Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Weird. Rome has an American Pope and America has a Russian President.

“In this country American means white. everybody else has to hyphenate.”

This chaos was totally avoidable.

Let me file that under fuck it.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

You are here: Home / Music / Monday Morning Open Thread: Merry Xmas (If You Can)

Monday Morning Open Thread: Merry Xmas (If You Can)

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How’s the Official USA Yule Holiday treating you, o Balloon-Juice jackals?

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Reader Interactions

82Comments

  5. 5.

    J R in WV

    Well, it has been a boring night for insomnia. Not much going on on the intertubes tonite.

    Looking at used trucks was about the high point.

    Merry Christmas, everyone. I’m gonna try to go to sleep again in a couple of minutes here, when I finish mu fizzy water. Will be back to chat later on.

    Good morning, and Happy Yule, rikyrah!

  7. 7.

    ThresherK

    @NotMax: The Zeigfeld Follies? I’m impressed.

    Spousal Ms ThresherK mad me promise I wouldn’t galavant with any showgirl uness it was one of Baxter’s Beauties.

  12. 12.

    ThresherK

    @NotMax: Thanks much. The first one had me wondering if Mel Forme ever recorded Mele Kalikimaka.

    Favored non-radio music today: UltraLounge Christmas Cocktails (several CDs out), Christmas Meditations (Bach, Pachelbel, others), and a CD of antique music box hilday songs infant find info on. Plus, I’m a sucker for organ music; many recovering Catholics are.

  13. 13.

    NotMax

    @ThresherK

    Cherished memory is of watching a friend who was an accomplished organist (also conductor of a bell choir) informally playing a pipe organ in Gettysburg, PA while wearing steel-toed work boots. His bell group appeared on the Larry Ferrari program, a show which held on to a spot on Philadelphia TV forever and a day.

  15. 15.

    NotMax

    @>ThresherK

    Worthwhile episode of Ultimate Restorations (free on Amazon Prime) is the one about the job of restoring the Atlantic City municipal pipe organ, a task of gargantuan scope. (trailer)

  17. 17.

    Baud

    Merry Christmas to all Xian Juicers!

    And to all other Juicers as well, since you’re more likely to adhere to Jesus’s actual teachings than the right wingers who constantly invoke his name.

    + Good morning to rikyrah.

    P.S. Bah! Humbug! to OzarkHillbilly.

  24. 24.

    satby

    @eclare: we got about 6 inches of snow and more is supposed to start, so now I’m not sure. I’m likely to get stuck in the alley leading to the street. We’ll see how bad it looks once it’s light.

  25. 25.

    Jeff

    The traditional Christmas morning breakfast of lox and bangles has been consumed. The traditional Christmas lasagna was made yesterday and chilled over night to cut better on reheating at dinner time. A quiet day is looked forward to.

  26. 26.

    evap

    Merry Christmas, ya’ll! My daughter, brother, and niece are coming over later for homemade bagels and sticky buns, a Christmas tradition. In my family, we throw the religion out of religious holidays and keep the food and presents!

    Flying to Edinburgh with my spouse this evening to spend a week with friends in Scotland, then a week in Ireland to celebrate our 31st anniversary and to inspect the new kitchen in our Dublin house. We discovered that flying on Dec. 25 saved us several hundred dollars on the plane tickets compared to flying on the 26th or 27th.

  28. 28.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Merry Christmas! Im watching my cat play maul my oldest daughters cat under the tree among the unwrapped presents. Middle daughter’s feral is sequestered away in the pantry – she would do real damage to oldest daughters cat, but it was super cold last night. Youngest daughter mercifully left hers at home as the newest is not yet vaccinated or neutered.

    The dog looks on in his usual stupid confusion.

  29. 29.

    Phylllis

    Merry Christmas to all y’all. We opened presents last night. I got a burr grinder–read instructions, got up this morning and put in the beans, hit start, and nothing. After a momentary pout, realized the container that the grounds feed into was not fully in place. Once that was corrected, it worked like a charm. Will take some trial and error I think to get to the coffee grind sweet spot.

    Just a quiet day at home with the hubby on tap. Gonna whip up some biscuits & sausage gravy in a bit for breakfast. Oven-roasted rock Cornish hens on tap for dinner later.

  30. 30.

    Chyron HR

    Oh wow, you guys, Jesus brought me a ton of great swag last night. I’m so glad that Christmas is legal again.

  32. 32.

    donnah

    Merry Christmas, everyone!

    We opened gifts at my mom’s last night and I got the Pete Souza’s “Obama, an Intimate Portrait” book of photos. I had tears in my eyes before I was halfway through. And with it, my mother-in-law included the USA Today issue of the newspaper of the day he was re-elected.

    The book’s a stunning collection of a President who is shown in hundreds of situations, and he stands out in every photo because he’s so engaging and charismatic and honest. If you can get your hands on a copy, I promise that you’ll be moved.

    God, I miss him SO much!

  34. 34.

    satby

    @satby: correction, we got 7 inches of snow, according to this. Chicago only has 2 inches.
    It’s 15° and cloudy, so no chance of any melting in the next few hours. Shit.

  40. 40.

    satby

    @eclare: I don’t have to leave till after 12 my time, so I have to see if I can get out of the alley to the street. Presumably once I get past Michigan City the snow cover will lessen, and at least those roads get plowed more often.

  43. 43.

    Glidwrith

    A Humbug BAH Christmas to all! Everyone is still asleep here, no idea what the agenda might be other than some family gathering together. I am thinking of making the molasses spice cookies posted earlier to try jump starting some of the holiday spirit.

  44. 44.

    M31

    Merry Christmas you jolly rogues!

    And to all the Trump family and sycophants, TICK TOCK MOTHERFUCKERS

  45. 45.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Twas the night before Christmas, when through the White House
    Not a Kushner was resting, not even his spouse;
    The documents were hung by the shredder with care,
    In fears that Bob Mueller soon would be there;

    The staffers were nestled all snug in their beds,
    While visions of subpoenas danced in their heads;
    And Melania in her babushka, and Trump in his cap,
    Flew to Mar-a-Lago for a long winter’s nap,

    When on the TV there remained such a matter,
    There was Brennan, Podesta and man named Jim Clapper.
    With bribes fresh in hand, they flew like the flash,
    The greedy corporations did suck up the cash.

    The Congress rejoiced the records will show
    Feigned promises of riches to the peasants below,
    When, what to amazement FoxNews should appear,
    Took aim at Bob Mueller, with permission to smear,

    With disinfo flying, so rapid and thick,
    I knew in a moment it must be Bolshevik.
    More rapid than vultures his hackers they came,
    And they posted and trolled, as they sought to defame;

    “Now, Fancy! now, Cozy! now, Seaduke and BlackEnergy!
    On, Havex! on Sandworm! on, Skipper and CrouchingYeti!
    To the DNC server! Past the paper’s firewall!
    Now exfiltrate, exfiltrate, exfiltrate all!”

    Then the Kremlin called Julian, their reliable guy,
    To leak to the world, the docs that they plied,
    And the Stone who was named Roger bragged on it too,
    With the dirty tricks methods that Vladi knew.

    And they carried on lying that there was never the proof,
    They fogged and distracted and acted aloof.
    But their plan would unravel, spin wild to the ground,
    And the FBI went digging and looking all around.

    Then came the big man, he was Special Counsel to be,
    And he hired top lawyers, and then empaneled grand jury;
    There were interviews and hearings, this man would not slack,
    And he pressed forward justly, with a determined knack.

    His eyes were like eagles, they missed not a thing,
    His presence was heavy, his targets would sing!
    His sleuthing was famous, if you must know,
    And his integrity was solid, like the ground below;

    The facts that were surfaced he held tight in his teeth,
    And as he dug for truth morsels that were buried beneath;
    He was focused on the crooked, the wretched and smelly,
    They did shake full of fear as we watched on the tele.

    He questioned each of them from the son to the elf,
    And I rejoiced at the justice, then I thought to myself;
    Under orange little man with weird hair on his head,
    The great justice of America was certainly not dead,

    He did push and did pull but it just would not work,
    And did hit Twitter daily, to act like a jerk,
    And he threw little tizzy fits, like a toddler in chief,
    But we saw he was crooked, though no ordinary thief;

    Though it took time, and labor we could would no longer bristle,
    As we finally saw Congress call for his dismissal.
    And as justice was served, he was hauled out of sight,
    MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!

    -Chris Sampson

  51. 51.

    Immanentize

    Merry Christmas to you all!  And Happy Today for those who don’t play that way.

    It’s snowy here — and cold.  I’m the only one up, even the cat is still sleeping. Immp got to open his gamer driving wheel and pedals last night — I think he stayed up driving a truck from Barcelona to Berlin. Just like a real driver, he listens to podcasts and laughs while he is simulatin’. It’s a good sound.

    I haven’t said this enough (if at all) — You have all been so wonderful to me over the past half year. I thank you. I have supportive friends and relatives IRL; but it was here that I could express without expectations. In that way, I really did rely on the kindness of strangers. ?

  52. 52.

    coin operated

    The coin op crew will be doing our tradition xmas thing…bourbon and bacon bloody mary’s then touring the Bellagio Museum of Fine Art. They always have a great exhibit for the holiday season. Last year it was some of Picaso’s other works (drawings, lithographs and the like). Looking forward to this year…50 or so complete pieces of ancient Samurai armor.

    Peace.

  56. 56.

    frosty

    Merry Christmas and Bah Humbug to each of you jackals as you prefer. Just woke up and it will soon be time to load up the presents and drive to Pittsburgh to the elder spawn’s abode. He works tonight so we’ll see him at dinner and spend the day tomorrow unwrapping and feasting. New traditions this year — but it’s all good.

  61. 61.

    Immanentize

    @debbie: yes! There is cool go-cart sim I’ve wanted to try….

    ETA. It is both snowing and thundering right now, surely the second coming?

  62. 62.

    laura

    @Immanentize: The giving and the getting around here is indeed a gift. An amazing pack -kindness and crustyness, silliness and so much smart. Cats and dogs and Baud.
    Thanks to old king Cole, a mostly merry old soul.

  67. 67.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Merry Xmas from the commentariat’s shitty Taoist.

    6 mile run this morning at 5am in 19 degree weather. Only one dog out…the same dog that’s always out. Barks up a storm, never stops. Why the people who nominally take care of it don’t let it in…At least the poor thing isn’t chained.

  68. 68.

    brendancalling

    Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and a vengeful Festivus to all.

    We had a excellent Christmas dinner with friends. Excellent food and beer. It’s a quiet Xmas Day. The boy is reading the Avengers collection I bought him, while my dad is enjoying a graphic novel/biography of Josephine Baker. Cold outside, Chinese food later. I’m grateful to be in Philly, not Nashville today.

  69. 69.

    J R in WV

    Merry Christmas all ~!!

    My dad pretended to be a terrible grouch about Christmas, but it was mostly a hoax.

    His whole working life he managed the local town/county toy fund, raised money, visited toy shops and warehouses in very early summer to place orders he hadn’t yet raised money to pay for. He had Telephone Company Pioneers, Boy Scouts, grouchy old farmers with apples to donate or bikes to paint.

    Then come December his fellow employees, the reporters at the newspaper would spend hours typing by hand addresses on envelopes and stuffing the proper number of tickets and an invitation to the Toy Fund Party, which usually was the first day of school vacation.

    Some parents came alone to pick out toys for their kids, others brought the whole family, so there were high school choruses (chorusi?) singing carols and hymns, and Lt Alan of the fire department wore a huge Santa costume, and sat in a throne where little boys and girls would wait in line to speak to him before going to look at dolls and Lincoln Logs.

    Other groups would put together little sacks with oranges and apples and peppermint and chocolate candy, I often helped with that, and once I was big enough, I decorated the huge tree that was put up with the Phone Company’s biggest bucket truck.

    It was a whole lot of work, and Dad was always pretty frazzled, but in the end 3 or 4 thousand kids whose parents weren’t able to do anything for Christmas actually had a pretty good one. And the day after the party Dad would shop for his own family. Bah Humbug.

    Once my little brother was big enough we would fly down the roads of the south to Florida, leaving as soon as Dad had slept and rested after the party was cleaned up. Often with a real blizzard blowing us southward.

    I’ll never forget stopping at an all night gas station, and Dad getting the only guy there to put the car on the lift so Dad could struggle putting chains on the rear wheels at 2 am in North Carolina. The mechanic said “Put chains where?” when Dad asked about getting it done – he had never even heard of such a thing, while a good foot was falling on the huge mountains between WV and the Piedmont plains of NC and Georgia.

    But Dad drove around jack-knifed trucks up and down those big mountains just this side of Pilot Mountain. Florida was nice back then, tiny motels along the small roads along the barrier islands of the gulf coase, larger ones along Rt A1A on the east coast, long before Interstates did any good.

    Merry Humbug Christmas, everyone!

  70. 70.

    oldgold

    I am a person with a passionate interest in cinema. Something of a film buff/ snob. Each year I celebrate 3 great film festivals. As do all true cinemaphiles, I immerse my very being in Cannes and Sundance!

    The third and most obvious, is, of course, and without question, the Hallmark Christmas Film Festival. You just cannot beat the avant grade screen writing, dicey cutting-edge direction and gutsy ‘take no prisoners’ acting. So thrilling to see the next generation of Arthur Millers, Federico Fellinis and Marlon Brandos emerge! Alas, today marks the end of this season’s fabulous futuristic film festival.

  73. 73.

    Gator90

    Christmas in Miami … high of 83 today. My kids think it is a horrible injustice that they’ve never seen snow. I tell them life is full of unfairness.

  74. 74.

    Immanentize

    @Gator90: for me, from upstate New York and school in Boston, moving to Miami was Santa Claus(s) dressed in wool suits, black boots, beard and hat when it was in the 80’s! Disorienting…. Same for the Lebovitch on Miami Beach in long wool overcoats and fox fur hats dressed for the steppes in winter. Religion can make people cuckoo.

  75. 75.

    opiejeanne

    @rikyrah: Merry Christmas!
    I hear clattering in the kitchen; someone is making us breakfast.

    It is snowing again and all of the rabbit tracks and inappropriate messages written on the lawn last night by some of our guests have vanished. The row of birches across the front of the property have snow on every branch and twig and it’s beautiful.

  77. 77.

    hedgehog mobile

    Merry Christmas/Io Saturnalia, dear jackals! Watching A Christmas Story; on the second cup of coffee. Mr h will soon be cooking bacon for us. Struedel and mimosas to accompany. Quiet this year; just him, me and the kittehs.

  82. 82.

    No One You Know

    Merry Christmas! The abandoned cat that’s been living on the back porch was so cold she came in like she owned the place–shocking both other cats into a WTF moment while she secured herself in her corner next to the back door. Three cats eating quietly from their own bowls a few minutes later. Once the kitchen was blocked off, it was all good. Two of them went out together this morning. Snow/ice outside now will melt off later…

    Now hanging out in living room with spouse and kid, waiting for in-laws phone call. It’s a good Christmas.

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