The "I hate Christmas" thread, deluxe edition

<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> wrote:

Boom Boom where did you find those delicious photos including he sees you when you're sleeping, the drowned Jesus and the meat nativity? I would love to repost them

Boom Boom may not be following the thread these days, depending on his health issues.

If you right-click on those photos and select something like "view image info", you should get the information you're looking for.

Examples:

"Sees you when you're sleeping":

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r137/maysiewaysie/261540_413921732015...

Drowned Jesus:

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/c67.0.403.403/p403x403/425...

Meat nativity:

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/c0.0.843.403/p843x403/4756...

Of course, even better is to right-click and pick "save image as..." - then you don't risk the original online photo disappearing.

Don't thank me. I'm just acting as the instrument of Boom Boom, King of the Universe.

We had a little Solstice party yesterday evening. I didn't have time to make my goat ricotta, leek and greens tart (sort of like a quiche, but less egg), we had lots of little nibbles; I made a green salad. However, we got a little more in the way of light and heat that we had bargained for.

There was a strange burning odour from the triplex next door - the owner is a well-known chef who has a very upscale (and evidently, very good) restaurant in Old Montreal; we thought some grilling had gone wrong. But no, there was a fire in the triplex on the other side of theirs, and it was spreading to my friend's neighbours. We realized that what we saw next door was firefighters seeing if the fire was spreading, and going out the front door, the street was filled with a whole brigade of firefighters and both ends were blocked off.

Needless to say, we, and all the other residents nearby, wanted to know whether we had to flee or should just remain there. A firefighter told us we were safe inside, but that if we wanted to leave, we had to go beyond Boulevard Saint-Joseph (the street at the north). However, to put it mildly, this meant a serious change in tone. We stayed, but put on our boots and I had my cross-shoulder bag around my body (it contained about $200 for purchases I had to make, my bank cards and other important ones).

Eventually most of the firefighters left and everything seemed under control, but they had made a huge mess ripping away walls and cupboards in the kitchen of the neighbouring triplex, and who knows what else. The chef and family had done a huge renovation and rebuild this past year, including a new staircase behind the house and one within it, as they had taken all three floors of the triplex. I think adult children live on the top storey, and the mother of the family has her home office there; my friend did not know her precise profession.

Even though they can afford to stay in a hotel, it will still mean a very different Christmastime, and for my friend, it will mean all the noise and dirt of renovation may well resume this spring.

Happy Solstice anyway. I don't believe anyone was hurt.

lagatta wrote:

Happy Solstice anyway. I don't believe anyone was hurt.

That's what matters. All the best to you and yours.

Excellent news

Memories of Boom Boom on p.1 of this this same thread, Dec 2011:

RIP.

Maysie wrote:

Sorry, but even hate isn't guilt-free any more:

http://www.businessinsider.com/grumpy-cat-has-earned-its-owner-nearly-10...

Probably best to hold onto that for the hate Easter thread. You know... Why does the Easter bunny hide his eggs, and all that.

But what translation is that? It's not exactly how I remember it. Has Francis been messing with the book again?

It does get a little confusing doesn't it?  In a religious piece in the local paper, a pastor said that the Yuletide log serves as a reminder that God hasn't forgotten us.  And here I thought it was a reminder to not forget about northern European paganism.

I'm sure everyone has seen this series making the rounds:

Unionist wrote:

One of my favourite New Testament passages, from John 18:

Quote:

37 "So you are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right to say I am a king. In fact, that's the reason I was born. I came into the world to give witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth listens to me."

38 "What is truth?" Pilate asked. Then Pilate went out again to the Jews. He said, "I find no basis for any charge against him.

39 But it is your practice for me to set one prisoner free for you at Passover time. Do you want me to set 'the king of the Jews' free?"

40 They shouted back, "No! Not him! Give us Barabbas!" Barabbas had taken part in an armed struggle against the country's rulers.

As I mentioned before, I'm still down for celebrating the birth of Barabbas - not that Jesus dude who had monarcho-theological delusions, and obviously couldn't rally any popular support.

Having studied this time frame when I was in University, Jesus (as well as Barabbas for that matter) was one of hundreds of similar 'rabble rousers' in that time period. Most rebelling against various Jewish factions (and/or the rulling Jewish Sect) instead of the Romans

Oh Jesus.

Quote:

“Do they know it’s Christmas?” the millionaires sing (ahem, screech). “How can they know it’s Christmas time at all?” Oh yes, clearly Africans do not know what Christmas is, nor could they possibly be able to even know it. Enlighten them please, rich white saviors. We definitely need more cultural imperialism and colonialist proselytizing. This is precisely what is needed to stop a disease that is ravaging West Africa and killing thousands.

My new soulmate, Lewis Black.

Warning: lots of swearing and  some rather rude intimations about Santa. 

Lewis Black on Christmas and Chanukkah

Christian Dogma Should Be Questioned  -  by Andre Vltchek

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/12/19/christian-dogma-should-be-questio...

"The faith which murdered hundreds of millions of people worldwide, reducing hundreds of great civilizations to ashes, is, until now, unapologetic and self-assured.

The terror spread to all corners of the planet by Christianity has been unprecedented, and it has to be remembered, especially now, when the most celebrated Christian holiday is painting homes and shopping centers in that innocent hypocritical white color, while hiding deep down the color red, that of spilt blood, as well as the color black, that of burned and ruined cities and nations..."

Fuck Christmas

@Unionist,

If I may, and I hope not to offend anyone for that is not my intention of posting here.  I combed through this thread from beginning to end, and I was struck by your insight into Jewish Religious history with keen interest.  In my part of the country, we do not get the benefit of Jewish perspectives at all which is so sad.  I noticed in previous threads how you portrayed the Exodus and Passover as a passive event of people lead by Yahweh.  My interpretation is exactly the opposite and here's why...

When I was a child, I was terrified of the movie, the Ten Commandments, when it came to the scene of the Angel of Death descending down and kiilling the first born son of every Egyptian family in the land. I won't get into why. If Yahweh is the supreme God, and is all powerful, all knowing, and all present, then why did the Jewish people have to mark their doors with lamb's blood so that the Angel of Death knew which houses to pass over?  Wouldn't an all knowing supreme being know which doors to hit anyway without slaughtering all those innocent little lambs?  Yahweh would have known, but Jewish resistance fighters would not know which doors to enter and slaughter which is why their doors were marked with lambs blood.  This means that you did have an active rebellion and revolution after all.

Someone mentioned up thread that there is no archaeological evidence of any slavery in Egypt during the building of the pyramids, and that there is no historical authenticity to the Exodus story at all.  That could well be and I am inclined to doubt Egypt Exodus as well, but that does not negate the validity of Jewish enslavement in their history, and a legitimate rebellion from enslaved oppression. The fact that they had to mark their doors and vengefully kill the first born (and think of the cultural multigenerational significance of the slaughter of an entire cultures' first born in every family) signifies very deeply rooted anger against another culture that could not have been made up as just a cultural story of lore. Over thousands of years, the names of the people involved would change to adapt to new cultures, and the locations named of the occupation would change as well to make the story real to the people at the time who were nomadic and were not fixed in one location.

All we need to do is look at ourselves today.  The English language has changed dramatically over the last 400 years.  It has spread to different cultures around the globe and there are so many dialects some of which I would not be able to understand what they are saying.  Also, Hollywood is renowned for making movies that are based on true stories and taking liberties with the historical facts.  it doesn't mean that the entire movie is fiction, they just modified it for dramatic appeal so that people can relate to the story better. With Exodus, names and places would likely have changed many times over thousands of years, and the storyline coloured to make it real to new generations of Jewish people living in different locations over time.

ETA...

I do not believe that Biblical stories can be taken literally, but that is my opinion.  I do, however, believe that there was slavery, and that it likely was the Jewish people who successfully fought their way out from somewhere.

Timebandit. I love that song. It makes me cry a bit, which is not a bad thing. I actually have broken bread with Desmond Tutu and his wife, interpreting for them at a CSN convention. They were charming and a lot of fun, and didn't go God-bothering anyone. Although I'm an atheist, I'm sure I found them better company than I'd have found Dawkins.

I'd like to translate that song into Spanish for a friend from Argentina who will be heading back home to the Austral summer soon. Unfortunately, her slightly older brother died a couple of months ago down there.

Playing Secret Santa this year?   Why not try "Crypto Santa"?

...and learn a little bit about how privacy tools like the Tor Project work!

I bet the reindeer are sick of falling into the Arctic ocean, with the undependable ice cover you have nowadays. They'd rather travel south to hook up with some cute local caribou...

Misfit wrote:

When I was a child, I was terrified of the movie, the Ten Commandments, when it came to the scene of the Angel of Death descending down and kiilling the first born son of every Egyptian family in the land. I won't get into why. If Yahweh is the supreme God, and is all powerful, all knowing, and all present, then why did the Jewish people have to mark their doors with lamb's blood so that the Angel of Death knew which houses to pass over?  Wouldn't an all knowing supreme being know which doors to hit anyway without slaughtering all those innocent little lambs?  Yahweh would have known, but Jewish resistance fighters would not know which doors to enter and slaughter which is why their doors were marked with lambs blood.  This means that you did have an active rebellion and revolution after all.

The Bible doesn't record it, but the Ten Commandments has Moses ask God how He let His people suffer in slavery for a long time. God's answer in both the movie and Exodus is that Moses is to lead the people out of their position, which to me means that people have to actually act themselves and to not rely on a deity to save them.

I also want to comment briefly on the idea of Yahweh. At that particular time in human history, there were all kinds of gods people had invented that had all sorts of names. That's why Moses had to ask what God's name was, because there were several. God's answered "Yahweh," which translates into English as "I Am That I Am," which effectively means that God or the sacred is beyond all those categories that people try and box God into. Of course in time Yahweh did morph into a bloody tribal deity that was common at the time, but that idea of God being beyond human comprehension expressed in that conversation was revolutionary for the time.

Misfit wrote:

Someone mentioned up thread that there is no archaeological evidence of any slavery in Egypt during the building of the pyramids, and that there is no historical authenticity to the Exodus story at all.  That could well be and I am inclined to doubt Egypt Exodus as well, but that does not negate the validity of Jewish enslavement in their history, and a legitimate rebellion from enslaved oppression. The fact that they had to mark their doors and vengefully kill the first born (and think of the cultural multigenerational significance of the slaughter of an entire cultures' first born in every family) signifies very deeply rooted anger against another culture that could not have been made up as just a cultural story of lore. Over thousands of years, the names of the people involved would change to adapt to new cultures, and the locations named of the occupation would change as well to make the story real to the people at the time who were nomadic and were not fixed in one location.

All we need to do is look at ourselves today.  The English language has changed dramatically over the last 400 years.  It has spread to different cultures around the globe and there are so many dialects some of which I would not be able to understand what they are saying.  Also, Hollywood is renowned for making movies that are based on true stories and taking liberties with the historical facts.  it doesn't mean that the entire movie is fiction, they just modified it for dramatic appeal so that people can relate to the story better. With Exodus, names and places would likely have changed many times over thousands of years, and the storyline coloured to make it real to new generations of Jewish people living in different locations over time.

It's interesting that we get hung up on historical accuracy, but human beings have only been able to accurately record human history for the last 500-200 years. I always get amused when people claim that Jesus of Nazereth didn't exist or was a fictional character. My response to that is to say that as certain as we can be of anything that happened in that time frame, that's how certain we can be about the existence of Jesus. The theological implications, whether he was the Messiah or was portrayed as Horus or other things are certainly debateable and many well-respected historians and theologians have differing opinions.

Misfit wrote:

I do not believe that Biblical stories can be taken literally, but that is my opinion.

You would be correct. Insisting that every word in the Bible be taken literally is an Enlightenment phenomenon.

For Unionist.

These Are The 29 Worst Christmas Puns Ever, But You'll Laugh At Them Anyway

Maysie, those were so much fun. I used them as xmas gifts to friends on Facebook. Thanks!

Passenger tossed after flipping out over staff’s ‘Merry Christmas’

So proud of the U.S. - defending God-fearing folks against Social Justice Warriors and other criminal elements!