Happy New Year!

Happy
New Year

All the
best in
2010!

Happy Kwanzaa!

Happy Kwanzaa to everybody!

Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States honoring universal African heritage and culture, marked by participants lighting a kinara (candle holder). It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year, primarily in the United States.

Kwanzaa consists of seven days of celebration, featuring activities such as candle-lighting and libations, and culminating in a feast and gift giving. It was created by Ron Karenga and was first celebrated from December 26, 1966 to January 1, 1967 ... (continued @ Wikipedia)

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Merry Christmas

Merry
Christmas

More Christmas TV Than You Can Handle

Head on over to a huge listing of TV shows @ WFMU's Beware of the Blog. Over 150 shows are listed ranging from 1949 to 1988, including

The Ruggles Christmas Episode (1949)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Christmas Episode (1950)

You Asked For It Christmas Episode (1951)

Green Guild Playhouse (1951)

Beat the Clock Christmas Episode (1952)

The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet Christmas Episode (1952)

Studio One Christmas Episode (1952)

Racket Squad Christmas Episode (1952)

Dragnet Christmas Episode (1952)

The Ray Milland Show Christmas Episode (1953)

The Garry Moore Show Christmas Episode (1953)

The Liberace Show Christmas Episode (1954)

Father Knows Best Christmas Episode (1954 - USA Only)

Meet Corliss Archer Christmas Episode (1954)

The Honeymooners Christmas Episode (1955)

Love That Bob Christmas Episode (1955)

The Bob Hope Show Christmas Episode (1955)

Your Hit Parade Christmas Episode (1955)

What's My Line Christmas Episode (1955)

I Love Lucy Christmas Episode (1956)

Alfred Hitchcock Presents Christmas Episode (1956)

with well over 100 more listed ... if you watch then all, I'll see you at Easter.

Seinfeldian: Festivus

I got a lot of problems with you people! And now, you're gonna hear about it. We'll discuss it at dinner before the Feats of Strength ...

Happy Festivus! Why aren't there any Festivus songs? Shouldn't there be presents? Can I hang tinsel on my pole?

Festivus @ Wikipedia / Religious Tolerance / Amazon

Jamaican Christmas Mix - Coming Tomorrow Today!

ALWAYS a joy to listen too ... the 2009 Jamaican Christmas Mix (as well as the three previous mixes) are slated to come out later today @ Distinctly Jamaican Sounds so be sure to head on over and be prepared for a slice o'nice.

Holmes for the Holidays @ TCM

As you may know, I was inspired to name this blog and my blogger ID by the Sherlock Holmes short story, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle ... a tale that takes place around Christmas ... Christmas and Sherlock ... does it get any better? It sure does on the cable channel Turner Classic Movies with their Christmas/Boxing day schedule of 24 hours of Sherlock.

Holmes for the Holidays @ TCM
Friday, December 25th to Saturday, December 26th 2009

8:00 pm - The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) (@ Amazon), starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Richard Greene and Wendy Barrie.

9:30 pm - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) (@ Amazon), starring Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce and Ida Lupino.

11:00 pm - The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) (@ Amazon), starring Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely and Genevieve Page.

1:15 am - Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour (1931) (@ Amazon), starring Arthur Wontner, Ian Fleming and Jane Welsh.

2:30 am - The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) (@ Amazon), starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Andre Morell and Maria Landi.

4:00 am - A Study in Terror (1965) (@ Amazon), starring John Neville, Donald Houston, Georgia Brown and Anthony Quayle.

6:00 am - 11 more Rathbone/Bruce Holmes films (@ Amazon)
to
8:00 pm

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice (aka Midwinter, Yalda, Soyal, Solar New Year, Longest Night and many, many other names), the shortest day and longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere occurs today @ 17:47 UTC / 12:47 pm EST. A great many celebrations, cultural and religious, occur at or around this event. So no matter what you celebrate or observe, may it be the best yet for you and yours.

Hindu: Happy Pancha Ganapati!

Happy Pancha Ganapati to all our Hindu friends.

Happy (belated) 20th Birthday to Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire

Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire first aired on Fox Sunday December 17th, 1989. A personal favorite and often chosen to start off our seasonal DVD watching.

"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", also known as "The Simpsons Christmas Special", is the first full-length episode of The Simpsons to air despite originally being the eighth episode produced for season one. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1989. In the episode, Homer discovers that he will not be getting a Christmas bonus and thus the family has no money to buy Christmas presents. He decides to keep their financial troubles a secret and gets a job as a department store Santa, but later discovers that the job does not pay enough. Desperate for a miracle, Homer and Bart go to the dog racing track on Christmas Eve in hopes of earning some money ... (continued @ Wikipedia)

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Happy 43rd Birthday to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! first aired on CBS Sunday December 18th, 1966. Dr. Seuss + Boris Karloff = Funtastic!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a 1966 American animated television special directed by Chuck Jones. It is based on the homonymous children's book by Dr. Seuss, the story of The Grinch trying to take away Christmas from the townsfolk below. The special, which is considered a short film as it runs less than an hour, is one of the very few Christmas specials from the 1960's to still be shown regularly on television. Boris Karloff narrates the film and also provides the speaking voice of The Grinch (the opening credits state, "The sounds of the Grinch are by Boris Karloff. And read by Boris Karloff, too!") ... (continued @ Wikipedia)

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Wanted: XMas Radio Spots

As some of you know, people who do Halloween compilations/mixes occasionally will use old radio commercials for horror movies as filler or breaks between songs/sets. These radio spots frequently came out on 45's and were 30, 45 or 60 seconds long.

Of course the number of movies that would be appropriate for a Halloween mix far, far exceed the number of Christmas movies and are therefore much more available. In fact, other than a reference to some Christmas Vacation (@ Amazon) promo material, I can't remember seeing anything for us to use ... like I'd love to get the spots for Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (@ Amazon) or Santa Claus (@ Amazon) or any movie that would fit a Yuletide mix for that matter. So if you know where to find some, drop me a note in the comments with the URL(s).

Roman: Io, Saturnalia!

Io, Saturnalia! to all you ancient Romans

The War On ... Santa?

The BBC is reporting that Santa Claus is apparently trying to muscle in on Austria ... Austria? A number of Austrians are fighting to save their traditional bringer of gifts, Christkind, from the tough tactics of the big guy. The Bush administration Americans are denying any involvement.

Judaism: (Belated) Happy Hanukkah!

I know Hanukkah has already begun but would like to wish all our Jewish friends a Happy Hanukkah!

And for some audio treats for the ears, head on over to these sites:

1. SoundRoots
   
2. BobFromBrockley
   
3. Da Vinci's Notebook -- The Dreidel Song
   
4. Sen. Orrin Hatch -- Eight Days of Hanukkah
   
5. The Pop View
   
6. Brooklyn Vegan
   
7. Menorah Mashups
   
8. Brooklyn Vegan (2008)
   

Happy 40th Frosty!

It was 40 years ago that Frosty the Snowman (@ Amazon)was first broadcast on CBS. It might be belated birthday wishes, Wikipedia uses both Dec 7th & Dec 14th as broadcast dates, the CBS site says Dec 7, 1969.

Hey ... Let's be careful out there

Don't let health & safety issues be the Grinch to steal your seasonal joy this year. Our good friends from Ottawa are always looking out for us ... afterall, if we get hurt who's going to pay all the taxes?

Fun and Safe Holiday Season (Fact Sheet):
Some quick tips on the Holiday Tree, Toys and Gifts, Flames and Holiday Lights.

Holiday Safety:
Tips and links for more info on Fire and Light Safety, Healthy Eating and Food Safety, Responsible Drinking, Staying Active and Healthy, Travel Health, Toys and Gifts and Other Holiday Health Resources.

2009 Holiday Food Safety Advisory:
Health Canada tips on basic food safety.

2008 Holiday Food Safety Advisory:
Last years tips on basic food safety.

Too Much Christmas EP

Season getting to you? Can't stand the 24/7 stream of all things Christmas? Well, what are you doing here then? Go find a song that sums up your feelings.

From the site ...

" The Jane Bradfords have written a Christmas song! Its nowhere near as good as the best Chistmas songs nor is it as bad as the worst.*

*No sleigh-bells were used in the creation of this song

Immediate download ⁺ of EP in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire. "
⁺ Requires you to sign up for their newsletter

and so on to Too Much Christmas EP

A Very Bootie Christmas 2

Good things get mashed ... potatoes, barley, TV shows based on a movie based on a book written by a Hooker, and music ... in this case, Christmas music.

Head on over to BootieUSA to snag "A Very Bootie Christmas 2" and, if you missed it a few years ago, "A Very Bootie Christmas". A total of 31 mashed-up Yuletide tunes to get your toes-a-tapping and your hips-a-swaying ... why do I feel the need to search out some Yuletide Disco?

Tracklists:

A Very Bootie Christmas 2 (2009)

1. Go Home Productions -- High Tides and Blocked Peace Pipes
2. DJ Schmolli -- Pumping Up Christmas
3. Dan Phillips -- Jingles Are Jingles
4. King Of Pants -- Alala Falala Hasselhoff
5. Smash-Up Derby -- Christmas Bop
6. Secret Santa -- Santa's Silent Bum
7. Voicedude -- Dreidel All The Way
8. Voicedude -- Black Door Or White Santa
9. Jacqui Naylor -- Santa Claus Is Coming To Alabama (A+D Remix)
10. A Plus D -- Xmas Dick In A Box *
11. DJ BC -- Sugar Plum Fairy Coda (Recoda)
12. Little Drummer Bonzo -- DJ Topcat
13. Mojochronic -- Yuletide Zeppelin
14. Alexkid & DJ Seep -- Santa Baby (Remix)
15. Voicedude -- It's The Little Things

* - explicit lyrics

A Very Bootie Christmas (2006)

1. Bad Tattoo -- Are You Gonna Stop The White Xmas
2. Divide & Kreate -- Jingle Jane
3. Sam Flanagan -- Frosty DMC
4. Brat -- Funky Christmas
5. Divide & Kreate -- Every Christmas You Fake
6. DJ Schmolli -- Back Door Santa Getting It On
7. Lionel Vinyl -- Lionel's Xmas Wrapping
8. A Plus D -- Give Da Jew Girl Toys
9. Go Home Productions -- Christmas On The Block
10. Corporal Blossom -- White Christmas
11. DJ John -- Lonely Siberian Winter
12. Payroll -- Another Xmas Day Can Only Disappoint U
13. DJ Zebra -- The Xmas Kick
14. Divide & Kreate -- Achtung X-Mash
15. Go Home Productions -- Christmas In Boston
16. DJ BC -- Imagine Santa

Sucka Pants XMas Mix '09

A 21 track compilation, XMas Mix '09, over at Sucka Pants is definitely worth a listen. The Sonics "Santa Clause", "I Wish It Was Christmas Today" by Julian Casablancas and Kermit Ruffins "Crazy Cool Christmas" are my favs ... YMMV.

Tracklist:

1. All I Want For Christmas -- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
   
2. Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight) -- Asobi Seksu
   
3. Winter Wonderland -- Cap'n Jazz
   
4. Oh Joseph -- Burning Hank
   
5. Come On Santa -- The Raveonettes
   
6. O Holy Night -- Benji Cossa
   
7. Santa Clause -- The Sonics
   
8. Christmas In Prison -- Emmy The Great & Lightspeed Champion
   
9. I Wish It Was Christmas Today -- Julian Casablancas
   
10. Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis -- Neko Case
    
11. It's Christmas But Not For You -- TIAC
    
12. Christmas Eve, Driving Home -- Frontier Ruckus
    
13. Run Away With Me -- Jens Lekman
    
14. Christmas Is For Losers -- Mike Nicolai
    
15. Ain't No Chimneys -- Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
    
16. Oh Hanukah, Oh Hanukah -- Sinai Mountain Boys
    
17. Last Christmas -- Swearing at Motorists
    
18. Crazy Cool Christmas -- Kermit Ruffins
    
19. Hanukkah -- The Mountain Goats
    
20. X-Mas Eve (She Got up and Left Me) -- Rancid
    
21. Xmas Eve -- The Damnwells
    

25 worst Christmas album covers of all time

Nothing says Christmas like a really bad album cover. Coming in at #1 according to the UKs' Telegraph is Stan and Doug yust go nuts at Christmas ... see the rest @ The 25 worst Christmas album covers of all time.

Corner Gas: "Christmas in Dog River"

If you're Canadian, you know "Corner Gas" (S1 DVD @ Amazon) and if not, you need to try to catch it sometime if possible. Back in 2005, their first Christmas episode, "Merry Gasmas", aired. A Christmas single was released a few days before hand ... 50% promo, 50% song and 110% comedy ... the MP3 is still available for free download @
Brent Butt Releases First Ever Single, "Christmas in Dog River".