Peace on Earth

This is a wonderful cartoon!
Although is from 1939 it's still relevant today.
The following information was written on youtube by XmasFLIX.blogspot.com :

Peace On Earth (1939) Christmas Classic MGM War Cartoon. Academy Award Nominee for Best Short Subject (Cartoon), 1940. Originally Released on December 09, 1939.

On Christmas Eve, two squirrel children ask their grandfather what men are. He describes them, then narrates the story of how humanity destroyed itself by war, as chilling scenes of armed conflict play on the screen. After the last human dies, the animals take their war implements and build homes from them, to live forever in peace.



Peace on Earth is a one-reel 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon short directed by Hugh Harman, about a post-apocalyptic world populated only by animals. The only cartoon ever nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize! It was broadcast in the US just after Germany had pre-emptively invaded Poland, a protest against Bush-Iraq-style pre-emptive wars, and before the US was attacked at Pearl Harbor and thus entered WWII.

At first glance this looks like just another typically Disney-esque cartoons featuring cute animals, but once you see those battle scenes you can see that it is so much more than that. This is an anti-war tale with well animated battle scenes that are scary as anything else that has been seen on the silver screen. Those scenes are very unsettling and tapped into the fears that many people held as Europe was at war with itself. This film was nominated for the 1939 Academy Award for an animated short feature (it lost to Disneys "The Ugly Duckling") and was also, according to Hugh Harmon, nominated for the 1940 Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately the 1940 Nobel Prizes were cancelled because of World War II, so it did not win or lose that award.

Fifteen years before this release, Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising were employees of Walt Disney -- in Kansas City. Disneys first animation studio was in that midwestern city and it was, ultimately, a failure. Following the companys demise -- and with dreams of becoming a live-action director -- Walt headed west. After shuffling around Los Angeles for a while, Disney realized that his best prospect for making a living was the cartoon business.

World War II was barely four months old when Peace landed on theater screens. Given the fact that a mood of patriotism and sacrifice was soon to grip the United States, the cartoons unapologetically anti-war stance is surprising. In the short, woodland creatures elebrate the Christmas season. Two squirrel children stumble over the lyric peace on earth/good will to men because they have no idea what men are. Grampa squirrel explains that all of the men are gone; they succumbed to the fever of war and annihilated one another. Woodland creatures rebuild civilization and mourn their loss.

Walt Disneys most notable cartoon series in those early days featured Oswald the Lucky Rabbit -- a character he did not own. The shorts were produced by a man named Charles Mintz and distributed by Universal Pictures. In 1928, after strong-arming Disney over an extended period with increasingly unfavorable business terms, Mintz took Oswald away from Walt -- along with most of Walts animators. Mintz housed these artists in a new studio designed expressly to produce the Oswald cartoons without Disneys involvement. Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising were two of the many defectors.

In a rare instance of karmic justice, Universal elected to create its own in-house cartoon studio and leave Charles Mintz high and dry. This turn of events left Harman and Ising unemployed, but they soon formed a partnership with producer Leon Schlesinger and founded Warner Brothers Animation. Harman launched a series called Looney Tunes and Ising a series called Merrie Melodies. Although these labels would one day feature such cartoon stars as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig, Harman and Ising were not around to see it -- they departed Warner Brothers in 1933 in a dispute over production budgets.

In 1934, Harman and Ising helped found MGMs cartoon studio and proceeded to repeat history. They were fired as studio heads and were no longer in charge when MGM Animation achieved the things which made it famous (most notably the Tom and Jerry series of cartoons and surreal shorts of Tex Avery). MGM later rehired the men as directors, and it was under this arrangement that Peace on Earth was produced.

William Hanna and Joseph Barbera remade the cartoon in CinemaScope in 1955. This post-World War II version of the film, entitled Good Will to Men, featured updated and even more destructive forms of warfare technology such as flamethrowers, bazookas, and nuclear weapons. The new Hanna-Barbera version was also nominated for the Best Short Subjects Oscar.

Hope.....

"Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future." * Robert H. Schuller

Once you choose hope, anything's possible. ~Christopher Reeve

Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all. ~Emily Dickinson

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. ~Anne Lamott

To love means loving the unlovable.
To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable.
Faith means believing the unbelievable.
Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.
Gilbert K. Chesterton
1874-1936, British Author

Hope never abandons you, you abandon it. ~George Weinberg

Some see a hopeless end, while others see an endless hope.
~Author Unknown

Hope is patience with the lamp lit. ~Tertullian

Check out A Tale of Hope @ The Stories La Tells

Words of Wisdom (wish I had said that)

(this pic is a mandala called Wisdom Pearl by Richard A. Waters )


"Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em, 'certainly I can!' - and get busy and find out how to do it."
Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919, Twenty-Sixth U.S. President

"Obstacles can't stop you. Problems can't stop you. Most of all, other people can't stop you. Only you can stop you."
Jeffrey Gitomer, Author and Sales Trainer

"I live by this credo: Have a little laugh at life and look around you for happiness instead of sadness. Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations. Even in your darkest moment, you usually can find something to laugh about if you try hard enough."
Red Skelton, 1913-1997, Comedian

Today I Will Make A Difference

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of their thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble - I will get up. It's OK to fail - I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

Max Lucado
From On The Anvil

"Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the moment."
Sidney Poitier, Actor and Author of The Measure of a Man

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think."
Benjamin Disraeli

"Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment."
Benjamin Franklin, 1706-1790, Scientist, Publisher and Diplomat


"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850-1895, Essayist, Poet and Novelist

"You are, at this moment, standing, right in the middle of your own 'acres of diamonds.'"
Earl Nightingale, 1921-1989, Syndicated Radio Announcer and Author

"The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what the man or woman is able to do that counts."
Booker T. Washington, 1856-1915, Educator and Reformer

"Our self image and our habits tend to go together. Change one and you will automatically change the other."
Dr. Maxwell Maltz, 1899-1975, Author

"My father used to say to me, 'Whenever you get into a jam, whenever you get into a crisis or an emergency...become the calmest person in the room and you'll be able to figure your way out of it.'"
Rudolph Giuliani, Former Mayor of New York City

Blogs for Peace

So yesterday, June 4th, was the official Blog for Peace day and me being somewhat date challenged forgot.
But I figure better a day late than not at all.
The first place I saw this idea was at Mimi's Blogblast for Peace website.
If you want to know more about this movement please visit that site.

I love telling stories that advocate peace.
Stories that make people think.
There are two wonderful storytelling resources that advocate peace.
Both of them are on my book shelf.
The first is Peace Tales by Margaret Read MacDonald and the second is Spinning Tales Weaving Hope with many editors.
Here are a few of my favorite peace tales.
(For thoughts on Peace, check out my Mother Theresa Blog .)

Not Our Problem
The King sat with his Adviser eating honey on puffed rice.
As they ate they leaned from the palace window and watched the street below.
They talked of this and that.
The King, not paying attention to what he was doing, Let a drop of honey fall onto the windowsill.
"Oh sire, let me wipe that up," offered the Adviser.
"Never mind," said the King.
"It is not our problem.
The servants will clean it later."

As the two continued to dine on their honey and puffed rice,
The drop of honey slowly began to drip down the windowsill.
At last it fell with a plop onto the street below.
Soon a fly had landed on the drop of honey and begun
His own meal.
Immediately a gecko sprang from under the palace and with a flip
Of its long tongue swallowed the fly.
But a cat had seen the gecko and pounced.
Then a dog sprang forward and attacked the cat!

"Sire, there seems to be a cat and dog fight in the street.
Should we call someone to stop it?"
"Never mind," said the King.
"It's not our problem."
So the two continued to munch their honey and puffed rice.

Meanwhile the cat's owner had arrived and was beating the dog.
The dog's owner ran up and began to beat the cat.
Soon the two were beating each other.

"Sire, there are two persons fighting in the street now.
Shouldn't we send someone to break this up?"
The King lazily looked from the window.
"Never mind.
It's not our problem."

The friends of the cat's owner gathered and began to cheer him on.
The friends of the dog's owner began to cheer her on as well.
Soon both groups entered the fight and attacked each other.

"Sire, a number of people are fighting in the street now.
Perhaps we should call someone to break this up."
The King was too lazy even to look.
You can guess what he said.
"Never mind.
It's not our problem."

Now soldiers arrived on the scene.
At first they tried to break up the fighting.
But when they heard the cause of the fight
Some sided with the cat's owner.
Others sided with the dog's owner.
Soon the soldiers too had joined the fight.

With the soldiers involved, the fight erupted into civil war.
Houses were burned down.
People were harmed.
And the palace itself was set afire and burned to the ground.
The King and his Adviser stood surveying the ruins.
"Perhaps," said the King,
"I was wrong?
Perhaps the drop of honey WAS our problem."

A tale from Burma and Thailand retold by Margaret Read MacDonald in Peace Tales

How many situations have we said are not our problem??
Eventually anything can be your problem if it is allowed to get out of hand.

Advice from a Three Year Old
There was once a famous artist who decided that he wanted to study the works of Buddha and attain enlightenment. He thought that the best way to do this was to seek the most famous and wisest teacher and ask him, "What was the most important thing that Buddha taught?"

The artist traveled to the other side of the world to find the teacher he sought. When at last he found the teacher, he asked him, "What was the most important thing that Buddha taught?"

"Do not harm anyone and only do good," was the teacher's immediate response.

"What?" shouted the indignant artist. "You are the most famous of teachers! You are supposed to be wise beyond your years! And this is all you can tell me? A three year old could have told me the same thing!"

The teacher, who had sat quietly through the entire speech, looked at the artist and said, "A three year old could have said the same thing but it is a very difficult thing to practice, even for one as old as myself."
(A Zen tale retold by LLL, Storyteller)

The Animals Reform Meetin'

Long time gone, there was a big gatherin' of animals and fowls and birds that got together to talk about everybody behaving better.
Instead of talkin' about how to improve things, everyone started talkin' about how other folks were doin' bad things.

Brer Hyena complained that Brer Buzzard was always gettin' to eat first.
Then Brer Wildcat complained that the mice and rats were right troublesome.
Though everyone knew how much he liked to eat mice and rats.
Then Brer Tiger up and started moanin' about how troublesome rabbits were.

Now right then, Old Brer 'Coon just couldn't stand all the fussin' and he called the meetin' to order.
"Friends" he said, " we all have got to do a lot better or we're goin' to end up bein' in a really bad way. What do y'all think about us tryin' to reform ourselves?"

Brer Tiger jumped right up and hollered "I'm all for reform."
"I seen Brer 'Coon stealin' corn almost every night and it has to stop!"

Well then, Sis Cow chimed in with, " I'm for reform too. I want y'all to know that Brer Tiger has got the blood of my young'uns in his mouth, and it's got to stop!"
Brer Elephant stepped in to say his bit, "Look who's talkin'! Sis Cow is eatin' up all the grass and leavin' none for us Elephants."
Brer Wolf shouted, "Men are goin' around usin' knives and guns! It just ain't safe no more to go after'em."

Now at that point, Old Brer 'Coon tried to call the meetin' to order again."Look y'all, we gotta start gettin' less complaints and get more reform! Now who's got somethin' positive to suggest?"

Well, Brer Deer jumped on up and said that all the animals had to stop eatin' meat.
Brer Wolf said "No that don't make no sense, what we need is for all the animals to stop eatin' grass."
Sis Chicken started cacklin' and said" No, no, no! Y'all have all missed the point. What we need is to kill all the snakes."
To which Brer Fox shouted, "Hey, I rent my cave to the snakes! What we have to do is kill all the worms."
Now y'all know the birds didn't like that! They figured they would starve if all the worms were killed.

And so the arguin' continued.
Every animal tryin' to keep what was good for him and get rid of what his neighbor wanted.

At long last, Old Brer 'Coon stood up and said "That's enough! What we need to know is if any of you folks are willin' to agree to give up somethin' you like for yourself. If ya are then say so, now."

He waited. But nobody said a word. They just sat there so quiet that ya could have heard a tater growin'.
"This is sure 'nough a sad and sinful world we are livin' in," said Brer 'Coon. "Everybody is just findin' fault with everybody else. I say, it's time to quit this meetin' and go back to your own homes."
Old Brer 'Coon shook his head and said, "You can begin charity next door. But if you want to reform, it's got to begin at home."

And that's all I have to say about that!!

An AfricanAmerican/Southern Tale retold by LLL,Storyteller

Holding Up the Sky
One day an elephant saw a hummingbird lying flat on its back on the ground.
The bird's tiny feet were raised up into the air.

"What on earth are you doing, Hummingbird?" asked the elephant.

The hummingbird replied, "I have heard that the sky might fall today. If that should happen,
I am ready to do my bit in holding it up."

The elephant laughed and mocked the tiny bird.

"Do you think those little feet could hold up the sky?"

"Not alone," admitted the hummingbird.
"But each must do what he can. And this is what I can do."

From Three Minute Tales by Margaret Read MacDonald pg 145

Love, Laughter, Peace and Blessings to you!

Sand Art....Shalom

Art done by sand artist Ilana Yahav.
Storytelling with sand....Fabulous!

Why Goddess of Random Thoughts?...and why ANOTHER blog?

Very simple....I have been using the name Goddess of Random Thoughts for years.
I first used it ...hmm...I forget why I started but I remember choosing that particular title because sometimes my mind and my interests seem to flit back and forth. From one thing to another.
Why Another blog? Yes I do have ...let's see....2 storytelling blogs...a Xanga, a Myspace and a Facebook....so far. Of course, in this day and age that's not terribly surprising and I haven't mentioned the webpage. But for me it's somewhat amazing.
So, why this blog? Because I am always finding things that I want to put up...graphics (love them), videos (youtube is my friend) and then there are those Random Thoughts that I have. Most of my other spaces serve a work like purpose, even the Xanga, sorta....so I figured I needed a spot totally unwork related to just put up anything I wanted.
AND HERE WE ARE!!

So get ready..lol...as if I'm not just talking to myself...no telling what will show up here!

Love, Laughter, Peace and Blessings y'all!
Me