С Рождеством!

So, light blogging lately. Work has been crazy, right up until Friday when we closed the office early but packed in a full day nonetheless! Flights were largely without incident--now I know what First Class is like. Apparently it's really easy to sleep there, at least once your sleep debt catches up with you. Christmas has been awesome! Very relaxing. Off to the Bay Area for more vacation on Thursday.

James Brown, R.I.P. Thank you for "Down and Out in New York City," "It's a Man's World," "Grits," "Papa Don't Take No Mess," "Night Train," and so much more.

And now we've lost Gerald Ford too. "Hark when Gerald Ford was king/We were bored with everything." Thanks for giving me a subject for my 10th grade American History report after that other kid snagged Richard Nixon and then didn't even write a report. You were moderate and pro-choice in a party that was neither, at least not anymore, and did more than you got credit for to heal the country post-Watergate. But you also made Dick Cheney your Chief of Staff--think of the damage you could have avoided by sending him home to Wyoming. You also gave Rumsfeld his first stint as Secretary of Defense. Sigh.