The end of the year is typically a time for reflection. In this day and age when our media is dominated by bad news and negativity, we often look back at our own lives and see things to be worse than they actually are. We often don’t realize how much we contribute to others each day and that’s why “It’s a Wonderful Life” is my favorite Christmas movie.

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I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. This is a wonderful time of year and I hope you have a chance to reflect on the positive things in your life. If there are things in your life that you’re not happy with, make a commitment to fix them in 2008.

Also, a big thank you to the brave men and women serving their country oversees during Christmas. Many of us wouldn’t be home enjoying a nice meal with our families without the personal sacrifices that you’re making. I appreciate you, thank you and salute you.

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I normally ignore commercials that I hear on the radio but one from identity theft protection company LifeLock grabbed my attention. Todd Davis, the CEO of LifeLock, provided his social security number in the ad to show his confidence in the service his company offers. He also does this in print and television ads as well as on the company’s website.

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Social bookmarking allows internet users to share and organize links in a central location. Social bookmarking services have been around for over a decade but they’ve just recently become popular (over the last few years).

If you use any of these services, please feel free to bookmark posts from this blog. This is relatively easy to do thanks to the I Love Social Bookmarking plug-in. Simply hover over the “Share this” link at the end of the post that you want to bookmark and choose the service you use (if your service isn’t there, let me know and I’ll try to add it). If you haven’t used one of these services, you can still click on any of the links and then create a new account (they’re usually free).

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I’ve always been impressed by Josh Groban’s music but there’s something special about this song. It seems like most of the newer Christmas recordings are simply whoever’s topping the pop charts using their own style to sing classic Christmas songs. I find it hard to believe that generations to come will replace classics from Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby and Brenda Lee with songs by ‘N Sync, Jessica Simpson and Hannah Montana. But “Believe” is one of the more recent songs that has a chance.

Here’s an excellent video of the song with clips from “The Polar Express.” If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s definitely worth a watch.

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Why they ask it:

Normally, I try not to editorialize too much on these questions but this is one that I believe can warrant some serious debate. Before I get to my own opinion on the subject, I want to clarify that it is currently legal to ask a person if they are authorized to work in the United States - you just can’t ask them if they are a citizen (as opposed to having a green card or work visa). You are allowed to ask someone flat out if they are legally authorized to work in the United States.

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One of my favorite Christmas specials is “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. A few months after I got married, my wife and I purchased a $20 Christmas tree at our local pharmacy to use in our apartment. When I first put the tree together, we both agreed that it was reminiscent of the tree from this movie. But also like the tree in the cartoon, it turned out to be pretty nice after we finished decorating it.

I like the overall theme of the movie – Christmas is too commercialized and the spirit, message and true meaning get lost in the shuffle. Here’s a scene from the cartoon where Linus explains the true meaning of Christmas to Charlie Brown.

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