A heartwarming “free hugs” photo went viral when more than 150,000 Facebook users shared the image hours after the Oregonian newspaper posted this on its website. Learn more about this remarkable little boy Devonte at the Paper Trail.
Fortunately, not every city is under siege from #Ferguson protesters spoiling tree lighting ceremonies and causing caroling children to cry:
In the city of Baltimore, thankfully, it’s a holiday extravaganza.
The Christmas Extravaganza website explains that “after the tremendous success of Baltimore’s sister market ‘Christmas Village in Philadelphia,’ which within six years of its existence developed into one of the world’s ten best holiday markets, Baltimore got its own version of a German style Christmas Village in 2013.”
A reported 150,000 visitors toured the market’s unique vendors, enjoyed stage and event programs and delighted in decorations that included two Christmas trees and thousands of twinkling lights.
From Nov. 27 through Dec. 24, 2014, the Christmas Extravaganza will feature new attractions.
Watch the video to get yourself in the Christmas spirit!
Christmas, a chocolate bar, and 1914
As WND reported, Sainsbury’s is a British supermarket chain that did something different for Christmas this year. It partnered with the Royal British Legion to create a video ad commemorating the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One.
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Christmas Day 1914 is historic because what took place was nearly unimaginable. On that day, British and German soldiers laid down their arms and came together in neutral territory in the spirit of the holiday to share greetings, treats, and even a game of kick ball.
The story behind the commercial is true. Learn about it at Christmas Truce, First World War.
To watch the making of the video, go to “The story behind our Christmas ad.”
People watching people
Humans of New York is a Facebook page that has attracted nearly 11 million “likes” since its inception in 2010. Its originator recently was named Fox News Sunday’s Power Player of the Week on Nov. 23.
Just what has made this site and its owner so popular? Well, it’s about New York City, one person and one story at a time.
Here’s the backstory: “My name is Brandon, and I began Humans of New York in the summer of 2010, shortly after leaving my job in finance (OK, I actually got fired). I started HONY because I thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of New York City’s inhabitants, so I set out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their photos on a map.
“Somewhere along the way, I began to interview my subjects in addition to photographing them. And alongside their portraits, I’d include quotes and short stories from their lives.
“Taken together, these portraits and captions became the subject of a vibrant blog. HONY now has over ten million followers on social media, and provides a worldwide audience with daily glimpses into the lives of strangers on the streets of New York City.”
The collection has evolved into a No. 1 New York Times bestseller, “Humans of New York,” a companion to Brandon’s blog with nearly a million loyal fans.
Find HONY on Instagram and Twitter at @humansofny
iGift
What are the top three things every iPhone addict wants for Christmas?
1. A bag that charges your phone.
2. A fancy clip-on lens to up your photo-taking game.
3. A pocket projector to display your screen wherever you go.
Find 30 more “gotta have it” things here.
Live postcards
For all you armchair travelers, here’s a fascinating site published by the National Park Service that features live webcam views of the nation’s parks.
Webcams! Check out the Purchase Knob webcam here. And while you’re armchair traveling, take a peek at other national park webcam views:
What’s new on Netflix?
Check out every new Netflix addition and an exclusive list of every brand new movie and show being added to the platform in December so you won’t miss a thing.
Meanwhile, did you know that Netflix’ CEO predicts broadcast TV will be dead in another decade or so?
Yep. And according to Betabeat, “Given that TV viewership dropped a full 50 percent between 2002 and 2012 – which is largely before the advent of cord-slaying streaming habits – the future for the next 15 years of broadcast television is possibly catastrophic.”
