04/01/07 & 04/08/07
COMMENTS AND CLASS SCHEDULES
MIKE'S COMMENTARY
COMPUTER CLASSES AND COURSES
ADVANCED USERS CLASS NOTES
NEWS & NOTES BY SUE FOUST
MIKE'S COMMENTARY AND SOME BITS OF WISDOM
In the bonds of Death He lay
Who for our offence was slain;
But the Lord is risen to-day,
Christ hath brought us life again,
Wherefore let us all rejoice,
Singing loud, with cheerful voice,
Hallelujah!
~ Martin Luther ~
The Traditions of Easter
As with almost all "Christian" holidays, Easter has been secularized and commercialized. The dichotomous nature of Easter and its symbols, however, is not necessarily a modern fabrication.
Since its conception as a holy celebration in the second century, Easter has had its non-religious side. In fact, Easter was originally a pagan festival.The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert them to Christianity. They did so, however, in a clandestine manner.
It would have been suicide for the very early Christian converts to celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide with celebrations that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner.
As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.The Date of Easter
Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. However, a caveat must be introduced here. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.The Lenten Season
Lent is the forty-six day period just prior to Easter Sunday. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is a celebration, sometimes called "Carnival," practiced around the world, on the Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday. It was designed as a way to "get it all out" before the sacrifices of Lent began. New Orleans is the focal point of Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S. Read about the religious meanings of the Lenten Season.
The Cross
The Cross is the symbol of the Crucifixion, as opposed to the Resurrection. However, at the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325, Constantine decreed that the Cross was the official symbol of Christianity. The Cross is not only a symbol of Easter, but it is more widely used, especially by the Catholic Church, as a year-round symbol of their faith.
The Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.
The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.The Easter Egg
As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians.
From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.
Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy.http://wilstar.com/holidays/easter.htm
PASSOVER
The Story of Passover
1. BloodThe holiday's name - Pesach, meaning "passing over" or "protection" in Hebrew, is derived from the instructions given to Moses by God . In order to encourage the Pharaoh to free the Israelites, God intended to kill the first-born of both man and beast. To protect themselves, the Israelites were told to mark their dwellings with lamb's blood so that G-d could identify and "pass over" their homes The Pharaoh was unconvinced and refused to free the Jewish slaves Until the last plague When the Pharaoh finally agreed to freedom, the Israelites left their homes so quickly that there wasn't even time to bake their breads. So they packed the raw dough to take with them on their journey. As they fled through the desert they would quickly bake the dough in the hot sun into hard crackers called matzohs. Today to commemorate this event, Jews eat matzoh in place of bread during Passover. Though the Jews were now free, their liberation was incomplete. The Pharaoh's army chased them through the desert towards the Red Sea. When the Jews reached the sea they were trapped, since the sea blocked their escape It was then that a miracle occurred. The waves of the Red Sea parted and the Israelites were able to cross to the other side. As soon as they all reached the other side the sea closed trapping the Pharaoh's army as the waves closed upon them Then as the Israelites watched the waters of the Red Sea sweep away the Pharaoh's army they realized they were finally free Passover celebrates this history. The Passover seder is
one of the most widely observed of all Jewish customs, and at the center
of every seder is a seder plate. |
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COMPUTER CLASSES AND COURSES
Click here for Current Schedule and Registration
KCnet CameraClubNews
The KCnet Camera Club will meet April 16, 6 PM at the KCnet Learning Center.
The Challenge Photos for this meeting should be related to the letter “A.” This can be something like baby blocks, an architectural element, a natural occurrence or something you've created just for this one shot.
Instead of submitting the Challenge photos on line or by email, members (and visitors) should bring their two best shots to the meeting. Club Leader Bill Raco will display them; members will vote to determine the winning image. The winning photo will be printed, matted, framed and put on display in the office.
A highlight from last month's meeting was Mary Steinbacher's great presentation as well as a question and answer session. Unfortunately, the weather was bad and many folks weren't able to attend. Mary has offered to come back, so we'll make plans for her return visit later this summer or fall.
The theme assignment for April is “Spring"
Use your imagination and bring in several photos that show or represent “Spring" as you see it.
The KCnet Camera Club meets the third Monday of each month at 6 PM at 18 E. Main Street, Lock Haven.
New participants are always welcome. Just show up for a scheduled meeting to see what camera club is about. You need not have the assignment for this month in your camera. Just Come in and join the fun and learn about your camera.
| KCnet Advanced Users Group:
Every
Wednesday
The starting time is 9:00 AM and we meet in Computer Lab 1 (The Big Room). Leadership is Mike Foust and anyone that wants to jump into the fray. Quite a day these past two Wednesdays. We got rollin' with some pics sent by Advanced User viewers and others gleaned by Mike. We then settled into our seats and took another wild tech ride. Among the many 'puter topics covered we... ... reviewed and discussed various reports
of new viruses, worms, phishing schemes and their patches and cures.
... Learned that Vista sales have been vigorous. Over 20 million copies have been sold or placed in the sales pipeline. This number compares to 17 million copies of XP distributed in a like time frame in 2002. ... we reviewed methods to upgrade Apple's media program called Quicktime. Apple has redone the program to eliminate various program glitches that hackers are using to glean personal information from individual users' computers. You need to uninstall the old versions of Quicktime and then go to http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/win.html to install version 7.1.5. The site will want to sell advanced versions but you can find the basic free version without ITunes on that site. ... thanks to Steve Stewart' research we reviewed and installed a fix for AVG. After scans AVG is identifying certain files as potential viruses when in fact they are necessary and harmless. Drop me a line if you need assistance with this. mfoust@kcnet.org ... played around with setting audio warnings
when The Caps Lock key is turned on or off. Drop me a line if you
want further assistance with this technique. mfoust@kcnet.org
... reviewed a new freeware program called Universal Viewer. Hang loose on this one. I want to revisit it this week in class. I'll put more info about the freeware in the next Newsletter. We did some other interesting stuff too, but
you had to be there...
This class often becomes idea swapping and
we learn by sharing our many experiences and I'll tell you all again, that
really happened this week.
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NEWS AND NOTES WITH SUE FOUST:
 “ART”
is the topic this time.
Art Walks -- KCnet is hosting 2 more Art Walks: Friday, April 13 and Friday May 11. Please stop in and see some of the art work of our talented friends and neighbors. As I understand the plan, the Art Walk on Friday, April 13th is to celebrate art work created by our youth and young adults. Besides the Art Walk, vocal and instrumental performances will be held throughout Lock Haven. Susquehanna Valley Shutterbugs -- The 11th Annual Holiday Photo Show, presented by the Susquehanna Valley Shutterbugs, will be held May 4 to June 16. This is a juried photographic competition and exhibition to be in the Thomas T. Taber Museum of the Lycoming County Historical Society, 858 West Fourth Street, Williamsport. Color and black-and-white photos will be judged together. Cash prizes are $500, $250, $125, $75 and $50. The competition is open to amateur and professional photographers. You may enter up to 4 prints, paying $12 per entry. All work is to be presented in a white mat with a black frame. All entries will be judged by a panel of judges. Deadline for entry is April 23. Not all photos will be accepted for entry; a jury will determine whether a photo will be accepted or rejected for the competition and exhibit. For more information, contact Ralph Wilson at rwilson@streetlightphoto.com or call him at 570-547-6224. Take Your Best Shot Photo Contest -- The Express and the Clinton County Arts Council are challenging community amateur and professional photographers to "Take Your Best Shot" in a photo contest. All entries will be displayed in downtown businesses and the winners will be awarded during the June 8th Art Walk event. Call 570-748-0949 for more information. Thanks to Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Partially funded by Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, KCnet Art and Photo Camp, was held each Saturday, February 17 to March 17, 2007. There were 5 Saturday Workshops in the community room at KCnet. This pilot camp was successful and already a second camp is being planned, using this one as the model. The goal of the first KCnet Art and Camera Camp project was to help 12 area youth and adults gain some of the skills necessary for lifelong achievement. The camp was held with 10 participants. In addition, 6 adults volunteered their help, making the camp enjoyable for all. All of the participants had digital cameras and computers in their homes. Each participant received a photo manipulation software package and training on the use of it for the creation of art and the manipulation of digital photos. The participants heard Ron McGinness, President of the Clinton County Arts Council, talk about Art – in the eyes of the beholder. His goal was to increase their skills and develop a deeper appreciation of art. The Camp Director, noted photographer Bill Raco (also KCnet Board President), spoke about picture composition and exposure. In each of the first 4 Saturdays, assignments were given to participants for the following week. Other features of the Camp were: learning to make and use a pinhole camera, conducted by Darla Karchella; camera program modes and creative use by Bill Raco; famous photographers and styles of photography conducted by Rebecca Forbes. The group went on 2 field trips for photo-taking and heard some encouraging words from a photo-journalist.. Each participant chose one photograph to enlarge and frame. They all learned how to mat a photo or other artwork, how to mount it on foam board, and were helped by Ron McGinness, to frame their 8” x 10” photos for hanging in the “KCnet Art Gallery,” awaiting the Art Walks scheduled for April 13th and May 11th. Each participant received a portfolio of ten, 4.25” x 5.5” photos, printed from their collection taken during the Camp and bound in a booklet. The “coffee table” booklets were printed on a color laser printer and spiral bound. They also received 8 greeting cards with envelopes, made from their own photos. A web site, created by the participants, of the art projects produced during the Art and Camera Camp is online at http://www.kcnet.org/photocamp. Until next time… KCnet Board Of Directors Officers:
President Bill Raco, Vice President Bob Rolley, Secretary Jon Ahrens,
Treasurer Don Miller and Past President Judy Yoho. Other members
of the board: Carolyn Carl, Lori Hoy,
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Because
of the popularity of the Passover seder, and because of the seder plate's
central position in its observance, the plate has become a very common
outlet for Jewish artistic expression.
