Celebrity culture

Increasingly, we are living in a culture of celebrity. The obsessive and relentless following of celebrities is manifested throughout popular culture there are even 

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Orr, J. E. 1990. Sharing knowledge, celebrating identity community memory in a service culture. In D. Middleton D. Edwards (eds.). Collective Remembering. London Sage. 

Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrated by many African Americans from December 26 to January 1. It pays tribute to the rich cultural roots of Americans of African ancestry, and celebrates family, community, and culture. Kwanzaa means the first or the first fruits of the harvest and is based on the ancient African first-fruit harvest celebrations. The modern holiday of Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor at the California State University in Long Beach, California. The seven-day celebration encourages people to think about their African roots as well as their life in present-day America. 

She nodded again. We met socially and then he invited me to a spend a few days on the mainland. He was to come for me on the very day he fled from the city. Lucia vouched for Zorzi as very generous and excellent company, cultured and witty. I did not recognize the name earlier because nobody had told me he was the celebrated Honeycat. ... 

The four elements of antiquity perfuse the history of Western culture. Shakespeare s Lear runs amok in the stormy rain, the rushing air, and the oak-cleaving thunderbolts of fire, nature s fretful elements . Two of his sonnets are paired in celebration of the quartet sea and land... so much of earth and water wrought , and slight air and purging fire . Literary tradition has continued to uphold the four ancient elements, which supply the organizing principle of T. S. Eliot s Quartets. 

Predictably with an NP-rich product like wine, consumption is accompanied by ritual. Wines are served at official dinners, at weddings, to celebrate births and to show displays of triumph after car racing. Special drinking vessels (wine glasses), special storage containers (wine bottles), special storage racks and wine cellars, all point to wine having a special value in European culture. 

The problem of drunkenness was well known in ancient and early Christian times, and many religious and other leaders condemned the use of alcohol. At the same time, though, wine was celebrated in Greek religion as the gift of Dionysus (or Bacchus), and in the New Testament and subsequent Christian tradition it became the blood of Christ. Alcohol had a less prominent role in Jewish culture. The Muslims, however, banned its use. Attitudes toward alcohol and other intoxicating beverages vary widely in other world cultures. 

What is called the modern drug culture appears to have started with rock musicians and other celebrities in the 1960s. Drug abuse spread to the poor in ghettos and slums, where many turned to drugs as a way to escape hopelessness and poverty. Drugs spread throughout all classes and cultures. 

North Beach had served for years as home ground for beatnik activities and had become a center for cultural ferment in America. The beats generally favored stark contrasts of black and white, in their dress and in their thinking. They emphasized the role of the Artist and the Bohemian, celebrated blacks as culture heroes, and were politically active against the Bomb. Their style found expression in after-hours poetry and jazz in coffeehouses. Their taste in drugs inclined to pot, speed and heroin. 

Jean was a tireless traveler he had a special attraction for countries of eastern Europe, their history and culture. During his Romanian period, he became fascinated by orthodox religion and the richness of the old monasteries. His last wish was to have both orthodox and religious celebrations for his funeral. This final wish was indeed fulfilled. 

Celebrate diversity. Natural systems thrive on richness and diversity. Likewise, industry should promote development of diverse products that are fitting for different cultures and ecosystems. 

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