Parade Magazine, December 1, 2013 Interview with Pastor Rick Warren "The Purpose Driven Diet"
PARADE; This will be your first Christmas without (son who killed himself) Matthew. How are you and your wife approaching the holidays?
PASTOR WARREN: Every holiday when you've lost a loved one is going to be painful, particularly the first year--the first Thanksgiving, first birthday, first Christmas. But we have the Lord; we have our church family; we have each other. The other thing is, we're not hiding our grief. We're walking through it. You can't get over grief; you get through it. I have cried every day since Matthew died. That's not a bad thing. Tears are a sign of love, not weakness.
(At parade.com/warren, you'll find our video of the pastor speaking about his six stages of grief, plus an excerpt and advice from his book, "The Daniel Plan.")
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Billy Crystal's "Still Foolin' Em" on Funeral of Howard Cosell
"At Howard Cosell's funeral, Muhammad Ali asks if the recently deceased sportscaster is 'wearing his hairpiece' inside his closed casket.
'I don't think so,' Crystal says.
'Then how will God recognize him?' Ali asks.
'Once Howard starts complaining,' Crystal retorts, 'God will know it's him.'"
'I don't think so,' Crystal says.
'Then how will God recognize him?' Ali asks.
'Once Howard starts complaining,' Crystal retorts, 'God will know it's him.'"
Shrines of Life: Peruvian Retablos - Great Pix!!
 Peruvian retablo master Claudio Jimenez Quispe at work, July 2004( Photograph © Anthony Hart Fisher).  | |
 Dias de los Muertos (Days of the Dead) Scenes from the Cemetery -Retablo (#PRTB91) Claudio Jimenez (Peru), c.2013 Painted plaster sculpture in painted wood box (`14 1/4" h. x 15" w. x 6" d. with doors closed, 30" wide when open) One of a kind masterpiece - our largest and most detailed retablo yet!$2800 | |
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 Nacimiento 4 ( Nativity 4) - Retablo(#PRTB-85) Claudio Jimenez Quispe (Peru), c.2013 Painted plaster sculpture in painted wood box (9 3/4" h. x 11 3/4" w. x 3" d.)$595 |  Retablo Shop - Retablo (#PRTB-62) Claudio Jimenez Quispe (Peru), c.2008, 2009, 2010 Painted plaster sculpture in painted wood box (13 3/4" h.. x 8" w. x 3" d.) Four versions shown. Individual designs will vary.$575 |
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 Virgen de Guadalupe - Retablo (#PRTB-89) Claudio Jimenez Quispe (Peru), c.2013 Painted plaster sculpture in painted wood box (14" h. x 8" w. x 3" d.)$595 |  Taller de Corazones (Valentine Workshop) - Retablo (#PRTB-55) Claudio Jimenez Quispe and Vicenta Flores Atausis(Peru), c.2009, 2113 Painted plaster sculpture in painted wood box (13 1/2" h.. x 8" w. x 3" d.) Individual designs will vary.$595 |
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 La Sirena con Guitarra - Retablo (#PGRTB8) Pedro Gonzalez (Aza, Huancayo, Peru), 2008 Painted carved maguey wood sculpture in painted wood box (8 3/4" h.. x 4" w. x 2" d.)Design and colors may vary. $120 |  Cross (#PGCRS2) Pedro Gonzalez (Aza, Huancayo, Peru), c.2010 Painted carved maguey wood sculpture . (17" h. x 8 3/4" w. x 3" d.) Each piece is one-of-a-kind. Details may vary.$275 SOLD 10/2013 |
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 Adam and Eve - Retablo (#PGRTB6) Javier Gonzalez (Aza, Huancayo, Peru), Painted carved maguey wood sculpture in painted wood box (6" h.. x 4" w. x 2" d.)$62 |  Artist and Model - Retablo (#PGRTB2) Javier Gonzalez (Aza, Huancayo, Peru), Painted carved maguey wood sculpture in painted wood box (6" h.. x 4" w. x 2 1/4" d.)$62 |
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 Garden of Eden/Garden of Extinction - Retablo (#PRTB86) Claudio Jimenez Quispe (Peru), c.2013 Painted plaster sculpture in painted wood box (`9 3/4" h. x 11 3/4" w. x 3" d.) Individual designs may vary.$595 SOLD 10/2013 |  Rodeo de los Muertos (Rodeo of the Dead) - Retablo (#PRTB87) Claudio Jimenez Quispe (Peru), c.2013 Painted plaster sculpture in painted wood box (`9 1/2" h. x 11 3/4" w. x 3" d.) Individual designs may vary.$595 |
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 Calavera Bicycle - Retablo figures(#PRFIG-04) Claudio Jimenez Quispe (Peru), c.2012 Painted plaster sculpture. (7" h. x 6 1/2" w. x 2" d.) Individual designs will vary.$65 |  Novios Muertos - Retablo figures(#PRFIG-06) Claudio Jimenez Quispe (Peru), c.2012 Painted plaster sculpture. (6" h. x 3 1/4" w. x 3 1/4" d.) Individual designs will vary.$65 |
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 Retablo Devil Ornament (#PDVL-1) Claudio Jimenez Quispe (Peru), c.2012 Painted plaster sculpture (5 1/4" h.. x 2 1/2" w. x 1 1/4" d.)$32 |  Retablo Heart Ornament (#PHRT-12) Claudio Jimenez Quispe (Peru), c.2012 Painted plaster sculpture (4 " h.. x 3 1/2" w. x 1 1/4" d.)$38 |
SHRINES OF LIFE: PERUVIAN RETABLOS
- Receptions: Saturday, Oct. 19, 2-5pm & Thursday: Nov. 14, 6-9pm,
- Indigo Arts
- Wednesday - Saturday, 12 - 6:00 pm.
- Free & Open To The Public
With works by Claudio Jimenez Quispe, Mabilon Jimenez, Eleudora Jimenez, Luis & Julia Huamani, Javier Gonzalez and Pedro Gonzalez.
Shrines of Life celebrates the art of the contemporary Peruvian retablo. The retablo is a portable shrine or nicho that holds figures sculpted of pasta (a mixture of plaster and potato) or maguey cactus wood. The making of retablos is a folk art whose roots go back to the sixteenth century in the Andes. Spanish priests introduced small portable shrines in the 16th century to aid in the conversion of the Indian population. These were miniature houses made of wood that held images of saints. Over five hundred years this art form has evolved into the retablos that Indigo Arts exhibits today. While the art’s origins are religious, contemporary Peruvian retablos range from the sacred to the secular, to the profane.
Works by master “retablista”,Claudio Jimenez Quispe of Ayacucho, and other members of his extended family, such as Eleudora and Mabilon Jimenez, and Luis and Julia Huamani sculpt pasta figures to depict not just saints but scenes of daily life, commerce, romance, political strife and fantasy. Some of the recent work shows strong influences of Mexican folk art as well. In keeping with the season, Shrines of Life includes scenes of death and the underworld that celebrate the upcoming Dias de los Muertos (Days of the Dead) holidays, as well as some exquisite nativity scenes.
Javier and Pedro Gonzalez of Huancayo, Peru create retablos, santos and devotional crosses using a different technique from the Ayacucho artists. In a technique learned from their grandfather, Don Pedro Abilio Gonzalez Flores, they carve figures from maguey cactus wood, finishing it with a plaster gesso. Working in the tradition of Peruvian santeros, who carved saint figures for both churches and home altars, the Gonzalez brothers are known for the exquisite detail and sensitivity of their faces. Like the Jimenez family of Ayacucho, they also carve many figures of calaveras – skeletons – for the Days of the Dead.
Indigo Arts, a Gallery of Ethnographic, Folk and Contemporary Arts from Africa, Asia and the Americas, established in 1986, is located in the Crane Arts Building, Suite #104, 1400 North American St., Philadelphia, 19122. For further information contact Anthony Fisher at (215)765-1041, or go to http://indigoarts.com/news_shrines2013.html
ThanksgivingHannukkahWishboneLuckMonsterPieTurkeyGobbleTurkeys
Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Hannukkah!! Happy Thanksgivukkah!!
Gobble Gobble!!
88% of Americans will eat over 46 million turkeys today. The average turkey will weigh 15 lbs. The largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 3,699 lbs. May your wishbones grant you good luck!!
TRADITIONS (courtesy of Corinne Mucha on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer Style & Soul
section today):
"This Thanksgiving/Hanukkah blend will never happen again in your lifetime. As a family, create a list of OTHER things you are grateful will never happen again (like...Seventh grade, Crystal Pepsi, Elisabeth Hasselbeck on The View)." just kidding!!
The last time Thanksgivukkah occurred was in 1888, 125 years ago.
Gobble Gobble!!
88% of Americans will eat over 46 million turkeys today. The average turkey will weigh 15 lbs. The largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 3,699 lbs. May your wishbones grant you good luck!!
TRADITIONS (courtesy of Corinne Mucha on the front page of the Philadelphia Inquirer Style & Soul
section today):
"This Thanksgiving/Hanukkah blend will never happen again in your lifetime. As a family, create a list of OTHER things you are grateful will never happen again (like...Seventh grade, Crystal Pepsi, Elisabeth Hasselbeck on The View)." just kidding!!
The last time Thanksgivukkah occurred was in 1888, 125 years ago.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Black Friday Death By Trampling!.?ForeignPerceptions
Philadelphia Inquirer, Friday, November 29, 2013, LOCAL section, Front Page:
Before Macy's doors in Center City opened Thursday night - before a momentary hush fell, before hundreds of shoppers pressed their way in from the cold - two young visitors from Lebanon were looking in through the glass, making faces at the trio of security guards keeping an eye on the slowly gathering crowd.
"You know what would be cool? If they took our names" and told us we could go in whenever we wanted, Omar Nahhas, 24, said.
This was the first year Macy's opened on Thanksgiving, so Nahhas, who in his native Lebanon had never experienced Thanksgiving and the retail frenzy that follows it, wasn't sure what to expect.
Would a line form, hundreds deep, before the store opened at 8? Would a stampede break out? Would there be people sitting in chairs for 36 hours beforehand?
After all, around the country, other stores were packed. In Manhattan, more than 200 people lined up outside a Toys R Us for its 5 p.m. opening, with the first person in line showing up at 10 in the morning. A Target store in Brooklyn had two dozen people waiting more than five hours before doors opened at 8 p.m.
And other traditional Black Friday hot spots in the area, including King of Prussia, the Cherry Hill Mall, and Willow Grove, were also drawing early action.
In Center City, Nahhas and Judy Hindi, 23, had staked out positions at the front of Macy's northwest entrances at Market Street and Penn Square. For their first Thanksgiving and Black Thursday - née Black Friday - in the United States, Nahhas and Hindi arrived at 6:30 p.m.
They weren't expecting what they found: Nothing.
As an American tradition and secular holiday, Thanksgiving is known, but - "We have our own problems in Lebanon . . . explosions, kidnapping" - it's not a major news event overseas. Nahhas and Hindi hadn't realized the country would largely shut down for Thanksgiving, they said, and they were prepared for chaos as hordes of crazed shoppers lined up for Black Friday deals.
They had done their research, reading up on Reddit and finding out about death by trampling and other horror stories that have played out over the years.
"We were thinking about defense strategies," Nahhas said, pointing his elbows and smiling before making clear he was only half-joking: "We had this conversation."
But the two had taken a trolley from University City only to discover that, just an hour before the doors opened, there were only a handful of others waiting for the shopping to begin.
Dyonne Stewart, who had arrived around the same time, said she was preparing for an all-night shopping affair, with no specific target in mind other than a good deal.
"I'm ready to take the whole store home!" Stewart, 31, said, laughing. There would be too many deals, she said: "We need some more money!"
Stewart said she, too, was surprised at the lack of crowds on her first Black Thursday in Philadelphia. After emigrating from Jamaica in 2011, she had gone Black Friday shopping in Chicago, where she had seen the crowds Nahhas and Hindi were thinking of.
Gloria Jackson was also a first-timer, but with coupons in hand and boots on her mind, she was hard to mistake for an amateur.
"I saw the advertisement on TV, and today I got the circular," she said, describing how she had learned of the early opening of Macy's and decided to arrive, around 6:45 p.m., to get a good shot at a deal on those boots she was eyeing. "I got the coupons, I'm ready."
Together, the small group waited, shivering, commenting on the relative lack of people, before dozens more arrived at that entrance, materializing particularly in the last half-hour.
"We need more friends," Nahhas said, looking around the mostly empty sidewalk. His theory on why there was no crush of people: "I think this year that people don't know Macy's is open."
Hindi disagreed: "No, people go online. It's on TV." Then Stewart jumped in, and they ultimately agreed - no one knew where the people were, and all were surprised.
Was this a lack of Black Friday culture at Macy's, which had less of a focus on "doorbusters" and limited-number deals on specific items, a hallmark of stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy?
A few blocks down Market Street, a small but steady trickle of customers walked through the Kmart store in the Gallery.
Open at 6 a.m., the Kmart had a series of "doorbusters" at set times throughout the day - or was it days? When you're open for 41 hours straight, when does Thanksgiving end and Black Friday begin?
Anthony Florek, the store manager who was overseeing preparations as the 50 employees restocked the shelves, described the Thanksgiving opening as "tradition," having gone on for 20 years, he said.
The day had gone well, he said, with no major incidents and a relatively good shopping day.
One 69-year-old shopper, who asked not to be named because he had ducked out of spending Thanksgiving with relatives, found himself clothes shopping and good-naturedly complaining at the same time.
"I'm not really in favor of going out shopping on Thanksgiving. I figured I need sweaters and some winter stuff," the Center City resident said, describing how he had decided the convenience of the shopping outweighed his dislike of the trend. "I was a little put off when I heard about the stores being open."
"I, of all people, should not be here," he said, adding that he had always frowned on Black Friday shopping. But the hat and small stack of sweaters in hand gave him away: He had discovered the Thanksgiving shopping deal.
"I kind of surprised myself by being here," he said.
jlai@phillynews.com
856-779-3220 @elaijuh
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20131129_Shoppers_embrace_a_new_-_low-cal_-_Thanksgiving_tradition.html#jEAOFTGGMK6u0isy.99
Shopping on Thanksgiving? You better believe it.
ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff
Ivan Liu, 9, of Deptford, rides a shopping cart as his family shops at the Deptford Target.
Before Macy's doors in Center City opened Thursday night - before a momentary hush fell, before hundreds of shoppers pressed their way in from the cold - two young visitors from Lebanon were looking in through the glass, making faces at the trio of security guards keeping an eye on the slowly gathering crowd.
"You know what would be cool? If they took our names" and told us we could go in whenever we wanted, Omar Nahhas, 24, said.
This was the first year Macy's opened on Thanksgiving, so Nahhas, who in his native Lebanon had never experienced Thanksgiving and the retail frenzy that follows it, wasn't sure what to expect.
Would a line form, hundreds deep, before the store opened at 8? Would a stampede break out? Would there be people sitting in chairs for 36 hours beforehand?
And other traditional Black Friday hot spots in the area, including King of Prussia, the Cherry Hill Mall, and Willow Grove, were also drawing early action.
In Center City, Nahhas and Judy Hindi, 23, had staked out positions at the front of Macy's northwest entrances at Market Street and Penn Square. For their first Thanksgiving and Black Thursday - née Black Friday - in the United States, Nahhas and Hindi arrived at 6:30 p.m.
They weren't expecting what they found: Nothing.
As an American tradition and secular holiday, Thanksgiving is known, but - "We have our own problems in Lebanon . . . explosions, kidnapping" - it's not a major news event overseas. Nahhas and Hindi hadn't realized the country would largely shut down for Thanksgiving, they said, and they were prepared for chaos as hordes of crazed shoppers lined up for Black Friday deals.
They had done their research, reading up on Reddit and finding out about death by trampling and other horror stories that have played out over the years.
"We were thinking about defense strategies," Nahhas said, pointing his elbows and smiling before making clear he was only half-joking: "We had this conversation."
But the two had taken a trolley from University City only to discover that, just an hour before the doors opened, there were only a handful of others waiting for the shopping to begin.
Dyonne Stewart, who had arrived around the same time, said she was preparing for an all-night shopping affair, with no specific target in mind other than a good deal.
"I'm ready to take the whole store home!" Stewart, 31, said, laughing. There would be too many deals, she said: "We need some more money!"
Stewart said she, too, was surprised at the lack of crowds on her first Black Thursday in Philadelphia. After emigrating from Jamaica in 2011, she had gone Black Friday shopping in Chicago, where she had seen the crowds Nahhas and Hindi were thinking of.
Gloria Jackson was also a first-timer, but with coupons in hand and boots on her mind, she was hard to mistake for an amateur.
"I saw the advertisement on TV, and today I got the circular," she said, describing how she had learned of the early opening of Macy's and decided to arrive, around 6:45 p.m., to get a good shot at a deal on those boots she was eyeing. "I got the coupons, I'm ready."
Together, the small group waited, shivering, commenting on the relative lack of people, before dozens more arrived at that entrance, materializing particularly in the last half-hour.
"We need more friends," Nahhas said, looking around the mostly empty sidewalk. His theory on why there was no crush of people: "I think this year that people don't know Macy's is open."
Hindi disagreed: "No, people go online. It's on TV." Then Stewart jumped in, and they ultimately agreed - no one knew where the people were, and all were surprised.
Was this a lack of Black Friday culture at Macy's, which had less of a focus on "doorbusters" and limited-number deals on specific items, a hallmark of stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy?
A few blocks down Market Street, a small but steady trickle of customers walked through the Kmart store in the Gallery.
Open at 6 a.m., the Kmart had a series of "doorbusters" at set times throughout the day - or was it days? When you're open for 41 hours straight, when does Thanksgiving end and Black Friday begin?
Anthony Florek, the store manager who was overseeing preparations as the 50 employees restocked the shelves, described the Thanksgiving opening as "tradition," having gone on for 20 years, he said.
The day had gone well, he said, with no major incidents and a relatively good shopping day.
One 69-year-old shopper, who asked not to be named because he had ducked out of spending Thanksgiving with relatives, found himself clothes shopping and good-naturedly complaining at the same time.
"I'm not really in favor of going out shopping on Thanksgiving. I figured I need sweaters and some winter stuff," the Center City resident said, describing how he had decided the convenience of the shopping outweighed his dislike of the trend. "I was a little put off when I heard about the stores being open."
"I, of all people, should not be here," he said, adding that he had always frowned on Black Friday shopping. But the hat and small stack of sweaters in hand gave him away: He had discovered the Thanksgiving shopping deal.
"I kind of surprised myself by being here," he said.
jlai@phillynews.com
856-779-3220 @elaijuh
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20131129_Shoppers_embrace_a_new_-_low-cal_-_Thanksgiving_tradition.html#jEAOFTGGMK6u0isy.99
Thursday, November 28, 2013
"Thanksgiving" Poem by Edgar Albert Guest
Poem of the Day: ThanksgivingBY EDGAR ALBERT GUEST
Gettin' together to smile an' rejoice,
An' eatin' an' laughin' with folks of your choice;
An' kissin' the girls an' declarin' that they
Are growin' more beautiful day after day;
Chattin' an' braggin' a bit with the men,
Buildin' the old family circle again;
Livin' the wholesome an' old-fashioned cheer,
Just for awhile at the end of the year.
Greetings fly fast as we crowd through the door
And under the old roof we gather once more
Just as we did when the youngsters were small;
Mother's a little bit grayer, that's all.
Father's a little bit older, but still
Ready to romp an' to laugh with a will.
Here we are back at the table again
Tellin' our stories as women an' men.
Bowed are our heads for a moment in prayer;
Oh, but we're grateful an' glad to be there.
Home from the east land an' home from the west,
Home with the folks that are dearest an' best.
Out of the sham of the cities afar
We've come for a time to be just what we are.
Here we can talk of ourselves an' be frank,
Forgettin' position an' station an' rank.
Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers.
 EDGAR ALBERT GUEST |
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