Christmas

One dead and nearly 75 injured after a chemical plant explosion in Louisiana.

Good news, Verizon and T-Mobile users: Your phone might be safe from the watchful eyes of the NSA.

Trio of heroes (like the rhyme?) save a group of people and several dogs from a burning apartment building in the heights.

Albuquerque man charged with illegally tattooing his 3-year-old nephew.

Mega Man, the Villager from Animal Crossing and the Wii Fit Trainer are all joining the Super Smash Bros. crew.

Christmas is saved!

British researchers have solved the mystery of how sea mammals hold their breath for so long.

Southwest Women's Options doctor compares death injection to 'flu shot.'

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President Obama and congressional leaders try one more time to make a plan for the fiscal crisis.

Los Lunas police look for leads in Christmas Walmart theft.

Entertainment 2012: The year that nothing really great happened.

Thanks to Pepsi you could join Beyonce on stage at the Super Bowl!

Old temple and ritual vessels found in Tel Motza, Israel.

The fate of two pit bulls in Santa Fe, who fatally mauled a chihuahua, was be decided in court.

I now present, for your viewing pleasure, Kevin Bacon made out of bacon.

It looks like Kate Winslet is headed to space.

The Dark Knight Rises was among the most pirated films of 2012.

Bad lip reading turns a One Direction song into a really awesome trailer for a foreign thriller film.

Adult Swim’s awesomely destructive, Atari 2600-style game Mountain Maniac gets a holiday makeover in Mountain Maniac Xmas. You're Santa (or a poor approximation thereof) and are tasked with smashing huge boulders off a mountaintop. Control their descent to cause maximum carnage. And watch out for rampaging reindeer!

Intense storm system blamed in the deaths of at least six people after it dumped sleet and snow in the Midwest and unleashed tornadoes in the South.

Childhood obesity rates appear to be falling.

KRQE provides some helpful tips for returning those unwanted Christmas presents.

You can no longer adopt a child from Russia.

Politics, politics, everywhere … even on your Starbucks cups.

A family in Albuquerque lost their home after it went up in flames on Christmas Day.

Christmas on the ISS.

Hobbit actors see how fast they can name all of the dwarves.

Creepy (sexy?) John Mayer Santa.

Who steals a baby Jesus from a nativity scene on Christmas? C’mon.

IRL online shopping.

A New York newspaper publishes the names of gun owners.

How to store Christmas lights.

Parkour 12-year-old.

I saw paranormal Santa.

Christmas movie trivia.

There was a dead man at Edith and Central.

Happy birthday Rod Serling.

If you're in the mood for obscuro Xmas tunes, check out my Jingle and Jingle playlist from last year. It features boss tracks by The Dirtbombs, Mono Men, Nadroj & The Wolrats, The Honeymoon Killers, Thee Headcoatees, James White, Alien Sex Fiend, Culturcide, The Magnetic Fields, Maddox Brothers and Rose, Johnny Cash, Bumble Bee Slim, Jimmy Witherspoon, Victoria Spivey and Vera Ward Hall. Stream it below. Happy listening, y'all!

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".... Add a little soul to this white Christmas."

Boring and bizarre

Christmas is best tackled with a sense of humor. Otherwise it's a great occasion for a nervous breakdown or a stroke. I hope everyone will heed William Shatner's holiday advice. This Mennonite has a boring Christmas message (with hypnotic music) about saving the world without spending too much on postage. Here are the Christmas greeting cards you wish you'd received, and the family photos you're happy are not yours.

Rest assured your office Christmas party went better than the Bluth's party. Listen to some Neil Hamburger (w/ Canned Hamm) jokes! Enjoy the full Christmas With the Chipmunks album from 1961, or just forget the whole thing with FEAR.

RECSPEC

RECSPEC

The owls are not what they seem.

One of those pals, Laurel Barickman, is the co-founder and lead designer of RECSPEC, an Austin-based design studio. She and her husband, David Milner, are prime movers of Austin's nightlife eye-candy contingent. They do visuals, deejay and create rad flyers. This holiday season, the savvy couple transformed their office space into a Twin Peaks-themed wonderland. We're talking detail here, y'all. Glastonbury Grove-recreatin', Bob-faced and Log Lady-offering ornaments adorn a big, majestic tree. Beneath the One-Eyed Jack's-topped fir, a cherry pie awaits Coop. Leland's getting a golf club. Who'll stumble onto the errant copy of Flesh World? With this level of fantastically weird in the picture, it's not surprising that Barickman grew up in Las Cruces. Check out my fave photos of their psychodramatic Pacific Northwest teevee homage below. Keep on scrollin' to listen to RECSPEC's damn good Twin Peaks/Xmas mix.

RECSPEC

One-eyed Jack has eggnog.

RECSPEC

That gum you like...

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Bob!

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Don't take the ring, Laura.

RECSPEC

Log Lady, represent.

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President Obama to nominate John Kerry as next Secretary of State.

ESPN analyst receives 30-day suspension for racial remarks against RG3.

New Mexico lawmaker Ben Lujan died Tuesday.

Gangnam Style became the first video on Youtube to reach one billion views.

Is the Force headed to the Land of Enchantment?

Congrats, you appear to have survived the Mayan Apocalypse!

On that note, here are the most hilarious tweets about the end of the world.

Former U.S. Olympian apologizes for working as a call girl.

The NRA wants armed police officers in every school across the country.

The story of Graham getting a family for Christmas.

Christmas Day Around the Dial

Shooting reported at elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Lindsay Lohan’s storage locker could be auctioned off. Cue the Storage Wars jokes!

Some New Mexico schools delayed due to winter storm.

Is The Hobbit not living up to its hype?

Two New Mexico men alledgedly hired to kill Justin Bieber.

Prefer online shopping to braving the holiday crowds? Here are some tips for safer online shopping.

Memorable weather photos of 2012.

Apparently Vodka kept these elephants alive.

A corgi sleigh that is just too cute.

5 foolish Facebook-using criminals.

Stabbing victim found at sobriety checkpoint.

Chunky bracelets aren’t just for wearing anymore.

If you got your loved one a cat for Christmas.

Cover art for Sufjan Stevens Christmas hip hop mixtape Chopped and Scrooged

But, Stevens is certainly someone who does whatever he feels like doing at any given moment, and that’s something I can respect. Having said that, Stevens (in his love-hate obsession with the Christmas spirit) recently released a Christmas box set of over two and a half hours of music. On top of that, he just released a holiday hip-hop mixtape titled Chopped and Scrooged. Yes, you read that correctly. Taking music and samples from his Silver and Gold box set and featuring hip-hop artists like Heems (of the late Das Racist), Busdriver, Nicky Da B, Electric iLL and more, the mixtape can be streamed on Soundcloud below or downloaded here.

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Thanks to cottage industry supersite Etsy, you can buy holiday gifts made by people in your city. Amy Dalness outlines her favorite items in this week’s feature: Etsy-Querque. She also lists great local businesses with rad gift options. Keep the cash circulating in our stretch of desert.

And hey, did you know one of the Etsy founders is a Burqueño?