Five Minute Friday :: Christmas Sweater

• Five Minute Friday :: Christmas Sweater linkup at Andrew's place

This week Andrew wrote – "penned" with quill – another sonnet, after all.

The way people pick up on trends, phrases, and preferences without a thought bothers me a lot. For example, the idea of an ugly Christmas Sweater makes rounds every year, yet when you look at those various jacquard, fair isle, reindeer, tartan, snoopy, and nativity bear sweaters, very few are objectively "ugly" at all. The adorable sweater illustration Andrew provided is an example, as are the bear and horse in sweaters I got on Creative Market a few years ago.

Though even in this era of covid-tinged casual I'd be hard put to wear one to work, to Sunday church, or to a professional networking event, Christmas sweaters belong around the fireplace, out caroling, at Christmas dinner where they enhance the ambiance and remind everyone not to take themselves so seriously so much of the time.

What else bothers me this time of year? The way people in the global north often get mired in mild to moderate to severe Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, which is a real thing. It's such a reality that very few people can avoid at least a touch of it when shorter days deprive them of necessary sunlight. But getting consumed by SAD and ignoring the hope Advent brings? Even denying the Light of the World Nativity offers?

Oh, I know. Everything gets too overwhelming, so let's remind each other. Do you have a testimony of light in the darkness? Do you have words about new life from the apparent hopelessness of loss and death? When the days are shortest, nights are longest?

Happy Christmas Sweater time!

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Five Minute Friday :: Turkey

Your wonders awe those who live
at earth's farthest bounds; you
make the gateways of the morning
and the evening shout for joy!
Psalm 65:8
• Five Minute Friday :: Turkey Linkup at Andrew's Place

Writing on Friday

Andrew's hosting FMF auspiciously has led to an epicurean – or is that an edible? – trio of coffee, chocolate, and now turkey. Turkey because the prompt went live on Thanksgiving evening, or for another reason? I'll take the reason that I love to write about food; I love gifts of food; I love to enjoy food. Food is my love language.

Like my late uncle, I'm [almost] everyone's BFF. I don't think it's genetic, but I believe some people are wired that way. That introduces my saying yesterday I again ventured out to the Santa Monica Church where I had Thanksgiving dinner last year and in 2021. For 2025 I went with a couple of housemates from the hostel where I'm staying and managing; a third joined us at the venue. Although it's an annual community dinner, it's on the small side. Best guess is we had 50 guests, which borders on intimacy for this kind of gathering.

Isn't sharing a meal or a snack a leveling experience? I leveled with the people I've been living with, those Santa Monica church peeps I already was acquainted with, neighborhood people who were first timers at that church and first timers with me. We had food for the table. We made room at the table. When there's room at the table we can call each other friends. All those people I leveled with now are [at least my] BFF.

When food and friends come together, that's a love feast. Food is my love language. And yesterday included turkey.

Do you have a turkey commentary or any comments about turkey?

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Grand Hope Park

The larger grander Grand Park was my original Tuesday destination, but with shorter days and therefore limited time I found myself at the much smaller and previously not known to me Grand Hope Park. Given that the urban oasis blooms between Grand and Flower on Hope Street, what semi-accidental redirection could be more perfect as the season of Advent – that time of renewed hope – begins again?

My picture show begins with a funky presentation of trash containers outside the park; I noticed several of these same designs along my route.

In this Utopian Garden
Splendid in Art
Shall the Spirit of
South Park Replenish
The Heart of the City

Dedicated June 12, 1993
Mayor Tom Bradley, City of Los Angeles

Trees in autumnal beauty

All four sides of a pair of mosaics; next time I'll research their origins.

Welcome to Grand Hope Park includes hours and guidelines for visitors.

Five Minute Friday :: Penguins

Penguin Group Small with legal reuse rights
by Antarctica Bound on Flickr

• Five Minute Friday :: Penguins Linkup at Andrew's Place

It's no surprise I immediately thought of last spring's Penguin Tariffs and the intelligence those penguins and seals displayed navigating such a clueless injustice.

Here's part of an AI overview:

"Penguin tariffs" refers to tariffs imposed on the Australian territory of Heard and McDonald Islands, an uninhabited island chain populated by penguins and seals. This occurred as part of a broad tariff policy announced by the Trump administration in April 2025, which was criticized as illogical and based on inaccurate data, as the islands have no human population, commercial activity, or trade of their own. The issue gained public attention due to the nonsensical nature of taxing a territory of wildlife, prompting confusion and a viral social media reaction. The hashtag #PenguinsAgainstTrump gained traction on social media. Australia's government called the tariffs "unwarranted" and "not the act of a friend."

Five about Penguins

Although Andrew had predicted he wouldn't be writing sonnets on his weekly host posts, he wrote one this week, and what fun! He observed how South Pole and North Pole are many miles apart, so at first glance, that means penguins don't participate in Christmas festivities featuring Santa, Reindeer, and Polar Bears. Or Elves. "At first glance," because penguins are a major theme on Nativity tide paper products (wrapping paper, greeting cards, retail store displays, home decor) and apparel for all ages. Penguin Tariffs may have been paradoxical, but despite their South Pole geography, most people don't consider penguins incompatible with Christmas.

To redirect this narrative, black and white long has been considered a color palette that always works. (Another is permutations of red, yellow, and blue.) Does that mean you need to like them? No, of course not. Does it mean they can't be done badly? Both of those and some others definitely can be done up disastrously! In addition, formal tuxedo and ultra-formal white tie attire comes to mind with black and white. Some make a lot of the contrast between white and black, and even assign positive traits to white, negative ones to black.

What more can I say about penguins? They impress me as smart, fish-loving, and friendly, but probably not cuddly. They're picturesque and appealing. And penguins are an out of the ordinary Five Minute Friday prompt.

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Getty Center 2017

I previously blogged some of these pictures in my activity summary for September 2017, but they deserve a standalone blog.

If you live in Los Angeles, if you visit Los Angeles, you must go to the Getty Center and the Villa, too.

These vistas come from Thursday 14 September 2017 and Thursday 28 September 2017.

Getty Center 2016

A while ago I blogged some of these pictures in my rundown for Summer 2016. They're from my visits on Tuesday 09 August and Thursday 11 August 2016.

Have you been to the Getty Center and the Villa?