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POPSHappy Birfday, Charles Dickens' "Christmas Carol" more: Interestingly, there is no mention of the following in Dickens' A Christmas Carol: -Christmas tree -wrapped gifts -Anything related to The Nativity (wise men, baby Jesus), although there are plenty of homeless parents all through Dickens' works. While such values as charity, family, and universal goodwill certainly fall well within the Christian tradition, the book is not explicitly Christian much beyond the wish that "God bless us, everyone." Actually, that feels quite Anglican. ;-) There is no mention of Santa Claus per se, but the Ghost of Christmas Present is a big Oðin-like viking spirit, in a green fur-trimmed robe, bare chested and hearty. You know GoCP is going to the holiday swingers party once he drops off Scrooge.[/quote[
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POPSTerrible Life Lessons From Your Favorite Christmas Movies Movie: A Christmas Carol (1951) Bad Lesson: People Will Like You Instantly If You Give Them Money Movie: Home Alone (1990) Bad Lesson: People in the Chicago Suburbs Never Call the Police for Any Reason Whatsoever Movie: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) Bad Lesson: Sometimes Chevy Chase Makes Good Movies Movie: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Bad Lesson: If People Were Mean to You as a Kid, That Excuses ANY Malicious Criminal Behavior You Might Commit When You’re an Adult Movie: It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Bad Lesson: If You’re in Need of a Moment of Clarity – Why Not Give Suicide a Try? Movie: Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Bad Lesson: If Enough People Say Something Is True, Eventually, It Becomes True Movie: A Christmas Story (1983) Bad Lesson: Toy Safety Warnings are Pointless and Should Be Disregarded Immediately.
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POPSSanta Claus 'buried in Ireland' It is thought that the man who inspired the tradition of leaving presents under a Christmas tree, came from a wealthy family and he is believed to have given much of his fortune away. Early pilgrims visited the cathedral in Myra to pay their respects to the bishop. The bishop was originally buried at a local church in Myra, in modern day Turkey, when he died. Historians now believe his body was later moved to the abbey in Ireland by early crusaders. “St Nicholas Church is still standing and there is a slab on the ground which marks St Nicholas's grave,” he said. Few locals know of the much-loved figure’s link with Kilkenny. “It is an amazing story and yet very few people in Ireland know about St Nicholas's connection with this country,” he said. “Every year now we get visitors to the site, but still not that many.” i
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POPSWill gov't. health officials ground Santa Claus? Is this the way things will be if we ever get a government-run health care system? Santa can deliver millions of toys all around the world in a single night while it takes the Postal Service days to deliver a single letter. And Santa has been doing this for centuries! I think maybe these so-called "health officials" could take a lesson or two from ol' Mr. Claus!
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POPSSanta Claus vs. Krampus... TO THE DEATH! (By yours truly) More: These stories involve strong language, violence, sexuality, drug use both recreational and spiritual, and fairy-tale subjects on the darker side of the "Bruno Bettelheim" scale , the ones where bad & lazy servants gets tarred and feathered, and the wicked are forced to dance themselves to death wearing red-hot iron shoes. Disney has been driven from the building. This page will serve as a central list for links to the the collected stories as I finish them and their links go live. Not sure how many it's going to take, but I know how it ends for sure. I also, from time to time, blog about the writing process . As with any journey, getting there is most of the fun. Hope you'll take this one with me. As with any journey, getting there is most of
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POPSKids to Meet Marx in School
These two books have now become the basis for a new documentary, entitled The People Speak, to be aired December 13th at 8pm on the History Channel. The trailer portrays the documentary as a collage of compelling one-person readings, told through the words of “ordinary” people who have struggled throughout American history against oppression. Produced by Zinn, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Chris Moore, the documentary appears to be cloaked, ironically (given Zinn’s admitted socialist agenda), in many of the traditional ideas that were behind our founding. The verdict is still out on the doc, but it is not for the books that inspired the film as well as the educational initiative associated with it. Perhaps due to their one-sided perspective of America’s past, Zinn’s history books have largely been limited to colleges and universities, until now. In the press release announcing the broadcast, HISTORY introduced a partnership with VOICES Of A People’s History Of The United States, a no
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POPSThe Namahage: Japanese New Year's devils scare the laziness out of children
More: The head of the household will try to appease the devils with a specially prepared meal accompanied with sake. He assures them that no one has been lazy in his household. Then the Namahage, seeing all from their mountaintop, look into their secret book which records the doings of every household and challenge that statement. The head of the household again promises that all have been obedient and hard-working and pleads with the devils not to take his wife and children into the mountains. It takes considerable effort to control these devils with their strong work-ethic. As the negotiations drag on, the head of the household offers more sake… while begging that his wife and child not be taken away. Eventually the Namahage relent placated by the offerings and the sincerity of the head of the household. They bless the next year's harvest and wish good health to all the members of the household. As the Namahage leave, they promise (or rather threaten) to return next year.
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POPSWillard Wigan Indescribable ! I say indescribable, because I don't want to limit my vocabulary of adjectives to wow! The man is illiterate, but a genius just the same. An artistic genius, but I wonder that if someone had taken the time to try and educate him if he would not have become a great surgeon, perhaps the greatest surgeon of our day. Please view the video.
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POPS"Songs of the Murderous Saint" [Short story] This is the 4th in my series of adult faerie-tale short stories called The Long Yuletide War . All those clips with the text " SHORT STORY RESEARCH ", these are those stories. This one stands alone, or as part of the sequence. Pt 1: Whip of the Red Hunter Pt 2: NEWSFLASH: Dec. 12, 200- Pt 3: Blood of the Seið Woman
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POPS Santa Letters Are a Centuries Old Tradition Did you know that Children in Canada also receive Letters from Santa Claus. While you’re there, why not read: Have you child mail their own letter to Santa? Guess what? Newborns and birthday kids alike would love to receive letters from Santa as well. Also make sure you read: Personalized Santa Letters Brighten The Christmas Holiday.
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