Perpetual Calendars

Logan Graves (Fenris@BigKnobiKlub.virtualAve.net)

Here are the three so-called Perpetual Calendars, that have been causing such a stink lately. Sure, there is a growing following of pro-change advocates, with a whole host of logical reasons to break away from our current, Gregorian Calendar. But even they can not seem to decide amongst themselves which one is the best version. And I am not even going to touch on *The* Church's official position on all of this. Just in case you have not been keeping score, here are the players:

• First, we have the European Economic Community (you know, those wonderful folks who brought you the "Eddie," never mind that its instigation caused European double-digit inflation for nearly two decades). They seem to favor the pompously named, "World Calendar" (which was first proposed in the 19th century). In fact, a number of smaller communities have semi-officially adopted this as their local standard. Un-surprisingly, Britain does not share their views, instead casting their lots in with the "since it ain't broke, don't fix it" -crowd.
• Next, comes those self-imposed guardians of your right to commerce & mine, the International Corporate Court. What began as the faintest of rumblings in the trenches of corporate UCAS, has finally found its way to the ICC's agenda sheets up in the Zuchi-Orbital. A growing number of powerful suits are dis-satisfied enough with the current unbalanced fiscal year, that they are in favor of switching to a version of Willard E. Edwards' (circa1919) "Perpetual Calendar." (Apparently, they seem to be of the mind that they could better separate you from your nu¥en, if the first half of the year was not three days shorter that the second half.)
• Lastly, we have a small mish-mesh of a group, composed primarily of mages (particurlarly witches & a few druids) and number of boisterous radical mundanes, who are on whole, natch, the loudest of the reform advocates. They are pushing towards a revision of Auguste Comte's "Thirteen Month Calendar." History Time: way back in 1849, this French philosopher first proposed his "International Fixed Calendar," which called for a much more radical reform--changing our whole year's structure, by adding a new month, "Sol," in between June and July. Apparently, this 13-month scheme, coupled with the fact that *every* month contains a "Friday the Thirteenth," is very popular with the magically-active crowd. (In fact, according to the Smiling Bandit, Tir Nan Og is seroiusly researching the validity of these supposed magical benefits.)

   Personally, I do not care which one they settle on, as long as Friday still signals the weekend!
Ricochet Rita (01:04:28/1-27-57)