Here’s one for you: what would a woo-free winter festival look like? If we take out all that mythology involving assorted supernatural happenings, what are we left with?

For starters, we get to keep the tree and the yule log. Winter feasting is deffo a keeper. You can stuff your turkey (arf)  but the rest of it is great, even the sprouts. Goose would work, a crispy something of pork maybe or some Bambi. Just something with leftovers.

I can leave the mass-TV but a good fillum uring digestion is good. A familial forced march in the locale as a morale boost before returning to attack, well, anything else really.

Presents are good, but please, just little trinkets hand-made by starving artisans. Especially photographers.

Me, I’m pissing off and spending three weeks with some Taiwanese Buddhists.

But for you, what’s a keeper for your myth-free Winterval?

If you’re a geek, you know the story. Mandelson goes on holiday with the Geffen of the record companies, comes back and proposes a law that would let him personally, on the fly, make up laws, fine people and put them in jail. Without trial. This has become the Digital Economy Bill. It actually does fuck all for those of us who work in this economy.

If you care anything about your freedoms, sign the petition.

Charlie Stross rants on his blog and boingboing have a good stab too.

SIGN THE PETITION.

Update: Those nasty people at the EU say no. Gotta have judicial process.