I decided to dig a little deeper so I did a bit of "fact checking" and went to Snopes. Here is the link, for what I have found. http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/candycane.asp I really am surprised at how vulnerable we humans can be. I've always been somewhat a "doubting Thomas" and I get my curiosity from my father. He spent many, many hours, days, and months of his life in libraries. It's a shame he was not of a generation of computers, internet, and cyberspace. Having said that, he would probably would not have taken anything he found there, as trustworthy. I miss you, Pop, and thanks for your "curiosity" genes!
With the onset of Christmas, customers come in looking for Chistian or spirit-based items to decorate their rooms, bulletin boards, or for seasonal theme parties. I am surprised at the number of people who refer to the "origin" of the candy cane. Often the "Candymaker's Gift" is mentioned. If you are unfamiliar, here is the legend of the candycane. Upright it represents the "shepherd's crook"; turn it upside down, it represents a "J" for Jesus; the red stripes represent the blood He shed for us; the white of the cane represents "purity"; and its flor of "peppermint" is a spice similar to hyssop. Hyssop is an herb referred to in the Bible which was used for healing.
I decided to dig a little deeper so I did a bit of "fact checking" and went to Snopes. Here is the link, for what I have found. http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/candycane.asp I really am surprised at how vulnerable we humans can be. I've always been somewhat a "doubting Thomas" and I get my curiosity from my father. He spent many, many hours, days, and months of his life in libraries. It's a shame he was not of a generation of computers, internet, and cyberspace. Having said that, he would probably would not have taken anything he found there, as trustworthy. I miss you, Pop, and thanks for your "curiosity" genes!
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I was up pretty early this morning and CNN reminded me of the lunar eclipse. I sure miss being out in the country for Mother Nature's finest occurences. I didn't have a tripod, but I did take a few photos and have made one of my Roxio Photoshows. You can see it by clicking the "Photoshows" tab. It's interesting to me to see the progression of position of the moon and lighting of the sky. Unfortunately, I was thwarted by both buildings, and light.
"In the country the darkness of night is friendly and familiar, but in a city, with its blaze of lights, it is unnatural, hostile and menacing. It is like a monstrous vulture that hovers, biding its time." ~Somerset Maugham "The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand." ~Frederick L. Knowles "No sight is more provocative of awe than is the night sky." ~Llewelyn Powys, quoted in Highs by Alex J. Packer "That orbed maiden, with white fire laden; whom mortals call the moon." ~Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Cloud Ever had one of those days when nothing "comes easy"? That's mine, today. I guess I could blame it on that dang "black cat" (looked more like a kitty, not an adult) that scampered in front of my car this morning on my way to work ... hehe ... ironic how that happens, though. It's not a bad day, just a day where nothing has come easy ... every thing I've attempted to handle has needed that "extra step" to get to an end result. Having said that, even with this, I know that my day is easier than many, many others. I am whole, healthy, and able bodied. I am thankful for that! We just need to do the best we can, where we are, with what we have!
"Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, whatever misfortune you may have suffered, the music of your life has not gone. It's inside you--if you listen to it, you can play it." ~Nido Qubein "Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do and damned if you don't." ~Eleanor Roosevelt "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." ~Maya Angelou "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Suess "Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it." ~Hardy D. Jackson By your own soul, learn to live And if men thwart you take no heed. If men hate you have no care. Sing your song, dream your dream, Hope your hope and pray your prayer. ~Parkenham Beatty The above quotes came from "The Quote Lady" ... there are so many good quotes here, but not necessarily relevant to what I'm seeking to Well, I may have to wipe my hard drive ... again ... one of the biggest problems I encounter are all of the "forwards" I receive, especially from those who will not delete those who have forwarded, before you. I will be sending a link here to my family and friends with a simple request,"Do me a favor, please, NO forwards." If you have me on an email group list that you regularly send "forwards", please delete my name. People should, for everyone's protection, learn to use the "BCC" (blind copy). Having said that, even if you use the "BCC" method of sending them, I'd really just prefer to not receive them anymore.
First of all, this is not a "blame" game for my having to reformat my hard drive. I just feel that if I eliminate "forwards" it will eliminate one huge source of virus contamination. The ones that run in the "background" are the most difficult to detect, quarantine, and/or eradicate. If I do it myself by surfing the internet, doing research, then I can be frustrated with on one, other than myself. If you can take time to "forward" something to a mass of people, how about just taking a minute to say "hi", "I love you", or "thinking about you", or send me a hyperlink, if applicable. I would rather receive that, than any "forward". Also, I don't like being on everyone else's email list, when I don't know most of those people, nor do they know me. I will apologize now to those of you who will be offended by my request. Honestly, most of them just get a "delete, delete, delete" before I even read them (especially if they are long and wordy). If it's important enough, copy and paste the content (not everyone's emails) and send me a personal email. I love hearing from all my friends and family but, personally, I would rather receive something more personal in my email box. I receive many christian or spirit-filled things. I have been on the internet long enough to know that even the most heart-felt of "forwards" are generally spammers and hackers depending on your "heart" and "emotions" in order to get your "information" and hacking into your email accounts, and your personal information - i.e. bank account (if you do that), credit cards, etc. Thank you. ~nr lenz "There are two kinds of light - the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures." ~James Thurber
"We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own." ~Ben Sweetland "There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. ~Edith Wharton Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart. ~Kahlil Gibran I've been doing a lot of genealogy lately, so timelessness, death, graveyards, etc. have been ever present in mind. Mourning is for those of us left behind, for the dying have surpassed the adversities of living. Life is not just black and white, but shades of grey. My mission is to give recognition to as many of those I can by adding "life" to the eroding, sometimes unreadable granite, marble, and stone markers lining the grounds of, hopefully, peaceful eternity. In the process perhaps I can help fill in genealogy pages of their own family history. ~nr lenz
"They say it's better to bury your sadness in a graveyard or garden that waits for the spring to wake from its sleep and burst into green." ~Conor Oberst "Perpetual peace is only found in the graveyard." ~Immanuel Kant (4-22-1724 to Febr 12, 1804) "Desire is half of life, indifference is half of death." ~Kahlil Gibran "Time goes, you say? Ah no! Alas, time stays, we go." ~Henry Austin Dobson "Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them." ~Dion Boucicault "Time wastes our bodies and our wits, but we waste time, so we are quits." ~Author Unknown "Time is the fire in which we burn." ~Delmore Schwartz "Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils." ~Louis Hector Berlioz It's been snowing here just long enough to cover the walks, and my car. That's about how long I enjoy the mighty white! It can stop, and go away now. If it weren't for family, I would not live in the midwest. I didn't like snow as a child, in Iowa, and I like it even less, as I age! The only difference now is, "They can't make me play in it!"
A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water. ~Carl Reiner "Winter is not a season, it’s an occupation. " ~Sinclair Lewis These quotes are from the following website. http://www.ezrasf.com/wplog/quotes-to-make-you-think/
I have added my own 'comments' about them ... something a bit different ... Always remember that you’re unique. Just like everyone else. Now, don't you feel 'special'?! Everyone seems normal until you get to know them. 'Normal', compared to what? If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere. Isn't overcoming adversity and obstacles part of life's process? If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything. ... right, all the lies ... No matter how much I care, some people just don’t care back. You can't 'make' someone care; you can't 'make' someone love you. Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important. Facial expression and body language speaks louder than what you cover your body with ... Some people get lost in thought because it’s unfamiliar territory. It's easier to 'shoot from the hip'! Or not ... A wise man learns by the mistakes of others, a fool by his own. So few do. That just goes against nature; making mistakes help build the character you become in life. Having a recent unpleasant experience with QVC and a product I needed to return (snow boots of all things), I have a bitter taste in my mouth about advertising, especially "subliminal advertising" (the small print). I think QVC should have a "paradigm shift" in the way they handle their returns.
"Don't tell my mother I work in an advertising agency - she thinks I play piano in a whorehouse." ~Jacques Seguela It's pretty bad if you'd rather have your mother think you're musically pleasing whores than seducing consumers with advertising. ~nr lenz "The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." ~Marcel Proust Hmmm ... whores and music or advertising, deceit, and seduction? I think both would require a "paradigm shift". I love that word - paradigm ... ~nr lenz We do not really see ourselves. All mirrors are in fact quite useless except the living, human mirrors who reflect us: They do not lie. ~Francois Mauriac One of my favorite questions, "What mirror you lookin' in? *smile* ~nr lenz Two men were walking down a busy city street. "Listen," exclaimed one. "What a lovely sound of a cricket." The other looked at him in puzzlement. "How can you hear a cricket amid this din?" he asked. The first man replied, "I’m a zoologist." He took a coin from his pocket and dropped it on the crowed sidewalk. Immediately, the people around stopped and began to look down. "We hear what we listen for," he explained. ~John Lubbock "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." ~Mark Twain |
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