Today's Message

Courtesy of Gaping Void:

Bizarre Christmas Traditions

We have a somewhat menacing tree ornament, a light-up Darth Vader figurine.  It’s about 5” high, and electrified via a Christmas tree light socket from a nearby string.  A present from friends of the family to my son when he was about 10, we’d never dream of not having it on the tree.  Every time the tree lights are switched on, it gasps “The Force is with you, young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet!”  As the Darling Daughter remarked when we put the tree up this year, “It just doesn’t feel like Christmas until the Dark Sith Lord speaks.”

Strange, maybe a little, but it can’t hold a candle to these Unusual Christmas Traditions.  A little creepy, some.  Weird, all.

Remember 'Oregon Trail'?

Just about every Apple ][ and IIgs game made can be found at http://www.virtualapple.org/
Personally, I always like Oregon Trail.  Played that with the kids right up until the jellybean iMac started flaking out.

first trailer for The Hobbit is out

BBC article on it.
Apple download site for the trailer.
This really, really looks good.

Mythbusters busts a few other things.

Namely, a house's walls and a minivan, as seen at the San Francisco Chronicle.  Guess something like this was going to happen sooner or later.
Still, I hate to see this happen.  Those guys have done more for science education and plain good old fun (wait, is there a difference?) than any number of dry documentaries.  I hope the owners of the house and the minivan are reasonable people.
OB xkcd (http://xkcd.com/397/):

Reminder: Dec. issue of 4th Ward Cleaver is up.

As seen here.

reference of common phrases

Found here.  Surprisingly helpful, or at least amusing.

Oh, here we go.

After yesterday's weirdness we all need this, the Ramones doing it right at CBGB in '74.
There, much better now.

200% of your daily dose of surreal.

Kindergarten class singing Ramones.  I'm going to bed now, but did the week have to end like this?