Monthly Archive for December, 2002

Q: What’s that white stuff in bird poop?

A: That’s bird poop too.

Speaking of excrement that is so cleverly disguised to be completely mistaken for something entirely unlike excrement, we’re now just a few hours away from the end of another year. Yes, we’re starting the 2003′rd year (give or take a few) since that guy was born who thought it would be a pretty good idea if everyone got along for a change, and we later nailed him to a tree. Maybe counting the years since his birth is our way of saying we’re sorry. Then we get drunk to help us cope with the intolerable guilt we all feel.

Then again, maybe not.

Today in history

What if an alien observer was asked to file a short report on his findings on Christmas? I think it would look something like this.

"Christmas is a holiday commemorating the birth of a man who thought that it would be a pretty good idea for all humans to work out their differences and get along with each other for a change. He started telling others about his idea. The other humans then nailed him to a tree."
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And, for lack of an appropriate place put it, I am here compelled to quote Ghandi, who said, "Christianity hasn’t failed. It’s simply never been tried."

Timequake

Timequake is a story by Kurt Vonnegut that tells about how one day in February of the year 2001 a ripple in space-time sent everyone on Earth back to February of 1991. Everyone was then forced to relive the last 10 years of their lives. The twist that makes this different than any other time-travel story is that no one could do anything differently than they had done before. Though they knew ahead of time the outcome of all situations, they were simply on ‘automatic pilot’ and could do nothing more than watch themselves achieve the same rewards or make the same mistakes again.
Continue reading ‘Timequake’

The History of Christmas

I just finished watching a very good special on The History Channel called The History of Christmas. If you miss seeing it, please take a moment to visit The History Channel’s Christmas Exhibit online. There’s a lot of good information there about the origins of American Christmas traditions.

My favorite part is near the end. One historian, in response to Christian complaints that Jesus, today, is almost totally left out of Christmas, asks whether Jesus was ever really a part of it.

*Note: Robots who have sacrificed their free will and ability to think for themselves in exchange for the security of tradition and conformity should skip this. It’ll just piss you off.

Christmas, more than you ever wanted to know

This is a repost from last year. Enjoy!
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Most Christians hold December 25 as the most sacred day of the year in celebration of the birth of their Savior. Not surprisingly, it\’s been my experience that the most devout appear to be the least knowledgeable regarding the historical aspects of their religion… least of all that of Christmas day.
Continue reading ‘Christmas, more than you ever wanted to know’

Christmas… more than you ever wanted to know, I’m sure

Most Christians hold December 25 as the most sacred day of the year in celebration of the birth of their Savior. Not surprisingly, it\’s been my experience that the most devout appear to be the least knowledgeable regarding the historical aspects of their religion… least of all that of Christmas day.
Continue reading ‘Christmas… more than you ever wanted to know, I’m sure’

16 Days til Christmas

I know I’m starting in early this year, but with the first big snow last weekend and everyone talking about the sales they were going to take advantage of at 4am the following Friday morning… it’s time to get moving. The Christmas Spirit has overtaken the general population of this country once again!
Continue reading ‘16 Days til Christmas’

I wish…

… that something interesting had happened today (or even yesterday) worth writing about. But in fact the past two days have likely been the two most mundane, tedious and completely uninteresting days I can remember having the joyless fortune of suffering through.

The highlight was the Tony Bennet special on PBS.
Continue reading ‘I wish…’

Does not have time for jibba-jabba

Mister T on CNN


This is too funny!