'Tis the Season...

To Be Kind...Or Rewind (Elsewhere)

Once upon a time, I looked forward to the holiday season.

The days and weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas were nothing short of magical—filled with cards, carols, lights, specials, and, yes, visions of sugarplums dancing in my head.

Everything felt like it glittered. Even everyday moments seemed special.

But a few years ago, that holiday glow faded for me.
And I’ve been doing my best to rekindle it ever since.

Long story short, I lost several of the most important and influential people in my life within a few months. It sucked then. And it still sucks now.

The holidays haven’t felt the same since. I’m not sure they ever will. But I continue to try my best and hold out hope that the silver bells—and silver linings—will come back sooner than later.

I know I’m not alone in being a wee ennui around the holidays.

For more than a few, the holiday season is a bittersweet reminder of what or who we’re missing. It can be a time of loneliness, stress, and/or unmet expectations.

The “most wonderful time of the year” doesn’t feel so wonderful when distance, grief, and/or reality dims its glow.

I don’t mean to be a bummer. If you’re happy—and you know it—I’m cheering and clapping you on. But I would like to gently remind everyone: please be as kind and loving to yourself and those around you as possible.

After putting on your oxygen mask first, maybe check in on your nears, dears, and queers. Extend grace to the people you know and even those you don’t—they might be carrying a load of coal on their backs or shoulders.

Whenever you can, keep the magical spirit of the holidays—the gifts of gratitude and hope—alive and well.

I’m doing my best to create and curate more of that spirit too.

Some days, it feels like work.
On other days, it feels like a gift.
Either way, it’s worth trying.

Wishing you much love and peace this season…and always.
Clint

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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

• ‘Lionization of shooter’: Authorities decry support for United Healthcare CEO murder suspect (MSNBC) Cry me a river, “authorities” and mainstream media. Where were your cries—and tears—when UHC was busy denying coverage to millions? And killed more than a few in the process? No tears for the innocent victims, so no tears for corrupt CEOs or corporations. No tears for mainstream media either as they become more and more irrelevant by the day.

• Producer Makes Whoopi Goldberg Cut to Break… (Luke Beasley)

• Why Zuckerberg’s Rebrand Shouldn’t Distract Us (ColdFusion)

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ON THIS DAY = DECEMBER 10

BIRTHDAYS

• 1815 = Ada Lovelace = English mathematician and computer scientist

• 1830 = Emily Dickinson = American poet 🌈

• 1851 = Melvil Dewey = American librarian and Dewey Decimal System creator

• 1909 = Hermes Pan = American dancer and choreographer

• 1914 = Dorothy Lamour = American actor and singer

• 1922 = Agnes Nixon = American tv writer and All My Children creator

• 1941 = Tommy Kirk = American actor and businessman 🌈

• 1952 = Susan Dey = American actor

• 1957 = Michael Clarke Duncan = American actor

• 1960 = Kenneth Branagh = British actor and filmmaker

• 1960 = Mark Takano = American politician 🌈

• 1961 = Nia Peeples = American singer and actor

• 1965 = Greg Giraldo = American lawyer and comedian

• 1985 = Raven-Symoné = American actor and singer 🌈

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• Human Rights Day

EVENTS

• 1768 = The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica is published.

• 1901 = The first Nobel Prize ceremony is held in Stockholm on the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.

• 1909 = Selma Lagerlöf becomes the first female writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.

• 1924 = Henry Gerber, a German-born immigrant, receives a charter from the state of Illinois for a nonprofit corporation named the Society for Human Rights. It’s the earliest documented gay rights organization in the US.

• 1936 = “Abdication Crisis” = Edward VIII signs the Instrument of Abdication.

• 1948 = The Human Rights Convention is signed by the United Nations.

• 1953 = Winston Churchill receives the Nobel Prize in Literature.

• 1968 = Japan's biggest heist, the still-unsolved "300 million yen robbery", is carried out in Tokyo.

• 1993 = Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit is released in theaters.

• 1999 = The Green Mile is released in theaters.

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PHOTO + QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Lighten up, just enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don't get so worked up about things.”
Kenneth Branagh

NEW + FEATURED

• The Best of Bruno = Volume 1 (NSFW)

• Moments In Monochrome #2 (NSFW)

• Moments In Monochrome #1 (NSFW)

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