Mardi Gras Part I

Mardi Gras is one of my favorite times of the year!
When I was growing up, Mardi Gras was time to spend with your family and friends.  Mardi Gras meant parties at school, family coming to visit, and a lovely school holiday in between Christmas and Spring Break.  As I got older Mardi Gras was a time to assert my independence and travel throughout New Orleans with my friends.
Now that I live in New Orleans I'm sure that a few inconveniences will come up along with the fun of Mardi Gras.
For the next few posts I'll be giving you some basic information on Mardi Gras and then some of the ways I will be celebrating Mardi Gras this year!

Religious History

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is always on the day before Ash Wednesday.  Mardi Gras was the day to get out all of your vices before the sacrificial time of Lent.  Lent is the time Catholics use to prepare for Easter.  Catholics believe there are 3 pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and alms giving.  Mardi Gras was a day of feasting before the fasting of Lent began.  While Mardi Gras used to only refer to the one day of rich food and indulgence before Lent, Mardi Gras has now grown to mean the entire season of Carnival.

The length of the Carnival season changes every year with the changing date of Mardi Gras.  This year, Easter is very early so the Carnival season ends sooner and is much shorter than usual.  The Carnival season in New Orleans runs from Three Kings Day to Mardi Gras.  Three Kings Day takes place on January 6th, twelve days after Christmas.  Three Kings Day marks the end of the Christmas season in the Catholic faith.  Three Kings Day is marked in New Orleans with the first King Cake!

King Cake

King Cake is eaten throughout Mardi Gras, for breakfast, for dessert, at a party, in the workroom, whenever!  

Most people are familiar with the baby that comes in a King Cake.  The person who finds the baby in the King Cake is responsible for bringing the King Cake to the next party.  If you find the baby then you are ensured good luck throughout the next year!  When you are buying a King Cake from a bakery check to see if the baby comes inside the King Cake. If they leave the baby on the side, leave the King Cake, you want a King Cake that comes with a pre-baked baby inside.  When I make King Cake I use a kidney bean, red bean, black bean, really whatever bean I have handy.  I don't keep a lot of tiny plastic babies around, and a bean seems much more sanitary and historically accurate.

The three colors that come sugared on top of a King Cake are: gold, purple and green.  These are also the colors of Mardi Gras gold=power, green=faith, and purple=justice.  These colors occur throughout Catholic symbology as well with the same meanings.

Be looking out for my easy peasy lemon squeezy King Cake recipe!  

Oscar Buzz

I LOVE the Oscars.  The Oscars are my Superbowl.  I prepare for them by watching all the movies, just like others who watch playoffs.   I still have a few shows to go, but here is my list of my favorites/picks so far.

Nominations

Actor in a Leading Role: Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables

The role of Jean Valjean was the role of Hugh Jackman's lifetime.  Many of the other performances of the year were also amazing, most notably to me was Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook.  BUT, he doesn't have a finger on Hugh Jackman.  The physical range, age range, vocal range, and mere presence of Hugh Jackman during Les Miserables was unbeatable.  

Actor in a Supporting Role: Christopher Waltz in Django Unchained

I have to make a confession, I haven't seen Lincoln or the Master.  And while Robert De Niro and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are both amazing, Christopher Waltz was absolutely hilarious.  Waltz's character in Django had this wonderful balance of humility, humanity, and absurdity.

Actress in a Leading Role: Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty

I also haven't seen Zero Dark Thirty, but from everything I've heard Chastain has this on lock down.  The little girl in Beasts of the Southern Wild made that movie, but I'm still going with Chastain as the winner in this category.

Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables

Many of the people I know who are die hard musical theatre junkies were not a fan of Anne Hathaway's interpretation in Les Miserables.  While she would have been terrible onstage, I thought her choices perfectly mirrored those of the rest of the movie.  I thought she was totally in control and commanded the audience's attention during all of her scenes.

Cinematography: Life of Pi

Life of Pi had the most amazing expansive landscape.  I cannot imagine the movie being made any differently.  

Directing: *write in nomination for Ben Affleck for Argo

Ben Affleck was robbed! Argo was amazing!  Most of the reasons it was amazing had to do with choices and leadership from Ben Affleck.  I refuse to choose a nominated director because of my love for Ben Affleck.

Foreign Language Film: Amour

I haven't seen Amour yet, but since it is also nominated for Best Picture I just assume it's on lock for this category.

Makeup and Hairstyling: The Hobbit

It's The Hobbit! It has goblins, and hobbits, and wizards, and dwarfs, and every single character has to be made up for hours before they begin filming.  'Nough said.

Music (Original Score): Life of Pi

I'm gonna go with Life of Pi again.  Since the movie did not have as much dialogue as most movies (the main character is marooned with a tiger the majority of the movie), the music helps tell the story just as much as the characters do.  

Music (Original Song): Skyfall from Skyfall

Adele is my hero.  The Bond series is one of my favorites of all time.  I was so pleases with the way Skyfall came out.  It fits into the anthology of Bond music perfectly! I had heard the song before I saw the movie so I was familiar with the lyrics and imagery.  As I watched Skyfall I kept coming back to lines from the song, that's a great theme to a movie.  

Best Picture: Silver Linings Playbook

I'm going out on a limb here, but Silver Linings was my favorite movie out of all of the nominations I have seen thus far.  Do I think it's a classic Best Picture winner that the Academy will recognize?  No. Am I still giving it my vote? Yes.

Production Design: Les Miserables.

Everything in Les Miserables was so well done, from the costumes to sets to makeup and hair, everything was perfectly coordinated.  While the other movies in this category achieved similar feats I believe Les Miserables was the most successful.

I haven't seen any of the foreign films or short films, but I look forward to as Oscar time gets nearer and nearer!

Stay posted on my further reviews, Oscar party preparations, and final comments once the winners are announced!