Usually my first post after the Halloween season is a direct bash against the Xmas season..... and this post shall be no exception.
Yep. It's that time of year when the darkness, snow and cold are attempted to be swept under the rug that is zealotry and commercialism. When the daytime sky is usually a sad, sickly yellow as the sun is trying to shine, otherwise it is a bleak grey. A time when those that have everything get even more and those that are just struggling to get by are reminded of what little they have.... mainly because of those that have more. It's no surprise there's mass depression across the lands this time of year.
If you're one of the very few readers of this poorly written blog, this will all sound very familiar due to the fact that it is indicative of what I post every time around this year. I usually point out all of the the things that suck about winter and the Xmas season and then go into a shallow little list of some of the geeky things that are coming up that we all have to look forward to. So let me see what I can drum up.
We've already seen the release of the of the next generation of gaming systems that are morphing into full blown entertainment centers. And this time around we haven't heard about many horrible glitches that usually plague the release of next gen gaming rigs. At least we haven't heard of any yet. Of course I'm waiting quite a while before I even think about buying the newest, shiny toys to make sure that all is up to snuff.... and I can win the lottery.
We also have the second Peter Jackson Hobbit opus, The Desolation of Smaug. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one and absolutely loved his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Early reviews for Smaug are saying it's even better than its predecessor. So we have that going for us also.
Now let me get back to the main subject of the post. Since Xmas is so crappy, I think it's time that we gave the fat man in red his walking papers and replaced him with a character that resembles true hope and happiness for the intergalactic masses. For I bring forth the idea that we replace Santa Claus with Dr. Who.
For those that read this blog and have no idea what Dr. Who is all about, you may rather have more interest in visiting sites like THIS or THIS or THIS. But, I'll still give a quick synopsis of what you need to know.
Dr. Who is a science fiction TV show out of England that just celebrated it's 50th anniversary. It revolves around the exploits and adventures of a humanoid alien known simply as The Doctor. The Doctor has been portrayed by twelve different actors. As one actor retires from the roll, the character "regenerates" into his new form with the new actor. He travels both time and space in a vessel that looks like a English police phone box called a TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension In Space). The Doctor usually pick up a unwitting companion or two that end up traveling the galaxies and their histories and futures. Doctor Who has always been a Sci-Fi institution, but it's popularity has grown to fanatical amounts lately, especially because of the 50th anniversary and the fact that current Dr. Who (Matt Smith) will leave the roll and regenerate into the next Doctor (Peter Capaldi) in a episode that will air Christmas day. If you're still scratching your head, try and follow THIS LINK to help you out.
Now here is why I believe that we need to embrace The Doctor as the new harbinger of Xmas fantasy and joy.
- The TARDIS can outrun, out maneuver and blow away Santa's sleigh and reindeer any day. The spacecraft not only travels through space, but also through time. This would alleviate any stress that is put on the reindeer as well as dealing with helping out with any time management logistics.
- Although Santa does embody the spirit of Xmas as a sweet, cherubic octogenarian in a red suit that somewhat teaches the sprit of giving, The Doctor is equally docile and friendly in his message and incarnations. He runs the adult age range gamut from early twenties to late sixties, depending on which regenerated form you like, which appeals to more age groups.
- Dr. Who is the savior of many galaxies and histories while at the same time evil doers fear him. Even though he is not a violent being he is able to harness great power through his intellect and smarts. Santa has the whole "I'm going to give the bad people coal" schtick. But, when was the last time you heard that some vile CEO of a huge, monopolistic company got coal for Xmas. Obviously Santa is missing the mark on the greedy folk out there.
- Bow ties are cool.
- Fez's are cool.
- Celery lapel pins are cool.
- Multicolor scarves are cool.
- Santa hats, decidedly uncool.
Ok. I think that that is a good enough argument on the subject. Now we have to decide how we are going to handle letting go of Santa. We could do it the way companies did it way back in the day when someone would retire and the company truly appreciated the person's work and gave them a party, a gold watch and a decent enough retirement package. Or we could do it the way corporations do it today with two security guards escorting him out to the cold ground of the street, with no retirement package to speak of, to live the rest of his life under the care of social services. That will be something we'll have to mull over for a while.
Before I leave you and venture off into the cold dark snowy winter night I'll leave you with some fun little Xmas gifts. The first is something for true Dr. Who fans. Not many of you who don't follow the Doctor will appreciate this, but those that do will enjoy the 32 minute inside joke that is the Five(ish) Doctors. Follow the link HERE to enjoy.
For those of you just not getting it. Here's some Rock 'N' Frackin' Roll!!!!
That will be all for now. I hope you all are able to tear yourselves out of the Xmas slump and enjoy the true reason for the season of being with family and friends and those we all care about while raisin up a frothy cold one to those who are no longer with us.
Cheers and happy Doctor Regeneration Day!
Zangz.
