Arabian Nights - Y2K

I must have missed this Hallmark, made for TV movie, back in the year 2000.

It caught my eye at the video store this past Christmas Season.

(Other than wishing I'd also seen that it had a 3 hour run time...)
I thought it was one of the most entertaining features I've watched in a good while...

If you get this, and want to watch it with children - look at the special features first - there's violence in the film and the special features show how all that is faked with movie magic - spoil the story?
Not hardly with this - there are 5 fanciful, & time-worn stories woven within the one master tale.
It is a gorgeous film!
Besides, wouldn't we rather teach the children lessons in what's real, and what's pretend, as early as possible in childhood development?

Another 'global' thing I liked about this film, is the ethnic diversity of the actors - all superb, & maintaining whatever home country accent they walked onto the set with. So! We see an Arabic-looking actor sounding Scottish, Asian looking actors sounding British, and so on.

I so wanted to watch this when all my nephews and nieces were in town - the weekend after Christmas... but, alas, we gathered around Priates of the Caribbean III instead.
Maybe NEXT time they all gather 'round - we can give this a whirl.
I know I'd be willing to watch it again!

I've always loved the Arabian Nights stories and this one is extremely well done!
(5 Stars!)

The Spirit of Christmas...

...is Pure Love.
the pure love of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

One of my favorite scriptures is this:

1 Corinthians 12:31 -
... covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

Then come the great words of Paul extolling the high status of charity in Chapter 13... these verses are oft repeated by lovers, one to another, for Charity — a pure love, excels and exceeds almost all else...

Sure!

This is easy stuff for those among us that are easy to love and adore... (you, for example.)

In Matthew Chapter 5

Christ taught:

... I say unto you, Love ..., bless ..., do good to them ..., and pray for them which despitefully use ..., and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: ...

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Here's to perfect Love!

(which is willing to forgive a misstep, or two... or more - on the learning curve of life!)

Here's to an evermore Joyful Christmas -may we lengthen our strides, and renew our faith in, and upon, His most excellent word!

Wonderful!

Counselor!

Let earth receive her King of Kings...

Merry Christmas - to all!

Blue Flyer

Snow-showers earlier this month (DEC 8th) had me sitting at home listing the many details of routine that I need to get taken care of each and every week...
A flash of blue barrelling past the living room windows caught my eye, "blue jay flyin'," (yes. I actually pointed this out to my cat, Dr. Claudia Seuss, who had comfied up in my lap as I satt listing - wouldn't you? uh, point things like this out to the cat...*sheesh!*) =)
Dr. Seuss flashed me that 1/2 lidded look cats give you when everything is all cool and groovie, and then, she flicked her tail - for good measure.
(I've heard tell that the 1/2 lidded kitty-look is useful in face to face confrontations with lions & tigers - to, um, signal white-flag sentiments like: 'Yo. It's all good. No need to bare any fangs, claws, or git all 'hissy'! - please don't hurt me!', but, hey, my home-kitty is the only one I've actively practiced this random theory on...)
Then... the heater kicked in - and the image of flying $$$-from my pocket book to the SourceGas co. - streaked across my mind's eye, immediately prompting me to look at the digital temp. gauge (Thanks to my sister, The Queen of Panic!, I can see how flippin' cold [or HOT] it is, from the comfort of my favorite chair - the outdoor sensor is tacked up under the car-port, and the indoor one lives on a stand with one of my houseplants.) It's surprising to me - how often I look at this thing...) Anyways...
It all combined in my head & flowed into a jaunty little tune that has been periodically looping through my brain. (yeah. making me a little nuts, don't I just know it - but, well, I kinda like it too... )
I'll share (& spare you the 'jewel tone vocals' that go along with) this diddy:

Blue Jay flies through ashy-white skys -

To the shelter of the evergreen trees.

Kitty flicks her tail as the heater wails -

and the temperature reads, 23.

Oh-o I-i-i

Wonder why -

and who, and how, and where, and when ...

and I-i-i

Remember YOU, (ou, ou)

and the love we shared back then.

_____

Even though, Henry Thoreau described the sound [of a Blue Jay] as being the:

"unrelenting steel-cold scream of a jay, unmelted, that never flows into a song, a sort of wintry trumpet, screaming cold; hard, tense, frozen music, like the winter sky itself."

I'm thinking of leading off my "Christmas letters" with this - and yes, they will all be late, doncha know - that's what I get for losing myself in the diddy - writing little humming songs rather than attending to that (neverending 'to-do') list....

Who knows, and who can say? - perhaps I'll post it all here someday...