I'll be popping on and off the internet tubes the next few days, since everyone else has taken the holiday, why not me? So I wanted to have the chance to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, hope that Haunakah was good to our Jewish friends (and I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier), that we remember and the keep the message of Kwanzaa, that everyone gets what they want out of the holidays and more, and that everyone finds themselves better off this time next year. And here's a Doctor Who Christmas story by Paul Cornell. And while we're on the subject, here's something a little Extras under the tree, courtesy of Gordon Dymowski of Blog This, Pal!:

And for that time of year again, I still love it:

Note: The following post is sponsored.
Nerdynews.com is a social bookmarking site similar to digg, only with Nerdy News you can get 50% of the ad revenue generated by the content they submit. Also, as you can guess from the title, the news items are more of interest to a targeted site, much like this blog is.

Now that Huckabee's in the spotlight, did you ever wonder how he became governor of Arkansas? Can you say coup d'etat? Thanks to J. Brad Hicks for writing about this and Geoffrey D. Wessel for bringing it to my attention.
And Warren Ellis writes about how the Archbishop of Wales is calling fundamentalism one of the great problems of the world, especially aesthetic fundamentalism. And in other news, water is wet.
I swear, if we get four more years of another Republican president, I'm going to look into moving to Canada.

One thing I learned from my wife working in the health care field is the importance of protection, both of the workers in that field and the charges in their care. With things like disposable gloves you can ensure that the proper care and protection is there for the caretakers at any health facility. You want something that's good and safe, but not something that'll break your bank. And they offer free shipping on purchases over $25.

Throughout the year many families throw childrens' parties, mainly for birthdays. One thing many families require if their children are invited in confirmation, either in the form of you calling them or sending them an invititation. Rather than spend all that time on the phone, why not go here and get some kids party invitations? They'll add something to your party and make more of an impression.

With many people looking at losing weight, you hear about diet pills and wonder if there is something to them. If you can take something called Miracle burn and watch the pounds melt away. With the Diet Awareness Institute, they offer a forum to compare products of this nature to help you make a decision. With matters concerning your health, it is advisable to consult with a physician before undertaking any change in diet or exercise.

I finished getting enough cleaned up around the kitchen table that we can sit down and eat there if we wish. Of course, our cats love the new space we made for them to sit on. Things I unearthed while cleaning: Cutey Honey Cy-Girls doll, Jessica Rabbit doll, and the Sandman Arabian Nights statue.
And we now have all the presents wrapped and under the tree. We're ready for Christmas on that front. And tonight's entertainment was A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart. Back when he was doing the one man show we had a cassette audiobook of it, and I finally got the CD version of it this year. With all the versions of Christmas Carol out there, I imagine each show will do their version if the strikes goes on much longer. With all the versions out there, and all the TV channels available, it's hard to believe that there's any that aren't seen today. There's only a few shows left. One type that I told Kathy I wouldn't watch are the ones that rip your heart out, stomp up and down on it, put it back where it was and walk away saying "my bad". The Little Drummer Boy and Nestor The Long Eared Donkey are examples of this genre. I have put in my time and seen them. You can argue about them having a happy ending to your heart's content, but it won't change my mind.

Note: The following post is sponsored.
AdoTube.com is a way to show videos and generate income with it. What they do is offer advertising that is targeted to the audience, therefore increasing the likelihood that the audience would be interested in it and therefore increase the success of the advertisement. Everybody wins. The advertisers can decrease the scatter shot approach to traditional advertising, since the internet basically delivers on an individual basis, and can target the potential audience, decreasing the wasted effect and increasing the hopeful outcome of their advertising. Publishers can select the advertising and type of advertising used. Since they play a role as well that will better hone the advertising and increase it's chances of success.
Press release follows:
"Blogs, online Web logs or journals, have become wildly popular -- so much so that Business Week printed an article, earlier this year, to shed some light on just how many blogs there are and how often people participate in this form of communication. They reported that there are over 70 million blogs worldwide, with over 15 million of them being considered active, that is, updated regularly.
Research shows that about 1.5 million new blog posts are created every day. Most bloggers set out to make money from their blogs, yet the majority of them don’t know the most lucrative routes to take in order to make that actually happen.
“There are people out there making a living off of blogging, and there are some making just a little bit each month,” explains Leo Grzhonko, president of Adotube.com. “The difference between making nothing and getting paid each month to share your thoughts on a blog comes down to taking advantage of proper revenue channels.”
There are many routes people can take in an effort to raise money from their blog. But if people aren’t keeping up on the latest methods, they may not be getting what they could in return. Many bloggers have taken advantage of the viewer’s love of watching online videos, coupled with their experience of not wanting to be interrupted by advertisements. This route is one that many find in the AdoTube Interactive In-Stream Media Player Technology. They have made it as easy as showing online videos with an intriguing “roll-over mouse” message. When the mouse rolls over the area, an interactive ad -- demographically targeted for the viewer -- appears.
“Our opt-in advertising technology was created for those seeking a simple and effective way to make money online,” adds Grzhonko. “We refer to it as the in-stream interactive online video monetizing solution. With this, anyone can take their blog or Web site and turn it into a profitable venture.”

Thanks to Mark Gibson for the tip about getting new comics via Badger Comics. I didn't see anything about sales tax at the former site. The one thing that's tipping me in favor of ordering some comics online is The Incredible Hulk Omnibus with the Alex Ross cover recreating issue 1. There's a $10 difference, but $3 would be eaten up in sales tax. But it's good to get a recommendation about subscription services either way. The only recommendations I could find via Yahoo (I'm not using Google if I can help it, since their recent actions have resulted in a drop in my income. I've heard several state attorney generals are looking into this. I hope they nail the bastards) was from a few years ago. And go check out Mark's blog, willya? He's actually wrote some stuff this week.
Geoffrey D. Wessel has a very good question: do manga stories have jumping on points like American comics do? And I did get the first online issue of 2000 AD, half because it's a Christmas themed issue, half because I was excited to try a new way of getting comics.
Speaking of Christmas, I got most of the presents wrapped yesterday and we saw A Christmas Story on DVD. I still have to finish up cleaning off around the dining table to eat Christmas dinner, and I need to get into the shower before Kathy gets home.

There are a lot of places online you can go to to get a good deal on travel. We've even talked about them here from time to time. But what makes Dial A Flight's services to book flights, hotels and other travel needs unique is that they offer a phone number to call and speak with a representative to ensure not only you get the best deal, but the travel bookings that serve your needs. Maybe upon closer examination you don't want to make so many transfers on flights. Or that hotel isn't exactly what you were looking for. In any case, they'll be glad to help you out. And if you're a Lord of the Rings fan, or if you're stoked about the recent news of Peter Jackson's involvement in The Hobbit films, why not check out a flight to New Zealand and see all the beautiful scenery you saw in the films?

I went over my December order for comics to see if there was still any interest in new comics given my discount rollback. There is enough to continue it for now, but I'm looking at another possibility: getting some comics via Discount Comic Book Service. The thing is I'm too much in love with getting new comics on Wednesdays to give that habit up, and I don't want to leave my comic shop in the lurch. So I'm looking at the titles I don't mind waiting to get, and a couple that I'm getting a sweet deal on. I'm factoring in the shipping costs and other expenses (gas, etc. plus opportunity costs of time to go to the shop and having to prepay if I order online) and make a decision on how to proceed from there.

Oh, man, there's still stuff to do. The only presents I've got wrapped were the ones mailed out. Still got everyone's to wrap. Still have a few Christmas DVDs to watch. And then there's the regular DVDs I wanted to see. We put the turkey in the fridge to start thawing out. Isn't this supposed to be the time of year when you're supposed to relax and have fun? Mebbe I need to get off these internet tubes.

One of the main reasons people get life insurance is because they want the mortgage taken care of in case something happens to them. With mortgage life insurance, you can get coverage that will take care of that very thing. You can arrange for the payment to go directly to the mortgage company if you like, and that's one less thing to worry about. And since it is for something that you pay on each month and for a specific purpose, the rates are appropriate. And they can give you a quote with just a few questions.

Brad Guigar of the web comic strip Evil Inc. has written a piece about The Year Without A Santa Claus and the only reason it's lasted and remembered all these years (the only thing Rudolph's Shiny New Year had going for it was the baby New Year with the big ears everyone laughed at, but it's hardly shown. And who remembers Rudolph And Frosty Together? I mean anything besides the title?): Heat Miser and Snow Miser. It's a nice piece about Dick Shawn that's worth a read. For me, the other reason I like the special is the part where they two of the elves have to have Vixen to the city without snow, and she gets sick as a result. No, I'm not a sicko, but it makes me think of my momma cat Selina and want to pet her. And if you get the chance, check out the Evil Inc. comic strip, maybe even sign up to get it by e-mail. Not only do you get the strip, you get recent postings (like the one I just wrote about) and his other strips Courting Disaster and Phables (tales of the people of Philadelphia)
And here's some Lucasfilm Christmas Cards they've sent out over the years. Any chance you could have the Star Wars fan club issue copies for sale? I'd like to send the 2002 one out, in particular.
And here's a preview of the new Doctor Who comic and the classic reprint. I think they did both to stop the flames if they just previewed the new series. Geezle, I don't want this comic now. Geoffrey, etc: you're right, the Doctor does look like the Joker in that splash page. Hell, he looks more like the Joker than Heath Ledger does. And reading the preview...if this was an episode of the TV series, the resulting hue and cry would make the current internet sniping sound like a peaceful woods scene.

Note: The following post is sponsored.
HotelsByCity.net has custom written over 500 Travel Guides that can be found here. You can search the list of cities and click the ones you're interested in to get more information about sightseeing, Cheap Hotels, etc. that are available for that city. A word of advice: the cities are divided by state, they're not listed alphabetically by the name of the city as you would think when you first see the list. They are, but within each state, but they don't have the states listed. It took a few minutes to figure that out. And if you're not that knowledgeable about Canadian provinces, it'll talke you a little longer to find a Canadian city you're looking for, but we'll get to that in a minute.
And the main pieces that you read are a step above the customary puff pieces that you would read from a tourism bureau trying to get you to spend some time and more important your money in their city on vacation. For instance, the piece on Louisville has a good overview of the city, but still has a taint of "we've got the Kentucky Derby. Yeah, there's some other stuff you can look at if you come down for a visit, you can go to these places...but did we mention we've got the Kentucky Derby?" in the piece.
Another city I wanted to see what information they had was one I visited once and was hoping to get to go to again: Toronto. The main article has things I would mention if I were writing to you about why you should go to Toronto (like the CN Tower and the 360 restaurant that rotates, allowing you to see the city. Kathy and I got to go there as part of a package deal to see what they had. We also saw The Lion King on stage, and a Blue Jays game. There's also a hotel at the ball park. You can see about getting deals at that and other hotels (including the Royal York, a grand hotel located across the street from the train station. My dream would be for us to take the train up to that station and stay at the Royal York.)
But as I said, they've written about over 500 cities where you can find out where to go, accomodations and more. Even a travel-phobic guy like me (well, travel phobic in that my favorite kind of trips are the ones I can be home after supper, or the next day if it's someplace I really want to go) wants to check it out some more.

2008 will be the 70th anniversary of Superman's debut. Other than the current owners of Jerry Siegel's house allowing people to stop and take pictures of the house, Cleveland hasn't done anything to commemorate it, other than list Siegel and Shuster's name on a plaque with other famous Clevelanders, including an exterminating company. Michael Sangiacomo thinks that should change.
I think that is a good idea, but let me digress: when Mark Evanier wrote about this, he thanked Sangiacomo for providing him with a copy of his comic Tales of the Starlight Drive-In. The title intrigued me, so I did some searching. Amazon says it's unavailable, Barnes and Noble acts like they never heard of it, and an eBay search came up blank. See what I mean about comics being a dying art form in it's current state? I know from experience that if it isn't a Marvel or DC comic that out's out now, then I should just about give up finding it. Oh, sure, many comic shops offer to "order it", but how long do you think it'll take to come in, if at all? Years ago before the internet, I remember hearing that an upcoming Calvin And Hobbes collection would be in a hardcover version. Of course, the bookstores ordered tons of paperbacks of the same book. When I asked the local bookstore (whose name rhymes with baldenbooks) to order a copy, it took several weeks, like it was an obscure small print run book published in Swahili. Then the internet came, and that particular location bookstore is gone, for years now. Can't hardly find them anymore. Sure, they're owned by Borders and being phased out in favor of the Borders brand, but given all the coupon offers they send...