A bunch of back issues of the Journal of the Institute of Scientific Santa Claus-ism are on line... in scanned copies at least.


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On WWOZ, Hazel the Delta Rambler was spinning a version of "Deck the Halls" sung in Hawaiian.

Ms. Hollie: Can we go to Hawaii?

Froggy: Sure. Which streetcar line do we take?

Happy Holidays!


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I had a good mini-trip to Austin. Just a quick jaunt to pick up stuff and get a few supplies, not much time for socializing. The weather was great though. Lots of stuff closed for the Holidays, including Las Manitas and Eva's Botanitas, but I did get a Tex-Mex meal at Trudy's before heading back ( Read more... )

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I seldom get to malls, and especially tend to avoid them during the Commericalmass Holiday Season, but I'm damn sorry I missed this ( Read more... )

The ground is covered with white cold stuff-- sleet and pinhead hail that's been popping down for hours. It's a good day to stay indoors. I'm glad Entergy (the local power monopoly) got the electricity back on in this neighborhood-- some of us were without it for up to 5 hours yesterday. As anthracite coal is alas no longer commony retailed in ( Read more... )

90 years ago, during the Great War, on Christmas, 1914, troops on both sides disobeyed orders from their superiors. They stopped killing eachother. They sang songs, came out of the trenches on to no-man's land and helped eachother bury the corpses that had been lying there for months. They exchanged small gifts, and shared their food, drink, and ( Read more... )

In honor of the holiday season, let's look at some more delightful customs from our friends in Catalonia -- the folks who decided that the appropriate way to honor the Miracle of the Holy Eucharist is with wacky dancing giants (see my previous post).

The Tió de Nadal is the traditional Christmas log ( Read more... )