Season’s Greetings….

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas…Kris Kringle…Father Christmas…Santa Claus.

Few characters are as recognizable as the patron saint of Christmas.

Santa, as well as his Canadian and British counterpart, Father Christmas, both derive from the legends surrounding Saint Nicholas, a former bishop who lived in the third century in the city of Myra, in a region that’s now part of Turkey. His feast day is celebrated December 6.

The Dutch abbreviated Saint Nicholas’s name as Sinterklaas, which is where the name Santa Clause comes from. The Dutch depict Sinterklaas much like a Catholic bishop with a tall hat, full white beard, and a staff.

Our own depictions of Santa Claus predate date back to images of “Father Christmas” from 17th century in England. Full story »

Originally published on December 22, 2009.

We have some out of control Christmas light freaks in my general neighborhood – I suspect the same is true for you, as well. Full story »

Our fourth quarterfinal match lacked the drama of the previous one, as Doco handily dispatched Rose Hill Drive to move into the semifinals. And now, we move into the semis, where it starts to get personal. See, our next two bands know each other and play together sometimes. You might even say they’re friends. Although, maybe for the next couple of days we can make frenemies of them.

Dotsun Moon: ”The band has labeled their music as ‘dream beat.’ I don’t think I could think of a better description even if my life depended on it. I love Mary Ognibene’s voice. She can make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand straight up one minute and put you in a trance the next. ” Ear Candy LISTEN Full story »

#1: The Devil’s Teeth by Susan Casey

When The Devil’s Teeth was published in 2005, I thought Susan Casey had stolen the ideal writing project from some hidden corner of my brain and had then proceeded to live it out: she attached herself to a group of biologists studying great white sharks off California’s coast. She got to live among them as they worked up-close with one of the planet’s most magnificent creatures, and then she got to come home and write a book about it.

I want that life!

The Devil’s Teeth stands as a great example of a writer willing to plunge headlong into a story, literally heart and soul, living it in order to really tell it.

But it’s a cautionary tale, too. How far is too far? What are the repercussions of being so involved in the story? Full story »

Consider the continual political warfare among tea partiers, Democrats, Republicans, President Obama, members of Congress, and anyone else with a media megaphone over size of the deficit run up by the American government. You’d assume they were confident the government knew how much money it took in and how much it spent. You’d assume the government knew how to keep its checkbook in order.

And you’d be wrong. According to the fiscal 2011 financial report by the nation’s bookkeeper, the Government Accounting Office, some government agencies cannot soundly manage their fiscal affairs.
Full story »

I’m going to read 25 books over the next 30 days. At least that’s the plan.

And my goal is to share my reading with you.

It’s partially by design, partially by doctoral requirement. The PhD program I’m enrolled in requires three “field exams”—areas of specialty that I want to focus on as part of my doctoral work above and beyond the coursework I have to take.

My first, which I’m reading for over Christmas break, will focus on the way creative nonfiction writers write about place.

My list started out with twenty-eight books on it, but it’s grown a little over the past few days: Full story »

Readers of this space perhaps know that I have a burr under my saddle where one Douglas Bruce is concerned. For instance:

• In a post on the University of Colorado’s unconscionable decision to make Bruce Benson its president, I called Bruce a “perennial pigfucker.”
• Commenting on his censure by the Colorado legislature for an overtly racist attack on migrant workers, I referred to him as “Colorado’s most famous asspipe.”
• In a piece on why CU will never get another penny of my money I said this: “may Bruce die soon and rot in Hell for all the damage his malevolent bullshit has wreaked on the citizens of Colorado.” (The CU development office called me the other night, by the way, so their records do not yet include a note wondering if it’s possible to get someone’s diploma rescinded.)
• In an article on Colorado Springs, America’s Teabagger Paradise, I referred to Bruce as “one of the most notorious political pigfuckers in America.” (I know, I’m overusing “pigfucker.”) Full story »

First off, wow. Our previous match, The Blueflowers vs. Eilen Jewell, saw Jewell jump out to an early lead. Then The Blueflowers blew past her and established a huge advantage. Then Eilen’s fans battled back and re-took a late lead, only to see Blueflower fans mount a late surge to nip Jewell at the wire. This match saw the largest turnout in any ToR match to date (that includes all three tournaments) and final margin was a scant few votes. The irony, of course, was that Jewell was nominated for this tournament by none other than Blueflowers mastermind Tony Hamera. So, again, wow. Congrats to both artists and thanks to their fans for such a truly fantastic show of support.

The gauntlet has been thrown down. We’ll see how fans of our next two bands respond. Full story »

You know, sometimes you get your Christmas gift early, like when someone you despise gets their karmic comeuppance. Which is why I’m pleased to report that yesterday, the Colorado anti-tax extremist and term limit hypocrite Douglas Bruce was convicted on multiple counts of tax evasion, filing false tax returns, and attempting to influence a public figure for the years 2005 through 2010. The Colorado Springs Gazette has more detail here.

I realize that this might not really fit with the spirit of the season – forgiveness and all that. But I’m OK with it.

I first met Langston Hughes in 1990. He’d been dead some twenty-three years by then, and I was a few months shy of my twenty-first birthday. We met almost by accident.

It was January, and the country’s eyes were on football. The NFL had moved Super Bowl XXVII from Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California because Arizona had failed to make Martin Luther King, Jr. Day an official holiday. To protest Arizona’s decision, and to show support for the new holiday—and, perhaps even to show solidarity with the NFL—someone on my college campus in northwestern Pennsylvania decided to celebrate with a rally. I can’t remember how, but I wound up on the program.

I read Hughes’ poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”:  Full story »

The Winter Solstice actually occurs on the 22nd of December this year, which means that the shortest day is tomorrow. Still, as evening falls here in Boston in the late afternoon, it seems like a good time for that wonderful poem by Susan Cooper: Full story »

OK, you blew it. You were supposed to load up with whatever this year’s superduper toy was weeks ago, while it was still in stock. But you got distracted, as usually happens this time of year, and now you’re stuck. And your marriage, and your children’s permanent affections, are now at risk.

Fortunately, Wired comes to the rescue. Specifically, good old GeekDad, who reviews toys and all sorts of other stuff for Wired. And he’s got a list of the five best toys of all time. You might have a quibble here and there, but you can’t deny he’s on to something. Your only problem now is gussying them up as Christmas presents for kids who expect something either (a) glowing, (b) electronic, or (C) alive. But that’s what wrapping paper is for, isn’t it?

“In crisis lies opportunity” is more than just a cliché (and we’re not just talking about Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine.)  For instance, what could be a better time than the recess-depression in which we’re mired to rethink the whole concept of a growth economy, which has become unsustainable in the face of climate change and dwindling resources? At the very least, it’s a chance to trim our defense budget. In fact, it might not be foremost in the minds of most Americans, or even of much consolation, but cuts to our nuclear-weapons program constitute a silver lining to our economic crisis.

If you’ll recall, earlier this year, the New START treaty was held hostage by Senate Republicans under the direction of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ). By way of ransoming it, the Obama administration forked over a proposal to spend $88 billion during the next decade on nuclear-weapon modernization. (As if to show the futility of that approach, while it was ultimately passed, Kyl still didn’t vote in favor of New START.) That figure represents a 20 percent increase above funding levels proposed during the Bush administration. Full story »

If you’re a working journalist, congratulations. You have survived a horrendous year of newsroom job cuts. The Newsosaur, Alan Mutter, compiles the sad, frustrating, dismaying news:

The number of jobs eliminated in the newspaper industry rose by nearly 30% in 2011 from the prior year, according to the blog that has been tracking the human toll on the industry for the last five years.

Mutter, working with data from Erica Smith, author of the Paper Cuts blog, notes layoffs have been horrific over the past four years.

Since Smith began her running count of publishing layoffs in the middle of 2007, 39,806+ newspaper jobs have been eliminated. This represents 11% of the all the jobs in an industry that, according to the Census Bureau, employed 360,633 individuals in 2007.

Worse, Mutter points out, the number of journalists in America’s print newsroom is at an all-time low. The layoffs, over time, have taken a staggering toll on newsrooms.
Full story »

In our second quarterfinal match, Dotsun Moon made quick work of Snake Rattle Rattle Snake. Congrats to SRRS for making the quarters, and again, I love the new CD. We’ll see you again in our upcoming best of 2011 review.

Up next, a quarterfinal match between two acts working the neo-Americana side of the street.

The Blueflowers: ”With [Kate] Hinote leading the lines, the result is an album that is as haunting and soul-invading as it is enthralling. Songs like the title track and ‘Fragile’ give the listener the impression that they’re in on a secret, like they’re reading Hinote’s diary. That level of refreshing honesty, some damned fine tunes and the stellar musicianship of the band is what makes In Line With the Broken-Hearted such a tremendous piece of work.” - Metro Times LISTEN Full story »

2011 was a big year where issues of political power were concerned. The #Occupy movement made a great deal of noise the past few months. Finally, there was lots of discussion about Citizens United and corporate personhood, and the “99%” began asserting its anger. There was l’affaire WikiLeaks and the ongoing Julian Assange and Bradley Manning battles, with Anonymous getting involved a bit, as well. The “who owns the Internet?” question is far from settled. In addition, AT&T was forced this week to abandon its attempt to further consolidate its domination of the mobile industry. And so on.

If you’ve been paying attention at all, you’ve probably been alarmed by the ongoing assault on your privacy. Full story »

Televangelist Pat Robertson doesn’t mince words when it comes to faith and this time is no exception. The outspoken faith-keeper blasted Saturday Night Live‘s recent skit of Denver Bronco’s quarterback Tim Tebow on Monday, calling the parody a “disgusting” attack on Christianity.

 “There’s an anti-Christian bigotry that is just disgusting and I think Saturday Night Live did a parody of that, had Jesus come in,” Robertson said.

Robertson even went on to suggest that if SNL had done a similar parody mocking Muslims, there would be “bodies on the street.”

This morning it was reported that Pat Robertson slammed the SNL skit making fun of Tebow and chalked up much of the anti-Tebow sentiment to “anti-Christian” bigotry. And he’s right.

There are two basic reasons not to like Tebow. First, he’s not a conventional quarterback. His motion takes a week to complete and the resulting throw is pathetic. I’ve seen better velocity on stuff coming out of freshmen’s mouths after a frat party. Full story »