Tag Archives: holiday
Decking those halls, part 2
Decorating the house always goes in phases. This year complicated first by me having some bad gout at the end of November and a few days into December (just before my doctor agreed that we should treat this more aggressively, so now I’m on meds for it), second by knowing that the front door was going to be replaced (so I didn’t want to put up wreaths), third by the theft of some outdoor lights, fourth because when I’m doing Christmas shopping I always find new things that fit the theme…
Somehow, despite all the conversations we’d had about my own bad experiences being rejected by the church family I’d grown up with, and my love of science and so forth, it hadn’t quite sunk in with him that when I said “Christmas” I merely meant bright lights and ho-ho-ho and jingle bells.
So our first Christmas tree together was a Solstice tree in burgundy and silver. A color combination that we used to portray a slightly non-traditional night sky to commemorate the longest night in the year. He transformed from an unenthusiastic non-participant to a silver-spraypaint and hot-glue gun wielding fiend. He made scores of silver moon and star ornaments to hang on the tree. He help me make an enormous silver crescent moon to hang on the wall. We were finding moon and star decorations.
And even though he has been a very active participant in all of the years since (coming up with some of the best themes—Christmas From the Future!, Gaslight/Steampunk Christmas, the Sun Will Come Back, My Little Pony—I still remember that initial reluctance. And I recognize that I can get more than a little crazy about the decorating. It can’t be easy living with me when I’m in the middle of stressing out because the lights don’t look right and I’ve unwound and rewound the strings on the tree three times, now!
So I love the glittery Vegas ornament. It’s perfect!
Friday Links (All I Want for Christmas edition)!
Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:
Christian right’s vile PR sham: Why their bizarre films are backfiring on them. Delving into why the fear and false persecution narrative underlying fundamentalism prevents them from knowing how to tell an interesting story.
HILARIOUS: Model from ‘ex-gay’ twins billboard is ‘out, proud gay man,’ not a twin.
Let’s Say Goodbye To ‘White Collar’ With The Best Shirtless Matt Bomer Moments, In GIFs!
Do Pacific Northwesterners Have An Accent?
Gay W. Virginia high school soccer player comes out by dancing with homecoming king.
“Rape Exceptionalism” and Protecting Law Students from “Triggers”. And this is a problem because… victims of sexual assault actually need lawyers, prosecutors, and judges who are familiar with the relevant law.
“The Messier 67 Mystery” –Is Our Solar System an Orphan from a Distant Star Cluster?
New Family Tree Illuminates ‘Big Bang’ in Bird Evolution After Dinosaur Extinction.
Stephen Colbert Is Dead. Long Live Stephen Colbert.
Top 10 Things to Love About Letterman’s Top Ten Lists.
The cute rolling ball droid in the new Star Wars is a real robot not CGI.
News Corpse eBook ‘Fox Nation vs. Reality’ Reviewed By Wonkette.
Seattle’s unbelievable transportation megaproject fustercluck.
INDIANA METHODIST CHURCH TO CLOSE AFTER FIRING GAY CHORAL DIRECTOR – VIDEO.
Eartha Kitt – Nothin’ for Christmas:
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Every year since 1986, David Letterman has invited Darlene Love to perform on the last show of the year before Christmas. Every year, she sings “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” her Phil Spector-produced 1963 Christmas classic. Every year, Paul Shaffer and a sprawling cast of musicians backs her up. Next May, Letterman will retire from late-night TV, which means that when Love appears on Friday’s show to sing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” it’ll be the last time singing it on Letterman’s show.
Here is a super-cut Best of Darlene Love Singing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on David Letterman:
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The Ramones – Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight):
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Billy Idol – Jingle Bell Rock:
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Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You:
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Wham! – Last Christmas:
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Robbie Williams – So This Is Christmas:
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Andy Williams – The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (From The Andy Williams Show):
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The Muppets ** It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year ** Xmas@Rockefeller Center:
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The Muppets sing Jingle Bell Rock from “Muppet Family Christmas”:
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The Muppets: Ringing of the Bells:
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Doctor Who in Dominoes:
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All I Want For Christmas Is You – Christmas Charity Single – Oxford A capella group Out of the Blue:
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Musical packrat?
I have a large music collection (11,800+ songs, 83 gigabytes), but not the biggest in the world. I have at least one friend who, despite still having many hundreds of CDs he hasn’t imported into his digital collection, makes my digital music library look small.
No, what usually freaks people out is the size of my Christmas music collection: 9.8 gigabytes, or 1980 songs. That’s enough music that, if I just tried to listen to it all non-stop, it would take more than 4½ days.
I know that’s a lot.
Decking those halls!
Now that the gout is finally under control, we had a much more productive weekend. We got a good start on the Christmas shopping and finished a bunch of other errands on Saturday. Then on Sunday, we spent a few hours prepping the house so there was room for the tree before unpacking enough of the basement storage to start.…
Friday Links (rum-pum-pum-pum)!
(In case you don’t know: I’m a taoist who loves Christmas music, decorating trees, and making everything bright and sparkly; my husband is a pagan who puts up with my yuletide mania and helps amp up the silly on my decorating themes.)
Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:
Is This The Best Trans Character In The History Of Video Games?.
What If We’re Wrong About Depression?.
Why It’s Impossible to Indict a Cop.
The Pain of the Watermelon Joke. Thanks to @geojlc for the link!
Race ya: White people, we have to do better.
In Mississippi Marriage Ruling, Judge Gives History Lesson on Anti-Gay Discrimination. It really is a must-read.
How to Make Your Last Name Plural This Christmas Season.
Teacher Schools Class On Privilege…With A Recycling Bin And Some Paper.
And someone decided that wasn’t a comprehensive lesson: How to really understand white privilege.
VISIBLE GIRLS: LONDON’S LOST FEMALE SUBCULTURES. In the early 1980s, photographer Anita Corbin documented the “informal uniforms” of young women’s subcultures across London.
Speaking of stories that restore a bit of my faith in humanity: Andre Johnson Bought A Buttload Of Toys For Kids Again.
Turkeygate: In Defense of Sasha and Malia.
Stephen Colbert’s Defense Of The New Lightsaber Is Awesomely Nerdy. Thanks to @tdjohnsn for the link!
Arizona pastor predicts ‘AIDS-free Christmas’ if all gays are killed, as God commands. “Predicts” isn’t the right word. He advocates for killing us.
My Great-Great-Aunt Discovered Francium. And It Killed Her.
The typography (and iconography) of Ridley Scott’s Alien. This is awesome!
Cartoon by Steve Stack puts #BlackLivesMatter into clear perspective.
THE GLOWING MALE PHYSIQUES OF DUTCH ARTIST MAURICE HEERDINK. Click through all the pages, the art is worth it.
Eric Radford: Olympic figure skater, medal-winning family man. And gay.
One last gasp: Eric Garner and the failure of racial justice.
Electric Eels Can Remotely Control Their Prey’s Muscles.
Where Are The “Comeback” Columns About Obama? They Were A D.C. Media Staple For Bush.
I wrote about: NaNoWriMo achievement unlocked again!.
And Drop-kick me, Odin, through the goal posts of life*. Catching up on my goals, with a tiny digression about a cheesy country song.
Plus my thoughts On apologizing.
Bing Crosby & David Bowie – The Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth:
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American Masters: Bing Crosby Rediscovered | Bowie and Bing | PBS – the story of how Bowie saying he hated the song, led to the creation of a new Christmas classic:
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Star Wars Prank (Rémi Gaillard):
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Kate Pierson – “Mister Sister” (Official Music Video):
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[Official Video] Little Drummer Boy – Pentatonix:
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Queen + Adam Lambert – Somebody To Love (Live on X-Factor 2014):
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Carol of the Bells – David Hicken:
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Thankful
I’ve spent way too much time thinking about, talking about, reading about, or ranting about bad things. It’s Thanksgiving, and the truth is that I have a lot to be thankful for. And sometimes it’s useful to stop and remind ourselves of the good things in our lives.
I’m thankful for:
- my smart, sweet, sexy, long-suffering husband
- coffee
- people who help other people
- flowers
- people who don’t sweat the small stuff
- science
- purple
- my wonderful, crazy, sometimes infuriating relatives who probably find me even more bewildering than I ever do them
- people who love
- radio and wireless technologies
- kittens and puppies and tigers and otters
- ponies!
- books
- portable music players
- all my wonderful friends—who are talented, kind, giving, and must be the most patient people in the world, because they put up with me
Thank you, each and every one. And whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving or not, I hope you have a wonderful day full of blessings, because you deserve it!
A good Halloween
The Nerds Ropes nearly ran out by the end of the night. The Kit Kats were popular early on, but we had fewer of them and ran out. Every teen-age kid that showed up and took candy had real costumes. The only teen-agers I saw without costumes were each carrying a much younger sibling.
My favorite of the night was the very small child in the most adorable dinosaur costume who could not decide between two candy bars (I think it was a Milky Way Caramel and a Hershey’s Chocolate). When his mom said, “You need to pick one, honey,” I stage-whispered, “Take both!” His grin was incredible. But he also looked up at his mom to make sure it was okay with her. She was, “Wow, that’s so generous!” While I was thinking that seeing a little kid that happy was worth a whole lot more than two candy bars.
There were several other fun ones. A group of four in leopard-print homemade-looking body suits and wearing store bought kitty ears. The teen-ager with a spot-on Shaun of the Dead costume. The rainbow colored fairy. The tiny astronaut with Mom wearing a NASA Ground Crew coveralls.
The only decorations I had put up in advance were two light-up pumpkins in the front window and the light up spider-web. When I got home from picking up Michael, I turned on the oven for the pizzas and started getting out the outdoor extension cords to put up the purple icicle lights around the porch and the pumpkin LED strings on the rails, when Michael announced he was going to the store for more decorations. “I want something pumpkin-y for the porch.”
Now, I’ve had these two ceramic jack o’lantern candle-lanterns for years that I always put on the porch steps. I’m still not sure if he forgot about them (I hadn’t pulled them out of the Halloween decorations bag yet) or if he wanted something bigger. Anyway, he came back with a hanging skeletal bride thing that didn’t light up, but he’d also bought will battery-operated LED “candles.” He also picked up a string of multi-colored strobing lights with bat-shaped reflectors. That were also battery powered.
We clearly had enough lights to attract trick-or-treaters, so that was good.
I need to find some more light-up things that we can put out near the curb, as most of ours older ones died last year. I forgot, actually, until I was unboxing yesterday, or I would have been out looking for stuff earlier in the month.
Still, we got 42 trick-or-treaters total. Which is up from last year. The last few years it’s been trending up again. I would love it if we started getting around a hundred as happened the first few years in Ballard. (If for no other reason that we wouldn’t have so many leftovers!)
Friday Links! (Spoooooooooky Spooks Edition)
Ghouls and goblins and mummies and werewolves on the prowl! We have a pile of candy to hand out, the house has some spooky decorations, and I have picked out some scary movies. We’re going to have a great night.
Anyway, here is a collection of news and other things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared:
Happy Heteroween: In Defense of Sexy Pirates, Sexy Nuns, and Sexy Cadavers.
5 Years After Passage Of Hate Crimes Law, Religious Right’s Dire Predictions Still Haven’t Come True.
Dear Author breaks down the actions of the Author who stalked a Good Reads reviewer. (Thanks to shipperx for the link!)
There Really Is an Evangelical Christian War on Halloween.
Tim Cook Speaks Up …and comes out.
Why it matters where — and when — Tim Cook spoke up about being gay.
Totally True Horror Story: A Shocking Tale from the ’80s—Illustrated.
Once you see this small typography tweak Apple made in OS X Yosemite, you can’t unsee it.
Last of the Crow war chiefs turns 101 in Montana.
Lonesome George, the Last of His Kind, Strikes His Final Pose.
Woman sues to use wife’s name on South Carolina driver’s license.
Godless millennials could end the political power of the religious right. We can only hope!
Top Ten Most Famous Swords of the Middle Ages. Note: it’s not a slide show, so you don’t have to click-click-click to see them!
#GamerGate Supporters Demonstrate They Don’t Know What Ethics in Journalism Means.
Every Other Planet in the Solar System Would Fit Between the Earth and Moon. Factoid I knew long ago, but the image is nice.
Cassini Spies Methane Ice Crystals in Titan’s Atmosphere.
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE GAY IN COMMUNIST ROMANIA.
Brownback Covered Budget Deficit By Tossing Disabled People Off Medicaid.
And Halloween, Jack Chick, and Anti-Catholicism.
And Colbert is on it: War on Halloween – Costume Swapping & Jesus Ween. (Video plays automatically)
On the other hand, Stop Celebrating the Pope’s Views on Evolution and the Big Bang. They Make No Sense.
Time magazine is just an embarrassing Internet troll now.
SOUTHERN BAPTISTS TELL PASTORS: HOLD LINE ON GAYS.
Couple plead guilty to torture death of 8-year-old they believed was gay.
The Universe Might Be A Billion Years Older Than We Thought.
Five science ‘facts’ we learnt at school that are plain wrong.
Digging through 316,669 tweets from three days of Twitter’s two-month-old #GamerGate trainwreck. He really digs into the metadata. It’s fascinating!
Viewpoint: Arrow of Time Emerges in a Gravitational System.
They don’t all have to be heroes, but….
Fairy rings and h/a/y/ fungal fever.
Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? Let’s be writing buddies!
HALLOWEEN PARTY MIX:
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Jessica Lange – Gods and Monsters (Lana Del Rey Cover):
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GROOVIE GOOLIES MUSIC VIDEO – MONSTERS ON PARADE – GHOST BAND:
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Monster Mash:
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Beetlejuice – Day-o (Banana Boat Song):
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Melanie Martinez – Carousel (American Horror Story: Freak Show Theme) (Official Video):
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LOL! “Don’t TOUCH My Girlfriend” Pres.Obama! Couple Interviewed – Chris Hayes:
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The Endless Night: A Valentine to Film Noir:
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Avengers: My Ultron Will Go On (setting the visual of the Avenger’s trailer to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” is surprisingly awesome):
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Speaking of dads…
I really do like to hear about great dads. Here are a few:
evoL= shares: Saying Good-bye to My Dad and Fathers Day as I Have Known It
Easily Crestfallen tells us: About Fathers and Sons
Unspoken Words says: I Remember You
Jen Groeber describes: My Father (This One May Contain S#!T)
Font Folly 