Today, December 19, marks the 163 anniversary of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol[in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas].

There have been many film, TV and theatrical adaptations to the story including X-mas Marks The Spot in 1987, and episode from "The Real Ghostbusters" animated series. The characters ruin Christmas for the future because they capture the three spirits.

Week 3 of banjo ownership:
Last night I had an official banjo lesson from my friend, John Dawson, at Caffeine & Irony. He said the songs that I chose to learn were a bit ambitious for someone with no musical background. He laughed. I cried. We pressed on, and I have the cords, but I have so much to learn. For now, I am trying to work on transitioning from one cord to another smoothly. He taught me how to apply proper pressure to the strings to make sure I get the right sound. My fingers are sore today as I type. I was assured there would be peeling eventually. Outstanding. John recommended that I buy light guitar picks. I had them last night, and it makes a huge difference in the fluidity of the strumming.