Addicted

I am hopelessly addicted to face book games....I don't have a the faintest clue as to why because they are irritating little games that wont let you do much on them daily!!! GGRRR.......None the less I play roughly 8 of them daily( the count is probably much higher). Now the problem I have encountered is that on my Pet Society game (currently my fave next to PetVille and Tiki Farm as well as My City Life....... ya ya I already told you im hoplessly addicted) is that by accident i made my pet male instead of female, however i cant bring my self to make it dress like a boy, so now my pet is a cross dresser.....a pretty cross dresser. He laughs like a twat though, I wonder what others in the game must think of my eccentric pet? OK i really don't care.


Between Facebook and Paltalk I have some semblance of a social life I guess. Your wondering why I don't just go into the world and make friends? Why on earth would I wanna go out there every one is crazy!! Pulse I'm to damned lazy to get off my ass.




There are some boots I really really want and have wanted for over a year!!! (there not made of real leather)

And
Boy ain't they pretty?


Getting back to being addicted, you know what I have given up most other addictions I used to have, caffeine, alcohol,nicotine, meat, ( ya I know most don't consider meat an addiction but you would if you stoped eating it long enough and realised what it was your doing). So I guess being addicted to face book games is probably a result of my profound boredom.

St. Valentine's Day

Valentine day is today being celebrated throughout the world with love and affection between intimate companions. The day named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery and sending greeting cards.

Older tradition

The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th century America, where many Valentine cards are now general greeting cards rather than declarations of love, was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States. It's considered one of the Hallmark holidays.

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The association estimates tha

t, in the US, men spend

on average twice as much money as women.

Modern times

In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called “mechanical valentines,” a

nd a

reduction in postal rates in the nex

t century ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing valentines. That, in turn, made it possibl

e for the first time to exchange cards anonymously, which is taken as the reason for the sudden appearance of racy verse in an era otherwise prudishly Victorian.^[31]

Paper Valentines being so popular in England in the early 1800s, Valentines began to be assembled in factories. Fancy Valentines were made with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid 1800's.^[32] In the UK, just under half the population spend money on their Valentines and around 1.3 billion pounds is spent yearly on cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts, with an estimated 25 million cards being sent.^[33] The reinvention of Saint Valent

ine's Day in the 1840s has been traced by Leigh Eric Schmidt.^[34] As a writer in Graham's American Monthly observed in 1849, "Saint Valentine's Day... is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday."^[35] In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828-1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Her father operated a large book and stationery store, but Howland took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received, so clearly the practice of sending Valentine's cards had existed in England before it became popular in North America. The English practice of sending Valentine's cards appears in Elizabeth Gaskell's Mr. Harrison's Confessions (published 1851). Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary." The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that, in the US, men spend in average twice as much money as women.

Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The mid-nineteenth century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow.

In the second half of the twentieth century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts in the United States, usually from a man to a woman.Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates packed in a red satin, heart-shaped box. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry. The day has come to be associated with a generic platonic greeting of "Happy Valentine's Day." As a joke, Valentine's Day is also referred to as "Singles Awareness Day." In some North American elementary schools, children decorate classrooms, exchange cards, and eat sweets. The greeting cards of these students sometimes mention what they appreciate about each other.

The rise of Internet popularity at the turn of the millennium is creating new traditions. Millions of people use, every year, digital means of creating and sending Valentine's Day greeting messages such as e-cards, love coupons or printable greeting cards.

There are some families, however, who choose to find other means of honoring Saint Valentine on Valentines Day. Many of these traditions involve bonfires, for fire is said to represent passion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day

Philosophy

What is your philosophy? Is it mundane or deep? Is it an ideal or belief? Is it a matter of truth or proof? Is it about the ego or humility? I know some one who claims them selves a philosopher, yet they refuse to see the smallest truth regarding them selves, they own a web site and when you say the slightest thing about there philosophy they don't like they fly into a rage, yet they steal all there philosophical pieces from others ( mainly one other). Then after a few years of thieving they tell you you don't understand them or there philosophy. Not only all this but to top it off they have an extremely large ego. Yea I guess I'm having another rant but a rant I need. Next time you meet someone who claims there a philosopher look a bit deeper. A philosopher is willing to see there own faults and face whom they really are , a philosopher wont steal there work from others but think deeply and come to there own conclusion. A philosopher will never try to make you believe what they want you to believe for there own comfort or ego. I wish you better luck than it appears I have had.

Rant

Why is it others feel they can step all over you then feel like you kicked them when you tell them you wont take there crap? I say I hate people, I don't, I just hate certain people. The whinny little mommas boys and abusers in life really take the cake for me. I especially hate the abuser that abuse you then say your the abuser. Or people who suffocate you and make you feel unwanted all the while trying to act like there getting even for some crap they shouldn't have been doing in the first place. I really hate users who make you think your the user. I hate anyone who will shit on some one else then make them feel like they deserve it and like they are owed your loyalty. I hate mind fuckers and people who think they are better than every one else because of some shit they made up in there head. I hate lazy ass holes who would be lost if you were not the one holding them together. I know some one who possess all these lovely virtues and makes you feel like your the problem. My advice at the end of this rant is this, if your being abused stand up for your self or get out, If you don't do something now you will regret your own weakness later.

The Real Story of Christmas

Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. December 25–Christmas Day–has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870.


Christmas has had a long and varied history. It has been celebrated for centuries by different people, at different times, in different places, and in many different ways.

Ancient Holiday

The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.

The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. For many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking.

In Germany, people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Oden, as they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky to observe his people, and then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside.

In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia—a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated. Beginning in the week leading up to the winter solstice and continuing for a full month, Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month, slaves would become masters. Peasants were in command of the city. Business and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun.
Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year.

In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday. Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention date for his birth (a fact Puritans later pointed out in order to deny the legitimacy of the celebration). Although some evidence suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia. Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.



Christmas Outlawed

For thirteen years in the 17th century, Christmas-tide was actually outlawed in England, by an official Act of Parliament. The reason was the rise to power of the dictator Oliver Cromwell, as a result of the Puritan victory over the Cavaliers, during the English Civil War. It has frequently been reported that the Puritan winners had the audacity to ban Christmas.


After the American Revolition, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America's new constitution. Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870
In America



Christmas gets a face lift

It wasn't until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace Christmas. Americans re-invented Christmas, and changed it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia. But what about the 1800s peaked American interest in the holiday?

The early 19th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil. During this time, unemployment was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during the Christmas season. In 1828, the New York city council instituted the city's first police force in response to a Christmas riot. This catalyzed certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in America.

In 1819, best-selling author Washington Irving

wrote The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent., a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house. The sketches feature a squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday. In contrast to the problems faced in American society, the two groups mingled effortlessly. In Irving's mind, Christmas should be a peaceful, warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of wealth or social status. Irving's fictitious celebrants enjoyed "ancient customs," including the crowning of a Lord of Misrule. Irving's book, however, was not based on any holiday celebration he had attended – in fact, many historians say that Irving's account actually "invented" tradition by implying that it described the true customs of the season.


Christmas Carol

Around this same time, English author Charles Dickens created the classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol. The story's message-the importance of charity and good will towards all humankind-struck a powerful chord in the United States and England and showed members of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday.

The family was also becoming less disciplined and more sensitive to the emotional needs of children during the early 1800s. Christmas provided families with a day when they could lavish attention-and gifts-on their children without appearing to "spoil" them.

As Americans began to embrace Christmas as a perfect family holiday, old customs were unearthed. People looked toward recent immigrants and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how the day should be celebrated. In the next 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards, and gift-giving.

Although most families quickly bought into the idea that they were celebrating Christmas how it had been done for centuries, Americans had really re-invented a holiday to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation.

http://www.history.com/content/christmas/the-real-story-of-christmas
http://www.bloggernews.net/13292

Whatever it is you believe, or however you celebrate this joyous season, Merry Christmas!

WOW Darth64

This guy is my hero....I wish he would make me one!







While this may or may not impress you as much as he did me you gotta admit this man knows his stuff. He needs to be hired at a console company as an inverter in my opinion.

This is on my Christmas list now.

A mature Christmas

Here's just a bit of fun I found hysterical