My Popular Culture Blog

Today Walt Disney is one of the world’s largest global corporations; it started as a small cartoon studio in 1923. They have had a large influence on popular culture for almost nine decades and will be celebrating their 100^th year anniversary during the next decade. Their first animated silent film collection was the Alice Comedies followed closely by Mickey Mouse featured in Steamboat Willie in 1928. Shortly thereafter the company incorporated synchronized sound into the Steamboat Willie production and marked a new trend of sound in the movie production business. Following the creation of the Disney Gang characters, such as Goofy, Pluto, and Donald Duck, Walt Disney produced their first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937. Many other animated features came out during the 1940s and 1950s, including Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Bambi, and Peter Pan (Disney.Com, 2010).

The company took things to a whole different level when they produced one of their most widely recognized movies Fantasia, which mixes some of the greatest known pieces of classical music with their early popular cartoon characters. The company then invented their first stereo system called Fantasound. For this invention Walt Disney won a special award for their “contribution to the advancement in the use of sound for motion pictures” from the Academy Awards of 1941 (2010). Another special award was given in the same year to the well known symphony conductor, Leopold Stokowski, for the “unique creation of a new visualized music format”, which resulted in broadening the range for motion pictures to be recognized as a form of entertainment and art (Wikipedia, 2010).

The first production of Fantasia had eight sequences which are listed below along with the original composer of each piece of music:

“Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” by Johann Sebastian Bach, a German composer.

“The Nutcracker Suite” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a Russian composer.

“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Paul Abraham Dukas, a French composer.

“Rite of Spring” by Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky, a Russian composer.

“Pastoral” by Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer.

“Dance of the Hours” by Amilcare Ponchielli, an Italian composer.

“Night on Bald Mountain” by Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, Russian composer.

 ”Ave Maria” by Franz Peter Schubert , an Austrian composer (Disney.Com, 2010).

According to Tim Dirks, writer for the Filmsite web-site, the show begins with pictorial kaleidoscope and may described as “a pure fanciful flight of imagination” (2010, para. 8). The animation is very imaginative and stimulating while the scenes reveal the four seasons, nature, dancing animals, prehistoric times, heaven and hell, classical mythology and legend (2010). Time Magazine stated that the classical music industry became more popular due to the production of this film (Wikipedia, 2010).

The company never made a profit from the production until it was released again in 1969. During this era it became very popular to teens and college students; some of the young adult viewers have reported to take psychedelic drugs to better their experience of the film (Wikipedia, 2010). The members of the sixties drug cult adopted the movie as their favorite hallucinatory experience, so the production itself became a cult status (Dirks, 2010). Disney even promoted the film with a psychedelic-styled poster which resulted in a smashing success (Wikipedia, 2010).

The regain of interest during the seventies and eighties led to the release of the soundtrack featuring conductor, Irwin Kostal, in 1982 (Disney.Com, 2010). This event marked the first time for a motion picture to be recorded in digital stereo. The film was selected to be preserved by the Library of Congress for its historical and cultural significance. It has been recognized by the American Film Institute in 1998 and 2008. Fantasia 2000 was released in 1999 which marked the first animated film to ever be produced using the IMAX format. In 2000 the original road-show from 1941 was recorded and released in DVD format. This year it has been released again in a Blu-Ray/DVD combination pack (Wikipedia, 2010).

It is a great show for parents who enjoy classical music and one that their children will love as well. Even if one is not an enthusiastic admirer of classical music, I believe they will still enjoy it as I have. It is still a popular film that is now considered to be a classic and will continue to be a part of popular culture for years to come.

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References

Dirks, T. (2010). Fantasia: 1940. American Movie Classics Company, LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2010, from http://www.filmsite.org/fant.html.

Disney.Com (2010). Disney Archives. Fantasia. The Walt Disney Company, Retrieved December 9, 2010, from http://disney.go.com/vault/archives/movies/fantasia/fantasia.html.

Wikipedia. (2010, December 8). Fantasia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved December 9, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasia_(film)#Characters.

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The musical play “Hair” was the first of its kind to define the genre of a “rock musical” and to employ a cast performed by diverse group of ethnical actors. The play was written by James Rado and Gerome Ragni who brought the real-life theatrical excitement of the current era to the stage. The writers were aware of the traditional Broadway format of the time but wanted to create something new, different, and daring that would perfectly express the point of time. The show reflects on the “Countercultural of the 1960s”, better known as the cultural movement which had its highest peak during the years of 1965 through 1972 (BMG Classics, 1988). This time frame truly marks the days of the United States heaviest involvement in the Vietnam War.

The play found its genesis in the streets of East Village, a neighborhood in New York known for highly creative experimental ideas during a time that people showed their reactions to the staid artistic expressions of the “Establishment”. The free-form theater piece describes the social events of the time through its demeanor, language, music, clothing and dance, while reflecting on the long-haired hippies and flower children of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement and the Sexual Revolution. Rado and Ragni then took their play to Joseph Papp, the owner of the Shakespeare Public Theater in New York City, which led to the introduction of composer Galt MacDermot. The play ran 15 previews and 50 performances during 1967 with high hopes to reach Broadway. After it ran for a month at the Cheetah, an old disco club, it gained the attention of Director Tom O’Horgan who then totally reshaped the play into an extraordinary theatrical experience. After three more months of playing at the Cheetah the play was finally able to hit Broadway when it opened on April 29, 1968 at the Biltmore Theatre in New York City (BMG Classics, 1988). 

The story-line focuses on a draftee of Vietnam named Claude who meets a tribal group of political activists who struggle to balance their young lives, loves and the sexual revolution with their rebellion against the war, their conservative parents and the society around them. This group introduces Claude to the current drugs and demonstrations before he goes to the army base. Rado, Ragni and MacDermot wrote the music for the play which opens with “Aquarius”, a song that represents their vision of peace, love, and its relationship to the dawning of Aquarius. This is followed by the song “Donna” which is about a 16 year old virgin whom Claude misses, and then jumps into the song “Hashish”, which emphasizes on all the different drugs used during the time. Next the song “Sodomy” is introduced which focuses on examples of profane sex acts that were considered to be dirty, followed by “Colored Spade”, which lists all the stereotypes that people have labeled to Blacks (BMG Classics, 1988).

Several other songs are:

“Ain’t Got No” – emphasizes on the things that the young generation does not possess such as a home, job, money, class, etc.

“Air” – pinpoints the growing concerns about air pollution.

“I Got Life” – celebrates life and clearly expresses the human body.

“Hair” – enumerates on just about every type of hairstyle and its stereotype.

“Easy To Be Hard” – describes social injustice and how cruel people are to one another.  

“Don’t Pull It Down” – reflects on the current attitudes about the country and its flag.

“Good Morning Star Shine” – illustrates the flower children.

 The production ends with the song “Let the Sun Shine In” recapping the events of the show. The original play had 32 songs and several became top 10 hits that were very popular during this era of movements. By reviewing the song descriptions, the show clearly captures the atmosphere created by the events that were happening during this era (BMG Classics, 1988).

Since then many productions have been reproduced along with several musical recordings. In 1979 film director Milos Forman produced a movie based on this play and received a César Award, a national film award from France. The film was also nominated for the Best Picture Golden Globe Award, presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association who recognizes outstanding achievements in the domestic and foreign entertainment industry. The Broadway revival that opened on March 3^rd of 2009 earned the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for best revival of a musical (Wikipedia, 2010).

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 References

BMG Classics. (1988). Hair: The American tribal love rock musical. [RCA Victor–The Original Broadway Cast Recording].

Itzkoff, D. (2008, November 5). Hair Revival Gets Theater Opening Dates. The New York Times. Retrieved December 7, 2010, from http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/05/hair-revival-gets-theater-opening-dates/.

Wikipedia. (2010, December 7). Hair: musical. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved December 6, 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_(musical).

“The Greatest Spectacle of Racing”

 The Indianapolis 500 is one of the biggest events in the history of sports for Indianapolis. This track is very popular to every race fan across this country and is internationally known as well. It is still known as “The Greatest Spectacle of Racing” and has been held here in Indianapolis for just a tad over a century now. The statement above is announced every year at the beginning of the race and is a regular ritual for this popular sport that is well known to all.

This annual race started back in 1909 and has just held their Centennial Year celebration so that it may announce their Worldwide Leadership in Motorsports entertainment. The chairman of IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway), Mari H. George, states “No other motorsports facility in the world has the rich history and tradition of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Centennial Era celebration pays homage to the heroes and events of our storied past while anticipating an even more glorious future” (IMS, 2010). The four-time winners of this race, Rick Mears, Al Unser, and A.J. Foyt along with other Indy 500 winners attended this celebration day. All proceeds from this event were donated to the benefit of the Hall of Fame Museum which is one the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s most popular attractions (2010). 

The Hall of Fame Museum is recognized as the top spot devoted to showcasing all racing automobiles in the world history of this sport. This museum has also been honored the privilege of being named a National Historic Landmark in 1987. There are several attractions that everyone must see which will include at least 75 automobiles at any given time on display. There is also an extensive display of trophies which honor all awards from around the world. Don’t forget the museum also has a unique souvenir shop that is a “must see” for anyone that has the splendid opportunity to visit this track (2010). 

And for the Nascar Fans, this place has held the annual Brick Yard 400 since the year of 1994 of which Jeff Gordon was the first to win this event. This is a long overdue event that should have been a part of the regular nascar schedule years ago. Several nascar fans now feel blessed that the event has finally came to Indy. This event has now become a regular tradition for several people and has a popular ritual known as “Kiss the Brick” (2010). 

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has experienced years of improvements and is definitely one of America’s most popular icons which proves to be the world’s greatest racecourse. This place has the largest seating facility of any track in the world and currently holds over 250,000 permanent seats. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has everything for both worlds of racing and will continue to sustain the culture of Racing while maintaining its position in popularity and history. 

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References

IMS. (2010). Centennial Era. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/.

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Down Home With the Neelys

Pat and Gina Neely are the co-owners of Neely’s Bar-B-Que, which is one of the most successful barbecue restaurants in Tennessee. They share the secrets behind their favorite dishes on Down Home with the Neelys show which is aired every Saturday morning at 11am EST on the Food Network channel. They live in Memphis where they have two restaurant locations, plus they have a location in Nashville. One of their episodes is called Walkin In Memphis that will make your mouth water while they share their recipes for Grilled Halibut w/ BBQ Butter, Black-Eyed Peas with bacon & pork, and a Crusty Cornbread. They end this meal with a delicious Grilled Watermelon Sundae (Food Network, 2010b).

By the way, if you have never been to Memphis the motto around there is “Put Some South In Your Mouth”, and I highly recommend Memphis as a top spot to visit while their style of hospitality proves to be excellent.          

Need a Sugar Rush?

 Warren Brown is the host and chef of the Sugar Rush on the Food Network channel and has a spirited passion for enjoying life. He started out as a Health Educator and then attended law school with the goal to earn the credentials so that he could gain the authority to effectively change the curricula of reproductive health for the youth of America. He practiced health care law while working for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in which he litigated against fraudulent health care providers and enforced the emergency room regulations against hospitals and health care professionals. He then retired as a lawyer and opened the Cake Love Bakery in 2000 followed by the opening of the Love Café in 2003. You will find both of these fascinating places in Washington DC (Food Network, 2010b).

Who is the Queen of Soul Food?

Sylvia Woods is known as the “Queen of Soulfood” and is the owner of Sylvia’s Restaurant, which is known as a world famous place that she opened up in the historical neighborhood of Harlem during the year of 1962. She started out as a beautician and owned a salon in her hometown of Hemingway, South Carolina, then moved on to the food industry. She also owns a full service catering company named Sylvia’s Catering Corp., has a nation-wide line of Sylvia’s Food Products, has published two cookbooks, and owns a real estate firm, the ATOC, Inc. She has even created the Sylvia and Herbert Woods Scholarship Endowment Foundation, which gives scholarships to children of the Harlem community. She has won several awards, has been featured in several magazines and worldwide shows, including the Food Network (Sylvia’s, 2010).

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References

Food Network. (2010a). Down Home With the Neelys. Retrieved November 20, from http://www.foodnetwork.com/down-home-with-the-neelys/index.html.

Food Network. (2010b). About Warren Brown. Retrieved November 20, from http://www.foodnetwork.com/warren-brown/index.html.

Sylvia’s. (2010). About Sylvia’s. Retrieved November 20, from http://www.sylviassoulfood.com/about.html.

Noodling: A Folk Culture Explained  

Diane Doss

Professor Jenifer Garey

Popular Culture

November 28, 2010

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Noodling: A Folk Culture Explained 

            The art of noodling, if you choose to call it that, is an old traditional folk culture that many people may be totally unaware of its existence. For some people that have heard of the term, it may be thought of as just a myth, but the sport itself is real and it is still practiced in the southeastern parts of the United States. For those who do not know what noodling is, it is a fishing sport described as the art of catching fish with one’s bare hands without any type of equipment, and the Flathead Catfish is usually the main fish that is targeted by this challenging sport. (Salazar, 2002). According to the web site of the All Science Fair Projects, this technique could simply be called hand-fishing, but it is also referred to as grabbling, graveling, hogging, tickling, dogging, or stumpling, according to what state you may be in (2004).

How Is It Done?

            People practice this sport by wading or swimming in rivers or lakes, and normally the activity takes place near the shore because of the habits of catfish. The purpose is to find catfish nests that are normally found in mud holes or under rocks and other debris types. Once found, the objective for the noodler is to lure the fish to bite at their hand or arm, and then the fish is grabbed by the jaw and pulled out of the water. The most common time of year that the sport takes place is during the months of early May through the latter part of July, due to spawning season when the fish are more easily accessible. During breeding season, the female fish seek muddy holes or rocky crevices to lay their eggs. The female is then driven away from the nest by the male fish, who remains there to protect the nest until the babies are hatched. The males will bite at just about anything that gets close to the territory of the nest, which makes for an easy catch to the noodler (2002).

What Is The Attraction?

            While normal fishers that use a fishing pole seem to find the sport relaxing, the noodler has quite a different view for the reasons to practice noodling. To many people the culture is very challenging and can be an extremely exhilarating sport as well. Others may reflect on the tradition as being a very personal interaction with nature, and as crazy as this may be, most thrive on the excitement of it (pp. 147, 148). At one time this sport was a cultural means of survival, but according to Keith “Catfish” Sutton, “Today’s noodlers are driven more by the desire for excitement than pangs of hunger” (2006). So it is probably safe to assume that several noodlers experience some type of rush from this activity. According to the website of Paul Valley, there is an annual Okie Noodling Tournament and Fish Fry held in Paul Valley, Oklahoma in which the noodlers fish from around the state and then bring their prize fish to be weighed at Bob’s Pig Shop in Pauls Valley for the weigh-in. The event has several activities including a Noodling Clinic for those who need their wounds healed (2010). The world record for a catch is 123 pounds, in which the more common weight for a flathead is usually around 40 pounds (2002).

Dangers and Advise

            Typically, most people do not get hurt, but as you can tell from the description of this sport, there are some dangers involved and some precautions that one may want to take. The normal size catfish of 30 to 40 pounds may be manageable for most, but there are cases where these fish may be 80 to 90 pounds which will result in a difficult struggle. The more common injuries caused by fish are just nicks, bruises, and cuts from the bite, but harm by the fins can be more severe and dislocated fingers may result from the struggle. It is always recommended to use two hands whenever possible while pulling the fish out of the hole by its jaw. During  repeated diving in attempt to grab the fish, one must watch out for rocks or logs and make sure that they do not get pinned by it while under water. Another danger is that some holes could be very deep, so the diving may put one at the risk of drowning. Also, when a catfish abandons their hole, other predators such as snapping turtles, venomous snakes, beavers, and alligators may take over. Since these types of species may cause severe injuries, it is said that this is one the most dangerous aspects of the sport. It is also much safer to work in pairs to eliminate all the types of dangers related, and most people do agree that the sport itself is too dangerous to work alone (2002).

Conclusion

          Since there are dangers in the sport it is legal only in the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Another reason that it is illegal in other states is so that they may maintain the sustainability of the fish population. Men and women both practice the sport and it is usually culturally taught to them through family and friends. Most practice the sport in groups of two or four, build strong relationships with one another, plus trust their partners with their lives. A stereotype aspect of the term noodling describes it as a silly or foolish practice. The general perception by some people is that noodlers are low-class people or rednecks. An ethnographical study shows that noodlers symbolize a cultural connection to the old ways of the rural south. This folk tradition is declining in its practice, has not caught much attention in academics or science, and is not heavily documented. Between the negative social stereotypes, over exaggerated dangers, its dependence on same generation instruction through family and friends, and the legalities, this culture faces a struggle to survive in the future and to be sustainable.  

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References

All Science Fair Projects. (2004). Noodling. Retrieved November 19, 2010, from http://www.all-science-fair projects.com/science_fair_projects_encyclopedia/Noodling.

Pauls Valley. (2010, July 10). Okie Noodling Tournament. Retrieved November 19, 2010, from http://www.paulsvalley.com/noodling.html.

Salazar, D. A. (2002). Noodling: An American folk fishing technique. Journal of Popular Culture.35(4), 145-155. Retrieved November 13, 2010, from Academic Search Complete database.

Sutton, K. (2006, April 25). Out There: A baptism! noodling for catfish. ESPN Outdoors.   November 19, 2010, from             http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/general/columns/story?columnist=sutton_keith&page=g_col_sutton_noodling.

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The Bob & Tom Show on Indy’s Q-95

The FM station 94.7 located in Indianapolis started out in 1955 and went through several formats of music and logo letters, but never really found their own sound and personality until February 14^th of 1978. This day marked the birth of  WFBQ with the well known Q-95 logo, and they have been rocking Indy plus the surrounding areas in Indiana ever since. Today they are still currently known for non-stop classical rock and are home of the nation -wide talk show, “Bob & Tom Show” (Cline, 2010).

Kristi Lee and Chick McGee join Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold every morning from 6:00 am to 10:20 am, Monday through Friday. The four of them are definitely some of the best known radio icons in Indianapolis and have been around so long that they are a part of the regular culture of Indianapolis. Since the show has become so popular, if you can’t catch it in the morning…never fear, it will be replayed every week night on Channel 59 television. The show is full of comedy, they enjoy finding strange events from theInternet to discuss in their show, and they will give you their hilarious view on all the current happenings going on worldwide. Bob and Tom have brought their own brand of comedy to this show and use several fictionalized comedy skits of sports stars and Hollywood stars, along with regular telephone skits using characters such as Bill Clinton, Larry King, and Doctor Phil. The crazy comedian, Donny Baker, is now a regular part of their show as well.

Outside of the regular fictional events that take place daily, there is always a regular line-up of guests everyday which may include a famous actor, sports hero, television talk show host, or restaurant owner, just to name a few. Comedians are one of the most common guest types on the show, which it is a great honor to those chosen for the show. Q-95 gives these comedians great recognition and advertisement of their road shows as well. Duke Tumatoe, a well known local musician, has been playing his ever-changing “Lord Help Our Colts” tunes on the show during football season, ever since the Colts have been here in Indianapolis. 

The Internet and the technology of audio streaming has allowed this show to be aired nationwide to several stations in every state. You may also follow them on their social pages FaceBook, Twitter, and MySpace and there are several available RSS feeds. Q-95 sponsors many different events for several charities as well.

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References

Cline, M. (2010). WFBQ-94.7 FM Q95 Rocks Indianapolis Indiana. Retrieved November 17, 2010, from

http://indianapolis-indiana.funcityfinder.com/2009/04/16/wfbq-947-fm-indianapolis-indiana/

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Popular Icons of the Food Network Channel

Since I left everyone’s minds on food from the last post about Italian Festivals and food, I will continue my conversation about some of the current popular food icons in our American culture today. The Food Network is a cultural icon in itself, but it also has some popular icons within it. Rachael Ray, Emeril Lagasse, and Paula Deen are three of my favorite chefs that represent a cultural significance to the foods in our society today, and will share a place in the history of American culture, as well as in other countries. They all are widely known to an audience of great diversity, but this audience does share the common joy for food and the need to spice up their life.

Rachael Ray has accomplished several things in her career which have lead up to her success as a celebrity icon. She was born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and worked for several places in the food industry, and then went to New York City to open up a specialty food market named the Agata & Valentina. She then created her “30 Minute Meal” signature which was shown on a local newscast, and this lead up to her contract with the Food Network channel. She has written several cook books, owns the copyrighted magazine, Every Day With Rachael Ray, and now has her own show, The Rachael Ray Show. She is very funny and personable, plus does a good job explaining her cooking.

The famous chef, Emeril Lagasse was born in Fall River, Massachusetts and gained his interest for food while working in his mother’s Portuguese bakery. He enrolled in a culinary arts program at his high school and then went to Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island to pursue a professional career as a chef. He went to Paris to furbish his skills, worked in several fine restaurants on his return, and then became the executive chef at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, prior to opening up his first restaurant named Emeril’s. His place was named the Best New Restaurant of the Year by Esquire magazine, so he opened another restaurant, published the bestselling cookbook Emeril’s New New Orleans Cooking, and then had his own television show, Essence of Emeril. This lead up to his show, Emeril Live!, on the Food Network channel which is known for his logo, “Kick It Up A Notch!” He now owns several restaurants across the country with a variety of menus such as foods of a French, Spanish, Caribbean, Asian, and Portuguese cuisine. He is also funny, has a way of expressing himself, and is very knowledgeable with his terms.

Paula Deen was born in Albany, Georgia, and has kept a traditional southern-style cooking culture with her family for years, but is now shared among the American society of today. Later, she moved to Savannah, Georgia where she opened up a catering business called the Bag Lady, which was later renamed The Lady & Sons Restaurant. Of course she is also hosts her show on the Food Network channel and is the author of several books which are Paula Deen’s Savannah Style, Paula Deen’s The Deen Family Cookbook, Paula Deen’s Kitchen Wisdom and Recipe Journal, Christmas with Paula Deen, Paula Deen: It Ain’t All About the Cookin’, Paula Deen & Friends, The Lady & Sons Just Desserts, The Lady & Sons Too!, and The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. She is also the publisher of the magazine, Cooking with Paula Deen and is a regular guest on QVC. She is very personable and down to earth.

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References

Bio True Story. (2010). Emeril Lagasse Biography. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved November 11, 2010, from http://www.biography.com/articles/Emeril-Lagasse-9542380.

Bio True Story. (2010). Rachael Ray Biography. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved November 11, 2010, from http://www.biography.com/articles/Rachael-Ray-201254.

Emeril’s.Com. (2010). Restaurants : Home. Retrieved November 11, 2010, from http://www.emerils.com/restaurants/.

Simon & Schuster, Inc. (2010). Paula Deen: Biography. Retrieved November 11, 2010, from http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Paula-Deen/16782278/biography.

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 Let’s go Italian!

Certainly not all people share a heritage from Italy, but Italian cultures are very well known all over the United States. The Italian culture is known for the Language of Romance, the Origins of Opera, the Tarantella Dance, the Gondola Boats of Venice, Italian Wine and much more. Italian food seems to be one of the more popular items that has mingled into the everyday lives of our people and has even become the norm in our American culture.

If you travel anywhere in this country, you will find that just about every major city (and even small towns) has an annual Italian Festival which celebrates the Italian culture. You will find a variety of delicious Italian foods at these events which all will include music and several other activities that may vary among places. Regardless of the place, you will most likely enjoy yourself at any of these cultural events, especially if you have the crave for Italian food!

The most common foods that you will be able experience at these events include:

Pizza, Meatball Sandwiches, Italian breads and bread sticks, Cannoli, Ravioli, Lasagna, Pasta Fagioli, Calzone, Cavatelli, Italian Sausage, Tortellini, Fettuccine, Antipasti Salads, Muffaletta Sandwich and much more. So there is just about every kind of pasta imaginable and don’t forget the Italian wines that the culture is famous for. Also you can taste a variety of Italian pastries, cakes, cookies, and other traditional deserts as seen below.

Sfingi – Sicilian doughnuts

Gelato Italian – version of ice cream

Italian Ice - American version of a snow cone

Spumoni – layered various flavors & colors with nuts and candied fruits 

http://www.columbusitalianfestival.com/index/.

The Columbus Italian Festival, in Columbus Ohio, is held annually around the second week of October and is organized by the St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic at 720 Hamlet Street. It is known as the three-day celebration of “Faith, Family and Friends”, which has live Italian music and dancing with Italian dancers from Italy, world record meatball contest, Bocce ball contest, the American-Italian  idol contest, and includes the Italian Film Festival.

http://www.italianfallfesta.com/?q=node/6. 

The Italian Fall Festa in Dayton, Ohio, is held annually in September at the Bella Villa grounds of the John Perelli Lodge # 1633, located at 2625 County Line Road in the Kettering area. The past festival included a Baked Pasta dinner on Friday, a Stuffed Shells dinner on Saturday, and a Spaghetti & Meatballs dinner on Sunday. There is a Meatball Madness Run for a different benefit every year, and a Spaghetti Eating Contest on Sundays. This lodge is part of the OSIA (Order Sons of Italy in America), an organization that was originally founded in 1905 to aid early Italian societies. This national organization is dedicated to promoting the Italian-American culture, traditions, language, and history, as well as to preserve it.

http://www.holyrosaryindy.org/.

The Italian Street Festival in Indianapolis is held every year in June at 520 Stevens Street and is sponsored by the Holy Rosary Parish which was founded in 1909 as a home for the Italian Catholic community of the city. The church now includes a mixture of American families and is a primary location for those who celebrate the Tridentine Mass. The Italian Heritage Society of Indiana also showcases their mission so that anyone with Italian roots or any other ethnical backgrounds may experience and celebrate Italian traditions, arts and religion. This is one of Indy’s most popular annual events, is the biggest annual fundraiser for both organizations and there is something for everyone here!

Distance Learning: A Growing Trend

Distance learning courses have been around for some time, but this type of learning has become a very popular culture in the world today. If you take a look into the past, institutions questioned the idea of distance learning and if it would be able to provide an acceptable means for education or not. There was also the debate on if the customary class room could even be replaced by distance learning, and if so, will people be able to adapt to this new style of education.

So in the past, many people were leery about this new concept but as theInternet has became more popular, the number of online programs and courses available in today’s society has climbed. It is a new phenomena that appears to be a trend that is here to stay, and anymore it seems to have won the competition over the traditional in-class means for study. Since this trend has grown so much, I have decided to look into some of the technical reasons behind this growth.

It is obvious that the wide use and popularity of the Internet has contributed to the growth of this popular culture, and that this trend would be totally impossible without the Internet. Advanced technologies that have improved the use of the Internet has allowed for this success and growth. The creation of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), by Tim Berners-Lee, has provided the communication means to transfer information between hyperlinked documents. The use of these concepts lead up to the creation of the Mosaic browser, which was invented by Marc Andreessen, who founded Netscape (Deitel, 2008).

 Another advancement in technology that has aided in this success, is increased bandwidth at a reduced cost, which has resulted in high speed Internet connections. The progression of browsers, web languages, and online applications has overflowed the market with new tools that have had a tremendous impact on the improved quality of the communication means for distance learning. Bulletin boards, wikis, blogs, forums, email, podcasts, and real-time web conferences have been excellent tools for providing communication between students and instructors.

There are several conveniences provided by distance learning, so it looks like this popular culture is here to stay!____________________________________________________________________________________

References

Deitel, H. M., & Deitel, P.J. (2008). The Internet & World Wide Web: How to program (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

What is Popular Culture?

In order to understand what popular culture is, I will first describe what culture is in my own opinion. Culture can be described as the customs, beliefs, behaviors, and traditions shared by a group of people, which have usually been taught by their ancestors throughout generations. This would also include religion, education, medical practices, food, arts, music, and dance. These things are all important to a human society, because it gives people a since of belonging to a group that shares ideas and beliefs, plus it gives them some sort of self satisfaction.

Popular culture is the integrated pattern of human knowledge of a culture over time and space, which is derived from a high culture at the academic level, and from folk cultures at a common level. Academics will usually include the study of literature, philosophy, and the history of fine arts, classical music, and theatre. Folk culture is usually referred to as the artifacts created by a smaller society which I will call subcultures that are more private. During very primitive days, these were the only types of cultures since societies were secluded and did not cross paths, but this has changed as different societies have started to mingle over time.

As communications technology has advanced and changed the means of mass media, many cultures are now becoming more widely known and/or shared . I enjoy learning and broadening my knowledge on different cultures, and it is becoming very important in the business world, especially among the work force. Globalization is changing the way that we do business and the work  environment is becoming much more complex, due to diversity of ethnic groups and cultures within it. It is important to understand other cultures without using ethnocentrism, so the practice of cultural relativism is very important for managers and work groups in the business environment.

Popular culture is constantly changing, is specific to a time and place, and it prevails in all modern societies. Most cultures that are considered to be a popular culture are known to a large audience, which can be nationally or internationally, now days. Some cultures may even have a combination of mixed cultures and have multiple origins. Smaller ethnic groups may only practice their own culture, but technology is reaching these groups and they are able to expand their knowledge. The appreciation of cultural diversity has been made possible through all sources of technology, such as travel, satellite communications, mass news media, and the Internet.

Popular cultures may influence several aspects in dailylife,  and  examples  of  this may be the way we dress, what we eat, the way we think about  ourselves, along with actions. Some of these influences may result in a positive or a negative way. “Gangsta Rap” may be an example of a popular culture that has a negative influence, especially to the younger generation that it is targeted to. There are several controversies over the issue, but  many of these songs under this category have been identified with its violent and misogynist lyrics that have lead to deviant and  promiscuous behavior in adolescents (Armstrong, 2001). There are even t-shirts to justify their actions…….

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References

Armstrong , E. (2001). Gangsta Misogyny: A content analysis of the portrayals of violence against women in rap music. Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture. 8(2) pp. 96-126.Retrieved November 7, 2010, from http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol8is2/armstrong.html.