The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
How Does He Know If You've Been Bad or Good?
A periodic re-post of a Christmas classic.
This was supposedly written for and sung at a US Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel Christmas party during the Carter administration—please let me know if you have more precise attribution:
You'd better watch out,
You'd better not cry,
You'd better not pout;
I'm telling you why.
Santa Claus is tapping
Your phone.He's bugging your room,
He's reading your mail,
He's keeping a file
And running a tail.
Santa Claus is tapping
Your phone.He hears you in the bedroom,
Surveills you out of doors,
And if that doesn't get the goods,
Then he'll use provocateurs.So—you mustn't assume
That you are secure.
On Christmas Eve
He'll kick in your door.
Santa Claus is tapping
Your phone.
And here's another version:
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
With a couple of brief prompts from me, the chatbot wrote a prose version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" in Lovecraftian style:
As the winter winds howled outside, I sat huddled by the fire, trying to shake off the creeping sense of dread that had settled over me. It was the time of year when the propaganda spoke of a jolly old man, a figure of such supposed cheer and benevolence that it could be used to distract from the darker forces at work in the world.
They called him Santa Claus, and it was said that he came from the North Pole, riding on a sleigh pulled by a team of reindeer. It was said that he brought presents to good boys and girls, and that he spread joy and happiness throughout the land.
But as I looked closer, I began to see the cracks in the façade. I saw the way that Santa Claus was used by the government, a tool to manipulate the masses and keep them docile. I saw the way that he was used to distract from the corruption and greed that ran rampant through the halls of power.
And now, as the night drew on and the moon rose high in the sky, I heard the faint jingling of bells, growing louder and louder as it approached. The sound was like the beckoning of a puppet master, and I knew that Santa Claus was coming to town.
I locked the doors and shuttered the windows, hoping to keep out the darkness that I knew was coming. But it was no use. I could feel the presence of Santa Claus, creeping closer and closer, filling the air with the smell of gingerbread and the sound of laughter.
And then, just as the first rays of dawn began to peek through the window, there was a knock at the door. I knew it was him, the sinister Santa Claus, come to do the bidding of his shadowy masters.
Trembling with fear, I opened the door and beheld the terrifying figure of Santa Claus, his jolly face twisted into a grotesque mask of deceit. I knew then that I was trapped, and that I would spend the rest of my days under the watchful eye of the corrupt government, forever bound to their will by the evil Santa Claus.
The last lap of the voyage was vivid and fancy-stirring, great barren peaks of mystery looming up constantly against the west as the low southern sun of noon or the still lower horizon-grazing northern sun of midnight poured its hazy reddish rays over the white snow, bluish ice and water lanes, and black bits of exposed granite slope. Through the desolate summits swept raging intermittent gusts of the terrible arctic wind; whose cadences sometimes held vague suggestions of a wild and half-sentient musical piping, with notes extending over a wide range, and which for some subconscious mnemonic reason seemed to me disquieting and even dimly terrible. Something about the scene reminded me of the strange and disturbing paintings of Nicholas Roerich, and of the still stranger and more disturbing descriptions of the evilly fabled plateau of Santa Claus which occur in the dreaded Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred. I was rather sorry, later on, that I had ever looked into that monstrous book at the college library.
Is it just me, or does the internet seem especially booby trapped these days? When googling gift ideas for a niece, google ads sent me to "wickeduncle.com". There i seen and ordered her a neat glow-in-the-dark drawable t-shirt she would like. However, the gift came wrapped with tape saying "wickeduncle.com". Her: are you wicked? Me: no. Her: you would say that.
Chatbots were designed for the awkward and inept.
This is better . . . after the tempo is established. (The pickup band had not rehearsed this one.)
This version features the E Street Band, with the expected result.
"(The pickup band had not rehearsed this one.)"
So they were awkward and inept?
It started a bit slowly -- well, too fast, then too slow -- but seemed to finish strong.
The group for which that chatbot was designed differs in that its difficulties with human interaction seem destined to be chronic.
It's Christmas Eve, and out of all the other things Arthur Kirkland could be doing, he is discussing his views on proper social skills.
Yet the mood of the season requires me to be nice and pleasant to everyone.
So, Merry Christmas, you cranky old Scrooge, and may the spirits you encounter on Christmas be no more than the kind poured into nice crystal glasses.
I pointed to a magnificent Christmas song (two versions, one a rarity) -- after some loser brought up a misanthropic chatbot for spectrum-inhabiting incels.
I didn't say start drinking right away.
I had a good nut brown ale -- from a test batch from one of America's oldest breweries -- earlier today. I am considering a three-year-old Mad Elf during the football game this evening.
I'm sorry to hear the bottles in your liquor cabinet are all empty. Perhaps the help drank it all?
Jerry and the "Brown Nuts" wow, so even the "Prison Hootch" is Hoity-Toity now adays, what's this world coming to?? Don't get the controversy over the "Immaculate Reception" ball obviously hit Tatum, Franco caught it in the air, TD, sorry Raiders fans, you don't get to reverse a play because it beat you.
Night Before Christmas legal brief:
https://taxprof.typepad.com/
A holiday gift for all decent Americans: Kari Lake and her antisocial, un-American delusions get kicked out of court.
Hope that's the end of her VP hopes.
To be accurate, most of the counts were thrown out, but Count IV - ballot chain of custody - remains.
I could not find that in the Washington Post report - or in several others I found -- but the Post indicates the judge has ordered the government's lawyers to file any sanctions motions by Monday. (The judge established that Monday deadline on Thursday; Saturday is Christmas Eve and Sunday is Christmas. As has become somewhat standard, better lawyers are inconvenienced to accommodate shitty lawyers bearing lousy claims.)
If one count is still alive, a wild guess: It will fail miserably and support a sanctions motion.
Kari Lake is a pathetic loser. Her supporters are even more pathetic losers.
? No; it was all tossed today.
Brilliant!
Here comes Biden’s Paws, here comes Biden’s Paws
Riding down Pennsylvania Lane
Kamala, Blinken, all of his henchmen
Pulling on the reins
Bells are ringing, children fleeing
All is scary and blight
Hide your kids and say a prayer
'Cause Biden’s Paws come out tonight
Here comes Biden’s Paws, here comes Biden’s Paws
Riding down Pennsylvania Lane
He's got a bulge that's filled with joy
For boys and girls again
Hear those Depends crinkle crangle
What a horrible sight
Jump in bed and cover up your head
'Cause Biden’s Paws come out tonight
Here comes Biden’s Paws, here comes Biden’s Paws
Riding down Pennsylvania Lane
He doesn't care if you're rich or poor
He’ll grope you just the same
Biden knows there’s lots of children
That makes everything right
Fill your hearts with Christmas dread
'Cause Biden’s Paws come out tonight
Well, here comes Biden’s Paws, here comes Biden’s Paws
Riding down Pennsylvania Lane
He'll come around when the Repubs sell out
It's mourning time again
Peace on Earth will come to all
If we’d not swallow the lies
Say our prayers to the Lord above
'Cause Biden’s Paws comes out tonight
'Cause Biden’s Paws comes out tonight
What do you call Biden's dog? A PETophile!
I thought he'd given "Commander" to Michael Vick (man!)
Ray Stevens' Santa Claus is Watching You!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mER2fGuSqF8
Here's an unusual link to Hindu Supremacists trying to burn Santa (in effigy). Little did they know, Santa is fire proof.
https://twitter.com/ashoswai/status/1606369827806904334
and those red dots on the forehead are a liability in combat
you don't have to say everything you think
Ha! Knew that'd get a nibble, like leaving cheese out for a Rat.
But seriously, folks, there's all sorts of high tech expens-$$$-ive technology to paint synthetic "Dots" on foreheads, and these Idiots just go ahead and put a red dot (actually easier to see in low light conditions) right over the Prefrontal Cortex. No wonder the English made them tend bar for 100 years (and even worse, introduce them to Cricket and Badminton)
Frank
trope vibes
Nice thing about being Jewish, we don't believe in made up
superstitious beings. And I was scheduled to work my usual X-mas (I don't use the "C" word) shift for the Goyim tomorrow, but stranded in New York due to 5 feet of Global Warming, called to let them know I won't be there, and I'm the bad guy??
Frank "Herod had the right idea"
"And I was scheduled to work my usual X-mas (I don’t use the “C” word)"
You should know that Xmas isn't a secular term for the Christmas holiday. It comes from the Greek Orthodox Church. The Greek letter Chi (looks like a Latin X) is the first letter in the Greek version of "Christ".
So yes, if you use Xmas, you are using the C word in Greek. 😛
My favorite Christmas carol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLQxQ4B4kWs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5VnNlkAtk0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJnN4Npd0O8
Spread the good news: People who are being naughty might get two hot lead injections to center mass (and still only be in "serious" condition). https://news3lv.com/news/local/sheriffs-office-alleged-home-invader-shot-in-pahrump
Headshots people, headshots,
The Carter people, among the last 80 years of administrations, were the least likely to bug people, so I give them props for this.
Only a week to go in this accursed month.
So far:
My mom passed away unexpectedly
My wife's mom has been hospitalized and we've been told to prepare for the worst.
Our bank account got emptied by a fraudulent charge we didn't make.
Our hot water on demand system catastrophically failed
We woke up this morning to frozen pipes and I cant seem to be able to get them thawed and I can't really call someone on Christmas.
Part of me just wants to go back to bed with instructions to wake me on New Year's Day.
Well, I'm sure there's a Pony somewhere
Condolences for your loss. May her memory be for a blessing.
I hope the new year is a good one for you.
Well it won't be for you, unless Stuttering John Fetterman signs your damn Commutation package, Jeez, for all the venom you ejaculate on all of the fair readers of the "Conspiracy" you're amazingly silent on the guy keeping you in https://www.cor.pa.gov/Facilities/StatePrisons/Pages/Greene.aspx
C'mon (man!) admit you're "Repentant" for your (redacted)
Frank
we have accusations with trump. we have video footage from major news network broadcasts with biden.
Nope.
You're just mad you don't have a pussy he could grab