Mysterious signs of worshiping of the winter solstice crop up around the world.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Alaska's Melting Permafrost
Permafrost in Alaska's iconic Denali National Park and other
areas could all but disappear by the end of this century, new research
suggests.
The Flame Nebula
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which views the cosmos in
infrared light, has taken a fresh look at the beautiful Flame Nebula,
revealing some fascinating features that would otherwise remain
invisible.
A Dwarf in the backyard
A tiny galaxy has been discovered in the Milky Way's backyard
and astronomers are now wondering just how many of these diminutive
dwarfs are hiding in the intergalactic undergrowth.
Most Massive Young Galaxy Cluster Ever
Fool's Gold Preserves Some of Earth's Oldest Fossils
Tubelike fossils of an animal known as Conotubus hemiannulatus. (pictured right).
Fool's gold helps explain why many fossils of soft-bodied
animals that lived more than 540 million years ago still survive, a new
study finds.
The bacterial breakdown of ancient, wormlike animals after their deaths led to the formation of pyrite, the shiny, yellow mineral sometimes mistaken for gold. This pyrite helped preserve the fossils in three dimensions, according to research published Wednesday (Dec. 17) in the journal Nature Communications.
Understanding this strange process is important, said study researcher James Schiffbauer, a paleobiologist at the University of Missouri, because the process of pyrite mineralization could create features that, misleadingly, look like the original biology of the animal. [Extreme Life on Earth: 8 Bizarre Creatures]
"What we're trying to do is, look at the biological signal and subtract the geological noise," Schiffbauer said.
Tube animals
At the Gaojiashan fossil site in China, the tubelike fossils of an animal known as Conotubus hemiannulatus are common discoveries. The creature dates back to about 550 million to 542 million years ago.
"We actually don't have any fossil evidence of what that animal was," Schiffbauer said. "Looking at the tube, we can say it's probably wormlike or maybe sea-anemone-like."
In many ways, though, it's a miracle that even the fossil tube survives. Early animals like C. hemiannulatus did not have mineralized bones like dinosaurs or other later animals, whose fossilized skeletons reveal much about the animals' anatomies. As such, the fossilization process of soft-tissue animals is poorly understood, Schiffbauer said.
From the chemistry, the researchers pieced together the process as well as they could. It worked like this: First, the animals were rapidly buried, probably by a big event like a storm that brought a mass of sediment to their seafloor environment. This sudden burial prevented oxygen-loving aerobic bacteria from decomposing the bodies too rapidly to allow for fossilization.
The bacterial breakdown of ancient, wormlike animals after their deaths led to the formation of pyrite, the shiny, yellow mineral sometimes mistaken for gold. This pyrite helped preserve the fossils in three dimensions, according to research published Wednesday (Dec. 17) in the journal Nature Communications.
Understanding this strange process is important, said study researcher James Schiffbauer, a paleobiologist at the University of Missouri, because the process of pyrite mineralization could create features that, misleadingly, look like the original biology of the animal. [Extreme Life on Earth: 8 Bizarre Creatures]
"What we're trying to do is, look at the biological signal and subtract the geological noise," Schiffbauer said.
Tube animals
At the Gaojiashan fossil site in China, the tubelike fossils of an animal known as Conotubus hemiannulatus are common discoveries. The creature dates back to about 550 million to 542 million years ago.
"We actually don't have any fossil evidence of what that animal was," Schiffbauer said. "Looking at the tube, we can say it's probably wormlike or maybe sea-anemone-like."
In many ways, though, it's a miracle that even the fossil tube survives. Early animals like C. hemiannulatus did not have mineralized bones like dinosaurs or other later animals, whose fossilized skeletons reveal much about the animals' anatomies. As such, the fossilization process of soft-tissue animals is poorly understood, Schiffbauer said.
He and his colleagues studied C. hemiannulatus
fossils, drawing on the observation that many are surrounded by shiny
pyrite. They measured the size of the pyrite crystals and also the
isotopes of sulfur
in the pyrite, which is made of iron and sulfur. Isotopes are atoms of
an element that have varying numbers of neutrons in the nucleus.
These measurements revealed that the pyrite mineralization of the tubes
started outside, where the crystals were smallest, and worked its way
in. The isotopic fingerprints of the sulfur revealed that bacteria were
responsible, at least at first.
Bacteria and fossilizationFrom the chemistry, the researchers pieced together the process as well as they could. It worked like this: First, the animals were rapidly buried, probably by a big event like a storm that brought a mass of sediment to their seafloor environment. This sudden burial prevented oxygen-loving aerobic bacteria from decomposing the bodies too rapidly to allow for fossilization.
Below the surface, though, lived sulfur-breathing bacteria that found
the soft organisms to be an appealing feast. Fueled by the carbon in the
wormy animals, these bacteria converted sulfate from the seawater into
hydrosulfide. That hydrosulfide reacted with free iron in the water,
which kick-started the formation of pyrite at the edges of the tubes.
This process probably happened quickly, perhaps within 12 to 800 years,
the researchers reported.
Most likely, Schiffbauer said, the pyritization process continued
without the assistance of bacteria as the fossils were buried further.
The explanation helps to solve the mystery of why about 80 percent of
the fossils in the Gaojiashan formation are preserved in three
dimensions, with fool's gold around them, while others are preserved in
two dimensions in a second process called carbonaceous compression. It
seems that, as long as sediments didn't continue to bury the fossils too
quickly, the pyrite process could continue. If the fossils buried
faster, the compression process took over, creating pancake-flat fossils instead of fossils in three dimensions.
What's The Difference Between Rabbits And Hares?
A hare's pregnancy lasts 42 days, compared with rabbits' 30-31 days. Newborn hares, called leverets, are fully developed at birth - furred with open eyes - while newborn rabbits, called kittens or kits, are born undeveloped, with closed eyes, no fur, and an inability to regulate their own temperature.
The Biggest Day Care Facility On The Planet
King Penguin Crèche
In what has to be the biggest day care facility on this our ark in space, thousands upon thousands of king penguins group their offspring together in an attempt to stop them dying in the sub-zero temperatures of South Georgia. They are also better protected from predators in this huge gathering.
Spiders and Bugs
It has been an interesting year of discovery in the world of creepy crawlies and many-legged critters.
A New Species of the World’s Biggest Whale Has Been Discovered—and They’re Small
by Taylor Hill
Does the world’s largest animal have a pint-size variety?
Not exactly, but the population of blue whales
living off Chile’s southern coast could be a slightly smaller version
of their Antarctic neighbors, and that has scientists thinking they may
have found a new subspecies of the cetacean.But don’t be fooled: These so-called “pygmy blue whales” are only small if you’re comparing them with the 100-foot behemoths with which they share a name.
Still, the new findings—published in the journal Molecular Ecology
on Thursday—should help researchers get closer to determining just how
many types of blue whales exist in the world’s oceans, and that could
make a big difference in understanding the best way to conserve the
endangered species.
Researchers from the United States National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Wildlife Conservation
Society, and the Universidad Austral de Chile worked together on the
study, comparing the genetic identify of 52 whales found off southern
Chile with blue whales from Antarctica, northern Chile, and the eastern
tropical Pacific.While they didn’t find differences between the Chile groups and the eastern tropical groups, there were significant differences in gene sequences in all three populations compared with the Antarctic blue whales.
“The presence of two types of blue whales in Chile hopefully helps inform protection measures, either via spatial protections or threat mitigations for each that can be carried out locally and nationally, but also in a regional and international context,” Howard Rosenbaum, a Wildlife Conservation Society director and senior author of the study, said in an email.
The smaller blue whales found off southern Chile are similar in size to another subspecies of blue whales found off Australia, called B. m. brevicauda—which measures around 80 feet at maturity. That’s plenty big, but it still doesn’t touch the Antarctic blue whale, B. m. intermedia, which can grow up to 100 feet in length.
Researchers
noted that little is known about the Southern Hemisphere blue whale
population, and most historical data points come from whaling records.
It wasn’t until a blue whale feeding and nursing ground was discovered
off Chile’s southern coast in 2004 that scientists began to question
whether there was more than one population of blue whales in the
southeastern Pacific.
By the
early 1900s, whalers had slaughtered more than 300,000 Antarctic blue
whales, depleting the population to less than 1 percent of its historic
number.
Since the International Whaling Commission’s 1966 moratorium on killing blue whales, the marine mammal has slowly recovered,
and there are now 5,000 to 10,000 of the massive animals in the
Southern Hemisphere and 3,000 to 4,500 in the Northern Hemisphere.
“Our
study gives us crucial insights into the population structure of blue
whales in the waters of Chile and will serve as an important stepping
stone for further research,” said Rosenbaum. “The long-term goal of such
work would be a network of marine protected areas designed to save the
world's largest animal.”
Thursday, December 25, 2014
The Daily Drift
The Twenty-Fifth of our trees of December ...!
Carolina Naturally is read in 200 countries around the world daily.
It's Xmas, folks ... !
Today is - Xmas
Don't forget to visit our sister blog: It Is What It Is
Some of our readers today have been in:
The Americas
Beunos Aires, Argentina
Brasilia, Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil
Henry Farm, Montreal, Quebec, Regina and Toronto, Canada
Saint George's. Grenada
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Boaco, Nicaragua
Luquillo, Puerto Rico
Burien, Gowrie, Pima, Plano and Remsen, United States
Europe
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Aksakovo, Sofia, Bulgaria
Prague, Czech Republic
Horsholm, Denmark
Crewe, London, Manchester and Nuneaton, England
Cerny, Lyon, Magenta, Montpellier, Oberlaslach, Oulins, Paris and Rouen, France
Meria, Georgia
Vantaa, Finland
Hamburg, Oldenburg and Sulzbach, Germany
Athens, Greece
Reykjavik, Iceland
Waterford, Ireland
Florence, Milan, Naples, Rome, Terlizzi and Treviso, Italy
Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Leeuwarden, Netherlands
Porto Portugal
Madrid, Spain
Karlskrona, Sweden
Zurich, Switzerland
Kiev, Ukraine
Asia
Shanghai, China
Ajmer, Bangalore, Bikaner, Gaya, Mumbai, Mysore, Patna, Pune and Shillong, India
Jakarta, Indonesia
Tehran, Iran
Kajang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Faisalabad, Pakistan
Taipei, Taiwan
Bangkok, Thailand
Africa
Ouargla, Algeria
Al Jizah, Al Minya, Cairo and Port Said, Egypt
Tangier, Morocco
Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa
The Pacific
Homebush, Sydney and Woolloongabba, Australia
Makati, Philippines
Today in History
800
Charlemagne crowned emperor in Rome.
1066 William I is crowned king of England.
1621 The governor of New Plymouth prevents newcomers from playing cards.
1651 The General Court of Boston levies a five shilling fine on anyone caught "observing any such day as Xmas."
1776 Patriot General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops during the American Revolution. Washington hoped to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey.
1861 Stonewall Jackson spends Xtmas with his wife; their last together.
1862 John Hunt Morgan and his raiders clash with Union forces near Bear Wallow, Kentucky.
1862 President and Mrs. Lincoln visit hospitals in the Washington D.C. area on this Xmas Day.
1912 Italy lands troops in Albania to protect its interests during a revolt there.
1914 German and British troops on the Western Front declare an unofficial truce to celebrate Xmas during World War I.
1918 A revolt erupts in Berlin.
1925 U.S. troops in Nicaragua disarm insurgents in support of the Diaz regime.
1927 The Mexican congress opens land to foreign investors, reversing the 1917 ban enacted to preserve the domestic economy.
1939 Finnish troops enter Soviet territory.
1941 Free French troops occupy the French Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon off the Canadian coast.
1944 Prime Minister Winston Churchill goes to Athens to seek an end to the Greek civil war.
1946 Chiang Kai-shek offers a new Chinese constitution in Nanking pledging universal suffrage.
1950 Scottish nationalists steal the Stone of Scone from the British coronation throne in Westminster Abbey. The 485 pound stone was recovered in April 1951.
1962 The Bay of Pigs captives, upon their return to the United States, vow to return to Cuba and topple Fidel Castro.
1965 Entertainer Chris Noel gives her first performance for the USO at two hospitals in California; became a star on Armed Forces Radio and Television, entertaining troops in Vietnam; in 1984 Veterans Network honored her with a Distinguished Vietnam Veteran award.
1973 U.S. astronauts onboard the Skylab space station take a seven-hour walk in space and photograph the comet Kohoutek.
1976 Over 100 muslims, returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, die when their boat sinks.
1979 Egypt begins major restoration of the Sphinx.
1991 Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union's first and last executive president, resigns. The Soviet Union no longer exists.
2006 James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul", dies at age 73.
1066 William I is crowned king of England.
1621 The governor of New Plymouth prevents newcomers from playing cards.
1651 The General Court of Boston levies a five shilling fine on anyone caught "observing any such day as Xmas."
1776 Patriot General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops during the American Revolution. Washington hoped to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey.
1861 Stonewall Jackson spends Xtmas with his wife; their last together.
1862 John Hunt Morgan and his raiders clash with Union forces near Bear Wallow, Kentucky.
1862 President and Mrs. Lincoln visit hospitals in the Washington D.C. area on this Xmas Day.
1912 Italy lands troops in Albania to protect its interests during a revolt there.
1914 German and British troops on the Western Front declare an unofficial truce to celebrate Xmas during World War I.
1918 A revolt erupts in Berlin.
1925 U.S. troops in Nicaragua disarm insurgents in support of the Diaz regime.
1927 The Mexican congress opens land to foreign investors, reversing the 1917 ban enacted to preserve the domestic economy.
1939 Finnish troops enter Soviet territory.
1941 Free French troops occupy the French Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon off the Canadian coast.
1944 Prime Minister Winston Churchill goes to Athens to seek an end to the Greek civil war.
1946 Chiang Kai-shek offers a new Chinese constitution in Nanking pledging universal suffrage.
1950 Scottish nationalists steal the Stone of Scone from the British coronation throne in Westminster Abbey. The 485 pound stone was recovered in April 1951.
1962 The Bay of Pigs captives, upon their return to the United States, vow to return to Cuba and topple Fidel Castro.
1965 Entertainer Chris Noel gives her first performance for the USO at two hospitals in California; became a star on Armed Forces Radio and Television, entertaining troops in Vietnam; in 1984 Veterans Network honored her with a Distinguished Vietnam Veteran award.
1973 U.S. astronauts onboard the Skylab space station take a seven-hour walk in space and photograph the comet Kohoutek.
1976 Over 100 muslims, returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, die when their boat sinks.
1979 Egypt begins major restoration of the Sphinx.
1991 Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union's first and last executive president, resigns. The Soviet Union no longer exists.
2006 James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul", dies at age 73.
Santa Claus Rescues Man From Burning Home
An Australian firefighter was dressed up as Santa Claus when he responded to a burning home and rescued a young man who was unconscious and trapped inside.Nick Carey and fellow firefighters were passing out candy on their annual Xmas drive in New South Whales on Saturday when they smelled smoke, The Associated Press reported. Carey, still in his St. Nick costume, jumped to action and rushed to resuscitate the man before an ambulance arrived.
The victim was taken to a hospital and is recovering in stable condition today.
Johnson
told the Associated Press the young man is lucky the firefighters, from
the Telarah station, just happened to be in the neighborhood.
In a Quandary Over What to Buy Secret Santa Recipient
Redditor anti_climax is in a delicate position in the Secret Santa exchange held at his workplace. What to get that person whom he doesn't know beyond the exchange of vague office pleasantries? Sure, the recipient is required to fill out a form giving hints as to what they might like, but how could it be possible to zero in on what they wish to receive by knowing their favorite color, scent, treat, etcetera? Woe is anti_climax in this game of chance.
Elf found passed out in car faces drunk driving charges
A man dressed as one of Santa's little helpers found himself in trouble
early on Friday morning when police in Riverdale, New Jersey, allegedly
discovered him drunkenly passed out in a car.
At around 3:30am, Sgt. Pat Harden was dispatched to the parking lot a
Target store after receiving a report of a suspicious vehicle, Lt. James
Macintosh said.
Harden located the car, a Toyota van, parked by the store's loading dock
with its engine running, lights on and music blaring, the lieutenant
said.
The driver, Brian Chellis, 23, of Cedar Grove, was asleep behind the wheel, wearing an elf costume, Macintosh said. After shutting off the car's engine and waking Chellis, the sergeant detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, the lieutenant said. Harden further observed that Chellis seemed confused over his whereabouts and had an open can of beer inside of the car.
Following a series of field sobriety tests, Chellis was transported to police headquarters for a breath test, the lieutenant said. Police issued him summonses for driving while intoxicated, careless driving and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Chellis was released to a family member pending a Jan. 6 municipal court appearance, Mactintosh said.
The driver, Brian Chellis, 23, of Cedar Grove, was asleep behind the wheel, wearing an elf costume, Macintosh said. After shutting off the car's engine and waking Chellis, the sergeant detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, the lieutenant said. Harden further observed that Chellis seemed confused over his whereabouts and had an open can of beer inside of the car.
Following a series of field sobriety tests, Chellis was transported to police headquarters for a breath test, the lieutenant said. Police issued him summonses for driving while intoxicated, careless driving and possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Chellis was released to a family member pending a Jan. 6 municipal court appearance, Mactintosh said.
Police seek thief who stole leg lamp from store's 'A Christmas Story' display
A leg lamp thief is on the loose in North Tonawanda, New York.
The owner of Yankee Spirits liquor store, Gary Brennan, is asking for
help identifying the thief who stole a key piece of the store’s
Christmas display.
Every year, he puts up a Christmas display in the front window with a items from “A Christmas Story”, including several versions of the leg lamp featured in the 1983 film.
Residents feel terrorized by neighbor's year-round hostile holiday display
“There was a Virgin Mary here, and he placed a knife through her head,
right there on the edge of our driveway,” Joanne Hebda said. “I thought
it was a terroristic threat.”
To make matters worse, his neighbors say, Ansell also tacked up profane
signs all over his house attacking the township and neighbors
personally.
Years ago, Ansell's home was known for its lustrous lights and dazzling
display that attracted many onlookers.
But one Thanksgiving, Ansell's neighbor Pamela Heck was so blinded by
the lights that she asked him to turn them off while her family had
dinner.
“It was very unpleasant between us after that,” Heck says
From that minor dispute grew a war, according to neighbors. At night, they say he blasts floodlights into their windows.
They all feel trapped. Friends and family won't visit them, and worst of all, they can't sell their homes.
Two years ago, Ansell told a local TV station: “I used to have a
beautiful Xmas display, they hated it. This is my display now. I
don't think it's against the law to exercise your right to have your own
display.”
The Fairley Road homeowners say they are at their wits end. They have
repeatedly called police and complained to the township Board of
Commissioners, but so far say they have seen little done. Ross Township
has fined Ansell for local code violations, and in a statement the Ross
Township said they have "taken and will continue to take appropriate
legal action."
“The Township has taken and will continue to take appropriate legal
action,” said Grant Montgomery, president of the Ross Board of
Commissioners. In August 2014, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania,
upheld a court order requiring Bill Ansell to clean up his yard and take
down the vulgar signs.
To date, Ansell has not complied and township officials won’t say if and
how it will enforce the order.
The Hebdas said they have repeatedly complained to the township Board of
Commissioners, but so far haven't seen anything done. The lack of
action is what frustrates the neighbors most.
For years, Ross Township has done nothing more than fine Ansell for the
debris and signs on his property. But, he has not paid any of those
citations. There is currently a 6-month-old court order demanding that
he clean up his yard, which he has also ignored.
The local government won't say how it will specifically enforce the
rules, and the Hebdas aren't waiting around to find out and will be
renting their home out for much less than it should be.
“It's a move for, you know, for our lives ... to have normalcy again,”
Joanne Hebda said.
“I had to cash in my retirement. There's no hope here in some ways, and
there's no one to help us,” says Chris Hebda.
Why American jews Eat Chinese Food on Xmas
by Adam Chandler
If there’s a single identifiable
moment when jewish Xmas—the annual American tradition where Jews
overindulge on Chinese food on December 25—transitioned from kitsch into
codified custom, it was during Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s 2010
confirmation hearing.
During an otherwise tense series of
exchanges, Senator Lindsey Graham paused to ask Kagan where she had
spent the previous Xmas. To great laughter, she replied: “You
know, like all jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant.”
Never willing to let a moment pass
without remark, Senator Chuck Schumer jumped in to explain, “If I might,
no other restaurants are open.”
And so goes the story of jewish Xmas
in a tiny capsule. For many jewish Americans, the night before Xmas conjures up visions, not of sugar plums, but plum sauce
slathered over roast duck or an overstocked plate of beef lo mein, a
platter of General Tso’s, and (maybe) some hot and sour soup.
But Schumer’s declaration that jews and
Chinese food are as much a match of necessity as sweet and sour are, is
only half the wonton. The circumstances that birthed jewish Xmas
are also deeply historical, sociological, and religious.
The story begins during the halcyon days of the Lower East Side where, as Jennifer 8. Lee, the producer of The Search for General Tso, said, “jews and Chinese were the two largest non-christian immigrant groups” at the turn of the century.
So while it’s true that Chinese
restaurants were notably open on Sundays and during holidays when other
restaurants would be closed, the two groups were linked not only by
proximity, but by otherness. the jewish affinity for Chinese food
“reveals a lot about immigration history and what it’s like to be
outsiders,” she explained.
Estimates of the surging jewish population of New York City run from 400,000 in 1899 to about a million
by 1910 (or roughly a quarter of the city’s population). And, as some
jews began to assimilate into American life, they not only found
acceptance at Chinese restaurants, but also easy passage into the world
beyond Kosher food.
“Chinese restaurants were the easiest
place to trick yourself into thinking you were eating Kosher food,” Ed
Schonfeld, the owner of RedFarm, one of the most laureled Chinese restaurants
in New York, said. Indeed, it was something of a perfect match. jewish
law famously prohibits the mixing of milk and meat just as Chinese food
traditionally excludes dairy from its dishes. Lee added:
If you look at the two other main ethnic cuisines in America, which are Italian and Mexican, both of those combine milk and meat to a significant extent. Chinese food allowed jews to eat foreign cuisines in a safe way.
And so, for jews, the chop suey palaces
and dumpling parlors of the Lower East Side and Chinatown gave the
illusion of religious accordance, even if there was still treif
galore in the form of pork and shellfish. Nevertheless, it’s more than a
curiosity that a narrow culinary phenomenon that started over a century
ago managed to grow into a national ritual that is both specifically
American and characteristically jewish.
“Clearly this whole thing with Chinese
food and Jewish people has evolved,” Schoenfeld said. “There’s no
question. Xmas was always a good day for Chinese restaurants, but
in recent years, it’s become the ultimate day of business.”
But there’s more to it than that. Ask a food purist about American Chinese food and you’ll get a pu-pu platter of hostile rhetoric about its inauthenticity. Driving the point home, earlier this week, CBS reported
on two Americans who opened a restaurant in Shanghai that features
American-style Chinese dishes like orange chicken, pork egg rolls, and,
yes, the beloved General Tso’s, all of which don’t exist in traditional
Chinese cuisine. The restaurant gets it name from another singular
upshot of Chinese-American fusion: Fortune Cookie.
Schoenfeld,
whose restaurant features an egg roll made with pastrami from Katz’s
Deli, shrugs off the idea that Americanized Chinese food is somehow an
affront to cultural virtue. “Adaptation has been a signature part of the
Chinese food experience,” he said. “If you went to Italy, you’d see a
Chinese restaurant trying to make an Italian customer happy.”
"I would argue that Chinese food is the ethnic cuisine of American jews."
That
particular mutability has a meaningful link to the jewish experience,
the rituals of which were largely forged in exile. During the First and
Second Temple eras, jewish practice centered
around temple life in Jerusalem. Featuring a monarchy and a high
priesthood, it bears little resemblance to jewish life of today with its
rabbis and synagogues.
So
could it be that Chinese food is a manifestation of jewish life in
America? Lee seems to think so. “I would argue that Chinese food is the
ethnic cuisine of American jews. That, in fact, they identify with it
more than they do gefilte fish or all kinds of the Eastern Europe dishes
of yore.”
Over
the centuries, different religious customs have sprung up and new
spiritual rituals have taken root, many of which draw on the past. S,
jewish Xmas, in many ways, could very much be seen as a modern
affirmation of faith. After all, there are few days that remind American
jews of their jewishness more than Xmas in the United States.
How to Make a Bacon Xmas Tree
These
days, people typically chop down evergreen trees to serve as their
family Christmas trees. This is a modern convenience that is a
substitute for the original practice: cooking and assembling a bacon tree. Amy of the food blog Oh, Bite It! shows us how to follow the old ways and make the classic decoration/breakfast.You'll need 3-4 pounds of bacon. Cut the strips in half, then bake them in muffin pans. Pile them into the shape of a tree, using vanilla or maple cake frosting as an adhesive. Add a bit of decorative flair, such as sprinkles or (my suggestion) even more frosting.
Launching Xmas Trees With a Slingshot
Joerg Sprave of the Slingshot Channel has done some weird stuff,
but this takes the fruitcake. Here he demonstrates “the Santa Slayer,” a
slingshot designed to fling Christmas trees at (presumably) any
airborne sleighs drawn by reindeer. Sprave dances for us, too.
Scientology Xmas Gifts
Price: $5,000Copy: "Your guarantee of total freedom … With this meter, your auditing will never be the same again. Your preclears will make spectacular progress up the Bridge. The Mark Ultra VIII meter's unequaled precision, clarity, and ease of operation are here for you … with accuracy guaranteed for eternity."
Drew Says: I like that this product is supposedly guaranteed for eternity, because a) that is obviously not possible, and b) I bet if your shit breaks, and you take it to your designated Sea Org admiral, he'll make you buy six more. For $5,000, this piece of shit oughta make you a decent cappuccino, operate your home thermostat remotely, and finely dice vegetables. But instead, all you get is a lie detector that doesn't work. It doesn't even have WiFi. Now how am I supposed to upload all of Cousin Jenny's thought crimes to the cloud? WHAT A RIP.
Please note that the Mark Ultra VIII comes with free electrodes! "Our gift to you," the copy says. Why, you'd practically be losing money if you didn't buy the thing now. These electrodes look like anal-probing suppositories, but you actually hold them in your hand while the church's local hired goon audits you. I assume the fancier e-meters come with free nipple clamps.
Ten Oddball Movies Starring Santa Claus
1. Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964, USA)-
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is an admittedly schlocky flick, but there's something delightfully kitschy about the film that makes it a yearly Xmas tradition in my house!
2. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984, USA)-
Silent Night, Deadly Night is one of two movies from the 80s featuring a crazed killer in a Santa outfit, but unlike the earlier Xmas Evil this film almost makes you feel sorry for the killer!
3. Santa Claus (1959, Mexico)-
Can Santa save the children of the world (mostly Mexico, of course) from turning in to rotten little brats? Hunt this vintage oddity down and find out! (The MST3K version is on Netflix).
4. Santa's Slay (2005, Canada/USA)-
In this horrifically funny flick you can't spell Satan without Santa, the Devil's only son who lost a curling match to an angel and was forced to be nice and deliver presents for 1000 years. His contract expires in 2005, so Santa makes up for lost time by going on a killing spree, with some help from his hell-deer and an incredible physique that allows him to waste puny humans in lots of festive ways!
5. Rise Of The Guardians (2012, USA)-
This mighty manly version of Santa also employs a bunch of Yetis in his workshop, because elves just aren't macho enough for Nicholas St. North!
6. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010, Finland)-
Rare Exports is a great Xmas horror flick for those who have strong stomachs, and Santa's elves in the film will scar you for life!
7. Xmas Evil aka You Better Watch Out (1980, USA)-
This is the Santa movie that left many 80s kids scared to death that Santa was going to come down their chimney and "get" them if they were naughty! (Trailer has some NSFW violence)
8. Santa With Muscles (1996, USA)-
It's a strange flick, yet not really watchably strange like the rest of the movies on this list, but if you're brave enough to attempt a full viewing here it is in its entirety!
9. Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (1972, USA)-
Santa's sleigh is stuck in the sand on a Florida beach, so he calls forth children, animals and a guy in a gorilla suit to help him out, but nothing seems to work so the Ice Cream Bunny comes to the rescue in his red fire engine.
10. J'ai rencontré le Père Noël/I Believe In Santa Claus (1984, France)-
If you're tired of watching the same old Xmas movies and you're looking for a fun flick that's a little off you can't go wrong with any one of the ten flicks on this list. But be forewarned- Santa will never look the same again after you watch these movies!
Whodunit: Who Killed Santa Claus?
by Hy Conrad.
It was midnight on Xmas Eve when the maintenance staff of Kimble's came to work in the deserted department store. When they arrived at the North Pole display, they discovered every child's worst nightmare, the lifeless body of Santa Claus. He was in a storage room, his head bashed in by the butt end of a .44 revolver. Santa's off-duty name was Rudolph Pringle. "That's Rudolph's revolver," the manager informed the police. "He started carrying it after a six-year-old pulled a knife on him."
"Do you know anyone who would want to see Rudolph dead—besides the six-year-old?"
The manager cleared his throat. "Santa's been having a lot of fights with his elves. I know three elves who'd threatened to kill him."
The detective had the murder weapon bagged. Then he placed it on the center of the interview table, right where the suspects would be forced to look at it. "Rudolph Pringle has been murdered," he informed each elf. "What do you know about it?"
Joe Winters shivered and couldn't stop staring at the gun. "I know nothing. Some of the guys had trouble with Rudolph. But he was always nice to me. I left the store at nine, right when it closed. I was too tired to change, so I wore my costume home. No one said a word on the subway."
"Rudolph was a pig," snarled Sam Petrie, the second elf. "If he pushed me too far, I wouldn't smash his head in. I'd sue. What's the use of a dead Santa when a live one can be made to pay?"
Robert Goldstein was the smallest elf. On hearing the news, he burst into tears. "Last week, Rudolph started a fight. He said I was too slow bringing in the kids. He slapped me on the head and called me all sorts of names. But I didn't kill him."
The detective called in his assistant. "Well, we have our killer," he said with a smile. 'All I had to do was use a little psychology."
Batman Xmas Wreath
'Twas the night before XmasGotham slept without fright.
No criminal lurked
Thanks to the Dark Knight.
If Afred Pennyworth decorates the Batcave for Xmas---let's admit that Bruce Wayne is not the sort to get into the Xmas mood--then he would surely put up a wreath like this one over the entrance. Kat and Cam of Our Nerd Home made this wreath using a foam core backing and Xmas garlands. You can find instructions on how to make your own here.
Think you know Mistletoe?
There's more to mistletoe than an excuse for something to
smooch under. Amy has more about what it is, how it got its name, and
whether or not you should try to eat it.
Oldest Xmas Tree
A cultural agency in the United Kingdom says it has discovered the oldest living Xmas tree in all of Britain.
Bad Gifting
Science has trained its steely eyes on our gift-giving skills
and finds them lacking. Even when we know people well, it seems we're
still doing it wrong when it comes to buying them the right stuff.
Can You Guess the Gift?
TheNapman says his cat has figured out what his Xmas gift is. He also figures that the cat will lose interest in it the moment it’s unwrapped. The only solution is, of course, to leave it wrapped. Now, what are the odds that this cat will also require a tree to keep his bed under? Cats are like that.
This picture is from a compilation, excuse me, a “Golden Treasury” of pictures of cats and dogs dealing with Xmas at Uproxx.
You think you have a unusal gift list?
If you think you've gotten some weird holiday presents, learn what other animals give as gifts.
The March of the Xmas Penguins
Having
a little trouble getting into the Christmas spirit? Well, just dive in.
After all, if even these adorable little penguins in South Korea are
celebrating in style, what's your excuse? Chances are your ugliest of
all Christmas sweaters still leaves you looking more appropriately
covered up than those little waddling penguin booties. If only all
little penguins could be so festive.
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