Complex Numbers

Who?

Inspired again by "Invalid Item"  , because, here in the US, whatever else is commemorated today gets overshadowed by a national holiday, I wanted to highlight a few other observances that fall on November 23 every year, or happen to fall on November 23 this year.

First, let's get the turkey in the room out of the way:

Unthanksgiving Day   and Turkey-Free Thanksgiving.  

The first link, there, provides a good bit of detail about Unthanksgiving. In brief, it's also known as The Indigenous Peoples Sunrise Ceremony, and it takes place on Alcatraz on the fourth Thursday in November. Now, I can't claim Native American heritage, and it's against my principles to do anything but sleep at sunrise (especially in that time zone, which, if my luck holds out, I'll enter in a couple of weeks), but I appreciate that it happens. The history of it is absolutely worth reading.

In contrast, no information is provided for the second link, except for its name and that it also coincides with US Thanksgiving. There's another link to follow in there, but I can't be arsed. My only comment on it is that if you're thinking "tofurkey," please stop that.


Some of these "holidays" for the year seem to be made up by kids. In the case of Wolfenoot  , it actually was made up by a kid. It's always on November 23, so it won't always coincide with US Thanksgiving; nor was it, as you might infer from the name, created in the US. According to that link, "Wolfnoot[sic] is a 'celebration of canines, kindness, and humans who embrace both.' Showing kindness to animals, especially to wolves and dogs, is an important part of the day."

I mean, technically, wolves are lupines, but even I tend to cut 7-year-olds some slack when it comes to technicalities. I'm more of a cat person, as you know, but I still like the idea of this holiday. Except for the social media aspects, as detailed at the link.


Another one always observed on November 23 is Eat a Cranberry Day.   I'd love to, but sadly, Dolores O'Riordan   is no longer with us. Nootch!


Confession time: I'd originally thought to make this entire entry about Fibonacci Day.   Like Pi Day (3/14), it's a mathematical pun, and we all know I can't resist those; it's right there in the name of the blog. Instead, I'll keep it brief in the interest of keeping people reading: The Fibonacci Sequence (or Series), which is important in the branch of mathematics known as number theory, begins with 1,1,2,3... And since today is 11/23, well... you know. You get the next number in the series by adding together the previous two; hence, the next number in the series is 5. So maybe I'll raise a glass in celebration at 5pm. Or maybe not; more likely, I'll be napping then.


There are other observances this day, but the last one I want to highlight is of great personal relevance to Me, which makes it the Most Important: Doctor Who Day.   It, too, always takes place on November 23, because that's the Gregorian calendar anniversary of the airing of the first episode, back in 1963. Math-inclined readers may notice that this year's is significant because it's the 60th anniversary. Even more astute readers will note that the first episode aired the day after JFK was assassinated; somewhat famously, that first programme (look, it's British, so I'll use their spelling) was interrupted by ongoing coverage of that event, a big deal even in England.

The personal relevance, though, is only that I was introduced to the show, in syndication here in the US, when I was a kid, and immediately loved it. And still do, in all its regenerations. Not as much as Star Trek, maybe, but one must remember that, at the time, the only Star Trek was reruns of the Original Series, and a few episodes of the possibly non-canonical Animated Series (which is severely underrated). Apart from the movies, new Trek wouldn't come to be until 1987, so I got my SF fix from Doctor Who in the meantime. (The BBC missed a grand opportunity by not making "Doctor Who: The Next Regeneration." Don't look at me like that; they pun more than I do.) Like many people around my age, to me, Tom Baker will always be The Doctor—though I appreciate what other actors brought to the role, especially Tennant.

So of all the things to celebrate today, for me, I think it's going to be that one.