Hey, lady! Getcher picture taken with a reindeer?

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You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen.
But can you recall
The most famous reindeer of all?

No, Rudolph didn't make it to The Lou a couple of weeks before the big night. However, on Skating With Santa day, he did send a heavily tranquilized cousin from a "petting zoo" to the rink. The children generally ignored him/her (I am not an expert in these matters, although the Wikipedia article on the species' description of antlers makes me suspect this is a female and I did not attempt closer inspection) but lots of adults posed for pictures. The animal's handler didn't seem to be having any better a day than her charge.

So, have you been naughty or nice?

WHAT I HEARD YESTERDAY THAT BLEW ME AWAY: the Saint Louis Symphony performed composer John Adams' Nativity oratorio, El Niño. I'm not usually a big Adams fan - a little too retro for me - but this work, which I had not heard before, is full of invention, brilliance and poetry. As soon as I got home I jumped on Amazon and ordered a copy (there's some impulse gratification for you).

TOMORROW: skaters' waltz.