Legal news, some illegal. All of it interesting
1. Laughing All the Way: Stuck Cybertruck
If a Tesla Cybertruck with a Christmas tree strapped to the top gets stuck in the forest, does social media hear it? Um, yes. Video of the Cybertruck and its tree sliding down a snowy embankment in California went viral on social media. And If you film it, trolls will come. First, the U.S. Forest Service suggested over Facebook that the video be used as an educational tool for new off-road types emphasizing the importance of using USFS Motor Vehicle Use Maps. Those mappy things tell drivers which areas to avoid. Tis the season for the burn. Also, adding to Tesla’s jingle hell, a Ford truck had to rescue it.
2. All I Want for Christmas is $20M
‘Twas two months before Christmas with Halloween barely done and Christmas music on repeat had already begun. So did the lawsuits against the self-proclaimed queen of the season, Mariah Carey. Her perennial hit earns hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Now, two country crooners say all they want for Christmas is a $20M cut. They claim AIWFCIY rips off lyrics and compositional structure from their 1989 song of the same name. They’re demanding, “Now cashier! Now transfer! Please answer, we’re livid! By wire or Venmo, send dollars, get liquid!” Or something legalish like that. Both Carey and her co-writer – the one she gets silent night about when asked – are named in the suit.
3. It’s Whammer Time, Unless You’re in Whamageddon
Another battle’s raging over a holiday tune. Whamageddon players avoid the careless whispers of George Michael and Andrew Ridgely’s 1984 ear worm, “Last Christmas” all of December. The game started about 10 years ago when a Denmark couple got really tired of hearing the WHAM! Song on the radio. Today, Whamageddon has a Facebook page, a cult following, merch, and. controversy. A UK DJ infuriated the WHAMily when he blasted the song during a football game, December 2, potentially sending 7K people to Whamhalla. He later apologized for ruining their Christmas. After all, they gave him their hearts and not even the very next day, he threw them away.
4. Peru’s Bid for World Peace? Christmas Fistfights
In many parts of Peru, Christmas is the day to settle a feud and you don’t need a lawyer, just a good left hook. Yes, December 25 is a Christmas fistival. Make that a closed fist-ival. Locals gather for a day of music, dancing, drinking, and settling scores. The annual mistle toe-to-toe is open to men and women of all ages, including children. Participants announce who they want to deck (the halls) and they go. Disputes vary from arguments over romance and friendship to property line disagreements. Each fight begins and ends with a hug. Organizers say participants resolve conflicts quickly, so community bonds strengthen. Like peace – jab – goodwill – jab, jab – and all that stuff.
5. Shelf Help: Lose the Elf Say Privacy Orgs
As the 2004 children’s book goes, the elf, in Elf on the Shelf, hides in a different spot each day reporting children’s naughty or nice behavior to the guy in red. It’s spawned a whole generation of parents hiding the elf – because the holidays aren’t busy enough, so for sure add this to the list – around the house to the delight of the kids. But several privacy organizations say stick to making gingerbread. EOS is creepy and invasive and teaches all the wrong lessons while acclimating tots to nonconsensual surveillance by a police state. Whoa, who put coal in their stockings? Elf fans say it’s cheerful holiday fun.
