Changes a-comin' to the Almanac
Someone once said something to me that stuck in my skull: "No one on the Internet knows what they're doing. It's the Wild West out there, and everyone's making it up as they go along."

I find this to be very true. Big corporations sink millions into an online presence and are forced to back out. Amazon.com takes years before it posts a profit quarter. Even the experts don't know what to do, because there has never been a Net before.

I've sometimes found myself very much in that paradigm and have had to make radical changes in what I do with the Almanac, when new technology changes the ballgame, or (((blush))), when I get a bright idea. At the end of 2002, I announced the January 1, 2003 launch of the AAAlmanac (the Aiders and Abetters edition) and I've brought it out daily since then. The AAA is the premium edition, available either by paying me a dollar a week, or by arranging a 'Trust Swap'.

I thought it would be a solution to the critical issue of income. To produce a good Almy, and its associated Scriptorium, requires many hours work each day (whether it shows or not). There's research, writing, editing, illustrating, administration, answering emails, promotion, etc, etc.

Unfortunately, as much as I love doing the AAA, I've sold fewer than a dozen subscriptions, so I can't keep it up. Even if I quadrupled the subs next half-year, it would still leave me in the dilemma of having to work 15-hour days, 365 days a year, and live in poverty, which I have done for ages (trust me, after the fourth year, the glamour wears off) but no longer can -- simplicity yes, penury no! (Fret nyet, I'm not bitter or miserable.) Quite obviously, I'll have to get some kind of job. Consequently, I'm not taking any more subscriptions for the AAA, and after all the subs expire on June 30, the AAA will be no more unless some other solution comes up. I'm hunting for income and hope to get some kind of work, but will do my utmost to honour the existing subscriptions.

My intention is to continue to publish the regular, daily edition of Wilson's Almanac, which I love doing as much as AAA, and which takes me considerably less time. I expect my daily workload will decrease by up to eight hours a day. Of course, I am open to ideas and suggestions, but I think we can safely assume that the premium edition est mort.

I would like to remind my dear readers that the motto of the regular Almanac is "If need be, read free" and I still request that the Almanac still be seen as an exchange of something for something. I have always thought this to be a fair deal, as those who do not wish, or cannot afford, to participate in such a swap, are at liberty not to do so. Anyway, I'm excited by the possibilities blogging seems to afford, so ... bright blessings, abundance and gratitude, Happy Beltane, and .... on with the Almanac!

Yahoo! Groups : aaalmanac Messages : Message 138 of 138
"April 30, 1583 Richard (‘Iron Dick’ or ‘Richard in Iron’) Burke, first husband of the Irish chieftain and pirate, Granuaile (Grace O’Malley), died.

One of many themes discussed
by hoi polloi and upper crust
is whether life is ever just.
I, like most, remain nonplussed.
The Bard himself has put it thus:
“Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.”
Perhaps. And even Iron Dicks, I trust,
As all things ferrous, come to rust.
PW

Yahoo! Groups : WilsonsAlmanac Messages : Message 946 of 946
"Walpurgis night -- Germany's witching night
Tonight’s mischief is celebrated in the Harz Mountains of Germany, as well as in Finland and the Scandinavian countries. On the eve of May Day, the Devil and the company of hexen, or witches, were once believed to hold revels on high places, especially Mount Brocken in the Harz range ..."

Being a beginner blogger still getting the hang of the medium, I had to repost quite a number of entries below, so if the dates seem a little haywire, that's why.
It would be real nice if you could tell me how the blog is working, if the poll in left column works (it does for me but not for one reader) and if you found any bugs. I know the archives don't work and I've tried the Blogger method of republishing, but no luck yet. The success of this blog and Pip's Picks depends on archives functioning.

Festival of Floralia, or Floral Games, (April 28- May 3), ancient Rome

In the Northern Hemisphere, Spring is well underway, the days are getting warmer, the flowers are blooming, and the birds and bees are active. The ancient Romans knew how to celebrate it.

The Floralia was a six-day festival for the goddess Flora, deity of flowers and youthful pleasures, whose cult was said to have been introduced by Numa. Flora was also the goddess of Spring, especially associated with vines, olives, fruit trees and honey-bearing plants. A temple was built for her at the Circus Maxima between the Aventine and the Palatine hills, and a shrine at the Quirinal at which corn stalks were offered.

It was a festival of sexual fun and liberty and marked by the consumption of oceans of grog. Beans and other seeds were planted, representing fecundity. Originally a movable feast controlled by the condition of the crops and flowers, it’s believed to have been instituted in 238 BCE. Games were instituted in honour of Flora at that time, but were soon discontinued before being restored in 173 BCE as a six-day festival (April 28-May 3), after storms had destroyed crops and vines.
Rest of article in our ezine archives

Got a nice letter just now from the acclaimed American writer, Anneli Rufus, author of the quote in the masthead (above).

Anneli writes:
"Loved your site. Want to go back and read all your articles. I love the interplay of folklore and urban life, have loved that since I was a little kid in Los Angeles (though living beside the beach, back then, may have injected my urban life with a bit of extra magic -- wish the beach wasn't so far away from home these days!!). Don't think I'd want to become a "scrimmie" -- wow, what a story!
Have a good one, and happy Floralia!
ASR"

Thanx, Anneli. I have had that quote in all sorts of places over the years ... on my fridge, on my computer ... I love it, as I love your writing. That quote means a lot to me beyond what you could know ... I have a sentimental attachment to it associated with a special time in my own life. Happy Floralia! (Bet she doesn't know I'm featuring Floralia in tomorrow's Almanac. It was almost today but I knew that the world had a burning desire to hear about Hocktide.

* Ø Wilson’s Almanac | Hocktide Ransom, by Pip Wilson
"Long before the Industrial Revolution when people became ensnared in the long working week that still prevails for the benefit of our idle masters, work was hard but feast days were plenty ...

Hocktide was for our Western ancestors such a day of high festivity and pranks."

What's George got in his pocket?

Easter Monday celebrations
Poland's Splash Day; Hungary's Water Plunge Monday; England's church encircling and Hare Scramble; pagan baptism, and more.

President Bush's speech to the Global Peace Imagination Summit
"The plenary session of the Fiji Summit was attended by 4,700 delegates who enjoyed the brilliant fireworks display put on for the occasion by the people of Jordan. After a moving rendition of Peace on Earth by several hundred international stars from the music world, to which the thousands of delegates sang along, President Bush’s inspired television address to the world was watched by the delegates and an estimated world audience of four billion people."

The merrie month of May, May Day and maypoles
The Northern nations have many festivals in May because the weather turns to a suitable temperature and Mother Nature turns on her most beautiful colours and fragrances.

Congo deaths -- graphic representation
Congo War deaths,
August 1998-April 2003: 3.3 million in 3½ years
Each dot on the page represents 100 dead people.

Some new links about chalking for peace, my latest meme-stokin passion, added to the story about Arthur Stace, the greatest graffitist, at Mr Eternity

Megalesia, the Roman festival of the goddess Cybele
The Festival of Megalesia (or Megalensia, Magna Mater, Ludi Megalenses) of Cybele, (Apr 4-10), ancient Rome
Magna Mater (Cybele, ‘the All-Begetting Mother, who beats a drum to mark the rhythm of life’), was the great mother and all other Roman goddesses may be seen as aspects of her.

Pocahontas: UnDisney
Pocahontas is known throughout the world, especially to Americans and Britishers, as an example of friendly relations between the races as well as an epitome of the Rousseauvian ‘noble savage’. Her images adorn Washington’s Capitol building in portraits and friezes -- but she is consistently misrepresented.

American Imperial eagles
As a boy, and still today, I loved this kind of American imagery. Like the American bank notes, the eagles are beautifully and boldly etched.

However, lately the aggressiveness and imperialistic symbolism of these 19th century engravings seems much more ominous. Here, I've posted 21 old B&W eagle images.

Mid-Lent Sunday
In Britain, the fourth Sunday of Lent (Mid-Lent) was known as Mothering Sunday. Originally, it was a time for visiting one's ‘mother church' – the church in the town where one hailed from, and people would travel back home to attend – but gradually came to be a day for honouring one’s mother and giving her gifts. Thus, it is the progenitor of today’s Mothers' Day.

Two geniuses whose lives were touched by alchemist John Dee
History records some remarkable meetings of remarkable people.
Here, we look at two great men who knew John Dee -- Gerardus Mercator and Sir Francis Bacon.

Lady Day (March 25) and its folklore, plus Tichborne oddities
Lady Day is an abridgement of the old term ‘Our Lady's day’ – a ‘gaudy day’ of the Catholic Church, and it represents the Christianisation of older, pagan Spring Equinox festivals, in the much the same way that St Patrick's Day and Easter do. This page also has two strange stories concerning the Tichborne manor of Hampshire. One concerns an ancient curse; the other, a bizarre fraud.

Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday), from WILSON'S ALMANAC
On a moveable day, sometime between February 2 and March 8, comes Shrove Tuesday, also known in the British tradition as Pancake Day.

A new original animated gif, Vacation in Iraq