Word of Taylor’s selection as Time Mag’s Person of the Year yesterday even reached me under my rock, thanks to an excited email from OC reader River Road Norrie (Hi Nor!). There are three versions of the cover on sale, none of which does her justice, in our view. Tay’s cat Benjamin Button shares the spotlight with The “Purr”son of the Year on this one. (She has two other cats: Meredith Grey, named after the character from Grey’s Anatomy; and Olivia Benson, also named after a TV character (from Law & Order: SVU.)

The obvious question is, how does boyfriend Travis Kelce feel about cats? Well, we know he’s a dog lover — he has two. And we know his first pets, when he and his bro were little boys, were cats. So that might lead us to conclude he’s pro-cat too. But an old tweet surfaced in which he said cats “creep him out.” Hmmmm. Owl Chatter’s view? Take a look at her again. The man is all in on cats, believe me.

Owl Chatter got through to Swift the moment her selection became known. She was very emotional. She has still not gotten over losing “her Yev” (Yevgeni Pregozhin, the Russian mercenary and caterer with whom she grew very close last year). “I know, in time, I will be okay,” she told OC. “Yev kept telling me to be strong ‘like Russian bear.’ But it’s very hard. It hurts that I can’t share this with him.”

Swift keeps this family shot with her whenever she travels and stays in close touch with his widow Lyubov, whose strength is an inspiration to her.

In addition to their beautiful daughter Polina, above, left, the Pregozhins had a son, Pavel. Taylor tells us the t-shirt Yev is wearing, above, was a Chanukah gift from her last year. (Yev was Jewish.) He made Phil wait for the shot so he could throw it on.

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Owl Chatter couldn’t be more pleased with the fast start our new staff member, former Congressman George Santos, has gotten off to. He’s a delight to have around the office. Very sharp dresser — unlike Phil and the rest of us. (Sorry Philly, just calling ’em as we see ’em. Maybe you can take some tips from the young man.)

George has been busy on the website Cameo, selling cameo videos of himself to customers. He started charging $75 a pop, but it skyrocketed and his fee is up to $400 at last report. Senator Fetterman (D-PA) ordered one (for $350) to send to ethically-challenged Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). In it, Santos is telling Menendez to stay strong and not let the haters get him down. Fetterman took some sh*t for spending money on Santos, but waved it off. “Get over it,” he said. Meanwhile, the website says Santos has already earned more from the site than his full-year’s salary in Congress ($174,000).

Needless to say, having GS on the staff is not hurting our coffers either. The minifridge is bulging with diet soda — and not the cheap store brand either! (Burp!) Thanks Georgie!

Here he is, outside our offices on his first day.

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“There has to be another way.”

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Yikes! I don’t know what to make of this post from late yesterday regarding yesterday’s puzzle with the double-H grid and all the double-H theme answers. It’s by ghostoflectricity:

“I haven’t done today’s crossword and may not do it, for the first time in well over 40 years. HH? Really? The code term, also rendered as “88,” for antisemitism, white supremacism, and neo-Nazism (it is generally taken to be an abbreviation for “Heil Hitler”). Once again, the NYT, notoriously slow to call out antisemitism and the murder done in its name (see its thoroughly dishonorable coverage of the Holocaust as it was actually unfolding back in the ’30s and ’40s, deliberately minimizing what was happening), through its clueless and despicable puzzles editor Will Shortz, publishes a puzzle that is a PAEAN to a movement already on the rise for years. What’s the matter, NYT, not enough antisemitism in the nation for you already???”

The following is from the ADL (Anti-Defamation League):

“88 is a white supremacist numerical code for “Heil Hitler.” H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, so 88 = HH = Heil Hitler. One of the most common white supremacist symbols, 88 is used throughout the entire white supremacist movement, not just neo-Nazis. One can find it as a tattoo or graphic symbol; as part of the name of a group, publication or website; or as part of a screenname or e-mail address. It is even sometimes used as a greeting or sign-off (particularly in messages on social networking websites).”

But then the ADL goes on to say:

“It should be noted that 88 can be found in non-extremist contexts. The number is used by ham radio operators to mean ‘hugs’ or ‘hugs and kisses.’ Also, a number of NASCAR drivers, including several very well-known ones, have used the number 88, resulting in various automobile stickers and other forms of merchandise sporting that number.”

Wikipedia also states: “Neo-Nazis use the number 88 as an abbreviation for the Nazi salute Heil Hitler. The letter H is eighth in the alphabet, whereby 88 becomes HH.”

And get this — “The number is banned on Austrian license plates due to its association with ‘Heil Hitler [and] where H comes in the alphabet.’ In June 2023, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and the Italian government announced that the number 88 would be banned from use in Italian association football, as part of a joint initiative to combat antisemitism. This followed an incident in March of that year in which a Lazio supporter wore a club shirt bearing the name ‘Hitlerson’ and the number 88, which led to the supporter receiving a lifetime ban from attending Lazio matches.”

But there doesn’t seem to be any follow-up from the commentariat today, or any mention in the media that I could find. Seems like the issue is not being picked up. I googled “hate symbol NYT puzzle” and nothing came up for yesterday’s XW.

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NYC papers have started crowing “It’s a JUAN-derful life,” ever since the trade went down bringing ex-Gnat slugger Juan Soto to the Bronx. Soto was a central figure on the DC squad that won the 2019 World Series and is widely considered one of the best hitters in the game. He’s also a sweetheart — hard not to love. I recall a post-game interview after he stroked a game-winning hit on a 3-0 count. “Was there any thought of taking that 3-0 pitch?” Soto was asked. “Hell No!,” he exclaimed.

For all of his accomplishments, he’s still only 25. In the 2019 Championship drive with the Gnats, he won the Babe Ruth Award for the best performance in the post-season. In 2020, he won the NL batting title with a gaudy .351 average. He won the Silver Slugger Award four times (best offensive player at his position), and is a three-time All-Star.

Juan is Dominican and has never been married. He has an older sister and a younger brother, Elian, who is 17 and plays 3B/OF in the Gnats minor league system. His dad, Juan, Sr., is a salesman and played ball for a local men’s team. He pushed Juan to focus on baseball. Good move.

My Yankee fanhood has waned in recent years. But I’m back now. Play ball!

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Wow, Bridget Ziegler is hot!! But let’s all stay calm and get the story out.

Well, first of all Bridget is your basic right-wing monster eager to sacrifice innocent children’s lives for cheap political gain via the anti-gay, anti-trans agenda. A member of the Sarasota County (FL) school board, she is a prominent supporter of the “Don’t Say Gay” law. How prominent? Sh*t — she stood behind DeSantis when he signed it. She co-founded the right-wing Monsters for Liberty — sorry, I mean Moms for Liberty (but is no longer an officer), and often posts against trans rights. In one post she wore a t-shirt that said: “Real Women Aren’t Men.” As clever and nuanced as that is, it hasn’t caught on as a rallying cry.

But now it emerges she has admitted to having sex with a woman. Wait — isn’t that gay sex? Hmmmmm. And that’s nothing compared to what hubby Christian is being charged with — yikes! Rape! And he’s the Chairman of the Florida GOP. Let’s go back a bit — it’s a bit of a tale.

So, Bridget confirmed to the cops that she and her husband Christian had 3-way sex with a woman over a year ago. A repeat performance was scheduled for October 2nd, but Bridget couldn’t make it. Apparently, Bridget was the main draw for the woman (can you blame her?), so when she learned it would just be Christian and her, she bailed. Christian went anyway (uninvited) and raped her. He says it was consensual. He also says he filmed the encounter, which certainly got everyone’s hopes up, but the video has not been found. Rats!

Everyone in the Florida GOP, from DeSantis on down, is calling for Christian to resign, but he’s refusing. (Gotta love it!) Someone should pay for our man George to send a Cameo video urging him to stay strong. And Bridget is being urged to quit the school board. Hang in there, girl!

Here’s how local news covered it:

Tough it out, Zieglers! — we need more like you in public service.

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“You’re turning into your mother.”

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See you tomorrow! Happy Chanukah!