my life

Thanks to Ken for the title.

It's been a delightful Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve Eve in the Black cottage. The boss gave me freedom to leave yesterday around 11am, and I whisked off home, changed clothes, and went to dine at Shogun's, a Japanese Steakhouse downtown. Then we (me and the roomie) actually went to the mall for fun. Get this: [i]we didn't need to buy anything[/i]. We just wanted to sit in traffic and be part of the pre-holiday crush of humanity, I guess. But I got a couple of really cool, soft, comfy sweaters out of it, so I reckon the trip was worth it.

Then we went to a particular house in a neighborhood I cut through en route to my favorite restaurant from work, so's I could show her the Christmas lights at this one house. This is a decoration job that pales in transmission; you have to see it to believe it or to begin to appreciate it. Every corner, door, window and line of the house was lined with lights, with the full sleigh and reindeer on the roof. There were random things, like Santa on a see-saw, on the roof. All the trees and bushes were individually decorated and lined with lights. Every inch of the yard was outfitted with its individual decoration. The whole thing was lit up like, well, Christmas. That night, they had a real Santa sitting in a chair in the front yard waving at everybody, too. Just...I wish I'd had a camera, but I lack the setup (i.e., tripod) to do justice to it. The odd thing is, despite the fact that not an inch was wasted, the whole thing was inexplicably tasteful.

So anyway...That was last night. Today, I went for an early run--I've been listening to The Da Vinci Code on audiobook--then came home, washed the dog and brought in wood for the fire, took a shower, and made a nice breakfast. After that, we settled into the La-Z-Boys and watched a string of DVDs a friend has been creating for us (highlights from The Daily Show, mainly, but bits and bobs of other stuff, too) and shelled pecans.

Ah yes. Pecans. I don't think I mentioned it, but pecan season is heavily upon us. There's a pecan tree in the yard, see. They're small, but very nice. When I have occasion to run at the house (instead of at work), I begin and end under that tree, and thus cannot miss the pecans underfoot.

I'm apparently incapable of treading on pecans without filling my pockets and anything else I can find with them. Finding pecans on the ground is like finding money, pretty much, in my view.

I took a bag out this morning after my run and gathered pecans until one of the handles broke, by which time my fingers were numb with cold. I came in with about five pounds of the boogers, and had probably only covered a 20-square-foot patch of ground.

So anyway...with this attitude, you may imagine the I have amassed quite the plethora of pecans. We set about to shell them, and ended up pleasantly whiling away the entire afternoon shelling pecans and watching The Daily Show. We've barely made a dent, but have more than enough to provide a pecan pie or two on the morrow.

Also...The Da Vinci Code. I've heard so much about this book. Naturally, I'm just as intrigued as the next American when someone attempts to ban a movie/book, and simply must find out for myself what the hoopla is about.* I know it's been out for a while, but I'm avoided listening to critics and such, because I planned to read it. All I knew was that the Catholic Church came from together about it.

* What boggles my mind is that those people who continue to ban such stuff apparently miss this most obvious bit of psychology.

When I first began listening to it, I didn't understand why the Church as so up in arms. It seemed like a regular story. As I progressed, I encountered bits of information concerning Christianity's history and origins that were being discussed by scholar characters. Most of these, due to my own interests and research, I've known about for quite some time. While they aren't always complimentary to the Church and may lead some to doubt, they still aren't what I'd consider dangerous. So the hoopla still didn't make sense.

In the last day or so, however, I've finally gotten to the point that is dangerous and offensive. And I understand why: the fictional "history" and "secrets" the author created are being delivered by the same scholar characters that were discussing the other lesser-known but true histories. The danger is that the author used the factual information to establish the character's credibility with the audience, and then segued into completely fabricated information. How many people will look up the early information about...oh, Mithras and Constantine and the sun god, etc, learn that what the scholar characters are discussing is true, then simply accept their assertions without doing any background check when they go into the actual fictional (damaging) histories? Appeal to authority is a powerful force. Once the authority becomes trusted, you generally don't check their facts.

But I must say: what an absolutely brilliant move on the part of Dan Brown. He writes an action novel, so he has a general audience. All the information he provides is centered around the plot of the story, so he teaches people things about Christianity they never knew or suspected. Then he smoothly goes into things that aren't true. When the Church and various other entities lose their minds and actually begin publishing books to disprove his book, he shrugs innocently and says, "It's fiction, people." Meanwhile, he sells a boatload of books, because there's absolutely no better publicity than having someone ban your book. Brilliant!

By the way, I'm enjoying the story very much. The reader is quite talented and the story is captivating, as billed. I recommend it, with this caveat: check every "fact" you learn from Brown before you repeat it. Much of it is true. Much is, as he insists, just fiction.

I hope y'all are enjoying your holidays as much as I am. Merry Christmas.

d