if a tree falls

And on Earth, peace

Merry Christmas, internet. Have a great few days. We'll be with family in New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Injured pride

I was making a list of my favorite YouTube videos of the year, and found this one in a list of the top 20 viral videos of the year. Despite 20 million views, it hadn't crossed my path, and I'm glad I finally saw it. It's a genuine rarity, a battle royale on the African plain, and if you have the time, I thoroughly recommend watching it all the way through.

Playing Letterman

I love end-of-the-year lists, so I thought I'd make at least one of my own. 2007 was a year that I re-prioritized and truly tried to live like I was grateful to be on this earth. I made a conscious effort to smile at strangers, learn to cook things from scratch and take beautiful pictures. And looking back, 2007 kicked some major ass.

I'm going to try to do a couple of top-ten posts, so keep checking in throughout the next two weeks.

Top ten favorite posts of 2007
In chronological order

A Love Letter

Mush

Milkshake-Up

My four-twenty story

Blast from the past, notes for the future

Overheard while watching UFC

Indecent Exposure

Therapy

Let me eat cake!

Bird's eye view

Scene from a Christmas party

"Do you want another cocktail?"

"Nah, I don't want anything too soon after the egg nog."

"That egg nog came out of a carton. You know it's not alcoholic, right?"

"What?!?!? Then why did I drink it?"

On Christmas music

I've been listening to a lot of Christmas music while shopping in the last two weeks. The good news is that I'm making great progress on my list. The bad news is that people keep remaking the same bad Christmas songs. These include Wham's "Last Christmas" remade by ironically sweet-sounding young women and "This Christmas" over-sung by Beyonce and similar over-modulating warblers of both sexes. I'm worried that it's so early in the season and I'm developing holiday-induced rage.

I don't hate all Christmas music-- Big Band renditions are great, the Peanuts album is classic, and I am obligated to like the Muppets Christmas album featuring John Denver. The first CD my family ever owned was the Beach Boys Christmas album and we played it at every chance we could because it was also the only CD we owned. Lest I sound old and stuffy, I also like Mariah Carey's ubiquitous "All I Want for Christmas" (though all the covers seem to be great so far too) and um, that's all I can think of at the moment.

Maybe that's it. Does all contemporary Christmas music suck? Is tradition what makes the music great? Do you guys remember New Kids on the Block's "Funky Funky Christmas?"

What's your favorite and least favorite Christmas music? Let's build a great playlist.