Slain Pregnant Woman Was 'Trusting': "Police say the gruesome slaying was the work of 37-year-old Effie Goodson, a woman who knew Simpson and who had convinced her husband and friends that she, too, was pregnant. "

This story is just so horrifying.

So, how's everyone holding up during this, the most wonderful time of the year? Our Christmas was nice and quiet, just the way I like it. The weather has been gorgeous, although a bit warm for this time of year. People should not be walking around outside in shortsleeves in the middle of winter. I'm not really complaining, though - just look at these poor people.

And now comes the New Year. Any exciting plans? Sheila and I are going to head down to Anna Liffey's, a 3- or 4-years-running tradition now. Being the last-minute queens that we are, Sheila will be driving down to AL's tonight to buy the tickets and I will be heading to the mall to try to find something to wear.

FBI Issues Alert Against Almanac Carriers: "The FBI (news - web sites) is warning police nationwide to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist planning. "

I'm sure this alert is based on intelligence indicating terrorists are using almanacs, but it still seems a bit ridiculous to me. "Halt! Federal Officer! Put..the almanac...down!"

Something to smile about in the midst of so much death and devastation. I read this morning that the death toll from the earthquake has reached 28,000. Beyond my comprehension.

Dottie Cleared of Attack on Queen Elizabeth's Dog.

Dottie was framed!

M&M's to lose color during contest: "In a marketing gimmick reminiscent of the gold ticket in 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,' M&M's will run a contest in 2004 which will offer six grand prizes and for a brief period offer the world-famous candy in only black and white. "

Man trapped under mountain of books, papers: "His landlord discovered him Monday after coming to the apartment to give Moore a small loan and heard a strange voice inside. The landlord pried the door open with a crowbar, found Moore trapped and alerted the fire department. "

Sounds like my office here at work. Why won't any firefighters come and rescue me?

Fire victim believed dead, discovered alive in hospital. I feel bad for the man who thought he was visiting his daughter in the hospital, only to find out that she was dead.

Seven killed during police chase. What a freaking waste.

Thieves drive victim home for Christmas: "Despite being armed with guns and wearing balaclavas, the thieves showed some seasonal goodwill when they asked their victim where he lived, explaining 'we don't want you to have too far to walk', according to police sources."

Rhode Island Cat Turns Up in Seattle: "Jefferson, a 5-year-old orange tabby, somehow escaped from his carrier as he was being loaded on a Delta Air Lines flight at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The cat was flying with his kin, McKinley, to the East Coast, while the O'Connors were driving."

"Eddie is a big Lord of the Rings fan, so when our Customer Services Manager, Hugh Clark, offered him the chance to come along and see some of New Zealand's most fantastic scenery and see Lord of the Rings Film locations, Eddie and his tour crew took the chance to have a well earned break. "

Two of my favorite things - Eddie Izzard and LOTR - converge. OK, now I like him even more.

All hail Pottersville!: "There's just one problem: Pottersville rocks! "

Yahoo! Top Picks of 2003: Yahoo!'s 25 favorite websites of the year.

Queen 'devastated' by corgi death: "Pharos the corgi was savaged at Sandringham by Dotty, the same dog which attacked two children in Windsor Great Park, according to newspaper reports. "

Oo, Princess Anne is in trouble now.

An Interview of Namath Comes Under Scrutiny: "'I want to kiss you,' he said. 'I couldn't care less about the team struggling. What we know is we can improve. Chad Pennington, our quarterback, missed the first part of the season and we struggled. We're looking to next season. We're looking to make noise now and I want to kiss you.' "

Step away from the eggnog, Joe.

"RotK EE Rumored 'longer than 4 hours and 50 min'".

Holy SoreBottom!

I saw ROTK last night. Just exquisite. Here's what I wrote in an e-mail last night (easier than thinking of something else to say here, lol): I do not exaggerate when I say I cried for just about the entire last hour. To see the struggles, the defeats, and the victories finally fully realized on the screen - what a payoff. Just stunning. How lucky Tolkien fans are to have had someone like Peter Jackson, who loves the material (and especially the characters) as much as they do, as the creative force behind these movies. I can't wait to see it again. Actually, I can't wait until I can sit and watch all three together, as one complete work.

I have to add that Howard Shore's score was astounding, one of the things that stuck with me after the film was over.

I'm hoping the ROTK EE will have some of the House of Healing and the relationship between Faramir and Eowyn as well as Saruman's final scene. Funny, I found that I didn't miss the scouring of the Shire at all. Which is good, since Jackson never filmed it (it was his least favorite part of the book). How about continuing the discussion in the comments, so as not to spoil? What were your favorite parts?

It's a sad day - Mrs. Muir has died.

Fa La La La La

I finally went Christmas shopping today, and I managed to get all of it done. I even wrote out all of my cards tonight. While doing my laundry. Productivity is exhausting.

Right now I'm watching the most bizarre, revisionist Rankin & Bass Christmas special - I think it's called "Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July". There's a very scary Winter king who rides in a sleigh pulled by snakes; Ethel Merman as a wild west ringmaster of the "Circus by the Sea"; Frosty and his wife and kids are about to melt if they don't get out of a seaside town before the last firework goes off (it's the Fourth of July, of all things); and Rudolph has somehow made friends with an ice cream man named Milton who flies around in a hot air balloon. Oh, and there's an evil reindeer named Scratcher, who was living in a rundown hotel (apparently in the skid row section of the North Pole) and not paying his rent according to the sleazy landlord, before the Winter King hired him to corrupt Rudolph. Someone at Rankin & Bass was taking some serious drugs.

"A costumed figure stands in a doorway at Hampton Court Palace in southwest London in this image caught on closed circuit television and released by the Palace Friday, Dec. 19, 2003."

Awesome.

I don't think I will ever tire of looking at photos like these.

Those miserable folks (and I say that affectionately) over at teevee.org have come up with a Celebrity Holiday Playlist, wherein they list the Christmas songs they hate the most, along with a few that they actually like. I have to say, I agree with a lot on the list (although I have a soft spot for the Bowie/der Bingle duet), and one song in particular - The Christmas Shoes :

"When we were driving from Baltimore to Fredericksburg for the Christmas pilgrimage in '00, we were listening to WASH-FM, a local station that plays Christmas music non-stop from mid-November to midnight, December 25. After suffering through any one of the songs listed above, we heard this one: a treacly ditty about some smug yuppie who gets the real meaning of Christmas when the filthy little urchin in front of him requests help buying a pair of shoes for his momma so she'll meet the dress code in Heaven. 'I knew that God had sent that little boy to remind me what Christmas is all about,' the narrator warbles, apparently forgetting that a woman has been sent to an early grave just so he can be reminded to not be such a grump around the holidays. The Lord works in mysterious ways, we guess.

After hearing this song for the first time, we had to pull over to I-95's shoulder, lest our laughter cause us to drive into a tree. Later, when recounting this horrible song to our parents and/or in-laws, we noticed their faces grew ashen -- _they actually liked the song!_ And they weren't alone; apparently, when it comes to hating 'The Christmas Shoes' and all it stands for, we are squarely in the minority."

You are not alone guys. I HATE that song, for all of the reasons they state, and a few more. Down with The Christmas Shoes!

U.S. court nixes Net music subpoenas: "In a surprise setback for the recording industry, a U.S. appeals court said Friday its methods for tracking down those who copy its music over the Internet are not authorized by law. "

Verizon wins one for the little guy.

As Rival Gains, MTV Locks Up New Videos...

...and stores them away in some dusty broom closet and only drags them out to air in the middle of the night. "Music" Television, my ass.

Wanted: Bad sex writing!: "We don't mean writing about bad sex -- although there is probably a lot of that out there. What we mean is wonderfully, marvelously, deliciously terrible writing about sex in published work that is actually trying to be good. "

Well, you know what they say, even bad sex writing is better than no sex writing at all. Unless it's Bill O'Reilly writing about sex. I think I've been seriously traumatized by his excerpt. God, I can't get it out of my head!

You are not going to believe what little ditty has been running through my infantile mind...

The Addams Family started
When Uncle Fester farted
They all became retarded
The A-ddams Fam-i-ly.

CNN.com - Shoe plant workers get up to $20,000 bonuses - Dec. 16, 2003: "The company this year awarded its employees with bonuses of $1,000 for every year worked at the company. Even those who had worked less than a year got $500 each. "

Please pass the smeeling salts. I almost passed out while reading about it.

Soldier surprises mom with early holiday gift: "She found her gift -- almost 6 feet tall and wrapped in a desert camouflage uniform -- among the holiday decorations at a local shopping mall."

Sweet.

I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and gaaay!

Cockney rebel: "Michael Caine talks about playing an aging Nazi in 'The Statement,' why he hates nude scenes, what he learned from Laurence Olivier, and whether he'll ever win that best-actor Oscar he wants."

One of my favorite actors talks to Salon.com. (viewing of ad for free day pass required)

Triumph Tinged With Regret

"The Return of the King", which just won the New York Film Critics Circle Best Picture Award, gets a rave review from Elvis Mitchell at The New York Times.

Strom Thurmond's family confirms paternity claim - Dec. 16, 2003: "An attorney for the family of former U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina on Monday confirmed that at the age of 22, Thurmond fathered a child with a teenaged African-American housekeeper in 1925."

Wow, she looks just like him.

Camera Down the Hole, and the World Follows It: "So how did the United States military pull it off? That is, not how did they make that we-got-him video ricochet around the world, but how did they get the shot? Who invaded, with camera, not only Mr. Hussein's spider-hole existence, but also his private lice check? "

U.S. to ’Work With Iraqis’ to Decide How to Bring Justice: "'I've got my own personal views about how he ought to be treated, but that's up to the Iraqi citizens,' Mr. Bush told reporters at a late-morning news conference. And while Mr. Hussein will continue to be questioned by his captors, Mr. Bush said he doubted that the answers would be truthful."

I have not heard more welcome news in a long time. I was up very early on Sunday morning, and I sat down with my cereal and turned on the TV at about 7:00. I do not kid you when I say that I sat blinking at the television screen, not believing what I was hearing. Congratulations and thanks to the soldiers who found him and brought him in successfully.

Along with everyone else, I've been wondering what affect his capture will have on the developing government as well as the violent opposition attacks. Not all of the "insurgents" are pro-Saddam, so his capture will probably not affect their activities at all. Will the certain knowledge that Saddam can no longer hurt them change the way Iraqis view coalition forces? Will things be easier for us now, or will they get worse?

I also wonder if the French, the Russians and the Germans are squirming at the thought of what Saddam might reveal in order to save his own skin. He's a coward, a megalomaniacal coward, so I think he'll let spill certain things he thinks will save his ass. Which is why he didn't kill himself, I think. All the better for us - if he had killed himself during the raid, he would have died a martyr. This way, he will be held accountable for his crimes, and all the world - most importantly the people of Iraq - will be able to see what a despicable and pathetic human being he is.

Poor People Pretty Much Fucked: "Although poor people have never had it particularly sweet, America has long been considered the land of opportunity, where upward class mobility is hard work's reward,' Park said. 'However, our study shows that limited access to quality education and a shortage of employment opportunities in depressed areas all but ensure that, once fucked, an individual tends to stay fucked."

Keiko's long journey has ended.

He Gave Life to Gollum: "Computer-Graphics Supervisor Describes How Team Created `Lord Of The Rings' Character"

A Connecticut connection to LOTR.

'Batman' Bags Bad Guy.

Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, and Cillian Murphy as a bad guy? Might this actually be a good Batman movie? And have they moved Gotham City to England?

Ralphie Parker didn't turn out so bad.

CDC to monitor children's flu complications: "Children's Medical Center in Dallas has seen more than 500 kids with the flu since October. One day last week, two dozen more appeared, most with enough lung disease to be put on ventilators, said Dr. Jane Siegel. "

Gosh, this is so scary. I think people tend to forget how truly dangerous influenza is, how dangerous it has always been. A report on All Things Considered last night predicted a possible flu pandemic in the near future, similar to the pandemic earlier last century, in 1918, where a good percentage of the world's population had the flu, and millions died. From the CDC:

The Spanish Influenza pandemic is the catastrophe against which all modern pandemics are measured. It is estimated that approximately 20 to 40 percent of the worldwide population became ill and that over 20 million people died. Between September 1918 and April 1919, approximately 500,000 deaths from the flu occurred in the U.S. alone. Many people died from this very quickly. Some people who felt well in the morning became sick by noon, and were dead by nightfall. Those who did not succumb to the disease within the first few days often died of complications from the flu (such as pneumonia) caused by bacteria.

That's not to say that millions of people would die in this day and age - medicine has advanced quite a bit in almost one hundred years - but it still gives one pause, doesn't it?

Get wound up, '24' fans: devious Sherry will return: "To the delight of 24 fans everywhere, the much-missed Penny Johnson Jerald has returned to work as President Palmer's ex-wife Sherry, the conniver America loves to hate. It's 7 p.m. now on Fox's time-driven hit series; look for Sherry to show up at 10 on Jan. 13. "

Woohoo!

Cannibal 'murder' shown to court: "The two-hour tape showed the 42-year-old ex-soldier stabbing, decapitating and devouring Bernd Juergen Brandes."

Wow, that is about as horrific as anything I've ever read.

Woman 'hasn't slept for eight years'.

Now I can't complain because I had a bad night's sleep! What's left?

Pilot survives 24 hours in subfreezing weather: "After swimming ashore, Strahan battled the frigid conditions -- temperatures ranging between zero and 10 degrees above zero -- and hiked to the trapper's cabin, never able to remove the frozen shoes from his feet. "

Now I feel badly about complaining about this weekend's cold. What a snowstorm! I don't think we ended up with quite as much snow as they had predicted, but the 14 inches we did get is quite enough, thank you. It sure is pretty.

We also put up our Christmas tree yesterday, which only fell over once! Our saving grace: it wasn't decorated at the time.

Jagger knighthood: Richards rages: "Richards' own chances of arising Sir Keith, already thought slim after 59 years of hard living, will have receded even further. "

And I don't think he really cares. He's a nutter, but good for him for speaking his mind. That's what rock stars are supposed to about, right? All that anit-establishment stuff. He's the real thing, that's for sure.

Terrance Martin, Aged 7, Corrects Bush. Cute story.

Alleged cannibal tried for murder: "A German computer technician accused of killing, dismembering and eating the flesh of a man who agreed to the deal over the Internet has gone on trial for murder. "

Read the search warrant application filed after the report of an alleged rape at the current "Real World" house: "Two days after the attack, MTV producer Kevin Lee told cops that, after talking with several cast members, he believed that the woman was attacked in one of the home's two bathrooms. But it does not appear that MTV staff, cast members, or the show's producers, Bunim-Murray, reported their rape suspicions to police. In fact, after the incident, the entire production traveled to Mexico to film there. "

I found a virus on my computer last night - the W32.Welchia.Worm. I'm embarrassed to say that the reason I contracted this virus was that I practicing unsafe computing. I had completely forgotten to reinstall Norton AntiVirus after I upgraded to XP. You play with fire, you're gonna get burned.

Portly dates popular in Portland: "Are you chubby and looking for love? A good destination might be Portland, Oregon, where, more than any other place in the United States, men and women state a preference for going out with someone who carries 'a few extra pounds.' "

Packing my bags as we speak.