• Random bit of the week: How A Dead Millionaire Convinced Dozens Of Women To Have As Many Babies As Possible.
• Even My Conservative Texan Mother Wants Stricter Gun Control.
• The truth about Muslims in America. “A Duke University study found more terrorism suspects and perpetrators were brought to the attention of law enforcement by members of the Muslim-American community than were discovered through U.S. government investigations.”
• The Atlantic’s Case for the Singular, Gender-Neutral ‘They’—in 1879.
• 8 Ways to Rescue Public School Libraries from Becoming Obsolete.
• 9 ways to skip the shallow small talk and have deep conversations.
• Holiday gift-giving between adults is a needless, consumerist chore. I disagree somewhat; I love giving gifts. But I only exchange gifts with family that I’m close with, and occasionally a good friend, so both parties know each other well. I do also send out a wishlist, so it’s generally a safe bet that I’ll like what I’m getting.

Things of Note:

Christmas is NEXT WEEK. How did this happen? Looks like I need to get some packages in the mail stat. I did get our tree up and decorated this past weekend, which is arguably my favorite Christmas-time tradition. The other one? Watching White Christmas, which I get to see on the big screen for the first time thanks to the Paramount Theatre’s holiday film series. Woohooo! We’ve also got Ian’s work holiday party to go to tonight. Casino-themed. I’m trying to figure out an outfit that would be a) appropriate b) cute, c) comfy and d) not require me to shave my legs. Wish me luck.

How is your December shaping up?