Merry Christmas and happy holidays from Monkey Robot! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and continues to enjoy the holiday season. I must say that my Christmas certainly went very well. Much cheer was in the air, and it wasn’t due to the egg nog, let me assure you! While Christmas is all about giving gifts, it’s nice to receive gifts too, and I’m quite grateful for what I did get. However, at Monkey Robot, we feel it is important to let all our readers know how much we appreciate them by giving a bit; so today I offer you all a gift of some funny, strange, and interesting news articles I have picked up in the past couple days. Rejoice and enjoy!

1. Mexican Town Bans Indoor Nudity: First, an article from USA Today: “There’s a city in Mexico that’s making it illegal for citizens to be naked—inside their own homes. Officials in the southeastern city of Villahermosa confirm that the city council has adopted a law banning indoor nudity.” I don’t even know what to say about this one. For once, I am speechless.

2. Naughty Children Lose Gifts to eBay: Another one from MSNBC:

   The kids were naughty, Dad put the presents on eBay instead of under the tree—and Mom’s been crying ever since.

   […]

   Dad and Mom had warned their sons that the Nintendo DS video system—and the three games that go with it—were headed for the auction block if they didn’t get their act together. ’No kidding. Three undeserving boys have crossed the line. Tonight we sat down and showed them what they WILL NOT get for Christmas this year. I’ll be taking the tree down tomorrow,’ the man announced in his eBay posting.

   My favorite part of the article has is the part where “That night, Dad announced that he would indeed be putting $700 in video games up for sale on eBay. The oldest boy double-dared his dad to make good on his word.” Now, if there is one thing I have learned through life—and definitely had learned by the age of fifteen—it’s this: never, ever double-dare your dad on anything unless you are fully prepared to suffer the consequences!

3. French Spiderman Climbs World’s Tallest Building: You may have heard of this guy, but if you haven’t, Reuters has the full story. “Daredevil climber Alain Robert, known as the French Spiderman, defied stiff winds and rain to climb the world’s tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, in the Taiwan capital Saturday.” If you haven’t heard of this guy, basically he climbs skyscrapers—often without ropes. It’s one of those things that’s really cool and brave until he slips and falls and dies—then it’s just stupid.

4. Fashion Faux Pas: I first reported on Ugg boots, a crazy and impractical clothing trend hitting college campuses everywhere (along with popped collars), a couple months ago, but I found it kind of humorous that MSN felt the need to weigh in their opinion as well: “The love/hate relationship with Uggs became more of a hate/hate thing this year. Although they’re great for keeping feet toasty in the winter, we finally realized that they make feet appear ridiculously large—and they look downright silly with miniskirts and shorts. Here’s hoping you didn’t spend too much on them.” Well put, MSN. Well put. Maybe more shall heed your fine advice.

That’s all for now! Here’s Monkey Robot wishing you and yours (or just you, if you don’t have a yours) a merry Christmas and happy New Year!