Yes, it's a little DT tradition... along with tuning in for various portions of the Jon Solomon Holiday Extravaganza over at WPRB.

Happy holidays. Please do what you can to enjoy this reflective season even when things are still falling apart around us.

Exactly one year ago today, visitors to this site were greeted with the Yule Log while I was preparing for a trip to Berlin. I stayed at a great pension/guest house in Prenzlauer Berg during that trip.

Today, BoingBoing Gadgets regales us with tales of the Scotch and Sofa, a lounge/bar in Prenzl'berg that features a TV permanently tuned to a Yule Log.

And with that recognition, the year comes full circle. Happy holidays -- seriously, do what you can to enjoy this reflective season even when things are falling apart around us.

XKCD -- "As my standard, I use going to sleep at midnight and waking up at 8 AM."

Yet another reference point supporting my theory that "time zones" are archaic and UTC is the way to go.

In late March, the Guardian reported (HT to Kottke) that a Kevlar flower observation deck will temporarily be added to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
 

My Photo, December 2007		Artist's Rendition

My initial reaction was utter disdain, considering I was already unimpressed with the "swarm of fireflies" lighting effect used in the evenings.  But it turns out that the artist came up with an unsolicited mock-up of something that could be done but hasn't been commissioned or selected. 

As much as I wanted to say that the Grauniad had once again earned its wings, they were really just following various architecture and design sites ... and the text accompanying the architect's own project site contributes mightily to the deception / confusion.

So where does that leave us?  Wondering what exactly a further modified Tower might actually be, hoping that it's Vegas that takes the leap instead of the Parisians.

This extremely scary poster is being displayed on many bus shelters in my neighborhood recently ... yet another movie that screams out "what ever happened to the fine arts of animation and illustration?" or something along those lines.  More importantly, am I crazy or is there some unholy crossover leading to the leering visage above?

	+		=   WTF?
Horton Hears a Who		Joe Camel

Add Jim Carrey as the voice of our proud protagonist, and now I have all these uncomfortable thoughts about how purveyors of "adult entertainment" might parodize / satirize this one.  While an interest in both sides of that fence is not completely out of character for the dear departed Mr. Geisel, Dr. Seuss managed to maintain a firewall between the prurient and child-oriented that we would do well to respect today.  Ick.

My personal cognitive dissonance has been amplified, however, by going back 15+ years in the memory banks for a real screamer of a tune.  I had filed this one away under the title "Horton Hearts A Who" ... can't really explain it but for the Dr. Seuss sideways reference. My memory was wrong, but there's just as much confusion sown between the liner notes (putative lyrics never recorded) vs. the live performance (inspired in part by Pussy Galore's "HC Rebellion," a/k/a "the one where Julia Cafritz reads letters out of Maximum Rock'n'Roll" [Last.FM sample, review of the Groovy Hate F*ck EP]). Bottom line -- this one remains one of my favorite riot grrl-related songs.

Bikini Kill -- "Thurston Hearts The Who" (Self-titled EP, Kill Rock Stars, 1991 [eMusic])