Christmas Links #1

Doctor Who, Idris Elba and Benedict Cumberbatch Get Animated for a BBC Christmas Ad:
"If Brussels sprouts had emotions, they'd likely spend a lifetime in expensive therapy, so shunned are they by so many. But in a new holiday spot from the BBC, at least one little sprout a happy ending. One that involves animated versions of Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi, Luther's Idris Elba and Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch, among others."

Cover Story - Moving Images:
"The New Yorker is arguably the primary venue for complex contemporary fiction around, so I often wonder why the cover shouldn’t, at least every once in a while, also give it the old college try? In the past, the editors have generously let me test the patience of the magazine’s readership with experiments in narrative elongation: multiple simultaneous covers, foldouts, and connected comic strips within the issue. This week’s cover, “Mirror,” a collaboration between The New Yorker and the radio program “This American Life,” tries something similar."

Lismore Christmas tree covered in bicycles ‘which look like condoms’
"WHAT is the true meaning of Christmas? If you said “a tree made of recycled bicycles that sort of reminds you of condoms”, you must be a resident of Lismore, NSW. The town which gave Australia rock band Grinspoon and chatty soccer commentator Craig Foster was panned widely last year when its pivotal Christmas decoration was a wonky Cooks pine tree at a central roundabout. Rarely did 64m of tinsel and 20 decorations look so forlorn."

Warning that Christmas fairy lights can slow your Wi-Fi:
"Fairy lights on Christmas trees could cause slower Wi-Fi speeds, the UK regulator Ofcom has warned, as it launched a new app to test coverage in homes. The watchdog estimated up to six million homes and offices could improve their broadband connection, saying wireless networks were often not set up correctly or suffered “interference” from electronics including baby monitors, microwave ovens and Christmas lights."

Americana on the BBC:
"To mark the period of Thanksgiving (hey, we do Black Friday now, so why not…), here are some reminiscences of the most notable US programming that has been shown on the BBC. When the BBC television service started officially in November 1936, while most of the programmes were live, it was realised it would be helpful to allow resetting of studios if film material could be arranged to supplement the schedule. Apart from cinema newsreels which were bought in to provide topical material, there was a shortage of alternative film content. Distributors of feature films were reluctant to co-operate with television, so very few features were seen on television in the early days."

Houston Zoo Lights all aglow:
"The Houston Zoo is all decked out for Christmas with its annual Zoo Lights. The twinkling exhibit features more than two million holiday lights, life-size animal sculptures and other holiday attractions. You can see Zoo Lights through Jan. 9 but the zoo will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas."