Monday, August 29, 2011

Eid ul-Fitr 2011 Webcam Feed Live in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

The end of Ramadan and it's associated fasting is the Islamic festival of Eid, which this year falls on 30th August 2011.

This live feed is at Mecca for Eid:

Mecca Kaaba Eid Live

Event Information:

Eid al-Fitr, often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fidr means "to purify"; and so the holiday symbolizes the purification after completing the fasting month which is after the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan, on the first day of Shawwal.

Eid ul-Fitr lasts for one day of celebrations (yet, is celebrated for two or more in some counties) and is sometimes also known as the "Smaller Eid" as compared to the Eid al-Adha that lasts three days (or more) following the Hajj and is casually referred to as the "Greater Eid"

Muslims are commanded by the Qur'an to complete their fast on the last day of Ramadan and then recite the Takbir all throughout the period of Eid. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the fasting of Ramadan. This has to do with the communal aspects of the fast, which expresses many of the basic values of the Muslim community. Fasting is believed by some scholars to extol fundamental distinctions, lauding the power of the spiritual realm, while acknowledging the subordination of the physical realm.

Burning Man 2011 Webcast, Black Rock Festival Live Stream

The annual Burning Man festival gets underway on Monday 29 August 2011 in the Black Rock desert of Nevada.

This live stream is at the 2011 Burning Man:

Burning Man Live Stream Online

Event Information:

The event did have earlier roots, though. Sculptor Mary Grauberger, a friend of Harvey's girlfriend Janet Lohr, held solstice bonfire gatherings on Baker Beach for several years prior to 1986, some of which Harvey attended. When Grauberger stopped organizing it, Harvey "picked up the torch and ran with it," so to speak. He and Jerry James built an 8-foot (2.4-meter) wooden effigy for 1986, which was much smaller and more crudely made than the neon-lit figure featured in the current ritual. In 1987, the effigy grew to almost 15 feet (4.6 meters) tall, and by 1988, it had grown to around 40 feet (12 meters).

Harvey swears that he did not see the movie The Wicker Man until many years later, so it played no part in his inspiration. Accordingly, rather than allow the name "Wicker Man" to become the name of the ritual, he started using the name "Burning Man". Burning Man is an annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Sunday before and ends on the day of the American Labor Day holiday. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening. The event is described by many participants as an experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance.

Because of the variety of goals fostered by participatory attendees, known as "Burners," Burning Man does not have a single focus. Features of the event are subject to the participants and include community, artwork, absurdity, decommodification and revelry. Participation is encouraged.