It's around this time of year, right after the Thanksgiving day parade, that I start to think about Christmas. I can't help it, it's all around me. Rockefeller Center has people skating gaily in the ice rink watched over by Prometheus, a walk in Central Park reveals sights, sounds, and smells that in their own New York way represent a little piece of the holiday season. In the midst of all of that sensory overload I start to think about the people who are special to me, and who will be thanked in my Christmas letter but not now.

Because of the type of people I know, and because of what the retail industry has ingrained on us as small children, I think about what presents I want to get people. Who gets a corporate towel this year? Who gets a $25 gift certificate to K-Mart? Who gets a bottle of wine? Who's been naughty? Who's been nice? Who's been very very nice, if you know what I mean. And as I go down the list I've made and survey the generous gifts which I have purchased for them, well ahead of last minute, I feel a calm little warm glow settle over me like a blanket. Success brought me the ability to perhaps not buy myself happiness, but certainly purchase it for other people and it makes me feel good.

It also makes me feel good to know that at spudWorks, we have provided an ample amount of enjoyment for each one of our readers, readers from whom we don't ask a god damn thing except the occasional pledge to support columns you enjoy like this one. We work hard. Some of us work harder than others but, averaged out, we work hard to ensure that you enjoy not just every sentence printed for you to read, but so that you'll reminisce every word. And since I feel that we've spread the Christmas cheer to you, I think it's only fair that you would probably feel the same to pay it back to us. After all, what is your favorite web site?

To explain it another way, we are publicly funded company. If not for the public, we have no funding. While spudWorks may have started as a labor of love, one which, were it to fail, would only mean my unemployment and embarrassment, without proper funding now, we run the risk of firing a large portion of our staff. Staff, mind you, who has access to our logs and most of whom we picked up as parolees from Rikers Island. Were they unemployed, who knows how many of our readers they might stalk and empty the homes of? We don't.

So we ask something simple of you, we ask that you make out a small donation to us, even though it's not pledge week, so that we can continue to provide our weekly columns and intermittent media updates. You won't get a tax write off, we are for profit after all, and you won't get more content for your money, most of our staff is a bunch of drunks and no amount of money could really fix that, but you will gain a sense of inner peace, and gain a little bit of safety. And who can ask for more than that?

- Colin Ferm