This week is a free topic in The
Real LJ Idol competition, where contestants (and others) are invited
to write on one of the following topics: "Joy," "Holiday,"
or "Irish Revisionist History." There is no voting this week,
but I invite you to read this week's entries, which can found here.
I've chosen to address the topic "holiday."
When I visited New York City two weekends ago, I wasn't
able to get close enough to the windows at Macy's to photograph them.
Not so in Philadelphia, where I shot these images just after Thanksgiving,
shortly after the windows debuted.
This year's windows are a toned-down version of the Macy's
display in New York. Presumably, since these store windows are smaller,
the Philadelphia window designers receive a smaller budget. Still, the
windows incorporate a lot of moving parts, along with a narrative that
tells an amusing, if fractured, sort of story. (Improper punctuation
and forced rhymes are reproduced verbatim).
(on
Photobucket)
Do you believe?
And so we come to Santa in his private lair testing
and checking all the trimming, there.
See all those letters? They're from kids who know if you only trust
what's visible,
you're missing half the show. The world is full of wonders and fun and
mystery.
So ask yourself, "How much do I believe in what I cannot see?"
(My comment: Sooo, Santa's invisible? OMG, he's
behind you right now!)
(on
Photobucket)
What's the secret of tinsel's fabulosity?
Behold the Christmas diva, tinsel, and her crowning
glorium.
It comes not from where you think but from a Tinselorium:
an enchanted apparatus, full of smiles and gears and presses,
that's activated by a secret mix and the most gossamer of tresses.
For tinsel is actually spun from things like sparkling Wit;
Thoughtfulness and Wonder are also part of it."
(My comment: I'm really glad they didn't end
with the obvious rhyme.)
(on
Photobucket)
How is a Christmas star born?
O snazzy star atop the tree, how is it that you came
to be?
Not by earthly fabrication, but by magic starification.
One part Giving, one part Elation — from this elixir, transformation!
Scooped and pressed the stars take form and with the basic shapes still
warm
they're given a final polish and buff. If only you believe, that's more
than enough.
(My comment: Who knew that baby stars looked
like snot?)
(on
Photobucket)
What really makes snowflakes?
Gazing skyward, you might ponder how a snowflake comes
to be.
Strange devices yonder spewing crystals endlessly
from a potion of Devotion, sparked with Generosity.
Little helpers keep things going with total professionality.
Can you believe that such commotion yields such wonderosity?
(My comment: Your rhyming fills me with animosity.)
(on
Photobucket)
How ornaments get their dizzle-dazzle
Let us now unshroud a mystery: how ornaments are made
for Christmas trees.
It's not what you think, nor what it seems. 'Tis more akin to the stuff
of dreams.
A mechanism of arms and cranks gears and valves, rods and tanks
propels a mixture of Love and Charm... enough to bedeck a Christmas
tree farm!
Doubt has no place on this winter's eve. 'Tis the season to believe.
(My comment: I'll take an ornament with extra
Love, please.)
(on
Photobucket)
What makes Christmas lights bright?
Here, dear reader, for your examination is the source
of their illumination.
A fantastical device forms the light while miraculous ingredients add
what's bright.
It's a fuel made of Trust, not electric currents, beaming Joy at all
deterrents.
Believe... and you will see the very mystical, magical, extraordinary.
(My comment: The very mystical, magical, extraordinary
what?)
Wishing you all a very fun-filled, wonderful, mysterious,
invisible, glorious, witty, thoughtful, generous, elated, transformative,
devoted, professional, loving, charming, trustful, joyous holiday!
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