My Least Favorite Christmas Song

In my email to my mailing list last week, I talked about my top favorite Christmas songs, and yesterday on my Facebook page I posted my all-time favorite. So, now that Christmas is over (and I hope you had a good one), I thought I would fill you in on my least favorite. As much as Christmas is a time of peace and joy, I have hate in my heart for "The Christmas Shoes" by New Song.

Thankfully, I haven't heard this song on the radio this year, because it is the worst. It is so cheesy and melodramatic that it makes me want to gag, and the children's choir singing towards the end just makes me roll my eyes. I do believe that YouTube commenter nicholaswasright was on the right track when he wrote, "This song gave me diabetes." You bet it did. And what the hell is Sam Seaborn doing in the music video? Come on, Sam, you're better than that.

But don't take my word for it. Patton Oswalt has already beaten me to a phenomenal take-down of the song:

We Must Change

The tragedy that occurred in Newtown, CT - a town about an hour away from me - this past Friday has obviously and understandably been on everyone's mind. Over the past four days, I've been reading, and watching, and listening, and thinking, and I have some thoughts.

My first thought is that everyone who says that our continued violence epidemic in this country is a multifaceted problem is absolutely correct. I believe that the way we address the issues of guns and mental health are both heavily contributing factors, as well as the media reaction to events such as these. I'll start with guns since - even though I am not nor do I have any desire or need to be a gun owner - it feels more in my wheelhouse.

It's important to remember that the 2nd Amendment was written at a time when none of the following things existed: street lamps, telephones, cell phones, home alarm systems, police forces, automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons, and basically any weapon that allows you to load more than one bullet at a time. It was written at a time when a person couldn't simply pick up the phone and call for help, and someone couldn't fire more than one bullet at you before having to reload. In no way could the founders have predicted or foreseen the kind of resources available to us today in terms of communication, protection, and safety, or the kind of firepower that is currently so easily available. This is why the Constitution is a living document, and (assuming that amendments 18 and 21 are a wash) why it has needed to be changed 25 times. Rejecting this fact is simply willful ignorance and evidence of residence in an alternate reality.

But even if the above paragraph were not the case, the amendment says, "a well regulated militia," and any serious look into overall government regulation into guns will show that it has been anything but "well." It is more difficult for a person to obtain and keep a driver's license than it is for them to acquire and use a gun. In the past four days I've read the idea that every gun owner should be required to be licensed and as certified as any police officer, and I agree. Think about this: no guns of any kind are allowed around the president of the United States unless it is being carried by a fully licensed, certified member of the Secret Service or other law enforcement agency. Why? Because they recognize how dangerous these weapons really are. The rest of us citizens, however, are not afforded the same protections.

Other ideas such as advanced technology and biometrics that only allow for the registered gun owner to fire a specific gun are also intriguing and should be discussed more, but here's one that I really like, courtesy of my neighbor: if you're a gun owner and your gun is lost or stolen, then you lose your right to possess one - either for a period of time or permanently. Why? Because by losing it or having it stolen, you have proven to society that you do not respect the weapon enough to keep it track of it, and you can no longer be trusted to manage one safely.

Another problem that we have to address is the lack of access to mental health resources in this country. Due to my relative unfamiliarity with the subject, it is difficult for me to suggest ways that this can be addressed, but the fact that it can be easier to get a gun than the help of a mental health professional must be addressed. Minds are like any other part of the body that can need attention, but too often we find it far too easy to simply slap a label on someone and move on. People are much more complicated than that, and its a disservice to everyone to not give it the attention is deserves. Show me one person who in their entire life could never benefit from access to mental health services and -- wait, no one like that exists. We can all use it at some point in our lives. Some more than others? Sure. But all of us at some time.

And let's not forget the media's role in all of this. There is a quote going around Facebook attributed (supposedly) to Morgan Freeman that talks about how the media's elevation of these shooters catches the eye of other would-be shooters who want the same kind of fame and attention, and thus creates a continuing cycle. Not a completely unreasonable point. Should the media be giving any screen time at all to the perpetrators of such terrible acts?

Sunday night President Obama said, "We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them we must change."

I couldn't agree more.

12.12.12

I unfortunately watched the first 2 hours of last night's 12.12.12 Concert for Sandy Relief on mute, as I was at the Newburgh Brewery for trivia night (we came in 2nd and it's still sore so let's move on) and then I was driving home, but I've seen Bruce live so I know he's great; I've never been a huge Bon Jovi fan, but I'm sure they were good; I heard Roger Waters was awesome; and I heard that Clapton is indeed still God. So, let's pick up from there, but instead of going through every act I'll just hit the ones that I have significant thoughts on.

The Who's performance of "Love Reign O'er Me" was just epic. Like stop you in your tracks good.

What the hell was up with Kayne West? I mean, I applaud anyone doing their part to be involved and helping out, but when the bill was first announced I absolutely felt like he was the odd man out of the line-up. And then the performance was like a bad one-man show at an off-off-off-Broadway theatre. He was sure giving it his all, but every time he was onstage doing nothing while some pre-recorded music played I was like, "Seriously, dude?" And what the hell was up with that leather skirt? Was that supposed to be a biker's kilt or something?

I've been a Billy Joel fan for well-over a decade, and I've seen him 4 times. But Billy and his band haven't played a show in 2 years, 9 months, and even though he's had to drop some of his songs to lower keys ("New York State of Mind" and "Only the Good Die Young" were down a whole step; "River of Dreams" was down a half step), he and his band played like they're still doing 52 dates a year. I mean, they were tight! And his voice sounded great. That, too me, felt like the most impressive performance because it was almost as if Billy was coming out of a semi-retirement just to perform at this show, and he killed it. And it's always great to see Tommy Burns, Mark Rivera, and Chrystal Taliefero at his side.

And as for that Paul McCartney/Nirvana performance? I think the fact that the song and performance was completely in-your-face and badass should totally overshadow the whole reunion aspect of it. Because it rocked and it sounded awesome.

An Open Letter To HIMYM

OK, How I Met Your Mother - here's the deal: we don't care about anything but Barney getting together with Robin, and Ted meeting the mother. Everything else, at this point, is just filler. Now, I realize that might be tough to hear, but you brought it on yourself - despite the fact that last night's episode was pretty great with the bro-bibs and referencing "The Playbook," the Marvin sight gags and...wait...where was I? Oh yeah.

Kids, look: we love Lily, Marshall, and even little Marvin (despite his frequent absences...or maybe because of them), but in all honesty, their major story lines are over. They broke up in season 1, got back together and married in season 2, bought an apartment in season 3, Marshall lost his dad in season 6, Marshall got his dream job and they had little Marvin last season, and Lily finally got close with her dad for good earlier this season. Do we really care about Marshall winning his first big environmental case? No, not really. I mean, in the flashforward at the end of S3E2 we see what Lily and Marshall look like in 2029, what they're wearing, and the house that they live in. So, we know that they do very well. Does Marshall become a judge? What does it matter? In a show based at its deepest level on the pursuit and finding of love, they've already found theirs.

But we do care about Barney and Robin - and we're ready. They've gone through their ups and downs over the seasons in life - Robin's infertility, Barney's dad, Robin's career pursuits, and whatever the hell it is Barney exactly does for a living - and love, but quite frankly no storyline like that matters at all after the season 7 finale. It didn't matter how Barney's relationship with Quinn went, because we knew that it wasn't going to last. Same thing with Robin and Nick, and now Barney and Patrice?! Some people say that when you finally find "the one," things that happened in your past cease to matter. Well, that's how we feel about Barney and Robin, only we still have to suffer through everything that isn't going to matter. Barney and Robin are supposed to be together, all we want to do is get to the day of that wedding, and we're a little tired of the back and forth delaying the inevitable. (Now, whether or not they actually get married is another story...but we're interested in that one!)

And Ted. This is the other reason we want desperately to get to the day of Barney and Robin's wedding, thanks to information revealed in the season 6 premiere and later confirmed in this season's premiere. Ted meets the mother on the day of the wedding thanks to a situation that lands him at the Farhampton train station in the rain and that yellow umbrella. So, again, we need to get to that day! Nothing else matters. And we're ready.

We've all been fans of the show for years, but it's not season 5, anymore, and we've been together too long for you to be playing these games with us. "Who Wants To Be a Godparent?" Doesn't matter. Which member of the gang has the biggest rap sheet? Doesn't matter. Barney and Robin, Ted and the mother. That's what matters. Barney and Robin, Ted and the mother. Yes, it is going to be legendary, but we've been waiting for it for quite some time now.