It may make people ill to begin celebrating Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving. I believe, however, that the two go hand in hand. In fact, the argument could be made that we need to celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving. Leaving that controversial statement behind, suffice it to say that it is always a good time to listen to good Christmas music. For your listening pleasure:

05 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee by PageCXVI
I encourage you to check out Page CXVI to get some more musical nourishment.

DISCLAIMER: [I know, I know the song above is not necessarily a "Christmas song." I grew up with it being so. Therefore, for me (this is my blog after all!) this is a Christmas song]

Justin Holcomb just posted an enlightening (and disturbing) article regarding sexual assault. This is a dark topic, and one that would enjoy remaining there. I wanted to share it so you can become familiar with this silent horror.

What was most enlightening for me is that most cases occur at the hands of someone known by the victim (random acts of sexual assault are less common than we think). Additionally, 10-14% of occurrences happen IN MARRIAGE!!

Here is a snippet:

Sexual assault can occur in marriage and between dates and friends. Researchers have estimated that sexual assault occurs in 10-14% of all marriages. Studies estimate that incest is experienced by 10 to 20 percent of children in the general population.

15% of sexual assault victims are under age 12, 29% are age 12-17, and 80% are under age 30. The highest risk years are ages 12-34 and girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of sexual assault.

Most victims of child sexual assault know their attacker: 34.2% of assailants were family members, 58.7% were acquaintances, and only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.  Of child sexual abuse victims, approximately 10% of victims are 3 and under, 28% are between ages 4-7, 26% are between ages 8-11, and 36% are 12 and older.

Read the whole thing.

Good article here on how monotonous routine can make you MORE productive, not less:

Yes, monotony and routine can be truly wearisome. They transform our colorful, over-stimulated existence into black and white. But a task left undone SHOULD be a burden. If you make your system for productivity too productive, you will become anesthetized to your responsibilities.