Happy Boxing Day!

According to the generally entertaining and occasionally accurate Wikipedia:

Boxing Day is traditionally a day following Christmas when wealthy people in the United Kingdom would give a box containing a gift to their servants.^[1] Today, Boxing Day is better known as a bank or public holiday that occurs on December 26, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and some other Commonwealth nations.

Trivia: The only heavyweight champion to win his title on Boxing Day was Jack Johnson, who knocked out Tommy Burns in Sydney, NSW, Australia on Dec. 26, 1908.

Johnson also is the only heavyweight champ to fight a future Academy Award winner: In 1909, he fought an exhibition against Victor McLaglen, who won the 1935 Best Actor Oscar for "The Informer."

Yeah, I'm bored.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/li-prof-rudolph-sends-wrong-message-1.3396470

 Beware the paywall, but ...

It appears a C.W. Post professor has written a book claiming "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" sends a bad message to children regarding bullying and ostracism. Two observations:

1. It appears pretty much anything can be padded to book length if larded up with enough academic flotsam.

2. I've actually been making this guy's point for years. "Rudolph's" message, essentially, is this: It's OK to reject, ridicule and generally mistreat someone for being different, because if, somehow, their disability eventually becomes useful to you, you can always do a quick 180 and embrace them, and it will be like nothing ever happened because they'll be so honored and thrilled that you decided to accept them.

In my version, Rudolph tells Santa to shove it. "Here's a flashlight you fat son of a b@$*!h, guide your own sleigh!" Then Rudolph returns to the Island of Misfit Toys with a bottle of scotch and a hooker.

Now that's a Christmas special.