La Quinceañera: a celebration of budding womanhood
The transition from childhood to womanhood is a significant passage for adolescent girls in almost all cultures. In Mexico, it is marked with the celebration of the Quinceañera, or 15th Birthday. From a north-of-the-border viewpoint, it may be seen as a cross between Sweet Sixteen and a debutante’s coming out party. The celebration is a way to acknowledge that a young woman has reached sexual maturity and is thus of a marriageable age.
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POLITICAL CARTOONS
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VIDEOS
Dedicated to AdLib:
5 year old needs a job before getting married
Space Shuttle Launch: Viewed From an Airplane
Tick Tock – student short film for Emory Campus MovieFest 2011
My Favorite Oldie: Christian the Lion
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Help Save Africa’s Lions from Extinction
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.
– Jean Cocteau
Sniff. Where’s the damn hankie when you need one?
Here, sweetie. I went through a few myself, but there’s more.
[img]http://chamberfour.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/kleenex.jpg[/img]
And Cher, I did make a donation. Thanks for leading us to action.
That’s fantastic, AB. Actually, I get an email to sign a petition which was all I could do right now, so thank you!
Cher – I had not watched Christian the Lion before posting. It made me burst into tears. It is NOT anthropomorphizing animals to love them and to bond with them. When Washau the Chimp who was the first to learn sign language was released into a reservation, some months later the scientist who worked with her came to visit. From across a long distance, she spotted him, and screeching in sheer delight, she raced across the ground and jumped into his arms. Her love for him was without question as his was for her.
The bonds between humans and animals is real. We don’t need to make pets of them in the wild of take away their intrinsic nature to have that grace and connection. They can and must be wild – but our love for what they are should help us preserve and protect them for their value to the earth, to their own species, and to our lives.
Thank you for posting this – it’s beautiful, not sappy, and gives hope for us all.
OH Choicelady the Washau the chimp story brought tears to my eyes. How sweet.
C’Lady, I was hoping not too many had seen that video yet even though it got a lot of media attention. I cry every time I watch it. It opens my heart, and that is why for me it is literally a spiritual experience. And I love that they reintroduced him to the wild. That elderly gentleman with them at the reunion is George Adams, of “Born Free” fame. He has the lion refuge.
I wish I didn’t have technical issues….sounds like a good one to watch.
I LOVED “Born Free”…it was my favorite movie from my childhood. I still cry…whenever I think of Elsa.
‘born free…as free as the wind blows…as free as the grass grows…” ok tears started.
Abby– so sorry about that! But at least you won’t have to take notes? (Just trying to find the silver lining.) 😉
🙂 It’s ok Cher….I just loved that movie. They are good tears. 🙂
I love Tom Tomorrow. He’s so deliciously angry.
And he’s a good cartoonist–I like that old school style.
Hi Cher – well, I have to admit I learned something from the limousine crowd! They’re quite correct – if there’s no middle class, who needs unions?
Inescapable logic. For them.
Thanks for clearing THAT up!
It did put it all in perspective didn’t it? 🙂
I especially like the pie chart.
That was my favorite. It’s so true.
Great roundup, Cher. And thanks for posting these every day. That Christian the lion one really got to me!!
Thanks you, e’cat! And yes, Christian makes me cry to this day. There are longer versions on the story and they are wonderful too.
I thought Mike Keefe’s cartoon pretty much summed it up well.
It did, Abby. The Repub jobs plan was not what we thought. We thought they would try to create jobs, but they meant to destroy jobs.