the holidays just got better

In the words of a good friend for whom I previewed the following holiday cheer sent to my office from a Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency employee: "Best. Christmas card. Ever."


What can we glean from this besides copious amounts of holiday cheer? Well, for one, Sasha Chudin is clearly skilled at Photoshop. This is a goddamn work of art. From the magical, astronomically incorrect universe nestled in the branches of a sitka spruce, to the astute southwest-northeast corner juxtaposition of the father-son snowman team and Santa's sleigh, Chudin is clearly a master of the electronic-collage genre. In fact, I think he might have just created it.

But even more than Chudin's crackerjack skills is the man, himself. I mean look at him, just chillaxing on the surface of the moon. "No atmosphere? No problem!" He's like a little gift, adorned with a bow and, of course, a fannypack.

And now I will sing to you, Sasha. Shhh...just listen:

Очи чёрные, очи жгучие;
Очи страстные и прекрасные!
Как люблю я вас! Как боюсь я вас;
Знать увидел вас я не в добрый час!