holiday

Sure, you’ve seen Rolling Stone’s picks and Pitchfork weighed in and even the Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll has published its results. But it’s never too late to get a recommendation for great music. So here are my picks for the best albums of 2009. Happily, with artist web sites and MySpace, you don’t have to take my word for it. Whenever possible, I’ve linked the artist’s name to a site playing some of their music; if something intrigues you, go check it out. Chances are, if you’re a fan of the artist or the genre, you’ll enjoy it.

  “Bicycle Christmas lights - drivetrain” (SF Bay Area), by Richard Masoner  (creative commons)   “Santa Claus is coming to town,” by Luke Redmond (creative commons)   “Neighborhood decor” (Chester County, PA), by Sharkey M.

When Lyndon Johnson convinced Congress to pass Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, few suspected it would take four more decades to again pass health reform to cover more Americans that would reach the White House for signing. Medicare and Medicaid didn’t instantly improve health care, but it did strengthen the safety net that protects folks when extraordinary things happen. Yet despite that historic achievement, and the magnitude of the accomplishment, the very real flaws in the bill have been far more in focus than the benefits or the history. Democrats appropriately wanted more.

Two hours before the doors were set to open Friday morning, a Miami-area Wal-Mart parking lot was full of cars _ and possibility. But in a Christmas shopping season in which many Americans were unwilling to spend, even a packed lot doesn’t always translate into holiday cheer for stores. As stores offered rock-bottom prices and extended return policies, shoppers returned to the malls the day after Christmas. But many were on the hunt for big bargains on specific items or hoping to return unwanted gifts _ not looking to splurge.

Maybe it’s just my imagination, but I don’t think so. The run-up to Christmas this year, with each passing day, just keeps getting odder and weirder, more dangerous and dreary, but somehow compelling nonetheless. The markets are crashing left and right, and it’s been impossible for me (admitted financial moron that I am) to keep from logging on to Marketwatch.com every eight seconds or so, to see what’s happening to my now nearly non-existent 401(k). I find myself surfing over to Zillow.com to check out the ever-shrinking value in my home.

I cannot be bought. Not for less than 20 bucks. So there’s no need to worry that my judgment has been tainted by the fact that a publisher sent me a free review copy of a $16.95 book. Trust me when I say that you should consider giving What Do We Do Now? (A Workbook for the President-Elect) to anyone on your holiday shopping list who’s spent huge chunks of 2008 obsessed with politics. Or don’t trust me. Trust yourself. Read some excerpts . For me, What Do We Do Now? is about timing.

It’s almost certain. The holidays come with drinking. Whether it’s celebratory, stress related, or just part of the program, alcohol finds its way into many of our livers during the last two months of the year. Holiday drinking in my family happens about as often as Sarah Palin is spotted reading the New York Times. Neither of my parents are big drinkers, probably because they each had a parent that was. Because of this family history, a dusty bottle of Peach Schnapps dated around 1978 lives in the kitchen cabinet, out of sight above the fridge.