... and to all a good night.

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Hands down, my favorite Christmas tradition is listening to David Sedaris read his piece "6 to 8 Black Men." In searching for an online version to share with y'all, the best I could come up with is this -- it's in three parts, and it has ridiculous and unrelated video, but it's the Carnegie Hall version which I find makes me particularly giggly.

http://araclip.net/six+eight+black+men-cLiPsbJpRLhaSqs.html
http://araclip.net/six+eight+black+men-cLiPvU1D1HKTDCY.html
http://araclip.net/six+eight+black+men-cLiPg17Pl7MFMco.html

Warning: May not be child appropriate. Enjoy ... and consider it your Christmas gift from me this year.

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But wait! The lliterary geek holiday video fun doesn't end there!

Grammar Girl offers a hilarious video -- lyrics included! -- entitled "Grammar Got Run Over By a Reindeer."

Warning: You may become more gramatically correct as a result of listening to this.

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My favorite Christmas card this year was handcrafted by my next-door neighbor, who has three little ones. The quote on the card is courtesy 5-year-old Gus:

Christmas smells kind of like,
well ... outside, in Christmas,
it kind of smells really good.
Like some days,
when there isn't snow,
it smells like snow is already here.

May you all have a festive, stress-free holiday ... and here's wishing for a more peaceful 2008.

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