You all know what this is. Christmas time, when you're allegedly in a more yielding, generous mood - so I'm shaking you down. Listen, I haven't been able to persuade more than one person to donate to this blog on a regular, monthly basis. That person knows who he is, and he should also know that he's the only one.  Feel good about yourselves?  Eh?  Eh?  Eh?  

Flattr didn't work out at all either.  Donations last month were in the euro cents.  So they've devised a system whereby people wanting to 'flattr' you can actually insult you with small change instead.  Now, listen.  I do understand.  Everyone has their hand in your pocket.  Prices are going up, wages are coming down.  Living standards are stagnant.  And besides, it's not like you pay for anything else on the internet.  

But it's because of this failure to generate a sustainable stream of income that I have to come back and subject you to a new round of moral blackmail.  And believe me, if you force me to, I'll ham it up so much you'll think you're watching a fucking NSPCC commercial.  Then I'll ban Christmas, again.  And then I'll shoot this wuvvwy puppy.  So, let's try to avoid all that, eh?  We're all civilized human beings here, apart from the ones whose comments are still being pre-moderated, and they're at least en route to civilization.  Here's the deal.  You can see I work hard on my material.  There is a lot of labour time congealed in this blog.  And that's time that most male bloggers spend stalking rivals, wanking and trolling (not necessarily separate activities).  And the time, I like to think, is reasonably well spent.  Evidently I'm on your reading list, because you keep coming back.  This blog has had over 5 million unique visits.  Now, if I had a pound for every time someone visited my blog... it would make no difference whatsoever, because I would still have spent it all on books.  But the point is, I'm not asking you to make me a millionaire, just to consider paying a small sum toward the reproduction of my labour power.  Regularly if you can, an unreasonably huge lump sum now if you cannot.  And if you don't, so help me, I will shoot this blog.  I will execute it.  I will take it out and shoot it in front of its family, as Clarkson is my witness.  So, please, let's not have any scenes.  Donate to the church of leninology, and have a Merry Xmas.