Christian Illustrators: Karen Hargett

Christian illustrators often work in secular markets.  Karen Hargett is a Christian artist (pencils and pastels) in Buda, Texas (USA).  She is a professional working artist who does nature scenes, animals portraits, and work for commission.

Karen Hargettt lives in Buda, Texas, a rapidly growing community.  In the 2000 census, Buda had 2404 residents; in 2010 the population had grown to 7295.  Originally known as DuPre, the town became Buda late in the 19th century.

There are two possible known derivations for the name of the town.  Both sound plausible.  Perhaps both sources contributed to the name.

The Carrington Hotel in Buda is popularly known as the "Buda House"because of the "viudas" (Spanish = "widows") who worked in the kitchen.

The second explanation is that the town is named for the hometown (Buda) of Hungarian refugees who settled in the area after the failed 1848 revolution in Hungary.  Budapest, Hungary was formed from the merging of the cities of Buda and Pest. 

The city name Buda may derive from the name of its founder, Bleda (Buda), the brother of the Hunnic ruler Attila.   It may also be derived from the Slavic word "вода, voda" ("water"), a translation of the Latin name "Aquincum", which was the main Roman settlement in the region

Gideons International

Gideons International is an international organization which places free Bibles in hotel rooms worldwide.  The idea for the organization came in 1898 after two traveling businessmen in Wisconsin shared a hotel room due to their hotel being overbooked.  They discovered that they were both Christians and became friends.

In 1899, the two men and another businessman organized the Gideons in 1899 in Janesville, Wisconsin in a YMCA room.  The Gideons "Bible Project" began in 1908.  There are now Gideons in twenty- three countries/regions.  They never charge for the placement of their Bibles.

Hotel in England Replaces Gideon Bibles With Amazon Kindles

In yesterday’s post, I spoke of a hotel in England  which has replaced the Gideon’s Bibles in its rooms with a soft-core pornographic novel. The owner of the hotel insisted that the replacement was not out of hostile motives.  It was just a business decision, and besides ““I’ll keep a couple behind the reception desk so that if any guest whose preferred bedtime reading happens to be the Bible finds that they have forgotten to pack their copy, they’ll be pleased to read in the guest handbook that they can borrow a copy from the receptionist.” 

To the believing Christian, to be benignly ignored, to be dismissed with subtle derision (as in the hotel owner’s statement), or to be the subject of overt hostility, are all equally insulting.  As I have said before, they really do not understand.

Another hotel in England has also replaced the Gideon’s Bibles in their rooms, but this time, the move has the assent of the Gideons.  A Gideons International spokesman, Ken Stephens, told CNN.    “Anything to put  the Bible in people's hands is a good thing."

The Hotel Indigo , in Newcastle, has replaced their Gideon’s Bibles with Amazon Kindles pre-loaded with an electronic version of the Bible.  The Kindles are the full device and are capable of other uses than merely Bible reading.

I have stayed in an Indigo hotel before and can attest to the fact that they are very nice and ultra-modern.  The Kindles would be a nod to the high-technology feel of the hotels.  My only thought is that soon, shampoo, soap, and towels may not be the only things which routinely disappear from the hotel rooms. 

Hotel in England Replaces Gideon Bibles With Fifty Shades of Gey

Jonathan Denby, the owner of the Damson Dene Hotel in Bowness-on –Windermere, England, has decided to replace the Gideon’s Bibles in his forty guest rooms with the soft porn novel, Fifty Shades of Grey.  Denby says the move is in response to guest requests and that few, if any, read the Bibles.  Fifty Shades of Grey has a sado-masochistic theme.

Denby says that “I’ll keep a couple behind the reception desk so that if any guest whose preferred bedtime reading happens to be the Bible finds that they have forgotten to pack their copy, they’ll be pleased to read in the guest handbook that they can borrow a copy from the receptionist.”  How nice.

The fact that the Gideons place their Bibles in hotels for free and that Denby has had to buy his copies of Fifty Shades of Grey shows that the replacement was an intentional choice.  Denby bought the hotel facilities from a Methodist group about ten years ago. 

http://www.damsondene.co.uk/

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186330-d504383-Reviews-Damson_Dene_Hotel-Windermere_Lake_District_Cumbria_England.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/fifty-shades-grey-replaces-bible-british-hotel/story?id=16853389

http://www.neatorama.com/2012/07/25/hotel-replaces-bible-with-fifty-shades-of-grey/

http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/fifty-shades-grey-replaces-bible-hotel-rooms-366510

http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2012/07/british-hotel-replaces-bibles-with-fifty-shades-of-grey/811553/1

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/24/fifty-shades-of-grey-replaces-bible_n_1699665.html

http://www.expedia.com/Cumbria-Hotels-Damson-Dene-Hotel.h1595721.Hotel-Information?icmdtl=Vm120731JtTWIhvABjQkzsSbo83-JwAAg.1595721.ENLOADw.T.BOT.504383.sa.0.186330.en_UK..&icmcid=TRIPA.Expedia_US-EH_B1.10568.T&eapid=21187-1&rm1=a2& 

Porn Being Removed From Hotel Chains

Marriott International is joining several other hotel chains in removing access to pay-per-view pornography from its rooms.  The chain is moving into internet-based video-on-demand systems.

It would be good to think that these hotel chains are doing this because of altruistic motives or because of a conviction that pornography is inherently wrong.  The truth was probably stated by Robert Mandelbaum of Colliers PKF Hospitality Research when he said, "It's becoming a declining source of revenue."