More Christmas Lights!!!

Even though it's now the day after Christmas, there's a blizzard outside and everyone is pretty much stuck inside. So I figured it wouldn't be too late to post some more amazing Christmas light photos and videos. Most of these are from previous years and some you may have seen by now, but still, they are fantastic.

The Christmas illuminations found in Japan never disappoint.

Tokyo Midtown, 2009
blogs.sacbee.com




Tokyo Park, 2009
blogs.sacbee.com




Tokyo Doitsu Mara (Tokyo German Village), 2010
japandish.com




Outdoor Christmas display in Tokyo, date unknown
wallcoo.net




Tokyo Millenario, 2004
Photo by toyohara




Roppongi Hills in Minato, Tokyo, 2003
Photo by yokku




And for the tech-gurus, here's a laser tree in Tokyo from 2007. Yes. A laser Christmas tree.





Here are some nice displays in Europe.

Giardino di Boboli (Boboli Gardens), Via del Calzaioli in Florence, Italy, 2008
Photo by sshingler




Oxford Street, The West End, London, UK, 2009
Photo by gorfor




Swarovski Christmas Tree, Zurich, Switzerland, 2010
Photo by Brett Lavender

This travel blog photo's source is TravelPod page: Almost to Ireland...

A few from Madrid, Spain...

Random Beautiful Display, Date Unknown
blog.trucco.es




Christmas Tree, by artist Ágata Ruiz de la Prada, Puerta del Sol, Madrid, 2009
Photo by Enric Archivell




And here's great video from 2008 showing many more incredible Christmas trees in Madrid, including a PACMAN Tree!!!





And now, a few nice ones from the good ol' US of A...

Seattle Center, Seattle, WA, 2009
Photo by ianimmortal>




Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL, 2008
Photo by Express Monorail>




Disney World, Orlando, FL, 2005
Photo by shannonpareil>




Funny Santa House in the Canals, Long Beach, CA, 2004
Photo by Malingering>





Part of Outdoor Light Display at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA, 2009
thephotogardenbee.com




Fountains at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA, Date Unknown
ladyraine.wordpress.com>




And last but not least, I figured I should throw in an appropriate cat video.

Why Cat Toys Are Awesome

Hi there. It has been a while since my last post, and I figured it's time for a post geared more towards CATS! - in particular, their toys.

Cat toys are the BEST! Why? Because they are glittery and sparkly, really colorful and shiny, and often have feathers. Some are plush and fuzzy and some have leopard or other animal prints. Some have bells and rattles. Some toys even get your cat high - and who wouldn't want to see that? I'm sure most cat owners reading this are thinking..."yeah yeah...I've heard all of this before..." That may be true, but I suspect that some of following cute, funny, wacky, and weird cat toys will spark the interest of even the most knowledgeable of cat owners! For example...

Is your cat always hungry? Does your cat love fish? Then maybe these toys are the answer...




Gotta love the sushi....it looks good enough to eat!
from arcatapet.com




What cute shrimp!
from wrapables.com




Looks like the fish is eating the cat, in this case!
from thisnext.com




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But if you don't want kitty to spoil her dinner, then she can play dress up instead.


This Hello Kitty costume set is rather humiliating...but nevertheless adorable!!


from www.gizmodo.jp

...and what would all the fashionista kitties do without some "Chewy Vuitton" hand bags? Very cute. (For dog lovers, they also have Dolce & Grrbana zebra shoe chew toys.)
from thisnext.com




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For your proud male dominant cats, I give you...Cat Engine and Cat Tank!

from thisnext.com

from store.heliotropehome.com


These are some serious toys.




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For the religious cat...

The Ho-Ho Hairball toy.
from moderncat.net


Very festive Christmas tree - lights included.
from cherrybrook.com

Chewish toys.....hehe. I love the lox.
from thisnext.com

Oh dreidel dreidel dreidel...I made you out of felt...
from cherrybrook.com




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And these are just plain weird...



(Sigh)...Japanese toys. For every 5 that are cute, there is at least one that is truly creepy. I'm not really sure what that lever is for. And it leaves one to wonder why someone would think a cat would want to play with an amputated arm.
by geoff_lillemon

And for this?....There are no words.
from Judaism.com




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Finally, for the tech-savvy cat...



Looks like the LG EnV 2.
by Casbah kitten



Even cats are getting iPods...Bill gates must be pissed.
from thisnext.com




...And that's all folks! (for now)

Christmas Lights Galore

My boyfriend just doesn't understand why I love Christmas so much. To him, it's a "Hallmark" holiday - stressful, annoying, and mostly about consumerism. Of course, he enjoys seeing family, eating a yummy meal, and drinking to his heart's content. But he just doesn't view Christmas as glamorous, like I do. Maybe our differing views on Christmas are due to the fact that he's Catholic and I'm a Jew? Haha...yeah that's probably it. For me, it is exciting and flashy and fun, full of parties, sparkly decorations, and eggnog (which, ironically, I think is extremely tasty while his family won't touch the stuff). It is something amazing that I saw many other kids getting to do, but I wasn't able to experience. And maybe that's just it...I guess the whole idea of Christmas becomes less glamorous when you experience it year after year.

You see, when I was growing up, Christmas was kinda like Columbus Day; you get off from school but there's nothing to really celebrate, so you watch TV and order in Chinese. But now that I am dating a non-Jew, I can finally join in on all of the fun that I missed out on! - minus the whole going to church thing (and hopefully without being ex-communicated from my people!). I know that's totally NOT the point of Christmas...but really, what kid fantasizes about going to church (or synagogue for that matter)?

Above all else, my favorite part of Christmas has always been the lights. And although I never had the opportunity to hang up any lights of my own as a kid, my parents still took my sister and I out for nightime car rides in search of fantastic light displays throughout the neighborhood. Although they said it was just for us, I know they wanted to see them just as much as we did.

But without further ado, here are some of my favorite Christmas light displays of 2008 (and maybe 1 or 2 from previous years) as posted on this lil' thing we call the internet:


La Casa Di Babbo Natale - Melegnano, Milan, Italy
www.lacasadibabbonatale.com




The Grizwalds - Greeley, Colorado, United States
http://home.comcast.net/~thegreeleygrizwalds/index.htm


Dominic Luberto's home - Boston, Massachusetts, United States
(photo by Paul Keleher)


Alex Goodwind's home - Melksham, England
(photo by Getty)


John Scott's home - Northumberland, England
(photo by North News)


Home in the Philippines - Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
(photo by EPA)


Swarovski Tree
(photo by Tanakawho)


"Blue Fountain" - Lausanne, Switzerland
(photo by Mclaire2)


Faucher Family - Delaware, United States
(photo by TheWorldThroughMyEyes)


Lights in Medellin, Colombia
(photos by Getty)





* * *
The following photos are of Christmas lights in Japan. They are simply gorgeous!

Christmas Illumination - Shinjuku, Tokyo
(photo by Kelvin255)


Southern Lights - Shinjuku, Tokyo
(photo by YoandMi)


Tokyo Midtown Illumination
(photos by Mori Chan)




Caretta Ocean XMAS
(photo by YoandMi)

(photo by Akra_ciel)

(photo by micamica)


Glass and Lights - Nogizaka, Tokyo
(photo by micamica)


Ebisu Garden Place - Ebisu Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
(photos by YoandMi)



Tokinosumiko - Gotemba city
(photo by crawl+Ray)



...and lastly...I just couldn't resist....
(photo by y entonces)