Monday, May 26, 2008

Happy Memorial Day???-----Wake Up Folks!!!!!!

Memorial Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (in 2008 on May 26). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who perished while in military service to their country. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War I to include casualties of any war or military action.

While the original intent of the Day of Remembrance is to "remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country", by holding parades, ceremonies, selling poppies and visiting cemeteries, this holiday has eroded into a 3 day weekend of beaches, BBQing and sporting events (the Indianapolis 500 has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911).

My friend Kat designed her own Memorial Day Remembrance activities. She prepared the traditional fare of hamburgers, hot dogs, sweet corn and macaroni salad. For dessert a red velvet cake with white frosting in between layers and topped with blueberries. Very patriotic of her. and for holiday related entertainment, she had this movie which is available immediately (no waiting to download) to view on Google Video--> Zeitgeist (Feb2008) 122-minutes long


Zeitgeist-> a German expression that means "the spirit of the age". Literally translated Zeit = Time and Geist = Spirit; it describes the intellectual and cultural climate of an era. "Zeitgeist" refers to the ethos of a select group of people, that express a particular (predominantly post-modern) world view, which is prevalent at a particular period of socio-cultural progression.

I watched this movie yesterday as part of MY Memorial Day activities. It was informative, educational, validating and truly served to piss me off. It should piss you off if you are not adverse to a bit of critical thinking with your holiday weiner and beer.

My advice...watch it in parts if you need to, but watch it. The site also lists ALL the sources for ALL the information in the video. You SHOULD read further to educate yourself. The movie should only serve as a springboard to get your mind working....okay, maybe after that weiner and beer(s)...you should watch it another day---But watch it!!!

Oh...and Happy Memorial Day y'all.......

This movie is about 2 hours long, and the final remastered edition is different from the 2007 version because of the 5 minutes of monologue prefacing the start of the movie. Thats the only difference, so if you do not want to hear it, go to the first google video search result or move that little thingy over to the right a hair about 4-5 minutes worth....

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