The title says it all. I really hate Christmas. Why? I think it would be easier if I use the song The Twelve Pains of Christmas

1. Finding a Christmas tree.
It's not so much finding one (I live in Brooklyn and you can basically find about thirty places selling trees) it's decorating the thing and IT'S A FRIGGIN TREE! It's a pain to decorate and why a tree? Why do we need to kill millions of threes per year that will only be used for a month and then made into wood chips? Not to mention the pines falling off, the tree dieing and the sell of dirty water. Also, what does a tree have to do with Jesus? Oh, that's right, pagan holidays disguised as Christian holidays. Nice going Vatican.

2. Rigging up the lights.
I hate Christmas lights. You drop them once and they break; one goes out, the others go with it and you're spending all this money on trees you're only using once a year. Another waste of cash.

3. Hangovers.
People LOVE to drink on Christmas. A LOT. Then there are the mother of all hangovers. Trust me, being hungover is not pleasant.

4. Sending Christmas cards.
Seriously, why send cards? They'll only be thrown away after New Years anyway. Also, you have to send them to people you don't even talk to or like but you have to because they're "family". Spare me.

5. Five months of bills.
How do people pay for all the gifts they buy for everyone on their list? That's right, with a credit card. What better way to max out your card buy people people stuff they don't need or will break on Christmas Day? Spend your money on paying your other bills instead.

6. Facing In-laws.
I don't have in-laws so I can't say anything here.

7. The Salvation Army.
I don't mind the Salvation Army at all.In fact, I think what they are doing is great. It's just that how many times can you give them money in one month? And why do people only care about them in December? What are they doing the rest of the year?

8. Whiny little kids.
Seriously, how many times do you come across a bratty little kid in a store during Christmas wanting everything in the store and the parents don't do a thing? Your kid is being a little bastard, SHUT HIM UP!

9. Finding parking spaces.
This is a big one for me. If you need to do grocery shopping, have a medical/dental appointment or need to go to work you need to drive around for forty minutes to find a space. Very irritating.

10. Batteries not included.
How many times have you bought someone a toy or some other electronic that needs batteries and the damn thing does not come with them? It's even worse when it needs four or more of those C batteries and it eats them all up in a few hours. Maybe that's why everything today has a rechargeable battery.

11. Stale TV specials.
Seriously, how many times does a person need to watch It's A Wonderful Life/ A Miracle on 34th Street before they crack? Also, 99% of all Christmas movies suck. At least New Years Eve/Day has a Twilight Zone/Honeymooners marathon.

12. Singing Christmas carols.
I HATE Christmas carols. Really, I don't see why people like them. The only Christmas song I like is Christmas Eve Sravejo by The Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

"Man, you're a very hateful person" you may be saying. I'm not really hateful, I just have things I disagree with. The only holiday I like is Halloween. It's the only day you can dress up as a ghoul, D&D character or video game character and pick up a chick. Next year I'm going on a cruise.

Review may be up next time (don't hold your breath, though).

In the United States today, it seems that we, the people, have forgotten what it means to have rights. Over the last two centuries, politicians and educators have gotten it wrong so often that we now talk about things like a right to universal healthcare or a right to life (in terms of abortion) as if these are things that can only be given to us by the law. Sadly, this is exactly the opposite of what our founding fathers obviously intended, and if this kind of thinking is allowed to persist, we might as well throw our constitution away.

In order to understand what the intention of the Constitution is, look no further than the preamble:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

It is important to note that the subject of that sentence is "We the People" not "We the Government." It is the people who establish tranquility for themselves and secure the blessings of liberty. We, not they. Granted, all the preamble really says is "We the People...establish this Constitution," so one could argue that the people who wrote the constitution had the intent of creating a government that could provide all of the things listed. Indeed, this is a fairly popular interpretation amongst modern, mainstream politicians (regardless of party), who believe that they have the obligation to provide the needs of the people.

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Man, I had this strangest dream about Dexter last night!

( Spoilers: It's not really a dream. )

I'm a third of the way through writing Gemini City, and I can already tell there will be many changes between this first draft and my second crack at it. I'm really pleased, actually. It shows the story is evolving.

I've also noticed a pattern for the last three weeks or so: mull over an upcoming section for one day, then write like mad the next. And by "mad" I literally mean 3,000 words in three hours. Which I've never done before, not even during a NaNo frenzy. This novel is doing weird things to me.