Decorando a sala de estar para o Natal

Olá!

Olhem que ideias maravilhosas. Cada sala um estilo, uma personalidade, um gosto, porém todas tem algo em comum: a beleza!

Escolha a sua e divirta-se decorando o seu cantinho.

Abraços,

Fotos by Homes and Garden

Bibliography

Why do we write books? In my case, it helps me to think. I would hardly know what I thought about something unless I had struggled to construct an argument and written it down. As I brought my seventh book to completion, a friend, Mark Alder, encouraged me to compile a list that gives some sense of what they are about and why I wrote them. (Incidentally, the bookplate on the left is by my grandmother, Florence Zerffi.) – Stratford Caldecott

The Power of the Ring: The Spiritual Vision Behind The Lord of the Rings (Crossroad, 2005, 2011) 

Originally called Secret Fire when first published by DLT, the book was translated into several foreign language editions including Spanish, Italian, and Russian, and re-issued by Crossroad in an expanded edition in 2012. The Power of the Ring, unlike most other books published on Tolkien’s writing, explores the spiritual, theological, and philosophical meaning of the work – Tolkien’s faith, which was influenced by the Oratory of St Philip, his attempt to recover the spirit of England that had been almost lost in the two
World Wars, his theology of creation and the importance of the human imagination as a means of apprehending truth, as well as the spiritual aesthetics of virtue. In The Lord of the Rings and his other works Tolkien was creating a vehicle in which to transmit to future generations the “light” of a poetic knowledge that is fast dying out and in many places has been entirely forgotten, depriving us of a vital dimension of our humanity. This theme of “spiritual light” was taken up again in the book The Radiance of Being in 2013 (see below).

The Seven Sacraments: Entering the Mysteries of God (Crossroad, 2006) 

The first of two books on mystagogy (the sacramental mysteries of the Church), The Seven Sacraments looks at a range of important sevenfold structures in Scripture and Tradition (such as the seven virtues, the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, the seven days of creation, and the seven Last Words from the Cross), exploring significant correlations between them, and arguing that greater attention should be paid by biblical scholars to numerical symbolism in the inspired text as a whole. The book was intended to open up an approach to the Catholic faith based on a deeper appreciation of its organic unity.

Beauty for Truth’s Sake: On the Re-enchantment of Education (Brazos, 2009) 

The first of two on the Seven Liberal Arts, Beauty for Truth’s Sake concentrates on the Quadrivium; that is, the four cosmological subjects on which classical learning once depended, both as preparation for the study of philosophy and theology, and as the basis of an education for intellectual and spiritual freedom. After looking at the classical and medieval tradition, the book traces the way our secular society developed, and the problems this has created in present-day higher education and the culture at large. It suggests ways in which the arts and sciences, faith and reason, religion and mathematics, could be put back together again, after a long period of estrangement that has created a civilization both deeply flawed and profoundly dangerous.

All Things Made New: The Mysteries of the World in Christ (Angelico Press/Sophia Perennis, 2011) 

A second book on mystagogy explores the mysteries of the Rosary and the Book of Revelation. While The Seven Sacraments had concentrated on examining patterns of 7, All Things Made New examines the use made of the numbers 12 and 4 by biblical and patristic writers – demonstrating once again the merits of reading Scripture and Tradition in the light of faith, with an eye to the underlying structure. The book includes reflections on cosmology and liturgy and a meditation on the Way of the Cross, while the appendices include a brief introduction to Jewish and Greek number symbolism (Gematria), a survey of different methods of biblical exegesis, and an article about the ideas of Dr Margaret Barker.

Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education (Angelico Press, 2012) 

The second of two on the Seven Liberal Arts, Beauty in the Word is about Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric, re-interpreted in a way that enables them to be used as the framework for a renewal of the education system, especially at primary level. “Remembering”, “Thinking”, and “Communicating” become the foundations of a curriculum in which all school subjects can be taught in a more integrated manner. These basic human skills develop naturally out of an understanding of our nature as created in the image of God – created for self-gift in the image of the Trinity. The book also examines questions related to authority and ethos within the school. Like Beauty for Truth’s Sake, this book is being used as a text and for curriculum design by teachers and parents in Britain and the United States.

The Radiance of Being: Dimensions of Cosmic Christianity (Angelico Press, 2013)
Radiance of Being explores the meaning and implications of the divine Trinity as a basis for understanding the cosmos. In other words it starts where Beauty for Truth's Sake finishes. Beginning with the concept of “light” in modern science and cosmology, the book goes on to explore the relation of science to faith, and then the questions that arise from the differences between religions and the tensions between religious communities. The uniqueness of Christianity is shown to lie in the Incarnation and Trinity, but this does not justify aggressive polemics or religious violence. The book culminates in an appreciation of the Russian idea of “godmanhood” and divine Wisdom or Sophia.

Not As the World Gives: The Way of Creative Justice (Angelico Press, forthcoming) 

With a focus on the nuptial mystery at the heart of the universe, Not As the World Gives integrates the social teaching of the Church with the spirituality of the Sermon on the Mount. Beginning with Plato’s insights into the nature of Justice, the book explores the history of Christian charity and the meaning of mercy and the virtues, the threats posed to civilization by modern technology, the true nature of human freedom and of “good work”, the challenge of New Evangelization, the foundations of the Way of Beauty, and how to renew a Christian culture. The aim of the book is to show how the “radiance of being” can shine through, not just the natural, but also the social and cultural worlds.

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Photo by Fotopastele

Uma das minhas fotógrafas favoritas
 

Sapato para o Natal - Faça você mesma!

Lindo, elegante e o melhor de tudo: feito por você!

Vamos tentar? Mãos à obra!

Bom Sábado à todos!

Idéia retirada da net

Cartões de Natal em Scrapbook

Olá!

Para quem ama scrapbook e o Natal, que tal unir as duas paixões e fazer seus próprios cartões?

Siga as dicas do "Scrapbooking 24/7".

Boa Sexta à todos!

Fotografando o Natal

Olá!

Amo fotografia e adoro tirar fotos, assim como admiro quem faz isso com perfeição. Penso que o Natal é uma boa época para isso. Tudo fica mais lindo, leve e colorido, mesmo que em tons pastéis, pois os olhos veem a cor que o coração pinta.

Aqui um pouco do trabalho da fotógrafa do blog "Crea Mari Crea".

Abraços,

Taxes Aren't Bigger in Texas

Nothing says "Amurhica"
like Texas flag overalls.

Every August, Texans take a break from their normal routine of eating great BBQ, shooting excellent firearms, and wearing the state flag in every conceivable manner, and participate in that great American activity: shopping.  

"Big deal," I can hear you thinking. "Everyone shops, right?" Well yes, Texans have sartorial needs too. But each August, in addition to its no-income-taxes-ever policy, Texas ALSO suspends sales tax on certain back-to-school purchases, including clothing under $100, for an entire weekend. Happily, Texas avoided the intuitive but burdensome slogan "Taxes is just another way to spell Texas," and instead has famously low tax rates. 

 A simple Google search reveals that tax-free weekend has been happening since 1999, and CBS reported that it results in

Texas: Cutting taxes since before
Y2K!

approximately $8 saved by consumers for every $100 spent, and nearly $79 million in state and local taxes that will not be collected Friday through Sunday." 

This is a little tricky to estimate, though, because the tax break is designed to boost sales as parents do back-to-school shopping. It's a high-revenue weekend, but the rebate drives additional sales. Thus, it's hard to know by how much bargain-driven shoppers are increasing their spending, and thus where the number would be without the shopping boost. Still, let's take the numbers the nice journalists provided for us, and dig in. 

If consumers are saving $8 for every $100 spent, that's eight cents on the dollar. Hardly going to make or break the budget one way or the other, but resulting in an alleged loss of $79 million. On its face, this sounds crazier than a Nicki Minaj hairstyle. But I think it's actually pretty brilliant. 

Gemstones. Also multifaceted. 

Tax policy is a multifaceted debate, but this provides a nice opportunity to do some isolated analysis. First, we're only dealing with sales tax for a single weekend. Yes, $79 million is a gigantic number. But it's not like we completely suspended taxes forever (property tax, the main revenue driver in a no-income-tax state, was not suspended for a back-to-school special). Additionally, many businesses are not open on the weekends, not all businesses charge a sales tax, and only certain items are eligible for the tax-free status. The government will not shut down. 

Second, since this is a long-standing tradition (awkward moment where you realize that 1999 was actually a long time ago), people expect it and can plan their shopping accordingly. If consumers are planning to drop a hefty chunk of change already, they're usually more willing to purchase additional items, thus boosting them into higher amounts saved. Suppose a family would normally buy $185 of back-to-school items over three weeks of piecemeal shopping—with $14.80 in taxes, the total is $198.80. Suppose that same family, incentivized to buy a little more, now spends $200 on back-to-school items in a single weekend. The

The House of [Cheap] Shoes. 

end price is about the same, but you can think of it as either getting $15 in "stuff," or keeping $16 that you otherwise would have had to spend. Either way, that's a great-looking pair of sale shoes (yes, I really have bought shoes for under $15, and yes, they look great). 

Third, stores will run tax-free weekend specials to stretch dollars even further. This allows them to concentrate sales on a single weekend and actually charge full-price at other times, which helps reverse the trend to constantly cut prices at the expense of profit margins. Retail isn't necessarily representative of all business, but it's the business that consumers tend to think of most immediately. Stores can thus drive sales, which ultimately allows them to stay in business, employ people, and provide stylish clothing for the masses. 

Fourth, tax-free weekend creates a perverse incentive to shop, because it creates crowds. There really are some people who would rather not shop on tax-free weekend, because the crowds aren't worth it for them. As a crazy bargain-hunter, this is inconceivable to me. "I WILL BATTLE THE CROWDS! I

"The Boston Tea Party." Or, "The
breaking point of tax elasticity."

WILL SAVE SMALL AMOUNTS OF MONEY! I WILL BUY AN EXTRA PAIR OF SHOES!" tends to be my mantra. But, if you have people who purposely avoid tax-free weekend, then neither stores nor the government are putting all of their revenue-driving eggs in a single basket. This illustrates the price elasticity of sales tax, or what people are willing to trade to not pay tax. 

Fifth, tax-free weekend is a great political move. Especially now that it's established, people expect it, which means they anticipate it with joy and would cry foul were it abolished. That helps promulgate an overall attitude of lower taxation, because it creates a more direct correlation between public approval and tax rates. Otherwise, the problem of decentralized costs and aggregated benefits arises: if the tax rate goes up by 1%, it's a small harm to everyone, but potentially a large revenue raise. After a few moves like this, though, people have a high tax rate and are truly struggling, but the gradual

He loves gradual change. And flies.

change has prevented them from caring enough to hold politicians accountable. Politicians thus enjoy the continued benefit of cutting taxes without having to go through the political process of cutting them anew. 

Most importantly, for one glorious weekend, Texas is even more of a bastion of liberty than usual. Instead of a nanny state that insists that it needs additional tax dollars to provide back-to-school supplies for everyone's children, we have a weekend in which families are encouraged to take care of their own children, and given tax incentives for doing so. At the end of the day, a government that lets people decide how to spend their own money is a government that believes in liberty. 

Liberty: Drawing your own lines
on your own piggy bank. 

I ended tax-free weekend in:
Neon green pencil skirt, lime and yellow ikat blouse, silver hoop earrings, neon green zipper cuff bracelet, and gray ankle-strap platform d'orsays. 

Mini Guirlandas em Feltro

Olá!

Olhem que ideia legal e simples de fazer.
Sigam o passo a passo e divirtam-se!

Boa terça à todos!

 

Dourado sempre!

Olá!

Que tal fazer uma decoração toda em dourado? Aproveitem a dica e usem a criatividade sem perder o bom senso. Vai ficar lindo com certeza!

Beijos e bom domingo!

Foto by White Living