This article is both hilarious and provocative. I’ve worked with many people over the years who could do worse than setting aside 10 minutes to read this.

There’s a reasonably well documented niggle with Grand Theft Auto V on PlayStation 4, which I logged with the game creator, Rockstar. I swear on my eyes this is the response I got:

Hello Scott,

Thank you for contacting Rockstar Support.

We understand your concern, Please resume start playing the game, keep on playing the game the error wont appear. Hence request to play the good game on avoiding issues.

Best Regards

Santiago F. Rockstar Support

It’s 2015.

John Carey at fiftyfootshadows.net sums it up nicely:

While the rest of the world I know back west anxiously gathers their wits in preparation for Christmas, I walk through the streets of a country where it feels more like a novelty, an afterthought, a coincidence. This has given me new point of view on the holiday as I usually know it. I have no tree in my living room, no presents to wrap, no frustration over having enough spare money around for gift giving or who I may forget in that process.

This is not to say I have no Christmas spirit. I love this time of year and the calmness it brings to family and community. I love the way it puts life on pause while we all take a collective sigh of relief, if not just for one day. Being away from the U.S. has given me a refocused perspective on what is so great about this time of year.