Boxing Day Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Tuesday, December 26, 2023
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48 comments
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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Too much mulled wine last night?
A thoughtful read about the growing isolation of certain places, lives: Christmastime can be a sad reminder that many towns in the US are left behind Hard to excerpt so I’ll leave a hook.
When I was a really little kid I thought Boxing Day meant people put on the gloves and started pummeling one another.
@CSK: In my family that would have been everyday. Except for the gloves part.
It’s almost as if the widespread opinion the American economy is bad is…nonsense.
Holiday Spending Increased, Defying Fears of a Decline
@Mikey: I paid $2.50 a gallon in Potosi on Sunday.
@CSK:
It doesn’t mean that?
I am shocked.
It seems that Kansas City has collapsed. Even adding Taylor Swift to the lineup no longer helps.
Now, the Super Bowl I’d like to see is Detroit against Buffalo.
@OzarkHillbilly: @Kathy:
😀 😀
@Kathy:
The collapse will be blamed on her, she has been a distraction. It’s always the fault of a woman.
On the off chance nobody posted this up here, from the Houston Chronicle: Two thousand years ago, a young family became refugees (Editorial)
@Kathy: Their O-line was blocking with all the determination of a colander.
@OzarkHillbilly:
The importance of the offensive line is often overlooked. IMO, an adequate QB with a good line will win more games than a superstar QB with a weak line.
@Kathy:
Tyreek Hill is now in Miami, setting records. Not a talent that can be replaced. As lots of coaches have said before, “Speed doesn’t have off days.”
Instead of Boxing Day it should be clean the kitchen day. Made too many dishes, as always.
Steve
We ordered Christmas dinner as “take and reheat” from a local restaurant. The selection said “feeds 4-6.” With five adults and one child, we figured it’d be enough with maybe some leftovers. I swear there was enough food to feed 8-10 adults. I have a gawdawful amount of leftovers. WTH am I supposed to do with five pounds of leftover green beans?? The ham and potatoes I can Macguyver into several different meals (au gratin, quiche, and a Spanish tortilla all come to mind). But I have no clue what to do with leftover green beans and Brussels sprouts.
I propose that we initiate a social movement to get rid of the custom of gift wrapping. I’m in a position to favor not getting gifts. I don’t have any unmet needs, but I like giving presents. However, the wrappers are a pain. If cousin Joe needs a shirt, won’t he be just as happy without creating more unrecyclable paper? It is just as beau without a bow.
@Jen:
You can freeze the beans for up to six months. As for the sprouts, you can fry four or five slices of bacon, cut them up, and reheat the sprouts with the bacon in the fry pan.
@Jen:
Hmmm, Brussels sprouts, I got my doubts.
@Michael Cain:
But KC won the Super Bowl last year without Tyreek. And they had the number one offense by DVOA. I’m as big a fan of Hill’s unique combination of speed and technique as anyone, but it’s not all about his absence.
The biggest difference between this year and last year is Kelce’s clock creeping toward midnight and the absence of a single WR with reliable hands or decent route running. Say what you will about Juju, but he’s a professional receiver.
I just did a quick comparison on Pro Football Reference. In 2022, KC had a drop rate of 5.5%. This year, it is 6.8%.
@Kathy:
Most sacks are the fault of the QB rather than the line. But I will say that the pendulum has probably swung a bit too far the other way on this point. Once that bit of analytics broke through the wall, the word “most” got omitted.
Ask Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy what it’s like when Trent Williams is off the field. Also, earlier this year Seattle sacked D. Jones 10 times. But watching the game, he had no chance on a bunch of them.
A significant part of competent QB play is sack avoidance.
@Slugger:
I’m an absolute nightmare to buy gifts for. I’m usually fine with small, cheap, gifts, like a pencil cup a departing coworker got me years ago. When it comes to something over that, odds are like 110% I’ll feel disappointed. Long story, some of which I’ve shared here. Very particular tastes, needs, and habits.
I’d love it if cash were the standard gift everyone gave everyone else. No wrapping, no boxes, just small envelopes.
Failing that, I don’t mind asking someone what they want, nor holding on to the receipt if they want to exchange it. I would like to be asked as well.
@OzarkHillbilly: Average here in Virginia is $2.99 but there are towns where it’s as low as $2.24.
I splurged on prime rib for Christmas Eve dinner. Just enough leftover to do a very pricey beef and broccoli (leftover baby broc as well). Gonna pick up some frozen egg rolls today when we go out to buy Sadie a sweater. Taking her into the local pet store will be a first. Fingers crossed nothing gets broken or eaten off the shelf!
@Kurtz:
@Michael Cain:
@Kathy:
KC will be in the Super Bowl. They’ve lost 6 games, mostly to good teams, and with two exceptions, they’ve lost by a feild goal or less.
Better to have issues now than in January.
They’ll be fine.
@EddieInCA: I think KC can right the ship. But Baltimore looks to be a real threat in the AFC.
@Slugger:..the wrappers are a pain…
In the past when most Sunday Editions of a local newspaper included a color comics section I would reuse those pages for all occasion gift wrap. At Christmas most strips had Yuletide theme.
@Slugger:
@Kathy:
I’m getting to the point where I’d much rather forgo gift giving. Picking out presents for my partner sends me into a doom spiral. I spend weeks freaking out about it. For the record, the problem is me not her. I could get her a brick and as long as it was wrapped and there was a reason all would be fine.
The problem was my parents. My dad was an awful, abusive gift giver. My mom would lord gifts over us and then get vicious if we didn’t get her the perfect gift. It was easier to just meltdown and get yelled at for getting her nothing.
Man, the absolute worst thing of this year was learning that I don’t just have one over arching problem (dysphoria) I have a whole set of interlocking, self-reinforcing problems (CPTSD, dysphoria, ADHD, abandonment issues, maladaptive daydreaming). It’s like a bad superhero story where the loudest, dumbest villain dies and the hero finds out there’s worse in the wings. Bleh.
@Mikey: Just yesterday, visiting with the Luddites, the price ranged between $4.499 and 3.479–a swing of over $1 in range. This year, I’m thankful to Marathon and Sinclair for bringing a gas price war where I live when they took over existing stations in October.
@Kathy:..I’d love it if cash were the standard gift everyone gave everyone else.
I send my sister a Panera gift card that I know she will use. I tried to find a gift card for a place that my brother and his wife visit in Southern California but no luck so I sent them a crisp $20 bill and told them to have Andrew Jackson buy them a pizza.
Both siblings got some Illinois Lotto scratch off tickets.
@Kurtz:
There’s a difference for a QB in getting a few seconds free of pressure while they look downfield, and having to avoid tacklers after taking two steps back,
But I’m glad you brought it up. There’s a lot more to a Q than their arm and pass completions.
@Kathy: KC has been hit by injuries on their O-line. They’ve also lost some of their playmakers (Tyreek Hill for one) and Kelce seems to have lost a bit of oomph (34 yo, not a surprise.) It could be just a down year that a few key additions will have them back on the A-list or they may need to go a little deeper.
Maholmes should be good for quite a few more years and Andy Ried has been here before. I have faith in him, tho I have been wrong in the past..
@Jen: If you know of any chickens, they will be happy to have them.
@Kurtz: I caught the 4th quarter yesterday. At one point the Raiders had only 144 yards from their offense and yet were I think 2 scores up. Their D-line owned the +5 to -5 of the line of scrimmage. KC had no answer. Mind you, Crosby and crew are no slouches.
@EddieInCA:
I mislike to make predictions. I’ll just say a meltdown in December never bodes well for the postseason.
But, let’s not forget, that’s why they play games: to see who wins. Never forget The New England Bradys came within a missed sack of setting a new undefeated season record.
” But I have no clue what to do with leftover green beans and Brussels sprouts.”
Mulch.
Steve
@OzarkHillbilly: That might be an option–lots of backyard chickens around here, I can easily ask the farmers that run the CSA if they’d like to have them.
@steve: Ha, well…I lived abroad as a child, in parts of the world where people were literally starving. It made it significant impression on me, I do not–ever–throw out edible food. Donating to local livestock I can justify. But mulch is pretty much throwing food out and in these parts also attracts wild critters. It’s been so mild I’m not entirely convinced the bears are hibernating yet.
@Jen:
Unless a bear decides to raid your refrigerator, raccoons are worse and they’d love themselves some beans and sprouts.
@Sleeping Dog: Oddly, I have not seen a racoon around here. (I know they must be around!) I have seen coyotes, and we’ve had plenty of bears on our street! I will not be tossing food scraps out in the yard, regardless. 🙂
@EddieInCA: Baring implosion, they should certainly make the playoffs, but I don’t follow the NFL closely enough anymore to predict that the team that would today be the 3rd or 4th seed in their division will go all the way to the big show.
The COVID shot I got seems to be the Pfizer/BioNTech development, for the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant. I think that’s several variants ago. Just the same, the more times the immune system gets all riled up, the better.
TL;DR, antigen and cell receptors don’t work as keys and locks. More like shapes and sizes, and not very precise for either. I may have mentioned a time or two million biology is messy.
The shot came in a tiny vial marked “single dose.” Not that it’s a single dose vaccine regime, but that the vial contains only one dose. The first COVID vaccines came in vials of six doses each, that needed to be diluted in saline solution. The label also said “do not dilute.”
I can tell all this, because the nurse removed the label from the vial after the shot, and stuck it on the vaccine certificate she gave me.
We have another thread entitled:
Have I mentioned how much I hated Batman v. Superman? I will add the “v. rather than vs.” issue becoming mainstream to my long list of complaints about the movie.
Maybe not the biggest problem with the movie, but the one that has the greatest impact in the real world, reminding me the terrible movie exists, and that it wasn’t the grand courtroom drama we were all hoping for.
Also, I still cannot decide whether the “Martha” scene was stupid or brilliant or both. I kind of wish we got Martha v. Martha, with comic book shenanigans somehow. I would also accept Martha v. Mothra.
@Gustopher:
It was stupid.
Not only because Bruce suddenly does a 180, but because a detective of Batman’s caliber would have known the name of Clark Kent’s adoptive mother.
Now, suppose Bruce leaves his very personal fight and goes to save Martha, because he can kill Clark later. He saves her, well and good, then Clark does something that convinces Bruce he’s ok, like restraining himself from pummeling Lex Bezos into a bloody paste. Or he saves Bruce during the fight even though he wants to kill him.
That wouldn’t qualify as great cinema or storytelling, but it wouldn’t have been stupid.
So, we spent several days before and on Christmas in Texas. Corpus Christi, to be precise. I actually had some reservations about supporting the state and was dreading what I’d see, since it involved driving from New Mexico through west Texas. We mainly stuck to larger roads, of course, but I have to say, everyone we ran into was really very nice. There were too many pickup trucks, but they actually drove well. Turn signals and lane discipline, oh my. We only saw one sign of idiocy, a large “Impeach Biden” flag somewhere. Is there some hope that the decent masses of the state will say enough is enough regarding the GOP nonsense?
My family has finally solved the gift giving problem. This year, the rule was “gifts for the children only, unless you find something cheap and fun that you think someone would love.” The kids got buried, and the only other gifts were the joke socks that my wife picked for everyone, each suited to that person’s unique characteristics. My father got slipper socks whose soles say “If you can read this, bring me pie.” My brother in tech got printed circuit socks. I got crossword socks. Etc. All were stuck into paper towel roll cardboard tubes, the way my great-grandparents used to do it every Christmas, with much less fun socks.
Oh, and my OCD niece got a box of bubble wrap, the tiny-bubble version.
A Merry Christmas was had by all.
@DrDaveT:
I’ve given up finally on my theory of Xmas gifts, which was that everyone gives everyone else a $100. No shopping, and everyone comes out with exactly what they started out with. But the illusion of gift giving would persist. For a while. Yet, despite the self-evident superiority of my plan, I’ve found no support.
@DrDaveT:
I don’t have much trouble giving gifts, though lacking a holiday like Xmas where dozens of gifts, or more, are expected, that’s easy for me to say.
Receiving them is a problem.
I don’t make the assumption I know people, much less that I know them well. So, I get rather generic gifts, unless I can ask them beforehand that they want, or they have a wish list or register, and I do tell them I’ve kept the receipt of they want to exchange it.
Others make the assumption they know me well, and often want to get a huge gift. Like my sister in law. One time she nearly got me a very expensive hardcover set of all the Lord of the Rings books. Fortunately my brother stopped her in time.
This would have been a terrible gift on two counts: 1) I pretty much hate those books*, 2) more nuanced, I value the content of a book more than its form; I have some hard covers only because I was anxious to read them and didn’t want to wait for the paperback to come out (these days I’d get an e-book or audiobook). So, say an expensive hardcover set of all the Foundation books, which I do like, I’d see more as a waste. I mean, I’d prefer a book I haven’t read.
Next year she knew better, and asked some roundabout questions about my feelings towards The Da Vinci Code. To this day I’ve no idea what the big deal is with that book.
*Nothing personal. I started reading one and just couldn’t focus on it. I saw most of the first movie, and I was not interested at all. My problem is the amount of people who casually assume I’ve read them, loved them, can make a point-by-point comparison with the movies, and kept asking me about it at my grandmother’s shivah.
@Michael Reynolds:
I do get it.
You’re proposing the Sheldon Cooper Gift Giving paradigm. Besides the obvious flaw that someone will die at least $100 richer, there’s the joy of getting, or giving, something one will enjoy and would not buy for one’s self.
The flaw is the unlikely odds in hitting that target. It takes really knowing someone well. Besides, the main reason one would not buy something one wants is price*. This, as Dr. Cooper points out, creates an obligation to come up with a similarly priced gift, either then or later. For some, this can cause hardship.
*Another reason is holding out for the next model or version. In which case a gift of the current model may be the worst thing possible to get.