Christmas Family

We gather around the tv
Celebrating the togertherness
With Jesus
God becomes man
Man becomes eternal
Imagine that
Even angels are jealous
That He chose to be among us.
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Christmas Eve

Every year
Since 2000 years ago
Christ's birth is celebrated.

It is about love
Love of God
To all of us


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What is Christmas

A Wonderful way to teach your child about christmas. With whimsical art and rhyming text, even the youngest child will be able to answer the question, 'What is Christmas?' Ages 2-5.

It's fun, colorful, and when I've read it to my son, he responds with so much enthusiasm! This book really provides a good balance while still stressing that the reason for season is the birth of Jesus.

See also : God Gave Us Christmas (God Gave Us...)

Journey of Barack Obama

This is a beautiful book, which contains a multitude of pictures and facts about the 44th President of the United States. It was a joy to leaf through the pages of the book, pausing to read the captions of the pictures, or the information contained on the pages. Regardless of your political views, this is an interesting book, which I certainly recommend!

This coffee table book contains many excellent photographs of its subject. It was published after Obama won the Democratic nomination, but before the election results were known. We see Barack Obama in his youth; in Hawaii; at Harvard; with his family, immediate and extended, in the U.S. and in Kenya; at work and at play. The text gives us background biographical details about his life and complicated family history. It is certainly not an in-depth look at the politician or the man, but was a comfortable, pleasing read for the eve of his inauguration as the 44th President of the United States. It has the feel of a souvenir.

See also : President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey

Music for Book Lovers

Gentle classics for reading
 
Gentle music makes a perfect accompaniment to reading. This selection has been chosen with the reader in mind. Many of the tracks began life with a literary theme or programme, taken from old legends, from Shakespeare s tales or from famous books. These works are interspersed with other characterful pieces which reflect a quiet mood or a scene from nature.
Music is the exaltation of poetry. Both of them may excel apart, but surely they are most excellent when they are joyn d, because nothing is then wanting to either of their proportions; for thus they appear like wit and beauty in the same person.
Henry Purcell
Mendelssohn and Berlioz were both inspired by literature, particularly the works of Shakespeare. Both were part of a new awakening in Europe to the powers of the Bard, a trend fuelled both by new translations and by the increasing interest in and reverence for the past which characterised many forms of artistic endeavour in the early decades of the nineteenth century. For Grieg and Tchaikovsky, as part of a younger generation which saw much political upheaval and an increasing pace of technological change, that cultural awareness of the past was charged with the extra elements of nationalism and patriotism. They turned to legends and historic figures from their own countries and wove their stories and themes into their music. It has always been possible to see music, particularly opera, as an expression of a political or sociological system, but for the composers of the mid-nineteenth century it became a more potent means of personal and political, even subversive, expression than ever before. Franz Liszt became embroiled in revolutionary fervour and in the rapidly changing times and he was one of the first musicians to travel on concert tours by train, a far cry from the risky and uncomfortable carriage and four of the young Mozart and his father! Liszt focused his attention on the wealthy aristocrats of all Europe, but Franz Schubert stayed firmly at home in his native city of Vienna, where he entertained his friends and a select group of patrons on a much smaller scale. His more public efforts, such as Rosamunde were ever doomed to financial failure, despite the breathtaking beauty of his melodic style. Edward Macdowell may also have been at his happiest with his musical miniatures, composed for similar society gatherings in Boston and New York at the turn of the twentieth century.
This programme also includes music from a much under-represented genre, British light music. Martin, Hanmer and Coates were involved in the less serious side of music-making, and their careers ran in parallel to those of composers such as Elgar and Vaughan Williams and conductors like Sir Henry Wood and Sir Thomas Beecham. Their work was considered populist and ephemeral (and may well have been composed in this spirit), but in recent times these striking compositions have been rediscovered and a new respect has grown for their technical skill, musical charm and considerable sophistication.

See also : Whimsical Watches Unisex G0460001 Book Lover Brown Leather Watch

Christmas Tree

This charming electric pre-lit pull-up tree is easy to store and even easier to set up. The collapsible artificial Christmas tree stores flat for easy storage and accessibility, then rises up instantly to adorn your home with its spectacularly bright lights and berries. The dense lush greenery of this electric pre-lit pull up tree provides a gorgeous and realistic looking Christmas tree, without all the hassle and annual cost of buying a living Christmas tree. Collapsible tree looks great both indoors and outdoors. With is durable wire frame and long-lasting lighting system, the electric pull up Christmas tree will glisten beautifully for many holiday seasons to come! The tree comes to life with your choice of 400 multicolored lights or 400 clear lights & red berry lights gathered into clusters. Either way, the lights are sealed and weather-proofed for use either indoors or outdoors. 6' tall, 36" diameter. Also included with the tree: 1 Outdoor Spike, 4 Stakes and 1 Indoor Metal Tree Stand. Deck your halls with style this holiday season with this highly convenient collapsible artificial Christmas tree. Order yours from Brookstone now!

See also :  Swarovski 2010 Annual Edition Crystal Snowflake Ornament

JOB VACANCY

INDONESIAN NEEDED

The best Cruise Ship company in the world is seeking Sailor OS & WIPER

Requirements:
- Male
- Age 19 - 35
- Basic Safety Training Certificate
- Sea Service Experience of min. 6 months as function applied
- Min. of height 160 cm
- Good English

Submit your CV with recent photograph to desti@sbimanning.co.id as soon as possible.

Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tablet

Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tab is Samsung's move onto the tablet warfield and luckily we are right here in the battle fray to give you first-hand scoop from the announcement event. Some might argue that it's rather a step down from laptops but the Samsung Galaxy Tab smartphone DNA is obvious from the moment you touch it. The 7-inch Android tablet has full phone functionality and the only thing that separates it from being called an insanely oversized cell phone is the fact that you cannot make phone calls by holding it next to your ear. The rest of the specs sheet looks like it belongs to a cell phone if you don't mind the oversized screen.

Technical Details

• EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, HSDPA 7.2Mbps/HSUPA 5.76Mbps Tri-Band 900/1900/2100 MHz
• 7 inch WSVGA (1024 x 600) 16M TFT
• Ebook, GPS/Geo-tagging, DLNA, Bluetooth, Android
• 3MP AF Camera + 1.3MP VT Front Camera. Full HD (1080p) Playing
• 4000 mAh battery

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches ; 13.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0041RSF6Y
• Item model number: SAMP1000EUBK

Merrill Lynch: The Cost Could Be Fatal: My War Against Wall Street's Giant

This book is about the wrongdoings that have been practiced over years in Merrill Lynch. Schooley found himself at opposite side to the giant financial firm. He confesses, "I had bought the image Merrill Lynch had sold me, and millions of others. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker," Schooley . "This story needs to be heard. If you buy into Merrill Lynch’s public campaign about the importance it puts on integrity and that the client comes first, well, you are sorely mistaken. I know this from my own experience."

There were several attempts made by Merrill Lynch to quiet the whistle-blower, which were followed by Schooley’s controversial dismissal. The ensuing litigation had shocking results that didn’t bring the resolution Schooley craved.

"I am not a bitter person looking to profit from revealing this story," Schooley says. "I am just a man of conviction and principle who feels compelled to do whatever it takes to see that things are put right."

Wanna find out what really happened? This book will told you the story.

Recommend product: Apple iPad MC497LL/A Tablet (64GB, Wifi + 3G) 

Of Thee I Sing, Barack Obama

Aimed at young children, Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters offers brief glimpses of how the contributions of a single person can touch lives, inspire others and sometimes, change the course of history. Written before he became president, Obama here chooses a baker's dozen Americans to illustrate traits such as courage, creativity and intelligence that he sees in his daughters and encourages young people to find and develop in themselves. Those chosen - including George Washington, Jackie Robinson, Billie Holliday, Cesar Chavez, Helen Keller & Sitting Bull - capture ethnic diversity and include a good balance of men and women.

Award-winning Loren Long did an amazing job illustrating President Barack Obama's meaningful words. His artwork is simply sensational, and begins with Malia and Sasha standing by themselves when their father first asks, "Have I told you?". As Barack Obama teaches his daughters of a these amazing Americans, the visuals quickly turn into the girls standing with children that reflect the strengths of the American figures previously mentioned. The illustration concept is not only heartwarming but genius, and I found myself excited to view the upcoming pages.

A beautifully written book, ideal for young readers. President Obama pays homage to thirteen groundbreaking Americans, a few flawed but unquestionably trailblazers. Every child will be able to identify with at least one person from these pages and that is exactly as it should be, because our great nation is indeed a melting pot.

The Master of Petersburg by J.M. Coetzee (James’s book 34, 2010)

This is a wonderfully imaginative and brilliantly written novel. Unlike Elizabeth Costello, which I hated, The Master of Petersburg is Coetzee at his very best.

 

Master Of Petersburg

J M Coetzee
Vintage 2004, Paperback, 256 pages, £8.99

It tells the story of Dostoyevsky's return to St. Petersburg from Germany following the mysterious death of his stepson, and the great writer's attempts to establish what happened, and what his stepson's attitude towards him really was.

There's so much here that is great, but Coetzee's real feat is to tie the reality he imagines back to Dostoyevsky's fiction, in particular his great novel, Demons (or The Devils as it is sometimes translated). He does this in such a beautifully subtle way that it is only very gradually that we understand what is happening; gradually, but at exactly the pace Coetzee decides. Like all great fiction, Coetzee makes us feel more intelligent, because he allows us to feel like we have uncovered these connections rather than him, and yet as soon as we realise this we feel humbled.

While this is, in one sense, historical fiction, it never takes on the horrible weight of deliberately obvious research that is common so much of that genre. Coetzee's pervasive use of the present tense makes things feel much more urgent than they otherwise would, and this effect is heightened by his complete mastery of free indirect style, so that we are frequently experiencing Dostoyevsky's creative process first hand. It's a remarkable effect.

The Master of Petersburg is the work of a great writer working at the very highest level. The overt formal innovation for which Coetzee is famous is missing, but he has still managed to find a way to examine his favourite subject – fiction itself – by imagining his way into the mind of one of its greatest ever exponents in the very act of creation. Astonishing.

Related posts:

1. Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee (James's book 25, 2010)
2. Summertime by JM Coetzee (Ian's book 10, 2010)
3. Stephen Hero by James Joyce (James's book 16, 2010)

Proud to be a Mammal by Czeslaw Milosz (James’s book 31, 2010)

Proud to be a Mammal is a collection of essays by the Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz. I found them a bit patchy, especially the more recent ones that ruminate on the Catholic Church, but there are still some gems here.



Proud To Be A Mammal

Czeslaw Milosz
Penguin Classics 2010, Paperback, 304 pages, £9.99

The highlights of the collection are the essays that cover Milosz's early adulthood spent in what the Nazi's called the General Government – i.e. the part of Poland that th

ey did not annexe to the Reich itself. There is writing of biting sarcasm mixed with total contempt, but also of great humanity and humour.

The essays are very personal, and yet also steeped in irony. I suppose that this is what one expects from European intellectual writers in autobiographical mode, but just occasionally it becomes a bit wearying. Still, even with these objections, Miloz's writing is full of intelligence and mischief.

Related posts:

1. On Balance by Adam Phillips (James's book 14, 2010)
2. The Black Book by Lawrence Durrell (James's book 20, 2010)
3. Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee (James's book 25, 2010)

In The First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (James’s book 35, 2010)

I first read Solzhenitsyn's semi-autobiographical novel in the late 80s as a schoolchild, when I had been seduced by the passages that imagine Stalin in his dacha. Back then, the only edition available was a bowdlerised one, published under the title The First Circle. Solzhenitsyn's title is intended to evoke the Divine Comedy – the prisoners whose story the book tells are in hell, but it's the best kind of hell, a hell with privileges.

In the First Circle

Harry T. Willetts (Translator)
Harper Perennial 2009, Paperback, 784 pages, £11.97

The prisoners live and work in a special prison in the Moscow suburb of Marfino, trying to develop a secure telephone scrambler for the party leadership. A couple of them are removed from their normal duties in order to respond to an urgent demand to develop a voiceprint capability so that the state 'organs' can identify a traitor offering secrets to the West.

As a kid, I didn't detect Solzhenitsyn's biting sarcasm and irony, which is evidence of my own lack of sophistication rather than Solzhenitsyn's subtlety. The prisoners share a frank gallows humour in the face of the largely incompetent and self-serving authorities, and the narrator is equally bitter; the entire book is dominated by this pervasive grim humour.

There are some terrific episodes in the book. For example, there is a wonderful and grimly funny vignette in which a prisoner tells the story of a stage managed visit by Eleanor Roosevelt, in which the squalid conditions in one of the KGB's prisons are swiftly improved just in advance of her visit, only to be returned to their former state as soon as she's gone. Equally fascinating – although less amusing, for obvious reasons – are the handful of chapters dedicated to Stalin brooding in his private office, issuing gnomic orders to his henchmen.

These episodes are highlights, but the remainder of the novel is somewhat less compelling. It's too long, for a start, with somewhat poor characterisation meaning that one is often unsure which guard or inmate is which. There's a great deal of the narrative that could be eliminated without loss. It's a shame, because there are many pages of sometimes poignant, sometimes funny, sometimes painful writing that are robbed of some of their impact because of this flabbiness.

Solzhenitsyn's reputation collapsed along with the USSR, and while he never deserved the exaggerated and politically motivated acclaim he received before 1991, neither does he deserve the obscurity he currently languishes in. Despite its flaws, the restored and newly translated In The First Circle is a welcome and enjoyable rediscovery.

Related posts:

1. Sunnyside by Glen David Gold (Shane's book 9, 2010)
2. Eagles' Nest by Anna Kavan (James's book 17, 2010)
3. White Noise by Don DeLillo (Shane's book 11, 2010)

Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky (James’s book 36, 2010)

Clay Shirky likes to pose for photographs in the stereotypical pose of the 'thinker', which has always made me rather suspicious. He's a little too much in love with his reputation, I think. As well as being a widely read author, both on- and offline, he's also a polished presenter. He's fond of pausing regularly and often, as if in profound contemplation, when in fact what he's doing is performing well rehearsed speeches. It's an effective conceit for the first time auditor, but on prolonged exposure it's annoyingly repetitive and ultimately feels slightly disingenuous.

Cognitive Surplus

Clay Shirky
Allen Lane 2010, Hardcover, 256 pages, £20.00

One thing that Shirky does extremely well is to tell a story. His stock in trade is to find some aspect of online behaviour, show how it is something that will disrupt or supplant traditional behaviour, and then find a compelling analogy through which to explain the behaviour change to the general reader.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this technique, except that it has strong tendencies towards oversimplification and triteness. Sadly, these two problems are shot through the fabric of his latest book. Shirky's favourite analogy is the invention of the printing press and the way that scribes were immediately obsoleted by it. A close second is the industrial revolution, but there are many others – for example, he opens here with a tale about gin addiction in 18th century London.

But this addiction to trite analogy and simplistic storytelling is not the biggest flaw of this flimsy book. Rather, it is the very foundation that it is built on: the idea that we have an enormous spare shared thought capacity which we are wasting by staring at the television. Cue an avalanche of statistics about the amount of TV viewing, and the amount of good that could be accomplished were that time to spent on things that Shirky has decided are beneficial to humanity. He admits that he doesn't watch TV, and this puts him at a distinct disadvantage with regard to understanding why so many people do, I suspect.

The fact is that people love television. It's true that the act of watching TV is not intrinsically good for humanity, and it's also true that there's an awful lot of shit programming, but that doesn't mean that TV is incapable of providing challenging, improving or educational experiences. More importantly, many people do not in fact have a surplus of brainpower that they would have the energy to use in their spare time. Most people I know work hard in challenging jobs (either physically, mental, or both), and the result is that they do not have mental capacity left over to do good online.

Regardless of whether many people could engage in Shirky-approved worthiness, the fact is that they do not want to. If they did, the technology barriers are so low that they would be doing so. I suspect that the truth is that all of the people who want to do Shirky-approved things are already doing them.

Shirky is frequently very interesting, and there are few writers as capable as he is of providing a slick synthesis of relatively recent online developments, but his central thesis here betrays a complete misunderstanding of the way that ordinary people live and relax. While his explanation of how some behaviour is being enabled by new online technologies is useful, his estimate of their likely impact seems to me to be grossly exaggerated, and his comparisons with genuinely revolutionary historical forces are overblown. The Internet has changed a great deal of things, but I can't see it changing people's basic natures in the way Shirky seems to think is possible.

Related posts:

1. The Ninth by Harvey Sachs (James's book 11, 2010)
2. Codename: Renegade by Richard Wolffe (James's book 8, 2010)
3. Carry On, Jeeves by PG Wodehouse (Shane's book 31, 2009)

Where There Is Love, There Is God

Mother Teresa

Hardcover
Doubleday Religion
ISBN: 9780385531788

In reply to the question “What or who is God?” Mother Teresa on one occasion said, “God is love and He loves you and we are precious to Him. He called us by our name. We belong to Him. He has created us in His image for greater things. God is love, God is joy, God is light, God is truth.”
This statement encapsulates her belief in God and her experience of Him: God exists and is the Source of all that exists; His very being is love; He has created us in his likeness with spiritual powers of intellect and free will, with the ability to know and to love; He is a Father who loves each of us uniquely, personally, and He ardently desires our happiness. No hardship or suffering, her own or that of her poor, could undermine Mother Teresa’s conviction that God IS love, that all He does or permits is ultimately for some greater good and, therefore, an expression of His immense and unconditional love. St. Augustine wrote at the beginning of his Confessions:
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
It was Mother Teresa’s conviction that all people “deep down in their heart, believe in God.” There is a longing for God in each of us and though it may not be recognized or consciously expressed as such, the search for joy, for peace, for happiness and above all for love, is a manifestation of this longing. Though the desire, or “hunger” for God, as Mother Teresa expressed it, is implanted in every human heart, entering into a relationship with Him depends largely on our cooperation with His grace. The freedom to cooperate or not is yet another expression of the love and respect that God has for each of His human creatures. He does not force Himself on anyone; He leaves it to our choice. Yet, the response befitting a creature before its Creator, who is infinite love and wisdom ought to be one of love and trust, praise and adoration, recognition and thanksgiving. Loved so greatly by God, each person is called to share that love; as Mother Teresa often affirmed: “We have been created for greater things, to love and to be loved.” To love as God loves, meeting daily with Him through prayer is essential. Without it love dies. Mother Teresa stressed its importance by saying, “What blood is to the body, prayer is to the soul.” But to enter into prayer, silence is necessary, for “in the silence of the heart God speaks.” Her aphorism expressing these truths has become well known:

• The fruit of silence is prayer;
• the fruit of prayer is faith;
• the fruit of faith is love;
• the fruit of love is service,
• the fruit of service is peace.

This simple yet profound saying places silence as the point of departure for practical love, peace, and service. As Mother Teresa asserted: “Silence is at the root of our union with God and with one another.” Silence and recollection are the indispensable conditions for prayer. An atmosphere of exterior silence is certainly very helpful, but Mother Teresa, who spent most of her life in large, overcrowded cities, learned to be interiorly silent and recollected in the midst of much noise and activity. She shows us that to practice silence one need not flee from the world and live as a hermit. What is necessary is to learn to quiet the mind and heart to dispose ourselves for prayer.
Prayer permeated Mother Teresa’s day: she started, ended, and filled each day with prayer. Her first words upon rising were addressed to God, and throughout the day she spontaneously spoke to Him of her love and gratitude, her plans, hopes, and desires. As soon as some need or difficulty presented itself, however small and insignificant, she turned to God, making her requests with the trust and the expectation of a child dependent on its father. In addition to daily Holy Mass and the morning and evening Liturgy of the Hours (containing psalms, Scripture reading, and intercessions), traditional prayers such as the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, litanies, and novenas, kept her in continual union with God.
An important time of prayer for Mother Teresa was her daily half-hour meditation on the Sacred Scriptures. Formed in the traditional Ignatian method of meditating on the Word of God, principally the Gospels, Mother Teresa was led to intimate conversation and communion with God. Through this prayerful reading, the Word of God took root within her, inflaming her love, influencing her words, and directing her actions. She also nourished her soul each day with an additional half-hour given over to the reading of the lives and writings of the saints or other ascetical works. To help foster recollection throughout the day, Mother Teresa was in the practice of praying “aspirations” --- short prayers that raise one ’s mind and heart to God in the midst of daily activities. These repetitions were a great aid to keeping herself in God’s presence. Through these means, she grew in deep knowledge and love of God and was able to respond to Him and to her brothers and sisters in love. Since “love is of God” [1 Jn 4:7], human love is to be a reflection of and a sharing in divine love, which is entirely selfless and seeks only the good of the other.
True love is selfgiving, self-sacrificing, a “dying to self ” in order to love and serve others, and this was the love that Mother Teresa exemplified. In a culture where “love” is overly identified with feelings rather than an act of the will, with pleasure rather than sacrifice, Mother Teresa’s life and teaching, modeled on that of Christ’s, exemplifies the Christian ideal of love.
In an interview Mother Teresa was once asked, “Can you sum up what love really is?” She promptly replied: “Love is giving. God loved the world so much that He gave His Son. Jesus loved the world so much, loved you, loved me so much that He gave His life. And He wants us to love as He loved. And so now we have also to give until it hurts. True love is a giving and giving until it hurts.”

Thanks to  http://www.bookreporter.com/