(no subject)

There is a glitch in the system. Somewhere a trained monkey is ill, or a hamster has left its treadmill. I am getting LJ notifications days; even weeks after comments have been left. It doesn’t really matter, but it is rather disappointing when you are an attention hound…

(no subject)

There is a glitch in the system. Somewhere a trained monkey is ill, or a hamster has left its treadmill. I am getting LJ notifications days; even weeks after comments have been left. It doesn’t really matter, but it is rather disappointing when you are an attention hound…

Seasonal Rant

Normally I don't mind this time of year too much, despite the busy workload we always have in the office trying to get the financial settlements sorted out for the new financial year. Christmas week itself is a pain, because it is so disruptive to my schedule: I like having the time off work, I don’t like the fact that everything from TV/Radio down is changed, sprinkled with saccharine cultural icing and repackaged with flimsy seasonal variants.

I am not a religious man, but I am reasonably certain that the modern evolution¹ of the seasonal message of cheer and goodwill to all has reached the commercial point that had he been here now instead of the Middle East 2,000 years ago, Jesus might well have by-passed the temple money lenders entirely and nuked the stock exchange instead. I realise, of course, that I am conflating different Biblical periods here, but the observation stands.

Christmas has become a cultural and financial black hole out of all proportion to its importance, and we are trapped on the event horizon watching our resources drain and time slow and stretch into infinity as we make futile attempts to escape. The effects of the holiday are only negated for a fortnight or so around July when we have finally paid off the excesses, financial and physical of the previous year, and before we start fretting about the consequences of the next one.

Many committed Christians in the past wouldn’t celebrate anyway as it is just a thin Christian veneer over a pagan holiday, and only has a 1/365 chance of being Jesus’ birthday. Easter (which is only notable in the UK for the fact that the pubs close early on Good Friday, otherwise it’s pretty much a normal day unless you want a bank loan) is by far the more important holiday.

This year the build up is annoying me just as much as the commercialisation of the holiday does. This is largely due to the fact that we have a certifiable Minister who can be relied upon to push everyone to the edge of nervous breakdown with additional and unnecessary work, but it’s also due to the fact that I needed to have a rant about something, and Santa happened to be the biggest, reddest and most visible target available, and I wanted a suitably sanctimonious whinge.


¹I know that one of my friends will be unhappy about both the usage and relevance of the word evolution in this context. It is exactly the right word for my purposes.

Seasonal Rant

Normally I don't mind this time of year too much, despite the busy workload we always have in the office trying to get the financial settlements sorted out for the new financial year. Christmas week itself is a pain, because it is so disruptive to my schedule: I like having the time off work, I don’t like the fact that everything from TV/Radio down is changed, sprinkled with saccharine cultural icing and repackaged with flimsy seasonal variants.

I am not a religious man, but I am reasonably certain that the modern evolution¹ of the seasonal message of cheer and goodwill to all has reached the commercial point that had he been here now instead of the Middle East 2,000 years ago, Jesus might well have by-passed the temple money lenders entirely and nuked the stock exchange instead. I realise, of course, that I am conflating different Biblical periods here, but the observation stands.

Christmas has become a cultural and financial black hole out of all proportion to its importance, and we are trapped on the event horizon watching our resources drain and time slow and stretch into infinity as we make futile attempts to escape. The effects of the holiday are only negated for a fortnight or so around July when we have finally paid off the excesses, financial and physical of the previous year, and before we start fretting about the consequences of the next one.

Many committed Christians in the past wouldn’t celebrate anyway as it is just a thin Christian veneer over a pagan holiday, and only has a 1/365 chance of being Jesus’ birthday. Easter (which is only notable in the UK for the fact that the pubs close early on Good Friday, otherwise it’s pretty much a normal day unless you want a bank loan) is by far the more important holiday.

This year the build up is annoying me just as much as the commercialisation of the holiday does. This is largely due to the fact that we have a certifiable Minister who can be relied upon to push everyone to the edge of nervous breakdown with additional and unnecessary work, but it’s also due to the fact that I needed to have a rant about something, and Santa happened to be the biggest, reddest and most visible target available, and I wanted a suitably sanctimonious whinge.


¹I know that one of my friends will be unhappy about both the usage and relevance of the word evolution in this context. It is exactly the right word for my purposes.