Monday, May 05, 2008

¡HOY ES EL CINCO DE MAYO!

Just to make things clear, today is not Mexican Independence Day! It is the commemoration of a very important battle won by the Mexicans against the invading French forces in a small little town called Puebla back in 1862. This is the significance of el cinco de mayo, and somehow it has taken a life of its own here in the United States as yet another excuse to get drunk, party like crazy, and celebrate all Hispanic culture in general. For the real Mexican Independence Day, you have to wait till September 16, for that is when Father Hidalgo proclaimed in 1821 that the Spaniards had to leave after some 300 years of colonial rule. Of course, he was executed and a difficult war was fought, but finally los españoles were thrown out and Mexico became the independent southern neighbor we now have today. Well, the United States added some of that Mexican land in the Southwest too mind you, but all this history is for another day!

I didn't do much this weekend, except watch some TV, download more new music, and shop at the drug store. I really like shopping at Rite Aid, CVS, or Walgreens. Aren't those places really fascinating? Which one of them is cheaper anyway? I get a kick out of seeing all the toiletries they have for we humanoids. All the hair products, dental care, cold relief meds, vitamins, shaving accessories, etc. Yeah, call me crazy, but drug stores are endlessly neat to me. Now that I think about it, Target is probably the best drug store with the added bonus of all kinds of other cool things, because Target is generally very very cheap when it comes to personal care items. I mean, condoms are dirt cheap there! LOL!

I'm listening to The Flaming Lips a lot as of late and how come no one ever told me this band was soooooooo good! I love them! They are so weird, but so catchy! Kudos as well to a group named Of Montreal for their very kooky 60s sound. I watched this DVD of Elton John in concert back in late 2000 at Madison Square Garden and boy is it great. They got a better show than I did! Not that I didn't witness a fine fine show, but still! I also watched There Will Be Blood, and I had to fight to stay awake during certain scenes. A good film I suppose, but it tends to drag, and is quite a bizarre movie. Daniel Day-Lewis is just plain odd/psychotic in this film. He plays a very greedy cold and calculating oil tycoon that talks/sounds like Sean Connery. AHAHAH!

I wish ye a great week. Comment like mad please. Gracias.

9 comments:

dit said...

Sounds like a nice and relaxing weekend you had. It is so true, we do have so many products, don't we? I do my best to avoid Target. It seems every time we go in there the bill is at least 150.0

Gavin Elster said...

Day-Lewis is doing his best John Houston Impression in that film. He's performance is hypnotizing and no matter how many times I see it (And, trust me, I'm stuck in a clockwork orange type of situation ) I find myself finding something new in what he is doing onscreen. As Daniel Plainview his utter contempt for all living "things" is like a delicious cake filled with poison. It looks great but don't go any further than that or you'll be sorry. It's a long slow film but for me it is his performance of Daniel Plainview that throws this into one of my top favorite films.

Come on how many times have you said "I can't keep doing this... With these..."people".

It that line that sealed it for me. "THESE PEOPLE" Not any specific person or type but PEOPLE in general. He hates all and takes some sort of pleasure in their suffering. He is like a vampire sucking the life out of everyone he meets and the very earth itself.

molly said...

oooops no prince! i feel ashamed now!
and you were the only one who noticed too

yes, its such a shame rick james personal life outshone his music. well, i mean, he was clearly a terrible person but its too bad hes become something of a joke

Ladrón de Basura (a.k.a. Junk Thief) said...

Since my Walgreen's is next to SF General, we always have a good show with people who've just come from the psych ward. They can be quite entertaining playing with their catheters or pulling off bloody bandages.

The Lips and Of Montreal are both cool. Having spent some formative years in Oklahoma City, it's encouraging to see such a good act emerge from there instead of the usual dreadful, dreary country acts.

The Art of Trey said...

Argh! I hate Walgreens, but there's one close by and it's so easy to pop in and pick up what I need. I get confused with too many selections for personal care items. What the f*** is the difference.

Thanks for the cinco de mayo reminder. I totally forgot about it.

And you've never blown your nose? Wow. That's amazing.

M- Filer said...

Thanks for setting me straight on the origins of this holiday, I thought it was the anniversary of the creation of the margarita.

Your so smart.

M- Filer said...

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.

This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.

The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.

http://dit21.blogspot.com/

Bobby D. said...

Happy Mexican Independence Day Wat!

Woo Hoo let's go drink a pitcher o' margaritas!





just kidding!

LBIC said...

lol great topic starter. My idiot friend tim-tim told me i should have been born on cinco de mayo instead of july fourth. forget about the fact that i'm not even mexican, let's just focus on him still thinking may 5th is mex. independence day. I've known him for four years and he brings it up every time.