Hello!

Well, it’s certainly been a pleasant holiday here — after rain on Christmas Eve, the big morning came in bright and pretty, as clear as a bell and smelling sweet. As for the picture up top, the closest I could get on Google to Irish Gaelic for ‘Merry Christmas’ is “Nollaig Chridheil”, which is also as close to Christmas as Gorgo is getting, funny hat or not. It seems like everyone is separated this holiday, which is certainly different, with an unexpected ‘just another day’ feel around this household. But the friends ‘n’ family messages and emails help us catch up from afar. I know one thing — this is THE year for sending pictures of fancy things cooked or baked for Christmas dinner.

A couple of odd, interesting links: author David J. Schow is circulating this link to a YouTube encoding of a pretty weird ‘alternative travel’ show called Inside a Ghost Town of Abandoned Disney Castles. The investigators found this utterly strange development — the most impractical thing I’ve ever seen — somewhere in Turkey. It’s truly bizarre — why, why, why make them all the same?  An extra wrinkle is that the video crew is trespassing in the half-completed development, and is on the watch for security guards.

And another winner for Sergio Leone fans. It’s called  Sergio Leone post-produzione  Il Buono Il brutto Il cattivo — somebody shot film during a ‘Foley’ sound effects dubbing session, or whatever they call it in Italy. Il Maestro is politely directing what he wants to hear and the Foley artist complies… the funny bit is that the director is drinking and eating snacks through the whole thing.

Thanks for reading!  Stay careful & healthy — Glenn Erickson