De aproape o luna s-a deschis Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Bineinteles ca lucrul acesta mi-a starnit curiozitatea si m-am dus sa vad care-i treaba. Judith,racita varza, a decis sa ramana acasa, Sylvia avea planuri de vizita in familie, iar eu am zis…,, ma duc si neinsostita”. Sambata am plecat frumusel catre Hyde Park Corner, imbracata nu foarte wintery ci mai degraba summery, fara umbrela (proasta idee). Jeff avea planuri de poker night asa ca nu l-am intrerupt din activitati. Am pornit frumusel catre oraselul lui Santa, m-am imbarcat in trenul subteran si ghici ce?? cand sa ies de la metrou…. ce sa fie, ce sa fie??? Ploaie fff stresanta cu picuri mici si desi. Ei asta nu m-a dat inapoi. Am ajuns in orasel si am zis ca cel mai bine incep cu o ciocolata calda sa ma mai imbujorez. Zis si facut. Apoi mi-am dat seama ca toate standurile cu zorzoane si delicateste nu accepta carduri….Wrooonggg!! Am rasuflat usurata cand am vazut un semn mare pe care scria ,,cash point”. Am pornit spre locul acela. Zis si facut! Insa mare belea, mare! La coada, fix in spatele meu, o tanti durdulie si britanica si-a scapat portofelul da direct in ciocolata mea…. si hodoronc tronc, m-a facut numai ciocolata pe jacheta. Nu tu scuze, nu tu imi pare rau sau esti ok? ci direct ras prostesc si mai ca m-a si imbrancit. Ah si n-am uitat sa va spun l-a scapat si a doua oara sa fie treaba facuta bine! Idioti cat curpinde pe lumea asta. Una peste alta ajung in fata, la bancomatul portabil si ghici ce??? card neacceptat. Pai nu-ti vine sa te dai cu capul de pereti? Dar care pereti in parc?!?!? M-am enervat si am zis….winterfucking land is not for meeeee!!!! M-am decis sa pornesc in cautarea unui bancomat in apropiere. Merg eu asa agale prin ploaia deasa am zarit in deparatari super fancy managazinul Harvey Nichols. And guess what… de data asta am zis….,, Here I can spend my fucking money”. La naiba cu winterland-ul…m-am desfatat in HN. Zis si facut! Dupa ce am cheltuit niste bani, o suma frumusica pot sa zic, pe lenjerie de matase, ciocolata fina si cosmetice MAC am zis ca e mai bine sa plec pana nu imi inchid astia cardul ))))). Odata ajunsa acasa, mai plouata ca niciodata am constatat ca imi lipsteste cardul. Sa vezi nervi pe mine atunci!!!!Am zis ca mai bine imi iau un film bun si ma relaxez.

A doua zi parca toata revolutia asta de intamplari neplacute s-a preschimbat in Zana cea Buna. Soarele zambea la fereastra. Jeff si cu mine am decis sa mergem impreuna de aceasta data sa vedem Winter Wonderland. Am sunat la HN sa rezolv problema cu cardul. Am avut noroc, cardul meu nu era pe sina de metrou asa cum credeam initial, ci in magazinul Harvey Nichols, unde uituca de mine il lasase. Dupa ce mi-am recuperat cardul (chiar am incredere in oamenii locului..legea chiar functioneaza in tara asta) am pornit cu baby al meu catre winterland. De data asta ploaia, mai subtire ca niciodata, ne-a imbiat la drum. Umbrela din dotare ne-a salvat dupa amiaza. Odata ajunsi acolo parca era altceva. Nu tu femeie impiedicata care nu spune pardon, nu tu probleme cu cardul, cash aveam de data asta. Totul la fix. Dupa 2 vinuri fierte si carnati nemtesti, ne-am dat in Roata Excelentei (jur ca asa se numeste…astia se tot cred regi si excelente pe aici) si am vazut Londra noaptea de sus. Bestial. Cateva poze de asera la mine pe Facebook.

The holiday season is one of the greatest times of the year full of happiness and cheer. One question I have to ask in disruption of the holiday season. Is it ethical to tell kids that Santa Clause exists or doesn’t exist. It’s somewhat like the murder at the door issue. From what that theory states you should always tell the truth and nothing else. But when it comes to something as traditional as Santa Clause being real to a little kid it just brings so much excitement to them. Personally I have to say it is completely ethical because of the greater good and happiness it brings to kids. For some it even gives them a reason to do well in school and behave well. I guess you could say it’s something like false hope. I know for myself that I wouldn’t have wanted my parents or brothers and sisters to tell me any different about good ole Saint Nick.  Morally and ethically I feel like those who tell little kids that Santa isn’t really are the ones that really have issues. This is one lie that I know I will tell my kids if there is a reason to still tell them with the way the world is now. Overall the issue with Santa Clause I feel should be allowed to solved and figured out over time by kids, like so many other things in life.

“There is a maximum permissible threshold for the amount of profanity you are permitted to use when you portray Santa Claus at the Central Valley Shopping Centre,” said Julia. “That threshold is none. No profanity. Whatsoever. Why was that not obvious to you?”

Julia didn’t scream. She had fired enough people that she knew that volume couldn’t help anything. At the same time, she really wanted to, and she was trembling from the effort it took to not scream.

Walt was too busy suppressing his own rage tremors to notice, however. He picked at his clammy Santa costume and answered in tones tense enough to launch rockets. “I understand that, in general, a mall Santa should not swear while children are sitting on his lap. I feel, however, that there are some extenuating circumstances.”

“And do you really believe that these extenuating circumstances justify your use of the ephitets ‘God damn it,’ ‘Son of a bitch,’ ‘Jesus fucking Christ,’ and ‘Holy bastard crap fuck’?”

“You weren’t there.”

“Jingles the elf told me, and Mrs. Clause corroborated.” Walt blanched at this explanation. Richard had struck him immediately as an oily fellow whose greatest pleasure was sowing chaos, while Hannah was a bubble-headed young actress wannabe so easy for him to manipulate because she had no thoughts of her own. “Of course,” Julia continued, “the last one, the ‘holy bastard crap fuck,’ was uttered loudly enough for me to hear it from this office. As this office is about a thousand feet away, plus two floors up, from Santa’s Wonderland, I have to reach the conclusion that you said this at a somewhat extreme volume. I am frankly surprised that your throat didn’t burst.”

Julia sniffed, realizing that there was an unpleasant odor in the air and that it eminated from Walt. “By the way, you smell bad.”

“Yes, I do.” Walt pointed to his Santa pants, which Julia noticed for the first time were soaked.

She softened her voice, dialing her anger down to empathetic disappointment. “Walt. When you went through Santa training, weren’t you warned that you’d be working with excited young children, and that on occasion they might have accidents?”

Walt smiled a brittle, sandpapery smile. “Yes, I was, Julia. And if you interview Jingles and Mrs. Claus, I believe you will find that when I was urinated upon, my reaction was understanding, and even jolly.”

“Then what was the problem, Walt?”

“The problem, Julia, was that the urination was not an isolated incident. Once that first little girl tinkled on my lap, there was, if you’ll forgive my terminology, a steady stream of copycat pissers.”

“They’re children, Walt. They’re susceptible to peer pressure.” Julia waved her finger with the excitement of a fresh idea. “Or, maybe, it’s pheromones. You know, like animals marking their territory.”

“I wonder how many times you could be marked before you began using language unbecoming a Santa Claus, Julia?” Julia shrugged in response; she had to admit he had a point. “It wasn’t even just the young children. About twenty or so pissings in, there was a little old lady with her walker with the tennis balls on the bottom. And she just pushed through the Santa’s Wonderland ropes, and came right up to me, and hiked up her dress, and peed on me standing up. Tell me, Julia, did she just confuse Santa’s Wonderland for a bathroom, and me for a toilet, and standing up for sitting?”

“I don’t know,” Julia squeaked, beginning to squirm with the sense that her anger was badly misplaced.

Walt, however, had hit his stride. “Or a little bit later, when what can only be described as a pee balloon fell from the second-story balcony and exploded onto what can only be described as my head? Do you not feel that you might utter the phrase ‘Holy bastard crap fuck,” in response to that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why don’t I let you find out?” With that threat, Walt began stripping. He slipped off his boots, pouring the contents of one into the other as a demonstration, then wrapped the boots in the velvet  Santa jacket, and bundled that package inside the Santa pants.

He tossed the whole thing in a perfect arc that just grazed the office ceiling before landing on Julia’s desk.

The costume plopped, and it squelched, and most of all, it splattered—across the desk and the contracts and the memorandums and Julia herself.

Considering his point made, Walt turned wordlessly and marched out of the office, his head high despite being clad only in a pair of briefs and facing a walk to the other end of the mall to retrieve his street clothes from the employee locker room. He did slip one time in the dribbled trail he created when he entered the office, but nobody saw fit to acknowledge it.

Julia reached for a tissue to wipe herself off, but the box was soaked through. The office had its own bathroom, where she would made some attempt at cleaning herself up.

The Santa suit could be cleaned, and the office disinfected, so she considered her immediate problem. Central Valley Shopping Centre needed a new Santa. Richard was next on the list; they could make do without a Jingles for a few days, or even the entire season if need be.

When she gave him the news, Richard reacted with sedated pleasure. He was, in fact, overjoyed, but celebrating would be unseemly. Why reveal the number of disgusting favors he had called in to engineer the move?

*****

Yesterday I went to the Lincoln Park Zoolights display of Christmas lights. It’s oppressively wholesome cheese in the extreme, which I like in very small doses because it always tends to give my my most demented ideas. This is one of them.

No specific plans for where this might be used. There are a lot of places it might fit, and I could also see adapting it as a filmed sketch for my comedy troupe Three Legged Race.

Take That are really immune to much of the standard criticism of creative musicians. It’s hard to get angry at them when they appear in Marks and Spencer adverts or lend their own brand of neo-Beatlesian pop music to whatever consumer products they don’t buy.

When Iggy Pop does it, it’s nothing short of a scandal. But try telling Mark Owen he’s a sell-out soulless shell of a musician, you can’t do it can you? It’s like telling a small child there’s no Santa Clause.

It doesn’t even bother me that if their music was electricity it couldn’t reheat soup. They just seem like such nice guys and who can grudge them coming back for a second bite of the pie that is fame and fortune?

What I do find annoying though, is the unwritten rule that anywhere on television, when something inspiring/motivational/life-affirming/celebratory happens, they play that fucking Greatest Day song.

This isn’t strictly Take That’s fault but my fucking god does it smack of a lack of imagination.

At least it’s relegated U2’s ‘Beautiful Day‘ to the realms of obscurity save for those occasions that are too impersonal for something like ‘Greatest Day’

But it’s so horribly expositional, like having an extremely loud person in the room shouting ‘HEY! THIS IS GREAT? ISN’T IT?’

They didn’t do this with ‘Stayin’ Alive‘, every time someone doesn’t die on television, you don’t hear the bass kick in. In future, pray for some restraint or pray for something different!

Santa Claus

Santa Clause – He is the religious and holiday spirit of Christmas personified.   If Santa Claus pay a visit in your dream, this indicates that we should easy forgive someone who made mistakes to us and also we should share our blessings and other things.

In a country where Christians are the majority such as the Philippines, I find it strange that we seem to be celebrating Santa Claus more than we celebrate Jesus. Ask little children what comes to mind when they hear the word Christmas and they will answer, “Santa Claus”, “reindeer”, “elves” and everything that has something to do with Santa. It’s very rare to hear the name Jesus. Catholicism is part of Philippine culture, but with this growing trend of materialism and consumerism, we seem to be losing our culture, beliefs, and values, resulting in losing our identity as Filipinos. I think it’s sad.

The time has come again to celebrate the season.  As I smell my pumpkin pie cheesecake baking in the oven, it is time to post some holiday pics from the enchanting Christmas event I held on Sunday.  Can you feel the magic?

Dare to Believe in the Man in Red Suit is a book that is touching people’s hearts. Writing this book has been a spiritual gift to me and one I see others receiving. The reviews are awesome… don’t just take my word read it yourself. Tabby Mae and the man in the red suit will leave you with one question…Will you dare to believe in the man in the red suit? Our journey to Believe is Now! I welcome all your comments. Blessings to All!

I get nauseous around this time of year because it’s this ’holiday season’ when a lot of judgement and coercion occurs around human tradition.  I have been scorned and labeled as a Scrooge because of my views towards Christmas.  But I base my views purely on what I read in the Bible, and this passage is a good example. 

We don’t have to celebrate anything that is manmade.  We particularly don’t have to celebrate a fictitious character whom we lie about to our children as the one who brings gifts and makes all of our wishes come true.  Isn’t that setting up Santa Claus as a quasi-god?  We call this time of year ‘magical.’  Isn’t magic condemned in the Bible?  Isn’t lying condemned?  I don’t get why we want to hang on to this or why we as Christians think that dabbling in this is okay.  We continue to allow our children to believe this at a young age, we rebuke those who tell them the truth, and if we don’t have children, we play along…as agents of support no less. 

I hate it all.  I hate that people spend their last dollar getting Christmas decorations and gifts because if they don’t, someone is going to judge them or think that they’re not doing something up to par.  I spoke with a guy a couple of weeks ago who had just gotten layed off.  His skill set was very specialized and many, many others in his field were getting layed off because the type of work he does is just cut back on during recessions.  He has little hope for getting a job in his field for a long time.  So, you would think that he’d start budgeting and stop spending to ride out the recession, right?  No, Christmas is around the corner and he, he said, is not going to cut back on Christmas!  He said it as if it might be a terrible sin!  I wonder about all those people last year around this time that got layed off (and are still out of a job) – if they’d have made a different decision about Christmas 2008 after having still been unemployed a year later?  Did they ’splurge’ on Christmas, too, thinking that it was a miraculous time of year and that they didn’t want their children to NOT believe in miracles? 

Ugh!  I want to scream!  A Christmas miracle?!  If anyone speaks that term to me I swear I’ll throw their Christmas tree at them.  I wonder what our Lord thinks of this.  I’m sure Satan is pleasantly pleased at his work.  He picked a holiday to warp our beliefs.  Beautiful.  It’s actually very smart.  I dare you to go find a Christian – or anyone in this country – who will condemn Christmas.  It’s heresy!  Oh, what a wonderful weave he has mastered, and we’ve all been surreptitiously fooled into believing that Christmas will bring us all that we’ve dreamed for, all that will care for us, all that we hope for, and will miraculously heal all woes of the world.  Hurray!  We can all be comforted because Christmas will unite us all! 

Whatever.

Enjoy a truthful word that might comfort you if you’ve been sucked into the guilt of buying a lot of Christmas presents or feel guilty because you can’t afford it this year.  There’s hope for you…hope without guilt!

Colossians 2

 ¹I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. ²My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. ⁵For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

 ⁶So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

 ⁸See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

 ⁹For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. ¹¹In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature,^[a] not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, ¹²having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

 ¹³When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,^[b] God made you^[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.^[d]

 ¹⁶Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. ¹⁸Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. ¹⁹He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

 ²⁰Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ²¹“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²²These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. ²³Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

A registered sex offending elf was found working for Santa at the United States Postal Service. So, the letters to Santa that are usually replied to out of North Pole, Alaska will no longer receive responses. The tradition that has lasted since 1954 will stop due to the incident that was resolved before the employee was able to respond to any letters.

source

Yet another event that we cant experience in malaysia! “Christmas tree light up” This is a very special event for me. Why? Because every body were out there and gather in the city hall there wating for the Christmas tree to be light up! they have stage like a small concert there and also have thing like fun fair again! omg.. i feel sheffield ppl like to have fun fair when they have event leh~

but we was late to go out, the event start from 1 pm or 2 pm i not really sure. But i only go out around 4 pm as the exact time for they light up is 5pm. So we walk from the moor and head to fargate city hall. Hahaha… The moor is very interesting, because there got alot of animal there! the first one we saw were deer. What u all call the deer which fly with the santa edi ah? Then got husky, then some pony. Quite fun there, children can queue up to go into the area, and touch those animals.

Quite nice to let them have such close contact with animal. And there is a lot of ppl taking picture with the animal and touch the animal. Another thing is that, there is a very big christmas tree there which i think make with some wire, not a actual tree with all light up. Quite nice. And then we head to fargate city hall 10 minutes before the chosen christmas tree being light up. OmG, the german market is still there, really think of to take another pork chop bread!!

There is some ppl cosplay in Santa clause, elf and something else in front the city hall, while the MC waiting the right time to light up the tree. Indeed there is another stage at the other corner where singer is invited for some performance. Actually nothing special, just when the time is there, and all ppl waiting the push the button and then there light up the tree. I thought there will have something else one.. But kindda too simple ceremony. Hmmm.. maybe they have something before we reach there.

p/s : is getting more cold and windy now~~ almost get blown away again!!

November 22, 2009 By Kevin Morrow

So it’s 5:45 am and I am awake before the birds. I spent most of the night sorting through ideas that were flooding into my mind. I should be sleepy, but I’m not. This is very cool. Temperature wise as well, it’s kind of cold right now in Corona.

I will be at University of California Irvine in a couple hours winning a basketball tournament. Just putting that out there. Moving on…

My gut told me to make a post listing 5 ways to be yourself.

Drum roll please…

For some fun and enjoyment I’ve placed one of my favorite music videos below…

1. Decide for yourself

In my life that I experience, a lot of people defer their decisions to me. I started catching on to this not to long ago. People will always say, “what do you think?” or “What should I do?” For even the most simple things like grape jelly or strawberry. I have also done the same.

I’ve found that this leads to indecision and to be myself I must be decisive. I even started to realize that if so many people are asking me what I think, maybe what I think is pretty valuable.

I don’t require the approval of others, only the approval of myself. So when my inner self is directing me nothing else is effecting me.

This means that I must make my own decisions using my intuition. The more I become decisive in my decisions, the more I actualize who I really am. My decisions must reflect the fact that I see myself as perfect love. If my decisions are cloudy then they are not my decisions.

So the first way to be yourself is “Decide for Yourself”

2. Be Fearless

This one is simple, if you know who you are, you can’t become what you fear you are not. If someone calls me “stupid” I won’t believe it unless I fear that I am.

Also to be fearless you must redefine what failure is. To me there is no failure. If you do “fail” put it out there as a way “not” to do something and move on.

I know who I am, which is perfect love, anything other than that is not real to me. Being fearless is just recognizing who I am.

Remember there are different levels of fear, I’m talking more along the lines of social fears.

3. Don’t be afraid to be wrong

Here is what most people fear, being wrong. Let’s look at this for a moment. You are punished in school for being “wrong”, punished at work for being “wrong” and punished at home for being “wrong.” But what is wrong?

Does everyone have the same wrong? When I say don’t be afraid to be wrong, I mean don’t be so afraid to get “it” wrong, that worry becomes your minds “cell mate.”

If you worry about getting a question on a test wrong, chances are you will get it wrong just because that’s how you feel. If you worry to much about that girl or guy liking you, then chances are they won’t like you. But if they don’t , okay move on. See what I’m saying?

In relationships someone usually feels like they have to be right in an argument. I look at it like let me save us both some time and just acknowledge that I don’t have to seem right, and I can admit when I make mistakes. Everybody does. Just like everybody eats and sleeps, am I wrong if I don’t sleep as long as you?

People tend to have varying points of view.

Number 3 was “Don’t be afraid to be wrong.”

4. Confidence and Responsibility

These to are deeply related.

What is confidence?

To me confidence is loving yourself and others. Where there is no love, there is no confidence. Because where there is lack of love there is fear.
So from my point of view fear does not exist.

When I fear I am not confident in myself. When I’m not confident in myself I’m not responsible for myself.

Let’s look at an example. If I am living with my parents because I fear that I can not make enough money to support myself, then subconsciously I fear and have no confidence in myself in that department of my life.

In order for me to change the situation I have to build my confidence up by realizing that the fear is an illusion. I’ve seen many parents who belittle their kids and break their confidence as if that will motivate them to get out on their own. But in my opinion that will only make it harder for them.

A person has to feel their inner confidence to achieve anything there is to achieve, and that’s just how life goes. I have to take responsibility and choose to be confident, because confidence comes from within.

5. Face Your Fears

Things like depression and failure are fears. If you don’t face them you will remain in their illusion. It’s just like the “Santa Clause” issue for a lot of kids in the United States. What they believe is real is really just a representation of an idea. As soon as they free themselves from it, they come closer to what is really going on.

Fears just show you what you are not, and when you face them you find out who you ARE. If I fear success and fear is not real, then my success must be real. The fear of my success is the santa clause of the situation.

When you know yourself you succeed even in failures, because “failures” are more like unwrapping your birthday present. Failures are just the wrapping paper to what is really underneath. You can shake the gift and try to sneak a peak, but until you unwrap the gift you won’t see what it is.

Facing your fears is a way to tear apart the wrapping paper. A person who is not them self will hide from fears and remain the same person they are not.

There you have it, 5 ways to be Your Self

When we were kids we had a propensity to imagine and create things. We saw the creative and intelligent design in the world. Logic didn’t exist. Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy and many other imaginations were as real to us as our parents. We are born with this natural ability to separate ourselves from ourselves.

We have not been conditioned into believing things, but have been conditioned out of believing. In order to fit in with the herd, we were taught to put childish things away. We were taught how to be appropriate by our parents, teachers and piers. Slowly we learned to fit in. Gradually we were trained to use logic.

It is becoming less and less accepted to believe in things you cannot see or explain. Yet it is precisely the unseen which drives us to be more than we currently are. Logic would say you can’t be your dream you because you are genetically unable. Belief pisses on the grave of logic and says “Yes I Can!”

80% of Americans believe in some sort of higher power, even though Freud, Dawkins, Shermer and many others in the scientific community call this irrational. Children are born knowing the world is abundant until their parents teach them there is lack. Again I say, we are conditioned out of believing.

Science has proven that we use the same part of our mind in evaluating beliefs as we do facts. In other words, our minds do not know the difference between a belief and a fact. (Click Here To Learn more) Beliefs allow us to do illogical things. A bee flies because he believes he can although his design makes this aerodynamically impossible. (See here).

So my friend, who says you can’t be your dream? Who is it that is asking you to be logical; to put childish things away?

I say go for it! Do it! Be it! Have it!

Why?

Because I believe you can!

Choose up!

Nick

Oooh, just look at that queue! Such vitriol and rage. I see you’ve all successfully channeled your inner Bobby Knight… kudos! Let’s see how this plays out.

Q: I’m guessing you wouldn’t know the difference between a foil, epee and sabre were they laid in front of you. And yet you find it somehow appropriate that you judge the very nature of the sport of fencing from behind your keyboard. I guess my question would be, where do you get the nerve?

- Armando Valverde, Somerton, Arizona

A: The nerve comes very natural to me, Armando, like my way with words and stuff, and my lilac scent. I didn’t “get” it from anywhere… I’ve always had it (though I hear they now sell it at Wal-Mart for a very decent price). To assume that I wouldn’t deconstruct a game I may or may not know… well, that’s on you.

Besides, I would, in fact, know the difference between a foil, epee and sabre. Now, whether or not that’s thanks to a quick google search I’m not saying one way or another. But I could at least feign a certain level of knowledge when it comes to your game. Again, that’s game.

Q: Fat sailors sink boats.

- Uli Schulte, Wilhelmshaven, Lower Saxony, Germany

A: Like sarcastic Germans without questions ruin mailbags. Burn.

Q: Table Tennis not a sport?!?! Seriously? Are you sure you’re not thinking of  table football? What gives?

- Nils Torstensson, Ystad, Sweden

A: Now that’s a question… well, a series of questions, which I will respond to in reverse order.

You ask “what gives?” Santa Clause, Mother Theresa, the Red Cross and this page (The Art of the Plug, coming soon, watch this space). As it pertains to my decision, I believe I explained myself quite skillfully in my original column. As a Swede, you’re surely aware of Jan-Ove Waldner’s performance at the 2004 Olympics, when he reached the semifinals at almost 40. Are you saying with 20 years and 50 pounds, he couldn’t perform at least moderately well? Well are you?

You ask “are you sure you’re not thinking of table football?” Yes, I’m sure.

You ask “seriously?” Yes, seriously.

You ask “Table Tennis not a sport?” Yes… wait… no… well, yes, table tennis is not a sport. No, it’s not a sport. So yes and no. Clear?

Q: You heard Carson Palmer’s offseason comments, right? That someone was going to die during a game? Do you agree?

- Felix Manlove, Tooele, Utah

A: Yes, but only in a Last Boy Scout style shootout on the field. Would you really put it past some of today’s players? Speaking of that Oscar-worthy scene, does anyone remember what actor played that character? That’s right, it was Billy Blanks of Tae-Bo fame. Just thought everyone should know…

Q: Is my career over?

- Allen Iverson, Hampton, Virginia

A: Hey, check it out everyone! Allen Iverson wrote in to my mailbag! Mark this moment down! This is the exact moment Ed Honcho hit the big time! Allen Iverson! I can’t believe it!

Q: So Greco-Roman wrestling is a game, huh? Since clearly you have no knowledge of the game, I’d like to challenge you to a match… teach you a thing or two. You up for it?

- Jake Deitchler, Ramsey, Minnesota

A: You’re on, Deitchler! I’m gonna wipe the floor… what’s that? Hold on a minute… Oh, right. You’re lucky Deitchler. My manager’s just reminded me that I have this thing that… I have to go to. And I am already in my suit. You’re lucky, buddy!

Q: I can wait.

- Jake Deitchler, Ramsey, Minnesota

A: Oh.. well,  uh… after that, I’ve got this other thing I’ve got to go to. You know… life of a celebrity. And then, you know… I’m very busy, just as a general statement of fact. I don’t really know when I could squeeze in… a, uh, match. Which is lucky for you! But again, uh, sorry to disappoint. Gotta go, yo.

I’m so excited to have the opportunity to do Santa photos while also supporting a great cause!  Grace Hills Baptist Church will be hosting a fundraiser for Relay for Life TOMORROW (November 21st) from 9am – 3pm.  Love Jones Photography will be providing on-site printing for Santa photos from 9am – noon.  Come check out all the great vendors, purchase crafts, and support the cause.  Santa wants to see you and so do we! (For more information visit the Facebook Event at http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=196462224433&index=1)

And remember…  It’s not too late to book that Christmas portrait session!  Let us custom design your Christmas cards this year.  Call today to check availability.  See you soon!

We put up the Christmas decorations today. Part of my “day off for myself” was to get the tree out of the garage and we all chipped in to get the ornaments on the tree. While we were finishing up, daughter hit me with THIS big question as she sat sprawled across the couch watching “The Santa Clause II”…

“Is Santa Clause real?”

And without missing a beat, I replied…“Yes. Santa Clause is real.”

Now some might argue my answer. Some may totally disagree with me. Some might even go as far as to say that I am lying. But they would all be wrong. Santa IS real. And in many ways!

First, let’s get the facts out there right now…there are hundreds of Santa’s all over the world. The name Santa is listed as the first name of over 15 Santa Smith’s listed on Facebook. There were at least 20+ Santa Thomas’ listed and at least 13 Santa Johnson’s. Granted…the name Santa was often a middle name. But the fact of the matter is…there are hundreds of people with the name “Santa”. It’s a very popular name. So on that fact alone, I am not a liar.

Secondly, there are actually 2 towns named Santa Clause. One in Indiana and one in Georgia. So…there IS a Santa Clause. It just happens to be a population.

Thirdly…I WANT to believe that there truly IS a Santa. Not because of the toys and such…but because of the spirit the thought of him gives me.

Every year at this time, I get a sense of…oh I dunno…childish wonder? I remember when I was a kid and coming into the living room and seeing the tree all lit up and all the presents stuffed under it (there were 6 of us. So there were LOTS of presents!). I remember the Christmas parade in our little town and watching Santa ride down the main street, tossing candy and waving at me. I remember living in Phoenix with my girlfriend (now wife) and we didn’t have a Christmas tree so we devised a Christmas table and put all of our gifts under it. I remember the first time we picked out a Christmas tree with Christopher when he was just a tiny tot, but he was smart enough to know which one was the best of the bunch. I have so many wonderful Christmas memories…and all of them are special to me. It would be a shame to not have that Christmas spirit. And for now…I love that my kids both know that the Santa spirit is alive and well in our home.

So for me…yeah…Santa is real. And he always will be. Because every time I see that man in the big red suit and he smiles at me or one of my kids, those memories come flooding back and the magic of Christmas is still very much alive in this adult soul. There really IS a Santa Clause, Ava. And he is always smiling with that twinkle in his eye and ready to make a new memory for you…

I’m not sure exactly how many films I’ve seen in my lifetime.

It is probably over a thousand, the list below barely scratches the surface of all the films I’ve seen and it was surprisingly easy to come up with. Rather than systematically list films by era or genre I got my brother’s girlfriend Dawn to call out any films she could think of.

I thought of this idea about five minutes before I began typing and Dawn rattled off films as they came to her while I typed out brief verdicts for each one. I initially intended to create a system for rating but found it too restrictive so I just wrote a brief instinctual verdict for each one.

I have included a link to Rotten Tomatoes and the score of each film, I haven’t seen some of these movies in a very long time…

NOTE: The percentages at the end are not my scores but the percentage of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

1. Men in Black (1997) – meh (91% – seriously?!)
2. Fight Club (1999) – brilliant (80%)
3. Unforgiven (1992) – immense (96%)
4. Shaun of the Dead (2004) – decent (gets worse every time I watch it)
5. Memento (2001) – pretty good (93%)
6. The Departed (2006) – good (92%)
7. Aliens (1986) – the best sequel ever made (100%)
8. Reservoir Dogs (1992) – great characters and dialogue (95%)
9. American Beauty (1999) – uplifting, brilliant (the stupid bag scene apart) (89%)
10. Goodfellas (1990) – excellent (96%)
11. Predator (1987) – one of Arnie’s best (76%)
12. 12 Angry Men (1957) – captivating (100%)
13. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) – meh (78%)
14. Shawshank Redemption (1994) – really, really good (88%)
15. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) – better than I expected (90%)
16. Sin City (2005) – flashy trash (78%)
17. Toy Story 2 (1999) – yep, it’s good (100%)
18. Bambi (1942) – I remember it being good (much to the amusement of Dawn and Sean, many gay jokes followed) (89%)
19. Final Destination (2000) -guff (30%)
20. Edward Scissorhands (1990) – pretentious crap (90%)
21. Stranger than Fiction (2006) – Surprisingly good (72%)
22. Shallow Grave (1995) – okay (71%)
23. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1996) – facepalm (49%)
24. Man on Fire (2004) – underwhelming (39%)
25. Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – meh (81%)
26. 28 Days Later (2003) – meh (88%)
27. Casino Royale (2006) – surprisingly really good (94%)
28. Psycho (1960) – I was expecting it to be better (98%)
29. The Flintstones (1994) – Jesus wept (18%)
30. Aladdin (1992) – good (92%)
31. Jackass: The Movie (2002) – hard to class as a film really, hit and miss(48%)
32. E.T (1982) – good (98%)
33. Independence Day (1996) – a glorified B movie (61%)
34. Titanic (1997)  – Good (81%)
35. Ring (2002) – fairly decent (71%)
36. Pulp Fiction (1994) – Tarantino’s best film by a long way (97%)
37. Hot Fuzz (2007) – fun (90%)
38. Monty Python: Holy Grail (1975) – classic (94%)
39. Good Will Hunting (1997) – good (97%)
40. Heat (1995) – pretty good, not great (89%)
41. Zodiac (2007) – boring (87%)
42. Little Mermaid (1989) – decent (90%)
43. Ghost (1987) – crap (80%)
44. Dirty Dancing (1987) – utter shit – that women like this film makes me wonder if they actually deserve equal rights (67%)
45. The Terminator (1984) – the best Terminator (100%)
46. Bean (1998) – a test of mental endurance, awful (41%)
47. The Mask (1994) – rubbish (76%)
48. Frailty (2002) – ridiculous (74%)
49. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) – shite
50. Donnie Darko (2001) – overrated pish (84%)
51. Apollo 13 (1995)– crap (96%)
52. Deep Impact (1998)– more crap (46%)
53. Volcano (1997) – even more crap (40%)
54. I know what you did last summer (1997)– yet more crap (36%)
55. The Matrix (1999) – first half decent rest shite (86%)
56. Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (2002)– boring (96%)
57. Addams Family Values (1994) – some good moments (74%)
58. Nightmare before Christmas (1993) – overrated, largely guff (97%)
59. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) – (see earlier blog) (75%)
60. Three Men and a Baby (1987) – sickening  (78%)
61. Transformers: The Movie (1986) – decent (haven’t seen it in 10 years) (50%)
62. Cruel Intentions (1999) – trash (47%)
63. Lock Stock and Two Smoking barrels (1998) – good if a little overrated (71%)
64. Clerks II (2006) – absolutely fucking diabolical (62%, seriously what the fuck?)
65. Baby’s Day Out (1994) – horrific (23%)
66. Home Alone 2 (1992) – decent (17% – that seems harsh!)
67. Liar Liar (1997) – pretty bad (84%)
68. Babe (1995) – Jesus wept (98%)
69. The Simpsons Movie (2007) – unfunny crap from a show that is a pale shadow of what it used to be (90%)
70. Mr Nanny (1993) – a holocaust of a film (7%)
71. The Thing (1980) – really tense, really good (80%)
72. Blair Witch Project (1999) – doing something different doesn’t make it good (85%)
73. Run Lola Run (1999) – see above (92%)
74. The Santa Clause (1994) – crap (Dawn: “What’s the film with Tim Allen dressed as Santa Claus?”) (79%)
75. Silence of the Lambs (1990) – they really should have just stopped at this one, a fine film (96%)
76. Matilda (1996) – another crap Dahl adaptation (89%)
77. A Bridge too Far (1977) – the quintessential war movie (67%)
78. Rocky V (1990) – laughable (21%)
79. The Sting (1973) – really good (91%)
80. The Sword in the Stone (1963) – good (73%)
81. The Witches (1990) – crap (100%, what the fuck?)
82. Starship Troopers (1997) – entertaining trash (60%)
83. Love Actually(2003)  – hated it (63%)
84. White men can’t jump (1992) – I liked it despite itself (78%)
85. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1999)– a pointless sequel (48%)
86. A Bug’s Life (1998) – meh (91%)
87. Hollow man (2000)– hollow is an appropriate adjective (but I like Bacon’s character) (27%)
88. Jaws (1975) – good but overrated (100%)
89. Jerry Maguire (1996)– oh Christ (84%)
90. Dawn of the Dead (1978)– awesome (95%)
91. Drop Dead Fred (1991)– mindless crap (still haunted by my little sister’s repeat viewing of this monstrosity) (9%)
92. Braveheart (1995) – good (it’s a movie, not a history lesson) (76%)
93. Saw II (2005) – crap (35%)
94. Mouse Hunt (1997)– hated it (really wanted the mouse to die) (44%)
95. The Mummy (1999)– didn’t like it (54%)
96. George of the Jungle (1997)– crap (53%)
97. Leon (1994) – ludicrous garbage (74%)
98. Death becomes her (1993)– had its moments (56%)
99. Meet Joe Black (1998) – meh (49%)
100. Dog Soldiers (2002) – entertaining (79%)
101. Cool Hand Luke (1967) – the best film ever (100%)

Appleton!  Will you be at the Holiday Parade on College Avenue next Tuesday night, Nov 24th?  It starts at 6:25 pm.  There will be great local bands, interesting floats and Santa Claus!!!  Branching Out & Company will be in attendance (with our own rosy cheeks and little round bellies, just like Mr. Claus).  Look for us as we hand out candy canes and information on our rapidly approaching GRAND OPENING!

In case you can’t be there, I will remind you that our Grand Opening will be held Black Friday, that day after Thanksgiving.  We will be open from 7am-7pm.  There will be yummy treats and savings storewide!  Pencil us into your busy Black Friday shopping schedule!

I know you’ve missed me….

Well i’m very busy… I’m sorry I’ve missed so many daily posts….

Anyway.. today a friend of mine that describes himself as being invisible, kinda abominable and aggressive (in fact he’s nothing like that) asked me an interesting question I wasn’t prepared for….

He asked:

“So, what present do you want from Santa Clause?”

Wow!

It’s like… November!!!! I haven’t YET thought about it….!

But… as I was processing.. I remembered I’ve fallen in love long time ago with a beautiful work of art that had not yet come to my possession.

So I have my perfect answer…

This is the present (among others..) I want for Christmas!

Enjoy!

my all time favourite pair!!! www.arrera.ro (for online order)

my second favourite pair www.arrera.ro (for online order)

Well, now Santa Clause is expected joyfully!!!

I am so excited about my new joint venture – I found Liz through an advert in Southern View and noticed that, although she offers belly bump painting (or gestational painting), she didn’t have any pictures to illustrate her talents. So we got together this week, along with Hollie (who, you might guess, is due to have her baby on Christmas Eve) and here are the results:

Liz produced several designs and she and Hollie discussed them, before deciding on a very Christmassy theme. Here is a detail shot:

And the full picture …

Liz and I are offering a joint session for pregnant mums – it’s a time to sit down, relax and enjoy the sensational of having a unique design painted onto your bump – Hollie said that she found it very relaxing and that baby was very active and moving towards the brush! I then offer a portrait session so that you can have some beautiful images and memories of the experience (the paint will wash off and should not stain your skin) as I imagine it would be quite difficult to see the whole picture for yourself!

Liz’s website is www.whizzbangfacepainting.co.uk (click here), her contact number is 01622 858750 and email is whizzbang@virgin.net. She is based in Lenham, near Maidstone, but is prepared to travel within reason. Liz also offers face painting and temporary tattoos which is great entertainment for parties, weddings, fun days and corporate events.

You can contact either of us to discuss the joint session (my contact number is 07786 314973 and email is samanthajonesphotography@live.co.uk).

Hope to hear from you soon!