Kerja Keras Adalah Energi Kita

Have you ever contemplated the signs and symbols associated with a perfectly neutral thing like a month? Today is the Ides of March, that infamous occasion marking the murder of Julius Caesar. The line of my title is from William Shakespeare’s play of the same name, Julius Caesar.

Upon a little research, it turns out that the Ides of March (Latin: Idus Martias) is the name of March 15 in the Roman calendar. The term ides was used for the 15th day of the month for May, July, and October as well. The Ides of March was a festival day dedicated to the god Mars. A military parade was usually held. Mars, the Roman god of war, gives us our third day of the week, Tuesday. (Consider the French, Mardi.)

That sent me right into Mardi Gras, the festival before the season of sacrifice, Lent, from Ash Wednesday until Easter. Mardi Gras means, literally, Fat Tuesday, and is a wild festival of indulgence just prior to relinquishment. It used to be that serious observers of the Easter season gave up something for Lent, something they liked. This year I’m giving up the habit of fear about my health.

“This American Life” is a radio show hosted by the famous radio personality Ira Glass. The show, originally named Your Radio Playhouse is running from November, 1995 and till three episodes of the show have been aired in 2010. It is basically a non-fictional programme which chooses one particular theme for each episode and then goes to present it from different perspectives. Generally the show is divided in two to five acts and each act presents different journalistic accounts on the theme.

The content of the theme itself can vary greatly from episode to episode. The show can choose for its subject for one episode some current incident, while general social topics are regularly discussed, too. More than the choice of the subject, however, it is the approach that makes the show what it is. read more »