Welcome back, folks! Did you miss us? Even a little? Things get quiet over the holidays, but we've still got things to share. But first, I was hoping as we shift gears into Christmas we might revive the forum topic where members share their Christmas trees. My first tree in the new house is up, though I prefer my outdoor decorations to my indoor ones this year.

I hate to admit that my beloved Muppets were beaten by a sparkly vampire, but Breaking Dawn raked in another $62 million, while my felt friends delivered a solid $42 million. Happy Feet 2 took third, with Arthur Christmas falling into fourth with $17 million and Hugo scraping together $15 million.

Remember that sad little ginger seal that was rejected by its colony a couple of months back? Well, karma isn't always a beyotch, because she's now the star of her Russian zoo.

Is anyone besides me surprised that Sarah Michelle Gellar is a Republican? Seriously Buffy?

Prince William was the helicopter copilot for a rescue of sailors at sea after their boat was broken up by a rogue wave. With the media coverage of the Prince's role in the copilot's seat, I wonder how the actual pilot feels?

Chaz Bono proposes to his longtime girlfriend Jennifer Elia on Being Chaz on OWN. It was all very Sleepless in Seattle.

From Ulysses we get a tip about how J. Edgar Hoover outed the godfather of writer Dudley Clendinen. Overall, it makes Hoover sound like a nasty piece of work.

This may be blurring the lines between bromance and romance.

I get up for work before dawn most days. But I positively sleep in compared to a lot of unsung heroes that many of us depend on to make the world go 'round.

It's well established that I hate trashy reality television in general, and really wish it would go away completely. But I draw the line way before breaking a bar stool over the head of The A List: Dallas' Levi Crocker. Have we really become so uncivilized?

New York's Archbishop Dolan says he was deceived by political allies into thinking that marriage equality wouldn't come anywhere near being passed, and so is dedicating resources to fight equality everywhere, just in case.

Chord Overstreet just can't keep his shirt on. Not that I'm complaining.

Rapper T.I., a convicted felon, thinks that Tracy Morgan's gay jokes are hilarious, and that gays are un-American for objecting to hate speech. "While T.I. makes clear that he supports anyone’s sexual preference, he then connects, in his opinion, a current oversensitivity among gay people with a consequential and ironic offense of the First Amendment. “They’re like,‘If you have an opinion against us, we’re gonna shut you down.’ ... That’s not American. If you’re gay you should have the right to be gay in peace, and if you’re against it you should have the right to be against it in peace.’" Again, read the First Amendment.

I tend to agree that this is the most annoying part of the promos for Smash.

I'm not entirely certain how I feel about Ben Whishaw being cast as Q in the new Skyfall. Certainly better about it than when John Cleese did it, but I think I prefer an older Q.

Via Jane Espenson comes a list of non-errors in grammar.

British Columbia's Supreme Court has found the country's polygamy laws to be valid, throwing a monkey wrench into the old slippery slope argument about gay marriage.

This does make it easier for gay kids to come out, however.

Mickey Rourke has been in training for the last six months with a gay rugby club in Los Angeles to prepare to play Gareth Thomas in a biography.

The BBC released this new photo from Absolutely Fabulous over the holiday weekend, and with it came a list of spoilers for the upcoming specials, starting with Christmas. Read at your own peril. And don't miss the video preview for the Christmas special.

Why don't they age? Does champagne keep you young?

Save our Gleeks!

These two look much more content.

Please note this is not a pickup tactic that will work on me.

This is what happens when you feed a hot British guy like Douglas Booth a heavy American Thanksgiving meal.

Presented without comment.

This image makes my brain hurt.

Out Olympic speed skater Blake Skjellerup (far right) had to leave for Japan, so he and his roommates put their Christmas tree up early.

I wish I had ceilings that high.

I don't want to teach my dog it's OK to chew on things shaped like that.

I can't pinpoint the origin of this to give credit, but it's fairly informative.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita were toasting the 21st birthday of Modern Family's Sarah Hyland while teasing her that every bar in Hollywood was closed for Thanksgiving.

Gay bars are almost always busy on holidays.

Reeve Carney was excited to be in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Quite excited.

This picture of Logo's The Setup Squad's Jonathan D. Lovitz was taken by his adorable cookie making boyfriend Zachary Schmahl. This was how he cooks Thanksgiving dinner. I'd be giving thanks too.

Apron for safety from grease spatters.

The BBC promo for Christmas is most notable for having Matt Smith playing Twister with a Cyberman. I'm sure later he played cribbage with a Dalek.

I don't think we had shown this bit from the Graham Norton Show with Jennifer Saunders talking about being honored by the New York State Senate. Don't you hate it when you're overdressed?

Lady Gaga has her finger on the pulse of her fans. When she heard that Canadian high school student Jacques St. Pierre had asked her to make a video about bullying, she surprised him and his school by doing it.

Why did the salmon cross the road? According to the local news, it was because the Skokomish River overflowed.

I'm not at all familiar with food chain Nandos beyond knowing that my future ex-husband Russell Tovey is terribly fond of it. If this commercial about Zimbabwean president-for-life Robert Mugabe feeling lonely is any indication of their sensibility, I think I'd make a point of eating there even if the food was terrible.

This is the trailer for The Social Network 2, where Mark Zuckerburg gets bored and deletes Facebook, forcing all of us to adapt to interacting in person.

The marketing machine for Smash is in full swing - we've seen the posters, the commercials are running non-stop, and now they're released a music video for Katharine McPhee's version of "Beautiful" with heavy imagery from the show.

I want to give a hat tip to VB, who sent me this video that's actually not what it seems at first.