Bacon Meteor

From E.B. White, 1952.

From this high midtown hall, undecked with boughs, unfortified with mistletoe, we send forth our tinselled greetings as of old, to friends, to readers, to strangers of many conditions in many places. Merry Christmas to uncertified accountants, to tellers who have made a mistake in addition, to girls who have made a mistake in judgment, to grounded airline passengers, and to all those who can't eat clams! We greet with particular warmth people who wake and smell smoke. To captains of river boats on snowy mornings we send an answering toot at this holiday time. Merry Christmas to intellectuals and other despised minorities! Merry Christmas to the musicians of Muzak and men whose shoes don't fit! Greetings of the season to unemployed actors and the blacklisted everywhere who suffer for sins uncommitted; a holly thorn in the thumb of compilers of lists! Greetings to wives who can't find their glasses and to poets who can't find their rhymes! Merry Christmas to the unloved, the misunderstood, the overweight. Joy to the authors of books whose titles begin with the word "How" (as though they knew!). Greetings to people with a ringing in their ears; greetings to growers of gourds, to shearers of sheep, and to makers of change in the lonely underground booths! Merry Christmas to old men asleep in libraries! Merry Christmas to people who can't stay in the same room with a cat! We greet, too, the boarders in boarding houses on 25 December, the duennas in Central Park in fair weather and foul, and young lovers who got nothing in the mail. Merry Christmas to people who plant trees in city streets; merry Christmas to people who save prairie chickens from extinction! Greetings of a purely mechanical sort to machines that think--plus a sprig of artificial holly. Joyous Yule to Cadillac owners whose conduct is unworthy of their car! Merry Christmas to the defeated, the forgotten, the inept; joy to all dandiprats and bunglers! We send, most particularly and most hopefully, our greetings and our prayers to soldiers and guardsmen on land and sea and in the air--the young men doing the hardest things at the hardest time of life. To all such, Merry Christmas, blessings, and good luck! We greet the Secretaries-designate, the President-elect; Merry Christmas to our new leaders, peace on earth, good will, and good management! Merry Christmas to couples unhappy in doorways! Merry Christmas to all who think they are in love but aren't sure! Greetings to people waiting for trains that will take them in the wrong direction, to people doing up a bundle and the string is too short, to children with sleds and no snow! We greet ministers who can't think of a moral, gagmen who can't think of a joke. Greetings, too, to the inhabitants of other planets; see you soon! And last, we greet all skaters on small natural ponds at the edge of woods toward the end of afternoon. Merry Christmas, skaters! Ring, steel! Grow red, sky! Die down, wind! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good morrow!

It was an early morning vote for the Senate, nearly before dawn as they raced to pass comprehensive health care reform so they could enjoy Christmas with their families.

The mood on the Senate Floor was relatively quiet, save for the usual hustle and bustle of Senate aides, as Senators sat at their desks to vote, which is customary for matters of particular importance.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, laughter erupted as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) mistakenly voted "nay" on health care reform. Microphones couldn't pick up what Reid was saying, but he quickly announced his actual vote of "yea" and laughter echoed throughout the Senate floor from both Democrats and Republicans, with a few Republicans even clapping.

AND

The chamber erupted in laughter several times during the vote, most notably when Reid initially cast the wrong vote and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) missed the first round of roll call, running into the chamber in the middle of the vote.

That just makes me think of that moment on Buffy when Spike is, like, "This is the crack team that foils my every plan? "

Hi there.

As snowflakes fall on happy little upturned faces and the wassail bowl is flung down decked halls, our minds turn inevitably to how everything is going to hell on hot greased rails. Therefore, here's my holiday wish for the world:

1. Spend less time raging at the extremes, trolls, and obviously manufactured non-issues you see on the television. Shun Sarah Palins, ACORNs, that crazy thing about the President dad sent in email, and Michael Moore. Almost none of it matters, and the people repeating it have no love for you.

2. Instead, look around where you live. Find out what's right and wrong with your town and your neighborhood. Look up who runs things and get to know those people better. Find the local charities and political action groups and see what can be fixed or encouraged locally. It's way harder to be BS'd when you can see what's happening, and way more rewarding to see change.

3. Pay more attention to your local political representatives and their opponents. Encourage what's good and discourage what's bad to them, early and often. It's the best way to deal with the pain of #1.

4. Lose an argument now and then. No, really.

Ho ho ho,

substitute

Continuing with the Content of Others: The 30 Second Bunnies Present HELLRAISER

Italian rock musician sings in "English" that works about as well as the real thing. via 33mhz