The annual book tree is up! Always with a heavy Crim-literature presence and this year topped off with a T-Rex ?? pic.twitter.com/D63z5lmNq0
— Travis Pratt (@TravisCPratt) December 6, 2020
This is a household that absolutely, positively does not include cats. Or dogs. Or, for that matter, children…
christmas elf: oh hey you guys are back early
santa: tree's haunted
christmas elf: what?
santa: *loading pistol and getting back on the sleigh* tree's haunted. https://t.co/RZrPgvXZ5C
— Zeddy (@Zeddary) December 14, 2020
Opinion: Innovation made "The Nutcracker" a Christmas classic. A pandemic won’t stop it. https://t.co/ns6oK3DMji
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 22, 2020
From Brussels to Vatican City, holiday lights shine across the globe. pic.twitter.com/v9YPuO7ZfW
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) December 22, 2020
"We start in October and then we aim to have them packed away by Easter."
This light display in a rural English village takes months to set up, uses 150,000 lightbulbs and is even used as a beacon to help aircraft navigate
— BBC World Service (@bbcworldservice) December 14, 2020
This just about sums it up… pic.twitter.com/WKULZwLE5Y
— Dave Lauer (@dlauer) December 23, 2020
Rescue cats don Santa suits for purrfect Korean Christmas https://t.co/fi7fEYWNqR pic.twitter.com/Dcklou2246
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 15, 2020
Last night I discovered “minimalist nativity sets” and I am WEEPING pic.twitter.com/XuRoGq8i1v
— Kirby Jones (@kejones_) December 5, 2020
Wizzard meets Rachmaninoff. I Wish It Could be Christmas Every Day…with a Russian revamp (plus some of my old Soviet/Russian Season’s greetings cards). @BBCNews @BBCWorld @BBCRadio3 @BBCRadio2 @bbc5live #Christmas #RoyWood pic.twitter.com/7H4bRVNw1i
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) December 23, 2020
The War on Christmas couldn’t be lost on the battlefield, it was stabbed in the back. https://t.co/ydbHpMVF6x
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) December 9, 2020
Nicole
In the comments on the Minimalist Nativity Twitter thread, someone posted “Dinosaur Nativity Ornament” and I was weeping with laughter once I saw it.
Just finished Christmas dinner and listening to Harry Belafonte’s The Joys of Christmas album. “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is much less tedious when it’s Belafonte singing it.
patrick II
Jonah’s father was Jewish and he was raised Jewish and he writes a column for the “Jewish World Review”. So I am going to assert that his hurt feelings about the lack of adherence to the War on Christmas’ strict guidelines aren’t sincere.
?BillinGlendaleCA
I like the boneless Christmas Tree and the last tweet really makes the point of “who gives a fuck about Christmas” from the third lady.
Mary G
Thread from Nashville journalist about the bombing. Seems legit, but my judgment isn’t all that good.
Gravenstone
@patrick II: I didn’t want to stereotype based on name, but yeah it struck me as a tad disingenuous.
patrick II
@Mary G:
I read additionally that it began to broadcast that there was a bomb aboard. If that part is true, they were trying to avoid casualties. If it isn’t, they may have been trying to kill cops.
Kayla Rudbek
And Diane Duane just released her Christmas Rockefeller owl story: https://ebooks.direct/products/owl-be-home-for-christmas?fbclid=IwAR26ELx7AxKkBeVoQ6uDwVOYTrKHGuNbNePL4BX3HgV0xq1HwVdmZGeDD90 Owl be Home for Christmas
debbie
The more I look at it, the more I like that boneless tree.
JoyceH
My roast wasn’t fully thawed, and I have gobs of leftover pizza – so I deferred the roast till tomorrow. (Asked myself, Joyce, do you really want to peel a rutabaga today? Answered myself, no, I do not.) Felt rather Eccentric having leftover pizza for Christmas dinner, but called a friend and she was having wienies and beans. Said she thought it through and that was what she wanted. So one thing about these non-family-gathering type Christmases, you can eat what you darn well please.
raven
@patrick II: There is video where you can hear the warning and see the explosion. The voice sounds like a woman but might not be and they found human remains in the area.
eclare
@JoyceH: I’m having beanie-wienies!
Cameron
@patrick II: He will always be Doughy Pantload to me.
raven
@eclare: That’s what I call my wife!
satby
@JoyceH: I had leftover grilled hotdogs for brunch, and then Mac and cheese for dinner. Cooking the ham seemed like too much effort.
eclare
@raven: My favorite aunt referred to me and my only girl cousin on that side of the family as beanie-wienie.
Eunicecycle
@Nicole: https://youtu.be/fhKShmvHnec
This is a kind of cool rendition of The Twelve Days with the Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus.
raven
Jesus, watch the video and you see some idiot with a dog walk right through the blast area after the explosion.
raven
@eclare: love it!
MagdaInBlack
I had vague plans to throw together a lasagna, but that did not happen, because tomorrow IS another day. Leftovers were just fine. Wish I had picked up some ice cream tho.
mrmoshpotato
@Nicole:
Hahaha, that’s so good!
Danielx
@Cameron:
Jabba the Hack
mrmoshpotato
@JoyceH: I haven’t even thought of dinner yet. Time to peek in the fridge.
eclare
@raven: And agree voice sounds female.
sab
Back when I lived in Vegas I had a neighbor who had been through an acrimonious divorce. Apparently they split the outdoor nativity display. Every year he put out Joseph and a camel. No Mary. No baby jesus. No wise men. Just Joseph and the camel. And at night they were lit up.
He did that for all four years I lived near him.
Rob
I sent the BBC piece about Wizzard/Rachmaninoff to an English friend who detests those 70s British Christmas songs (the Wizzard song, and Slade’s “Merry Xmas Everybody” come to mind immediately). I’ll find out if they will continue to speak to me. Me, I don’t mind either because they’re simply not played in the US.
satby
So the final snow tally here was 10 inches. And it warmed up to a blisteringly hot 20° when the sun came out at 4. The dogs played in the snow while I swept off the car, but they were ready to go back inside in less than 5 minutes.
I took a second short nap in the middle of the afternoon. Heaven!
Major Major Major Major
@patrick II: erm, you don’t need to know his religion to tell it’s sarcasm.
Seems like many in this thread have been afflicted by Poe’s Law on this one
Brachiator
I finished the leftover pizza a couple of days ago, but think I can put together a passable dinner from various Christmas items.
If I stayed home on past Christmas holidays, I could at least go to a couple of nearby Chinese or Thai restaurants. But this year, the orders here to shut down outdoor dining here in Southern California has led to some places deciding to just stay closed over the long holiday weekend.
PPCLI
@Gravenstone: No fan of Goldberg, but I’m fairly sure he regards the whole “War on Christmas” rhetoric is bullshit.
He’s making a joke. I thought it was clever.
Major Major Major Major
@PPCLI: I lol’d in fact. A little.
Miss Bianca
@JoyceH: Hey, we are going to have pizza and beer for Christmas Dinner!
eclare
@Miss Bianca: Glad I caught you, I watched the BeeGees doc this afternoon, it is very well done. The scores on Rotten Tomatoes are in the mid-nineties. It is also poignant at times, out of four brothers, Barry is the last one left. Doc covers their career for decades. You’d like it!
mrmoshpotato
Medium shells with a meat sauce it is!
Miss Bianca
@eclare: Thanks for the review! Probably gonna have to wait till it comes out on DVD, cause that’s how I roll, but I will be looking for it!
Miss Bianca
@sab: that is…um…quite a story. I find it hilarious and deeply sad and troubling all at the same time.
sralloway
@MagdaInBlack: Made a monster lasagna tonight. Five pounds of cheese alone with two pounds of ground beef and 1.5 pounds of sweet Italian sausage. Ricotta, mozzarella. Threw in some tightly-cubed squash for variety. Used the biggest pan I have and it fit nicely. Will vac pack a bunch of quick lunches and dinners tomorrow. She-who-must-be-obeyed is having King crab tonight. It’s her birthday (77) so we cook her favorite thing.
NotMax
Drawing a blank on who it was asking about (and subsequently ordered) solar-powered Xmas lights. Curious how they worked out.
debbie
@raven:
That blast seemed especially vicious. I’m not surprised human remains were found.
Scout211
I really have to give a giant thank you to the generous people at zoom for allowing all of us to have unlimited zoom time with our families this Christmas.
To be able see see the whole family and even play a fun game of uno with the family was just the best today. If we hadn’t had zoom, it would have been just like any other Friday for us today.
patrick II
@Major Major Major Major:
@PPCLI:
Nearly as funny as his book, written entirely as sarcasm, “Liberal Fascism…”.
I think his core audience reads that very differently than you. He’s having it both ways. Clever indeed.
SiubhanDuinne
@MagdaInBlack:
I have a pint of vanilla ice cream, and a tiny bottle of Fireball cinnamon whiskey, and a small bag of Sizzling Cinnamon red hots. I was going to moosh them all together for dessert, but I ate too much dressing/stuffing and sweet potato, and couldn’t even contemplate eating another thing tonight. That’s why they invented tomorrow.
MagdaInBlack
@sralloway: It may morph into ricotta stuffed shells, since I just discovered I have those shells =-)
Eta: Last weekend I made a red sauce with fresh italian sausage, so I’m halfway there, just a lazy ass today (cuz I can be) Once upon a time I made my own pasta for lasagna. Those days are over, for now.
Jay
@sralloway:
had King Crab on the 23rd. Had leftovers, so King Crab Canalonni is on this weeks menu,
Alton Browned Baby Back ribs, last night, one more feed is in the freezer,
Roast Chicken with the Miracle Gravy, went into the oven 5 minutes age.
(Miracle Gravy, my Mom always, so overcooked Roast Chicken, that there was nothing to make Gravy with. It wasn’t until I was in my 40’s, when I learned, yes Victoria, you can make Roast Chicken gravy for mashed potatoes.)
JanieM
@raven: My first thought was: that’s the bomber.
Miss Bianca
@patrick II: Was “Liberal Fascism” intended as a joke? I found I could never get past the title
@NotMax: Was it you who recommended the movie A Matter of Life and Death a few weeks back? I finally watched it a couple nights ago and loved it. I had never imagined a sexy David Niven, for all love!
Baud
@Miss Bianca:
It’s a sequel to “Compassionate Conservativism.”
Feathers
@patrick II: Here’s a Washington post story about a couple who heard the countdown, grabbed their cat and drove away. The timing must have been off, because they headed back after 15 minutes was up only to almost end up in the blast zone when the bomb went off. The windows got blown out in their apartment. Kitty is OK.
ETA link. Derp. Χ
prostratedragon
@JoyceH: Many a plan has been altered by the daunting prospect of rutabaga peeling.
Mike in NC
Jonah Goldberg is sad that Saint Ronnie has been deposed by Saint Donny.
patrick II
@Miss Bianca:
No. That time it was me who was being sarcastic.
Jay
@JanieM:
suicide is often the locust of terrorist attacks.
Sister Golden Bear
For Adam and all the other jackals celebrating Jewish Christmas today, an important word from your rabbis:
prostratedragon
@prostratedragon: Not to mention hacking.
raven
@debbie: We learned long ago that it’s not that hard to make a bomb.
Betty
@Major Major Major Major: If you follow Twitter, you would have seen how fed up he is with Trump, so, yeah.
Kattails
@SiubhanDuinne: “Time is God’s way of keeping everything from happening all at once.”
lamh36
Evening BJ.
Doing Christmas solo this year. Gonna be a weekend of bingewatching streaming shows and movies and trying to throw in book or two.
Today was new movie day. Almost felt like the before times. Watched Wonder Woman 1984 and now watching Soul
Hope everyone had a good Christmas day at least.
Baud
@lamh36:
I just watched Soul. I’d love to hear what you thought of it.
geg6
@eclare:
I highly recommend it. It’s great. Barry is a very poignant figure and I love the story of how he came up with “Jive Talking.” Very much worth anyone’s time.
frosty
NotMax: Suzanne was trying to figure out how to power lights with no porch outlet.
Amir Khalid
@Miss Bianca:
Jonah’s argument was that liberalism is essentially fascist. Just typing that made my head hurt.
gwangung
@lamh36: Ah, that reminds me to watch Soul. Apparently one of my acquaintances has a few lines as the upright bass player.
Baud
@Amir Khalid:
Projection is very important to their political philosophy.
eclare
@geg6: The story about how they came up with How Deep Is Your Love is also touching. The piano player looked like he was going to cry.
I wonder how much the songs influenced the final script?
gene108
@Sister Golden Bear:
I thought about doing a Jewish Christmas this year, but was too lazy to order take out from the Chinese place that I can walk to in under five minutes.
zhena gogolia
@eclare:
I wish I could see this film.
Citizen_X
The negative Christmas tree, and the minimalist nativities, are far better than the cold, soulless Trump corporate Christmas tree.
Ksmiami
Ok- made brunch early, hikes w the family, zoom call to family across the country… then bbqed the most amazing lamb burgers with sweet potato tots, home made eclairs etc…
very full! Happy Holidays to all you jackals!
eclare
@zhena gogolia: I am sure it will be on YouTube or similar.
Yutsano
Enchiladas are in the oven. I’m at the randomly texting people phase while avoiding the chaos that is my nephews. At some point I’ll head out to the dining room but I’m in no hurry right now.
MERRY CHRISTMAS YA DAMN BEAUTIFUL JACKALS!!!
oclib
I’m guessing that his Celtics got blown out today and that was the last straw…..
https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fchrisgrenham%2Fstatus%2F1342547860836016128&widget=Tweet
eclare
@zhena gogolia: Does HBO or HBO Max offer a free trial where you are? Not sure what your set up is.
Delk
Just finished Chinese. Had ham yesterday and ham and eggs this morning. The ham was leftover from thanksgiving. Really couldn’t tell it had been frozen. Probably could make a nativity scene with my meds.
Gin & Tonic
@prostratedragon: Our local Asian market, which has great produce, always has a bin labeled rutabagas. But they are beets. Invariably. Really good, large beets, trimmed, so no greens, and priced at like 1.29/lb or something. Great for borscht season.
Frankensteinbeck
@Sister Golden Bear:
That quote is UNBELIEVABLY Jewish, not in the terminology it uses or specific Jewish rules it references, but in the obsessively detailed legalist argument about proper Jewish behavior, with references. For non-Jews: One key to understanding the religion is that religious debate itself, even if it is deliberate and facetious bullshit, is holy.
Suzanne
@NotMax: I was looking for solar-powered lights, ended up going with battery operated. They look good.
I made prime rib with roasted vegetables, scalloped potatoes, and lemon green beans. Mr. Suzanne is now making Bananas Foster for dessert.
The office is closed for the next week and I am looking forward to video games, sleep, playing in the snow, reading books, Netflix, and taking down the Christmas decorations. I like them, but they also start to feel oppressive and clutter-ful.
Spawn the Youngest fell asleep in her high chair.
Sloane Ranger
Just watched Cinderella, a pantomime on Zoom starring (among others) Helen Bonham-Carter, Olivia Coleman, Tom Hollander and David Tennant.
It was actually broadcast on Christmas Eve in aid of Comic Relief but I only got round to watching it just now. Some very funny references to the acting profession, the pandemic and both British and American politics.
The glass slipper, which is at various times, a black brogue, a trainer or a flip flop, depending on whose holding it, made a great visual joke.
sralloway
@MagdaInBlack: I remember days of making pasta at home. Still have the unit. Hafta get off my butt and do it again. Recall days of pasta hanging from a line in the kitchen. Same with bread making. Became lazy in my 60s. At 70, it’s time to get back in the groove.
zhena gogolia
@eclare:
I don’t know. I’ve subscribed to so many things on Prime, and I got Disney+ to watch Hamilton, so I really resist signing up for anything more.
I totally forgot that I had bought Love, Actually, so we’re watching that tonight.
sralloway
@Jay: Was given pre-fab vacuum packed ribs from son’s mother-in-law. 3 pounds. Used them to make 8 units of beef stew. Packed in the big freezer for later use. Running out of space there. Should get a generator in case of power outage. At least three months of food in that beast.
NotMax
Tonight will be roast leg o’ lamb, too many of the results of yesterday’s latke-thon, and asparagus. Was contemplating a noodle kugel as well but decided the motivation for making that isn’t present today so will postpone it until New Year’s.
@Miss Bianca
‘Twas not I. IIRC it was Steeplejack who made the recommendation. Credit where it is due and all that.
;)
randy khan
@Mary G:
The thread is consistent with what I’ve been seeing reported elsewhere. CNN had the woman who made the initial 911 call, and who saw a lot of it (although they left the area when the warnings started).
Origuy
My housemates and I are having duck a l’orange and pumpkin pie. I’m not cooking, but went and got the duck. From the butcher, I hasten to add, not someone’s back yard.
Benw
Chilling watching the Lakers. Had a really wonderful Christmas. Watched Klaus on Netflix last night – great animated movie. Going to watch Soul tomorrow
NotMax
Watchwise, currently alternating on Prime between the Australian series Serangoon Road and the British police detective series Murphy’s Law.
Change-up from the spate of Italian quasi-surrealist comedic movies was binging on earlier in the month.
WaterGirl
@eclare: Who is the Doc people are referring to re: the BeeGees documentary?
The only “Doc” I have ever heard about is the one they talk about in the Wind of Change podcast, and I’m wondering if it’s the same guy.
edit: oh, duh! is “doc” short for documentary?
WaterGirl
@NotMax: Zhena, I believe!
JoyceH
@prostratedragon:
But I love eating them, and you have to peel them because the store bought come with that darn waxy coating on them. Are rutabaga skins inedible? Why do they do that waxy coating? With turnips, I don’t bother peeling, just eat skins and all, but with rutabagas, they leave me no choice.
FelonyGovt
@Sister Golden Bear: Good to hear. We have ordered Thai delivery. ?
WaterGirl
@Sister Golden Bear: I assumed that was intended as humor. Right? Or was that for real?
lamh36
Alright. Heard some good things about it, so last movie of the night is Sylvie’s Love.
NotMax
Was mulling watching The Ref as the main event guilty pleasure Xmas movie this year but it’s not on free streaming at the moment.
@Joyce H
One of the other teachers at the school where I taught for a time in Minnesota would bring a raw rutabaga with his lunch and eat it like an apple.
He always called it, in his Scandihoovian accented English, a “rutabaggy.”
Amir Khalid
@JoyceH:
It protects the skin from Nixon Dings, to keep the rutabaga (and other produce) looking perfect and pretty so people will buy it.
Sister Golden Bear
@WaterGirl:
Definitely humor, as @Frankensteinbeck: explains.
raven
Call any vegetable
And the chances are good
That a vegetable will respond to you
Rutabaga, rutabaga
Rutabaga, rutabaga
Rutabay-y-y-y…
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@Nicole: Thanks for the shout out to Cinema Sins. Went down that rabbit hole and I’ve been howling for an hour now.
Hope the Jackalteriat is enjoying the day.
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
Heh. Sounds like the name of an obscure one hit wonder band which nobody remembers.
tybee
My father-in-law was fond of rutabagas. I was not.
we were discussing the cooking of said vegetable and i said that the first step was to go into the yard and dig a hole.
he inquired as to the purpose of the hole and i replied that’s where you put it when you finished cooking it.
he was unamused.
J R in WV
I grated potatoes and fried latkes with eggs over easy for dinner, with champagne. The eggs were free range hens with yolks like liquid gold. Salt and pepper and red Thai curry powder in the potatoes, just salt and pepper on the eggs.
All fried in hoarded bacon drippings. Yum.
Timurid
Merry Christmas, all…
StringOnAStick
Is it just me or does that tRump Palm Beach tree back ground look like a painted scrim from a play? It basically screams “hey, dis is classy shit, REAL marble! REAL columns!”. Trying too hard to look fancy, and ends up looking tacky. Faux finish paint on the upper wall for that extra fake look.
NotMax
@J R in WV
As latke batter includes eggs, that’s a whole lotta chicken fruit in one meal.
;)
Amir Khalid
@Frankensteinbeck:
I remember coming across some of this style of rabbinical argument in the works of some Jewish SF writers.
Uncle Cosmo
@raven: Obligatory venerable high-school sports cheer:
J R in WV
@NotMax:
You’re allowed to put lots of stuff in your latkes if you want, but I’m pretty minimalist. I dropped the eggs out first, and then dropped the flour too.
I salt the potatoes and let that draw some moisture out, grind some black pepper in, sometime I grate an onion into the bowl, last night I just used garlic powder.
Then you fry them crisp, and do the eggs on the side.
ETA: I fried everything in bacon fat, so not kosher, this time I didn’t fry any bacon with, but often do that too. Bacon and eggs and crispy pototoes, what can go wrong with that?
NotMax
@J R in WV
Sorry, mate, them’s potato patties*. Gotta be a stickler when it comes to latkes; among other ingredients (onion, eggs, flour or matzo meal) it’s also the addition of baking powder to provide a rise that makes them potato pancakes.
Bonus points if fried in schmalz.
;)
*Not that there’s anything wrong with that.