Happy birthday to me.

Yes, today is my birthday. No need to feel sorry for me. Sure, as a child, my birthday was overshadowed by a certain, more important December holiday, and sure it was often forgotten and relatives tried to pull the old "this is your Christmas present AND your birthday present" trick on me. Sure, the majority of my birthday presents were wrapped in Christmas paper, and no one felt like eating cake after consuming so many Christmas sweets. And yes, I strongly suspect that some of my birthday gifts were re-gifts of unwanted Christmas presents, but SO WHAT?! I'm not bitter!!! And just to prove it, I am dedicating today's blog entry to the day of my birthday. Enjoy.


Historical Events Occuring on my Birthday

• The Exorcist debuted in theatres (the exact day and year I was born!).
  
• Jon Benet Ramsey, child beauty queen, was killed in her family's basement in 1996. Her murder remains unsolved. Her story has been revisited on American television every year since.
  
• In 2004, a terrible tsunami struck Southeast Asia, killing more than 300,000 people.
  

An Interesting Fact About My Birthday

More people die on December 26th in the U.S. than any other day of the year. This is likely due to the stress of the season and also the lack of medical assistance availability on this day.

Others with December 26th Birthdays

Check out this NPR feature, entitled "The Cruelty of December 26 Birthdays" for a brief yet telling look at some of the dysfunctional people who share my birthday: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1571915

Lyrics Referencing my Birthday

Last Christmas by Wham!: "Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away..." (If you have never heard this song, you are not in Japan. There's no escaping this tale of heartbreak.)

The Day He Didn't Die by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: "It was the day after Christmas in his living room and he died..." ("The day he didn't die" was Christmas, but my birthday is the day he did die.)

Brick by Ben Folds Five: "6 am day after Christmas..." (This song is about a young, unwed couple who visit an abortion clinic on December 26th to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. Pretty cheery stuff.)