“In the original version of secret Santa each member of a group – colleagues, say – is anonymously assigned to buy a gift for another and give it to them at the Christmas party. How sweet. Thankfully, that game has evolved into something more Machiavellian: thieving Santa, also known as dirty Santa or the Grinch game. As its name suggest, this revolves around theft and dirty tricks.”
Tag: 12.23.10
Snowmen, Snowmen Everywhere
NPR staff “went digging through Flickr and found a record-breaking giant snow(wo)man with pine trees as arms, thumb-sized snowmen, an army of hundreds in the streets of Moscow and hilariously twisted Calvin & Hobbes-inspired installations.”
Cleveland Orchestra Finances Show How Complicated Funding Orchestras Has Become
“Ironically, given the shift to contributed revenue, these seeds appear to be bearing fruit in the form of higher attendance and increased ticket sales. Last season, average paid attendance at Severance Hall rose 9 percent, while concert revenue was up by $1 million.”
LA Police Makes Its Biggest Raid Ever On Counterfeit Goods
The Los Angeles Police Department made 10 arrests and seized $4.06 million worth of counterfeit goods, from music CDs and DVDs of just-released movies, including titles of “Tron” and “The Tourist,” as well as handbags, jerseys, sunglasses and other knock-off goods.
Restaurant Boots LA Times Critic, Asks Others To Ban Her
“The Vietnamese fusion joint booted out my colleague LA Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila this week and posted a notice on the Internet that suggested other restaurants might consider doing the same.”
12 Interesting People Pick Their Favorite Books Of 2010
“I asked a number of interesting people what book they’d read in 2010 that left a big impression on them, or filled them with intellectual energy, or made them wish it were better known. If all three, then so much the better.”
WikiLeak: US Government Tried To Make Deal With Spain Over Artwork
“The leaked cables reveal that as early as 2007, the U.S. embassy handed over to Spanish authorities the customs import documents that Odyssey had filed when bringing the hoard of coins into the United States. “The information was confidential and to be used only for law enforcement purposes,” embassy officials warned Spain’s director of customs.
An Eight-Track Tape Museum
“The 700 square foot Eight Track Museum will display between 500-1,000 tapes. The museum will also have an example of every type of physical recorded music from the wax cylinders of the 1800s to the iPod.”