Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Venetian Face Masks - A Brief History of How They Came About

The Venetian face masks have a great history that is associated with them. It will be very interesting to know about the various reasons that are associated with the emergence of these kinds of masks. This mask can also be a good idea to wear for some of the parties and balls that you would like to attend to. There are also several models in which this mask can be bought.

Many people who choose to wear these masks are very satisfied and enjoy wearing them on a consistent basis. The masks were first used in the capital of Italy a very long time ago. It will be good to know about the history of this product such that you will be feeling it to be a pride possession whenever you wear these kind of masks to any special event.

The Amazing History of Venetian Masks

In the thirteenth century, one of the important activities that were taking place in the region of Venice is shipbuilding. There was more than 10 percent of the overall population who were involved in the production of these ships. Majority of these people who are involved in this shipbuilding process were from other parts of the world and considered as slaves.

There was a rising level of awareness to stop the act of trading others as slaves. The shipbuilding process was achieved with such tremendous speed to an extent that it was possible for them to build a battle ship in less than 30 days. There was great level of labor that was put into the manufacturing of these ships and it took a very long time for them to get done.

Idea Of Introducing Masks

The idea to introduce face masks was first taken up to prevent people from being treated in an ugly manner and to prevent from others making fun of them. There was a great advantage that was associated with wearing these masks and many people wanted this advantage.

The supervisor will also avail a honest reply from people and also people from foreign origin will be protected. Thus these Venetian masks will be a wonderful possession that will be providing you with wonderful looks and at the same time you can feel proud of wearing them anywhere you go.

Many people are just simply not aware of the wonderful history of these masks and how they eventually came about. Now that you know you can feel proud of wearing them.




Simon Kendal loves going to masquerade parties and really knows about the variety of masks you can wear. He recently created some informational websites.

He provides useful information on some cool and cheap masquerade masks. Also he shows the benefits of purchasing some fun mardi gras half masks to go to any special events. Masks are fun to wear and will definitely help you relax when undergoing some serious and stressful life situations.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Great Price Masks Int'l for $11.98

Unisex Black Fabric Italian Masks Costume Masquerade Venetian Mask Review






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There is nothing so exciting than a Masquerade or Party where exotic masks are worn.

Go from the party to the bedroom.



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Update Post: Jun 29, 2010 08:30:24

Monday, June 28, 2010

Scary Halloween Masks That Will Make Your Friends & Neighbors Run Away

Halloween is a time when all sorts of people are able to express themselves in fun, entertaining ways by dressing in costumes and wearing scary Halloween masks. Online shopping for these type of items will yield a wide variety of choices. No matter what you are looking for, you will likely be able to find it.

Some of the scary Halloween masks released for the 2009 season include the following:

*Cave Demon Mask

Be prepared to scare! This mask consists of a cracked skull with complete with three sets of curved and pointed horns. In addition, a set of sharp teeth protrude from the skull's mouth. This will transform anyone into a creature straight from the underworld.

*Howl-O-Ween Mask

If you are into scary Halloween masks with fur attached, perhaps this one will do the trick. The mask consists of a scary, snarling vicious wolf complete with long brown hair and sharp teeth. Get ready to howl at the moon.

*Baby Doll Adult Mask

Don't be fooled into thinking this mask is for kids. It is truly a frightening creation. This mask consists of a worn, discolored baby doll face with part of its hair missing and cracks all over the face. Creepy!

*Green Gremlin Monster Mask

Anyone who witnesses you wearing this mask will be in shock. This ghoulish green character will fill onlookers with fright and unease. Its exaggerated features such as over sized sharp teeth and huge cat shaped eyes add to its fear factor.

*Halloween 2 Michael Meyers Adult Mask

Michael is back, and he is looking scarier than ever. This scary Halloween mask consists of a wrinkled face and graying hair complete with bloody wounds and scars on the right side of the face and ear.

There are also scary Halloween masks that are considered to be standard, or those that have been around for a long time and will continue to be popular. The following are some choices from this category:

* Jason Hockey Mask

The string of Friday the XIII movies seem endless, and Jason has been a popular Halloween pick for many years by those who dress for the occasion. This mask will transform you into the mute horror that is Jason Voorhees in a white hockey style mask that is officially licensed.

*Freddy Mask

Adult or child, you can masquerade as Freddy behind this authentic looking licensed mask. Be prepared for looks of horror as you make an appearance to your friends and neighbors wearing this creation.

* Universal Studios Mummy Mask

This is an officially licensed product that truly evokes memories of the original mummy movies of decades past. In fact, it is considered a collectible item. It is truly creepy!

*Deluxe Hannibal Lecter Half Mask

Designed to keep the insane Hannibal from attempting to consume human flesh, this mask is authentic looking with its brown fiberglass construction and metal bars that cover the mouth area.

No matter what your taste, you can choose one of these scary Halloween masks and transform yourself into whomever you choose to portray. The best part is that you can have loads of fun while doing it.




Dr. Stu Silverberg is a writer, teacher and edutainment specialist. (Edutainment = Education + Entertainment) He created http://www.HolidayOfTheMonthClub.com to help people find great products and gift ideas for the next holiday, birthday, anniversary or special occasion.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Zanni Masks - Their Origins & Character


Image : http://www.flickr.com


The Zanni family, of masquerade Masks, originated in Venice in the fifteenth century with the Italian Comedy - The Commedia Dell' Arte. The word originates from the Venetian, Giovanni (John) and is a diminutive of it. Zanni is also sometimes known as Zan, Zane, Zanne, Zany, or Zani, and is where the English term 'zany' comes from. Meaning: a clown, an awkward simpleton, a buffoon or a person who is a, stupid incompetent fool.

The class of the Zanni family of masquerade Masks depicts the buffoon, always from the lower class, the peasant, a migrant worker, holding positions of servants, valets, slaves, porters, odd-job person, hawkers, rogues etc. Zanni refers to the class of mask, as well as to an individual character. In The Commedia Dell' Arte, Zanni was an important character type, representing a social class.

The name and its class were inspired by the Bergamo peasants who finding that they were facing a famine and unable to sustain a living in the countryside due to heavy cheaper imports from Greece and other countries after the Venetians conquered their province in 1428, where forced off their farms to find work in the towns of northern Italy including Venice. Giovanni was a common name for the men of this area. They migrated into the towns offering themselves as servants, gofers, porters etc, selling what they could bring with them from the country. They were known for their nimbleness, agility, sturdiness, crudeness as well as their course and fantastic speech, which became heavily mimicked by the Zanni of The Commedia Dell' Arte. The family Zanni includes the characters of the Harlequin, Brighelle, Francatrippa, Pedrolino, Arlecchino among its class, as named individual characters; however Zanni are also any unnamed character in a play.

The Zanni Mask was first a full-face mask, which developed into a half mask, covering the nose eyes and forehead. The nose on a Zanni Mask is important, as the nose delineates how stupid or simple the character is. The longer the nose of the Zanni, the more dullard the individual is.

The Zanni, portraying country folk are primarily dressed in sacking, and have a stance of one used to carrying heavy burdens, so they are usually hunched, with knees in a bowed position and feet splayed, in stark contracts to their betters the gentry, who display deportment. The Zanni, are an animated people, constantly moving their arms and hands as they communicate, displaying a coarse rough voice and language. The Zanni's body often times has a mind of its own, with different body parts making odd and animated movements; the less stupid shorter nosed Zanni break out into acrobatics and handstands. Zanni is well known for farting, burping & snoring with gusto. Coming from a famine, Zanni displays a deep unforgotten hunger of the body, constantly hungry, constantly searching for food appearing gluttonous. Zanni are known for their laziness and perchance for sleeping, which they will do at inappropriate times and in any place, including whilst standing. The Zanni are ignorant, rouges, but can be loyal. They can be seen with a slapstick, which they are more than happy to beat someone with, parcels, baggage, food, or other items belonging to another, in their roles as gofers, porters, servants etc.

The Zanni Mask, is a mask of many characters, always from the peasant class, portraying, the ignorant, silly, loutish fellow, who has been built with agility and ease of movement. The Zanni Mask can portray a porter, soldier, baker, farmer, a market hawker, the Harlequin and more. There is diversity to the occupation of the Zanni. When you slip on a Zanni masquerade Mask, who will you be?




Hello my friends my name is Melanie Robson, I am an Author, Screenwriter and specialist in Masquerade Masks You can see my authentic handmade venetian Costume Masks on my site, just click the links.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Great Price Century Novelty for

Decorated Silver Masquerade Mask Review







Decorated Silver Masquerade Mask Overview


Masquerade in style with Mardi Gras Masks! The silver half mask is a great addition to any Mardi Gras party, Halloween costume or Masquerade ball. Celebrate in a secretive and stylish fashion with this venetian half mask. Half face mask. Silver mask with black accents. Black elastic bands for easy wear. 7 1/2" across the face and 3" tall. One size fits most. Cloth covered plastic lays smooth on your face. Having a masquerade ball? These half masks are the perfect party favor! Make sure no guest is without a masquerade mask. Give away a half mask at the door to get the masquerade party or masquerade theme dance going! Part of Costumes > Masks


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Update Post: Jun 26, 2010 03:50:17

Thursday, June 24, 2010

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Black & Gold Masquerade Mask Review







Black & Gold Masquerade Mask Overview


Masquerade in style with Mardi Gras Masks! The black and gold half mask is a great addition to any party. Add some extra fun for all your party guests. Half face mask. Black mask with gold sequins. Black ribbon ties in back for wear. Made of plastic. One size fits most. 7" across the face and 3 1/2" tall. Having a masquerade ball? These half masks are the perfect party favor! Make sure no guest is without a masquerade mask. Give away a venetian half mask at the door to get the masquerade party or masquerade theme dance going! Part of Costumes > Masks


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Update Post: Jun 25, 2010 02:30:10

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Check Out Safari Eye Venetian, Masquerade, Mardi Gras Mask W/Peacock Feathers Style C

Safari Eye Venetian, Masquerade, Mardi Gras Mask W/Peacock Feathers Style C Review






Safari Eye Venetian, Masquerade, Mardi Gras Mask W/Peacock Feathers Style C Feature


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Update Post: Jun 24, 2010 01:30:16

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Top 10 Rainy Day Activities For Kids

There is nothing worse than a house full of bored, energetic kids on a rainy day. Having a few activities for rainy days on hand will reduce their boredom, reduce tension and anger and make for a much happier day. It's important to keep these activities on reserve for just rainy days. If you do them all the time, it won't be as special on a rainy day. Keep some activities just for those cloudy wet days.

Activity 1 - Play-Doh Mouse House
Every house should have a few cans of play-doh around. You can create your own or buy some from the store. Kids love to create with play-doh but when they are given a task it becomes much more fun and imaginative, especially for younger kids who may not know exactly what to do. Tell your kids to design a house for a mouse. They can make little couches, TV's inside the house. The house can just be walls and rooms, not necessarily a 3D structure. Let the kids explore and imagine. The kids can even make mice to live in the house.

Activity 2 - Create a Fort
Forts can be made out of anything around the house. Don't only make a fort but give the kids something to do inside such as watch a movie, color a picture or read a book with a flashlight. They then have a goal to accomplish once the fort is created.

Activity 3 - Make a Movie
Most households have camcorders. Keep a blank tape or DVD around for rainy days. Let your kids create a story to be made into a movie. Have them collect props, costumes and whatever else they need. Do a few dress rehearsals before the "taping". This rainy day activity will turn into a cherished memory years to come.

Activity 4 - Crafts
Keep a small Tupperware box full of craft things in your house for rainy days. You can buy these things on clearance or at the dollar store throughout the year. Buy wooden pegs or blocks to paint. Foam stickers are fun to create designs and pictures out of. Construction paper, scissors and glue are great for making masks or puppets.

Activity 5 - Board Games
You can find board games on sale at local toy stores around Christmas. Games are now available for children of all ages and levels. Purchase a few and keep them in your rainy day cupboard and only get them out for rainy days. New toys or games keep kids excited and interested. Play together as a family and come up with a prize for the winner.

Activity 6 - Paid Jobs
This kills two birds with one stone! Make a chart of jobs to be done around the house and the amount you'll pay to have them done. These can be easy jobs like dust or put laundry away. They can be more difficult like give the dog a bath or empty the dishwasher. All should be age appropriate. Kids will be eager to work around the house if they know they will get paid.

Activity 7 - Teach Your Children How to Use the Computer
Make a power point presentation on a topic of your child's choice. Teach them how to copy and paste things. Play on the internet on various children websites such as www.noggin.com. Teach your child how to use paint or any other painting application. This knowledge will be extremely valuable later on in life.

Activity 8 - Old Fashion Games
A great rainy day activity is to play some old fashioned games. Hide and Seek, Kick the Can, Red light Green Light, What Time is it Mr. Fox. Duck Duck Goose, I Spy, Four Corners, Hot Potato and Keep Away are just a few or the classic games. You can Google the games for directions.

Activity 9 - Tell Nursery Rhymes
So many kids today don't know the old nursery rhymes of yesteryear. Get out a good Nursery Rhyme book or you can get one from the Library and share some good old fashioned tales with your kids. To make it even more fun, have your kids choose a character and act it out while reading it. Your kids will understand the story even better and get out some of their extra energy on a rainy day.

Activity 10 - Symmetrical Painting
Use some white computer print paper and some paint. Fold the paper in half and only let your kids paint on one half. When they are finished fold the paper and press firmly. When the kids open it up they'll see their beautiful designs. You can cut the paper into heart shapes or butterflies. Be sure to teach them the term symmetrical as this is a great teachable moment!




Amanda Cummings has a degree in elementary education with a health science minor. She is the mother of three and owner of http://www.nannydeprived.com.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Great Price Century Novelty for

Decorated Silver Masquerade Mask Review







Decorated Silver Masquerade Mask Overview


Masquerade in style with Mardi Gras Masks! The silver half mask is a great addition to any Mardi Gras party, Halloween costume or Masquerade ball. Celebrate in a secretive and stylish fashion with this venetian half mask. Half face mask. Silver mask with black accents. Black elastic bands for easy wear. 7 1/2" across the face and 3" tall. One size fits most. Cloth covered plastic lays smooth on your face. Having a masquerade ball? These half masks are the perfect party favor! Make sure no guest is without a masquerade mask. Give away a half mask at the door to get the masquerade party or masquerade theme dance going! Part of Costumes > Masks


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Update Post: Jun 21, 2010 23:30:13

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Check Out White Fabric Italian Masks Blue Feather Sequins Masquerade Mardi Gras Mask Venetian for $26.98

White Fabric Italian Masks Blue Feather Sequins Masquerade Mardi Gras Mask Venetian Review






White Fabric Italian Masks Blue Feather Sequins Masquerade Mardi Gras Mask Venetian Feature


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White Fabric Italian Masks Blue Feather Sequins Masquerade Mardi Gras Mask Venetian Overview



White Fabric Italian Masks Blue Feather Sequins. These carnival masks are based on Venetian tradition and are hand crafted with artesian quality.

Perfect for a party or the bedroom.



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Update Post: Jun 20, 2010 22:30:17

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Check Out Pink Leather Studded Masquerade Party Cat Costume Novelty Mask for $18.99

Pink Leather Studded Masquerade Party Cat Costume Novelty Mask Review






Pink Leather Studded Masquerade Party Cat Costume Novelty Mask Feature


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Our pink leather studded masquerade mask is sure to be a show stopper. It has an elastic headband to secure the mask. Fits most female head sizes. A perfect accessory for costume parties or special occasions.Similar masks retail for or more. Now you can own it brand new for dramatically less.


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Update Post: Jun 19, 2010 21:20:10

Friday, June 18, 2010

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Butterfly Half Mask Review







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Masquerade in style with Mardi Gras Masks! The butterfly venetian half mask is a great addition to any butterfly party. Add some butterfly masquerade fun for all your party guests. Half face mask. Black elastic bands for easy wear. 9" across face at widest point and 6" tall. One size fits most. Having a masquerade ball? These half masks are the perfect party favor! Make sure no guest is without a masquerade mask. Give away a half mask at the door to get the masquerade party or masquerade theme dance going! Part of Costumes > Masks


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Update Post: Jun 18, 2010 20:20:13

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Why is the French Maid Costume Ideal For a Masquerade Ball?

A masquerade ball is exciting, mysterious and daring. This is an event that requires guests to attend the ball and participate wearing a mask. A masquerade balls is an important part of history and holds a great deal of tradition. They became very popular throughout Europe in the 18th century and therefore, hold a foreign influence over the theme. Sometimes balls were public and then there were those for the very important and wealthy people that were private events, held in fabulous ballrooms located in the hosts home.

The French Maid costume was inspired by burlesque theater after what a French house cleaner or "lady maid" would look like in such a sexual country. A lady maid before becoming a house cleaner was a personal maid to the wealthy European women. She assisted the women in preparing for events such as these masquerade balls and often traveled with them to be sure they were taken care of. The French Maid costume is as full of mystery and tradition as the masquerade ball itself.

Of course, at the ball, there will be plenty of king and queen costumes deriving from the tradition of Carnaval and Mardi Gras theme. Who actually took care of those queens or wealthy women though and assisted them to prepare for these celebrations? The French Maid. Who later became the house cleaner to these wealthy European people represented in Masquerade balls? The French Maid.

Not only is a French Maid an important traditional costume to a masquerade ball, it is extremely original too. Most women are going to wear the common fancy ballgown or Victorian era costume and maybe even a few might be daring and opt for the Renaissance costumes. There is a good chance however, of you being the only sexy French icon of tradition at the ball.

Of course, the mask is the most important part of a masquerade ball and as traditional as your costume is, your mask does not not have to be. The more glamorous the better! Feathers, sequence and plenty of color is ideal. After all, you are sure to have a lot of attention drawn to you as people realize the originality and pure tradition of your French Maid costume.




Choosing the right costume for a party can be a tricky exercise. If you would like some help choosing your next lingerie costume visit Dreamy.com.au or our sister site French Maid Costumes.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Masquerade Proms Are the Hottest Theme This Year!


Image : http://www.flickr.com


In recent years, masquerade proms have really gained so much popularity. Each year the number of schools that celebrate masquerade balls for their promenade increases. They celebrate this way by choosing a masquerade prom theme for the specific promenade. In this kind of celebration, the Juniors and Seniors are required to bring in and wear masquerade masks. This is why the masquerade themed prom becomes so much fun and exciting. The atmosphere becomes very elegant, mysterious and uniquely original.

Once the students knew of the masquerade prom theme, they start to wonder what kind of masquerade mask and dress they are going to use for the event. Of course, everyone wants to look outstandingly different. This brings thrill to every participant. Masquerade proms bring joy to everyone. Students really love to look gorgeous and elegant with their fabulous attire and masquerade masks.

If you wonder how you will choose a masquerade mask for the masquerade proms, take a moment on these tips. One important thing you should consider in choosing the best mask is that if the color of your masquerade mask matches the color of your dress. You should also make sure that you and your partner are wearing matching masks for the masquerade proms. You will stand out in the crowd if you have chosen the perfect mask that matches with your dress and you partner's mask.

It will be better if you prefer to pick a bright and shiny color for your mask, such as red, silver or gold. You will definitely stand out with these masks more than a white or black mask would. However if the white or black color of your masks match your outfit, then it will be fine.

You will see many different kinds and styles of masquerade masks at masquerade proms. In order to look elegant, you must wear a masquerade mask that is not made of plastic. Preferably the mask would be made of some type of fabric. This kind of mask is more expensive than its plastic counterpart, but you will see and feel the difference once you wear it. You will really feel great. Attend all the masquerade proms and capture every moment with your classmates and friends.




Serena Mason is an expert on masquerade masks for prom. She has years of experience in the industry. Click the links to check out her elegant and stylish collection of masks formasquerade themed proms

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Mardi Gras is Fat Tuesday

Mardi Gras is a French phrase which means "Fat Tuesday." This event has been celebrated in different cities all over the world but it all started in Nice in the year 1294. The Comte de Provence initiated the visits to Nice for the colorful and funny carnivals. At this time, the celebration already included the masquerade balls and jugglers. The reputation of the festival had gained popularity all over France. Mardi Gras is often associated with participants wearing artistic and colorful mask and extravagant and magnificent costumes.

History of Mardi Gras

For thousand of years, Mardi Gras has been part of human festivities. According to some historians, the ancient rituals of different tribes were the foundation of this event. This ritual is also a welcoming for the coming of spring and surviving the cold winter.

Druids of France kill bulls as sacrificial offerings for the celebration of Fete Du Soleil (Festival of the Sun). Druids were a group of priests that exist on ancient Britain and Gaul. It is said that the sacrifices were offered to the gods so that the people would be blessed by more healthy livestock and fertile women. The farmers also threw away flour over their fields as a sign for more crops. Druids are also Irish and Welsh legends where they are known as prophets and sorcerers.

Another ancient festival that could be part of Mardi Gras was done in Lupercalia which was a Roman festival that took place every year in the middle of February. It was like a circus. Based on history, the Roman festival was initially a festival for shepherds who they said founded Rome. The tradition later evolved by having the festival to honor the Roman god of Fertility, Lupercus.

Fat Tuesday

There are several acceptable explanations why Mardi Gras is also called Fat Tuesday. Some of the reasons are related to the birth of Roman Catholic in France.

Pagan festivals were not encouraged by the Catholic Church. That's why they made plans to stop the celebration of such pagan activities. However, changing the people's way of living was not that simple. They could not force the people to stop celebrating in a Carnival. The Catholic Church, then, declared the time for Carnival was a time to be merry and happy before the coming Lent season which requires seriousness and focus.

Lent season officially starts on Ash Wednesday. The festival had to take place before it so that people may indulge themselves in fun and food before the fasting which was required during Lent season.

Another tale on why it was called Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday was that people used up all the fats before the celebration of Ash Wednesday.

The history of Mardi Gras and why it is also called Fat Tuesday are not yet fully answered. Still its popularity has reached even the America. The event also breaks the most number of tourists who visit France just to celebrate. Fat Tuesday also makes France's economy fatter.




Visit these sites if you want more information about mardi-gras as fat Tuesday or mardi gras honored in particular.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Exploring the Breath, Range, Character, Scope and Reception of Cyprian Ekwensi's Writings


Image : http://www.flickr.com


Ekwensi one of Africa's most prolific writers who died late last year and was buried early this year, maintained a vibrant writing activity throughout his life, publishing a collection of short stories, Cash On Delivery, his last work of fiction and completing work on his memoirs, titled, In My Time for several years on to his death. With over twenty novels, collections of stories and short novels to his name, Ekwensi's thematic preoccupation equally covered the Nigerian Civil War from the perspective of a journalist and life in a pastoral Fulani setting in Northern Nigeria.

Ekwensi's first published work was the novella, When Love Whispers, published in 1948, ten years before the great African novel, Achebe's Things Fall Apart, appeared in London. He was inspired by sorrow over his unsuccessful attempt to court a young woman whose father insisted that she makes a marriage of convenience to write it. This short, light romance formed part of what became known as the Onitsha Market school of pulp fiction, and its success inspired Ekwensi to continue in that same mode.

Ekwensi had already distinguished himself by the several short stories he had written for broadcast on radio. These he later put together, within ten days, while on his way to Chelsea School of Pharmacy, London, to realize his first novel, People of the City, which Nigeria's premier newspaper, The Daily Times, published in installments before it appeared in book form in 1954. but which was not published in the United States until 15 years later. People of the City (1954) was the first West African novel in modern style English to be published in England. It's publication thus marked an important development in African literature with Ekwensi becoming one of the first African novelists to receive much exposure in the West and eventually the most prolific African novelist.

The fact that Cyprian Ekwensi started his writing career as a pamphleteer is reflected in the episodic nature of People of the City (1954) a collection of stories strung together but reading like a novel, in which he gives a vibrant portrait of the fast-paced life in a West African city, Lagos. People of the City which recounts the coming to political awareness of a young reporter and band leader in an emerging African country is filled with his running commentary on the problems of bribery and corruption and despotism bedeviling such states. In it and several others, Ekwensi explores the lure, thrills and challenges of urban life, and the extreme permissiveness and impersonal relationships permeating the lives of migrants to the city, where close-ties normally fostered by the extended family system of their traditional societies constitute a serious check on the deviant lifestyles that find full expression in the city.

According to, Bernth Lindfors, none of Ekwensi's numerous works is entirely free from amateurish blots and blunders. Lindfors therefore concludes that he could not call any "the handiwork of a careful, skilled craftsman." On his portrayal of the moral irresponsibility in city life, Bernth Lindfors, argued that "because his sinful heroines usually come to bad ends, Ekwensi can be viewed as a serious moralist whose novels offer instruction in virtue by displaying the tragic consequences of vice. But it always seems as if he is more interested in the vice than in the virtue and that he aims to titillate as well as teach." While this view may be contested, it is undeniable that he always strove hard to reach his audience in the most immediate and intimate style. Indeed, it was to maintain this that he clung to those themes that afforded him the mass readership he so much craved

In a 1972 interview by Lewis Nkosi, Ekwensi defined his role as writer thus: "I think I am a writer who regards himself as a writer for the masses. I don't think of myself as a literary stylist: if my style comes, that is just incidental, but I am more interested in getting at the heart of the truth which the man in the street can recognize than in just spinning words."

Ernest Emenyonu, a Nigerian critic noted for his sympathy towards Ekwensi, charges that Ekwensi "has never been correctly assessed as a writer."

Another sympathetic critic,the long-standing American convert to the study of African Literature, Charles Larson, describes him as one of the most prolific African writers of the twentieth century. According to Larson, Ekwensi "is probably the most widely-read novelist in Nigeria--perhaps even in West Africa--by readers whose literary tastes have not been exposed to the more complex writings of Chinua Achebe and other more skilled African novelists."

Kole Omotoso past President of Nigerian Association of Authors and Drama professor at University of Ibadan confessed a lifelong fascination with him after reading his novelette The Yaba Round about Murder as a child, for, as he confesses, it taught him the importance of space in writing fiction. Omotoso goes on to state that Ekwensi's major importance in Nigerian writing is because he believed in himself and 'made us believe in ourselves.' The pan-Africanist slant of his writings and his publications being mostly in Nigeria were found commendable. When many other African writers were in self-exile, he chose to remain in his native country, rather than live abroad where publishing opportunities are more abundant.

While some scholars discounted Ekwensi's novels, others valued their social realism. Charles R. Larson put his work in historical perspective: "Local color is their forte, whether it be Ekwensi's city of chaos, Lagos, or Onitsha ... ; the Nigerian reader is placed for the first time in a perspective which has been previously unexplored in African fiction."

Placing Ekwensi's work firmly in the popular idiom, Douglas Killam explained their importance: "Popular fiction is always significant as indicating current popular interests and morality. Ekwensi's work is redeemed (although not saved as art) by his serious concern with the moral issues which inform contemporary Nigerian life. As such they will always be relevant to Nigerian literary history and to Nigerian tradition."

Ekwensi told stories that, like well-cooked onugbu (bitter leaf) soup, left a pleasant after-meal tang on the palate. Through his works Ekwensi told us that a work of fiction does not deserve that honourable name if it does not at first sight-...-arrest the reader like a cop's handcuffs..... I read many of Ekwensi's books, and save for 'The Drummer Boy', which was a recommended text when I was in junior secondary school in Plateau State, the others were read because they are what a book-hungry soul needs for sustenance. Who can, having been initiated into the cult of Ekwensi, forget the revenge-driven Mallam Iliya, the sokugo-stricken Mai Sunsaye, the skirt-besotted Amusa Sango, the raunchy belle, Jagua Nana (they don't create women like that any more, whether in fiction, on the telly, and probably in real life); and the heart-rending Ngozi and heroic Pedro? They are my friends for life.

Ekwensi did much more than create 'airport thrillers'. He told great stories that live on in the hearts of all who encountered them. ( Henry Chukwuemeka Onyeama a Lagos-based writer and teacher)

An Ibo, like Chinua Achebe, Ekwensi was born in 1921 in Minna, Niger State, in Northern Nigeria, but attended secondary school in a predominantly Yoruba area, Ibadan. He is very familiar with the many major ethnic groups in his country, and thus possesses a knowledge often well exploited in his novels. He went on subsequently to Yaba Higher College in Ibadan and then moved over to Achimota College in Ghana where he studied forestry. For two years he worked as a forestry officer and then taught science for a brief period. He then entered the Lagos School of Pharmacy. He later continued at the University of London (Chelsea School of Pharmacy) during which period he wrote his earliest fiction, his first book-length publication Ikolo the Wrestler and Other Ibo Tale (1947) , published in London. His writings earned him a place in the National Media where he rose to Head of features in the Nigerian Broadcasting Services and ultimately becoming its Director.

Several events in Ekwensi's childhood contributed later to his writings. Although ethnically an Igbo, he was raised among Hausa playmates and schoolmates and so spoke both tribal languages. He also learned of his heritage through the many Igbo stories and legends that his father told him, which he would later publish in the collection Ikolo the Wrestler and Other Ibo Tales. In 1936 Ekwensi enrolled in the southern Nigerian secondary school known as Government College, Ibadan, where he learned about Yoruba culture as well as excelling in English, math, science, and sports. He read everything he could lay his hands on in the school library, concentrating on H. Rider Haggard, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Walter Scott, and Alexandre Dumas. He also wrote articles and stories for numerous school publications, particularly The Viking magazine.

During the later part of his stint as a forest officer Ekwensi started yearning for the city. So beginning in 1947 he taught English, biology, and chemistry at Igbobi College near Lagos. To his classes he read aloud manuscripts of books for children, Drummer Boy, Passport of Mallam Ilia, and Trouble in From Six, and short stories. Finally, after decades of supplementing his writing career by working in broadcasting and doing other public relations work, Ekwensi gave up his day jobs in 1984 to pursue writing full time. He returned to writing adult novels, picking and choosing from his personal "archive" of earlier written manuscripts much of which he revised into the novels Jagua Nana's Daughter, Motherless Baby, For a Roll of Parchment, and Divided We Stand, which were published in the 1980s. For example, in For a Roll of Parchment he recounted his trip from Nigeria to England, as he had in People of the City. He did, however, update his material to portray post-World War II Nigeria, with its faster paced life.

Sex, violence, intrigue, and mystery in a recognizable contemporary setting most often in the fast-paced melting pot of the city were common diet in Ekwensi's works especially in Jagua Nana, in which a very worldly and highly attractive forty-five year old Nigerian woman with multiple suitors falls in love with a young teacher, Freddie. She agrees to send him to study law in England on the understanding of their getting married on his return. Around this beautiful and impressive prostitute, Ekwensi sets in motion a whole panoply of vibrant, amoral characters who have drifted from their rural origins to grab the dazzling pleasures of the city.

And the novel itself shows us the seedy underbelly of the big city, Lagos, where Jagua's favourite haunt, the Tropicana bar, sets the scene for much of the story.

Sometime, back in the 1950s the Onitsha Market 'literary' mafia, strarted producing and marketing openly, a semi-nude picture of a buxom Igbo teenage beauty, with the sassy caption, "Beateam mee lee" - I dare you to beat me!

Those were the prudish days of high moral values in Igboland and indeed Nigeria , of Elizabethan fashion with cane-wielding primary school teachers and headmasters. The offending picture sent shockwaves right down the spines of the public who, nonetheless, rushed to buy copies. Men who turned up their noses at the pictures in public, secretly bought, viewed and relished copies. And..school boys did odd jobs for parents, and the money they earned were saved up to the one shilling cost of the picture, which they used to purchase it and then usually tucked it away, in-between books, away from the prying eyes of parents or the class teacher, from where curious peeks of the treasure could be sneeked occasionally, at its owner's risk, even in the middle of a lesson. Noted for churning out almanacs, with pictures of the famous, unfolding events, folk art, as well as such literature as those of Ogali A. Ogali, author of the legendary "Veronica My Daughter", the mafia knew where to draw the line. Sex, however, sold any day and age and the mafia knew this. But nobody wanted to be identified with anything even remotely pornographic. "Beateam mee lee" was therefore, at the time, the mother of all daring.

It was against this backdrop that Ekwensi took the Nigerian literary scene by storm with the publication of the raunchy Jagua Nana. Ekwensi's most widely read novel, Jagua Nana, published in 1961 returned us to the locale of People of the City but with a much more cohesive plot centered on Jagua, a courtesan who had a love for the expensive as reflected in her name itself, which was a corruption of the expensive English automobile, Jaguar. Her life personalizes the conflict between the old traditional and modern urban Africa. Although Ekwensi had earlier shown the direction of his works with the publication, in 1954, of People of the City, it was Jagua (the lead character in this novel) that built the Ekwensi legend and assumed a life all its own, becoming a folk hero of sorts. Jagua dared the reading public. Ekwensi the artist, also had the magic of picking out names of his characters that were instant hits. They stuck like glue in the reader's memory and helped animate the fictional personality. Bold, defiant, imaginative and rendered with uncommon technical finesse, Jaguar Nana totally established Ekwensi as the ultimate chronicler of Nigerian city life.

Published in 1961, the novel Jagua Nana, tells the story of an aging prostitute named Jagua who tries to provide for herself security in her later life through her relationship with a younger man. Yet while this young man is studying law in England, Jagua involves herself in various activities, some dubious, some not. Jagua Nana, witnessed some improvement in plot quality and control, unlike what obtained in People Of The City, chronicling the adventures of an ageing prostitute in Lagos, in love with her work and the expensive lifestyles, but who ends up in grief and disappointment.

Ekwensi's attempt to dust her up later and usher her into some form of happiness and fulfillment introduces the quest motif in his work, which manifests itself fully in the sequel, Jagua Nana's Daughter (1987), where Jagua, after a long search, was able to reconnect with her educated, socially elevated daughter, who had also had her own fair share of loose life. Both daughter and mother were at the same time engrossed in a quest for mutual fulfillment and healing until they met fortuitously. In the end, after she suffers sufficiently, Ekwensi allows her to have happiness.

As was to be in several of his other novels, Ekwensi's moralizing is evident and reform is possible for some characters. For example, in the later novel Iska Ekwensi portrayed a young Ibo widow, Filia, who moves to Lagos after her husband's death. There she tries to lead a respectable life. While she tries to get an education and responsible employment, she encounters numerous obstacles, which allow Ekwensi to show readers a wide range of urbanites. Yet this novel, published by a European press, could not compete for popularity with its predecessor, Jagua Nana, which caused controversy for its frank portrayal of sexuality. When an Italian movie company wanted to film Jagua Nana, the Nigerian government prevented this effort fearing negative media portrayals of the country.

Talking about what inspired him to write the work in an interview, Ekwensi said: I was a pharmacy student at the Yaba Higher College those days and I lived in the same compound with a young man who was very romantic. He would never miss his night club for anything. We had a night club then, called Rex Club, run by the late Rewane - the two Rewanes are dead now, by the way and one of them was at Government College, Ibadan while the other one was a politician.

Now, many years later, I was called upon to do a programme for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) about night life and I found out that I had so much material about this subject that I could really build it into a whole book. That was the inspiration.

Yet another of his novels is Burning Grass (1961) a collection of vignettes giving insight into the life of a pastoral Fulani cattlemen family of Northern Nigeria..The novel and the characters are based actually on a real family with whom Ekwensi himself had previously lived. For after studying forestry at the Yaba Higher College in Lagos during World War II, Ekwensi began a two-year stint as a forestry officer which familiarized him with the forest reserves,from which he was enabled to write such adventure stories in rural settings as Burning Grass..

"In the days in the forest, I was able to reminisce and write. That was when I really began to write for publishing," he told Nkosi. The several months spent with the nomadic Fulani people, later became the subjects of Burning Grass.where he follows the adventures of Mai Sunsaye, who has Sokugo, a wanderlust, and of his family, who try to rescue him. While seeing his protagonists through varied adventures, Ekwensi portrays the lives of the Fulani cattlemen. This early work, considered one of his more "serious" novels, was published by Heinemann educational publishers and reissued in 1998

Two novellas for children followed in 1960; both The Drummer Boy and The Passport of Mallam Ilia which were exercises in blending traditional themes with undisguised romanticism.

Between 1961 and 1966 Ekwensi published at least one major work every year. The most important of these were the novels, Beautiful Feathers (1963) and Iska (1966), and two collections of short stories, Rainmaker (1965) and Lokotown (1966).

Beautiful Feathers (1963) reflects the nationalist and pan-Africanist consciousness of the pre-independence days of the 1950s and how the young hero's youthful commitment to his ideal leads to the disintegration of his family, thus underscoring the proverb alluded to in the title: "however famous a man is outside, if he is not respected inside his own home he is like a bird with beautiful feathers, wonderful on the outside but ordinary within."

From 1967 to 1969, during the Nigerian civil war, when the eastern part of Nigeria attempted to secede, Ekwensi served as a government information officer the experiences from which he used to write the 1976 picaresque novel Survive the Peace. which realistically portrayed the activities of a radio journalist in the wake of the civil war in Biafra.who in his effort to reunite his family, encounters the violence, destruction, refugees, and relief operations that such chaos engenders. Through flashbacks, Ekwensi also depicts the war itself giving a post-mortem on the just-concluded , interrogates the problems of surviving in the so-called peace. It looks for instance at the pathetic fate of James Odugo, the radio journalist who survives the war only to be cut down on the road by marauding former soldiers.

In such early works as the collections Ikolo the Wrestler and Other Ibo Tales, and An African Night's Entertainment, the novel Burning Grass, and the juvenile works The Leopard's Claw and Juju Rock, Ekwensi told stories in a rural setting.

Ekwensi continued to publish beyond the 1960s, and among his later works are the novel Divided We Stand (1980) in which he lampooned the Nigerian civil war, the novella Motherless Baby (1980), and The Restless City and Christmas Gold (1975), Behind the Convent Wall (1987), and Gone to Mecca (1991).

Ekwensi also published a number of works for children.such as Ikolo the Wrestler and Other Ibo Tales (1947) and The Leopard's Claw (1950). In the 1960s, he wrote An African Night's Entertainment (1962), The Great Elephant-Bird (1965), and Trouble in Form Six (1966). Over time, Ekwensi produced other books, mostly for children, which though they may not have been internationally acclaimed, were nonetheless well known and read all over Nigeria and Africa. They included Rainmaker (1965), Iska (1966), Coal Camp Boy (1971) Samankwe in the strange Forest (1973), Motherless Baby (1980), The Restless City and Christmas Gold (1975), Samankwe and the Highway Robbers (1975), Behind the Convent Wall (1987), Gone to Mecca (1991), masquerade Time! (1992), and King Forever! (1992). In 2006, he completed work on two other books; "Tortoise and the Brown Monkey", a short story and "Another Freedom".

Gratifyingly Ekwensi is still writing, He has published several titles as When Love Whispers, Divided We Stand, Jagua Nana's Daughter and King for Ever! all related to earlier works.

When Love Whispers like Jagua Nana revolves around a very attractive woman with multiple suitors. But whilst she thinks she has won the love of her life her father expects her to get married to an older man in an arranged marriage.

Divided We Stand (1980) was written in the heat of the Biafra war itself, though published later. It reverses the received wisdom that unity is strength, showing how ethnicity, division, and hatred bring about distrust, displacement, and war itself.

Jagua Nana's Daughter (1986) revolves around Jagua's daughter's traumatic search for her mother leading her to find not only her mother but a partner as well. She is able to get married to a highly placed professional as she, unlike her mother, is a professional as well. She thus gains the security and protection she desires.

King for Ever! (1992) satirises the desire of African leaders to perpetuate themselves in power. Sinanda's rising to power from humble background does not prevent his vaulting ambition from soaring to the height where he was now aspiring to godhead

In the decades since Ekwensi began writing, the Nigerian readership has changed. Unlike the days of the Onitsha Market fiction, when books were printed inexpensively and sold cheaply to suit popular tastes at the turn of the millennium few publishing companies controlled the choice of books published; book prices made books often go beyond the reach of the masses, restricted mostly to schools and libraries, which cater to nonfiction and instructional materials. With various forms of media increasing in popularity, the incentive to read has fallen. With fewer people reading for pleasure, novels are in little demand. Because of these circumstances, creative writers suffer. Of this downside, Ekwensi told Larson, "Journalists thrive here, but creative writers get diverted and the creativity gets washed out of them if they must take the bread and butter home."

At a public lecture in 2000, quoted by Kole Ade-Odutola in Africa News, the elderly but still vivacious Ekwensi expressed his desire to "build and nurture young minds in the customs and traditions of their communities" through his writings. He explained, "African writers of the twentieth century inherited the oral literature of our ancestors, and building on that, placed at the centre-stage of their fiction, the values by which we as Africans had lived for centuries. It is those values that make us the Africans that we are--distinguishing between good and evil, justice and injustice, oppression and freedom." In tune with the times, he had started self-publishing his writings on the Internet. Despite the vagaries of the African publishing world, at age 80 Ekwensi was still pursuing his goal because as he wrote in his essay for The Essential Ekwensi 15 years earlier, "The satisfaction I have gained from writing can never be quantified."

References

Beier, Ulli ed., Introduction to African Literature (1967);

Breitinger, Eckhard, "Literature for Younger Readers and Education in Multicultural Contexts," in Language and Literature in Multicultural Contexts, edited by Satendra Nandan, Uinveristy of South Pacific, 1983.

· , Volume 117: Caribbean and Black African Writers, Gale, 1992. Dictionary of Literary Biography

Dathorne, O. R. The Black Mind A History of African Literature. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1974.

Emenyonu, Ernest, Cyprian Ekwensi. Evans Brothers, 1974.

Emenyonu, Ernest, editor. The Essential Ekwensi. Heinemann Educational Books, 1987.

Larson, Charles R., The Emergence of African Fiction. Indiana University Press, 1971

Larson, Charles R. The Ordeal of the African Writer. London: Zed Books, 2001.

Lindfors, Bernth, 'Nigerian Satirist' in ALT5

Laurence, . Margaret Long Drums and Cannons: Nigerian Dramatists and Novelists, 1952-1966 (1968).

Mphahlele, Ezekiel

Palmer Eustace. The Growth of the African Novel. Studies in African literature. London: Heinemann, 1979.




Arthur Smith was born and was schooled in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He has taught English since 1977 at Prince of Wales School and, Milton Margai College of Education. He is now a Senior Lecturer at Fourah Bay College where he has been lecturing English language and Literature for the past eight years.

Mr Smith's writings have been appearing in local newspapers as well as in various international media like West Africa Magazine, Index on Censorship, Focus on Library and Information Work. He was one of 17 international visitors who participated in a seminar on contemporary American Literature sponsored by the U.S.State Department in 2006. His growing thoughts and reflections on this trip which took him to various US sights and sounds could be read at lisnews.org.

His other publications include: Folktales from Freetown, Langston Hughes: Life and Works Celebrating Black Dignity, and 'The Struggle of the Book' He holds a PhD and a professorship in English from the National Open University, Republic of Benin.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Check Out Venetian Red Feather Mask for $9.99

Venetian Red Feather Mask Review






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  • This is BRAND NEW in original packaging.
  • This is a great Halloween costume item!



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Regal and rich. The Royal Lady mask is perfect when paired with the Royal Gentlemen mask. One size fits most adults.


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Update Post: Jun 13, 2010 13:20:09

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Is There More Than Beads and Masks to Mardi Gras? - A Little History Before the Season Ramps Up

Mardi Gras is known throughout the world as the pre-Lenten festival of New Orleans. In actuality, the holiday has its roots in ancient Rome as the circus-atmosphered orgy called Lupercalia. Lupercalia honored the god Lupercus, the god of fertility, agriculture and pastoral shepherds.

The Roman Catholic church eventually integrated Lupercalia into its pre-Lenten celebrations in order to facilitate an easier conversion of pagans into Christianity. With Lent being the 40 days of purification and penitence for Catholics, a pre-Lenten allowance of an "orgy" of food, drink, and the other self-indulgence involved in Lupercalia seemed to make enough sense to the Catholic leaders as a means of justifying an easier transition of new converts who enjoyed such merriment and might otherwise go reluctantly toward Christianity. The church's blessing of the celebration seemed to be a win-win for all.

As Lupercalia's acceptance migrated throughout the churches and villages of Europe and England, varied means of celebrating the last days before Lent were regionally devised and named. In England, Shrove Tuesday involves the preparation and enjoyment of massive amounts of pancakes as a feast, as well as sporting events involving the use of pancakes. Germany celebrates Fasching very similarly to New Orleans. It is the French who are credited with bringing what has become the modern New Orleans' Mardi Gras to the United States, as part of their landing in Louisiana in 1699.

For the period of 1699 to 1827, there are varied accounts of how Mardi Gras developed and with whom to attribute its more modern method and appeal. Regardless of how the pre-Lenten celebration derived, it is agreed by most that after the reinstated legality of wearing masks in the streets in 1827 (a practice banned during Spanish rule), the real good times began to roll. The people of New Orleans could once again celebrate in the streets and move beyond their private festivals and balls, into a city-wide celebration.

Today, the holiday is celebrated in New Orleans or Mobile style even far beyond the borders of the Crescent City. Belgium, Brazil, the Caribbean nations, Colombia, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden all celebrate Mardi Gras in varied forms. In America, it is a common theme for parties and parades from coast-to-coast with lots of colorful beads and masks as the costume accessory of choice.




Ronnie Tanner is a contributing writer at http://www.toomeys-mardigras.com.com. He writes about beads for Mardi Gras and other similar topics.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Check Out FUCHSIA HOT PINK SEQUIN MASQUERADE FEATHER MASK for $9.99

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Update Post: Jun 11, 2010 10:50:35

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Kid Birthday Cakes - 3 Secrets to Success

You don't have much time do you?

Your child's birthday is just around the corner.

You need a great idea for a special cake and you need it now!

You're about to discover 3 secret ways to put together a wonderful cake that will thrill your birthday child - 3 fast and easy secrets.

You can bake one if you have the time, then use these 3 secrets to put your creation over the top.

OR

Pick up a delicious looking ready made cake = then use these secrets to make your birthday treat look terrific, maybe even professional.

Kid Birthday Cakes - Secret # 1

Non-edible cake toppers - these are fun little gems and they give your cake a really nice 3-D look. Most toppers can also be used as toys or collectibles after your party, making them very high in value.

You can find toppers to match just about any theme, so your kid birthday cakes will always be a big hit. And you'll be happy to learn that cake toppers are easily available online, which means that you can have them delivered to you - a BIG time saver. More about that when you click on the link at the end of this article.

Kid Birthday Cakes - Secret # 2

Edible cake art images are lots of fun. Edible art is colorful and - it's edible. You'll love the way these art images blend in with your frosting, making it look just like a pastry chef made your cake. And edible art is available for just about any birthday theme.

Using edible art for your kid birthday cakes is so easy. All you need to do is place the image on top of your cake. Center, top, bottom, left, right - it's up to you.

Kid Birthday Cakes - Secret # 3

Sugar shapes also give your cake that fun 3-D look. And like toppers and edible art, you'll find sugar shapes that fit your theme perfectly.

Can you say yummy? Sugar shapes are colorful tasty treats and that means the kids will be so excited when they get a piece of cake adorned with a sugar shape.

Bonus Secret # 4

Here's a great idea - and it works like a dream.

Decorate with all three at the same time. Use a topper, edible art and edible sugar shapes and your cakes will come alive with 3-D fun.

And just imagine the time you'll save. Your birthday cakes will look great, and your child will be so happy.

What's the one thing everybody looks forward to at a birthday party?

Ok, the birthday child looks forward to opening gifts - but they also look forward to something else.

Birthday cake!

Everyone (adults too) loves birthday cake.

When you bring out your special creation, everyone wants a closer look. You hear ohhs and aahs and it's hard to wait for that much anticipated first taste. And when your cake is decorated to match your child's theme, it almost seems like you shouldn't cut into it - but of course you will.

You don't have much time, but now that you know the 3 secrets - Ok, 4 secrets - your kid birthday cakes are going to be winners.

Have FUN




How would you like to start creating amazing birthday cakes? Get your FREE book, "159 Amazing Kid Birthday Cakes right now at http://fun-kid-birthday-parties.com/159-amazing-kid-birthday-cakes-xpress-cake.html right now.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

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Update Post: Jun 09, 2010 06:40:05

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

How to Make Your Own Masquerade Party Masks


Image : http://www.flickr.com


Surly you must realize that masquerade ball masks weren't always purchased on the Internet! Think about it for a second. Back around three hundred years ago in Europe, they didn't even have electricity! So even if they had computers back then, there was no place on the wall to plug them in! What this meant is that a lot of people were left to make their own masquerade party masks.

You Probably Have Everything You Need In Your Home

So where can you start and how will your final product turn out? The fact is that you don't need any special skills and it's something that your kids and all their friends will love doing. In fact you probably have everything that you need right in your home, once you begin searching around.

Mix Up Some Paper Mache' Batter In a Bowl

Your going to have to first whip up a bowl of paper mache paste and that's real easy. Simply throw about a cup of plain white four in a bowl and add water until it becomes a "thin runny" batter. Next add about a teaspoonful of salt to work as preservative and you're good to go. Remember to keep it in the refrigerator though, between uses.

Are You Ready To Make Your First Masquerade Party Masks?

Next your going to need a balloon that you're going to inflate and some newspapers that you're going to tear into strips about an inch wide. Now with just these things you can begin making your first masquerade ball masks. Simply dip the strips of paper in the paper mache' batter and lay them on the balloon after you squeeze off the excess batter.

Use Regular Paints, Glue & Glitter To Finnish Them Off

Cover half the balloon and let the project dry. When you pop it off, you'll have a basic shape of a face. Next, cut out the mouth and eye holes, finish them up with some smaller dipped strips and after that's dry, it will be ready for painting. Drizzle some glue and add some glitter if you want then use thick rubber bands for the straps to hold the masquerade party ball masks to your head.




Article by Polen Melchor. Come on over to my site for more articles on cheap masquerade masks as well as search engine optimization services.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Rio De Janeiro Carnival

The Carnival is Rio de Janeiro's main event, held at the peak of the Brazilian summer. A million tourists join millions of Rio de Janeiro citizens in revelry over a 4-day celebration. It begins on a Saturday and ends on Fat Tuesday, the day before the beginning of the Christian period of Lent, Ash Wednesday.

The highlight of the carnival is the Sambodromo, or Samba Parade. The parade is broadcast in many countries and all Brazilian states. Many people call it "the greatest show on earth". The Sambodromo is a 700-meter long strip flanked by spectator stands and luxury boxes. The main attraction is the sounds and sights of the parading samba schools that continue till daybreak. Only the 14 best samba schools are selected to parade through the Sambodromo. It can take over an hour for a single samba school to pass a given point along the parade route. Each samba school has an elaborately decorated float, often accompanied by sensuous females vibrating to the hypnotic music. The floats are accompanied by marching samba bands of up to 300 musicians surrounded by female dancers.

Those who don't make it to the Sambodromo, attend various street carnivals that are held all over the city. Banda de Ipanemais is one of the most traditional street carnivals. It was founded in 1964 and is now listed as part of the city's cultural heritage, attracting as many as fifteen thousand people.

Rio also offers a choice of Carnival balls. The masquerade balls are celebrity-attended affairs where merrymakers wear designer costumes and party into the wee hours. The most famous ball is held at the Copacabana Palace Hotel. A typical Carnival Ball features live music. Bands take turns playing on stage, often accompanied by a guest vocalist.

Many similarities are observed between Brazilian carnival traditions and African dance, music and costume history. Africans used feathers on masks as a symbol of their ability as humans to rise above problems and grow spiritually. Feathers are often used in today's Brazil Carnival dance costumes.

Most tourists plan their Brazillian vacation around the Carnival dates, as it is considered a very delightful and unforgettable experience.




Rio De Janeiro provides detailed information on Rio De Janeiro, Beaches In Rio De Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro Hotels, Rio De Janeiro Carnival and more. Rio De Janeiro is affiliated with Caracas Venezuela [http://www.z-Venezuela.com].

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Inexpensive Party Favors Make Great Thank You Gifts For Your Guests

Having a beach bash, birthday party, retirement party, bridal shower, graduation, wedding or some other event? Don't forget to thank your guests for celebrating the occasion with you. What better way to say thank you than to choose inexpensive party favors for your guests to take with them when they leave the party.

Many people, when they think of party favors, think of sitting around the kitchen table stuffing party bags. How boring is that? Usually, the same old candy, mints or confetti end up in the favor bag and the people receiving them really don't care if they get one or not. Make your party extra special by giving your guests a party favor they will really want to receive. Party favors these days are very nice and many are less than $2 or even less than $1 each.

Choosing a party favor that matches the party theme is the easiest way to go. For a summer beach bash or 4th of July party, choose party favors that shout SUMMER. Inexpensive beach theme party favors are perfect for this type of event and include flip flop magnets and margarita gel candles. Many people do not expect party favors at summer picnics so be sure to surprise them with a nice memento to remind them of this fun day!

For a fall event such as a wedding, retirement party, birthday party, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Quince or more, choose a party favor that incorporates all the beautiful colors of the season such as chocolate brown, burgundy and gold. These colors are available with so many inexpensive fall party favors such as bookmarks, favor boxes, and photo frames. Many favors are not only lovely, but practical too and also would be nice used as place card holders at the Thanksgiving table.

Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's Eve are just a few of our favorite winter reasons to have a party. Match your party favor to this fun time of year by selecting snowman candles, snowflake ornaments or a beautiful blue gel candle with a snowflake on it. These are great inexpensive favors for winter birthday parties too. And did we mention winter weddings? Some of the most gorgeous weddings are held during the winter months creating a winter wonderland for the bride and groom. Any snowflake party favor would be the perfect party favor for this type of event.

All things begin anew in spring. For events such as Bridal Showers, Weddings, First Communions, Baptisms and other spring happenings, select wildflower seed favors, floral party favors or butterfly favors or ladybug favors to give your guests at this time of year. These favors are also great all year round for a birthday party, Sweet 16 party, Quince party and more.

All of the party favors mentioned above cost less than $2 each and many less than $1 each. How can you afford not to thank your guests with these inexpensive party favors? To be double sure your guests love your party favor, choose one that you yourself would like to receive!




Denise Sanger is the owner of BuyWeddingFavorsOnline.com which has a diverse catalog of Party Favors and Wedding Favors along with a library of party planning resources. We are located in Sunny North Florida.

Friday, June 4, 2010

European Masks

Europe Masks can be traced back over several centuries. Our ancient ancestors seemed to know the power of disguise even before written history. These traditions and links to shamanism could possibly pre date all our knowledge of recorded history. Masks of one form or another can be found in our three most powerful historical cultural times and areas, Egypt, Greece and Rome

To access some of our earliest European mask we need to visit France. In France, at Trois Freres, the caves inhabited by Paleolithic people have hunting scenes painted on the walls showing masked dancers. The are believed to be at least 25,000 years old. The central figure of one of the scenes shows a shaman like character wearing the head and antlers of a stag in amongst the reindeer, bison, stag, horse and ibex. The link to masquerade traditions of today can be made through the use of horns, fur, feathers and the animal forms adopted.

In Greece the cult of Dionysius used masks to represent the spirits of nature and bestow these spirits upon the wearers. Gold sepulchral masks covering the faces of the dead have been excavated in Mycenae. In Greek theatre actors used masks to show different characters. This tradition was carried on in the Roman theatre. In medieval mystery plays masks were used to portray characters. Devil and other masks were used in carnivals, as they are today in Spain, France Italy and other countries.

In Britain there are traditional animal masquerades which use various forms of the hobby horse as a focus. These are to be seen in Lands End, Bwca Lwyd in Wales, Thanet in Kent and between 30th April and 3rd May in Minehead in Somerset. Some of these festivals are linked to Morris dances. The Morris dance, in some versions, has a an animal-masked fool who entertains the spectators with tricks. The ghost like Mari Lwyd in Glamorganshire is in stark contrast to the other brightly coloured traditions. This ghostly hobby horse has been linked to the Irish horse of the feast of Samain where the ancient Celtic festival is led by a white robed man bearing a crude horses head.

An unusual event is the Horn Dance of Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire. Six pairs of dancers each carry a wooden deers head with a pair of antlers attached. A hobby horse and other characters support them.

Another variety of masked character common to British folk festivals is the one associated with agricultural cycles. Notable ones are the Bury man, in West Lothian, who wears a hat and a Balaclava planted with roses, and the straw clad man who appears in Whitby on the Saturday before Plough Monday. Similar straw clad figures are also known in Ireland. It is possible that The Green Man of ancient Britain is associated in some way with these celebrations.

Eastern Europe

Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria and Poland each have masquerade traditions which use animalistic and figurative interpretations of faces.

Hideously masked characters blowing horns parading through the streets of Hungarian towns such as Fejer are not uncommon. This particular festival uses cloth masks with untidy beards and eyebrows worn beneath felt hats streaming with ribbons. Carved wooden female masks are also worn.

Similar festivities can be seen in Maramures where the noisy mid-winter parades are held in common with other towns and villages. Here shaggy devil masks with horns are worn along with some disguises such as Second World War gas masks.

In Poland, Turon is another winter festival which is celebrated by villagers in several areas. The festival is named after Turon, a fantastic creature from mythology, now displayed as a hobby horse with the wearer?s body covered by a cloth. The villagers revelry takes them from house to house singing carols and receiving refreshments. Other masks, depicting bears, goats and wolves, are common.

Bulgarian New Year festivities also have similar animal mask. One agricultural festival can be traced back to ancient Thrace. On the first Sunday before Lent large groups of men dressed as domestic and wild animals leap noisily trough the streets to scare away the old year and evil forces. The cloth masks are made from fur, hemp and feathers with small metal disks decorating them. Other masqueraders wear horned masks to represent oxen.

In Greece similar festivities can be seen in Thrace with the Kalogheroi dance.

Other European areas of note are the Schemenlaufen at Imst in Austria, where frightening masks and noisy bells are used to drive away evil spirits. Italy has several rural masquerades and is famous for the Commedia Dell Arte where Harlequin and the buffoon, Pulcinella, originated. There are also the Venetian masked carnivals which date back to the Seventeenth century, with links to earlier times. In Spain conical hoods are worn by penitents during Holy Week and the Morisca dance represents the battle between the Moors and the Christians. The Morisca has had an influence on the festivals of other areas notably where sword dances are performed.

Inspired by Masks the Art of Expression ed. John Mack ISBN 0-7141-2530-X and other sources that I have read and internalised long ago.

Would you like regular updates on the Masking World?

© Ian Bracegirdle 2004 1 Elderberry Close East Morton BD20 5WA UK 01535 692207

http://mask-and-more-masks.com

You may use this article freely on condition that you include this copyright line and URL and that people who subsequently use this article follow the same conditions. Thank you for accepting these conditions.




Ian Bracegirdle is a teacher, course leader and therapist. He is the creator of the site http://www.mask-and-more-masks.com a site for all interested in masks. Ian is fascinated by the art form of masks as well as the cultural connotations. He has researched many areas of masks and recognise commonlinks in many ancient traditions. He believes our current masking traditions are linked back to the time of shaman and other forms of magic predating monotheist religions. The earliest masking records are at least 25,000 years old.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Tribal Masks

Original Tribal masks are often seen by unknowing eyes as art objects in themselves. That is not the case, unless of course they are modern copies. A tribal mask has embued power and is alive during the ceremony for which it is used. An African visitor to a London museum stated, "This mask is dead." He was seeing the mask out of context, it had lost its power for the people who created it and the the magic had died.

To the collectors eyes the very appearance of the mask and the story behind it leads to the magic. The mysterious art forms drawing on the imagination and a need to interpret. As a piece of art it has the power to involve the observer in fathoming meaning to reach an understanding. This can move the viewer into a different frame of reference. Touching a life style that is at once strange and distance, yet it has the feel of something closer to home. A paradox that seems to arise in studying older tribal ways. In a collection this is magic.

It is also important to appreciate that nearly all masks are part of a full costume. Often the costume is made from less durable materials and does not survive. Indeed some masks are also made of less durable materials, such as the basketery Yam mask, created by the Abelam in Papua New Guinea. And again some masks are destroyed as part of the ceremony for which they are used.

The commonality in masking traditions

Delving back into the earliest recordings, historically, a visit to the caves of Trois Feres in France is enlightening. Picture this painted Paleolithic scene.

A central figure stands wearing the head and antlers of a deer. He stands, shaman like, surround by animals. Animals that are important to the culture he represents. Some of the animals no longer exist in this area. Ibex, reindeer, bison, stag and horses. The shaman, for that is what he seems to be, stands, a human figure amongst the potential food. What magic he is creating or ancestors he is communicating with we do not know. Yet from our knowledge of tribal people studied in times closer to ours it is possible to understand the links. The need to hunt for food is essential to survival. The gods link all matters, stay in good standing with the gods and food will be available. Take only what can be used fairly and do not violate the natural laws. Life goes on, following the seasons. There is a balance to life and death. The link between them is maintained by the magician, shaman, wizard, witch doctor, whatever you wish to call him.

During my studies of masks this relationship between the magical and the shaman constantly arises. There is a commonality between the ancient cultures of the Pacific West Coast of North America ( now Canada and Alaska ) and the tribal traditions of Africa. Fertility, the hunted animal, ancestors, initiation, circumcision, cannibalism real and symbolic, healing and crossing over into the spirit world for guidance and healing powers or to appease the gods or ancestors. All these occur in different traditions spread around the world.

As you allow yourself to delve into the traditions surrounding masks in Europe something interesting arises. Here the traditions have been sanitised by the surrounding culture and the church. Yet when you delve back and attempt to understand the masking traditions, now displayed as folk lore, ineresting parallels are revealed. Whilst in Belgium I witnessed a processions depicting witches and and modern giants. Other masquerades also have links to witchcraft and by implication to shaman. One powerful link is the seasonal nature of many traditions. The Green man and the Hobby horse being two examples.

Forgive me. I could continue to wax lyrical about the links in our current traditions seen as folk lore to those of our ancient ancestors. To me there is a tremnedous link which is bound up with the very nature of the people we are and how we have developed. Our formative roots live in our societies now. That is why I find masks so powerfully evocative. Along with other forms of primitive and traditional art we can trace our own links to earlier times. Even today the shaman / magician exists following ancient magik rules.

Even modern latex masks contain some of the same magic, because they are linked back to the same collective unconcious and traditions of masquerade, disguise and the spirit world. As a school teacher I have come across some quite vociferous reactions by parents to having Halloween in school. Some see its pagan links and reject it. The seam runs deep into the modern psyche. Perhaps the most potent place to view this link is in the Mexican Day of the Dead Celebrations. This festival combines a mix of Christian and Pagan practices. In particular Halloween has a juxtaposition between the dead and children. Here children are masked to scare away the evil spirits and look after the dead. By this means a link with the ancestors and children is perpetuated.

Another fascinating link between the masks of many cultures is the fool. The fool has many characteristics, the most noticeable of which is paradox. The fool can be wise and foolish; handsome and ugly; playful and barbaric. He straddles the line between the extremes of the other masks switching from one role to the other. Perhaps the fool simply represents the many dualities and paradoxes in life.

Also the fool plays a full part in the staging of the ritual. Noohlmahl in the Kwakwaka'wakw rituals is a grotesque creature covered in hair with snot pouring from his nose. He struts about entertaining the crowd, making jokes and anticipating reponses. Should the reponses become too familiar a violent response could be expected. Of course the responses to the watchers comments could be of another more humourous nature. Surprise and paradox are essential to the nature of all fools. Another of his jobs is to control the children. He treads the line between clowning for them and ensuring that they do not disrupt proceedings. As with the inappropriate comments from adults a violent response can be provoked should the children, literally, over step the line.

To return to my original point masks are a way into the very nature of our being. The mythology of the Palaeolithic times is linked directly to tribal mask and western folk lore masks. For me this is why the mask holds such power and magic. The mask allows us to physically touch and share our past in a way which few objects can do. Tribal Masks carry a universal signature that appeals to our nature.

© Ian Bracegirdle 2004 1 Elderberry Close East Morton BD20 5WA UK 01535 692207

http://mask-and-more-masks.com You may use this article freely on condition that you include this copyright line and URL and that people who subsequently use this article follow the same conditions. Thank you for accepting these conditions.




Ian Bracegirdle is a teacher, course leader and therapist. He is the creator of the site

http://www.mask-and-more-masks.com a site for all interested in masks. Ian is fascinated by the art form of masks as well as the cultural connotations. He has researched many areas of masks and recognise commonlinks in many ancient traditions. He believes our current masking traditions are linked back to the time of shaman and other forms of magic predating monotheist religions.The earliest masking records are at least 25,000 years old.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Check Out Franco American Novelty Supper Club Mask

Franco American Novelty Supper Club Mask Review




I bought this mask because I am having a Halloween themed wedding & wanted a mask I could wear with my wedding dress as my costume. The mask is very nice & arrived in good condition.



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  • Silver/White Supper Club White Feather Mask
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Franco American Novelty Supper Club Mask Overview


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Update Post: Jun 03, 2010 00:20:13

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Check Out SILVER FANCY BEADED FRINGE BLACK LACE MASQUERADE COSTUME EYE MASK for $21.99

SILVER FANCY BEADED FRINGE BLACK LACE MASQUERADE COSTUME EYE MASK Review






SILVER FANCY BEADED FRINGE BLACK LACE MASQUERADE COSTUME EYE MASK Feature


  • Mask measures 5 inches from top to bottom of front fringe. Measures 10.5 inches side to side when flat. Mask is curved/arched.
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  • Trimmed in silver sequins and faux gems. Very elegant, very intriguing.
  • Ribbon tie closure at back.



SILVER FANCY BEADED FRINGE BLACK LACE MASQUERADE COSTUME EYE MASK Overview


Ultra glamorous and intriguing, this Venetian style mask adds enough bling to make everyone else look blah.


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Update Post: Jun 01, 2010 23:00:11