Eel-lectric Power!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go. Except in the deep woods and in the vast depths of the mighty oceans. There, every day is the same...Bastille Day...where animals of all shapes and sizes celebrate the short-lived constitutional monarchy in France. They share wine and cheese, sing songs about the happy end to the French Revolution, and after a few games of Stratego, kill and eat each other. And we thought we were the civilized ones.

Christmas is a festive time of year that nearly everyone looks forward to. We even dress up our dogs as elves or reindeer and watch as they, in fits of holiday joy, chew and rend the fabric to shreds. That's why I like to douse doggie outfits in vinegar. I'd like them to stay on just long enough to get a picture of the cute poochie. But then that dog goes outside because he really stinks.

One of my favorite parts of the season is looking for well-decorated houses. Some folks just throw a few strands of non-matching lights on their one shrub. Half of the shrub blinks bright whites while the other half proudly shines a rainbow assortment of colors. Gorgeous.

Others put up those icicle lights and put some inflatables in the yard of Winnie the Pooh, Scooby Doo, or the Predator.

I like the houses where the owners give all they have and produce an electric wonderland so crammed of stuff that your brain can't even focus on one thing. You just bath yourself in the light and mumble incoherently to yourself, "whoa...duhh...gurgle...". When you wake up later your head is pounding and there's dried blood around your ears, but all you remember is that for one moment in your life, it all meant something.

Life-changing moments like these don't come cheap. Somebody put up a lot of cash to float the electric bill. It's my guess that most people don't put on such lavish productions becuase of the associated costs. So what if someone found an innovative way to make decorating wallet-friendly?

Well someone has. His name is Kazuhiko Minawa, and he's devised a system that can effectively harness eel power. He put some panels in an eel's tank, attached some cables, and voila, he lit up a Christmas tree. He's a true visionary. Here's a real quote:

"If we could gather all electric eels from all around the world, we would be able to light up an unimaginably giant Christmas tree."

And isn't it ironic that eels often go by the nickname of the jolly snakes of the sea. Just one look at this precious creature and your spirits are sure to rise.

If you stare at it and listen closely you can even hear it singing "Joy to the World". Go ahead and try it. They're even good with children, as long as they are kept far apart.

One visitor to the eel-lighted Christmas tree said, "I would love to have an eel like this at home. This is very nature friendly."

I agree. What's more nature-friendly than removing creatures from their natural habitat and harnessing their very essence for our own comfort and amusement? Vive le France!