In what we hope will be an annual holiday column, Bill O'Reilly shares what he loves most about Christmas in The Daily News today:

Poor Bernie Kerik. All he wanted as a cool new job, and now every little detail of his life is on the cover of the papers. First came the revelations of his Zoe Baird problem with a domestic employee, which caused him to withdraw himself from the Secretary of Homeland Security appointment.

Finally, we get intimate:

Henry the Intern came away from last night's "Topic [A]" with two lessons: 1) The show would be exponentially more beneficial to society if Tina simply monologued for an hour; and 2) Tina's favorite expression is, "I love it." Henry lost count of her "love" usage, but let's just say last night's episode was a letdown from last week's high. His report after the jump.

Finally, an inside look at the machinations behind those important 'exclusive' celebrity interviews in the weekly tabloids. In an effort to land the big 'gets,' cunning editors use manipulative, fiendishly clever techniques, the likes of which we haven't seen anywhere outside of CIA interrogation rooms.

Monday marks one year since Saddam Hussein was captured in his so-called spider-hole outside of Tikrit. (Really, if the people who called it that lived in New York, they'd know we call spaces like that "decent Williamsburg apartments.")

The editor of the blog I Hate The Strand seems to, well, really hate the Strand, that hulking monument to remaindered books and off-price calendars on Broadway and 12th.

The "Look Ahead" article or chart is a staple of publishing during the waning days of December. Mostly, it's a really easy article to write between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when, let's face it, everyone's phoning it in anyway. It also lets writers use their hackiest, most "topical" jokes from the past year which are all but guaranteed to not be funny in a few months (e.g. " The Segway will give way to the Sashay—a human transporter tailored to the needs of metrosexuals." Zing!)

Attention job seekers: always wanting to help you as best we can, we've discovered the perfect position for the otherwise unemployable. The Times online department is looking for an associate editor, so put that bong down and brush up your resume! Responsibilities include:

It's Christmas bonus time in the land of lads, and the big man with the beard has a little something for all the good boys—and tolerant girls—who work in his glossy toy shop.

According to Reuters, a company called Reuters (wait, what?) laid off about 100 people today.

We just got a wonderful press release that announces Dennis Publishing, the company behind Maxim and Stuff (the magazines for men who love women—but hate them, too), Blender (for music lovers who can accept Jessica Simpson being called a "musician"), and The Week (for people who want the world—in 250-words or less) will be launching a series of products with branding/licensing firm TippingSprung in 2005:

A reader writes in, just now:

Vanity Fair gives Judith Regan—the publisher who brought Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, Jenna Jameson, and Wally Lamb to airport bookstores everywhere—the old kiss-kiss/slap-slap treatment this month with a profile by Judith Newman called "The Devil and Miss Regan."

Why are so many "ex-library" copies of Jayson Blair's Burning Down My Masters' House available in the Used Books section of Amazon?

(Photo © James Edstrong, courtesy of New York Social Diary)

Last night, we were sucked into heading above 14th street with a bunch of gossipy types (they offered to pay for the drinks and, well, we hadn't been outdoors in days). What did we learn? Reporters kick some serious game. At Bungalow 8 (oh, the humanity), we were treated to the pick-up line of a lifetime from Page Six's Chris Wilson:

Amazon sales rank of Seth Mnookin's Hard News: The Scandals at The New York Times and Their Meaning for American Media at 11PM EST last night before the author appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: 2,549

· Dude, Tommy Chong is out of jail! You know we're encouraging you to get high and see him star in the Marijuana-Logues tonight. Yeah, we're fucking geniuses. [NY Theatre]
· Jazz! Modernism! Romare Bearden! Discuss! [flavorpill]
· Barbara Walters chats it up with Mrs. Tina Brown, also known as Sir Harold Evans-ette, at the Museum of TV and Radio tonight. Kicking and spitting not allowed. [Upcoming]

·"Funny how if you write about media in New York, you're guaranteed a job practically for the rest of your life. If you write about media in the Twin Cities, you'd better keep Monster.com bookmarked." (We should only be so lucky.) [The Rake]
·Dan Savage rips fellow sex columnist Jamie Bufalino a new one. [VV]
·Slate is hip to the real etymology of 'hip' [Slate]
·Post media columnist Keith Kelly talks to media website Media Life about big media luncheon. (Plus: media and gossip blog links it.) [Media Life Magazine]