Most Depressing Day of the Year

Apparently, psychologists (well, one psychologist - Cliff Arnall from the University of Cardiff in Wales) have developed a scientific equation to determine the most depressing day of the year. And according to the equation, today would be the day to stay in bed a little longer. Or maybe all day.

The "formula" looks like this: [W + (D-d)] x TQM x NA.
The letters each stand for something:
W: How bad the weather is at this time of year.
D: Amount of debt accumulated over the holidays minus how much is paid off.
T: The time since the holidays.
Q: Amount of time passed since New Year’s resolutions have gone south.
M: Our general motivation levels.
NA: The need to take action.

Now the equation may well work, but there are definitely limitations. Mainly, it only applies to people who celebrate Christmas. A large part of the equation depends on holiday debt and length of time since the holidays. So if Christmas was just another day - you didnt spend any money, you didnt make plans to see family, etc, the holidays are actually insignificant. So this theory applies to less than half of the world. Just to put it in perspective. But it makes quite an interesting read. Check it out the article: A Good Day to Stay in Bed

Danish cartoon editor

It has been reported in Saudi newspapers that the editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten died in a fire a couple weeks ago. It's odd, some shariah lawmakers ruled, in a private case against him, that he should be given the death sentence. Also, he (and the 12 cartoonists) received numerous death threats for their animated ridicule of Islam's holiest figure, Prophet Muhammed.

The problem here: no major news outlets have covered the story. So the question then becomes "did it really happen?" Bloggers (well, one blogger) has posted on it, which is how I found it. Most of the people who told me about it received an email about it, saying the cartoonist died (which, incidentally, is wrong because as it was reported, the editor died, not the cartoonists). But nothing on the BBC, CNN, ABC or New York Times even hints at the event.

I have heard some rationale about the reason for this: Muslims may get rowdy all over again, it is disrespectful, it simply isn't news, etc. But at the end of the day - isn't it newsworthy? Noting that a story that made headlines for weeks has taken a new turn is worthy at least of an honorable mention...

first post of the new year

Happy New Year!

I have said that so many times to so many people (most of whom I didn't know) in the past weeks. I have never said it so much. But it's pretty much over now. I'm settling into the aftermath of the craziest new years on record (we finallllllly made it to edinburgh after missing our flight in barcelona and sleeping in the airport...after losing a ton of money on our hostel in edinburgh and having to call home for cash...after edinburgh's hogmanay (new yrs celebration) was cancelled due to high winds and rain). Now I find myself in Morocco, having a long-awaited day of chill at my sisters house. She made me thanksgiving dinner (better late than never). Morocco is a crazy country, I think it has an identity crisis. It is European in the north (it's right next to spain and was once colonized by france), arab in the middle and african in the south. they speak arabic, french, berber and sometimes english. They have mountains covered with snow, flat grassy lands and the sahara desert. It's got a little bit of everything.

We went to the markets of marrakech a few days ago and returned yesterday. it reminds me of aladdin. of all the places I have traveled I cannot compare it to anything. I guess its closest to spain with a strong dash of arabia. though I have been told that morocco's closest political ally is the UAE, which makes a lot of sense. Anyway, we have done marrakech and are going to agadir tomorrow. my sister and her husband have been very gracious hosts.

I had three pairs of jeans hemmed here and it cost me only 30 dirhams...about $4. That's like 2pounds. What a wonderful country!

Happy New Year! oh wait, I already said that.