My 18th anniversary as a blogger/internet writer is this month. I rarely struggle to write except during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. My world has slowed down a few steps after a frantic year in which I’ve written 515 posts and counting. Don’t be too impressed: It’s a typical year for me.
The most salient subjects right now are the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as the ongoing political trainwreck that is the Trumpified GOP. I don’t feel like writing about them on the second day of Christmas. There’s more to the 12 Days of Christmas than a partridge in a pear tree or even an Andy Partridge song:
The holiday festivities used to commence on Christmas and continue through the Twelfth Night of Christmas. It’s a shame that the dipshit insurrectionists have cast a bloody and deeply stupid shadow over Twelfth Night, but I prefer to think of it as the day Carnival begins and we get to eat king cake. Mmm, king cake.
I came up with a new holiday greeting yesterday for my Jewish friends: Happy Chinese Food Day. The salutation is based on at least 60 years of jokes along those lines. Most Chinese eateries are open on Christmas and some close after the holiday rush on Boxing Day. There are worse things than Kung Pao chicken for your holiday repast. Mmm, Kung Pao chicken.
Dr. A and I had a quiet Christmas meal with some friends we met during the heyday of the NOLA blogosphere. They suffer from Turkey fatigue, so we had brisket for our main course. Mmm, brisket. Thanks again for having us, y’all.
Their nine-year old daughter is a chess wiz but is still into Pokémon. She scored big with what could be described as a box set of Pokémon plush toys. One of the characters appeared to be wearing a necktie, so I asked her what she thought. I was rewarded with an eye roll followed by a self-head slap. I forgot the Poké dude’s name, so I tried looking it up online. I gave up on learning that the Pokémon cast is as large as that of Game Of Thrones. They’re bound to have a better ending…
I’ve been pondering the power of the song White Christmas this holiday season. I’m inspired by a luridly entertaining true crime show called Homicide For The Holidays. An episode entitled Murder Under The Mistletoe was set in Houston. One of the detectives mentioned the weather and said it was warm, not “typical Christmas weather.” That *is* typical Christmas weather in Houston as well as in New Orleans but our local news people cannot resist making similar comments.
These ubiquitous White Christmas references show the power of a song written by a Jewish immigrant named Israel Beilin DBA Irving Berlin. I’ve neither had a White Christmas nor dreamt of one, but the song has embedded itself deeply into our culture.
I can’t explain the power of Berlin’s song but maybe Aaron Neville can:
I learned something new on Facebook yesterday about Jerome Horwitz DBA Curly Howard. He was an animal lover, not just the recipient of eye pokes from his brother Moe:
It beats the hell outta writing about the dog hating former president who according to some who have met him smells like hair product and tanning spray. I’m not surprised, he’s always been a stinker. He probably has this too:
So much for being boxed in on boxing day. There’s always something to write about if you drink enough coffee in the morning.
The last word goes to Elvis Costello:
Instant Update: I learned from Dr. A that the Pokémon in question is named Giratina. It’s the Poké dude on the right in the picture below:
I’m a daily lurker, likely to have read many if not most of those 500+ posts and wanted to take this moment to thank you for each and every one. Well done, and keep up the good work.
Thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate it.
I don’t read all of your posts but I have to agree with Cheryl. The music is what interests me the most. I am sort of burned out on politics although not apathetic. Soldier on!
Before I saw your post I looked at the go for a very happy Peking duck to all who celebrate