If you are not on the Somervillian e-mail list and you are going to be in the MA area on New Year's Day, send me an e-mail to my profile address, and I will be sure to invite you to our get together at our place.

Slacker Secret Santas!

You've slacked up until the last day, which is today. If you don't send me any info by midnight, board time, you won't be able to play this year and will have to wait for a whole year in order to be able to join the fun, and, oh, my goodness, I'm turning Santa into a Jewish mommy, so I'll stop now.

Amby hammocks recalled after 2 suffocation deaths.

Gaming announcement: we're about to commence a session of the Battlestar Galactica board game in the Gaming thread. We've done this twice already, with two Cylon victories; third time lucky for the human team? The game supports up to six players. We have five people signed up and ready to go, which means there's one slot left open. Is there anyone interested in joining in?

Basic synopsis: this is a team game. Most players are humans, but there are also hidden Cylons working against them. Deceit, mistrust and betrayal are part and parcel of the gaming experience. It's often praised for the way it integrates theme into the game play. It seems to work quite well in a forum setting.

Commitment level: I'm asking that people check in at least once a day. However, the game will run over the holiday season, and we expect occasional delays. It's likely the game will take a couple of months at least to reach a conclusion.

If you think you'd like to give it a shot, come to the Gaming thread to sign up (first come first served). If you have any questions about the game or what's involved, you can ask in-thread or drop me an email.

Slacker Secret Santas: all of you who e-mailed me should have an e-mail with a giftee name and snail-mail address.

Please let me know if there's any problem.

Thanks for playing!

Not-so-tiny Jewish not-Santa.

I write about the holidays(and, honestly, a few other things) on Daily Kos. [link] (If you get the History Channel, please watch "The People Speak"...it's awesome)

Post up on Romancing the Blog today about the documentary Latin Music USA and how it can relate to writing or any other artistic pursuit. It's a recycled post from my personal blog, but a pretty good one I thought.

I'm being inverviewed by Doug Henwood on his WBAI (Pacifica) program in NYC city shortly after 5:00 P.M NY time. (Thursday Dec 17th.) There will eventually be a podcast, which I will link when it is up.

Over 700 online retailers are offering free shipping today (Thursday, December 17): [link]

Be sure to use our affiliate links where available!