Los Angeles reader (and web designer extraordinaire) Bill Simon makes an interesting point about the cultural change since 911.

I can't believe my ears. I am hearing Christmas music and it is only the beginning of December! It is not just in stores, as one might expect, but KMZT is playing it. Then, while listening to "hold" music (as I was waiting for a company to pick up their phone), I was hearing, "Oh Holy Night." KOST FM is playing holiday music all the time. Have you noticed this? It is as if September 11th not only awoke our sense of patriotism, but also the spirit that's embodied in the Christmas holiday. I am 55 and I remember a time maybe 35-40 years ago when, for weeks before Christmas, the radio stations (like the original KRLA!) played Christmas music, intermixed with their top 40 tunes. But just a few years ago I couldn't find Christmas music on the radio even on Christmas day! I am Jewish and I don't have any religious ties to Christmas. But I missed the music and the feeling of the season it provided. It had gotten so bad that I had to go out and buy Christmas Carol CDs. Now the music is back and I LOVE it.

He also follows up the thought with this (particularly apropos in light of the loss of George Harrison last week):

An ice age is receding. The Grinch is gone. The Blue Meenies, in the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine," have been defeated. The people in Pepper Land (who the Blue Meenies had turned to stone) are coming back to life. When I saw the look on the faces of the liberated Afghani people as they listened to music, danced in the streets, sang songs and flew kites, I couldn't help thinking about the Blue Meenies. The Blue Meenies hated music, flowers, love, and laughter. And remarkably, liberating Afghanistan from the Blue Meenies apparently liberated us from them as well. Hurray!!!

Good analogy. And in thinking about it, this is really a classical story (and movie) theme. I happened to catch the end of the movie Tron last night, and it had the same thing--the evil Master Control Program was defeated, and all the lights slowly lit up, and the people of the computer world came out of hiding, and started celebrating. Or think Wizard of Oz--Ding, Dong, the witch is dead...

Life imitates art imitates life.