Christmas Links #6


Links  With Review 2007, I pushed things back into the blogosphere and asked others to define what "home" meant to them.  Perhaps signalling the times, I didn't get as many submissions, but the quality was incredibly high.  I rather cheated by submitting a book review, but there had already been two other entries about Liverpool and I didn't want to repeat myself.  Also unlike previous years, I emailed more strangers out of the blue so that some far-flung places could be included.

The entries were incredibly heartfelt.  Perhaps the most relevant for today is the piece by Annette about her home town of El Paso and her interactions with the local immigrant population.  It's an incredibly moving piece, especially given everything which has happened since and how similar people, perhaps even relatives of those mentioned have systematically had their humanity removed in the eyes of some members of the public.

"Paint a friend’s ceiling, fix their bike, babysit. There’s joy to be had if you pull yourself off the meathook of consumerism."

"A Manchester company has set up a 'virtual store' on something called the internet.  This clip is from North West Tonight.  Originally broadcast 22 December 1997."

"Lindsay Lohan’s comeback in Falling for Christmas puts Netflix in a strong position but there are countless hunks-in-plaid yuletide romcom options this year."

"For the first time in the poll’s 70-year history, a film by a female filmmaker takes the top spot: Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles."

"Over the weekend of Saturday, December 2 residents were left dismayed after spotting a tiny Christmas tree in the town centre."

"A teenager in Cornwall has run out of space on the front of his house so he has decided to decorate the rest of his housing estate."

"An excited golden retriever not only couldn't wait for Christmas before unwrapping her gift, but she also knew exactly which one was hers."

"The final dates for sending off packages for Christmas have been brought forward."

"One of the UK's largest accountancy firms will close most of its offices over Christmas and New Year for the first time to save on energy bills."

"The Mendelson family would love to find the envelope where their father, Lee, scribbled some lyrics to jazz musician Vince Guaraldi’s composition “Christmas Time is Here” for an animated TV special featuring the “Peanuts” gang in 1965."

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