h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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Az,
my thoughts exactly....
Here, have a on me!

Oh Dear.... I meant that you were the "Merry Fing Christsmas Angel". You know... there is the "Angel of Mercy", "The Angel of Death", "The Angel of Darkness", "The Angel of the Lord".

The "Angel of the Lord" is announced with trumpets and choirs of angels. The Angel of Death is announced by the flapping of raven's wings. The Merry Fing Christmas Angel announces herself while carrying a cigar and a glass of bourbon....

Fing angel, eh? Well, given that I neither like cigars nor bourbon I'm afraid I fall short there.

Anyhoodle, my 'bad language' response to Black-Eyed Girl was meant to be silly (a la Bette Midler - f**k em if they can't take a joke). Well, made me laugh. And no, I wasn't about to get into 'Christmas spirits' (hic) mid-afternoon whilst still having evening classes to teach. Though I did have a much deserved glass or two of once I finished work.

Happily I got the Christmas card to my ailing mother sent off this morning. Really, I don't have nearly enough Christmas stuff to do!



az

Well, I am glad you weren't offended... Whew.

Unfortunately, sometimes when you post something, it isn't until you see it up there that you realize that it could be misconstrued. Then, you scramble to 'splain it, and only make things worse...

I certainly didn't want anyone to think you were a bourbon swillin', ceegar smokin' broad. Any one who knows you, knows that you are more the Champagne and Froot-Loops kinda gal.

Froot-loops???? Well, *now* I *am* offended!



az

I don't have any bourbon. Or cigars. Otherwise I'd be puffing and drinking away.

Tips were good .

We had a craft fair at work today. There are a few of us who do crafty or artistic things here. I made $145! I am really happy, because I was running a little low on funds. With my Christmas bonus, I may make it through the holiday with a little money left. I still have some things left, and I am going to bring them to church on Sunday.

It was a toss-up whether to post this here or in the Retail Rants thread.... so I decided to post it in both places:

"Just in time for this weekend's season-opening St. Nikolaus holiday, labor unions are pressing stores to stop the incessant playing of carols, denouncing the practice as "psychological terrorism" that grates the ears of shop employees.

Rieser wants shops to limit carol playing to one hour - 3 to 4 p.m. - to give workers a break. "There's no sense in playing 'Softly Falls the Snow' in the sausage department," he said." http://www.azstarnet.com/star/Sat/31206BlueChristmas.html

The Christmas cards are starting to roll in *and* I received a prezzie in the post this morning from a friend in the US! Yay! Since I already knew what it was (it was written on the customs form on the box) I opened it. Microwave and ! Yay!

This may not sound too exciting to the rest of you but it's a special brand of popcorn that can only be bought in North America and likewise the orange and clove tea.

I usually get various 'mules' to bring this stuff over for me but lately there have been no new arrivals (either friends or tenants) from overseas. And I was down to my last few packets of popcorn so phew! Just in the nick of time.



az

hi Mudhooks,

I actually miss hearing Christmas carols played in the shops here. Well, they do play them here as well but they are Spanish ones that I do know well by now but they just aren't the same as the old English standard ones.

One would think that shop employees would be happy for a break from the usual crappy piped-in musak they have to listen to the rest of the year.

Meanwhile, you remain the queen of the unopenable links!



az

It's 10pm and a group of traditional Spanish carollers are singing just below my balcony! It's so lovely.



az

I completely forgot about getting you the proper link for the Indian Residential Schools Resolutions Office.
http://www.irsr-rqpi.gc.ca/english/index.html
http://www.irsr-rqpi.gc.ca/english/abuse.html
The one I gave you originally was the intranet URL

I am wondering if I gave this to you way back when I fist came on here.

Mudhooks,

The 'missing link' I was referring to was the one above about the Christmas carols. Thanks for posting the other ones, though they are not exactly festive.

I'm in the middle of putting up fairy lights around the balcony windows . . . I'm not tall enough!



az

Here is that article. I guess that the paper doesn't keep thier stories for more than a day.

VIENNA, Austria - It could be the weather - there's nary a snowflake in sight. Maybe it's angst over unprecedented labor unrest or global warming melting away Alpine ski slopes.
Whatever it is, Austria - known worldwide for its festive Christmas traditions - is in a Grinchy state of mind.

In this tranquil country where a priest penned ``Silent Night'' in 1816, Elvis Presley's ``Blue Christmas'' suddenly seems more appropriate - or would be if only more Austrians were in the mood for Yuletide music.

Just in time for this weekend's season-opening St. Nikolaus holiday, labor unions are pressing stores to stop the incessant playing of carols, denouncing the practice as ``psychological terrorism'' that grates on shop employees.

"They become aggressive and develop an aversion to Christmas music," said Gottfried Rieser, a union leader of the campaign. "It gets to the point where on Christmas Eve, when they're at home with their families, they can't stand `Silent Night' or 'Jingle Bells' one more time."

Rieser wants shops to limit carol playing to one hour - 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. - to give workers a break. ``There's no sense in playing `Softly Falls the Snow' in the sausage department,'' he said.

Workers are especially touchy in Austria this season.

For the first time since World War II, teachers, railroad employees and airline pilots are staging periodic strikes as the government whittles away at traditional job protections and the right to retire early and comfortably.

Others are looking warily past Christmas to the new year, when the neighboring Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia join the European Union. Many Austrians fear their country will be overrun by foreigners who will compete with them for jobs.

Since last Christmas, joblessness has jumped 13 percent in Vienna. Among the capital's 1.6 million people, 80,500 are unemployed - including 2,000 artists and actors - which may help explain this year's less-than-festive mood.

Dismay over the sluggish economy has cast a pall over today's celebration of St. Nikolaus, the white-bearded saint who arrives in his bishop's miter and delivers biscuits and sweets to young children.

On Christmas Eve, the Christkind, or Christ Child, sneaks into homes and deposits presents under the tree.

Dec. 25 itself is more of a feast day when families gather for a big meal.

Austrians' aversion to the American Santa Claus, seen by many as encroaching on local traditions, came into focus Friday when the western town of St. Wolfgang banned the sale of Santa items at its market.

``We all grew up with the Christ Child, not with that rumbling Santa Claus and all his ho-ho-hos,'' said Hans Wieser, a local tourist official.

The country's fairy tale outdoor Christmas markets are doing a brisk business - locals and tourists sip steaming cups of spiked punch beneath strings of twinkling lights and browse among the handmade ornaments and cuckoo clocks.

But the weather is wrong. Recently, there have have been unseasonably mild days.

Austrians blame the foehn, a system that funnels balmy winds from the Sahara into the Alps. It brings a touch of spring, but it can also put people in a foul mood by giving them tension headaches and sleepless nights.

``Foehn'' (pronounced halfway between ``phone'' and ``foon'') is the same word as the German for hair dryer. Annoyed Austrians say they feel like they're being blasted in the face by a big one.

They're also worried about global warming, and with good reason: A new U.N. Environment Program report warns that snow is melting at lower altitudes and could mean an end to downhill skiing at some alpine resorts.

Skiing is a multimillion-dollar industry in Austria, but this year, many slopes are green.

``Real winter won't come until January,'' said meteorologist Alexander Podesser.

As if that's not enough gloom and doom, Austrians are bracing for a major outbreak of influenza that's now sweeping France.

The flu is forecast to hit here - you guessed it - right around Christmas Day.

Very good article, Mudhooks. Thanks for printing it out since the link didn't work. Stil . . .

People seem to get so upset about what Christmas is 'supposed to be' in terms of being against the commercial aspect of it. Or they get upset that things are going so badly in the world (many of the things in that posting) that how can Christmas exist?

I still maintain that Christmas is a state of mind and also something that lives within our hearts. No, it truly has nothing to do with the presents and the feasting, though these are very nice ways to celebrate Christmas. And a way of showing our love and appreciation.

Christmas is about compassion. The bible myth where Christmas takes its name from - the birth of Christ - is about the son of a god being made flesh and becoming human. And this mythological person represented the birth of compassion in the world. Before that all gods were quite un-human. But the Jesus myth is so lovely, I think. Here is a god that chose to become human and then chose to love his fellow man. Quite similar to the Bodhisattva who chose to remain on earth and teach humans about compassion.

Anyhoodle, that is my take on Christmas. It is about remembering that we are all the same and that we need to remember to love each other because . . . well, just because we are all the same. We are all god. Doncha think?



az

Just been chatting to my sister in Australia, who's putting on sunblock to go carol singing....

So, like, where is everybody - out shopping?

hi Lucky Star,

It would feel really strange having Christmas in a hot place. It took me awhile to get used to Christmases with no snow, but to be honest, not *that* long.



az

Ah, yes, but, at least you're in a hot place. We're in a cold place and we haven't got snow. That is annoying.

I'm in a hot place?

Well, it's hot here in August but right now I am shivering as I sit in my living room wearing two thick sweaters over a long-sleeved t-shirt - and also a scarf!

Anyhow, off to bed to warm up under the duvet, perchance to sleep and dream of central heating . . .



az