The interesting thing about these ceremonies is that they must have originated in a period when the Romans were using true lunar months based on the observation of the crescent moon. The Kalends then would have been the day after the evening on which the crescent had been first sighted, the Nones would have been the first day when the moon was at the first quarter … In the calendar of the late Republic the lunar months have disappeared and the days have been fixed into a rigid pattern.

A Malay here is proving helpful — Syed Omar, who says he's descended from Mohammed — and he's going to take us around. For a consideration, of course, but what the hell!

Simultaneously, Simon and Pat pulled black leather covered identification bifolds from their breast pockets and let the back flap fall down.

Once a potential employer learns that you've been institutionalized, you can forget about getting the job.