Getting down to the wire before freedom, kids.
We've been short-staffed and slammed hard at work this week. Think the manager is going to think twice before asking people to take any extra vacation days off at the end of the year or lose them plan?
As far as hotel reservations, although Tammy had some good advice, I ultimately decided fuggit, I'll just make a reservation. It's right close to the theatre, so I'll save on parking, as well as time and trouble to get to my bed after the show.
I'll be enjoying my mini vacation until next week. I'll try to post a review of Spamalot so stay tuned.

Looks like PvP's the latest comic to come out with a Christmas issue after the holidays. But check out the banner ad under the strip, the cover alone'll make it worth it.

Josef Lawler has an article about an interview he did with the creators of Shaun of the Dead, which includes some interesting tidbits about a cameo in another zombie picture and a sequel.

Had a pretty good Christmas. Got a lot of DVDs, some CDs and a couple of books. The wife was happy with her haul. But the bathroom water froze up most of Christmas day and our momma cat got out Christmas Eve afternoon until the next evening. With the below zero temperatures causing both problems, made the day a bit of a worry.
Also got to watch the Anchorman DVD on Sunday, an early peek thanks to the nephew working at a video store. It was for a fun Sunday afternoon. Looking forward to checking out the additional-footage edited Wake Up, Ron Burgundy that Netflix will send me soon.
And got a little Christmas money that'll come in handy in a couple of days when I go see Spamalot. Had a couple of questions: I've read where you can get a better deal on a hotel if you call the place directly. Any tips on what to say to get a lower rate? And I've also read about people getting autographs backstage after a show. Any one know about the Shubert Theatre in Chicago to offer any hints?

Here's an article about the differences between Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Spamalot. And no registration required.

From our "You know it, do I have to say it, but you won't know/you'll enjoy it if I do" Department:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Things at work are dead here, so I'll try to provide some entertainment for those of you who are combing the nets looking for some amusement. My last article posted should be a good start.

Last night I got to watch Noel that I digitally recorded*. Funny thing is it had repeated commercials for the movie being available on FlexPlay, a new DVD technology that only allows you to view it for 48 hours once opened (and can get it here) but I had it digitally recorded* already.
Anywho, it's a Christmas movie about 5 problematic people at Christmastime. One quibble with the film is that you know the people by the actors who play them, not their characters' names. Rose (Susan Sarandon, okay, the only one I remember) has a mother who is hospitalized with Altzheimer's, does for others, but needs help herself. She meets someone in a similar situation (an uncredited Robin Williams) who offers that help. Penelope Cruz is dealing with her fiance's jealousy, who in turn is dealing with Alan Arkin, who is convinced he is the reincarnation of his dead wife. Then there's the guy trying to get into the emergency room for the Christmas party by arranging for (director) Chazz Palminteri to break his arm. I would say it was just okay, but I was compelled enough to watch it all the way through, which with my big stack of DVDs and shows on the TiVo, could be considered high praise.

I also watched Napoleon Dynamite that I got from Netflix. The title character is about a high school kid in Idaho that some consider unusual, and his friends and family. It was one of those "It's okay, I don't see what the fuss was about" films. I consider my Netflix charge for this month worth it for this film alone, as I probably would've given in to the impulse and bought it.

In fact, looking over my Netflix rental history over the past 30 days, here's a ranking of what I've rented in order:
Empire Records: Remix Special Fan Edition
SCTV Network 90 Vol 2 disc 1<--(ones I liked so much will buy or bought them, respectively)
Elf
Tombstone
Dodgeball
Kathy Griffin: Allegedly
Money for Nothing (just OK John Cusack, and OK Debi Mazar nude scene)
(the following I gave up on shortly after starting)
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure
Vampyros Lesbos

I am kinda mad at Netflix for not having Surviving Christmas available for me, even though I added it to my queue when the release was announced and saying there was a short wait. And I know it must be a turd for them to release it so quickly after it's release, but still...

*According to the new Entertainment Weekly, TiVo is launching an effort to protect its name by discouraging people from using it as a generic term for it's service (use "digitally recorded" instead of "TiVo'ed", for instance) so they don't lose it, as asparin did and xerox almost did.