- I love your rules,especially the one....treat others like you wish to be treated. That was big in our home as I was growing up and it is just as big in my home now. Along with everyday random acts of kindness....if we always live by these two rules then we can be sure to find a real inner happiness.x. - Debyl1
- I hate no one. I am cruel to no one. I am a mere mortal who The Divine has chosen to speak to. The Divine needs no proof, He is above all human failings. Mock me, it does not hurt, i forgo all pride and sily human comforts. All can read "The Message" and accept it or not. I do not judge. I pass one what i am told. - John Jay
- Well said Benison. - Sally
- Dear John Jay, like you I also have had divine revelations, wonderful revelations on the need to love all human kind, on compassion and empathy. The Divine revealed to me that he/she has no interest whatsoever in who has sex with whom. Now let me make it very clear, you cannot prove these divine revelations that you claim you have, no more can I. All you can prove is your unrelenting hatred of anyone who does not subscribe to your very sick philosophies. So Hooplarians, come join me in the "Church of the Unbelievers of John Jay's Divine". Let us be free of his hatred and cruelty. - sue Bell
- Hmmm, lets hope that John Jay fella doesn't get wind of this! - Will Marshall
- Regardless of the legality of the owners' actions, they need to be upfront in their advertising and state 'no poofs and dykes please' and spare themselves bad international publicity and embarrassment to their innocently booked guests. They have gone one step further than the usual preface to a homophobic comment than 'I don't care what they do behind closed doors...'. They do actually care. - Andrew
- we can only hope stories about these horrible people become rarer but you have to wonder ? its pretty scary when the question of will you let my boy/girlfriend stay tonight ? happens but I think if you continue to let the boys ask whatever questions they need to ask you shouldn't have any probs, my daughter now 21 seemed to slowly get us used to haveing her boyfriend around - all seemed to happen by osmosis ! My boys 16 and 18 seem abit slower at bringing the girlfriends home - no complaints here - but they know we dont want one night stands and seem to respect this - marie
- The tornado in Oklahoma was a sign of God's anger. I went into a deep stage of reflection and this was revealed to me by The Divine. As was Cyclone Sandy a warning from God for America not to vote for The Anti Christ Obama. - John Jay
- Gee, what's with the cynicism here, just because Ruddy may have seen the fact that same sex marriage doesn't affect opposite sex marriage, it has nothing to do with politics, because he doesn't have the support of his party, so, he will never come back, and John Jay, you will be glad to know that same sex marriage is becoming a reality all around the world and god hasn't raised a finger to do anything about it, me being here to post this is testament to this. - Will Marshall
- My middle son has ADHD and my youngest autism and ADHD. There is a big genetic crossover between the 2 conditions; that is they share many of the same genes. My son with ADHD is in no way disabled, but has low muscle tone and dyspraxia, just like my son with autism. These are neurological manifestations of a biological disorder and I get fed up when people try to claim that ADHD is a 'social construct'. ADHD is real folks and the medication, while not a panacea, helps my kids hugely. For the record I'm a pharmacist and my husband is a doctor, so we're pretty informed consumers. As for the French! While there are many things to admire about the French their attitude to childhood disorders is not one of them. The French are about 40 years behind the rest of the Western world in their treatment of autism. This genetically-based neurological disorder is still treated by Freudian psychoanalysis and blamed fairly and squarely on the mother! The net result is that French families have to leave France to get proper evidence-based treatment for their children with autism. Sure the biological model of mental health is imperfect but the French are not being progressive here - they're still stuck in the 1960s. See the link if you don't believe me. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17583123 - Benison O'Reilly
ON THE HIGHWIRE ANSWERS
WILL YOU SHOP ONLINE THIS CHRISTMAS?
The majority of us have started our Christmas shopping ( sorry if this news is alarming) and a poll says 37% of us will be looking for gifts online.
How about you? What will you buy online and what can only be done in the stores?
(Maybe you’re making your gifts this year. We are in awe!)
5 Responses to this article
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Rupal November 19, 2012
I’m shopping on Andable.com this Christmas. It’s a new site with unique things from indie designers. Every time you buy, they lend 10% to a micro loan to a person in need (via Kiva.org).
Ok, full disclosure, I’m the founder
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Kimberly November 20, 2012
Brilliant Rupal! – I didn’t know about the site and will definately check it out.
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Susan November 20, 2012
I’ll state straight away that i live in RARA land aka Regional And Rural Australia.
i would be totally lost without on-line shopping for gifts over xmas and truthfully for the entire year.
it’s just the plain truth that so many towns/cities/regional centres are devoid of any attractive shops.
here’s an example………..
my town supports a discount book warehouse as a bookstore presumably there to serve the entire area but cannot order individual books due to the nature of their setup .the other option is the local christian bookshop which while having some excellent books does not carry and will not order certain books eg. Winnie the Pooh
for all those living outside RARA land, ask yourself this….could you do your gift giving only using only a mix of $2 shops, Reject warehouse type set-up, Big W, Coles, Target, and K-mart.
Just by the way these horrid larger stores have in the main ruined the scene for most other shops.
People in RARA land usually live on a far smaller income than in metro areas, which in itself leads to lack of shopping choices.
And when takeaway food outlets close in your town which has large nos of overweight people, you know the local economy is struggling
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Carm November 22, 2012
I also live in RARA but am lucky enough to live in a community with loads of people who make beautiful things. So for the past couple of years I’ve been able to buy almost all of my pressies locally (except for the odd bit of Lego!) from the people who make them or at the markets. I’ve been surprised how inexpensive it can be. If I need something practical I try to shop at the independent stores in our nearest regional centre because they’re doing it tough as it is (a lot sell online too though). It’s such a blessing not to do the big shopping centres… The best handmade presents we ever did were making our own individualised labels for cleanskin wine. We put a photo of the person on the bottle, named it something appropriate and then described the wine as if it were them (ie fruity, bubbly, full-bodied, rugged, for the discerning drinker only). Everyone loved it and they’ve kept the bottles for years. It was fun making them too.
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Alison November 27, 2012
Christmas in Queensland. By 1pm, the back yard, regardless of whose house you are visiting and how much shade they have, will be at roughly the temperature of the surface of the sun. The children will all be suffering from heat exhaustion and too weak to fight or argue, so now is the time to start drinking. http://alisontennentdennehy.weebly.com/1/post/2012/11/its-beginning-to-look-a-lot-like-christmas-sticky-stinky-sweaty-and-the-trifle-is-melting.html
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Meredith Jaffe: Next silly question?
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Maggie Alderson: Last year I bought about 40% on line and was able to get some really great quirky things. I love how the internet opens up the whole world of shopping, rather than traipsing round hundreds of shops and hoping to stumble across fun things - but this year I'm not so sure I'll be using it so much, for moral reaons. There has been a lot in the media in the UK recently about online companies like Amazon not paying tax in the countries where they do business. Then I got a receipt from iTunes and the company address was registered in Luxembourg and it made me very cross. There is a point where pursuit of success cross over into greed and I find that very unattractive. So I will shop online, but I'll try to do it only from companies which pay tax in the countries where they do the majority of their trading.
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Marina Go: Yes, absolutely. I have been an avid online shopper since I first heard the words 'net-a-porter' a decade ago. Last year I researched everything online and bought 40 per cent of the items in-store as they were last-minute decisions and delivery would have taken too long. More than a financial saving, online shopping saves me so much time.
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Naomi Simson: Absolutely! And while there is so much to be said for "in the flesh" shopping experiences, I just find it easier at this time of the year - no crowds, I don't have to struggle with parking dramas, and I can tick off a gift whenever I have a spare 10 minutes. This is Mrs Online Shopper here. And no, I don't give everyone a RedBalloon experience for Christmas - although those who do recieve one are informed that I do in fact pay for them! I plan to start my shopping this week to avoid the stress of being a last minute Larry - and to allow time for deliveries. Like everyone, the mail man is very busy come December and I don't want to risk pressies turning up in time for next Christmas.
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