but i'm lazy. i might do a quickie the lazy 11 days thing, on christmas (assuming a) i bring my laptop to PA to my parents' house and b) i remember....)
but i had to post this link, cos i find it funny, and it ties in very well with.... day 2? the superman one...
http://againwiththecomics.blogspot.com/2007/12/secret-origin-of-santa-claus.html
(i'd just post the images, but i still have presents to wrap and it's late... presents before bloggers.)
23 December, 2007
14 December, 2007
day 14a
this isn't a full post, i just for some reason find this funny. full post will be something more... rodenty.
13 December, 2007
day 13 - s-a-n-t-a c-l-a-u-s hooray for santa claus!
ok.
it's often one of those "worst movie" list movies.
mst3k did an episode around it.
it has pia zadora! (as a kid. but still. other than her appearance in hairspray, and the references on mathnet, pia zadora sucks.)
but, come on, this is just one of the best movie plots i have ever seen:
"The story involves the denizens of the planet Mars, including Momar ("Mom Martian") and Kimar ("King Martian") who are worried that their children Girmar ("Girl Martian") and Bomar ("Boy Martian") are watching too much Earth television, most notably station KID's interview with Santa Claus in his workshop at the North Pole. Consulting the ancient 800-year old Martian sage Chochem, they are advised that the children of Mars are growing distracted due to the society's overly rigid structure; from infancy, all their education is fed into their brains through machines, and they are not allowed individuality or freedom of thought. Chochem sadly notes that he had seen this coming "for centuries", and states that the only way to help the children is to allow them to have freedom, to be allowed to have fun. To do this, they need a Santa Claus figure, like on Earth. Leaving the sage's dwelling, the Martian leaders decide to kidnap Santa Claus from Earth and bring him to Mars to make toys for the children of their planet. One warmongering Martian, Voldar, is in constant disagreement with this idea and repeatedly tries to kill Santa Claus, as well as two kidnapped Earth children, as he believes that Santa is corrupting the children of Mars and turning them away from the race's original glory. Throughout the movie, Santa Claus makes several jokes to the kidnapped children, laughing to himself and met with silence. He then slowly laughs in disappointment each time.
it's absolutely the kind of movie you would expect to see on basic cable/uhf stations during the holiday weekends (see the included video). i particularly love their co-opting of the star wars music for their commercial... and it does include the awesome theme song!
it's often one of those "worst movie" list movies.
mst3k did an episode around it.
it has pia zadora! (as a kid. but still. other than her appearance in hairspray, and the references on mathnet, pia zadora sucks.)
but, come on, this is just one of the best movie plots i have ever seen:
"The story involves the denizens of the planet Mars, including Momar ("Mom Martian") and Kimar ("King Martian") who are worried that their children Girmar ("Girl Martian") and Bomar ("Boy Martian") are watching too much Earth television, most notably station KID's interview with Santa Claus in his workshop at the North Pole. Consulting the ancient 800-year old Martian sage Chochem, they are advised that the children of Mars are growing distracted due to the society's overly rigid structure; from infancy, all their education is fed into their brains through machines, and they are not allowed individuality or freedom of thought. Chochem sadly notes that he had seen this coming "for centuries", and states that the only way to help the children is to allow them to have freedom, to be allowed to have fun. To do this, they need a Santa Claus figure, like on Earth. Leaving the sage's dwelling, the Martian leaders decide to kidnap Santa Claus from Earth and bring him to Mars to make toys for the children of their planet. One warmongering Martian, Voldar, is in constant disagreement with this idea and repeatedly tries to kill Santa Claus, as well as two kidnapped Earth children, as he believes that Santa is corrupting the children of Mars and turning them away from the race's original glory. Throughout the movie, Santa Claus makes several jokes to the kidnapped children, laughing to himself and met with silence. He then slowly laughs in disappointment each time.
When they arrive on Mars, Santa and the children build a factory to make toys for the Martian children. However, Voldar and his assistants, Stobo and Shim, sabotage the factory and change the programming so that it makes the toys incorrectly. Meanwhile, Dropo, a Martian who has been acting silly ever since Santa came to Mars, puts on one of Santa's spare suits and starts talking and acting like Santa Claus. He goes to the toy factory to make toys, but Voldar mistakes him for Santa Claus and kidnaps him. When Santa and the children come back to the factory to make more toys, they discover that the machine has been tampered with. Voldar and Stobo come back to the factory to make a deal with Kimar, but when they see the real Santa Claus in the factory they realize that their plan has been foiled. Dropo, held hostage in a cave, tricks Shim, who was guarding him, and escapes. Kimar then arrests Voldar, Stobo and Shim. Santa notices that Dropo is acting like him, and says that Dropo would make a good Martian Santa Claus. Kimar agrees to make Dropo a Santa Claus on Mars and sends Santa and the children back to earth.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus_Conquers_The_Martians)"
ok. it's bad. worse than bad. but this was the early/mid 60's. comic-surrealism in sci-fi was in. best of all, it's a christmas movie that lacks a lot of the sappiness and moralizing that christmas movies do. yeah, it's shit. bad acting. bad effects. bad directing.
it's absolutely the kind of movie you would expect to see on basic cable/uhf stations during the holiday weekends (see the included video). i particularly love their co-opting of the star wars music for their commercial... and it does include the awesome theme song!
12 December, 2007
day 12 . well, something is vile...
the grinch.
awesome. at least the book, and the original animated speciel. boris karloff! the guy who did the voice of tony the tiger! awesome!
the movie with jim carey?
travesty.
why?
(no, not why is it a travesty. why did they even bother? was it nescessary??)
first, why give the grinch a back story? why make his hatred of christmas and the whos a result of some childhood issues? do we live in such a touchy feely age that a grinch can't just be a grinch, with a two sizes two small heart and a nasty disposition? and isn't cindy lou who supposed to be only 2? do we need jim carey's hamming it up in bad makeup?
ugh. ron howard, i know you like money and stuff but why on earth would yo do this? it's ridiculously cynical. not to mention just really poorly done . i'm glad that the horton hears a who movie coming up is animated, so that regardless of what they do with the story, it won't have the weird, awkwardness of live action actors trying to play dr seuss characters (seriously, the animation looks much more dr seussish and even a little like the animation from the original horton animated thing, which is cool).
sadly, this is is the crap that gets shown on tv - i'm looking at you abc family - and pressed on us as a christmas classic (by the cast of kyleXY, no less!). i'm sure these kids have seen the original and are just contractually required to say how awesome the one that the family channel owns the rights to show is...
sigh.
awesome. at least the book, and the original animated speciel. boris karloff! the guy who did the voice of tony the tiger! awesome!
the movie with jim carey?
travesty.
why?
(no, not why is it a travesty. why did they even bother? was it nescessary??)
first, why give the grinch a back story? why make his hatred of christmas and the whos a result of some childhood issues? do we live in such a touchy feely age that a grinch can't just be a grinch, with a two sizes two small heart and a nasty disposition? and isn't cindy lou who supposed to be only 2? do we need jim carey's hamming it up in bad makeup?
ugh. ron howard, i know you like money and stuff but why on earth would yo do this? it's ridiculously cynical. not to mention just really poorly done . i'm glad that the horton hears a who movie coming up is animated, so that regardless of what they do with the story, it won't have the weird, awkwardness of live action actors trying to play dr seuss characters (seriously, the animation looks much more dr seussish and even a little like the animation from the original horton animated thing, which is cool).
sadly, this is is the crap that gets shown on tv - i'm looking at you abc family - and pressed on us as a christmas classic (by the cast of kyleXY, no less!). i'm sure these kids have seen the original and are just contractually required to say how awesome the one that the family channel owns the rights to show is...
sigh.
holy shit, what?
thanks to wikipedia's article on Rankin Bass:
"The company is now in production with a new holiday film scheduled to be released in 2008. The film will be titled "Rudolph vs. Frosty". It is to fall in line with the recent films depicting classic characters from different series facing off with each other such as "Freddy vs. Jason" and "Alien vs. Predator"."
umm...
ummm......
fuck.
"The company is now in production with a new holiday film scheduled to be released in 2008. The film will be titled "Rudolph vs. Frosty". It is to fall in line with the recent films depicting classic characters from different series facing off with each other such as "Freddy vs. Jason" and "Alien vs. Predator"."
umm...
ummm......
fuck.
11 December, 2007
day 11- how would they know it's christmas?
band aid. nice idea - popular recording artists getting together to aid the starving in africa. bob geldof may be a little bit of a sanctimonious cunt (sorry, but he is. lily allen is right.) but it WAS a nice idea. and where/when else would you have bono, sting, simon le bon, george michael, paul young, and boy george all singing lead together? really.
but... umm... don't they see how it's just a little "white man's burden"-esque?
"well tonight thank god it's them instead of you."?
"There will be no snow in Africa this Christmastime"??
well, first line might be meant ironically. maybe. but is so easily taken as serious - after all, bono sings it with such damned passion. and they do talk about saying a "prayer for the other ones."
and of course there will be no snow in Africa. it's AFRICA. except maybe on mt kilamanjaro there IS no snow. especially since, i'm pretty sure it's summer down there at christmastime.
and, really, other than the ones christianized by the brits and the dutch, a lot of Africans wouldn't know it was christmas, or at least wouldn't care much, because they are muslims.
and really, shouldn't we be thinking of them all year, and not just at christmas?
the song, however, is kind of awesome. and both musically, and in it's sentiments, very thatcher-era britain (just as "we are the world" was very reagan-era USA). and really, what else would you expect? this was still before celebrities actually tried earning points by travelling to Africa, including mr bono. and the little synth line? fucking awesome, though for some reason in my head it sometimes morphs into the intro of "the final countdown."
hmm.
but... umm... don't they see how it's just a little "white man's burden"-esque?
"well tonight thank god it's them instead of you."?
"There will be no snow in Africa this Christmastime"??
well, first line might be meant ironically. maybe. but is so easily taken as serious - after all, bono sings it with such damned passion. and they do talk about saying a "prayer for the other ones."
and of course there will be no snow in Africa. it's AFRICA. except maybe on mt kilamanjaro there IS no snow. especially since, i'm pretty sure it's summer down there at christmastime.
and, really, other than the ones christianized by the brits and the dutch, a lot of Africans wouldn't know it was christmas, or at least wouldn't care much, because they are muslims.
and really, shouldn't we be thinking of them all year, and not just at christmas?
the song, however, is kind of awesome. and both musically, and in it's sentiments, very thatcher-era britain (just as "we are the world" was very reagan-era USA). and really, what else would you expect? this was still before celebrities actually tried earning points by travelling to Africa, including mr bono. and the little synth line? fucking awesome, though for some reason in my head it sometimes morphs into the intro of "the final countdown."
hmm.
10 December, 2007
mtv get off the air, now! (not christmas)
everyone write nasty letters to eMpTyV NOW and demand they rectify this (from the State official website):
"* * * NOTE (Nov 1, 2007): We are sorry to report The State DVD is now NOT being released this fall. We worked closely with MTV to make a great DVD set with lots of extras for the show, and the DVDs are completed, but they have chosen not to release the set at this time. We don't know why."
seriously. what is this bullshit? they have chosen not to... what? the time is NOW! while things like reno 911 are hot. while christmas is coming. while...
i want it!
(i'll still want it 3, 6, 9, 12 months from now but....)
"* * * NOTE (Nov 1, 2007): We are sorry to report The State DVD is now NOT being released this fall. We worked closely with MTV to make a great DVD set with lots of extras for the show, and the DVDs are completed, but they have chosen not to release the set at this time. We don't know why."
seriously. what is this bullshit? they have chosen not to... what? the time is NOW! while things like reno 911 are hot. while christmas is coming. while...
i want it!
(i'll still want it 3, 6, 9, 12 months from now but....)
day 10
charles dickens never thought of this badly animated, slightly repulsive, definitely non-christmasy, bit of "holiday special":
"Cricket on the Hearth" is, of course, not charles dickens' best known christmas story (did he like this one better? hmm. don't know. i haven't heard of him having yo get completely plastered in order to read this one to audiences, though my guess is the makers of the animated film might have been...)
quick plot synopsis, of the original:
"John Peerybingle, a carrier, lives with his wife Dot (who is much younger than he), their baby, their nanny Tilly Slowboy, and a mysterious lodger. A cricket constantly chirps on the hearth and acts as a guardian angel to the family, at one point assuming a human voice to warn John that his suspicions that Dot is having an affair with the lodger are wrong.
The life of the Peerybingles frequently intersects with that of Caleb Plummer, a poor toymaker employed by the miser Mr. Tackleton. Caleb has a blind daughter Bertha, and a son Edward, who travelled to South America and seemingly never returned. Tackleton is now on the eve of marrying Edward's sweetheart, May.
In the end, the lodger is revealed to be none other than Edward. Tackleton's heart is melted by the Christmas season, like Ebenezer Scrooge, and surrenders May to marry her true love. It is suggested ambiguously that Bertha regains her sight at the end. It has also been theorized that the ending paragraph is revealing the baby as the narrator of the story, which he would have been shown by the Cricket"
the cartoon casts off much of this story, focusing more on caleb a bertha, and altering their story quite considerable. truthfully, the cartoon resembles the original in that there's a cricket, a hearth, some wacky mistaken identity (edward is now bertha's beau, not brother, whose dissappearance is what makes bertha blind), a bunch of sweet, sappy, and completely unrelated song numbers - with pretty colors! - and danny thomas (who does the voice of caleb) giving is a nice intro, claiming it to be "charles dickens classic" and then also closing the show, in live action, telling us who played who - his daughter played, well, his daughter; roddy mcdowel played the cricket - and a reminder of the true meaning of the holiday.
the character of tackelton is kept, and probably as dickens meant him - a miserly, and very visible "jewish" stereotype (no, tackelton isn't a jewish name, but that didn't seem to stop the animators.) a weird plot point with him is his pet crow, who he has kidnap the cricket with a monkey and a dog (who meet at the bar where the singing burlesque cat performs), though it's ultimately thwarted.
ummm....
honestly, i can't find a lot of info/pictures/footage. it's available as part of a christmas classics boxed set, which also has rudolph and frosty. and... yeah. i don't think i've seen it on tv - abc family aside - since i was a little kid. seeing it now - i watched it again recently - i'm not sure it's as good as i remember it being. it certainly doesn't SUCK, but between the extremely hippy-ish, late 60's songs and animation, it's quite awkward to watch it now.
and the cricket, seriously, looks like a pickle!
"Cricket on the Hearth" is, of course, not charles dickens' best known christmas story (did he like this one better? hmm. don't know. i haven't heard of him having yo get completely plastered in order to read this one to audiences, though my guess is the makers of the animated film might have been...)
quick plot synopsis, of the original:
"John Peerybingle, a carrier, lives with his wife Dot (who is much younger than he), their baby, their nanny Tilly Slowboy, and a mysterious lodger. A cricket constantly chirps on the hearth and acts as a guardian angel to the family, at one point assuming a human voice to warn John that his suspicions that Dot is having an affair with the lodger are wrong.
The life of the Peerybingles frequently intersects with that of Caleb Plummer, a poor toymaker employed by the miser Mr. Tackleton. Caleb has a blind daughter Bertha, and a son Edward, who travelled to South America and seemingly never returned. Tackleton is now on the eve of marrying Edward's sweetheart, May.
In the end, the lodger is revealed to be none other than Edward. Tackleton's heart is melted by the Christmas season, like Ebenezer Scrooge, and surrenders May to marry her true love. It is suggested ambiguously that Bertha regains her sight at the end. It has also been theorized that the ending paragraph is revealing the baby as the narrator of the story, which he would have been shown by the Cricket"
the cartoon casts off much of this story, focusing more on caleb a bertha, and altering their story quite considerable. truthfully, the cartoon resembles the original in that there's a cricket, a hearth, some wacky mistaken identity (edward is now bertha's beau, not brother, whose dissappearance is what makes bertha blind), a bunch of sweet, sappy, and completely unrelated song numbers - with pretty colors! - and danny thomas (who does the voice of caleb) giving is a nice intro, claiming it to be "charles dickens classic" and then also closing the show, in live action, telling us who played who - his daughter played, well, his daughter; roddy mcdowel played the cricket - and a reminder of the true meaning of the holiday.
the character of tackelton is kept, and probably as dickens meant him - a miserly, and very visible "jewish" stereotype (no, tackelton isn't a jewish name, but that didn't seem to stop the animators.) a weird plot point with him is his pet crow, who he has kidnap the cricket with a monkey and a dog (who meet at the bar where the singing burlesque cat performs), though it's ultimately thwarted.
ummm....
honestly, i can't find a lot of info/pictures/footage. it's available as part of a christmas classics boxed set, which also has rudolph and frosty. and... yeah. i don't think i've seen it on tv - abc family aside - since i was a little kid. seeing it now - i watched it again recently - i'm not sure it's as good as i remember it being. it certainly doesn't SUCK, but between the extremely hippy-ish, late 60's songs and animation, it's quite awkward to watch it now.
and the cricket, seriously, looks like a pickle!
09 December, 2007
day 9
rankin\/bass gave us the classics. rudolph. frosty. jack frost.
the year without a santa clause.
truthfully, the title is misleading, as santa gets off his arse and decides not to get a well deserved rest. it's overall a great story, really, showing the importance of the christmas spirit of giving, etc. but the whole heat miser/snow miser portion of the plot...
umm...
what?
are they villains? they're certainly set up that way at first, but then when we see them again, they're petulant children, with song and dance numbers too boot...
what's with the mini-them dancing around and singing with them? creepy! and there's something just a little... well... i don't think heat miser's the only one who's "flaming." if you get what i mean (i'm amazed paul lynde didn't do one of the voices) but they're definitely not villains, just minor nuisance/antagonists who get dealt with pretty easily.
so, to help get the south to have christmas spirit (because it's hot! amazingly, though there's not a single colored person in "southland USA", the christmas spirit has nothing to do with jim crow, which given the apparent time period, is definitely in effect), two elves and mrs claus have to get it to snow. so they contact these two brothers, and ultimately their mother -mother nature, of course, the family resemblance completely lacking - to make it happen. and guess what! it doesn't work! well... wait... does it? no, i guess not, because it's not the snow that makes santa believe that people believe again. it's a sappy rendition of "blue christmas" sung by a sad little girl (featuring puppets with huge, disproportionate blobs of glycerine on their eyes) and then, a bunch of racial/ethnic stereotyped children - though i guess it's a little more like the small world ride at disney get together and give santa presents.
they did a tv remake a few years ago, with john goodman playing santa (yeah, goodman taking part in another ruining remake/sequel to a rankin-bass classic!... i'll talk about frosty returns another day). they kept the heatmiser/snowmiser songs sort of - harvey firestein played the heat miser? wtf?!?! was that necessary? ugh.
(i feel sad putting this here, but...)
the dancing girls are unnecessary, though i'm guessing nbc lacked the budget to make mini-michael mckean/harvey feirsteins, but it made me think of the one bad thing about "viva variety" which was the dancing girls thrown into every musical act's number... regardless of the song/act (yeah. viva variety. with the state DVD in limbo, i'm assuming we'll NEVER see that either....)
the year without a santa clause.
truthfully, the title is misleading, as santa gets off his arse and decides not to get a well deserved rest. it's overall a great story, really, showing the importance of the christmas spirit of giving, etc. but the whole heat miser/snow miser portion of the plot...
umm...
what?
are they villains? they're certainly set up that way at first, but then when we see them again, they're petulant children, with song and dance numbers too boot...
what's with the mini-them dancing around and singing with them? creepy! and there's something just a little... well... i don't think heat miser's the only one who's "flaming." if you get what i mean (i'm amazed paul lynde didn't do one of the voices) but they're definitely not villains, just minor nuisance/antagonists who get dealt with pretty easily.
so, to help get the south to have christmas spirit (because it's hot! amazingly, though there's not a single colored person in "southland USA", the christmas spirit has nothing to do with jim crow, which given the apparent time period, is definitely in effect), two elves and mrs claus have to get it to snow. so they contact these two brothers, and ultimately their mother -mother nature, of course, the family resemblance completely lacking - to make it happen. and guess what! it doesn't work! well... wait... does it? no, i guess not, because it's not the snow that makes santa believe that people believe again. it's a sappy rendition of "blue christmas" sung by a sad little girl (featuring puppets with huge, disproportionate blobs of glycerine on their eyes) and then, a bunch of racial/ethnic stereotyped children - though i guess it's a little more like the small world ride at disney get together and give santa presents.
they did a tv remake a few years ago, with john goodman playing santa (yeah, goodman taking part in another ruining remake/sequel to a rankin-bass classic!... i'll talk about frosty returns another day). they kept the heatmiser/snowmiser songs sort of - harvey firestein played the heat miser? wtf?!?! was that necessary? ugh.
(i feel sad putting this here, but...)
the dancing girls are unnecessary, though i'm guessing nbc lacked the budget to make mini-michael mckean/harvey feirsteins, but it made me think of the one bad thing about "viva variety" which was the dancing girls thrown into every musical act's number... regardless of the song/act (yeah. viva variety. with the state DVD in limbo, i'm assuming we'll NEVER see that either....)
08 December, 2007
day 8
oh the wonders of backdating... not that i would... no.... never...
but anyway.
ahh, mid 80's rap. before bling, puffy, and the benjamins ruined it. before everyone got scowly and serious (ok, i like a lot of the scowly, serious rappers too, but give me almost anything before 1989 or so over most of what gangsta wrought, and especially over all the puffy/ma$e/whatever junk of the mid 90's).
could a modern rap act even get away with this? probably not, at least not one with the kind of mainstream acceptance that got RunDMC on the first "very special christmas" compilation in the first place. maybe some of the more indie minded rappers, but anyone else would just make a mockery of it. not that the song isn't "funny," but it's certainly not a joke.
best lyrics:
It's Christmas time in Hollis Queens
Mom's cooking chicken and collard greens
Rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese
And Santa put gifts under Christmas trees
Decorate the house with lights at night
Snow's on the ground, snow white so bright
In the fireplace is the yule log
Beneath the mistle toe as we drink egg nog
The rhymes that you hear are the rhymes of Darryl's
But each and every year we bust Christmas carols
it's sort of silly, and innocent, and... awesome.
someone - POD, maybe? - did a godawful remake of this a few years ago. they did keep the lyrics but it was unnecessary. nobody can really recapture this. back when Rap was young, and - while still certainly socially conscious - wasn't above just having a simple good time, without everything that would these days be railed against by social commentators as "negative influences."
i definitely count this as one of my favorite christmas songs ever.
but anyway.
ahh, mid 80's rap. before bling, puffy, and the benjamins ruined it. before everyone got scowly and serious (ok, i like a lot of the scowly, serious rappers too, but give me almost anything before 1989 or so over most of what gangsta wrought, and especially over all the puffy/ma$e/whatever junk of the mid 90's).
could a modern rap act even get away with this? probably not, at least not one with the kind of mainstream acceptance that got RunDMC on the first "very special christmas" compilation in the first place. maybe some of the more indie minded rappers, but anyone else would just make a mockery of it. not that the song isn't "funny," but it's certainly not a joke.
best lyrics:
It's Christmas time in Hollis Queens
Mom's cooking chicken and collard greens
Rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese
And Santa put gifts under Christmas trees
Decorate the house with lights at night
Snow's on the ground, snow white so bright
In the fireplace is the yule log
Beneath the mistle toe as we drink egg nog
The rhymes that you hear are the rhymes of Darryl's
But each and every year we bust Christmas carols
it's sort of silly, and innocent, and... awesome.
someone - POD, maybe? - did a godawful remake of this a few years ago. they did keep the lyrics but it was unnecessary. nobody can really recapture this. back when Rap was young, and - while still certainly socially conscious - wasn't above just having a simple good time, without everything that would these days be railed against by social commentators as "negative influences."
i definitely count this as one of my favorite christmas songs ever.
07 December, 2007
day7-chompchompchomp
ok. there was supposed to be a day 6 but because of car accidents due to stupid high school kids who are late for foorball games...
here's day 7: one of the best memories i have of holiday cartoon goodness from my childhood
i think it really speaks for itself. (and, awesomely, this links to the whole special! thanks aol!)
a few things though: pac man's kind of a jerk. i never really thought of him as being from brooklyn either.... and why are the ghosts singing jingle bells? i mean, why not but... why?
this pops up on cartoon network every once and a while, but when i was a kid it was really a staple of the USA cartoon express. being a little nerd like i was, i loved the pac man cartoon for a lot of reasons (honestly, i'm not sure i played a lot of pac man as a kid. we had it on our Atari, but i think i was more of a "burger time" fan, and "pitfall." that, and our atari burned out when i was 6 so... looking back, i think they took a lot of liberties with the game and such to make the cartoon - all video game cartoons/movie adaptations do this though so i can't blame em, and pac man doesn't really give a ready made backstory - unlike mario or even zelda. in some ways, it feels like more hanna barbera taking classic concepts from old tv and movies (the flintstones as a prehistoric honeymooners, for example) and applying beloved video game characters over it. i'm sure - though nothing rings a bell - that like a lot of animated holiday specials, this is a redone tale with some pac man lingo thrown in.
truthfully, though, i just love that christmas came to pacland. it's up there with santa and superman. and it's just absolutely fucking brilliant.
anyway. tomorrow resumes normal schedule. i'll make up for missing one by making a super post or something, possibly related to the show we didn't see due to the accident, a christmas carol.
here's day 7: one of the best memories i have of holiday cartoon goodness from my childhood
i think it really speaks for itself. (and, awesomely, this links to the whole special! thanks aol!)
a few things though: pac man's kind of a jerk. i never really thought of him as being from brooklyn either.... and why are the ghosts singing jingle bells? i mean, why not but... why?
this pops up on cartoon network every once and a while, but when i was a kid it was really a staple of the USA cartoon express. being a little nerd like i was, i loved the pac man cartoon for a lot of reasons (honestly, i'm not sure i played a lot of pac man as a kid. we had it on our Atari, but i think i was more of a "burger time" fan, and "pitfall." that, and our atari burned out when i was 6 so... looking back, i think they took a lot of liberties with the game and such to make the cartoon - all video game cartoons/movie adaptations do this though so i can't blame em, and pac man doesn't really give a ready made backstory - unlike mario or even zelda. in some ways, it feels like more hanna barbera taking classic concepts from old tv and movies (the flintstones as a prehistoric honeymooners, for example) and applying beloved video game characters over it. i'm sure - though nothing rings a bell - that like a lot of animated holiday specials, this is a redone tale with some pac man lingo thrown in.
truthfully, though, i just love that christmas came to pacland. it's up there with santa and superman. and it's just absolutely fucking brilliant.
anyway. tomorrow resumes normal schedule. i'll make up for missing one by making a super post or something, possibly related to the show we didn't see due to the accident, a christmas carol.
04 December, 2007
day 4 - thin white angel of death vs. bing
Bing Crosby - Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy
Posted Nov 07, 2006first of all, it's obvious that david bowie knows exactly who he's talking to when he mentions he "even has a go at white christmas." wink nudge. of course, this was all a planned number, but it completely loses the pretense of sponteneity when he says that. but, at the same time, i doubt the audience would particularly give a damn. i would really not be surprised if bing had no idea who he was talking to, though even that's unlikely - this was when bowie was particularly huge, both in the UK and the US. to assume that he wouldn't know bowie at all...
when bing asks bowie if he likes any of the old stuff, bowie replies he likes john lennon and harry nilsson. ha! wacky way to show the generational difference!
the song itself is my next point of contention. seriously, if "little drummer boy" is david bowie's son's "favorite," why does he end up singing an entirely different song? according to the washington post:
"The original plan had been for Bowie and Crosby to sing just "Little Drummer Boy." But "David came in and said: 'I hate this song. Is there something else I could sing?' " Fraser said. "We didn't know quite what to do."not that the "peace on earth" song is BAD. it just, again, makes no sense in the setup. (hell, the setup that "white christmas" is one of the "traditional" things is sort of silly too...)
Fraser, Kohan and Grossman left the set and found a piano in the studios' basement. In about 75 minutes, they wrote "Peace on Earth," an original tune, and worked out an arrangement that weaved together the two songs. Bowie and Crosby nailed the performance with less than an hour of rehearsal."
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/19/AR2006121901260.html)
i guess there's not much more to say about this. bing crosby died not too much later, giving a sort of creepy "angel of death" vibe to david bowie (they also aired a performanc/video of heroes on the special, as they had done for marc bolan. both crosby and bolan died before their respective specials aired).
years later, bob mould and craig kilbourne did a note for note, word for word, remake of this for the daily show before john stewart made it the awesomeness it is today (sadly, i can't find a video of this). thankfully, neither of them died before it aired...
03 December, 2007
25 days of x-mas day 3
i posted about this back when i first started my blog, but it being christmas i thought i'd revisit it and all it's "pre-crisis" cheesiness.
so first, the cover. a little misleading when it comes to the story, but really, a lot of cominc book covers are these days (seriously, who ever sees those comic book covers with two heroes "fighting" and thinks that, inside, you'll see a giant superhero battle royale? world war hulk and civil war aside), and were even more in those days. but no, nowhere in this issue is superman going down a chimney or toyman ambushing the big boy scout and the man in the big red suit from the rooftop with an army of toy soldiers.
the issue itself is the kind of story you really won't find anywhere in comics today, except maybe in some indie's homaging of this era. post crisis DC comics are, largely, too "serious" for this type of story (though apparently someone's bringing back bat-mite soon!).
a few things to remember: the fortress of solitude is in the north pole. santa's workshop is in the north pole. it only seems natural that these worlds would collide.
after superman stops timmy from robbing a charity worker, he finds that the kid is under the hypnotic spell of a toy made by the original toyman, so he takes him to the fortress to cure him. suddenly, a beam from the toy hits superman and he falls from the sky - the victim of toyman finding "meteorite laced with White Dwarf-Star matter on sale as a paperweight." (seriously, who writes this stuff?)
superman wakes to find himself surrounded by elves and santa himself. he wonders why he has never seen it, which is apparently the result of magic (superman can't beat magic) because only people who santa wants to see it... blah blah blah... they tour the workshop and superman sees a toy that reminds him of one he had when he was a baby that was destoyed when krypton went kerblooey - a thought projecting device.
superman still too weak to fight toyman, santa offers to help, even giving him a ride on the sleigh. they go down toyman's chimney and... well... santa unleashes his "good toys" to beat toyman's "bad toys" which were all carrying kryptonite making santa's help a necessity.
when all is said - all the evil hypnotic toys are rounded up and everything seems great - another "gravity beam" hits superman. he wakes up in the snow at the fortress with timmy hovering over him, and thinking his entire santa encounter was a dream. then, when he gets home, he finds.... a thought projector! which then projects an image of santa wishing him a happy christmas!
all in all, it's a fun comic. good clean american christmas fun. of course, i wouldn't be me without pointing out a glaring - to me at least - plot point. superman thought the entire santa encounter was a dream, shouldn't he have then immediately thought the entire toyman battle was fake, not return timmy home yet, and go after toyman? granted, it wasn't a dream but still... superman might not be as knee jerk as some superheroes, but he's not methodical or contemplating either.
i'm sure there are other great christmasy comics... i just might have to talk about them sometime.
so first, the cover. a little misleading when it comes to the story, but really, a lot of cominc book covers are these days (seriously, who ever sees those comic book covers with two heroes "fighting" and thinks that, inside, you'll see a giant superhero battle royale? world war hulk and civil war aside), and were even more in those days. but no, nowhere in this issue is superman going down a chimney or toyman ambushing the big boy scout and the man in the big red suit from the rooftop with an army of toy soldiers.
the issue itself is the kind of story you really won't find anywhere in comics today, except maybe in some indie's homaging of this era. post crisis DC comics are, largely, too "serious" for this type of story (though apparently someone's bringing back bat-mite soon!).
a few things to remember: the fortress of solitude is in the north pole. santa's workshop is in the north pole. it only seems natural that these worlds would collide.
after superman stops timmy from robbing a charity worker, he finds that the kid is under the hypnotic spell of a toy made by the original toyman, so he takes him to the fortress to cure him. suddenly, a beam from the toy hits superman and he falls from the sky - the victim of toyman finding "meteorite laced with White Dwarf-Star matter on sale as a paperweight." (seriously, who writes this stuff?)
superman wakes to find himself surrounded by elves and santa himself. he wonders why he has never seen it, which is apparently the result of magic (superman can't beat magic) because only people who santa wants to see it... blah blah blah... they tour the workshop and superman sees a toy that reminds him of one he had when he was a baby that was destoyed when krypton went kerblooey - a thought projecting device.
superman still too weak to fight toyman, santa offers to help, even giving him a ride on the sleigh. they go down toyman's chimney and... well... santa unleashes his "good toys" to beat toyman's "bad toys" which were all carrying kryptonite making santa's help a necessity.
when all is said - all the evil hypnotic toys are rounded up and everything seems great - another "gravity beam" hits superman. he wakes up in the snow at the fortress with timmy hovering over him, and thinking his entire santa encounter was a dream. then, when he gets home, he finds.... a thought projector! which then projects an image of santa wishing him a happy christmas!
all in all, it's a fun comic. good clean american christmas fun. of course, i wouldn't be me without pointing out a glaring - to me at least - plot point. superman thought the entire santa encounter was a dream, shouldn't he have then immediately thought the entire toyman battle was fake, not return timmy home yet, and go after toyman? granted, it wasn't a dream but still... superman might not be as knee jerk as some superheroes, but he's not methodical or contemplating either.
i'm sure there are other great christmasy comics... i just might have to talk about them sometime.
02 December, 2007
day 2: holiday heap recap and joy
so the CCCM's second show, holiday heap, has now come and gone. and let's just say it was AWESOME! seriously, even with the sort of hectic feeling of the last week, it was seriously one of the coolest things i have ever been a part of.
first things first, sleepy records (ie annie and me) DJ set lists:
hour 1:
The Godfather Waltz
Fairytale of New York - The Pogues
No Action - Elvis Costello
Kings Of The Wild Frontier - Adam & The Ants
Johnny 99 - Los Lobos
Comic Strip - Serge Gainsbourg
The Gash - The Flaming Lips
Let Me Go Home - Camera Obscura
Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
Spanish Bombs - The Clash
Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight) [Single Version] -The
Ramones
No. 5 (Boogie Woogie No. 5) - Puffy AmiYumi
A Little Respect - Erasure
Like a Virgin - Madonna
Kiss - Prince
If She Knew What She Wants - The Bangles
hour 2:
Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Christmas Time is Here-Ivy
City Morning Song-Sarah Shannon
Postcards From Italy-Beirut
anthems for a seventeen year old girl - Broken Social Scene
The Start of Something-Voxtrot
christmas time is here-capsela
Silver Lining-Beulah
New York Snow-Looper
Frankly, Mr. Shankly-The Smiths
Try A Little Tenderness-Otis Redding
When the curious girl realizes she is under glass - Bright Eyes
Puttin' On The Ritz-Shiny Toy Guns
The Best Days - Softies
Everything And More - Dolly Mixture
Call Me - I Am The World Trade Center
Thanks for Christmas - XTC
The Sun Goes Down And The World Goes Dancing - The Magnetic Fields
hour 3:
Let's Go Crazy - Prince & The Revolution
Party Time (a Womyn's Luv)- Lesbians On Ecstasy
She Bop - Cyndi Lauper
Push It - Salt-N-Pepa
Friendship Station - Le Tigre
Bust a Move -Young MC
Don't You Want Me -The Human League
The Sound Of The Crowd - superheroes
Major Tom (Coming Home) - Peter Schilling
Electric Renaissance - Belle & Sebastian
Ultraviolence - New Order
24 Hour Party People - Happy MondaysM
Do You Want to - Franz Ferdinand
Riot Radio -The Dead 60s
hour 4:
The Christmas song The Raveonettes
Credit In The Straight World Young Marble Giants
Temptation (Original 7-inch) New Order
Dancefloor The Brunettes
St. James Infirmary Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
First Of The Gang To Die Morrissey
Another Girl, Another Planet The Only Ones
Feed The World Richard Davies
Girls & Boys (Pet Shop Boys 7" Mix) Blur
The Fox in the Snow Rasputina
Motorcrash Sugarcubes
Three Girl Rhumba Wire
Tales of Brave Aphrodite Velocity Girl
New England Kirsty MacColl
Christmas In Hollis Run DMC
All The Right Reasons Dressy Bessy
Let's Pretend We're Married Prince
hour 5:
Squance - Plaid
Xtal - Aphex Twin
As Serious As Your Life - FourTet
Risingson - Massive Attack
Death Goes To The Disco - Pulp
Halo - Depeche Mode
Discotraxx - Ladytron
Computer Blue - Prince & The Revolution
Dance 1- Kiss Me Deadly
Sing Songs Along - Tilly & The Wall
Fire In Cairo - The Cure
The Day That Thatcher Dies - Hefner
(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais - The Clash
Dreaming - Blondie
hour 6:
In the Bleak Midwinter - The Pipettes
Round - Lou Barlow
Y Control [ The Faint Remix ]- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Pocket Calculator - Kraftwerk
Crazy Rhythms - The Feelies
Santa, Bring My Baby Back to Me - Belle & Sebastian
Killing - The Rapture
Rock_Me_Amadeus - Falco
Broadway (So Many People) - Low
I Was Born On Christmas Day - Saint Etienne
Chick Habit - April March
Fools Rush In - Bow Wow Wow
Everythings Just Wonderful - Lily Allen
Victoria - The Fall
White Lines - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
White Christmas - Bright Eyes
Sally MacLennane - The Pogues
hour 7:
Creepy Santa
Just Like Christmas - Low
Knee Deep At the National Pop League - Camera Obscura
Sweeping The Nation - Spearmint
The Model - Belle & Sebastian
Talulah Gosh - Talulah Gosh
Waterfall - The Stone Roses
Ask - The Smiths
Tracy and I - Little Name
Spotlight on Christmas - Rufus Wainwright
Silver and Gold - Calla
The Only Moment We Were Alone - Explosions In The Sky
Sea-Microphone - Cake On Cake
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra
we got a lot of great compliments for our sets, which is always nice we're talking of a) getting some real DJing equipment, so we don't run into the issues we had at 2640 with the sound equipment (i mean, it worked but... yikes. plugging a portable cd player into a mixer and then doing some neat wiring and cabling tricks to get sound into the second room just doesn't work so well... i mean, it does, but seriously could have been better managed...)
the sleepy records table was a success as well, though i guess since we were basically giving things away, it really couldn't do anything but. we also got a good bit of donation money for the baltimore sandwhich project and other sleepy records projects, though i think the adorable bear helped:
next time, i think, we'll actually sell stuff (6 months to make product for little mouse vintage and maybe have some cd's/tshirts/etc. for sale from sleepy... yeah... we can do it....). but other vendors who were selling things were also phenominally successful! lots of people! lots of money!
one of my favorite non-mafia vendors - other than karma's cafe which was tres awesome with her cider and deliciousa cookies - was noosed kitty (ok, her work has a morbid end to it, but it's also brilliant - i got a print and some badges). but there were so many good vendors (including the cigar box guitar guy... go here for the complete list of vendors.)
we also had some fun with decorating with dinoboy
,
who strangely here is sideways because my camera did something funny when it loaded the picture, and whose santa hat and beard you can't get the full effect of...
as well as with one of the coolest, most exciting movie homages ever:
which got zero outraged comments, despite the presence of children (ann apparently was even warned, while wearing her antlers, that "they're beheading reindeer in the other room").
all in all, exhausting - especially after trying to lug boxes and bags of canned good to my car and then back because we realized the impossibility of carrying and storing them until friday and then found out the the shelter at the church where the even was could take the canned goods - but absolutely bloody brilliant.
now starts the planning for the next show... pile of craft 2!
first things first, sleepy records (ie annie and me) DJ set lists:
hour 1:
The Godfather Waltz
Fairytale of New York - The Pogues
No Action - Elvis Costello
Kings Of The Wild Frontier - Adam & The Ants
Johnny 99 - Los Lobos
Comic Strip - Serge Gainsbourg
The Gash - The Flaming Lips
Let Me Go Home - Camera Obscura
Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
Spanish Bombs - The Clash
Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight) [Single Version] -The
Ramones
No. 5 (Boogie Woogie No. 5) - Puffy AmiYumi
A Little Respect - Erasure
Like a Virgin - Madonna
Kiss - Prince
If She Knew What She Wants - The Bangles
hour 2:
Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Christmas Time is Here-Ivy
City Morning Song-Sarah Shannon
Postcards From Italy-Beirut
anthems for a seventeen year old girl - Broken Social Scene
The Start of Something-Voxtrot
christmas time is here-capsela
Silver Lining-Beulah
New York Snow-Looper
Frankly, Mr. Shankly-The Smiths
Try A Little Tenderness-Otis Redding
When the curious girl realizes she is under glass - Bright Eyes
Puttin' On The Ritz-Shiny Toy Guns
The Best Days - Softies
Everything And More - Dolly Mixture
Call Me - I Am The World Trade Center
Thanks for Christmas - XTC
The Sun Goes Down And The World Goes Dancing - The Magnetic Fields
hour 3:
Let's Go Crazy - Prince & The Revolution
Party Time (a Womyn's Luv)- Lesbians On Ecstasy
She Bop - Cyndi Lauper
Push It - Salt-N-Pepa
Friendship Station - Le Tigre
Bust a Move -Young MC
Don't You Want Me -The Human League
The Sound Of The Crowd - superheroes
Major Tom (Coming Home) - Peter Schilling
Electric Renaissance - Belle & Sebastian
Ultraviolence - New Order
24 Hour Party People - Happy MondaysM
Do You Want to - Franz Ferdinand
Riot Radio -The Dead 60s
hour 4:
The Christmas song The Raveonettes
Credit In The Straight World Young Marble Giants
Temptation (Original 7-inch) New Order
Dancefloor The Brunettes
St. James Infirmary Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
First Of The Gang To Die Morrissey
Another Girl, Another Planet The Only Ones
Feed The World Richard Davies
Girls & Boys (Pet Shop Boys 7" Mix) Blur
The Fox in the Snow Rasputina
Motorcrash Sugarcubes
Three Girl Rhumba Wire
Tales of Brave Aphrodite Velocity Girl
New England Kirsty MacColl
Christmas In Hollis Run DMC
All The Right Reasons Dressy Bessy
Let's Pretend We're Married Prince
hour 5:
Squance - Plaid
Xtal - Aphex Twin
As Serious As Your Life - FourTet
Risingson - Massive Attack
Death Goes To The Disco - Pulp
Halo - Depeche Mode
Discotraxx - Ladytron
Computer Blue - Prince & The Revolution
Dance 1- Kiss Me Deadly
Sing Songs Along - Tilly & The Wall
Fire In Cairo - The Cure
The Day That Thatcher Dies - Hefner
(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais - The Clash
Dreaming - Blondie
hour 6:
In the Bleak Midwinter - The Pipettes
Round - Lou Barlow
Y Control [ The Faint Remix ]- Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Pocket Calculator - Kraftwerk
Crazy Rhythms - The Feelies
Santa, Bring My Baby Back to Me - Belle & Sebastian
Killing - The Rapture
Rock_Me_Amadeus - Falco
Broadway (So Many People) - Low
I Was Born On Christmas Day - Saint Etienne
Chick Habit - April March
Fools Rush In - Bow Wow Wow
Everythings Just Wonderful - Lily Allen
Victoria - The Fall
White Lines - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
White Christmas - Bright Eyes
Sally MacLennane - The Pogues
hour 7:
Creepy Santa
Just Like Christmas - Low
Knee Deep At the National Pop League - Camera Obscura
Sweeping The Nation - Spearmint
The Model - Belle & Sebastian
Talulah Gosh - Talulah Gosh
Waterfall - The Stone Roses
Ask - The Smiths
Tracy and I - Little Name
Spotlight on Christmas - Rufus Wainwright
Silver and Gold - Calla
The Only Moment We Were Alone - Explosions In The Sky
Sea-Microphone - Cake On Cake
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra
we got a lot of great compliments for our sets, which is always nice we're talking of a) getting some real DJing equipment, so we don't run into the issues we had at 2640 with the sound equipment (i mean, it worked but... yikes. plugging a portable cd player into a mixer and then doing some neat wiring and cabling tricks to get sound into the second room just doesn't work so well... i mean, it does, but seriously could have been better managed...)
the sleepy records table was a success as well, though i guess since we were basically giving things away, it really couldn't do anything but. we also got a good bit of donation money for the baltimore sandwhich project and other sleepy records projects, though i think the adorable bear helped:
next time, i think, we'll actually sell stuff (6 months to make product for little mouse vintage and maybe have some cd's/tshirts/etc. for sale from sleepy... yeah... we can do it....). but other vendors who were selling things were also phenominally successful! lots of people! lots of money!
one of my favorite non-mafia vendors - other than karma's cafe which was tres awesome with her cider and deliciousa cookies - was noosed kitty (ok, her work has a morbid end to it, but it's also brilliant - i got a print and some badges). but there were so many good vendors (including the cigar box guitar guy... go here for the complete list of vendors.)
we also had some fun with decorating with dinoboy
,who strangely here is sideways because my camera did something funny when it loaded the picture, and whose santa hat and beard you can't get the full effect of...
as well as with one of the coolest, most exciting movie homages ever:
which got zero outraged comments, despite the presence of children (ann apparently was even warned, while wearing her antlers, that "they're beheading reindeer in the other room").
all in all, exhausting - especially after trying to lug boxes and bags of canned good to my car and then back because we realized the impossibility of carrying and storing them until friday and then found out the the shelter at the church where the even was could take the canned goods - but absolutely bloody brilliant.
now starts the planning for the next show... pile of craft 2!
01 December, 2007
25 days of X-mas day one
so what better way to stay a christmasy countdown then with the ultimate in christmasy countdowns, the 12 days of christmas.
on the first...
first, this statement: According to the 23rd annual survey, the cost of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is $19,507 in 2007 (from pnc bank's website on the subject http://www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com) .
so, really, who actually calculates this stuff? ok, the website TELLS you that, but has christmas become - as charlie brown so memorably lamented - so commercial?
this song has itself had many versions. bob and doug mackinzies version, replacing the partridge with "a beer... in a tree" is canadian humor at its best. yay canadian jokes!
anyway, here's the chart to show what shallow money counters/lenders - like scrooge mcduck! - have been observing about christmas for the last several years:
on the first...
first, this statement: According to the 23rd annual survey, the cost of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is $19,507 in 2007 (from pnc bank's website on the subject http://www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com) .
so, really, who actually calculates this stuff? ok, the website TELLS you that, but has christmas become - as charlie brown so memorably lamented - so commercial?
this song has itself had many versions. bob and doug mackinzies version, replacing the partridge with "a beer... in a tree" is canadian humor at its best. yay canadian jokes!
"Bob: Ok, on the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
beer.
On the 2nd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
2 turtlenecks,
and beer.
On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer.
There should be more there, eh?
Where?
On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Oh. See? ya need more.
On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
On the 6th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
6 packs of two-four.
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Ok.
On the 7th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
7 packs of smokes,
6 packs of two-four,
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
oh, i keep forgettin'.
whew, this should be just the 2 days of xmas, this is too hard for us!
On the 8th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..
8 comic books,
7 packs of smokes,
6 packs of two-four,
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tree.
Wow,That beers empty
Day 12.
G'day and welcome to day 12.
Yeah.
5 GOLDEN TOQUES!
4lbs of backbacon,
3 french toast,
2 turtlenecks,
and beer in a tre-e.
Where did you learn to do that?
Uh, Albums.
Boy, so thats our song merry Christmas, and g'day.
G'day everybody. Happy new years.
Ok, ya know what ya left out?
What?
Donuts. I told you to get me donuts.
Oh no!
Either on the 9th day, or the 10th day or the 11th day. I wanted donuts.
The song is over merry Christmas everybody, or the 12th you coulda gotten me a dozen donuts.
Go to the stores and get some presents. You coulda gone down to the donut shop where you buy a dozen donuts, you get another donut free. Then it coulda been 13 for the 13 days of Christmas.
Next Christmas, get me a chainsaw.
Take off!
Boy that song was a beauty.. it moved me.
Yah , it ranks up there with stairway to heaven."
so there's that...
i dunno. i happen to really like the song, maybe because i grew up with the muppets/john denver version - something which rightfully deserves it's own geekdom post - which is probably the first version that enters my head whenever someone brings up the song.
but back to the price index stuff...
so christmas would have the true love spending almost 20000 dollars, meaning it's more than a years salary of a growing portion of people in this country. the price of gold and the minimum wage hike (milkmaids, also probably pipers and drummers, because i would assume that their musicians unions would ask for a hike to coincide with the min wage hike) have apparently caused this...
but really, who wants these things. a partridge in a pear tree? when i was little we had a pear tree. i think if a partridge had shown up in it it would have freaked us out a bit. it was tiny anyway and probably wouldn't support the partridge's weight. and who gives someone a fruit tree for christmas anyway, with or without a bird already living in it? hell, all the bird gifts seem just a bit ridiculous, unless they're meant for eating, but who eats swan? hell, who eats a turtle dove?
really, the only good "gift" in the bunch is probably the gold rings. but who needs five? are they in love with liz taylor? miss piggy loves them, certainly, but then again, where does she wear them, her tail? (ok, she;'s a muppet and therefore is a pig with fingers... but honestly...). otherwise, all the singer is getting is a ton of birds, and a musical troupe that, really, should all arrive at the same time anyway if they expect to have a cohesive musical performance...
i'd imagine the mackinzie brothers version is far cheaper, even now. hell, in canadian dollars it's even better!anyway, here's the chart to show what shallow money counters/lenders - like scrooge mcduck! - have been observing about christmas for the last several years:
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