February 29

Happy Leap Day!

While leap day helped official timekeepers, it also resulted in social customs turned upside down when February 29 became a "no man's land" without legal jurisdiction.

As the story goes, the tradition of women romantically pursuing men in leap years began in 5th century Ireland, when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about the fair sex having to wait for men to propose. Patrick finally relented and set February 29 aside as the day set aside allowing women the right to ask for a man's hand in marriage.

The tradition continued in Scotland, when Queen Margaret declared in 1288 that on February 29 a woman had the right to pop the question to any man she fancied. Menfolk who refused were faced with a fine in the form of a kiss, a silk dress, or a pair of gloves given to the rejected lady fair.

A similar modern American tradition, Sadie Hawkins Day, honors "the homeliest gal in the hills" created by Al Capp in the cartoon strip Li'l Abner. In the famous story line, Sadie and every other woman in town were allowed on that day to pursue and catch the most eligible bachelors in Dogpatch. Although the comic strip placed Sadie Hawkins Day in November, today it has become almost synonymous with February 29.

The day also plays a pivotal role in the fictional The Pirates of Penzance, the most famous Gilbert & Sullivan comic opera that was translated to Broadway and the silver screen. In the story, the hero Frederic realizes his apprenticeship binds him until his 21st birthday, but since his birthday falls on February 29, it means that technically he is only a young lad - and won't reach his 21st birthday until he is in his eighties!

My day consisted of teaching and then immediately coming home for more needed rest. My ear is still clogged, and the headache is still around, but my nose is doing a little better. Caught up on American Idol via DVR - not impressed with the men at all. Watching the ladies tonight. Hope they do better.

Continue to work on memorization of my lines for Acting class - we rehearse tomorrow, so we shall see how that goes.

My SAG/AFTRA Merger ballot arrived in the mail today. I think I have finally made decision on how I will vote. It shall be interesting to see how this all plays out. I know one thing, if you are an actor and not in a union, it would be SMART to join AFTRA now. Currently, it is the only one you can join without any prerequisites and it will save you LOADS of money if the merge happens.

Also, got a call tonight from one of my voice students letting me know he got a callback and thanked me for helping him prepare. That made my night. Rock that callback!