Daily Prompt: January’s Playlist

Hey, folks. Today’s Daily Prompt is all about making a five-song playlist that represents the past week. Let’s see… I like having a good beat when I’m out walking and exploring the city. Some, like Passenger 10’s “Street Names” (which itself is a progressive remix of U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name) remind me that getting lost isn’t always a bad thing:

That also goes for Feint’s “One Thousand Dreams.” It makes me want to stop staring out of my window and walk beyond the horizon. Maybe when the days get longer…:

I’m still trying to keep my New Year’s resolution going, and Passenger 10’s “Lembrancas” has become a mainstay in my walking/jogging playlist:

When I’m up late, I usually listen to something nice and relaxing. I’m not in a relationship (sigh), but I’ve always liked the sentimentality of Little River Band’s “Reminiscing:”

That goes double for Charlie Haden’s “Easy On The Heart.” It makes me feel a little older and melancholy, but in a good way. If that makes sense:

How about you?

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Daily Prompt: Autumn Remnant

Today’s Daily Prompt asks for the last photo you took, and the story behind it. Well, it’s the middle of January, and most of the trees around here are bare. However, there are some out back that still haven’t given in to the ravages of time. I looked out the window and was struck at how beautiful and colorful the fallen leaves were. It also reminded me of a certain song…

Why IS It Called January?

Hey, folks. We’re about halfway through January already. But have you ever thought about why the first month of the year is called “January”? Well, it’s all thanks to Janus. No, not the James Bond villain from Goldeneye. No, not one of Saturn’s moons. Like a lot of modern naming conventions, it goes back to the Romans. According to Cicero and other ancient writers, Janus was their god of beginnings and transitions. It sounds kind of lame at first glance, but there some awesome implications when you think about it. Every gate, door, ending, marriage, harvest, boundary, and shifts between war and peace were his domain. This guy was responsible for the flow of time itself. He even had two faces (no, not like that one guy) just so he could look into both the past and the future at the same time.

And you thought Doc Brown was awesome.

“January” is a reference to Janus by way of the Latin word Ianuarius. It – along with Februarius – were supposedly added to the calendar by Numa Pompilius, the legendary second king of Rome. That dude was responsible for creating a lot of religious and cultural traditions in the empire, some of which still lingers in modern times. Ever hear the term “vestal virgin”? Yeah, that was his idea. So was the construction of Ianus geminus, the Temple of Janus. It had doors on both ends (of course!) which were only shut during peacetime. That last part was really rare, because, you know, it was Ancient Rome. If you were a king and got to close the temple to symbolize peace for the empire, you earned some serious bragging rights. It’s like having “Won the Nobel Prize” on your resume.

Oh, one last thing: Today’s entry was posted on January 14th. According to some Roman calendars, today is marked as dies vitiosus. It basically means that something is bad or faulty about that specific day. One calendar, the Fasti Verulani, gives us the reason: it was Mark Antony’s birthday. You know, the guy who loved Cleopatra so much that he betrayed the empire and tried to go to war against Augustus? Even if you’re not well-versed in history, I’m pretty sure you can figure out how well that went down. Let’s just say the consequences (both short and long-term) were…messy. You know you’ve messed up when your enemies can legally declare your birthday to be inherently evil.