Bearable

Anyone who has been reading my blog for any length of time knows my least favorite Christmas song is The 12 Days of Christmas. Most odious, pedantic, dull song out there. Repetition takes a beating on the head with this song. I'd almost rather have fingers down a chalkboard than listen to this song.

That said, while uploading my vast collection of holiday music to iTunes a year or so ago, I stumbled across a rendition by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that is truly fabulous! It's the only version of The 12 Days of Christmas I'll listen to.

And why, you ask?

Because they sing each verse in a different classical music style and that makes it fun and less tedious than butternut squash.

Here, for your holiday enjoyment, is The 12 Days of Christmas by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Please note, it's 12 minutes long, but worth every minute!

Holly in my Heart

It's that time of year when everyone is all charitable and cheery and packin' on the pounds at parties and parceling out packages of home-baked goodness.

Meanwhile, over in Minnesota, some dude named Pierre just received the gift of a lifetime: a fruitcake that is nearly 100 years old. Yes, you read that correctly. Fruitcake. 100 years old. I don't know about you, but after the odious holiday "carol" 12 Days of Christmas, fruitcake is the second most vile thing imposed upon the season of tidings of great joy. The only thing that nasty concoction is good for is as a door stop. Pierre's would certainly qualify as that, and more. Read Hear the One About the Fruitcake Made in 1911?

And, I'm sure many of you have already festivized your house with a tree and garlands and all the finery of the season. Hopefully yours doesn't look like this. (Be sure to click through the photos. Some are more hideous than others and a few make Charlie Brown's Christmas tree look positively divine.)

Lame. Again.

As my blog has become rather lame again, I'm just gonna throw a picture up and call it good for now. I'm still socked in with this writing project.* And now I'm reading annual reports translated from Spanish to English. I thought German was the winner of run-on construction from Deutsch to Englisch, but Spanish beats the Teutonic hoard by a mile.

For example: In order to respond to all these challenges, and in particular the latter, the paper industry, together with all interested parties (particularly the state authorities) must bring about the infrastructures and conditions to improve and increase the physical availability of wood, specifically through the implementation of forestry policies that manage to be simultaneously more creative in environmental terms, fairer, and economically consistent.

Phew! Did you get all of that? Yeah. Well, in case you didn't, welcome to my world!

Here's a picture. It's the Lee Building on the corner of Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring, Maryland.



And to get us in a holiday mood after my little rant about Christmas here, here is a classic.

* For the record, I love this writing project. It's allowing me to work with my favorite former boss of all time, a guy who should win the award and be held up as an example of what constitutes good leadership. If more bosses were like him, productivity would shoot through the roof and people would want to get up in the morning and go to work. Working for him again is bliss. (And contrary to my mumblings, I'm actually enjoying this project. I just thought I'd be done with it a lot sooner is all.)

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential

Some Assembly Required (AKA: Reading the Fine Print)

The Following Greeting Has Been Cleared by My Attorney *

From me ("the wishor") to you ("the wishee") please accept without obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, politically correct, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I wish you a financially successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but with due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures or sects, and having regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting you are bound by these terms that:

This greeting is subject to further clarification or withdrawal.

This greeting is freely transferable provided that no alteration shall be made to the original greeting and that the proprietary rights of the wishor are acknowledged.

This greeting implies no promise by the wishor to actually implement any of the wishes.

This greeting may not be enforceable in certain jurisdictions and/or the restrictions herein may not be binding upon certain wishees in certain jurisdictions and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wishor.

This greeting is warranted to perform as reasonably may be expected within the usual application of good tidings, for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first.

The wishor warrants this greeting only for the limited replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wishor. Any references in this greeting to "The Lord", "Father Christmas", "Our Savior", "Rudolph the red nosed reindeer" or any other festive figures, whether actual or fictitious, dead or alive, shall not imply any endorsement by or from them in respect of this greeting, and all proprietary rights in any referenced third party names and images are hereby acknowledged.

This greeting is made under United States Law.

Dated this 24th day of December two thousand and seven.






* I read this a couple of years ago on the blog of Wicked H. She's posted it again this year and, with her permission, I'm lifting it wholesale and doing the same.