Mardi Gras...

Mardi Gras is well known throughout the Unite States, but the thing is do we really know the entire story behind the holiday, and what makes it become crazy. All many people think when they hear the word Mardi Gras, is that people are drunk, women are flashing people for beads and everything under those areas. But there is really more to the whole festival. It was heard to be started during Roman medieval times relating to the tradition of Lupercalia. Lupercalia was a holiday to wish women fertility, the men would run around whipping the women because they thought it was considered good luck. The timeline that shows the history of Mardi Gras started around the early 1700's with settlers on the banks of the Mississippi River and moved openly to New Orleans. But not until 1875, was it recognized as an official holiday, New Orleans governor Warmoth made this holiday legit and possible.

Mardi Gras ends up falling between Feb. 3rd and Mar. 9th. But the official carnival celebration starts Jan. 6th. It ends on midnight the day before Ash Wednesday, also known as "fat tuesday". They made this a holiday because they want everyone to get the partying out of their system before the holiday and choice of lent. Beads are thrown to people with the best costumes and outrageous behavior, the more beads you were receiving means that's the crazier you are. You must also wear the colors purple green and gold, it stands for justice faith and power. Though New Orleans is well known for this festival, many places all over the world celebrate it all the same. Some people have crazier parties, while some just like being gathered as a group.

Peterson, Jan. "What is Mardi Gras?." Suite101.com 20 Feb 2009 03 Mar 2009 .

Bollywood...

I found a hilarious article about frequently asked questions about Bollywood on the Time website. Many of the languages in these films are Hindu, but frequently there are spoofs in English. But they are not considered legit "Bollywood" films. Many of the true movies are anywhere between 30-90 minutes longer then a normal movie anywhere else. Also, the difference is due to the many song and dances that are incorporated into the lengthy movies. They decide that this fits because of the fact that dialogue doesn't always express your feelings. Another reason someone describes of the singing and dancing is because many aren't able to marry for love or have those type of experiances. They add these things to it because it is unreal ; singing dancing and beautiful women. But the real secret is why these actors dont sing, honestly because they can't. But they can really dance. Many of the actresses are trained dancers. And many of the moves describe feelings. hence, when the girl is trying to say "don't come near me" she would often make submissive gestures. Also, many of the actors are untrained. The main hot topic though of these Bollywood movies is the fact that many of the women are light- skinned, and like the US many of the women like to react to those types of things. Many indian women try very hard to make their skin lighter and lighter. Many of these views have to do with the caste system and the classes. This is because many light- skinned women tend to have the money to afford this type of makeup.

This portrays the many alternate lifestyles of both Indian cultures and how "Bollywood" percieves this culture. These movies may not truelly portray the real thing. But every Indian watching these movies keeps their hopes up.

Corliss, Richard. "Bollywood: Frequently Questioned Answers." TIME Entertainment 12 Aug 2003 26 Feb 2009 .

Scientology...

Scientology is a religion founded by L. Ron Hubbard. It is based on a person being an immortal spiritual being, whose survival depends on themselves and is their attainment of brotherhood with others and the universe.

Clearwater, Florida, the Scientology headquarters. Many have tried to destroy Scientology's hope by sabotaging them. Within hours of a video being posted on YouTube by the group Anonymous, the scientology main website was hacked and shut down. Also their worldwide offices were flooded with prank phone calls and black faxes (pages of blank black pages). This lost them many ink cartridges and tied up their phone lines. Also secret Church documents, videos, lectures, and course materials were leaked onto YouTube and other many websites. This hacking and disruption of their website went on for 3 days causing many to show how they feel about Scientology, but using pickets and protesting instead. What many don't know though, is what actually is going on within the Church. An incident awhile back showed documents to target an investigative journalist who wrote on the scandal of Scientology. She said that they infiltrated her life and framed her. Many former Scientologists who have spoken out to the media and others have ended up being cut off from their families and friends. It is told that Scientologists are even forbidden from showing themselves to certain websites. Also, they do not believe in the use of both psychiatric and neurological drugs. So that goes to show you, is there actually some sabotaging going on inside the Church or is it just another publicity scandal?

Cook, John. "Cult Friction." Radar 17 Mar 2008 4. 14 Feb 2009 .

Gender Stereotypes...

I came across this feminist website called the f-word. I found this article very eye opening to many different things wrong with how people view the opposite gender.

The internet has exposed some very wrong things that would never be put into magazines or broadcasted, such as sexist jokes. But what we are noticing is that they are now everywhere. Women are seen as endless shoppers, money-spenders, demanding, and outspoken. At least that is how most television shows and advertisements portray us. Men are seen as stupid, lazy, sex addicts, helpless brats, and most of all, unable to understand women in their own and our crazy emotions. People say that the law has been changed when it comes to gender equality, but it's the same as racism, although the law has fixed it we must do our part to make it actually progress. Feminism talks about breaking apart from our stereotypical roles and branch out from that, in order to become successful and live life to the fullest. Men as well as women have terrible views of one another, and need to break those views. Every gender needs to throw out these negative ideas, and look for a fuller life.

Gibson, Alex. "Why men should care about gender stereotypes."The F Word: contemporary UK feminism. 02 Feb 2008. 

The F Word. 10 Feb 2009 .