THE HOLIDAY SEASON

It's here.

(Thanks to TC K)

Comments

[OtheU(manity)]

Yea, verily, I say unto you ...

Unless you be good, Santa will have you on a list to be condemned to the fiery pit left with a lump of coal on my birthday ...

[nannie]

Let's not get Jesus involved in Christmas, for goodness sake.

[Jemmy]

Toys for Tots isn't a Christmas charity?

[estrogen centrale]

I'll donate any freaking kind of toy that they want, as lond as I can be around, when the marines pick up the boxes from our Human Resources department.

[crossgirl]

it's probably in the Jesus doll's best interest to not be in homes where he is not welcome. i can only imagine what would happen when he started trying to save the bratz dolls. but he might come in handy for the g.i. joe crowd who celebrate that whole kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out attitude.

[Stevie W]

It's just as well. my line of talking Jackie Mason dolls was kind of hard to understand anyway.

[Coconut]

Is it my imagination, or does Jesus look like Treat Williams?

[Meanie the Blue]

Do I detect the plot elements of a future sequel to a certain book, now on sale online and at local book distributors everywhere?

[nannie]

Dave wrote a book??

[ubetcha]

*SNORK* @ stevie

[Siouxie]

Jesus H. Christ!!!

*will join ec in waiting for the hunky marines her unselfish volunteer work*

[insomniac]

(that Doobie Brothers song)
Jesus is just all right with me
Jesus takes batteries, two or three
Questioning voids the warranty
Jesus is just all right, oh yeah!

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

*snork* @ nannie

I mean, giving a JC doll on a holiday which celebrates his birth? How inappropriate!

[Esther5kids]

Snork, insom!

[Esther5kids]

The reason for the season...not for tot...

[Siouxie]

But the charity balked because of the dolls' religious nature.

They were replaced with Paris Hilton dolls.

Apparently they have no problem with these dolls' skank nature...

[Clean Hands]

Here's the really funny part about this silly controversy: Islam recognizes Jesus as a great prophet, a man of the Book, and Jesus was a good practicing Jew in his lifetime, if a bit of a rebel within that religion... so how is a depiction of Jesus supposed to be offensive to families of these religions again?

[disneychick]

I didn't know Jesus looked like a scruffy Val Kilmer.

[Schadeboy]

I'm going to have to go with Nanny and Jemmy on this. If it weren't for Christmas, we wouldn't even have a "Holiday Season."

[Juggler of Geese]

I hate to say this but I kind of agree with the Marines on this one here, not for the religion thing, but most kids wouldn't be caught dead playing with a Religious doll. We are lucky if the local kids arent using real guns when playing cops and robbers here in Southie.

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

disneychick and Coconut-He does kind of look like both of those guys.

*wonders if Treat and Val are secretly related*

[Clean Hands]

Actually, Schadeboy, I'm going to have to differ with you on this. We would certainly have a solstice observation of some sort; it might even involve murdering innocent trees and trying to set our houses on fire by putting candles in their branches. It would probably feature feasting and drinking, and might even include some solemn religious ceremonies.

"Christmas" as a holiday was hijacked by the Christians long before the crass capitalists got to it.

[Siouxie]

Speaking of Christmas...there is a new book out!

[Juggler of Geese]

Darn it, I knew I forgot something at Borders last night. I will pick up my three copies on Friday.

[crossgirl]

wonders if the jewish children get 8 toys each...

[Stevie W]

Away on a discount shelf at Toys R Us
The talking doll Jesus was gathering dust
The Stars and the Stripes seemed a good charity
But they deemed him unfit for their Christmas tree

The U S Marine Corps well-meaning no doubt
They put up a wall and they kept Jesus out
Thier motto, their motto please "Give us a few
Good men," don't offend though the Muslim or Jew.

If I were a carpenter I would stand tall
If I had a hammer I'd knock down that wall
The warring religions, you know it ain't right
Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.

[Clean Hands]

*applause*

[Siouxie]

LOL great one stevie!!

"The Talking Jesuses" (Jesi?) wbagnfa gospel band...

[Cheryl Howard]

*walks into blog with first cup of joe*
*checks door to make sure I walked into right blog*

Oui. Being the only Buddhist sitting on the local Christmas Parade Committee all I can say is
EGGGGGAAAAAADDDDD! There’s no winning this one from any angle.

This season I’m putting my kwanzaa angel on my tree, putting a Menorah in the window and putting on the Christmas music (really religious stuff like Grandma got run over by a reindeer) and waiting for Santa to show up.
*Hoping he brings vibrating soap*

[Stevie W]

Can't we all just get along?

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

Yay Stevie! *holds up lighter*

[Jeff Meyerson]

So, he can't understand why anyone would find "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" a problem?

Look harder, dude?

And bravo to insom and all you other clever people.

[Clean Hands]

All I can say is that this fellow who attempted to donate the dolls is the big winner in all of this -- he now has national, free publicity for his product, which - whether or not one might be part of it - has a pretty large market.

Losers? Toys for Tots comes off looking hyper-PC (whether or not that's fair, it's how they appear), and seems to have put up a "religious acceptability" test for the donations they will deign to accept. Didn't someone once say "beggars cannot be choosers?"

[rita]

How about the Dr. Laura talking doll? Did they reject her?

[ScottMGS]

IANAM but Muslims have a prohibition against creating religious icons - graven images, if you will - which this would certainly appear to be. Remember how they got twisted about the Mohammed comics and The Da Vinci Code? It is rarely the messages that cause the problem but the overwhelming cultural wrapping in which they are inextricably embedded.

[crossgirl]

ch, you said what i'd been thinking since early a.m. but didn't want to mention for fear of appearing cynical. or more cynical than i already am. boooger!

[Cheryl Howard]

Exactamundo Stevie w.
*joins lisa with lighter*

[Clean Hands]

You bring up an excellent point, Scott. I wasn't considering the "graven image" part of the toy so much as the religious message part. The religious message should not be offensive to a Muslim, while the fact that it's coming from a doll representing Jesus might well be.

[ScottMGS]

And the graven image thing is supposedly Jewish and Christian, too, but what do I know.

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

Although, I always interpreted the no images thing to be for images that you planned to pray to (as if the deity existed within the image).

Since this is a doll and not to be prayed to, I don't know...

[JayBee]

Does he have Kung Fu Grip?

[Siouxie]

I have a calendar of hunky italian priests that I 'pray' to...

I'm glad I'm not Muslim ;-)

[nannie]

If you didn't put in the batteries, it wouldn't quote Scripture & would be just a doll.....no?

[Clean Hands]

Brilliant, nannie! Talk about your classic "two birds, one stone" solution!

TfT should have accepted the dolls, then quietly ripped out the batteries. Then they would have had spare batteries and a bunch of Treat Williams dolls wearing a dress, sorta.

[ron]

Immaculate quotations?

[crossgirl]

maybe if they packaged Jesus with a certain author's new book in quart size zip top baggies it would have been more acceptable.

[SippiFoxHunter]

What - No Mohammed Doll? No Buddha Barbie?

[The Dread Pirate Chris]

Marines: for God, Country and Corps, no?

And I'm pretty sure they weren't referring to female mountain god.

[Clean Hands]

Yeah, that aspect of it occured to me, too, DP Chris - but this story gives the appearance that the charity's been taken over by a bunch of PC hand-wringers. :-(

[Clean Hands]

The Mohammed Doll has been banned for bearing arms - those scimitars are sharp, let me tell you what! - and the Buddha Barbie was turned away for promoting the vile stereotype of fat people being jolly.

[Art Vandelay]

The problem is this guy just wants to ram religion down peoples throats. Just give them a goddamn Barbie or G.I. Joe. Ok rant over.

[The Dread Pirate Chris]

What - jolly, fat people can't be associated with Christmas anymore?

[SippiFoxHunter]

that the charity's been taken over by a bunch of PC hand-wringers. :-(

Guys, it's the GOVERNMENT (or, a bunch of PC hand-wringers). Cannot promote, and all that stuff.......

[The Dread Pirate Chris]

Yeah. We certainly wouldn't want the government promoting Odin and Thor, would we?

[ron]

Maybe Dave could write a book about Thor and The Yule Camel.

[casey]

DPC, cool site! I'm gonna decorate a Yule goat this year instead of a tree! WoooHoo, let the good times roll!

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

In a strange twist of fate, when reporters tested the Jesus doll, instead of quoting scripture, it said: "Luke, I am your father."

[SippiFoxHunter]

SNORK! LBFF!

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

Hi Sippi!

[Siouxie]

Interesting page, Chris...

I, for one, will be worshiping Oski, "Fulfiller of Desires".

[Clean Hands]

*SNORK*!!! LBFF, you are really on a roll today!

[Lisa Bisa Fo Fisa]

You too CH

[Brad]

Your own... personal.... talking... Jesus
Someone to say your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own... personal.... talking... Jesus
Someone to say your prayers
Someone whos there

...Let me talk to your retriever, I'll make you a believer.

[Brad]

Sorry!!!!

[Bewildered]

Used to be a Christian magazine who gave a "green weenie award" for religious ridiculousness. A talking Jesus doll should get a MOLDY GREEN WEENIE AWARD! I sort of agree that giving one of these to a child of another faith could be offensive propaganda that could create exactly the opposite reaction than its creators wanted.

At our house we celebrate Jesus' birth every single day of our lives, but that is our choice, and other people have as much right to choose as we do. Sorry, probably not funny.

[CandyT]

Why don't they donate them to the Salvation Army? It doesn't even pretend to be PC.

[OtheU(manity)]

graven images ...?

Looks sorta like injection-molded plastic, to moi ownself ... merely ... observin' ...

[ScottMGS]

Well, a lot of those old-style graven images were injection-molded molten gold. Plastic is the (cheaper) modern equivalent, nowadays.

[OtheU(manity)]

Yeah, I'd guess ... have you looked at the price of gold lately?

(Sorry about the "serious financial world" nature of comment ... not funny, especially since I don't have a closet full of gold ...)

[diverdowndoc]

lol at kung fu grip

[AlanBoss]

**WARNING! The following is not funny.**

This year, I am peripherally involved with Toys-For-Tots.

I have seen the truck loads of toys that get hauled out of our studio alone on a daily basis. All of these toys are then sorted by age and, where necessary, gender appropriateness.

Now, even though TFT is a Christmas inspired charity, they do not ask the recipients for religious affiliation. And while I don’t think that there is anything wrong with a toy that says, “Love your neighbor as yourself." I suspect that giving a child of any faith other than fundamentalist Christian a toy that says, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" would not merely be offensive but downright inflammatory.

TFT is one of the most “no strings attached” charities out there and these fine Marines have enough to do without having to worry about specific faiths. So let’s cut them some slack. Okay?

**Steps down from soapbox.**

[OtheU(manity)]

Well said, AB ...

(Beginnin' to sound @ werk as if I'm headed out to SoCal area in a couple of weeks ... I'll keep y'all posted ... NEthin' goin' on that's interestin?)

(Besides fires, imminent mudslides, more Santa Ana winds and some rain ... ?)

[AlanBoss]

Hey, OtheU!

Well, The Blog isn't scheduled to do any strumpeting here anytime soon, so not much of interest. Just those Santa Annas. Bring enough Claritin™ for the whole class.

[Guin]

Love the Yule link. Agree w/AlanBoss. In my house we have a menorah and Christmas tree simultaneously, but I'd rather not have a talking Jesus doll that tells me I'm going to hell. Thanks anyway.

[OtheU(manity)]

Does this doll weep? Real tears? Merely curious.

[PirateBoy]

I can already envision a new episode of The Simpsons based upon this incident. Can't you just see Rod & Todd Flanders, whacking each other over the head with the baby Jesus doll, while exclaiming "My new Jesus doll loves me more! (Whap! Thwap!)"

[Layzeeboy]

I don't care if it rains or freezes
Long as I got my plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car

Through my trials and tribulations
And my travels through the nations
With my plastic Jesus I'll go far

Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
I'm afraid He'll have to go
His magnets ruin my radio
And if I have a wreck He'll leave a scar

*apologies to Arlo Guthrie*

[Element of Thought]

The whole reason for Christmas(maybe it was ripped off from whoever, but that was because in those days they would kill you if you believed in him) is to thank Jesus for coming down to earth and going through life so that he could understand our trials(and thats why he forgives us). It is also for thanking God for giving up his son to live with us.

He also came down(on this day?) so that he could die for us.

So lets not complain that we have to see a image of him once a year. If you count his image as a 'religious icons - graven image' then what about photos of your friends and Family??? This is what Jesus should represent to all of us no matter what religious background we come from.

He is not just some 'Big God' up in the sky. He is our closest friend(Father) and can be there for us if we call.

[kj]

Mother Teresa seemed to do OK showing the world what Christianity is all about, without corny plastic Jesus dolls. Just sayin'

[cebasham]

My son (14) heard about this on the news, and thought the Marines were being way too PC. And he is a kid who never would have been caught dead playing with a talking Jesus doll.

So I told him, truthfully, that TFT is there for kids who are NOT getting presents elsewhere. That ONE present from TFT just might be the ONLY present they get, that year.

We know kids who would love this doll. They would be thrilled to get it. But most kids, let's face it, they want something just fun.

Though the reason for the holiday is to celebrate the birth of Christ, the presents are a little more than that. These are KIDS. Kids without parents who can provide gifts. Or probably even a decent meal. Can we let them celebrate with something fun? Can we decide that it's more important for them to enjoy the holiday, than to be left on Christmas morning with the distinct impression that God doesn't care about a kid with no money, aside from using his want as an opportunity for some toy manufacturer to self-promote?

And, Mr aoboshop jerk, I would say the vast majority of those kids aren't interested in your shoes, either.

[Amanda in Hawaii]

I *DO* donate to Toys for Tots (and also participate in the book angels program at my local Barnes & Noble), and I have no intention of buying any of the aoboshop products, nor will I be likely to donate a tacky plastic talking doll that many people, including other Christians, will find highly offensive.

Mr. Aoboshop person---go start your own blog. All you've done here is make darned sure that none of us will buy anything from you.

[dddrum]

Hey, go easy on that poor Mr. Aoboshop. That wasn't spam... I'm pretty sure it's a rap song. Just get a li'l beat goin', yo, annnnnnnd... KICK IT!

(shaPWWWM shaPWAM shaPWWWM shaPWAM)
Wholesaler knock-off
Nike Air Jordans
Wholesaler knock-off
Timberland Shoes

Word.

Now, (and could I get a little mood lighting here? Perfect. Thanks.) in this burgeoning holiday season, let us come together and demonstrate a little tolerance for Mr. Aoboshop. I mean I think you'll agree, we all loved the dude's fables. So let's give his phat rhymin' skills a chance, a'ight?

CAN I GET AN A'IGHT HERE??

A'ight. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some burgeoning to do.

Peace Out.