Maribeth’s World
Maribeths hub for thoughts, people, places, interests and other things…Remembering Independence Day
Have a Wonderful Independence Day!
This is a Great Web Site for finding 4th of July info!
ISAS HIghland Games!
The Illinois Saint Andrew Society presents the 23rd Annual Scottish Festival & Highland Games, promoting Chicago’s Scottish tradition, revelry, and culture in a weekend celebration for the entire family!
The festival kicks off Friday, June 19 with exhibits and vendors open from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Friday highlights include: Highland Dance competition, Heavy Athletics Friday Night Fling, crowning of the 2009 Heather Queen and Court and Whisky tastings and seminars. From 7:00-10:00 pm on the Celtic rock stage, there will be a Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-Lee), a lively celebration of traditional and contemporary Celtic music.
The festival continues Saturday, June 20 from 8:00 am – 9:00 pm and features: Piping and Drumming competition; Heavy Athletics U.S. Open Championship featuring traditional Scottish contests including the Caber Toss (flipping 20-foot, 140-pound tree trunk), the 22-pound Hammer Throw, the Sheaf Toss (flipping a bale of hay over a high bar) and the Clachnert (throwing a 16-pound river stone); Highland Dance competition featuring over 100 dance competitors; Rugby Sevens Highland Challenge; Youth Soccer 5 v 5 tournament; Falconry, Genealogy and Dogs of Scotland seminars; Parade of Clan Tartans and Children’s activities including mini golf, crafts and carnival attractions. Event attendee competitions include: Kilted Mile Run/Walk, British Car Show, a Haggis Hurling Contest for women only; a Knobbly Knees Kilt Contest for men only, Haggis Eating Contest and a Shortbread Contest. Attendees can also enjoy musical performances on the Celtic Rock Stage; traditional Scottish cuisine and drink; the Whisky Tasting Tent featuring multiple whisky vendors and the Whisky Seminar Tent featuring whisky classes; a Tea & Shortbread Tent and the Celtic Marketplace, featuring a variety of unique Scottish and Celticmerchandise. The festivities culminate with the Closing Ceremonies and Massed Bands Show, a breathtaking spectacle of 1,000 bagpipers and drummers, all joined in performing several traditional musical selections including Amazing Grace.
Established in 1845, the Illinois Saint Andrew Society is the oldest 501c3 charity in Illinois. Today the Society has grown into the largest Scottish cultural organization in North America. As well as organizing and funding initiatives to preserve Scottish traditions and promote Scottish culture, the Society offers a wide range of elder care.
The Illinois Saint Andrew Society welcomes everyone who is Scottish by birth, by heritage or simply by inclination.
“This is the largest and best Scottish festival in the Midwest,” said Gus Noble, President of the Society. “We pride ourselves on making families feel like they’ve been transported to Scotland for a weekend of fun while enjoying a unique opportunity to learn more about Scottish culture.”www.chicago-scots.org The Illinois Saint Andrew Society nourishes Scottish identity through service, fellowship and celebration of Scottish Culture.
The Illinois Saint Andrew Society presents the 23rd Annual Scottish Festival & Highland Games, promoting Chicago’s Scottish tradition, revelry, and culture in a weekend celebration for the entire family! Obama Honors Flag Day, Designates National Flag Week – Political News – FOXNews.com
Obama Honors Flag Day, Designates National Flag Week – Political News – FOXNews.com
Posted using ShareThis
National Flag Day has been celebrated on June 14th of every year since 1885. National Flag Week is the week starting on June 14th. In that tradition, Barack Obama declared yesterday (JUne 14th) National Flag Day and this week National Flag Week 2009. As is traditional, he encouraged all Americans to be proud of the American Flag and display in wherever possible. He ordered that the flag be displayed over federal buildings throughout the week.
Obama called on all Americans to observe the period of Flag Day though Independence Day, the Fourth of July, in celebration of our nation’s great heritage, by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at public gatherings.
The tradition of Flag Day was originally started by a Wisconsin school teacher named BJ Cigrand. He encouraged students to celebrate the birthday of the Flag Resolution and the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes. The movement that was started by B. J. Cigrand grew throughout the country. On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation officially establishing June 14th as Flag Day. On August 3rd, 1949, President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
The Pledge of Allegiance should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute.
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
- Usually, the flag should be displayed only between sunrise and sunset. If you’d like to display the flag at night, the area should be well-lit so that the flag can be seen.
- The flag should be raised quickly but lowered slowly and carefully.
- In bad weather, the flag shouldn’t be displayed unless it is made of all-weather or weatherproof materials.
- Never fly another flag above the U.S. flag. If another flag is flown at the same height, it should not be placed to the right of the U.S. flag.
- Do not allow the flag to touch the ground. It is not necessary, however, to destroy a flag that has touched the ground; if it has become dirty, wash it or have it dry-cleaned as needed.
- The flag should always be displayed with the union (the blue and white area) to the flag’s own right, which is the viewer’s left.
- When flown at half-staff, the flag should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. The flag should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered for the day. On Memorial Day the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.
- The Flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning. Most American Legion Posts regularly conduct a dignified flag burning ceremony, often on Flag Day, June 14th. Contact your local American Legion Hall and inquire about the availability of this service.
Terrific New Web Site!
Try out this website and let me know what you think! I have tried a few things with it and have found it to be something that I will use going forward. Tell me what you tried and how you liked it?
It is called WolframAlpha
http://www.wolframalpha.com/ and was created by Steven Wolfram.
Check it out, try it out and let me know what you think!
Memorial Day Week– A Rememberance
Memorial Day Weekend is a time to remember and express gratitude for the individuals who have served, gained and protect our American Freedoms. Many people use the weekend as a time for family, projects, shopping, rest, travel, decoration of graves, and the start of summer activities. We will do a little of that here, but we will also take part in official Memorial activities in our community. We have a small community parade that culminates at Ridge Park for prayers and a ceremony with Taps. I have always enjoyed the PBS National Memorial Day Concerts and found they also have a great website. Some other memorial day links are:
TAPs
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the hills, from the lake,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.
Go to sleep, peaceful sleep,
May the soldier or sailor,
God keep.
On the land or the deep,
Safe in sleep.
Love, good night, Must thou go,
When the day, And the night
Need thee so?
All is well. Speedeth all
To their rest.
Fades the light; And afar
Goeth day, And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well; Day has gone,
Night is on.
Thanks and praise, For our days,
‘Neath the sun, Neath the stars,
‘Neath the sky,
As we go, This we know,
God is nigh.
Wind Blizzard
Wind Blizzard
damaged augury
ravished land,
words strewn about
in hundred mile an hour oratory gusts
the gods’ foreplay scatters
poetic debris
split barks of howling rhyme
branches of semantics copulating
with the wind
leave distasteful creations like
dead electrical wires, tossed
green houses, unroofed salad of pestilent images
blown out rooms with disengaged decor
blocked synapses, a weary road
impassable
splintered disposition struck down in all its glory
by vicious innuendo, pummeling
rotting corpses of brain refuse, wide eyed
readers surviving only to inhale
the stench of vaporous vowels
in alliterative decompose
blacked out power, feeling for unwritten stanzas
in candlelight vigil
muses circle like buzzards with manacled
talons
float aimlessly above an abridged wasteland
of vocabularic treason—
letters lie disarranged—arrested
congested voices echo in chaotic ink of madness
Oh touch me,
i’ll hear you in the ironic silence
i’ll feel your mouth open
in bombastic prayer—
just before the new sky breaks
with the sound of limp tongues cracking
as the lever is pulled to still the song—
restoration’s wing will etch itself
into a one mind at a time posture
of stopped clocks
hand bones tossed into broken tea cups
the leaves’ reading suspended
a consequence of fingers
too twisted to write
the event wisely—
By erin-cilberto
5/14/o9
Happy Earth Day & Earth Week
I remember well the first Earth Day and week in 1970. There are many sites to look at with a lot of information. One that I particularly like is the US government site that can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm Whatever your reason or politics, it is good to protect the environment and protect our resources.
Technology in the Classroom
Check out this link:
http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/
The site Academhack and Academic Dave provides some great ideas for using Twitter in the classroom. Read the two links and let me know what you think about this?
Welcome Spring Vernal Equinox
March 20th is the first day of Spring! It is a good time to start thinking about summer gardens. I am really looking forward to Spring this year. An Equinox happens each year at two specific moments in time when the centre of the Sun can be observed to be vertically above the Earth’s Equator, occurring around March 20/21 and September 22/23. If you are an educator and are looking for some great ideas, just click the First Day of Spring graphic.
