Going On Hiatus

It is time to Par-Tay. I have been calling it in since Xmas, so what is another weekend?

I shall return, and I hope you do too!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Say It Ain't So

I like the funny papers. One of my favorite comics is FoxTrot, drawn by Bill Amend. Today was the last day of the daily comic, now it will only be in Sunday newspapers.

Go check out his last daily strip HERE.

Well when one comic goes down, another is waiting to fill the void. It will have big shoes to fill though...

Go Visit This Site

I got a site for y'all to visit that is not only pretty to look at, but is funny and has interesting posts. Go see State of the Day! The very nice Creature held a contest with his "get to know me better" meme, and I (by sheer luck) guessed right!

I must repay the generosity somehow, so I hope a humble bloglink will do for now. So go check the goodness out!

Can One Inhale Alcohol?

This might be something to try this New Year's Eve... don't you think?

Countdown To New Years!

I am away for a day, and everyone stops by. I really need to leave out punch and cookies when I go...

In football news the NFL is going to have a Double Double Sunday...

For the first time, the NFL is allowing CBS and Fox to each televise two games this Sunday in many markets, meaning four games will be available to many viewers.

The so-called "double doubleheader" will be available in all markets except those in which the home team is playing.

As a football fan, I like this... I like it alot.

In Wacky News... a church forgot to renew it's website address, only to have it overtaken by a porn group:

Pastor Steve Spearing said Friday the mix-up happened a few weeks ago when the church changed Internet service providers. Spearing said he believed the church could keep its Web site name, which contained the words "life" and "Christ."

But the old service provider put the address up for sale and it was bought by a pornographic Web site.

Spearing said he didn't realize the site had been sold until he got a call from a Massachusetts woman who was interested in moving to the area and was doing research on the Internet about local churches.

"She asked what kind of a church we were and then she said, 'Do you know that your Web site is connected to a porn site,' and I said 'No, ma'am,'" Spearing said.

And before I go... a Must Watch Video with the Ricky Gervais:



Hopefully I will be around more today, but I am still in Christmas Recovery!

Hi, I'm Not In Right Now...

I am still in the recovering process of Christmas, and transitioning to the celebration process of New Years. I haven't anything to add on the recent passing of James Brown or President Ford, it is covered better elsewhere.

I like trying to put up stuff here that isn't covered everywhere, so it is different than the rest. Mind you silly jokes and video isn't original, but it is what I like to do.

I have become a fan of the original Office series from the UK, it is seriously cracking me up. Only one problem, I am now wanting to call people "prats" and I think the term loses meaning when an Indiana hick uses it.

One more note: I still hate Microsoft. My laptop (which I like to watch videos on) has some sort of problem with playing mpeg video. The problem lies somewhere in the depths of Windows Media Player, and there is no easy "reinstall" or easy system of troubleshooting. Thus I can't watch video downloaded from my TiVo unless I first convert it to something else, which is just a pain in the ass.

Oh and boy did I get some hits over the Christmas holiday. I got over five hundred hits on Christmas Eve for people looking to track Santa's sleigh, and I am getting about 500 more hits for people looking for "Porky Pig Sings Blue Christmas". I know it isn't "real" traffic, but it is nice to see numbers that are close to what Loaded Mouth got. And I didn't get google hits through porn searches! Now don't get me wrong, I really enjoy my five regular readers! I am amazed anyone stops by for this stuff anyway. :)

So for the next week my favorite phrase is going to be Happy New Year! No feeling old because of a change of year either!

Recovering...

I will put something up... sometime soon.

Hmm... Well I guess I can't post Xmas stuff anymore. NOW what will I do???

Here is something to entertain while I am gone... It seems someone thought it a good idea to make a $200 bill with President Bush's face on it...

Read more about it at The Smoking Gun. How a cashier could accept it is WAY beyond me.

Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Holidays to everyone, and a Happy New Year!!!

Favorite Christmas Movies 10

I watched this all the time as a kid... wonder why i haven't seen it on TV lately? It is Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas!

I will steal the synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes:

Christmas is approaching in Frogtown Hollow, and Emmet Otter and his Ma hope to buy gifts for each other. Unfortunately, Emmet doesn't make enough from the odd jobs he does, and Ma doesn't make enough as a laundress. They decide to compete in the Frog Town Hollow Talent Contest in order to win money, but Ma will have to hock Emmet's tool chest to buy a costume, and Emmet will have to put a whole in Emmet's washtub for his band! Kermit the Frog hosts this classic Muppet musical Christmas tale, based on the book by Russell and Lillian Hoban, with original songs from master tunesmith Paul Williams.

Video Below The Fold

Here is Part One:



Here are links to Part 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

The "Get To Know Me Better" Meme

Well I have been tagged by Creature to list five things. Four are supposed to be true things people don't know about me, and one is a lie... and let you sort them out. Okee dokee... but I am a boring person so this might be tricky to make interesting...

1. I was an extra for the movie Rudy while it was shot at Notre Dame. They had me wear a metallic gold shirt with a green sleeveless v-neck sweater while wearing grey cotton pants... it was UGLY. You can see me twice in the movie.
2. I worked as a tutor for two years in four high schools around me. I was a "paid volunteer," working with AmeriCorps.
3. My first roommate down at IU was a varsity male cheerleader.
4. I won a fishing contest for smallest fish when I was a kid.
5. My hearing is screwy. I can hear people, but if they speak too low I can't tell what they are saying, it is as if they just mumble to me. I have had many a conversation with people where I just play along not knowing what they are saying. I also have a tendency to speak loudly, which I think as a direct result of not hearing my voice right.

I tag no one. My Christmas gift to everyone is not to pick anyone... but if you wish to play though, just let me know in comments where to find your five, or leave yours in comments!

A Claymation Christmas Celebration

This is one of my favorite Xmas specials from tv... how can you not go wrong with clay and Christmas tunes!

This is A Claymation Christmas Celebration! Here is a list of musical segments from Wikipedia:

-"We Three Kings" sung by the Three Wise Men and their beboping camels

-"Carol of the Bells" performed by anthropomorphic church bells and directed by Maestro Quasimodo

-"O Christmas Tree" and various scenes taking place inside of Christmas ornaments

-"Angels We Have Heard On High" and ice dancing walruses

-"Joy to the World" and various Christmas scenes

-"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" sung by the California Raisins

-"Here We Come A-Wassailing" sung by the entire Claymation cast

Video below the Fold

And here is Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:

Christmas Video Link Dump

Time to just unload what Xmas videos I have left... so here are links to the goodness:

Boondocks Christmas Special

Merry Crunkmas!

"Carol of the Bells" from Claymation Christmas

Liberace's Musical Salute to the Holidays with Elton John, Orson Wells, and Ethel Merman by SCTV

Yule Log III with special Director's Commentary!

Christmas Video made with Anime

Robot Chicken Christmas Special

Spongebob Squarepants Christmas Special Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Justice League - Comfort and Joy

The Office - Christmas Party

Bugs Bunny - Christmas Carol

The Venture Bros. - A Very Venture Christmas

Gunther - Christmas Song

Garfield Christmas Special

Batman - Holiday Knight

Cledus T. Judd - Christmas

Glengarry Glen Elf from SNL

Christmas Comes To PacLand Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Funny Polar Bears (not really seasonal, but funny!)

The Clauset

Cribs - Santa Claus

And that is all... Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Shooting Game

Tired of Christmas yet? Wanna take out your frustrations on Christmas decorations? Then go play this Christmas Shooting Gallery. It is ok, not too neat.


Christmas Shooting Gallery

Favorite Christmas HORROR Tales

This time of year is for everyone... so why not to those people out there that like horror flicks? HBO once had a great series called Tales From The Crypt, and boy did it entertain. It did a Christmas Tale, called "And All Through The House". Here is part of a great review of the flick from Horror Brain's blog:

Christmas is almost upon us! It’s that the time of the year for giving back to others, spending time with friends and family, and murdering your spouse. That's exactly what Elizabeth (Mary Ellen Trainor) does on the eve of this wonderful holiday, as she kills off her wealthy husband (Marshall Bell - “Total Recall”, “Starship Troopers”) in order to receive his fortune, which she plans on spending with her lover. But on this night, things aren't going to go quite as planned.

In an attempt to get rid of the evidence, this greedy wife drags her husband's body outside, only to miss the radio broadcast that states that a man has recently escaped from the local institute for the criminally insane, has brutally killed 4 women, and is still on the loose, dressed as an axe-wielding Santa Claus (Larry Drake). Will this wife get away with her murderous intentions or will she come face-to-face with this psychotic Claus and, instead, worry more about saving her own life and the life of her young daughter (Lindsey Whitney Barry)? Needless to say, this is not going to be a white Christmas, nor a Silent Night.

The superlative Tales From The Crypt episode, “And All Through The House” is probably the most well-known and beloved episode of the entire series. Seriously, if you were to ask someone to name an episode from the series, 9 out of 10 times you will get this entry as an answer. Not only does it encompass everything that made the show so successful and brilliant, but it was also the episode that really introduced a lot of people to the show.

It is a great review, really go read the rest. Well here it is, in three parts... remember this isn't one for the little kiddies.

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:

Free "A Christmas Carol"

Open Culture has the hookup on how to get the free podcast from Apple of a reading of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". You can also find there a link to get the ebook of "A Christmas Carol" too!

For more free podcasts and ebooks, check out Open Culture.

Maxine's Night Before Christmas

This is almost sweet... almost.

Baby Jesus Travels

Ever heard of the "Travelling Gnome"? It seems now there is a Travelling Baby Jesus...

This Christmas, a family here may keep a closer eye on their statue of baby Jesus. Last year someone plucked it from the nativity scene in their front yard and spent eight months traveling the state, returning it complete with plenty of photos of where it had been.

"When we tell people about it, they just look at us and say, 'Wow, that really happened?' " Joan Leising said. "Then, we show them the photo album."

Want more of this intriguing tale? Okee dokee...

The statue was taken Dec. 23, and a note - promising to return the baby Jesus in three days - was left in the statue's place.

Eight months later, Joan's husband, John Leising, opened the front door and found the statue on his porch, along with a photo album that showed images of the figurine in front of highway signs in Binghamton, Rochester, Albany and Poughkeepsie.

It was photographed at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, and posed on a bicycle, on a horse, in a car wearing a seat belt, in a chair next to a campfire and in someone's kitchen.

A note enclosed, signed "Creators of the baby Jesus chronicles," assured the family that the prank was not intended to be "blasphemous or disrespectful."

The Leisings were glad to have their statue back, but remained confused as to why it was missing for so long since the statue-nappers promised it would be returned in three days.

"The real Jesus Christ would have forgiven them for that," John Leising said. "And we do, too."

I am a bit curious what the original plan of the baby-nappers was? Were they going to get pictures around town and then return Jesus in three days, only to change their minds and they wanted to get more pictures? Were they afraid that since they gave a timetable for the return that cops would be waiting for them when they returned? We may never know...

A White Sox Christmas

*Sniff... it is too beautiful for words. Someone lit their house to the Chicago White Sox fight song. I dare to say... a Christmas Miracle!

A Flintstones Christmas

Flintstones, meet the Flintstones... here is their Christmas special just for you.

A Flintstones Christmas
Uploaded by Mickey123HeyHey

Wanna Track Santa's Sleigh?

NORAD, or North American Aerospace Defense Command, is tracking Santa again this year. You can reach their website by going to www.noradsanta.org. You can go directly to the tracking page HERE. Why track him? From the site...

For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa. The tradition began after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. store advertisement for children to call Santa on a special "hotline" included an inadvertently misprinted telephone number. Instead of Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief's operations "hotline." The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, received the first "Santa" call on Christmas Eve 1955. Realizing what had happened, Colonel Shoup had his staff check radar data to see if there was any indication of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Indeed there were signs of Santa and children who called were given an update on Santa's position. Thus, the tradition was born. In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for the North American continent called the North American Air Defense Command, known as NORAD. Canada and the U.S. believed they could better defend North America together as a team instead of separately.

NORAD carried out its first Santa tracking in 1958 after inheriting the tradition from CONAD. Since that time, Canadian and American men and women who work at NORAD have responded to phone calls from children personally. Additionally, media from all over the world call NORAD on Christmas Eve for updates on Santa's location. Last year this Website was visited by millions of people who wanted to know Santa's whereabouts. This year, the information is provided in six languages.
NORAD relies on many volunteers to help make Santa tracking possible. Hundreds of volunteers spend part of their Christmas Eve at the Santa Tracking Operations Center answering phones and emails to provide Santa updates to thousands of inquiring children worldwide.

There is a toll free tracking number, or if you like to pay there is a toll number too. Ever wonder how they track Santa? They even explain that...

NORAD uses four high-tech systems to track Santa - radar, satellites, Santa Cams and jet fighter aircraft.

Detecting Santa all starts with the NORAD radar system called the North Warning System. This powerful radar system has 47 installations strung across the northern border of North America. NORAD makes a point of checking the radar closely for indications of Santa Claus leaving the North Pole on Christmas Eve.

The moment our radar tells us that Santa has lifted off, we use our second mode of detection, the same satellites that we use in providing warning of possible missile launches aimed at North America. These satellites are located in a geo-synchronous orbit (that's a cool phrase meaning that the satellite is always fixed over the same spot on the Earth) at 22,300 miles above the Earth. The satellites have infrared sensors, meaning they can detect heat. When a rocket or missile is launched, a tremendous amount of heat is produced - enough for the satellites to detect. Rudolph's nose gives off an infrared signature similar to a missile launch. The satellites can detect Rudolph's bright red nose with practically no problem. With so many years of experience, NORAD has become good at tracking aircraft entering North America, detecting worldwide missile launches and tracking the progress of Santa, thanks to Rudolph.

The third detection system we use is the Santa Cam. We began using it in 1998 - the year we put our Santa Tracking program on the Internet. NORAD Santa Cams are ultra-cool high-tech high-speed digital cameras that are pre-positioned at many places around the world. NORAD only uses these cameras once a year - Christmas Eve. The cameras capture images of Santa and the Reindeer as they make their journey around the world. We immediately download the images on to our web site for people around the world to see. Santa Cams produce both video and still images.

The fourth detection system we use is the NORAD jet fighter. Canadian NORAD fighter pilots, flying the CF-18, take off out of Newfoundland to intercept and welcome Santa to North America. Then at numerous locations in Canada other CF-18 fighter pilots escort Santa. While in the United States, American NORAD fighter pilots in either the F-15 or F-16 get the thrill of flying with Santa and the famous Reindeer Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph. About a dozen NORAD fighters in Canada and the United States are equipped with Santa Cams.

Yes there is a Santa... and our government watches him very closely. ;)

UPDATE: This post is outdated but still showes up in "teh google", so if you wanna track Santa this year you only need to go to www.noradsanta.org. Merry Christmas and hope you get what you want from santa!

Slow Blogging

Tis the season.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

I Link, Therefore I Am

I couldn't believe this post over at Feministing:

Two wombs of one's own
This creates the possibility for some serious clown-car vagina action.

From the article:

A UK woman with two wombs is believed to be the first in the world with the condition to give birth to triplets.

Hannah Kersey, 23, from Northam in Devon, had identical twins Ruby and Tilly, who were born from one womb, Grace, who was born from the other.

The girls had to stay in hospital for nine weeks after being born seven weeks early by Caesarean, but have now returned home to their parents.

The odds of having triplets from two wombs are about 25 million to one.

The chances of a woman with two wombs having twins or two separate births is estimated to be five million to one.

Wanna know what having a Double Uterus looks like? Click Here!

Today's Must Watch Video

This is a must see! Weird Al interviews Mr Britney Spears (aka. Kevin Federline)... and it is priceless!

Christmas With Mr. Shatner

KIRK!!!!

The Book Meme

Ok Tom tagged me with this one...

The Rules -
* Find the nearest book
* Name the book
* The author
* Turn to page 123
* Go to the fifth sentence on the page
* Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog.
* Tag three more folks.

Alrighty then:

I got The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown.

"Hedging his bets, he ordered half of his men back to the louvre perimeter. The other half he sent to guard the only location in Paris where Robert Langdon could find safe harbor."

Ok, I know I was supposed to put 3 sentences, but that is all that was left of the page. I would have done the other book I got right on hand, Insight Guides' Hawaii, but page 123 is just pictures of Hawaii.

I tag Mixter, Sine.Qua.Non, and (just out of curiosity what he has on hand) CJ.

Update: Bad bad blogger... I should have proofread this post... for I didn't link back to Tom Hilton of If I Ran The Zoo. It is one of my favorite blogs, so hopefully this slight oversight (which is now corrected) is overlooked. :)

Update 2: CJ has answered the call! And so did Mixter! And also Sine.Qua.Non too!

Favorite MST3K Christmas Movie

Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 rejoice this season, for I have a treat for you. It is Santa Claus Conquers The Martians! Of course it is in 10 parts, but hey better than nothing. Here is a review I swiped from Netflix:

The cheesy cult classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians gets the "MST" treatment, spliced and diced under the watchful eyes of the ever-critical cineastes who are always at the ready with their cutting commentary. In the film, Martian kids catch a glimpse of Santa Claus on television and go on a rampage, insisting that the Jolly Old Elf make an appearance. To keep the children happy, the Martians abduct Santa and take him back to their planet.

And on to the movie... here is Part 1:



Click here for parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

School Tells Kids Santa Doesn't Exist

Well there are some Grinches in England... check this out:

A primary school has been accused of spoiling Christmas for pupils after a lesson telling them that Santa Claus does not exist.

Children as young as nine were told that only 'small children believe in Father Christmas'.

And yesterday their parents criticised teachers for taking the 'magic' out of the festive period.

Oh I can only imagine how the parents reacted to this!

The blunder came after the Year 5 pupils were given seasonal worksheets containing various festive classroom exercises.

One began by informing the children that 'many small children believe in Father Christmas'.

It then went on to explain that thousands of letters sent by these children to Santa every year are actually answered by the Post Office.

The youngsters were then asked to write a pretend letter from the Post Office to a child explaining why their requests for presents had been refused.

Now Ladysmith Junior School in Exeter, Devon, is accused of taking a decision that should have been made by the parents themselves.

One father-of-two, who asked not to be named, said: "My wife and I make a special effort to keep the belief in Santa in our daughter's mind as we believe it adds to the magic of Christmas for her and her four-year-old brother.

"We even recall her shaking with excitement some years ago when sat at the bottom of our bed rummaging through her stocking.

"What gives the school the right to decide when children should know the truth about such a harmless matter when knowing the truth does take away that little bit of magic?"

"She'll probably figure it out soon enough anyway, but we might have had one last Christmas without her knowing if it hadn't been for the school."

BOO! HISS!!! Bad, bad school! You are SOOO on the Naughty List!

A Simpson Christmas Special

I got more cartoons a coming... but they pale in comparison to Bart singing "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells".

You Don't Know Jack!

Must. Play. This. Game. I bought some years ago, and now they have a daily game you can play! Go check out You Don't Know Jack!

Run DMC

Who doesn't like Run DMC - "Christmas in Hollis"?

run dmc _ christmas in hollies
Uploaded by discodisc

This Week In God: Christmas Christacular

Idea ruthlessly stolen from Innisfree.

Bored?

Play this!

Line Rider v.2!

Pinky And The Brain Christmas Special

Shamelessly stolen from Monkeyfister!

Pinky And The Brain Christmas Special
Uploaded by BeezleStuff

Porky Pig Sings "Blue Christmas"

His voice? Like. Butter.

It is Porky Pig... singing "Blue Christmas". To play the song, just click on the little green triangle. Enjoy!

Porky Pig - "Blue Christmas"

Found at Christmas MP3 Page.

Worst Movie Trailers of 2006

Ifilm has the list of Worst Movie Trailers of 2006. I agree with most of the choices, but I have to strongly disagree with saying that the trailer for Epic Movie is bad... I thought it was HILARIOUS! I had never even heard of it, now I want to see the movie badly!

The list is as expected... the trailers for Basic Instinct 2, Garfield 2, Material Girls. I know that there is a trailer that was mistakingly left off the list, but I can't think of any right now. Jeez, what DID come out this year?

Can You Name That Movie?

Check this out, Viking's Stationery Movies. It is scenes from movies remade with stationary, and I can only get 14/20. Can you do better???

Family Guy Sings Christmas Tunes

I admit it, there are Christmas songs that I only know a few lines of...

Wanna Find Great Indiana Blogs?

BlogNetNews.com now has an Indiana edition!

Check out Blog Net News, Indiana edition!

Penguins Rule

I have to post this... the best part of that Madagascar movie were the penguins. They have a video of their own, A Christmas Caper!

Feedback

Okee dokee, some site changes.

First off, did anyone notice the Santa favicon up for my page? If you have Firefox, it is animated too!

Second what do you think about the new added sphere/digg/de.lic.ous tag stuff? Overkill for such a small blog? I thought so too but I wanted to see if I could get it working.

That is all for now... oh and thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it! :)

Brain Can Recover From Alcohol Abuse

To all the drinkers in the audience, there is hope for your brain!

The researchers from Germany, the UK, Switzerland and Italy measured the patients’ brain volume at the beginning of the study and again after about 38 days of sobriety, and they found that it had increased by an average of nearly two per cent during this time. In addition, levels of two chemicals, which are indicators for how well the brain’s nerve cells and nerve sheaths are constituted, rose significantly. The increase of the nerve cell marker correlated with the patients performing better in a test of attention and concentration. Only one patient seemed to continue to lose some brain volume, and this was also the patient who had been an alcoholic for the longest time.

The leader of the research, Dr Andreas Bartsch from the University of Wuerzburg, Germany, said: "The core message from this study is that, for alcoholics, abstinence pays off and enables the brain to regain some substance and to perform better. However, our research also provides evidence that the longer you drink excessively, the more you risk losing this capacity for regeneration. Therefore, alcoholics must not put off the time when they decide to seek help and stop drinking; the sooner they do it, the better."

Dr Bartsch, who is senior neuroradiology resident and head of the structural and functional MR-imaging laboratory of the Department of Neuroradiology at the University of Wuerzburg, said the study was one of the first to be able to integrate data that showed how the brain regained volume and function early on, once alcoholics, who had no complicating factors, had stopped drinking alcohol. It was carried out in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Oxford’s Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) and from the University of Siena’s Institute of Neurological and Behavioural Sciences.

It is amazing how resilient these bodies we have truly are. I have an uncle who is alcoholic, and he isn't a dumb man in the least but he does seem to have a harder time thinking complex things out. The only problem is that I don't think he can give up the alcohol though...

Good Teen Returns Thousands Of Dollars

Talk about being full of the Christmas Spirit... a teen returns 24 Thousand Dollars!

Imagine stumbling upon $24,000 cash. What would you do with the money?

The untraceable wad of $100 bills, rubber-banded together inside a zippered bank pouch, tumbled unnoticed from the purse of RoseMarie Limoncelli, 39, as she sat Friday inside the AMC Fantasy theater in Rockville Centre.

Christopher Montgomery, 19, found the money as he was cleaning between seats.

The Lynbrook student returned it. Every dollar.

I tell you what, I dunno if I could say that I would do the same thing. This guy wouldn't even accept a reward for the cash! Just goes to show you that the world still has some good in it...

Free Advertising

What can I say? I like Coke, and I dunno which ad I like better. The Coca Cola Santa or the Coca Cola Polar Bears... you decide!

A Beavis And Butthead Christmas

What can I say? I did Charlie Brown, why not cover the other half of Christmas cartoons? Here is a Beavis and Butthead Christmas!

Patrick Swayze Christmas

I miss Mystery Science Theatre 3000... it was a great show. Here is a great example of teh funny!

"Hey you keep Christmas in your way, and let me keep it in mine."

Favorite Christmas Movies 8

This is the special Cartoon Edition! It's the weekend, so I am just going to call this one in... not that the previous posts have had a lot of thought put into them. Anyhoo... one cartoon movie popular around this time is A Charlie Brown Christmas! Here it is to enjoy!



This next favorite is for those rhyming fools in the audience... How The Grinch Stole Christmas! Here it is to enjoy!



Last, but not least is Frosty the Snowman. Enjoy!



Maybe later I will update this to include Christmas Comes To PacLand, the classic tale of Xmas for Mr. and Mrs. Pacman.

Happy Chanukah!

I just found out that Chanukah started last night, so Happy Chanukah to our Jewish friends!

I would post a video or song, but sadly the only one I really know is Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song." Anyone wanna fill me in on something is more than welcome!

Happy Holidays to everyone! :)

Favorite Christmas Movies 7

This is a musical, and it has Muppets. It is a great flick for the kids... it is A Muppet Christmas Carol!

Dickens' classic tale has been retold so many ways, and I like the touch of funny yet caring the Muppets put in the movie. This was the first major movie by Jim Henson studios after the death of Jim Henson. His son directed the film, and he did well with his first film.

I will steal the plot outline from Wikipedia:

In this adaptation of the Christmas story narrated by Dickens himself (played by Gonzo the Great), it is Christmas Eve in London. The merriment is not shared by Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine), a surly money-lender who is more interested in profit than celebration. So cold to the season of giving is he that his book-keeping staff, including loyal employee Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog), has to plead with him just to have the day off work during Christmas by pointing out that Scrooge would have no customers on the holiday.

Later that evening, Scrooge finds himself face to face with his former business partners, Jacob and Robert Marley (Statler and Waldorf) who have been condemned to shackles in the afterlife as payment for the horrible deeds they committed in life. They warn him that he will share the same fate if he doesn't change his ways, and foretell the coming of three spirits throughout the night.

Scrooge is first visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, a child-like specter who takes Scrooge on a journey back through time to his youth. He recalls his early school days, during which he focused on his studies; the meeting of a young girl named Belle (Meredith Braun), with whom he would later fall in love; and the final parting between Belle and Scrooge, despite Scrooge's protests that he would marry her as soon as he had enough money. Later, Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present, a somewhat forgetful entity who lives only for the here and now. He gives Scrooge a glimpse into the holiday celebration of others, including Bob Cratchit and his family, and Scrooge's own family, who aren't above cracking jokes at Scrooge's expense. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come reveals the chilling revelation that young Tiny Tim (Robin the Frog) will not survive the coming year, thanks in no small part to the impoverished existence of the Cratchit family. Furthermore, it is revealed that when Scrooge's own time has passed, others will certainly delight in his absence from the world. It is this final epiphany that jolts Scrooge back into humanity, and makes him vow to celebrate with his fellow man. Scrooge plans a feast for Bob Cratchit and his kin and learns to adopt the spirit of Christmas throughout the year.

Again, here is the full movie! I am sure it will be yanked sometime, but hopefully it stays around till after the holidays!

I Link, Therefore I Am

Wanna read the best review of "Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer" EVER? Then go to Mike's Neighborhood and read The Misfits Weren't The Nitwits. Here is a sample of the goodness:

Now . . . let's just get something out in the open right now, shall we? Some of you may be thinking, "Rudolph??? Are you kidding?" Some of you may even be thinking, "This is a silly movie? It isn't even a movie, it's a goddamn children's Christmas special." (And the rest of you are certainly thinking, "For crissakes, I'm already exhausted and he hasn't even started talking about the program yet"). Well tough titties to all of you. Cause this is the choice. And I've got three good reasons to make this selection. In order of importance:

1. The Ultimate Outsider's Story. Misfits, rebels, independents. I was SO all-over this, even as a child (I told you I was a weird kid);

2. I will straight-out mess you up if I hear you dissing Rudolph. Make no mistake; and . . .

3. Yukon. Fucking. Cornelius.

And if that 3rd reason, alone, ain't good enough, then you'd better just stop reading right now and come back next week.

UPDATE: Might as well link to the movie online. Here is Part 1:



Click for Part 2, and Part 3.

Or watch the whole thing at YouTube. Here are links to Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

More Musical House Light Displays

Why post a video when you can have house lighting goodness? The song is SHeDAISY, Deck the Halls:

I Can't Believe This

I am checking out My Confined Space, laughing at the pictures, when what should I come across? A movie poster for Underdog! (yes, THAT Underdog!)



I jokingly make a comment: "What next? Smurfs, the movie?"

I get this answer from peejie:

Actually…yeah kinda. http://imdb.com/title/tt0472181/

That's it. Reality has officially Jumped the Shark.

Annoyed

Somewhere to my little computer the internet tubes got crossed. Thus there are 3 internet sites that I just cannot visit without getting a "error" message. I can surf the tubes fine except for these three sites. I have my ways circumventing the errors by using a proxy server... but having to do that is just annoying. What sites do you ask? Mark Fiore's website which has the BEST flash cartoons, Indianapolis Star newspaper online which I dunno why I would want to visit, and that neato site Think Progress. Now they are not regular sites, just sites I check every so often, but of late the Star has been linked to heavily for that conservative cartoonist DUI and then Think Progress for this administration's shenanigans.

This is just a bitching post, because I am NOT going to call Comcast to sort out where the tubes (or maybe my router) is messing up... because I really really really cannot stand talking to technicians over the phone while trying to fix some little thing on the computer. It is HELL. So I live with it, and bitch.

Can you tell that I am lazy too?

UPDATE: And like magic the internet tubes untangle, and I can reach all the sites. I should have bitched sooner...

World's Greatest Gift Tags

Are you a smart ass even during the Holiday season, and you want some gift tags that express that? Look no further than Roxanne's Gift Tags!

My favorite:

This package is from SANTA®. The worlds leading brand in holiday gift-giving among credulous preteen Christians.

Favorite Christmas Movies 6

You all know it, you all have seen it. It now plays for 24 hours straight on TBS on Christmas Eve. No one knew how popular it would become when it first came out on film in 1983. It is A Christmas Story.

I will just steal the bio from Movies.com about this classic.

Little Ralphie wants nothing more for Christmas than a Red Ryder BB gun, but everyone keeps telling him that he'll shoot his eye out. Over the days and weeks leading up to the fabled day, Ralphie keeps hoping to convince his parents and the department store Santa, all the while evading school bullies and getting caught for saying "the queen mother of dirty words."

I got a lot of video for this... oh were to start?

The Trailer...



Commentary from the DVD:



Commentary on the bunny suit...



For a lot of movie clips, go to Turner Classic Movies.

How about the Dinner scene?



How about Countdown's news report about the house used in filming the movie being remodeled and opened for touring in Ohio?



The Santa scene...



The flagpole...



How about Bunnies acting out A Christmas Story in 30 seconds???



And... um... someone uploaded the entire movie so here is the first part, you can click through to YouTube to easily find the rest of the movie, look for parts 2, 3, 4, and 5. I doubt this stays on very long with copyright infringement and all.




I could do this all day because this movie is EVERYWHERE on the net. So I will stop now... :)

Fox News Cracks Me Up

So are you clueless about what your special Gal wants for Xmas? Don't know what gift to get for your sister or female friend? Foxnews has your back!

As the unofficial first lady of the Playboy Mansion, Hugh Hefner's main squeeze Holly Madison knows a thing or two about women.

And as finding the right holiday gift for the lady in your life is about as daunting as it gets, FOXNews.com turned to the "Girls Next Door" star for some female advice.

“One of the best ways of figuring out the perfect gift is to pay attention to their personality," Madison told us. Your gift should only send the message ‘I love you.’ It shouldn’t say ‘I’m trying to change you."

There is no better expert on gift buying than the first lady of the Playboy Mansion, don't ya know? My favorite part is when they suggest what every woman wants!

Madison, who had the task of shopping for two special women this year (she made sure to spend the exact same amount on Hef's two other live-in girlfriends, Kendra Wilkinson and Bridget Marquadt) suggests sending out feelers to get a sense of what she really wants, and also tapping into your memory bank to recall hints she might have dropped.

But keep in mind that not everything on her yearlong drool list is appropriate for a holiday gift.

“Anything utilitarian is not romantic and gifts should be romantic. You don’t buy someone a gym membership,” Madison said. "I recommend getting jewelry even if you are just in a casual relationship. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. You can buy silver.”

And Hefner, the modern-day Casanova himself, agrees that shiny baubles are the way to go. Last year, Hef bought his gals diamond-faced Jacob and Company bunny watches that gave new meaning to the term Jingle Bell "Rock."

I myself don't like to go with jewelry, because I never know what a person's taste is. Anyway, this news piece is just funny funny funny... I will close this post with a quote about what not to get your Grandmother...

Grandma: Chances are your grandmother doesn’t need anything too extravagant, especially since most of her valuables have been preserved under plastic for half a century.

Today's Must Watch (Christmas) Video

Santa's getting busted...

Long Live The Daily Show

YouTube has been taking down clips from The Daily Show and the Colbert Report, so where can you get your fix AND embed TDS video on your humble blogs? ComedyCentral.com to the rescue! I knew they had videos of the show, but until I saw a Comedy Central video on Feministe, I didn't know that videos were embeddable. Here is last nights show, where Jon bid a fond farewell to the 109th Congress. Oh and it is just HILARIOUS!

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

Since I am full of the Christmas spirit it seems, might as well do something on my favorite Xmas song as a kid. Is it any real shock that it is Dr. Elmo "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer"? I think part of it is that my Grandfather thought it was funny to tell us grandkids the story of how he shot one of Santa's reindeer one Christmas past, and he would show us deer antlers and a deer tail to prove it. As an adult looking back I think it is hilarious... but boy did my Mom lay into him at the time and I didn't understand why.

I have two videos to show, one is the origins of the song with Dr. Elmo, then the original video of "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer"!

Favorite Christmas Movies 5

"Know what I mean?" Here is a movie that most people won't see even around Christmas time... Ernest Saves Christmas.

What can I say, I like very silly movies. This is a good kids movie, IMHO, and will even get laughs out of adults.

With such lines as:

Ernest P. Worell: You know, I don't tell many people this, but Christmas is just about my favorite time. Ever since I was a little kid, I always felt like it was my own personal holiday.

If you have seen the movie, my favorite line is "Air Brakes". I only found one scene from the movie in good quality...



I am scraping the bottom of the barrel for video of this movie... so here is a trailer in very poor video quality...



Jim Varney RIP

Feeling Professional

Ever notice those little pictures up in the address bar and in the browser tabs of IE or Firefox when you visit websites? I guess they are called favicons, and I now I have one! What do you think? Thanks to FileDen for the free icon hosting!

I Link Therefore I Am...

It seems the guy who draws Mallard Fillmore was just arrested for a DUI. Taking Down Words has all the info, and be sure to bookmark her site because it is one of my favorite blogs!

Bestest News Article Evah

I think this piece of hard hitting journalism is going to be a shoo in for a Pulitzer prize...

Grammy-winning pop singer Mariah Carey is trying to block porn star-turned politician Mary Carey from trademarking her similar-sounding stage name, saying that fans could get the two performers confused.

But the adult film actress, whose real name is Mary Cook, said on Friday that she would not be intimidated by the international superstar and will press forward with her trademark application.

"I'm ready to battle Mariah over this because I've been Mary Carey for a long time," Mary Carey told Reuters. "It's kind of funny because I'm a porn star and I've been being myself for a long time. I think she's being silly."

This next paragraph is the part that put me in stitches...

The star of films such as "Double Air Bags 11" and "Boobsville Sorority Girls," she started using the stage name Mary Carey in 2002 and ran for California governor against Arnold Schwarzenegger. She filed the trademark papers earlier this year.

Because really, how often can you say "Double Air Bags 11" and "Boobsville Sorority Girls" in a news article?

Nuts for Squirrels

Shh... be very, very quiet... I am hunting squirrels!

"We're trying to get a glimpse of what your life is like if you are a city squirrel," said Brown, a biologist at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

He and a team of students will trap squirrels in Chicago and its suburbs this winter, taking skin samples for DNA analysis. They'll strap collars on them and watch what they do. And they'll attach threads to acorns and hazelnuts, then see where the squirrels take them and when they eat them.

While the methods aren't unlike those used to study animals in exotic lands, little attention has been paid to those in human neighborhoods. It is, after all, a lot sexier to track gorillas in Africa than a squirrel on Main Street.

"Our appreciation is least in our own backyard," said Brown, who is part of a small brethren of scientists around the country who've made it their business to figure out how squirrels go about theirs.

What they've discovered is that the critters are downright crafty.

Come to think of it, I wonder how the life of a city critter is different than the life of a country critter. Is the city squirrel more worldly than it's redneck cousins in the forest? Inquiring minds wanna know.

I myself think that the research on these squirrels will look striking like squirrel fishing...

Favorite Christmas Movies 4

I am going to just call in this post... Who doesn't know It's A Wonderful Life?

Ya either love it or hate it. I never really watched it from beginning to end till I was in my early twenties... thus I hated it as a teen but now love it. Wanna watch the original trailer to the movie? Go here.

Wait, why did I not just embed the Trailer like I have for every other Christmas movie? Because I can do one better than a trailer this time... I got THE WHOLE MOVIE TO WATCH! So here it is, It's A Wonderful Life:

Favorite Christmas Movies 3

This is the Favorite Christmas Movies by popular demand edition. This Christmas movie has been redone every couple decades, but the original is still the best.

Miracle on 34th Street is a classic. Everyone knows the story... Santa (aka Kris Kringle) becomes the "store Santa" for Macy's... meets a little girl who doesn't believe in Santa so he sets out to prove to her that he is the one and only Santa. Fast forward to a trial to prove his competency, but it turns into a trial of his identity as the one and only Santa, which he wins... everyone lives happily ever after.

The reason I feel the original is better than all the remakes (put together) is because it not only had the best acting, but it struck the best balance of making Santa look like he could either be THE Santa or just some crazy man. It seemed every remake took the insane thing farther and farther... till that 90's flick had Santa talking to "his" reindeer at the NYC Zoo. THAT was really believable.

Plus I like the original because I have a soft heart when it comes to black and white movies. Although, it does look great "colorized" too.

Anyway, for best scene in the movie I nominate the Judge and the political hack who is advising him about how to handle the upcoming Santa case:

Charles Halloran: All right, you go back and tell them that the New York State Supreme Court rules there's no Santa Claus. It's all over the papers. The kids read it and they don't hang up their stockings. Now what happens to all the toys that are supposed to be in those stockings? Nobody buys them. The toy manufacturers are going to like that; so they have to lay off a lot of their employees, union employees. Now you got the CIO and the AF of L against you and they're going to adore you for it and they're going to say it with votes. Oh, and the department stores are going to love you too and the Christmas card makers and the candy companies. Ho ho. Henry, you're going to be an awful popular fella. And what about the Salvation Army? Why, they got a Santa Claus on every corner, and they're taking a fortune. But you go ahead Henry, you do it your way. You go on back in there and tell them that you rule there is no Santy Claus. Go on. But if you do, remember this: you can count on getting just two votes, your own and that district attorney's out there.

Judge Henry X. Harper: The District Attorney's a Republican.

Finding video for these Christmas movies is turning out to be trickier than I anticipated... but here is what I got so far. First the original trailer for the movie, which is NOT like the traditional trailer...



Here is a more traditional trailer, I assume that was cut for use with a TV broadcast...



And a "Crazy Congress" scene:



And for much much more check out Destination Hollywood's Tribute to the movie, where you can find more scenes to watch.

Now, what to do next? Oh I know...

Comix

Sweet Sweet Music

If you scroll down to the bottom of the right panel on this webpage, you will find a box from FineTune. If you then click on play, you would hear streaming music of my choice. This is a very neat and cool thing that I ruthlessly stole from Pure and Easy... just like the gadgets I post.

Now if you flip through my music selection, please note that:

1. I am no music snob
2. My music choices are stuck in the 90's sucky rock catagory
3. You can mock these choices all you want, I don't care what you think :P

Now if you like the interface, I suggest looking into it. They have a huge library, and I was able to find the obsure crap I listened to soo long ago. The only negative is that every so often the play stream will lag, thus stopping the music. Oh and did I mention that it is FREE?

Favorite Christmas Movies 2

It is a classic tale, with a twist. Many people have done Charles Dickens' classic "Scrooge," and who better to play Scrooge than Bill Murray?

Scrooged is set in modern times (the 80s rock), and today's Scrooge is a tv executive. He is visited by his old boss, three ghosts... and changes his life for the better before it is too late.

I think Bill Murray plays this twist role of Scrooge perfectly, you will hate him in the beginning but like the guy by the end. It has a great supporting cast, with Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait stealing scenes at every turn. I will have to watch this movie again this year...

And if you don't believe me about Bobcat... check out this dialog. Bobcat is Elliot and Preston is the top executive of the network calling into the control room during a live broadcast to complain.

Elliot: Hello, IBC program room.
Preston: This is Rhinelander. Who's the idiot that put that nut on the air?
Elliot: Oh, uh, Bryce Cummings is the idiot sir but uh, he can't talk to you right now because he's sorta tied up. Uh-huh. Oh, in fact he just said that you were a flatulating butthead?
Preston: A butthead?
Elliot: He said he never felt that way about a man before but you really looked good in a suit.

I am already loving this series... what shall be next?

Today's Must Watch Video

This video reminds me of when I learned how to drive stick shift...



One of these days I will post something serious and thought provoking, but probably not until after the holidays :)

Google Gadget Of The Day

"[after being kicked out of a theme park] Yeah... well, I'm gonna go build my own theme park! With blackjack and hookers! In fact, forget the park!"
- Bender from Futurama

A Date Which Will Live in Infamy

December 7, 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

If you are interested in finding out more about Pearl Harbor, check out this page at National Geographic. Photo credit to PearlHarbor.com. Another great picture of the memorial can be found at Anders.com by Anders Brownworth.

Favorite Christmas Movies 1

Since I don't blog regularly anyway, might as well start a series about my (or people I know) favorite Christmas movies.

To start out, one of the true classics with a dysfunctional family that reminds me of my own... National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation! It is the Uncle that makes it... how brilliant is the emptying of the "shitter"?

This series is gonna be fun, I tell ya! Video after the fold...

Merry Christmas Pt. 2

In case you weren't sick enough of the lighted house, how about this one?

Merry Christmas

It is cold, it is December... yes the season is upon us. I should have said "happy holidays" just to add fuel to the whole "war on Christmas" thing... yet I am not in the mood to fight it.

So here is todays must watch video, which I am sure everyone has seen already, but it is too good not to share again this time of year. :)

BCS is BS

How can the only loss of the #2 college football team in the nation be to the #1 football team in the nation... but they are considered lesser than other teams?

Florida is going to be BEAT DOWN in the national game. I hope the voters are happy... they didn't put the top two teams up, they put up conference champions. Doesn't matter if they are good or not...

Must. Post. Something.

I know, I know... I am a bad blogger. What else is new? Anyway here is another must watch video:



Speaking of tv for babies... who came up with this crap? Teletubbies? Or have you seen Boohbah? It is more like tv for LSD than for kids...