Happy October 12th!

[Asso]

Asso, you wll be pleased to hear that tomorrow the United States officially observes Columbus Day, a federal holiday. Although a number of businesses will, alas, still be open. Is the stock market open? I hope not. We could really use another day off from that thing.

Eh, I understand deeply your concern.
May "Columbus Day" bring some good news.

[Escriba]

Columbus Day? Not even we call it that, and we are Spanish. We call it "Hispanity Day", a very euphemistic name. Well, it's "La Pilarica" too, (festivity for the Virgin of Pilar, in Zaragoza), so we celebrate that too.

Yeah. Call me dark. Call me cynical. But am I wrong?

Do you know what, blacknblue? You have to read Captain Alatriste's series by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. I'm sure you would love them. Don't watch the movie (it sucks greatly), just read the books.

[Pitseleh]

We call it "Día de las Culturas" (Day of the Cultures) here, but to be quite honest I didn't even remember it until today.

Colón actually landed here on one of his voyages, the fourth one if I'm not mistaken. When the Spanish began exploring my country, they quickly realized there wasn't much gold around, so they left us alone for quite a while. Then, some dude called Juan Vásquez de Coronado decided that we weren't such a waste of time after all, and came for another tour. And then they settled here... And the rest is history.

[JadziaKathryn]

Granted that Columbus was a slaver, but so were many of the Indians that he killed and enslaved. The "noble savage" myth is no more true than the golden boy image of Columbus. People of every color back then were products of their time, and very few of them were saints. Human life was cheap, and human livestock was highly prized by most people in most places.

Yeah. Call me dark. Call me cynical. But am I wrong?

No, you're not. Interesting factoid, in case, you know, you're ever on Jeopardy!: nearly all of the African slaves brought to the Americas were collected by African slavers. (Not, generally, of the same tribes.) Europeans died in alarming numbers if they ventured far from the coast so they bought their slaves from African slavers. To be fair, the African view of slavery was much different than the European view and what developed in the Americas. (It wasn't race-based or inherited, for one thing.) But in the history of slavery, it happened over and over that the first thing a freed slave couldn't wait to do was get slaves of their own. Sadly, the cynical view has a lot of historical backing.

But I think you're on to something about the chocolate, Escriba...

[Escriba]

But I think you're on to something about the chocolate, Escriba...

I'm glad that a historian agrees with me

[aryell]

I didn't even realize it was Columbus Day! Maybe because I had to work. Man I need to go back to school if I can't even remember the federal holidays of my own country.

[enterprikayak]

Columbus Day???

Y'mean THANKSGIVING!

We had Thanksgiving @ Priso's 'rents on Sunday, and then again at my Mom's yesterday. Last night Priso spewed from eating too much. He doesn't even eat the meat. How do you maow that much stuffing?

Men.

[Pitseleh]

Thanksgiving? Really? Is this a Canadian thing or something? Please, enlighten me...

[Alelou]

Yup, they have to do Thanksgiving early up there, before the ground freezes solid and the snow piles up and they can't get out of their houses....

[blacknblue]

He barfed because of the stuffing, nto in spite of it. If he had filled up on good meat first, then he would have had a solid foundation on which to pile the stuffing, and the yams, and the mashed spuds, and the pumpkin pie, and the gravy of course, and the corn, and the salad, and the garden fresh tomatoes, and the cookies, and the biscuits, and the ...

[panyasan]

the stuffing, and the yams, and the mashed spuds, and the pumpkin pie, and the gravy of course, and the corn, and the salad, and the garden fresh tomatoes, and the cookies, and the biscuits, and the ...

You just made me very hungry.. Thanksgiving always sounded to me like a really positive holiday. You know, being thankful for all the goods things you have received..And the food isn't (or shall I say ain't) bad either..

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Columbus Day... You guys ought to have a Leif Eriksson Day instead. You know, the guy who really discovered America first (not counting the migration from Asia across the Bering Strait some 20,000 years ago or so).

[blacknblue]

Personally i think we should have an Amerigo day. I mean both continents are named after the guy.

And I agree about Thanksgiving being a positive holiday. We really do have a lot to be grateful for. Even if the CEOs DO have to surrender their golden parachutes this time. Poor babies.

Was Leif really the first? Or was his saga the oldest one that survived?

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Was Leif really the first? Or was his saga the oldest one that survived?

There's no way to know for certain. But from what I recall the tales from his expedition indicates that he was indeed in virgin territory (probably present-day Newfoundland) territory.

[Pitseleh]

Personally i think we should have an Amerigo day. I mean both continents are named after the guy.

Funny how in the States they teach North America and South America as two different continents. Over here, they teach it as just America, and that's it. One big continent.