Friday
Christmas Eve 2004.

It hasn’t really felt terribly like the Christmas season to me until just a couple of days ago. I’m not really sure “why,” but it didn’t. And that’s even after I’ve heard Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth, too. It’s also odd to think that 2004 is just seven days (not to be confused with Seven Days) from being over.

and I headed up to b’Ogden in search of a book and game store so that I could complete my Christmas shopping. What we found was far more than I expected. The store is The Bookshelf, located in downtown Ogden. Two floors of goodness. If you’re in the greater Salt Lake Metro area, it’s worth a trip up there. We made a few other stops, including the Clearfield Toys ‘R’ Us… where Nox surprised me with a McFarlane Sports figure of Ravens’ RB Jamal Lewis. (Thank you, again.) I think that TRU is my favorite of the four stores in the immediate area. But fond memories of Funnoodle fights through the store might have something to do with that.

Then it was back to Smog Valley. I dropped off Nox, picked up a couple of pies for post-Christmas dinner snacking and tooled around with as we finished up the last of our shopping. And then, it was back home for the last of the present-wrapping.

News
Morning Edition: Claus, Inc.: The Business of Being Santa
Morning Edition: Christmas Has Long History as Day for Role Reversal
Talk of the Nation – Science Friday: Diagnosing and Treating Celiac Disease (for )

Stray Toasters

  • I picked up four bags of cotton candy earlier. But, one of them is for Max; it has Spider-Man on it. The kid is a three-year-old Spider-Fan. So, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get him a bag o’ cotton candy with the web-slinger on the package.

    And remember: Cotton candy has no cholesterol and it’s fat-free!

  • Cinescape has a couple of images from the upcoming Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie.
  • Time out to give a nod to and tell you folks to check out his webcomic, Detective Boogaloo – Hip Hop Cop. It’s hosted on Kevin Smith’s (Yes, that “Kevin Smith.”) Movie Poop Shoot site.
  • “Scared of Santa” Photo Gallery
  • Showtime’s Dead Like Me may not be as… um… “dead” as had been previously reported.
  • An article on BBC News’ site lists the top 10 U.S./Canada Tours of 2004 (although The Cow, #2 on the list, isn’t touring now that she has her cushy deal with Caesar’s Palace). I wouldn’t have thought that Bette Midler would have been that high on the list. Go figure.
  • By way of …

  • She clings to me like cellophane
    Fake plastic submarine

  • The headlines you WON’T see in 2005
  • For Nyx and Nox: A couple of Irregular Webcomic Christmas strips (1, 2) Don’t forget to check the annotations!

Quote of the Day
Today’s quote comes from Gail Simone, the newly-announced writer on Superman (the comic, not the movie), when she was asked what her approach to writing the character would be:

“I actually put this in my pitch, that Clark and Kal El can be very complex. But I sum up Superman with that famous line from the Jim Croce song…

“You don’t tug on Superman’s cape.

“This is a guy who can thread a tank through the eye of a needle. He can see the weather in Beirut and he knows what air freshener you used in your house six months ago by the smell of your clothes. You don’t mess with this guy.

“Sure, Batman’s scary. But no one wants Kal-El mad at them. Don’t start none, there won’t be none.”

I hope that all of you have a safe and enjoyable Christmas (or the celebration of your paradigm of choice).

Namaste.