culture: weird, true and freaky

Meet the Burryman. CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

"The Burryman is there to vacuum up evil and spread good fortune for the coming year. "

Every year on the second Friday of August, during the Ferry Fair, a strange spectacle can be seen walking round the town of West Lothian, Scotland. During the day, a local man is dressed in a full-body costume made of flannel, before completely covering himself in burrs. Once covered in his suit, the Burryman finishes off the ensemble with a flower-covered bowler-hat, a flag cummerbund and two staves of flowers. Apparently this is an ancient tradition dating all the way back to 1687.

Source: Scotsman.com

it looks like snow

how many words for "snow" do the Inuit really have?

finding this answer has proved much more difficult than I anticipated.

There have been books written on this..The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax by Geoffrey Pullum

"1911 when anthropologist Franz Boaz casually mentioned that the Inuit—he called them "Eskimos," using the derogatory term of a tribe to the south of them for eaters of raw meat—had four different words for snow. With each succeeding reference in textbooks and the popular press the number grew to sometimes as many as 400 words. In fact, "Contrary to popular belief, the Eskimos do not have more words for snow than do speakers of English," according to linguist Steven Pinker in his book The Language Instinct. "Counting generously, experts can come up with about a dozen."

The myth initially began by somone named Phil James who compiled the Eskimo's One Hundred Words For Snow

Part of the list:

tlapa - powder snow

tlacringit - snow that is crusted on the surface

kayi - drifting snow

tlapat - still snow

klin - remembered snow

naklin - forgotten snow.

The list moves into longer phrases like these:

talini - snow angels

priyakli - snow that looks like it's falling upward

chiup - snow that makes halos

blontla - snow that's shaken off in the mudroom

tlalman - snow sold to German tourists

tlalam - snow sold to American tourists

tlanip - snow sold to Japanese tourists

and so on..

season's readings

"Set in New York City, a curious girl named Sofia takes us on her holiday adventure as she walks along the streets of Manhattan asking passersby which holiday they celebrate. From her nail lady to the business man to a woman sipping tea, she wonders then asks, if they have a Menorah or a Christmas tree. "

Oh Sofia, what if you are neither? Refer to post "Holy Days".

barbie world

With the holidays right around the corner, I feel like now would be the perfect time to talk TOYS!!! Specifically, Barbie. The iconic, over-idealized, materialistic, "perfect" woman that girls across the world aspire to have and to hold. With so much negative criticism surrounding the most popular doll for sale, I found myself wondering..what does Barbie say about diversity?










In 1967 Francie was considered the first African American Barbie doll to hit stores. Although her debute was clouded with controversy as Francie's mold was an exact replcia of the white Barbie doll--the only physical change was the color of her skin. Alterations have since been made in the doll's hair and facial features to depict more authentic characteristics--the So In Style line of Barbies--includes new fashion forward BFF's: Grace, Kara and Trichelle .
One year later Steffie was introduced, she was the first Hispanic doll which actually featured a "Steffie" head mold--the same that was used on the Hawaiian Barbie later in the 70s.

Bhopal Gas Leak

Today marks the twenty-five year anniversary of the Bhopal gas leak.

On December 3, 1984, the city of lakes, Bhopal, India was victim to the world's worst industrial disaster. Methyl Isocyanate leaked from Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant, killing about 4,000 people, and leaving others permanently disabled. To this day, a toxic waste from the plant still contaminates the soil and groundwater and we find that children are still being born with birth defects. After a thorough investigation it was found that," six safety measures designed to prevent a gas leak had either malfunctioned, were turned off or were otherwise inadequate. In addition, the safety sired, intended to alert the community should an incident occur in at the plant, was turned off." Chairman and CEO of UCIL, Warren Anderson, neglected to fix any of the thirty major hazards found in a 1982 safety audit. Anderson was arrested by police in India after visiting the site, jumped bail and flew back to the United States. He has yet to return to India. Anderson is wanted in India and by Interpol. Justice needs to be served to the innocent victims of this tragedy. "United States authorities claimed they could not find Anderson and India has not pursued his extradition from the United States for fear of damaging US investment and trade."

holy days

The winter seasons is upon us and with that, cultures around the world participate in celebrations and festivities. A number of these holidays are associated with religions, hence the name holiday.."holy day". We also find that during these winter months, the days get shorter and the nights get longer.

"... Most of the winter holidays are linked to winter solstice in some way, especially in the northern hemisphere. And this is the reason that most wintertime seasonal holiday traditions have their roots in the northern hemisphere."

I came across a few holidays that we are, perhaps, least familiar with:

Hogmanay

This is a Scottish word which means the last day of the year, which celebrates the New Year, according to the Gregorian calendar, in the Scottish way. It begin on the night of December 31, lasting all through the night and carrying on until the ‘Ne’erday’ or January 1, and sometimes even carrying on to January 2.

Bodhi Day

This is celebrated by the Buddhists on December 8 in commemoration of the enlightenment of the Buddha. This is considered the most important holiday for the Buddhists.

Eid-al-Adha

This is a feast that is celebrated by Muslims following their pilgrimage to Mecca that lasts for three days, and begins on January 10. It is a commemoration of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, at the behest of God. Muslims consider Ishmael to be the Arabs forefather.

Las Posadas

This is a traditional winter holiday celebrated in Mexico between December 16 and December 24. In English, the term Las Posadas translates to ‘the Inn’, and therefore is a re-enactment of Joseph searching for a room at the inn. Hence, every Christmas, there is a procession carrying a doll, which represents Christ as a child and the images of Mary and Joseph riding a small donkey, which goes through the streets.

(source: buzzle.com)

nollywood

Right behind Hollywood and Bollywood, stands Nollywood, Nigeria's film industry, the world's third largest producer of feature films. With an average budget of just $15,000 and a production span of ten days, Nollywood films have been on the up since the early 90s. Time and financial constraints certainly haven't inhibited the directors, producers and writers of Nigeria.."some 300 producers churn out movies at an astonishing rate—somewhere between 500 and 1,000 a year." It can certainly be said that creativity is fostered in the midst of spare time and resources, and the innovative talent behind Nigeria's film industry prove that.