Swedish Christmas Goat

This photo of the X-mas Goat in Sweden really makes me happy. Here's the article:

Is That a Bow on the Christmas Goat, or a Bullseye?
By Tom Zeller Jr.

In keeping with the holiday spirit, a good-news story (so far, at least) from Gävle, Sweden, where the town’s giant Christmas goat (a 40-year tradition) survived its first attack by arsonists (also a 40-year tradition) and remains standing today in Castle Square.

According to news agency reports, since 1966 when the town first erected a 43-foot wood-and-straw goat, the seasonal sculpture has “been hit by flaming arrows, run over by a car and even had its legs cut off” and has made it intact past Christmas Day only 10 times.

A more detailed history from Wikipedia gives the Gävle Goat — apparently a version of the Yule Goat, a traditional Scandinavian Christmas symbol — a survival rate of 42 percent overall, with 13 of 31 goats surviving various assaults, including one last year by attackers dressed as Santa Claus and a gingerbread man.

Official Web cameras have been erected to monitor the goat (it’s still there, despite the poor odds, as of this writing). And an English language Web site, based in Sweden, for fans of the Gävle Goat offers a guestbook for those who might want to leave messages of support. Last week’s attempt on the goat, which happened overnight on Thursday, was foiled by flame retardant chemicals, in which the goat’s straw had been soaked this year, officials said.

“Somebody tried to set fire to the right front leg, but the flame-resistant chemical worked 100 percent,” Kurt Lagerholm, chairman of the goat committee, told the Associated Press. “There’s a smell of gasoline and the ribbon is a bit smutty, but otherwise it’s unhurt.”

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Free Hugs Campaign Video

Click on the title above to watch an entertaining video of this guy that looks a little like John Lennon (long hair and glasses, anyway) giving out free hugs to the general public. It includes great music by the sick puppies. This is my holiday feel-good posting!

Here's an inspirational dharma quote for you, too:

The Road Map to Enlightenment
By B. Alan Wallace, Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up

The Buddha's teachings are unusual in that they explain at great length the nature of his enlightenment and the types of meditative disciplines he used to gain his insights. He left us a road map to enlightenment. Indeed, his chief motivation for teaching was to lead others to the spiritual awakening he experienced. Statements attributed to the Buddha make it very clear that all sentient beings have the capacity to become Buddhas, and that his own realizations occurred by practicing the Dharma he taught. Over the past 2,500 years the Buddha's teachings have been tested experientially by thousands of the greatest sages of Asia. Many have verified for themselves the Buddha's words and have achieved the same realizations he did.
--B. Alan Wallace, Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up

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'Bobby' Is a Better Film Than Critics Say

I went to see the new film "Bobby" last night, and I thought it was a much more worthwhile effort than critics seem to be admitting. I would go so far as to say that a lot of critics are obviously jaded and lame, unable to admit that a guy like Emilio Estevez might be capable of writing and directing a great film. My feeling is--this movie really is right for the times and it should be seen by every American to remind us that we are way off track these days (politically and otherwise) and we need to right this train before it tips all the way off the rails (or maybe it already has).

It took Estevez 7 years to get this film made, and he apparently almost went broke paying for it. "Bobby" premiered at the Venice Film Festival and "received a seven-minute standing ovation" according to IMDb.com. There are plenty of places where the film almost comes undone and implodes on itself, but I would argue that Estevez was able to hold it all together just tight enough to make it work. The archival footage of Robert F. Kennedy giving speeches on the campaign trail are worth the price of admission alone anyway. Plus there are some great moments throughout with a ton of major actors in bit roles, including Anthony Hopkins, Harry Belfonte, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Christian Slater, Laurence Fishburne, Martin Sheen, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, and Heather Graham, among others.

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