Odd Couple / Best Friends
I love this one, sent in today’s e-mails. Just the ticket to warm your heart on a cold Kuwaiti night in January 🙂
Wise Men Still Seek Him
“Oh! You’re putting your Christmas things away!” I noticed, as I was picking up my friend.
“No, no, not until after Epiphany!” she said. “Our tradition is to take down the tree when Epiphany is over.”
Tomorrow, January 6, is The Feast of Holy Epiphany and in celebration, I will post two more works of art I found to celebrate the wise men seeking the child by following a mysterious star. Many people are still looking for a scientific foundation for the Star of Wonder and if you click on the blue Star of Wonder it will take you to a very good discussion of some of the possibilities from BBC News.
I like this one because the Wise Men have on clothing that really looks Persian:
Here, in a painting by Murillo, they look, not surprisingly, Spanish/European, except for the African!
I wonder if in their travels, these wise men came through Kuwait?
Some Forecasters See a Fast Economic Recovery
From today’s New York Times: Business:
Economics as the dismal science? Not in some quarters.
In the midst of the deepest recession in the experience of most Americans, many professional forecasters are optimistically heading into the new year declaring that the worst may soon be over.
For this rosy picture to play out, they are counting on the Obama administration and Congress to come through with a substantial stimulus package, at least $675 billion over two years.
They say that will get the economy moving again in the face of persistently weak spending by consumers and businesses, not to mention banks that are reluctant to extend credit.
If the dominoes fall the right way, the economy should bottom out and start growing again in small steps by July, according to the December survey of 50 professional forecasters by Blue Chip Economic Indicators. Investors seemed to be in a similarly optimistic mood on Friday, bidding up stocks by about 3 percent.
But in the absence of that government stimulus, the grim economic headlines of 2008 will probably continue for some time, these forecasters acknowledge.
Read the entire article HERE
Hopeful Signs
You know me a little bit by now. You know what makes my heart sing. I believe things really can get better, if we all just commit to being a part of that process, and taking steps, even small steps, in the right direction.
So you will understand why this makes my heart sing:
Wooo HOOOO, Kuwait! Clean! Fresh! Visible! Woooo HOOOOOOOO!
And – just seconds later – THIS:
Light at night! Clear! Visible!
Wooo HOOOO, Kuwait!
Some bureaucrat somewhere made a decision, and followed through on that decision, to make sure it was carried out, this being Kuwait. That one seemingly small decision, that small step in the right direction, could save lives.
God bless the bureaucracy, God bless the people that make the effort to keep us safe, who take their jobs seriously. I don’t take this lightly, not in my own country, not in any country I live in. Public policy is created by US, making small steps for the greater good.
Sunrise 30 December 2008
Good Morning, Kuwait!
There are tiny, fleecy clouds in the sky, nothing to speak of, no rain in sight. The scum on the horizon is diminished. It is going to be another gorgeous “winter” day in Kuwait. Light sweater weather – my favorite!
Christmas is all put away, and we are readying to welcome in the New Year. Happy New Year (already) to my friends who celebrated the Islamic New Year yesterday. May God richly bless you in the year to come.
(As I write that, I realize with a start that we don’t think the way God does. What if the economic crisis, our dwindling investments, the rising prices – what if these are all a part of God’s blessing, and we don’t see it? What if he is demonstrating that we can live more simply, more happily, with less? What if he is telling us we can be happy eating less, spending less, what if he is telling us our greatest blessings are family? good health? moderation? Hmmmmmmm. . . . . . )
Slaughter of the Innocents
In our Lectionary readings for today we pray for the Innocents, slaughtered by King Herod, in the land that is now Israel.
PRAYER (traditional language)
We remember this day, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by the order of King Herod. Receive, we beseech thee, into the arms of thy mercy all innocent victims; and by thy great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish thy rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
There is nothing so maddening as to be helpless to intervene in the huge crush of political events among nations. On the other hand, we have been given this very powerful weapon – prayer – and the knowledge that God can do anything, and that he listens to our prayers, especially prayers for the weak, the helpless, women and children.
We can also raise our voices where it counts – to our governments – to say “this is wrong” and “this must be stopped.”
This is wrong. This must be stopped.
It is neither good nor right for bullies to impose their will on those with less power, just because they can. (That applies also to my own country.) It is not good for the victims – but it is also not good for the health of the bully! Countries where minority rights are not considered find themselves weakened from internal disorders, like a body eaten with cancer. If minorities can be likened to bacteria – a little bacterial makes us healthier and stronger. Tolerance of diversity makes us as nations healthier and stronger.
Don’t you wonder what might be accomplished if the Palestinians and Israelis could find some way to live together in peace?
Wikipedia Donate Button
Today I added (not very elegantly, I will have to fix this somehow) a new widget on my site. I find myself using Wikipedia almost as often as I use Google, and I love the entire concept – gathering what we know and sharing it with one another.
Today, I made my donation. It’s the least I can do. I access them almost daily, and I often use them to help me write my posts.
If you use Wikipedia, perhaps you will also consider making a donation. If you have a credit card, it couldn’t be easier.
“Generation of Spoiled Idiots”
I have a dear friend who sends me the most amazing things. This started my day with a howl of laughter:
I am embarrassed to tell you – I remember rotary phones. I even remember party lines, where you had to wait for your neighbor to finish his call before you could make your own, and you never knew who might be listening to your conversation. I remember planes that had large, beautiful lady’s lounges, with a seating area for nursing mothers. I remember when living in Germany was a huge problem to many young people who ran up huge phone bills, calling their families when they were lonely – no internet, no VOIP. I remember transistor radios, and Walkmen! LLLOOOLLLL!
Airport Art – SeaTac Airport
Way way down at the end of B concourse, someone has painted the windows. It looks Christmas-y to me, or at the very least, wintery, but I can’t imagine they painted this beautiful painting just for a temporary display, so it must be permanent, or semi-permanent. Having pieces like this on display for people – public art – thrills my heart. It caught the eye, even of people rushing from the plane to their next gate. Even if it were only a second or two, it’s worth it, isn’t it, to have art in unexpected places?
I don’t understand exactly how this all fits together. There are three pieces, the forest and eagle, the night sky with constellations, and the people dreaming in their cottage bed. I tried to get an overview, and then broke it down into sections so you could see it better.
Even posting the photos, I see new details. It is as if the artist is playing a game with us, challenging us to spot the countless little details s/he included to catch our eye and delight us unexpectedly. Look at the little owls in the trees to the right of the cabin! Look at the way the artist disguised/included the doors on the left as part of the mural! Look at the stars, drifting down toward earth – or are they becoming snowflakes? Look at the comfortable couple, wrapped up warmly on a cold winter’s night. Look at the sun and the moon in their carriage, the moon pouring out the milky way stars . . . so many details! Draco the dragon! Ursa Major! I love the scope of this mural!
Southern Thanksgiving Photos
First, apologies – No matter how many photos I take, you can’t begin to imagine the scope of this event. Three sisters, out of a family of ten brothers and sisters, gather the clan and provide a truly old fashioned Southern Thanksgiving on a large country estate. While the photos are mostly of food, the most important element of the gathering is the love that brings and binds this family together.
The weather was magnificent, allowing people to be inside and out, the kids out playing chase, football, exploring the grounds, sitting on the old swing, etc. Out in the way-back, men started shucking oysters for the pre-meal appetizers around 9 in the morning.
While the three sisters are pulling together all the last minute details, there is already an abundance of food to keep people nibbling while anticipating the main meal, served around 1:00 in the afternoon.
As people arrive, they bring more food – mashed potatoes, sweet potato casseroles, green beans, turnip greens, collard greens, creamed corn, creamed onions, all in slow cookers to keep them warm until dinner-time.
Meanwhile, things are heating up in the command center (kitchen) as time nears to get the food on the groaning tables:
Frying up turkey breast meat:
Usually, the men carve the turkeys – this year, a smoked turkey and a deep fried turkey:
Getting close to dinner time, people start gathering closer to the house:
Just before the dinner is served, the organizers thank the guests for coming and the food is blessed. Now here is where I really need to apologize – there are no dessert photos, and the desserts were magnificent. But once you have filled your place with turkey, dressing, vegetables, salads – and you have to take a little bit of everything so you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings – then you need to sit a while before you think about dessert. Actually, I didn’t even have any room for dessert! So I missed out on taking dessert photos, and for that, I totally apologize.
Then, about an hour after dessert, the family photos are taken. First, all the surviving and attending brothers and sisters, then each family, with various children and their families attending. This tradition is a lot of fun, but takes another hour or so. At the very end, we take photos of the three sisters who spend weeks and hours organizing the annual event, coordinating all the food, cooking for days and cleaning up afterwards. These women are my heroes – it is an unbelievable amount of work, and they do it out of love for their family:
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Early Voting in Florida
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