Althouse: We've now endured the shortest day.

December 21, 2009

We've now endured the shortest day.

Enjoy the long night.

38 comments:

vbspurs said...: My God, I enjoyed that more than "Avatar" (I walked out yesterday). Keep at it until second 20, guys. The reveal is creepy!

Cheers,
Victoria; 12/21/09, 5:40 PM
Ron said...: Meade's had a hard days night...but when he gets home to Ann....; 12/21/09, 5:45 PM
JohnAnnArbor said...: This is the time of year I question why I live in Michigan.; 12/21/09, 5:47 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: Really? Why, it's all been so sudden.; 12/21/09, 6:04 PM
Ron said...: I'm fine with it...weather is no deal breaker for me.; 12/21/09, 6:10 PM
rhhardin said...: Find the football, a winter sport.; 12/21/09, 6:17 PM
ricpic said...: Now we get to ride the roller coaster all the way up to June 20!; 12/21/09, 6:19 PM
Penny said...: Only three months til Spring!; 12/21/09, 6:35 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: We are on our way to Georgia. will be there sometime tomorrow. long drive from nj. i didnt know this when i woke up this morning. thats how we roll at my parents.

hope to talk to guys tomorow.; 12/21/09, 6:39 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Theres good reasoning behind the trip. we have a son in law comming from iraq for the holidays.. it would not be fair to ask the guy to travel from GA to NJ after that long trip from iraq.

it seems right we all go and spend it at my sister.; 12/21/09, 6:51 PM
Unknown said...: Interesting little Rohrschach as you set up the video.

Miles to go before I sleep?

Silent Night, Holy Night?

The long night of the Obamanation?

Or, perhaps, with someone to love, the night is never long enough...; 12/21/09, 7:00 PM
Original Mike said...: I'm pretty sure all days are 24 hours long.; 12/21/09, 7:07 PM
john said...: Ann,

What do you think of the idea of asking all your readers, commenters, trolls and lurkers to "feel free to post a few words about themselves", kind of the way Eugene Volokh did? Do you think that there are many additional people that come here to read and never comment?

I'm also worrying that Lem has to travel all the way to Georgia to talk to guys.; 12/21/09, 7:21 PM
john said...: Lem, what the hell am I, chopped liver?; 12/21/09, 7:27 PM
Henry said...: Tarkovsky goes skiing.

I love the end of the year and it brings back perhaps my most intense childhood memories. The lesser long nights that come afterward, in January and February, I do not love. But the deep blue of the long night in its moment is a kind of dream. Unlike Spring, Winter in New England arrives asudden and uncompromised.; 12/21/09, 7:30 PM
dbp said...: Looking pretty solid on the boards after just learning. Kudos!; 12/21/09, 7:36 PM
Will Cate said...: John, I'm sure Ann has many readers who never comment. I'm an infrequent commenter, just enough to keep me from being a total lurker.

I love the Winter Solstice, because that each of the next 182 days will have more daylight than the one that proceeded it.

The Gregorian calendar is pretty much reflective of how out of sync we are with the nature from which we sprang. Today is the real New Year's - feast now and be happy, for the famine months are ahead.; 12/21/09, 7:44 PM
David Wharton said...: "...between the woods and frozen lake,
The darkest evening of the year."; 12/21/09, 8:10 PM
bagoh20 said...: Now that's a niche: Stalking female cross country skiers who ski aimlessly though the countryside for days and just waiting for them to drop. I thought I was pathetic.

A simple glass of wine usually brings them down.; 12/21/09, 8:23 PM
MadisonMan said...: David, that is my favorite poem.

We're still getting closer to the Sun. Perihelion is January 5th, I think.; 12/21/09, 8:42 PM
KCFleming said...: Wendy and Lisa sing
The Closing of the Year, a pretty song in a terrible movie.

"If I cannot bring you comfort
Then at least I bring you hope
For nothing is more precious
Than the time we have and so
We all must learn from small misfortune
Count the blessings that are real
Let the bells ring out for Christmas
At the closing of the year"; 12/21/09, 8:50 PM
traditionalguy said...: Coming home from a fantastic Christmas classical program of hymns and sacred music last night, we tuned into the PBR station which was playing a concert written for a Solstice Celebration to play along with the pre-recorded howls of a wild North American Wolf. That was cute for 2 minutes, but it went on and on for 10 minutes of predatory howling. The contrast was clear: life on earth without Humans worshiping their God quickly reverts to horrible things.; 12/21/09, 8:56 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: I've been tracking the pop-up card I sent to my brother. It arrived in Dallas today. I glee at the thought of him discovering its nonsense and going, "WTF?"

Today I made my first sukiyaki ever and it's delicious as anything I've ever had at a restaurant.

My niece told her 4 year old son to please get her a kleenex tissue. He said, "I'm sorry Momma, I can't do that. Times they are a chang'n." She was nonplussed with this response and wondered where he would possibly pick up something like that. I thought Bob Dylan would certainly be proud.; 12/21/09, 9:02 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: I thought I was going to die laughing. I couldn't breathe and my sides nearly split.

A young Canadian fellow dropped onto the board at b3ta and said, "Why would people think I'm "crazy" or "serial killer esque" just for making a sex doll? There is no coherent explanation to back up any absurd conclusions that making a sex doll out of clothing for fun, creativity and challenge means I'm psychotic. It may be different or atypical but harmless and luly nonetheless.

Content warning The Home Made Sex Doll

Malodrax. His other blogs :

* Attempts to Overcome social Anxiety
* I'm weird, I'm dierent, and I'm proud of it -- an introduction
* The Home Gym, Urine Bottles, and How to Properly Clean Your Ass
* How I dealt/deal with my life-related challenges; 12/21/09, 9:21 PM
Ron said...: Chip, I'll wait for the Michael Bay movie on this guy...; 12/21/09, 9:30 PM
KCFleming said...: I am just at this moment trying to explain to my wife why exactly I was reading a blog post on how to construct your own homemade sex doll.

My explanation is found wanting.; 12/21/09, 9:40 PM
KCFleming said...: I will not enjoy the long night.; 12/21/09, 9:51 PM
Wince said...: I hope no "palm oil" was used in the making of that "homemade sex doll."; 12/21/09, 10:08 PM
Wince said...: D.C. chief's statement on snowball incident

Washington Post

On Sunday, D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier issued a statement:

Let me be very clear in stating that I believe the actions of the officer were totally inappropriate! In no way, should he have handled the situation in this manner. We have taken swift action by placing him on non-contact status until all the facts are gathered and discipline is handed down.

What's with the first sentence?

She starts with the hackneyed by now "Let me be clear..." Does Obama put that line in every speech? Is "let me be clear" the new "Look..."?

Then the police chief of the nation's capital ends the sentence with an exclamation point. An exclamation point!

It reads like before writing she was about to bore her friends and familiy with too much information in this years family's "Christmas Letter" when she got the call to do damage control.

Let me be clear, Billy and Sue spent a wonderful summer at Camp Granada, where they learned macramé and archery!

Oops, duty calls!; 12/21/09, 10:35 PM
chuck b. said...: Possum fur nipple warmers.
http://www.nznature.co.nz/product/possum-nipple-warmers; 12/21/09, 11:40 PM
Fred4Pres said...: In Australia it is the longest day.; 12/22/09, 12:59 AM
Fred4Pres said...: vbspus, Avatar...meh.; 12/22/09, 1:01 AM
bearbee said...: Coming home from a fantastic Christmas classical program of hymns and sacred music...

Would Handel approve?; 12/22/09, 5:31 AM
KCFleming said...: "We've now endured the shortest day."

Given the recent government orgy of spending, I ready myself for the longest year.; 12/22/09, 7:01 AM
bearbee said...: The longest night commenced 12:00 noon January 20, 2009 and will continue until 11:59:5999999999 am January 20, 2013.; 12/22/09, 7:18 AM
Lockestep said...: Original Mike said...

I'm pretty sure all days are 24 hours long.

Mike, Webster disagrees:

1. the interval of light between two successive nights; the time between sunrise and sunset: Since there was no artificial illumination, all activities had to be carried on during the day.; 12/22/09, 7:28 AM
Original Mike said...: Lockestep,

You've got Webster on your side. My side has Wikipedia. My side is feeling pretty confident.

A day (symbol d) is a unit of time equivalent to approximately 24 hours. It is not an SI unit but it is accepted for use with SI.[1] The SI unit of time is the second.; 12/22/09, 9:39 AM
Kev said...: bearbee, that "silent monks" link was amazing--a literal LOL moment. Thanks for posting.; 12/22/09, 11:56 AM