SOPA is mostly dead (but "mostly dead" means "partly alive")...Hitler shares his thoughts, and of course he's not happy. Oddly, this is as good an explanation of SOPA as I've seen...

Bad science, and pretty bad headline writing too.

"Unconsciously"? I'm pretty sure they mean "subconsciously", cause I think guys want to be conscious around "hotties". And that's what make the science dubious - from everything I've ever observed, everyone consciously wants to date a hottie...

Buzzfeed posts a creative gallery: Album Covers Minus the Dead Guys.

The Ramones picture just makes me sad; Tommy looks so forlorn standing there all by himself...

Several years ago, after the Firefly series was cancelled, I received the complete Firefly series as a Christmas gift (along with the sequel movie Serenity). I started watching the episodes in their original order with the Not My Fault daughter, back to back to back. And when we got the the last one we just went back to the beginning and started again...

What would explain the ability of a low-budget sci-fi show to not only reach across generations, but leave young and old equally transfixed? I'm convinced my daughter learned more about liberty and loyalty, commitment and fairness, from those 14 episodes than she did in 12 years of public schooling.

Anyway, when I saw this article about watching Firefly with your kid, well it struck a chord with me. So we watched a few episodes last night, just for old times sake...

Not Christmas related, but it's pretty awesome nevertheless: 32 best Firefly quotes...

I know I've posted this a couple of previous Christmases, but it just doesn't get old...Sweetafton, It's Christmastime.

Can a mildly creepy song still come off as heartfelt and endearing? It certainly can, as this haunting version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas shows.

I like how the singer has a young John Lennon thing going on...

You gotta get up! It's Christmas Morning!

A delightful role-reversal with the Not My Fault daughter this morning; for all these years she's been waking me up early...today I got to return the favor!

Headline of the week? Yes. Yes it is...it's the headline of the week. And the first sentence makes it even better.

Before the weekend kicks in and I get busy with some Christmas posts, let's first pay homage to the most spectacular and epic fails of 2011...

Tip #3: Do yoga.

Good advise. I've done yoga about 20 times in the last 4 months, and even though I can't say what or why exactly, I can say unequivocally that I feel better and that it's improved my life...

Only six? Granted, they're pretty big categories ("science", "websites"), so maybe six is the right number...

Great question over at Splitsider: What is the single best sitcom episode of all time?

I'm not enough of a television viewer to have a strong opinion on this. There are many, many great offerings in the comments, and there are many shows I'm not familiar with. And in several instances where I am familiar with the show, I'm not familiar with the episode.

Actually, I could probably do a top ten list with just Seinfeld and Simpsons episodes. Well, make that a top nine; my 10th would be the WKRP Turkey Drop episode...

Headline of the week? It's in the finals, easily...note the subtle use of the scare quote.

And here's some practical news you can use...

Tom is in with his Christmas wish list...and keeping with his new winemaking hobby, would like various supplies and items:
There are two area wine making shops where his secret Santa can browse for items...
Beer and Winemakers Warehouse in Hartfordand the Brew & Wine hobby shop in East Hartford.

(He suggests the Hartford shop is a little more organized so that may be best.)

Some needed items are:

Corks
Shrink Wrap Caps
1 Piece Air Lock
Potassium Metabisulfate

Also, he'd enjoy the book "The Wine Maker's Answer Book".

To round out the wish list, bottles of nice Red Wine to offer inspiration are always appreciated! And as I've previously mentioned, they are a potential fine investment!

And the brilliant pop duo Belle & Sebastian perform a beautifully restyled version of "O Little Town of Bethleham".

Gerry makes his arrival, and he would like a safety helmet for those ever increasing occassions when he has a need to use his chainsaw...gotta be careful out in the wildnerness!

I'm sure his secret Santa can be creative with an additional item to compliment Gerry's outdoor activities...

And here's Julian Casablancas with the stylish and kickin' I Wish It Was Christmas Today...(he's the guy from the Strokes).

We haven't seen this in a while: over at the Next Big Future it's the Carnival of Space...

Preparing for the imminent collapse of the Euro, and with it the Eurozone...

And by the way, what happened?

Just finished watching the Arsenal v Everton match...there's really only one reason to watch Arsenal these days: Robin van Persie. And jumping Buddha on a pogo stick did he deliver today...

Video here...Not sure if it's the goal of the year, but it's the best goal I've seen this year...

Eric appears with his list, offering his secret Santa a wide range of options. He'd be content with any combination of the following:

Leather Gloves (Men’s large)

Golf (large) Umbrella

Ski (specific) Socks

Calloway Tour i(z) golf balls

Bottle of Cabernet...always a wise investment.

And here's the Ramones! With their classic Christmas song! Merry Christmas! (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight!)...Johnny Joey DeeDee Marky! Good times!

Kim provides her list!

She'd like a pair of black flat boots...specifically Bare Traps Jaline, in black, size 7. Right here, as a matter of fact...can also be found here with free shipping. Bonus!

She also very much enjoys shower gel from Bath and Body works.

She'd also like a WHITE down vest (not ivory!). They are evidently hard to find, but you might start here Also here? Good luck!

UPDATE: never mind the aforementioned white vest...Eric found one

And here's the talented Meaghan Smith with her charming rendition of Silver Bells...

Kerri is up next with a nice list for her secret Santa...

She's like a pair of LL Bean Hearthside slippers in Chocolate, size 9...these, to be clear, in chocolate.

She'd also like Josie Maran Argan Oil from Sephora.

She also has a need for a stadium chair for UConn games...here's a handy list.

Additionally, she has a need for a cover for her Nook Simple Touch...

And finally she would enjoy dry, full-bodied red wine...a sound investment!

The Saw Doctors make an appearance with Merry Christmas Tuam...

UPDATE: Kerri no longer needs stadium seat...

Ryan checks in with his Christmas wishes...

Recognizing the need for an ever greater need on self reliance, he is asking his secret Santa for a hand crank radio. And really, who among us couldn't use one of those?

Additionally - and again, who among couldn't use one of these - he'd like the Zombie Combat Manual. Indispensable! Why do I think we'll all be hiding at Ryan's house when this finally happens...

And why not! It's a Very Zombie Christmas!

The lists are coming in early this year! We like it.

Ashley is up next, and she'd wishing for some of the fine products from The Body Shop: (note the discount code!)

Tea Tree Foaming Cleanser;
Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream;
Shea Body Butter;
Camomile Eye Makeup Remover.

And here's terrific new indie band The Late Greats with their catchy version of Sleigh Ride...

Next in with her Christmas wish list is Ellen...

She needs a stainless colander with open handles so it can be hung from a rack. And for the Cape house she also needs a nice collapsible one.
She's also looking to add to her cookbook collection, in particular from cuisineathomestore.com...she would like:

Slow Cooker menus Vol 1 and Vol 2,
Quick & Easy Italian,
Cuisine Light Vol 2.

And here's a clip from The Nightmare Before Christmas featuring the lovely Cure song, A Thousand Hours...

Megan McArdle hopes she's wrong. I hope she's wrong too, but I don't think she is...

Additional commentary from Megan here.

Dear Santa, I've changed my mind...I do believe I want one of these...

Got to see the Cure quite unexpectedly and spontaneously Sunday night in NYC. A stunning and breathtaking show…

I received an urgent text from friend Guach on Thanksgiving Day: “The Cure @ Beacon Theater. They are playing first 3 albums in entirety with original lineups!!!” Dan & I are original Cure fanboys, so I frankly thought his text deserved a few more exclamation points…

Recently nominated for 2012 induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the band looked and sounded great, and it was a genuine treat to be able to hear all the original Cure songs as they were initially produced.

Robert Smith was always the smiley face of the Goth rock scene…for as dark as some of the music sometimes seems, you always get the sense that’s he’s winking and smiling through it all.

Opening song: 10:15 Saturday Night. A gem.

Closing song? How about this: Boys Don’t Cry, my favorite Cure song ever.

In between? The entirety of Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds, and Faith, followed by a full hour of encores (which included all the songs from Japanese Whispers B sides collection)… maybe 45-50 songs total.

An amazing experience all around...

Enjoy some Cure music right here.

Page and the Not My Fault guy have a somewhat unique idea for our secret Santas, and we hope we can pull this off. If possible, we’d like our Santas to combine our gifts and get us the P90X 2, so we can be even more insufferably ripped and buff than we already are. (Hey, the company's not called “Beach Body” for nothing!)

Anyway, this is somewhat time sensitive; you get free shipping for the next 48 hours, so we hope this can be coordinated. A new yoga ball would round out the package nicely…

And here’s one of my favorite bands from back when with their outstanding original, Thanks for Christmas...

First year participant Alexa knows exactly what she needs and wants, and reflecting her new found appreciation for the practical is asking for this 12” x 18” architectural light box to aid her in her studio studies. She also has a regular need for architectural supplies, and prefers the products and pricing from the Blick store...

And for your listening pleasure, here’s geek rock band Weezer with The Christmas Song...

We begin another year of Christmas wish lists posted here for easy access for all.

Let’s start with Oma, as she was well prepared with a nice range of items for her secret Santa to pick from. She’s in need of slippers (why do I think she’d like these?), and I'm sure you could find something here she'd enjoy...she'd also like some Clinique face cream (color #06, sand) and soft black mascara. Finally, she also has a need for a wind up alarm clock that will keep running if power and batteries are unavailable...

To kick off our official Christmas song season, you can enjoy this charming rendition of Last Christmas as performed by Florence & the Machine.

Happiness is a warm gun...

For context, here's the original.

Thanksgiving, best holiday of the year: a massive feast on a Thursday, so when it's finished you still have a long weekend. That's all win right there...

As for the sentiment of giving thanks and gratitude in general, it seems it's actually quite healthy both mentally and physically. The science is settled!

We can also be thankful for one of the greatest comedy scenes in television history..."As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly..."

William Shatner participates in a public safety ad for turkey fryers...

"It's a great taste. But you gotta be safe."

I always try to take a few pics when I'm at the gun range...no real reason, just nice to have a photo or 2 of something I only do a few times per year.

It's also good to record epic gun range fail as it happens.

But there's obviously more to be learned here. This goes to my scientific theory that stupidity (not hydrogen) is the most common element in the universe...

Satire? Not satire? Can't tell...

Headline of the week? Headline of the week, despite the tragedy...

Frank J on the importance of using a control group when doing scientific experiments...

10 years really?...like yesterday

Galleries

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting! Those kicks were fast as lightning! In fact, it was a little bit frightening!

Sesame Street, meet the Beastie Boys.

Beasties, say hello to Sesame Street...

Whoa. The guy that invented the concept of the album cover just passed away...seems like that would be pretty big news as far as pop iconography goes. Could anyone really imagine the evolution of music through the decades without album covers? Could we imagine never have known this, for example? Or this? Or this? I could go on and on, but you get my drift...

Lightening strike excuse: Genius!

Chip Ahoy gives step by step instructions on how to make the best guacamole ever, and he expects you to respect his authoritah!Key bit: "... little touches that push this over the top and right over the edge to take flight upward, as a hang glider is lifted by steady thermals, into the wondrous etherial wild blue rarified heights and broad unexplored guacamole horizons..."

So it seems I'll give it a try one of these days...

Beer Girl Becki visits an abandonded waterpark over Fourth of July weekend...enjoys a perfect day.

Well that's great Professor Hanson...now give us the good news.

Althouse at 2:12 p.m. on June 6...for the win!

You just don't get it, do you? (But you will.) (Nope, you still don't get it...)

Our Trickster Hero turns 70...I'm actually OK with that. I mean "OK" in the sense that Dylan turning 70 doesn't make me feel old. He's always looked twice as old as he really is anyway. I've always thought of him as a geezer. A trickster geezer...

You know what does kind of bug me? Ian Curtis, a true contemporary, has been dead 31 years...

When booking a trip for a walking tour of the Everglade swamps, who wouldn't at least think about snakes and alligators? This lady, evidently...

Best CDC health alert ever? Best CDC health alert ever.

Best marriage proposal ever? Best marriage proposal ever.

Best headline ever? Best headline ever.

The funniest thing I saw in the last couple of days...

And the most interesting thing I saw in the last couple of days...

The team of music bloggers at the Indie Rock Cafe have put together a charming and inventive Royal Wedding Playlist...download the entire mix!

In the meantime, why didn't anyone mention this to Treacher?

"We are pathetic. It's over."

Can this be? Robert Smith just turned 52? The amazing "Tinderbox" by Siouxsie and the Banshees was released 25 years ago just the other day? Where do the decades go?

And check out this behind the scenes story of the epic Abbey Road cover photograph...42 years old this summer.

Ha! It's the crazy train...I'm pretty sure this is India, and I'm pretty sure I've been on this train, despite a commenter's unsupported suggestion that it's Thailand.

Either way, it's definitely the crazy train!

Why, yes. As a matter of fact we do...

Everything you need to know about the current state of media and "journalism" summed up in one tidy headline...

Coolest thing I saw all weekend...

Battles - IPT2 - 3D Zoetrope Mapping from Retchy on Vimeo.

Actually, that's a very good question. I think the answer is obvious, but it doesn't fit the pc multi-culti narrative, so we're not likely to hear much about it...

There's no better way to experience other cultures than through food...so get yourself around the world!