What's Scheduled for this Week:

• First, listen to my short weekly audio lecture. You can listen to the lecture in Real Audio format or you can listen to the lecture in Windows Media format.
  
• Next, explore the following links:
  • Travel with me to the Burning Man Festival: Yes, I attended this counter-culture festival.
  • Do you remember hearing about the Harmonic Convergence? Well, I was there and you can look at my observations on the 1987 Harmonic Convergence on Mt Shasta
  • Visit Bride and Groom magazine site on a few common wedding customs/traditions
  • Learn about  Italian, Mexican, Greek, German, and African American wedding customs and traditions.
  • Want to know what other people do  at baby showers?
  • If you have a high-speed Internet connection and Windows Media Player, you can view a short video of a local baby shower.
  • Just what is a Bar/Bat Mitzvah
  • Do you have a loose tooth?  Read the "Straight Dope" about the Tooth Fairy
  • Groundhog Day--read about the history and predictions since 1878
  • Learn about the history and customs of Thanksgiving
  • Visit a site that claims to have "Ten Holiday Web Sites You Won't Want to Miss!"
  • Visit a site that offers a very short overview of cockfighting as well as links to a few recent newspaper and magazine articles that offer an interesting look at the cockfighting custom, associated rituals, and the conflict between law and tradition
  • Visit a site that has more than you ever wanted to know about Halloween
  • Find out about the origins of Valentine's Day

•   Review or do the Homefun on  Customs and Festivals (not a graded homefun option)
• Visit the Tests and Quizzes area and take a short quiz on customs.
• Read pp 460--476
• Visit the Discussion and Private Messages board and respond to my weekly topic question below. Also reply to at least one others student comment.
  Week 13 Topic Question: "Rite of passage" is the common term used to name ceremonies associated with easing the many difficult transitions we undergo in our life. Some rites of passage help us to separate from others (funerals), other rites help us join with others (marriage), and some rites deal with the many other transitional stages (pregnancy, loss of a tooth for a child, and graduation from school or program). After reading the appropriate section in Brunvand, as well as visiting the weekly linked sites, please closely examine a rite of passage you have went through or participated in. Briefly describe what happened during the rite, what you believe might be the purpose of the rite, why you believe this to be so, how you felt about the rite when you participated in it, and how you feel about it now