Have a merry one

OK I'm a scrooge. I'm Scrooge McScrooge. Bah. And oh yeah, humbug.

I'm not sure what came over me, or exactly when. I used to love all things Christmasy. I could happily shop for ornaments in the middle of July. Now I never want to decorate. My husband finally decided that he'd have to put up a tiny tree himself, or we'd have no decorations at all. I didn't get a single Christmas card sent. (I normally do though - I was just busy filling orders this year. Now it's too late.)

Even though I'm scroogy, I'm wishing everyone a merry Christmas. I haven't had time to go out and take pictures lately. So as your gift, I'm sending you to see someone else's.

This great photo of Western Australia mistletoe was taken by John Dolphin, a fellow wildflower nut. (Also see Maximum Depth of Field.)

If you have bizarro-brain like me, the name John Dolphin makes you think of the Buckaroo Banzai movie. (Sorry John!)

All the Lectroids are named John. Some have normal names, like John Parker or John O'Connor. But others are obviously made up, like John YaYa and John Smallberries. My favorite is John Bigboote, who keeps getting called Bigbooty. ("It's BigbooTAY!")

I must have seen this movie at least a dozen times. I love John Lithgow as the fiendish Lord John Whorfin/Dr. Emilio Lizardo. ("Laugh while you can, monkey-boy!") His expressions while giving a speech to the evil but listless Red Lectroids make it among my favorite movie scenes. ("History is made at night. Character is what you are in the dark!") I guess you could call the film a cheesy, over-the-top, low-budget spoof. The special goggles they use to watch a holographic message are clearly made from bubble wrap. But if you like that sort of thing, come on over. Bring the popcorn!