Merry Christmas

McCain Ad

I thought McCain's holiday ad was the best of the bunch.

White Christmas

Work up to an inch or so of the white stuff this morning. We expect another few inches for the rest of the day.

Twisted Sense of Humor

The Twisted Sister Christmas album. My wife has a twisted sense of humor. There was the added entertainment factor of trying to guess what Christmas song was up before the singing/screaming commenced.

UPDATE: My favorite on the album:

On my heavy metal Christmas my true love gave to me,
12 silver crosses
11 black mascaras
10 pairs of platforms
9 tattered t-shirts
8 pentagrams
7 leather jackets
6 cans of hairspray
5 skull earrings
4 quarts of Jack
3 studded belts
2 pairs of spandex pants
and a tattoo of Ozzy!

A Christmas Meme

Tagged with a Christmas Meme

We've been tagged with a Christmas meme by The Feline Theocracy.

The rules: Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. Share Christmas facts about yourself. Tag random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. Wrapping or gift bags? Both. I prefer to wrap, but after the first half dozen packages, I find myself reaching for bags.

2. Real or artificial tree? I used to always get a real tree, but last year I couldn't find one small enough for the place we planned to put it, so I sprung for an artificial one. It looks pretty good - not like the ones my grandparents had, but I do miss the smell of a real pine tree.

3. When do you put up the tree? Mid-December. I never get around to it before that.

4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime in January. Again usually the middle of the month. We usually need the space for something else.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but only because of the rum in it. It seems too rich to me now. And the wife doesn't like it, so I don't bother getting it anymore.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Most of my early childhood gifts blur together. But I remember two. When I was about 4, I got a metal hook and ladder Tonka fire truck. I still remember it. I also got my first bike a few years later. Had it until my early teens.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? We have one, but I couldn't remember where it was packed away, so it didn't go up. Its missing about half the figures, so we actually need to get a new one.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't think of one.

9. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? We mailed Christmas cards this year, but only at the last minute. Its not clear that they will reach their destination in time. Typically the last few years I'd send out an email letter. But I wanted to do a bit more this year.

10. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story. I missed this when it first came out. Caught it in a theatre a few years ago and couldn't stop laughing.

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Early to mid-November. I usually start looking for sales online.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Prime rib with Yorkshire pudding. Although this year it will be lamb instead.

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree? A mixture of both. This year it turned out by accident to be red, white, and blue. I'm going to look for strings of warmer colors to add for next year.

14. Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Old Ones.


Now it's time to tag someone. Let's see how about ... Dr. Zaius, Evil Spock, and mem beth.

White House Fire

A fire erupted this morning in the White House compound in the Executive Office Building. The blaze appeared to be located near the ceremonial office of Vice President Dick Cheney on the second floor of the building. Rumors abound that the fire was caused by one of the VP's many shredders which operate 24/7.

UPDATE: It appears that the fire was not caused by the shredders since they are housed at Cheney's undisclosed location and not in the ceremonial office of Vice President.

The current theory is that since Cheney is the Devil its actually quite hard for him to sit in a modern office what with all that paper around and not cause a fire. He must have had a rip in his human suit.

At least they're not waterboarding the animals

Back in June I had a half serious post asking why do the Republicans hate our pets? My goal was to provoke while pointing out how each of the major Republican candidates had demonstrated questionable, and in one case criminal, judgment with regards to their treatment of animals.

I had thought that I could leave this distasteful story in the past, but a recent Newsweek story details allegations that the then 17 year old David Huckabee, son of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, was involved in the torturing and hanging of a stray dog at a Boy Scout camp in 1998. David Huckabee was dismissed from his job as a counselor by the scouts, and there were calls for him to be investigated for violation of the state animal-cruelty laws. No charges were ever filed. The then director of the Arkansas state police, John Bailey, claims he was fired by Huckabee, because he refused to kill the investigation.

Conservative talking heads tried to diminish the importance of the story by focusing on Mike not being responsible for the actions of David. One when so far as to dismiss the torture itself by joking that David hadn't water boarded the animal.

This misses the point that David was a minor. Mike Huckabee had some responsibility for his son actions. Especially when that son that was demonstrating classic sociopathic behavior. One has to wonder what sort of parenting led to a son who can behave in this way.

Secondly, Huckabee's killing of an investigation into his son's behavior, if true, demonstrates a true subversion of justice. One that should lead to corruption charges.

One would think that the resolution of either of these charges would be critical when deciding something as important as the office of the president.

The trouble with Hillary

Glow in the Dark Cats

Atomic Mutants or enhanced cat tracking. You decide!

Its that time of year again.