~ Dia De Los Muertos ~

by Tina~in_ut

Mexico at Epcot

Dia De Los Muertos is one of Mexico's traditional holidays reuniting and honoring beloved ancestors, family and friends. It is an ancient and enduring ritual when the living commune with the dead – a mystical night when the veil is lifted between their two realms and they may share a day together. 

The historical roots of this celebration date back to the pre-Hispanic cultures of Meso-America of the indigenous people, especially the Nahua (Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecas, Tlaxcaltec, Chichimec, Tecpanec) and others native to Mexico more than 3,000 years. When the Spaniards conquered the country, this indigenous custom was rooted so deeply that, after five centuries of colonization, it has continued to survive and remain as celebrated as in its first days. 

Throughout each period in Mexican culture, death seems to hold no terror. In Mexican art, legends, and religion, death has not been a mysterious and fearful presence but a realistic recognizable character as much a part of life as life itself. Dia De Los Muertos expresses this perspective: it is not a mournful commemoration but a happy and colorful celebration where Death takes a lively, friendly expression and is not frightening or strange. There is no place for sorrow or weeping for this could be interpreted as a discourteous to the dead relatives who are visiting gladly. 

Catrinas,one of the most popular figures of the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico.

Indigenous people believed that souls did not die, that they continued living in Mictlán (Place of Death) a special place for them to finally rest. On Dia De Los Muertos, tradition holds that the dead return to earth to visit their living relatives. It is believed that although these relatives can't see them, they can surely feel them.

This night is an important feast and evocation. It is a time when family members share memorable stories that evoke the lives of their ancestors. Offerings and altars are created to welcome and commemorate the dead. Marigolds and incense are offered in abundance because it is believed their aromatic scents guide the dead to the place where the feast is being held. A profusion of candles dispels the darkness just as the souls are being illuminated from the shadows of death. Altars are created with photos, mementos, fruit, bread, and other favorite things of the ancestors being welcomed and honored. The artifacts of these altars also provide the opportunity to teach children about those who came before them. 

Dia De Los Muertos is a time of celebration on remembrance. It is also a time to come to terms with our mortality and become aware of the cycle of life and death. Rather than deny and fear death this event teaches us to accept and contemplate the meaning of mortality.

Princess Margaret

by Michael

Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
1930 – 2002

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Margaret spent much of her childhood years in the company of her older sister and parents. Her life changed dramatically in 1936, when her paternal uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated to marry the divorced American Wallis Simpson. Margaret's father became King in Edward's place, and her older sister became heiress presumptive with Margaret second in line to the throne. During WWII, the two sisters stayed at Windsor Castle, despite government pressure to evacuate to Canada. During the war years, Margaret was not expected to perform any public or official duties, and instead continued her education. After the war, she fell in love with a divorced older man, Group Captain Peter Townsend. Her father died at around the same time, and her sister became Queen. Many in the government felt that Townsend was an unsuitable husband for the Queen's sister, and the Church of England refused to countenance the marriage. Under pressure, Margaret chose to abandon her plans, and instead accepted the proposal of the photographer Antony Armstrong Jones, who was created Earl of Snowdon by Elizabeth II. The marriage, despite an auspicious start, soon became unhappy; the couple divorced in 1978.

Margaret was often viewed as a controversial member of the Royal Family. Her divorce earned her negative publicity, and she was romantically linked with several men. Her health gradually deteriorated in the final two decades of her life; a heavy smoker all her adult life, she had a lung operation in 1985, a bout of Pneumonia  in 1993, and at least three strokes between 1998 and 2001. Margaret died at King Edward VII Hospital, London on 9 February 2002. After a private funeral, her body was cremated. Two months later, after the death of her mother, Margaret's ashes were interred beside the bodies of her parents in the George VI Memorial Chapel at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. 

Happy Halloween

by Zona and Mr. Zona

As most of you know..Mr. Z loves carving pumpkins for Halloween. I am always amazed by how he can take just about any picture and carve a pumpkin that looks so much like it...I'm lucky if I can carve the traditional triangle eyes, nose and jaggedy mouth!! Every year we have a big Halloween display in our front yard and we usually get anywhere from 200 to 400 trick or treaters. A lot of former neighbors are so impressed by the pumpkin patch section of the display that they have made it a tradition to come back year after year to see the new ones he's carved. I thought you might like to see some of the pumpkins Mr Z carved for this year..as well as a couple from previous years. I hope you like them! Happy Halloween!!

Tim McGraw

Harry Potter

Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter

The Raiders

Frank Sinatra

Planet of the Apes

Heath Ledger as Joker

~ Mr. Know It All ~

by Tina~in_ut

Halloween

by Dianne

A bald man with a wooden leg gets invited to a Halloween Party. He doesn't know what costume to wear to hide his head and his leg, so he writes to a costume company to explain his problem.

A few days later he received a parcel with the following note:

Dear Sir,

Please find enclosed a pirate's outfit. The spotted handkerchief will cover your bald head and, with your wooden leg, you will be just right as a pirate.

Very truly yours,

Acme Costume Co.

The man thinks this is terrible because they have emphasized his wooden leg and so he writes a letter of complaint. A week goes by and he receives another parcel and a note, which says:

Dear Sir,

Please find enclosed a monk's costume. The long robe will cover your Wooden leg and, with your bald head, you should really look the part.

Now the man is really upset since they have gone from emphasizing his wooden leg to emphasizing his bald head, so again he writes the Company another nasty letter of complaint.

The next day he gets a small parcel and a note, which reads:

Dear Sir,

We have TRIED our very best.

Please find enclosed a bottle of molasses and a bag of crushed nuts.

   

Pour the molasses over your bald head, pat on crushed nuts, stick your wooden leg up your ass and go as a caramel apple.

Very truly yours,

Acme Costume Co.

The Mouse

by Zona

You always hear how 'kids say the darndest things'..well here's an instance where Grandma came up with a pretty good line herself!! Mr. Z and I were at the Dollar Store the other day..I was looking for a strainer and he was looking for Halloween stuff. I was walking around the corner of an aisle heading towards the kitchen gadgets when I saw a lady and a little girl looking at mousetraps. The little girl asked.."Grandma what are these?"..pointing to the traps. "Those are mousetraps." her grandmother answered. "Mousetraps?" asked her granddaughter.."Why do you want to trap a mouse..so you can keep it for a pet?" The grandmother seemed a little distracted as she replied.."It doesn't really trap the mouse..it kills it." The little girl's voice started quivering as she said..."Kills it? The mouse goes inside and gets KILLED??!!" Her grandmother suddenly seemed to realized what she had said and quickly answered "Oh no..no..what happens is the mouse sees the trap and it gets so scared it has a heart attack..." "Oh!" the little girl said calming down..."I guess that's ok..." Boy did that grandmother let out a huge sigh of relief!! I wanted to give her a high five and say "Nice save Grandma!" :D

 

~ Wife Mowing the Lawn ~

by Tina~in_ut

One Saturday afternoon, I was sitting in my lawn chair, drinking beer and watching my wife mow the lawn.

The neighbor lady from across the street was so outraged that she came over and shouted at me, "You should be hung!"

I took a drink from my bottle of Molson Canadian, wiped the cold foam from my lips, lifted my darkened Ray Ban sunglasses and stared directly into the eyes of this nosy ass neighbor and then calmly replied!

"I am. That’s why she cuts the grass."

End of conversation. :)~