Anwyn’s Note: Originally posted at Electric Venom but accidentally deleted in a database wipeout. Reposted here.

A little Christmas fun before I get to VK’s meme: in the spirit of Electric Venom, I’ll trot out my version of The List — the good list. The really good list. So good that it would never contain a Scotch-swilling comedian or a full-on-himself reality TV judge — which is to say, my list could take Kate’s list to the woodshed. My boys are talented, funny, smart, and lest we forget, hotter than Georgia asphalt in July. In order from longest-lived on the list to brand new, here they are:

… with just a brief caveat to Kate: she seems to have men she can list based on something other than their public persona, at least a few of them. And at least one of them she’s actually sat down for a conversation with, turning my little LotR heart green with envy. I freely admit I know very little about the personalities/tastes/lives of any of my guys. Four of them are actors, and I’d be superhuman if the characters I’ve seen them play didn’t factor in to my liking for them. C’est la vie. This list isn’t about reality. Much. I’d like to think, though, that factoring in their characters makes it less about looks and more about whatever aspects of their personalities *do* emerge through their characters. For what that’s worth.

1. Matthew Perry. He’s the longest-running current denizen of the list; I’ve been in love since Chandler first began doing that “rock — hard place — me” schtick he does so well. He’s gorgeous, funny as hell, and pulls off that cynical, defense-is-the-best-offense hiding a hurt, bewildered 20/30-something better than almost anyone. And, wonder of wonders, he’s now got a character who’s not Chandler — and is finally starting to ramp up as Aaron Sorkin gets over himself and returns to writing a good show rather than a weekly rant. Go, Matthew, go!

2. Josh Charles. He was the sweet stalkerish type in Dead Poets Society but grew up with a vengeance in the short-lived Sports Night. More work for him, please, Hollywood. He’s the reason I’m planning on hitting an Orioles game one of these days.

3. Nathan Fillion. Don’t know Nathan Fillion? Go Netflix yourself some Firefly DVDs posthaste, and don’t let anybody tell you “The new Han Solo.” He is so not. He’s a live wire, the profanity-spewing trickster of the set, the kind of good-hearted actor who will cross the street from a premiere to sign autographs and show up at a convention that was cancelled, out of concern for disappointing his fans. Last seen guesting on Lost. May it be a taste of bigger things to come.

4. *Cough*Allahpundit*cough*. Yeah, I know, I’m too old to be getting internet crushes sight-unseen and conversation-all-but-unhad, but what can I say: cynicism, brains, insight, humor, and that Chandleresque “been burned, afraid of fire” air add up to the kind of boy I can’t stay away from. Now you know, Xrlq, my big defense was all a smokescreen for my little crush. I’ll even overlook his fanboy hangup on the most overrated band in history.

5. I don’t have a number five. Really. I thought about all my current favorite shows and none of the guys measured up to the above four, although some of them might and I don’t put them on just because I have sort of a thing against putting married guys on the list if I know they’re married. (Remember, this list isn’t about rationality, either.) So I’ll give this slot as Honorable Mention to the first man who ever was on the list: Harrison Ford. The one and only Captain Solo and Henry Jones, Jr. Too old for me, sadly, but he’s also got that whole Wyoming-rancher-private-pilot thing going. He’s actually landed before at the airport in Indiana where I used to take my flight lessons. Not, of course, while I was there. Still love him!

That’s the list. Too late for Santa’s notice?

Venomous Kate tagged me with a meme–first one for this blog. Rite of passage, or something.

The player (me) must list 3 things that I would love to get for Christmas. Then I must list 3 things that I definitely do not want to get for Christmas. Then I tag 5 friends and list their names. The one I tag needs to write on their blogs about their Christmas wishes then tag 5 more people. They must also clarify all the rules. When you tag someone you need to leave a comment that says “you’’ve been Christmas tagged!” in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

Here goes:

Three things I’d love to get for Christmas:

1. A first edition of Dorothy Sayers’s The Nine Tailors.

2. A trip to England. Not the best timing for that, alas, but hey, as long as they’re not yet under sharia, I’ve got time.

3. Something off this list. Preferably #4.

Three things I don’t want for Christmas:

1. Anything Tolkien. Honestly, I’m a little burnt out at the moment.

2. Jewelry. I have a toddler, which means I have plenty of jewelry I never wear!

3. Anything off this list. My taste in men and Kate’s don’t overlap … much. :)

It’s almost Christmas Day on the East Coast, so in lieu of tagging people with the meme, I’ll just wish a heartfelt Merry Christmas to some of my favorite bloggers, several of whom are the reason I’m blogging along right now: Xrlq, See-Dubya, Patterico, Karol, Allah, and Mike Lief. And, of course, my intrepid hostess at Electric Venom: Kate. Merry Christmas, folks, and a very happy New Year.

I’ve been justifiably hard on Studio 60 since its premiere, and I slogged through episode after episode yelling at the TV, grumbling after it was over, and hoping the next episode would pull up. Aaron Sorkin finally proved, with December 4th’s “The Christmas Show,” that he’s still got it. An episode with all the snap of the best of Sports Night, a taste of some of the worthier political posturing of The West Wing, and a dash of (gasp) character development. I finally realized that’s been the problem all along–the characters exist merely to rant about Sorkin’s political opinions, much like a multi-million dollar human version of the blogs Sorkin seems to hate. In “The Christmas Show,” though, he actually seemed to allow the characters to let down and develop some on their own, even unbending enough to acknowledge that the opinion of an anonymous consumer could be a reasonably important thing in the marketplace of television and movies. Romantic subplots were advanced, something I always like to see, Jack the Hardass Executive became a sympathetic human being, and Jordan the Female Executive is going to be dealing with a pregnancy and child. It always concerns me when shows take up motherhood as a theme, but it beats most of the alternative ways of addressing the possibility of pregnancy for a single woman on TV. I’ll take it.

So, Merry Christmas to the cast and crew of Studio 60; Merry Christmas, Mr. Sorkin, from a quasi-anonymous blogger. I’m looking forward to your New Year. Finally.