So it is Christmas, and what have you done? Kept me up to my tits in gossip and scandal. (And since that's all y'all bought me, I guess it'll have to do.) Like this goody: a note from Sean Agnew at R5 Productions. The gent behind all-ages gigs at First Unitarian Church (and local legislation to keep it that way after this summer's L&I hassles) says his competition, Curt Flood Booking (Bryan Dilworth, Tyler Harold, etc.), is looking to muscle in on R5 territory. His proof: a letter to First Unitarian sanctuary manager Norman Fouhy from Curt Flood folk about booking a Jan. 29 all-ages show meant to open "lines of communication and enable future collaboration" between the church and CFB. Says Agnew: "[They're] trying to move in on the more-than-seven-year relationship I have with the church so they can book all the shows, because they are losing out on many shows (to me). Am I wrong for thinking it's superfucked? I spend four months trying to get the space legal again, losing thousands of dollars and dozens of shows, and they just try to whisk right on in like maybe no one'll notice. Grrrrrrrrrrr." Dag, I'm all for competition, but where's the mistletoe? Do they know it's Christmas time at all? With old jocks returning to Philly radio in 2002 (Ray Koob, Michael Tearson, Ed Sciaky, John DeBella, Randy Kotz), it'll be nice to hear David Snyder, editor of The Bob Jr., celebrate the 25th anniversary of the debut of his (and Philly's) first punk radio show on WKDU (91.7 FM, www.wkdu.org/hifi/livefeed.html) via a New Year's Day jam (starting at 8 p.m.). It's not just a nostalgic look at the three dozen albums WKDU started with, but a compendium of obscurity then to now -- all in the wrong speed and miscued. Why's Snyder doing it? "Because my life is so pathetic and miserable I'm trying to recapture the faint moment of minute import I once had. Or: I've always loved radio and now that generations of my predecessors have come and gone, I figured this was the excuse to do something again after 10 years. Or: Radio has gotten so boring and miserable that my screw-ups and pointless nattering will seem a breath of fresh air." After hosting last week's jam-packed Vanishing Peoples of the Earth's jam at Aqua Lounge, Mud People Inc. breaks beats at Fluid Dec. 27. This sounds fun: Fusion freak Gerald Veasley recorded CP cover-girl Jaguar for his due-March solo CD, remaking "Let's Do It Again." Floetry got nominated for an NAACP Image Award (New Artist); the ceremony airs in March. What was Stephen Starr doing in front of Bella Roma on 10th Street? And how come suddenly there's a new liquor sticker gone up at that corner boîte spot? Before my attorney Bernie Resnick heads for MIDEM's hip-hop village Jan. 18, he hooks client Raje Shwari of Blue Bell up with Jurassic 5 (singing on "Disco," single and video), Jay-Z's "The Bounce" and Ms. Jade's "Ching Ching Pt. 2" -- all produced by his other client, Timbaland. Jen Ramsay moved her shop where she designed for and styled Eve and Charli Baltimore, Echo Chic, to two floors at 1700 Sansom, the idea of which is a '60s-ish salon -- bar, spiral staircase and all. Much more on this lata. Twenty Manning's Audrey Taichman and publicist/Wine Brat Peter Breslow created Staying Hip, a travel show highlighting the planet's hippest hotels. Philadelphia's Stage 3 Productions shot the pilot with the duo as the hosts at NY's Mercer Hotel and are currently shopping cable networks E!, Style and Discovery. Plain Parade and a solo madmodpop Shawn Kilroy welcome The Improbables from Atlantic City -- a place where garage rock is frankly damper this time of year -- to Doc Watson's Dec. 26. Singer/songwriter Vincent James (celebrating his custom-writ love song for J. Lo and Ben) kicks off his 100-show/45-day "6 Weeks To Valentines" Tour Jan. 1 at malls throughout the DelVal, and Jan. 6 at Hard Rock Café. It's limited, so buy now: Arrakis Records committed local EL-P-esque producer SUPREMEeX to 7-inch vinyl with "Koyaanisqatsi." Congrats to Prince Theater, home to Nonesuch Records' Mandy Patinkin Sings Sondheim, recorded live, Feb. 2002. The Gracious' Kevin and Steven hit Grape St. Dec. 27 with a special holiday acoustic show. Dec. 27's the date for The Unity Movement at The Khyber, starring Subtle Ground, Love Syndicate, Natural Selection and Blue Method. Here's some fantastic last-minute NYE to-dos: DJs Lady Miss Kier and Eddie Baez rip through Glam on New Year's Eve. After Schoolly D spins Bar Noir Dec. 30, David Carroll's opening Magazine and Bar Noir to a Bobby Startup-DJ'd NYE bash. Eat at Magazine's last seating and you get a Pass-Go pass for BN, front of the line. And 1616's Molly C, perf-art lady 2-St-Tony and The Lady Tycoons host a messy, sexy all-day soiree at ye olde strip joint The Dolphin on Broad and Tasker Jan. 1, if you want to escape the Mummers. Sadly, 2002 ends with the passing of The Clash's Joe Strummer, a death as crucial to my gen as Lennon's was to his. If you saw backinaday gigs at Walnut St. Theatre, The Tower or their Bond NYC run, you knew Strummer's commitment. Flags should fly at half-mast at A.K.A. Music, where Mike Hoffman's computer screen saver features Joe with Mike's daughter, Strummer Hoffman.