Seriously...

He didn't mind this at all.

Another Slice of Pie Life

My office closed early last Friday, and as I sped out of the parking garage, it seemed to me then that a sea of time spread out before me. I had the next week off, using up the remainder of my annual vacation. (We can’t carry over vacation to the next year, and I have always used it all. I’m no vacation martyr.)

Nearly a week later, I wonder where all the time went. A couple of days were spent with family for the holidays, and another couple were spent recovering from nasty hangovers (almost entirely sugar/food-induced). I watched quite a bit of television. I read two books. I bonded with the pets. All in all, not very productive…although laundry seems to now be a constant in my life, so at least I did that. I also finally got my hair trimmed, which I consider both a necessity and one of the biggest wastes of time imaginable.

My sugar-traumatized system is finally starting to return to normal. For nearly two days straight, I lived off little more than pie, cake, and candy. And for the first time ever, I think I actually got my fill of sugary stuff. Usually I can’t stop until it’s all gone. This year, I actually just stopped wanting it. I think I actually overdosed on sugar.

I return to work tomorrow, for another half-day. Then it's another long weekend. With these last few days of refuge, I should be able to actually do something productive - accomplish a few things and get them off my to-do list. However, I just realized that Comcast, in its infinite generosity, recently gave me the Sundance channel as a present. So after I finish watching The Corporation, I’ll start right on that list.

Merry Christmas!

"[S]uppressing the language, symbols, or customs of Christians in a predominantly Christian society is not inclusive. It's insulting. It's discriminatory, too. Hanukkah menorahs are never referred to as 'holiday lamps' -not even the giant menorahs erected in Boston Common and many other public venues each year by Chabad, the Hasidic Jewish outreach movement. No one worries that calling the Muslim holy month of Ramadan by its name-or even celebrating it officially, as the White House does with an annual 'iftaar' dinner-might be insensitive to non-Muslims. In this tolerant and open-hearted nation, religious minorities are not expected to keep their beliefs out of sight or to squelch their traditions lest someone, somewhere, take offense. Surely the religious majority shouldn't be expected to either."
--Jeff Jacoby

Whatever Happened to Speedy Gonzalez?

"[F]or some reason, this new set [of 'Looney Tunes Golden Collection' DVDs] begins with a special announcement by Whoopi Goldberg explaining what it is we're not meant to find funny: 'Unfortunately at that time racial and ethnic differences were caricatured in ways that may have embarrassed and even hurt people of color, women and ethnic groups,' she tells us sternly. 'These jokes were wrong then and they're wrong today' —unlike, say, Whoopi Goldberg's most memorable joke of recent years, the one at that 2004 all-star Democrat Party gala in New York where she compared President Bush to her, um, private parts. There's a gag for the ages. I don't know what Whoopi's making such a meal about. It's true you don't see many positive images of people of color on 'Looney Tunes,' but then the images of people of non-color aren't terribly positive either (Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam). Instead, you see positive images of ducks of color, roadrunners of color and tweety birds of color. How weirdly reductive to be so obsessed about something so peripheral to these cartoons that you stick the same...Whoopi Goldberg health warning on all four DVDs in the box. And don't think about hitting the 'Next' button and skipping to the cartoons: You can't; you gotta sit through it. A Hollywood that's ashamed of one of its few universally acknowledged genuine artistic achievements is hardly likely to come up with any new artistic achievements. As the instant deflation of that Whoopi cushion reminds us, the movies are now so constrained by political correctness the very act of storytelling is itself endangered."
—Mark Steyn