A Holiday Cornucopia

As often happens at this time of year, here's a collection of odd Christmas-themed stories from across the realm of cyberspace:

• Looking for a weird gift that will make the recipient say, "Oh, you shouldn't have! No, really"? Take a look at Dave Barry's 2008 Holiday Gift Guide.


• Chuck Norris (yes, that one) discusses the disturbing recent phenomenon of people stealing Baby Jesus figures from Natviity scenes.


• Looking for an unusual Christmas gift? Try the Darth Vader Toaster, which not only is shaped like Darth's helmet, but also burns an image of the Dark Lord into the toast.


• Mona Charen talks about another much more positive recent phenomenon, Hanukkah Lights.


• A man in Utah was arrested for stealing a fire truck. Why did he do it? So he could drive several states away to visit family for Christmas.


• Read a profile of Jean Shepherd, author (and film narrator) of A Christmas Story, by Donald Fagen (yes, the cofounder of Steely Dan).


• Need to melt some ice off your back porch? It's probably not a good idea to use a blowtorch, because you might set your house on fire.


• And finally, a few years ago, I mentioned the annual construction of a giant snowman in Alaska known as Snowzilla. Well, local government officials have stopped the fun, as he's been branded a nuisance and a safety hazard by code enforcement. (UPDATE: Or maybe not. Someone built him anyway this week, though the homeowner in whose yard he resides isn't taking credit [or blame, in the city's eyes], for doing so.)


• And finally, I should once again post a link to the twisted Christmas song known as O Holy Crap, which I first discussed at this time last year.

If I find any more unusual holiday stories, I'll add them to the end of this post.