At Your Leisure

comic by Emily DeVault

Word of the Month: 

Bacchanal (noun): A time for drunken revelry.

Sentence:  With the first month of freshman year behind them, Ted and his friends had a bacchanal, which left them indisposed the next day.   

Quote of the Month:

“Time does not change us. It just unfolds us.” – Max Frisch

Stream of Facts:

The largest bank heist in Japanese history was a total of 5.4 million dollars. The bank robbers, after completing the heist, sent a note to the bank they stole from writing: “Thank you very much for the bonus. We can live off this loot for life.”

In Antwerp, Belgium, the largest theft of diamonds occurred in February of 2003 valued between 20 million and 100 million euros. The loot was never found and remains missing to this day.

James Brown, during both live performances and in the recording studio, would fine members of his band for missing notes or cues. The fines would sometimes total up to a hundred dollars.

If the Library of Congress’ catalog was quantified in terms of data, it would total15 terabytes. In contrast, the complete works of Shakespeare can fit into 5 MB.

The iconic pause button symbol found on all TV remotes and various devices originates from a music notation symbol, the caesura. The caesura when seen on sheet music, directs the musician to come to a complete stop when playing.

During World War II, the Bicycle Playing Card Company created a deck of cards that was sent to prisoners of war in German camps. When the cards came into contact with moisture, they would peel away to show escape routes for the captured soldiers.  

Reporter Recommends: Complete Your Backlog!

Have a pile of games you have never played? Do you ever long to read tomes but can’t seem to find the time? Or have you ever wanted to discover the classic films you’ve always missed the pop culture references too? Now is the time! Not literally, but it can be the start of your journey through the mammoth collection of media that mankind has to offer!

For games, create a list of every title you have left unfinished and just give it a whirl. This can be done through a simple Word or Excel document. For a more comprehensive and social way to keep track of your gaming backlog, try sites like The Backloggery or How Long to Beat to network with other struggling backloggers and compare your progress. For books, try the ever-popular Goodreads. Catalog the books you’ve read by various shelves, set yearly reading goals and even continue adding to your to-read list. Plan ahead your movie nights using sites like IMDB.

As for finding time for this media, you have to look back at tenets of time management. Block out your busy schedules but don’t be afraid to squeze in time to catch up on that game you bought several months ago in a bundle, that new book you’ve been pining for ever since it was announced or even watch a gem like “Jaws” or “The Godfather” trilogy for the first time. Just don’t forget you might have an assignment due the next day.

Pantoum:

(A Malaysian poetry style adapted by French writers. It is a series of quatrains in which the second and fourth lines of one stanza are used for the first and third of the next.)

I can’t wake in the morning

I’ve smashed my alarm to bits

Rolled back into my bedding

My schedule’s on the fritz

I’ve smashed my alarm to bits

Rolled back into my slumber

My schedule’s on the fritz

I completely feel encumbered

Rolled back into my slumber

My schedule has no fix.

I completely feel encumbered.

Does anyone know sleep tricks?