Crip History

Crip History Crip is an alliance of individual street organizations known as sets. The Crip alliance originated in Los Angeles, California. Each Crip set is it's own individual gang and are known to have sub-clicks, blocks, or lines (line-ups) which are like smaller individual sets within the set. Gang members in gangs under the Crip allaince are known as Locs and all Crips call each other "cuz" (short for cousin) to signify that they see each other as family. The gangs under the Crip Alliance are mainly identified by the color blue which is worn proudly by all Crip members as a primary color. Each Crip set has significant differences such as hand signs, use of secondary colors, and customs. The Crip alliance has significantly branched out of California and has spread throughout the majority of the United States.A 15 year old Fremont High School student named Raymond Washington started a gang called the Baby Avenues in 1969 in an attempt to be like the older gangs and copy the political activitie s carried out by other organizations such as the Black Panthers.Tattooed Crip.The gang named itself the Avenue Cribs eventually and took on the nickname Cribs because most members were very young back then. The name Crips was first brought up in L.A. a Los Angeles newspaper in a artical about young Cribs with canes, as if they were crippled. A lot of people believe the name came to existance because of a spelling error. Either way, The name stuck and the Crips alliance was formed.Stanley Tookie Williams is one of the co-founders of the Crips. He started his own gang called the Westside Crips. The Crips were very well known throughout southern L.A. as more and more people began to join. The Crips eventually became the biggest and...

French-Themed Celebrations

French-Themed Celebrations For Francophiles, any time is a good time to celebrate French, but there is one holiday in particular that cries out for a French-themed party: Bastille Day. Here are some ideas for a party with some French panache.DecorationsIf youre going for patriotic Bastille Day colors, Americans have it easy: you can just reuse your red, white, and blue bunting from the 4th of July. You might also consider investing in some posters, or make your own by blowing up your favorite photos of France. If youre feeling artistic or playful, decorate place card with little drawings of the Eiffel Tower, or make tiny berets or French flags as party favors.DiscussionsTo get people in a chatty mood, consider one of these topic ideas:  Ã‚  Ã‚  - French quotations - offer up a few of your favorite Francophone words of wisdom for discussion.  Ã‚  Ã‚  - Today in Francophone history - talk about famous French people who share each guests birthday.  Ã‚  Ã‚  - Travel stories - anyone who has been to France wi ll be eager to talk about it. Set up a projector to swap stories and photos.  Ã‚  Ã‚  - French culture - theres no shortage of discussion topics when it comes to French movies, plays, literature...  Ã‚  Ã‚  - French is better than... everything - I put this together just for fun; see if you can add to my lists, or come up with new ones.  Ã‚  Ã‚  - Spanish is easier than French - fact or fiction?EntertainmentDont forget to have some nice French music playing in the background, or even a movie.Food and DrinkNothing says fà ªte like good French food and drinks. Some classic foods are cheese, crà ªpes, fondue, French onion soup, pà ¢tà ©, pissaladià ¨re, quiche, ratatouille, croissants, and a variety of French breads. For dessert, try chocolate mousse, and crà ¨me brà »là ©e. As for beverages, theres wine, champagne, pastis, chartreuse, coffee, and Orangina. Bon appà ©tit  !Vive la France!