One of the more remarkably consistent aspects of my life has been the ritual watching of A Christmas Carol, Dickens’ masterpiece, on Christmas eve, brought to life with uncanny perception by Alistair Sim.
How can you miss someone you never met? I have watched this movie with my remarkably consistent family since before I can remember, literally. Movie, cookies for Santa, bed. Once again this year it will be a priority to settle down on Christmas eve, and try not to weep too visibly, as we are reminded once again that life is what you make of it and not to let the golden idol replace one’s finer instincts. And while my mum is mostly quite delightful, she does have a hint of ‘rip me liver’ about her. As she helps us not achieve our material goals but aids us in our spiritual ones, we have joked about that scene where Alice returns Ebenezer’s ring. Well, I have joked …
I used to think that Dickens didn’t understand economics, and it is true that buying up the company you drove into bankruptcy seems a peculiar strategy. But as someone who has managed to lose a shirt or two in a modern day equivalent, in fact perhaps twice, making it at least an entire wardrobe, it no longer seems so unlikely.
Throughout Dickens’ novels, characters’ attitudes towards money are highly indicative of their moral nature, frequently greatly assisting in their novelistic futures, never so obvious perhaps as when Tiny Tim becomes well through Scrooge’s reborn generosity, helping Scrooge himself live to a ripe old age, instead of dying unmourned in an implied immediate future.
Dickens boils down his more practical advice about money in this line from David Copperfield:
‘My other piece of advice, Copperfield,’ said Mr. Micawber, ‘you know. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery. The blossom is blighted, the leaf is withered, the god of day goes down upon the dreary scene, and – and in short you are for ever floored. As I am!’
It is the opposite of the advice the young are often given today, when credit is extended even for vacations. But because behavioural economists have pretty much found that it isn’t the quantity of wealth you have, it is how you compare to your neighbours, I have realised that if you are feeling poor, you just move to a worse neighbourhood. No need to plunge into debt just to put that grotesque beemer in the drive. Do they even come in colours? But I am wandering …
The soupier aspects of Dickens’ economic understanding stem from those things that economists cannot measure, human satisfaction high amongst them. What does it matter that Scrooge should make his nephew happy?
Preaching a familiar song, I am, but one that Hollywood managed to completely destroy in their dreadful rendering of Dr Suess’s brilliant Grinch. Imagine making the Who’s the materialistic ones? Well, you don’t have to, because those morons have done it for you. How could anyone take this moral:
And misinterpret it? Or the Grinch’s heart growing when he discovered same? Well, this is a fine misinterpretation:
But here they go again, reducing the noble Who’s into a bunch of whiners. I have already lambasted them for reducing the heroic Winnie the Pooh into a confused Forrest Gump, and cannot help but lament that a generation of children will need to understand that there are two Who’s, the original excellent ones, and the modern crappola ones. I already disliked Jim Carrie for many reasons, moral failure being near the top, and then bam, he goes and makes it that much worse. How low must one set one’s expectations? Worse than limbo dancing, which I happen to also loathe.
The antidotes are at hand though, and like the maid encouraging Scrooge to enter his nephew’s party, Alistair Sim invites us to re-enter a better, if impossible, world. Others have attempted the role, but he pretty much puts it to bed, as he will us, on Christmas eve.
Of course, while money doesn’t buy happiness, it clearly does buy a turkey, and I can tell you from bitter, but luckily not smouldering, experience, that a goose is not a turkey. In fact, our first dog being called Bucky, she had many nicknames, Boo being amongst them, and even she scorned the goose, leading my brother to famously remark that you couldn’t say Goose to a Boo.
So while we must take Dickens’ economics with a pinch of salt, it is certainly the season to embrace his better instincts, and I will stop talking turkey, after this quick reminder that there are still two shopping days left before my birthday. I would like to not deserve to be so happy too!
Good morning, xty!
I had been saving this link for Christmas Eve/Day, but seeing as how we are snowed in here in Packerland, this seems like the day for it. Snuggle in with something warm and enjoy.
This is an interesting article, and there is far more to it than the title would suggest. Blue eyes and magic mushrooms for starters.
Things You Didn’t Know About Reindeer
And as long as we’re lamenting the modern day treatment of old classics, I thought I’d cut and paste my Facebook review of the latest Hobbit movie. Zuckerberg’s bots have no doubt placed a black mark by my name.
Movie Review
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”
Since seeing the movie on Saturday, I’ve read a couple of reviews just to see what others thought. They seem to be rife with criticism, and yet tend to finally come down as positive, if only for being better than the first one. Seeing as how this was known to be a three parter from the start, the only real decision anyone needs to make is “Am I going to see the next one?” For me, the answer is no. More like “Hell No”, to be precise.
After sitting through 21 minutes of previews and other assorted crapola, I was pissed off before the show even started. And then, off we go with the usual Peter Jackson overkill. If you liked 3 hours of “King Kong” then this is the movie for you. Jackson digs deep into the appendices from LOTR in order to stretch, stretch, stretch, and when he wants to stretch some more, he just makes up plotlines and new characters out of thin air. Somewhere, I’m sure Tolkien is rolling over in his grave.
And yet, through it all, we were happy with the knowledge that we were going to kill that dragon before we were done. Ooops! Maybe next year folks! Looks like you’ll have to buy another ticket to see that.
I won’t. I already paid to see Smaug get his. The only way I’ll be in the theatre for next years finale is if they agree to honor my ticket stub from Saturday as a “rain check”.
Exceedingly rude treatment of our guests.
Proof positive that I spend way too much time reading up on trendfollowing investment systems. I can’t believe I found something like this, or that it even exists.
dang it. you can get rid of that cheesy stash now A-Rod.
litho something or other, η καρδιά της πέτρας,
Looks like nobody in the NFC North wants to go to the playoffs. Packers still alive!
This is fun. The answers as you go through the quiz are worth it. I could never get the final answer at the end though, perhaps because I never signed up for nytimes.com.
How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk
What does the way you speak say about where you’re from? Answer all the questions below to see your personal dialect map.
Again?
You might recall last month I posted about how the night before Thanksgiving we found out that it couldn’t possibly be at my brother’s house, and so last minute it ends up at our house.
Well, my sister just called. You guessed it. They are sick as dogs and can’t do Christmas Eve. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more… 🙄
perfectly pegged- if you put a dot in the middle of those three dots, it will correspond to where I grew up.
Your Map
See the pattern of your dialect in the map below. Three of the most similar cities are shown.
Least similar
Most similar
Share Your Map:
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Rockford
Madison
Des Moines
These maps show your most distinctive answer for each of these cities.
edit: map didn’t paste, but you get the picture.
Finally got ours to work, after signing up for nytimes.com (free)
Me and the wife both nailed to the Madison-Milwaukee area. Mine more concentrated, though adding some north toward the Fox Valley (my German, Sheboygan County ancestry no doubt), Mrs. O’s slightly more diffuse, to include some of northern Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan.
that quiz is quite accurate – my wife showed as Chicago, Aurora, Rockford. she lived in Chicago proper until she was about 10, at which time her family moved to a northwest suburb – Woodstock. i pegged Milwaukee and Madison as well EO. i grew up in SE Wisconsin, and have lived in just a slightly larger radius since then, including Milwaukee suburbs, in Madison, and now in south central WI.
This guy doesn’t believe in manipulation and he has what appears to be an impeccable track record- according to him anyway.
http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/the-two-most-important-questions-about-gold-today-57140
Those numbers sound totally possible to me. I’m not going to try to pick bottoms though. I’ve gone back to my trend following roots. If/When gold gives me a buy signal by going north of it’s 200 day avg, AND shows relative strength against stocks, I’ll put on an allocation to GLD within my Roth IRA, and probably sell physical (which I’m still sitting on) at the same time to offset.
Here’s an update to my long-dormant light bulb thread at that other place.
As for me, I estimate I’ve got enough incandescent light bulbs stacked in the basement to last me the rest of my natural life.
Only 4 In 10 Americans Are Aware Of The Incandescent Lightbulb Phase-Out
“rip me liver” ?? must be a newfie thing. plz explain.
Oops I screwed up the light bulb link
Sitting here in limbo(it sucks): in hospital since 2:oo pm yesterday, and it was 81 and sunny, oh well. miss you all, hopefully out of here tomorrow, best to everyone!
is bound to be looking everywhere for me.
Get well soon, Pistol Pete
Medicinal purposes only.
Warm birthday wishes Xty on a cold -14 morning. And thank you for reminding me that I’m a sexagenarian. (Peely-wally deserves it’s own day.)
Hope all goes well for our buddy Pete.
Happy Birthday Xty!
from the rest of the gang too.
wishing you a speedy recovery 44
Still time to shop!
The Right Wing Watch Christmas Gift Guide: Gifts For Your Favorite Preppers, Tea Partiers & Obama Impeachers
HBD Xty B