Columbia’s ultimate holiday events guide 2009

(Web Exclusive) Ten years ago, you might have spent the holiday season worrying about the impending Y2K disaster or George Bush’s upcoming presidency (oops). This year, as 2009 comes to a close, forget those troubles, and celebrate the beginning of a new decade with numerous holiday festivities offered around Columbia.

A gift for every Grinch

The holiday season means different things to different people. For some, it’s a time to reconnect with friends and family and reminisce on the past year; for others it’s marked by an exchange of high-price electronics, deep-discounted DVDs and other oh-so-thoughtful gifts; others use it as an excuse to bust out holiday classics such as Miracle on 34th Street and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

5 Things: Weird days

On Dec. 1, World AIDS Day raised money and awareness about the causes and prevention of AIDS. The day has spread education and fought prejudice since 1988. Although it recognizes a notable cause, December is also filled with other, less legitimate days. Some of these are a little wacky, but why waste a chance to celebrate?

Holiday wrap-up

Avoid the frantic feeling of finding the perfect gift. We’ve got your back. Voxhas found a few of Columbia’s hidden gems for everyone in your life. Don’t get frustrated when your boyfriend can’t think of anything he wants this season, or when your mother insists she doesn’t want anything at all (you know she’s secretly hoping for a surprise). Vox has found a few of Columbia’s hidden gems for everyone in your life.

Real Housewives

When Marcia Robinson fills out a form, she proudly writes “mother” in the occupation blank. “I think it’s a glorious word,” boasts the home-school teacher and mother of six. But Robinson and other women have become the minority as far as female roles go. The cover story in the Oct. 26 issue of Time magazine addressed the “state of the American woman” and suggested that after 40 years of feminism, women now hold more jobs, are more likely to graduate from college and earn higher wages than men.

Crème de la crème

Ingolf Gruen always screams for ice cream. The MU food science professor earnestly admits to eating his favorite treat almost every night. But his love of ice cream is now bringing about some unexpected attention. When Buck’s Ice Cream Place at MU (known for Tiger Stripe ice cream and promoting ice-cream research and creation) celebrated its 20th anniversary in October, the word spread about Gruen and his fellow food science researchers.

IT Figures: Holiday lights

Get a twinkle in your eye from the millions of lights on display at these nearby locations. Missouri is sparkling during the holidays with a variety of light-up decorations that will whisk you away to a winter wonderland.

Glassy ladies

Disregard all your parents’ warnings about breaking windows or roughhousing around your mother’s glass figurine collection. At Village Glass Works, breaking glass is all in a day’s work for the mother-daughter duo of Susie and Molly Fiegel. Located in a yellow Victorian house on Tenth Street, Village Glass Works sells glasswork supplies and offers classes in fused glass, mosaics, beadwork and stained glass.

Get (SM)ART: "Reflection of the Flame"

“Look, but don’t touch” isn’t a mantra Ian Shelly follows. The graduate teaching assistant for the MU arts department has a strong background in wood-fired ceramics, and when examining art beyond the frame, Shelly recommends the sculpture “Reflection of the Flame.”

Read This: Stitches

(Web Exclusive) David Small has fought hard to have a voice. In Stitches, his graphic novel memoir of a childhood marred by illness and abuse, Small undergoes an operation to remove a cyst from his throat. The surgery leaves him unable to speak — a symbolic affliction in a house full of nonverbal communication and bottled emotions.

On The Job: Chiropractic Physician (Acupuncturist)

Thin needles are inserted into a patient’s hands. She doesn’t even flinch. Seem counterintuitive? Thomas Curnutte, a chiropractic physician, assures that the procedure doesn’t hurt at all. Curnutte practices acupuncture, an ancient Chinese form of therapy that fixes the Chi, the force of energy that controls harmony in the body.

Caging the beast

During Battle at The Blue Note X, trainer and organizer Rob Hulett stood ringside amongst the sold-out crowd as two fighters pummeled each other late in the third round. “They both clearly had broken noses,” he says. “They hit one another, and blood just sprayed the crowd. They loved it.” On Dec. 4, Battle at The Blue Note XII gives fighters another chance to perform.

Vox Asks Columbians

If you could see anyone in a cage fight, who would it be?

See This: Dead Snow

Close friends, Easter break, freshly powdered mountains and abundant quantities of booze. What could go wrong? Evidently everything. Dead Snow, a zombie horror film opening at Ragtag Cinema, is one film that might make college kids rethink their next mountain vacation.

Coming to Columbia

Romanian immigrant M.E. Ravage spent three years with football-obsessed Columbians in the early 1900s and loved it. His rereleased memoir chronicles Ravage’s journey to become a real American.

The Morton man can

Nobody likes a complainer, but for comedian Greg Morton, whining is one of the biggest perks of his job. Morton has appeared on Comedy Central and has worked for shows including Scooby Doo and Police Academy. His impersonation skills and sound effects have earned him the record for the most standing ovations at Déjà Vu Comedy Club.

Get Book Smart: Black Elk Speaks

Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux holy man, had a vision of restoring his people’s power and population. Black Elk’s son translated his tales to John G. Neihardt, who wrote the epic poem Black Elk Speaks in 1932.

Death Toll

In the midst of the emotion and grief that comes with the death of a loved one, the last thing anyone wants to think about is money. However, cost has a significant impact on the final celebration of a person’s life. Although Patricia Wixom celebrated her late husband’s life with family and friends on Aug. 1, the funerary arrangements had been in process a while longer, even before his passing on July 8.