Kirk blAug

This is how you know that the consumerism of Christmas is the least of the problems with your kid: Demanding Mekeeda Austin, 13, warned Father Christmas that he will be 'killed' if he fails to deliver at least two of her long list of lavish gifts. This is pretty pathetic. What was on said list you ask? Oh nothing much. Just a Blackberry, money, a designer sweater, high-top Converse sneakers, Austin Mahone or Justin Bieber (the real-life version), or designer sunglasses. I think the quickest way to correct this is to give her a lump of coal and let her go journey to the North Pole and try to find the object of her threat. She says, "I don't see any problem with the letter, I want all of these things and I don't see why I shouldn't get them." Her mother thought it was funny, and intends to indulge her daughters wishes: "When I first found the letter I thought it was funny, now I think I better get her what she wants, the last thing I want is for her to

There is this "war" that creeps up every year in recent years about Christmas and who gets to celebrate it and what it is all about and where it came from. I, frankly, do not care what your reason is for celebrating, I think you should do it if you like. If you do not feel like celebrating, do not. It really is that simple, but it always has to get complicated with some people who want to own it and make people not in their group feel like the outsiders that those in said group want to believe that they are. Merry Christmas vs Happy Holidays Last weeks Post Secret included the image that you see to your left. I think it is great and I tend to do just the same when confronted. I was at a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert a few days ago and someone on the stage who represented a local radio station said, "Happy Holidays!" Some guy behind me, apparently feeling uncomfortably awkward at the knowledge of the existence of human beings who may celebrate something other tha

When I was young my parents followed a tradition which I imagine was passed down to them from their parents who received the tradition from their parents before them and so on for a generation or two before them. I am of course talking about the yearly tradition of deceiving their gullible offspring with myths of a jolly man who lives at the North Pole. I fell for it. They were fairly elaborate to the point of even having a man dressed up as a Santa come to the front door one year. This of course sparked my suspicion a little. Why the front door and not the chimney? Though I do not remember what it was, a satisfactory explanation was given and I continued to believe in it. Eventually I did finally figure it all out, mostly through ridicule from schoolmates and my 3rd grade teacher for still believing it. I did not take the news well. I did not understand that my parents, who regularly told me that lying is wrong and makes Jesus cry, would keep up such an elaborate and ultimately pointl

This scene in How The Grinch Stole Christmas has always bugged me. I can not figure out how the Grinch ended up with a three dimensional suit by cutting one two dimensional piece of cloth. I remember back to one of the first times that I watched the show thinking, "What?!? But... that just does not work!" Perhaps back in 1966 kids were not so intuitive with things like this. Maybe they really thought that a tailor could take a piece of cloth such as this and make something that would cover both back and front of a body. Perhaps the Grinch cut another piece for the hat and coat off camera. I do not know what Chuck Jones and Ted Geisel were thinking, but it still bugs me every time I see it.