Besides The News 12/24/24
Merry Christmas Eve from the Besides the Revolution Team
Merry Christmas to all - we are so thankful for our readers and subscribers, and as Jack and I start out into this new world of independent media, we want to let everyone know how much their support of our work has meant to us this year. Jack and I met during the early days of the Kennedy campaign, and we feel a great affinity for each person we had the chance to interact with. We appreciate your support and would appreciate you spreading the word about our work here. So, on to the news…
Aaron’s Picks
There’s always a myriad of bad news, so I thought this Christmas Eve, I would share some of the things that brought joy to my year. Tomorrow, my family reprise this song we did a few years ago for a local church. We are excited to play it all together again and have our children playing with us. My wife steals the show, as always.
I have been enjoying watching older Christmas movies this year. Two have risen to the top as new favorites. The Bishops Wife, starring Carey Grant, and The Shop Around the Corner with Jimmy Stewart. Both are fantastic stories and excellent reminders of what Hollywood once was. Fantastic storytelling and innovative ways to pull at the heartstrings of the audience. It brings a fondness for good creativity and puts shame upon the Cardboard Man 37 superhero, recycled fantasy worlds.
One of my latest traditions is listening to Mark Steyn’s Lessons In Carols each Christmas Eve. I will be tuning into the new one tomorrow night, but in case you can’t find his obscure website, here is a link to last year’s version. It’s a refreshing take on all the humdrum, hyper-produced, protestant razmataz that often leaves the gospel behind for rock guitars and skateboards.
And just in case you thought I was exaggerating about the hullabaloo -
And finally, a lesson on Christmas kindness from author Donald Jeffries at “I Protest”
Jack’s Picks
It’s Christmas Eve and I’ve been thinking a lot about the year that has passed and what’s to come. It was a big year for my family; we left New York City, begrudgingly, after our safe Brooklyn neighbourhood began to deteriorate. We now live in the countryside in the Hudson Valley, where my wife grew up, and my little boy is happy to have all the space he does. We have a huge yard, a historic home, old trees, wonderful neighbours. It’s perfect. So I have a lot to be thankful for.
At the same time, I have a lot of anxiety about the future. This was also a difficult year for me. AI disrupted my business, and I was, sadly, forced to fire 40 people who had worked for me for years. I miss my team, I miss normality, and I miss the world without AI. 2025 will be a big year; we’ll probably see the arrival of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which could, mark my words, put millions of people out of work. I’ll be writing more in depth on this in the new year, but for now I’ll say this: if AGI is inevitable, I hope the incoming Trump administration uses the expertise of Elon Musk and David Sacks to develop appropriate and effective regulations that protect workers. Now is the time for Trump to prove that he is pro-worker.
So let’s enjoy this last Christmas before the AI takeover.
This morning, I watched The Snowman with my son. I’m not sure Americans are quite as familiar with this short film from 1982, so I’ll post it below. It’s an animated short accompanied by music scored by Howard Blake and sung by Peter Auty, a St. Paul's Cathedral choirboy. It's a true piece of art. I loved it as a child and I love it as an adult - and with my little boy now starting to understand Christmas, I have reason to watch it again. As we watched this morning, I looked at the CRT TV in the living room. The roaring fire in the fireplace. The colourful, warm homes. A far cry from the flat screen TVs, the baseboard heaters, and the grey walls of modern homes.
Do yourself and transport yourself to a better time and watch this either tonight or tomorrow morning, as is the English tradition:
Tonight, I’ll be joining my American family for a Christmas Eve dinner. These are my Hudson Valley friends who effectively adopted me once I moved to the States in 2021. I have no family here other than my wife and son, so to spend Christmas Eve with them is very special. I’ll be taking some British treats with me that I procured at a local British food store (can you believe there are British food stores hidden away throughout upstate New York? There must be a large community of my people here because you can’t move for these stores!).
I found a Christmas pudding, mince pies, Bakewell tarts, Fox’s biscuits, and even a tin of custard. Obviously homemade is better for all of these things, but some years you just don’t have the time.
But before we go out tonight, I’ll spend the day working and listening to the latest episode of Joe Rogan as I do it. Julian Lennon, son of John Lennon and fellow child of Liverpool, is his guest and it’s a great, casual conversation so far. It’s well worth a listen if you want something lighthearted.
And, a final recommendation from me: Regina Spektor’s classic album “Songs” has been completely remastered and properly released for the first time. As I was writing this morning’s post, her song “Reading Time with Pickle” began to play in the background and brought a smile to my face. So I thought I’d share that, too.
I hope all of our subscribers have a wonderful Christmas. We made today’s Besides the News free for everybody. If you’re new here, we normally bring our subscribers a collection of news stories that interest us every morning - and, besides the news, plenty of music recommendations and a collection of other oddities and musings. If you liked today’s post, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber and joining us on this journey!
Merry Christmas and a happy new year!