Laugh, you miserable sinner!

Warm wishes, lowered expectations.

Captain John Kendall (Dum-Dum) was an English sea captain and colonialist who wrote light verse for Punch and other periodicals. Often stationed in India, he wrote poems on subjects as diverse as women's hockey ("The Last Hockey"), an elephant's bath ("To an Elephant (on His Tonic Qualities)"), and an "Elegy on a Rhinoceros (Recently Deceased)." His work was praised (in Punch, naturally) as "the best kind of Christmas gift to all who have a palate for the rarer vintages of English Humor."

While sub-Q does not condone colonialism, we found his words apt to express our sentiments for the season. Here's wishing you a peaceful holiday.

Victorian angel image public domain, kindly scanned and made available by The Graphics Fairy.