Saturday at the Movies.

And the Flashmob An amazing Three D light show The rescue of a whale.

Found For Friday

 An Illinois man left the snow-filled streets of Chicago for a vacation in Florida. His wife was on a business trip and was planning to meet him there the next day.

When he reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick email. Unable to find the scrap of paper on which he had written her email address, he did his best to type it in from memory.

Unfortunately, he missed one letter and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher's wife, whose husband had passed away only the day before.

When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream and fell to the floor in a dead faint. At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

DEAREST WIFE: "JUST GOT CHECKED IN. EVERYTHING PREPARED FOR YOUR ARRIVAL TOMORROW. P.S. SURE IS HOT DOWN HERE."

 A man’s home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.

 Dijon vu - the same mustard as before

Practice safe eating - always use condiments.

 Those who jump off a bridge in Paris must be in Seine

 A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy

 Shotgun wedding: a case of wife or death.

 A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

 Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.

 Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.

When two egotists meet, it’s an I for an I.

 A bicycle can’t stand on its own because it is two tired.

 She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.

 If you don’t pay your exorcist, you’ll be repossessed.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgivukkah

Thanksgivukkah: Why Hanukkah and Thanksgiving Overlap This Year

Source. 

The reason for this year's rare alignment has to do with quirks of two calendars, the Gregorian and Jewish calendars. Much of the world follows the Gregorian calendar, which has a 365-day year based on the Earth's orbit around the sun, with leap years every four years. The Gregorian calendar was implemented by Pope Gregory to keep Easter in line with the season it was originally celebrated in.

But the Jewish calendar, which was created more than 2,000 years ago,follows the waxing and waning of the moon. That calendar has 12 months of roughly 30 days each, which works out to a bit more than 354 days in a year. As a result, the Jewish year creeps earlier and earlier relative to the Gregorian calendar. But many Jewish holidays, such as Passover, are tied to seasons such as spring.

To keep holidays in line with their seasons, the Jewish calendar includes an entire extra month in seven of every 19 years. This year is a leap year, so Hanukkah and all of the other Jewish holidays came especially early in 2013. And Thanksgiving, which falls on the fourth Thursday in November, happened to come extra late this year, allowing for the convergence.

Because the extra month on the Jewish calendar will occur in 2014, Hanukkah will once again happen in December, Miller said.

"That also allows us to get Passover back in the spring," Miller told LiveScience.

Jews aren't the only ones who follow a lunar calendar. The Muslim calendar is also based on the cycles of the moon, but Muslims don't adjust their calendar, meaning that holidays can shift seasons over time. The Celts used a combination solar and lunar calendar, and Hindus from different regions of the world have several solar and combined solar and lunar calendars. The Maya calendar, meanwhile, used three different cycles, only one of which was tied to a 365-day year.

Inspiring fried foods

The eight-day celebration of Hanukkah celebrates the triumph of Jewish warriors called Maccabees over their Seleucid occupiers more than 2,000 years ago. The Seleucids desecrated the Holy Temple and when the Maccabees took it back, they found just one small flask of oil to purify the temple. Because the flask of oil lasted for eight days instead of the expected one day, Jews typically celebrate the holiday for eight days with fried, oily foods.

Here is Ben Aaron's video on the subject.

And here is a very thoughtful piece shared by Michael Libbie.

Duh!

My mother worried.

I think that perhaps I inherited it from her.  She used to worry about anything and most of the time I pooh poohed her worrying and told her not to worry.  I think it was a family thing as I seem to remember my Aunt Jean worrying also,
but I don't remember many others worrying.

Anyway I worry.  I worry about things that are going to happen, that may happen, that aren't going to happen but I know better.

However

when it comes to my car I am sure there is something expensive going to go wrong with it.

Now get this.  My car is relatively new and there is nothing wrong with it but every time I get into it I worry that some fool is going to turn left in front of me and we will crash.  There is precedence for that as we were coming back from Minnesota and that actually happened.  No one was hurt and we got through it.  But I still worry about it.

The latest turned out to be not only a worry for four days but eventually was a DUH!

I got in my car when I was driving my sister back and forth to work and I noticed that when I turned the wheel to go into a parking place the car would "jump" and it was not smooth.  Well I began to worry about it. I fussed about it in my head for the entire week-end and tried to figure out how I was going to get it down to be fixed and go to my appointments on Monday and Tuesday and go to the grocery store and besides it was Thanksgiving week and that would mean that the garage would be closed on Thursday and besides having to give up the car it would probably cost me $1000 or more to get it fixed (I had transmission problems on the Jeep).  Well anyway I finally bit the bullet and called Shaffer's Auto body and described the problem to the nice man who answered the phone.

You also have to realize that I did take Driver's Education and they told us about the basics of engines etc. but that was in 1957 and I was 16 years old...and I have forgotten everything I learned except how to drive and watch out for other cars.

As I said I described the problem and he said it sounded to him like I might have the four-wheel drive on. I said DUH and thanked him and told him I might still have to come down if I couldn't figure out how to fix it.

That afternoon I went out to the car to go meet a friend for lunch and I pulled the "Book" out of the glove box and looked up 4-wheel drive.  It was on page 29-2 and I found out where on the dashboard the control for the 4-wheel drive was and sure enough it was set on 4-wheel so I reset it and the problem was solved and the worry went away and I was happy again.

So in the future I shall remember Bobby McFerrin's little song.

Potpourri

 Do you recognize this ancient Egyptian god?  It is the Ibis headed Thoth (or Hermes if you were a Greek)    -  He is the god who was supposed to have brought writing to mankind.  The following is a quote I found from him  "....rise above all time and become eternal; then you will apprehend God. Think that for you too nothing is impossible; deem that you too are immortal, and that you are able to grasp all things in your thought, to know every craft and science; find your home in the haunts of every living creature; make yourself higher than all heights and lower than all depths; bring together in yourself all opposites of quality, heat and cold, dryness and fluidity; think that you are everywhere at once, on land, at sea, in heaven; think that you are not yet begotten, that you are in the womb, that you are young, that you are old, that you have died, that you are in the world beyond the grave; grasp in your thought all of this at once, all times and places, all substances and qualities and magnitudes together; then you can apprehend God.

But if you shut up your soul in your body, and abase yourself, and say “I know nothing, I can do nothing; I am afraid of earth and sea, I cannot mount to heaven; I know not what I was, nor what I shall be,” then what have you to do with God?” 

Pretty heavy stuff. You can read more about him by using the excellent tool called Google.

The following is a palate cleanser because the preceeding was rather heavy.

This is for my engineer friends - You know who you are.

Social commentary..I think the Governor's name should be spelled Failin'  What an asshat. And then there is Wallmart.  I signed the petition telling them I would not be shopping there on Black Friday.  Actually I never shop there.  For two reasons 1) they mistreat their workers (no matter what their TV ads say) and 2) the quality of their merchandise sucks. I was taught to buy quality and Wal-mart forces manufacturers to cut corners so they can sell things cheaply which fall apart and don't last. 

 This week-end we have all been reminded of where we were 50 years ago. It doesn't seem like 50 years ago. For those of us who lived through it the feelings and emotions are still there carried with us for all those years.  I was in college at what is now the University of Northern Iowa.  I was living in Linda Rulon's boarding house and had a private room at the head of the stairs.  Across the hall from me was a student known to us as "Billy" Dean  (after Billy Graham) because he was a born again "Christian" who started a conversation with each of us with the question "Are you a Christian?"  Needless to say after that conversation most of us heathens avoided a conversation with him.  I mention it here because it will come up later.

We heard the word in various ways.  I was walking down to College Hill for some reason when some guy pulled his car beside me and yelled out that the "President had been shot." and that he "hoped it wasn't the Commies!" Back then we had just had the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Communist threat was on every one's mind.

I made it back to the house and it was true and I heard the announcement that the President had been shot and was indeed dead.  The TV for the house was in a smallish parlor room just as you came down the steps.  There were only about 8 of us who lived in the house and most of us were glued to the TV for the entire week-end.  We saw and listened to the national coverage and mourned with the nation.  We were in shock.  We saw the pictures as the President's body was taken from the airplane back in Washington.

We watched Mrs. Kennedy as she performed her duties and held the nation together with her grace and presence.  We watched the laying in state and the funeral cortege. It was where I first saw a riderless horse with the boots turned backward in the stirrups and watched as 3 year old John-John saluted his father's casket as it went by the White House.  (I learned tonight -11/25 - that it was the first time he had been able to do it correctly as he was left handed and that his father had been practicing with him to make the salute with his right hand.)  That little salute on the news tonight had the power to bring a tear (or two) to my eyes.

As we watched the funeral and listened to the words "Billy" Dean came down the stairs.  He stopped halfway down and disparaged us for wasting time watching the funeral of somebody who was just a politician.

Kennedy was more than "just a politician" - yes he was flawed, but who isn't?  His flaws are between him and his God. It is his charisma and leadership and vision that make him great.  Read the words from the undelivered speech he was on his way to give in Dallas that day - They could have been written for today.

There will always be dissident voices heard in the land, expressing opposition without alternative, finding fault but never favor, perceiving gloom on every side and seeking influence without responsibility. Those voices are inevitable.

But today other voices are heard in the land — voices preaching doctrines wholly unrelated to reality, wholly unsuited to the sixties, doctrines which apparently assume that words will suffice without weapons, that vituperation is as good as victory and that peace is a sign of weakness. At a time when the national debt is steadily being reduced in terms of its burden on our economy, they [view] that debt as the single greatest threat to our security. At a time when we are steadily reducing the number of Federal employees serving every thousand citizens, they fear those supposed hordes of civil servants far more than the actual hordes of opposing armies.We cannot expect that everyone, to use the phrase of a decade ago, will “talk sense to the American people.” But we can hope that fewer people will listen to nonsense. And the notion that this Nation is headed for defeat through deficit, or that strength is but a matter of slogans, is nothing but just plain nonsense.

...

... a nation can be no stronger abroad than she is at home. Only an America which practices what it preaches about equal rights and social justice will be respected by those whose choice affects our future. Only an America which has fully educated its citizens is fully capable of tackling the complex problems and perceiving the hidden dangers of the world in which we live. And only an America which is growing and prospering economically can sustain the worldwide defenses of freedom, while demonstrating to all concerned the opportunities of our system and society.

...

We, in this country, in this generation, are — by destiny rather than by choice — the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of “peace on earth, good will toward men.” That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago: “except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh but in vain.”

This week-end I have been thinking of President Kennedy, his wife and children.  Carolyn is the only one left and she is a talented beautiful, graceful woman who is serving her country as ambassador to Japan.  Continuing the tradition of service. I am grateful on this Thanksgiving week that I can remember them and be grateful that they were here to serve our nation and the world.

Molly on Monday

Molly here,
  It has gotten cold.  B G. turned up the heat...but only by one degree. That is all right I have a fur coat.  Cassie and I stay inside and look out the window.  I go out but not for long.

Sometimes we see the moon.

I get tired of looking out the window so I do my vulture impersonation

My favorite spot is still B G's lap... and I am ready for my close ups Mr. DeMille.

But winter and cold make a great time for naps.. I think my nails need trimming.  I must talk to B G about that.

He got a movie of me harassing Cassie and playing with my alligator toy. It was one of those bright days when the sunshine makes Cassie want to sleep.  I ticked her off and she went up on top of the couch and glared at me.

This is my selfie.

Thanks for coming by to see me.  Woof!

Sunday

 “God is not a Christian, God is not a Jew, or a Muslim, or a Hindu, or a Buddhist. All of those are human systems which human beings have created to try to help us walk into the mystery of God. I honor my tradition, I walk through my tradition, but I don't think my tradition defines God, I think it only points me to God.” 

~ John Shelby Spong

 We're being trained through our incarnations--trained to seek love, trained to seek light, trained to see the grace in suffering.

Being Love

Mantras

 In Buddhism, the word mantra means “mind protecting”. A mantra protects the mind by preventing it from going into its’ usual mechanics, which often are not our desired or optimal conscious perspective.

 "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

~Victor Frankl, was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor

 “If your understanding of the divine makes you kinder, more empathetic, and impels you to express sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this is good theology. But if your notion of God makes you unkind, belligerent, cruel, of self-righteous, or if it leads you to kill in God's name, it is bad theology. ” 

~ Karen Armstrong,

 Spiritual understanding only comes from the understanding of the divine within self, and the attempt to correlate same will always bring the development of self mentally and spiritually. For those who call upon God will not find Him afar off but ever present and ready to answer the self as is found in the inner man. ‪

#‎Edgar Cayce‬ reading 28-1

 “It's being here now that's important. There's no past and there's no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can't relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don't know if there is one.” 

― George Harrison

The recording of this music video took a turn for the amazing when a homeless man kneels in worship and adds his powerful impromptu vocals. Probably the most inspirational thing I have viewed this week.

Saturday Surprises

I found this one when I was exploring another video. These kids are fabulous. As a follow up to last week's Surprise of the splits here is another one. It is also epic! And as a follow-up to last week's falling Domino's here is the world's tallest fall

Found For Friday

  I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there.

I have made several trips there, thanks to my children, friends, family and work.

 I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.

 I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.

 One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart!
At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

I may have been in Continent, and I don't remember what country I was in. It's an age thing. They tell me it is very wet and damp there.

Pencils could be made with erasers at both ends, but what would be the point?

I was arrested after my therapist suggested I take something for my kleptomania.

A hungry traveller stops at a monastery and is taken to the kitchens. A brother is frying chips.  

'Are you the friar?' he asks.  

'No.I'm the chip monk,' he replies.

Yesterday I accidentally swallowed some food coloring. The doctor says I'm OK, but I feel like I've dyed a little inside.

What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway).

Two peanuts were walking in a tough neighborhood and one of them was a-salted.

A motorcycle rider with bad teeth is the leader of the plaque.