Random Notes (Christmas Edition)
Someone told me last night that Christmas is next week, and I honestly didn’t realize it was coming up so quickly. I should probably start my shopping.
Here’s the latest forecast for those hoping for a white Christmas.
What is a white Christmas anyway? Does it actually have to snow on Christmas or can there be left over snow from a previous storm?
Why is it so hard to find the regular large candy canes at the supermarket? They seem to have a ton of small canes, but I have to go online to buy the big ones.
At that same supermarket the other day, the cashier wished me a “Merry Christmas” but she sneezed in the middle of it. So it came out “Merry…sneeze…Christmas.”
Yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie. It’s set at Christmas, isn’t it?
TCM has been showing Christmas movies here and there for the past month, but their real marathon starts tonight (Friday) at 8 p.m. with 1949’s Holiday Affair with Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh.
Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark is so good it should be available year-round, but I’m glad it isn’t. It’s a winter thing.
Die Hard 2 takes place at Christmas, so that’s also a Christmas movie.
Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year is “Slop”
That would be slop referring to the low quality fake news, digital pictures, and videos created by A.I. that’s starting to flood every area of the online world. Not slop referring to pigs, though it’s just as gross.
Goodbye, Mass Market Paperbacks
It’s great that even though people love ebooks, print books still sell well and will be around forever. But I don’t understand a world where old-fashioned, mass market paperback books are no longer popular.
In more “things that are ending” news: The Oscars are leaving broadcast television and will be exclusively on YouTube starting in 2029, a move I don’t think is good for television or film.
Alexa…
People sure are interested in the lives of celebrities.
That’s according to the most frequently asked questions of Amazon’s Alexa. People really want to know how much money celebrities make and how tall they are, though I’m wondering how any personal cloud-based voice assistant would really know the income of George Clooney or Meryl Streep. They also want to know what A.I. is, which is a funny question to ask something like Alexa.
My favorite question to Alexa is, “Alexa, do you like Siri?” She always says something nice, but one of these days…
Christmas Song of the Week
Here’s “Sleigh Ride,” from John Williams and The Boston Pops.
Uploaded to YouTube by luckysmusic
RIP Rob Reiner, Anthony Geary, Gil Gerard, Joanna Trollope, Norman Podhoretz, Joe Ely, Peter Greene, Phil Upchurch, and Stephen Downing
Rob Reiner directed such films as Stand by Me, This Is Spinal Tap, A Few Good Men, The Princess Bride, Misery, and When Harry Met Sally…, and played Mike on the classic sitcom All in the Family. He and his wife Michele died last weekend.
Uploaded to YouTube by The Saturday Evening Post
Anthony Geary was best known for his role as Luke Spencer on General Hospital. He also appeared on shows like All in the Family, The Streets of San Francisco, and Murder, She Wrote. He died this week at the age of 78.
Gil Gerard played Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. He also starred on the TV shows Sidekicks and The Doctors and appeared in movies like Airport ’77, Hooch, and The Nice Guys. He died Tuesday at the age of 82.
Joanna Trollope was a British writer of several popular novels. She died last week at the age of 82.
Norman Podhoretz was a leading conservative thinker and writer who edited Commentary and wrote the controversial memoir Making It. He died Tuesday at the age of 95.
Joe Ely was an alternative country/rock/blues musician who had a cult following and once opened for The Clash. He died Monday at the age of 78.
Peter Greene appeared in such films as The Mask, Pulp Fiction, and The Usual Suspects, as well as many TV shows. He died last week at the age of 60.
Phil Upchurch played guitar for such people as Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Chaka Khan, Curtis Mayfield, Muddy Waters, Natalie Cole, and others. He died last month at the age of 84.
Stephen Downing started out as a Los Angeles police officer but went on to become a producer or writer for such shows as MacGyver, Dragnet, Adam-12, Emergency!, and many others. He died last month at the age of 87.
This Week in History
Nostradamus Born (December 14, 1503)
He died in 1566. I wonder if he predicted that?
A Christmas Carol Published (December 19, 1843)
I would say that the Charles Dickens classic has to be one of the top five stories ever written, right? And certainly one of the most adapted for films, TV, and the stage. My favorite film version is still the 1984 version with George C. Scott, with The Equalizer as the Ghost of Christmas Present.
I also like the one with Mr. Magoo.
This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: Whitman’s Sampler (December 16, 1950)
It’s still around and still comes in the yellow box, though the script on the name has changed and the underline flourish is gone.
Christmas Recipes
Do you know how many recipes there are online? A lot!
It’s hard to find just the perfect mix of recipes for Christmas. I guess you can eat anything for Christmas, but I’m talking about a good blend of Christmas-specific recipes, classics and new.
Let’s start with the turkey. Here’s a recipe for a Classic Roast Turkey from The New York Times (it says it’s a Thanksgiving turkey, but the turkey won’t know it’s Christmas). And here are recipes for a Turkey Roulade with Peach and Sage Gravy from Emeril Lagasse and a Honey-Chipotle Glazed Turkey from The Pioneer Woman.
The Pioneer Woman also has several side dishes, including a Mashed Potato Casserole, Candied Sweet Potatoes, and Garlic Green Beans.
Appetizers? Best Appetizers has Christmas Deviled Eggs, Delish has a Cranberry Walnut Cheese Log, and Good Housekeeping has a French Onion Dip.
For dessert, Country Living has a Melting Snowman Pie, a Sweater Weather Hot Cocoa Cake, a Gingerbread Bundt Cake, and a Pumpkin Pie. And The Musings of a Mommy site has a recipe for Razzleberry Dressing, from that Mr. Magoo’s A Christmas Carol I mentioned above.
Merry [Sneeze] Christmas!
Next Week’s Holidays and Events
Winter Begins (December 21)
It officially begins at 10:03 a.m. ET (though it started for me last weekend when I had to shovel twice).
Humbug Day (December 21)
You can even add “Bah,” if you like.
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Comments
Quite frankly I don’t believe anyone in my neck of the woods, including myself will miss any of those awards shows which many actors or artists use as a springboard to push their political agendas. It’s way past time they are all taken off the air because really….Who cares?
Okay you two, with Don Liebenson’s “10 Classic Christmas Films” here on the site since December 8, should there be any discussion of the 2 films that undoubtedly led to Willis’s sad state of affairs? Not without the appropriate guilt and shame if watching either from now on.
ABC will continue to air the low-rated Oscars through 2028 before dumping them when they’ve been having to give the advertisers fire sale (ad) rates for years now as it is? Oh! Definitely keep the TDS crybaby to keep hosting; in tears, of course!
Thanks for “Sleigh Ride” this week, Bob. It’s THE definitive, perfect version. Wonderful 1950 Whitman’s Sampler ad. It’s an excellent value like Russell Stover’s. At $32 a box for the 1 lb. box of See’s Candies now, they should both be selling better than ever.
Mr. Mayor: I was thinking the same thing about All in the Family. I remember that episode well.
That should be “So Die Hard 2 is also a Christmas movie”
BTW, Anthony Geary was on an episode of All in the Family as Mike’s friend Roger. Geary and Reiner died on the same day.
Then Die Hard 2 is also a Christmas movie. Thanks for clearing that up.