Merry Christmas Forum

Merry Christmas from OTB!

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FILED UNDER: Open Forum
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. Bill Jempty says:

    Merry Christmas

    3
  2. MarkedMan says:

    Wishing the OTB commentariat and hosts all the joy for this holiday season

    6
  3. Jon says:

    Happy Holidays to all!

    3
  4. Paine says:

    Merry Christmas, all.

    3
  5. Kathy says:

    I think tradition requires someone to say: Bah humbug.

    7
  6. Mikey says:

    @Kathy: It just wouldn’t be the same without Ozark to say it.

    6
  7. Moosebreath says:

    @Kathy:

    “Bah humbug.”

    That’s because it doesn’t know the words.

    Happy holidays (whichever you celebrate) to all.

    5
  8. Kathy says:

    Today’s music, The Nutcracker Suite

    2
  9. CSK says:

    And Happy Hanukkah.

    6
  10. Mister Bluster says:

    Memories of Ozark Hillbilly

    https://outsidethebeltway.com/tuesdays-forum-125/
    OzarkHillbilly says:
    Tuesday, 27 September 2022 at 16:19

    @Michael Reynolds: By pushing buttons the kid learns useful lessons, the first being that no behavior of theirs will ever be outrageous enough, no denunciation will ever be harsh enough, or unfair enough to end a parent’s love.

    This, x 1,000.
    When my youngest got caught up in the juvenile court system he was ordered to go to counseling. Personal, once a week, group, once a week, family once a week. My ex never participated, in fact interfered a time or 3. It was a pain in the ass, but I took him to every session when the ex didn’t disappear with him (and when she did I went anyway, just to show that he had at least one parent who was trying) In a group session the counselor asked my son how he felt about things. It was all I was the worst person in the world, how much he hated me and that if I wouldn’t go away he hoped I would die.
    The counselor looked at me and asked if I had anything to say in reply.
    I said something along the lines of, “CJ… I know you hate me. I know you want me to just go the fuck away and to never see me again. I’m not gonna do that. No matter how much you hate me, I love you more. No matter how hard you push me away, I will never abandon you. I love you enough to accept all your hatred, absorb it, and return it with nothing but the love I have for you.” I said a few more things too and by the time I was finished it had gotten very quiet in the room. And when I was done he was looking at me with new eyes. For the first time in 2 years I felt hope again.
    When she finally went to prison, he came to live with me and the first few months he kept telling me that when she got out he was moving back in with her. I just said, “OK.” and crossed my fingers. Just before she got out, he came to me and said that she and her husband needed time to reconnect and he was going to stay with my wife and I. I breathed a very big sigh of relief. After finally getting a taste of living with normal people, he had decided against returning to the crazy.
    FTR, he calls me once a week from NOLA just to talk about stuff, especially about his daughter who was absolutely entranced with Pawpaw when we were there in March. His 2nd daughter arrives in December and we will travel that way soon thereafter.

    Only the good die young…

    24
  11. Stormy Dragon says:

    Merychippus everyone!

    3
  12. charontwo says:

    @Moosebreath:

    Happy holidays (whichever you celebrate) to all.

    If any.

    Lots of houses in my neighborhood sporting yard signs “Jesus is the reason for the season,” – it appears several of the local churches are distributing these.

    My reaction to that message is I find it very confrontational and argumentative. Also very inconsistent, in spirit, to the Roman holiday Saturnalia (partying and gift giving) and the Norse festival Yule (feasting, boozing and singing).

    5
  13. CSK says:

    Tommy Tuberville says that Trump has brought Christmas back. I didn’t know it had gone anywhere.

    6
  14. Stormy Dragon says:

    @charontwo:

    Io Saturnalia! May the Lord of Misrule bless your festivities!

    6
  15. Sleeping Dog says:

    Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Joyful Kwanza. I probably missed a couple.

    4
  16. becca says:

    Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all and bah humbug to some!
    It’s smooth skating for me holiday-wise here on out. My work is done. We’ll roll down to brunch with the kids and come home to leftovers from last night’s spread.
    I have all my fuss and muss done and can just enjoy the ride. Fa-la-la-la-la-la!

    4
  17. steve says:

    Merry Christmas!

    Steve

    2
  18. Barry says:

    Merry Christmas,everybody!

    1
  19. Jim Brown 32 says:

    Merry Christmas you filthy animals…..

    8
  20. Kathy says:

    @charontwo:

    They must have Jesús confused with Jehudah Makabi. I guess all them Jewish names all sound the same 😀

    2
  21. CSK says:

    A Christmas kiss from Donald Trump:

    http://www.rawstory.com/trump-corporations-jan-6-donations/

    Seriously, I don’t know what he’s doing in that picture, but I want no part of it.

    3
  22. JohnMc says:

    Deck us all with Boston Charlie, you-all!

    4
  23. gVOR10 says:

    @charontwo: Two picture spread I saw somewhere. First pic is a Norman Rockwell family at table “Thank you Jesus for this bountiful meal”. Second is a young migrant farm worker looking up from his work, “De nada”.

    I recall Happy Holidays signs being common in my youth in ND. Perhaps because it saved going out on Dec 26 at 20 below to change the sign.

    Merry Christmas to all, even JKB. And a happy, prosperous New Year.

    3
  24. CSK says:

    I’ve tried twice now to watch Die Hard, and I just can’t. Booooring.
    It is supposed to be a Christmas movie, isn’t it?

    1
  25. Kathy says:

    @CSK:

    I never saw it.

    I think Gremlins is also a Christmas movie. I did see that one.

  26. Matt Bernius says:

    Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah for all the mighty Maccabees out there

    1
  27. charontwo says:

    @Kathy:

    Borders are mobile:

    Maccabee Judea

    1
  28. Jax says:

    Merry Christmas to the OTB family!

    2
  29. just nutha says:

    @CSK: Only to the extent that Bruce Willis action movies about borderline thug police officers talking the law into their own hands at Yuletide count. I actually liked the movie, but that’s more of a comment on the nature of my character than my aesthetics. And I thought the set up for the “yippie-ca-yay m’th’rf’er” signature line was clever. Again, more a character comment than anything else.

    But no, I’ve never thought of it as a Christmas movie, per se.

    1
  30. CSK says:

    @Kathy:

    Well, people rave like maniacs about how great Die Hard is. It gets an 8.2 rating on IMDB. It’s just Bruce Willis chasing Alan Rickman around a big building for 2+ hours. Maybe if it had been edited down by 30 minutes or so…

    2
  31. CSK says:

    @just nutha:

    I’m an hour and fifteen minutes into it now. That’s the longest I’ve ever stayed with it.

    I agree that’s a clever line, but maybe not worth all the tedium.

  32. Slugger says:

    Die Hard defense to follow, feel free to skip.
    Eight years ago I broke my ankle and had a surgical repair with a six week no weight bearing recovery period. Sitting quietly does not work for me. I had some pain, but opiates are downers and not in a good way for me. Alcohol didn’t work on my mood, and cannabis didn’t elevate my spirits either. I was in a funk! Every drama became intolerable after about ten minutes; I’d slam the TV to off almost immediately. Luckily I don’t own firearms; I might have Hemingwayed myself. I wound up turning on Die Hard and became engaged and had fun. My recovery accelerated. No explanation, that is just what happened. A Christmas miracle!

    9
  33. CSK says:

    @Slugger:

    This is one weird coincidence. My sister is in rehab now with a broken leg. Same deal about no weight on it. I’m at her place now, not having a terribly Merry Christmas. Her dog is going stir-crazy. I hope I can put him in puppy boarding school for a bit so I can take a break from his antics (he likes to bark at nothing–typical mini-dachshund) and get a few things done.

    1
  34. Mister Bluster says:
  35. Mister Bluster says:

    The Kinks – Father Christmas
    1977

    But the last time I played Father Christmas
    I stood outside a department store
    A gang of kids came over and mugged me
    And knocked my reindeer to the floor

    1
  36. Gustopher says:

    Merry Crustmas to all the crustaceans and crusty people.

    I am a recent convert to Crustmas having seen the tag on BlueSky yesterday. We are also in InverteFest, and the ArtAdventCalendar is officially over.

    I assume the Nazis and Cryptobros will eventually ruin it, but it’s pretty friendly and pleasant right now.

    Hot Take: with the energy requirements of crypto and generative AI, the techbros may be a bigger threat to humanity than Nazis. They are buying up and restarting old coal power plants.

    (This should not be taken as endorsement for punching TechBros or not punching Nazis. Let your heart be your guide.)

    2
  37. Mr. Prosser says:

    Glædelig jul to you Scandis and the the very best of the season to all of you.

    4
  38. Michael Reynolds says:

    We are spending Christmas in a Courtyard by Marriott in Marin County, roughly equidistant between Daughter #1 in Oakland, and Daughter #2 in Novato. I’m not enjoying gloomy, overcast Marin County. Next year they can all come to Vegas where the sun is shining and I can house them in adjacent hotels.

    The problem is they both hate Vegas. Which I can’t argue with, they’re good kids, and all decent people should hate Vegas. It’s a place for degenerates, and for world-weary cynics like my wife and me who enjoy watching squalid humanity. It’s not a real Christmasy city, though we do have a hell of a lot of lights, and the slots make noises similar to jingling bells.

    I want to do a Vegas Christmas so that on Christmas morning I can walk casino floors populated by gray-faced old women with inch-long ash hanging from their cigarettes, pushing buttons with one hand and holding watered-down Vodka sodas in the other. That’s some Christmas cheer.

    4
  39. wr says:

    @CSK: “I’ve tried twice now to watch Die Hard, and I just can’t. Booooring.”

    I teach Die Hard to my screenwriting grad students because it is — I think — the only American movie that has an opening that’s truly terrible and then turns great. It’s ten or fifteen minutes of the clumsiest exposition ever, and then McClane gets to Nakitomi Tower and the thing starts moving and never stops.

    If you’ve never made it past those opening scenes, it might be worth one more try — feeling free to fast forward through the opening bits…

    3
  40. wr says:

    @CSK: “I’m an hour and fifteen minutes into it now. That’s the longest I’ve ever stayed with it.”

    Oh. Never mind…

    1
  41. CSK says:

    @Michael Reynolds:

    Sounds swell. I went to Vegas once for a writers’ conference. Couldn’t wait to leave. I felt as if I’d swallowed a bowl of grease.

    1
  42. CSK says:

    @wr:

    I gave up at that point.

  43. Michael Reynolds says:

    @CSK:
    An entire bowl of grease? That’s what, 75 bucks plus 20 tip , valet parking at $40 (on a weekday) plus $10 in valet tips. If you don’t gamble you’re out the door sick to your stomach and $145 lighter in the purse. Then a homeless guy offers you a flyer for a strip club.

    Vegas, baby.

    2
  44. Beth says:

    @Michael Reynolds:

    That sounds awesome.

    Happy Holidays everyone. I’m currently trying to be present for my partner and kids, not a sobbing mess.

    Christmas is probably the hardest day for me. So, if anyone else is estranged from family; I’m here with you.

    I’m also locked in a battle with my MiL and her anxiety (she’s transphobic and unmedicated). I decided the best thing I could do was wear a low cut top and my 2d favorite bra. Not trashy, just low.

    I volunteered to hold the iPad while her other daughter called in. I got to catch her staring down my shirt. Favorite Christmas present this year.

    4
  45. CSK says:

    @Michael Reynolds:

    Metaphorical grease. Actually, the food was pretty good. The headwaiter at The Dunes proudly informed me that their seafood was flown in fresh every day from the San Francisco docks.

    That restaurant was notable also for its indoor pond in which a lady playing a harp floated around in a blue plastic swan-shaped boat.

  46. Beth says:

    @Michael Reynolds:

    Man! I’m sold! Settle down, you’ve earned your commission. lol.

    Seriously though, I very much enjoy Vegas in small doses. But I really enjoy the fake bullshittiness of it.

    Ohhh, you should get a ticket to Anyma at The Sphere, get some acid, and have a hell of an experience.

    https://youtu.be/GyfW1_EDKK0?si=qRn1jF02wOsKla1_

  47. CSK says:

    When I was a very little kid, I wondered why Jesus didn’t get a birthday cake and candles on this day.

  48. steve says:

    becca- Made the rugelach. Came out kind of ugly but tastes awesome.

    Steve

  49. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    @CSK:

    Well, aren’t ALL Christmas movies boring???????

    ETA except Alistair Sim and Muppet versions. Also the shortest ones, IIRC.

    1
  50. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    @Gustopher:

    Well, Luddite’s not gonna follow his heart on this one, ’cause Luddite’s heart says to club both groups like baby harp seals until they stop twitching.

    ETA thinking TechBros and Nazis would make more ecologically satisfying fur coats then baby harp seals do, but hey you do you.

    3
  51. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    @CSK:

    indoor pond in which a lady playing a harp floated around in a blue plastic swan-shaped boat.

    This does put me in mind of the worst excesses of the French nobility, or regency era england, or Donald Trump’s many residences.

    Obviously Luddite’s back with a late aring of grievances, and heartfelt hope everyone here has a wonderful holiday, whatever holiday you are or are not celebrating.

    2
  52. Michael Reynolds says:

    @Beth:

    Christmas is probably the hardest day for me. So, if anyone else is estranged from family; I’m here with you.

    I’m completely estranged from my mother, and now from my father’s widow. I tolerated my father’s widow, his third wife, but as soon as he died I was done with her. Southern Baptist hypocrite claiming to love us all while working to make my daughter’s life harder and sadder and more dangerous. Fuck her. Estrangement can be liberating – but for the well-meaning people who pity you for being free, er, I mean estranged.

    I’ve never liked the way Americans do Christmas. It’s cruel to people struggling with money issues, especially people with young kids. It doesn’t need to be a contest of who can spend the most, who can decorate most extravagantly, who can travel and who can’t. If we could just dial it down a little we could avoid piling pressure and guilt onto the backs of working people. That said I give my kids basically anything they ask for, contributing to the thing I dislike.

    Anyway, I suspect New Year’s Eve is more your kind of holiday. Of course I hate that, too. My holiday is January 2d, when it’s all over.

    2
  53. MarkedMan says:

    Factoid that I only know due to the advancement of technology: I took the prime rib out at 128 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature and over the next twenty minutes it rose to 141.

    1
  54. Mister Bluster says:
  55. Jax says:

    @MarkedMan: I did my very first prime rib today, and I rocked it! Perfectly medium on the ends for those who liked it like that, and medium rare in the center for the rest of us.

    1
  56. Kathy says:

    @MarkedMan:

    It’s carry over cooking

    The outside layers naturally are warner, and heat flows from warm to cool. The air is far colder than the inside of the meat, but the latter is heated by conduction and that is faster than the convection that heats the air.

    1
  57. Mister Bluster says:
  58. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    @Kathy:

    Ain’t science wunnerfulllll?

  59. Flat Earth Luddite says:

    @Beth:

    I don’t recommend the steps Luddite lived to get away from my natal family (due to the stains on my soul and psyche), but the least was my impersonation of Christ and his interaction with the money lenders outside the table.

    In any event, you’re here with your adopted OTB family, where everyone knows your name, and we’re happy you’re here.*

    ETA *with the possible exception of a couple of cranks who are lurking up on the balcony complaining about the show. But who nonetheless still show up every night.

    2
  60. Jax says:

    I realized today that my kids and I must have been in shock for both Thanksgiving and Christmas last year. We don’t remember what we ate, if it was good, what we did for either holiday. I don’t remember what I bought them, and they don’t remember what they got.

    I never really understood those people on Facebook, friends of mine who I know and love, and their grief when someone dies. It never actually….occurred to me….how hard holidays would be. All of them. It hurt so bad to not see my Dad’s smiling face as he carved the prime rib with his “Eat Beef!” apron on. To not hear their “we’re 50 years married and still bickering and doing low-key kisses and hugs” banter as we all cooked.

    It was just me, my ex from 20 years ago that I share a daughter with, and my two girls. The big “pirate” meat knife hasn’t been sharpened since Dad died. It was so awkward, but at least it’s my first “core” memory from the accident.

    4
  61. al Ameda says:

    @Mister Bluster:

    The Kinks – Father Christmas
    1977
    But the last time I played Father Christmas
    I stood outside a department store
    A gang of kids came over and mugged me
    And knocked my reindeer to the floor

    ‘ … give us your money
    we don’t want your silly toys
    … give all your toys
    to the little rich boys.’

    Merry Christmas to you and all here in the OTB Commentariat.
    And by the way, God Bless The Kinks

    3