Groundhog Day Celebration

Fun Fact of the Day: “The first official Groundhog day was on February 2, 1887” (www.telegraph.co.uk). Brief summary, questions, and answers about Groundhog Day history!

Have you ever heard or even celebrated such a day as Groundhog Day? Anyway, let's have a discussion. Perhaps, you know more about it than we do. 

Topic:

1. What is a groundhog? What do you think about this holiday? Do you think that animals can really serve as indicators of things such as the weather? Is it possible to believe that if this groundhog “sees its shadow” there will be 6 more weeks or winter and if he doesn’t spring will come early? If not, why is this an important holiday?

2. How can this holiday have an effect on people across the United States and Canada? Do you think that people would make different plans based on the prospects of a long winter or early spring? How does weather affect us?

3. The groundhog only has an accuracy rate of 39%. With such small success, why would people continue to believe in this tradition and participate in this ceremony every year? What causes certain customs and  traditions to last, despite their inaccuracy or irrelevance at times? Can you think of any other “outdated” celebrations?

4. Are there similar traditions here in Ukraine? What are some examples of holidays that originated from folklore? Do you celebrate these holidays? Do you believe in them strongly or sometimes question their validity or purpose?

5. A 1993 film, “Groundhog Day,” followed the life of one man who lived this day repeatedly until he “got it right.” If you could live a single day over again, what would it be and what would you do differently? Do you believe in “second chances”?

Schedule: Talk about Skype Conferences!

Saturday 04 February at 10:30

Thursday 09 February at 5:30- Special Skype Conference on “National Parks.”

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2 in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day then spring will come early. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.

Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow. In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (Grundsow Lodges) celebrate the holiday with fersommlinge, social events in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more g'spiel (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty, usually in the form of a nickel, dime or quarter, per word spoken, put into a bowl in the center of the table.

The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Groundhog Day, already a widely recognized and popular tradition, received widespread attention as a result of the eponymous 1993 film Groundhog Day, which was set in Punxsutawney and portrayed Punxsutawney Phil.
Read More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day

Heroes of Black American History (1): George Washington Carver

He was a man who became famous for his astounding discovery of things around the world, as well as himself. Some of the amazing things he invented were shaving cream, ink, shampoo, and instant coffee.

George Washington Carver (January 1864 – January 5, 1943), was an American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor. The exact day and year of his birth are unknown; he is believed to have been born into slavery in Missouri in January 1864.

Carver's reputation is based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes, which also aided nutrition for farm families. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life. The most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes using peanuts. He also developed and promoted about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin. He received numerous honors for his work, including the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP.

During the Reconstruction-era South, monoculture of cotton depleted the soil in many areas. In the early 20th century, the boll weevil destroyed much of the cotton crop, and planters and farm workers suffered. Carver's work on peanuts was intended to provide an alternative crop. He was recognized for his many achievements and talents. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed Carver a "Black Leonardo", a reference to the Renaissance Italian polymath, Leonardo da Vinci.

Read More: http://www.kyrene.org/schools/brisas/sunda/bhistory/carver/carver.htm, http://holidays.kaboose.com/black-activists-and-politicians.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver

Heroes of Black American History

Black History Month celebrates contributions made by African Americans and people of African descent around the world. Back then, it was called Negro History Week and was celebrated the second week of February. Now it is celebrated for the whole month of February in the United States and Canada, and the month of October in the United Kingdom.

Black History Month was begun as Negro History Week by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926. His goal was to educate the American people about African-American history, focusing on African Americans' cultural backgrounds and reputable achievements.

When Carter G. Woodson started Negro History Week, his purpose was for the history of African Americans to become considered a more significant part of American history as a whole. 

Black History Month sparks an annual debate about the continued usefulness of a month dedicated to the history of one race. Several journalists argue the advantages and disadvantages of emphasizing one month of the year to promote African American History.

Others say that celebrating black history separately from American History underlines the idea that African Americans are not Americans, and their history is set apart from mainstream culture. But people who think black history is important say that as long as there is racism, unfairness, and a lack of understanding of black culture, there is a place for Black History Month. 
Negro History Week was set for the second week in February to celebrate the birthdays of two people who worked hard for African Americans: Abraham Lincoln, the white president who freed the slaves, and Frederick Douglass, the first African American Vice Presidential nominee.
Read More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month

It's time to play board games!

Apples to Apples consists only of two decks of cards: Things and Descriptions. Each turn, the current referee selects a Description and players try to pick, from the cards in their hands, the Things that best match that Description. The referee then chooses the Thing that appeals most and awards the card to the player who played it. The unusual combinations of Things and Descriptions are humorous to the extreme, and will quickly have the entire room in an uproar. Once a player has won a pre-determined number of cards, that player wins. The original Apples to Apples Core Set was the first entry in the Apples to Apples Series. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apples_to_Apples 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taboo_(game)

Taboo is a word guessing party game published by Hasbro in 1989. The objective of the game is for a player to have his/her partner(s) guess the word on his/her card without using the word itself or five additional words listed on the card. 

The game is similar to Catch Phrase, also from Hasbro, in which a player tries to get his or her teammates to guess words using gestures and verbal clues.Taboo was later the basis for a 2002 game show of the same name on TNN (now Spike), hosted by comedian Chris Wylde. 

Bananagrams is a word game invented by Abraham Nathanson of Narragansett, Rhode Island, wherein lettered tiles are used to spell words. Nathanson conceived and developed the idea for the game with the help of his family. The name is derived from the founding family's claim that it's the "anagram game that will drive you bananas!" Beginning as a family innovation, Bananagrams was made available to the public in January 2006 at the London Toy Fair. The game is similar to the older Scrabble variant Take Two. Game play involves arranging one's tiles into a grid of connected words faster than one's opponents. The object of the game is to be the first to complete a word grid after the pool of tiles has been exhausted. The tiles come in a fabric, banana-shaped package. Bananagrams is listed as a must-have and one of the top ten best travel games, and it has been listed as a best-seller among toy and gift retailers.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/toys-games-double-bananagrams/19606848 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upwords

 

http://www.gamewright.com/gamewright/index.php?section=games&page=game&show=93

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Moves-1079-Super-Scrabble/dp/B0001CU1BA

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7866/10-days-in-the-usa

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10550/big-boggle

VOA Celebrates 70th Anniversary

Voice of America is celebrating its 70th birthday. VOA went on air February 1, 1942, nearly two months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II.

Voice of America (VOA) is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio and TV and the Internet outside of the U.S. in 44 languages. VOA produces about 1,500 hours of news and feature programming each week for an estimated global audience of 123 million people, "to promote freedom and democracy and to enhance understanding through multimedia communication of accurate, objective, and balanced news, information and other programming about America and the world to audiences overseas." Its day-to-day operations are supported by the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB).

Read More:  http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/VOA-Celebrates-70th-Anniversary--138498474.html

CO.NX UPCOMING PROGRAM GUIDE

U.S. Elections Series: Analyzing the Primary Season

Friday, February 10, 2012

09:45 EST (14:45 UTC)
URL: http://www.facebook.com/CoNx?sk=app_297891213555249  (Short URL:http://goo.gl/VDfD0)

Description: Please save the date for a program hosted with U.S. Embassy London on "Tracking the 2012 U.S. Elections", featuring Thomas Mann, a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution.  A noted congressional scholar, Mann writes and speaks widely on issues related to campaigns, elections, campaign finance reform, and the effectiveness of Congress.

Format: This will be a video webcast in English.  Click on the URL above to watch.

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Discussing Black History Month with Judge Ann C. Williams

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

10:30 EST (15:30 UTC)

URL: http://conx.state.gov/digital-diplomacy/  (Short URL: http://goo.gl/od5nw)

Description: Judge Ann C. Williams is a United States Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.  Confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1999, Williams was the first African American woman judge on the seventh circuit.  On February 14, Judge Williams will discuss the successes and challenges in her career, and take questions from the online audience. Join us!

Format: This will be an interactive video webcast in English.  Click on the URL above to participate.