JESUS AND MO - NORMS

 

Click on the strip for the larger view.

From Jesus and Mo.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY FROM PEACE PILGRIM

"But, you see, I love people and I see the good in them," she continued. "And you're apt to reach what you see. The world is like a mirror: If you smile at it, it smiles at you. I love to smile, and so in general, I definitely receive smiles in return."

Listen to and/or read Peace Pilgrim's story.

H/T to Kurt Weisner at The Lead.

IT'S STILL CHRISTMAS - 9

Not nine ladies dancing, but nine stones set in a circle, the Loch Buie Stone Circle on the Isle of Mull in Scotland, which I visited a couple of years ago with my travel companions, Cathy and Jonathan.

The circle was originally nine granite stones, about 12 metres in diameter, with the tallest stone being about 2 metres high. It is mainly composed of granite slabs which have been positioned with their flatter faces towards the inside of the circle. One of the original stones has been removed and replaced in recent times with a low boulder.

There are 3 single stones in the field at differing distances from the circle. The nearest of these outlying stones is 5m away to the south-east, and is only 1m tall. The second outlier is a spectacular monolith 3m high and set about 40m away to the south-west. Also south-west of the circle, 107m away, is the third outlier, over 2 metres high. The stone is broken at the top and was probably taller when erected.

I wonder why the original stone was removed and replaced with a boulder.   Below is a photo of  the large outlier stone.

To the left is a picture of me standing beside a stone to give you an idea of the size of one of the stones in the circle, which varied in height and width.

Cathy said the photo reminded her of an illustration of Aslan and the evil White Queen from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the resemblance is plain.  If I had tried to strike the pose, I couldn't have done a better job.



And what the subject of this post has to do with Christmas, I can't say, except today is the ninth day of Christmas, and there are nine stones in the circle.  Gimme a break.

HA HA HA - RIOTING BY THE RICH?

Whoo-hoo! An upper-class riot over the fiscal cliff legislation?  So asks Brian Kilmeade.  Not that the rich would be out in the streets themselves. They'd send the hirelings to demonstrate.

The commentary at Faux News is so fecking stupid, that you have to wonder how anyone with half a brain buys any of it. The English guy, Stuart Varney, who moved to the US to get away from Europe says the US is going European, yet I hear people "over there" lament that US culture is taking over the world. So. Which is it? According to certain people here in the US, the epithet "European" is the worst kind of insult, implying wimpiness, immorality, and all sorts of other undesirable qualities.

What you don't hear mentioned at Faux News is that without the awful fiscal cliff legislation, taxes would rise for everyone.  But the folks at Faux only care that taxes will rise for the rich.  Anyone who has an income of $250,000 is in the upper 2%.  How is it possible to be in the upper 2% and still be middle class?  And that's not to mention the "compromise" in the legislation that raises taxes only on those with incomes over $400,000 for individual filers and $450,000 for joint filers.

So, what are the two sides really fighting about? Surely the answer is, the future of the welfare state. Progressives want to maintain the achievements of the New Deal and the Great Society, and also implement and improve Obamacare so that we become a normal advanced country that guarantees essential health care to all its citizens. The right wants to roll the clock back to 1930, if not to the 19th century.

The war between the two parties is about what kind of country we want to live in.  A country where the rich will have an ever-larger slice of the pie?  Or a country where we give at least a slight nod to evening out the portions?

H/T to MediaMatters for the Fox video.

IT'S STILL CHRISTMAS - 8

Not eight ladies dancing maids a-milking, but six ladies all in a row.  My grandmother, Aimée, is in the center with her five daughters, from left to right, Eva, May (Aimée), Gladys, Irma, and Pearl (my mother).  Eva and Irma lived in Reno, Nevada, so they must have come to New Orleans for a visit.  My mother and my Aunt May look so young.  My grandmother always looked old to me, I'm sad to say, probably even before she  was old.  She dressed in the old-fashioned way with long dresses, lisle stockings, and sensible, lace-up shoes. 

The young lady pictured above is ready to dance.  My granddaughter was three or four years old in the picture and wears one of her costumes for her dancing school recital.  I sat through the recitals for my sister, my daughter, and my granddaughter.  As a child, I enjoyed my sister's dance recitals, but, as an adult, the recitals with performances by many youngsters seemed endless.  My sister was a talented dancer and danced through high school, but my daughter and granddaughter took dance lessons for only a few years.  Thank heaven for small mercies.

I'm running out of material for the twelve days of Christmas, with still more days to fill.  I should have stuck with the song.

UPDATE: My grandparents had seven children in all, five daughters and two sons. 

OH DEAR!

 

A NEW DAY - A NEW YEAR

Celtic Prayer

This day is a new day 
That has never been before. 
This year is a new year, 
the opening door. 

Enter, Lord Christ— 
we have joy in Your coming. 
You have given us life; 
and we welcome Your coming. 


I turn now to face You, 
I lift up my eyes. 
Be blessing my face, Lord; 
be blessing my eyes. 
May all my eye looks on 
be blessed and be bright, 
my neighbours, my loved ones 
be blessed in Your sight. 

You have given us life 
and we welcome Your coming. 
Be with us, Lord, 
we have joy, we have joy. 
This year is a new year, 
the opening door. 
Be with us, Lord, 
We have joy, we have joy.

The above prayer is a ‘first-footing’ prayer.  In Scotland and Northern England whoever first crosses the threshold of your home after the passing of midnight New Years Eve is the person who “brings in the year” for you and your house.  This prayer invites Jesus to ‘first-foot’ for us, to bring in the new year for us.

A BLESSED AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

Dougie MacLean with the New Year song.

GOOD-BYE 2012 - HELLO 2013

New Orleans - Fireworks on the river

And he: "I am not eager to rehearse 
   My thoughts and theory which you have forgotten. 
   These things have served their purpose: let them be. 
So with your own, and pray they be forgiven 
   By others, as I pray you to forgive 
   Both bad and good. Last season's fruit is eaten 
And the fullfed beast shall kick the empty pail. 
   For last year's words belong to last year's language 
   And next year's words await another voice.

(Little Gidding - T S Eliot)

                    HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Picture from New Orleans Online.

IT'S STILL CHRISTMAS - 7

 

Enough already with more birds on the seventh day of Christmas.  I wanted a picture of Diana inside with poinsettias in the background, but she was having none of it.  She wanted to go outside, and there she is having her way.  I must admit it's a good picture of her.  Below are the poinsettias.  They are artificial, but they would have made a nice Christmas scene with Diana.

 

When I went in the room to take the picture of the flowers, Diana barked to come back in, but I didn't even try to pose her.

Anyway, I'm told it's also New Year's Eve...

                       HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!