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Have you ever been to Carnival?
Good morning Connectors, Uniters and Actors. Well it's Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, so what else could I possibly write about ? Most of us know Carnival as a religious observance, the last chance to feast before Lent, when observant Catholics give up meat and fine cuisine for forty days until Easter. Carnivals go back to pre-Christian times, of course, the first recorded appearance of a parade float was during the festival of Dionysus in Athens during the 6th century B.C.E. The Roman successor to the feast of Dionysus was the Bacchanalia and these got pretty wild. There were springtime fertility festivals all over pagan Europe. The Church tried to stamp them out and, failing that, grafted a Christian purpose onto them. Something called a Feast of Fools was celebrated in medieval times with mock Masses and people making fun of Church rituals. After much effort the Church manged to stop the most offensive aspects of these celebrations, Carnival is what remains. Carnival reached the peak of its popularity in the 14th and 15th centuries and is still celebrated today in Catholic countries. In Venice the wearing of masks allowed social classes to mingle without ceremony. Venice has the coolest masks, you can check out a bunch of them HERE.
The biggest modern Carnival celebrations are in the Americas. I've read that there's a good one in Trinidad & Tobago but the three biggest ones are in Mexico, New Orleans and Brazil. Carnaval was banned in Mexico a couple of times, once in 1731 and again in 1780. It seems the peasants were getting out of hand, dressing up as landowners and using the occasion to mock their betters and protest working conditions. The efforts to ban the celebrations were successful in the cities although the tradition continued in remote villages. Carnaval was revived in Mexico in the 19th century. There are records of the festivities in the Pacific coast city of Mazatlán, Sinaloa dating to 1864. The modern Mazatlán Carnaval Committee was formed in 1898 and that city now claims to have the 3rd largest celebration in the world behind only New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro.
We in the good ol' USofA have every right to be proud of our version of Carnival, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana. (wikipedia HERE) This rollicking mish-mash of French Creole, African-American and Anglo-American cultures is world-renowned and if any of you have attended a Carnival, I suspect it is this one. Mardi Gras has been formally organized since the 19th century and features balls and parades, krewes and tribes, bead-throwin', tit-showin' and a King. And of course, the music. Sing it with me now, "Iko, Iko on-day."
Finally we come to the biggest, most extravagant Carnival on the planet, Carnival in Rio (wikipedia HERE). For me, this one is all about the music. In Rio the competition is not among krewes or tribes, but among Samba-schools. The schools have drum bands called baterias and they play a style called batucada.
Here's a sample:
OK, hear that rhythm ? If you take that same samba rhythm, slow it down a bit and play it on a classical guitar, you get my favorite form of jazz, and one loved by jazz fans all over the world, Bossa Nova. I know, I know, it's so 60s, The Girl from Ipenema is elevator music, blah, blah, blah. I still love Bossa Nova. Here's Astrud Gilberto, wife of João Gilberto, performing One Note Samba:
Awright, that's all I got this morning. I've never been to Carnival but I kinda' like the music. How about you?
Have you ever been to Carnival?
Extra credit if you observe Lent.
Latest Updates on Kossack Regional Meet-Up News Can Be Found Below the Orange Group Hug.
Let's Build Communities!
Our team is here to provide support and guidance to new and existing volunteer leaders of each regional and state group, helping them with recruiting, organizing and executing social and action events.
We invite you to join in this effort to build our community. There are many ways to pitch in.
If there isn't a group to join near you, please start one.
Instructions on HOW TO FORM A NEW DAILY KOS GROUP
List of All Existing Meatspace Groups
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY
by Dave in Northridge ♥ for Los Angeles Kossacks
About 20 Kossacks showed up by the time everyone arrived with two new Kossacks (since mid-November) and five people attending their first meet-up. L.A. is making progress!
Here's one photo:
L-R: gmats, Roman Smith, recoveringConservative, Brecht, Shockwave, Chiwere, Moody Loner, susans, Dave in Northridge, Floja Roja, joemarkowitz, 714Day & Gay CA Democrat
Next event will be the LAKossacks rolling out the red carpet for out-of-towner Shanikka on March 15th for lunch! Venue will be announced soon.
Please visit Dave in Northridge's diary for many MORE photos plus food pr0n! Enjoy! You can join Los Angeles Kossacks by sending a Kosmail to Dave in Northridge.
by roberb7 ♥ for Mexican Kossacks
roberb7, who is the organizer of the newly formed Daily Kos Group Mexican Kossacks, provides a well-written recap of the recent Democrats Abroad event in Puerto Vallarta. Tom Hayden, a member of the California State Assembly for 18 years, was the guest speaker.
Please visit roberb7's diary for his excellent photos and a nicely detailed summary of the event. Enjoy! You can join Mexican Kossacks by sending a Kosmail to roberb7.
by GreyHawk ♥ for BOSTON KOSSACKS
While GreyHawk had many Kossacks sign up to attend his lunch and museum event, some had to cancel at the last minute because of a large snow storm rolling in. Four intrepid souls managed to attend: GreyHawk, HawkWife, Knockbally and deltadoc. I've always said that even two Kossacks is a meet-up and a very worthwhile one.
GreyHawk and his attendees pulled together a terrific re-cap diary with each person's written perspective and all the photos each Kossacks took of the snow and food pr0n. It's a fun diary and a great example of one way to document these meatspace events.
There's only one photo of some of the Kossacks who attended. So I'm going to post one of mine I took of GreyHawk and HawkWife when I met them in Providence at NN12.
Left Photo: knockbally and HawkWife - Right Photo: GreyHawk, HawkWife & ember
Please visit GreyHawk's diary for many MORE photos plus food pr0n! Enjoy! You can join BOSTON KOSSACKS by sending a Kosmail to GreyHawk.
Event Organizers! Please contact wink from Netrootsradio.com by KosMail to schedule airtime with them to live broadcast your Event. Wink & Justice will then promote it on The After Show radio program!
Saturday, March 8th
Three Star Kossacks and Nashville KosKats Meet-up With State Senate Candidate Mary Mancini
TIME: 5:00 PM
LOCATION: The Pour House
730 8th Ave S • Nashville
ORGANIZER: Send marykk a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. marykk
2. Land of Enchantment
3. jnhobbs
4. Sandy on Signal
5. Mr. Sandy on Signal
6. Mr. marykk
7. Slamkitty
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Maybees:
Patrick is Lucky
JackiW
Strauml
ZenTrainer
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Latest diary: [Waiting for linked diary]
Saturday, March 15th
LAKossacks Roll Out the Red Carpet for shanikka!
TIME: TBD
LOCATION: TBD
[Address] • [City]
ORGANIZER: Send Dave in Northridge a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. Dave in Northridge
2. shanikka (Guest of Honor)
3.
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Maybees: |
Latest diary: [Waiting for linked diary]
Saturday, March 15th
Sacramento/Central Valley Kossacks, Silicon Valley Kossacks and the SFKossacks Demonstrate at "Don't Frack California"
TIME: 1:00 PM
LOCATION: California State Capitol lawn
1315 10th St. • Sacramento
We'll be gathering near the Idle No More banners. See this diary for photos of banner. There will be a Daily Kos 7 ft. banner also.
We'll also be heading over to a local watering hole after the protest ends. Meet us at KBar at 1000 K Street, a couple of short blocks north of the Capitol building.
The Don't Frack California website has also arranged for buses from all over California. Places as far away as San Diego and Los Angeles. Check out their ride board and buy a ticket STAT.
RSVPs:
1. Anthony Page aka SecondComing
2. mrsgoo
3. Dan Bacher
4. smileycreek
5. paradise50
6. navajo
7. Meteor Blades
8. dsb
9. Where4Art
10. remembrance
11. Glen the Plumber
12. TLO™
13. Glescagal
14. kimoconnor
15. stagemom
16. cooper888
17. gotmooned
18. aitchdee
19. ybruti
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Maybees:
jpmassar
dharmasyd
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Latest diary: The California Frack Wars: Episode 3 Revenge Of The Greed
Quick re-mention of March 15 statewide "Don't Frack California" demonstrations
Sunday, March 16th
NYC Kossacks Meet-up
TIME: Noon
LOCATION: Spitzer's Corner
101 Rivington Street (Ludlow) • NYC
ORGANIZER: Send sidnora a kosmail to RSVP
RSVPs:
1. sidnora
2.
3.
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Maybees: |
Latest diary: NYC Meetup, Sunday, March 16: Good times ahead!
Saturday, March 29th
Houston Kossacks Meet-up
TIME: 1:00 PM
LOCATION: Fadi's Mediterranean Grill
4738 Beechnut Street • Houston
ORGANIZER: Send Chrislove a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. Chrislove
2. htowngenie
3. Libby Shaw
4. MarciaJ720
5. Bree Davis
6. krwheaton
7. Mary (Honorary Kossack)
8. Alan (Honorary Kossack) |
Maybees:
Mr. Libby Shaw
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Latest diary: Houston Area Kossacks: Meet-Up Scheduled for Saturday, March 29 (plus a note on future meet-ups)
Saturday, April 5th
Seattle & Puget Sound Kossacks Meet-up
TIME: Noon - 3:00 PM
LOCATION: Pyramid Alehouse, Brewery & Restaurant
1201 First Avenue South • Seattle
ORGANIZER: Send EagleOfFreedom a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. EagleOfFreedom
2. Reetz
3.
4.
5.
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Maybees:
Ojibwa
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Latest diary: Seattle & Puget Sound Kossacks Arrive
Saturday, May 3rd
DKos Asheville Kossacks Meet-up
TIME: 1:00 PM
LOCATION: The Bywater
796 Riverside Dr. • Asheville
ORGANIZER: Send randallt a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. randallt
2. davehouck
3. Joieau
4. Gordon20024
5. SteelerGrrl
6. SteelerGuy
7. GulfGal 98
8. Otteray Scribe
9. flwrightman
10. people power granny
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Maybees:
Audri
Mr Audri
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Latest diary: [Waiting for linked diary]
Tuesday, May 13th
SFKossacks Roll Out the Red Carpet for LeftOfYou & Expat Okie
TIME: Noon
LOCATION: Yank Sing
Rincon Center, 101 Spear St. • San Francisco
ORGANIZER: Send navajo a kosmail to attend.
RSVPs:
1. navajo
2. LeftOfYou
3. Expat Okie
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Maybees: |
navajo maintains the above event list. Kosmail her if you have any diaries
about your event or if you have changes or additions.
EVERYONE is welcome, tell us what you're working on,
share your show and tell, vent, whatever you want.
This is an open thread. Nothing is off topic.