Christmas. Yeah, we're going there. I never said this would be a smooth ride. Christmas is of course the celebration of the day Jesus was born and placed in a manger because there was "no room at the inn". Seriously?  Who was running this inn? Messianic prophecy or not, it's a couple who had a baby 5 minutes ago, you can't make some space? Hell wouldn't even pull that shit, and we're talking about a place that dedicates an entire high-rise to gleefully forcing glass shards under the eyelids of false witnesses.

Christmas is also the beginning of Christmastide, the so-called 12 days of Christmas, made famous in the song of the same name. Allow me to take a breath before going into this one. Let's think about this. The first 4 days, the singer's "true love" - and I put that in quotations because I'm not sure I buy that designation for reasons I'll explain - gives her (Yeah, her. I've lived so long I stopped counting my age when we went from Roman to Arabic numerals, and I can tell you this: chicks don't buy guys multiple swans. Sorry boys, ain't gonna happen.) a partridge (with tree), 2 turtle doves, 3 french hens, and 4 colly birds. The song seems to suggest that these things are stacked every day, so on the first day it's a partridge in a pear tree, and on the second day it's 2 turtle doves and a second partridge in a pear tree, and so on. I'm going to assume that's not the case, and that each subsequent mentioning of a gift is a reference to the original, and not a duplicate gift. If I'm wrong, then what I took to be merely absurd is actually whatever is above absurd. Preposterous?

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The road to professional sports is one of the most effective sociopath assembly lines in the world. Separated from their peers by talent as kids, pandered to as teenagers, and idolized as adults, today's college and professional athletes know that forgiveness is only one contrite press conference away. We keep track of their antisocial behavior and marvel at their sociopathleticism in the Sociopathlete Round-Up.

Sociopathlete: Lawrence Taylor, former Linebacker, New York Giants
The real LT appeared in court the other day to claim that police violated his rights when they entered a hotel room he was sleeping in to seize evidence that he had paid a sixteen-year-old runaway $300 for sex. Court papers in a related but separate case say he admitted to sex acts with the girl. What they don't say is that LT didn't even practice soliciting prostitutes during the week, he just showed up on soliciting-prostitutes-day and made it happen. But at least he's taking it seriously.

Sociopathlete: Albert Haynesworth, Defensive Lineman, Washington Redskins
Brett Favre made the list last time for doing his job. Haynesworth makes it for refusing to do his. Coach Mike Shanahan suspended him for the final four games of the season without pay. Haynesworth didn't want to play nose tackle in the team's 3-4 defense. But he also didn't want to find a new team and give up his 21 million dollar contract bonus. So he just stayed on, but also didn't do his job - the best of both worlds. He also needed 10 days to pass a conditioning test at the start of training camp, showing that you don't need athleticism to have sociopathleticism.

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One of the most brave acts, I've ever seen.

Your hypnotizing video of the day.

Thank God we live in a day and age where people film everything they do.

It's been a rough day. The boss was riding your ass. That girl in class never gave you the time of day. Somebody took the last cupcake, that bastard. And tonight when you fall asleep you will eventually have to wake up and take a piss, ruining another night's totally-almost-perfect sleep. Don't worry, Sleepy. This video will take all your pain away. For the next two minutes.

Watch the video here.

Every day around 72 billion people use social networks. Today we pick one of them as the Social Networking All Star of the Day.

His name is Steven. We know that he's from England and he has a daughter, but apparently nobody has ever taught him how to spell. Or maybe he does know how to spell but somebody cut his hands off in an arm wrestling match and now he just pounds the keyboard with his wrists. Like a monkey, a blind one. We really don't know. But we're inspired to see this amazing display of awesome in a world that's just too judgemental, too pretentious.

Congrats, Steven.

It turns out the Palin girls are entitled and bitchy. Willow and Bristol bravely rushed to the defense of their various television endeavors the other day and locked horns with some other Wasilla teenagers through Facebook. Willow shocked everyone when she acted like a 16-year-old daughter of a republican by tossing out some homophobic slurs. She'd better watch herself if she wanders into the gay section of Wasilla. They won't take kindly to her calling her classmate Tre "such a faggot". By the way, does any kid in Wasilla have an actual first name? Bristol, Track, Levi, Piper, Willow, Tre... Anyway, if there were any doubt that Trig is my favorite member of the Palin family, there is none now. As a bonus, here's this week's Smart News Story, about a guy who shot his T.V. over Bristol's Dancing With the Stars routine.

She looked fine dancing, but I don't think she saw the edge. Or maybe she just doesn't know about gravity?

Shooting a watermelon, off someones head, from 200 yards away...skill or stupidity?

Amazing video of the Martian landscape.

I'd be running around screaming about 'The Poseidon Adventure' and the end of days.