Do I talk about the end of the year, or the beginning?

So they are talking about eliminating the dollar coins.

But what will I put in my piggy bank?

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I have to admit, the "uncanny valley" phenomenon was less troubling in the movie Tintin than it was in the trailers. I've noticed before, the contrast is more more extreme when you get it in short bursts and without the context.

Still -- I think I probably spent the first 20% of the movie noticing the differences. It still is distracting.

I think this will wear off, eventually, if they keep using and perfecting this process. It will become something we all just accept.

I hope.

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About midway through the second season of Sons of Anarchy, and the show hit its stride.

I was getting pretty fed up with the constant, "Hey, are you O.K." "Yeah, I'm just pissed at Cole" Hamlet-y stuff that was going on. I was beginning to think Jax was the poster child for passive aggressive.

Then, in the course of two shows, they resolved it all -- laid it all out, and refocused.

Hamlet is all well and good, but I'd like a little resolution once in awhile.

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I've noticed that a lot of my favorite shows over time have taken a year or two to really hit their stride.

Star Trek: Next Generation. Buffy. X-Files. It's like the actors settle on their tone, and the showrunner has refined the message.

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"Do you want to see War Horse, Sherlock Holmes, or Dragon Tattoo?"

"Anything but War Horse. It's about war and horses -- and I don't like horses."

"I see no reason to see Dragon Tattoo -- we've already seen it...."

"I want to see Dragon Tattoo..."

"Sherlock Holmes it is...."

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Was totally psyched by the last week of the year. We had a very good week.

Overall, this December was the second best we've ever had. Boardgames beat comics for the first time. Novels beat graphic novels for the first time. It's seasonal, but still a good sign for my diversity efforts.

I also spent a whole bunch, so we probably made about as much profit as last year, but we were a full 20% ahead in sales. Our second half of the year was good enough to pull us over last year in total. Cool.

I'm going to have a lot more to say about all this when I analyze the year-end figures.