>>fuise<<

...

2008-01-05T17:43:06Z

vangoghgallery.com

Sensuality Test

2008-01-04T05:28:43Z

'Sensuality is, in essence, how in tune you are with your senses. Do you notice smells, textures, sounds? How sensual you are plays a key role in both your sex life and your overall ability to derive pleasure from life. Find out what the use of your senses implies about life and love with the Sensuality Test.

Fill in the questionnaire, responding as you truthfully would in such situations. If you have never been in one or more of the situations, respond as you most likely would. After finishing the Sensuality Test, you will receive a detailed, personalized interpretation of your score that includes diagrams, information on the test topic and tips.'

Take the test

Beauty, Sensuality and Fantasy

2008-01-04T05:13:23Z

'Luis Royo (born in 1954 in Olalla, Spain) is a Spanish artist, known for his darkly sensual paintings of women and mechanical life forms. He has also recently started doing sculptures of some of his earlier art.

He was born in Olalla, a small town near Teruel, Spain. He has produced many paintings for his own books/exhibitions, and has also produced art for various other media: videogames, CD album covers, comic book covers, and Tarot cards.

He is most famous for his work doing illustrations of Julie Strain for the animated movie Heavy Metal.' [Wikipedia]

I've admired Luis Royo's work before, but I thought I would post this and give some links for those of you who have not had the pleasure. This image here is from a fan site, but Royo's official page is here and more links to his awesome art can be found on this google page.

From 'The Prophet'

2008-01-03T08:42:40Z

And then a scholar said, "Speak of Talking."

And he answered, saying:

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;

And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.

And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.

For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words many indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.

There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.

The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.

And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand.

And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.

In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.

When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place, let the spirit in you move your lips and direct your tongue.

Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;

For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered

When the color is forgotten and the vessel is no more.

'Talking' from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran</i>

Happy New Year's eve

2007-12-31T18:50:05Z

I have to actually go out of the house today [shock and awe], but until I get home, I wanted to wish you this:

And also for those of you going out tonight, please take care because I want to see all of you back here tomorrow after the festivities - even if you have a hangover!

Thank you for helping me to get through 2007. May the New Year bring us all hope, good health, happiness, love, friendship and a decent internet connection. <3

'Tiny Dancer'

2007-12-31T13:19:56Z

Elton John video - live
'Tiny Dancer' midi

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Jesus freaks out in the street
Handing tickets out for God
Turning back she just laughs
The boulevard is not that bad

Piano man he makes his stand
In the auditorium
Looking on she sings the songs
The words she knows, the tune she hums

But oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you and you can't hear me
When I say softly, slowly

Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
you had a busy day today

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

--Elton John

'Rocket Man'

2007-12-31T12:47:46Z

Click here for the midi, and you can sing along. And dun make fun of me because it's New Year's Eve, and I like midis! If you can't click and hear it, you can right click and save it and start a whole collection of midis because you know you've been wanting to do that.

She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine a.m.
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much; I miss my wife
It’s lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone

Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it’s cold as hell
And there’s no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science I don’t understand
It’s just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time...

--Elton John

Radio websites SUCK

2007-12-30T18:30:18Z

I am listening this Sunday morning, as I usually do when I am actually conscious, to 'Soundscapes' on the radio. I hear at 10.10 a song by an artist I used to be able to listen to streaming from MP3.com before they whored themselves out to the advertising scum. The guys name was Sami Tak**** something or other, and he was GREAT! His music was in the minor key and had all sorts of other-worldly sounds in it. He would be considered New Age. I loved his music. Now I canny find his name or anyone who has ever even heard of him. I found it once somewhere, possibly one of my old computers, but I lost it because I am a goober.

Anyway, to make a simple story complicated and boring, I quickly went to the radio website when I heard this artist's music this morning. I KNEW it had to be him. Well, radio websites vie with each other concerning which one can stuff the most flashy flash ads onto a page along with huge honking photos of pretentious music artists. It's very difficult for me to traverse these shit sites. By the time I reached 'NOW PLAYING,' it hadn't been playing for 10 minutes. :( Also, the playlist was from LAST FUPPING WEEK!

My head hurts. :(

Irish spymaster 'M' sparks debate

2007-12-30T16:19:14Z

BBC
By Diarmaid Fleming
29 December 2007

An exhibition being held in Tralee about the first head of the British Secret Service, William Melville, has caused some shaking and stirring in the county.

Characters from James Bond films were based on Melville

The original spymaster "M" of James Bond fame came from Kerry, but the hosting of the exhibition in the County Museum named after Irish rebel leader Thomas Ashe means it's not been without controversy.

William Melville was the first head of the British Secret service in 1903.

The original "M" - as later James Bond's boss would be known - spent much of his earlier career in the new Special Branch, pursuing Irish Fenians and European left-wing radicals in the late 19th century.

Among those he jailed was Tom Clarke, who was later to be executed as a leader of the 1916 Rising in Dublin.

Some Kerry republicans are furious at the exhibition in a hall named after Thomas Ashe, one of Clarke's 1916 comrades.

Republican Sinn Fein organised a protest against the exhibition and what Matt Leen of the party says is the "renegade" William Melville.

Jack the Ripper was hunted by William Melville

"Me and my fellow republicans think this is an act of treason, to hold this especially in his hall that's here to commemorate Thomas Ashe who gave his life for the freedom we enjoy in this part of Ireland and who suffered a horrendous death - he was force fed - at the hands of the cohorts of William Melville," says Leen.

"To come along 90 years later and to see Melville being commemorated here in the Thomas Ashe Hall, surely there's a huge contradiction in this exhibition."

It was in what must be one of Ireland's most beautiful villages, Sneem, that Melville was born in 1850, before running away from home to become a London policeman.

He rose through the ranks, joining the new Special Irish Branch, forerunner of the Special Branch, where, along with other Irishmen, they targeted their countrymen in the Fenians who didn't share their allegiance to the Crown.

Once the so-called Fenian "Dynamite War" ended in the late 1880s, he moved his attention to international radicals.

Britain had become a haven for revolutionaries and anarchists opposing monarchies throughout Europe, and Melville had plenty of work on his plate, targeting Russians and others, while still finding time to chase Jack the Ripper.

But little was known of the spymaster from Sneem until recently-opened British secret papers enabled a biography, says village historian, John V O'Sullivan, editor of the Sneem Parish News.

"Locals don't have strong feelings about Melville," he considers.

"I wouldn't say that they're proud of it, but they certainly acknowledge that he was a genius and the reason he emigrated was by necessity.

"I don't think there's very strong views held on him by people - whether they'd condemn him or praise him - but they just acknowledge that at the time, he turned out to be the top detective in Europe.

"That was genius as far as the people here would be concerned, but they certainly wouldn't hold strong views on what way he operated later on."

The exhibition includes a bomb loaned by West Midlands Police, used by Melville to frame anarchists in Walsall in 1892, which helped his promotion to head of the Special Branch, a year before he strangely retired at the peak of his career as one of Scotland Yard's most famous policemen aged only 53.

He had in fact been secretly headhunted, to become the top field operative or spy - known by the alias 'M' - for the newly formed British intelligence service, in the new Directorate of Military Operations.

Its divisions MO2 and MO3 were the forerunners of MI5 and MI6.

He ran a network of agents, at home and afar, and worked as far as Persia where he was sent to help secure oil supplies for Britain.

As insurrection raged in Ireland in 1916, he is not known to have been involved in counter-insurgency work in his native land, being preoccupied instead in the war against Germany, before his death in 1918.

The Kerry County Museum rejects republicans' criticism of the exhibition, saying Melville's life is simply a remarkable story and for people to judge for themselves.

"I understand their point of view - I don't necessarily agree with it and nor does the museum necessarily agree with it but I can see why some people would feel it would be not appropriate," says Kerry County Museum curator Helen O'Carroll.

"But to examine the life of somebody like William Melville who took such an opposite path to Thomas Ashe, for a teacher such as Thomas Ashe, that would be something he would welcome.

"That we would examine these things, not pretend they didn't happen or hide them away or say we're not going to deal with that but actually to deal with it and look at it and see how we can integrate somebody like Melville into our conception of Irishness," she adds.

But what of a permanent memorial to Sneem's unlikely spymaster son?

The village green in Sneem has a monument to a famous wrestler, but considerable political wrestling in Kerry could be expected to follow any calls for a permanent monument to bring the legacy of the village's spymaster in from the cold.

World's oldest Orangutan dies

2007-12-30T15:21:38Z

Belfast Telegraph
30 December 2007

A Sumatran Orangutan who is believed to be the worlds oldest has died.

The 55 year old passed away in a Miami zoo where the ape had lived since 1983.

The Orangutan known as Nonja, was born on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

A typical life span for Sumatran orangutans is usually between 40 to 50 years.

loneliness

2007-12-30T10:06:37Z

Image

oil

2007-12-30T09:57:10Z

Image

i-Snake 'to revolutionise heart surgery'

2007-12-29T19:34:25Z

By Bonnie Malkin and agencies
Telegraph.co.uk
29/12/2007

Scientists have been awarded more than £2 million to develop a surgical robot which they say could allow more complex operations to be carried out by keyhole surgery.

A team at Imperial College, London, which includes health minister and surgeon Lord Darzi, will work on a flexible device called the i-Snake.

The instrument, a long tube housing special motors, sensors and imaging tools, could allow heart bypass operations to be performed without the need for open-heart surgery, the researchers said. It would be inserted through a blood vessel or the throat.

It could also be used to diagnose problems in the gut and bowel by giving surgeons easier access to difficult to reach parts of the body.

Such minimally invasive surgery has many advantages over current methods, because it means reduced hospital stays, shorter recovery times and smaller scars.

Medical research charity the Wellcome Trust awarded Imperial College's world-renowned team £2.1 million to carry out the research.

Lord Darzi said: "The unrivalled imaging and sensing capabilities coupled with the accessibility and sensitivity of i-Snake will enable more complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures than are currently possible.

"The cost benefits that i-Snake will introduce include earlier, cheaper and less invasive treatment, faster recovery and procedure times and intangible benefits through an increase in patient care and quality of life."

another stolen masterpiece

2007-12-28T20:05:06Z

Nicked from Jamie Williams Grossman

have another drink on me

2007-12-28T20:04:14Z

This unabashed mutilation and hijacking of art perpetrated by me came from this painting. I like the tiny pic better. :-p

miniature

2007-12-28T20:03:24Z

Lots of times I like to take a picture and make an lj userpic-sized icon with it. I know this is called stealing because most of the time I dun pay attention to who did it, nor do I give credit, and how bad is that? 'Tis shameless, I know. I should try to be more honest. Here is a tiny pic which came from this painting by Chardin, but the little pot beside the water was ugly. I was only interested in the reflective qualities of the water. It's not nearly so pretty as the one I have in my userpics, but it is interesting. :)

TCPView for Windows v2.51

2007-12-28T20:01:04Z

Tonight something happened to me that freaked me out. I'm sure it is probably nothing, but I didna have Hashi to ask because his da had surgery today, and he was away. I was reading a random journal and went to close the layer when I couldna find my cursor. Then all of a sudden, up at the top of the window I see a cursor going crazy in several different places. Then I found MY cursor, and it was not apparently the one I had just seen. This reminds me of the times when tech services had come on my machine at school remotely to try to fix something.

As far as I remembered, remote access to my computer was OFF, yet when I went to the control panel and checked the system icon, sure enough it said to allow my computer to invite remote assistance. This just pisses me off no fecking end. I fixed that and then ran Spybot. No problems it says. I am updating and scanning with Avast as well.

In addition, I googled this remote issue and found I could type 'netsat' in the RUN command to view all the connections, but as soon as it started populating the window, it disappeared and refused to return, so I googled some more and found a free programme you can download which will allow you to view and ascertain the properties and domain owners of all your computer's running connections. It is a tiny programme with no installation. You just unzip and go. It is called TCPView, and I am including the introduction for it. You may visit the site and download the programme here:

TCPView for Windows v2.51

By Mark Russinovich
Published: August 16, 2007

Introduction

TCPView is a Windows program that will show you detailed listings of all TCP and UDP endpoints on your system, including the local and remote addresses and state of TCP connections. On Windows Server 2008, Vista, NT, 2000 and XP TCPView also reports the name of the process that owns the endpoint. TCPView provides a more informative and conveniently presented subset of the Netstat program that ships with Windows. The TCPView download includes Tcpvcon, a command-line version with the same functionality.

TCPView works on Windows Server 2008/Vista/NT/2000/XP and Windows 98/Me. You can use TCPView on Windows 95 if you get the Windows 95 Winsock 2 Update from Microsoft.

Using TCPView

When you start TCPView it will enumerate all active TCP and UDP endpoints, resolving all IP addresses to their domain name versions. You can use a toolbar button or menu item to toggle the display of resolved names. On Windows XP systems, TCPView shows the name of the process that owns each endpoint.

By default, TCPView updates every second, but you can use the Options|Refresh Rate menu item to change the rate. Endpoints that change state from one update to the next are highlighted in yellow; those that are deleted are shown in red, and new endpoints are shown in green.

You can close established TCP/IP connections (those labeled with a state of ESTABLISHED) by selecting File|Close Connections, or by right-clicking on a connection and choosing Close Connections from the resulting context menu.

You can save TCPView's output window to a file using the Save menu item.

Benazir Bhutto killed in attack

2007-12-27T20:27:26Z

BBC News
27 December 2007
*Many more links onsite

Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in a suicide attack.

Ms Bhutto - the first woman PM in an Islamic state - was leaving an election rally in Rawalpindi when a gunman shot her in the neck and set off a bomb.

At least 20 other people died in the attack and several more were injured.

President Pervez Musharraf has urged people to remain calm but angry protests have gripped some cities, with at least 11 deaths reported.

Security forces have been placed on a state of "red alert" nationwide.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack. Analysts believe Islamist militants to be the most likely group behind it.

Map: Scene of the assassination
Life in pictures

Ms Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), had served as prime minister from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996, and had been campaigning ahead of elections due on 8 January.

It was the second suicide attack against her in recent months and came amid a wave of bombings targeting security and government officials.

Nawaz Sharif, also a former prime minister and a political rival, announced his Muslim League party would boycott the elections.

He called on President Musharraf to resign, saying free and fair elections were not possible under his rule.

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency session and later said it "unanimously condemned" the assassination.

Scene of grief

Ms Bhutto's remains have been removed from Rawalpindi General Hospital in a van. They are reportedly being taken to the city's airport.

The attack occurred close to an entrance gate of the city park where Ms Bhutto had been speaking.

Police confirmed reports Ms Bhutto had been shot in the neck and chest before the gunman blew himself up.

She died at 1816 (1316 GMT), said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of the PPP who was at hospital.

Some supporters at the hospital wept while others broke into anger, throwing stones at cars and breaking windows.

Protests erupted in other cities as news of the assassination spread, with reports of 11 deaths in the PPP's heartland province of Sindh, including four in provincial capital, Karachi.

More than 100 cars were burned in Karachi, while cars and a train were reportedly set on fire in Hyderabad.

In other violence:

--Police in Peshawar, in the north-west, used batons and tear gas to break up a rally by protesters chanting anti-Musharraf slogans

--One man was killed in a "shoot-out" between police and protesters in Tando Allahyar, the mayor said

--Unrest was also reported in Quetta, Multan and Shikarpur

'Security lapse'

Mr Musharraf has announced three days of national mourning.

Protesters set vehicles on fire in the streets of Hyderabad

Mr Sharif said there had been a "serious lapse in security" by the government.

But an old friend of Ms Bhutto, Salman Tassir, told the BBC World Service he did not think criticism should be directed at the government.

"There have been suicide attacks on Gen Musharraf also," he told Newshour.

"I mean it is extremism and the fanatics who are to blame."

Earlier on Thursday, at least four people were killed ahead of an election rally Mr Sharif had been preparing to attend close to Rawalpindi.

Ms Bhutto's death has plunged the PPP into confusion and raises questions about whether January elections will go ahead as planned, the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says.

BENAZIR BHUTTO

Benazir Bhutto photographed in 1972
Father led Pakistan before being executed in 1979
Spent five years in prison
Served as PM from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996
Sacked twice by president on corruption charges
Formed alliance with rival ex-PM Nawaz Sharif in 2006
Ended self-imposed exile by returning to Pakistan in October
Educated at Harvard and Oxford

Obituary: Benazir Bhutto

The killing was condemned by India, the US, the UK and others.

US President George W Bush telephoned Mr Musharraf for what the White House would only describe as a "brief" conversation on the situation.

Ms Bhutto returned from self-imposed exile in October after years out of Pakistan where she had faced corruption charges.

Her return was the result of a power-sharing agreement with President Musharraf

He had granted an amnesty that covered the court cases she was facing.

But relations with Mr Musharraf soon broke down.

On the day of her arrival, she had led a motor cavalcade through the city of Karachi.

It was hit by a double suicide attack that left some 130 dead.

Rawalpindi, the nerve centre of Pakistan's military, is seen as one of the country's most secure cities.

Many analysts say attacks like those on Thursday show the creeping "Talebanisation" of Pakistan.

Radical Muslims calling for Islamic law, and fiercely opposed to the US, have become increasingly active in Pakistani politics in recent years, analysts say.

Liver drug could benefit heavy drinkers

2007-12-27T03:41:32Z

· New treatment reverses damage to the organ
· Cirrhosis common among people in 20s and 30s

Ian Sample
The Guardian
December 27, 2007

A drug that reverses severe liver damage could be used to treat disease in heavy drinkers who find it impossible to give up alcohol. Scientists developed the drug after discovering a way to prevent the formation of excessive scar tissue caused by cirrhosis, hepatitis and other medical conditions.

To their surprise the drug not only slowed progression of the disease but also reversed damage to the organ.

The drug could have a profound impact on public health if it is proven to work in wider clinical trials. In Britain the rise in binge drinking has led to soaring rates of liver disease since the 1960s, with doctors warning cirrhosis is commonplace among men and women in their 20s and 30s.

Liver disease is the fifth largest killer in Britain, with cirrhosis alone claiming the lives of around 3,000 people each year. Worldwide the disease kills nearly 800,000 annually.

The liver is usually one of the body's most resilient organs and is the only one capable of regenerating after damage or injury. But excessive alcohol intake, hepatitis and damage from burns triggers the growth of fibrous scar tissue inside the liver which spreads and eventually destroys its ability to carry out crucial tasks such as combating infection and breaking down toxins.

Researchers led by Dr Martina Buck at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, found that damage to the liver, such as cirrhosis from heavy drinking, caused a specific group of cells known as hepatic stellate cells to go into overdrive and churn out large amounts of collagen, a tough connective tissue. At normal levels collagen helps to heal wounds, but too much causes excessive scarring. The scientists then found that the cells only overproduced collagen in response to a chemical signal carried by a protein in the body called RSK. This signal, they realised, was critical to the progression of liver disease.

The scientists reasoned that if they could block the RSK signal they might be able to halt liver disease in its tracks.

To test the idea the scientists took two groups of mice and treated both with a toxin that is known to cause liver damage. One group was then given a drug called a peptide to block RSK while still receiving the toxin. The scientists found that while all of the mice in the untreated group developed severe liver disease, all of those given the drug had minimal or no liver disease.

Further investigation revealed that as well as blocking the formation of scar tissue in the liver, the drug was also killing off the overactive liver cells, allowing the organ to heal. "Remarkably, the death of [overactive] hepatic stellate cells may also allow recovery from liver injury and reversal of liver fibrosis," said Buck. "Our latest finding proves we can actually reverse the damage."

The drug is particularly promising, because biopsies from people with liver disease have revealed that RSK triggers liver cells to produce scar tissue in humans too. Cirrhosis can occur without any symptoms, but when they do appear they can include jaundice, a loss of appetite, nausea, itchy skin and tiredness.

The disease can lead to high blood pressure, liver cancer, malnutrition and liver failure.

Most hospitals will not perform liver transplants on heavy drinkers who show no intention of cutting down their alcohol intake. A drug could potentially protect a patient's liver while they have treatment to wean them off alcohol.

Poppies in a Glass Vase

2007-12-26T12:40:24Z

A watercolor painting by Ellen Robbins (American, 1828 to 1905) at auction

BIG WHEEL IN BELFAST!

2007-12-25T21:34:13Z

Photo from samizdata.net

From Glenn Cartmill at pbase.com: 'Belfast City Council have errected a huge ferris wheel in the middle of Belfast City Center in the grounds of City Hall. It's basically a "mini London Eye". I had a chance to take a ride on the wheel during my lunch break today. From the wheel we get a good view of the buildings in the city center. I can't help but think it was installed in the wrong location - I would be better out at the Odyssey Arena with views out on the river Lagan.

Here are some facts about the wheel:

Run by World Tourist Attractions, the wheel is 60 metres high and weighs 365 tonnes.

Cost a total of £4m and a further £250,000 to ship to Belfast.

Wheel has 42 air-conditioned passenger capsules and can carry up to 330 people at once.

Each journey takes approximately 15 minutes.

Admission to the wheel is £6 for adults and £4 for children.

There is also a VIP section which has a fridge, leather upholstery, a DVD player and a glass floor. The VIP pod costs £50 and £65 with champagne.'

Lots more photos at Glen Cartmill's site

Youtube video of the wheel with more links onsite.

Perfect Love

2007-12-25T16:08:50Z

'Perfect love is rare indeed - for to be a lover will require that you continually have the subtlety of the very wise, the flexibility of the child, the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding of the philosopher, the acceptance of the saint, the tolerance of the scholar and the fortitude of the certain.'

--Leo Buscaglia

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T06:33:33Z

Because so many people are not religious, I decided just to wish you all a Merry Christmas and give you a cute little story poem I found about --

THE LITTLEST CHRISTMAS TREE

By Richard K. Conant
(Tree image)

The Littlest Christmas Tree stood on the hill, wondering still,
"Will I be chosen, chosen this year?"
"Don't worry dear," said the Mother Tree near,
"you may be chosen, chosen this year."

"I feel so lonely, lonely and sad. Have I been bad?"
asked the Littlest Tree.
"You haven't been bad," said the kind Mother Tree.
"You're a good little tree, you must wait patiently."

Bough-bent and broken by wind and by storm,
the Littlest Christmas Tree had an uneven form.
Spurned and rejected by all who passed by,
the Littlest Christmas Tree began to cry.

"Don't cry, Little Tree," said a bear standing there.
"How would you know that you wouldn't grow, year after year?"
"Little Tree, please don't cry," said a squirrel nearby.
Then a blue jay, a chickadee, an owl wise and strong,
a cardinal, and a woodpecker, with a beak very long,
flew onto the tree and burst into song!
"Thank you, O' thank you! My friends, you are dear!
Now I'll be chosen, chosen this year!"

The Littlest Christmas Tree was happy that day,
'til thunder and lightning drove his friends away!

The kind Mother Tree was taken that night
by a family who rode in a a sleigh.
She offered these words of comfort,
before she was carried away.
"A Christmas Tree's purpose is to bring love and joy
to every girl and boy at Christmas.
So have faith, my son, for your chance will come,
and you will be chosen someday."

All alone in the night, beneath stars glowing bright,
the tree looked toward heaven for light.
A star sailing by in the twinkling sky
shined its light on the Littlest Tree.

As it bathed in the light, on that one special night,
the tree heard a voice say aloud,
"Because you are bent, broken, and small,
you are the most beloved of all-
for the love that's inside is a gift that you hide!
Let it shine forth on this night."

And The Light from above rekindled the love
deep inside the Littlest Tree.
The hill glowed that night,
for the tree's love shined bright.
And happiness fell all around.

When Spring came at last to the trees on the hill
the Littlest Christmas Tree was wondering still,
"Will I be chosen, chosen this year?"

When Summertime came and the other trees grew
the Littlest Christmas Tree wondered anew,
"Will I be chosen, chosen this year?"

And would you believe, that on Christmas Eve
the Littlest Tree looked toward heaven,
And the light from a star, in the heavens so far,
caused the Littlest Tree to remember
The Light from above and its message of love
on that special night last December!
And the hill glowed that night,
for the tree's love shined bright.
And happiness fell all around.

"O' Father, dear Father, please look over there,"
said the boy in the wheelchair,
as he stared at the Littlest Tree.
"Yes, that is the one, it's so lovely, my son.
We'll bring it home for Christmas."

So the Littlest Christmas Tree went home at last,
embraced in the little boy's care.
"Dear Little Tree, you're just like me,"
said the littlest boy in the chair.

And the tree shined that night,
with its message of Light,
and happiness fell all around.

--Whatever your beliefs are, to me Christmas is about finding hope in a hopeless world and love in a hard and difficult life. Love and hope know no boundaries. They are for everyone everywhere. I wish for you both of these gifts this Christmas and every day of the New Year. :)

I love watercolour

2007-12-24T06:50:26Z

By Goro Sasaki

Gods and Fighting Men

2007-12-17T20:04:20Z

The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland

by Lady Augusta Gregory - 1904
Sacred Texts