em 2002, o ano passado contou com 48 cidades em 22 países, totalizando mais de 5000 pessoas.

Oitenta em cuecas no metropolitano

Uns ficaram espantados, outros riram e lançaram piadas, mas ninguém ficou indiferente ao ver um grupo de 80 pessoas passear em cuecas no metropolitano e nas ruas da Baixa de Lisboa.
 This event took place in 2002 for the first time in New York and last year 5000 people in 48 cities in 22 countries participated.

http://vimeo.com/34762737

A ideia partiu do grupo ImprovLisboa que com este evento quis provocar risos e alegria. O ponto de partida foi a estação do Campo Grande.

Participantes tiveram conhecimento da iniciativa através da troca de mensagens pela internet e telemóvel

Viajantes Sem Calças povoam as ruas!

 "Com" ou "Sem elas", a ginjinha aqueceu os espíritos

Ler mais: http://aeiou.visao.pt/veja-como-foi-o-passeio-em-cuecas-no-metro-de-lisboa-e-no-porto=f641983#ixzz1j1OEqZHr

Uma agente tira as calças enquanto outro se prepara para uma soneca. A rapariga de chapéu também não tem calças. (Foto: Reinaldo Rodrigues/DN)

 

 

2011 Ad:

What you didn’t know about your favourite Christmas movies

What you didn’t know about your favourite Christmas movies

1. A Christmas Story:

The movie’s writer was inspired to create the leg lamp by an illuminated Nehi Soda advertisement

2. Home Alone:

The ‘evil’ furnace McCauley Culkin’s character is scared of in the movie was lit up and animated by two people with fishing line and flashlights



 

3. Miracle on 34th Street:

The 1947 movie was released in May because the studio head, Darryl F. Zanuck, insisted more people went to the movies in the summer.

4. The Shop Around the Corner:

This 1940 holiday black-and-white film, featuring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, inspired another movie — 58 years later. You’ve Got Mail, ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQIjcZLLsug ) starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. A big difference between the two? The original is set in Hungary, and the later one in New York.

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas:

Linus’ iconic speech about the true meaning of Christmas was almost cut when the animated movie’s producers and creator Charles Schultz clashed over the inclusion of religion. Schultz wanted the one-minute-long speech left in, but the producers thought it would limit its audience and drive away advertisers.

6. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation:

Mae Questel, who plays Aunt Bethany ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCBvFYGwd0g ), who wraps up her cat and makes the famous Jell-O mould, was also the voice of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl. Christmas Vacation was her last movie.

7. White Christmas:

Irving Berlin, the man who wrote the song of the same title,

hated the holiday — for good reason. In the early hours of Dec. 25, 1928, his first son, Irving Jr., was discovered dead in his crib.

8. Scrooged:

David Letterman’s Canadian musical sidekick, Paul Shaffer, is leading a group of street carolers in the movie that Bill Murray’s character insults. The carolers include Miles Davis, saxophone player David Sanborn, and jazz guitarist Larry Carlton.

9. It’s a Wonderful Life:

The scene in which Jimmy Stewart’s character is considering suicide on a bridge, he’s sweating.

It might have been from acting in the moment, but it could also have been from the California summer heat wave he was working in while on a set.

10. Elf:

Ming Ming the elf from the beginning of the movie is Peter Billingsley, the actor who played Ralphie in ‘A Christmas Story.’

 

Did you know that Linus' "Meaning of Christmas" speech was lamost axed?

NORAD Santa trackers break records on social media

(Yahoo photo)

NORAD Santa trackers expected record holiday telling children about big man's location

Every year millions of children log in to http://www.noradsanta.org to track "Santa" around the world.

FILE - In this Dec. 24, 2010 file photo, Air Force Lt. Col. David Hanson, of Chicago, takes a phone call from a child in Florida at the Santa Tracking Operations Center at Peterson Air Force Base near Colorado Springs, Colo. Santa is already piling up monster numbers on social networking sites this season, so the volunteer Santa-trackers at NORAD are bracing for tens of thousands of calls and emails when their operations center goes live on Christmas Eve. (AP Photo)

DENVER - Santa's piling up more than presents this year. The big man's trackers at NORAD say Santa Claus is breaking records on social media and by old-fashioned telephone this Christmas Eve.
Volunteers NORAD Tracks Santa at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado were fielding 4,000 calls an hour Saturday morning, on pace to break a record. Santa's NORAD Facebook page exceeded 840,000 "likes" by midmorning.
The North American Aerospace Defence Command has been telling children about Santa's whereabouts every year since 1955, when a newspaper ad invited kids to call Santa on a hotline. A typo led dozens of kids to call the command.
The officers on duty played along and began sharing reports on Santa's progress. It's now a deep-rooted tradition at NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canada command.

Son discovers mother's 100-year-old Christmas letter

Dear Santa:

Son discovers mother's 100-year-old Christmas letter

 

Hannah Howard's Christmas letter lay in a chimney for years

 

The ghost of Christmas 100 years past arrived early for a County Down man when he discovered the Santa letter his late mother wrote when she was a girl.

The scorched letter, dated Christmas Eve 1911, had been up a chimney in a Dublin house for decades.

Victor Bartlem's mother, Hannah Howard, had written her Christmas wish list when she was 10 years old.

 

Mr Bartlem said he was overwhelmed at people's response to the letter

It was first discovered in 1992 when the current house owner John Byrne installed central heating.

He came upon Hannah's letter in the chimney and decided to keep it as a memento of times past.

He made it public this week in the Irish Times and it was there that Victor - living more than 100 miles away in Bangor, County Down, - read about it.

He was sitting at home when his wife read from the newspaper about the little girl from Oaklands Terrace, Terenure who put her letter up a chimney. It was then that he realised that she was his mother.

"I simply couldn't believe it. I never knew about this letter. I never even knew it existed," Mr Bartlem said.

"I could not believe it, it was absolutely amazing and it is such a sweet, typical child's letter."

Mr Bartlem said he was overwhelmed at people's response to the letter.

"It is in the spirit of the time we are in at the moment which is Christmas," he said.

On her Christmas list, Hannah wrote: "I want a baby doll and a waterproof with a hood and a pair of gloves and a toffee apple and a gold penny and a silver sixpence and a long toffee."

Hannah was born on Christmas Day 1900. Mr Bartlem said his mother attended the Zion Church of Ireland in Raphoe and married Alfred Bartlem in 1931.

She had two sons, Howard and Victor. She died in 1978.

(BBC News/Yahoo)

7 Gifts to Avoid this Holiday

 

7 Gifts to Avoid this Holiday

Household Appliances - No woman wants to be reminded of household chores or think you're thinking of her as the one who does the cooking and cleaning when she opens her gift.

A Pet - With guests visiting your house, holiday decorations on display, and myriad other distractions during the week, it's the worst time to try and introduce a small animal to its new home.

Jewelry You've Seen on a TV Commercial - most women do not want a heart-shaped pendant from a chain jewelry store. If your loved one is an accessory lover, opt for something special and one-of-a-kind from an independent jewelry designer on Etsy.

Gift Baskets - The one thing there's never a lack of during the holidays is food. That's why no one needs any more food coming their way. While a nice gift basket full of cured meats, cheese spreads, fruit, and candy might be delicious, there's already more than enough to eat without giving someone more.

A Sweater - There's no denying a cashmere sweater is a nice thing, but opening a box and discovering a plain sweater is sort of dull.  Instead, add a nice cashmere scarf or pair of gloves to your loved one's stocking.

Credit Card Gift Cards - They're processed as credit cards with a limit of whatever is loaded on the card so it can be difficult to use them for purchases that exceed that amount. And most of these cards have an activation fee you'll have to pay at the point of purchase. Instead, opt for cash or a gift card to a store you're certain your recipient likes to shop in.

Lingerie - if you're a man buying a woman lingerie, the gift is as much for you as it is for her. And, if you're opening gifts in mixed company, it could be really embarrassing for the recipient. Save the sexy underthings for a Valentine's Day gift and get her something she really wants this holiday season.