Tiger Baby is my second-favorite Danish band, and my first favorite Danish band name (sorry, Mew). And now they have my second favorite Christmas song, which is saying almost nothing because I hate Christmas music. The only other Christmas song that I like, off the top of my head, is probably "Last Christmas" by Wham! And I wish I were kidding, but at least don't have a copy of it anywhere. Btw, check out the video, the lack of sexual tension between George Michael and the women in the video is almost awe-inspiring.

But anyway, Tiger Baby recorded a song that includes the word Christmas and I like it, so there you go. They continue to crank out hyper-pleasant (if that's possible), slightly danceable electronic pop music in obscurity. And by obscurity I mean Denmark. And I love how they give away their music.

Tiger Baby / "Girlfriend"
Tiger Baby / "This Christmas"
Tiger Baby / "At Least I'm Honest"

Also, am I going crazy or about 4:10 into "This Christmas" there's a faint soundclip playing in the background talking about Green Bay and stadiums and peppers? It's like I was listening to a Packers game at the time and somehow the mp3 got some of the game broadcast meshed into the song. Except I wasn't listening to any games, and I don't know how it could get in there even if I was. I'm thoroughly confused.

******

The Decemberists have never exactly been my thing, but they always have at least one or two really good songs per album--early favorite off The Crane Wife is "Summersong."

The Decemberists / "Summersong" (from The Sandwich Club)

******
Looks like there may be no such thing as "being in the zone" in basketball.

******

The Nintendo Wii is wreaking havoc on out-of-shape bodies everywhere.

******

Slate tackles the role of Pitchfork in the indie music world.

******

I consider myself to be generally in tune with new trends in technology and entertainment, but the whole concept of Second Life is pretty weird to me. And it's even weirder to think somebody became a real-life, virtual millionaire.

******

Stephen Hawking dishes on the future of the human race.

"The long-term survival of the human race is at risk as long as it is confined to a single planet," he said. "Sooner or later, disasters such as an asteroid collision or nuclear war could wipe us all out. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe.

"There isn't anywhere like the Earth in the solar system, so we would have to go to another star.

"If we used chemical fuel rockets like the Apollo mission to the moon, the journey to the nearest star would take 50,000 years. This is obviously far too long to be practical, so science fiction has developed the idea of warp drive, which takes you instantly to your destination. Unfortunately, this would violate the scientific law which says that nothing can travel faster than light.

"However, we can still within the law, by using matter/antimatter annihilation, and reach speeds just below the speed of light. With that, it would be possible to reach the next star in about six years, though it wouldn't seem so long for those on board."

******

Keshia Castle-Hughes plays the Virgin Mary in the new Jesus movie, and now she's going to be a 16-year old unwed mom, thanks to her construction worker boyfriend. Awkward!