Odkryłam ostatnio, że okres moich studiów doktoranckich to czas, gdy pozwoliłam na to, by moja domowa Biblioteka (ta normalna, nie naukowa) zarosła mchem. Szczerze, nie wiem, gdzie leży wina za takie zaniedbanie - może to element "roli doktoranta", żeby nie widzieć świata poza czubkiem własnego nosa i kartkami własnej "powieści doktorskiej", może rzeczywisty brak czasu, natężenie obowiązków i zmęczenie psychiczne. Może wręcz niechęć do wszystkiego, co ma drukowaną czcionkę. Ważne to, że się w porę opamiętałam i w lecie mijającego roku zaczęłam odkopywać pierwsze egzemplarze z Biblioteki. W sumie przeczytałam ich 9 i pół, bo aktualnie w autobusach i tramwajach przedzieram się przez Stróża obłąkanych Piotra Pietruchy i nie wiem, czy przeczytam całość do końca roku (choć ma tylko 120 stron).
Nowy rok to nowe wyzwania i postanowienia. Jednym z nich jest przywrócenie do życia samej siebie, a więc - co się  z tym wiąże - powrót do pochłaniania książek.
A zatem, z radością informuję, że 1 stycznia 2010 rozpoczynam swój maraton wraz z dwoma tzw. Reading Challenge.
Po pierwsze, będę sama ze sobą konkurować w ramach



Po drugie, co zresztą nie powinno dziwić, zamierzam wziąć udział w




Obie "akcje" trwają od 1 stycznia do 31 grudnia 2010. Obie polegają na przeczytaniu określonej liczby książek wskazanych samodzielnie przez "zawodnika".

Zasady TBR *lite* (czyli ToBeRead w wersji lightowej, na początek powolutku) są takie:

OPTION A: read 6 books in 12 months ~ your list of books CANNOT be changed, but you are allowed to have an “Alternates” list to choose from (like in the Original TBR Challenge).
Some Other General Guidelines:
- You are allowed to overlap with other challenges
- Audiobooks are allowed
- e-Books are allowed, but must still be books that you’ve wanted to read for at least 3, or more, months
- You should still have a list of books posted somewhere for others to see
- You don’t have to read your books in the order you put them on your list
Co wybrałam? Proszę bardzo, oto moja lista książek, na które od jakiegoś czasu zerkam, do których wzdycham i wciąż mi po głowie chodzą, a jakoś nigdy mi z nimi nie po drodze:
  1. Virginia Woolf - Chwile wolności. Dziennik 1915-1941
  2. Virginia Woolf - Flush
  3. Szymon Hołownia - Monopol na zbawienie 
  4. Paulo Coelho - Weronika postanawia umrzeć 
  5. Paulo Coelho - Na brzegu rzeki Piedry usiadłam i płakałam 
  6. Jose Saramago - Miasto ślepców 
Listy zamienników nie robię, choć - gdybym nie dopadła Dzienników i Flusha Virginii Woolf, zamierzam rzucić się na Cesarza i Busz po polsku Kapuścińskiego.

Z kolei Typically British Reading Challenge to perełka znaleziona przypadkiem na uroczej choć zaskakującej niekiedy mrocznością stronie Book Chick City.
Zasady są takie:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. 

2. There are four levels:

 • "Put The Kettle On" – Read 2 Typically British novels.
 • "Gordon Bennett" – Read 4 Typically British novels.
 • "Bob's Your Uncle" – Read 6 Typically British novels.
 • "Cream Crackered" – Read 8 Typically British novels.

3. Any book format counts. Must be fiction not non-fiction.

4. You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront then you can change them, nothing is set in stone! 

5. The books you choose can crossover into other challenges.

6. If you decide to participate in this challenge please use the link I have set up below with the button to post on your sidebar, this way others can find their way back to this post and join in the fun.

7. If you decide to join this challenge be sure to create a post telling others, please make sure you add a link back to this post so others can join in.

8. There will be a place for you to link your reviews, but this is optional.

9. Obviously only British authors count!

Listy książek nie trzeba robić od razu, ale jako że Virginia Woolf zalicza się do brytyjskich pisarzy zaczątek takiej listy już jest. Do tego dorzuca się kuszący od jakiegoś czasu Terry Pratchett, więc...

  1. Terry Pratchett - Kolor magii
  2. Virginia Woolf - Flush
No to teraz, trzymać kciuki, a jak kto ma ochotę to zapraszam do udziału wraz ze mną!
Relacje z przebiegu akcji podawane będą na bieżąco :)

Baby Jesus theft

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Example of Baby Jesus Theft

Baby Jesus theft is the theft of plastic or ceramic figurines of the infant Jesus (or, "Baby Jesus") from outdoor public and private nativity displays during the Christmas season. Some attribute such occurrences to juvenile pranksters while others wonder if the thefts have anti-Christian undertones. The prevalence of such thefts has caused the owners of outdoor manger scenes to protect their property with GPS devices, surveillance cameras, or by other means.


Incidents

Washington DC journalist Daniel Nasaw of the online presence of Britain's The Guardian notes that dozens of communities across America have suffered thefts of Baby Jesus figurines, and, in some instances, entire nativity scenes. He observes that it is unclear whether such theft is on the rise, as it is not tracked by federal law enforcement.[1]
In 2008, a Baby Jesus was stolen from First United Methodist Church in Kittanning, Pennsylvania and replaced with a pumpkin, and, in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a thief not only stole the Baby Jesus from a public display but absconded with the concrete block and chain that was supposed to act as a deterrent.[2] Some communities suffer repeat Baby Jesus thefts. A Baby Jesus was stolen in December 2008 from a Stony Point town display. A town official remarked, "If someone did it as a prank, I don't find it funny." The nativity had been vandalized the year before, and a menorah next to it had been toppled and broken.[3]
Some figurines have been defaced with profanity or Satanic symbols.[2] In December 2008, for example, a fiberglass Baby Jesus valued at US$375 was stolen from a Eureka Springs, Arkansas park and later recovered, but had been defaced by racial slurs, a swastika, and a Hitler mustache. The eyes were also blacked out and pieces had been broken off, rendering it damaged beyond repair.[4]
In his autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell, Marilyn Manson admitted playing a prank in which he and a few friends stole figurines of Jesus then replaced them with hams. They sent a communique to a newspaper posing as a black radical group saying that it was a protest against "the plasticisation of the black man's wisdom with the so-called 'White Christmas.'"

Security measures

Some nativity display owners have taken measures to secure their property against would-be thieves. Others are reluctant to exercise such vigilance. One Indiana man who suffered the loss of his Baby Jesus figurine rebuffed suggestions to secure the figurines on his porch because, "that would be like putting Jesus in jail".[1] Traditional security measures are not always foolproof. The Baby Jesus fastened to the National Christmas Creche at Independence Hall disappeared within days.[5]
Some communities, churches, and citizens are employing electronic technology to protect their property. A Texas family, for example, positioned surveillance cameras in their yard and discovered a teenage girl stealing their Baby Jesus figurine, valued at nearly US$500.[2] In 2008, a security device distributor offered its surveillance cameras and GPS devices to 200 non-profit religious institutions for a month's use gratis. GPS protection has met with some success. In one case, after a life-size ceramic nativity figurine disappeared from the lawn of a community center in Wellington, Florida, sheriff's deputies tracked it to an apartment where it was found lying face-down on a carpet. An 18-year-old woman was arrested.[2]

Perspectives

While Baby Jesus thefts are largely regarded as pranks, they are set apart by the involvement of a religious icon. "They think it's a prank, but it isn't a prank to some of these people," Pennsylvania state police Corporal Paul Romanic told The Morning Call newspaper, in regards to an incident in which ten nativity scene figures were found in a yard after being stolen from across Bucks County, Pennsylvania. "Plus, it's just wrong to steal the baby Jesus."[1]
While most disappearances of Baby Jesus figurines are regarded as pranks, some wonder if an Anti-Christian sentiment lurks behind the thefts. Attorney Mike Johnson of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal group, stated, "I suspect most of it is childish pranks. Clearly, there are adults with an agenda to remove Christ from Christmas. But they tend to occupy themselves with the courts and courtroom of public opinion."[2] Stephen Nissenbaum, the author of The Battle for Christmas and a retired professor, views Baby Jesus theft as neither innocent vandalism nor religious hate crimes.
"What it means is that it's OK to go around violating even pretty important norms, as long as real human harm isn't being done. It's not exactly devaluing Christianity, but it is sort of a ritualized challenge to it. It could be Christian kids doing it—and on January 2 they become good Christians again."[2]

In drama

In "The Big Little Jesus," the December 24, 1953 episode of the television series Dragnet, Sgts. Friday and Smith are called upon to investigate the theft of a Baby Jesus from a church nativity display on Christmas Eve. Unable to solve the crime, the officers tell the priest that Mass must be celebrated without the Baby Jesus. The figurine is restored when a boy arrives with it in a wagon. He tells the officers that he had vowed that if he got a wagon for Christmas, Baby Jesus would have the first ride.[6]


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GRINCH psychologicznie...  - wiedzą, co mówią...
Kopiowanie, przetwarzanie i rozpowszechnianie w jakiejkolwiek formie zdjęć oraz treści zawartych w blogu "Z notatnika Porankowej Mamy" bez zgody autora jest zabronione i stanowi naruszenie praw autorskich (podstawa: Dz.U. 1994 nr 24 poz. 83)