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Post by Gilberto on Dec 12, 2009 15:17:15 GMT -5
Sean & Greg put the nativity in negativity by tackling crazy Christmas shoppers, The new V series and the Prisoner remake, The Men Who Stare at Goats and its depiction of the First Earth Battalion, and the attitude of movies like Back to the Future and Clash of the Titans towards sexual assault. Merry Christmas, everybody. media.libsyn.com/media/darkcrazy/TVAMD_XMAS.mp3 |
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Post by Scary Gary on Dec 14, 2009 21:30:47 GMT -5
Funny episode. You're not alone in your distaste for X-mas. I have no problem with making the holiday a magical time for kids. As with most of these sorts of things, it's the people who F it all up. That and the commercialization of it all. You know that the red and white Santa suit literally comes from the colors of Coca Cola.
And I got to give credit where credit is due (or at least have someone to point the finger to if I dish out misinformation). The rabies info was from the great and powerful wikipedia, with an assist from Web MD.
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Post by lynn on Dec 14, 2009 21:48:42 GMT -5
I dislike Christmas too. I saw on TV some psychologist said that perhaps building up a massive Santa lie to our kids isn't the best thing for their future mental heath, but everyone on the show went "boo, grinch" But I'm sure this could be true. I don't like the whole Santa lie, I don't like how attached to it we all are. Can't we just tell our kids we give each other presents because we love each other, not that a magical dude will come out of our chimneys and give us stuff just because it's Christmas so there must be presents? Way to up the consumerist factor much?
I like Christmas when it's a genial family gathering... but I've never been to one of those. Everyone always gets so stressed and obsessive about Christmas being so important and special that they ruin the whole happy family time thing. And these days I always spent too much time sitting around watching kids open presents, because adults don't do presents these days. Depressing.
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Post by panic on Dec 14, 2009 21:49:19 GMT -5
Here I was expecting some sort of nostalgic look back at your favorite Christmas presents, or toy talk, which would have been okay....
But no. Let me congratulate you for 2 hours of talk about rapin' and rapers, and gangs of rapers. Loved it!
I'll never look at Back to the Future or Medusa in the same light again.
Seriously, good job. Happy holidays to the TVAMD family.
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Post by drivebyluna on Dec 14, 2009 22:57:59 GMT -5
I think I'm actually one of the few who likes Christmas. Although I have mixed feelings about Christmas this year as there is no snow in San Francisco but there is a pretty display of lights and windows. I. Love. Window. Shopping.
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Post by Gilberto on Dec 15, 2009 18:49:57 GMT -5
And happy holidays to all the friends of the show. I'm glad we can all enjoy a little fun at Christmas' expense. I enjoy the family thing, too, but it's usually upstage by the madness of the holidays. In the holiday's defense, my family usually makes a circus out of everything.
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Post by lynn on Dec 15, 2009 21:30:38 GMT -5
I envy people who like Christmas, means you must have had some good ones... This year's going to be a doozy for me, because my big brother is getting married on Christmas eve; it'll either be double the madness, or the whole wedding thing with diffuse the Christmas crazy. What's everyone ele doing for the season?
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Post by drivebyluna on Dec 15, 2009 21:33:48 GMT -5
Yikes, why would he get married on Christmas Eve?
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Post by professordave on Dec 15, 2009 23:37:21 GMT -5
I like Christmas, but I don't get caught up in the craziness. When I was a kid it was a lot of fun. I go to church pretty regularly now, so I like to think of it as it was originally intended, a religious holiday with some fun pagan rituals thrown in. A lot of what we think of as a traditional Christmas goes back only 150 years and is based mostly on media and marketing that targeted the Victorian era middle class but later encompassed everyone. That the media now places Christmas as the savior (pun intended) of our financial futures and that if we don't buy enough presents we'll all be looking for work seems insane. No, not seems, IS insane. All that said, I like the lights, the decorations, the old Christmas movies, and the fun parties with friends and relatives. And I still get a little thrill opening presents on Christmas morning.  |
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Post by lynn on Dec 16, 2009 3:28:26 GMT -5
Yikes, why would he get married on Christmas Eve? I'm not sure exactly, but he may be capitalising on the fact that everyone is already going to be there. |
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Post by Scary Gary on Dec 16, 2009 7:44:50 GMT -5
I like Christmas, but I don't get caught up in the craziness. When I was a kid it was a lot of fun. I go to church pretty regularly now, so I like to think of it as it was originally intended, a religious holiday with some fun pagan rituals thrown in. A lot of what we think of as a traditional Christmas goes back only 150 years and is based mostly on media and marketing that targeted the Victorian era middle class but later encompassed everyone. That the media now places Christmas as the savior (pun intended) of our financial futures and that if we don't buy enough presents we'll all be looking for work seems insane. No, not seems, IS insane. All that said, I like the lights, the decorations, the old Christmas movies, and the fun parties with friends and relatives. And I still get a little thrill opening presents on Christmas morning. The History Channel has a good show on the history of Christmas. I think The Discovery Channel has one, too. I like how these shows go into the origins of the holiday traditions, from why we celebrate X-mas in December to the pagan significance to the Xmas tree and yuletide logs to the evolution of Santa Claus. It really is some good stuff. |
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gretl
Robot Monkey
Posts: 121
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Post by gretl on Dec 16, 2009 10:04:39 GMT -5
I hatehatehate rampant consumerism and avoid malls and commercial television all year long, but especially this time of year. Life's too short to waste all that energy being pissed off. ;D
I have different self-induced Christmas angst... I've always cherished Christmas cards and homemade or carefully selected or baked gifts from people, so I want to very badly to pay that feeling forward. But I have so many demands on my time and limited energy, that it becomes a very stressful time of year. This year has been better (so far), for whatever reason, so ... yay me!
And thanks, Gary, for reminding me about the History Channel videos I have bookmarked for homeschool "lessons" ... now I have something to keep the kids busy while I bake and address Christmas cards today! (Problem is, I always seem to get sucked into whatever they're watching. Because I try not to put them through things I don't personally find interesting. Heh.)
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Post by Gilberto on Dec 16, 2009 17:32:57 GMT -5
I have to say, now that it's almost here I'm not so bothered by it. I like the basic holiday stuff, just not the hassle. And I'm always really busy so it just gets in the way.
I hope everyone's having a good time this holiday season, because that's what it's really all about. I hope you're able to be with your family, because that's what I enjoy.
I have had a good time ripping on Christmas, though. I think this has been good for all of us.
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Post by Scary Gary on Dec 16, 2009 17:54:40 GMT -5
We listened to the show. We know your true feelings. You ain't fooling anyone, Hippie. (said in my best annoyed old-man voice) |
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Post by starky on Dec 16, 2009 18:11:29 GMT -5
It does seem that this year the Christmas madness is not as intense as usual. I guess perhaps the economy has caused people to throttle things back a bit. Also, this year is a bit odd for us because we've been doing a lot of travelling and we haven't put any decorations yet. I'm afraid my family will attribute this to my grinchyness and accuse me of trying to ruin Christmas (again).
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