Happy New Year!

To all who stop by this blog:

CLICK HERE FOR AN E-CARD COUNTING DOWN THE ARRIVAL OF THE NEW YEAR
So, do YOU have any New Year's resolutions?

My resolutions for 2013: (1) spending less time on the web, (2) spending more time reading novels, and (3) spending more time practicing the piano according to workable schedule.   The past few weeks, I've returned to one of my favorite pastimes, a pastime that I gave up after 9/11: working the crossword puzzle in my daily newspaper;  I'm going to continue to enjoy that pastime in the new year.

For once, I don't need to make a resolution to lose weight.  Over 40 pounds lost in 2012.  Yeehaw!

Do YOU have any specific wishes for 2013?

I wish for continued health for myself and for every living creature in the AOW household.

Do YOU have anything specific that you're looking forward to in the new year?

Mr. AOW and I are looking forward to a January visit from Tammy Swofford, journalist, author, and fellow blogger; she will be staying with us for a few days, and we'll be cramming as much fun as possible into those few days.  In the summer, Mr. AOW and I hope to take our first road trip since his brain hemorrhage in 2009.

(hat tip to Conservatives on Fire for the above video)

Cameo And The Christmas Tree

(This re-post will be stuck here through the Christmas season. Please scroll down for more recent material)

With many thanks to Stogie, who made the graphic for this post in 2011! Click directly on the picture to enlarge it:


I wrote the story below the fold in 2005. Within the past several months, Cameo has mellowed (somewhat, anyway, in large part due to her recent illness). But the memories of those bygone days Cameo's terrorizing the Christmas tree still bring a smile to our faces. I hope that the anecdote will bring a smile to your face too.

Retro Break From Politics

(If you must have politics, please keep scrolling)

The parody Went with the Wind, one of the best comedy skits ever:

Nincompoopery

(Weekend roundup post.   For the definition of nincompoop, see THIS in the Urban Dictionary. Commenters are encouraged to post links that tell of more nincompoopery)

Links to read (more possibly added as the weekend progresses):

Mona Eltahawy links her vandalism of AFDI ads to a sexual revolution, or something

[Narcissist in Chief] Obama Uses Funeral Service to Talk About Himself [63 Times]

Analysis of social media in Libya finds no reference to anti-Islam film on day of [Benghazi] attack

Dated December 21, 2012: Mr. Obama repeatedly lost patience with the speaker as negotiations faltered. In an Oval Office meeting last week, he told Mr. Boehner that if the sides didn't reach agreement, he would use his inaugural address and his State of the Union speech to tell the country the Republicans were at fault.

At one point, according to notes taken by a participant, Mr. Boehner told the president, "I put $800 billion [in tax revenue] on the table. What do I get for that?"

[...]

The president repeatedly reminded Mr. Boehner of the election results: "You're asking me to accept Mitt Romney's tax plan. Why would I do that?"

The Sword Wielder At The School

Creeping Sharia asks:

Why wasn’t this story big news this week following Sandy Hook? Why no outrcries to ban swords (a popular Islamic icon along with AK-47′s)? Why such a muted reaction from the Islamic school and the sharia-pushers?

Could it be because the perpetrator isn’t an ideal target for CAIR nor big brother media? Could the perp herself be Muslim?

According to the News 6 video she was driving a vehicle registered to the Dept. of Defense at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Odd to say the least.

Video of one news report about the incident, which occurred on December 19, 2012:

Mr. AOW And Amber Settle In For Their Long Winter's Nap

I couldn't resist lifting this post from Mr. AOW's web site (Click directly on the images to enlarge them):

After all the Christmas goodies on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Amber, the kitten that Mrs. AOW and I got a few months ago, and I have settled in for our long winter's nap:

Amber has celebrated her first Christmas. What a hoot!

On Christmas Eve, she freaked out when she saw those big flakes of snow flying around.

On Christmas morning, Amber got so excited about her Christmas present - a catnip toy - that she flipped up in the air and came down in her water dish! Mrs. AOW couldn't grab the camera in time, of course. Amber was off and running to get away from all that spilled water.

Amber in her kitty hut:

One Cat's Views On Christmas

Henri Le Chat Noir:

Welcome All Wonders

Many years ago, I had the privilege of working under the baton of Richard Wayne Dirksen at the Washington National Cathedral. Below is one of his choral pieces, a glorious celebration of the birth of Christ the Lord. Ever since I obtained a recording of "Welcome All Wonders," I never let a Christmas go by without listening to this glorious musical celebration of the birth of Christ the Lord:

Welcome all wonders in one sight! Eternity shut in a span.
Summer in winter, day in night, heaven in earth, and God in man,
That He, the old Eternal Word, should be a Child and weep.
Each of us his lamb will bring, each his pair of silver doves,
Till burnt at last in fire of thy fair eyes, ourselves become our own best sacrifice.
Welcome all wonders in one sight!

(Thanks, Stogie, for the Christmas graphic of Amber, Mysti, and Cameo)

Christmas Eve

For today, no politics! Instead, two beloved carols to feed the soul during this Holy Season:

Longfellow's Christmas

With thanks to Mustang, who emailed me the following last Christmas:

Christmas Lights

(If you must have politics, please scroll down)

The Winter Walk of Lights at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Northern Virginia:

More images from the Winter Walk of Lights HERE.

This web site has many photos taken at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens during other seasons of the year.  This particular photo shows the gazebo in the spring.

So much beauty in the world!  I hope that you will take a few moments to explore the above links.  It seems to me that we spend too much time dwelling on politics — and the ugliness and the divisiveness thereof.

Nincompoopery

(Weekend roundup post.   For the definition of nincompoop, see THIS in the Urban Dictionary. Commenters are encouraged to post links that tell of more nincompoopery)

Links to read (more possibly added as the weekend progresses):

Despite Tax Increase, California State Revenues in Freefall

"We have a country where the young don’t know Shakespeare and haven’t read the Bible, and their lives are almost wholly unconnected with the past."

JD Hayworth Infomercial: Free money! You never have to pay it back!

Obama approved F-16 fighter jets as gift to Egypt

[Baltimore] Speed camera nabs car stopped at light

Christmas Jazz: "O Tannenbaum" And "Canadian Sunset"

Enjoy and relax (hat tip to Stogie for the first video):


Crooner jazz from 1959 below the fold:

Musical Interlude

!

The words, a poem by Christina Rosetti:

Madonna And Child

(If you must have politics, please scroll down)

A lovely Madonna and Child:

When Autists Become Monsters

(This post is my final one regarding the terrible events of last week)

It is not politically correct to criticize the disabled.

But sometimes disability is mental illness.  Rarely, thank God!

According to some information to date, dangerous and deadly mental illness resulted in the horror inside the walls of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012.

From Salon in March of 2009:

Dangerous Travel Destinations

According to Travel and Leisure, the following are the top ten most dangerous travel destinations (hat tip to Debbie of Right Truth):

1. Pakistan

2. The Sudan

3. Georgia

4. Lebanon

5. North Korea

6. Syria

7. Yemen

8. Uzbekistan

9. Iran

10. Algeria

The above are dominated by Islamic law or socialism.

Musical Interlude

Enjoy!


Information about "Carol of the Bells," composed in 1904 by Ukrainians Mykola Leontovych (music) and Peter J. Wilhousky (lyrics).

Nincompoopery

(Weekend roundup post.   For the definition of nincompoop, see THIS in the Urban Dictionary. Commenters are encouraged to post links that tell of more nincompoopery)

Links to read (more possibly added as the weekend progresses):

ELECTION OVER, ADMINISTRATION UNLEASHES NEW "JOB-KILLING" REGULATIONS

New York City Hits Sandy Victims With ‘Failure To Maintain’ Property Citation: And What's More, The Tree Causing All The Fuss Was City's Responsibility

21 Blatant Lies Obama Has Told you Directly To Your Face

Obama Honors Rosa Parks by Tweeting a Photograph of Himself

Beyond Horrible, Beyond Tragic

Dead in Connecticut school shooting include 20 children

The bereaved and the survivors are scarred for life.  They will never recover.

The saddest music I know below the fold:

Amazing!

(If you must have politics, please scroll to a few posts below this one)

Salvador Dali and Walt Disney collaborated (hat tip to Thersites):


More information below the fold.

An Annual Odious Task (And My Consolation Prize: The Life of Pi)

(If you must have politics, please keep scrolling)

I have never enjoyed shopping — especially Christmas shopping.

The crowds.

Our unfamiliarity with the layout of the mall and the department stores.

Too many decisions to make.

The U.S. National Debt Visualized (With Addendum)

With a hat tip to Will of MFS - The Other News:


Where do we go from here?

Please make time to watch the following short addendum (hat tip to Infidel Bloggers Alliance):


Did you hear what Harry Belafonte said toward the end of the above video clip?  He has actually advocated imprisonment of opposition to the Obama agenda and that Obama "work like a Third World Dictator"!

Good News!

Back on October 5, I posted about M, one of my finest students  — exceptional in several ways.  She is of Ethiopian descent, and both of her parents immigrated to the United States, where her five children were born.  M is the oldest of the five and turned 11 years old on December 4.

At the age of 41, M's mother perished on November 5 of inflammatory breast cancer, one of the most aggressive types of the disease, while she was visiting friends and family in the country of her birth. She chose to go there alone so as to spare her husband and her children from witnessing those last terrible days.  In fact, her visit to Ethiopia was very short  — only a matter of a week or so.

Blog Break

The semester break and Christmas vacation officially begin on December 11 at 3:00 P.M.  I have an unusually-heavy teaching schedule the next few days and am taking a short blog break until my workload eases off. In addition, I need some time to consider the direction in which to take this blog after the debacle of an election on November 6.

IED Detonated At Arizona Social Security Office

(Two posts today. Please scroll down)

[Pictured at the left: Abdullatif Aldosary, arrested for detonating the IED on November 30, 2012]

The major mainstream media outlets continue to ignore whatever doesn't contribute to the agenda actively promoted by our so-called leaders. Thus far, only local media in Arizona have reported the name of the man arrested.

From Pajamas Media, dated December 2:

About The Fiscal Cliff

Possibly of interest (hat tip to American Power):


Of course, WE THE PEOPLE are powerless in all this negotiation relating to the fiscal cliff. WE THE PEOPLE had our say on November 6 and will have to live with the consequences.

Musical Interlude

Advent 2012 begins today.   The Advent season is the time of preparation for celebration of the Nativity.

A processional hymn for Franciscan nuns, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is one of the oldest and one of the most solemn pieces in the Advent repertoire:


Another interpretation:


More information about "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" HERE.

Nincompoopery

(Weekend roundup post.   For the definition of nincompoop, see THIS in the Urban Dictionary. Commenters are encouraged to post links that tell of more nincompoopery)

Links to read (more possibly added as the weekend progresses):

Texas Schools Teaching Boston Tea Party As Terrorist Act

Jamie Foxx Gives “Honor to God and Our Lord and Savior Barack Obama” (Video)

White House Says Disagreeing With Obama-Claus Will Ruin Christmas