Gloom and doom, fie on thou!! For, December 24, 2012 is shaping up to be a beautiful and eventful day on planet Earth.

Granted, not eventful everywhere, for it is Christmas Eve, and many establishments are closed for business. The Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce has no events scheduled for that day; likewise the City of Olive Branch Mississippi; and UC Davis simply lists it as a Winter Holiday (same for that date in 2013, 2014, and 2015, as well.

But.... WNYC 93.9 FM has a full day of programming scheduled, including multiple doses of BBC World Service, Morning Edition, Marketplace, and All Things Considered, along with editions of The Brian Lehrer Show and The Leonard Lopate Show. Sansur Paradise Plaza Hotel must be expecting some big business on that day, since they picked it to kick of a few weeks of jacked-up prices. The Philadelphia Cathedral plans on that day to hold Diocesan Initiation Rites -- and for the Protestants, there will be a nifty Evangelism Committee Meeting at Rich Spath's House!! (I anticipate cake and pie). In Indianapolis, Sean Baker will be taking a day off from his usual Monday night Open Mic Piano Bar. Down in Brantley, Alabama, WAOQ-FM 100.3 MHz will have to hurry up and finish construction of its tower in Goshen, because on that date their Construction Permit Expires!!

What else? How about loads of fun stuff in Louisville, Kentucky, where on that date Mike Veach will be hosting the Filson Bourbon Academy program, to teach bourbon appreciation (and now I know where I'll be on that date); elsewhere in the city there'll be a free "Yoga for Athletes" Class; and other classes ranging from "Introduction to Playing the Mandolin," to "Toddler Hip Hop" to (I kid you not) "How to Write Vampire Stories". And elsewhere still, and most importantly of all from the party dimension, Ryan Seacrest will be sharing his 38th birthday with Ricky Martin (turning 42) and Alabama Republican senator Jeff Sessions, who will turn 65 and thus be eligible for social security. Is that ironic? I don't know.