Check out these photo gifts images:
the Blood
Image by Mike_tn
The gifts at my sister's wedding mass. St Mark the Evangelist Parish in Goodrich, Michigan. Photo dedicated to a dear family friend who was at this mass and died suddenly about two weeks later on Sept 21, 2012 at 74 years old. My family and theirs grew up together, across the street from each other. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
Mr Ignace knew the Lord.
"Don't die without knowing the Cross" new music by DC Talk written by Prince
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=dbQP_8lFguQ&...
Western Super-Friends as Pure Mind
Image by timtak
Please see also Japanese Super-Friends as Pure Body.
Transformers started in Japan but has become popular in the US, which also has its own Gundam in Iron Man. There is an Iron Giant based on Ted Hughes story, and Lilo's friend Stitch.
In my opinion, however, the Western imaginary friends that mirror the myriad robots and pokemon in Japan, are the plague of ghosts that have been helping us out recently. The first one I saw was in 1969 on the BBC in the tv series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).
The basic pattern of Western 'human plus super-friend' dramas is that a detective is helped by a ghost or ghosts. The ghosts have no body only a message, a will, and the human's job is to let their will be done, so that they can disappear. The genre includes "The Sixth Sense," "The Dead Zone," "Tru Calling," "Ghost Wisperer," "The Medium," "Raines," and "The Listener." "A Gifted Man" though a doctor is along the same lines. "Dead Like Me" is from the point of view of the ghosts.
Their protagnoists have a lot in common with the geniuses that read minds in "Lie to Me," "The Mentalist," "Criminal Minds," and the various "CSI."
All of them, by their extrasensory, or extra sensitive powers of perception are able to read the message, the words, the will, of the super-being that has not been said and act upon it.
The human heros are, contra the Japanese humans, the puppets of their super-natural friends. And yet it is they that are the titular characters. In almost all cases (Dr. Malcolm Crowe from Sixth Sense and Hopkirk as possible exceptions) it is the 'reader' that is the central character, or self with whom the audience identifies. Westerners, perhaps due to the Judeao Christian influence, like to see ourselves as 'readers' who carry out the will of supernatural friends.
In Japan, though the robots are controlled, they are heros, the eponymous/titual characters, the focus of attention. No one buys Amuro Rei dolls, or Nobita Posters. The Japanese robot superheroes are body and self at the same time. Will, such as that of Nobita and Light is fallible, external, and leads people astray.
It is interesting, but probably conicidental that in Japan technology and robots are associated with the West, and that human-ghost interaction is the most famous theme in the traditional drama of Japan. It is as these culturals have found imaginary friends in each other. Again coincidentally, or due to the spread of TV, the super robot genre started, as far as I know, in the late 60's early seventies about the same time as Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).
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Thanks to Ɲ for inspiring these observations.
Arigato Bento #122
Image by shashinjutsu
A snack bento as a "thank you" gift for elm@, who was kind enough to lend me her copy of Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea.
Saturday November 13th, 2010.
Post on Graasland, including recipe for sweet 'n spicy nuts!
Picture of the box all wrapped up.
