Every year, countless happenings stir up unrest or anger in some contingent of the population, and pretty much invariably, that outrage is stupendously out of proportion to the actual offense. That's human nature. Nothing makes us feel more alive than being offended. This year, though, there has been an abundance of offense that seems, well, phoney.
Bourbon and Christmas lights
It's no big secret that I am not a fan of Christmas music. You probably just chalk that up to me being a regular ol' Scrooge, but the truth is that my main complaint against modern Christmas songs is that they have been so Americanized or edited for maximum 'consumer appeal' that they've lost most … Continue reading Original Christmas Song Lyrics
"I am so often deterred from my actual intent by distractions in a cellophane wrap and the cruel voice that taunts me when I open them up to find just one more box full of crap." ~ Waterdeep I have lots of problems with religious belief and faith, but there is one frequent tenet of … Continue reading Presents Versus Presence
"You're going to have to write a movie about this some day." That was the motto of my Christmas return to Lawrence. This was the first time I had been back in Kansas for the holiday in 5 years, and the first time all 4 of my siblings and myself had been together for the … Continue reading Home For Christmas
or Bah Humbug II: Pig in the City I don't celebrate Christmas, a holiday I find irredeemably Capitalist. It's a celebration completely disconnected from the supposed 'reason for the season', Jesus Christ, a largely (perhaps, completely) mythologized man whose purported teachings were always against the accumulation of possessions. So how do we celebrate his birth … Continue reading The Worst Christmas Songs
