Like the cycle of the seasons, our emphasis on mirth may seem timeless, as though human beings have always made merry from beginning to end.
If this is E!'s idea of fun, one wonders how bad things would have to get before the merry laughter began to feel inappropriate.
Mick Hucknall's band of merry men began its musical sojourn back in Manchester, England, circa 1984, and conquered our Billboard charts by 1986 with the hit, "Holding Back The Years". This blissful little record-that-could hit the number one spot and was an instant classic, its sad but romantic, muted trumpet serving as a greek chorus to Hucknall's raspy voice and delivery of the sensitive lyrics.
A similar list will materialize leading up to the 2016 election but this crazy merry-go-round is beginning a whole year earlier than the previous election.
Below them, in calligraphic lettering, is a reminder that this merry old enclave was developed, beginning in the late 1920s, by Fred E. French, who believed that office workers should be able live close to their Midtown jobs without having to endure an aged tenement.
And thus, The X Factor 2015 merry-go round began.
The merry-go-round begins when Jeremy falls for the enigmatic Phoebe at a party (mad as a snake, but fantastic legs).
Alma's merry anti-Semitism really begins to grate.
Louise is captivated and confused, and so begins a merry dance between mistress and maid that ends in an unconventional arrangement.
Indeed, in one corner some of the young Tooks and Brandybucks, supposing Uncle Bilbo to have finished (since he had plainly said all that was necessary), now got up an impromptu orchestra, and began a merry dance-tune.
