Sukkot

Mood:


Chag Sameach!Tonight's the start of Sukkot. It means 'Booths' or 'Huts'. The holiday signifies us giving thanks for the harvest, and remembering the 40 years we wandered in the desert. It's a happy holiday, in fact it's one of the ones where we're supposed to be joyous.Lasts until sundown on the 30th. 


We finally got our lulav and etrog. They represent the '4 species'. The lulav is made up of 3 different plants and has a 3 sectioned holder. (Lulav literally means 'palm branch'.) It has 1 palm branch in the center, 2 willow branches on the left, and 3 myrtle branches on the right. 


Etrog means 'citron'. It's a special type of citrus fruit. I guess it's similar to a bumpy lemon the way it looks and smells.You can't use one that's had it's pittam or stem ripped off. You take the etrog and lulav together in different hands, and shake/wave it 3 times in 6 different directions. North, south, east, west, up, and down. 


The lulav and etrog have lots of symbolisms/interpretations. Some say they are parts of the human body. Lulav (palm)- the spine, Hadass (myrtle)- the eye, Aravah (willow)- the mouth, Etrog- the heart. Hopefully, it won't rain too much during the week.


I watched the rest of Kuroshitsuji. It was awesome!But, had a very sad ending. Started Kuroshitsuji 2, and so far I don't know if I like it.Alois is really disturbing. Him along with Claude, are the new master and butler. Although, I felt through most of it, they were teasing us.About halfway through, Sebastian shows up at their mansion. He's in a big wide collared trench coat, a big brimmed hat, and has a large suitcase. Suspicious much?I knew it was him. He stole a special tea from them and ran off into the woods. Ciel's body was in the suitcase.He opens it and gives Ciel's ring back and makes him the tea. And, it brings him back to life. I love how at the end, Sebastian says, "Oh, what's with that surprised look on your face?... I'm the only butler for you, right?"So, I haven't watched passed this episode, but I got the impression that maybe Alois and Claude are just new characters. And, Sebastian and Ciel are still the main ones. I hope so.I won't be able to watch if it's about Alois. I mean he poked his maid's eye out, and messed with it.He's more twisted then a lot of other previous characters. 


I saw the 100 Voices: A Journey Home documentary. It was awesome!They gave a small pre-recorded concert before the movie. They all had amazing voices!They went to Poland and had concerts in various places. The Jews in Poland had a very rich vibrant cultural life there for over a 1000 years. It was one of the biggest Jewish populations in Europe. After the war the population dwindled drastically, for obvious, yet sad reasons.Also, a few of them talked about what being a cantor means to them and their reason behind going to Poland. They visited the spots where the concentration camps used to be. They had a service at Auschwitz. I liked the old footage of the famous cantors. They sounded awesome, all had their own takes on the music, and a lot of them used humor.It was a very emotional, and interesting movie.


I also saw from previews that there's a JLTV (Jewish Life TV) channel. I'm going to check if they had any of their programs online. I might look at the Milken Archive of American Jewish Music. Sounds like it would be an awesome site! And, I'd learn even more about my own culture. It has about 700 recordings, 800 hours of oral histories, 50,000 photographs and historical documents. 1000's of hours of video footage from recording sessions, interviews, performances, and various other stuff. Sounds like quite an archive.


I posted the uncolored version of Ravel in a few groups. I already had 4 people fave it!I tested out what coloring would be like using Photoshop. (Since I plan to color Ravel.) I decided I have to start thinking about layers, and apply with a small brush. I liked how some of it looked. Having black hair with a really dark grey as a highlight, looked pretty cool. I can't decide on what color for his horns.I might just leave them as is. I tried coloring one of his eyes, but it ended up looking really weird. So, this was good practice, and a way for me to get a handle on things.


There's a Hadassah meeting tonight. So, that should be fun. I'm not too fond of it being centered on Mah Jong, but oh well.


Youtube:
Since it's Sukkot! A hilarious vid about shaking the lulav and etrog: