Summer Begins: Exploring Memorial Day

Memorial Day Weekend is here. In our beach town, this signals the return of the summer people, the amusement park and board walk open and yard sale signs flutter from every corner telephone pole. On Monday, the traditional date for Memorial Day, our town holds a parade, commemorating the service and sacrifice of our military, (but will also include older adult men, riding tiny cars, and other such parade goofiness.)



Memorial Day when I was a kid, way back when in the 1970s, living in a small, coastal village downeast, meant we woke early to decorate our bikes in red, white and blue crepe paper. We then rode our bikes to the town cemetery where a solemn ceremony was held, with flags, pipes and drums and folks dressed in uniforms of wars gone by. (This blog has photos of that town's Memorial Day ceremonies, which look just the same now as they did 35 years ago.) We also decorated with tissue paper poppies, some we made and others were bought for .25 at the market, from a veteran. Poppies have long been a symbol of remembrance.



Today, many people still celebrate Memorial Day by decorating grave sites with flags and flowers, attending parades, firework displays and pops concerts. Others still, simply gather with family and friends, have cookouts, or head to the beach or lake.(Still others shop the big sales that have somehow become associated with this holiday.)

There are some interesting ways to view Memorial Day (and similar holidays, like Independence Day and Labor Day). Is it truly just a day for remembrance or is it an example of something known as American civil religion, which is the idea that, "Americans embrace a common civil religion with certain fundamental beliefs, values, holidays, and rituals, parallel to, or independent of, their chosen religion?" This theory talks about how a new country relied on civil ceremony during times of social crisis (the Revolutionary War, Civil War and Vietnam War) to define, unite and direct the country. This process has close ties to the idea of American exceptionalism. This idea was originally used to mean that America was unique in it's democratic foundation. Eventually however, especially during the Cold War, between the US and USSR, American exceptionalism became the idea that America was uniquely moral, right, justified, strong, worthy and chosen by God to assert its values on the world. Through that lens, Memorial Day can be seen as a celebration of America's God-given directive. While honoring the memory of those who served, we participate in an act of civic nationalism, designed to profess our loyalty to the myth of America, Better Than All The Rest, (not to mention white and Christian.*)



So, what do you think? Do you think it hurts to participate in Memorial Day activities, this civil religion? Does it bring communities together, forge a common identity as a nation? Is it just about remembering the loss of so many during times or war, or is it about giving American a big whoop-whoop? Is it possible to both recognize America's unique-it's exceptional, place in the world, while also being able to recognize America's faults or overreach? Or has Memorial Day become so far removed from its origin, that it is only about barbecues and car sales?

*For a good read on what it means to have a white culture, read this.

Like A Box Of Chocolates

This post is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

What's a Scenester? Do you recognize any apple store indies, perhaps? Do you think it's fair to generalize about others based on fashion, or do you think the portraits are largely accurate? Do you recognize yourself in any of the scenesters? Is there a point where seeking individualism simply becomes a uniform; is it possible to be the non-conforming conformist? And if indivdualism is the goal, to be outside the collective interest, how is adopting a fashion trend, emo, for instance, contrary to this goal--or is it? Can you think of examples where individual expression morphed into a fad?



In fascinating science news, did you know it was possible to help make a reef out of old subway cars? It's happening along the east coast (USA) and these subway reefs are teeming with life, in areas that were once practically ocean deserts. Why are reefs so important? Though the practice has been discontinued primarily, it's only because the subway cars are being built differently and it's not financially beneficial or necessary to dispose of old cars this way. Environmentally it seemed to be a winning solution. Watch a short video here.

In creepy science news, the newly discovered zombie-ant fungus ZOMBIE- ANT FUNGUS, surely takes the cake. (What the heck does the phrase take the cake mean, anyway?)

Because yesterday was International Women's Day and Josephine Baker came up in conversation, read more about her. I think we all found her heroic work with the French Resistance during WWII to be the most intriguing, but by no means is this her bravest act. (You can read all about it here, under the heading Rise To Fame. *There is one bare-breasted photo of Josephine.) It's important to understand, as you read about Ms. Baker, that every ounce of her life was impacted by racism. While she left the US for France and Europe to escape the Jim Crow Laws in the US, her ready acceptance and fame in France was very much due in part to France's then-colonization of Africa (the height of which occurred in the 1920s-1930s, when Ms. Baker arrived in France). African art, images and yes, people were embraced for consumption by the whites, and African-descent people were objectified, so it's important to read about her life, her career and mutual admiration of her and the French people in this context. For another look at her life, view this six-part video of Josephine Baker: The First Black Superstar.

Bones Break

As we eagerly await the final episodes from season 3 of Bones (shakes fist at Netflix), I thought it might be interesting to note that there are only about 100 forensic anthropologists in the US and Canada, and Maine has one of them. Also, there's an organization called the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams, or DMORT, of which many of these forensic anthropologists assist. (Maine is part of Region I.) Kathy Reichs, the author of the Temeprance "Bones" Brennan books, was part of the DMORT team assigned to the World Trade Center disaster. This video, aside from being rather dull, is also moderately informative and does talk about what sort of training one needs to become a forensic anthropologist. (Also, but I could have sworn it was Eric Millegan, aka, Zack Addy, narrating this piece-the narrator and Eric sound so alike.)



Here's more about the work of forensic anthropologists.

I know you two have a new-found appreciation of some rock ballads thanks to your time with Guitar Hero, so I thought you might enjoy this version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody--on ukulele.



Hey, Adam--since we have been doing that deep clean of your room and putting things into piles and emptying drawers and putting things away into boxes, it made me think of compartmentalization. Remember when we were talking about how all life just seems to mimic the functions of other parts of life, no matter how small or large? So just like our very cells spend time compartmentalizing, we'll be finishing up in your room, just as soon as we put those Legos into that specialized membrane.



And sometimes when we are in the middle of these cleaning and organizing projects, infinity is on the brain, perhaps, because as soon as you provide space for one thing you have to make space for another and the compartmentalizing seems endless. Like this.

But the end result is an organized thing of beauty, so why not try your hand at some fractals, today? Take a look at this fractal zoom.





Did you know that this set of fractals is known as the Mandelbrot Set? How does seeing the Mandelbrot Set remind you of cell compartmentalization? If we consider that everything can be broken down into mere patterns, each piece interacting and dependent on another, what does this mean for human life? Are we acting independently, for instance? Or, is there any original action or has everything been done before (or will be done?) To many, this knowledge might give weight to their spiritual practice, while to others, it further informs their scientific exploration. For instance, it's interesting to note that humans have been perhaps thinking about Mandelbrot Sets, long before we could see them. What are your thoughts on the Mandelbrot Set? Explore similar concepts here:

The Golden Mean and Fibonacci Sequences and here

Ancient Mandals

Keyhole Gardens in Permaculture practice

Labyrinths

Looking for something to read (along with the other five or so books you each have going, that is?) I may have to check this series out myself.

For those of you who enjoy being quizzed, there's Sporcle.com. And Olivia, since you've been missing Buffy, try this quiz.