Holiday

The warehouse offices are officially closed today for Christmas Day, one of the only truly inactive days of the hot stove season.   The Orioles still have a roster spot available on the 40-man. I don't expect it to be filled today, unless Santa Claus has some Independent League experience. So instead, we will take the opportunity to thank you -- the readers -- for following us throughout the year, from the January rumors to spring training throughout a long regular season and, this year, through the postseason.

Using their keen eyesight, octopi stare at the world from two beady eyes. They maneuver through the sea with four pairs of bilaterally symmetrical arms that bear suction cups. They possess a hard beak - similar to that of a parrot, the only hard part about them - and as cephalopods, they squeeze into and out of tight places, helpful when fleeing moray eels and other predatory fish. Three hearts pump and heat blood that circulates through an octopus' system, and they have demonstrated both short- and long-term memory and problem-solving skills in mazes and in other experiments administered by biologists.

"The Kennedy Center Honors" is one of the nation's great TV treasures. And while this year's show is a little uneven, the high points still make it one of my favorite TV viewing experiences of the year. Maybe you have to be a little older to appreciate this annual production on some levels. If you grew up with TV in the 1950s and '60s, the golden age of variety shows hosted by such stars as Judy Garland and Danny Kaye, you can appreciate "Kennedy Center Honors" as the last, great variety show on television.

Michael Voltaggio is letting his fans pretend that one of his recipes is their own. Priceless, right? Through a promotion with AT&T called "Gifts That Money Can't Buy," the celebrity chef and "Top Chef" champ, raised in Frederick, has agreed to let people send an e-card featuring one of his recipes. The Voltaggio recipe is just one option people can choose from. There's a joke from comedian Richard Lewis, a fashion top from Joan Rivers, a guitar solo from Richie Sambora and a longing look from Luke Perry.

Season's greetings, hon! Hard to believe 2012 is almost over. You know us - busy, busy! If we weren't opening a Ripley's "Odditorium," we were putting historic landmarks up for sale. When we weren't helping John Waters hitchhike across the country, we were hoarding Twinkies. We enjoyed watching the mids' "Gangnam Style" more than we'll admit, and we held our breath as Nik Wallenda tightroped the Inner Harbor. What. A. Year. We wanted to take a moment to catch you up on what we've been up to. The Ravens were in the Super Bowl!

Like preachers across the country preparing for Christmas services today, William Lori has grappled with the question of how to celebrate the joy of the day so soon after the devastation of Newtown. But for Baltimore's new archbishop, the challenge also is "rather personal. " Before his arrival here in May, Lori served for 11 years as bishop of Bridgeport, Conn. The diocese includes the quiet, leafy suburb of Newtown, where on Dec. 14 a gunman forced his way into an elementary school and shot 20 first graders and six educators to death.

You know how little kids' eyes light up when the Christmas tree makes its grand appearance in the living room? That's nothing compared to the way I've seen pets' faces show surprise and delight the first time they see one. A tree! In the house! The problem, of course, is that giving a curious dog or cat free access to holiday decorations can not only end in an annoying (and messy) way, but can be downright dangerous to them. Much as we love to look at our sparkly Christmas accoutrements, our dogs and cats tend to explore them by mouth, and that can spell bad news.

State highway officials are urging motorists heading north and west for the holidays to be cautious, given winter weather conditions expected in some areas in the coming days. The weather could complicate holiday travel and celebration plans as people look to take advantage of a long weekend, with Christmas falling on a Tuesday this year. More bad weather could hit those traveling between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Rain is expected tomorrow in Baltimore with light snow possible in areas north and west of the city.

Motorists crawled along the I-95 corridor Saturday as a smattering of accidents slowed already sluggish holiday traffic, authorities said. Troopers from Prince George's County to Cecil County reported roadways more crowded than normal as the end-of-year travel season got underway. "It's been backed up really heavy all day," said Cpl. Kevin Watkins of the Maryland State Police's John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway barracks in Perryville. Traffic was stop-and-go and averaging only 25 miles an hour most of the day, Watkins said, adding that an accident "makes it even worse.

Anyone interested in time travel need not settle for an episode of “Dr. Who.” You can be whisked back to the 1950s in a flash just by catching the production of “Irving Berlin's White Christmas” at the Kennedy Center. You have to check a lot of baggage first, though. For a start, you can't take aboard any prejudices against mid-century musicals with snowflake-thin, surprise-free story lines and songs that do nothing to advance the plot or provide character insights. You also can't carry on your usual cynical antipathy to cornball humor, tap-dancing routines or precocious kids onstage.