Favorite Christmas Movies

Before we get into our list, we provide this UTube Clip for a trailer for “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” only edited to resemble Brokeback Mountain. Sometimes, when taking a break from all the porn, I realize that the interent is a great place for all the lonely, bored and idle hands of the world. Thanks internet nerds! This two and a half minute clip may be funnier than the entire 90 minute movie…You  be the judge.

 

Now onto our list…  (in no particular order)

A Christmas Story. It’s probably on everyone’s list by now and the fact of the matter is that no one really has to watch it anymore. Back when the powers that be retired “It’s a Wonderful Life” only to let it out of it’s cage once a year, they needed something to replay ad infinitum  in its stead. They chose A Christmas Story. And they ran that into the ground. Don’t let that sully its reputation. Still, a classic.  Recommended for: Todays kids who’s parents would never ever allow them to have a Red Rider B-B Gun, even if they knew what a B-B gun was (or where ever allowed to play out of doors unattended.)

The Ref. One that flew under the radar a bit. But any movie that makes your own family’s dysfunction pale by comparison (or at least remind you that it’s okay to laugh at that dysfunction) redeems itself in my eyes. Recommended for: Everyone in my family.

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On This Day In History – April 4

Another Day, another celebration of a special someone’s birth.

On This Day in History:

•  1581 – Sir Francis Drake completes his circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I
• 1814 – Napoleon abdicates for the first time
• 1818 – The United States Congress adopts the flag of the US with 13 red and white stripes and a star for each state (then 20).
• 1841 – William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia becoming the first president to die in office and the president to have the shortest term at 31 days
• 1850 – Los Angeles, Ca is incorporated as a city
• 1960 – Senegal Independence Day
• 1964 – The Beatles occupy the top 5  positions on Billboards pop chart
• 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr assassinated in Memphis
• 1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6
• 1975 – Microsoft is founded by a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen
• 1983 – Space shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage
• 1994 – Netscape founded by Marc Andreessen and Jim Clarke
• 2008 – iTunes overtakes Wal-Mart as leader in music distribution

Born on This Day:

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Born on This Day – April 2

742 - Charlemagne 

1725 – Giacomo Casanova

1743 – Thomas Jefferson

1805 - Hans Christian Andersen

1840 – Emile Zola

1875 – Walter Chrysler

1891 – Max Ernst

1908 – Buddy Ebsen

1914 - Sir Alec Guiness

1920 – Jack Webb

1927 – Kenneth Tynan

1928 – Serge Gainsbourg

1939 – Marvin Gaye

1941 – Dr. Demento

1947 – Emmylou Harris

1961 – Christopher Meloni

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How Festive!

Jefferson Starship and Chewbacca’s family?

Bring it on.

Thank you for taking the time to edit the two hour Christmastime (excuse me, I mean ‘Life Day’) craptacular down to 5 minutes (and includes 3 musical numbers)!

“Why the long hairy face?” (Oooof).

Hamill may not have been an amazing thesp but Bea Arthur singing and jiving at the bar is pretty delish!

1978 was one very special year.

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Ides Of March: Beware the Ides of St. Patrick?

Didn’t we all grow up with a solid background in classical languages and literature? I think that’s a safe assumption. We all had to translate the Iliad and the Odyssey, we all read every major work of Shakespeare (and some of his piddling sonnets), we all played “Simona Dicit” every Wednesday and what do we have to show for it?

Ummmm…..

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Leap Day, Leap Year

It’s like the Olympics of holidays!

(That is, back when all the Olympics were held in a year and they actually occurred once every four years but, well, you get the gist).

In the English speaking world, on a leap day it was permitted for women to propose marriage to men.

Supposedly there was a 1288 law that required a fine be levied if a man refused a woman’s proposal. Because men felt they were at risk, women were then only allowed to propose once in a blue moon (Leap Day).

Although Greeks traditionally saw it a a bad omen to get married on any day in a leap year.

So, women seize the opportunity to propose to your man, or any man at all for that matter because if he says no, you can at least get some cash or a new dress out of it!

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On this Day in History

February 28. That date seems familiar but, I can’t think of why…

• 1784 – John Wesley charters the Methodist Church
• 1827 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad formed, becoming first commercial transportation
• 1854 - The Republican Party is organized
• 1861 – Colorado is organized as a territory
• 1883 – The first vaudeville theater is opened in Boston, Mass
• 1922 – The United Kingdom accepts Egypt’s independence
• 1940 – The first basketball game is televised
• 1952 – Watson and Crick make informal announcement about discovering the chemical structure of DNA
• 1983 – Final episode of MASH aired (Still the most watched on television)

Some February 28 birthdays include:

• Linus Pauling (1901)
• Bugsy Siegel (1906)
• Charles Durning (1923)
• Frank Gehry (1929)
• Gavin MacLeod (1930)
• Dean Smith (1931)
• Tommy Tune (1939)
• Mario Andretti (1940)
• Bernadette Peters (1948)
• Mercedes Ruehl (1948)
• Gilbert Gottfried (1955)
• Ivo Karlovic (1979)

I just can’t seem to figure why this date rings a bell. Any thoughts?

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Happy, Merry President’s Day

It’s a bit late (although Washington’s birthday is Feb 22) but, with Presidents Day still fresh in your mind, and our on-going series of “Man, I-Don’t-Know-My-Presidents Monday,” we thought we’d like to make sure you were aware of the tall tale, historically non-accurate cartoons of Brad Neely.

Unfortunately, like a lot of things here at the Tussle, there is some strong language.

Sometimes you wonder where other people’s minds live. Sheesh. 

Sing it with me now, “He’ll save children, but not the British children.”

Enjoy

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The Answer is No.

If you put your Christmas tree out by the curb near the end of February, they will not pick it up.

Just thought I should clear that up.

(We’ve reached an impasse. – It’s now a mexican standoff between me and the garbage folks. I’m not taking my tree from the curb and they’re apparently not taking it to the dump I think I’ll let nature take its course).

PS – It’s now more of a Halloween tree, in all its bright orange glory. So, at least I can re-purpose it when the time comes!

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Happy Valentine’s Day

What do you do for Valentine’s Day?

My dad used to make me a valentine every year. And he would “hide” a box of chocolates, or some such, under my breakfast’s placemat. These days? Bupkiss.

Meatloaf would do anything for love (but he won’t do that!).

Some things Mr. Loaf would do:

• Run into Hell and back
• Never lie to you (and that’s a fact)
• He’ll be there til the end
• Take a vow/Seal a pact
• Do anything you dream of
• Raise you up/Help you down
• Get you out of this godforsaken town
• Colorize your life (you’re so sick of back and white)

I think in the end what he won’t do, is forget you. Or else it’s that he won’t forgive himself if you won’t be with him tonight. (eek). Truthfully, in the lyrics, there seem to be a few things Mr. Meat Loaf will not do.

In all honesty, I’d rather this guy didn’t bother to to anything for me.

Regardless, Happy Valentine’s Day to you! to England where my heart lies

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New Year’s Day Meal

New Year’s Day was quiet here in Raleigh. Late in the afternoon I decided to finish off the beef that we enjoyed on Christmas Day. Luckily I had my trusty Henkle VS (Very Sharp) knives that I had been wanting to try out. Trimming the silver skin and fatty tissue from the leg-o-beef was easy as slicing up hot buttah. I used my potato brush with the finger grip to keep it from slipping to clean two large potaotes. I sliced them lengthwise with another large sharp knife and then into quarters. Tomato, onion, and cucumber slicing is easy when you have a VS knife.

A quick salad, pan baked potatoes, and of course you have to have red beans and rice on New Years Day. All an easy task when I have such great tools to make the slicy bits fly…

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Here’s a Bit of Trivia For You…

Did you know that today is National Trivia Day?

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2 1/2 minutes of Mithras

 Brief QI (you do know the British quiz show hosted by Stephen Fry, right?) segment that expounds on some of the supposed similarities of Mithras and Christianity.

Watch it because you’ve been wondering what in the hell happened to Rich Hall. (Note: There are no “Snigglets” in this clip. I didn’t want anyone to get their hopes up).

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We just called ‘em keggers.

I cannot believe that someone so close to me worked for a Japanese company and failed to mention this holiday tradition. It’s Brillz, people!

Bonenkai is a “forget the year” gathering. The aim is quite simple and straightforward - to help you forget the unpleasantness of the the year.

What does this entail? Do you write your troubles down on strips of paper, place them on tine sailboats and set them sail? Do you go to a temple and kneel in prayer in some sort of syncretized Buddhist/Shinto ceremony? Do you burn notes of the wrongs you have done and have been done to you? Write your apologizes in the soot?

No, no, no, no, no, no, No! You foolish simpletons. You get drunk on the company dime.

Here’s to you, boozers!

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My Sister, the Genius

My ingenious sister had her Christmas party last week. “Having a Christmas party, that is smart but, I wouldn’t call it ingenious,” you say. Well, having the party wasn’t the genius part of it. The genius lies within the fact that she set up little craft stations throughout her house for people to make their own Christmas decorations.

You see, my lovely sister likes to bring people together. It’s a rare gift. I don’t have it. I like to keep people apart. “You wouldn’t like them anyway” is my motto. Sometimes bringing people together is more than dumping them in the same room. People are cagey, like tigers. They want to sniff others out, stalk them, see if they like their odors. A great way to let them do that is with seperate craft stations (My guess, tigers would love seperate craft stations in their “natural habitats” at the zoo.

It’s also a better conversation starter. Walking up to someone and saying. “Watcha working on?” is a lot less creepy than something like, “What is that, like your 8th glass of wine?”

So, store that good idea away for next year. My genius addition: Make it an ugly sweater party!

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