the dude almost didn’t abide
One of the most memorable characters of the last two decades of film almost never came to be. In the new PBS documentary ‘Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides,’ the star talks about the hesitation and uncertainty he felt about accepting the role that spawned millions of cult followers.
A Thoughtful Christmas Gift from Flannery
screenshot of the day
Uncurbed Enthusiasm
Larry David is pleased with the tax cuts:
The only problem is if, God forbid, the tax cuts are repealed in two years, how will I ever go back to Special K and bananas? Well, I did quit smoking, so I’m sure if push came to shove I could summon up the willpower to get off granola and blueberries. Of course, I suppose with the money I managed to save from the “Seinfeld” syndication, I probably could continue to eat granola with blueberries, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
(via cynical-c)
from the comments
When I was about seven I got a bow and arrow set for Christmas. My first thought when I saw it was of how I might modify the suction-cup tip of an arrow to accept the flint arrowhead I had been given the year before. I thought this would come in handy when I ran away to the Canadian wilderness.
The Transformation of the DEA
The Drug Enforcement Administration has been transformed into a global intelligence organization with a reach that extends far beyond narcotics, and an eavesdropping operation so expansive it has to fend off foreign politicians who want to use it against their political enemies, according to secret diplomatic cables.
A White Christmas in Hazel Green
Amigo and I were surprised to wake up today and find snow on the ground. The precipitation, about three inches in my hometown in north Alabama, was said to be the biggest snowfall on Christmas Day in the state, ever. People lost their minds, of course, driving through the fields in ATV’s, making snow angels until they were half frozen, building snowmen, and just running around screaming in disbelief.
Amigo, my sister’s “snooty horse,” and I were more jaded about the snow. Still, it was fun to see.
True Grit
Once again, the Coen boys don’t disappoint. The most heart-heaving renditions of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” I’ve ever leaned into.
The Real American Pie
Mince pie was once inextricable from our national identity. Blamed for bad health, murderous dreams, the downfall of Prohibition, and the decline of the white race, it nonetheless persisted as an American staple through the 1940s. So what happened?
Earlier this year, “The Real American Pie” garnered the James Beard Foundation Award for best newspaper feature writing for Cliff Doerksen, who died last week at the age of forty-seven.
Kenny & Dolly – A Christmas to Remember
headline of the day
Civil War message opened, decoded: No help coming
Ghosts of Christmas Past
1. Over ate cracked nuts and home-made fudge, divinity, all day. To wake up, in the eve, nudged in the tummy. Barfed at 2-something in the morning. Santa’d already come.
2. My brother wanted a roadrace set so bad that when he saw it on Christmas morning, he busted out bawling tears of gratitude so wracking he was nearly delirious. Daddy offered to take it back to the store if my brother was that unhappy with it. Wink.
Bûche de Noël
Thought I’d share our Bûche de Noël. Note the snail details, which I was rather proud of.
Ipanema
Merry Christmas!
Amy said
Mail order lesbian brides. From Russia.
Saharan Cheetah Photographed
An elusive Saharan Cheetah, thought to be one of only 200, was photographed using a motion detection camera.
Among the threats to the pale cat are scarcity of prey due to poaching and overuse, and conflicts with herders over stock harassment and killing of their animals, according to SCF. Apparently cheetah skins are prized as prayer rugs or used to make slippers.
dear clusterflock
What do you want for Christmas?
tweet of the day, three days old
from the comments
My first encounter with Starewicz was his extraordinary animated film The Mascot, which was tacked on to a cheap imported DVD of Vampyr for reasons unknown. I watched it repeatedly and, charmed and amazed, ordered more of his work. I love the story of his accidental inauguration into stop-motion: working on a nature documentary, he found the insects wilting under the heat of the lights….
Daryl & Cindy–Christmas Letter
We have been in El Paso all week, and Cindy has been sick the whole time. We meant to send out Christmas cards while there but didn’t plan for the task very well. Here’s this year’s Christmas letter:
Mary Christmas from Randy Taylor and the rest of us,
We went out last night for a Christmas tree and ended up having to shoot some people. That can put a damper on the holidays, but it’s not the end of everything if it happens in Texas. We went to buy it down by the tamale place. The boys had got into their presents early like they do and were in the backseat loading and unloading them. When the police came they were real nice and helped us get the tree into the back of the Tahoe. They felt bad that we had this happen to us in the middle of a family tradition. This fellow pushing a stolen shopping cart full of frozen turkeys he had also stole got a little too close to the car with his friends, and you know how you have to act fast with carjackers. Bobby got one of the frozen turkeys that hadn’t got anything on it, but I made him put it back. That’s not what we believe in. When we got home Paula cooked us some scrambled eggs and that venison sausage I’m having made for us now. It’s been a hard year. First the Pastor getting too handy with Paula, then the internet thing going all venereal about my complaint to the Jimmy Dean sausage factory that the sons of bitches recorded and let out all over the goddam world. Then Mama dead and cremated in January and Rusty finds a bone in the urn, sharpens it, and stabs Daddy with it. And then Bobby nor Donny either one making the football team because of grades. I almost didn’t let them go deer hunting this year, but I think it does no good to punish kids in unchristian ways. And Paula likes to catch up on praying when we’re gone anyway. I don’t know what the deal is with Vanna. She turned twelve and can dress herself now.
Anyway, I got the tree out and up and lighted and the target deer look real good out front of the house since I used spackle and brown shoe polish to cover the holes.
This is all I want to write about now. I hope everybody will think hard about how worse it could be and have a good Christmas. Okay then—bye. RT
Tree And Fence On U.S. 90, Marfa, TX 79843
The Insects’ Christmas (1913)
“Rozhdestvo obitateley lesa” (Wladyslaw Starewicz).
Thanks to Stan Carey for this.
I’m not sure about the soundtrack, presumably chosen by XmasFLIX (me, I might go with something by Leoš Janáček), but the film is enchanting.
Especially so in light of my roommates, the invincible box elder bugs, who refuse to die and persist in traveling toward Outside, though Outside is now white and frozen. They remember that they once lived there.
Have you ever seen something so beautiful
that you resisted the impulse to take a photograph for fear of ruining the experience?
I saw such a thing just now as I drove back home from a dispiriting gift-shopping run.
A large tawny cat walking delicately down the snowy hill the other side of the cove from me. Far too big to be Felis catus. A bobcat? But I didn’t see the pointy, tufted lynxy ears. Possibly a very very young cougar? Surely not.
Why on earth was it out in the middle of the day, out in the midst of an exposed snowy expanse?
All I know is that I began to cry over the beauty of the creature, then went on my way. I guess it did the same, though without the tears.
Update: Tomorrow I’ll make a start at contacting the folks who try to keep track of the whereabouts of large feline predators. If what I saw is what I’d like to imagine, the situation (proximity to humans) is not safe for the cat.
Free MP3 from Sondre Lerche
Mostly this is an excuse to show off my “Photoshopsmas” skills — notice the ornament dangling from the belt loop! (Original photo here.) But if you click it, you get a free MP3 of Sondre Lerche covering Owen Pallett’s “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt.” So there’s that, too. And that’s pretty awesome.
Enjoy! Especially you, Amanda. 
