Morning Vent, 1 May 2010 (May Day)

 Get away from her, you bitch!

    I never did any gaming yesterday, as my right shoulder was hurting me. It's still hurting me this AM, so I plan to take it easy today, working on the gameplay vids I put into the conversion queue last night before bed. I'll probably skip the computer show I was supposed to go to. On to our customary reverie on the new month name:
    Today is the First of May, 2010. May is named for the Roman fertility goddess, Maia. May is naturally associated with the blossom of Spring beginning to ripen into Summer, and a host of holidays and events are celebrated on the First of May.
    Some cultures explicitly marked the beginning of Summer on the First of May. In Celtic traditions, the First of May is the feast of Beltane, marking the beginning of the Summer season.
    In many traditions, the celebration of the First of May involved dancing around the Maypole, an obvious phallic symbol. In more recent secular tradition, the First of May is associated with honoring Labor, with many nations celebrating a Labor holiday on or near the beginning of the month. As noted in the wiki article, the UK celebrates its Labor Day on the first Monday in the month of May.
    Since I grew up during the 70s-80s, for me, the First of May was always associated with the May Day military parades of our erstwhile opponents in the Cold War, the Soviets. May Day was their day for phallic posturing with goose-stepping soldiers, endless streams of missiles rolling through Red Square, and planes roaring overhead while the mummified douches of the Politburo waved to the freezing crowds.
    Things have defrosted a bit since then, but it's sometimes worrisome looking at the new Russia and the curious way critics of Vladimir Putin seem to wind up irradiated or committing suicide by shooting themselves in the back of the head - before they tie their hands behind their backs.