I’ve been rereading my old Bloom County books, which I haven’t looked at since I got them in the late eighties and was too young to understand most of the jokes. But good lord, that strip was prescient.

On Christmas, for the first time ever, my family didn’t give each other any presents whatsoever. No sitting around the tree comparing gift tallies with my brother. No trash bags full of wrapping paper. No batteries. No gift receipts. No unwearable sweaters. And it felt great.

Best songs of 2003:
Andre 3000, “Hey Ya!”
Ryan Adams, “Wonderwall”
Erlend Øye, “Every Party”
The Sea & Cake, “Shoulder Length”
The Long Winters, “Blue Diamonds”
Absinthe Blind, “The Break”
Prefuse 73, “Perverted Undertone”
Josh Rouse, “Love Vibration”
The Belles, “Never Said Anything”
David Sylvian, “The Heart Knows Better”
No Doubt, “It’s My Life”
The Shins, “Kissing The Lipless”
Pernice Brothers, “Water Ban”
Death Cab, “Transatlanticism”
Seal, “Heavenly”
Grandaddy, “El Caminos In The West”
Eels, “Numbered Days”
Basement Jaxx, “If I Ever Recover”
The Postal Service, “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight”