Does Christianity live in a shopping mall?

Christmas is in our religion (by 'our' I mean all the different flavors of Christianity) the day that Jesus was born in a very humble shack, in a stable actually, warmed by the breath of the animals, lighted by the star, and showered by the magicians presents. All in modesty, humbleness, religious ecstasy, family love, quietness, with the bright light of a solitary star intruding the darkness of the night.
Now tell me, where do all these Christmasy symbols find their place in 'our' Christmas? I would think that the Japanese celebrating their fashion-victimness with yet another shopping spree, labeling it 'Christmas shopping' is alright. After all, they are not Christian.
Yet for us, Christians, the period around Christmas holidays, is usually the period where most depression attacks are registered and would not be surprised if it was the time where most suicides are recorded in Norway.
The spirit of Christmas commands from us all to be jolly, happy, surrounded by at least three kids that will open their presents on christmas day, an extended family where there are at least 4-5 couples with 4-5 offsprings each, mothers-in-law are not ball breakers, a chalet up on the mountain with a huge fireplace, a golden retriever that will sit quietly by the fireplace the entire evening (next to it without suffocating) and its sole movement will be to occasionally lick someone or wave the tail (the rest of the time it does not move, does not dirt, does not shed). In addition, there is a huge 4x4 SUV in the chalet garage, everybody is a wonderful skier and nobody gets chopped lips and face from the freaking cold.

I think this type of Christmas exists only in commercials. The depressions hit because we mistake the 'commercial type-Christmas' with 'commercial Christmas'. Unfortunately, most recently we can not have the money to buy the presents. And lately the kids are asking play station III or super nintendos - not just a fire brigade or a doll from Santa.

The problem is that at times like this, where Santa has run out of money, it is depressing to make a kid sad. A present needs to be bought. At all costs. Or the parents need to spill the beans: Santa is not real!!! (I think that revelation alone explains the anger of 15-year old Athenians...)

The conclusion is that on a period of financial crisis, Christmas period is harsh on most people. Harsh because most of us will fail to deliver as our role promises. Or at least the delivery will not be as great as it was previous years. Because there is so deeply routed in our westernized soul that we can get by our wrongdoings all year long as long as we deliver our Santa promise. Hence the real legacy of Christmas is lost and misunderstood.

In order for one to be happy, one must have a 4-member family, a mountain house, an SUV, a six digit bank account, patience in light installation and holiday decoration, shouting wealth, exhibition, festive spirit, hedonism etc. None of these qualities have anything to do with Christmas. On the contrary, Christmas, the birth of Christ, was the promise of a hope that God would liberate humans from all these musts and should dos, all these societal directives that all they serve for is to discriminate against the poor, the single and the different. Jesus was born for all, quietly, in his small shack, warmed by the breath of moving animals and showered by the symbolic gifts of the three magicians that came to pay their respects.

No SUVs, no trees, no golden lights, no santas, no fireplace, no fiestas.

My question now is: Why on earth do all these new shopping malls mushroom up in the period that most people get depressed when passing in front of a shop? Christmas is deprived of the true miracle of Genesis and the hope that His birth represented. The devil is taking over. Unlike what most people think, modern devil is disguised in small square plastic cards, especially active in large, bright, luxurious, plentiful, colorful, christmas decorated, over-advertised, window-lacking shopping malls.


PS: Frankly, thinking about it, X-mas is more a single than a family holiday (single folks flats do not have the sparkle, ribbons, trees, lights, etc of family homes during xmas)

Die Welle

Absolutely worth seeing especially if you want to understand how strong is the psychology of the masses and how easy some uncomprehensible social phenomena can be explained. Out of nothing a human wave can drown us all, especially those who started it.
The references to Nazi Germany is of course unavoided and necessary to show the heavy historical burden on the otherwise revolutionary, modern, artistic and visionary German youth.
Unlike the French 'Entre les Murs' (see previous posting), Die Welle is telling a story, it is not a dramatized documentary, it is fiction that dramatizes a national nightmare in a classroom. The operative question being: Can we have fascism again?
Brilliant movie, the best I have seen this season so far, a MUST SEE.
Excellent direction and a very promising young cast. The professor is wonderful
Without any hesitation, 5 out of 5

NB: The movie is inspired by a real school experiement in California in 67 and based on a novel by Tod Strasser

Body of lies

A Ridley Scott movie is always an interesting film to watch. Middle eastern troubles, the remote big brother watching the moves of field agents, people getting killed, the good arabs, the bad arabs and the good americans with their nasty habbits.

Overall a good action movie, deals with the ugliness of the war on terror, how the americans, how the arabs that fight and how the arabs that just happened to be born there see it and try to survive
I really enjoyed the movie. Great casting, great directing, great story. Absolutely worth watching in a theater
What is interesting though is that in all hollywood-produced spy movies, the good arab always looks more european. Funny, ain't it?

Felicitations Martine

On Friday, November 21st, the French socialist party voted for their new first secretary. Martin Aubrey led Segolene Royale by 42 votes. Sego contested the results and there was a second round of votes. Aubrey won. For a second time on Nov 25th, the party's vote to become its leader. Martine Aubrey elue la Premiere Secretaire du Partie Socialiste.
The two women do not get along, not on a personal nor an ideological level, and there have been worries in French left for a party split. (Does that ring a bell???) Segolene appeared on a video to tell her voters that she will come back stronger at the next elections and that she does not plan to quit the left.
Segolene with her ex-partner where the royal couple, the Douglases, of the French left. Things have not turned particularly swell for them since the announcement of their split and the rise of Nicolas.

French socialist voters are split, like their party. Some adore Segolene, some don't even want to see her face on a picture. The truth is that Segolene has a very strong personality - love and hate are the two sides of the same coin. Martine, on the other hand, has an extremely impressive resume, as she is the architect of France's revolutionary 35-hour week, a true solialist. She is also sort of socialist royalty, as she comes from a political family: her father is the architect of Europe 92, Jacques Delors. She is currently the mayor of Lille France's ugliest city, and she is apparently doing a very good job.

Congrats Martine, beating such a worthy opponent makes the win even higher.

France needs to become more competitive without losing its socialist character - mind you France's right is probably far more left than the Democrats. (How right is the Left and how left is the Right, is a different topic alltogether).

The fact that there are for the first time two women candidates to lead France's socialists is also another remarkable progress of our times.

A Parisian monodose

You probably know the cosmetics samples. Now called 'monodose' A single dose. Well, this is exactly how it felt last weekend. A monodose of Paris. With the econonomic crisis and the intense competition of airlines, the trully successful ones have some supreme offers for European cities from Athens, so I took advantage of Aegean's offer to Paris.
It was a very quick visit to Paris, lunch and coffee in 1er arrondisement with Helena, a bit of shopping, and then home to play with Chiara Zeta and relax. Sunday after breakfast and a stroll around the neighborhood, off to the airport!
Chiara is now walking!!!! She is very vocal, but not able to speak yet, although she seems to understand everything and she starts developing her own judgement, at least she has mastered 'no' :-))
Watching a kid grow, one realises how fast time goes by. Besides the joy that a child brings to its parents and rest of family - provided the child is physically and mentally healthy - the child enriches adults lives in so many different ways.
Firstly, a child needs will fill in every inch of leisure time of the parents, leaving very little room to any thoughts about the vanity of life or other similar grand thoughts..

Even though we all know that there is a cycle in life, somehow watching a kid grow, we tend to forget all that and think that life is forever, as we focus on the now and future plans go as far in the future as next weekend.
Life as we knew it bc (before child) changes. FULLSTOP. Now the adult becomes a caretaker of someone else, and thus needs to care about his or her own self in order to make sure that someone will always be there for the child. Hence, the adult matures. What is greater than just watching the kid grow, is watching its parents grow as well. By growing, I mean maturing, become more accepting, finding solutions instead of problems and overall happier. This is the only way to reach equilibrium in life and most probably discover its true meaning as parenting a child means that we discover the world all over again.



On a different note, that trip also reminded me - as if I had forgotten - how beautiful Paris is. With the sun or snow, Paris remains one of the loveliest, most elegant and most indulging places a person can spend a saturday afternoon.

Bobos finds a family

Great news: Bobos, found a new family
He will be taken there this afternoon and hopefully will get along with this new parents and sister (there is a female griffon in the house as well)
It is always great to see them get to new homes. Now we'll just have to rescue the next stray. There are hundreds of them and every day we keep finding a new one
Each one that finds a home is a wonderfully happy event. Each one we lose is a terrible tragedy.
I am happy Bobos belonged to the first category. For such a little creature would not be able to survive without a family. In a few days he will also get rid of his elisabetian outfit..

When you want something very much the universe will make it happen

And so Ducan came back. Now, universe please make Original disappear!!! Thank you

Bobos

Bobos is a little dog about 7 years old that someone got fed up with and left him on the streets. Bobby has some great manners, he will wait for ever and won't do his business until he goes on a walk, he does not chew shoes, he is very quiet the sleeping hours, he will wait patiently when you are having dinner and he will be greatful for a good cuddle. He gets along with cats very well, he is friendly with humans and other dogs (well..hm perhaps a bit too friendly even if we neutreured him if you know what I mean)
Well, his former owners did not appreciate any of his charms, and Bobos found himself in a hostile environment (Pentelis avenue) and was hit by a car.
We (the filozoiki Vrilission) took him to a doc, operated him and now he is recovering in my house until he gets either a foster home or a permanent home.
He is adorable. If you know of anybody...It will be hard for me to see him go, but three dogs and two cats can be a bit too much. Plus Zizou needs to remain the Alpha male in the house....

Best friends

I found Patty (the cat) when she was 20 days old inside a garbage can with the ambilical cord and her twin brothers dead.
That was two and a half years a go. Junior, my other cat, was about 10 months old and was very jealous that a new baby had arrived. Zizou would protect her all day in my absense from Junior's claws. No wonder Patty thinks of Zizou as her best buddy and perhaps her teddy bear

Quantum of Solace

Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond. Casino Royal is my favorite Bond movie. After watching it last year, and about 35 times on my HD DVD since then, I had quite elevated expectations for the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Although Craig did not disappoint me, and Judi Dench is always a sight for sore (viewer's) eyes, and that the movie was again filmed in HD, the movie kind of let me down. For the following reasons:
a) In Casino Royal James had got rid of the tux and the black tie and wore more casual clothes that behave better when chasing vilans on rooftops. I also thought it was cool for him not to wear the tux outside the casino floor. In quantum of solace James hardly got out of his tux going back into the 60s James charm and forgetting all about the 'coolness' of hiking boots.
b) absense of punchlines. Besides James manly charm, his Brit wit would add on his charisma. This was demonstrated mainly by punchlines. There were a few punchlines but not that strong. The ones that existed where of course delivered with the appropriate Bond style
c) In Casino Royal, one of the reasons that Craig scored aces high, was that he was dynamic, meaning there was a lot of boxing and less shooting, and that James finally opened up to a girl. In Quantum of Solace, he mainly shoots people and the betrayal he felt from Vesper, his lover in the Casino movie, made him cold, colder than usual, and not in the mood for funny encounters
d) The movie was an action movie, with more action and less talking. A bit like an upgraded Steven Seagul movie

However, there were a few things to note:
a) Ladyhair fashion: brunettes are back (με αφέλειες)
b) revenge does not always feel good
c) M is the best bond girl
d) HD is the way forward in the movie industry
e) all London references where a sharp contrast with the rest of the world: pooring with rain - I thought it was funny, especially since everywhere else was colourful, sunny and hot

Of course I will buy the DVD. I will not watch it as often as Casino Royal though.