(Photo by Chris Metcalf) What could you do with an extra second this year? Invent some new technology that will change the world? Wink at that guy across the room? We're about to find out tonight, for the countdown should sound something like, "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1 ... 0! Happy New Year!" This New Year's Eve, 2008 will end at 11:59:60 (23:59:60, for those inclined toward military time), instead of 11:59:59. So be sure to save your New Year's smooch and slurp from the champagne toast an extra second and savor the moment while it lasts. Due to the overall slowing of the Earth's rotation, every few years an average of a full second has to be added to the certified Universal Coordinated Time, which is the basis for global time systems. This update occurs so that civil time is more attuned to astronomical time, which is based on the rate of the Earth's rotation. So while the Earth is slowing down, atomic clocks maintain a steady rate. Hence the concept of adding the leap second to atomic clocks ... and this time around to a Leap Year, no less. Who knew 2008 was such a year of leaps? Here in the U.S., this adjustment means updating the country's atomic clocks, half of which are housed in a vault at the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. These clocks serve as the official source of time for the government (Department of Defense), Global Positioning Systems, and the U.S. Standard of Time. As a side note, if you're familiar with your governmental factoids, you know that the Naval Observatory is also home to the Vice President, at Number One Observatory Circle. You read that correctly. Dick Cheney has the potential power, based on his proximity and position, to control time. Think about that for a second. Suggested Sites... Wikipedia: Leap Second - discover all the specific facts surrounding the one-second adjustment. 2008 Will Be Just a Second Longer - LiveScience article explaining the relationship of the Earth's rotation and atomic clocks. New Year's Eve 2009 - a guide to New Year parties, events, travel, and more.

Directory categories: U.S. Naval Observatory Atomic Clock, New Year Countdowns, Leap Day, Leap Year

Archived under: Holidays, New Year, Science, Time, Times Square, Vice Presidents

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(Photo by Melissa Gutierrez) Dear Friends, Another year has drawn to a close, and it's time to look back at our accomplishments of the past twelve months. We're so proud of our family's achievements and want to share them with those who are dear to our hearts. Some of our fondest memories of 2008: * Michelle had her baby (no, not that one) and is taking full advantage of the Canadian government’s generous maternity leave policy. We expect her back sometime around 2013. * Mike completed a lifelong dream and became the world’s first head-banging ninja film critic. * Eugenia consumed 152,846 calories cooking for her Spark articles, and she will gladly eat another Sausage McMuffin for the sake of the Spark. * Jessica finally picked a winner. Sort of. * Robert’s World of Warcraft gold farming business has gone bust (his Chinese workers revolted, demanding time for sleep despite his generous offer of more Red Bull). Undaunted, he plans on making a killing selling fake tickets to the presidential inauguration. Got to love his entrepreneurial spirit. Wish him luck! * Richard finally joined Facebook this year and no one has seen or heard from him since. * Suzi is sick to death of the incessant pleas to upgrade your television with a digital conversion tuning box prior to the FCC's digital TV transition in February. She’s also trying to beat her addiction to the Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers" (in HD, baby!) by replacing it with an obsession with "Antiques Roadshow." * Liz made progress on her screenplay about gigantic, possessed parade balloons that break free and take over a city. * Chris has developed an obsession with downloading his entire life onto the Internet and becoming "VirtualChris." * Helene a fait un effort valient de comprendre ces Américains fous, mais ne sait pas s'il vaut l'effort. * Dave followed his crapping out on Jeopardy! with an attempt to memorize every useless factoid of trivia in the world and writing a Spark about it. 182 down; who knows how many to go? Warm wishes to you and yours over the holidays and in the coming year. Love, The Spark Household Suggested Sites... How to Write Family Christmas Letters - ideas for lively and creative family letters. The Gloating Christmas Letter - how to decode the boasting and bragging of typical holiday letters. The Perfect Holiday Letter - dos and don'ts for your holiday missives. Everyday Etiquette: How to Write a Holiday Letter - how to get kids to take up the tradition. How to Write a Holiday Thank You Letter - show your gratitude, not your ego.

Directory categories: Christmas Humor, Correspondence, Letter Writing, Writing

Archived under: Biographies, Christmas, Communication, Holidays, Humor, In Character, Jokes, New Year, The Spark, Writing

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Grigori Rasputin The Russian Imperial Court of the early 20th century was a swamp of intrigue. There were numerous factions -- royalists, democrats, reformers -- but one of the most powerful people in Russia was someone with no official position: Grigori Rasputin, an Orthodox priest sometimes known "the Mad Monk." Rasputin came into contact with the Romanov Family in 1905. Tsarevich Aleksei had been suffering from internal bleeding (thanks to the hemophilia that ran through Europe’s royals, due to decades of inbreeding), which the medical technology of the time was unable to cure. Tsaritsa Alexandra, desperate for help, contacted Rasputin, who was reputed all of his life to have mystical powers, and succeeded where the doctors had failed (whether through prayer or hypnosis depends on which account one believes). From that time, Rasputin had the ear of the Romanovs, advising them on matters spiritual and political. Many feared that Rasputin was a wild card who had too much power, and were troubled by his bribe-taking and sexual promiscuity (which included sessions of self-flagellation). In 1914, a group attempted to assassinate him. Rasputin was stabbed to the point where his entrails were hanging out of his abdomen, but he survived, which only added to his mystical aura. Finally in 1916, his enemies had had enough. On December 29, he was lured to the palace of Prince Feliks Yusupov. Yusupov had prepared a fatal last meal for Rasputin, comprised of cookies and wine laced with enough cyanide to kill five men. Rasputin ate the meal with no apparent ill effects, so Yusupov shot him in the back. Rasputin fell, but when the prince came to examine the body, Rasputin grabbed him, whispered "you bad boy," and attempted to strangle him. Yusupov's confederates came to his rescue, shooting Rasputin three more times. He fell again, only to attempt to rise. The conspirators then beat him with clubs, wrapped him in a sheet, and threw him into an icy river. Three days later, the body was found on the river’s banks, its arms raised, as though Rasputin had attempted to break through the ice. The coroner’s official verdict was that, after every other murder attempt had failed, Rasputin had drowned. The grief-stricken Alexandra had the body buried at one of the Imperial Palaces. That would seem to end the story, but after the February Revolution of 1917, workers unearthed the body and cremated it -- and in a final eerie stroke, as it burned, Rasputin’s corpse sat up. Suggested Sites... The Moika Basement - The Night of December 29. - Prince Yusupov's own account of the murder. Gregori Efimovich Rasputin - illustrated biography of the "Mad Monk." A Perversion of Justice - a long (100 pages!) forensic examination of who did and didn't kill Rasputin. The Assassination of Grigory Rasputin - information about the exhibit in the Yusupov Palace that recreates the night of December 29, 1916. Wikipedia: Grigori Rasputin - good overview of Rasputin's life, legend, and legacy.

Directory categories: Grigori Rasputin, Romanov Dynasty, Russian History, Mysticism, St. Petersburg, Russia

Archived under: 1910s, Anniversaries, Assassinations, Biographies, Crime, Dead Celebrities, Death, Grigori Rasputin, History, Murder, Mysticism, Russia, Weird Stuff

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(Photo by babe_kl) Poor fruitcakes! Once considered winter delicacies, they have become the butt of cruel jokes about doorstops and paperweights. Critics mock their longevity and density, and each year countless cakes are re-gifted or tossed away. Some speculate that the endless ridicule of comedians is to blame for the fruitcake's brick-like fall from grace, but others suspect a decline in the quality of the cakes themselves. For hundreds of years, fruitcakes were tasty concoctions of dried fruit, nuts, and spices -- and often a liberal dose of brandy or whisky. Mass-produced commercial versions left out the booze and the spices and replaced the dried fruit with a candied variety -- super-sweetened bits of garish and artificial goo. But now, hip chefs are reinventing fruitcake for the 21st century with innovative (and more natural) ingredients and presentation. Fruitcake is making a comeback -- and this time, it's edible! Suggested Sites... Christmas Recipe Index: Fruitcakes - a variety of fruity, tantalizing treats. About.com: Fruitcakes - recipes and tips for making fruitcakes that are not just palatable, but delicious. cdkitchen: Fruitcake Recipes - features both traditional and unusual recipes, including beer fruitcake and sourdough fruitcake. Recipes for Christmas Cakes - with or without fruit, these confections will put some cheer into the holiday season. Society for the Protection and Preservation of Fruitcake - learn to love the fruitcake.

Directory categories: Fruitcake Recipes, Fruticakes for Sale, Christmas Dessert Recipes, Christmas Recipes, Cake Recipes

Archived under: Christmas, Cooking, Flops, Food and Drink, Fruitcake, Holidays, Recipes

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German and British soldiers unite in No-Man's-Land (From National Army Musuem) We've all heard of so-called Christmas miracles, either in holiday movies, Hallmark commercials, or on Christmas cards. But not everyone knows about the one that actually occurred on the Christmas of 1914 in Ypres, Belgium, during the battle between German and British forces in World War I. On Christmas Eve, soldiers in the muddy trenches of the German army, feeling more like being festive than fighting, put down their weapons to decorate what they could with lit candles and began to sing Christmas carols. Soon, they heard similar songs echoing from their enemy's side, where the British soldiers were held up. Next, the putative enemies were yelling out cheerful holiday greetings to each other across the field in the others' native tongues. And then, the unthinkable happened: The soldiers rose up unarmed from their underground shelters and walked right into the middle of "No-Man's-Land" to shake hands with their enemy -- the same people who had been firing bullets at them less than 24 hours earlier. A Christmas truce had unofficially begun between the opposing armies. Not a shot was fired along the Western Front throughout the entire holiday, and some say the armistice lasted until New Year's Day. Soliders exchanged such gifts as chocolates, smokes, and any other worthy item they could find at their disposal. They joined together for Christmas dinners and apparently even played a soccer game. Not all of the events that took place during the truce were festive, though. Soldiers paid their respects to their fallen comrades by pulling their bodies behind their own lines and giving them proper burials, and were even assisted by the opposing side. A British solider asserted in a letter that "There must be something in the spirit of Christmas as to-day we are all on top of our trenches running about. Whereas other days we have to keep our heads well down...We can hardly believe that we've been firing at them for the last week or two -- it all seems so strange..." The "spirit of Christmas," indeed. Suggested Sites... Joyeux Noel - Academy-award nominated film about the truce. Interview with Stanley Weintraub - 2001 interview with Stanley Weintraub, the author of the book "Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce." Christmas Truce 1914 - Everything2.com - brief outline of the events and aftermath of the truce. Christmas Truce at the World War I Front - detailed article about the events. First World War.com - comprehensive website about World War I, aka The Great War.

Directory categories: Christmas Truce of 1914, World War I, Christmas, Joyeux Noël, First Battle of Ypres

Archived under: 1910s, Christmas, History, WWI, War

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