I admit it. This blog is NOT consistent. What it is keeps changing.
Right now, it's pretty much a place where I keep photos, videos, and links to websites that interest me.
Before that, I wrote a few blogs myself and still do once in a blue moon. But most of the stuff before the links are just reprints of articles I found interesting.
Email me at OlderMusicGeek(at)yahoo(dot)com.
ABOUT ME
Just your typical middle-aged divorced father (of a teenage daughter)/music fanatic/local bands supporter/nerd-geek-dork/smartass/movie lover/tv watcher/book reader/former comicbook collector/science fiction fan/slob/science buff/casual philosopher/spirituality peruser/ponytail wearer/world traveler/big Lipstick Homicide fan/huge Violent Femmes fan/Sigourney Weaver crusher/rabid Journey hater/liberal/mostly straight former cross dresser from Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.A.
Shadyside, November 24 — The Shadyside Police Department reported a sharp spike in violent crime over the weekend, attributed to the early start of Christmas music in area stores.
The Department reported 7 aggravated assaults, 2 robberies at gunpoint, 3 car thefts and 24 arrests for public intoxication.
At a press conference late Sunday evening, Police Chief Jim Burgles remarked, “It appears that many subjects have been provoked by near-constant playing of Christmas carols throughout the city.”
One victim of one such a crime, Martha Vanderwhip, told of her horrifying experience. “I was shopping in Target, looking at the salad spinners on sale, and this man came up to me and started screaming,” recounted Mrs. Vanderwhip tearfully. “He was saying, ‘I can’t take it any more, I can’t take it any more,’ and he smelled like eggnog. He was holding this pink Christmas tree and waving it around like a weapon, knocking over all the candy cane displays.”
Store security staff managed to tackle the man and restrain him with strands of tinsel, according to Shadyside Target Manager Bing Whitman. The deranged man has not been identified by police.
The City Mental Health Commission also noted a rise in the volume of calls to the Municipal Crisis Hotline over the weekend. “People with fragile mental health may be driven over the edge by the unseasonably early excess of holiday spirit,” said Commissioner Luisa Gonzalez, “and they should not be afraid to seek help.”
This is from the NPR radio show, Studio 360. - OlderMusicGeek
December 05, 2008 Redesigning Christmas
The buzzword this year is change. But some things, like the traditions that surround the Christmas season, seem to remain the same. Kurt Andersen asked the design firm Pentagram to re-imagine the holiday beyond tinsel and holly. It goes something like this: drop the Santa, loose the red and green, play down the rampant commercialism and play up the message of peace and love.
Some of the comments: [5] Posted by: Brandon Emerick December 06, 2008 - 10:31AM Brooklyn
Fun and clever ideas! I'm all about the Xmas. Here's my contribution to your celebration:
Which is my re-imagining of the "yule log"...
[6] Posted by: John Mc Donagh December 06, 2008 - 10:38AM Brooklyn
I was happy to hear all week about the idea of redesigning Christmas but utterly disappointed in the actual segment in this week's show. You only dealt with the shallow image of Christmas and not the true meaning of this more pagan mid-winter festival.
Christians have merely grafted the birth of Christ onto the wonderful older northern European wintertime feast of plenty etc. It represented the darkest moment in the year having planted inside of it the brightest hope. The winter solstice, when the sun reaches the lowest point in the sky, ends this descent and begins the climb towards the warmth of the summer once again.
To an old, farming, hunting people it must have marked such a hope that things were turning around and that the cycle of life and of growth would once again begin.
It's not ironic that, this year, the death of the Bush 8-year-period (the lowest point in the past century) should be marked by the time of great hope and historic turn around.
[9] Posted by: Adam December 08, 2008 - 12:23AM Minnesota
How odd that Christmas would be redesigned by a company named after a pagan/demonic symbol.
BALTIMORE, MD - Bat Boy’s attempts at fitting in for the holidays have again failed miserably.
A lull in the line occurred when the children heard Best Buy had just received a shipment of Rock Band 2. Bat Boy, hiding in the cover of the giant Christmas tree, saw his one chance and took it. He scurried up to Santa, shrieking with excitement, and tried to hand over his guano-covered list.
Seeing only a blur of big pointy ears and sharp teeth, the mall Santa took off at high-speed, making it to the food court before tripping over his baggy red pants and crashing head first into the Cinnabon stand.
WASHINGTON, DC - President-Elect Obama asserted influence this weekend, advising President Bush on which holiday choir to pick for the White House - and they’re aliens!
The Qwoak Intergalactic Boys Choir, famous for their recent holiday albums “I Saw Mommy Kissing Frozen Santa Claus” and “Rudolph the Twelve Nosed Reindeer,” have been performing choral choirs around the country.
Rahm Emmanuel, Obama’s Chief of Staff, was on the phone with current White House staff to get the Qwoak Intergalactic Boys Choir to be brought on as the official White House Choir this holiday season.
“The President-Elect is committed to using the White House as a platform for advancing and bettering the American culture,” Emmanuel said. “What better way to do that then by introducing Americans to the most talented artists, not just from America, not just from Earth, but the entire galaxy.”
CHICAGO, IL – With the economy continuing its roller-coaster ride this week, retailers are expecting a different type of crowd.
Interplanetary shoppers are anticipated to make up as much as 74% of Black Friday shoppers. Americans are tightening their belts and keeping their wallets pocketed this holiday season as bonuses are cut and lay-offs looming right around the corner.
Although big box retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy have not seen significant growth during the financial crisis, online retailers of those same companies, as well as Amazon.com have noted that interplanetary and intergalactic sales are booming.
“If you thought it got ugly when hundreds of mid-westerners rush around a store trying to grab up sale items, just wait until six-armed, three-headed, slime-covered 14-foot tall aliens are fighting over a Tickle-Me Elmo.”
1 Comment For This Post 1. wazntowas says: November 29th, 2008 at 6:54 pm OMG, the photographer in this store has to provide the location, the 2nd alien is the one that abducted my cousin and did an anal probe on him.
TOKYO, JAPAN – Just days before Christmas, evidence has been found that exposes an alien plot to destroy the Earth and enslave mankind – using toys!
The Kota, a 40-inch robotic baby triceratops, is one of the most in-demand toys this holiday season. The first robot of its kind, a dinosaur children can ride, the Kota has been flying off shelves since its recent release and demand has yet to slow.
Representatives from Playskool, the company that supposedly manufactures and distributes the Kota, have declined to comment on the emerging details regarding a possible alien invasion.
Unnamed sources have leaked details to Weekly World News that some time after Christmas, once all of the Kotas have been opened from their boxes throughout the world, a signal will alert them to “wake up.”
One employee’s travel ordeal was so risky he asked that his name not be shared. Brock (not his real name) writes in an e-mail that his story began when his doctor told him, “If we can prevent infection, we won’t have to amputate.”
It was December 18, and Brock was serving in the U.S. Army in Europe. He had been evacuated to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, in what was then West Germany. His injury was so serious it made one medic turn green but was not serious enough for him to be sent stateside for treatment. Much to his disappointment, Brock’s doctor wanted him to stay until December 28.
Brock did not want to spend Christmas in a military hospital. Landstuhl (Germany) Regional Medical Center pictured today.
Spending Christmas in a military hospital overseas was not a festive prospect for the young soldier. “I had to find a way back to my unit, now more than 120 miles away,” he says.
As he signed into Hospital Ward 4C and was issued his hospital pajamas, he noticed a small phone booth near the nurses’ desk. He also noticed he was the only patient who was not bed-bound and that none of the patients looked like they wanted to be spending Christmas in the hospital.
He received permission to call his unit. Brock pleaded with the staff duty officer of his unit to send someone to get him. A nurse overheard his attempted hospital break, and Brock says his uniform and boots were confiscated shortly afterward.
Looking forward to the change from Army C-rations to tasty hospital food, he was disappointed to be placed on a strict liquid diet as a potential surgery patient. “My fellow patients and I discussed our favorite holiday foods while I sank my teeth into lukewarm chicken broth,” he says.
On December 21, the duty nurse asked for suggestions to improve the patient morale in the hospital ward. After Brock suggested going to the Noncommissioned Officers (NCO) Club across the street for a beer or two, his hospital slippers were confiscated.
“The next day the nurses decided that if the patients weren’t in a festive spirit being in the hospital over Christmas, then they would make us happy and jolly,” he says.
After a nutritious breakfast of Jell-O, Brock was drafted into helping hang decorations around the hospital ward. After all, he was the only patient who could walk. “We had no Christmas tree; the best we could come up with was an IV pole with green paper and tinsel,” he says.
When the decorations failed to improve morale that afternoon, the nurses decided to try Christmas music. A scratchy tape of holiday songs recorded from the Armed Forces Network radio broadcasts was piped into the hospital ward, Brock says. The tape featured a small selection of songs, including “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” It was obvious none of the patients would be home for Christmas.
Brock and his fellow patients staged a protest after being forced to listen to “I’ll be Home for Christmas” and “Silver Bells” too many times.
The next day, Brock and his co-conspirators, “Stitches” (76 stitches in each leg from a jeep accident), “T-Bone” (fractured femur, same accident), “Halo” (in traction for a broken neck, and not much of a talker), and “Dewey” (hit by a DUI driver while in a crosswalk on base) worked out a plan to end their torment.
The next time Bing Crosby sang “Silver Bells,” they all simultaneously hit their call buttons for the nurses in perfect timing with the bells playing the melody line. When they told the angry nurses they were trying to get in the spirit of Christmas by participating in the song, the nurses decided to punish them by not playing any more Christmas music.
Brock’s morale improved even more when he learned his unit was sending a jeep for him and it would arrive by 8 p.m. that night. He could be back with his unit by the morning of Christmas Eve. “Surprisingly, the nurses did not wish me a Merry Christmas as I was signed out of the hospital ward to await my transportation,” he says.
Well, these are just some ways to hear my kind of Christmas tunes! But I'm warning you that some contain profanity and explicit lyrics!
These will give you a pretty good idea of what I listen to at Christmas. The second "quick mix" button will give you the best idea. But you can only use them if you have an account with Pandora. It's free though!
But if you don't have Pandora, here's a few songs I listen to from Playlist.com.
This is from me, not reprinted from somewhere else. - OlderMusicGeek.
The more I discuss music with my daughter, the more I worry about her.
She was telling me other day,that her classmates were saying that her outfit almost looked emo.
To which I replied, “Oh no!”
“What’s wrong with emo?!” she asked offendedly.
“Well, I don’t really know about the emo look, “ I admitted. “I just know the music sucks.”
“I kind of like emo. What’s wrong with emo music?”
“Except for the fact that it sounds like washed out punk rock, nothing.”
My daughter once again had her problem with her eyes rolling into her head.
And I realized, my daughter’s friends had corrupted her even more into their ways!
When she was a young thing before starting school, punk rock, alternative and electronica were her favorite types of music. And she would tell people that too.
Now, she likes top 40 and rap. And that popular rap, not the edgy stuff! I could respect her, if not agree with her, if she liked the edgy stuff!
As one of my friends on the internet said when I told him about this, “Those fiends!”
But there is some hope. She did say the other week, “I don’t hate bluegrass. I actually like it. It’s just not some of my favorite music.”
And back in December when I was playing my Christmas music, she asked, “Cajun Christmas music?”
“That’s right.”
She nodded her head in approval.
Wow, I thought, how many tweens have even heard of Cajun music, much less know it when they hear it. And appreciate it!
And if she can know and appreciate Cajun music, there just might be some hope for her!
This is from me, NOT a reprinted article. - OlderMusicGeek
MY CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR (with commentaries in bold print from my daughter)
Well, this Christmas didn’t turn out to be one of my best Christmases. Wasn’t one of the worst, but I definitely had better ones.
My daughter thought that it was the best Christmas ever. But then almost every movie she sees that she likes is the best movie that she ever saw. – On a side note, I think Spider-Man 3 is about the only movie with lots of incredible special effects that I know of where she said it SUCKED!!! (My daughter insisted on the caps and exclamation marks!)>:D –
But I think the main reason that this was the best Christmas ever was because she got the Nintendo DS Lite that she wanted so badly as well as a digital camera. – I was tired of her messing with mine!>:D –
But for me, things didn’t go as well as I would have liked. I fought with the Zune people, for a week on the phone every night. – My mp3 player is a Zune. And I strongly recommend that you do NOT buy one! - They changed the software and it sucks. And it took a while to get my mp3 player to work again.
AND I GOT 2 B ON FOR ONLY LIKE 1 1/2 HOURS!!!!!!D:<
Admittedly I had trouble, because I tried to downgrade to version 1.4. :) - My daughter isn't the only one who can use emoticons! - The Zune people tried to tell me that I would have to buy a whole new operating system to get the mp3 player software to work. But fortunately after working with them for a week, I was able to figure out to what to download in order to fix it on my own.
IT WAS LIKE 2 AND SOMETHING WEEKS, WHAT R U TAKIN ABOUT!?!?!?! >:O (She only feels it was that long! It was really about one week.) LIAR! >:O
So 3 days before Christmas, I finally had a mp3 player to play my Christmas music on.
I have to admit the week without my 2500+ Christmas tunes at my disposal wasn’t totally bad. I pulled out some old Christmas cassettes and was reminded of some other Christmas tunes that I need to download! IT WAS MORE THAN JUST 2500+ IT WAS LIKE 3,000 LIAR! >:P
I also listened to a couple of great books. I strongly recommend The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore. To quote the Entertainment Weekly review, “This is, without a doubt, the greatest story ever told about fruit bats, zombies and miracles.” (I HAVE A PET BAT! NOT IN MY HOUSE, BUT I NAMED HIM!!! >:o) (It's a wild bat that lives at her mother's place and that she lets rest on her arm!) Basically, if Stephen King wrote a Christmas comedy, it would come out something like this tale, which features among other unique characters... 1 - a former druggie who got blackmailed into being a tourist town's only law enforcement, 2 - the wife of the former druggie who was the a star in the Kendra, Warrior Babe of the Outland movies and has quit taking her anti-psychotic drugs to have money to buy her husband a gift, (PSYCHOOO!!!! >:O spookified) 3 – Tucker Case, a former womanizing pilot who is trying to better himself and only doing a mediocre job of that, and also has a pet fruit bat that wears sun glasses,(O.O SPOOKIFIED) and 4 – an angel who announced Jesus' birth 10 years too late because he got caught up in a card game.(JERK!!! IF HE DID THAT TO ME I'D KILL HIM - XD!!!)
And I read Skipping Christmas, the book that the movie, Christmas with the Kranks, is based on. Can't compare it to the movie, cus I haven't seen it yet. And don't have much motivation to do it either. The book starts really slow. I would suggest getting to the part where the daughter calls and says she's coming home, because that's really the point where it starts to get funny. (PSH, SOUNDS BOOORING!!>:P)
I also heard some great new songs this Christmas. Cyndi Lauper of Girls Just Want to Have Fun and She Bop fame has a fun romper called Early Christmas Morning.
And Ringo Starr has had a cd, I Wanna Be Santa Claus, out for a few years, but I only got around this year to listening to these two songs, Christmas Dance and Come on Christmas, Christmas Come On. The first one is a sweet tune about a young man trying to get a courage to ask the girl who he admired from afar to dance with him at, of course, the Christmas dance. The second is just an arena type rocker about Christmas. - Hey, when you have 2500+ Christmas tunes, you don't get to them all each year! - 3,000+ LIAR D:<>
And I still love these tunes I heard the last couple of years! Nobody does such an unique version of this Christmas tune. I mean Ted Nugent and Twisted Sister can both really rock it out, but I still think The Roches' version of Deck the Halls is best! Something about that rocking acoustic guitar and those strange but lovely harmonies.
And their Good King Wenscelas is still my favorite version of that song! (I HAD TO MAKE A FACE SO O.O'\ SPOOKIFIED!!!)
And I can't say enough about my reggae Christmas tunes. Who would think people from the warm Caribbean could do such great versions of tunes associated with the cold and snow! But I strongly recommend Yard Style Christmas, Christmas Greetings from Studio One, The Reggae Christmas Collection and that 3-cd collection from the condom people, The Trojan Christmas Box. (WEIRDO!!! O.O SPOOKIFIED)
Things didn't go so well when we went to look at Christmas lights either. Our newspaper usually has an article every year telling people where the best lights are. Well, if they had it this year, they hid it damn well from the internet and google. I scoured the internet every way I could think of and could not find it.(OOOOOOOOOOOO..........................U CUSSED!!! O.O!)
But I thought, at least I kept the list from last year. Well, I scoured the Christmas boxes for that list, and – of course- it was nowhere to be found. (GASP! O.o)
Well, we had a pretty good idea of where the houses were and there’s a show of lights in a park in our town every year. But it cost $9 per car – and my bank was acting goofy and not letting me take out any money! (HAH, GOOFY? IT WAS EVIIIL >:O JERKS!)
Then two of the homes that have had these awesome displays every year didn’t have them this year! These homes are known for filling their yards and roofs with gobs of doodads and whatnot. This year – nothing! (JERKS >:O !!!)
And my daughter and I also NEVER decorated our Christmas tree this year. The time honored tradition took a lapse this year. We have been getting kind of bad the last couple of years. Usually, we decorated the tree the day after Thanksgiving, but the last two years, it’s been like mid-December before we decorated the tree.
My daughter actually had the tree up on the day after Thanksgiving. I can’t even remember why we didn’t do it on that day. (BECAUSE SOMEONE WAS SICK AND IN BED ALL DAY! >:O ) But it seemed each time we talked about it, either one of us wasn’t in the mood or exhausted. And then there was the week fighting with the Zune people. (more than a week..........D:<) – And yes, I MUST have my 2500+ Christmas tunes with me and at my disposal! I am the OlderMUSICGeek afterall!
We were finally going to do it Christmas Eve. But I caught a nasty cold that ran into Christmas Day. Let me tell, I am so glad that my daughter did not ask for anything that needed assembly this year! I was grateful that Christmas this year involved putting out a couple of Nintendo DS games, a couple of dvd’s and digital camera!
I plan on having a better Christmas next year, do or die! I plan on making Clark Griswold – from Christmas Vacation - look lame and like a scrooge!
My mother sent me this questionnaire. So I thought I'd throw on here. :) - OlderMusicGeek
Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE ! ! !
Just copy (not forward) this entire email and paste into a new email that you can send. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you . . .
'Tis the Season to be NICE !
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Usually wrapping paper. 2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. 3. When do you put up the tree? We used to put it up the Friday after Thanksgiving, but my daughter and I seem to be getting lazier as we get older. 4. When do you take the tree down? Jan 2 5. Do you like eggnog? Never cared for the taste - but I love hot cider! 6. Favorite gift received as a child? Can't remember off the top of my head, but I did enjoy my hot wheels. 7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yeah, my mom gave me one this year! 8. Hardest person to buy for? Any teenager! 9. Easiest person to buy for? My daughter - I swear, she starts suggesting things the day after her birthday. 10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can't think of it off the top of my head. But I know clothes were never a favorite when I was young, especially sweaters! 11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Definitely mail, but I've been awful about sending any in recent years! 12. Favorite Christmas movie? Definitely It's a Wonderful Life. But my daughter and I are big fans of the Christmas special, Olive, the Other Reindeer! 13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Some time in December. Usually one of the weekends that I don't have my daughter. 14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Never! 15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Turkey! 16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored 17. Favorite Christmas song? Probably "White Christmas" by Bing, but I do like my Christmas punk rock songs! 18. Travel for Christmas or stay home? "There's no place like home for the holidays....." 19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I could probably name 6 or 7 and then I would rack my brains trying to remember the last two! 20. Angel on the treetop or a star? Star. 21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? I allow Jill to open ONE on Christmas Eve! 22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Snow and rude jerks! 23. What I love most about Christmas? Most people - when they arent shopping! - are nice and friendly.
And finally... Happy Christmas and/or Boxing Day and/or Kwanzaa and/or Hannakah and/or Bodhi Day and/or Sanghamitta Day and/or Shabe Cheleh and/or Makara Sankranti and/or Junkanoo and/or Dong Zhi and/or Toji and/or Soyal and/or Yule and/or Seva Zistane and/or Alban Arthan and/or Long Night and/or Mean Geimrech and/or Brumalia and/or Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and/or Saturnalia and/or Lenaea and/or Wren Day and/or Tekufah Tevet and/or Winter Solstice and/or any other December or winter solstice holidays i missed!
Oh, and Bah Humbug to those who don't celebrate the holidays! :)
My favorite internet radio show, All Songs Considered, puts out a holiday show every year. There an interesting eclectic mix, although a little heavy on the alternative and folk side. I recommend you give this a listen.
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