holidays | MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Johnny’s Mom

I love this video. :)

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone! Be sure to read Chris’ Mother’s Day post! It’s awesome.

Go visit some of my favorite moms and wish them a Happy Mother’s Day today, okay? (List below the break.) They’re not ALL moms, but they all deserve well wishes today. :)

Pope Benedict XVI Baptizes Italian Muslim Convert

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.
–Matthew 28:19-20

Welcome to the family, Christian Magdi Allam.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A Muslim author and critic of Islamic fundamentalism who was baptized a Catholic by Pope Benedict said on Sunday Islam is “physiologically violent” and he is now in great danger because of his conversion.

“I realize what I am going up against but I will confront my fate with my head high, with my back straight and the interior strength of one who is certain about his faith,” said Magdi Allam.

In a surprise move on Saturday night, the pope baptized the 55-year-old, Egyptian-born Allam at an Easter eve service in St Peter’s Basilica that was broadcast around the world.

The conversion of Allam to Christianity — he took the name “Christian” for his baptism — was kept secret until the Vatican disclosed it in a statement less than an hour before it began.

Writing in Sunday’s edition of the leading Corriere della Sera, the newspaper of which he is a deputy director, Allam said: “… the root of evil is innate in an Islam that is physiologically violent and historically conflictual.”

Link to Google-translated version added.

AP: Italy’s most prominent Muslim, an iconoclastic writer who condemned Islamic extremism and defended Israel, converted to Catholicism Saturday in a baptism by the pope at a Vatican Easter service.

Commentary from Michael Ledeen at Pajamas Media: Magdi, Ayaan, Salman, and Us.

UPDATE: More video.

Resurrection

The Gospel of John, 20:1-18

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.

Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned home.

But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been.

And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.”

When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher.

Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.

Happy Easter!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Some classic drinking music: Streams of Whiskey from The Pogues stein hoist

This is Black 47 with Funky Céilí (from 1993). Hate their bloody IRA-loving politics, but enjoy the music. ;)

Happy VD!

MOAR!

Actually, I don’t mind VD. It’s the only time of the year you can get tons of my favorite* candy, Brach’s (not Necco, although it’ll do) Conversation Hearts. Mmmmmm. (That is, unless you order in bulk, as I’ve been known to do.)
;)

* Actually, it’s a toss-up between candy hearts, Cadbury eggs, and Godiva chocolate. Feel free to send any or all of the above. Kthxbai.

UPDATE: BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Even better ones at Cracked, with some bonus funny at Digg.

Play Adventure Elf

This is a Christmas game I found following links from the NORAD tracker…below the fold ’cause it’s a Shockwave thing.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Read the rest of this entry »

Merry Christmas!

Mary and Jesus

It’s Christmas all over

…at the Christmas Carnival, put together by my Cotillion sis Kat. Find all the good Christmas stuff there!

Baby Jesus

Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica

Better than watching NORAD: watching Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s. Watch it on EWTN or on the internets HERE. It’s on now!

NORAD tracking Santa

He’s in Norway now! (As of 4:50pm Central.)

Candidates’ Christmas ads

These are the best, in my opinion.

John McCain - this tells the story of the spirit of Christmas better than anything. The NH Union Leader’s Drew Cline writes:

McCain sent this mailer to New Hampshire households this week:

“As a POW, my captors would tie my arms behind my back and then loop the rope around my neck and ankles so that my head was pulled down between my knees. I was often left like that throughout the night.

“One night a guard came into my cell. He put his finger to his lips signaling for me to be quiet, and then loosened my ropes to relieve my pain. The next morning, when his shift ended, the guard returned and retightened the ropes, never saying a word to me.

“A month or so later, on Christmas Day, I was standing in the dirt courtyard when I saw that same guard approach me. He walked up and stood silently next to me, not looking or smiling at me. After a few moments had passed, he rather nonchalantly used his sandaled foot to draw a cross in the dirt. We stood wordlessly looking at the cross, remembering the true light of Christmas, even in the darkness of a Vietnamese prison camp. After a minute or two, he rubbed it out and walked away.

“That guard was my Good Samaritan. I will never forget that man and I will never forget that moment. And I will never forget that, no matter where you are, no matter how difficult the circumstances, there will always be someone who will pick you up and carry you.

“May you and your family have a blessed Christmas and Happy Holidays,

“John McCain”

It’s the best piece of direct mail I’ve ever seen. And to top it, today the campaign released this television ad version of the mailer.

Fred Thompson - Pure class. A comment from The Fred File says it all:

Senator Thompson’s ad has the proper focus during this challenging time in our nation’s history - on our courageous men and women in uniform, who are protecting us and ensuring that we can celebrate Christmas. The Senator rightly humbles and subordinates himself, and elevates and magnifies our troops. It is certainly my hope that all of our citizens adopt this perspective toward those who serve.

Merry Christmas to All ~

Allen
SheetAnchor.org

Indeed.

And last but certainly not least–this really needs no description, does it?

Christmas is near!

And not so coincidentally, that’s the name of the new theme I just loaded here, thanks to the generosity of the brilliant Nicki (an Alabama sister!) at Nitallica.org. Do me a favor–vote for Nicki’s free Wordpress Christmas theme here, please!

101 Christmas shows to watch online

Who needs teevee when you have the internets? It’s all at the link, but here are the first six:

The Essentials

I’m reposting these from last year’s list because these are the items most people want to see. If you can only watch a couple of holiday specials, these are the ones to watch. This is the proverbial ‘hall of fame’ of Christmas programming.

1. It’s a Wonderful Life (click to watch)

2. A Charlie Brown Christmas (click to watch)

3. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (click to watch)

4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (click to watch)

5. Frosty the Snowman (click to watch)

6. A Christmas Story Movie (click to watch)

Ehh…I’d be remiss in not posting these as well, because if you haven’t already seen them, you haven’t been around the internets much:

Viral Christmas Videos

Because you will always be subjected to your distant cousin or long-lost friend sending you links to these videos long after you originally watched them on YouTube.

91. Christmas Fight! Two Toddlers Battle Over a Gift (click to watch)

92. Dick in a Box (click to watch)

93. Crazy Christmas Light Display (click to watch)

94. Rabid Child Gets Nintendo 64 from Santa (click to watch)

There are actually some others I can think of off the top of my head that aren’t in the list, mainly music videos (no Christmas in Hollis in the list?), but I’m not going to slog through YouTube finding all of them now. Maybe later.

Happy Hanukkah!

My bratty brother Vinnie gave me a hard time yesterday about the “Seasons Greetings” banner I had up on the single post pages, so I scrapped and rearranged since it’s Hanukkah right now. :)

So…short and sweet to my Jewish friends in the Worldwide Zionist Conspiracy™ who are celebrating G-d’s eight-day miracle,

Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Chanukah