The best time at Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you've all had a nice holiday season so far. I know I have. For the first time in three years, my mom, dad, sister, and I were able to have our family opening of presents time out in the living room around the Christmas tree instead of all crowded into my bedroom. That was probably the best gift of all this year, for me -- to be out of bed like a "normal" person. This is also partly why it's been so long since my last post -- I've been busy doing things and spending quality time with my sister, Joanna, who's home for the holidays.

It seems like on every talk show I see, someone gets asked about their best Christmas memories, so I thought I might tell you about my favorite part of Christmas growing up. . . Early on Christmas morning, usually before sunup, Joanna and I would get up very quietly and head downstairs to find our stockings and see if Santa and the reindeer had eaten what we left for them. We would turn on the Christmas tree lights and spread out on the living room floor. Then we'd take turns pulling one item out of our stockings to check out and show each other. When the stockings were empty of goodies, we'd start reading the Christmas picture books like The Polar Express, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Christmas Mouse (which tells the story of how a mouse helped write "Silent Night"). It was so quiet. No tv, no phone, no computer, no parents, not even pets. Just the two of us -- wrapped in blankets, on the floor, before the sun came up, discovering the treasures in our stockings and reading the books we read every year.

I'm afraid that, like the people in Polar Express, we may have lost of a little of that Christmas magic; but we still hear a little of the sleigh bell's jingle when we see what's in our stockings each Christmas. Just the two of us . . . sometime after noon.

Desert Island Records

Well, I figure it's better to write something than nothing at all. Since I don't have much on my mind at the moment, here's my answer to one of those classic questions: what music would you want to have with you if you were all alone on a desert island? Maybe it's archaic to even make such a list when all I really need would be a 30 GB iPod and a solar charger, but here (in no particular order) are my top ten must have albums if I were ever stranded --

1) Rent, Original Broadway Cast
2) Something, Lost And Found
3) Sound Theology, Jonathan Rundman
4) Spirit, Jewel
5) Californication, Red Hot Chili Peppers
6) Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette
7) Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Original Cast Recording
8) The White Album, The Beatles
9) Grace, Jeff Buckley
10) Hymns, Various Artists (compiled by Youth Encounter)

Now, a little explanation. The one ground rule I set for myself was to only bring one album per artist. (Don't ask me why, it made sense at the time.) And here's a few thoughts on some of the specific choices --

1) Rent - there must be broadway, and this is my favorite, hands-down.
2) Something - picking one L & F album was tricky, but this is the one I listen to the most
3) Sound Theology - one song for each week of the church year. and I do get to take the liner notes, right?
5) Californication - for me, this is the peak (and my first RHCP)
10) Hymns - yes, I am that much of a church nerd.

So, that's what I have to say tonight. Please post or email me any comments as I'll probably do more top tens in the future. This was kinda fun!

Snow!

It's snowing, huzzah! It seems somehow appropriate for the first December blog to be about snow, though in the Baltimore area, you often have to wait much longer for something worthy of the name. We've actually gotten a few inches on the ground way before Christmas, which makes me happy. I actually got out of bed first thing this morning (and by morning I mean almost noon) and ran outside to catch a few flakes and throw a few snowballs. I'm glad to be living out in the country a bit where the snow actually stays white. White snow was sort of a revelation for me when I moved at the age of seven from inner city Baltimore to rural Gettysburg. Now we're back in Baltimore county which is nice because we can go to the theatre and get good Greek food, but there are trees and the snow stays white. I just wish we got more of it. But then again, I never have to worry about driving in it . . .

Goodbye good tv

Let me start by saying, I watch a lot of tv. And it's looking like the best shows will be slowly disappearing from the airwaves while this writer's strike continues. I'm no expert on the ins and outs of this whole thing, so this is in no way a breaking-news blog. But from what I've read about the negotiations, it sounds to me like the writers have totally legitimate complaints and I support their right to strike -- I'm just really gonna miss their work.

Firstly, there has been no "Daily Show," for five weeks now so if I want to know what's going on in the real world, I have to watch the actual news or look stuff up online.

Monday was the fall finale of "Heroes," which will now, it appears, be gone until further notice. I do know the intended fill-in show, "Heroes: Origins," has been put on the back burner. Too bad -- I thought getting to see some new characters would be fun. Plus, writer/director Kevin Smith was supposed to do an episode, which would have been awesome! They are making a bunch of online content and putting out a "Heroes" book, but (call me old-fashioned) I like my tv on tv, I guess.

Another show I'm worried about is "Scrubs." This was supposed to be its final season, so will the strike mean fewer episodes? Or will the season run later than usual after everything is resolved? Anyway, I'm really hoping both sides will be able to figure this thing out before too much longer because I don't want to get cheated out of the last episodes of one of my favorite sitcoms!

Then there will be some shows returning in January like "Lost," "Psych," and "The Tudors," all of which I'm really looking forward to. Also returning in January is the final season of "The Wire," which is really must see tv. Season four just came out on dvd and for anyone who's interested in a truly great crime show set right here in Baltimore it's really worth catching up on those back seasons. It's intense and complicated, but really pays off.

Also, there's always reality tv, which is another can of worms entirely. I'm really glad "Project Runway" is back for one. And I suppose we'll be seeing more and more reality shows in the weeks to come. Like "Farmer Wants a Wife." (I'm not kidding -- that's a real show)