"Holiday Trees"

I know that the traditional thing to do on your blog is to write your own blog posts, but I just wanted to share this email with you, (which I actually got off of Facebook) because I felt it had a strong message that everyone should hear, and if you agree with what this man wrote then please pass it on through whatever social networking thing you do.

Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as “Holiday Trees” for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America . . .

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.


My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crib, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her: “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said: “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbour as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did. But if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Acting Photos

Acting photos. This is what my sister and I call our latest hobby. We dress up, set the scene to tell a story, and take a picture. It is a lot of fun to do, but it has been a challenge to come up with original ideas that we can do with our limited props and sets. Our first picture wasn't too creative, it was simply a little girl playing with her toys, but since then Emily and I have come up with more creative things to do. Here are all the pictures we have done so far.

This is the very first acting picture Emily and I did.

 

Here Emily is dead, to add a pop of color I Photoshoped her eyes and lips.

This one is supposed to be some kind of annoyed gangster I guess.

Most of the time Emily has to be the actor so that I can take the pictures, but thanks to our brother's tripod I can be in the pictures sometimes too. Here we imagined I was being held captive.

I guess I somehow broke free and I'm freeing my sister now.

I really enjoy making these pictures, as a writer I like being able to put a story into a picture because "a picture tells a thousand words" right? Ever since I was little I get these scenes in my head that would make terrific movie clips, but I never had anything to make them real except for with words. These acting photos are a way to make visual stories without the movie making skills.

From My Notebook: Waking Up To Reality

The inspiration for this segment of a story is from a picture out of an IKEA furniture magazine. I would pick a room and imagine what type of person lived there and then write a short story about them.

Tick, tick, tick, Kerry loved the sound of the keys of her computer as she typed. ‘Darkness closed ‘round him, he tried to thrash his way out, but it clung to him like a heavy blanket. He couldn’t breathe! Help! His mind screamed inside. He opened his eyes, water was all around him! How did he get there? He couldn’t move, he just kept sinking, he needed air! Something grabbed him from behind, and then…’ “And then what?” Kerry thought aloud. She hated writers’ block, just when she got to a good part in the story, she got stuck and it could take days to get some inspiration. Maybe I just need a break. She thinks to herself as she gets up and turns on the T.V. “Do you see stuff that’s not there?” a TV ad for some medication was on. Kerri watched the lady, with a cheesy fake smile on her face; list the signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. “Do you have trouble sleeping at night because of vivid nightmares?” “I’ve got it!” Kerri exclaims out loud. She turns off the TV and rushes over to her laptop. ‘And then… he woke up. He saw he had kicked the blankets off the bed. Only a dream… only a dream. He told himself in the dead silence he could hear his heart thumping like a drum. Thud, thud, thud. When it finally slowed down he got up and paced in the moonlight streaming in through his window. Another dream, it was so real… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sleep again. He thought to himself.’ “There!” Kerri said aloud, hitting the save button and closing the laptop. Her stomach rumbled, how long had it been since she had eaten? She couldn’t remember. Was it hours… days? I better eat. She told herself heading to her tiny kitchen. How long was I sitting there in the dark? She thought as she suddenly realized that it was pitch black outside. She flipped on the light in the kitchen and opened the fridge. She sighed, it was empty. Guess it’ll be pizza… again. She sighed even deeper and headed to the phone. Reality was so tough. Why couldn’t she just stay in her imagination, there, at least she had some control over things.

My Sister's Bridal Shower

My sister, Stephanie, is getting married! This means that there will be a bridal shower held for her at our church, and I end up with the responsibility of coming up with games. The thought had overwhelmed me, that one simple task. I had never gone to any bridal showers, and only once when I was little I went to a baby shower and one of the only games I can remember is where you have to melt an ice cube and get the plastic baby out of it, that wouldn't do for a bridal shower! I finally convinced my mom to come up with a list of games from off the internet and I would pick out a couple. But the best game, at least in my mind, wasn't searched up on the internet at all. my family and I had gone out to eat at Culver's and we realized that no one knew what Stephanie's fiancé looked like, and we joked about having a game where the people would have to pick out of a bunch of pictures of men the guy she was marring. We realized that was actually a good idea and this afternoon Emily, Mom, and myself searched the internet for some pictures. Emily and I wanted to add some pictures of celebrities that we knew, but Mom and I realized it would be too obvious. Stephanie is coming over tonight and she won't let us use any pictures unless she approves of them first, I certainly can't blame her.

The Little Angel In The Curio Cabinet

In the curio cabinet, on the top shelf is a collection of Precious Moments statues. Hidden among the pastel colors and melancholy faces is one little angel girl, with tiny wings, and a bright yellow dress. A crown of jeweled flowers adorns her hair, and she rests on a vivid red flower, staring curiously at a little bug on her finger. That one little statue is mine. A long time ago, before my grandmother died, my family got to choose one statue from Grandma's huge collection of Precious Moments dolls. Our name got written on the bottom of the statue so that some day when grandma died we would know whose is whose. That day came and went and that little angel that I stared at whenever we visited became mine. This little angle is different from all the other Precious Moments dolls, because the trade mark of the Precious Moments statues is the subdued colors and sad eyes of little children. But this one is vividly colored, and has an air of happiness about it. Just the other day I was looking at the statues again and was struck by how much that one little angel stood out from the rest, and I thought how it resembled who I am, at least who I want to be, someone original, unlike everyone else, a trend breaker and someone with the sense of joy and curiosity of the world. This may be an impossible goal of who to be, but it's not about the destination, it's about the journey getting there.

From My Notebook: 9/11

This is a poem I wrote in memory of 9/11.

Black smoke fills the skies,

People’s screams, heartbroken cries.

Dancing flames leap out open windows,

In an instant, young wives become lonely widows.

People leap from on high,

 With hopes to grow wings and fly

 But there will be no escape from this horrible fate.

The two stately towers will surely be missed from the blood red Manhattan sky,

 On 9/11 that fateful date.

The Left Handed Drawing Project

The last few weeks I've taken up a new hobby. It's to draw, with my left hand, a different person each day. The rules are that I have to do it with a permanent marker so that I won't be able to erase my mistakes. The people turn out deformed and barrly reconisable, but it's really fun just to be able to draw something and not worry if it's going to turn out good. Here are a few of my first drawings.

This was my very VERY first one. It looks like a monster, but it's my sister!

This is my sister again, once I got a little better I thought I might as well draw her a little more decently.

It was my goal to draw one every day, but I only got up to day 5 or 6. That's because my family went on a weekend trip to visit my older sister. After that trip I didn't draw another one for at least a week. I have problems with staying committed to stuff, but I really want to change. Maybe this daily project will help me become better at staying committed. Speaking of being committed... I know I haven't been updating this blog very often, but I promise I'll try and post more.