What? No Malibu morning picture today? - Armenian Christmas, Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

Sorry, no picture. Could not get my @$$ out of bed this morning to save my soul due to terrible back pain ...

BUT, it's Christmas yes? Twelfth Day of Christmas, 12 drummers drumming? Epiphany? But here in East Holly aka Little Armenia, it's Armenian Christmas.

The illuminator forgot to put the outline detail on Magi #2 and #3's boots;
like hitting the SEND button before you're ready--I know the feeling...

This illumination shows the understanding that "stables" were frequently caves,
not wooden structures like barns as depicted in creches today.

Can't tell you much about it cause I think you need to BE Armenian or married into an Armenian family to get the full scoop on the traditions, but I always remember my Armenian classmates skipping school on this day.



I will tell you that I found an English-langauge webcomic by an Armenian cartoonist which gives you a very interesting take on issues of the day that you will NOT get elsewhere. It's Ink on the Side by Sareen Akharjalian. Check her out, "like" her, and keep her going ...

Being from where I'm from in L.A., I always like to say "I'm a 'Little Armenian!'" To which people will say, "You are NOT!" Want to hear one of my pet theories? When I watched the Star Trek series Deep Space Nine, I always suspected that the people on the home planet around which the space station was orbiting, was based on the Armenian culture--just based on the people's religiosity, clothing, male-female relationships, festivals, etc.

Pizza Hut take a hike! Lahmajun, step right up!

And if anyone actually read my blog, I'd worry about offending someone with this observation, but no, that's not my worry: I think that in return for Armenia's having become the first Christian nation in the history of Earth, God gave their women three blessings that ensure that their men would always come home and make sure there were more Armenians: 1) Goddamned big, wide sexy eyes you can't say "no" to; 2) One of the tastiest cuisines of home cooking on the planet; and 3) The biggest, gravity-defying set of gazongas on just about every female about the age of 15 up. (Cher? The Kardashians? C'mon...)

Plus, I think all the guy names in Armenian sound like super bad-ass action heroes: Vartan, Dzadur, Sahag, Yzer, Kevork (say them with a snarl and a growl!).

Hope you have a Very Merry Armenian Christmas!

Love,
Pops