At work, we have this big fancy TV.  Or, we did - as you may remember it was rather badly broken last week and needs to be replaced.  One of the board members was most upset by this fact - "Oh no," he cried, his face twisted in agony, "We won't be able to play a Yule Log during the holiday party!"

First of all, we have an actual fireplace, so playing a video of a fire - even one accompanied by holiday music, which the board member declared was half the point  - is redundant and silly when we have a real fire crackling away merrily.  Second, my boss hired a harpist for the event so again, the fake TV fire is unnecessary. Finally, the whole concept is a stupid idea.

Don't get me wrong - I like fires as much as the next person.  They create beautiful shadows and the flames are really pretty to watch as they dance.  But I just can't see the point of a 'virtual' fire playing on a TV screen.  They don't look real - the computer generated ones are the worst, but even the videos can't capture the vibrancy of a real flame.  The music is usually pretty banal and doesn't add much to the ambiance.  I have no idea why Mr. Board Member was so disappointed...but he's also the sort of guy who likes watching fake fish swim in a TV aquarium, so maybe he just loves the idea of having his television blaring twenty-four hours a day.