Not since Springtime 2016

coverage posted 5/1/2022

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/30/politics/white-house-correspondents-dinner/index.html

April 30, White House Correspondents' Dinner (Nerd Prom)

The White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner will feature Trevor Noah as featured entertainment and Biden delivering a combination of a salute to journalism and his own schtick. It’ll be a test of his comedy skills as commander in chief, but also a reminder that humor has been part of the job. His predecessor Donald Trump skipped the dinner while he was in office, so this will be the first time that a president has taken the stage since 2016. The dinner also will feature the WHCA’s annual awards and scholarship presentations. . .

Washington Hilton Ballroom

coverage by C-Span

Blood Pressure Check (once a month)

 1st Thursday of every month from 9 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.

Beginning May 5, 2022

Greater Niles Senior Center, 1109 Bell Road, Niles, MI 49120

Senior Center - installation of LED lighting - May 2 - 3, 2022

 Greater Niles (MI) Senior Center 

1109 Bell Road, NILES, MICHIGAN 49120

phone 269-683-9380

attention: Instructors, Members, Volunteers

Buildings will be closed May 2 and 3 (Monday and Tuesday upcoming)

No Classes

No Lunch will be served

Holocaust Remembrance Day (April 27-28 annually)

 from sunset April 27 until 24 hours later

The day commemorates the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the

1943 event that became the first significant urban revolt against German occupation

in Europe.

Later this spring - June 4, 2022 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

 Lincoln Township Friends of the Library (Stevensville, MI) Library Book Bag Sale

Help support this Berrien County Library by re-filling your bookshelves!

No pre-registration required.

Fill a bag with library discarded, duplicate copies from the shelves, donated new and used titles.

https://lincolntownshiplibrary.org/friends-of-the-library/

The Friends will have bags to utilize but you are invited to bring your own.

Conversation at Notre Dame (President Fr. J. Jenkins and Condoleeza Rice) - 4/282022 at 2 p.m.

https://www.wndu.com/2022/04/28/condoleezza-rice-speaks-notre-dame-discusses-russian-invasion-ukraine/

Jordan Auditorium, Mendoza School of Business (open to public) - "reading day" before Final Exams

50th anniversary of women undergraduates at the Univ. of Notre Dame

She will discuss Russian invasion of Ukraine, college athletics, and Q/A

Free to the campus and broader communities on a first-come-basis

https://events.nd.edu/events/2022/04/28/a-conversation-with-condoleezza-rice-former-u-s-secretary-of-state/

"Flower Moon" - full moon also blood moon eclipse

 Old Farmer's Almanac (2022)

The Full Moon for May 2022 occurs on Monday May 16, 12:15 a.m. EDT.  Also occurring is a "Blood Moon" lunar eclipse.

This month’s full Moon coincides with a total lunar eclipse! A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth stands directly between the Moon and the Sun, which results in Earth casting its shadow on the Moon. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon is fully obscured by Earth’s shadow, giving the Moon a reddish hue. This phenomenon is where the term “blood moon” comes from. 

This total lunar eclipse occurs in the late night hours of May 15 into May 16 and will be visible for stargazers in most of North America, all of South America, Western Africa, and parts of Western Europe. From the Pacific Northwest into British Columbia, as well as in southern Alaska, a partial lunar eclipse will be be visible.

Freeze Warning April 27 2022 (Berrien County, Michigan)

 from WEATHER Channel

FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM EDT TO 9 AM EDT WEDNESDAY April 27, 2022

WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures expected. WHERE...Portions of northern Indiana, southwest Michigan and northwest Ohio. WHEN...From 2 AM EDT to 9 AM EDT Wednesday IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly.

A host of golden daffodils

 Beginning of the William Wordsworth (1770-1850) poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud":

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Thirty-two percent: Poll Results comparing political party identified Americans

 from THE NOTE (ABC news dot-go dot-com) April 25, 2022

32. That’s the percentage of Republicans who said they had "a great deal" of confidence in the scientific community in 2021, according to data from the General Social Survey. That is significantly less than the share of Democrats (65%) and Independents (44%) who said the same and, what’s more, marks a stark acceleration of distrust in the scientific community among Republicans from 2020 to 2021. As FiveThirtyEight’s Monica Potts writes, being anti-science is now increasingly part of many Republicans’ identity, especially Republicans living in rural America. Read more from Monica on what it means for the U.S., especially as it pertains to another major crisis where trust in the scientific community is needed.

Five Thirty Eight is Nate Silver's poll-based web platform for all things statistical

http://abcnews.go.com/

Spring Tradition - Berrien, Cass County teenagers - winners for "Blossomtime" royalty

Miss Blossomtime 2022 is Miss Buchanan;

Mr. Blossomtime 2022 is from Stevensville, MI Nathan Hawks

Tonight, April 25, 2022 will culminate the pageant competitions of SW Michigan teenagers

Miss Blossomtime will be named with final pageant activity and runway judging

Upton Hall, Mendel Center, Lake Michigan College, Benton Harbor, MI

7 p.m. covered by WSJM - Radio FM https://www.wsjm.com/2022/04/25/mr-blossomtime-2022-crowned/

What does "May Day" mean as a Springtime celebration? History, custom, origin

 from OLD FARMER's ALMANAC posted information

Ancient spring rites that related human fertility to crop fertility gave birth to most modern May Day festivities. May 1 is the traditional day to crown the May queen, dance around the maypole, perform mummers’ plays, and generally celebrate the return of spring. Although our Pilgrim fathers were horrified by these reminders of a pagan past and outlawed all such activities, the maypole dance remains an enduring event. In Great Britain, the custom of “bringing in the May” involves gathering “knots,” or branches with buds, on the eve or early morning of May 1. In England, a favorite branch is hawthorn. In Scotland and Wales, people choose the rowan, or mountain ash. In North America, we often select forsythia, lilac, or pussy willow branches to bring spring and the prospect of new life into our homes.

www.almanac.com/ 

State of Florida bans books (textbooks) but lacks specific rationale or explanation/rationale

 ABC News web article (April 22, 2022)

https://abcnews.go.com/US/textbook-publishers-left-dark-florida-rejects-long-list/story?id=84244697

Textbook publishers left without any sense of rhyme or reason

Re-scheduled due to COVID-19 concert by Entertainer Garth Brooks - May 7, 2022 at ND Arena

 Tickets required for the outdoor event at the Football arena/stadium -- 7 p.m. on first Saturday May 2022

https://events.nd.edu/events/2022/05/07/garth-brooks-concert/

7 - 9:30 p.m. Eastern

Garth Brooks Ticketmaster phone line is 877-654-2784

New Buffalo (Berrien County, Michigan) Schools closed Friday April 22

 from ABC-TV affiliate (S. Bend, IN)

https://abc57.com/news/new-buffalo-area-schools-closed-friday

Lyrid Meteor showers (April 21 - 22, 2022) - 10 per hour

 from ALMANAC.com (Old Farmer's Almanac)

The Lyrids reach their peak on the night of April 21–22, 2022, when you can expect to see an average of 10 meteors per hour in dark, clear skies. Rarely, the Lyrids produce surges of up to 100 meteors per hour. This meteor shower is visible from both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, but is much more active in the Northern Hemisphere, where the meteors’ radiant is high in the sky.

This year, the Moon will be in a waning gibbous phase during the Lyrids’ peak, so the best viewing period will be between the late evening hours (around 9 P.M.) of April 21 and moonrise (around 2 A.M.) on April 22, 2022.

Dyngus Day - Solidarity celebration (S. Bend, IN) - separate GOP event at Allie's restaurant, Mishawaka, IN

 https://www.wvpe.org/wvpe-news/2022-04-18/dyngus-day-returns-to-normal-in-south-bend

Where can you find Dyngus Day celebrations?

 The Day after Easter (this year Monday April 18) is an annual celebration for Polish people and

especially Polish-Americans and those in the Buffalo, NY vicinity

https://www.dyngusday.com/

Happy Easter 2022!

 The first Sunday after the full moon following the Vernal Equinox

A guide to celebrating Easter the Irish way -- from IRISHPOST dot-com

 

• Rise with the sun and dance in celebration.
• Butchers carry out a mock funeral in honour of a dead herring. A “herring procession” then marches to the local church. This symbolizes the end of Lenten abstinence. Some people believe you should whip the herring too.
• Take down the “spolin meith na hinide,” a small piece of meat pinned up on the wall during Lent, and burn it to give a pleasant smell to the inside of the house.
• Conduct a “cludog”, where children gather eggs and roast them on a special device on a farm. Shells are saved and placed around the bottom of a Maybush.
• Easter feast – dig into a typical Sunday roast with your loved ones. The options are wide open, but people usually have lamb with this meal.
• Easter eggs are traditionally only given to children after they've eaten their dinner, but over the years that has become much less the case. If you don't fancy a chocolate egg, why not dig into a hot and buttery hot cross bun?
• Celebrate with a “cake dance”, a contest where the best dancer wins a cake.
• Build a bonfire to close out Easter.

Twas on a Holy Thursday. . . (Poem by William Blake)

 POETRY FOUNDATION dot-org

Twas on a Holy Thursday their innocent faces clean 

The children walking two & two in red & blue & green 

Grey-headed beadles walkd before with wands as white as snow,

Till into the high dome of Pauls they like Thames waters flow 

O what a multitude they seemd these flowers of London town 

Seated in companies they sit with radiance all their own 

The hum of multitudes was there but multitudes of lambs 

Thousands of little boys & girls raising their innocent hands 

Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song 

Or like harmonious thunderings the seats of Heaven among 

Beneath them sit the aged men wise guardians of the poor 

Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door 

Wind Advisory - April 2022

 from Noon - 8 p.m. Eastern

Thursday April 14, 2022

for SW Michigan and N. Indiana

National Weather Service announcement

Southwest winds from 30 - 45 mph winds with gusts up to 55 m.p.h.

Secy. of State (late 1990s) Madeleine Albright's funeral will be held April 27, 11 a.m.

 Location : National Cathedral, D.C. @cathedral.org

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/funeral-for-former-secretary-of-state-madeleine-albright-to-be-held-at-washington-national-cathedral?taid=624fe803a609c1000196f879&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

by-invitation-only

the Georgetown University academic professor - best-selling author - diplomat and intellectual

died in March 2022 at age 84

She was the 64th U.S. Secretary of State - directing the entire State Department of the U.S. Govt.

Easter Tenebrae concert cancelled (4/15/2022)

 Third Friday concert ( 7 - 9 p.m.) cancelled instead the University Singers will perform

with Andrews University Symphony Orchestra

conductor: Stephen Zork

 the "Easter Gloria" concert on Saturday April 9, 2022

https://www.andrews.edu/agenda/58602/

Seder

 What ?  When?

https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1751/jewish/What-Is-a-Seder-Passover-Meal.htm

held after sundown on the first night of Pesach

April 15 in Israel and April 16 in the Diaspora

Niles Michigan Community Schools (mid-April 2022) - Friday vacations

 3rd Friday (April 15, 2022): "Good Friday" -- no school

4th Friday (April 22): 1/2 day for students 7:30 a.m - Noon

Orthodox calendar difference -- Holy week 2022

 Whereas Western Christian calendars observe Palm Sunday on April 15 and Easter on April 22,

the Orthodox Churches observe one week later for 2022 -- Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Maundy

Thursday to Good Friday to Saturday Easter Vigil and Sunday Pascha (Easter) begin on April 22 - 29.

Forever Stamp (1 oz. letter postage) to change to 60 cents (July 10, 2022)

 The new prices for a 1-oz. letter and postcard will rise 6.5 percent if the Board of Governors approve.

http://about.usps.com/newsroom/nationalreleases/2022/0406-usps-new-prices-for-2022.html/ 

Reduce Reuse Recycle Day - Lake Michigan College (Berrien county) - enter Yore Ave. off Napier

 April 12, 2022 - main campus at Benton Harbor, Michigan

3 - 7 p.m. Open to Berrien County residents only - no business waste permitted

Foam/ Stryofoam

Electronics (see details at web article0

Hazardous Household waste

Personal papers for shredding - paper documents only - participants must remove all CDs, disks, metal

and so forth

https://www.lakemichigancollege.edu/about/news-events/2022-04/reduce-reuse-recycle-day-slated-tuesday-april-12

New COVID-19 cases are increasing in Michigan (April 2022)

 from local NPR affiliate (WVPE dot-org: Elkhart, IN)

The numbers are still relatively low, but they are moving up in half of Michigan's counties.

Especially Washtenaw County (where Eastern Michigan and Univ. of Michigan students reside). . .

https://www.wvpe.org/michigan-news/2022-04-08/new-covid-cases-are-increasing-in-michigan 

When is Passover this year?

 April 15, 2022

two days later is Holocaust Remembrance Day (April 17)

Lecture cancelled for 2022 due to sudden illness (Saint Mary's Madeleva Lecture)

 Details at College website on annual Lecture series

https://www.saintmarys.edu/spiritual-life/center-for-spirituality/madeleva-lecture-series

Prof. Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza's lecture "Saint Mary's what's in a name?" had to be

cancelled at the last moment (March 24, 2022 - 7 p.m - a virtual event).  More details here =

https://www.saintmarys.edu/spiritual-life/center-for-spirituality/madeleva-lecture-series

Month of Ramadan (details from Almanac.com)

For 2022, the month of Ramadan began at sundown Saturday April 2 and will end at sundown

at Sunday, May 1.  It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.  The final evening marks a feast (Eid al-Fitr)

when the traditional month-long fast ends.

https://www.almanac.com/content/when-start-ramadan

Campus Holiday for students (April 15 - 18)

Campus-wide holiday

From Good Friday April 15 until Easter April 18, no classes in session for studentsof Univ. of Notre Dame.

See http://registrar.nd.edu/calendar

FULL Announcement at ND Events

https://events.nd.edu/events/2022/04/15/easter-holiday-for-students/ 

Meeting today - Board of Governors (54 in Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences)

 In the newly elected and re-elected group of Governors are 31 women; more details at THE WRAP dot-com

https://www.thewrap.com/academy-board-of-governors-election-sets-new-record-for-women-on-board/

Palm Sunday 3:33 p.m. Eastern (Buchanan, MI) - April 10, 2022

First United Methodist and Faith United Methodist churches (joint service)

sponsoring a special Palm Sunday concert at 3:33 p.m. Eastern

728 Detroit Ave., Buchanan, MI

Join for a concert with a special guest musician

https://thebuchananchroniclecom.wordpress.com/2022/04/02/upcoming-events-local-holy-week-2022/

Good Friday 2022 service - 424 N. 15th Street, Niles, Michigan -- 3 p.m. Eastern Time

 Friday April 15, 2022

3 p.m. Eastern

Salvation Army of Niles, MI 49120

located at 424 N. 15th Street

Broadway - new version of the "Scottish Play" postponed

ABC News coverage (posted Sunday April 3)

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/covid-19-temporarily-stops-daniel-craigs-return-broadway-83837493 

April 2, 2022

NY Times (http://nytimes.com) headline SUNDAY edition = 

Performances of "Macbeth" on Broadway are on hold after

lead actor Daniel Craig tested positive for COVID-19

More than 800 student causes, alumni clubs, and residence halls will crowdfund (April 24 evening - April 25)

 Ninth annual "Notre Dame Day" (more details at notredameday.nd.edu )

On "Notre Dame Day" (6:42 p.m. Sunday evening to midnight Eastern Time Zone; Monday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 

and re-opens 6:42 p.m. - midnight) tens of thousands of alumni, parents, friends of the University

from around the world celebrate all things "Notre Dame Indiana" with 29 hours of live storytelling

and student performances -- and compete in a crowdfunding campaign that raises funds for the

areas of campus life they love most.

The storytellers and video presenters compete for a share of $500,000 in prizes.  Giving begins 4/3/2022

NotreDameDay.nd.edu 

Congress passes the "MORE" act this April 1, 2022 - 3 GOP Votes

Just three GOP votes in favor (two who had supported: the recently deceased Don Young of Alaska & Denver Riggleman of Virginia are no longer members of the House) 

https://thehill.com/news/house/3256567-just-three-gop-lawmakers-back-marijuana-legalization-vote-two-dems-vote-no/

from POLITICO dot-com

The House is set to pass legislation on Friday to legalize marijuana nationwide, an effort that has unprecedented levels of support in both chambers of Congress.  

The bill is likely to pass the lower chamber largely along party lines, with most Republicans expected to oppose it.  

Proponents argue that legalizing marijuana at the federal level will simply reflect most states’ existing policies that allow it in some form. 

They also frame the effort as a way to end the disproportionate punishment of racial minorities and people in low-income communities for possessing and using weed. 

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act

https://thehill.com/news/house/3255862-house-set-to-pass-marijuana-legalization-friday/

Friday’s vote will mark the second time that House Democrats have advanced legislation to decriminalize marijuana, after previously passing the measure in December 2020. 

What do you call a group of giraffes?

 A tower

These lanky animals do tower above their fellow creatures