Yule 365

Historic Bentley snowflake photos for sale in US

“Ten of the pioneering photos of snowflake crystals US farmer Wilson A Bentley began taking more than a century ago are to be sold in New York.

Bentley (1865-1931) is credited with capturing the first images of single snowflakes on camera. He made thousands of the jewel-like prints, no two alike.

His photomicrography technique involved a microscope and a bellows camera.

He caught pneumonia in a blizzard and died just weeks after the publication of his book Snow Crystals.” [... continued @ BBC]

[more details @ Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley & Carl Hammer Gallery]

Beautiful examples @ the Hammer Gallery site ... in the hands of someone with graphics expertise (which excludes me) some of those old pictures would be great wallpapers or CD covers.

Recall: Pier 1 Imports Santa Tea Light Holders

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Ceramic Santa Tea Light Holders

Units: About 61,500 United States and 5,500 in Canada

Importer: Pier 1 Imports (U.S.), Inc., of Fort Worth, Texas

Hazard: The flame from tea lights can ignite these tea light holders, posing a fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received three reports of the tea light holders burning. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The Ceramic Santa Tea Light Holder is red and white and designed in the image of Santa Claus. The tea light holder measures approximately 7-1/2 inches tall and 3-1/2 inches wide with a red metal hat and an opening in the back to place a tea light candle. SKU number 2417274 is printed on the bottom of the tea light holder.

Sold at: Pier 1 Imports in the U.S. and Canada from September 2009 through December 2009 for about $10.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the Ceramic Santa Tea Light Holder immediately and return it to their nearest Pier 1 Imports retail store for a full refund or merchandise credit.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Pier 1 Imports at (800) 245-4595 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. CST Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.pier1.com

Note: Health Canada’s press release can be seen at: http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=943

'tis the Season for Sharity

Here's a little listing I'll try to keep up-dating as the year moves along. Album shares from sources who normally cover other fields of music. Links are to the original blog posts where you'll usually find some background on the album or the share. While there, have a look around, who knows what else may strike your fancy. Be sure to say thanks on your way out to these generous folks.

1. ALDRICH, Ronnie -- Christmas with Ronnie Aldrich
   
2. FEIDLER, Arthur & the Boston Pops -- Christmas Party
   
3. FRANCIS, Connie -- Christmas In My Heart
   
4. GOODWIN, Ron -- Christmas Wonderland
   
5. HIRT, Al -- Have A Merry Little *
   
6. INGMANN, Jorgen -- Swinging Good Old Christmas
   
7. KAEMPFERT, Bert -- Christmas with Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra *
   
8. KOSTELANETZ, Andre -- Stereo Wonderland Of Christmas *
   
9. LAST, James -- Christmas Dancing *
   
10. LUIS GOMEZ MEXICAN BRASS -- Tijuana Christmas
    
11. LYMAN, Arthur -- Mele Kalikimaka (Merry Christmas)
    
12. PAGE, Patti -- Christmas with
    
13. PARADISE ISLANDERS, The -- Christmas In Hawaii *
    
14. REGINA MUSIC BOX MUSEUM -- The Charm of Old Music Boxes at Christmas (Simpsons)
    
15. SINGER ORCHESTRA, The -- Favorite Christmas Songs *
    
16. TORONTO BOYS' CHOIR -- A New Choral Record For Christmas
    
17. VA -- Christmas at Home
    
18. VA -- Christmas Day with Colonel Sanders
    
19. VA -- Christmas in California (Bank of America)
    
20. VA -- Famous Christmas Songs (Uniroyal)
    
21. VA -- A Very Merry Christmas, Vols I to VIII (Grant's)
    

* = latest additions to list

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)

[@ Amazon / DVD / CD / Book ]

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)

[@ Amazon / DVD / VHS ]

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)

[@ Amazon / DVD / Blu-ray / CD / Book ]