origin of Halloween and traditions

Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the Goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, whose original spelling was Samuin. The name is derived from Old Irish and is roughly translated to “summer’s end.” A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and was known as Calan Gaeaf. The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the lighter half of the year and beginning of the darker half, which explains the “scary” factor behind the holiday. It is sometimes known as the "Celtic New Year". The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spiritsto pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side by side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual. Another common practice was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink. The name “Halloween” and many of its present-day traditions derive from the Old English era.

Phantom Regiment's Faust

In 2006, the drum and bugle corps known as Phantom Regiment, performed a show called, Faust. The show was about a man who bargains with the devil but, he underestimated the devil’s power. By doing this the devil started controlling he and he could not break free. To properly depict this theme, phantom regiment used many percussion breaks; dark sounds, and much accented and articulated notes. At one point in the show the corps forms a chart in the shape of a pentagram. Musical selections for this show included Scythian Suite by Prokofiev, piano concerto by Corigliano, Ave Maria by Biebel, and Ressurection symphony by Mahler. The corps brilliantly represented the Faust story by having their colour guard almost create the story on the field in front of you. Two colour guard members were depicted as a man and a woman in love. Another colour guard member wearing a devil’s mask destroys the love between the two and ends up taking over the man. The first piece introduces the devil to the show. The second piece shows the tow people in love. The third piece shows the devil destroying that love. The fourth piece is of the man fighting back with the devil and regaining his love. The Faust story performed by phantom regiment brilliantly depicts what the old Faust tale said and offers the corps’ own unique way of ending the story. When watching the show you really get the feel of the Faust setting and story as well as the visual representation with the colour guard. The show was overall one of phantom regiment’s bet performances and very well depicts the Faust story.     

Would you confess to witchcraft?

In Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem witch trials, if you were accused of being a witch you were usually brought to trial and could either confess or deny the charge. If you confess to the charges, whether you were a witch or not, you could face either life in prison or banishment. If you deny the charge, again whether you are a witch or not, you would be assumed to be using witchcraft and either hanged or burned. In Salem, if you were thought to be a witch you had no chance of proving your not. Now, I am faced with an issue. If I were accused of using witchcraft it would be a hard decision to either confess or deny the charge. If I confess I will live, but I will most likely be locked up for the rest of my life. If I deny it, I can try to prove I am not a witch but, it would be next to impossible to try and convince otherwise. I would probably choose to deny the charge. By doing that, I may have a chance to save myself and convince the court that I am not in fact a witch. Even if that didn’t work I would rather die than spend the rest of my life in captivity. I see it as going down in a blaze of glory as opposed to the cowardly confession. Life would not be worth living is I were kept in captivity. To have the town mock and ridicule me as I sit back in my cage and take it until I finally give out, is not worth surviving that long for. For that those reasons I would choose to deny the charge. Some may think I am crazy for practically giving my life away, but I think it is a better option to just deny the charges.  

Review of Donnie Darko

I recently saw the psychological thriller, Donnie Darko. The movie, directed by Richard Kelly, is about a troubled teenage boy who discovers the secrets of time travel while trying to avoid a menacing, seven foot tall, doomsday prophesying rabbit. While the description may sound strange, this movie was an amazing piece of cinema. This movie will keep you guessing not only to the end of the movie, but even for a while after watching it. This movie has makes you really think about life and predetermination. If you have never seen a psychological thriller this is a great one to start with. The movie has great performances from such actors as Jake Gyllenhaal, James Duval, and the late Patrick Swayze. I fell in love with this move about three hours after watching it. That may sound strange, but this is the type of movie that makes you think for a few hours after watching it. In fact, I did not really understand it fully until I researched the movie on Wikipedia to try and understand what I watched. After the first time I watched the movie, I did not declare it my favorite. I did like it a lot, but it was not my favorite. However, when I watched it a second time I began to understand it more and it became my favorite movie. I like it more and more every time I watch it. It is because of this movie that I have gotten in to watching more psychological thrillers. I saw this movie about a year ago and it is still my favorite movie. While some people do not like the movie as much as I do, I believe that once they understand It their opinion will change. On a scale of one to ten I would give Donnie Darko nine and a half.

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon review

Recently, I downloaded the Kid Cudi album, Man on the moon. The alternative hip hop artist, Kid Cudi, is a genius. His work is much different from the mainstream hip hop garbage heard today. Rather than singing about drugs and gangs, Kid Cudi sings about life and the pursuit of happiness making it much more pleasing to listen to. Kid Cudi is much more creative than most of todays hip hop artists. The fifteen track album is divided into five different acts including "The End of Day," "Rise of the Night Terrors," "Taking a Trip,"  "Stuck," and "A New Beginning." Each act has two or three songs in it that represent the act in lyrics or rhythm somehow. Kid Cudi's lyrics are very deep and his feelings in this album are well expressed. The album is also very relaxing to listen to. I have heard the entire album many times and I have not yet grown tired of it. His lyrics are very relate able, and I can connect with it very well. The album also includes guest appearances from artists such as Kanye West, Common, Ratatat, Billy Craven, and MGMT. These artists are all respected in the same field as Kid Cudi making the experience of listening to the album much more enjoyable. Entertainment Weekly said, "Cudi turns out to be that rarest of rap phenomena: a hyped upstart who really does represent a promising new phase in the genre's evolution." I used to hate rap until Kid Cudi came into the picture. This album is some of the best work I have seen in the genre. Kid Cudi is on his way to be revolutionary. This album was a perfect first step and I recommend it to all. Regardless of your musical tastes, you will enjoy this album.