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Christmas CDs We’re Listening To Tonight
It’s Christmas Eve! We’re celebrating in style at my house with our yearly tradition of fondue (three courses: cheese, fondue in oil and chocolate… guess which one’s my fave?) and Christmas tunes by the tree. Every year we have our standby favorite Christmas music—Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, etc—but we also like to add some new music each year to make things current and festive. This year we have some new favorites that might just make it into the rotation as newfound classics in years to come!
A Very She & Him Christmas by She & Him
This has a vintage, classic sound with a modern, upbeat track by legendary guitarist M. Ward and vocals by the sweet and savory Zooey Deschanel. The duo is great in all of their albums—Namely She & Him Vol. 1 and Vol. 2—but they’re beyond perfect as Christmas artists, pairing what can be best described as “mid-mod” era sounds with all the beauty of modern recording.
Christmas Songs by Diana Krall
She’s a favorite of mine and although I love her albums, nothing can beat seeing her live. If you ever get the chance, don’t pass it up. But even if you don’t, definitely invest in her holiday album, Christmas Songs. It’s certainly not new, in fact it was released in 2005, but we continue to indulge in its classic jazz tempos and Krall’s deep, soothing voice each year around the holiday time. It’s not just good holiday music, it’s actually good music… something I feel gets lost in a world of “Jingle Bell Rock” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” type Christmas-flavored bubblegum pop.
Not really Christmas music, but it’s something that was on our local NPR station today and I think I’ll buy it and make it part of our Christmas Eve traditions. An audio recording of A Christmas Carol with some audio drama elements and some straight-from-the-book passages of the classic Dickens tale. It was the perfect balance of traditional and off-beat and I personally love A Christmas Carol because the combination of Christmas and a spooky half-horror bit of fiction is really a great idea.
So, that’s the Christmas playlist at our house this year… what’s yours like?
Is “X Factor” missing its own X Factor?
So, last night was the grand finale of the televised talent show, “X Factor.” Did you know? Probably not. Simon Cowell, the famed talent-finder behind bands like the Spice Girls and the show “American Idol” put together this show, the “X Factor” after leaving Idol last season. But the show has already fallen prey to all of the traps that I think cost Idol its grandeur.
The first season of Idol was truly spectacular—it felt like all of America was watching and was invested in the outcome. As every season came and went, it lost some of its appeal… and viewers. Sure, there was hype, but it was entirely self-contained. X Factor has already succumbed to the same meta-hype—the only people excited about the show are friends of the contestants and fans of the judges. The rest of us? Couldn’t care less.
Additionally, the contestants have very little broad appeal—the consequence of which is that now that the season is over, none of us will care about them or invest in their careers. I won’t, because I was never interested to begin with. But, neither will the few viewers of the show, who watched for the stunts and “wow” of the expensive-to-produce show. Was anyone really watching because they cared about h contestants? Maybe a handful of friends, but for everyone else, the stories of the contestants, even the winner, ends with the season.
So, what’s the point? Revenue for Cowell and the network, but at the expense of perhaps talented artists, who have wasted their shot on a self-sustaining self-promoting talent extravaganza. Just like Idol, the X Factor will continue not because it offers anything to the contestants (other than cash prize and maybe a short-lived recording contract) but because it’s lucrative to the producers. That’s just not worth watching in my opinion.
Last Minute Stocking Stuffers: Tickets!
The holidays are imminent. Whether you’re looking for one more thing to throw in the stocking before Christmas day or looking for a great gift for the last day of Hanukah, tickets to sporting events, concerts, Broadway plays or comedy shows are a personal, meaningful gift that. Even if you’re just planning to travel soon and want to catch a show with someone you love, giving tickets as a holiday, birthday or graduation gift is fun and special.
Give the gift of experiencing a live concert, game or other event
Know a guy who wouldn’t miss a single game but would love to be closer to the court than on his couch? As the college basketball season kicks off, now is the perfect time to score some NCAA basketball tickets to a home or away game played by his favorite team. Give them now and let him enjoy the thrill of a live game.
Almost everybody loves some genre or artist, and concert tickets are a great way to go above and beyond the typical iTunes giftcard or compact disk stocking stuffer. Whether it’s your sister who loves pop artists like Katy Perry or your aunt who would love to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra, concert tour tickets are an easy to mail, easy to give gift that will not go unappreciated.
If your dad’s not a music guy, why not send him to see a laugh-inducing comedy show by classic comedians Jerry Seinfeld or Robin Williams? It can be an evening of fun that he’ll never forget, but it won’t break the bank and it won’t get re-gifted. Perfect!
And, of course, there’s Broadway tickets—perfect in combination with a trip to New York or a weekend getaway with your significant other, Broadway tickets are timeless way to say you care, and a breathtaking way to spend an evening. Shows like Wicked, Jersey Boys, The Book of Mormon and Billy Elliot are being talked about everywhere you turn. Isn’t it your turn to take someone you love to see one of the most-talked about Broadway shows playing right now? And that, of course, is the best part of gifting tickets…
…you should probably just get one for yourself, too!
The Beach Boys are Back in Town!
The Beach Boys, Now.
Fans of the Beach Boys, old and young, will be excited to hear that the band is reuniting for a new album and 50-stops on an international tour in the coming year. The tour will start in April, and the Beach Boys will join other classic band such as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,
Although two original members of the Beach Boys, Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson, have passed away since the band’s prime, the living members, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks will be embarking on this new tour together. Wilson will be producing the wedding and Love will be the executive producer. The album will be on the EMI label, which Citigroup just sold for a total of $4.1 million.
The first scheduled concert will be April 27th at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Then the group will travel internationally on their 50th anniversary tour with 50 stops.
“We haven’t played together in a long time,” Jardine told Rolling Stone. Commenting on the band’s set list during the upcoming tour he comments, “The fans are going to want to hear the hits. But there should also be lesser-known ones that are so important.”
Although the group has had some negativity amongst the members in the last few years as different combinations of members toured without others, the band says that all of that is behind them and they are excited to tour as a whole group again.
Group member David Marks has only played with the band, guitar, for a limited amount of time but the band is glad to welcome him back into the ranks. He played for one year in the early 60’s and two years in the 90’s.
Desk Calendars – A Great Way to Get the Word Out
Desk calendars are a great way to advertise a business. They also make fantastic gifts for an employee or client, or even potential client. We all need to schedule tasks and meetings throughout the day, and what better way to keep track of those “to do” lists and business meetings than with a calendar with a company name and logo on the front.
The world we live in today is fast-paced and hectic. We all have many things to do in a limited amount of time. In order to make sure we do not forget, that tasks don’t overlap and that we are maximizing our time and our efforts – we all need a desk calendar. Desk calendars come in all shapes and sizes. Some can be hung up on the wall; others look more like planners that lay on the desk. They all do the same thing – keep us on track.
Desk calendars can be used as gifts or marketing items. There are many ways to utilize calendars to not only say “thank you”, but to remind people of your business. The biggest companies in the world market all the time. They never stop. They are constantly putting their name and their brand in front of potential clients.
There are several ways that you can benefit from using desk calendars. One is to give your employees calendars with your company name and logo printed on the front to carry with them wherever they go. This way you are advertising your company whenever they pull them out. Another way is to give clients calendars as a token gift with their company name and logo printed on the front. This is a nice gesture because then that person can pass them out to their employees. The last way is to give the calendars to clients or potential clients with your own company information on them. This way the client or potential client has something that will cause them to remember you.
No matter how you want to utilize this fantastic tool, desk calendars make great gifts and marketing items that people will actually use and your name and logo will be well represented.
Alec Baldwin Gets Kicked Off a Plane?
Alec Baldwin spoofs the pilot who refused to let him fly
I’m convinced this story is so popular because so many people can relate to it. Earlier this week Alec Baldwin, known for his current role on NBC’s show 30 Rock, was asked by a pilot to get off a commercial airplane that was about to taxi away from the gate.
The incident occurred when the plane’s crew was closing the doors of the craft in preparation for taxing and taking off. As usual, the crew asked all passengers to turn their cell phones off once the doors were closed. Baldwin did not turn his phone off—because he was busy playing Words With Friends, the popular mobile game by Xynga, similar to Scrabble.
I feel like I can relate to Baldwin’s experience—it never really seems like turning off my cell phone is that vital to the functioning of the plane or the safety of our flight, plus the boredom of the flight begins to set in the moment they request all electronics be turned off. And really, asking someone to leave the plane because they didn’t turn off their device right away seems a little extreme. And hey, we all love Words with Friends.
Baldwin even mocked the event by appearing on NBC’s show Saturday Night Live during Seth Meyer’s signature segment Weekend Report, a mock news broadcast. During his appearance, Baldwin dressed as an airline pilot and pretended to be the pilot who had asked Baldwin to leave the plane. During the bit, Baldwin, as the pilot, issued a “formal” apology to Baldwin, the passenger, for asking him to leave.
The humor was tongue-in-cheek but now Baldwin is in trouble with somebody else—Greyhound buses—for making a crack about having to ride the bus instead of flying and implying that busses were an inferior form of travel. For Baldwin it seems impossible to please all of the people some of the time or to please some of the people all of the time.
Manufacturing Dispute Puts a Damper on the Oscars?
R.S. Owens & Company manufactures the 13 inch golden Oscar award statues given to winners at the Academy Awards, but this year there is a slight problem—a dispute between the company’s management and workers might mean that no new Oscars will be manufactured before next year’s awards ceremony.
The dispute is over a potential pay freeze and cute in benefits for the company’s manufacturing employees, and in the midst of the negotiations all manufacturing has stopped, meaning no new product off the company’s floor until some sort of agreement is reached.
Luckily, the academy says that they have enough on hand to proceed as usual—with or without newly minted Oscars. But the problem is more far reaching than just the Academy Awards—the same company also manufactures the awards that are handed out at the MTV Awards and the Emmys.
The next Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for February 26, and although the Oscars are good to go without a new set of awards, not all of American’s favorite awards show may have a “closet full” of their award statuettes ready, as an Oscar representative told the Huffington post the Academy does. Depending on how long the pause on production lasts, could 2012 be the year with no awards to give? And would our favorite awards ceremonies be as grandiose without the coveted prizes to be handed over as honors are awarded?
This potential shortage is important to American consumers because they represent an American tradition, and this news is significant to those in the manufacturing industry because the prominence of the product brings these negotiations to the forefront of news, for better or worse. What’s your opinion on these negotiations—or on the potential of annual awards shows without their symbolic awards?
Alternative Christmas Movie Traditions
Many families have traditions of watching holiday movies around Christmas time. I recently got married, and so we’ve been trying to figure out what our traditions will be as a new family. We wanted a movie to watch after we finished putting up the Christmas tree, but we didn’t want something cliché that we’d get sick of after watching a couple times. So, we decided to make a list of movies that would get us in the Christmas spirit but had more to them than just being a “Christmas movie.”
Love, Actually
This is the one we ended up choosing—a favorite romantic comedy/drama of ours that takes place in the months leading up to Christmas and culminates in the Christmas spirit—perfect! Exactly what we needed. It’s not a big dose of fake Christmas cheer, it’s much more relatable and enjoyable than that.
Gizmo: A symbol of Christmas?
Gremlins
Think about it—yep! This movie is definitely an alternative “Christmas movie.” The whole plot is set around the Christmas season and provides and offbeat sort of freaky twist on the traditional “magic of Christmas” sentimental movies.
Home Alone
A good one if you’re looking for something to watch with the kids. This is probably the most explicitly “Christmas” movie on our list, but I feel like it gets overlooked as a Christmas movie, so it still makes the cut.
While You Were Sleeping
Perhaps one of the most least appreciated Christmas romances of all time. What could be better than accidentally falling in love with someone else while your fiancé is in a coma? Christmas cheer, of course!
Sleepless in Seattle
A more well-known romance, a classic in fact, but not one as heavily associated with Christmas as it should be. This movie is set at Christmastime and brings a heavy dose of Christmas magic and romance to any holiday tradition.
Get to Know Elphaba, Green Witch.
Elphaba, The Wicked Witch of the West
Whether you’ve seen a live performance of Wicked or not, you’ve probably enjoyed the soundtrack of some point. It’s dramatic Broadway flair and strong orchestral score make it quite the listening experience—the only thing better is pairing those songs with the visual experience of watching Wicked on Broadway. I’ve seen the show live twice, and each time the character I love more and more is Elphaba—who you might recognize as the “Green Witch” from the Wicked poster or the infamous “Wicked Witch of the West.”
Elphaba is a strong and complex character, both on paper and in performance—although she’s a very different character in those different mediums. We’ll talk more about that in a minute.
Perhaps the least known fact about Elphaba Thropp is that her first name is a play on the initials of Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum, or L.F.B., whose literature inspired the work of Gregory Maguire, who authored the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, now known best for its musical adaptation.
Those who have read the book will notice that Elphaba’s character is far more lovable in the musical adaptation of Wicked than in Maguire’s book, in which she is portrayed as far less human and is truly evil by the end of the story, rather than the softer and more relatable explanation of her character in the musical. The book also portrays Elphaba as having more complicated relationships than the musical does, but anyone who’s seen the musical knows that the plot is complex enough for one sitting as it is, so perhaps the omissions in the musical adaptation are for the best.
Why is Elphaba the most lovable character among the varied cast of Wicked? I think it’s because, at least in the musical, she finds herself in circumstances that dramatically shape not only who she is, but how she’s perceived—and the perception of others ends up being far stronger than any true trait she possesses. And haven’t we all felt the sting of perception at some point? We can relate. All of us.
Is Justin Timberlake’s new movie, “In Time” worth your time?
In the new movie In Time, Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried save the day in the thriller where time is currency—the rich have enough time to live long, leisurely lives and the poor die young because they have so little time to spend. The movie is getting mixed reviews, ironically split between young and old audiences.
The verdict: Not J.T.'s best work.
One college aged audience member was overhead commenting, “Why would Justin Timberlake take that offer? He’s so much better than that movie. Bad move, J.T.” as she left the theater. But older audiences seem to be eating it up.
“There’s a lot of things to notice” one mother explained to her teenage daughter. Among the things that audience members have been pointing out are that the poorer characters run all the time. “They have to run all the time to make the best use of their time—poor people run and rich people don’t have to because they have leisure time to spend moseying around,” my own mother explained to me. “So you can tell who the poor outsiders are, they walk fast, and it’s obvious they don’t belong amongst the leisurely rich.”
Seyfried commented that although her character wears tall heels in the movie, costuming did provide her with look-a-like shorter heels for scenes where she had to do a lot of running. I’m still impressed that she ran in heels, but I guess 2 inches kitten heels are easier to run in than 4-inch stilettos.
I personally disliked the movie. It’s hard to keep track of everybody because they’re all young and beautiful. Unless you know the actors it’s a pretty impossible movie to watch. The plot is stretched just a little too thin—they take it a tiny bit too far, so it’s completely unbelievable and therefore feels contrived. In my opinion, In Time is a waste of time.
