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I was out for a few days to finish Christmas shopping, eat too much turkey and catch up on movies.

Mission accomplished on all counts.

Some random observations from the holiday break:

The Miss USA scandal was surreal. With sex, Kentucky and Donald Trump thrown in for good measure, it was a "Saturday Night Live" skit already written.

"Beautiful Star" at TriadStage was excellent. It ought to become a holiday tradition round here.

Jon Stewart's exchange with Bill Kristol on Dec. 18's "Daily Show" Monday was priceless.

I agree that the latest shooting at Four Seasons Town Centre was disturbing, but I am not convinced the mall has become unsafe.
Nor am I sure what, if anything, the mall could have done the prevent the abject follishness that happened in the Gap Kids store, with one man shooting another and then, shades of Barney Fife, shooting himself while stowing his gun.

As for movies, Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" is beautifully filmed but gratuitously bloody. I'm not the squeamish type, but some of the gore Gibson depicted was beyond unnecessary to the plot or theme of the movie -- which, beyond its exotic trappings and subtitles, is exhilarating but pretty standard action fare.

"Rocky Balboa" is in many ways a retelling of the first "Rocky" (weren't they all in one way or another?) but it is skillfully and lovingly written, directed and acted. Two gloved thumbs up.

"The Pursuit of Happyness" made made feel so good I wanted to cry.