#not the gregorian one at least so would it still be based off the earth moon cycle thing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jeanjauthor · 3 years

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How do I do a book that’s pre clock invention that spans years but in one book? How do I time jump that my readers know what year or month it is?

How did the builders of Stonehenge 5,000 years ago know how to align it celestially with the solstices, etc?

Does your planet have stars visible at night? Does it have a moon that orbits that world? (Or is it an inhabitable moon orbiting a gas giant?) Does it have a sun that moves across the sky, creating angles to discern moments in time, and dividing day from night? Does it have seasons in the area where the story takes place?

...By seasons, I don't mean frozen winters, hot summers, etc. Seasons could be "monsoon rains vs dry season" or "the daily afternoon rains are coming, time to pull the laundry off the line."

In the Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel (zero relation), the people of the Clan (her created culture for Neanderthalensis) didn't really have or use numbers (other than the mog-ur/shamans), but they did label their years for their children such as "birthing year, walking year, weaning year." They also carried a constant awareness of what season it was--any culture, from hunter-gatherer on up through agrarian (farming) will have that awareness of what time of year it is.

Once you hit industrial revolution, they'll most likely invent clocks, but long before the invention of gear mechanisms (*conveniently ignores the antikythera mechanism*) people still had calendars. The ancient Egyptian calendar began on different dates because it was dependent upon the annual flooding of the Nile, but they still had months and days because they depended upon the Moon to help order the passage of time. Same with China; their months were measured by the moon, their New Year would vary year by year, but they had months and they had days and they even had hours that were labeled.

And before the invention of geared clocks, people still had clocks. They had candles of specific regular thickness and length marked with measured cuts along the side, or a small nail stuck into the wax; when it dropped from melting (usually into a metal pan so it made a loud, noticeable noise) or the candle melted down to a particular mark, they knew how much time had passed.

They also had water clocks, which were designed to drip water at a specific rate from one container to another. These varied in shape, design, and timespan, but they are one of the most ancient recognizable timekeeping pieces available, and often consisted of a bowl floating in another, larger bowl, with the smaller bowl having a pinprick hole. When that pinprick filled the smaller bowl high enough, it would sink, and clink against the bottom of the larger bowl. These versions of timekeeping have been found in certain Indigenous American cultures as well as in African, European, and Asian communities. (Not sure about Australian indigenous.)

Macadamia nuts were used by Polynesians as literal candle-nuts, and since most macadamias are similar in size, this meant that they, too, could be burned as a unit of measuring time. (Not necessarily scientifically accurately, but hey, it works at least somewhat!)

As for measuring the passage of weeks and months and years, each region and culture had its own way of measuring time--a lot of them were annotated like this: "In the 3rd year of the reign of Thutmoses II" and "In the 43rd year of the reign of our glorious Queen Elizabeth (I)..." Of course, by the time Queen Elizabeth I ruled, they'd had the Gregorian calendar being used by most everyone in Europe, and they did have mechanical clocks, but you'd still have outliers using the Julian Calendar. (Modern day Russia, the government, uses the Gregorian now, but the Russian Orthodox Church still uses the Julian calendar, for example.)

If it's a real world era & culture, you can simply look that up. But if it's a created world & culture...you gotta figure out how they'd approach the matter. If their culture relies more upon agriculture than religion, they'd use more agriculture-specific terms.

The Coastal Salish peoples here in the Pacific Northwest literally named some of their months by which edibles were available, such as "Berry Shoot Month" for the time of year when they'd go around looking for new growth on specific bramble vines to cut, peel, and eat in the early spring, or "Salmonberry season" whcih is when the eponymously orange berries become ripe enough to harvest...which is also just before the late spring/early summer salmon spawning runs for certain salmon species. This progression of what-to-gather-when was a strong influence upon how they labeled their calendar.

If, however, it's a heavily religious community, then there may be things like specific days or months devoted to a particular god or spirit/entity, specific saint's days to celebrate at certain times of year (you're always hearing about "the Feast of St. Crispin's Day" or "we'll meet again two days after Michaelmas" in medieval-setting stories).

If it is a created world...well, that means you'll want to create a calendar. it doesn't have to be super complex, but you do want to figure out how it'll be set up, how long the days are, how long the weeks, how long the months, and of course how long the years. I haven't read the Game of Thrones series, but apparently winter lasts a really long time, so there's that. In my IaVerse, every planet has a different rotational cycle and day length, so they all had to agree upon a universal or "Alliance Standard" for measuring time...but while Earth days and V'Dan days technically aren't the same, their years (length of time it takes to go around their respective suns) actually come pretty darn close, so a Terran born on Earth will reach the age of 18 years old at about the same time as a V'Dan born on V'Dan.

However, a Terran born on Mars will be 18 in Earth years at the same time as the V'Dan born on V'Dan, IF they use Earth years, but in Mars years, they'll "only be" 9.5 years old (the Earth orbits the Sun in 365-ish days, while Mars orbits the Sun in 687 days, give or take). So everyone within the Terran United Planets has agreed that "Terran Standard" is based upon Earth measurements (Greenwich Mean Time), so no matter where you go in space, if you're aboard a Terran ship, they mark time in Terran units...and then add in a second digital display to "synch" time with whatever local area they're at.

Of course, that's high tech post-clock stuff, but it still applies to some degree--again, think of the Julian calendar versus the Gregorian calendar. Before the Russian government shifted to using the Gregorian calendar, there used to be all manner of confusion about booking hotel rooms, when business meetings were to take place, so on and so forth. And despite the fact that the Chinese calendar has been in use for far longer...they, too, have taken to using the Gregorian calendar just so that everyone can be doing business on the same page. This wasn't always the case.

If your characters are going to be traveling in a different culture, if they speak that culture's language, then they may be aware of the confusion that will occasionally strike those who are used to one system but not the other. Otherwise they'll use their own culture's time references--Rappa Nui was "named" Easter Island because that's the day of the European calendar year when the European explorers encountered it, even though it already had a name.

If they're going to be at home / not traveling, then they (and you!) won't have to worry about other cultural timekeeping methods. Just come up with your own, decide if it's based upon agriculture, astronomy, mythology, religion, and/or state leader worship (July and August are both named after Roman Emperors, Julius Caesar and his successor Augustus, iirc). It could even be a mix of things, like our own months. (January is named after Janus the two-faced god of ancient Rome, but our week-days include Wodin's Day, Thor's Day, Freya's Day, for the Norse Gods, then back to Rome for Saturn's Day, etc.)

Calendars, like cultures, are living things, constantly affected by the people creating them and living within them, shaping and reshaping everything. Don't be afraid to mix things up a little, if it's a created culture you're working within.

Hope that helps!

#answers #pre-clock #gauging time in stories

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frasier-crane-style · 7 years

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So that was the Superman Blue/Superman Red storyline and... well, at least it’s over.

It’s an arc that probably wouldn’t even be remembered if it weren’t for Superman Blue sticking his big cerulean snoz into Grant Morrison’s JLA, making everyone ask “what the hell was up with Superman in the 90s?” whenever they wanted to read about Prometheus or shit.

First off, the first act of Superman being ‘Bluperman’ and getting a hold of his new powers. It boiled down to... a cement block is flying towards a baby. Superman goes “if only I had my heatvision, I could blow it up!” Then blah blah blah magnetic fields and he blows it up anyway. Scintillating stuff.

Then we get to the second act, where Superman is split into Superman Blue and Red... a take off on a famous Imaginary Story where the same thing happened and ‘resolved’ the ‘love triangle’ between Clark, Lois, and Lana (although I personally would think it was a bit of a foregone conclusion once a comic called ‘Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane’ hits a hundred issues). And that works for the child audience and general fable aesthetic of the age--Superman’s in love with two women? What if he just split into two and got together with both of them?

Playing that straight in a modern, serious context and in a continuity-bound stricture like the Superman titles (remember, triangle numbers--it’s one long story stretched along half a dozen monthlies)... it just doesn’t work. Firstly, there’s no love triangle to be teased at. Clark and Lois have gotten married--in one issue, Clark is even shown thinking about children. Meanwhile, Lana’s gone off and married Pete Ross. The closest thing Clark has to some kind of ‘temptation’ is Simone, the ad exec at the Planet who he once bunked with during his college years. Given the likelihood of Superman, of all people, cheating on his wife, that pretty much amounts to her annoying Lois and mostly contributing to the plot by pushing the DP to be more mercenary.

So, realism ensues--to some mild credit; to me it’s pretty boring. Lois basically says she’ll have nothing to do, bedwise, with either Superman (considering the odds that one of them is some sort of impostor, even if not on this occasion, that’s probably a good call). And both the Supermanii are still in love with Lois, so obviously one of them isn’t going to say “have fun with the woman I consider to be my wife!” and peace off to date Wonder Woman or whatever.

What highlights both the puerility and the sexlessness of 90s comics--sorry, but it’s right there--is that just about immediately after the split comes to light, two of Superman’s more romantically inclined Rogues--Maxima and Obsession--show up to explicitly highlight the kinky possibilities of two Supermen... and nothing comes of it (as said above, even Lois isn’t into it). Shit, DC, if you’re going to go there, go there for more than just a few titters and innuendo. Even just a dream sequence where Lois tells the two of them to go to town on her would be something.

The second problem is the second act. After an eternity of Superman Blue, we barely get any time covering the Red/Blue split before we’re plunged into the Millennium Giants storyline that brings the whole thing to a close (and none too soon, either). It could’ve been really interesting to explore what the world’s like with two Supermen, the same way the Superbooks explored a world WITHOUT Superman for a good long time after he bit it. You could’ve had one Superman on the JLA and another going solo, or one staying with Lois while the other went after crises. I feel like even a single Silver Age issue would’ve had some fun with the concept--more than an entire TPB’s worth of storyline does here.

The third problem is that instead of the two Supermen being identical, it’s a Star Trek transporter accident kinda thing. One of them is brash and headstrong and makes jokey jokes, while the other is more conservative and cautious. Only I don’t think that’s ever been the duality of Superman. There’s a Morrison!JLA storyline coming up where Supes is split into Clark Kent and Superman... that’s the kind of halving you can play with. Or the split in Spider-Man between neurotic responsibility and fun-loving adventure. But Superman I just don’t see as very torn between playing it safe and WITNESS ME!

It doesn’t help that Superman Red’s jokes are terrible. If you want to do Superman as Deadpool, you’d better be damn funny, and that is just not the writers’ forte. Where was Peter David? The one time it’s appropriate for someone to be making constant silly jokes and he’s over writing about Supergirl being an angel.

Also, the Millennium Giants storyline is pretty much a non-starter. Unlike Zero Hour, it actually has an okay premise: there are ridiculously oversized kaiju walking the Earth, unable to be stopped even by the superheroes, so they just try to limit the collateral damage of them going through civilian populations. What would Superman do in a Godzilla situation when he can’t just punch Godzilla?

But it ends up a confusing slurry of 90s event comic. So in the year 2000, giants from various cultures around the world were to wake up, end the current age of mankind, and bring about a new one (why, say, an Incan mythological figure would give a fig about the Gregorian calendar goes unexplained). Because of Superman Blue’s energy, they’re woken up a few years before the millennium--and there’s a storyline that is not futureproof.

So, wait, Superman is, even inadvertently, responsible for the giants killing 25,000 Naval personnel, for starters? Well, no, we’re told they were going to wake up in 2000 anyway, but him waking them up early gave the superheroes a chance to stop it. Still, feels flimsy. Still not sure why Superman became energy in the first place or now why that specific energy was so special that it caused all that.

(The Navy thing is also a weird mass slaughter not to get any follow-up. The destruction of Coast City got some remembrance, but these books casually have eight 9/11s take place at once and then... nada. You’d think there’d be some huge uproar, characters who knew or were related to the people who died, superheroes and supervillains launching initiatives of some sort based on this massive death toll... but no, I guess everyone shrugged and said “cost a doing business.”)

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gethealthy18-blog · 5 years

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Natural Ways to Help Kids Sleep

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/news/natural-ways-to-help-kids-sleep/

Natural Ways to Help Kids Sleep

I’m a huge proponent of getting enough sleep despite how difficult that is in our modern lives. But sometimes it’s outside forces that are causing us or our kids to have trouble going to sleep, staying asleep, or getting quality sleep. Luckily there are many natural ways to help kids sleep that are simple to implement.

While there’s no magic bullet for sleep issues, a few lifestyle and diet changes across the board can really make a difference!

Sleep Is Crucial for Kids

Sleep is a hormone-dependent process and is easily disrupted by our modern lives. Unhealthy food, artificial light, and other factors can cause hormonal disruptions that then affect sleep. Interestingly, not getting enough sleep can cause hormones to get out of balance and cause more sleeplessness. If you’re a parent of a baby or toddler, you know this well!

Sleep is incredibly important for us all, but for kids who are still growing, sleep is even more important:

Growth hormone is secreted during deep sleep primarily. This is why babies and kids need more sleep than adults and why they need less as their growth slows.

Just like adults, kids need sleep to regulate stress hormones which keep their bodies healthy, including at a healthy weight.

During sleep, the body produces cytokines to help fight infections. It’s well known that lack of sleep can bring on a cold, while extra sleep is often enough to kick one.

Lack of sleep affects kids’ (and adults’) cognitive function. A 2011 review found that the quality, quantity, and consistency of sleep greatly affected kids’ performance in school. Things that were affected include memory, attention span, and reasoning, among other cognitive functions.

Because sleep disturbance is usually a response to lifestyle and environmental factors, optimizing those are the best way to get kids back on track.

Natural Ways to Help Kids Sleep

There are many natural remedies for helping kids get the important sleep they need. These remedies all focus on getting to the root of the sleep problem so that your child will develop a healthy sleep routine and everyone (including Mom and Dad) can get the rest they need!

Improve Sleep Environment

Sometimes all kids need for better sleep is a better sleep environment. Experts say you can’t force a child to sleep but you can provide an environment that is conducive to it.

There are many environmental factors that can affect sleep so you’ll have to experiment to see what works best. The good thing is, almost all environmental factors are easily fixed!

Remove ALL artificial light. This includes street lights, electronics, clocks, and night lights too! I use blackout curtains to block artificial light from outside and don’t give my kids night lights. If your kids insist on a night light, turn it off when they are sleeping.

Reduce temperature. The temperature of the room should at least be below 70 degrees. However, some people sleep better when it’s closer to 60 degrees. For kids, it makes sense to keep the temperature around 65 because they can easily get warm with a single thick blanket and you won’t have to deal with night time waking because of being cold (kids are notorious for kicking blankets off the bed!). Consider reducing the room temp earlier in the evening and let the cooling room signal to the kids that it’s time to be under bedding to be at the right temperature.

White Noise! Try a noise machine or our kids’ favorite, Gregorian Chant. White noise can help drown out other noises (including thoughts!) and soothe kids to sleep.

Sleep Spray. You can mix a batch of room freshener and use calming oils like lavender. This can help kids settle down for sleep. Adding a sleep spray to your nightly routine can also help signal to kids that’s it’s almost time for sleep.

Reduce EMFs. Still not getting sleep? Try an earthing sheet. Sleeping on an earthing sheet is thought to help reduce EMFs which can disturb sleep. You may also want to measure EMFs in the room.

Try a weighted blanket. Many parents report their children sleep better under a weighted blanket. This is especially great for any child with sensory processing or hyperactivity struggles. Try one and see if it does the trick.

Switch to natural bedding. A child sensitive to toxins or with a heightened allergic response to dust mites might experience unpleasant symptoms that keep them away like congestion, runny nose, swollen tonsils, and so on. This step can be costly, but try switching out just one item at a time as the budget allows or taking one of these budget-friendly measures.

Making some of these adjustments can have a huge impact on your child’s sleep (and maybe your own!).

Improve Sleep Routine

A good bedtime routine is important for most kids, but for those with sleep resistance, it’s essential! Here are some tips for a routine that helps your kids get to sleep quickly.

Slowly darken the house. Build into your routine a time when the lights in the house are strategically turned off. For example, if you do a bedtime snack, leave only the dining room light on and turn off the kitchen light. This can help signal to little ones that it’s time to settle down.

Offer a high-fat, high protein snack. Ideally, this snack would happen an hour or so before bed to allow for digestion, but some kids insist they are hungry if they don’t eat right before bedtime. Try to avoid high sugar snacks as they can send blood sugar out of balance.

Stop screens at least 2 hours before bedtime. If a child must use a screen (like for homework) install an app like F.lux or have them use blue light blocking glasses.

Keep a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends! A consistent sleep schedule is important for keeping hormones associated with sleep in balance. Change bedtime around until you find the right time that helps kids get the most rest. For some families, this is an early bedtime (think 6 pm!) and for others, it can be later. However, most kids do best when they are in bed by 8 or 9 pm.

Every child is different and you may find that some kids do better with a slightly longer bedtime routine, while others do best with a shorter routine. The important thing is to create a routine that signals to your child that it’s bedtime.

Daytime Tips for Better Sleep

Optimizing for good sleep isn’t just a nighttime job. Here are some tips for helping improve sleep while kids are still awake:

Make sure your kids get at least 30 minutes of outside time every day. More is always better if possible. Getting fresh air, sunshine (gotta love vitamin D!) and exercise, is important for keeping the body healthy and ready for quality sleep. We’ve even found an extended camping trip as a family helps restoring natural sleep patterns (as long as you’re not staying up past dark with lights, that is!).

Offer water regularly. In our family, we drink mostly water and it helps with good quality sleep. But I also try to discourage water too close to bedtime so the kids don’t need to wake up to use the bathroom (and potentially have trouble falling back to sleep).

Add magnesium flakes to their bath. Many people are deficient in magnesium. This deficiency can disrupt sleep and cause other issues. Magnesium is best absorbed through the skin, so magnesium flakes in the bath are best, but an oral magnesium supplement may help too.

Foods for Better Sleep

A healthy diet is one of the biggest factors for overall health and that includes optimizing the body for good sleep! Here are some of the best foods to feed your little ones for better sleep:

Healthy Fats: Coconut oil, organic and pasture-raised meats, eggs, avocado, and butter are excellent sources of healthy fat. They help provide the body with the necessary building blocks to synthesize sleep hormones.

High Antioxidant Food: Offer lots of vegetables, high nutrient fruits, and herbal teas. Antioxidants from these foods are essential for hormone production and to rid the body of toxins.

Quality Proteins: We know that it’s best to stop eating at least a few hours before bedtime (preferably by dark), but kids can’t always go that long without eating. Instead, focus on offering healthy protein at bedtime (and healthy fat). These foods will help keep kids full and balance their blood sugar. Quality protein at other times of day is important too. Also, consider how much organ meats or gelatin your child is eating. If they aren’t eating these proteins consider offering gelatin-rich snacks.

Tart Cherry Juice Gummies: This recipe is a compilation of all of my favorite sleep remedies and is a real food-based sleep helper. Tart cherry juice supports healthy melatonin production (rather than supplementing the body with it) and helps improve sleep in human studies.

Knowing what foods to feed your child is helpful, but there are some foods you should avoid as well.

Sugar: Eating too much sugar or carbohydrates isn’t good for anyone at any time, but it’s especially problematic just before bedtime. This is because sugar and carbohydrates can cause a blood sugar spike and crash that will lead to difficulty falling or staying asleep.

Grains and Other Allergens: More and more kids are having intolerances to grains and other foods. Eating foods that the body is intolerant to can cause stress in the body. This stress can then interfere with hormone production and sleep. An elimination diet can help determine if your child has food intolerances that may be causing sleep issues.

Vegetable Oils: No one should ever eat vegetable oils, but in the amount most Americans eat them, they can easily disrupt hormone production. As mentioned earlier, fat is essential for hormone production. Giving the body the wrong kind of fats (or the wrong amounts) can have an impact on sleep hormone production.

Choosing healthier foods that support good sleep for your little ones can make a huge difference in quality and quantity of sleep!

Natural Remedies for Trouble Sleepers

Every parent has encountered a child with trouble sleeping at one time or another. These natural ways to help kids sleep target the underlying cause of sleep issues and support kids in getting enough good quality sleep every day.

However, if these tips don’t work and your child is still not getting enough sleep, it’s always good to consult your child’s doctor.

Do your kids have trouble sleeping? What has helped them?

Source: https://wellnessmama.com/402118/help-kids-sleep/

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