I loved Hanukkah as a child. The presents I found were the traditional ones (draidals, chocolate money, etc.) and ones based on a theme (paper, pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers, etc.). It's clear to me looking back on it now that they were chosen by my favorite aunt who was assigned the role at birth as the standard bearer of the faith. Also, did you know the menorah was the ancient symbol of Judaism? The "star of David" as we know it wasn't at all unique to Judaism. It became its most recognizable symbol much more recently. I loved lighting the candles for Hanukkah and on the anniversaries of the deaths of the ancestors. I still think it's a beautiful tradition.

Lol!

This sentence has been on my mind lately, the last sentence of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby": "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

@wtg said in 25th Amendment. Seriously.: Guess he needed a pick-me-up after last night's debacle. President Donald Trump’s handpicked board voted on Thursday to rename Washington’s leading performing arts center as the Trump-Kennedy Center, the White House said. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the vote on social media, saying it was because of the “unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building. Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation.” Trump, a Republican who’s chairman of the board, often refers to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which is named for a Democratic predecessor, as the “Trump Kennedy Center.” Asked on Dec. 7 as he walked the red carpet for the Kennedy Center Honors program whether he would rename the venue after himself, Trump said such a decision would be up to the board. https://apnews.com/article/trump-kennedy-center-performing-arts-8b7159067174f3a0070b877c149ff0a7 Saving its reputation? Leavitt says these things with a straight face. Remarkable. An article published yesterday. https://washingtonian.com/2025/12/17/a-kennedy-center-musician-on-what-its-like-there-now/ They always use words like-- "unbelievable." I guess this has the advantage of both being cult-like and literally true.

@wtg Personally, I’m fond of their dark chocolate almond bark!

I went out a little while ago and there is absolutely nothing left of the squirrel. The bird must have come back and picked up the remnants. Only sign that someone had been there was a white bird plop....

@steve-miller Decided to do crumpets another time, maybe next week. This week's experiment....sourdough bagels! Not very pretty but tasty as all get-out. The great thing is that you are encouraged to eat them when they are warm, unlike many breads that require cooling so as not to get gummy. [image: 20251218-091746.jpg] Recipe: https://littlespoonfarm.com/sourdough-bagels-recipe/ I skipped feeding the starter and just used some pretty active starter that was in the refrigerator to make the dough. Seems to have worked fine. It rose nicely overnight and I made the bagels this morning. NB: The author says "if your bagels stick". There is no "if". They stick. They were hard to peel off the parchment to put in the boiling water, and that's why they look a bit lumpy. I would do two things differently next time around. First, I would use a Silpat instead of parchment. Second, I would put a small amount of oil on the Silpat to prevent sticking. edit: Three things. I would use the method from this next recipe to form the bagels. Cut the dough, form balls, let rise, then finish forming the bagel (make a hole in the center), boil, and bake. I think it would be easier to make a nice looking bagel. https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2021/06/easy-homemade-sourdough-bagels/ And....who knew? There's a bagel subreddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/Bagels/comments/1d2ctaz/gonna_need_to_give_this_up_unless_i_can_find_a/

@Steve-Miller said in The ‘Gary Bears’ has a nice ring to it: Don’t let them fool you. Football stadiums operate at a huge loss and don’t generate much revenue No kidding. Which is why I've been against the Bears moving here since they bought Arlington Park. But our Village Board has bought the story hook, line, and sinker. I just want them to go anywhere else, preferably to another state.

[image: IMG-0085.jpg]

More details about the study: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/09/study-instacart-ai-pricing-cost-of-groceries.html

In case you want to watch: https://www.c-span.org/series/?ceasefire

I told you so. Link to video Only need to watch for 3 minutes.

@CHAS said in The Great Chicago Tune-Off (from 1997): I think he is 80. Yikes! How is his hearing? I had a tuner when we lived in the South, before I found the ex-S&S tuner (who was excellent!) and he was quite elderly and very hard of hearing! He used an ETA. And of course, back then that was when I had the rickety old Baldwin upright, so it was more than good enough!

Key reasons that you’re missing that I’m in favor of this exception: my father worked his entire career with the Union Oil Corporation Union oil was purchased by Chevron in 2005.. so I still own some chevron stock… see, there’s two sides to every argument.

OMG, I find myself in agreement with Bernard again.

DONE

@dolmansaxlil That was a lovely, lovely book!