Christmas 2.0

From today's New York Times:
"But starting just after Thanksgiving, the designers did their best, first identifying the three chief problems with the brand: it’s divisive, ugly and, of course, overcommercialized. Next they came up with a big idea to try to fix these problems. It was not to rename Christmas, exactly, but to streamline it by creating what might be thought of as an “overall umbrella brand,” Mr. Bierut said, one that sounded contemporary, hip and, most important, Internet-ready: x.mas."

I Finally Get That Flu Shot
I get that flu shot - and then I came down with the Mini-Flu. Fever, aches, massive sinus congestion... I thought "at least it didn't get into my chest" and then, it went into my chest. Coughing. The whole thing. I googled "Cold vs. Flu" and found out the main difference between the two: with a cold, you have massive head congestion. So, while I didn't feel like I was going to die, I did feel pretty lousy. I could get out to the store allright. But when I get sick, at any level, my desire to create goes right down the tubes. I'm still fighting congestion at this point, but I am getting better, and I'm sitting here writing this. But for a clue as to how sick I did feel, consider this: on Sunday, I watched all 12 hours of the Lord of the Rings on TNT. From noon to midnight. And it was pretty entertaining. I watched "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" tonight on CBS, and it was, as always, a moving and sublime experience. Up there with the Mahler 2nd Symphony last night on PBS.