More Economy Day (Christmas) Arguments

So, the whole "Ho Ho Ho" firing thing may or may not have been a myth, but I am still going to stick with Economy Day. But changing the name of December's holiday has not resolved any of Theresa and my disagreements. We have compromised on the advent calender thing (Theresa is counting down, and I'm counting up) but we are now having a new fight: when presents come in the mail, can you open them right away?

I wont tell you who holds which opinion, as to not influence your opinion.

Happy Economy Day

I just read the other day that a Santa Clause was fired for saying 'Ho Ho Ho,' instead of what his employer wanted him to say: 'Ha Ha Ha.' First off, I think this whole Ho Ho Ho controversy is about the most ridiculous holiday scandal I have ever heard - doesn't the anti-Ho people realize that sometimes two words sound the same but have completely different meanings? If this keeps up, then well have to start talking about the Hoover Darn.

Secondly, our modern society has already tried to bleed out every Christian element from Christmas, which I always thought would leave us with a completely secularized and materialistic holiday season with the big man in red taking the place of the little baby in a manger. But with stories like these coming out, it seems like society has taken another step towards removing absolutely all meaning from the holiday seasoning by attacking Mr. Materialism himself: Jolly 'ol Saint Nick. Next thing we know, they'll be people complaining about Santa propagating anti-obesity stereotypes and Christmas trees contributing to global warming by furthering deforestation.

So lets just cut to the chase shall we: I propose that we remove all traces of Santa Clause, the Reindeer, Christmas trees and figgy pudding from this holiday season (as well as any religious undertones, naturally). And if you think this cleansing would completely derive us of everything fun about this festive season, don't worry - I've come up with a new theme that will still get all those shoppers hitting the stores: ECONOMY DAY!

That's right, I think December 25 should be a day where we can celebrate all the good that holiday shopping does for our economy, without having to worry about religious confrontations or insulting characters. So happy economy day everyone!

Our Favorite Albums of 2007

One of the things that I love most about the end of the year are critics "Best Albums of the Year" list. Although I know that critics' opinions don't really matter in the end, I always like to read what they have to say, either to see if my favorite albums get on other peoples list, or to discover good music that I had overlooked this year. So, since the internet allows everyone to publicly voice their own opinions, I am proud to present Theresa and my "favorite albums of the year." Since our household is a democracy (at least for now - when we have kids, it will shift to an oligarchy) Theresa and I each made our own Top Ten list and then, giving each of us equal weight, compiled a master list (In parenthesis are Theresa and my individual rankings) :

1.) Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
T: I love Spoon. I like the name because spoons are useful and the songs are fun to sing. "Give me my... Japanese cigarette case!" (R:7, T:1)








2.) Feist: The Reminder
T: Feist's music is so dancey. She inspires even the worst dancers to get on their feet. And because even the non-dancey songs are good, this album is wondtabulous (wonderful + fabulous). (R:6, T:2)






3.) Radiohead: In Rainbows
R: Radiohead definatly got a lot of press this year with their no- record- label- internet- only- pay- what- you- will album, but did anyone take the time to mention the music? I really, really liked Radiohead's previous albums, but lets face it, they can be kind-of downers. I enjoy In Rainbows because it seems a little cheerier. Thom's mother would be proud. (R: 3, T: 5)

4.) Sunset Rubdown: Random Spirit Lover
R: This was my favorite album of the year, and it is only number 4! I guess this goes to show that it might not be for everyone, but I love it! If you give it a chance, you might just be caught up in its frantic neon-lit Laberynth-esque stage-play of a production. (R:1, T:-)




5.) Metric: Grow Up And Blow Away
T: I like this new-old record, despite the fact that none of Metric's other albums float my boat. It's bluesy and cool and just plain better. (R:8, T:4)








5.) Stars: In Our Bedroom After The War
T: I like this record, but we are not yet at the point in our relationship to drop the L-bomb. It is a lot of fun, but it's just not that beautiful. [funny - that's what Theresa said to me when we first started going out.] (R:9, T: 3)





7.) Rock Plaza Central: Are We Not Horses
R: Mechanical Horses that think they are real, having an exestential crisis after a war between the humans and the angels, with the narrative focusing on one of these creatures' love affair with its enemy - what can I say more. (really though, the music is very good). (R:2, T:-)


8.) Frog Eyes: Tears Of The Valedictorian
R: Another acquired taste. Think of Chris Farley frantically playing a guitar and yelping like a wolf, and you'll have Frog Eyes. I think Tears is their best album, and the 9-minute epic "Bushels" is mostly why I rated it so high. (R:4, T:-)





9.) Kevin Drew: Spirit If...
R: Think of this as the low-key follow-up to Broken Social Scene's last album, which alone should be enough to get on this list. I liked it when I first heard it, but it wasn't until repeated listens that I really started to love it. (R:5, T:-)







9.) The New Pornographers: Challengers
T: I don't really like this record, but it has some really great songs on it. My new favorite song is Challanger (Neko Case is awesome). It alone put this album on my list. (R:-, T:5)






A couple things I've noticed while making this list: First, Theresa's favorite bands are sure higher on this list than mine - I guess I like her favorite bands more than she likes mine. Second, We sure like Canadian music - 8/10 albums are from Canadian artists.

So, do you agree with us? What were your favorite albums this year?

A Bitter Arguement Almost Ruins The Miller's Christmas

We need your help resolving a little Christmas debate Theresa and I are having. As everyone knows, that December is the month for, not only gross materialism, but also Advent Calenders - a tradition that is fun for the entire family. However, the fun of these monthly treasure collections has been tainted this year by a bitter argument that has rocked the Miller home: Do you start the calender at 24, and count down to 1, or do you start at 1, and count up to 24?

My argument is that the numbers represent the days of the month, so on the 1st, you open door #1. Also, in those chocolate calenders you can buy for like $1, the only constant chocolate shape is Santa Claus, which is always under the 24, since this is the night that Santa makes his rounds. Logically, if you were to count down from 24, Santa should appear under the 1.

Theresa's argument is simple: an advent colander is supposed to count down the days until Christmas, so naturally you should open the door that corresponds to the number of days left until Christmas (24 on Dec 1, 23 on Dec 2 etc.). In her defense, she cites the same chocolate calenders, which read in large letters on the front "24 Chocolate Days Until Christmas," which demonstrate that the calender's purpose is to tell us how many days there are until Christmas, not which day of the month it is (we use regular calenders for that).

So, what do you think?