Hammer Mill Days

No, it's not the fifth day, Marvin. It's the sixth. Doesn't that processor between your ears do simple sums, for crying out loud? Six, man, six! Yes, I am correcting Marvin (my personal robot assistant) on his math. Or his calendar skills. Not sure which, actually. I put him in charge of counting down our "Six Days of Christmas" celebration. Why six? Well, turns out we couldn't afford twelve. And since we were too sick to finish our Holiday extravaganza on time, we all thought it only appropriate to provide a small ... even half-assed compensation. You're welcome, America! For those of you who missed it, this is what our lame celebration consisted of: Day One: Post of "A Very Neddy Christmas" on NedTrek.com . This is a rerun, yes, of our Ned Trek parody of Dickens' A Christmas Carol , featuring four songs, some bad celebrity imitations, and all the rest of it. Day Two: Soundcloud post of Vital Signs , a song off of our first album, ...

It's the year that wouldn't die. I suppose it always seems that way - years, like any unit of measurement, are artificial divisions by which no natural or artificial phenomena need abide. Still, it feels like we're accelerating to the finish line, and each day seems to bring more exaggerated indications of what a clusterfuck 2017 promises to be. Probably the most prominent feature of a discouraging week was the fallout over UN Security Council Resolution 2334 , which reaffirmed the longstanding principle that Israel's settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem is "a flagrant violation under international law" as well as "an obstacle to the achievement of the two-state solution". The Obama administration abstained on this resolution (i.e. did not veto it), prompting hysterical reaction from Republicans and Democrats alike and a long speech by Secretary of State John Kerry, which triggered more hair-on-fire reactions. ...