Several artists are holding an online auction to benefit James Kim, who passed away last month while attempting to save his family in the Oregon wilderness.

An auction of fine art + craft to benefit the family of James Kim organized by sisters Lisa Congdon and Stephanie Barnes and their mother Gerrie Congdon. 100% of the auction proceeds will go to the The James Kim Memorial Fund. Auction items from the artists listed below will be available for bid starting January 3, 2007on eBay. There will be a link to the eBay listing for each item from this site starting the morning of January 3. Bidding ends January 7th. Thank you for visiting and bidding!

This is a great cause for a family that has clearly been through a lot in the past several weeks. Spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested. [The image above is an abstracted quilt depicting Spooner Lake near Lake Tahoe by artist Gerrie Congdon. Source: Kim family auction blog site.]

Now that New Year’s Day has passed, I think we’re safe to discard all of the kindness, compassion and peace-on-earth mumbo jumbo that we’ve been force-fed and spewed forth since mid-November.

Just kidding. Or am I? Why do we only celebrate (and encourage) compassion and goodwill once a year? If Christmas really is not our birthday, why can’t every day be a little more like Christmas? Well, why can’t every day be a little more like Christmas could be: Everyone could just try a little harder to treat each other with respect and kindness?

I don’t mean the Southern flavor of kindness, the one where you pretend to be nice because you’d feel guilty if you didn’t (guilty as charged, although at least we’re not all swinging at each other down here). I mean the authentic variety where you take responsibility for yourself and your actions and think about other people pretty often, too.

Yes, this is a little idealistic, but I can be practical, too. I know we’re all going to have days between now and 2008 where someone cuts us off in traffic, gives us a nasty look or flips us a bird. On some of those days, we’re each going to be that someone, too, in one form or another. We’re going to have bad days, and people are going to disagree with us. Still, I’d like to think that at least somewhere in our souls, nearly all of us meant what we said or read or sang (or all of the above) a week or two ago, including the parts about loving our neighbors and being kind to others.

It’s not Christmas, and it won’t be again for another 356 days, but let’s all resolve to pretend that it is, OK? [Image: allposters.com]

The Tennessean is reporting the following encouraging news this morning via its Web site:

Franklin Mayor Tom Miller says he is acting as a facilitator to bring together two potential financial backers who may buy or lease the 70-year-old, two-screen Franklin Cinema.

This is wonderful news for a beloved and historic venue scheduled to close permanently this Sunday night (Jan. 7). Mayor Miller says he is “guardedly optimistic,” and I hope that his efforts are fruitful.

I’ve previously written about the Franklin Cinema’s fate and acknowledged that I haven’t done much to support it in the past. If it survives, I plan on seeing movies there more often. I’m pulling for you, Franklin Cinema! [Image: thefuntimesguide.com]