I had a trawl through the mmm, detritus that is being passed off as a present for dad. I saw an advert for Canadian Maple flavoured ribs and beer. Fine, if you’ve never had Gavuscon or Oemeprozole but not for the other 99% of us literally a recipe for disaster. This and a thousand Top Gear / presents aimed at 10 year olds with more hair passed off as what the retailers decided we should stress over for Father’s Day; rubbish.

There is the same nuance and care needed in a Father’s Day as there is when responding to a question from partners beginning “I want you to be honest with me…” (NB you only fall for this once every six months)

We know a great sage once decreed that the perfect childhood for boys was to have a father until they were seven years old before taking over as pack leader and sending father back into the forest to forage.
Handwritten cards, something you secretly wanted, a hint taken or anything fried and you have an A*; with gradings all the way down to a Co-Op card and a picture of your children to remind you who they are.

I think I did okay. Definitely on the upside and had an easy weekend with a family that becomes more lively and interesting by the week.

Sunday began at 2am with teething terrors traumatising the Mighty-Headed boy and ended alone in a double bed with all baby duties suspended until 6am as I had a big day at work; the greatest act of selfless love in a bedroom that the mother of your children can give you.

Didsbury Son had a break from being short-changed of quality dad attention, spending a sleepover with friends and Didsbury Wife and I spent a chummy afternoon on the couch with the twins before I didn’t have to go to John Lewis.

I felt special. As we wheeled the twin Meerkats out for an early evening drink in a sun-dappled West Didsbury I felt relaxed and sure in the knowledge that the world was right and I was one inappropriate joke away from a Top Gear compilation.

Hands full, all three of them

Whenever I hear someone proclaim that their nation is and always has been, a Christian nation I Get quite annoyed because I always feel like they are quite naive and foolish. Obviously they haven‘t studied their nation‘s past, how religions evolve and/or how religiousity changes within societies.

Recently, archaeologists in Denmark found a grave with Christian symbols. The remarkable thing about this grave was that it had been made in accordance with heathen (vikings) standards. The person in had not been buried by Christian customs but by the customs of pre-Christian viking societies.

If one then takes a look at some burials in Iceland, especially those surrounding the supposed farm (or villa) of Egill Skallagrímsson (son of Skallagrímur), then those are constructed by Christian customs. But in those graves there had been laid various artefacts such as would be the customs of vikings.

Putting those together one can see how the Christian faith evolves and slowly takes hold in a society. It‘s not necessarily a change of faith but more a change in thinking for a whole society, where a few take up some of the customs of Christianity while still honoring customs of the forefathers. Then with every generation the customs become more Christian until one starts to get (almost) pure Christian burials and customs.

This might also be applicable for other customs, such as certain gatherings and holidays, Christmas and Easter for example. Those celebrations didn‘t change overnight, they would have changed gradually and almost unperceptably by each generation.

Every time we look at the past we often see a stark contrast to how things are today, often imagining a sudden change somewhere along the line. But such is not the way of evolution. Nothing really changes suddenly. It‘s all gradual and subtle.

Some might stand up and argue against this notion, but I implore you: Go and take a long hard look at a singular event, research it throughly and then try to argue that it just happened.

As is with every story, there is always a long period that leads up to the event. Even when the event seems to be sudden and out of the blue.

In my next post I will get back on track with my research of 18th century Iceland, probably just going to roughly translate a chapter from my research paper. It’s about the systems in Iceland at the time, the administrative and the church, what changed, how they tried to influence society and whatnot.

‘Til next,
dengsinn

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Don’t you love giving to your kids?  It’s one of my favorite things.  Picking out the perfect present for Claire is so much fun.  Or surprising her with something I know she will love.  Or saying “yes” to something that she doesn’t expect me to approve.  I love the delight on her face and excitement in her eyes.  Good parents want to give good gifts to their kids, and that’s a good thing!  But have you noticed the trend as of late to give excessively?  Like, a lot.  Like, way too much?  I feel like this trend of overindulging our kids is picking up steam and gaining momentum by the day.  Everything is done in excess.  Every special day or occasion has to be celebrated to a hilt.  The bar for what’s expected keeps moving up, and parents don’t seem to be able to say no.

Growing up, I have fond memories of my birthday, class parties, and other special occasions. These things were exciting because they were special and more importantly because they were rare.  I loved every special day my family spent together – not because my parents spent a boatload of money buying things for us, but because of the beautiful traditions we created as a family.  Contrast that with special occasions for kids nowadays, and you see how excessive we’ve become.

Birthday Party Then:
- Call family and close friends and invite them to come.
- Make a cake in the shape of some animal.
- Party starts – eat cake, open presents, play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.

Birthday Party Now:
- Select a party theme.
- Take pictures and create designer invitations.
- Send out invitations and create Facebook event page.
- Plan a menu to fit with the theme.
- Reserve bounce house/reserve a location.
- Order custom cake.
- Decorate and create goodie bags.
- Party starts – guests are amazed at your elaborate decorations; kids play games, jump in bounce house, do activities; guests eat; birthday kid opens presents; guests use photo booth; kids receive goodie bags.

Loosing a Tooth Then:
- Kid looses tooth, puts tooth under pillow.
- Tooth Fairy comes and leaves a half-dollar.

Loosing a Tooth Now:
-Kid looses tooth, puts tooth in designer box under pillow.
- Tooth Fairy sprays $10 bill with glitter.
- Tooth Fairy leaves glittery bill under pillow.
- Kid goes to the store and buys a toy with the money he “earned” from loosing his tooth.

Good Grades on Report Card Then:
- Parents say, “Great job!  I’m so proud of you and I’m glad you worked so hard.”

Good Grades on Report Card Now:
- Parents say, “Good for you.  Here’s $10 for each A you got.”
- Kid thinks he should get paid every time he does his best at something and does what is expected.
- Kid goes to store and buys toys with the $50 she received.
- Repeat 5 more times each school year.

Elf on the Shelf Then:
- Say what?!?

Elf on the Shelf Now:
- Purchase Elf on the Shelf kit for $29.95.
- Read the book and come up with a name for your family’s elf.
- DAILY come up with a creative, silly, ridiculous activity for your elf to complete.
- Repeat for the entire month of December.
- Side Note:  Why are we demonstrating daily acts of rebellion for our kids?  Do they not come up with creative enough ways to buck authority on their own??

Seriously, people?

Christmas Presents Then:
- A new bike
OR
- A wagon
OR
- A baby doll

Christmas Presents Now:
- Wii
- DS
- DS Games
- iPod Touch
- A new bike
- American Girl Doll
- Justice Shopping Spree
- Seriously – every year after Christmas break I am astounded at the amount of money some of my students’ families spend on their gifts.

Easter Egg Hunt Then:
- Place a tootsie roll in each egg.
- Hide eggs.
- Kids find eggs and eat candy.

Easter Egg Hunt Now:
- Send out invitations for the egg hunt.
- Decorate and make snacks for the egg hunt.
- Fill eggs with an assortment of candies.
- Designate particular eggs as “prize eggs” and fill them with $1 bills, $5 bills, $10 bills.
- Hide eggs.
- Kids find eggs, eat candy, get rich; other kids complain because they didn’t get the prize eggs and money – give money from your wallet to these kids;
- Give prizes away to kids who found the most eggs.
- Kids eat more candy, eat snacks, eat more candy.

When we overindulge our kids time after time, they begin to think that life will always treat them this way.  What a disappointment we are setting them up for!  We give and give and give, and our kids never learn to appreciate what they have, only to want more.  These kids grow up entitled, believing that they always deserve something new, more exciting, better.  Kids are learning to keep up with the Joneses, and we parents play along.  Of all the gifts we can give our children, one of the most important is teaching them to be content.  Our kids won’t learn this on their own – we have to show them how.

]]> http://creativedesignreflections.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/holiday-magic-the-beginning/ Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:00:28 +0000 Katharine Gleim http://creativedesignreflections.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/holiday-magic-the-beginning/ It is usually during December, when I am hooshing Christmas displays that I start thinking about what our next year’s themes for Holiday Magic will be.  Our trees have been up for a month or moreand my mind has moved on from the current year, to wondering what exciting things we can come up with for the next year.  I realize this may seem a bit bizarre, but retail requires working at least six months ahead of the next season, which means by the end of August I have finished spring (which we install right after Christmas) and since we go to market the middle of January to buy our Christmas merchandise, I need to start preparing for what I will be searching for.  I must admit that Christmas is the holiday I am most passionate about, although I get excited by all of the holidays, especially Thanksgiving.  Creating and preparing for our wonderland we call Holiday Magic takes almost nine months, and when the time comes – finally! – to put the trees up, I can hardly wait to see how it reflects what has been in my mind’s eye for so many months.   

It’s hard, but when you’re having fun there’s a world outside your window and it’s a world of dread and fear where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears

My problem with the song begins with such words because they reflect the negative portrayals and perceptions Africa continuously has to deal with. The world of ‘dread and fear’ could be in your own ground regardless of the economic background nevertheless ‘where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears’ please look no further than the continent of starving children with malnutrition bodies.

But say a prayer to pray for the other ones

Now that you have looked outside your window and realised you live in a world better than those children don’t forget us in your bed time prayers. Seriously, pray for the ‘other’ ones? The others as if we live in a secluded island like in the TV series Lost. But no unfortunately we don’t. This is what the West sees Africa as. We are theirs to save and if they don’t pour millions in aid the poor will die which is probably true considering our own leaders lack integrity. If we had good governance with the resources that we have no one will be singing about our misfortunes, we will be doing it ourselves.

This story begins with the end, the end of my longest relationship to date. Ever since I can remember sugar has been a part of my life. From the Barbie birthday cake at my third birthday party to the first ‘Alco pop’ I snuck when I was 16, sugar has been there through the sweetest of times. Sure we’ve have had our ups and downs, I blamed sugar for those dreaded 10 kilos that crept on in 9^th grade, and even before I could blame sugar my parents were; framing it as the culprit for my often ‘hyperactive’ behaviour.

But as I get older and my fear of commitment increases, I can’t help but feel that there just isn’t enough room for sugar in my pantry anymore… or my fridge, or my freezer. I want sugar gone, once and for all.

Having had such an intense connection for nineteen years, I have no doubt in my mind that this will be the most painful breakup yet (no offence Jake and Scott – who’s names have been changed for the purpose of this blog).

I’m sure Sugar will come back to haunt me on Halloween (thank God it’s not traditionally celebrated in Australia), Christmas, Easter (of course) and worst of all Valentine’s Day *sigh*.

Now instead of turning to a block of Chocolate to drown my sorrows (Milk, White, Dark… I don’t discriminate), I might have to actually call a real friend (remember those people… you’ll likely have a few on Facebook) and talk about my problems. It dawned on me that I’d become more comfortable around a Mars Bar then another human being.

But ladies and gentlemen, don’t let sugar fool you like I let it do me. It’s not often that your love interest will come with an ingredient list detailing how very bad they are for you. Take a closer look at you’ll see that the relationship is sour; sugar cheats your appetite in a way that always leaves you wanting more… sweet bastard. What’s more sugar is known to have devastating effects on your health, commonly rotting your teeth and causing heart problems… real heart problems (not the kind One Direction sings about).

This story begins with the end, the end of my longest relationship to date. Ever since I can remember sugar has been a part of my life. From the Barbie birthday cake at my third birthday party to the first ‘Alco pop’ I snuck when I was 16, sugar has been there through the sweetest of times. Sure we’ve have had our ups and downs, I blamed sugar for those dreaded 10 kilos that crept on in 9^th grade, and even before I could blame sugar my parents were; framing it as the culprit for my often ‘hyperactive’ behaviour.

But as I get older and my fear of commitment increases, I can’t help but feel that there just isn’t enough room for sugar in my pantry anymore… or my fridge, or my freezer. I want sugar gone, once and for all.

Having had such an intense connection for nineteen years, I have no doubt in my mind that this will be the most painful breakup yet (no offence Jake and Scott – who’s names have been changed for the purpose of this blog).

I’m sure Sugar will come back to haunt me on Halloween (thank God it’s not traditionally celebrated in Australia), Christmas, Easter (of course) and worst of all Valentine’s Day *sigh*.

Now instead of turning to a block of Chocolate to drown my sorrows (Milk, White, Dark… I don’t discriminate), I might have to actually call a real friend (remember those people… you’ll likely have a few on Facebook) and talk about my problems. It dawned on me that I’d become more comfortable around a Mars Bar then another human being.

But ladies and gentlemen, don’t let sugar fool you like I let it do me. It’s not often that your love interest will come with an ingredient list detailing how very bad they are for you. Take a closer look at you’ll see that the relationship is sour; sugar cheats your appetite in a way that always leaves you wanting more… sweet bastard. What’s more sugar is known to have devastating effects on your health, commonly rotting your teeth and causing heart problems… real heart problems (not the kind One Direction sings about).

Over the next 8 weeks I plan to expose sugar for what it really is, a poison, and draw back the romanticised way we view it. In reality I will be blogging about my tragic attempt to ditch sugar and the triumphs and tears that come along with doing so.

From this moment forward I vow that the only candy I will peruse is eye candy,

Alannah xx

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Around Christmas time we all think a lot more about sharing and gift giving. We have learned that it is not just the joy of getting, but that it is the joy of seeing someone else’s face light up when they receive something that blesses and pleases them, that is the greater blessing. I guess we tend to give more around Christmas time because it is the season, but we know that it should be an attitude that we carry with us throughout the year.
You know, God is an extravagant giver. He doesn’t just give to us what we deserve it and His gifts aren’t even based on how good we are, because His love is unconditional and it can not be bought or earned. It has been the prayer of my heart for some time now, “Lord, make me an extravagant giver like You are.” We don’t want the giving that is based on how much we have monetarily or in possessions, it is an attitude of God’s nature within us that says, “make me a blessing.”
When Jesus came into the earth as God’s most extravagant gift to mankind, He didn’t grow up to take what He could have rightly claimed as His own, He came to give His life day by day. He cared about people and He showed that love and caring in personal and real ways. His richest gifts weren’t money or wealth; it was himself. Oh, that I might give myself to bless others as He has blessed us.
Christmas often gets caught up in commercialism and gift giving and getting, but our most important asset is a giving heart. In all we give and do, I know that God looks at our hearts. Proverbs 21:2 says, “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.” In Matthew 12:35 Jesus says, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” Our giving then is not about how much, but the attitude of our heart in what we give. One day Jesus was observing the people giving their offerings. Many of the rich were presenting their offerings with great pomp and show. It didn’t impress Jesus, but He saw a little widow that humbly put in her two mites or about the equivalent of a penny and he said, “truly she has given more than them all, because she gave all that she had.” The Lord is looking upon our motives that same way.
“God so loved the world.” It is His love that makes us extravagant givers. In as much as He enables and helps me, I want to learn to give like our Father gives and with the same motive of heart, how about you?

Blessings,
kent

But with Faith in the Holy Trinity (1 John 5:7-8 King James version only), all Hebrew/Christian Israel shall move all evil Luciferian mountains of Antichrist from their born again hearts and souls (Mark 11:23)

Spiritual Battle of Armageddon on the high mountain known as the Red Planet Mars (Matthew 4:10-11) – (Revelation 16:13-16) between Lord JESUS The Alpha and The Omega and Lucifer the father of lies and a murderer of Father God Almighty’s spirits and souls from the foundation of the world

It is essential to walk by Faith and not by sight, all lovers of The Word and its 10 Commandments as a Biblical rule of law must 24×7 equip themselves with the whole Armor of The I Am that I Am

which then brings into the equation, the unconquerable shield of Faith known as the Lord JESUS The Christ Emmanuel – The Alpha and The Omega – The Head Cornerstone of the Universe (Matthew 21:42)

JESUS Our Almighty Father – The King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Philippians 2:10-11) JESUS The Alpha and The Omega (Revelation 1:11) The Spirit of Prophecy The Word of God Almighty (John 1:1) The Prince of Peace – Worshipful Master of The Universe – Wonderful Councilor (Isaiah 9:6) Majestic Conqueror of the one who sinned from the very beginning the father of lies Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-14)

which will allow you Hebrew/Christian Israel never to be the same again, which will announce you as a new creature in Christ JESUS Emmanuel (2 Corinthians 5:17), obviously it announces you as His Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation (People), a peculiar people but a pre-ordained chosen Generation (Zachariah 13:8-9)…

Finally Hebrew/Christian Israel, to equip yourselves with the powerful yet unconquerable Shield of Faith, which will ultimately allow you to see the Kingdom of Father God Almighty (John 3:3-6) which will protect you 24×7, from every weapon of mass destruction based upon the Antichrist sin of Luciferian witchcraft

Take note the 1776 New World Order conspiracy plan of the forefathers (Jeremiah 11:9-10 – Exodus 20:5) was upon the fulfillment of the scripture prophecy of Daniel 12:10-11 (Matthew 24;15 – Matthew 24:24) …….

The 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse bringing in their New world Order conspiracy plan from 1776 that Lucifer/George Washington as Yod were as an equal unto the Most High (1 John 5:7-8 King James version only)

The Goat Baphomet – Luciferian last supper horns for yod symbol notice the upside cross type yod symbol above images head and horns

that shall be fired at you, yet be quenched 24×7 by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Philippians 2:10-11) which beyond a doubt will anoint you 24×7 as being more than a conqueror through Christ JESUS Emmanuel

Undoubtedly born on the 18th of April (Nissan Hebrew/Christian Israel New Year) nearly 2,000 yeras ago which was 3 days after Caesar Augusta World Taxation day based upon the 15th of April (Nissan Hebrew/Christian Israel New Year) refer to Luke 2:1-12

John 14:6 – John 3:16

Look – you can almost see Daiso from my apartment!

Oh the dollar store. As a kid, I would walk to the one on the corner to get all my Christmas gifts: creepy porcelain cats, a woven basket with a hole in the bottom, a pencil case.

I thought my dollar days were over until my sister made me go to Daiso, a Japanese-franchised dollar store in the “ID” (Psst, International District) here in Seattle. It’s other places too, so if you see one stop in and take a look around.

First off – there’s the whole look and feel. It’s bright. Everything is arranged nicely – no plastic bins filled with broken pencils and opened packages of expired crackers. It doesn’t even smell like a dollar store, meaning it doesn’t smell like someone peed in the corner and then misted the air with bad cologne.

Not only is everything gloriously cheap, oh-so-cheap, it’s useful. There are cool cooking items, including a green onion knife that cuts green onions into ribbons. Cherry blossom stickers.  Beauty masks. Sure, the instructions and ingredients are in Japanese, but that makes it only more fun.

Cheap travel accessories:

1. Silverware in individual cases. Other countries just don’t give plastic forks to just anyone like they do in the U.S. Bring silverware with you, secure in a case and you can avoid the awkward moment of asking for a  fork in a second language.
2. Bottles to fill with your 3 allotted ounces of shampoo/conditioner. You want to pay $3.99 somewhere else, go ahead.
3. Toothbrush covers in neon colors.
4. Bath sponges shaped like wide-eyed pandas. With attached ropes, so you can easily move it across your back and keep the backacne at bay.
5. Vomit bags. So cheap you won’t even have to reuse them. Let’s hope they’re scented.
6. Locks for your suitcases.
7. Bands to keep your 10-year-old suitcase from opening and spilling all your dollar-store underwear onto the carousel.

For the remaining millions of us it will be grand slam seats in front of the telly, where we can soak in some of the atmosphere with the ubiquitous champagne, strawberries and cream at the ready, alongside the remote.

Chocolate Truffle Cones

Strawberry Champagne Truffles

Talking of which, we recently provided a sneak preview of our gorgeous Chocolate Truffle Cones – perfect for sharing, entertaining, picnics or mini desserts.

Our mouth-watering chocolate truffles are available in strawberry champagne flavour (a true summer favourite), triple chocolate (one for the kids and chocaholics alike) and the latest passion for Sea Salted caramel (a creamy taste explosion).

The factory is now piled high with a delivery of empty truffle boxes in all shapes and sizes – waiting for the ladies to get moulding and making, stirring and packing our latest truffle creations.

We quickly snuck in a ‘Best Dad’ truffle box or two online in time for Father’s Day last Sunday and we hope all you dads out there were well and truly spoiled one way or another.  We know how much you need and deserve some spoiling now and then!

‘C’ is for…

You’d be correct in thinking ‘champagne’ ‘cream’ ‘cones’ or ‘chocolate’ but we have had to add another unmentionable to the retail repertoire this week – ‘Christmas’!

Photo shoots, product launches, packaging and labelling – already the preparation has begun with only just over 2 months until the Autumn Fair  and Top Drawer Trade Shows,  where we have the opportunity to show off all of our latest, boldest and brightest Christmas creations.  Watch this space over the next few weeks for Christmas products.  And popping up on our Twitter pages (right>>>)

…Celebrations!

Win £30 worth of Chocolates

For our 10^th Anniversary, we will be creating a special celebratory box of chocolates to give to all buyers who place a trade order with us at the September Shows .  10 Golden Tickets will be hidden in those chocolate boxes – find one and receive 10 complimentary packs of chocolates worth £30 trade price.

….and Christmas Starter Pack!

Following the success of our ‘Summer Starter Pack’, all new retailers can also take advantage of our introductory ‘Christmas Starter packs’ with free stand.

As a special welcome to new retailers we are offering a pre-selected Christmas Starter Pack on first orders only at the Shows – Only £150 + £10 delivery to mainland UK.

Otherwise, to select your own products, a minimum order of £180+VAT applies.

Complimentary Tickets to Autumn Fair 2013

Get your free show tickets to the Autumn Fair, NEC, now and save £30 (sorry to say these won’t gain you access to Wimbledon).

Rating:

10 out of 10 (from 53 votes)

Product Description

Handmade 30 Christmas Cards Set with Coordinating Envelopes

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Santa Clause Fish is an adorable funny and cute Poster for Christmas. Sparky yellow fish is dressed up like father Christmas in a red suit, bringing gifts, on a bright blue background

POP! is this year’s theme, creating a fun and funky space for winter events at OXO2. The design has been inspired by the colour and vibrancy of the 1960s, with themed objects reminiscent of the lighthearted atmosphere of the era’s popular music. Iconic pieces include retro arm chairs, bright sixties imagery, television sets and a host of sixties memorabilia. An extraordinary monochrome dance floor has been designed in keeping with the theme, for exceptional POP! parties this winter.

A second space for seated dinners offers a smarter more formal feel, allowing panoramic views of the capital to take centre stage, for the ultimate London backdrop to your event. Gaze along the river and enjoy the breathtaking sight of Christmas lights spanning the length of London as you raise a toast at OXO2 this Christmas.

Find out more about Christmas events at OXO2 here.

As far as the conditioned public psyche is concerned, the origins of candy canes are unclear. The most widely accepted explanations vacillate between the account of a 1670’s German choir master who created sugary sweets of swirled white and red representing purity and the blood of Christ respectively and the desire to immortalize the hooks of holy shepards in candy form. The Biblical references bear some relevance to the true origin of the candy cane though neither of these tales reveals the candy cane’s truth.

A ubiquitious reminder of the technological prowess of an extraterrestrial race located in the Acrididae star system, the knowledge of which is suppressed from the general public, candy canes influence the masses despite a true significance which is now esoteric. Pre-dating the earliest Egyptian dynasty by more than two millennia, the entire Fertile Crescent region was inhabited by a civilization of robotic grasshoppers from the Acrididae star system. Intellectually sophisticated, the entire grasshopper civilization abandoned its biology and transplanted its consciousness into indefatiguable robot bodies.      The post-singularity grasshopper civilization evolved from a society where glucose fueled biological life and biological life fueled technological innovation. As a sentient, robotic race the mechanical grasshoppers still depended on glucose for innovation as consciousness expanded in efficient mechanical forms, the possibilities for interactions with the environment transformed to a state that created a paradigm shift beyond what was shifted with the completion of the merger between insect and machine. Suddenly consciousness could reproduce, travel in and out of previously uninhabitable regions of the Acrididaen planets Zelknes and Graseeknak, and exist in multiple places at once among other incredible things.

                The post-singularity grasshopper civilization evolved from a society where glucose fueled biological life and biological life fueled technological innovation. As a sentient, robotic race, the mechanical grasshoppers still depended on glucose for innovation. As consciousness expanded in efficient, machine states, the possibility for interactions with the environment transformed to a state that created a paradigm shift beyond what was shifted with the completion of the merger between insect mind and machine. Suddenly consciousness could reproduce, travel in and out of otherwise uninhabitable regions of the planet and exist in multiple places at once among many other incredible things. The unprecedented freedoms in possibility as well as the shattering of the bondage of mind from the biological drives for reproduction and physical appetites launched innovation to unprecedented heights.

Driven solely by the drive to expand consciousness, the efficient and unrestrictable robobugs made astounding advances, particularly in the arenas of perception, exploration, food synthesis, and in new fields that are of paramount importance to the grasshopper civilization but are too abstruse to be understood by the human mind. At most our species can grasp that the most significant and valuable of these new fields involve glucose, tubing, and the extraction of red and white colored materials from certain planets. To say the frequencies of the colors red and white are conducive to robobug technologies is an understatement of the grandest measure.

The benefits garnered by those color frequencies have led robobugs to embark in grand colonization projects and failed lumigenetic initiatives. After much tribulation, organic sources of color frequencies proved to be the only substances of value and across galaxies robobugs have made covertly forceful contracts with all sorts of life forms in planets abundant in red and white materials.

Competent in psychologies and psychology equivalents of numerous varieties, robobugs approach interactions with human forms and similar beings with a mechanical condescension, robotic efficiency, and a rather sadistic display of technological superiority that succeeds in rendering governing factions submissive to the robobug agenda. Critical to their interest, is the acquisition of red and white hued items. Substances of these colors highly charged with vital energy (blood, bone, etc.) are the most effective instruments for technological endeavors and so the robobugs’ infiltration of the planet Earth was highly advantageous.

First arriving in Babylonian times, the robobugs identified the Red Sea as a locale of exceptionally high interest. Observing the activities on the planet through frequency modulating techniques, their exploratory intelligence forces determined that the most valuable sources of colors would be found on Earth’s dense, physical plane where plants, animals and minerals were the vital life forms. Human beings it seemed, possessed the most impact on the planet of all of the animals. Their thoughts governed their actions which in turn governed the environment. Fortunately for the Robobugs, humans proved easy to manipulate.

The robobugs initially manipulated the energy fields that surrounded them so as to resemble the earth insects that populated the land in abundance. They procedded to eavesdrop and technologically probe thought fields. Rather quickly the bugs came to conclude that spiritual and political influence would be nessecary to sway humans. To their great convenience, the bugs were also able to determine that a messianic spiritual leader was soon to incarnate, his name would be Jesus Christ, a direct manifestation of the God force.

Strategic and opportunistic, the robobugs first exposed themselves to leaders of universities and other institutions of learning throughout the crescent region. Terrified and awed, the learned men hardly hesitated to appease the extraterrestrials in their resource acquisitions. Threats of locust plagues were more than effective in swaying the few leaders who sought to stand their ground. With human leadership forcefully won over, public control could soon be gained.

The history passed over to the general public relays an account of three esteemed and mysterious wise men who visited an infant Jesus and bestowed gifts upon him.  What is not relayed to the public is the fact that the three magi had been visited by robobugs before journeying to visit the Christ child and that the robobugs had manipulated frequencies to create the Star of Bethlehem that summoned them to journey to Jerusalem. The bugs gleamed through thought deciphering, that Jesus’ life would lead to Christianity, one of the most influential religions in the world and that the phrases blood of Christ (red) and lamb of God (white) would become so significant to humanity in the plane of thought that the vital energy of blood and wool would be magnified for the next 10 millennia.

Ready to exploit this knowledge, the robobugs visited the wise men without their knowledge in earthly grasshopper form. Traveling secretly in the magis’ bags, the robobugs appeared to the wise men after they presented their gifts to the infant messiah. In unabashed mechanical form, the robobugs intimidated the wise men in the same manner they had the other learned men of the era and gave them instructions (similar to those they had given to others) to extract profit from wool, butchering, and organized violence. Just as they had with the other officials they contacted, the Robobugs gave the three magi specific instructions to attend a summons where the conspiracy to appease Robobug resource hunger would begin.

Hallmarked by the bugs’ insatiable hunger for red and white substances, the Glucose Conspiracy began with terrified knowledge leaders and politicians carrying out the orders of vicious space bugs to amplify the volume and energetic potency of red and white substances. The high profitability of the beef and dairy industries today, the incessant bloodshed generated by unnessarcary war, the prominence of the color red and white in national symbols throughout the world are all profound effects of the robobug’s agenda. But the no impact on earthlings through the glucose conspiracy has been greater than the impact of robobugs on sugar.

Able to provide organisms with rapidly available sources of energy, requiring large amounts of energy to extract, and an ideal color, white sugar is prized by robobugs more than any other substance on earth. Robobug mandates are responsible for the unnessecary addition of sugar to foods, the aggressive marketing of high sugar substances, and the greedy and often gruesomely inhumane harvesting of sugarcane worldwide. Robobug surveillance (yes robobugs are still here and they are watching us from high places) ensures that sugar continues to make the world go round.

In attempts to ensure law and order in a truly earthly way, robobugs used to beat dissenters with large staffs made out of hardened sugar, when the dissenters’ blood began to drip onto the staffs, the bugs got the idea to intentionally create red and white staffs for intimidation. The red and white swirled post became an emblem of robobug power in circles where that influence needed to be known and in order to prevent leaders from getting any ideas for independence, robobugs implanted their symbol into the minds of candy makers, fashion designers, and doctors, so that their symbol would be associated with deliciousness, good taste, and healing hands. In the case that robobugs need to remind the human race of their secret authority, the revelation of the seal and the extent to which they have spread it will make that task an easy one indeed.

I had occasion to snail-mail a letter this morning, and when I placed the postage stamp on the envelope it suddenly hit me that I was using one of the USPS “forever” stamps left over from last Christmas.

“How cool is this?” I thought. Here is a reminder of the most important event on the Christian calendar, and how much the world might change if we could remember the real reason for its importance. As I recall, the stamp only cost me 42 cents but what might that 42 cents mean to people in the “developing world.” and I have also decided that every time I used one of these stamps I would add 42 cents to a “Christmas Fund.” I haven’t decided you who (or what actual non profit organization) will receive the proceeds of this mini-fund. (Actually, I have written a check for $16.80 to match the amount I paid for the two panels of stamps I purchased last November.)

One “stamp” a month would mean a $5.04 a year contribution–or the rough equivalent of three meals for someone homeless somewhere in this country; and even more for people in many parts of the “developing” world.

How might you allocate the money you would save? I’d really enjoy hearing some suggestions.

Respond directly to this post through registry@surewest.net

Shirley Anne