Da Dominion: Home of DOMINIONCAST!

Bookmark This:

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Save to Browser Favorites / Bookmarks

Ask backflip blinklist BlogBookmark Bloglines BlogMarks Blogsvine BuddyMarks BUMPzee! CiteULike co.mments Connotea del.icio.us

Digg diigo DotNetKicks DropJack dzone Facebook Fark Faves Feed Me Links Friendsite folkd.com Furl Google

Hugg Jamespot Jeqq Kaboodle kirtsy linkaGoGo LinkedIn LinksMarker Ma.gnolia Mister Wong Mixx MySpace MyWeb

Netvouz Newsvine oneview OnlyWire PlugIM Propeller Reddit Rojo Segnalo Shoutwire Simpy Slashdot Sphere

Sphinn Spurl Squidoo StumbleUpon Technorati ThisNext Twitter Webride Windows Live Worlds Movies Yahoo!

Email This to a Friend

Copy HTML: 

 If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

More »

The first Monday of September marks Labor Day, as you already know - killing time reading this before the start of the party you’re hosting or going to attend. While visions of pork ribs dance in your head, or you’re feverishly dicing spuds for the potato salad, take time to remember the source of this holiday.

Fueled by the common but discreet disillusionment with the corruption in the Catholic Church, Martin Luther started writing his Ninety-Five Theses September 1, 1517 to be presented to the Bishop of Saxony. In those days, Latin was spoken often but not well understood. Septi meaning seven was taken to mean Septa, meaning to seperate. During this month, the Church made tithes 20% to part parishioners with their money. Luther thought to seperate this practice from the church. His work would criticize the Church and Pope for opportunist money grubbers. He finished it the first of October and was ready to protest the clergy but rumor had gotten to the bishops whom instituted a new holiday themed on Octo (latin for “eight”) in which they cut heretics into eight pieces. Luther postponed his work’s submission until the last day of this bloody month, Halloween (German for “I thinkth they’ve learned thine lesson”, patron Saint Michael).

The Protestants eventually did seperate from the Church. Freed from miriad monetary committments like buying price-gouged fish on Friday, spending a fortune on diamond encrusted platinum crosses and Take your Son to Church days - you were expected to pay a days labor to the local parish or take your young male children to the local priest for a special closed ceremony involving oil annointing and embraces of fellowship -, Protestants had gold to save and re-invest into their trade. This was the start of Capitolism. Soon lowly farmer became landlords and landlords nobles or merchant barons.

In the 18th century a new holiday was founded on September first - Seperation Day. Instead of commemorating the bravery of Martin Luther, wealthy Protestant industry owners, their families and friends would hold seven course banquets in the shops where they employed poor laborers, mostly Catholic. They enjoyed goose liver pate as their workers looked on, hungrily licking whale grease from their calloused hands for lunch in the middle of an 18 hour shift producing shoe buckles, toothbrushes and other luxuries they couldn’t afford. Owners’ children would toss candy to the pre-teen workers and watch with glee as they bludgeoned each other with the table legs they were to lathe over a taste of confections.

In 1882, French immigrant worker Pierre L’Abo, still hungry from his breakfast of warehouse rat and prayer, snuck to the Seperation banquet table and made off with some half-eaten roasted potatoes, pickled cucumbers and a handful of mayonaise. Sharing this feast with his fellow coal tasters ( it was thought that coal and chocolate came from a common source, “The more bitter, the better burning” was the saying) the richness of the meal rendered them lethargic. When the owner and his middle manglers (the derivation of the word manager) sought to see what slowed production, they discovered the theft and made to punish the boys by having their hands mangled - not to prevent production but make it more painful. 

A mangler tasted the weird white concoction coating Pierre’s hands, believing it to be stolen ambergris paste, and was amazed - this was the first potato salad. Such a combination of both mayonaise and potato was ambrosia to the palet. The owner pleased with this new recipe rewarded the coal tasters with a place at his table, offering them discarded pork rib bones and corn cobbs. Well nourished for a change, L’Abo and his peers gnawed the now marrowless bones into sharp fragments and murdered the owner, his family, and the unsuspecting manglers - allowing the tired workers of the mill to feast of the banquet.

The recipe for potato salad was widely circulated and factory owners gave their employees a day off to acquire it and enjoy the delicacy far away from them without it’s hypnotic flavor luring them into vulnerability. It soon became tradition, although the coal dust that was part of the original dish was replaced with pepper in the early twentieth century. For his initiative in championing worker rights, the holiday was name for L’Abo - Labor Day. He was celebrated each year until his death at the ripe old age of 23 in 1892.

So to all citizens and casual parasitic readers, we wish you a relaxing and fun Labor Day!

(the statements of the preceeding article may need verification)  

• Grandpa Torino When I write about a movie with nerdy appeal, like The Transporter or Kevin Smith’s latest, it’s done wearing the metaphoric cloak of a geek that likes movies. Other times when I write about just good or bad movies, it’s done donning the cap of movie geek - a cinephile......
• The Fourth Coming: A New D&D I took a detailed, meticulous, scrutinizing, ultra anal look at the 4th edtion Players Handbook of the Dungeon and Dragons roleplaying game. This much vaunted title is the gateway game of our hobby and flagship product of the entire industry. As such, it demands attention to dispell the rumors and prejudices......

• Communion Represents the Beginning of What is Hoped to Be a Life Long Relationship First Communion is a sacrament in many churches, and is a significant experience for young children who are heading toward adulthood. We sometimes think of the formal event as being exclusive to the Catholic Church and some other mainstream denominations that are very formal and traditional. Communion represents the beginning......
• Swimming Meet Preparations Which Make a Difference Swimming is a sport which takes a lot of preparation. You need to have the right training to have good form and a good time. This is true whether you are swimming on your own or in a relay. Your performance in a swim meet can only be affected by......