We are Belong to Jesus

NBC'S 'Today Show' Provides Peek into the Pope's Life in Rome Visit

2011-06-03T00:19:00.000-07:00

Host Matt Lauer, escorted by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, visited the Holy Father after a traditional Wednesday audience.Lauer was introduced by the archbishop and presented him with a crystal cat. The host asked the Bishop of Rome for a message for Americans and the Holy Father responded: "Confidence in God and continue in the faith of Christ."

Egypt holds 3 suspects in church slayings

2010-01-09T03:06:00.001-08:00

CAIRO – Three suspects in a drive-by shooting that killed six Christians and a Muslim guard in an attack on Coptic Christmas Eve were captured by police Friday.
Egyptian security forces had blanketed the area between the village of Farshout and the town of Nag Hamadi, where the slayings occurred early Thursday, and flushed the suspects out of dense sugar cane fields, the state MENA news agency reported.
Early Thursday, gunmen opened fire on a crowd of worshippers leaving midnight Mass for Coptic Orthodox Christmas Eve.
The Interior Ministry called the shooting revenge for the alleged rape of a 12-year-old Muslim girl by a Christian man in the town.
The attack was the worst to target Christians in Egypt in nearly a decade.
Copts, descendants of the original inhabitants of Egypt, make up most of the 8 million Christians in this country of 80 million people.
The Associated Press

Four Malaysian churches firebombed after court rules Christians may use ‘Allah’

2010-01-09T03:05:00.003-08:00

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jan 9, 2010 / 01:12 am (CNA).- Four churches in and around Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia have been firebombed in the continued reaction to a court ruling that Christians may use the word “Allah.”
One attack destroyed the first-floor offices of the three-story Metro Tabernacle Church. The Times reported that the worship hall itself was undamaged, but Kevin Ang, a church spokesman, said that the church is “90 percent gutted.”
Ang also reported that witnesses saw two persons on a motorbike who approached the entrance and threw in what looked like a petrol bomb.
Minor damage was caused in petrol bomb attacks on three other churches, one of them Catholic, in the adjacent town of Petaling Java, the Times reports.
Angry protests and cyber attacks on the website of the Herald, the Catholic newspaper involved in the case, followed the Malaysian High Court’s Dec. 31 ruling. The court said that the paper, Malaysia’s largest Catholic newspaper, may use “Allah,” also a traditional Malay word, to name the Christian God.
The high court suspended its ruling on Wednesday in anticipation of a government appeal.
Muslim preachers used Friday prayers to object to the decision, the Times reports.
“We will not allow the word Allah to be inscribed in your churches,” one speaker said at the Kampung Bahru mosque in central Kuala Lumpur. Protesters also carried posters reading “Heresy arises from words wrongly used” and “Allah is only for us.”
Muslims are a small majority in Malaysia, which has large Chinese and Indian populations who follow Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism. Most of the readers of the Herald are Christian tribespeople in the states of Sarawak and Sabah in Borneo.
In a Wednesday statement the Herald editor Fr. Andrew Lawrence told the Agence France Presse (AFP) that the paper believed the website attacks were designed to create a “climate of fear” and a “perceived threat to national security” in order to pressure the court to reverse its decision.
“We are Malaysians and we want to live in peace and happiness,” Fr. Lawrence added.

Did Jesus oppose capitalism, as Moore argues?

2010-01-09T03:05:00.001-08:00

Michael Moore, director of Capitalism: A Love Story, says you can’t be a religious Christian and a capitalist. (Chris Pizzello / AP)ndre

Would Jesus Christ — the founder of the largest religion in the world, unequivocally recognized as a messenger of peace and love — support capitalism?
It’s one of the questions filmmaker Michael Moore, the well-known creator of documentaries such as Bowling for Columbine and Sicko, asks in his latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story.
In Capitalism, the filmmaker wonders whether Christ would support a system that, as the filmmaker stated, "has allowed the richest one per cent to have more financial wealth than the 95 per cent under them combined."
Moore, a Roman Catholic, argues that Jesus’ commandments to care for others and feed the poor and hungry go against the love of money and greed that make up capitalism. He argues that one cannot be a religious Christian and a capitalist.
Clement Mehlman, a Lutheran chaplain at Dalhousie University, agrees.
"Jesus was a Jewish peasant, coming from an underprivileged tradition Himself, so He would have been what we would call a communist or a socialist," he says. "And there are elements of communism in descriptions of early Christian communities. They pooled their resources. There was not independent wealth, there was communal wealth."
The idea that Christ preached a socialist message would probably scare some conservative believers, but Mehlman has no problem with that.
"Jesus says to follow Him, you have to give everything you own to the poor," he says with a wry smile. "How many Christians do you see doing that? It’s a text that should be thrown at the wealthy fat cats."
While Mehlman does not see capitalism as being compatible with the Christian faith, Rev. Gary Thorne, an Anglican minister and chaplain with Dalhousie and the Canadian Forces Reserves, thinks Christians should take a second look at the system.
"There’s nothing wrong with the free market system in itself," he says. "It’s how it’s used. I don’t think there’s anything inherently evil in the free market system, in supply and demand and the exchanging of goods."
He argues that the problem is not capitalism, but what people bring to it — in particular, greed and desire for wealth.
The intent of the heart is crucial in any system, Thorne says. For him, Jesus’ message is not about the market system, but about the people who make up the market.
"If the poor are those who are opposed, marginalized, persecuted and forgotten, then clearly Jesus would have us look at these people, really look them in the eye, and be with them, not just write them a cheque."
He also draws upon church history, and the beliefs of the church’s most important figures, in making his argument.
"Martin Luther, John Calvin, they were really clear. They were entirely in favour of a free market system."
He says leaders like Luther viewed it as motivation to work hard, both to earn an income and to please God.
But the most important part about acquiring wealth is the willingness to share it, Thorne says. And part of that sharing comes through paying taxes.
"Any Christian who says that we pay too much in taxes is just bonkers," he says. "They should want to give more of their money to taxes, so the government can use the money to take care of the poor."
Thorne believes the core of capitalism is working hard to acquire wealth, but that one should be willing to use the wealth to help others.
"If you acquire a great deal of wealth, you should be happy to be taxed at 75 per cent because you can live comfortably with the 25 per cent you keep."
While Mehlman thinks Jesus would question capitalism, and believes that the government cannot do the work of the church, Thorne sees no problem with a free market, but is in favour of the government raising taxes to fulfill the command to feed the poor.
Is there middle ground between the two?
Russell Daye, a minister at St. Andrew’s United Church in Halifax, thinks so.
"I don’t think Jesus was flat out opposed to capitalism," he says. "He lived in what can best be described as a free market, and He contributed to it. Economies back then worked with small pools of capital, which is literally what capitalism is. But what capitalism has become now is a system filled with greed that has proven it can’t maintain itself."
Daye says that capitalism fails when greed takes precedence over compassion.
"Look at globalization. What we’ve seen with rampant, unchecked globalization is First World countries hurting the Second and Third Worlds, through child labour, destroying the environment and taking away land."
Daye says Jesus would never approve of that.
Then how should Christians respond to a system that is rampant with greed and lust for money?
Rev. Brad Close, a Christian Reformed minister, says they should try to avoid supporting it as much as possible.
"If someone wants to follow Christ, they have to realize where the money they spend is going," he says.
He encourages Christians to boycott large corporations that exploit workers or the environment, and suggests buying fairly traded products instead.
Those who claim to want to follow the teachings of Christ, but wilfully profit from an unjust system, need to realize the harm they are causing to community, he says.
"You need to come to a point where you realize what you’re doing is wrong. In that case, change it from the inside, or get out. Those are the only two choices."
Ultimately, despite some disagreement among theologians, Moore’s argument that Jesus opposed capitalism — at least, the money worshipping form of capitalism that has grown in his country — has found much support within the Christian community.
Even Pope Benedict XVI, in his most recent encyclical, condemned the greed-driven, free market systems that helped to cause the economic collapse. He also said people’s attitudes towards money must change.
It appears that the ultra-progressive Moore may have finally found an opinion with which Christians agree.
Andrew Clumpus is a journalism student at the University of King’s College, Halifax.

Media Homosexuals Bash Uganda's Christians

2010-01-09T03:04:00.000-08:00

The Washington Post editorial page has now joined lesbian MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow in blasting the government of Uganda for considering a law to protect children from homosexual predators and the dangerous public health impact of the homosexual lifestyle. Despite its moderate views on some foreign policy issues, the Post has always come down firmly on the side of making homosexuality into a special right that should be protected and even glorified by governmental institutions. Now it wants to impose that view on Uganda's mostly Christian population.

The editorial was probably written by Post editorial writer and homosexual activist Jonathan Capehart, who wrote a blog post on January 5 griping about the Ugandan bill. Like Maddow, who has been campaigning against the legislation, Capehart falsely claimed it would make homosexuality "a crime punishable by death."

"If the law passes, Uganda should be punished by the international community," Capehart thundered. "I would love for the U.S. to strip the country of foreign aid. Nothing focuses the mind like cash deprivation."

The Post editorial says the proposed Ugandan law against homosexual conduct, including the deliberate spreading of the AIDS virus, is "homophobic" and will "foment hate." In fact, the bill is designed to save lives by curtailing the spread of homosexual conduct and a disease that kills millions.

The determination of this major paper to use its influence to impose acceptance of homosexuality on Uganda, possibly using foreign aid as a lever, is not something that generates outrage or even concern in the rest of the nation's media. Rather, a humorous skit on the David Letterman show about Obama's first openly transgender appointment is what has led to a media firestorm, with publicized demands from various "gay rights" groups for apologies from Letterman to avoid "violence" and "hate."

The silly Media Matters group is even claiming that WorldNetDaily is guilty of "bigotry" for referring to the appointee as Mitchell rather than Amanda Simpson. Mitchell was the name before the man had sex-change surgery.

There is a determined effort to prevent the media from reporting a natural reaction of revulsion to this kind of perversion. Part of that effort includes accepting the terminology of the "gay" community.

But some aren't buying. "This is a man-and by the way he is a man; he's not a woman-who is one of the leaders in crusading for so-called 'civil rights' based on gender-confused behavior," Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth was quoted as saying by onenewsnow.com "Gender identity disorder" is "a recognized mental illness that should be treated-not affirmed and protected," points out Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.

Indeed, according to WebMD, "Gender identity disorder typically is diagnosed by a trained mental health professional (psychiatrist or psychologist)."

But thanks to the financial largesse of George Soros, who puts money into such groups as Simpson's National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco, the "right" to be highlighted as a "transgender" individual is being presented as fact.

The Post seems to find normal heterosexuality, not gender identity confusion, to be a disorder. It had previously condemned General Peter Pace for expressing his view that homosexuality is immoral. The Post was also one of the first papers to run "gay marriage" announcements.

It is clear that Jonathan Capehart's basic problem is with the Christian character of the opposition to his lifestyle.

The Uganda motto is "For God and My Country." Its national anthem, "Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty," includes the words:

"Oh, Uganda! may God uphold thee,
We lay our future in thy hand;
United, free for liberty
together we'll always stand."

This kind of language rubs some people in liberal-left circles the wrong way. Look at how "progressives" in the media are going ballistic because Brit Hume of Fox News suggested that Tiger Woods accept the Christian faith in order to clean up his life.

Capehart, a former officer of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, used to specialize in covering gay sex clubs, supposedly to expose their unsafe sexual practices. "At the YMCA after a swim, Jonathan Capehart, naked, frequently lingers under the wallmounted driers and observes men beckoning from the adjacent toilet stall," is how POZ magazine covered one of Capehart's adventures into the homosexual culture. It was an assignment, the magazine explained, for the New York Daily News, where he previously worked. He became such an expert that he emerged as a contributor to the volume, "Policing Public Sex: Queer Politics and the Future of AIDS Activism."

The Post says sponsors of the bill in Uganda are "ignorant." But perhaps they don't want the gay sex clubs that Capehart "exposed" to start appearing in their country.

What you will NOT learn from the Post editorial is that Uganda, which is 85 percent Christian, is still trying to recover from a time when King Mwanga forced his homosexuality and pedophilia on others. After Uganda began to convert to Christianity in the 1800s, a group of young Catholic Christian men, led by Charles Lwanga, refused to be sodomized by the King. As a result, they were tortured and killed. The executions are now remembered on June 3, Martyrs' Day, a national holiday in Uganda. Lwanga was made a Saint in the Catholic Church.

"We respect a nation's right to defend its culture and values," the Post says. But it won't explain why Uganda wants to defend its culture and values against the homosexual movement, which was started in this country by a supporter of the North American Man-Boy Love Association, Harry Hay.

While the Uganda bill goes too far even for pro-family activists in the United States and several provisions will probably be eliminated or modified before final passage, it does not advocate the death penalty for being homosexual. Instead, the death penalty is proposed for cases of "aggravated homosexuality," mostly involving pedophilia and rape. The bill was introduced by a Ugandan parliamentarian named David Bahati, a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement and a Christian.

While opposing anti-homosexual legislation in Uganda, Capehart is a cheerleader for Obama's pro-homosexual agenda here.

Capehart supports Obama's threat to homosexualize the Armed Forces, saying in a blog post on April 15, 2009, that "Gay men and lesbians should be allowed to serve. They should be allowed to serve openly."

Capehart was taking issue with an op-ed in the Post by the founding members of Flag and General Officers for the Military, who said that, in their experience, and that of more than 1,000 retired flag and general officers who had signed an open letter to President Obama and Congress, repeal of the law against open homosexuality in the military "would prompt many dedicated people to leave the military." They noted that polling by the Military Times publication of its active-duty subscribers over the past four years indicates that 58 percent have consistently opposed repeal and that, in its most recent survey, 10 percent said they would not reenlist if that happened, and 14 percent said they would consider leaving.

When he is not writing editorials promoting the homosexual movement, he is participating in it.

Capehart traveled to San Francisco in December, where he appeared at the 25th International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference, along with openly "gay politicians" such as Reps. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Jared Polis, D-Colo.

Another speaker at the event was Jim Kolbe, an openly homosexual former Republican member of Congress who came under investigation by the U.S. Attorney in Phoenix because of a 1996 camping trip he took with two male former pages, both of them 17-years-old. No charges were filed, however.

The conference program features an ad from LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered) elected officials saying they would "resist" campaign contributions from the tobacco industry because of the threat to public health posed by smoking. However, a workshop at the conference noted that HIV/AIDS "is still a deadly disease and a major health concern for the LGBT community," almost 30 years after HIV was first identified.

According to federal figures, 77 percent of adults and adolescents living with AIDS in the U.S. are male. Of this figure, 61 percent got AIDS through homosexual relations and another eight percent through homosexual relations and drug abuse. Perhaps Ugandan politicians understand the significance of these numbers.

The FAIR Foundation points out that AIDS gets far more federal money for research than 16 diseases that kill a million more people a year. But don't look for Capehart to write a Post editorial on the unfairness of this.

At a time when WorldNetDaily is reporting that the White House initially refused to publicly confirm the presidential appointment of the first openly "transgender" individual to a federal post, possibly out of embarrassment over the anticipated public reaction, it turns out that John Berry, director of Obama's Office of Personnel Management, was at the San Francisco conference with Capehart. Berry is described as "the Obama administration's highest ranking gay appointee" and probably had some role in-or knowledge of-the appointment.

Out of fear of the media reaction, most conservative politicians will be reluctant to even call for an investigation of this appointment.

On Tuesday, as reported by the New York Times, the Obama administration went one step further, inserting language into the federal jobs website explicitly banning employment discrimination based on "gender identity," even though Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council pointed out that "Congress has never passed a law saying that."

Don't look for a Post editorial from Capehart taking issue with Obama's use of executive power to benefit this special interest group.

"This new policy applies only to the federal government," Perkins says. "But there is a bill being considered in Congress, the so-called 'Employment Non-Discrimination Act' (ENDA), which would require every employer in America to open every position to homosexuals (by making 'sexual orientation' a protected category) and 'transgenders' (by protecting 'gender identity')."

Perkins says, "All American employers including Christian-owned businesses and potentially Christian ministries would be affected."

Russia Celebrates Orthodox Christmas

2010-01-09T03:01:00.000-08:00

In Russia, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the Catholic Christmas. Orthodox Christians all over the country observed Christmas Eve on Wednesday and early Thursday morning.

[Tamara, Parishioner]:
"Christmas is a great celebration for all orthodox Christians. It's renewal, it's good; beauty and hope for a light future."

Mass began late on Wednesday evening. In Moscow, more than 800 churches held mass. And millions of people attended mass all over the country.

[Yekaterina, Parishioner]:
“As usual we are expecting only the best in the year to come. You always have hopes. You always think the life will be better."

According to Russian Orthodox tradition, Christmas is first observed with an evening mass, and then the celebration with family and friends occurs the following day. The mass lasts for several hours. Orthodox midnight mass concludes a four-week fast.

The Russian, Georgian Orthodox, Serbian and Jerusalem churches, Athos monasteries, some Protestants and some Catholics celebrate Christmas on January 7, according to the Julian calendar.

In the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian Orthodox Church decided to follow the old Julian calendar, which lags almost two weeks behind the new Gregorian calendar of all other Christians.

After the 1917 revolution, Christmas was banned in Russia. But Russians started to celebrate Christmas again only years later, with the break-up of the Soviet Union.

North Korea remains on top of watch list for Christian persecution

2010-01-09T02:49:00.001-08:00

A women's prison at the border of North Korea at Dandong. North Korea tops a list of nations persecuting Christians for the eighth consecutive year.

For the eighth consecutive year North Korea tops the list of 50 countries regarded as the worst persecutors of Christians.
Open Doors USA has sponsored the list since 1991. The ministry supplies Christians around the globe often worshiping in secret for fear of reprisals with basic necessities and biblical material.
The list is compiled through questionnaires to field staff and other experts, said Open Doors advocacy director Lindsay Vessey. She said that Open Doors has people in 46 of the 50 countries on the list and distinguished it from State Department statistics which focus on persecution of all faiths.
While North Korea remaining on top of the list may not be surprising because of the well-known Stalinist oppression practiced by dictator King Jong-Il’s regime, Vessey said risks for Christians worshipping in secret continue to deteriorate. She said government attempts to restrict movement by assigned specific jobs or workforces to its citizens prompted the ministry to stop its shipments of food and Christian literature into the country.
“There were two of these (work detail programs) one right after the other and our people there asked us to continue in faith (with shipments),” she said. “Christians continue to meet in secret with the threat of being placed in a political prison or labor camps.”
Also in the top 10 are three countries with a high value of interest to American foreign policy.
Iran is second on the list amid the ongoing unrest since the heavily disputed re-election of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last summer. Street battles between demonstrators demanding more openness and government forces have ebbed and flowed for months.
“With all the news that has come out of Iran in the past year there has been no focus on the fact that there has been a real crackdown on Christians during that time,” Vessey said.
Afghanistan, where 30,000 more U.S. troops are scheduled to be deployed this year, is sixth. Yemen is seventh. The country has received a great deal of attention since it is believed to have been the site of the terrorist training ground for suspected Nigerian bomber Umar Abdulmutallab who attempted to destroy a plane on a Detroit runway Christmas Day. Both Afghanistan and Yemen operate under the tents of Islamic Sharia Law which prohibits the practice of any other religions.
“There has been a lot of very good information compiled by the State Department on religious freedom, but it hasn’t been taken as seriously as it should,” Vessey said.
She said Christians interested in influencing public policy should engage elected officials, including President Obama, who has yet to appoint an at-large ambassador on religious freedom to the State Department. She also encourages concerned Christians can also become involved in advocacy against restrictive legislation in other countries to protect other overseas.
Vessey and Open Doors CEO Carl Moeller said the most sought after commodity by persecuted Christians is prayer and the knowledge that their struggles haven’t been forgotten.
“There is a strong group of Christians in North Korea and actually the number of Christians in North Korea has grown in the last 10 years,””Moeller said in a press release. “Many are coming to Christ in the Muslim world. But we need to continue to embrace them in prayer in 2010.”

Mukesh, Anil groups deny hand in YSR death

2010-01-09T02:47:00.001-08:00

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh police have filed a case against a Telugu news channel over a report alleging foul play by the Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil in the death of former chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.The police have already begun a probe and are collecting evidence, including video tapes of the news footage beamed by TV5 that alleged that the Ambani brothers were behind the helicopter crash in which Reddy was killed on September 2, last year.The report last night triggered an attack by Reddy's supporters on business outlets of companies led by Mukesh and Anil, and the two groups separately accused each other of fuelling the allegations.Mukesh-led Reliance Industries today denied the allegations and called them "malicious" and "motivated" and said that it was the "dirty handiwork of our business rivals in cohoots with TV5."The Anil Ambani-led Reliance group said: "A malicious and criminal disinformation campaign has been engaged into by our corporate rivals leading to substantial loss and damage to our several offices and businesses of Reliance ADA Group in Andhra Pradesh yesterday evening."We are shocked to see our corporate rivals stooping down to new levels of desperation by engaging in such imaginative and baseless rumor-mongering."According to a senior police official, a case has been registered suo-motu against the Telugu news channel TV5.

Celebrating The Christian Feast of The Epiphany

2010-01-08T04:19:00.001-08:00

On January 6, Italy celebrates the national holiday for the Christian Feast of the Epiphany, to commemorate the manifestation of Christ to the magi, or wise men.
But it’s also a popular tradition that La Befana – an ugly Christmas witch – gives candies and gifts to deserving children, or coal to the naughty ones.
In Rome, the tradition includes a trip to the historic center, to shop at the Christmas booths at Piazza Navona, filled with toys and gifts, and above all throngs of people.
This is a tradition that I normally gladly avoid. But this year I made the trip.
Here is a video I shot with my Flip camera … hope you enjoy and Buon Anno!
done

Fewer Muslims for the Archbishop Lord Carey's call for a cut in immigration makes no sense unless you realise that the immigrants he fears are Muslims

2010-01-08T04:15:00.000-08:00

George Carey doesn't do subtlety: watching him try is like watching someone working an iPhone wearing boxing gloves. But he does have good political instincts. His settlement with (and of) the liberals in the Church of England has endured: women priests and, in time, women bishops but no open gays. Now he has called for a drastic cut in immigration. Will this be the future line of the Church of England?
If it is, that would represent a huge, wrenching change. The upper ranks of the Church are almost all in favour of better treatment for asylum seekers; both Archbishops speak about the subject recently, and Carey himself, when in Canterbury, incurred the wrath of the Daily Mail for defending them on the Today show. Parts of the Church have been eager to reach out to Muslims on a local level.
Carey's article in the Times today is headlined "Migration threatens the DNA of our nation" and you might think that lays him open to a very reasonable charge of racism, especially as he uses a similar phrase in the article. But it turns out he doesn't mean real DNA, but something like "essence", or "soul". He's not a racist. He promoted John Sentamu to Birmingham and wanted Michael Nazir Ali to succeed him. He writes in the Times that "we welcome the contribution of both economic migrants and asylum seekers to our lively cosmopolitan culture."
No, the sort of immigrants he doesn't want are pretty clearly Muslims, especially when they are poor and unskilled. The examples he gives of obnoxious immigrants are those who "immediately establish their own tribunals to apply Sharia, rather than make use of British civil law" – they are "deeply socially divisive". Muslims are clearly the target of his remark that "while we don't expect groups to assimilate, there must be a willingness on their part to integrate with the rest of British society". They are the people who end up in "the last thing any of us want … ghettos".
More to the point, when he warns of the danger of the BNP vote in such places as Dagenham, where he grew up, he clearly has in mind that it is hostility to Muslims which gains the BNP their vote.
"Those who seek to live in this country recognise that they are coming to a country with a Christian heritage and an established Church." he writes. "Just as we should expect immigrants to subscribe to democratic principles, abide by our laws, speak English, support freedom of speech and a free press, so they should also respect the Christian nature and history of our nation with its broad, hospitable Establishment."
Again, this can hardly be aimed at Poles or even Ukrainians. Lord Carey is a columnist for the News of the World, though this piece was written for the Times, and he understands the prejudices of his regular readers and to some extent still shares them.
But if he wants to muster a body of Christian opinion to stop Muslim immigration, there is one ally he needs, whose silence here is quite remarkable: Michael Nazir Ali, the former bishop of Rochester. It was Nazir Ali who said last year that Muslims had set up no go areas in some British cities and who has flirted with the Eurabians, who believe that Muslim immigration threatens European civilisation. He is not the only evangelical to regard Muslims with fear and suspicion. But he is the only one whose anti-racist credentials are impeccable: one woman, vox-popped outside Rochester Cathedral when he was enthroned there, said she hoped the new bishop was a Christian.
The great majority of Anglican bishops remain opposed to the Carey line of thinking, certainly in public. But the increasing African influence on the Church of England brings with it a deep suspicion of Muslims, especially from Nigeria which is divided, sometimes bloodily, on religious lines. There is a curious and unpleasant paradox here. Carey sets himself up as a defender of particularly English values; and to the extent that the church retreats into a cosy conservative nationalism, it will be tempted to follow his line. But the same hostility to Muslims is also likely to grow from international engagement, and the belief that the church of England is part of a wider communion, whose centre of gravity is in Africa.
The antidote will come, if it does, from engagement at a local level. But every stunt like the Wootton Bassett march will lend strength to Carey's backlash. This could be part of the emergence of a much more nationalist church of England.

Wainwright: McGwire deserves Hall of Fame

2010-01-08T04:10:00.000-08:00

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright (FSY) is excited about Matt Holliday's (FSY) huge new contract and disappointed that Mark McGwire hasn't made the Hall of Fame.

Wainwright was the keynote speaker Thursday at the Missouri governor's annual prayer breakfast in Jefferson City. He spoke primarily about his Christian faith, but noted that Holliday's $120 million contract could keep him with the Cardinals for seven years.

McGwire, the team's new hitting coach, has been stigmatized since evading questions from Congress in 2005 about steroids use. But Wainwright thinks McGwire deserves recognition partly because of his famous home run race with Sammy Sosa in 1998, when McGwire set a single-season home run record.

"They did more than just hit home runs, they brought fans back, they brought baseball back," Wainwright said. "There's people in the Hall of Fame who have done much worse things than what allegedly Mark McGwire has done."

McGwire again fell far short of being elected to the Hall of Fame this year, his fourth time on the ballot.

A good-faith attempt to help

2010-01-08T03:38:00.001-08:00

If he had suggested a miracle diet for Tiger Woods, no one would have thought anything of it.
Instead, Fox News commentator Brit Hume apparently committed a cardinal sin when he recently suggested that the troubled golfer look into the saving graces of Jesus Christ.
"Tiger, turn to the Christian faith, and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world," Hume said.
Seems like a sincere, innocuous attempt to throw a lifeline to someone in distress.
Nope. According to the wacko left, Hume's endorsement of Christianity had no business being aired in public.
For his good-faith effort, Hume has been viciously attacked by liberals. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann compared Hume to a Muslim "jihadist" -- notwithstanding the fact that jihadists try to convert folks at the end of a knife or a bomb fuse.
To get expert commentary on Hume's awful transgression, he called on sex columnist Dan Savage.
"Whenever we have a discussion in our country about jihadism and radical Muslims," Savage said, "you always hear, 'Where are the moderate voices? Where are the moderate Muslims?' ... Where are the moderate liberal progressive Christians when something like this happens? ... American Christianity's been hijacked by the lunatics (including) people like Brit Hume."
So we've established so far that Hume is a lunatic jihadist. Because he's Christian and suggests others consider it.
Wow.
The snarky insults continued with Washington Post TV writer Tom Shales, who said, "Whom did he sound more like -- Mary Poppins on the joys of a tidy room, or Ron Popeil on the glories of some amazing potato peeler?"
Then, turning end-of-the-world serious, Shales wrote, "If Hume's remark is going to turn out to be a mere starting point, where in the name of all that's holy (really holy, genuinely holy) is the finishing line going to find us? Or leave us?"
Yes, the world is ending because Brit Hume is selling Christianity. How awful!
Atlanta Journal-Constitution blogger Jay Bookman's headline sneered, "The Right Rev. Brit Hume points the way to Tiger's redemption."
Even if that's true, what the heck's wrong with that? If you felt you could share the secret to salvation -- a somewhat weightier matter than the keys to slimming down for swimsuit season -- what's wrong with sharing it?
Hume speaks from very real, very moving experience.
He's never held himself up as a "right reverend" as Bookman sarcastically scoffs. Instead, it was Hume's Christian faith that helped him cope with the death of his son in 1998.
"When my son died," Hume once said, "I came to Christ in a way that was very meaningful to me. If a person is a Christian and tries to face up to the implications of what you say you believe, it's a pretty big thing."
For that, Brit Hume is a lunatic jihadist?
How can there exist such a virulent anti-Christian venom in a majority Christian nation?

Can Christians Say 'Allah'? In Malaysia, Muslims Say No

2010-01-08T03:23:00.001-08:00

"Why are the Christians claiming Allah?" asks businessman Rahim Ismail, 47, his face contorted in rage and disbelief. He shakes his head and raises his voice while waiting for a taxi along Jalan Tun Razak, a main thoroughfare in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. "Everybody in the world knows Allah is the Muslim God and belong to Muslims. I cannot understand why the Christians want to claim Allah as their god," Rahim says as passers-by, mostly Muslims, gather around and nod in agreement.
The reason for their anger is a recent judgment by Malaysia's High Court that the word 'Allah' is not exclusive to Muslims. Judge Lau Bee Lan ruled that others, including Catholics who had been prohibited by the Home Ministry from using the word in their publications since 2007, can now use the term. She also rescinded the prohibition order freeing the Malay language-edition of the Catholic monthly The Herald to use Allah to denote the Christian god. After widespread protests, however, the judge granted a stay order on Jan. 7. The same day the government appealed to the higher Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling. The anger seemingly turned violent late Thursday night after masked men on motorcycles firebombed three churches in the city, gutting the ground floor of the Metro Tabernacle Church located in a commercial building in the Desa Melawati suburb of the capital. The attacks, which police said appeared uncoordinated, were condemned by the government, opposition MPs and Muslim clerics alike. On Friday Muslims demonstrated in scores of mosques across the country but the protest was peaceful. In the mosque in Kampung Baru, a Malay enclave in the city, Muslims held placards that read "Leave Islam Alone!, Treat Us As You Would Treat Yourself! Don't Test Our Patience!" This, amid cries of "Allah is Great!" (See pictures of Islam's soft revolution in Cairo.)
Because of its ethnic make-up, religion is a sensitive issue in Malaysia and any religious controversy is seen as a potential spark for public unrest. Some 60% of Malaysia's 28 million people is Malay Muslim, while the rest are ethnic Chinese, Indians and indigenous tribes, practicing various faiths including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and animism. Among Christians, the majority Catholics number about 650,000, or 3% of the population. Despite Malaysia's diverse national complexion, political Islam is a growing force and the country operates under two sets of laws, one for Muslims, the other for everyone else. The authorities regard such compartmentalization as essential to maintaining social stability.
To many Malay Muslims, Judge Lau's ruling crosses that line. Prominent Muslim clerics, lawmakers and government ministers have questioned the soundness of the judgment. A coalition of 27 Muslims NGOs wrote to the nine Malay Sultans, who are each head of Islam in their respective states, to intervene and help overturn the verdict. A Facebook campaign by Muslims started on Jan. 4 has attracted over 100,000 supporters. Among them: Deputy Trade Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, son of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who also waded into the controversy saying the court is not a proper forum to decide on an emotive religious issue. "The judgment is a mistake," says Nazri Aziz, minister overseeing Parliamentary Affairs, speaking for many Malaysian Muslims. The few Muslims who have urged respect for judicial independence have been shouted down as "traitors." "I can't understand how any Muslim can support this judgment," said legislator Zulkifli Noordin in a statement.
The case arose after the Home Ministry prohibited The Herald, a Catholic monthly newsletter, from using Allah for god in its Malay-language versions in 2007. "We have been using the word for decades in our Malay-language Bibles and without problems," Reverend Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Catholic publication told TIME. In May 2008 the Catholics decided to take the matter to court for a judicial review — and won. "It is a landmark decision ... fair and just," says Andrew. During the intermittent trial in the closing months of 2008, lawyers for the Church argued that the word Allah predated Islam and was commonly used by Copts, Jews and Christians to denote god in many parts of the world. They argued that Allah is an Arabic word for god and used for "decades" by the Church in Malay-language Bibles and other publications in Malaysia and Indonesia. And they said that The Herald uses the word "Allah" for god to meet the needs of its Malay-speaking worshippers on the island of Borneo. "Some people have got the idea that we are out to convert [Muslims]; that's not true," the lawyers said on behalf of The Herald.
Government lawyers countered that Allah denotes the Muslim god, is accepted as such around the world and is exclusively for Muslims. They said that if Catholics were allowed to use Allah, Muslims would be "confused." The confusion would worsen, they said, because Christianity practices a "trinity of gods" while Islam is "totally monotheistic." They said the proper word for god in the Malay language is Tuhan and not Allah. Judge Lau held that the constitution guarantees freedom of religion and speech and therefore Catholics can use the word Allah to denote god. She also overturned the Home Ministry order prohibiting The Herald from using the word. "The applicants have the right to use the word 'Allah' in the exercise of their rights to freedom of speech and expression," she said.
Non-Muslim Malaysians worry that the vehement opposition to the Allah ruling reflects a growing Islamization in a multi-religious society. Last October a Muslim Shariah Court sentenced a Muslim woman who drank beer to be caned in public; in another incident in November, Muslims enraged over the construction of a Hindu temple near their homes demonstrated their anger with a severed cow's head. They kicked and stomped on the head, as Hindus to whom the cow is sacred, watched helplessly. As for the court ruling, Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan met Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday to discuss how to cool emotions. Says Kesavan: "We need to get the Muslim and Christian leaders together. They need to meet face to face and work out a compromise and not let this thing escalate."

Malaysian churches attacked as Allah row worsens

2010-01-08T03:22:00.001-08:00

ARSONISTS attacked at least three churches in Malaysia this morning, prompting tighter police checks at churches nationwide ahead of mass demonstrations in a row over the use of the word "Allah" for the Christian God.
Protests were due to take place later in the day to denounce a court ruling last week in predominantly Muslim Malaysia allowing the Catholic Herald newspaper to use "Allah" in its Malay-language publication.
The impact on Malaysia's financial market has been muted, but analysts said the issue could pose a longer term risk of political instability for Malaysia, which has been trailing Indonesia and Thailand for foreign investment.
A fire at the Metro Tabernacle church in suburban Kuala Lumpur, part of a Pentecostal group called "The Assemblies of God", gutted a ground-floor administrative office. Firebombs were later tossed into the compound of at least two more churches - the Assumption Catholic Church and the Life Chapel Protestant church - in the leafy outlying district of Petaling Jaya, but both failed to explode.

Police ordered tightened security at churches throughout the country and called for the cancellation of protests, due to take place after Friday prayers at mosques.
"Since last night, I have instructed all patrol cars to patrol all church areas. We are monitoring all churches," Musa Hassan, Inspector-General of Police, told Reuters.
"I have advised them (protesters) to let this be handled by the court. I will take action against anyone who acts to jeopardise national security."
Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling Coalition suffered its worst defeats in the 2008 general election due in part to unhappiness by the mainly Chinese and Indian ethnic minorities over increasing Islamisation and failed reform pledges. The issue could deepen minority dissatisfaction and hamper Mr Najib's efforts to win back non-Malay support to stay in power after the next polls, to be held by 2013.
"The ball is now in Najib's court. All eyes are on him and the Home Ministry," said Ooi Kee Beng from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in neighbouring Singapore.
"Will they enforce the rule of law or be seen enforcing the rule of law without fear or favour, this is the next thing to watch for."
The Government has appealed the court ruling, which has threatened relations between the majority Malay Muslim population and the minority communities who practise a range of religions including Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Last night, the Government's judiciary website was attacked by hackers amid growing anger over the court ruling. The Malaysian Insider, an online news site, captured a screen shot of the defaced website which contained the warning "Allah only restricted to Muslims only".
It is illegal for non-Muslims to proselytise Muslims although freedom of worship for minorities making up 40 percent of the population is guaranteed under the constitution.
Malaysia was rated as having "very high" government restrictions on religion in a recent survey by the Pew Forum, bracketing it with the likes of Iran and Egypt. It was listed as the 9th most restrictive of 198 countries.
The use of "Allah" has been common among non-English speaking Malaysian Christians in the states of Sabah and Sarawak - on the island of Borneo off mainland Malaysia - for decades without any incident.

Egyptian Christians Clash With Police

2010-01-08T03:21:00.000-08:00

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Thousands of enraged Christians clashed with the police in Egypt on Thursday in response to a drive-by shooting the night before that left six Christians dead and nine wounded.
The attackers, who are still at large, had opened fire on several groups of Christians gathered to celebrate Coptic Christmas in the southern Egyptian city of Nag Hammadi, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The killings seemed to be an act of revenge tied to accusations in November that a Christian man raped a Muslim girl, the statement said.
Clashes between Muslims and Christians have grown increasingly common in recent years, especially in Upper Egypt, where there is a large Christian population and a strong culture of vendetta killings. Those killings typically spring from unexceptional disputes that spiral into full-blown conflicts that have to be settled by security forces. There are no official statistics on the size of the Christian minority in Egypt, but the generally accepted figure is 10 percent of the population.
During a funeral procession on Thursday for the victims of the shooting, thousands of angry Christian protesters chanted, “With our souls, with our blood, we will sacrifice ourselves for the cross,” and pelted police cars with stones. The police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.
According to the Interior Ministry, witnesses have identified the lead gunman as Mohamed Ahmed Hussein, a Muslim man with a criminal record.
Egyptians have been united historically by a strong sense of national identity, allowing the Muslim majority and Coptic Christian minority to live in peace, for the most part. But the recent rise in religious fervor, especially among Muslims, has strained relations and increased reported episodes of religiously inspired violence.
The general sentiment among Egypt’s Copts is that they are being squeezed into a tighter space, and there are increasing complaints of discrimination. They say, for example, that permits to build churches have become very difficult to obtain.
“There is a prevailing atmosphere of sectarianism and religious incitement which has led to this behavior,” said Gamal Asaad, a Coptic intellectual and former member of Parliament. “People deal with each other now as Muslims or Christians, not as Egyptians.

Casanova dropped, Christian Brothers to begin

2010-01-08T03:19:00.001-08:00

Superstar Mohanlal's big budget Casanova directed by Roshan Andrews has been dropped once again, after one of its producers Vysakh Rajan has walked out of the project alleging unhappy with the heavy budget (around Rs. 8 crores).
In 2009, Casanova was kept in cold storage when its former producers (the Confident Group of companies) lost confidence and withdrew from the project owing to the lacklustre performance of Sagar alias Jackie.
According to sources, instead of Casanova, Mohanlal will now allot dates to veteran director Joshi’s long delayed multi-starrer Christian Brothers, produced by Anoop and Subair. The shooting will start in Ernakulam from January 12. The film has Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi, Dileep, Kavya Madhavan and Padmapriya in the lead roles.

Cribs In Mangalore Milagres,Bejaichurch,Bendore church,infant jesus mangalore,jeppu,urva church

2010-01-06T04:56:00.000-08:00

Bible show in mangalore

2010-01-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

christmas in mangalore

2010-01-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

christmas in milagres

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Christmas sales at John Lewis break records

2010-01-05T04:47:00.000-08:00

John Lewis has had a record breaking Christmas according to figures from its festive trading statement with total sales up 15.8% compared to the same period last year.
During four separate weeks, sales reached more than £100 million, beating its biggest ever week from 2007.
For the five weeks to 2 January 2010, like-for-like sales were up 12.7%. Fashion sales, including beauty saw the biggest increase with sales up 22% and home product sales were up by 19.4%.
Managing Director of John Lewis, Andy Street, attributed the company’s outstanding performance on its great line of products, at great value as well as John Lewis’ consistently exceptional service.
“We have seen excellent sales during Christmas and Clearance. The five-week period has seen a number of records broken.”
However Mr Street warned that 2010 will continue to see a long, slow recovery in the retail market, and says the winners will be those stores that focus on the customer.
John Lewis’ sister company Waitrose also recorded exceptional results over the Christmas trading period with an increase in sales of more than 20% for the week ending 26 December.
Despite VAT returning to 17.5% on 1 January 2010, some retailers have opted to cushion the blow for customers by temporarily freezing VAT at 15%. John Lewis, together with Argos, Dorothy Perkins and Topshop are some of those UK high street favourites to do so.
John Lewis is not the only retailer to buck the downward trend. Next said its total sales for the 22 weeks to 24 December 2009 were up 4.6% and as a consequence has raised its yearly profit forecast to between £490 - £500m – up from its previous estimate of £472m.

U.S. reopens embassy in Yemen

2010-01-05T04:44:00.001-08:00

The U.S. Embassy in Yemen reopened Tuesday after closing for two days over threats of an imminent al-Qaeda attack in the country’s capital.
The embassy website said “successful counter-terrorism operations” conducted by the Yemen government have “addressed a specific area of concern” that contributed to the decision to resume operations.
The statement did not provide more details but thanked the government for its efforts to disrupt al-Qaeda in the region.
It said the threat of terrorist attacks against American interests remains high and warned U.S. citizens in the country to be vigilant.
The U.S. and U.K. embassies in the country closed on Sunday. France's embassy is not open to the public, but staff are working. Spain's embassy in the Yemeni capital of San'a also has restricted public access.
The U.S. embassy closure was prompted by “credible information that pointed to the likelihood of imminent terrorist attacks,” its website said.

Militants killed

On Monday, two al-Qaeda militants were reported killed by security forces in Yemen although officials said the raid was not linked to threats that prompted the embassies' closure.
Although the government of impoverished Yemen is weak outside of the capital, it has staged several recent raids against militants who have set up strongholds in the country. The U.S. has backed the raids.
U.S. and U.K. counterterrorism support in Yemen has gone up quickly, as special units are funded and trained to fight al-Qaeda.
U.S. President Barack Obama said an al-Qaeda-related group in Yemen was behind a failed Christmas Day attempt to bomb a U.S. passenger jet flying from Amsterdam to Detroit.

A tribute to Steve Irwin

2010-01-05T03:11:00.001-08:00

Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin , the popular television presenter better known as the 'Crocodile Hunter', has passed away following a marine accident.

The 44-year old was filming an underwater documentary on Monday morning, and police sources in Cairns, north Australia, say he was killed by a stingray barb.

Only the second known Australian fatality from a stingray attack, Irwin seemed to have been stung either through his heart or the left side of his chest, following which he immediately suffered a cardiac arrest. He is survived by wife Terri and their two children, Bindi Sue, 8, and Robert, 3.

Also aiding his global following were his pro-conservation, environmentalist approach and his encyclopaedic knowledge and love of crocodiles.

Australian naturalist and animal-lover Steve Irwin has died after being struck in the chest by a stingray's barb.

Irwin had been filming a documentary on his boat Croc One in Queensland's Great Barrier Reef on the day of his death. Paramedics were unable to save his life.

The 44-year-old was famous around the world for handling dangerous animals, including an anaconda during a TV appearance on the Jay Leno Show.

Mr Irwin's wife Terri was often at his side, to help deal with animals such as the albino Burmese python.

Father-of-two Mr Irwin grew up on his parents' reptile park and became fascinated with animals after receiving a python as a present on his sixth birthday.

He was also a passionate conservationist and was pictured with a variety of animals, such as Kimberly the camel in 2003.

There was outrage in 2004 when Mr Irwin held his one-month-old son near a crocodile during a show. He said his children, including daughter Bindi, had to grow up to be "croc savvy".

Mr Irwin, who handled dangerous animals such as the taipan snake, turned a small reptile park in Queensland into Australia Zoo. It has now become a major wildlife centre.

And Mr Irwin emphasised his dedication to saving endangered species by creating the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he was "fond" of Mr Irwin and "very, very appreciative" of his work in promoting Australia overseas.

Fans left flowers at Australia Zoo after news of Mr Irwin's death was confirmed on Monday.

Stingray Pic

2009-12-31T05:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Germany

2009-12-21T04:41:00.000-08:00

In Germany, preparations for Christmas begin before December falls. But the real celebration starts from 6th December, St. Nicholas Day, known here as "Nikolaustag". On the night of 5th December (St. Nicholas Eve) children put their shoe or boot outside the door, a tradition practiced in many other European countries. According to a German legend, the spirit of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, goes from house to house on this night carrying a book of sins in which all the actions of the year of all children are written. It is said that St. Nicholas fills the shoes of all good kids with delicious treats and places twigs in the shoes of all naughty children.
During Advent, advent wreaths (made of Holly flowers) are placed on a table and four red candles are placed in the center of it. One of these candles is lit on each Sunday preceding Christmas and the last one is lighted on Christmas Eve. Advent calendars, containing pictures beneath each window, are used by kids to count the days until Christmas.
The Christmas tree is an integral part of German Christmas celebrations. It should be kept in mind that the Christmas tree actually originated in Germany. A unique aspect of the German Christmas decorations is that, kids can not take part in the beautification of the Christmas tree. It is believed that the tree has some mysterious spell for all young eyes that rest on it before Christmas Eve. Hence, the
Christmas tree is decorated on Christmas Eve, prior to the evening feast. The father usually keeps the children in a seperate room while the mother brings out the Christmas tree from a hidden place and decorates it with apples, candy, nuts, cookies, cars, trains, angels, tinsel, family treasures and candles or lights. The gifts are kept under the tree. Nearby, beautiful plates are laid for each family member and filled with fruits, nuts, marzipan, chocolate and biscuits. The decorations finished, a bell is rung as a signal for the children to enter the room. The Christmas story is usually read during this time and carols are sung. Often, sparklers are lit and gifts opened too.
The Christmas Eve dinner menu traditionally comprises of delicious dishes such as suckling pig, white sausage, macaroni salad, "reisbrei" (a sweet cinnamon) and many regional dishes. The Christmas Eve is popularly called here as "Dickbauch" (meaning "fat stomach") because of the myth that those who do not eat well on Christmas Eve will be haunted by demons during the night. So everyone tries to stuff their belly to the fullest on this day.

The feasting continues on Christmas Day with a banquet being held on this day. Traditional Christmas dishes consist of plump roast goose, "Christstollen" (long bread loaves stuffed with nuts, raisins, citron and dried fruit), "Lebkuchen" (spice bars), marzipan, and "Dresden Stollen" ( a moist, heavy bread filled with fruit).

From the beginning of Advent, booths and stalls are set up on the market-places in all cities where you can buy everything you need for Christmas: decorations for the tree and candles, crib figures and gingerbread (which is mainly baked and consumed at Christmas), Christmas trees, and presents for Christmas Eve. Walking through such a market really is an exceptional experience. Children enjoy this most of all. The smell of fir resin and roasted almonds intermingle. Then there are all the lights from the stalls and the little stoves where sausages are fried and chestnuts roasted. Songs and the sounds of music fill the air. The most famous Christkindlmarkt takes place in Nuremberg and attracts lots of visitors every year.

St. Nicholas Eve. This happens on Dec, 6 an all of the children leave one shoe out for St. Nicholas to either leave candy if they are good or twigs if they are bad.

The Advent calendar
While children in Canada have Christmas parades to assure that Santa is on the way, in Germany the magic of Christmas starts with the December arrival of the advent calendar. Advent starts on the first Sunday after November 26th. This time is devoted to preparations for Christmas. After the four Advent Sundays are over, there follow Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Advent calendars with their bright Christmas pictures hang alongside children's beds. If you look more closely, you discover small numbers in this picture. One, two, three, and so on up to 24. Wherever the numbers are, there are small paper windows. When you open these windows you find a little picture on transparent paper: a candle, a ball, a snowman-whatever children like. The children open a new window every morning, and then they know that there are still twenty three days to Christmas, twenty two, twenty one, and so on. Every day Christmas Eve, so much longed for and charged with wishes, comes a little closer.

Apart from the Advent calendar, families also have an Advent wreath. The wreath is made of bound fir twigs to which four candles are attached. One more candle is lit for each of the Advent Sundays. In large houses, shops, and in churches, these Advent wreaths hang from the ceiling, adorned with four fat red or yellow candles. This looks particularly splendid when the wreath is also decorated with red or violet ribbons. No one knows when the Advent wreath came to Germany and where it originated. It does not date back very far as a Christmas Custom but has already firmly established itself. Before the first Sunday in Advent you will see many, many Advent wreath in flower shops and nurseries. Pine and fir cones, little red mushrooms, or red and yellow ribbons are also attached to the green of the wreath.

The Christmas tree
The undisputed focal-point of the entire Christmas period, in the community and in the family, is the Christmas tree. A German Christmas without the green fir tree is simply inconceivable. The tranquil splendor of Christmas tree lights is an essential aspect of the festival for both the individual and the population as a whole. It is the symbol of Christmas for all Germans, who have to have their Christmas tree on December the 23th (not a day before!) even if they live abroad in distant countries. Trees are also found in churches and public squares. They are used in shops as decoration, and in offices to please staff and visitors. The giant trees that stand in public are especially grown for this purpose and carefully looked after in municipal wood. They are often up to 25 metres. Decorating the treeIn earlier times, candles were perhaps enough in the eyes of children and adults. Today everyone wants a well-decorated tree in their home. You can even say that there have been areas-such as Rhinish Hesse and the Spessart-where the sweets on the tree have been more important than the lights. People there spoke of a Sugar Tree rather than a Christmas tree, and this was hung with edibles and decorations. Some families with children maintain this custom up to the present day.

Music for Christmas
Christmas is a time for singing and music making. There is a constant mention at Christmas of the mysterious sounds of bells and other musical instruments, present in all households. This starts with the first Sunday in Advent and reaches its peek on Christmas Eve, the Holy Evening, when the silent night should be filled with sounds that seem to come from celestial spheres. The most famous of all German language Christmas songs , "Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! was first heard during Christmas 1818 at the small church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf (Austria), which is near Salzburg and the German-Austrian border. The writer of the text, Joseph Mohr, was assistant priest from 1817 to 1819. Franz Yaver Gruber, the composer, had been the teacher and organist at nearby Arnsdorf since 1807, and he also filled the latter function at Oberndorf, when no one was available. Just before Christmas 1818, Mohr suggested to Gruber that they should produce a new song for the festival. On the 24th of December he gave the musician his six verse text, leaving only a few hours till the moment the song was due to be presented. The organist's melody pleased the poet though, and the song was performed with great success. Today this famous song is translated into 44 other languages and is known all over the world.

Xmas feast:
It is said that the tradition of serving boar's head at the Christmas feast originated because the German god Frey, who was responsible for the well-being of livestock, was symbolized by the boar. Therefore boar was often sacrificed in hopes of a prosperous spring herd. Eventually, the boar's head custom as a part of German Christmas feasting became impractical. Boars were increasingly hard to find and dangerous to catch. It also took a week of cooling and preparation to make the boar presentable. In more modern times, the boar was replaced by pork, roast beef, turkey, and goose.

Christmas price rise takes the cake - Spiralling cost of ingredients to pinch festive pocket at home and in shop

2009-12-21T04:25:00.001-08:00

OH DEAR!: The Kookie Jar Christmas platter will cost more

Hot cakes could take on a whole new meaning this Christmas, thanks to red-hot prices.

If inflation robbed the rasogolla and barfi of some of their sweetness during Puja and Diwali, rising prices are set to play party-pooper again in the season of plum pudding and peach pie.

“Sugar was Rs 15-16 per kg last year, it is now Rs 38 a kg. A 500gm butter packet is priced Rs 110, against Rs 75 last year. How do I stick to my budget?” asks 83-year old Eunice Pereira, whose home-made fruit cakes are popular among family and friends.

Eggs, the staple of cakes, have also become dearer, as have garnishing ingredients like cashew nuts, raisins and almonds. Flour, which was Rs 12 per kg, now costs 19 per kg while suji costs Rs 9 more a kg than last year’s price.

Eunice may be forced to bake fewer cakes than last year to reduce costs. “It is festival time, you have to manage somehow. But last year I had baked 32 cakes and this time I may end up baking only 22-23,” she says.

For those who prefer to buy rather than bake their Christmas cake, the price pinch could be even more. Kookie Jar, which did not hike prices last year to go easy on the downturn-spooked customers, is planning to increase prices of some items by Rs 5 to Rs 50 this Christmas.

“Butter has not only become expensive but scarce, too. The prices of all ingredients have gone up by at least 20 per cent in the past six months. But we do not want to upset our customers; so we have kept the prices of the pop picks for Christmas — chocolate cakes, truffle cakes and assorted chocolates — the same,” explains Lovey Barman of Kookie Jar.

However, the prices of some Christmas specialities like the Kookie Jar Dundee Cake and Yule Log have gone up.

Nahoum’s in New Market has also hiked prices. “I buy brownies and cakes from Nahoum’s every year before Christmas. But I have found that their prices have increased quite a bit,” rues homemaker Paulami Roy.

“The prices of ingredients have increased, and so we have had to proportionately hike the prices of all our confectionery products by 10-15 per cent since November 15,” says J. Haldar, the manager of Nahoum and Sons.

A 400gm Nahoum’s Plum Cake now costs Rs 135, against Rs 120 at this time last year. The Fruit Cake comes for Rs 170 and brownies and Black Forest cost Rs 22 per piece, all up by 10 to 15 per cent. “Whatever the price, we have to buy because fruit cake is a must for Christmas,” says homemaker Arundhuti Mukherjee.

Flurys, on Park Street, has promised not to raise the prices of its Christmas cakes, puddings, pies, breads and cookies despite ingredients costing more. “The increase in the prices of ingredients is being absorbed by us,” said P.N. Singh of Flurys.

Cakes, another city confectionery chain, had increased prices six months ago. “Since then, prices of ingredients have increased by at least 15 per cent. But we have not decided on a further increase,” said Salim Naushad.

Christmas Caroling

2009-12-21T04:18:00.000-08:00

Three young carol singers give their rendering of a Christmas song in the falling snow.

No matter how high one's tolerance for cold weather, egg nog and three-part harmony, there comes a time in every Christmas caroler's evening when he or she thinks to themselves, Why am I doing this?
Christmas carols today carry cozy connotations of ancient traditions as old as King Wenceslas, but Christmas caroling as we know it dates back to the 19th Century and not much further. In fact, caroling itself didn't always involve Christmas, and the ancient tradition of traveling from house to house to wish neighbors good cheer didn't always involve singing. There's a distinction to be made between carols — songs stemming from medieval musical traditions — and today's Christmas caroling, says Daniel Abraham, musicology expert and choral director at American University in Washington, D.C. "The concept of carol in its origins has actually nothing to do with Christmas," Abraham says. Medieval carols were liturgical songs reserved for processionals in the 12th and 13th centuries. And though modern carols sometimes take their form from these original carols — starting with a refrain, followed by verses of uniform structure — they're separate entities. (See the 10 worst Christmas movies.)
The act of traveling to different homes comes from a different tradition altogether, albeit a similarly ancient one. In England, the word wassail — derived from the Old Norse ves heill meaning "be well, and in good health" — came to mean the wishing of good fortune on your neighbors. No one is quite sure when the custom began, but it did give us the song, "Here We Come-A-Wassailing" — sung as carolers wished good cheer to their neighbors in hopes of getting a gift in return. ("A Wassailing" also evolved into the popular "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" — its last verse, "Bring us some figgy pudding" stems from the wassailers' original intent.)
The two traditions of singing and visiting first merged in Victorian England, as church carols began to merge with Christian folk music. At that time, it was far from a Christmas tradition; festivals like May Day were deemed worthy of caroling, too, but the repertoire as well as early records of this are pretty unclear. In the 19th Century, as Christmas became more commercialized and popular, publishers began churning out anthologies of carols, many which were ancient hymns, also circulating them in broadsheets.
Many of our today's most popular carols date to this period. Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern published in London by British lawyer William B. Sandys in 1833, was the first to print "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "The First Noel" and "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing." "Joy to the World" first appeared in the Anglican Church hymnal Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1861. Composed by Isaac Watts, known as the "father of Englsh hymnody", the song actually wasn't written exclusively for singing at Christmastime. Charles Wesley's "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" was originally "Hark! How All The Welkin Rings!" (Welkin means sky or heaven, and came to mean making a loud sound.)
The Oxford Book of Carols, first published in 1928, was a landmark book that combined medieval carols, folk songs and Christmas songs from around the world, publishing 201 of them in a 700-page volume. An updated version, the New Oxford Book of Carols, was published in 1992. (Read a story about a church group attacking Christmas commercialism.)
Ubiquitous holiday TV ads to the contrary, American caroling is far less common than it used to be, says Bob Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University. It's not unusual to see carolers standing still in a shopping mall or churchyard, but as for the random groups of friends traipsing to your doorstep for singing, don't count on it. "You talk to most baby boomers they might have a caroling story or two," says Thompson. "Talk to anybody born after 1960 or so and it's become much less common." Simply put, times and culture have changed. "The singing of Christmas carols at a stranger's door assumes a similarity of culture among carolers and audience," says Chris Brunelle, an assistant professor of classics at St. Olaf college. With America is a far more diverse and less homogenous society than it was in caroling's heyday, that's a larger assumption than many are comfortable with. Still, most of us probably agree about the egg nog.

Christmas Shopping: Who Should Barcelona Buy?

2009-12-21T04:12:00.000-08:00

Barcelona's winter wish list...

There has not been a time in Barcelona’s history (nor will there likely ever be again) that has been as good as times are now. Winning an unprecedented six consecutive titles during the course of one year (Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercup, European Supercup, and the Club World Cup), it is hard to imagine Barcelona getting any better than they already are.

With just a few summer changes to the team—the exits of Samuel Eto’o, Eidur Gudjohnson, Jorquera, Sylvinho, Martin Caceres (loan), Aliaksandr Hleb (loan), Victor Sanchez (loan), Henrique (loan), and Keirrison (signed during the summer and subsequently loaned out) and the additions of Dmytro Chygrynskiy, Maxwell, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as well as Pedro Rodriguez and Jeffren Suarez promoted from the youth ranks—Barcelona have kept the core of their championship squad together and as is wont, the trophies continue to roll in. Coach Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola has seen his side succeed to such an extent, he would be hard-pressed to fix something that isn’t broken.

Currently in first place in La Liga, having finished (albeit with some difficulty) tops in their Champions League group, still alive in the Copa del Rey, and having already taken home three trophies in their current season (all the while exhibiting attractive football), Barcelona stand tall and confident as the best club in the world football.

Goalkeeper

While Victor Valdes may make be subject to an embarrassing gaffe every so often, he still manages to come up with some very impressive saves, especially in one-on-one situations. Barca were looking at strengthening the position over the summer with the possible signing of Sergio Asenjo (now at Atletico de Madrid), but instead opted to both live and die by the sword of Victor Valdes’ gloves, renewing the Catalan keeper’s contract. Backup keeper Jose Manuel Pinto is an adept player and had a very solid performance in the Copa del Rey last season, although is a little clumsy with the ball at his feet. No changes are anticipated in the January transfer window.

Defence

With a back line featuring Dani Alves (arguably the best right-back in the world), Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique (the starting central defenders on the number-one-rated Spanish national squad) and Eric Abidal, the Barcelona back line is one of the most secure in European football and, considering the defensive pressure Guardiola demands out of his forwards, are rarely put under a great deal of pressure. With Rafa Marquez and summer signings Maxwell and Chygrynskiy, Barca have ample reinforcements. Gabi Milito, who has spent much of the past two years out injured, is finally healthy and, in effect, constitutes Barca’s ‘winter signing’. Before his injury, the Argentine was a regular for the Argentinean national team.

Midfield

With a team so dependent upon the multitude of passes through the midfield, it seems very unlikely that coach Pep Guardiola will look to bring a player in from the outside. Both Seydou Keita and Yaya Toure will be out for much of January serving their respective countries (Mali and Ivory Coast, respectively) at the African Cup of Nations, but Sergi Busquets should see more in terms of minutes as conductors Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez direct the midfield. During the absences of the two Africans, Lionel Messi may also drop back into the midfield and Rafa Marquez may also come up from his role in central defence to contribute to the defensive midfield, a position at which he is amply experienced. While Barca may risk being shorthanded should one of their midfielders pick up an injury, it is unlikely that they will make any midfield signings until next summer, when they will reportedly make a push for either Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano, Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas, or both.

Attack

The forward position is where there has been the most transfer speculation during the first half of the season. While Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi are undisputed starters at the centre and right forward positions, Thierry Henry has been less than convincing on the left side. Barcelona’s youth ranks continue to produce exceptional players as Pedro ‘Pedrito’ Rodriguez has burst into the first team in historic fashion, becoming the first player in history to score in six competitions during a season and has delivered crucial goals for his side that have won at least two titles (European Supercup and the Club World Cup). After having a breakout season last year, Bojan Krkic looks a bit displeased with the number of minutes he has been receiving this year, but it looks as if the young Serbian-Spaniard will not seek to leave the Catalunyan capital. Young Jeffren Suarez has recently made a case for the left-attacking position, but it is possible that Barca will look to the January transfer window to reinforce the position; the question remains with whom.

Former Real Madrid player and Manchester City star Robinho has been one option linked to a move to Barca, but rumours of the outspoken Brazilian’s transfer have since been rubbished after club president Joan Laporta’s negotiations in Abu Dhabi to have the player come on a loan (without an option to buy) fell flat. Another player who has expressed his interest in joining the Catalans and has thus been linked to the club is Ajax winger Luis Suarez. The 22-year old Uruguayan has made it clear that he will finish the season with his Dutch club, but if Barca were to make a January offer, Ajax would reportedly seriously consider letting the captain take his leave. Barca could probably get away without making a winter purchase as Henry, Pedro, and Jeffren are more than capable of lasting the rest of the season, but if Suarez were to come cheaply, Guardiola may find a transfer to his liking.

25 Days of Weird Christmas: Kentucky Fried Japan

2009-12-21T04:03:00.000-08:00

A note on some problems of cultural bias:
Okay, I understand that at some level a blog series called "25 Days of Weird Christmas" that includes entries about unusual traditions from around the world begs the question: what is "weird" anyway? Who are we to say that the Caganer is a bizarrely scatological addition to the classic nativity scene? Or that rampaging through the streets wearing demon masks and terrifying old ladies might be a bit off color? Obviously, to label something as a weird tradition is to make a normative claim that there really is a right or wrong way to celebrate and that American traditions are the standard by which to judge normalcy. Is that really the message we really want to send--do we really want Santas worldwide to sport six packs?
With that said, Japan is weird.
Or at least, it's hard to ignore the country's reputation for producing a huge volume of weird stuff. From the guy who wants to marry a pillow to the unique fashion sense of Goth Lolitas, the country seems to know how to churn out kooky trends and customs (at least in the normative gaze of the mainstream West, etc...)
Compared to something like the the lap pillow, the Japanese Christmas tradition of eating Kentucky Fried Chicken seems pretty mundane, but for the purposes of this blog series, it's worth a nod.
Blame it on savvy overseas marketing strategies by the fast food juggernaut or the mostly non-religious attitudes towards the holiday, but indulging in greasy buckets of KFC has become a commonplace practice on Christmas in Japan. Lines are known to stretch out the door on Christmas day as people wait for their annual treat. At only 5 bucks for the holiday special, "the Christmas Chicken," who needs to spring for a goose? And look how happy these people in the commercial are, it makes me want to pay a visit to Colonel Saunders myself.

Rise in Christmas sales

2009-12-21T03:53:00.000-08:00

One year after a financial crisis that damaged the economies of countries throughout the region, shoppers in Asia and Australia are slowly beginning to open their wallets.

A number of countries, like India, Taiwan, Indonesia and Korea, have released strong economic data leading to strong consumer sentiment that's driving a general uptrend in spending.

And it couldn't have come at a better time, with Christmas only a couple of days away.

Xianfang Ren is a Beijing based analyst with IHS Global Insight, an industry forecaster.

She says China's retail sector wasn't too affected by the financial crisis.

Even though that private consumption of the share or GDP is quite low, retail sales has been quite stable over time, it has not been disrupted by the global financial crisis at all. This is because the structural Chinese consumption retail sales like food clothing, those necessities comprise a big portion of retail sales. Another is because China's government's tax incentives for retail sales of home appliance for autos, this has kind of helped for this year too.

A lot of the presents waiting under Christmas trees around the world would have been made in China.

So how has the lay off of millions of factory workers affected China's exports?

Xianfang Ren again.

Factories already started rehiring in the middle of this year and as in time, lots of factories in coastal China, manufacturing hubs like, Guangdong and Jojun province, they reported a rise in shortage in labourers so they've started rehiring lots of workers in July, August and September and that was actually the peak season of China's Christmas exports so the Christmas orders were already filled in the Summer.

She says western countries worst affected by the crisis, like the United States, haven't placed as many Christmas orders as previous years.

But she says there are signs foreign sentiment is on the increase.

We have seen a kind of stabilisation of China's export sector during the final quarter of this year, especially in September, a big upturn in exports so I think there is a possibility that it is quite likely that Christmas orders have picked up quite a lot compared with last year because last year's sentiment was brutally bad.

The situation isn't as positive in Japan.

The world's second largest economy is crawling out of its worst post-war recession and retailers are struggling to attract people into their stores.

Consumer prices were down two point two per cent year on year in October, the eighth consecutive fall.

It's the same in Thailand where retail sales have also dropped this year.

But in Australia, it's impossible to avoid the Christmas countdown.

The Australian Retailers Association is expecting retail sales this Christmas to hit almost 39 billion Australian dollars a four point seven per cent increase from 2008.

The association's executive director, Russell Zimmerman, says last week's spending wasn't as high as he'd expected but he's still confident.

The trading last week for 50 per cent of retailers was below or meeting expectations so therefore we're saying at the moment things aren't out there as buoyant as they should be but we believe the rush is about to begin and the retailers out there who are expecting 38.7 billion in retail sales this Christmas ,we hope are going to rushed off their feet from here on.

Mr Zimmerman says 62% of Australian consumers spend around $500 on Christmas presents.

And he expects that to be the same this year, despite a number of interest rate rises this year.

Generally speaking, from Christmas to Christmas we do find that things are better than the previous Christmas and we believe that this Christmas, everything is in place to get that increase being that the interest rates, although there's been three of them they're still historically low, fuel prices are well down, consumers are fairly confident, there's confident returning to the consumer so we believe the figures we've put out are still achievable.

Box Office Report: Avatar Obliterates The Kiwi Box Office

2009-12-21T03:49:00.001-08:00

Monday, 21 December, 2009

Opening to the fourth biggest opening of the year, James Cameron’s Avatar smashed into the New Zealand box office, pulverizing the opposition, collecting than TEN TIMES more than the second placed movie and grossing more than every other picture combined for the weekend.
Such was Avatar’s dominance it’s hard to remember a frame being so lopsided. With $1.6 Million since Thursday Avatar bested second placed Twilight: New Moon by an astonishing $1.5 Million. Adding in the Wednesday night previews and the sci-fi epic has pulled in a smidge over $1.7 Million to date.
While this total is impressive, it is a tad short of what might have been expected given the films’ audience awareness, the marketing blitz and the adding surcharge from dozens of 3-D cinemas. But the director’s follow-up to Titanic did fall on the final weekend before Christmas, which is traditionally a tough weekend for films to perform on.
Relinquishing the top spot for the first time on five weeks, New Moon slipped a moderate 38% and gobbled up another $141,000 from the Twi-hards, a final total north of $6 Million should be achievable.
Where The Wild Things Are continued to perform well both with adults and children as the film settled into third this weekend. With $879,000 already in the bank look for the Spike Jonze flick to crest the coveted $1 Million mark over the Christmas weekend.
Planet 51 showed the best legs in the top ten this weekend, falling a very respectable 7% to actually climb the charts from seventh into fourth. The film is finally gaining traction with the school holidays kicking in and will now be a viable option for families over the traditionally strong Boxing Day period.
The Time Traveler’s Wife saw its total boosted by $80,000 as it plopped into fifth place for the weekend. Already out-performing expectations, the romantic drama has collected over $660,000 and looks placed to give audiences a nice alternative to the bombastic top two blockbusters.
Falling 54% Zombieland was overtaken by The Time Traveler’s Wife as it slid into sixth place for the weekend; having already collected roughly 80% of its expected final total, look for the hit horror to shed theatres to make room for the Boxing Day releases this week. Following in seventh place was another animated extravaganza, with the oddly named Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. The Sony release has collected almost three times as much as Planet 51 and benefited greatly from a two week headstart on its main competition.
Tumbling an alarming 44% in its second week, the dark Kiwi novel adaptation Under The Mountain dropped to $52,000 to bring its total to only $193,000. Despite being heavily pushed on TV, radio and online, the Jonathon King production is disappointing in a big way and calls into question the feasibility of high-risk and high-investment Kiwi tentpole flicks.
The only film to open against Avatar was duly crushed and swept aside by the Jake Sully and his giant blue friend. Bandslam got slammed and could only manage a paltry $42,000 despite playing in 48 theatres. To put that into perspective, The Storm Warriors pulled just under that total last week, playing on only seven screens. Look for Bandslam to disappear over the next couple of weeks. Rounding out the top ten was 2012, which was most affected by the opening of Avatar, as its audience was stolen away and it could only manage $40,000.
Next week should see some impressive numbers at the Kiwi box office with Avatar facing strong competition on Boxing Day as Sherlock Holmes, The Lovely Bones, Alvin and The Chipmunks 2 and critically acclaimed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo all open. Avatar should easily win the weekend, thanks to the other titles only debuting on Sunday, but the overall box office should be smoking into next week.

Christmas Traditions in Australia

2009-12-21T03:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas Traditions in Australia

Deck the halls with boughs of holly - but do the Aussies?

As the festive season surrounds us, we thought we’d bring you our Christmas guide to Australia and the UK, including traditions, facts and tales from the two countries. I’ve got my santa hat on so let’s begin!
Christmas in Australia occurs at the height of summer where the temperature can reach a sweltering 30°C whilst here in the UK, us Brits are wrapping up warm to beat off an average temperature of just 1°C with only 1 to 2 hours of sunshine, whilst down in Oz the sun shines all day long!
Carol singing is a huge favourite in Australia as well as in the UK and every year thousands of people turn out in Melbourne for the annual Christmas Eve Carols by Candlelight, a tradition that evolved in 1937. Many other Australian cities now follow suit with their own carol singing events in the weeks before Christmas.
The traditional Christmas meal in Australia is much the same as in the UK, with a turkey dinner topping the list and a flaming plum pudding for dessert. The only difference is that they will probably have their turkey outside on the verandah whilst we huddle around an open fire (or gas or electric – whatever!). In fact Bondi Beach becomes crowded with thousands of Christmas Day picnickers.

Christmas Day on Bondi Beach is popular with backpackers.

In the UK it was tradition to put a silver coin in our Christmas pud which was said to bring good luck to whoever found it – if they didn’t choke on it first! In Australia the tradition was a small gold nugget although now they would bake the pudding with a small favour inside, much as the French do at Easter.
After the Christmas meal, the Brits favourite activity, apart from watching the TV, is playing games. Charades and board games being the most popular. Whilst in Australia, because of the warm weather, Aussies prefer to burn off that Christmas pud with a spot of cricket or swimming.
Australians also have their own version of a White Christmas. It’s a type of confectionery made of rice krispies, fruit and coconut oil and traditionally eaten around Christmastime.

Australians prefer this colourful Christmas bush to our prickly holly.

Our traditional Christmas decorations are holly, ivy and mistletoe – dating back to Pagan times. The Australians however like to decorate their homes with Christmas Bush, a native plant that has small, red flowered leaves.
Santa Claus arrives in Australia – by surfboard! Santa surfing is now popular down under as hundreds of people take to the warm oceans and ride the waves dressed as Santa. Many surfing clubs now hold Christmas charity events where participants done the famous red costume for charity.
Talking of Santa, in the hot Australian outback what better animal to pull Santa’s sleigh along than six white boomers? A boomer is a special kangaroo that Santa uses to pull his sleigh along the rough terrain of the outback. The boomers were made famous in the song by Rolf Harris and John Brown back in 1960. The boomers’ names are Jackaroo, Bluey, Two-up, Desert-head, Curly and Snow.
And can anyone name Santa’s reindeer? Go on, give it a go! Answers are at the bottom of the page – no peeking! We’ll give you a clue, there are 9 of them.
Australia’s worst Christmas was back in 1974 when, on Christmas Eve, Cyclone Tracey ravaged Darwin and by the following evening, almost 70% of Darwin was in ruins with many people left homeless and devastated.
Kim Kimeklis has won multiple awards in Brisbane’s Christmas lights competition and has earned the nickname of ‘Christmas Nut’ by her husband. The lights and decorations take over every inch of her house and garden and approximately 300 – 400 people visit each night from the 1 December when she switches them on. It costs her $100 a month for the low-voltage lights and they have to be checked for safety by an electrician before they are turned on.

The brightest house in the UK!

In the UK, the most brightly lit house award goes to Alex Goodhind in Melksham who actually paid workmen to fit an industrial sized cable under his house to accommodate his 100,000 lights that took him 3 weeks to assemble. He’ll also pay an extra £500 for his electricity bill.
Australia has some sporting Boxing Day traditions. A cricket test match is held on Boxing Day every year in the Melbourne Cricket Ground that can attract up to 90,000 spectators. And in Sydney, Boxing Day heralds the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, a 630 nautical mile race that can last several days.
Australia has it’s own version of Jingle Bells. Instead of riding in a one-horse open sleigh, you would be riding in a ute. It’s a two seater vehicle with an open tray behind it that was widely in use in the Australian countryside.
So that’s our Christmas fun guide to Australia and all that remains is for us here at Embrace Australia to wish everyone who visits us a very peaceful and prosperous Christmas and New Year.
Did you get all the reindeer names? Here they are: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph. All of the names apart from Rudolph are taken from the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Rudolph came from a story and colouring book created by Robert L May for his employer at the Montgomery Ward department store. His brother in law later penned the well-known song that turned Rudolph into a star!

Ladies Social Service League (LSSL) celebrated Christmas at Cheshire Home

2009-12-21T03:43:00.000-08:00

Mangalore Dec 14: Ladies Social Service League (LSSL) celebrated Christmas at Cheshire Home for the Disabled in Kankanady on Saturday December 12.

Bishop of Beltangady, Fr Lawrence Mukkouzhy was the chief guest, who in his Christmas message said that human life is not only about accumulating wealth, but also about responsibility of fulfilling the Lord’s message of helping others and living in peace as well as spreading love. God has sent the message to serve the poor, disabled and the needy and human beings need to follow these words, he said.

MLA U T Khader, presiding over the function said that the LSSL is doing a great work towards helping poor and the needy. He assured his help to the future endeavours of Cheshire home.
U T Khader inaugurated the Maruthi omni vehicle donated to cheshire home by Ashok Aranha, nephew of Wilma Aranha. Fr Lawrence Mukkouzhy blessed the vehicle.

Guests honoured the Joe Pereira couple who are going to celebrate their golden jubilee year of married life the next month.

Octavia Albuquerque, former MLC and president of LSSL welcomed all. Inmates of the home Bina and Lilly rendered the prayer song. A lucky draw for the Christmas hamper was also arranged at the programme. LSSL ward members donated cakes to home. Octavia Albuquerque thanked the donors and presented the donations to mother superior of the home. Wilma Aranha, chairperson of Cheshire home proposed the vote of thanks.
At the end of the programme Santa Cruz arrived and inmates of the home and guests celebrated his arrival with the carol, ‘Jingle bells’ carol. F M D’Souza and his team presented carols on the occasion.

Chicago, Dec. 21: The Mangalorean Konkan Christian Association

2009-12-21T03:34:00.000-08:00

Chicago, Dec. 21: The Mangalorean Konkan Christian Association Chicago celebrated Nathal Fest  2009 (Christmas) with great pomp and grandeur at the Courtland Square Community Hall, Des Plaines. This event was organized with a noble cause of helping the recent flood victims of Mangalore and surrounding area in Karnataka, India; where thousands of households were left with no shelter and all their belongings were wiped out by this devastating flood. The event organizers were surprised by the overwhelming response of its supporters, guests and friends who attended this program. The attendees came from neighboring states and there was unique blend of people from different religious affiliation and ethnic background.
The program began by the celebration of Holy Mass in Konkani by Rev. Fr. Richie Vaz and wonderful Homily given by Rev. Fr. Henry Sequeira. In his Homily Fr. Henry Sequeira summoned the attendees to entertain birth of Christ in everyone's heart, which signifies "Peace" to everyone. He stressed that we need to share our wealth with less fortunate; which signifies the true meaning of "Peace". His message was filled with sharing of "Joy and Peace" with all the humanity; especially the needy back in our motherland, India. The Holy Mass was glorified by the beautiful MKCA Choir group under the leadership of Rexon DSouza and Dorothy Rego. The wonderful hymns sung by this group in Konkani and English, mesmerized the attendees present.

Edna Mascarenhas, Fr. Richie Vaz, SVD, Fr. Henry Sequeira

Athena Saldanha, Roopa Misquita, Atina D'Souza

Choir Members

President, Lawrence Mascarenhas

Current and New Executive Committee members

Compere Austin D'Souza Prabhu

The cultural program was initiated by the welcome speech by Lawrence Mascarenhas, President. In his speech he thanked all the members, who have worked hard in its success and thanked his executive committee for their hard work in the past two terms of his presidency. He called the current Executive Committee to the podium and conveyed his sincere thanks for their hard work and selfless service to the Association and community in general. He called upon the new Executive Committee to the Podium, which is lead by Queenie Mendonca, President. He wished the new executive committee all the best and reaffirmed the leadership qualities of Ms. Mendonca, who is an Editor of manglorean.com website. The incoming President Ms. Queenie Mendonca stated that she has a plan to collaboratively involve the youth of MKCA in all its future programs and presented her vision of more community involvement and help to the needy during her next two year term.

This was followed by Happy Hour, consisted of Mangalorean style snacks and open bar (courtesy Lawrence Mascarenhas) managed by Jossie Mendonca. During the Happy Hour, there was wonderful group dance performance presented by Fernandes/ Mascarenhas cousins (Sherrie, Shaun, Stephanie and Reena Fernandes; Shannon and Jessica Mascarenhas). All the audience present conveyed their appreciation to the dance by thunderous applause. There was ongoing door prize, raffle draws and silent auction throughout the program under the leadership of James and Rita Saldanha. There was "Musical Chairs" game arranged for small children.

All the children present were spellbound by the grand entry of Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause, courtesy of Joseph Lobo. Both the Santa and Mrs. Clause looked so real, as if like they descended from North Pole and created a serene scene of fabled story. They sang, sing-along songs with the children present, whose eyes were twinkling with disbelief to see them in-person. All children and their parents thoroughly enjoyed the presence of Santa and Mrs. Clause in receiving gifts (courtesy Theresa D'Souza) and unique photo session with them.

The dinner was signified by unique Mangalorean dish of Dukra Maas (Pork meat, courtesy Rita Saldanha) complimented by Sannas (courtesy Vissia D'Souza and Edna Mascarenhas). The authentic Indian dinner was courtesy of famous Indian Restaurants throughout the Chicagoland area ( Gaylord, India Garden, India House, BBQ Tonight and Pakwann). The dinner was arranged by James and Rita Saldanha. Entire Appetizers and Dinner was led by Alister and Alger Saldanha, who mobilized the youth group of MKCA. The Chairperson of this successful program, James Saldanha thanked both the priests Fr. Vaz and Fr. Sequeira for conducting the Holy Mass. He thanked all the members and Sponsors of this program for their generous contributions. There was power point presentation of all the sponsors with ongoing commentary about their contributions.

During dinner time there were Konkani, Hindi and English songs sung by Alphonse Mascarenhas, Roopa Misquita, Melissa Miranda, Lawrence Mascarenhas, Austin D'Souza Prabhu and Stany D'Souza. All the couples joined the couple dance and the organizers selected Highly Dressed Couple amongst them and Ifan and Vanessa D'Souza bagged the honors. There was balloon dance for couples and Steven D'Souza and Sabrina Wing won the contest. The Konkani, Tulu, Hindi and English Baila songs presented by Rexon D'Souza made all the attendees present to hit the dance floor. At the end of the program, all the attendees were presented with a packet of home made Kuswaar prepared by MKCA members.

Anil D'Souza was the DJ of the entire program. This program was wonderfully compeered by Austin DSouza Prabhu. The program was conducted without a hitch under the able leadership of program chairpersons James and Rita Saldanha. The hall ( courtesy of Lance Dias and Lawrence Mascarenhas) was wonderfully decorated by the members of MKCA. Mark Rodrigues was the official photographer of the program ably assisted by Arun and Anil D'Souza.

Mangalore: Contests at St Aloysius High School Bring Out Christmas Spirit in Participants Pics: Hemanth Studio

2009-12-21T03:30:00.000-08:00

Mangalore, Dec 19: A number of teams participating in the Christmas bounty celebrations enjoyed the spirit of the carol singing contest organized by St Aloysius High School in association with ‘Namma TV’ channel on Friday December 18.
The ‘Grand Christmas Carols Contest’ and ‘Grand Christmas Star’ were held on the school grounds.
A total of 12 teams from various parishes and colleges in the district participated in the carols contest. St Aloysius College won the first prize while St Agnes came in second. Vamanjoor parish won the third prize.

Out of 30 contestants in the Christmas star contest, Maria Pinto won the first prize. Movin Pinto won the second prize and Lesly Steven Cardoza came in third.
In each category, first prize winners were awarded Rs 5,000 while second prize was Rs 3,000 and third prize was Rs 2,000.
Headmaster of the high school Fr Melvin Pinto and Suresh Rao Kokkada, marketing director, Namma TV, presented awards to the winners.
Popular music group of the city, ‘Judha Band’ with its popular artists, performed ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Baila’ with a blend of Konkani and Western songs.

Mangalore: FMCI Celebrates Christmas with Colourful Events

2009-12-21T03:25:00.000-08:00

Mangalore, Dec 19: Fr Muller Charitable Institutions (FMCI) celebrated Christmas in front of the Ashakirana building on its hospital premises in Kankanady on Friday December 18.
Carols, play, mime show, and dance formed a part of the celebration. The carols were sung in Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, and English.
Nursing students acted out God’s message through a play and homeopathic students presented a mime focusing on greed and anti-social activities of humans.

Shrinivas S Kamath, president, Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) was the chief guest at the programme and said that FMCI is the pride of the city due to its service to humanity irrespective of caste and creed.
“With its ‘heal and comfort’ motto the hospital has become a great asset to society and its importance has been understood by the people right at its opening, where it was started with leprosy treatment and has now grown into a humanity service organization”, he said.
Kamath released the bulletin ‘Christmas-2009’. Fr Patrick Rodrigues, director of FMCI, delivered the Christmas message.
Administrator of Fr Muller Medical College Fr Dennis D’Sa welcomed all. Heads of the institutions and departments and others were present on the occasion.
Staff and students of Fr Muller Homeopathic Medical College, College of Nursing, School of Nursing, homeopathic pharmacy department, and the hospital, participated in singing carols, acting out skits, plays, and mime. A lucky draw was also arranged.
The students of institutions, children, and the audience enjoyed the arrival of Santa Claus at the end of the programme.

A very white Christmas in US

2009-12-21T03:21:00.001-08:00

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP, Reuters) – A fierce weekend storm dropped record snowfall and stranded travelers up the coast from Virginia to New England, but its timing helped minimize headache-inducing work commutes and left many with the prospect of a very white Christmas.
Residents throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeast mostly holed up for the weekend, then dug out from as much as two feet of snow to find sunny, mostly calm skies under a blanket of white unspoiled by car exhaust and passers-by.
The US Northeast was blasted by a massive snowstorm that buried cities from Washington to Boston under snow, creating travel chaos and hampering Christmas shopping.
Federal government agencies will be closed on Monday as the US capital continues to emerge from the snow.
Washington-area airports were hit with significant delays and cancellations, as were New York's three metropolitan airports, which remained opened. Airlines canceled hundreds of flights, with few planes either arriving or departing.
The driving snowstorm did not stop the US Senate from convening and working on legislation to reform US healthcare.
Nearly two feet of snow piled up in the Baltimore-Washington area on Saturday in the largest snowstorm to hit the region since February 2003, while New York City saw totals of up to a foot before the monster storm churned into New England.
Boston, Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts areas saw as much as two feet of snow before the storm moved out to sea. Areas of eastern Long Island had blizzard-like conditions and nearly two feet of precipitation.
The storm gave Washington its snowiest December on record, said Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Seidel.
Matthew Laquinta was vindicated by the 15 inches of snow outside his Providence home, where his daughter Emma, 7, didn't believe the night before that the weather might keep them from visiting relatives on Sunday.
Nevertheless, they still planned to make the two-hour trek to visit family in Massachusetts.
To the south, others struggled with the aftermath of the storm that stranded hundreds of motorists in Virginia and knocked out power to thousands, but could have been much worse.
On the cusp of the winter solstice, the storm dropped 16 inches of snow Saturday on Reagan National Airport outside Washington — the most ever recorded there for a single December day — and gave southern New Jersey its highest single-storm snowfall totals in nearly four years.
The National Weather Service said the storm gave Philadelphia, which began keeping records in 1884, its second-largest snowfall: 23.2 inches. Even more was recorded in the Philadelphia suburb of Medford, New Jersey, at 24 inches.
The 13.4 inches that fell Sunday at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, just south of Providence, easily eclipsed the date's previous record — 6.3 inches in 1995, according to the National Weather Service.
Around New York City, the brunt of the storm hit Long Island, with whiteout conditions and 26.3 inches in Upton, a record since measurements began in 1949. Nearly 11 inches of snow fell on New York City, and the storm could be the worst the city has seen since about 26 inches fell in February 2006, National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Maloit said.
Pragmatic New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg encouraged residents and holiday visitors to take advantage of cancellations by seeing a Broadway show. The mayor said city retailers weren't hard hit because the snow held off until late Saturday.
Even as the storm wound down in the New York area, conditions remained treacherous and drivers were advised to stay off the roads, Maloit said. Bus, subways and trains were delayed.
Airports in the Northeast that were jammed up Saturday were working their way back to normal operations.
About 1,200 flights at the New York City area's three major airports remained canceled.
Baltimore-Washington airport struggled to get back up to full speed, with some airlines still canceling flights. At Boston's Logan airport, where it was still snowing Sunday morning, spokesman Phil Orlandella said flights have been "on and off." Monday looked to be a normal day, he said.
Philadelphia International Airport shut down Saturday night but reopened early Sunday.
The School District of Philadelphia and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia canceled classes for 195,000 public school and Roman Catholic school students to give the city another day to clear roads and sidewalks.

Rage Against The Machine take Christmas number one spot

2009-12-21T03:20:00.000-08:00

Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name is the UK Christmas number one.

Rage Against The Machine have won the battle to hold the UK's Christmas number one spot.

The band saw off competition from X Factor winner Joe McElderry to top the charts with their single Killing In The Name.

An online campaign was launched to help the song, which was originally released in 1992, achieve the number one position and break the X Factor's almost-traditional hold on the Christmas charts.

Rage Against The Machine's track sold more than half a million copies, according to the Official Charts Company, compared to McElderry's 450,000.

Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official Charts Company, commented: "Congratulations to Rage Against The Machine on their number one - as we have seen in recent years, overhauling any X Factor winner in the race for the Christmas number one is no mean achievement."

As well as being the Christmas number one, Killing In The Name has become the first song to achieve this through downloads only and has achieved the biggest one-week download sales in UK chart history.

Last week, Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello told BBC 6 Music the campaign shows the "independent spirit" of British music lovers.

Reid Prepares to Unveil Health Bill as Christmas Deadline Looms

2009-12-19T03:43:00.000-08:00

Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid reported “significant progress” toward persuading holdout Senator Ben Nelson to join 59 other senators to back health legislation as Reid’s self-imposed deadline for Christmas passage closes in.
Following several rounds of talks with Nelson and White House aides in his Capitol office, Reid said through a spokesman last night he expected to get the 60 votes needed to move toward final passage of the legislation, the most sweeping changes to the U.S. medical system in four decades.
“We have made significant progress,” Reid spokesman Jim Manley said in the statement. Later today, Reid plans to offer final revisions to the measure and “is confident that it will prevail,” Manley said.
Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, met with Reid in the majority leader’s office at least twice yesterday, along with White House aides making a last-ditch effort to strike an agreement to move forward toward passage of the bill by Christmas.
“I am not focused on that deadline,” Nelson told reporters after the discussions, which were joined by White House aides Nancy-Ann DeParle, Jim Messina and Pete Rouse. “I am focused on getting this right.”
Three Votes
Once Reid unveils the bill, the senators will take three votes separated by 30-hour intervals over the next week, as the Republicans use every procedural tactic they can to delay a measure they say will raise taxes, hurt insurers and widen the deficit.
Reid’s success in passing the measure largely depends on Nelson, who’s pushing for stronger language to prohibit federal subsidies from being used to fund abortions and says he has a “laundry list” of other concerns.
Nelson last night said he made some gains on changes he is seeking on the expansion of the Medicaid program for low-income Americans, which is financed by state and federal governments.
Still, “there is no deal, no agreement,” he said. He’s prepared to continue talking in the morning and will review different language about preventing government insurance subsidies from being “directly or indirectly used to fund elective abortions,” he said.
Senator Charles Schumer said “all the pieces are starting to fall in place, but we still got a way to go.” The New York senator told reporters as he headed to Reid’s office last night for more discussions that the changes being discussed were “just twists and turns.”
If the Senate passes a bill, it still must be reconciled with a version approved last month in the U.S. House.
No Republicans
Reid and President Barack Obama need Nelson’s support for their top domestic priority because they have no backing from Republicans.
Passage of the bill will require 60 votes to cut off Republican stalling tactics, and Democrats control exactly that number. Leaders of the party described Nelson as the chief holdout.
Nelson and several other lawmakers say they need to see Congressional Budget Office cost estimates and the language changes made by Reid in recent weeks before making a final decision. The CBO analysis may come out as early as today.
As they have worked to lock in votes, Senate leaders have spent the last few days wrangling with the numbers and the proposals.
Insurance Mandate
The latest version of the Senate bill was designed to cover 31 million uninsured Americans and curb medical expenses at a cost of $848 billion over 10 years.
Like the $1 trillion measure passed Nov. 7 by the House, the Senate plan would require all Americans to get health coverage or pay a penalty. It would expand the Medicaid health program for the poor, set up online insurance-purchasing exchanges and provide subsidies for those who need help buying policies.
The only Senate Republican to support the legislation on the committee level, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe, said on Dec. 17 that she told Obama Democrats shouldn’t be moving so fast to pass a bill.
Rushing to passage “doesn’t make sense” for legislation that wouldn’t take effect for four years, she said. Obama told her “he would prefer to move the process forward,” Snowe told reporters. “I was advocating using part of January to focus on issues that need attention.”
She said her chief concerns included a potential increase in Medicare payroll taxes and the bill’s impact on small businesses.
Defying the People
Before Reid and Nelson huddled yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said there was a “good chance” that Democrats “will not be able to get their members to lock arms and walk off the cliff in obvious defiance of the American people” who he said are against the bill.
He and other Republicans also said they would use any method that their disposal to block passage.
Asked if Republicans planned to force the Senate to exhaust time reading the legislation on the floor, Arizona Senator John McCain told reporters yesterday, “I don’t think it would be outrageous to ask for a bill to be read that we haven’t seen that affects one-seventh of our gross national product.”
Nelson told reporters on Dec. 17 that he understands why Reid is pushing senators to act, saying the pressure moves the process along. Still, he said, “I intend to be home Christmas.”

The True Meaning of Christmas

2009-12-19T03:39:00.001-08:00

Many people have different thoughts about Christmas.
Young children think of it as an excuse to get a load of presents. Parents think of it as a very stressful time of year where you're running through the mall like a crazy person.
Deep down though, we all know that Christmas is a very religious time of year. (Okay, so the young children don't yet know, but you know what I mean).
There's an old religious story about the birth of Christ that should explain the true meaning of Christmas.
Hundreds of years ago in the religious town of Bethlehem, there was a couple named Mary and Joseph. They were going to give birth to a child and they couldn't find an inn with an empty room anywhere.
I know what you're thinking "Of course they can't find a room! I'd like to see you try to get a hotel room during Christmas!"
Remember, this was before Christ was born, so there was no holiday on December 25th.
As I was saying, they walked from inn to inn for days. Finally they found a place to stay, but this wasn't an inn. This was a barn! Now I know that this seems strange, but remember: they have been walking from inn to inn, and they were getting desperate. That barn was a stroke of luck. Anyway, they decided this was the best they were going to find, so they remained there and Jesus Christ was born and placed in a manager.
Three wise men were sent to find this special child, deemed a saviour. As they wandered in search of the child, they followed the north star to make sure they didn't get lost on their journey. When they found the child, they showed their respect and goodwill through gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (those last two are fragrant spices). Though these don't seem like amazing gifts for a baby (I mean OTHER than the gold), they'd probably be considered an iPhone, a MacBook and a Wii by today's standards.
There you go. A quick skim-over of the story of how Jesus Christ was born and the true meaning of Christmas with a modern twist.
William Shakespeare, eat your heart out!

15 million expected to fight for last-minute Christmas gifts

2009-12-19T03:38:00.003-08:00

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Christmas shoppers on Oxford Street, central London Photo: PA

Today is predicted to be the busiest shopping day of the year, which could see High Street takings reach up to £2 billion.
Sales figures suggest that millions have delayed their Christmas shopping in the hope of getting a bargain, and stores have begun to significantly cut the price of a wide range of gift items.

Many stores are to extend their trading hours in the final shopping days before Christmas, with some staying open until midnight.
Many will test Sunday trading restrictions by introducing a "browsing time" of up to one hour to extend the normal six hours of opening.
From Monday, more than 800 supermarkets and smaller food stores will be trading 24 hours a day until Christmas Eve.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, the director of the Centre for Retail Research, said: 'When money is tight, there is a tendency to push back Christmas shopping until the last minute.
'There will be a big surge from now on. You could call it a planned panic."
Among the supermarkets, Tesco will have 495 large stores trading 24 hours a day from Monday morning, while Asda will have 223 and another 100 open until midnight.
Sainsbury's will have 24 stores trading 24 hours a day, plus 221 open until midnight.
Morrisons opens its stores until 10pm.
Marks & Spencer will be opening 28 of its larger stores until midnight next week, while 113 of its Simply Food outlets will trade round the clock.
Debenhams will open 100 of its 156 department stores until 11pm. Other retailers will be also be trading late into the night.
Official retail sales figures published earlier this week revealed a fall in the value and volume of sales in November compared with October, the first monthly fall in six months.
City analysts believe this is indicative of a shift to last-minute panic buying.
Stephen Robertson, the director general of the British Retail Consortium, said: "As many people start their holidays, we're expecting bumper trading - retail sales for the day should top £2billion.
"In recent years people have increasingly left their Christmas shopping to the last minute.
"This is a risky strategy if you want to be sure must-have presents aren't sold out, but it is likely to mean there is plenty of shopping still to be done.
"Let's hope snow doesn't stop people getting to stores."

Redknapp fuming over Spurs Christmas party

2009-12-19T03:38:00.001-08:00

Tottenham's players have left manager Harry Redknapp fuming over their secret Christmas party in Dublin last week.
Skipper Robbie Keane and 15 other members of the Spurs squad had told Redknapp they were going to Ireland for a club golf day.
Instead, they defied the manager's ban on Christmas parties and enjoyed a trawl of Dublin's pubs and nightclubs.
An angry Redknapp said last night: "I don't know how they thought they would get away with it without being caught out.
"Mind you, Tiger Woods didn't do too bad!"
Yet no one is going to smile their way out of this one as Redknapp prepares to hammer his superstar sinners one by one on Monday morning - starting with Keane.
Redknapp added: "Everyone knows my views on Christmas parties - they are more trouble than they're worth. It's all very well having an office party and getting drunk, falling over and being stupid. But when you're a professional footballer you can't do that.
"I'm a football manager and I wouldn't go out and get drunk, fall around and pull some old sl*g. I'm not that stupid. People are waiting to catch you out and take pictures so you cannot leave yourself open to this kind of thing.
"I've got absolutely no sympathy for the players. They get very well paid and they were told not to do it.
"Manchester United had problems with their Christmas party a couple of years ago and every club seems to have trouble at some point or other. I told my players I didn't want them having one and I don't see why that should happen in today's football."

Christmas services set in Gloucester County

2009-12-19T03:37:00.000-08:00

How to decorate your Christmas tree!

2009-12-19T03:31:00.000-08:00

There's an old saying: "As it begins, so it ends and so it begins again." So how did you pack your decorations last year? Dumped them

helter-skelter in a box or put them neatly away so it's now easy to unpack and use? You know now what to do this year.

For holding ornaments, the best types of trees are firs and spruces because their branches are sturdiest. If (environment-consciously) you are decorating an artificial pre-lit tree, then you have no worry.

If your Christmas tree is real, make sure it is fresh. If it's too dry, the limbs might crack or break under the weight of decorations. Place a mat below the tree for easy cleaning and manoeuvring.

While decorating a tree, make sure to unsnarl the lights before you try to drape them around the tree. Also, test if the bulbs are working before you place them on the tree.

Decorating a Christmas tree with electric bulbs is much safer than hanging candles the old-fashioned way. Don't rest a bulb directly against the branches of the tree. Hot Christmas candles can heat up needles and start a fire. Avoid natural trees with pine needles if you have children and pets running around.

Get the proportion right. When hanging decorations, put the largest-sized decorations at the bottom and the smallest one at the top. The effect is more pleasing to the eye.

It is best not to throw clumps of tinsel at the tree as if they were handfuls of spaghetti. The most attractive effect is achieved by hanging clumps of tinsel just at the very edges of each branch. Think a bit about how real icicles look when they are hanging from real trees.

Choose a theme for your tree. It's fashionable. You could choose a colour theme or you can choose a style.

Remember to make the Christmas tree uniquely yours by adding heirlooms that have been passed down from generation to generation. Another nice touch is Christmas cards or cookies you have made in your own kitchen. It gives the tree a personal touch.

Less is always more. Otherwise the tree could look cluttered. This applies to all interior decorating.

Dead soldier's Christmas message

2009-12-19T03:29:00.001-08:00

Mel Maclean described her boyfriend as a "hero"

The girlfriend of a British soldier who died trying to stop suicide bombers in Afghanistan received his Christmas card the day before his death.

L/Cpl David Kirkness, 24, from Morley, West Yorkshire, was one of two soldiers who sacrificed their lives to stop an attack on a packed marketplace.
Mel Maclean, 31, said the card included the lines "sorry aint going to be home with you all" and "love you babes".
She choked back tears as she told how she had last spoken to him on Sunday.
She received the Christmas card the next day.
Ms Maclean said L/Cpl Kirkness's mother had told her he was going to ask her to marry him during a family holiday planned for April next year.

L/Cpl Kirkness wrote in the card of how he missed his family

She said his letters always talked about a surprise he had for her and she now knew that was a marriage proposal.
She said that felt "really special".
Ms Maclean added: "I knew if it came to somebody or himself, he'd save somebody else.
"He's a hero - there's no other word for him. We're all really proud of him."
L/Cpl Kirkness's father Chris agreed that his son was a hero.
He said: "It's what he does. He's always put other people first and it's what he's done again.
"I just want to remember him for what he's done.
"He's given his life to save a hell of a lot of people."

Sorry boys, no plastic Christmas trees for us

2009-12-14T05:27:00.002-08:00

This Christmas will mark the 42nd consecutive year a natural tree has graced our ancient log home.

Add to this three years of pine needles at our Huron Street apartment circa 1953 to 1956, which is now the location of city hall in Niagara Falls. In addition, there was a five-year stint at 623 First Ave. and a couple of years in Burlington. I think you will agree that a fair amount of scotch pines have been selected, trimmed and placed at various angles in our December homes.
We've heard all the arguments. Artificial trees are reusable, cleaner, safer and easier to assemble. And what about the new fibre optics? Sorry, but I just can't take that giant step out of the Black Forest and into a big box store. My wife and I stand bravely in front of our four sons each December armed with axes, saws, loping shears and a large bungee cord at the ready.
I remind them of a Christmas past when we drove to Barrie, cut 200 trees with the boy scouts under the supervision of the tree farm owner, who was celebrating the sale of the trees by consuming a fifth of rum and all of our lunches during the afternoon.
We also recall the bittersweet years when we endured the loss of parents, old friends and pets. Sorry boys, no plastic for us. Having said that I must admit that this year the tree nearly pushed me over the edge of tradition.
All the preliminary decisions were made. Many questions arose. Which charitable organization to buy from? What we might expect to pay?
Which trees were harvested in August and wrapped up tighter than grandma's girdle? What was the perfect height and which follies of the past must be avoided?
Finally, the local Lions club was decided upon and grandson Graham, my wife, Joan, and I arrived at their parking lot.
The car wheels had barely stopped rotating when we espied the tree that dreams are made of. It was a deep green colour. The perfect height for our somewhat lower than average ceilings and had a price tag of only $20. This was somewhat lower than our average pension cheque.
"Call me when you need me grandpa," said Graham, as he curled up for a much needed nap. Two standup comedians emerged from the trailer that always smells of ancient playing cards, stale beer and cigarette butts. These guys were really good. They presented us with two suckers that were symbolic of something I still can't quite comprehend.
"Say," said the taller of the vendors, who was certainly not a cowardly Lion, "let me trim a bit off the trunk of that tree for you." I nodded my ascent somewhat reluctantly and then gasped as a couple of feet of tree trunk, shaped roughly like a traffic circle, disappeared in a cascade of sawdust.

After a quick ride home, and a supper of french fries from the chip wagon, I unloaded the tree and let it stand for a day or two of orientation.

On trimming day I went out to the tree and discovered there was no possibility of this tree fitting into the stand since the branches were so low they crushed into its cylindrical walls.
Alas, it was deemed necessary that a further row or two of the branches must be trimmed from the bottom.
At last with the assistance of a couple of old tap handles the tree was secured and actually stood up.
"Hey grandpa," my oldest grandson said with a smirk. "That tree is rather short this year isn't it?"
"Well yes Al, but after all our family is not noted for its great height. I think that the tree can be raised somewhat by the use of an apple crate or two." At last, after a dizzy spell, or a push that nearly landed me in the fireplace, the tree was placed in the corner of honour and held in place by a five-foot bungee cord.
Just a day or two ago, my wife and youngest son finished the decorating. You know, something? I think its one of the most beautiful trees ever seen. I burst with pride as I look down at the brightest star atop the tree as it bravely casts out its festive rays toward the ceiling some four feet above. Merry Christmas everyone.
It really doesn't matter if the tree is artificial or natural, or tall or short, or even a gaily lit fig tree similar to my late sister-in-law's. Just keep the spirit of Christmas genuine and true in your heart and your tree will stand 100 feet high and leave a memory forever.

Obamas Join Stars For Christmas Benefit Concert

2009-12-14T05:27:00.000-08:00

The nation's capital got in the holiday spirit Sunday night when music legends Neil Diamond and Mary J. Blige performed for President Barack Obama at the annual "Christmas in Washington" concert.
The festivities, hosted by comedian George Lopez, took place at the National Building Museum and benefited the Children's National Medical Center.

"This season we celebrate that sacred moment, the birth of a child, the message of love preached to the world," Obama said from the stage, where he was joined by first lady Michelle Obama. "More than 2,000 years later, that spirit still inspires us."
The president spoke of helping those in need during the holidays, as well as honoring those in the military.
"With our men and women in uniform serving far from home, in harm's way, our fervent wish remains this season, and all seasons: Let there be peace on earth," he said.

Associated Press

Sugarland's Kristian Bush, left, Mary J Blige, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama and George Lopez sing during Christmas in Washington at the National Building Museum in Washington Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009.

Diamond kicked off the concert by performing "Joy to the World" and "Winter Wonderland." Blige wowed the crowd with "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)."
Two of the holiday songs were original numbers. Country group Sugarland performed "Gold and Green" and Rob Thomas sang "A New York Christmas."
R&B singer Usher sang "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and Internet sensation Justin Bieber performed "Someday at Christmas."

After addressing the crowd, the Obamas stayed on stage with all the performers to sing carols, starting with "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." The president wiped a tear from his eye during the sing-along.

Bumper Christmas for high street as shops see best sales for three years

2009-12-14T05:17:00.002-08:00

High street stores were on course for record pre-Christmas sales today after shoppers spent an estimated £120 million in the past two days alone.
November sales in London were 13.3 per cent higher than the same month last year and the best since October 2006, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium.
A weak pound combined with mild weather and early promotions and discounts from many departments stores helped to boost sales, the group said.
More than £1 billion is expected to be spent over the crucial six-week period up to December 24th - a stark contrast to last year when sales slumped as the recession began to bite.

Shoppers pack London's Oxford Street at the weekend, which saw sales hit record levels

Some analysts believe the spending spree may be a temporary boost driven by the short-term cut in VAT from 17.5 to 15 per cent, which ends this year.
Stephen Robertson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said: 'These are great figures - the best sales growth for three years.
'Remember that this strong growth is compared with sales falls a year ago and many retailers are using promotional events and price cuts to get customers spending but these figures show London retailers have had a very encouraging start to Christmas with even big ticket items doing well.
'The weak pound continues to make London attractive to overseas visitors and November's record rain brought shoppers in from the suburbs, helping central London department stores in particular.
'Retailers will be hoping customers remain as resilient into the New Year. There are big uncertainties out there and we have yet to see the effect on sales of tough measures in the Pre-Budget Report.'

John Lewis said it had set a new all-time weekly sales record

Capital Shopping Centres (CSC), responsible for some of the UK's largest retail outlets, including the Metrocentre in Gateshead and Braehead in Glasgow, said footfall through its stores was up on last year's figure.
The number of people visiting the centres was up 3 per cent for the year to date in 2009, with more than seven million shoppers flocking to CSC's 14 centres in the past week alone.
Trevor Pereira, commercial director at CSC, said: 'Sales of traditional favourites - electrical goods, perfume sets, CDs and DVD - remain popular Christmas items.
'The pace of shopping is steady across the whole of the UK, and as ever, we expect late shopping surges over the next two weekends before Christmas.'
There was further good news as department store John Lewis, viewed as the high street bellwether, posed record sales of £110 million last week.
That is 15 per cent up on the same week last year and eight per cent higher than its record best week in 2007.
John Lewis said there was a noticeable trend this year of men doing their Christmas shopping earlier, with sales of beauty products, jewellery and lingerie all peaking sooner than usual.
There was also a marked increase in customers making large household purchases such as fitted kitchens as consumer confidence returned.
At John Lewis large household purchases were also seeing 'incredible growth', particularly in fitted kitchens.

Director of operational development Andrew Murphy said: 'It is very exciting to be breaking records week after week.
'The atmosphere in our branches is very festive as across the country people are out Christmas shopping, even men, although I am sure there will still be many who leave it until the last minute.'
Sales so far this month are up 10 per cent on the same time last year, according to the New West End Company, which represents traders in Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street.
The figures are also far ahead of the record receipts of December 2007, meaning this month's sales could be the highest ever.

John Lewis' best-selling products this Christmas

A hard homecoming? Jennifer Hudson visits Chicago for Christmas special

2009-12-14T05:17:00.000-08:00

We all know what Jennifer Hudson can do, and she'll no doubt do just that in her first, hourlong television special, "Jennifer Hudson: I'll Be Home for Christmas," which airs Monday.

ABC didn't offer a preview of the special but did pass along three snippets: Hudson lip-syncing a gospeled-up "Silent Night," while seated (rather oddly) alone in the bow of a boat passing under Chicago River bridges; Hudson in personable, girl-next-door mode ushering the cameras into her high school, Dunbar Vocational Career Academy on the South Side, and Hudson singing "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" a cappella in front of a fireplace with four other women whom she eventually blows out of the room.

ABC also promises that Hudson duets with Michael Buble on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and "Let It Snow," and sings "The Christmas Song" and "O Holy Night" on the special, which marks her return to Chicago "to share childhood memories of the music, people and places that set the stage for her phenomenal success."

What's not mentioned is how or whether the special will address the tragic subtext of her hometown visit, which comes little more than a year after mother, brother and nephew were murdered in Englewood, allegedly by her sister's estranged husband. Hudson since has become engaged to former reality TV star David Otunga, given birth to a boy and made various high-profile appearances (the Super Bowl, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Michigan Avenue) while guarding her privacy regarding the turbulence of the last 14 months.

That's all within her rights, of course; she deserves as much space as she desires. But going home for the holidays is a loaded situation for most regular folks in a normal year, so one can only imagine the fierce undercurrents affecting Hudson as she chooses to venture "Home for Christmas" now in such a public way.

What she chooses to reveal of her feelings remains to be seen -- or, given the powerful emotions in her singing, heard.

UK: Asda Claims Crown For Cheapest Christmas Shop

2009-12-14T05:16:00.002-08:00

Asda has reclaimed its crown as the cheapest place to buy your trolley of festive goods this year. The UK’s second biggest store chain beat off opposition from Tesco and last year's winner Morrisons to take the title of the best Christmas deal for cash-strapped shoppers.

Trade magazine the Grocer, which carried out the Christmas price survey, reported that Asda's trolley of 33 items, which included turkey, Christmas pudding, Champagne, batteries, crackers and cards, undercut the big five's average price by £10.29. Asda offered twenty six of the cheapest or joint cheapest products on the list, including a number of chocolate and festive food products such as Ferrero Rocher, After Eight mints, Christmas pudding, Mr Kipling mince pies and a box of crackers.

Asda’s basket came in at £102.08, compared to £105.30 at Tesco, £107.51 at Morrisons, £114.57 at Sainsbury’s and £132.39 at Waitrose.

Darren Blackhurst, Asda’s Chief Merchandising Officer celebrated the win, saying, “We’re pleased The Grocer’s confirmed what our customers already know – their big Christmas shop will cost less at Asda.”

British Airways strike ballot result awaited

2009-12-14T05:16:00.000-08:00

The Unite union has balloted its 12,000 cabin crew members on industrial action as part of a dispute over job losses and changes to working practices.
If cabin crew vote in favour of a strike, a walkout could be called as early as 21 December.
BA have expressed their "urgent need to reduce costs" with the airline industry continuing to perform poorly.
The airline also said its cabin crew were amongst the highest paid of UK airlines, earning twice as much as staff at Virgin Atlantic.
The prospect of action grew after the failure of talks last week between BA and leaders of Unite.
The result of the ballot is set to be announced at Monday lunchtime during a meeting at Sandown Park racecourse.

Analyst Douglas McNeill say passengers could start to make other arrangements

On Monday it emerged that the financial position of the loss-making airline had taken a sharp turn for the worse.
The trustees of its two pension schemes have told the company that the schemes now have a combined deficit of £3.7bn.
This is certain to lead to a big increase in the contributions BA must pay to the pension funds each year.
'Fair package'
Last month, BA announced plans to cut a further 1,200 jobs in an attempt to slash costs.
It also wants to cut the number of cabin crew from 15 to 14 on all long-haul flights, and freeze pay for two years.
However, Unite has condemned the move.
"The new contractual changes are an attempt to force staff to pay the price for management failings with the company wringing more and more out of fewer and fewer staff who will be paid less," it said in a statement.
BA, which made a loss of almost £300m in the first six months of the financial year, has said the changes are "fair and reasonable, given our urgent need to reduce costs so we can move back toward profitability after two years of the worst financial losses in our history".
But an unnamed member of BA cabin crew, speaking on BBC Radio 4's World at One programme, said workers were not being treated fairly.
"We don't want to lose our jobs and we don't want the airline to go under. We want a fair negotiated deal which we are not getting at the moment," he said.
"The vast majority of people I know have said they are prepared to take a pay cut of the same level as the pilots and to be reimbursed when times pick up. That's absolutely fine, but we haven't been offered a deal anything like that. It's involved dramatically bigger pay-cuts and changes to our terms and conditions."
In July, British Airways pilots voted overwhelmingly to accept a 2.6% pay cut in return for the chance to receive BA shares.

BBC employment correspondent Martin Shankleman said a strike at Christmas would disrupt the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers, as well making the financial state of BA even worse.
But union leaders have vowed to hit the airline hard if its members approve a campaign of industrial action, our correspondent said.

'Christmas pants' go with volunteer spirit

2009-12-14T05:15:00.001-08:00

MUNCIE -- They are the unmistakable, colorful signs of Christmas. The glowing trees, the lights strung on houses, the bright red Salvation Army kettles ...

Oh, yeah. And Phil Carey's pants.
"These are my bell-ringing pants," said the former high school business teacher, who worked stints at Southside, Central and Northside before retiring.
Carey is a tall, slender fellow, and these are some tall, slender pants. Still, it's their colors that are most arresting, with wide lengths of red, green, blue and yellow stretching from his waist to where the cuffs would be, if they had any.
They are, to be sure, pants you can't ignore.
That's a good thing, Carey insists, when you are hoping to attract donors and their dollars to the kettles.
"It does help," said the 74-year-old Holy Trinity Lutheran Church member, whose passions, besides fly-fishing, include helping the Salvation Army. "And I love wearing them."
It was about 20 Christmases ago when Carey spotted an unattended kettle at a now-defunct grocery store near his home.
"Well, that bothered me," he recalled. "I went to the Salvation Army and asked if they'd ever tried getting churches involved in this?"
As it turned out, they had, but to little avail. Carey volunteered to see what he could do, and before long he had recruited 27 churches to help man the kettle sites.
These days a smaller number of churches help, but Carey still heads up Holy Trinity's efforts, filling seven days of ringing -- what amounts to 70 hours worth -- at Tillotson Avenue's Marsh Supermarket the week before Christmas.
That's why on this cold, gray, snowy afternoon he was going over his red and green schedule, checking the names and phone numbers of this year's volunteers against those who had volunteered last year, preparing to recruit more helpers.
"I'm gonna be phoning people to fill in the blanks," promised Carey, who was also wearing a red baseball cap with "Merry Christmas" emblazoned on it.
While he takes satisfaction in filling out the schedule, he takes more in manning a kettle himself.
"I love ringing the bell, to begin with," Carey said, urging folks wishing to volunteer to call the Salvation Army. "If you're busy, it's a lot of fun. ... You get a good feeling out of it. You're helping people."
But Carey also enjoys meeting donors, especially little ones.
"Kids see my pants and they're tugging on Mommy's pants and pointing at mine," he recalled, laughing.
Muncie residents since 1960, he and his wife, Gwen, have two sons, Steve and Matt, and two daughters, Anne Wuthrich and Jane Pohlman, the latter of whom bought her father these precious pants.
That was a number of years ago, though.
What happens when they wear out?
"They're not going to," declared Carey, who has five grandchildren. "I take very good care of these. Dry clean only. And I only wear them at Christmas."
In short, they're both in it for the long haul.

Woods' wife moving to Sweden after Christmas?

2009-12-14T05:14:00.001-08:00

Tiger Woods’ wife has decided to dump him after Christmas and is already talking with a divorce lawyer, a new report has revealed.
Elin Nordegren will reportedly separate from Woods in the new year. Britain’s News of the World cites anonymous sources for its report that claims Elin will move back to Sweden after the Christmas holidays. According to the report, Elin is no longer in a rush to file divorce papers and that money is not her prime concern.
The revelation of Tigers’ multiple affairs caught her completely off guard and it’s a 'raw' situation, a pal tells the paper. The article claims that she had no idea Tiger was cheating.
Tiger is believed to be in touch with his most recent mistress Rachel Uchitel and that privately she believes she is his main woman. It also appears that Tiger is in some type of therapy, as the report claims that Elin angrily told Tiger to talk to his therapist.

The Obamas meet Oprah for a Christmas special

2009-12-14T05:13:00.001-08:00

New York, December 14 -- President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama sat with Oprah Winfrey for a special program, “Christmas at the White House”, which aired Sunday on ABC.

Oprah discussed general outlook of the year, and took a tour of the White House with a special appearance by Bo, the family's dog.
Obama gives himself a B-plus as president
The Christmas program featured the official White House tree covered in 650 baubles, hand decorated by people from around the nation. A 160 kilogram gingerbread smothered in white chocolate adorned the White House dining room.
Barack Obama, who joined office on Jan. 20, 2008, gave himself a B-plus for his first 11-months as President.
“B-plus because of the things that are undone. Health care is not yet signed. If I get health care passed, we tip into A-minus,” he said.
When asked by Oprah why he didn’t give himself full marks, he said he had “inherited the biggest set of challenges of any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt”.
Obama also pointed out how much he cherished when the public visited the White House.
“When they come here, this is their house. I'm the renter. I'm the borrower - this is the people's house,” said the president to Winfrey.
Winfrey also showed them a cover photo of their first visit to the White House last year.
Obama wants Americans to feel confident
Obama was also asked about his decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, to which he said it was his toughest decision as President so far. He said he will know by the end of next year whether the strategy was right or not.
Obama and Winfrey also talked of unemployment and growth rate. The President said that there had definitely been an economic growth but not enough job growth.
“It's inevitable because there's 10 percent unemployment. When you sign up for this job, fairly or not, you are responsible,” he explained.
The president said he deeply wished that this festive season Americans feel more confident about their future.
“The 21st century will be as much the American century as the 20th century, as long as we maintain our sense of unity, but also our sense of hard work and determination,” promised the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Christmas With Jesus At Fatima Retreat House, Mangalore

2009-12-14T03:04:00.000-08:00

Mangalore – “Christmas with Jesus “Program was Organized for children’s of Mangalore city Today at Fatima Retreat House Mangalore at 4 pm by social worker and retired Lecturer of Roshni Niliya Mrs. Feelix Dcosta.

More than 450 children across Mangalore city Participated in this Event .Through this Program children’s learnt the Love and fellowship of Jesus at Christmas Season There were variety Of skits dance and competition Organized. Children learnt importance of daily Prayer in day today Life also they enjoyed Christmas carols.

Living Christmas Company Brings Eco-Friendly Holidays To Your Doorstep

2009-12-10T01:10:00.001-08:00

It's a holiday tradition: you and your loved ones cram into the car, drive down to your local Christmas tree lot, and pick out the tree that speaks to you. Then, you cart the tree home, lovingly decorate it and water it for about a month, and then when the holidays are over, you dump it curbside for garbage men to pick up and throw away.

We've all done it, and some of us continue to do it... but there's a company in Redondo Beach, CA that's working to change that tradition.

Launched by a man names Scott Martin - a.k.a. Scotty Claus - just last year, the Living Christmas Company allows holiday enthusiasts to order up their Christmas tree, have it delivered right to their door via bio-diesel truck, and then when all is said and done, they come get it from you... and return it to their nursery, where they nurture it until next season. Even more conveniently, customers can order their tree online from their Website.
But Scotty Claus and the company do more than "just save trees" after the holidays. They also donate trees throughout the city, work with non-profits on fundraisers for communities throughout Los Angeles, offer volunteer/internships at the nursery for the elderly and handicapped and participate in urban reforestation programs.

Though he's swamped with deliveries and orders, we were able to track down Scotty Claus so we could get an inside look at his innovative company... and how it brings joy to the lives of families all over Southern California.
How has the business evolved from last year to this year?
Last year was our first commercial year offering our service to the public, with only 120 trees. Prior to that I would just give clients and friends trees for the holidays to keep in their home in order to test my idea's viability. Given the enormous support we received, TLCCo expanded our inventory and now grow over 7500 trees!

We also took advantage of the 'off-season' to round out what it means to celebrate a living Christmas. We now offer fair Trade and recycled ornaments, decorations and wrapping paper.

I'd say the largest swing, however, is from a company that was simply about conservation of trees and the Christmas spirit to a fully socially conscious company that has found a way to make every step and resource reflexive and regenerative. For example, we have programs in place to for utilizing 'brownfields' for growing grounds, turning contaminated land into an urban forest, watering with reclaimed water, utilizing organic, liquid fertilizer, employing adults with disabilities for general care of the trees (cleaning, watering, etc.) and donating dozens of trees to local tree planting organizations.

How much business do you get?
The response has been overwhelming. The key is going to be to turn that excitement into sales. Our website is averaging nearly 1000 unique visits a day for the first week of December with over 80% of them as first timers. We've been blogged about in Russia, and received interview requests from Japan.

What has it been like to educate the community on the concept of "renting" their Christmas tree?
Most people look cross-eyed the first time they hear "rent" associated with a Christmas tree, but with a short explanation their face lights up.

Trying to change a paradigm, however, is like stopping a freight train. Its hard trying to get someone to give up their noble fir for a locally grown tree. Redefining beauty is a process that will undoubtedly take time. But from the traffic, you can see the idea's catching.

Where we get the most traction is with the wee folk. They haven't been filled with information on what a Christmas tree is "supposed" to look like. It makes all the sense in the world that your tree should be alive and keep on living - especially when you empower them to care and water the tree. That's when they truly get filled with the spirit.

But the other message is that you don't have to be an environmentalist to support tree rental. Our in home delivery service make it perfect for those who can't lug the cut tree or have the storage space or patience for artificial trees.

Why is it important to have live trees on Christmas?
You'd be amazed how having a living tree changes the atmosphere of the room in a way that a cut tree and certainly a fake tree cannot. Caring for the tree is an investment in its health, rather than just prolonging it's death. You can name and sing to your living tree with the hope that he will go on living for generations to come.

There are also practical reasons. Because the trees are living and breathing, they do not pose as great a fire danger as cut trees or petroleum based trees and actually add to the room by transpiring oxygen! In fact, the Living Christmas Company is enthusiastically endorsed by Santa Monica Fire Marshall Jim Glew.

The third important part is with maintaining the spirit of Christmas. The tree is meant to symbolize renewed hope, rebirth, and new life. To me, this isn't fully embodied in a tree that is going to be discarded and with so many people going to a fake tree, there is a danger that we simply end up a with a watered down ritual that doesn't speak to anyone.

Is it better to go live, or to get a plastic tree, in terms of being environmentally friendly?
The benefits of a living Christmas tree to the environment are innumerable. Our mobile forest of pine trees are still working in off-season, cleaning the air, reducing storm water run-off and beautifying under-used urban areas such as brownfields, where they are needed the most. Because the trees are grown locally and delivered on Bio-Diesel fueled trucks 20 to 30 at a time, they have tiny footprint when compared to they other piney counterparts. When they grow too big, more than 8', our Christmas trees are 'repurposed' and planted though an urban reforestation process.

While fake trees are often seen as the "eco-friendly" option, many people don't realize that fake trees actually contain petroleum-based materials like polyvinyl chloride (PVC), emitting toxic chemicals like lead dust. In fact, the 85 percent that do come from China are required by California Proposition 65 to have a warning label. The embodied energy in an artificial tree is immense – creating PVC or even polyurethane is a messy, energy intensive process. You might be 'saving' a tree for six to seven years, but you are also burdening the planet with a tree that won't decompose for millennia.

Any fun behind the scenes story of running the company?
Nope, none. We are all business here at The Living Christmas Company. Just ask Jingle Bella, or P.R. Blitzen, Reindeer Rob, Jim MiniChristmas, Just'in Season, Jan D. Cane, Kat kringle, Holly Hannah, Chris Mas, or Craig the Rexroad Reindeer!

The funniest experience is at our board meetings in April. We meet at California Pizza kitchen every week sporting our character specific Santa hats. One in ten will actually break down and ask what the heck we're doing...

What about great delivery stories?
One time, I literally had a woman break into tears when I delivered her tree. She said that was from Ohio and some of her fondest Christmas memories were centered around having a Christmas tree. Since moving to L.A., she had been unable to get tree by herself to her small place and fake tree just didn't feel like Christmas. Our service allowed her to celebrate Christmas again.

One the most heart-warming stories was last year at the EcoGift Festival. It dawned on me that we didn't have any ornaments for our trees. I couldn't just run to the nearest box retailer and buy ornaments imported from China and made out of who-knows-what. So I called on a kindergarten class to help me make ornaments. The next day, my little elves had made a giant box of glitter laden construction paper ornaments and daisy chains!

What's the best part of your job?
It's definitely an OMG kind of job. It's one of those things you'd do even if you didn't make any money.

Its exciting the ways we are able, through The Living Christmas Company, to give back to the community and the environment. Being a part of the magic and merriment symbolized by the entry of the Christmas tree into the home or business is truly rewarding, I love knowing that this merriment doesn't come at the cost of the environment. I love that we have a chance to offer people a way to celebrate the holidays with sustainable practices, without sacrificing the traditions.

Alex Salmond criticised for 'political' Christmas card

2009-12-10T01:09:00.001-08:00

The first minister's Christmas card is a painting called "A New Journey"

First Minister Alex Salmond has revealed his Christmas card for 2009.

It features a picture entitled "A New Journey", which shows a young girl carrying a Saltire flag, looking over a wintry landscape.
Proceeds from the sale of the canvas, which is the work of Scottish artist Gerard Burns, will be shared among four charities.
But opposition MSPs have accused Mr Salmond of politicising Christmas by using the Saltire in his card.
The first minister described it as "an enchanting and evocative image by a talented artist".
He added: "The proceeds from the sale of the canvas will be shared equally between four extremely worthwhile charities, CLIC Sargent, Glasgow the Caring City, J-A-C-K Foundation and Mary's Meals."
But Scottish Conservative chief whip David McLetchie said Mr Salmond's obsession with independence was "blinding him to reality".
He said: "For the overwhelming majority of Scots, Alex Salmond's so-called 'journey to independence' is a road to nowhere."
The card also came in for criticism from the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
The party's chief whip Mike Rumbles said: "I'm sure people would be more impressed if the first minister had thought about the message of Christmas rather than spent time picking out the most nationalistic Christmas card he could find.
"Everybody knows that the SNP are only interested in independence - the first minister doesn't need to stick it on his Christmas cards too."

Iain Gray's Christmas card by P7 pupil Emma Caughey

However a spokesman for the First Minister dismissed the "bah humbug" attacks on the Christmas card from "party poopers".
He said: "Messrs McLetchie and Rumbles should lighten up and get with the Christmas spirit. They are obviously badly in need of a festive break.
"The Saltire is for all of Scotland, and the artist has presented it in his own style. They also seem to have entirely forgotten that Andrew was Jesus's first apostle."
Meanwhile the Scottish Labour Leader Iain Gray has released his Christmas card for this year.
It is a winter scene of the Scottish Parliament which was designed by 11-year-old Emma Caughey, who is a P7 pupil from Longniddry Primary School in his East Lothian constituency.
Mr Gray said "It is a great Christmas image of the Scottish Parliament and I hope that everyone else enjoys it as much as I did."

Flaming Lips, Vampire Weekend Enjoy A Very Indie Christmas

2009-12-10T01:04:00.003-08:00

Most of the Christmas celebrations on TV are filled with top-shelf, chart-topping talent like Shakira, Usher, Aretha Franklin and the like, but just because you aren't selling tons of records doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the Christmas spirit. Take the Flaming Lips, who are somewhat obsessed with the concept of the holiday (they made a movie called "Christmas on Mars," have a song called "Christmas at the Zoo" and regularly recruited people to dress as Santa Claus and dance with them on stage during live shows). To celebrate the season (as well as their excellent new album Embryonic), the band is offering up the "Silver Trembling Fetus Ornament." The tree-ready doodad sells for $30, and according to an introductory sales video recorded by frontman Wayne Coyne, "It is rumored to give off vibrations that help all humans progress towards an intelligence explosion. Plus, it has the potential to make you smarter."

In case you don't want to put a tiny metal fetus on your Christmas tree, there are other ways to get into the spirit of the season with the help of some indie rockers. A handful of the genre's all-stars — including Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, former Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould, Tegan and Sara, Andrew W.K., David Cross and TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone — have teamed up with Canadian gutter punks F---ed Up for a cover of the definitive Christmas charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" The result takes the Band-Aid version and runs it through the ringer, creating a positive jam that is noisy and rugged but still pretty and joyful. It's for sale right now on iTunes, with the proceeds going to Justice for the Missing and Murdered, D.T.E.S. Power of Women and Sisters in Spirit, three Canadian charities. So put your fetus on the tree, crank up the cover, sip on some eggnog and let the Christmas cheer flow through your body.

Mother needs help pulling off Christmas for kids while working, studying to better family

2009-12-10T01:04:00.001-08:00

Being a mother to three little boys is hard enough, but one Florence mother was challenged even further when her husband walked out on their family two years ago.
Since then, she has struggled to pay back her debts and provide for her children ages 1, 5 and 7.
“All my money goes into bills and trying to buy food so they have food to eat,” she said.
As a Florence correctional officer and full-time student at Florence Darlington Technical College she is actively trying to pull herself and her family out of their current economic situation. She will graduate in 2011 and hopes to find a job as a nurse.
Although she has a plan for the future, she worries about this holiday season.
“I just want my children to have a good Christmas and be able to open up toys like the other kids do,” she said.
That is why she is turning to the Salvation Army’s Empty Stocking Fund for help this year.
The Empty Stocking Fund is a joint effort between the Salvation Army and the Morning News to bring Christmas to impoverished families in the Pee Dee.
People who would like to help families struggling through the holidays can donate to the Empty Stocking Fund in several ways:
—By calling the Salvation Army at (843) 662-4461.
—By dropping off toys or monetary donations to the Salvation Army office building at 2210 Hoffmeyer Road in Florence.
—By donating new, unwrapped toys for children through age 12, which will be distributed from the Salvation Army’s toy shop Dec. 22 and 23.
—By giving monetary donations at any Florence BB&T bank branch: 605 S. Irby St., 1831 W. Evans St., and 407 W. Second Loop Road. Checks should be made payable to the Empty Stocking Fund, c/o Salvation Army.
Another way to help the fund make Christmas brighter for those in need is to donate at a Salvation Army Christmas kettle.
People also can adopt a family for the holidays — choosing what size family they’d like to help, whether to provide toys, clothing or food, and then dropping off new and unwrapped gifts the Salvation Army office by Monday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Families will be able to pick up gift bags Dec. 22 and 23.
The Drs. Bruce & Lee Foundation will make an initial $10,000 donation to the fund again this year. If the community raises at least $20,000 on its own, the foundation will match it with another $20,000.
An Empty Stocking Fund donation form can be found on page 5A of today’s edition.
Donations to the Empty Stocking Fund to date: Channie Bazen of Florence in memory of Newell Bazen, $25; John Alt Sunday School Class of Florence, $50; Mary and “Jeep” Ballentine of Florence, $50; anonymous, $100; John S. Fair of Florence in memory of Mildred C. Fair, $100; Mary AC Ingram Charitable Lead Unitrust of Florence, $2,000; Robert Reynolds of Florence, $25; ETA CHAPTER BETA SIGMA PHI of Florence, $35; Frances Norris of Florence, $100; anonymous, $100; Mizpah Baptist Church Adult IV SS Class of Florence, $25; Mrs. L.L. Wright of Florence in memory of Mr. L.L. Wright, $25; Judy and Jerry Smith of Florence, $50; anonymous, $100; anonymous, $100; Rich Rogers and Family of Florence, $100; Lalla and Dudley Saleeby, $125.
Running total: $7,760.

Take a role in the Christmas Story House

2009-12-10T00:57:00.000-08:00

If your reaction is, "Huh?" then you must be one of the three people in the world who have never seen "A Christmas Story." The 1983 movie has become a cult classic to the point that the TBS cable channel every Christmas broadcasts it continuously for 24 hours.

Of course, if you've seen the movie as many times as I and millions of others have, you know that the film's main character is Ralphie, the 9-year-old who spends the movie plotting how to get an "official Red Ryder, Carbine Action, Two-Hundred Shot Range Model Air Rifle" for Christmas. And you know that Ralphie, his mom and dad, and brother Randy live in Hammond, Ind. And that Ralphie's dad won the Leg Lamp, a large, gaudy, mesh-stockinged gam topped with a tassled shade, in a newspaper contest.

So, why are all these people going gaga over this house built in 1895 in Cleveland?

Because it's the Christmas Story House, the house the movie's creators chose when they were scouting for the 1940s feel they wanted, according to Steve Siedlecki, executive director for the house and accompanying museum.

Truth be told, though, most of the movie was shot on a soundstage in California that was built to mimic much of this house's interior. Exterior shots of the house and back yard, location of the famous Black Bart shootout, were done here, though fake snow had to be brought in because of a scarcity of the natural stuff the year of filming. And scenes such as the tongue-frozen-to-the-pole and tire-changing were filmed in Canada.

But walk into this house, sit down on the couch, and you'll feel as if you're in the movie. Tucked away in a corner is the shipping box, labeled Fragile -- "That must be Italian," said Ralphie's dad -- that held the Leg Lamp.

Check out the upstairs bathroom and, of course, you'll find a bar of Lifebuoy soap, just like Ralphie had to chomp on after uttering the dreaded f-word.

Californian Brian Jones bought the house, which had been "modernized" and was a rental duplex, in December 2005 after it was listed on eBay, and by the time he was done putting it back into a state that moviegoers would recognize, he had more than $400,000 into the project, according to Siedlecki. It opened Thanksgiving weekend 2006, and in August of this year it surpassed the 100,000 mark for attendance (which doesn't take into account the hundreds of people who stop by during off-hours to peek through the front windows.

When the house first opened, it had plenty of "Don't Touch" signs, Siedlecki said. But those signs have come down. "We encourage people to do what they want to re-enact the movie," Siedlecki noted.

So, if you want to hide under the sink like Randy and have your photo taken, do it.

Just don't be like Ralphie's mom and break the Leg Lamp.

If you go Getting thereA Christmas Story House & Museum is at 3159 W. 11th St. in Cleveland, about 345 miles from Chicago via Interstate Highway 90. Get directions on the Web site (below), and don't think you're lost when you find yourself driving through a nondescript neighborhood.

VisitingThe house is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Until Dec. 31, it's also open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and until 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. It's closed Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Tours run every half-hour, with the last tour at 4:30, and if you miss the guided tour, you can do a self-guided tour. Tickets must be purchased prior to the last tour at the gift shop. 216-298-4919; achristmasstoryhouse.com

In the vicinityOn your way to or from A Christmas Story House, make a stop at the West Side Market, at West 25th and Lorain streets. The market has been operating since 1840 and is filled with tons of produce, spices and more sausages and other meat than you ever knew existed. Open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. 216-664-3387; westsidemarket.org

And, don't miss the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum downtown, whose big exhibit until spring is "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen." The hall is open 363 days a year from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and until 9 p.m. Wednesdays. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. 216-781-7625; rockhall.com

The great Christmas 2009 hamper guide

2009-12-10T00:49:00.000-08:00

The hampers: clockwise from top, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Selfridges, Daylesford, Fortnum and Mason, Waitrose Photo: ANDREW CROWLEY

Selfridges' Gordon's Choice Hamper, £130, www.selfridgeshampers.com, 0800 138 8141. Standard delivery Mon-Fri (3-5 working days), £8.50; next day delivery £10.50; order before midday on the previous day. *****
Contents: Apple & pepper chutney, handmade English shortbread, Bernard Latour Côtes du Rhône wine, Christmas pudding, brandy butter, chocolate coin, English chocolate selection, afternoon tea bags, tinned cafetière coffee, Prosecco, rustica olives, mini panettone

Best for: Sophisticates with a love of Italy.
Presentation: Perfection. Open up the traditional wicker hamper and inside find Selfridges' sleek trademark design. Nothing inspires confidence like that brazen yellow glow.
Taste: Divine. The wonderfully decadent nutmeg-laced brandy butter oozes with deliciousness and the shortbread is sensational. Close your eyes and savour the Kalamata olives with red pepper and harissa, and elegant Prosecco, and dream of next summer in Tuscany.
Highlight: The cutest yellow mini-hatbox encasing a slice of Italy's ceremonial Christmas cake.
Lowlight: None
Value for money: Absolutely. What price good taste?
Daylesford Organic's Merriest Christmas Hamper, £100, www.daylesfordorganic.com, 0800 083 1233. Last mail order date for guaranteed Christmas delivery in the UK is Wednesday 16 December; free delivery on first order. *****
Contents: Christmas pudding, Christmas cake in a tin, Christmas marmalade, Boxing Day plum chutney with port and walnuts, cranberry sauce, mini apricot jam, mini strawberry jam, mini raspberry jam, ginger dark chocolate bar, dark chocolate dipped ginger biscuits, mulling spices, bottle of Château Léoube red wine, bottle of raspberry gin liqueur, 2 mini glass bowls, 2 wooden spoons, wooden heart tree decoration
Best for: Style-conscious homemakers.
Presentation: The beige linen-lined, white wicker basket is exquisite, and the packaging is sleek and minimalist. Aesthetes will love it.
Taste: Amazing. The jams, sauce, chutney and marmalade taste homemade; the ginger biscuits are a delightful upgrade on the ginger snap as we know it; and the clean-tasting ginger dark chocolate is the perfect after-dinner treat.
Highlight: The sheer range of offerings. This box of delights takes in everything from covetable homewares, to pudding on Christmas Day, to breakfast, lunch, teatime and drinks.
Lowlight: A jar of organic mulling spices; nobody actually likes drinking mulled wine, do they?
Value for money: With its chic appearance and range of goodies, it's perfect for the person on your list who seems to have everything.
Fortnum and Mason's Classic Christmas Hamper, £150, www.fortnumandmason.com, 0845 300 1707. Standard delivery (up to 5 working days), £7; named-day delivery, £12 Tues- Fri; Saturday delivery, £20. *****
Contents: Christmas coffee, Christmas tea, cranberry sauce, Turkish Delight, St James Christmas pudding, mulled wine spice bags, King George iced Christmas cake, Cognac butter, Fortnum's Claret, Christmas chutney, ginger preserve, orange marmalade with Fortnum's whisky, Christmas musical biscuit tin, bottle of Fortnum's blanc de blancs Brut N.V. Hostomme
Best for: Old-fashioned epicures happy to hunker down with the cognac butter.
Presentation: Impeccable. If you want the last word in old-world comfort, only an old-fashioned wicker basket will do. Like a box from Tiffany's, the sight of a Fortnum's hamper – the store's trademark initials stamped on the side and beautifully crowned with a duck-egg bow – accelerates the heart rate (and does wonders for your social standing).
Taste: Faultless. The Christmas cake and pudding are in a league of their own, while the delicate Turkish delight is a lovely reminder of Christmases past. From the richly spiced chutney to the classic Boxing Day claret, hampers don't get more heavenly than this.
Highlight: The unapologetic air of tradition.
Lowlight: None
Value for money: Expensive but the essence of Christmas.
Harvey Nichols' Travelling Christmas Hamper, £75, www.harveynichols.com, 0845 604 1888. Named-day delivery £7; also available for European export. *****
Contents: The classy silver tins and oversized jars contain a mix of Anglo-Italian goodies: kitchen-cupboard classics (tins of breakfast tea bags and after-dinner coffee), home-from-home preserves (Seville orange thin-cut marmalade, Morello cherry jam), and biscuits with a touch of the exotic. One of the few Christmas staples is an enormous 500g jar of cranberry sauce spliced with orange.
Best for: Newlyweds who have family coming around for Christmas. It is packed with contemporary-looking larder staples with upmarket monochrome labelling.
Presentation: Beautifully turned out and utterly unsaccharine.
Taste: Delicioso, but could get a bit toothsome for some. If you haven't got a sugar rush by New Year's Day, finish off the hard-boiled sweets, which come in traditional favourites like rhubarb and custard, chocolate eclairs, and blackcurrant and liquorice.
Highlight: Panforte, a honeyed fruit and nut cake from Siena that makes for a chewier, more filling alternative to panettone.
Lowlight: The spiced cranberry fudge, which had an strong, artificial tang.
Value for money: A best buy – and surely too good to give away. Get one for yourself, and you'll find endless uses for the empty, cotton-lined hamper.
Harrods' The Knightsbridge Hamper, £225, www.harrods.com, 0845 605 1234. Order on the phone, online or in-store at the Food Order Desk. *****
Contents: Harrods-branded tangerine marmalade, strawberry preserve with champagne, Turkish Delight, mince pies with cranberries, luxury Christmas biscuit selection, brandy butter, cocoa-dusted almonds, Belgian chocolate mendiants, Assorted pralines, Swiss Marc de Champagne Truffles, black cherries in kirsch syrup, Christmas spiced loose leaf tea, Christmas pudding with brandy, Christmas ground coffee, Chablis, Champagne Premier Cru, Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2007
Best for: A chocoholic with a fondness for festive, afternoon tea, or a foreign foodie friend, for whom the festive tins would make great souvenirs.
Presentation: Plum seagrass box with sturdy leather-style lid; would live on as a stylish side table.
Taste: Rich and flavourful all round. Highlights include the aromatic, brandy-rich mince pies with crunchy pastry; the hand-painted Pralines give Artisan du Chocolat a run for its money,
Highlight: The black cherries in Kirsch – scrumptious warmed up and served with cream.
Lowlight: The layers of white polystyrene in which the booty is stored.
Value for money: Good
Waitrose's Wonder of Christmas Hamper, £110 reduced to £80 – available in Waitrose branches only while stocks last, 0800 188884. ***
Contents: Grissini breadsticks, Dean's shortbread rounds, Hamlet Belgian chocolates, Handmade Clotted Cream Fudge, Elizabeth Shaw Mint Crisps, Premium Buck's fizz, Waitrose Easy on the Dijon Wholegrain Mustard, Twinings Rich ground coffee, Waitrose 3 Fruits Fresh Fruit Marmalade, Waitrose Mincemeat, Waitrose Belgian Chocolate Sponge Pudding, Yorkshire Crisps, Border Butterscotch & Peacan Cookies, Waitrose all Butter Cheese Twists, Waitrose Roasted Vegetable Chutney, Waitrose Natural mixed nuts and raisins, Waitrose olive oil, 35 degrees South Chilean Sauvignon-Sémillon 2007, 35 degrees South Merlot 2007, Mulled Wine
Best for: A busy but festive soul who does not have time to shop for all the seasonal non-perishables
Presentation: A traditional wicker basket opens onto a layer of red tissue paper, with goods buried in polystyrene Wotsits
Taste: Good enough. Waitrose-own brand products never disappoint.
Highlight: Waitrose Belgian Chocolate Sponge Pudding, ready-mulled mulled wine, and tasty mincemeat (just hope the recipient has time to make pastry).
Lowlight: No show-stoppers in the mix; a bag of workaday nuts and raisins will hardly get Aunt Flo going.

Early Christmas present for Van Gaal, Bayern

2009-12-10T00:47:00.000-08:00

Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal got an early Christmas present. He gets to keep his job until at least after the festive season is over following Bayern’s 4-1 crushing of Juventus in Italy to advance to the Champions League knockout stage. Two weeks ago the Dutchman, who took over in July, looked to be on his way out with Bayern needing two wins in the remaining Champions League matches to advance, while languishing in seventh place in the Bundesliga.

Bayern have now won four consecutive matches, including two in the league to move into fourth place, four points off the top, and any talk regarding the coach has been put on the backburner.
“The way we played fascinated everyone,” Bayern General Director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told his team and invited guests at a midnight banquet at the Hotel Principe di Piemonte, as waiters served tuna, beef and salmon. “It was a magical night which we did not expect. Here, even with our best players, we always had to settle for defeats. It is an early Christmas present for us and our fans.”
Van Gaal could not be happier. The team is on a winning run, despite missing its two best players through injury. Striker Mario Gomez, relegated to the bench for much of the season, has now scored in the four of the last five matches and with Dutchman Arjen Robben finally fully fit and playmaker Franck Ribery set to return to action after the winter break, things could not be rosier for van Gaal. Only two weeks ago he was under fire for not being able to do anything right.

OZ 7 Lotto winner gets $40m for Christmas

2009-12-10T00:35:00.001-08:00

CHRISTMAS has come early for a 30-something man from Brisbane's southside who won $40 million in last night's OZ 7 Lotto draw.

The winner casually handed over his ticket to be checked at an agency just before lunch and was shocked to be told he was a high winner, the Courier Mail reports.

A quick phone call to Golden Casket confirmed that he was holding the winning first division ticket worth $40 million.

“I just can’t believe this,” the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said.

“I was thinking that maybe I had won a couple of hundred or maybe even a couple of thousand dollars.”

The 30-something man from Brisbane’s southside thanked his lucky stars he did his Christmas shopping last week.

“I was buying some Christmas cards last Thursday and decided to pick up a ticket as I saw it was a big $40 million draw.

He says his only immediate plan for his multimillion dollar windfall is to buy a house.

“I moved here from interstate a while ago and missed out on the full first home owner’s grant,” he said.

“Now I can settle here in Queensland and keep enjoying the sunshine and the weather.”

The Quick Pick entry was purchased at Nextra Chermside Newsagency at Westfield Shoppingtown.

The ticket was the only first division winner and took home the whole prize pool.

I'm taking my children's Christmas presents back to the shop!

2009-12-10T00:33:00.001-08:00

Last night I sat on the bed in the spare room and surveyed the boxes and packages piled up around me. Before me lay my Christmas shopping, all done before school breaks up tomorrow - save for a few still to come from Amazon. All just sitting there, waiting to be wrapped.
But instead of the normal delight and anticipation I'd expected to experience, I felt, well, slightly sick.
There was just Too. Much. Of it. Too much cardboard, too much plastic, too much .. . excess.

Less is more: Alice with twins Phoebe and Dora

What was even worse was that somehow - somewhere among all the toys and gadgets piled up in front of me - I sensed that I had lost 'Christmas'.
What's so different this year, I found myself wondering out loud. We've been lucky enough to get through 2009 without a huge financial shock but, like every family, we have made an effort to cut down, and have generally been more careful about the way we spend money. So why were there so many things that I'd been so convinced that we needed for a happy Christmas - but suddenly realised we didn't?
I pressed the nose on a Go Go hamster and was rewarded with a squeak and a thought.
Last year, our twin daughters' letters to Father Christmas were cute and innocent: 'Dear Father Christmas,' they read, 'I love you. Please may I have a pink doll? Lots of love etc etc'.
This year, Phoebe and Dora turned six and carefully hidden in the deeper recesses of my purse are their wish lists - letters to Father Christmas written in their very best joined-up handwriting in November (and carefully snitched by me at the last pre-posting minute).
Dora has asked for: real jewellery with diamonds; the big dog in the catalogue that barks; a pencil case that opens up; a Go Go hamster - and a diary with a lock.
Phoebe has asked Santa to provide: a 'big-girl' bike with a bell; more Darcey Bussell books; a Build-A-Bear kit; a sticker album - and a white rabbit.
These lists are an advertiser's dream, but a mother's commercial nightmare, as I quickly realised that the difference between this year and last is that the girls have flicked through catalogues and sat through adverts, their innocent minds brainwashed both by toy companies - and me.

Brainwashing: The Go Go Hamster is the must-have Christmas present children are demanding this year

After all, I am not only the one who has allowed them to watch the TV that has brainwashed them, but I have also bought them the presents they didn't know they 'needed'.
What's more, because my girls are the perfect age for the magic of Santa Claus, I wanted them to have 'the perfect Christmas' - which has resulted in me falling for what the advertisers have told me is 'The Christmas Dream'. And I am truly ashamed of myself.
Why couldn't I hold fast to my belief that Christmas doesn't need to be gift-wrapped or come supplied with AAA batteries? Why couldn't I let Christmas just be Christmas?
We had a serious lesson on 'less is more' a year and a half ago. On their fifth birthday, we threw a big party for the girls and invited 30 children.
Each guest generously brought a present each for Phoebe and Dora (politically correct procedure for twins), and the next morning we sat down with a list - and 60 ready-to-open parcels.
Within an hour, the recycling bin was overflowing with discarded wrapping paper - and Barbies, craft sets, dressing-up clothes and board games so prolific that there simply wasn't room for them in the playroom.
After the girls had opened about 30 presents, we felt we had to stop - instead staggering through the rest in the months that followed.
Their overstuffed shelves bulging with 'stuff', the playroom quickly came to resembled a Toys R Us warehouse - not somewhere suitable for the free and imaginative play that young children need most of all.
This year, I gently invited the parents of my daughters' classmates to contribute a little each to just one present - and I can honestly say we have had more family fun from their karaoke machine than I'd thought possible.
From us, the girls received a desk and a Barbie each. Was their birthday ruined by a lack of gaudy paper and so- called 'must-have' toys? Not at all. Far from it, in fact: we all had a great time - and there were certainly no tears shed over the anticipated presents that didn't come.
What's more, the gifts the girls did receive were valued - and enjoyed - that much more because of their uniqueness, rather than being 'just another' in a large pile.

Excess: You don't need hundreds of presents stuffed under the tree to enjoy Christmas with the family

Back in the spare room, I leafed through the receipts in a panic. Had I gone disgustingly over the top and spent more than I'd planned? Seemingly not, since the receipts tallied.
Most of the 'wished for' things on their lists had been allocated to 'friends and family' - and I had stuck to a realistic budget, pounding away at my keyboard to find the cheapest source for every purchase online.
All the same, whichever way I looked at it, there was still far more stuff on the spare bed than my girls were ever going to need - or enjoy.
The much- quoted 'average family' will, according to American Express, spend £260 on presents, £67 on decorations and cards and £141 on food and drink at Christmas time.
But even if my bill for gifts is close to the mark, without even stepping foot in the supermarket I know that my food and beverage bill for entertaining family and friends will be shockingly beyond the 'norm'.
And yet, I can't help wondering why it is that we lose all sense of proportion at this time of year, convinced that unless the fridge is full to bursting and the stockings overflowing with trinkets, we aren't going to have a 'happy Christmas'?
When I think back to my own childhood, Christmases were comfortable, but they certainly weren't extravagant.
There's a photo of me sitting beside a (decidedly dodgy) fake Christmas tree - but the unchecked glee on my face speaks volumes. I remember some of the presents I received - a Teeny Tiny Tears Doll one year, and a over-sized teddy with a bell in his ear another. But most of my memories are of magical times, not magnificent presents. It was all about the crackers we pulled and the board games we played.
So what should I do? Take back the Christmas booty? Flog the longed-for hamster on eBay? Pocket the profit? Donate it to charity? Fill my children's stockings with satsumas instead?
Right now, I'm sorely tempted. And yet, somehow I can't quite commit myself to going all Kirstie Allsopp and insisting on hand-made gifts.
(Even with all the reclaimed shopping hours, I really don't have either the time or the inclination for homecrafts - and furthermore, I don't much fancy inhabiting a house stuffed to the gills with loo-roll pencil pots and shell pictures. Other than Kirstie, I'm not sure who would.)
Instead, I rearranged the boxes into piles of 'must have', 'would love' and 'don't really need' - and, I must confess, it looked a whole lot better.
Refusing to be held to ransom by an interactive hamster, I shall unearth my receipts and take the 'don't needs' back - and the money I recoup will be returned to my bank account faster than you can say Ho Ho Ho-verdraft . . .
This year, I will be living the Christmas Dream. But the 'Dream' will not be that of any TV advertiser or toy catalogue - it will be of my own making.

In Bethlehem, Pa., religion, commerce and a casino wrap one Christmas package

2009-12-10T00:32:00.003-08:00

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Visitors looking to get into the holiday spirit have long travelled to Bethlehem, a lovely little city in eastern Pennsylvania founded by Moravians on Christmas Eve, 1741.
With its well-preserved Moravian architecture, a popular seasonal bazaar called Christkindlmarkt, an impeccably decorated downtown, and a host of Christmas-themed events between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, Bethlehem comes by its reputation as the "Christmas City" honestly. The city even has its own star: the electrified Star of Bethlehem that shines year-round from its 25-metre perch atop nearby South Mountain.
This year, though, Bethlehem has developed something of a split personality. The Christmas City has become the Casino City - offering slot machines in addition to Santa Claus.
A marketing nightmare for tourism executives? Not really. Christmas in Bethlehem is still Christmas in Bethlehem. And the US$743 million Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is still a glitzy new gambling hall with 3,250 slot machines, entertainment, and two restaurants by celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse.
In other words, each caters to its own audience.
"People who generally are coming to shop or visit downtown Bethlehem (during Christmas) aren't necessarily the same folks who will be putting money into slot machines, and vice versa," said Michael Stershic, president of the Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau. "But we're anxious to see what the crossover is."
Despite grumbles that it would sully the city's carefully cultivated image, the casino opened in May on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel plant in south Bethlehem. A convention centre, shopping mall and 300-room hotel are also planned, though construction has been delayed amid the recession. (Sands pledges it will complete the project once economic conditions improve.)
Sands has its own advertising budget and Stershic's group does not generally market the casino alongside the city's Christmas attractions. But there is some cross-promotion. With the holiday season in full swing, a few motor coach operators are testing the waters by offering travel packages that include the casino, Christkindlmarkt and heritage-themed tours run by the non-profit Historic Bethlehem Partnership, said Sands' president, Robert DeSalvio.
"It is our first year open so we are trying this program with the hope that it continues to grow in years to come," he said via email. "I believe the Sands will also benefit from the influx of visitors who come to Bethlehem during the holiday period."
Most of the city's Christmas attractions are located about three kilometres away from the casino in a compact, walkable downtown.
Visitors looking for a bit of shopping nostalgia can be found strolling through the city's lovingly restored commercial district, where Victorian-style street lights are festooned this time of year with live greens and red ribbons - no tacky plastic for this Main Street - the storefronts are appropriately bedecked, and the trees are wrapped in thousands of twinkling white lights. The strains of "Silver Bells" fill the air as a plush horse-drawn carriage clops past, driven by a man in a top hat and carrying tourists bundled against the December chill.
Another seasonal draw is Christkindlmarkt, a holiday market where dozens of vendors sell everything from ornaments to pottery to jewelry to Christmas-themed candy. There's a food court, live music, ice carving, and, of course, Santa, all under two enormous heated tents. A single-day ticket costs $8, though children under 13 are free.
Barbara Ogno, 65, of Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J., visited Christkindlmarkt on a recent Thursday with her daughter. She came away duly impressed. "It's a very nice little town . . . especially if you have a day and want to take your family someplace," she said.
Ogno had visited the Sands on a previous outing, but not this time. "This trip is about Christmas shopping. We have to put that on the back burner for a while," she said with a laugh.
Another popular attraction is the Christmas Putz at Central Moravian Church, just off Main Street. The putz, a centuries-old Moravian tradition, uses narration, music, and antique wooden miniatures arranged on a moss-and rock-covered platform to recount the events surrounding Jesus' birth. White lights illuminate each tiny scene as the Nativity story unfolds.
Construction of the putz (from the German word for "decorate") begins in early November when Moravian families head north to the Pocono Mountains to gather the moss. Central's putz opened in 1937; it's free, but donations are accepted.
Anna Kodama, a church member and putz volunteer, said visitors find it to be a good escape from the hustle and bustle of a commercialized Christmas.
"They come here and exhale," she said. "It's nice. It's dark and it's quiet and they're told a story."
And then there is the glittery new Sands, the opposite of dark and quiet. And something of an odd duck in this flock of Christmas geese.

Tempo's Christmas CD Giveaway

2009-12-10T00:32:00.001-08:00

For the next three weeks Tempo will bring a little Christmas cheer into the hearts of ten listeners each week who win a Christmas-related CD. Tune in today to hear the question you need to answer to enter the draw. (The draw is tomorrow, Friday.)
This week's CD? It's Tafelmusik's Celebration 30 -- a three CD compilation including their popular Messiah Choruses disc.
Speaking of Taflemusik and Messiah, you know they've been doing a Messiah video contest? It involves making a video of your favourite Messiah excerpt.
There are some, how shall we put it, "extreme novelty" entries. With due respect to all those enthusiastic Messiah-video-making hopefuls, I think you'll do way better to enter the Tempo draw for the Tafelmusik recording. They may not used stuffed animals to sing their version of the Messiah, but they sure can sing.

Icy weekend ahead slashes odds on a white Christmas

2009-12-10T00:31:00.001-08:00

It may be cold comfort to those shivering through it, but icy weather this weekend will double the chances of a white Christmas, say experts.
Forecasters believe the torrential rain has now ended after nearly two months, and a cold blast is about to send temperatures plunging below freezing, with fog, ice, sleet and even snow.
In some parts of the country, the weather system moving in from Scandinavia means it is now odds on for the first white Christmas since 2004, says one forecaster.

Dreaming of a white Christmas: Snow in North Yorkshire in February - but chances are growing for another snowfall on December 25 this year

The Met Office expects overnight frosts this weekend, especially in northern areas, with temperatures dropping to -3c or -4c.

This will be followed by a brief spell of slightly milder weather, but the run-up to Christmas is then expected to be even colder.
The Met Office won't be drawn yet on the odds of a white Christmas but independent analyst Positive Weather Solutions has now doubled its estimated chance of snow falling on December 25.
The company said Scotland and the North-East of England have a 59 per cent probability; the East Coast 55 per cent, with the rest of the North, mid-Wales and the Midlands at 32 per cent.

The South has a predicted 18 per cent chance and the South-West 10 per cent.
William Hill has slashed odds for a white Christmas to 6-1 for London and Newcastle, 7-1 for Manchester and just 3-1 for Aberdeen.

Odds on: The hounds of the Wensleydale Hunt on Boxing Day 2004, after the last time it snowed on Christmas Day in 2004

Senior forecaster Jonathan Powell said: 'For the first time since 2004, there is a definite chance of snow this Christmas. The chances of parts of the UK seeing a white Christmas now look favourable.
'A cold pool of Arctic air is pushing down across the nation and will introduce sustained chilly and frosty weather.
'With the introduction of several weak rain-associated weather fronts, any rain will readily turn to snow - so there is a greater possibility of waking up to snow on Christmas Day.
'The most likely area is down the eastern side of the country and over Scotland. But there is the possibility scattered snow showers will push further inland, perhaps reaching the Midlands and even London.'
New Met Office figures reveal rainfall from October 16 to December 6 was 319.8mm (12.59in) which is 64 per cent above average for this period. It was also the wettest November on record with further records for 24-hour and 48-hour rainfalls.
However, last month was the seventh-warmest November in central England, according to records dating back to 1659. Autumn was 1.2c warmer than normal.

White House Christmases: mistletoe and chain saws

2009-12-10T00:30:00.001-08:00

Scenes from White House Christmases past, as recounted in the book "Christmas at the White House," by Jennifer B. Pickens:
FIRST TREE
The first known Christmas tree at the White House was in the tenure of Benjamin Harrison, who helped trim one in the upstairs library with friends, family and staff. "We shall have an old-fashioned Christmas tree for the grandchildren upstairs and I shall be their Santa Claus myself," Harrison exclaimed.
TEDDY'S TREES
Conservationist Theodore Roosevelt resisted the idea of chopping down a Christmas tree as a waste of resources. His children sneaked one into the White House and decorated it anyway. Roosevelt eventually lifted his ban.
MAMIE'S TREES
Mamie Eisenhower was Roosevelt's opposite: She set a long-standing record of 26 Christmas trees in the White House — including one in the laundry room.
CHRISTMAS THEME
Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of a theme for White House Christmases when she chose to decorate a tree in the Blue Room with items evoking Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite." There were 10 other trees on the main floor of the White House — all but two of them undecorated — and several more upstairs in the family quarters. The White House grounds superintendent thought it a "massive" number of trees compared to the one or two requested by most previous administrations.
MOURNING SEASON
After John F. Kennedy's assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, a month of mourning was declared. On the evening of Dec. 22, new President Lyndon Johnson lit the National Christmas Tree behind the White House. The next morning, the black mourning crepe that had been draped over doorways and chandeliers in the White House was replaced with holly, wreaths and mistletoe. Lady Bird Johnson later wrote, "I walked the well-lit hall for the first time with the sense that life was going to go on, that we as a country were going to begin again."
WHAT EVERY GIRL WANTS
In 1977, a surprise gift arrived for 10-year-old Amy Carter — a red, white and blue chain saw. A young friend of Amy's had reported that the first daughter wanted a chain saw for Christmas because "she likes the way they work." A White House spokeswoman later clarified, "I think Amy might have said 'train set,' not 'chain saw.'" Nonetheless, more chain saws arrived.
AH-CHOO!
President Ronald Reagan caught Nancy Reagan under the "kissing ball" of mistletoe that hung in the Grand Foyer in 1981. But Reagan's allergies couldn't handle some of the other floral arrangements, and the plants had to be exiled to spots in the White House that the president rarely visited.
HEY, ISN'T THAT ...
... Barbara Bush? In 1991, a needlepoint club, White House staff and volunteers, made 1,370 needlepoint ornaments, some of which had a resemblance to the first lady. One six-inch angel, for example, was wearing a three-stranded pearl necklace. Mrs. Bush joked to reporters, "There are a lot of white-haired, fat, pearled ones."
HOUSE OF SOCKS
The 1993 White House gingerbread house was dubbed the "House of Socks," in honor of the Clintons' cat. Pastry chef Roland Mesnier outfitted the gingerbread house with 21 marzipan figures of Socks in various poses, including the cat hauling Santa's sleigh, ice-skating, playing a "Soxaphone," and posing as a Secret Service agent.
BARNEY CAM
With public access to the White House more restricted in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, first lady Laura Bush sent the family's terrier, Barney, out to prowl the building with a little camera attached to his collar in 2002. Barney Cam's 4.5-minute video tour of the mansion decorations got 24 million views in its first day on the White House Web site and his movies became an annual feature after that.

Beer of the week: Abita Christmas Ale

2009-12-10T00:29:00.001-08:00

Another column on Christmas beer! But this one is a different kind of Christmas beer. While my previous columns on winter seasonals highlighted very dark, malty, and spicy “winter warmers,” now I’d like to highlight a completely different school of thought in winter seasonals: beers with more intense flavors than a brewery’s year-round offerings, with that flavor often coming from hops.
Abita produces some very solid middle-of-the road beers. Turbo Dog, Abita Amber and Purple Haze are all good, non-threatening “gateway” beers that can seduce drinkers of macro lagers into the world of small-batch craft beer. The flavor of their flagship year-round beers tends to be mild and easy drinking for just about anyone.
With Abita Christmas Ale, they have produced something special as a treat for those of us who are already True Believers in craft beer. Like some more famous winter beers (such as Anchor Our Special Ale) Abita Christmas features a different recipe every year. So this year is your only chance to try this exact brew.
The 2009 edition has a very deep reddish hue from loads of caramel malts, which impart robust caramel flavors riding a sweet maltiness. But that sweetness is balanced with sufficient bitterness from a generous dose of American hops. That’s what sets this beer apart. Some pine, some citrus, and some floral hop notes combine to make it the hoppiest beer I’ve ever tasted from Abita. It just happens to be perfectly balanced with so much rich maltiness.
This practice of releasing hop bombs for the Christmas season is also part of the holiday traditions at such famous breweries as Sierra Nevada (Celebration Ale) and Rogue Ales (Santa’s Private Reserve). In some cases these brews can be a little deceiving, since certain varieties of hops can contribute spicy flavors to beer. So a skillfully hopped winter beer can make you wonder if perhaps the brewer engaged in some subtle use of spices.
Abita is the oldest brewery in the Southeast, founded in 1986. They’re located in Abita Springs, La., 30 miles north of New Orleans, and they have been very active in helping that city recover from Katrina. They released a beer called Restoration Ale specifically to raise funds for the Katrina relief efforts. One dollar from the sale of every six-pack of that beer goes towards hurricane recovery.
I’d be inclined to pair Abita Christmas Ale with a glazed ham, featuring a robust, spicy brown sugar glaze. The caramel aspect of the glaze would complement the caramel flavors in the beer, while the hops would mix well with spices like cinnamon, ginger, and clove. Throw some sweet potato soufflé in on the side and you have the core of an amazing holiday meal.

2009-12-07T03:44:00.001-08:00

Why the seashore is red in color? Its not because of the nature disaster or climate effect of nature but because of the cruelty that the human beings (civilised human) acting beyond the rational.
This happens as they kill hundreds of the intelligent Calderon dolphins every year in Feroe island in Denmark by young teens. If this to show that they are adults and mature young teens, then they all are BULLLLshit!!!!!
Everyone is participating this big celebration in one way or the other, killing or looking at the cruelty “supporting like a spectator” nothing to miss for the fun.
Dolphin Calderon is one of the species of dolphins that near extinction. They get near men to play and interact in a way of PURE friendship.
In this celebration, the dolphin don’t die instantly. They are cut 1, 2 or 3 times with thick hooks and suffers with no compassion till this sweet being slowly dies in its own blood. And at that time the dolphins produce a grim extremely compatible with the cry of a new born child.
I hope this article arrives in any association defending the animals.
read the “Original article” here

"Christmas in Rockefeller Center"

2009-12-02T03:22:00.002-08:00

"Christmas in Rockefeller Center"
Jane Krakowski and Zachary Levi co-host this special, as musical artists and personalities from NBC programs gather at the real-life "30 Rock" to participate in the 77th annual tree-lighting extravaganza. Scheduled to appear are Michael Buble, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Barry Manilow, the Roots and Shakira. 7 p.m., NBC and KSNW, Channel 3.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
Rudy is 44 this year and as cute as ever, ready to delight the children and grandbabies of the viewers who met him back in 1964. If you haven't seen this Christmas chestnut in a few years, it's worth another look. 7 p.m., CBS and KWCH, Channel 12.

"The Grammy Nominations Concert Live: Countdown to Music's Biggest Night"
LL Cool J hosts this special built around the announcement of the Grammy Awards nominations. The Black Eyed Peas, Maxwell and Sugarland are scheduled to perform. 8:02 p.m., CBS and KWCH, Channel 12.
New show
"Steven Seagal: Lawman"
This new reality series chronicles martial arts expert and actor Steven Seagal as he pursues his off-screen life as a deputy with Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana, a position he has held for 20 years. 9 and 9:30 p.m., A&E, Channel 41.

Why the Nook is Worth Waiting For

2009-12-02T03:22:00.000-08:00

Amid the back and forth over whether an e-reader is or is not this year's perfect gift, let me settle things once and for all: Just order a Nook and give the recipient another small present with the Nook holiday certificate attached.
Yes, the Nook e-reader is the perfect gift for your book-reading friends.
Barnes & Noble says Nooks ($259) ordered now will arrive January 11. Think of it not as a delay, but as a way to extend the joy of Christmas into 2010. Even two weeks late, you will be giving the hottest gift of 2009 that isn't a robotic toy hamster.
The certificates are B&N's way of saying "oops" for managing to miss on-time delivery. They look nice and Christmas Eve delivery is promised.
There is also the very slight chance of purchasing a Nook in one of the company's retail stores, sometime after December 7. I'd consider the changes of getting one about on a par with a nice lottery win. Order online and you can cancel if you manage to score a Nook locally.
(Not sure what a Nook is? Here is our virtual tour).
This is a far better deal than the alternative of ordering the Amazon Kindle, a prior-generation product closely tied to a proprietary book format. The Nook appears to be enough of an improvement on the Kindle to make the wait worthwhile.
I had, earlier in the season, thought about ordering a Nook for our family this Christmas. When the delay was announced, I went out and purchased an HP Windows 7 laptop (from Costco, my favorite tech vendor).
Now, I am again in Nook-lust and wondering if I can stretch the holiday budget just a bit more.
Some of the arguments in the e-reader pro-and-con pieces are pretty weak. For example, I don't think everyone who wants an e-reader already owns a Kindle. I have been quite definitely waiting for something better, which both the Nook and Sony's Daily Reader (also delayed) seem to be. The Nook has broader support than Sony, so it's my first choice.
I am not worried about the platform becoming obsolete overnight. A $259 product, the Nook seems to have a 3 or 4 year lifespan, which seems reasonable enough. I don't expect a tremendously more capable tablet computer to appear at the same or a lower price in the next 24 months.
It's certainly possible, but I don't think that today's Nook will become tomorrow's poor purchase decision. Apple, for example, will not come close to the Nook's price point with its supposed tablet. The CrunchPad is DBA (dead-before-arrival) and the other e-readers just aren't as sweet as the Nook.
There is the likelihood that Amazon will release a new Kindle in 2010 that will catch and could even surpass the Nook in terms of features, but that is always the chance a tech buyer takes. Kindle will need to do more to support open book formats before I'd make a purchase.
The only reservation I have about an e-reader purchase is my reading habits, which do not include New York Times best-selling fiction and other titles sure to make it into e-book land. I would, however, be happy to get newspapers and magazines for an e-reader and will be thrilled when my professional medical textbooks become available.

Many Christmas lights unsafe, EU survey shows

2009-12-02T03:21:00.000-08:00

One in three sets of Christmas lights tested in an EU survey presented a direct risk of fire or electric shock.

The EU advises people to be vigilant when buying Christmas lights

One in three sets of Christmas lights tested in an EU survey presented a direct risk of fire or electric shock.

In Hungary, 95.7% of the lights tested were hazardous. In the Netherlands 56% of those checked fell short of compliance standards.
In Hungary, 95.7% of the lights tested were hazardous. In the Netherlands 56% of those checked fell short of compliance standards.
The European Commission, which sets EU-wide safety standards, found thin wiring, weak cord anchorage and poor insulation in many sets of lights.
It says shoppers should go to reputable dealers and switch lights off at night.
Lights should also be switched off when a property is left empty, the commission says.
Hazards were found in 30% of the 196 random samples of lights checked in five EU member states - Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Lighting chains frequently failed more than one of the safety tests.
About 50% of the dangerous products revealed by the survey came from China.

A little Christmas magic

2009-12-02T03:20:00.002-08:00

On Christmas Eve, we went to bed with no Christmas tree."Quiet now," shushed Mom. "The angels are singing. See if you can hear them."
She smiled and tucked us in, while Daddy called from the doorway, "Old Santa Claus has a lot of houses to find. ... I sure hope he can remember his way back here! Ho-ho-ho."
Ours was the only home where Santa Claus somehow brought a Christmas tree and then decorated it, complete with pretty balls, tinsel, lights and candy canes. He did all of this without waking any of us. It was a real live miracle on Christmas morning, proof that Old Saint Nick was real! The beautiful Christmas tree filled our home with a magical glow, which happily overshadowed the matter of the small pile of presents under the tree.
One year, Daddy announced that we should begin now to get our own tree and even put it up in the stand, to help Santa. Santa would still decorate it for us, Daddy assured us, while we slept. My mother got up, went into the kitchen, and began slamming pots and pans around. I'm certain my parents had barely closed their eyes each Christmas morning when we kids burst into their bedroom, where we all waited while Daddy went out to "see if Santa Claus came," quietly plugging in the Christmas tree lights. When we came out and got our first glimpse of the tree, we all stood together, in joyous awe.
Years passed and we began helping Daddy put on the Christmas tree lights, too, to help Santa. Eventually, we began decorating the entire tree ourselves ... to help Santa, of course, but always on Christmas Eve
Each Christmas Eve, Dad read the Christmas Story from Luke: the star, the angels, the shepherds, the manger with Joseph, Mary and little Jesus, among the animals. During high school years and even for years after, friends came by to spend Christmas Eve with the Joneses, which my parents said was the "Christmas spirit." Everyone took turns choosing Christmas carols for us to sing, and the little ones ended the evening by setting out the traditional thank you for Santa of Christmas cookies and eggnog.
"Mamma," we called out one year, "Daddy thinks Santa would like a glass of wine this year, instead of eggnog." Mother chuckled and sent us out with a pretty little glass of wine. When we were much older, Dad would go over to Santa's cookies and eggnog [or wine] late in the evening, calling out, "Ho-ho-ho," and winking at us. He sang Christmas songs about Jolly Old Saint Nicholas year-round, too.
I recall a cold evening in Virginia when my parents were trying to conserve the oil we used for heat. Mom, dad, and we three kids [before number four!] huddled on the kitchen floor in front of the open oven door, sharing the warmth. Daddy said we could choose songs and sing, so my sister and I chose Christmas songs, and a familiar happiness filled us as we sang.
Then 3-year-old Tommy spoiled it all by requesting, "Look Out the Way for Old Dan Tucker," definitely not a Christmas song. We protested, but my parents ruled that it was not required to be a Christmas carol, so we should all sing it. As we sang "Old Dan Tucker," Tommy leaped to his feet and danced like crazy for us. We laughed and laughed as we sang by the oven on a cold winter's evening.
The magic, which we came to associate with God's love, lasted year-round. The words are in the old songs my dad sang to us: "All God's children better say their prayers, 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight!!"
I wish you and the little ones in your world happy, magical holidays.

Is Christmas Shaping Up to be a Disappointment for Retailers?

2009-12-02T03:20:00.000-08:00

Summary

Lower average sales, cherry picking deals, and extraordinary online sales growth may mean lower profits and more store closures for retailers. Here's more.

Analysis

According to ShopperTrak RCT Corp retail sales on Black Friday increased about 0.5% versus a 3% increase in 2008. Looking back, whether those sales were really black or shades of gray depends in part on expectations. Notwithstanding conservative sales plans, I think most retail executives expected better results, especially after Goldman Sachs’ chains store index for the week ending November 21 “spurted” about 3.3% ahead of the comparable week last year. Now, with Black Friday behind them, merchants have to reconsider what sales growth for the next 24 days will be like.

That won’t be easy because consumers are buying differently this year. For instance, according to the National Retail Federation, about 13% more shoppers were in the stores this year, but they bought about 8% less. Clearly all that buying, in addition to online sales, culminated in the marginally small sales increase of 0.5%. What does that mean for retailers for the remainder of the Christmas season?

For one, lower margins as consumers continue to cherry pick the best value (lowest margin) items. For another, some antidotal evidence suggests a disproportionate number of consumers made personal purchases on Black Friday purchases, which begs the question of how much of that business came at the expense of December sales. Now, its apparent consumers were mostly looking for the “big deals” over the Black Friday weekend. That should have come as no surprise to retailers since almost every piece of consumer research for the last six month said shoppers were buyers only when the price was right. While it remains to be seen, Black Friday’s lower average sales may mean retailers got the mix wrong despite their goal of maintaining margin this year. If so, not much of that 0.5% sales gain will flow to the bottom line.

Increased personal purchases contributed to that meager increase too, meaning less spending on gifts and lower average selling prices too. Historically, there isn’t a lot of comparative data on personal purchase behavior during Black Friday. However, “according to the latest Consumer Reports Holiday Poll, 66 percent of shoppers will be buying something for themselves [this year]”. That’s the good news; the bad, personal purchases almost invariably are lower price than gift purchases. Again it’s a mix issue, which ultimately depresses profitability despite the marginally small sales gains.

The big winner on Black Friday appears to be online retailers or the ecommerce sites operated by bricks and mortar retailers. According to an article by the Good News Economists, web analytics company Coremetrics reported online spending increased 28.6% for apparel retailers and 151.7% for department stores. Those are large increases, but likely represent equally large transfer sales from bricks and mortar store fronts to their virtual counterparts. Just how much of that online sales growth was purely incremental is uncertain. Nevertheless, what appears certain is actual in-store sales may have declined for some retailers, declines which were likely off-set by much higher ecommerce productivity. That’s assuming Coremetrics research was accurate.

Moving forward, Coremetrics also said online sales increased about 11% by the evening of Cyber Monday. That substantially better than the 3% ecommerce sales grew between November 1 and November 27, but substantially less than some of the Black Friday results. Late evening sales may improve that number since sales picked up later in the afternoon this year according to John Squire Coremetrics’ chief strategy officer. Still, just how much of that sales growth was incremental is problematic. Add ecommerce sales are often high value items with reduced margins with lower price points and you have another dynamic depressing sales growth and lowering gross profit too.

One underlying factor for many Black Friday consumers that was different from 2008 was they were through shopping by the end of the long promotional weekend. By that I mean other than food, candy, and miscellaneous stocking stuffer, consumers bought all the essentials they wanted for gifts, however they defined essentials, as well as, some personal items they had put off buying during the last quarter. If true, Black Friday’s deals and the weekend promotions that followed may well have sucked the wind out of any anticipated sales growth retailers had planned for in December. That would be consistent with research that over 60% of consumers planned to buy less this year and would be much more discerning about what they bought to begin with. Moreover, Black Friday promotions really started in early November, so it is reasonable to believe a significant part of December’s business could have been pulled into Black Friday events.

So, sales for the next four weeks could be substantially lower than expected as the remainder of this seasons buyers wait for even better deals. That despite retailer’s insistence they will maintain margins this year. Still, every indication is consumers are prepared to wait for the deals on the products they want rather than overspend cash budgets or go more into debt. Partly, consumers remember last year and every previous year for the last decade when retailers cut price to achieve sales budgets. But it’s also a matter of necessity for many Christmas shoppers this year.

The fact is, with an U6 unemployment rate above 17%, jobless benefits nearing their end, working hours continuing to decline, and winter fuel bills increasing, this Christmas is in the midst of a depression for tens of millions of America households, though that may not be evident to casual observers who accepts the prosaic assessment that the recession is over.

That acceptance is in part because this recession is a politically correct one in that it doesn’t disturb the senses with pictures of thousands of out of work Americans and their families standing in bread lines or soup kitchens overflowing with hungry mouths to feed. Today, we have a safety net that makes the struggles of the jobless invisible and in so doing makes our current economic malaise more palpable to the collective conscience, while legitimizing the message that our consumer driven economy is returning to normal.

Despite that politically correct demeanor, any such normalcy requires a consumer supported by increasing wealth such as higher wages, increased liquidity, and rising asset values, which certainly doesn’t describe today’s Christmas shopper. Simply put, consumers can’t realistically spend more, because they don’t have the money to spend. That notion shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone since Americans are significantly less wealthy today than a year ago, which has just begun to be reflected in changes the consumer’s buying behavior. That may be a politically incorrect statement, but it’s also financial fact. One that is well understood by millions of heads of households as they stretch weekly pay checks to their limits even after cutting back on luxuries and basics alike for much of the last 24 months, even if it’s an obtuse notion by policy makers and politicians alike.

If profits are the measure, this Christmas is shaping up to be disappointment for many retailers and investors alike. But, that may not be the worst of it. Consumer’s interest in online shopping along with its lower prices and lower margins means bricks and mortar retailers may be even further over stored. That will lead to even further store closures, more retail layoffs, and reduced real estate values as consumers accelerate their use of ecommerce to save money; possibly compressing half millennia of retail change in to the next decade.

Visitors get a chance to vote for favourite Christmas trees

2009-12-02T03:19:00.001-08:00

BUSINESSES, churches, schools and youth groups have joined together to stage a Festival of Christmas Trees.
The event at St Martin’s Church, Caerphilly, takes place on Saturday, December 19, between 10am and 4pm.
Visitors to the festival can take a welcome break from their shopping, vote for their favourite tree and enjoy the refreshments available.
Admission to the event costs £1 for adults while children can enter free

Women take 13 days to prepare for office Christmas party

2009-12-02T03:18:00.001-08:00

Keeping in mind that the festive celebration is the most important social event of the year, an average woman spends around 72 hours looking for the ‘perfect’ outfit. What’s more, the hunt for the right outfit begins as early as the end of September.

An average woman spends 96 hours spent getting in shape, the study found. And a total of 23 hours are devoted to beauty treatments and make-up.

Out of the total hours put in to this one event, women spend an average of 63 hours “getting tips from friends”, reports The Daily Express .

According to the research, shopping for accessories like jewellery, bags, belts and shoes can take 48 hours, while 12 hours go on haircuts, dyeing and blow-drying. A further two hours are spent on exfoliating, moisturising and tanning.

To reach the conclusion, Clothes Show Live quizzed 997 women aged between 18 and 45.

Fashion and beauty guru Caryn Franklin, presenter of Clothes Show Live, said: “A sensible woman may want to communicate other aspects of her that are promotion-worthy assets. My guidance here would be less flesh, more chic restraint.”

Gavin Brown, managing director of the Clothes Show Live, which commissioned the survey, said: “The Christmas party is the highlight of everyone’s festive calendar. It’s the place to be seen so it’s no wonder women take hundreds of hours making sure they look their best.

“It is the last party of the year where people get a chance to let their hair down with their colleagues and forget about their troubles for an evening.

“So, the Christmas party is the perfect excuse to shake off those winter blues.”

Muscat: MCCP Christmas Party - Photo Album 1

2009-12-02T03:00:00.001-08:00

Muscat: MCCP Christmas Party - Photo Album 2

2009-12-02T02:59:00.001-08:00

Pics by Dilip Correa

Muscat: MCCP Christmas Party - A Day of Jingles and Bells

2009-12-02T02:32:00.000-08:00

Muscat, Dec 1: Young people of MCCP (Mangalorean Catholic Centre of the Parish) had a great day of gustful interaction and celebration, at this year’s Christmas festivity. Arrival of Santa Claus was the main attraction of the event, along with brilliant display of talents, togetherness and total entertainment. The event was a grand success and all credit for this goes to Suraj Rebello, president of MCCP, and his committed committee of this term. It marked a new dawn on MCCP’s family entertainment and social environment. It also came as an inspiration to more community youths to join in the community activities and events, and thus serve the parish at large.
MCCP Annual Christmas Party began with a bang at the Crystal Suites, Al Wadi Al Kabir, on Sunday November 29, 2009 at 4 pm. Darryl Saldanha and Melannie Crasta duo, two vibrant community youth leaders, were the comperes. Suraj Rebello, president of MCCP, officially presented the welcome address. The vibrant youth team of Sts Peter & Paul Catholic Church presented Christmas Carols with a difference. Six groups were formed among the children, named ‘Cookies’, ‘Candies’, ‘Stars’, ‘Bells’, ‘Reindeer’ and ‘Santa’s’. The entire function was full of various games of entertainment.

Then the two comperes took the children into a marching sequence. While in the march, the children held hands, passed under them and yelled HO! HO! HO! The proceedings then slowed down a little with a hilarious but sweet prayer, recited by the comperes. President Suraj Rebello was then called to give the welcome address and cut the cake. The committee and the children shared the cakes, as Christmas carols were sung by a group of MCCP youngsters. The children joined in the party, by heartily dancing and singing along with the group.

This was followed by the ‘Reindeer Rally’, where the children had to stick artificial red noses onto their own noses. Later, all of them were led to ‘Santa's Island’, where they were scheduled to meet Santa. The children still had their red noses on and had to go down to Santa's Island with the noses still stuck on. It was a very embarrassing and funny experience. The children were led by the volunteers to Santa's Island while singing ‘Jingle Bells’. The children were met by two very lively jokers on the Island, but there was no sign of Santa himself.

Suraj Rebello then took over the proceedings, and made the children sing ‘Santa Claus is coming to Town. By then, Santa had arrived at his Island, and the children were so happy at seeing such a jovial Santa. He danced with the children and the two jokers. The evening was coming to an end, and the children were called age-wise for their gift bags that were delivered by Santa.
The venue was sponsored by Crystal Suites. Raj Kumar, general manager, and Bhagath, sales and marketting manager, of Crystal Suites, graced the party. Crib and Christmas tree were decorated by Philomena Moras and Ivan Moras, Hall and Santaland were decorated by Jecintha Machado, The sponsors were: Crystal Suites, who sponsored the venue and Oman Foodstuff Factory. The music was directed by Lanston Pinto and Meval Dantis. It was a day to remember for years.
The evening came to a fitting end with all the children dancing to some foot-tapping numbers. All in all, the celebrating gave an amazing experience.

Christmas Gift Guide 2009: Presents for under 5s

2009-12-02T02:23:00.001-08:00

When it comes to kids and Christmas buying the right presents can be a bit of a nightmare. There are so many great gifts out there, where do you start? To help you out we've searched the high street - and spoken to Father Christmas - to come up with a few ideas to help get you started.

Nestlé Selection Box
A great stocking filler is Nestlé’s new range of Christmas selection boxes specially catered for younger children. They are compact with no plastic trays making them easy-to-recycle. All the products contain no artificial colours or flavours. The kid’s Medium Selection Box contains six treats perfect for under 5’s. £2.44 from all major supermarkets including Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s

Baby’s 1st Christmas Bauble
Why not celebrate your baby’s first Christmas with a special keepsake bauble? It has a cute star and robin design on the front and says My 1st Christmas on the back. £5 from Mothercare

Miko Cat Make-up set (3 years and over)
The set features nail polish, two lip glosses and two hair clips. A great pressie for those little girls who love borrowing mummy’s make-up, now they can use their own! £4 from Boots

Miko Cat Jewellery Box (3 years and over)
This cute Christmas-themed jewellery box includes a Miko Cat charm bracelet and three rings for dressing up fun. A purrr-fect stocking filler. £8 from Boots

Santa outfit (0-24 months)
If you want to dress your little one up for the big day Mothercare has a range of oufits, including Santa, Mrs Santa, a Reindeer and an Elf. £15/16 from Mothercare

Waybaloo Play n’ Wiggle YoJoJo (18 months and over)
YoJoJo from Waybaloo on CBeebies is set to knock In The Night Garden’s Iggle Piggle off the top spot this Christmas. Waybaloo’s YoJoJo comes to life with this great soft toy. Just squeeze his belly to hear your favourite YoJoJo phrases and watch his ears wiggle. He also comes with his own melody and lots more phrases. £26.99 from Argos

Lift Off Rocket (18 months - 4 years)
The Lift Off Rocket helps with your child’s motor skills and fuels their imagination. Press the button to see the engines light up and hear realistic countdown and take off sounds. Includes: 1 x rocket with lift-off sounds, 2 x astronauts, 1 x space dog, 1 x moon buggy and 1 x alien in a crater. £35 from the Early Learning Centre

Pink Whizz Around Garage (1-3 years)
This chunky Whizz Around Garage is ideal for little hands to get to grips with. It includes an exciting spiral descent and ramps, three cars and six sounds. This fun toy will help your child develop their manual dexterity and provide hours of imaginative play. £40 from the Early Learning Centre

My First Keyboard (From 1 year)
If you’re child’s a bit of a Jamie Cullum or more of an Alicia Keys why not treat them to a mini keyboard. It comes in pink or blue and features eight white light up keys and five black keys, a record and playback function, tempo and pitch buttons, drum sound effects and eight rhythms. The demo button includes rock, classical and nursery rhymes. The legs detach making it great for travel. £35 from the Early Learning Centre

V Tech Kiddizoom Camera in Pink/Blue (3 years and over)
Kids will love this multimedia camera. They can take and edit pictures, make videos and play games on-the-move or via the TV. It is easy to use and able to take a knock or two! £37.99 from Argos

Barnes & Noble Struggles To Fill Nook Demand

2009-12-02T02:11:00.000-08:00

Barnes and Noble is scrambling to meet demand for the Nook, the bookseller's electronic book reader that compete's with Amazon's popular Kindle.

B&N plans to start shipping the Nook this week, hoping to deliver the device in time for Christmas to everyone who ordered the e-reader before Nov. 20. However, the company isn't making any promises. "We are starting to ship this week and are committed to doing everything we can to ensure everyone who ordered a Nook before November 20th will receive it in time for the holidays," B&N spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said in an e-mail sent to InformationWeek Monday. "Due to the high demand, we are prioritizing our pre-orders."
People who ordered the e-reader between Nov. 20 and Nov. 29 should expect delivery the week of Jan. 5. People ordering the device as of 11 a.m. Eastern time Monday can expect B&N to ship the device "on or around" Jan. 11, Keating said.
"We continue to offer a holiday certificate to customers who want to give the Nook as a gift for the holiday," the spokeswoman said.
People hoping to snag a Nook at one of B&N's stores are likely to also have difficulty. Demo devices are scheduled to arrive at B&N's highest volume stores the week of Dec. 7, with a "very limited inventory" available for sale at those same stores "at a date yet to be determined," Keating said.
Assuming that B&N can eventually bring supply in line with demand, the Nook, introduced in October, could become a strong competitor to the Kindle, which currently accounts for the majority of e-reader sales today, according to Forrester Research. Sony's Reader is a distant second.
Nevertheless, the e-reader market is very young, and Amazon's competitors could increase share in the future. Forrester predicts sales this year will reach 3 million units, with 30% of the purchases occurring during the holiday season. E-reader sales next year could exceed 6 million units, according to Forrester.
B&N, meanwhile, plans to sell more than just the Nook at its stores and online. The company in late October said it will also sell Plastic Logic's e-reader, the QUE, starting in January. The QUE is a larger e-reader than the Nook and costs more than $200 more.

'12 days of Christmas' get pricier

2009-12-02T02:07:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Christmas will be only modestly more expensive this year, according to a study out Monday, as prices for everything from partridges to pear trees declined in the weak economy.
The total cost to buy all of the items named in "The 12 Days of Christmas" song increased by just 0.9% this year to $87,402.81, said PNC Financial Services Group.
Of the 12 items in PNC's annual cost of Christmas study -- which tracks the prices of everything from calling birds to French hens -- three fell from last year while five increased in cost and four remained steady.
"This year's PNC Christmas Price Index again reflects the patterns in the broader economy," said James Dunigan, managing executive of investments for PNC Wealth Management.
The index got the biggest boost from a surge in the price of gold, which is at a record high near $1,200. That sent the cost of five golden rings up 43% this year.

Declines in bird prices were the main drag, with partridge prices falling by half, and the price of geese down more than a third from last year.
French hens, however, bucked the trend. Prices for the imported poultry jumped 50% to $45 for three.
With the nation's jobless rate above 10%, many of the index's labor related components stagnated. The cost for 10 lords-a-leaping, 11 pipers piping and 12 drummers drumming were all unchanged from last year.
However, an increase in the federal minimum wage helped boost the cost for eight maids-a-milking, the only unskilled laborers in the study, by 11% to $58 from $52.40 in 2008.
And "The 12 Days of Christmas" aren't any cheaper for online shoppers. The cost to buy all 79 items mentioned in one verse of the song from online retailers came to $31,434.85. That's about $10,000 more than the $21,465.56 it would cost to buy all of the items off line.
"In general, Internet prices are higher than their non-Internet counterparts because of shipping costs for birds," Dunigan said.

Top Ten Xbox 360 games for Christmas

2009-12-02T02:04:00.001-08:00

Left 4 Dead 2 … will you be having a very zombie Christmas?

Following on from Keith's PS3 festive top 10 comes the Xbox 360 list. Remember these are suggestions on what to buy this Christmas so the list is mainly focused on recent-ish releases. Anyway, let's go. In no particular order these are the Gamesblog Top 10 Xbox 360 games to buy this Christmas...
Fifa 10 / PES 2010
Ah, the great football game debate. I really couldn't choose between them and which ever one you decide on your footy-loving 360 owner should be happy. Having said that there are some differences. Fifa is slower, more methodical and more realistic. It also has all the right teams and players, even if the likenesses are still scarily off at times. PES has better player likenesses and animations but more importantly plays a faster more fluid game on the pitch. Fifa has more online options, PES has more exciting goalmouth scrambles. I'd still go with PES if I really had to choose but this one is too close to call.
Dragon Age: Origins
Again, this was on Keith's PS3 list but it's too good for 360 owners to miss out on. This is an epic role-playing game that will appeal to patient gamers who want to get their teeth into something a little meatier than the normal shoot n' sport titles. Patience is key though – Dragon Age takes an, er, age to get going. With a text overload and occasionally ugly visuals Dragon Age may not seem an instant winner on Christmas Day. But give it a chance to get going – around 5-10 hours (!) - and you're likely get hooked and still be playing on New Years Day and beyond.
Forza Motorsport 3
One for the dads and uncles this. Forza is a serious motor sim that lets you fiddle with engines and tweak just about everything a petrolhead would want. The action is almost RPG like at times, with upgrades aplenty and even if you don't want to paint or tune your car there is always a reward waiting just around the corner. It looks fabulous too, while there are a host of excellent online features. Probably one for the boys this, but for the motor sport lover there is no better game on the 360.
Modern Warfare 2
The best selling game of the year and a must if you play online. Be warned though, beginners should prepare for a frustrating learning curve as better equipped foes – usually teenagers with time, and you, to kill – constantly take you down. Luckily then the advancement path is so finely honed that it isn't long until you are gaining both ranks and respect. If this sounds like too much hard work then the single-player story is hugely entertaining – albeit relatively brief - on its own. Such a shame about the airport level though. And just when I thought gaming had got over its teenage growth pains too.
Xbox Live Subscription
Yes, it costs £40-odd pounds for a year and yes the PS3 and Wii are free to play online. But Live is streets ahead of them – although PS3 is catching up relatively quickly – and now offers Facebook, Twitter and live Sky TV content as well as a stack of downloadable games. But it is the online play elements which really make this worth the cash. Friends lists, cross-game chat, 1vs100 (see below). An offline 360 is only half a console.
Gyromancer
And if you do get online then this is one of the best new releases you can download. Like the excellent Puzzle Quest before it, Gyromancer mixes "match 3" gameplay – think Bejeweled – with a hefty slab of role-playing (RPG) depth. This gives both context – there's a typically hokum story – and strategy to the puzzling. As you'd expect of a game created by Popcap and Square Enix this a lovely polished game that will suck away those post-Christmas lunch hours.
Assassins Creed 2
The setting – renaissance Italy – makes this worth a look alone. Luckily the game lives up to the premise. It takes a while to get going though. The controls – especially the combat – are occasionally clunky. But give it an hour and you're be sucked in by the roof leaping action and glorious visuals. Again, probably not one for all the family but if you can wrest the TV free from kids/grans/Only Fools reruns then you'll be hooked.
Left for Dead 2
Not one for the kids but this is an hilariously over-the-top online zombie-fest. Again, like most 360 games, it really comes alive online as you team up with friends to chainsaw your undead – or living, depending on which side you take – assailants. This sequel adds new weapons and levels but is not a huge advance on the original. That aside any 360 owner will appreciate the surprisingly deep action and probably bore you senseless with their war stories after.
Borderlands
Again online online play is key here. Grab some friends, create your character – disappointingly restricted to 4 preset templates – and hit the borderlands. The action goes like this. Get quest, shoot stuff, get new gun, cash in quest and repeat. Tedious in singleplayer Borderlands comes alive with friends. A confusing interface and repetitive action let things down but in short bursts this is fantastic.
1 vs 100
It's a live quiz show on your Xbox that lets you compete against thousands of other players at the same time. What could go wrong? Nothing really. Ok, to actually win a prize involves luck, guesswork and worryingly quick reflexes. But 1vs100 cleverly lets you compete against your friends too, which gives you an incentive to play on even if the prizes are seemingly unobtainable. Again, you'll need a Xbox Live subscription but this is perfect for all the family on Christmas Day.
What do you think then? Any other recent 360 game that deserves a mention or need adding to the Christmas list?

Irony in Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ TV spot

2009-12-02T02:03:00.001-08:00

I’m sure you’ve seen it, the magical and snowy world of Charles Dickens’ classic tale unfolding in a 30-second TV spot between football scores and next week’s weather. One of the things that makes “A Christmas Carol” impressive is how such a relatively small blip in a prolific author’s library of work could have this lasting of an impact. It’s probably one of the very few Victorian pieces of fiction that is still recognizable in today’s culture, and it is, without a doubt, one of the best Christmas stories ever written.

However, in the TV spot mentioned earlier, Disney makes a statement that is easily glossed over in the ho-hum of movie-lot exaggeration, but one that should be pretty ironic to Christians.
It calls “A Christmas Carol” the “Greatest Holiday Story of All Time” a statement that made me pause before flipping off the TV and going about my day. Really? The greatest of all time?
I’m pretty sure that Dickens wrote this story to bring focus back to the actual greatest story, you know, the one about a manger and angels in the heavens and the birth of our savior. Because this holiday season doesn’t mean anything without an awareness of who He is and what his birth meant, an understanding of why we have this holiday in the first place.
Christ came to give us freedom from our greed, life to our solitary lives and hope to a cold world, all of the things that the Ghosts of Christmas gave Ebenezer Scrooge. These ghosts are representatives of our need for spiritual guidance, and gave a clear vision for the kind of redeemed life that we are to live. They wouldn’t have had a reason to help Scrooge without a God of grace and love to serve, for mere human charity only goes so far before it is perverted. Charles Dickens, of all people, understood the truth of who we are without a savior, and showed that through Scrooge, one of the best pictures of fallen, sinful mankind ever created.
In the end, Scrooge found meaning, not just in roast geese and mistletoe and the singing of carols, but in what those carols mean. We sing “Joy to the World” because the Lord is come, and because truth resonates in them, and through our peace and joy. It doesn’t come through our own goodness, but through the Greatest Holiday Story of All Time, the one about how God loved us enough to come to Earth, to save us from ourselves, and to give us something to celebrate for the rest of Eternity.

State Capitol Christmas Tree Lights Up At 6 p.m.

2009-12-02T02:02:00.002-08:00

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Governor and his wife will be joined by schoolchildren from across Oklahoma Tuesday evening for the annual lighting of the State Capitol Christmas tree.
Governor Brad Henry and First Lady Kim Henry are scheduled to throw the switch at 6 p.m. on the south steps of the state capitol.

"This tradition at the State Capitol is a fun and joyous way to celebrate the holiday season," said Gov. Henry. "Kim and I always love the opportunity for Oklahoma families to join together during this special time of year."
For the first time, the 30-foot-tall artificial evergreen will boast about 2,000 energy-conserving LED lights.
These lights, according to a news release, provide an energy savings of 80 to 90 percent over incandescent lamps and last 100,000 hours.
One hundred evergreens throughout the State Capitol Park will also be lighted during the festivities.
All the trees were donated by the Weyerhauser Company Foundation.
As part of the celebration, more than 1,000 children will decorate 42 small Christmas trees located throughout the state Capitol.
This year's festivities include caroling, storytelling, music and, of course, a visit from Santa Claus

Online Christmas sales shoot up

2009-12-02T02:02:00.000-08:00

ONLINE retailers were last night counting their virtual tills after the busiest shopping day of the year so far – with Christmas gift hunters spending an unprecedented £175m.

While web-based giant Amazon said that its most hectic winter period was yet to come, a host of familiar net names said that trading yesterday was likely to hit its peak for the festive season.
Payment merchant Visa Europe revealed it had prepared to process 1,600 transactions a minute yesterday. They expected a rise of 25% on 2008’s figures within the same period by midnight.
Laura Tenison, managing director of childrenswear company JoJo Maman Bébé, has seen traffic to the firm’s website grow markedly over the past 12 years.
Ms Tenison said that not only had the value of orders increased in recent years, but the type of consumers ordering online had also shifted.
“We have had a web presence for the last 12 years and over that time sales have grown and the type of customers we see have changed too,” said the Pontypool-born entrepreneur.
“When we started 99.5% of e-commerce came from men – it was really only the geeks who were on it.
“That figure has gradually changed until it has become in line with the rest of our sales – 98% female.
“As more people get home computers the numbers have changed and the sales we have been getting are consistently high.
“Yesterday was busy and we expect the rest of this week and next to be an incredible time.”
Bosses at Visa said that lunchtime and then again at 7pm were yesterday’s busiest points for internet-based sales, with shoppers keen to purchase goods ahead of the final dates for guaranteed pre- Christmas delivery.
Officials at John Lewis, which on October 22 opened its first Welsh outlet in Cardiff, said that its sales assistants had experienced one of the most hectic weeks of the year.
The chain recently announced that its internet sales had soared between 30% and 40% year-on-year, and had already beaten its online festive sales record before “Cyber Monday”, when workers pick up their final pay packet before December 25.
Its top-selling item was the Nintendo Wii Black console, priced around £159.
But Amazon, which operates a warehouse the size of 11 commercial football pitches from its site on Fabian Way on the outskirts of Swansea, said that its busiest day for sales was likely to fall on December 7 – or even a week later on December 14 as confidence in the retail sector solidified before Christmas.
Ben Howes, a spokesman for amazon.co.uk, said: “For us Monday was not the busiest day of the year. Traditionally in the UK it is the first Monday of December that is busiest, so that will be next week and might even be December 14 as consumer confidence picks up.
“Last year on the equivalent day, December 8, we took orders in the UK for 1.4 million items. A delivery truck left our depots every five minutes and 24 seconds.”
Over the last three decades, since internet shopping began with its first transaction in March, 1981, its popularity among consumers has reached a new high almost every year in a row.
In 2005 market analysts Verdict Research said that an estimated £8.2bn was spent by British shoppers online.
By 2008 the figure had more than tripled and reached a reported £26.5bn. Experts believe that increasingly, technology-savvy consumers feel that better deals can be found on the net.
Others want to slash the number of hours spent pounding the high street. A study by the British Shopping Centre Council discovered that shoppers spend an average of 40 hours choosing and paying for Christmas gifts bought from walk-in stores. But those who buy presents online take just 10 hours.
Ian Geddes, retail consulting partner at Deloitte, said that the rapid rise of internet sales showed the extent that the “digital age had embedded itself into mainstream life”.