Work Vs. Christmas Break Who is Going to win...

Hey! I am here writing while I am supposed to be working. That is the downfall of having most of American society in front of the computer for their jobs. Facebook, blogspot, MTV.com, Youtube, and piles of funny emails that you feel desperate to read doesn't really help. That is why I am at war. Well I mean...Christmas is at War with my job, and I decided to become allies with Christmas.

Annnnyways :).....

So, I watched this very cool movie last night with my sister. It is called Be Kind Rewind. It's pretty sweet. Here is a quick synopsis of it, which can be found on the website.

Jack Black stars in Be Kind Rewind, a one-of-a-kind comedy from the mind of writer/director Michel Gondry (Dave Chappelle's Block Party, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Black stars as a lovable loser stuck in a life that's too small for his big dreams. But when he unintentionally erases all the tapes in a video store where his best friend works, he devises a plan to satisfy the store's few loyal customers by re-creating and re-filming every movie they decide to rent. Be Kind Rewind features a cast that includes Mos Def, Danny Glover, and Mia Farrow. It is scheduled for a February 22, 2008 release.

Recreating these films is called Sweding. Sweded is a slang word, which translated, means a video that has already been made by a major producer, but is then remade by an amateur . :) Going on youtube.com I found that a lot of people like to make sweded videos. They are pretty rad. Here are a few of my favorites. Jurassic park, Willie Wonka, and Lord of the rings..enjoy!

Kwanzaa

Ok..Like a promised...Kwanzaa! Yay!

So my work at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts--Stalkers stay away--has been holding a "Kwanzaa Celebration" for many years now. Each year the event has grown. The first year we had only about 200 people, and last year we had 1,000. This is proof that our event is the coolest thing around. You should come! We have African dancing, gospel music, art projects for the kids, movies, food, and gifts! It is filled with the spirit of community fun! So...young and old, you should come.

Here is the Link--click on the picture--do it, do it! ^-^:

For those of you in Utah that might not know about Kwanzaa--I am guessing 80% of the population--let me enrich your mind. First of all it has nothing to do with Hanuka. This is a common misconception , because of the similar style of candle holder that is used within a Kwanzaa ceremony. The Kwanzaa candle holder is called Kinara while the Hanuka Candle holder is called Menorah.

MENORAH

KINARA

MENORAH

KINARA

Now that we got that out of the way ^_^.

Kwanzaa was created by Dr. Maulana, a professor. During the 1960's he found that African Americans had a huge disconnect from where they came from--Africa--and wanted to help fill that gap by creating a holiday that would center around African American heritage, and community.

so on 1966 the birth of Kwanzaa came into the world wrapped in the colors of red, green, and yellow.

Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, but is a celebration of African American struggles, history, and preparation for the future. You do not have to be African American to participate in the holiday. You just have to support, and want to learn about, the African American people.

Kwanzaa is celebrated for seven days--Dec 26th-Jan 1st-- Each day there is a different theme in which the family highlights.

Day One: Umoja--Unity
Day Two: Nia--Purpose
Day Three: Kuumba--Creativity
Day Four: Imani--Faith
Day Five: Kujichaguilia--Self Determination
Day Six: Ujima--Collective work and responsibility
Day Seven: Ujamaa--Cooperative economics

In conjunction with the theme of the day, a candle is lit on the Kinara.

To learn more about Kwanzaa you may want to visit ( click the words) these sites below. enjoy!

Documentary: the Black Candle
Book: The Seven Days of Kwanzaa
Book: A world of Holidays : Kwanzaa

A little thought...

Well hello,

Yea I know. Long time, no see. Like that is something new first of all, and second of all nobody has probably read this blog. So to all the unknown stalker's out there reading this message. It is geared towards you--I guess...


Anyways. School is out. Scream and shout. I have approx. 20 days of freedom, which will be spent at work. That's ok though, because I like work. Speaking of work ( wow that is baaad writing skills mentioning the same word 3 times in a row), you guys should check out my more "professional blog". It covers my anthropology research, and assignments that I have written for my job here at the Museum. The Link is http://brittanisanthropologyresearch.blogspot.com .

This blog, however, is more of a relaxed view on the interesting quirks of human civilization. Speaking of which, today's topic will have to do with Kwanzaa. Yes, the African American Holiday. I want to dedicate it to it's own post. So it will be presented above...er I should probably say typed..."presented" might be the code word for intellectual gibberish. ^_^

New Start

There is a custom in Bosnia that when you get sick, or when strife comes upon you, it may be because someone knows your name and is casting the evil eye your way. To combat this family and friends change the name of the person infected. In most cases the person gets better, as the emotion associated with their previous name has been left by the wayside, and they are now able to start fresh.

That is what I hope to accomplish, not in regards to changing my name, but starting a new blog. Reltionships come and go, and one of mine went. Life experinces come and go, and leave you a differnt person. Soon you find that the persona that you repersented you cannot are choose not to repersent anymore. That is how I feel at this moment in time. I am new person both from experince and force. Therefore I need to repsent myself in a new way. This blog is the way. In this blog I will disscuss my passion of anthropolgy, my drive for the future after graduation, and other interesting tadbits. It's all up in the air, because nothing has had time to quite set yet. I do promise you one thing though. This blog will not leave you empty. It's full of Suga Mint

-Brittani McLeod