I started this blog on January 6 of this waning year, a good day to begin if you’ve just had an epiphany about starting a blog. In ten days we’ll be back around there again, and I can write something about The Myth of the Eternal Return, a book that fascinates me even though I can’t really claim to understand it.

Or maybe not. I’m having a hard time figuring out what to do, if anything, the second time around.

But in the meantime (in this mean time when the holidays aren’t quite over and it’s unclear what we’re supposed to be doing with ourselves), since journalism at this time of year is consumed with retrospectives, especially of this as-yet-unnamed decade that was so catastrophic, and since there are ten days, just enough for a decade review, that’s what I’ll do. A personal review of the Worst Decade.

When I was little I used to calculate how old I’d be in the Year 2000. I’d ask my mother how old she’d be, and she’d always say she wasn’t sure she’d live that long. She didn’t which, as I’ve written before, is probably for the best. For one thing, I’d no longer be able to tell her there was nothing to worry about.

It felt like such a special year, till they starting scaring us with the Y2K thing, which was one of the only scary things of this decade that turned out to be a big bust. Well, that and the Christmas eclipse, which we watched from our porch with cool little cardboard glasses that said 2000 in great big numbers (found, I was proud to say, on the internet), but the tiny black bite out of the sun was pretty underwhelming.

In between those two letdowns, though, we had the non-election that ended up changing our history. I was standing on the snowy porch of a mansion called Claymont in West Virginia, for reasons that are too complicated to mention, when Chip gave me the news: the Supreme Court had made George W. Bush president.

And with that, it all began.

Having grown up in England, I am a great believer of celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas. And if truth be told, Christmas Day itself is often my least favorite day of the Christmas season. Christmas Eve is probably the best. That’s where the good music is. That’s when friends and family arrive, or we go to them. That’s when all the excitement comes to a head. Christmas Day is always rushed around here, because we need to open presents and talk to my family before getting to Mr. Spy’s family an hour away by brunch time.

My second favorite day, though, is Boxing Day. It’s the real vacation. There is nowhere we have to go, nothing we have to do. Consequently, AJ is playing video games and I am still in my pajamas at a quarter to 11. We had cake for breakfast and Mrs. Stein is sleeping on the newly uncovered velvet tree skirt. Everyone is smiling and relaxed.

It was really a fabulous Christmas all around. We all got good things to read. I gave Mr. Spy Gordon Wood’s Empire of Liberty and my brother gave him a subscription to The Atlantic. AJ received D’Aulaire’s Myths from my parents, The Guinness Book of World Records from us, a subscription to Ranger Rick from one aunt, and Kate DiCamillo’s The Magician’s Elephant from another. I got Alice Munro’s latest collection from Mr. Spy and a really fascinating looking book by Jonah Blank called The Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God, where he retells the Ramayana in tandem with a travelogue as he follows the path of Lord Rama through modern Asia.

We all got things to wear. Mr. Spy has a new sweater and sweatshirt. AJ has new pajamas and a rugby shirt. I have a new fleece pullover, a new yoga tunicky top and some socks.

But the most fun is that the other stuff — mostly given to AJ — are things we all enjoy. The highlight, of course, was AJ’s new electric guitar. The surprise is how much fun we’ve all enjoyed messing around on it. As a lifelong classical musician, I surprised myself by getting addicted to playing REALLY LOUD (even though the amp only goes to a pedestrian 10). For some reason, playing REALLY LOUD makes me cackle maniacally whenever I’m done. And the whole thing makes us all grin like idiots. I got Wii Fit, which charmed me immediately by declaring my Wii Fit age to be nearly a decade younger than my actual age. AJ is now downstairs walking on an imaginary tightrope on the balance board. AJ also got a similar kind of game called Wii Sports Resort from his uncle. I’m hoping this will keep us from being excessively sedentary during the long winter. And AJ and I are looking forward to working on the solar house kit he got from his aunt and uncle, which will let us conduct experiments in conservation and alternative energy sources. We’ve already started reading the book that came with it, which is really well done. There are also board games and legos still to be tried.

And then there are the little things that you forget about until you stumble on them. Like the tiny silver coffee spoons my brother picked up last time he was in Cambodia. They came neatly tied in a purple mesh bag inside a lidded basket the size and shape of a checkbook. Or AJ’s magic trick calculator that, if you attempt to turn it on, squirts water in your face. Or Mrs. Stein’s new mouse that actually squeaks.

This morning we woke up to a picture-perfect snowstorm. This is further encouragement to stay indoors in our pajamas, although I imagine we will venture out later to try out AJ’s new snowboard on the sledding hill up the road. And then we will come back for hot chocolate and a viewing of A Charlie Brown Christmas, which somehow we completely forgot to watch earlier.

Tonight, when I tuck AJ into bed, I will sing him the carol of the day, “Good King Wenceslas.” This year, the snow is sure to lay deep and thick and even. It is still coming down.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been busy going to parties, meeting friends and being sick. I will still be missing in action for the next week or two, because I’m hoping to take a break, get better and start sewing again. Feel free to browse around my old posts and blogs linked on my sidebar.

Hope you had a great Christmas and wishing that you all have a fabulous New year!

P.S. I’m so excited to see Alice in Wonderland movie… and oh, I’m getting old next week! *gasp*

Alice | Watercolour and ink on paper

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE – just sit back and enjoy this lil video of what the old Camry had in store for me this blissful Christmas morn!

Well I woke up at about 08:00 and was called for coffee. It was early probably because Pip had to get up and be taken out. We didn’t have too many presents because we will be taking all of the other families with us when we go to get together and open at the other house. Although I had one from my Aunt and Uncle who celebrate separately and of course my parents. I had a DAB clock radio from my parents which is something I wanted a lot and didn’t expect to get and from my Aunt and Uncle I had some FCUK bodywash and bodyspray. Had lot of gifts from Marie and Pernilla. Lots of gifts from Marie and a lovely letter too.

Tack så mycket Marie. Puss och kram.

Thank you for my Tomte decoration it is great. I shall find somewhere to put that up. My room looks like a bomb has hit it at the moment so will find somewhere downstairs to put it. Thank you also for the chocolates and the Christmas foam candy.  I think I bought some of those chocolates for work when I visited but I don’t think anyone knew what the chocolates were hehe. Pip says thank you to Ellie for his teeth chews, he loves them very much.  Also I wanted to say thank you for the wonderful letter too. Thanks for making my Christmas morning extra special this year and I hope each year will be so too. Though next year I will probably try and send it even earlier so you get it on time.

I say thank you to Pernilla as well, the knitted scarf is very special and thoughtful. Hugs and kisses also.

I always treasure my gifts but my Swedish ones are extra special to me.  Christmas mornings are always happy but this year I am very happy.

Will write some more maybe later if I am not home too late to think what to write, but if not tomorrow. I have some photographs for Christmas so will put some on here if I get a chance too.

Kisses to family and friends

Merry Christmas! / God Jul!

I blog a lot about movies and television and books of course so I thought maybe I should make a list of my fav Holiday shows. Why not, right?

1. So Called Angels – My all-time fav is a surprise but an easy one for me. This is an episode from the television series My So Called Life which has often been called one of the best tv shows ever to be cancelled. This episode makes a serious point about what the holiday spirit really is and concentrates on personal relationships and homeless teens. Yet, for all it’s serious aim, it also has a couple really funny scenes in the script. This show made Claire Danes a star and for good reason. The theme song from this episode – Make Your Way Home – I’ve actually heard at a couple Christmas gatherings this season. Great show. Great song.

2. Scrooged - Hey it is a funny take on the Christmas Carol story and who doesn’t laugh at Bill Murray? This use to get shown on tv quite a bit but someone must’ve bought the rights because I haven’t seen it at all this season. Guess I need to buy the dvd.

3. It’s A Wonderful Life - When I was a kid you literally couldn’t turn on a tv the two weeks before Christmas and not find this movie playing on a channel somewhere. Often it would be playing on 2 or 3 channels at once. I think we all can relate to life in Bedford Falls to some degree. Way to go Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart.

4. Christmas Carol - I have a tie about which is my favorite one between Patrick Stewart and the George C. Scott version. Both are well done and this story just never ages does it?

5. West Wing Season 1 - This show was good if not a little rosy in it’s portrayal but the first season Christmas episode about a White House aide whose card is found in a coat he donated on a homeless vet who froze to death is really good. The aide overstretches his reach a bit to arrange a proper military funeral. It’s just a good episode. You would think with all these shows about homelessness we’d get the picture but we don’t I guess.

6. Christmas Story - This movie has of course become a modern classic. My favorite part being where the mom calls another mom to tell her that her son said a dirty word and you hear the mom go “What???” drop the phone, walk across the room and just smack the kid. Then you hear the kid yelling “What’d I do?” It’s a funny movie and of course a boost to Chinese restaurants everywhere.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Well we were allowed home at lunch time so time to wind down and begin Christmas. I see Home Alone is on the movie channel, it’s been a while since I’ve watched it so I might watch it.

Got last of the presents wrapped. Not felt like wrapping presents much so put it off longer than normal, but done in plenty of time.

It feels quiet though on Christmas Eve. Like the country is poised for tomorrow and so it seems peaceful. Maybe too peaceful.

Pip has been bathed, So he is really clean and smells sweet for tomorrow. I have showered so I shall hopefully smell sweet for tomorrow too.

Nipped onto World of Warcraft but don’t feel like it today. The Christmas feeling is too strong for me. I feel sad for the English people who seem to still want to play today. Nothing is better than Christmas. Not so bad when they perhap play a little on Christmas day but I think right now they should be chilling with the Christmas movies and having some candy. That’s just me though, I guess others don’t value Christmas day in the same way.

It’s so good to be on holiday, I really need this.

Talk soon.

So, John Simm returns to Dr Who as the Master in the festive episode…I actually haven’t watched any of the new Dr Who series’ bar the first episode, but I may try to catch this. The scary tunnel intro to the old Dr Who is one of my earliest memories.

Rewatching LOM makes me want to watch more of John Simm, such a believable actor. I haven’t seen him in sci-fi so that would be interesting. The only other actor I think achieves the same level of believability is, oddly, Claire Danes, especially in My So-Called Life back in the mid 90s. I can’t put my finger on what it is about them.

Christmas 2008

I’m off to enjoy Christmas with my family at Grandpa Bob & Grandma Jane’s house. Hope you all have a very happy holiday season, no matter your tradition!

I’ve updated yesterday’s post on my Bûche de Noël with some photos of the steps along the way. I think it’s clear that I’m no food stylist. What is that scrap of paper in the corner of a picture or two? It’s my recipe, of course. Why, yes, it is scribbled on a scrap of paper torn out of a notebook shaped like a dog face. Why do you ask?

Yesterday I made the roulade and the crema part of the filling. I also made the meringue cookies to use for mushrooms on the log. I’ll post about those later. This morning I’ll finish the filling and roll up the cake, cut some pieces to make branches, make the icing and ice it. I plan to enlist AJ to help me spin some sugar. I’ll add the decorations shortly before I need to wrap it up to take to the party. The hard part, though, is all done. I separated 10 eggs without a problem, and got through the custard with no curdling. I did not burn the meringues. I am cautiously optimistic about the end result.

Today is going to be a bit frantic. There are many details to finish up. I had hoped to finish them last night, but instead I spent the evening editing a video Christmas card we made for family. So I am quite behind. And I need to pick up Mr. Spy’s gift, which is on hold for me at a local store. I had tried to order it from a different store with a bunch of other things, but it was apparently backordered and they neglected to notify me. I only found out when I went looking to discover why it wasn’t included in my order. Bah. And then there is the inviolable block of time set aside for listening to the service of Lessons and Carols from Kings College, Cambridge. Every year I finish my cooking while listening to it. I will not miss it for anything. “Not even if the house is on fire?” AJ asks. Don’t make me choose, AJ.

That is all by way of explanation that the rest of the description of the Yule Log may not get posted until after the holiday. But for those that are celebrating, from our house to yours, a very Merry Christmas.

Well I am sitting at my computer and am ready for last day at work. It’s a quiet easy going day as most places are closing or closed for Christmas and so there will not be many people needing to make orders now.

With luck we will finish early and can go home and settle down for Christmas tomorrow.

Today on the eve of Christmas I am thinking of my 3 female friends in Sweden who celebrate today and hoping they will have a wonderful day so for now I will just wish them ‘God Jul!’ hugs and kisses to them.

Santa Me to You

Jonathan xxx

Oh laptop, how I hate thee! Let me count the ways:

1. The way the “t” fell off your front cover, making you a “Gaeway” laptop
2. The way some of your keys don’t work every now and again, forcing me to hit them a few times to get them to work
3. The way  you somehow ruined not one, but two mice, which no no longer work in any computer
4. The way you were not Windows Vista compatible when I bought you, even though you came pre-installed with Vista
5. The way you always used to get blue screens (though, to be fair, this seems to be fixed now, after a year or so)
6. The way you occasionally randomly shut down for no reason when you are left alone
7. The way you take 48+ hours for virus scan
8. The way you are unable to do anything while virus scanning
9. The way you take ten minutes to start up or shut down
10. The way I had to re-flash your bios that one time, just to make you work like a regular computer (see #5)
11. The way your tiny hard drive is 98% full
12. The way you somehow destroyed your own power cord

Between #3 and #12, I’m kind of worried the poor thing has Lupus. In regards to #6, and maybe the whole list in general, I think that the little devil just wants attention. Hey laptop! That’s not the kind of attention you want, buddy!

This video blog is a follow up to a post I wrote about two weeks ago – FIND IT HERE to get background on what this story is about.

Christmas is nearly here. I have been reading my friends blogg a lot recently and she is making me feel extra Christmassy right now. In Sweden they celebrate Christmas earlier than in England. They have their Christmas celebration on 24th which is our Christmas Eve.

Actually thinking about that I wonder if that means the 23rd is their Christmas Eve or whether it is the same as us but they just do the celebrating on that day. I will perhaps ask her if I get the chance.

Marie sent me a Christmas parcel. I also did the same but have been disappointed as although I posted it well in time for delivery, it didn’t get to her. I have to say I feel really down  on this point. It probably has upset me more than her but I really wanted it to be with her. Her sister received hers in time and was just sent a day before.(Her sister is how I actually came to know Marie as she used to be a good friend of mine, well to me she still is). I guess being quiet and shy and never finding ease in making friends,  they are more precious to me than to the average person.

In Marie’s parcel she sent me some ginger cookie dough with which they make gingerbread cookies or ‘pepparkakor’ and eat at Christmas. I guess similar to our mince pie type thing. I made these on Sunday and have currently eaten about 8 of them, they are delicious and different. We have ginger biscuits here but in the Swedish ones they have spices like cinnamon that are missed in ours. I love cinnamon these are fantastic. Thanks Marie, or I should say ‘tack så mycket’

Enjoy your day all

Ok first off , this is my only blogg currently. I had written a few posts on it and have decided it was filled with too much emotional shit so rather than go through and select which to keep and which to dump I just obliterated it all.

There will perhaps still be a lot of emotion from me. Basically I’m one of those guys who is very sensitive and loving. I’m the type that will never forget an anniversary. Would often buy flowers for the girl he loves and would crawl over broken glass for her or give her my kidney if it would save her life and without a second thought. Of course I am a single guy so maybe a little full of crap but I am genuinely honest when it comes to myself.

I do not spend enough time on my blogg  and I want to change this. Actually I have been inspired by Marie. She is perhaps someone I shall probably mention a lot in my bloggs because at this point in my life she is a wonderful friend to me, a calming influence, and raises my spirits when they need to be. But enough on that for now, I will perhaps write more of my recent history so you may understand her importance as well as her friend Anna Maria. Check out their bloggs if you wish and can also understand ’svenska’  :D too.

Bloggs sort of remind me of a journal or diary and I guess that is what they are to some point, though it isn’t personal, it’s more public and I guess most of the stuff I write I will avoid things too personal if I can, but I suppose some things are good just to get out and share and might also take weight off my mind so here goes and for any that stray onto my site I hope it isn’t a struggle to read.

Take care

Jonathan

I hear the train a-comin’
It’s comin’ round the bend
And I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when…

I can’t figure out what it is that makes the train whistles more audible on some nights than others. Maybe it’s the snow, which is still falling. It’s not like last weekend’s storm out east, but it doesn’t stop. It’s already been snowing as far as I can remember. Shoveling is a regular part of the day, right up there with toothbrushing and clipping your nails and breathing. Reading the weather forecast is required before the planning of any events. Will we be able to get up the hill? Will we?

Today we did get up the hill and down another hill, all the way to the train station, where we left the car and headed for the city for our annual Christmas excursion. Usually we stay overnight, but this year, in the interest of being fiscally responsible, we did not. But while I missed the hotel experience, I also think we didn’t miss as much as I thought. We took a cab from the station to the Art Institute and wandered through a surprising number of galleries before the troops began to get hungry and crabby. The first restaurant we tried was too crowded. We ended up dining at Miller’s Pub, a Chicago institution. It’s paneled walls are covered with gilt-framed paintings of drunks and half-naked women and the occasional semi-tasteful landscapes and also with signed photos of many local sports figures and B-list celebrities. The food is not fancy, but the place is cheerful. There are huge tinsel balls hanging from the wrought-iron and wood chandeliers. The place is packed and everyone looks like they’re having fun. I forewent my usual whitefish dinner in favor of chicken pot pie. It was a worthy exchange. AJ devoured an enormous plate of spaghetti absolutely swimming in melted butter.

After lunch, we hoofed it back toward the lake. Mr. Spy and I took turns skating in Millennium park while AJ, who did not wish to skate, took pictures. It is lucky AJ did not want to skate, because we’d discovered just before leaving that we could no longer shoehorn his feet into his hockey skates. And the line for rentals was approximately 957 thousand miles long. It wrapped all the way around the rink and then some. But there was no waiting for those with their own skates. Lucky for me and Mr. Spy. We also took a picture of the bean with snow falling off of it:

Afterwards, we headed back toward the train, stopping to look at Christmas decorations on the way. We walked by Marshall Fields Macy’s to see their windows. They were okay. The aren’t like the lavish windows I remember seeing as a child. But AJ enjoyed them once he got over the obvious animation flaws (“How can she be writing a letter to Santa? Her crayon isn’t even touching the paper? Nobody writes like that!”).

Our collective favorite part, though, was on the other side of the sidewalk from the windows where we were lucky enough to stumble into the Puppetbike!. Today’s show included two cats dancing and occasionally fighting over the tip money, playing tug-of-war with a dollar bill.

Here is one of the cats dodging a crazy woman who kept trying to grab the puppets:

And then it was time to go home. And shovel some more snow. The walls of our annual driveway fort are coming along nicely. No pictures of those yet, alas. But they’re likely to get reinforcements over the next few days. We’re under a winter storm warning through Christmas Eve. Santa may need Rudolph this year.

It took just a few days, but I think that I’ve already become bored at home, which means that it’ll be time to get back to my apartment. Luckily, I have a few interesting side projects to work on:

1. Legal research regarding self-defense as it relates to sexual assault and the differences (if any) between defenses to spousal assault vs. non-spousal assault.
2. A fund-raiser for Lawyers Without Borders

In the meantime, friends have come home! It’s already proven to be an eventful break.

Immediately after finals, I partook in the not-so-subtly concealed vodka I had, grabbed some food and went out drinking. I was wearing a suit, and it just so happened that the bar that we ended up going to was also hosting some kind of office Christmas party. Thanks to my dapper attire, I managed to get their 75% discount on drinks. Spectacular, except that it led to…

I can’t account for about 3 hours. I left that bar in a taxi and came back in a taxi but, for the life of me, I can’t recall what happened in those 3 hours. All I know is that I came back with my shirt unbuttoned and my tie in my pocket. No one can fill in any details. When I came back, though, I saw everything I needed to see to cap off my night: Beardso McGrundleton, 5 o’clock shadow still painted, neat as ever, on his face, standing alone at the bar at the end of the night. I was told by a friend that he had been hitting on, and had gotten rejected by, the same girl continually all night. Schadenfreude, you warm my heart.

…

LF visited! I made sweet potato and chicken quesadillas and they were everything I thought they would be. We caught up on Friday Night Lights and Jersey Shore and memories and it was just lovely. And now even more friends are coming home from inconveniently placed locales and it makes up, almost entirely, for the unsettling onset of winter.

…

I got terribly excited when, while standing in the bathroom, I stepped on something warm and squishy with my bare foot. I should explain that my chihuahua, when she was with us, was mostly paper trained. But, if no paper was available (or all the time as she got older), she just crapped on anything that wasn’t the floor. And then, eventually, anywhere. So, I got excited for the briefest moment until I realized that what I stepped on was only a wet bath mat.

…

I can’t help but feel, every time I pass the new construction of 1 World Trade Center adjacent to the vacant, concrete footprint of the Twin Towers, that they’re building a tombstone next to an open grave.

…

I visited my grandparents today. I continually feel guilty that my hold on the Russian language isn’t strong enough to fully grasp and internalize all of the stories that my grandparents have for me. I find it odd, also, that the political discussions that I have with them are never as vitriolic as the ones that I have with my parents.

And my heart breaks a little more each time my grandmother asks me a question that I answered just seconds prior.

Okay everyone (well maybe not everyone but at least one friend – THANKS GREG C! is glad to see these come back) – the Camry Conversations are BAAACK!

This one is my Christmas Edition – sharing a lil about some thoughts I have about the Christmas season!  Hope ya enjoy!

“Don’t you get it man, we’re all losers. Everyone in this school, no everyone in this town. Out of all the kids who graduate maybe half will go to college and two will leave the state to do it. I’m not afraid of being called a loser because I can accept that that’s what I am. But I am afraid of turning my back on something that actually made me happy in my life.” –Finn from the pilot episode of Glee

While it may be a cliché statement, no one ever said high school was easy. It is the most awkward time in an adolescent’s life and they have to go through so much. If you don’t believe me, ask any teen or watch an episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation. It is incredibly hard to fit in, and as a teen that seems to be the most important thing — at least that is what popular TV shows tell us. It seems that every pre-teen wants to have the glamorous life of either Blair or Serena when in reality they can probably identify with a character like Angela Chase: young, angsty, and in the suburbs. However, as we all know, after one season My So Called Life, a show about the life of the everyday teen, was cancelled. The show Freaks and Geeks had the same fate and lighter premise, so I was shocked when a new show Glee hit the airwaves with the tagline “a biting comedy for the underdog in all of us” and was not only a critical success but a commercial one as well.

For those who haven’t seen Glee it is a show about a high school glee club trying to do what they love and survive high school while doing it. If you are doing glee, it means you are a loser and will get a slushie in your face or be dumped in the trash. Not even after the head cheerleader and captain of the football team join does the glee club ever become cool. It is also important to note that every person in the glee club is some kind of stereotype whether it is the gay kid or the kid in the wheelchair. So while at times the show can look like a Benetton ad, it tries to show that it is a show for everyone, and that everyone’s story is being told, unlike Gossip Girl where it is solely Manhattan’s elite.

So why do glee? It seems that the reason so far is because all the kids love to sing dance and be part of something. There is also a sense of camaraderie and that they have to stick together. As we see in this clip, the group sings “Lean on Me” to two of the members who are about to have a baby. The entire school just found out and they are the subject of ridicule ( http://www.hulu.com/watch/112694/glee-lean-on-me ) . Here we see the group telling these two members, the ex head cheerleader and captain of the football team who is now made fun of for joining glee, that no matter what, they are there for them, they are part of something. The show uses group numbers to show this a lot, as seen in this clip right here: ( http://www.hulu.com/watch/112697/glee-keep-holding-on )

While at times this notion of “being a part of something” may come off as cheesy, Glee’s ultra campy format actually makes it work. In recent episodes there have been a few moments that seem a little to after school special, like the character Kurt coming out to his father or the episode where everyone has to “feel Artie’s pain” by spending the day in a wheelchair and doing a wheel chair number ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKuikT2xbAo ), but surprisingly enough these stories come out rather genuine even if they are camped up.

This makes me think about My So-Called Life because it tried so hard to mimic what it was to be a teen at that time, and did it almost too well. However, even with its great job of depicting what it is to be a teen and how relatable its protagonist Angela is, at times it came off a bit more as a public service announcement and less of a teen drama. In shows like the OC or Gossip Girl a character may have a drug or drinking problem, but it is usually solved and forgotten about in the next few episodes, or there is a funny storyline to balance it out. In My So-Called Life the character Rayanne deals with being on and off the wagon throughout its entire series, here is a clip set to music that chronicles it ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-IMtjiMqv4 ). Come to think about there is not one happy ending in any episode My So-Called Life. While it is more true to life, it seems that the audience wants something they can smile about in the end, so when even a character like Kurt from Glee developed a drinking problem in the episode “The Rhodes not Taken”, it was dealt with and over within minutes. The same happens in the episode “Vitamin D” where the entire club starts taking what they think is a vitamin but is really Pseudoephedrine, a performance-enhancing drug. Of course by end of the episode they are all back to normal like nothing had happened.

While it is a show about the underdog, it makes the viewer feel like they are actually the rock stars. It does show them being picked on and ridiculed, but there is never really a super cringe worthy moment. Even when the diva of the series Rachel Berry is getting a slushie in the face, it isn’t as bad as some moments on shows like Freaks and Geeks. In this clip we see the character Bill getting peanuts put in his sandwich by a bully to see if he is really allergic to peanuts ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE65VbUBGbI Only watch the first 3 minutes). As we see, this moment is painful for all involved including the viewer. While the show is considered a comedy, the entire series banks on these moments that make us go “NO NO NO! AWWW! REALLY?! AWWWW!” Even the worst moments of the show, that usually happens to Rachel, never make us want to close our eyes and, well, cringe. It may be because there just aren’t any of those moments, or because we know that Rachel is the most talented person in the glee club and when she says she is destined to be a star, we believe her and know that these are just bumps in the road.

While I can’t exactly pinpoint why Glee is as successful as it is and shows about other underdog groups weren’t, I do have a few ideas. For one, the show tends to be like its title, gleeful and upbeat, and in a time where we are in a recession and feeling down isn’t that what we need? I mean who can resist a happy go lucky show about the underdogs rising up with musical numbers? My second idea is that even though these kids are supposed to be the biggest losers in school, I totally want to be friends with all of them as well as be in New Directions (that’s the glee clubs name). Plus, Glee sort of says that it is okay to be loser and that you should celebrate unlike My So-Called Life or Freaks and Geeks.

Even when it seems like they hate each other, they always have each other’s back, like in this opening scene from the episode Preggers where two of the girls in the club help Kurt convince his dad that his outfit is for football (http://www.vureel.com/video/5920/Glee-1×04 Watch the first 2 minutes), or in the clip above with the wheelchairs when Finn screams out happily “This one is for you Artie!”. Another example is in the season finale Rachel is willing to give up her solo twice to her rival diva Mercedes. In the end Mercedes says that even though she doesn’t like Rachel very much, Rachel deserves to have the spotlight. Again, corny I know, but after the episode you are just so happy you don’t even really notice. If there is one important thing to take away from Glee, which I also think is one of the reasons why it is doing so well, it is to let your freak flag fly. I don’t know how long it will last, but I can say this: Glee isn’t just waving a freak flag, it’s waving a freak banner and I totally love it!

Scene: Harriet’s office. Harriet is working at her desk when AJ comes running in, waving a piece of paper.

AJ: I put some more things on my Christmas list.

Harriet: You did? Don’t you think it’s kind of close to Christmas to be adding new things?

AJ: Well, I KNOW my parents couldn’t do it. But I always leave a list out for Santa. He can do it.

* * * * *

I was relieved to know that Santa is still alive and well at our house, although I’m somewhat concerned that the elves can manufacture an extra video recorder by Friday. I have a feeling that might be a little too much for them. But I’ll put in a good word for him. Maybe they can convince me to give AJ my old camera as a consolation prize.

It’s been a lovely weekend all around, mainly in that we’ve had very few imperatives. Although I did drag the family to church this morning. I miss singing at this time of year. And I did some woodshedding on some new violin music. I’m wrestling with a bow that needs rehairing and I’m frustrated with my weak fourth finger — the result of not enough practice for the last too many years. But I’m really enjoying the process of learning music. It’s been too long since I’ve done this. I like the way it feels to play through something, identify problem spots, take them apart and work on them and put them back together. I like the way it makes my brain work.

This evening I’ve been working on some homemade Christmas presents that need finishing up. The ones that involved the sewing machine could have come out better. But the one that involves the computer is coming out rather well. And now AJ is across the street having a sleepover. It’s really our turn, but I’m grateful just the same.

A few years back some friends and I went out to a restaurant to eat – it was one of those “middle of the road” price places.  Not fast food by any means but not a real expensive dinner either – so the time came for the bill and mine was about $12.  I handed the waitress a $20 bill along with the ticket for her to head off to ring it all up and bring back my change.  Now to the best of my memory she had been a good waitress and was going to get a decent tip – but the craziness of the situation was happened next from my friend John.

As the waitress whisked away my bill to the cash register – my friend John, thinking she was out of earshot – spoke up and said “You can just keep it, I don’t need any change” (remember I had given her a $20 on a $12 bill – that would have been an $8 tip – now I am not cheap necessarily but I am also not stupid!) The girl must have had supersonic ears cause she said – “What was that?  What did you say?” – after being elbowed and reprimanded by his future wife – John sheepishly replied that it was nothing he had not really said anything to her.  To which I am sure she was ticked thinking she was gonna get a fat tip!  I guess it’s a good thing we had already eaten – that food may have ended up with a lil something extra in it.

But that is not exactly what I am talking about right now – I’m talking about how I think it does each of us a lot of good to “Keep the Change” in our lives.  Change can be a tough thing and many of us (myself included at times) really DO NOT LIKE CHANGE.  We like the predictable – we like the routine – we like to know we will get what we expect.  But during this season of my life I am really beginning to grasp a lot of the good (notice I didn’t say easy or painless or fun) aspects of change.

I am reading a book right now by Dallas Willard called “Renovation of the Heart”.  This is all about how much CHANGE needs to take place in our lives to truly (as the tagline of the book says) “Put on the Character of Christ”.  This book is EXTREMELY challenging – simply the reading itself (Willard is a very DEEP writer) but also the challenge of the CHANGES that need to be made to really renovate our hearts into a place were God desires us to live.

I have really felt challenged lately by some of the reading that I have been doing to really work harder to “KEEP THE CHANGE” in my life and especially in my heart and mind.  As much as on the outside it may often seem that there is much good in my life – I am troubled to be reminded of all that is not so good.  For every bit or act of genuine goodness or Christ-like behavior, there is often a layer of what the Bible so clearly calls the “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (paraphrase).  So the needed reminders are not pleasant or easy, but they are good – good to realize and keep myself, my heart, my mind IN CHECK to truly KEEP THE CHANGE!

So how about you?  Do you do a good job of KEEPING THE CHANGE - in regards to changing out parts of your own life and changing into the Character of Christ each new day?

Last night, I had to face it: the Halloween pumpkins weren’t getting any younger. This year, we bought one large pumpkin for jack-o-lanterning and one sugar pumpkin to keep it company on the porch. And then the weekend after Halloween, AJ played a mini recital as part of a festival of events celebrating the grand reopening of the community center after a lengthy renovation. I was stuck in bed with the swine, but they were giving away pumpkins, leftovers from some event or another, and Mr. Spy grabbed a few for Thanksgiving decorations. They’ve been sitting on the mantel refusing to rot ever since.

Last weekend, when I decorated the mantel for Christmas, I hauled all the pumpkins onto the kitchen counter, where they sat for a week. I couldn’t bring myself to toss them because they were perfectly good, but neither was I sure of what to do with them. But last night, I hacked them open, one by one, and gutted them, filling a large bowl with their seeds. I roasted them and scooped out the flesh and today pureed it into 10 cups worth of pumpkin pulp. It’s a gorgeous color, much better than canned. But now what?

This afternoon I scooped out a cup and used it in lieu of persimmons in one of my grandmother’s cookies. I love cooking old recipes at the holidays. It was like spending an afternoon with my grandmother. I was remembering when she made an enormous batch of these and sent them to me when I was in college. filled with raisins and walnuts and spiced with cinnamon and cloves and nutmeg, they taste a lot like the top half of a muffin. The best half of a muffin.

I’m not quite sure where my day has gone today, but we’re all inside, out of the cold and the snow (although nothing like the snow some people are getting) and listening to A Prairie Home Companion, to hear a friend performing with her choir. A quiet day. A good day. But tomorrow there needs to be more working.