Merry Solstice

Let's get pissed!

Because I know everyone is hungry for information...
Prior to the arrival of Christianity, the Germanic peoples celebrated Yule with fires and feasting. Saturnalia (from the god Saturn) was the name the Romans gave to their mid-winter holiday. They called the solstice Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. When Julius Caesar instituted a new calendar in Rome, the festival fell on December 25, a date that was retained for many years. In the 4th century AD, Pope Julius I chose this date for Christmas in order to replace the pagan tradition with a Christian one.

Although we are taught that the Winter Solstice marks the first day of winter, for plenty of other people, the solstice marks the midwinter point. In Ireland, for example, winter begins on November 1st and ends on January 31st.


I still haven't heard my favorite (modern) Christmas song on the radio yet: The Drifters' "White Christmas"

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like.....

...any other day.

That's right folks, I have no Christmas spirit this year. No spirit for shopping (course, I never have spirit for that), no spirit for sending cards, no spirit for art projects or baking cookies or listening to Christmas music or even watching Christmas movies (although, I will be watching 24 hours of A Christmas Story on TBS, because that's tradition). And, as is obvious, I do not have the spirit to keep up with the damn blog....

Cheer up, Charlie.

So let's see. Riding the bus is getting to be an exercise in sado masochism. Why would anyone in their right mind choose to trap themselves inside a bus for an hour and a half, breathing other people's nasty germs, listening to them snore, having them sit beside you and turn on the light so they can read even though it was perfectly obvious that you were trying to sleep.... tell me.... who?!?!
Ok, maybe I am feeling a little bitter today. It's that whole lack of cheer thing. Or the whole not being able to afford my own apartment, but so anxious for a place of my own thing. Or the fact that each day is one day closer to.... ooh, I got the chills. I couldn't even type it. Just like I can't say it when I am singing along to "Spirit in the Sky" -- "when I ____ and they lay me to rest, I am going to the place that's the best."

Ok, I am obviously going nowhere with this rambling tangent. I think I need a bagel.

Red Ribbon
Today is World Aids Day.

Putting the "B" in "B Movie"
I watched Van Helsing last night, and it was so bad it was good. The cheesiness was unbelievable, as was Kate Beckinsale's Transylvanian accent. I think it is an excellent contender for Mystery Science Theatre. But I also thought David Wenham as the spry monk Carl was excellent. He was the best thing about the movie.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out
Ok, the annoying goober finally lost on Jeopardy. But it was such an anti-climatic loss. The woman didn't win because she was better; she won because he blew it on the 3 most important questions. It was all rigged anyway.

Quote of the Day
"I will not carry a gun. . . I’ll carry your books, I’ll carry a torch, I’ll carry a tune, I’ll carry on, carry over, carry forward, Cary Grant, cash and carry, carry me back to old Virginia, I’ll even hari-kari if you show me how, but I will not carry a gun!"
—Hawkeye, from TV’s M*A*S*H