Transmission 148: Christmas madness

- - - - - GREETINGS, EARTHLING - - - - -

Christmas Movie Madness Begins!

Earthlings love a good tournament.
Especially when it involves nostalgia,
heated opinions,
and movies you’ve watched so many times
you can quote them in your sleep.

So today we begin our first ever
Christmas Movie Madness.

I gathered a long list of contenders
from critics, from friends,
from the internet’s loudest corners.
So if your favourite is missing,
please do not throw snowballs at the alien.
I built the best bracket I could
from a universe of options.

To save time, I narrowed it down
from 32 to 16.

Your mission is simple:
vote with your heart,
your childhood,
or your chaos instinct.

Two matchups await you below.
I’ll pst the results tomorrow,
along with two more matchups to decide.
Let the holiday mayhem begin.

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- - - - - THE 32 - - - - -

1. Home Alone (1990)
vs
32. Black Christmas (1974)

2. Elf (2003)
vs
31. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)

3. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
vs
30. Bad Santa (2003)

4. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
vs
29. Gremlins (1984)

5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
vs
28. Die Hard (1988)

6. A Christmas Story (1983)
vs
27. Carol (2015)

7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
vs
26. The Family Stone (2005)

8. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
vs
25. The Holiday (2006)

9. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
vs
24. A Boy Called Christmas (2021)

10. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
vs
23. The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

11. Scrooged (1988)
vs
22. Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

12. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
vs
21. The Santa Clause (1994)

13. The Polar Express (2004)
vs
20. White Christmas (1954)

14. Klaus (2019)
vs
19. Jingle All the Way (1996)

15. Alien Xmas (2020)
vs
18. The Holdovers (2023)

16. Love Actually (2003)
vs
17. Frosty the Snowman (1969)

- - - - - 

- - - - - SWEET 16 - - - - -

1. Home Alone (1990)
vs
28. Die Hard (1988)

2. Elf (2003)
vs
27. Carol (2015)

3. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
vs
4. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
vs
8. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

24. A Boy Called Christmas (2021)
vs
10. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

11. Scrooged (1988)
vs
12. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

20. White Christmas (1954)
vs
14. Klaus (2019)

18. The Holdovers (2023)
vs
16. Love Actually (2003)

- - - - - 

- - - - - READER POLL - - - - -

- - - - -

Float well, Earthling.
NeilA

(Click on that mug and it’s yours!👇)

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- - - - - TRANSMISSION END - - - - -

- - - - - 

Greetings, Earthling is a free daily newsletter designed to help you slow down, feel better, and start your mornings with a sense of meaning. Written from the perspective of a curious space observer named NeilA, each transmission blends mindfulness, motivation, and emotional insight with a hint of cosmic wonder.

Inspired by Stoic philosophy, Tao, Alan Watts, behavioural science, and the strange beauty of being human, these messages offer gentle reminders to live with purpose, pay attention, and appreciate the little things. Part alien wisdom, part self-help, part poetic dispatch, it’s a daily pick-me-up disguised as a transmission from the stars.

If you’re looking for a mindful routine, a feel-good newsletter, or thoughtful guidance that fits in your inbox, you’re in the right place. This is for anyone who wants to be more present, more kind, and more connected to yourself, to others, and to the universe around you.

If this helped, pass it along. Or send them here. Signals get stronger when more receivers are tuned in.

Thank you for reading. Your presence means more than you know.

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