Documentary Review: ***^Extreme Christmas Trees

This movie presented lots of Christmas trees, starting with Rio De Janeiro where the tree is so big and so bright it can be seen on the moon.  Then the brought the focus back to the United States.  There was the biggest tree inside a residence, and I was sure they were going to break some antique furniture getting that thing into the house. 

The one that intrigued me the most was the ten-foot Christmas tree cake.  It had a train made of cake going around the bottom.  It was a donated cake for a charity. 

The lobster trap tree was really interesting.  This was made in Maine, and was a way to honor the history of lobstering in the area.  Lobster traps were tied together, and then it was decorated with the buoys of the fishermen. 

In Michigan there was a 300 member high school tree choir, meaning the choir sang perched on the Christmas tree.  Some of the kids were feeling faint and had to come down, but they were prepared with a nurse.  I guess the lights were hot and conditions cramped.  There was a bed and breakfast in Georgia where the hosts had Christmas trees in every room, and upon these trees the had antique decorations.  A collection worth over $100,000.  Of course one broke, but everyone was happy in the end.  There was also a tree made with antlers, antlers from smaller deer at the top, larger deer in the middle, and elk at the bottom.  There was one guy and his tree I didn't understand.  He decided to have a tree hanging from the roof, and going through the two stories of his home.  He had to knock holes in two ceilings to make his idea work.  He also needed help from the fire department.  To each his own.  As best I can tell this was a 2011 Discovery Channel production. 

Mormon History Movie Review: Glad Tidings: The History of Baptisms for the Dead

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/church-history/02-church-history?lang=eng

When Joseph's brother Alvin died, the family was distraught.  Their grief was only more pronounced when the preacher who performed the funeral told the family that Alvin was condemned because he had not been baptized.
Later, in the Kirtand temple, Joseph received a vision of the Celestial Kingdom, and was surprised that Alvin was there.  The Lord explained that those who would have accepted the gospel, had they been given the opportunity, may inherit all of the blessings of heaven. 
It was while the saints were in Nauvoo that Joseph received the revelation for performing baptism for the dead.  These were originally performed in the Mississippi river.  Later Joseph received added direction that these should be performed in the temple.

Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-03-01-joseph-smith-the-prophet-of-the-restoration?category=feature-films

This is a historical reenactment of the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith as told through the eyes of his mother, Lucy Mack Smith.  This is a very entertaining movie made by the Church in2005.  It depicts Joseph's childhood briefly, but focuses a great deal of attention on the first vision and Moroni and the book of Mormon.  It also makes Joseph's courtship of Emma real, and shows the disappointment of his father-in-law.  It shows many of the trials and persecutions Joseph faced throughout his life.  It also shows the trials of the people he lead. 
Of course a historical reenactment cannot show every detail, and there are parts that were glossed over.  One of these was the reason for Joseph going to Carthage.  It was hinted this was because of Missourians, but does not talk about the local problems in Nauvoo.
This is a great movie.  It leaves you feeling good, and shows period costumes and manners.  It seems the mob may be too mobbish, with teeth missing and ugly grins.  Maybe they were not all such rough men.
One of the best scenes is in Missouri, when Joseph was held prisoner and he rebukes the guards for they way they are talking.  Very powerful. 

Church History Video: An Ensign to the Nations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RolEWQiKQMc&list=PL5E64872530666CCA&index=1

It is in 8 parts on You Tube
This is a film produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and narrated by President Gordon Hinckley.  This movie does not use historical reenactment, by historical documentary style, pictures and quotations and talk of experts in Church history, or friends of the people involved.  It starts talking of the story of Heber Kimball and the missions of those who went him to England.  This includes the spread of the gospel from England to other European countries.  It then follows the church to the Pacific where in Samoa there had been a prophecy of the church coming by an elder.  The growth, through sacrifice came to other island nations.  Then it follows the church to South America where the land was dedicated for the gospel in 1925 by Melvin J Ballard who predicted growth would be slow to start, but then there would be tremendous growth.  South American now has the countries with the third most and second most members. 
The movie then focuses on the church in Asia, Hong Kong and Korea.  These are incredible stories of faith.  In Africa we here the story of a gentleman who twice had a dream of the Salt Lake temple.  He had to wait for 13 years for the gospel to reach him, but it finally did.  Lastly it tells the story of the church in Eastern Europe.  Here President Monson played an important part, feeling impressed to tell the Saints there, when the iron curtain was still in place, that they would one day have all the blessings of the gospel.  President Kimball was impressed to ask the members of the church for the Lord to create the circumstance so the gospel could be preached freely in these countries.

Lead Up to WWII: The Platform of the Nazi Party

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/25points.htm

An important consideration in thinking about the lead up to WWII is to look at the platform of the Nazi Party first presented in 1920.  This platform had 25 points, many of which, particularly those putting down industry and assuring health benefits, were never taken seriously.  However the first two articles in the platform give us an idea of the assumption of power, and other articles talk about the Jew and the foreigner. 
1. We demand the union of all Germans in a Great Germany on the basis of the principle of self-determination of all peoples.
2. We demand that the German people have rights equal to those of other nations; and that the Peace Treaties of Versailles and St. Germain shall be abrogated.
These two premises explain many of the early moves made by the Germans under Hitler.  The re-militarized the Rhineland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.   They forced the inclusion of Austria into  Czechoslovakia had a similar goal, of united German people.  In pursuing this goal further, they assumed more and more of Czechoslovakia.  First they set themselves up as a protectorate, and when the government of Czechoslovakia came to them for protection instead of protection they were forced to sign under threat and duress the rest of the country over to Germany.  The threat was that Germany would send bombers to bomb the cities.  The duress was that they leader was forced to stay up most of the night until he signed the agreement. 
It also portended poorly for Poland, where many German people also lived.  Germany began making demands that these areas also become part of Germany, as many Germans lived there.
This platform expresses the antisemitism which was part of the party rhetoric. 
4. Only those who are our fellow countrymen can become citizens. Only those who have German blood, regardless of creed, can be our countrymen. Hence no Jew can be a countryman.
8. Any further immigration of non-Germans must be prevented. We demand that all non-Germans who have entered Germany since August 2, 1914, shall be compelled to leave the Reich immediately. 
24. We demand freedom for all religious faiths in the state, insofar as they do not endanger its existence or offend the moral and ethical sense of the Germanic race.
The party as such represents the point of view of a positive Christianity without binding itself to any one particular confession. It fights against the Jewish materialist spirit within and without, and is convinced that a lasting recovery of our folk can only come about from within on the pinciple:
COMMON GOOD BEFORE INDIVIDUAL GOOD

Then to carry out these goals, and talks about the type of government necessary.  

25. In order to carry out this program we demand: the creation of a strong central authority in the State, the unconditional authority by the political central parliament of the whole State and all its organizations. 

It advocates a strong central government.  The power being centralized in the hands of a few is not always a good thing.   Different parties and beliefs need to work together rather than calling each other traitors or other derogatory terms.

Movie Review: ****The Disappeared About Argentina's Dirty War

This movie is a very bad adoption story.  "The Disappeared" is the story about a baby, whose parents were killed when he was five months old.  It is about Argentina's Dirty War, and about "The Disappeared."  It is directed by Peter Sanders.  I watched it through Netflix DVD.  It was in Spanish with subtitles.  It is suspected as many as 400 babies were taken, and adopted by other families.  Of these 77 have been discovered.

Horacio with his mother as a baby

http://www.thedisappearedmovie.com/english.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3585031.stm
Horacio, did not know who he was until he was 25.  He had been adopted as a baby.  However he had inklings he did not fit in.  His physical appearance was different from that of his birth family.  He did not really feel loved. As a result, as a teenager he was depressed.  He contemplated suicide, he had thoughts of throwing himself off an upper story apartment.  It wasn't until when he was 25 that his girlfriend encouraged him to seek out his past, and to resolve his doubts.

Horacio went to a program called "Las Abuelas" (The Grandmothers.)  Through this program they were able to perform DNA testing, and prove that he was in fact the birth child of a couple from "The Disappeared."  Before receiving the results of the DNA testing he confronted his adoptive parents (or kidnapper parents depending on where your sympathies lie) and asked them, "Am I your son?"  The answer was, "In our hearts yes, but biologically no."

With the DNA results Horacio was able to piece together his history.  His parents had been married, put were also at odds with the government.  His parents were heavily involved in social causes, and perhaps they also were part of the Monteneros (radical Peronista group) or perhaps just caught in the government sweep of radicals which was going on at the time.  Horacio's father, Adriano, was killed in Cordoba.  His mother, in Buenos Aires, went into hiding.  When the baby was five months old, there was a military action against the apartment where she and others were hid.  The military placed a bomb in the stairwell and destroyed most of the apartment.  They also shot at them from across the street.  Lina,  Horacio's mother, put him in a cupboard and covered him with blankets and pillows and mattress.  This saved his life.  She was killed received eight wounds.  Her baby was uninjured.  He was taken by Lt Col Hernan Tefzlaff.  His brother-in-law wanted to adopt a baby.  However in the end his wife did not want the child.  The maid of Colonel Tefzlaff stepped forward and asked if she could take the baby.  There was the chance he would have been disposed of otherwise.  This took place, however, in an air of secrecy and fear.  

This secrecy was broken after 25 years.  Horacio was able to re-embrace his birth family, cousins and uncles.  His greatest regret, is that all of his grandparents had passed away, the last five years earlier.  One of his grandmothers had committed suicide, perhaps partially from the  trauma of these events.  He has uncles and aunts and cousins, who have a similar appearance.  He has been able to discover the remains of his parents, and removed then from unmarked graves or coffins, and give them proper funerals.  He now works with Las Abuelas, reaching out to others who may be "stolen" orphans.  

As for his adoptive parents, the results have not been so pleasant.  His adoptive mother has a broken heart over the son she raised as her own, with her daughter, who now does not want any thing to do with her.  Also she and her husband both spent time in jail, as they hid the truth, and falsified documents so as to be able to adopt Horacio (Cesar is his adoptive name.)  Living with a secret, even if there is an air of danger because of the military situation, is not healthy for anyone.

In applying this story to our adoption story, Tony has turned five this week.  His physical characteristics are nothing like ours.  Tony is tall and skinny, while both Sheri and I are short and plump (polite word.)  Tony's hair is curly, and the only curly hair in our family is through in-laws and cousins (Charity's Anthony and Dianna's Mark.)  However we love Tony every day, and let him know to us he is a miracle and a blessing.  We love him, and try to tell him these in word and action.  He knows he is adopted, and because of this he is special.  We have shared pictures of his birth parents with him from "Facebook."  We also share notes and messages they pass along.  However we also feel we are walking a type rope.  How do you introduce physical contact?  How do you make sure you baby is same emotionally and physically?  These are questions we are still answering as we live this life.

Movie Review: ****^Gettysburg (1993)

Movie Review: ****^Gettysburg (1993)

Third Day, Highest Point of the Confederacy

This movie fascinates and delights me.   I think it is the courage of the people who actually participated in these events that comes through.  It was produced by Ted Turner, and is based on the novel by "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara.  It shows the battle in general, but focuses on the stand on Little Round Top by Colonel Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) and his men.  However the movie shows all three days of Gettysburg, and the heroics of Little Round Top was day two.  It starts showing how the skirmish got started, with General Buford's (Sam Elliott) cavalry defending Seminary Ridge.  Had that first day ended differently, this battle would have played out differently. 
The battle of the second day focused on the wings, Little Round Top to the South, and Cemetery Hill to the North. Chamberlain was order to fight to the last.  After withstanding three or four assaults, the were out of ammunition.  Instead of retreating, Chamberlain ordered a charge.  This confused the Confederates enough that the were easily captured, often by men with no ammunition.
The Confederacy was unable to turn either flank, so the third day saw a full out attack on the middle, General George E Pickett leading the charge.  Pickett's charge was subject to over a mile of area where they were subject to canon fire from several different directions.  There were also obstacles which slowed them down. General Lee had hoped the Federals had spread too thin.  He was wrong.  General Longstreet  argued for a different strategy all day.  Picket and his forces were ordered to attack.  After they were repulsed, Lee asked Pickett to see to his division.  His response, "I have no division."  They had been beaten, badly. Lee, who was the best general of the war, had asked too much this day.  The Confederacy would be allowed to escape across the Potomac, because of the hesitancy of General George Meade, General in command of the Union Forces.  But the Confederacy would be on the defensive from this time to the conclusion of the war.