It's one of those traditional things that I've grown up with - The Queen's Christmas Day broadcast. Every year, at 3:00 pm GMT in the UK, the Queen delivers her annual message to the country. Love it or loathe it, that's not the issue. Whatever you think about the role of the monarchy in the UK, the semiotic point is that this is a cultural event. it is embedded in the collective social consciousness of the the British and I suspect more people turn on the telly at 3:00 than actually admit to it.
Now I am an ex-pat, living 4000 miles from my country of birth, I can still watch the broadcast but it happens, for me, at 10:00 am EST on BBC America. My desire to watch is not a reflection of my being an empire-loving royalist (I'm not) but because it provides a link with my past and a marker of my identity.
So my urge to provide my own "Christmas Message" has to do with establishing my Second Life identity, or even my broader Virtual Life identity. I'm not going to make any predictions for 2009, except that I intend to stick around for another year to see how things turn out. Nor am I going to create a list of "My Top Ten for 2008" because that will require more time than I have available.
Nope, I'm just going to offer a "Merry Christmas" to everyone and express my hopes that the New Year will be good for you. Life, real and virtual, tends to suck. That may sound a little bleak but as my best friend Mony tells me, I can be rather dark. My darkness comes from the simple existential belief that life is one long suckiness punctuated by occasional sparks of happiness. And as long as I believe that enduring the pain and misery of a pointless existence simply for the brief mayfly moments of pleasure outweighs the alternative of absolute nothingness, then I'm OK.
I should reveal that I am, as I write, working my way slowly through a bottle of Remy Martin Fine Champagne Cognac, so my grimness may be tainted by the dulling effect of alcohol, splendid as this current bottle may be. Today was a good day surrounded by family, but now everyone is abed and I am one-on-one with my laptop.
So my best wishes to you all and I wish you more moment of pleasure during the next 365 days. God bless us, everyone!
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1 comment:
Nice message, it is funny and deep at the same time, may be it was the alchool.
I'm glad you had a good Chrismtas, my best wishes for you and yours in 2009.
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