Wendel Dan Stockton – There were some celebrity deaths this week. Clarence Gilyard, best known for Walker Texas Ranger but also one of my favorite Christmas movies Die Hard, passed at the age of 66. Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac at the age of 79. The pic above is from a senior banquet in 2011. Dan Stockton was my principal when I taught World and U.S. History. I said a lot of personal things that relate to our family in my Facebook post because many former students and other teachers keep in touch that way. For this post let me just say that for a man Dr. Stockton wore his heart on his sleeve and it was apparent that no one cared more than he did. The lives of thousands of students and dozens of educators were changed by his work and passion. I’m reminded of a line describing Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: He’s not a tame lion. Here is an official obituary.

Celtic Angels Christmas – The Celtic Angels along with the Celtic Knights and Trinity Ensemble really put on quite a show. It was a full two hours of Christmas plus distinctively Irish traditional songs, music and dance complete with audience participation. I was exhausted by the time it was over, I don’t know how they do it again and again. Here is a promo for last year’s show. Last night was very similar in most respects.

Christmas Vacation is easily the most successful film of the National Lampoon series and has become a holiday classic for many. One of the reason for the success early on is that 1989 was very light on Christmas movies in theaters; there were only two, Christmas Vacation and Prancer. Here’s a fun fact: Johnny Galecki was in both.

Remember the lady that sued Kellogg’s because Strawberry PopTarts did not contain as much strawberry as she thought? Even though the ingredients are listed on the package, based on the front of the box saying “strawberry” she was shocked to find they also contain apples and pears. I was surprised to learn they contain fruit but that case of dismissed, as it should have been. Now a Florida woman is suing because Velveeta Shells & Cheese takes longer than 3 1/2 minutes to prepare, despite the front of the box claiming “Ready in 3 1/2 minutes.” The cooking time in the microwave is 3 1/2 minutes but then it needs to sit and thicken for a minute or two. She claims she would not have bought the product had she known it would take longer than the 3 1/2 minutes advertised. I think some unscrupulous lawyer has convinced her she has a case. He will get paid either way when this case is dismissed.

Here’s a product somebody should be sued for. My wife said sometimes she just throws that part away. Jimmy Humphrey’s reaction was simply “Ew, gross.”

Here’s a meme I made myself. To be fair, sometimes he gets out of the bed only to lay down on the floor and go back to sleep. He started on target and later wandered off.

UGA vs. LSU – This may not be the most important game in college football today but it is the one I’ll be watching. GA probably gets into the playoffs even if they lose while LSU is not getting in at this point even if they win. Other teams have bowl appearances on the line based on how they do today in their conference finals. Even though there is little chance of Ohio State finishing in the top four their fans will be back next year claiming they should be ranked #1 anyway.