Saturday, December 23, 2006
Merry Christmas!
Consumer Reports says 23 million Americans never cashed in last year's holiday gift cards... And yet, fools abound who indulge in senseless consumerism this time of the year...
"All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired."
My conclusion is that these same fools who consume so senselessly are inept at asking the All-Mighty what they truly want - hence, they over-compensate by buying and buying and buying again - effectively throwing their money away... It is true that nothing lasts forever and that money "is like water" (dirty water though...) - but if you have no intelligent use for thy cash, GIVE IT TO THE POOR AND NOT TO THY ALREADY FILTHY RICH FAVORITE STORE CHAIN...
And the preceding applies for all of the following countries, of course...
Argentina - Feliz Navidad!
Brazil - Boas Festas! (That's "Happy Holidays", actually...?!?)
China (Mandarin) - Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan!
Croatia - Sretan Bozic!
Denmark - Glædelig Jul!
Esperanto - Gajan Kristnaskon!
Finland - Hyvää Joulua!
France - Joyeux Noël!
Germany - Froehliche Weihnachten!
Greece - Kala Christouyenna!
Hawaii - Mele Kalikimaka!
Iceland - Gledileg Jol!
India - Shub Naya Baras!
Indonesia /Malaysia - Selamat Hari Natal!
Iraq - Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah!
Ireland - Nollaig Shona Dhuit!
Italy - Buone Feste Natalizie!
Japan - Shinnen omedeto!
Korea - Sung Tan Chuk Ha!
Lapland - Buorrit Juovllat!
Native America (Navajo) - Merry Keshmish!
Netherlands - Vrolijk Kerstfeest!
New Zealand (Maori) - Meri Kirihimete!
Philippines - Maligayang Pasko!
Poland - Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!
Portugal - Feliz Natal!
Russia - Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom!
Serbia - Hristos se rodi!
Spain - Feliz Navidad!
Sri Lanka - Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal!
Sweden + Norway - God Jul!
Thailand - Sawadee Pee Mai!
Vietnam - Chung Mung Giang Sinh!
Yugoslavia - Cestitamo Bozic!
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Friday, December 22, 2006
9 months ago...
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The timespan it takes to come into this world...
Hence, now, I can be sure that Dad has fully crossed over into the Better World, the Heavenly Realm, the Divine Abode - now.
I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind
Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, all your money won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind, Everything is dust in the wind
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Hence, now, I can be sure that Dad has fully crossed over into the Better World, the Heavenly Realm, the Divine Abode - now.
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind
Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, all your money won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind, All we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind, Everything is dust in the wind
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Thursday, December 21, 2006
Blah-Blah-Blah
None can take away from it
None can giveth to it
Feminine grace
and feminine wile
Beguiling and brazen
Innocent and wild
The giver of life
and oftentimes
the complicator of existence!
Streetwise interlocutors will state
that living with and/or without
is near-impossible - a perfect paradox
For none can pierce the mystery of woman
And none bother with the mystery of man
Hence - we might as well call the whole thing off!
By Blasé
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Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Clickathon
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
luminous poetry - good luck trying to emulate it!
Monday, December 18, 2006
Top 10 Web fads
Ah yes - may we all be so lucky to become the initiators of one such fad at least - before we go offline "for good" - hmm
The Top Ten Web Fads over the course of the relatively short-lived history of the net so far have included the "Hampsterdance", Friendster, the Dancing Baby, JibJab, some original characters (such as Mahir, Feiss and the Star Wars Kid) and... Blogger!
Aren't I proud now to be a part of the Blogger family...
too-doo-doo-doo... too-doo-doo-doo... too-doo-doo-doo*too-doo-doo-doo*too-doo-doo-doo... (yes, that is the Addams Family theme... What? You thought it was the Twilight Zone theme or something? Nothing so eerie will ever make it here - on The Luminous Blog! Ok, maybe in due time it will too - but nothing truly creepy ever will - I assure thee!)
Either click on the link or go to the luminous comments section for a summarized rundown of the top ten fads - everything that you need to learn about what you have to do in order to make a quick impact on the collective mind of the net is there...!
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - however, one should investigate further what the consequences of such "sudden fame" can be before going out of one's way to be the next Star Wars Kid (who, amazingly enough, is not number one on this list... Even though Ghyslain Raza's antics have been estimated to have been viewed 900 million times by "experts" in these matters... 900 million times is more than 150 times the population of the planet, as has been remarked by a Frenchy blogger who demonstrates an interest in everything and anything online... "G.R." has been embarrassed by this dubious accomplishment, mostly because his awkward choreography should have never been seen by anyone other than his close friends -although, with friends like these... Raza - the star wars kid's real name - is a Quebec native... Figures... But I digress...)
I might as well stop it right here - for the Raza family has sued those who made their son's misguided performance caught on video available on the web! I don't want to be next on their legal hit list... As that same Frenchy blogger noted too, blogging can have its rougher consequences too...! Ask the wrong question at the wrong time or emitting the questionable comment at the less-than-appropriate occasion certainly had an adverse ripple effect on that blogger found south of the border... He chose the wrongest of times to be on Republican George Allen's case - Allen was campaigning for a seat, see...?
Blog about everything and anything and leave anything too spicy/controversial for the gossip columnists; I guess that is the morale here - top tens are always fun anyways!
Fun as in "good clean fun", yes!
No lawsuits pending! ;)
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Sunday, December 17, 2006
Bombay bombs... and other Bollywood offerings
I have been blasting Bollywood - but hey, let's give them credit when it is due... They have a lot more guts than Hollywood! 9Of course, I have been blasting Hollywood a lot more over the years - but that is another story!)
Where Tinseltown will not allow their own Will Smith to liplock freely with, say, Cameron Diaz or Charlize Theron (the latter could though... with Christina Ricci - in Monster - makes sense...) and we will never see a Hollywood melodrama centered around the impossible love story of an American soldier and a female terrorist trained by Al Qaida either... Well, Bollywood, somehow, WILL have a Romeo & Juliet type of tale with he being Hindi and she being Pakistani - the unthinkable! Such a pairing reeks of Shakespearian tragedy indeed - especially when one realizes that a nuclear war between these two countries is likelier now than the same thing between the USA and old USSR ever was at the height (or coldest days) of the cold wars...!
Kudos to Bombay for being gutsier than Tinseltown - but it comes as no surprise to me really... ANYONE could be gutsier than the "big studios" and their wretched system! And then they wonder why attendances are down...
I doubt though that the "guts" part is what makes George Clooney inclined to set a precedent and jump the fence to go to Bollywood's camp...
He must fancy the Shiva types...
Link
Where Tinseltown will not allow their own Will Smith to liplock freely with, say, Cameron Diaz or Charlize Theron (the latter could though... with Christina Ricci - in Monster - makes sense...) and we will never see a Hollywood melodrama centered around the impossible love story of an American soldier and a female terrorist trained by Al Qaida either... Well, Bollywood, somehow, WILL have a Romeo & Juliet type of tale with he being Hindi and she being Pakistani - the unthinkable! Such a pairing reeks of Shakespearian tragedy indeed - especially when one realizes that a nuclear war between these two countries is likelier now than the same thing between the USA and old USSR ever was at the height (or coldest days) of the cold wars...!
Kudos to Bombay for being gutsier than Tinseltown - but it comes as no surprise to me really... ANYONE could be gutsier than the "big studios" and their wretched system! And then they wonder why attendances are down...
I doubt though that the "guts" part is what makes George Clooney inclined to set a precedent and jump the fence to go to Bollywood's camp...
He must fancy the Shiva types...
Link
