December 25: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!......from my family to yours..........2009 has been a rough year for all of us........may 2010 bestow upon you the gifts of Health, Happiness and Prosperity!!!!!!!!!!!!...........Thank you for your support of this blog.........Scott

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December 25:
1914 : The Christmas Truce

Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in World War I cease firing their guns and artillery and commence to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the eastern and western fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, and Britain even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing.

At the first light of dawn, many of the German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man's-land, calling out "Merry Christmas" in their enemies' native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer.

The so-called Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare. In 1915, the bloody conflict of World War I erupted in all its technological fury, and the concept of another Christmas Truce became unthinkable.

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General Interest
1914 : The Christmas Truce
http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=5629
6 BC: Christ is born?
http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7122

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REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December.

Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should've known…... We SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!

ONLY women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

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I BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her. On the way, my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me.

"No Santa Claus?" she snorted... "Ridiculous! Don't believe it! That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun.

"Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days.

"Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat.

I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it. Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.

May you always have LOVE to share, HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care...

and may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!

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Click here for the new animation.

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Firesign update: Xmas from Phil Austin‏

There's a Christmas Story here, in case you haven't read it: http://austin.weblogger.com/?p=130

Actually two stories if you also click on "Putting the X back in Xmas."

Blog of the Unknown here http://austin.weblogger.com/

Vague sort of report on the Barnsdall FST shows included therein.

And Merry Everything to Everyone out there!

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Endangered Reindeer Need You This Holiday

Tonight, as countless kids across the world dream of Santa and his flying reindeer clattering across their roof, unfortunately real reindeer face a more dismal reality: population decline. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2009 "Arctic Report Card," 18 of the Arctic's 23 largest migrating reindeer herds are dwindling, and another study found that global populations have shrunk by 57 percent in 20 years. Many point to global warming as the culprit -- it's likely that, like polar bears, Arctic reindeer are negatively affected by warming temperatures melting their icy habitat. Sub-Arctic reindeer -- like their cousins the woodland caribou, in Idaho and Washington -- are harmed by habitat fragmentation due to logging, road building, oil and gas development, and other human activities.

But instead of letting it get you down this holiday season, remember there are things we can all do to help the reindeer. We can start by fighting global warming to make sure they have white Christmases -- and icy winters -- for a long time to come.