WOW 
Monday, 24. December 2007
Have a Great Holiday!
&
a great, wonderful, fantastic and a healthy new year!
If you’re off somewhere: enjoy and come home safe and sound.
If you’re cocooning at home: have a cozy and relaxing time off from work.
Thanks for visiting Ursi's Blog. See you again in 2008!
Click the picture below ... and then click the gifts.
Gingerbread House
Every year around Christmas, Walt Disney World builds a super colossal holiday gingerbread house in the lobby of the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. It's sixteen feet high, uses real gingerbread made from a traditional Austrian recipe, and if the cottage had hot and cold cocoa pipes, you could probably live there.The Royal Channel
The Queen has launched her own channel on the video-sharing website YouTube.
The Royal Channel will feature her Christmas Day message, and has recent and historical footage of the monarch and other members of the Royal Family.
More @ BBC News.
Here it goes to The Royal Channel - The Official Channel of the British Monarchy.
The Christmas Broadcast or 'Queen's Speech' for 2007 will appear on this channel at approximately 3pm GMT on Christmas Day.
The Queen's Christmas message can also be downloaded as a podcast from the Official Website of the British Monarchy.
Also you can read transcripts of past Christmas Broadcasts.
filmed at Sandringham House in Norfolk, 1957:
Sunday, 23. December 2007
Santa's Workshop
This film takes you to the real world of China's toy factories. Workers tell about long working hours, low wages, and dangerous work places. Those who protest or try to organize trade unions risk imprisonment.Low labour costs attract more and more companies to China. Today more than 75% of our toys are made in China. But this industry takes its toll on the workers and on the environment.
The European buyers blame bad conditions on the Chinese suppliers. But they say that increasingly hard competition gives them no option. Who should we believe? And what can you do to bring about a fairer and more humane toy trade?
See also:
Easy to Manage – a Report on the Chinese Toy Workers and the Responsibility of the Corporations by By Kristina Bjurling, SwedWatch, October 2004 (pdf).
A film by Lotta Ekelund and Kristina Bjurling, 2004.
Duration: 33 minutes.
Note:Only the beginning has english subtitles, the rest is in English.
Relax and enjoy your Sunday!
Christmas Traditions Around the World
Visit over 70 different countries and see how they celebrated Christmas:Christmas Traditions Around the World
And that's the way it goes in Switzerland:
A tinkling of a silver bell heralds the arrival of Christkindli - a white clad angel, with a face veil held in place by a jeweled crown. The tree candles are lit as she enters each house and hands out presents from the basket held by her child helpers.
The week before Christmas, children dress up and visit homes with small gifts. Bell ringing has become a tradition, and each village competes with the next when calling people to midnight mass. After the service, families gather to share huge homemade doughnuts called ringli and hot chocolate.
In Switzerland, the Chlausjagen Festival or Feast of St. Nichohlas is celebrated at dusk on 6 December with a procession of "lifeltrager' wearing gigantic illuminated lanterns in the shape of a Bishop's mitre on their heads.
The Swiss wait for the Christ child called Christkindli, to arrive with gifts for all in his reindeer-drawn sleigh.
In Switzerland, during the holiday season the Star Singers or Sternsingers dressed as the Three Kings parade through the streets of cities and towns singing Christmas songs.
In Zurich, Santa visits in a special fairytale tram and gives the children a ride through the city, singing songs with them and sharing a basket full of sweets.
Specially Decorated Christmas Tram - Zurich Switzerland
YES - so it is in Switzerland ...
I always say, our country is a doll's house ... believe me, it is!
And how "Merry Christmas" is said in ...
- German: Fröhliche Weihnachten
Eskimo: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Maori: Meri Kirihimete
Indonesian: Selamat Hari Natal
.... more here
Saturday, 22. December 2007
Raymond Briggs' The Snowman
This is legend!First the Xmas Irn-Bru Snowman Advert for Christmas 2006, Scotlands fave soft drink. Inludes flying visits to the Falkirk Wheel, Loch Ness, Edinburgh, Eilean Donan Castle, Stirling Castle, Forth Rail Bridge ...
Who needs words to tell a story?
In Raymond Briggs's charming tale, a little boy contracts a friendship with a snowman. He wakes up on a snowy day, tells his mother he's going outside, then begins a flurry of snowman-building. That night, he can't sleep, so he opens the front door and the snowman has come to life ...
Here is the original movie in full length through the always sad ending. It's the 1982 Christmas classic "Raymond Briggs' The Snowman", adapted from Raymond Briggs beautiful book which was originally published in 1978 by Hamish Hamilton. The film's one song, "Walking in the Air", was written specially for it and performed by a St Paul's Cathedral choirboy, Peter Auty.
See also The Snowman Official Website.
Enjoy!
Wrap Art
Don't panic when you realize you don't know how to wrap a gift!Try this: Wrap Art, how to wrap presents creatively, using fragments of paper and miscellaneous items from around your house.
Handbell Hero
A very amusing game! I can’t stop playing this addictive damn thing ...Handbell Hero challenges you to play holiday songs on your keyboard with ASDF. If you play well, you get smiling faces. If you don’t, you get frowns, and your snowman keels over.
Hint: start with Jingle Bells, it’s the easiest.
(via Miss Cellania @ Neatorama)
Winterbells & Ho Ho Ho Yellow Snow
 | Use your mouse to move. |
| Ho Ho Ho Yellow Snow is a game of skill and precision. Click to begin the flow, use the mouse to direct it and join the numbered dots to form Christmas flavoured decorations in the snow. |
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Mouth Eyes
When it comes to horror images, one of the most disturbing depictions of human face is with mouths in the place of eyes - such illustrations are favorite of many horror books.Mouth Eyes Pictures - Advanced Photoshop Pictures Contest by Freaking News.
(via J-Walk Blog)
Friday, 21. December 2007
Magic Highway USA
Some beautiful images of the future highway system that never was.
Oh, By The Way
The basic facts: "Oh, by the Way" is a compilation box set by Pink Floyd. The box set includes all of their standard studio albums packaged together as mini-vinyl replicas. In addition to the albums, and their extras, the set comes with a specially designed 40th Anniversary fabric poster by Storm Thorgerson, featuring 40 Pink Floyd images. It was released on December 11, 2007.I know what I'll be listening to today! At Pink Floyd's new cool Oh By The Way website (also a good example of next web design visions) you can explore 40 years of Pink Floyd, featuring all 14 studio albums.
Mars Shines Bright
Mars will be closer to Earth this month than any time until the year 2016 - and fortunately, the Hubble Space Telescope was ready as well, snapping pictures of the Red Planet during its orbital approach. If the skies are clear, you can have your own close encounter with Mars these nights.
More about the a night-brightener: Mars gets its close-up by Cosmic Log. With Video.
It shouldn't be hard to pick out the butterscotch-colored, steadily glowing jewel in the sky, but if you need help, just see the map below.
SKY MAP: Mars as seen at 9 p.m local time on Dec. 18 from mid-northern latitudes, by Space.com
Tattoo Santa
Big is the word!This is a big holiday e-card that give you the chance to Tattoo Santa. Then send the video clip to a friend.
