Boxing Day?

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about




Boxing Day  *** * ************ * ***
*I've always *thought that it was* weird to have *this day right at this time.*A holiday focussed  specificallyon spending *money? In some places a statutory holiday? What is *that about?Why *do we have to focus on this just at this*time? How did* sharing out of love become corrupted*into giving* as a requirement, rather than a holiday of*giving from one's own gifts to those we love, or those who* maynot have as much as we have. Our culture has *corruptued it. This is thelast Christmas *tree for me. No more. How is all *that buying and sellingrelated to the birth of theSaviour?
Justaskin'...

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Thank you

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Pope says focus on Jesus, not pre-Christmas distractions

Even though we, as Christians and Catholics, know what we should be focussing on, we need people like the Pope to remind us, I think...

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I agree - why not make Thanksgiving Happy for Other Americans

Shop on Thanksgiving No Thanks

"To get these things, and also long-overdue labor law reform, we need more workers willing to stand up like petitioners Hardwick and Melaragni and the Long Island Target workers, and we need consumers to recognize that they're workers, too, and that paying the lowest prices has a hidden cost for their children and our society. That cost is less opportunity for good jobs, more job offshoring and an ever-declining standard of living."

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Consumerism starts here

Empty trash. Buy milk. Forge history.

"To trace the great arcs of civilization, historians tap the humble list"

But not consumerism as a religion. I think that's a product of the 20th century...

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The faith and works of Rev. Billy

and the church of life after shopping...

Rev. Billy and the church of life after shopping

The basic information about Rev. Billy and his troupe is on the 'About Us' page found here: About Us

I don't think one would need to join to follow and believe in the anti-consumer tenets of the 'church'...

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It seems

that this is all that anyone is concerned about anymore. How can we sell things to the new group? Skewed priorities, perhaps?

US Muslims: a new consumer niche

Everyone one needs to follow the link below and watch the animated presentation:

The Story of Stuff Project

It's a 20 minute animation that is wonderfully done, so grab a beverage and sit and enjoy it. And think about it.

(The others are great, too, but 'Stuff' is the place to start, the basics, if you will...)

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Perhaps,

given the season, it's time to post a link to Annie Leonard's

The Story of Stuff.

Get comfortable and watch this animation. It's brilliant, and so, so true. You'll see things differently after you watch it...

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It shouldn't just be

Americans, but all of us...

Americans may be settling into spending less

Our major corporations, business and financial, would have to change their goal of yearly record profits, though. What are the chances that will happen?

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This goes beyond

conspicuous consumerism...

Sultan's £15,000 haircut

But perhaps he gives millions or billions to charities. Who knows?

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No impact

no matter how many things...

Thoreau's Worst Nightmare

"Are the new ascetics masters of self-denial or just self-promotion?"

I favour simple living, not because it has less impact on the world and environment, but because it has the greatest impact on my soul and spirit. That, at the end of things, makes all the difference, I think...

It's time that

someone recognized this and said it publicly...

The Mickey Mouse Mentality

Even their films are more and more becoming less appropriate for viewing by all ages. It's all about the money...

The trouble with Christmas

is us...

A special, necessary day

Buy Nothing Day

Try it. It's not as simple as you think...

Pope says 'spiritual desert' is spreading

The consumer culture and materialism is exactly what has been planned by governments concerned solely about the economics of their countries. It has become the normal way of life...

(My, but that's a BIG hat the Pope is wearing! I only noticed how big his mitre is because it doesn't fit in the photograph...)

What a waste!

Taken from a posting on Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff Blog, comes this story:

A Package That Lights Up the Shelf

What an incredible waste of resources! The designer will probably win a design of the year award from someone...

Still, there's lots to learn in this article, though. I didn't know about 'tracking', or the advantage some shaving foams have of letting you know where you've shaved already. Mostly odd, mostly designed for marketing. Used to be that the foam just helped that scary old safety razor slide better on one's face and leave fewer gouges and slashes. Now there's a marketing reasons. SWMBO says we should 'nix nxt'...