Christmas 2013

Christmas 2013 has been unlike many that I have participated in  and experienced over the last few years, yet there have been similairities to Christmases of the past. However I will hoghligh what I did differently this year in the following paragrapghs:

Listen to music. Over the weeks leading up to Christmas, there was a lot of activity which was not of the season and I made a choice to listen to Christmas music just to part of the season.  There were lots of songs  available on youtube, some with the lyrics of the songs, some with videos,  and I listended to music while I worked especially on weekends.  Here were some of the top choices:

• There  was  the funny: "Grandma got run over by a reindeer"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgIwLeASnkw
• The melodious: Luther Vandross's Album: "This is Christmas" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CsIPOzIfVQ These songs represented acceptance of who we are, our past and our present.
• There was Nat King Cole's  and his daughter Natalie's " Unforgetable"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uRtNMFfF-g.
• The discovery on Facebook of Pentatonix's acapella http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_MGWio-vc  which raised goosebumps.

Take it easy and try to determine what you are going to use your time on now and in the future:  This is one of the hardest ones to deal with as this one ranges from:

• How to be present in a place where you have been absent for most of the year. This one was fairly easy, just be present and particpate in an activity such as cleaning up or decorating.
• How to be present to persons with whom you have lost contact either deliberately or through things you have committed to that they have not been a part of. This one can be solved in get together, "play games" either card or board. You may learn that you want to commit to  getting together and learning more than you know. This becomes apparent when  are dealing with children.  :)
• How to be better to you and treat yourself better, Either treat yourself to things that you have not been able to experience either because you have committed to things elsewhere or overcommitted, or plan activities which you would like to participate in.This process was initiated with  going to a movie... "Best Man Christmas". 

I've been Reading: Middle East, (Jerusalem) & Snow

I think that I have said that I am not geographically inclined, so I was astounded to see the snow in Jerusalem photos and articles which were posted. Then I saw that articles on the bigger perspective, the Middle East.  I could go on and on about the similarities in people, our intrepretation of the Bible story of the birth of Christ, however I would like for persons to just enjoy the photos. For some persons, there may be questions about how the persons who are living in certain conditions  or are of certain age groups are going to manage with the cold.....

The Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock are covered in snow in Jerusalem on Dec. 13, 2013. Early snow has surprised many Israelis and Palestinians as a blustery storm, dubbed Alexa, brought gusty winds, torrential rains and heavy snowfall to parts of the Middle East.

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man prays at the Western Wall on Dec. 13.

Ultra-orthodox Jews enjoy the snow in the Mea Shearim religious neighborhood on December 12, 2013 in Jerusalem's old city, Israel. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Palestinians enjoy a snowball fight during snowy weather in the West Bank city of Nablus on Dec. 12. The Palestinian Authority announced that schools would be closed due to adverse weather conditions.

Vehicles are seen stranded in snow in Jerusalem on Dec. 13. The hilltop city of Jerusalem was paralyzed by its fiercest snowstorm in years, with its mayor calling out the army to help stranded motorists.

A young Ultra-Orthodox Jewish child plays next to a snowman in the Mea Shaarim neighborhood of Jerusalem on Dec. 12.

A woman swims in the pool at the David Citadel Hotel during a snowstorm in Jerusalem on Dec. 13.

Two Palestinian women play with snow outside Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013. Early snow has surprised many Israelis and Palestinians as a blustery storm, dubbed Alexa, brought gusty winds, torrential rains and heavy snowfall to parts of the Middle East. (AP 

Mideast Israel Palestinians Weather

An ultra-Orthodox Jew walks in hailstones covered park in Tel aviv, Israel, Friday, Dec. 13, 2013. Early snow has surprised many Israelis and Palestinians as a blustery storm, dubbed Alexa, brought gusty winds, torrential rains and heavy snowfall to parts of the Middle East. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

People play in the snow in Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2013 as a blustery storm, dubbed Alexa, brought gusty winds, torrential rains and heavy snowfall to most parts of Syria and the entire Middle East. The snow has heaped another layer of misery on the already grim existence of many of the more than 2 million Syrians who have fled the civil war raging in their homeland.(AP Photo)

A haredi man prays during a snowy winter morning in Jerusalem, December 13, 2013. (Photo credit: Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)

Snow in the settlement of Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem, Thursday, December 12, 2013 (photo credit: Nati Shohat/Flash90)


A view of Jerusalem's snow-blanketed Old City, Thursday, December 12, 2013 (photo credit: Tamar Pileggi/Times of Israel)



Here are the links

http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/13/21890229-holy-land-blanketed-in-snow-after-intense-winter-storm?fb_action_ids=10153547831845147&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=AddThis_Blogs&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=[617034408344151]&action_type_map=[%22og.recommends%22]&action_ref_map=[%22AddThis_Blogs%22]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/rare-snow-storm-blankets-jerusalem/2013/12/12/ee2bd22a-6323-11e3-91b3-f2bb96304e34_story.html

http://www.komonews.com/news/national/Rare-storm-leaves-Jerusalem-snowed-in-Cairo-with-first-snow-in-112-years-235765161.html?tab=gallery&c=y&img=3

http://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-braces-for-storm-three-times-worse-than-what-has-been-seen-so-far/

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/jerusalem-snow-photos-december-2013-20131212

I've been reading: Entrepreneur Spirit Caribbean Issue 5 2013

I've been reading Entrepreneur Spirit Caribbean Issue 5, 2013. How did I get a copy  of the magazine? One of my sisters saw it, thought I would be interested in reading it and brought it for me to read.  Talk about sisterly love! And  was she correct in thinking that it would be an enjoyable read and better than that I located the website which will be listed at the end  of the post.
First of all there is a photo of a beautiful lady on the cover, so you start thinking that this is about an actress, singer, model. Then you read the excerpt  "B's Homemade Ice Cream"and the name of the company rings a bell as you are aware of this brand on Facebook. It is one of those companies that you look at the  FBpage and  think to yourself that you have to try that brand and it is just a matter of time until you do, because there is something warm and inviting about it.
Then there is Andrea's Unique Art  which as the name suggests, shows photos of intriguing pieces of artwork. http://www.andreauniqueart.com/
There are at least three articles on the  Digital World,  such as Pink Splash Media, Yours Digitally, Creative Industries in a Digital Landscape which are thought provoking and can be used by anyone as they cover concepts that are close to home.  See http://www.linkedin.com/company/pink-splash-media
Islander St. Lucia is a great article on a business/businesses which are  located in another island, which looks great. There is an equally great website on the group. http://www.islandergroup.com/
There is a page on " Effective Tools for Energising your Business Pursuits", where  three books are highlighted, "Rich Dad's Guide to Investing" by Robert Kiyosaki of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" fame, "How to say it for Executives" by Phyllis Mindell, as wella s Business Stripped Bare by Sir Richard Branson"
I loved  "Startup Weekend Trinidad and Tobago"  which covered developing and launching a Startup in just 54 hours. "The first event of its kind held in the Southern  Caribbean, Startup Weekend events havs been held around the workd and brings together a set of " passionate leaders and entrepreneurs with the aim to inspire, educate, and empower individuals, temas and communities" and "to develop deas, launch startups in 54 hours" as it was dynamic and inspiring.
Overall,  the articles which were read were great from the  view  that they were real life stories where most of the persons shared enough information to assist other start ups either persevere or re invent their concepts or get a push to another level.
The website looks really promising, however that is another story. http://www.entrepreneurspirit.org/

3WS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamrock

3WS that was going to be the name of the company which I was dreaming about. The polite version would be Three Way Solutions. I would offer 3 types of services, Accounting, Taxation and Consulting.
The Accounting aspect  would be easy yet complicated . There were the different types of service which would range from Outsourcing of persons, (albeit at a higher level than persons who were starting to work), provision of accounting services for different sizes of companies, and provision of services which bridged the gap between the level of accountng which was required for the audit of a company, provision of statutory accounts and the person who was doing their data entry on their accounting package.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis

Providing services relating to Taxation was for the love of money, Government, order, making a contribution to society, and  the development of knowledge.  Yes one of the key reasons was that taxation could be a bread and butter service. While it seemed to be knowledge based, the service which was provided is also based to a  large extent on your maturity level, your willingness to acknowledge the biger picture, your part in society and the gap between where you are and where you wanted to be.
The Consulting part  was thrown in, rather than admit that the third way was to take care of the business. However in reality  everyone loves to talk, share ideas and this would cover everything that people wanted to do, needed help with from a financial point of view as well as allow for growth and stimulation. After all, businesses and people needed to be nurtured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_of_Padua

There was no way on this green earth that I was going to admit that  3WS was actually an acronym for Three Way Spirit! That would be to let the other side of me come out, the side that tried to be Catholic,  versus the love for food, ( read Indian sweets) and the love to roam.
This has been a struggle for me over the last few years, after all at the age of twelve or thereabouts, having attended a Hindu wedding and realising that the sweets were so good, eating "parsad" whenever I could even though I was a good Catholic, enjoying Hosay ( procession on the streets), again because of the access to sweets and the urge to walk, (sweets  purchased and tasted on the road).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Anne

3WS coud also be based on the different aspects of service to God. Serving of Food, as meals, or takeout, development of skills  from the practical such as cooking, in small quantities versus large quantities, using ingredients in ways which were different  to knowledge based skills and  the devleopment of people through knowledge. After all, teach a man to fish, he will be able to feed himself.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%CE%A4%CE%BF_%CE%B5%CF%83%CF%89%CF%84%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8C_%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85_%CE%9D%CE%B1%CE%BF%CF%8D_%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82_%CE%91%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1%CF%82_%CE%86%CE%BD%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%82.jpg

Listen to this: Take me to the King

Being a fanciful person, who has read more romance novels than technical books over the years, who  at times has struggled with working, when the need to wander and roam beckoned, who will listen to a song or a piece of music and be captivated with no sense of recognition of the importance of the singer, only to realise later that was the name of the song, or this person sang the song, or who will be entranced by a movie, mainly because of the music such as Make A Joyful Noise's Man in the Mirror  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RxTSoiqXg0, I found the song "Take me to the King" unforgetable. Whether it is the underlying concept which has been handed down over the years through different times and places, or whether it is concept of the kingdom of  King David or King Solomon or that of Christ as a King, for however rare a moment that was. The concept of Christ the King, was not necesarrily in the same vein as the preceding two kings, given the generations between each of them or the differences in the times, the locations, the lifestyles, the stories of their lives which are provided by the Bible. The most vivid imagery of the song  available at that time was to that of the Magnificat, the looks of Mary, the surroundings as seen in wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnificat
However one of the fundamental  concepts that separates Jesus as a King from the other Kings, is that he had lots of male figures around him, like the disciples, his father and all of the figures which have been developed to some extent in Catholicism.  However here is the link to the Song, Enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8TAr9jgA9A

Praying the Rosary in different languages

Last year or thereabouts, a night of prayer and fasting was organised in the Grand Stand of our Queens Park Savannah. The Grand Stand has  been known for many things over the years from Panorama Finals ( Competition between the various steel pan groups) on the night before Carnival to the Parade of the Carnival bands on Monday and Tuesday, however I was not familiar with the place or shamefully enough the location.
The night actually started at about 6:00p.m. or thereabouts with  the recitation of the Rosary. One of the orders which was chosen, elected to recite the familiar prayer in French, Spanish among other languages. Hearing familiar words spoken in other languages and understanding the use of  words which would be spoken in an every day langauge class  created a sense of there are other ways of thinking, which I have been trying to hold on to over the last year  Here are some of the images which I have located since then in an attempt to hold on the spark which was re created that night.

The Hail Mary in French

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoUbuesLqXI 

French

Je vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâce.
Le Seigneur est avec vous.
Vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes,
et Jésus, le fruit de vos entrailles, est béni.
Sainte Marie, Mère de Dieu,
Priez pour nous, pauvres pécheurs,maintenant et à l'heure de notre mort.
Amen

Prayer: Dios te salve, Maria (Hail Mary) in Spanish

Dios te salve, Maria.
Llena eres de gracia:
El Señor es contigo.
Bendita tú ere entre todas las mujeres.
Y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre:
Jesús.
Santa María, Madre de Dios,
ruega por nosotros pecadores,
ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte.
Amén.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name: Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread: and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation: but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The Our Father in French

Notre Père, qui es aux cieux,
Que ton nom soit sanctifié,
Que ton règne vienne,
Que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel.

Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain de ce jour.
Pardonne-nous nos offences
Comme nous pardonnons aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés.
Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation,
mais délivre-nous du mal,
car c'est à toi qu'appartiennent le règne,
la puissance et la gloire, aux siècles des siècles.
Amen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npb1ZqcuYDA&feature=player_detailpage

http://www.ourladyweb.com/mary-avemaria.html

House of Hades - Rick Riordan

I started reading this series as a result of one of my nephews leaving his sister's book around.  Over the years, the acquisition of each book meant  a delayed wait, while someone else  read the book, trying not to take the book before someone finished it. I was extremely happy to start reading the  series  after several books had been acquired, however I soon caught up with the others and that meant I was waiting and waiting. So I am happy to say that there is one more day to the release of  House of Hades, and  I am wondering is this going to be the end of the series? Will there be a shorter release period between books?  Don't know at all.  Just in case you do not have a clue as to what I am speaking about, here is a summary:

The House of Hades is the fourth book in the bestselling Heroes of Olympus series, set in the action-packed world of Percy Jackson.

The stakes have never been higher. If Percy Jackson and Annabeth fail in their quest, there'll be hell on Earth. Literally.

Wandering the deadly realm of Tartarus, every step leads them further into danger. And, if by some miracle they do make it to the Doors of Death, there's a legion of bloodthirsty monsters waiting for them.

Meanwhile, Hazel and the crew of the Argo II have a choice: to stop a war or save their friends. Whichever road they take one thing is certain - in the Underworld, evil is inescapable.