exploring the past

Big snow (changes) -    Sebastian Blanck , 2022.

American, b. 1976 -

“Sleigh Ride” by Mitchell Parish and Leroy Anderson  3/5 Anderson was Swedish but Parish (the lyricist) was Jewish, so let’s focus on the words. I had to look this one up because everyone was obsessed with sleigh rides for a while there. Paints a pastoral picture of rural America (complete with references to Currier and Ives and a character literally named Farmer Gray) that was absolutely written by someone who grew up on the Lower East Side. Points for versatility - the Ronettes cover and the Johnny Mathis version might as well be completely different songs.

“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Johnny Marks 3/5 I enjoy the quaint ritual this song appears to describe. Speaking as someone who grew up celebrating the holiday, if dancing around the tree is a beloved Christmas tradition, I’ve never heard of it. However, I don’t appreciate being told when I will get a sentimental feeling - that seems like a personal affair. Nevertheless, this one is definitely a bop. 

“Silver Bells” by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans 2/5 They stuck an honest-to-goodness tongue twister into the second verse with just a few too many sibilants for my taste (“hear the snow crunch/see the kids bunch/this is Santa’s big scene/and above all this bustle you’ll hear,” etc). No prizes for guessing what “The City” refers to in this one. They were going to call it “Tinkle Bells” and mercifully did not. 

“The Christmas Song” by Mel Tormé 3/5 Describes the ritual of children waiting up for Santa with an almost anthropological fascination. Points awarded because roasted chestnuts are actually very good but deducted for generic title (seriously - “The Christmas Song”??? Did they just slap a filler title on and leave it there?)

“Baby, it’s Cold Outside” by Frank Loesser 4/5 Points awarded for controversy, and really, who doesn’t love a duet? 

Holly Jolly Christmas by Johnny Marks 2/5 Hmmm. Not sure what it is, but I can’t get behind this one. Feels a little forced. 

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Johnny Marks and Robert May  3/5 This Marks guy sure wrote a lot of Christmas songs. This particular track offers a message of hope to all who have failed to assimilate into American Christian culture: everyone may mock you for your Semitic glowing red nose, but they will love you and shout out with glee as soon as you find a way to make yourself useful to them. On the other hand, the song did inspire a beloved claymation-animated full-length feature film, and we could all use more of those in the world.

 “Santa Baby” by Joan Javits and Phil Springer 3/5 Sure, it’s an anthem to American materialism, but who can argue with the dulcet tones of Eartha Kitt? Points deducted for spawning an entire genre of vastly inferior Christmas But Make It Sexy songs. We get it. Everyone is horny for Christmas. When will we admit that we have exhausted all the metaphors about it?

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by George Wyle and Edward Pola 2/5 Is it??? This one alludes to the tradition of telling ghost stories on Christmas, which has sadly gone by the wayside. I am not sure what “much mistletoeing” entails, so I cannot say whether I would endorse it. 

“White Christmas” by Irving Berlin 4/5 who among us is not dreaming of a white Christmas in this day and age? Bonus points for being performed in a film featuring another Jewish legend (Danny Kaye, 1942). Kinda slow, though, wouldn’t you say?

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by John Coots and Haven Gillespie 1/5 A half-Jewish writing team but we’ll let it slide. Gets a point for ominous vibes. Unfortunately still insufferable.

“Winter Wonderland” by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith 4/5 Another half-Jewish writing team. Kinda sweet - it’s got a romantic walk in the snow and a snowman, and I’m pretty sure it’s how I learned the word “conspire.” 

“Christmas Medley” by Neil Diamond 0/5 Once, I had to wait for over an hour in a drug testing lab to prove that I was worthy to work an office job that I probably could have done just fine under the influence of lots and lots of drugs. Neil Diamond was on the TV promoting his new Christmas album, and I had to listen to him perform this song, which I would have suspected of being written by chat gpt if such a thing had existed in 2016, because it sounds like what a robot might think Christmas is like. Come on, Neil. You’re better than this.

New York, Winter 78

In response we shared a pay-what-you-can Google calendar integration full of queer history.

443 people added queer history to their calendar.

In my province, books are being banned in school libraries and there are two important responses to the situation. First we need people fighting to keep queer books in school libraries, because many children have no access to queer books outside of their school library. Second we need to start preserving queer literature in safe places. If we focus too much on only keeping queer books in school libraries, we run the risk of losing access to these books as a whole community in the event the government doesn't listen to our protests. If we focus too much on only preserving the books, then they will be available only to a specific sect of the community.

All of this to say, we need to leave Google behind where we can. But some of us have jobs that utilize Google in varying ways that we can't opt out of, or can't leave Google right yet for accessibility reasons. Google has specifically made it so it is hard to not use their services, so we need to have multiple responses. I think there is value in disentangling from Google, but I also think there is value in purposefully and aggressively maintaining queer history within the platform of Google.

So to summarize:

My mom on FaceTime: ???

Me: I had to explain to Penny how the borrowers are part of the elf union and so they go to North Pole the last 3 weeks of the year so no one ever has to work too much over time and that's why they haven't taken mommy's wrapping paper or scissors or anything else I've left out... shes trying to explain the elf union to you.

Referred to as “the Dusseldorf patient” to protect his privacy, researchers said he is the fifth confirmed case of an HIV cure. Although the details of his successful treatment were first announced at a conference in 2019, researchers could not confirm he had been officially cured at that time.

I want to live in the universe where we get to say

Basically someone was like 'Discworld has become my go to cosy read'

And someone was like 'Disword isn't cosy it's actually very satirical and can be quite scathing and not escapist fluff'

But to me I would also class Discworld a cosy/comforting read.

Confined space, limited cast: A cozy mystery usually takes place in a small community with a limited pool of suspects, all of whom are known to the reader by the halfway point. The witch books often take place in a small village (obvious exceptions for Equal Rites and Witches Abroad). The Watch books take place in a pretty small area of Ankh-Mprpork with a recurring cast (except Thud! and Snuff, the latter of which takes place mostly in a village). Unseen University is a pretty closed setting, as are the various institutions Moist von Lipwig runs. Even the standalones can have that closed-circle feel, as with the unit in Monstrous Regiment and the newspaper office in The Truth.

Amateur protagonist: While this is usually an amateur sleuth in cozy mysteries, Pratchett really liked writing protagonists who were not really meant to be doing what they were doing. Yes, Sam Vimes is a professional copper, but he's not exactly a professional duke, and a lot of what the books ask him to do isn't really coppering (e.g. Night Watch). Susan is NOT a professional psychopomp. Moist is a professional con artist, but the fact that his con-artist skills apply to public service is part of the joke. Polly Perks is a bar manager turned soldier. William de Worde is inventing his profession as he goes, just like a number of others (Imp y Celyn, anyone?). The wizards are allegedly professional wizards, but they're quite obviously making things up as they go (cough cough Ponder Stibbons). The witches are really the only consistent professional protagonists we get.

Non-explicit violence and sexuality: Look, no series of books where a corpse is found in a condom factory can be said to be free of sex and violence, but it's not usually the point of the scene it's in. Sometimes it's a joke, as with Mr. Fusspot's favorite toy. Sometimes it's tender but mostly off-page, as with Angua and Carrot. Sometimes, yes, there's blood around, as at the torture room in Cable Street and the crime scene in Thud. But it's very rarely described in graphic detail—often, as with the orc flashback in Unseen Academicals, it's no more than absolutely necessary to establish a key fact. Nobody reads Discworld for the explicit bits.

1. You can - more or less - trust me. Sometimes I’m arch or flippant or frivolous. Sometimes I’m in a bad mood. Sometimes I’m catty, often sarcastic, and quite often motivated by spite or rage. But I am not seeking to betray you. My writing may hurt - often, what I want to write about is hurtful. But I don’t want to harm you. I am not here to be a bully. I derive no pleasure and no power from being an asshole. Since you know that? You can relax. You can trust me.

2. I like you. I am not the enemy of my readers. I am glad you are here. I like you and want you to be well. I believe in you. I also trust you a lot. I trust that if I write about things that are uncomfortable, you’ll come with me. But most of all, I trust you in return: if I fuck up, you’ll forgive me. This makes me braver than writers who have to cringe in fear.

3. Someone has to be the grownup (and I hate it when it’s me.) Terry Pratchett often wrote from the perspective of being the adultiest-adult in the room. He was a partner, a parent, a member of his community. He had earned wisdom to draw on. Reflecting strong experiences and lived character is a true, vital, brave characteristic of a powerful writer, and it shines. It isn’t just about “writing children accurately” or “writing old people on purpose” but that’s a hallmark of someone strong and brave; someone who has experienced enough of life to understand the interiority of other people. I might not be the best at this, but I try. The effect, at first glance, is cozy and lived-in. Zoomed out, you realise that such rich, rewarding textures tend to come from people with rich minds.

4. It’s fucking funny. That’s ultimately it. That’s where people fall down when they try too hard - they’re not funny. That’s why viral posts do well - they’re funny. That’s why a lie can run around the world before the truth has got its boots on - the lie is funny. Wherever possible, Pratchett was funny. Where he couldn’t be funny, he at least had the craftsmanship to be witty. Because people like to laugh, his work will create a good feeling in the reader, no matter how heavy the material.

Rich and funny stuff tends to have high re-read value, which makes it VERY cosy indeed. If it’s also trustworthy and wise, it will become a treasure over time.

The strobing effect is a slow, intense strobe between blackness and a sharply-lit scene. If you close your eyes during this scene you will see it replayed without the strobing later in the movie.