Highlights from Christmas 2005
I had a good time this year, mainly just chillin' with my Mom, my brother, and a cat who is the equivalent age of a 100-year-old human. Watched four movies in three days (Episode III, War of the Worlds, The Day After Tomorrow, and In Good Company), ate a lot of Mom's home cookin', played a lot of Pac-Man.
I was gratified that Bill was as pissed off and disappointed about the ending of WOTW as I was when I first saw it. I think the film still holds up as an interesting take on our post 9/11 paranoia, and the special effects are killer, but what the fuck is up with the cop-out ending? Day After Tomorrow was the dumbest movie I've seen for a while, but it has good intentions and the effects are cool (though I didn't buy for a minute--SPOILER ALERT!-- that those people in the NY Public Library could have survived). In Good Company was much better than I would have suspected from the lame promotion campaign. Nice choice, brother!
This Xmas wasn't about the gifts (it was all about The Love), but here are some highlights from the Season of Your Giving (and My Receiving). NOTE: This is not an attempt at a comprehensive list, so don't feel bad if I left your gift out.
from Dina:
Volumes 2 and 3 of The Complete Peanuts, an ambitious and comprehensive collection of the Charles Schulz comic strip. These volumes bring the series up to 1954, and the publisher's goal is to reprint every strip in chronological order, so clearly there are many volumes to come. I have been amazed at the publisher's recovery of these early strips, some of which were found in library collections of preserved newspapers (reproductions of microfiche files are not suitable for publication, apparently). In addition to its overwhelming historical importance, these volumes are beautifully designed by the artist Seth, complete with endpapers, slipcovers, and spine illustrations. My favorite feature of these books is the index in each volume, detailing the first appearance of all characters (some of whom, like the obnoxious Charlotte Braun, have been long forgotten in Peanuts lore), important themes and references, first spoken words by the characters, and so much more. These are beautiful books and are a wonderful tribute to the genius of Schulz and his immortal characters.
from Bill:
Plug It In and Play TV Games, featuring Ms. Pac-Man. This is one of those game units that doesn't require 5.1 Surround or even a hard drive, but does recreate the 80's arcade era faithfully in one's own home. This unit also features Pole Position (boring), Mappy (annoying), Galaga (awesome!), and Xevious (awesome & relatively challenging). Since receiving this prize, I've been re-mastering my 20-year-old skills at these games and wondering why anyone would need an XBox 360. Goodbye dissertation, hello 12th board!
from Mom:
Lots of love, and cheesy gifts, and home cookin'.
from Dad:
This wasn't a gift as much as a convenient space-clearing donation, but since my dad no longer owns a working turntable, he decided he no longer needed all the vinyl albums that have been gathering dust in his basement for the last few years, and let me have my way with them. I was excited by this since these were the albums that were primarily responsible for forming my musical tastes and preferences. Much of the collection consists of classic rock (Aerosmith, the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival), but there is also a lot of 70's-era country (Charlie Rich, Olivia Newton-John) and soul (Booker T. & the MGs, Ray Charles) and pop trash (Eric Carmen, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Three Dog Night). I was surprised to find how many of these records I had already, perhaps unconsciously, purchased on CD. At least a third of my own collection must be devoted to recovering the music I became familiar with as a kid. But there was a lot of music in my dad's collection I had (willingly or no) forgotten about, and I've been spending the last few days going through it and evoking memories of a lonely childhood spent watching the orbits of black vinyl and looking at provocative album photos of the woman who would later become known as Sandra Dee. Sigh.
from Stefan:
My former colleague at Bowling Green, Stefan sent a package consisting of a Luke Skywalker coffee mug and a large "puffy" Britney Spears sticker. Does this guy know me or what? Stefan is a savvy thrift-store shopper and has found many treasures for me over the last few months, including a stuffed Hulk doll (which resides in the backseat of my car, to ward away potential thieves and ride-seeking freeloaders), a Star Wars address book, and a Padme Amidala Xmas-tree ornament. His gifts are always cheap, yet eminently cheerful.
from me:
I didn't think I would ever find this, but while roaming the aisles of The Bookshelf--Ogden, Utah's finest used bookstore--I came across the Red Son Superman action figure, a glorious reproduction of the Soviet champion (from an alternate-reality mini-series in which Kal-El's spacefaring manger crash lands in the USSR rather than Smallville, Kansas). The figure comes with a Soviet flagpole, perfect for heroic planting on the upper domes of the Kremlin. I just couldn't pass this up, especially since there are no venues for action figure purchasing/admiring in Southern Utah.
from the Nielsen Family Christmas Party:
Compliments of Bill Wegener, real estate agent, a calculator with a big-ass keypad and flip-up display. No more entering numbers with a pencil eraser! These buttons are perfect for my plus-size fingies, and I didn't have to "liberate" it from a financial aid office.
from Dennis:
An inheritance, rather than a gift. These vintage poster babes will hold a place of honor in my workroom.
Hope your Christmas was equally rewarding. Chazzbot will be happy to accept additional gifts into the New Year, FYI.
I was gratified that Bill was as pissed off and disappointed about the ending of WOTW as I was when I first saw it. I think the film still holds up as an interesting take on our post 9/11 paranoia, and the special effects are killer, but what the fuck is up with the cop-out ending? Day After Tomorrow was the dumbest movie I've seen for a while, but it has good intentions and the effects are cool (though I didn't buy for a minute--SPOILER ALERT!-- that those people in the NY Public Library could have survived). In Good Company was much better than I would have suspected from the lame promotion campaign. Nice choice, brother!
This Xmas wasn't about the gifts (it was all about The Love), but here are some highlights from the Season of Your Giving (and My Receiving). NOTE: This is not an attempt at a comprehensive list, so don't feel bad if I left your gift out.
from Dina:
Volumes 2 and 3 of The Complete Peanuts, an ambitious and comprehensive collection of the Charles Schulz comic strip. These volumes bring the series up to 1954, and the publisher's goal is to reprint every strip in chronological order, so clearly there are many volumes to come. I have been amazed at the publisher's recovery of these early strips, some of which were found in library collections of preserved newspapers (reproductions of microfiche files are not suitable for publication, apparently). In addition to its overwhelming historical importance, these volumes are beautifully designed by the artist Seth, complete with endpapers, slipcovers, and spine illustrations. My favorite feature of these books is the index in each volume, detailing the first appearance of all characters (some of whom, like the obnoxious Charlotte Braun, have been long forgotten in Peanuts lore), important themes and references, first spoken words by the characters, and so much more. These are beautiful books and are a wonderful tribute to the genius of Schulz and his immortal characters.
from Bill:
Plug It In and Play TV Games, featuring Ms. Pac-Man. This is one of those game units that doesn't require 5.1 Surround or even a hard drive, but does recreate the 80's arcade era faithfully in one's own home. This unit also features Pole Position (boring), Mappy (annoying), Galaga (awesome!), and Xevious (awesome & relatively challenging). Since receiving this prize, I've been re-mastering my 20-year-old skills at these games and wondering why anyone would need an XBox 360. Goodbye dissertation, hello 12th board!
from Mom:
Lots of love, and cheesy gifts, and home cookin'.
from Dad:
This wasn't a gift as much as a convenient space-clearing donation, but since my dad no longer owns a working turntable, he decided he no longer needed all the vinyl albums that have been gathering dust in his basement for the last few years, and let me have my way with them. I was excited by this since these were the albums that were primarily responsible for forming my musical tastes and preferences. Much of the collection consists of classic rock (Aerosmith, the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival), but there is also a lot of 70's-era country (Charlie Rich, Olivia Newton-John) and soul (Booker T. & the MGs, Ray Charles) and pop trash (Eric Carmen, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Three Dog Night). I was surprised to find how many of these records I had already, perhaps unconsciously, purchased on CD. At least a third of my own collection must be devoted to recovering the music I became familiar with as a kid. But there was a lot of music in my dad's collection I had (willingly or no) forgotten about, and I've been spending the last few days going through it and evoking memories of a lonely childhood spent watching the orbits of black vinyl and looking at provocative album photos of the woman who would later become known as Sandra Dee. Sigh.
from Stefan:
My former colleague at Bowling Green, Stefan sent a package consisting of a Luke Skywalker coffee mug and a large "puffy" Britney Spears sticker. Does this guy know me or what? Stefan is a savvy thrift-store shopper and has found many treasures for me over the last few months, including a stuffed Hulk doll (which resides in the backseat of my car, to ward away potential thieves and ride-seeking freeloaders), a Star Wars address book, and a Padme Amidala Xmas-tree ornament. His gifts are always cheap, yet eminently cheerful.
from me:
I didn't think I would ever find this, but while roaming the aisles of The Bookshelf--Ogden, Utah's finest used bookstore--I came across the Red Son Superman action figure, a glorious reproduction of the Soviet champion (from an alternate-reality mini-series in which Kal-El's spacefaring manger crash lands in the USSR rather than Smallville, Kansas). The figure comes with a Soviet flagpole, perfect for heroic planting on the upper domes of the Kremlin. I just couldn't pass this up, especially since there are no venues for action figure purchasing/admiring in Southern Utah.
from the Nielsen Family Christmas Party:
Compliments of Bill Wegener, real estate agent, a calculator with a big-ass keypad and flip-up display. No more entering numbers with a pencil eraser! These buttons are perfect for my plus-size fingies, and I didn't have to "liberate" it from a financial aid office.
from Dennis:
An inheritance, rather than a gift. These vintage poster babes will hold a place of honor in my workroom.
Hope your Christmas was equally rewarding. Chazzbot will be happy to accept additional gifts into the New Year, FYI.
posted by Chazzbot at 12:38 PM
3 Comments:
I got one of those multi game joystick thingies too. Mine is authentic right down the dodgy right contact that makes playing rather a chore....
The server isn't letting me see the Farrah poster, damnit!
Dude, Day After Tomorrow rocked. In what other movie do you see people running away from ice?
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