May All Your Holiday Wishes Come True

And if not, there is always next year.

Here is a link to an awesome SNL video short that is becoming quite popular on the internet. It is called "The Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia." In case you haven't seen it, it is hysterical. If you have, here is an article about its genesis. More humorous stuff from the people that did the video can be found here.
More funny stuff: the book, "Bar Mitzvah Disco: The Music May Have Stopped, but the Party's Never Over," which chronicles the evolution of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah- the traditional write of passage into adulthood for Jewish boys and girls. This book had me doubled over with laughter with its depiction of the cheesy reflective photos, excess receptions, and classic '80s and '90s fashion trends, and brought back some memories of my own experiences, including the Bar/Bat Mitzvah outfit that my older sister put together for me: pleated bugle boy khakis, pink button-down shirt, thin black leather tie, silver blazer, and black penny loafers. I will try to dig up a photo.

It's been a whirlwind holiday season, with a little bit of shlepping around to various holiday dinners, seeing friends and family, and eating way too much. I've started a third book, so I am now in the middle of three different books. Although two of the books are a collection of essays, so it's nice to be able to just pick up wherever. The most recent book I've started is a collection of essays by the humorist David Rakoff, entitled "Don't Get too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never-Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems." The first essay, which discusses the author's experience becoming a U.S. citizen (he's originally from our friendly neighbor north of the border) is a riot. Given that he decided to become a citizen for fear of being deported by the current U.S. president, you can guess where this is going. Very funny so far.

Finally, I would just like to call your attention to what might be one of the coolest cars I've ever seen. The Bugatti Veyron is the fastest and most expensive production car ever made. It has 1001 hp, goes 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, has a top speed of 254 miles, which makes for a fuel economy, at top speed, of 12 minutes. That's right- if you were to drive top speed, you would run out of gas in 12 minutes. All this can be yours for just $1.2 million. Here is a link to the NY Times review.
That's it for now. I hope everyone is having a happy, warm and safe holiday season, whatever holiday you celebrate.