Saturday Song

Shop Local

Today is Small Business Saturday, a relatively recent addition to holiday shopping traditions, dating back only to 2010. The major sponsor and promoter of the event is American Express. I've got a few such local favorites to visit today...

I'll be picking up a fresh set of Advent candles at Gloria Deo in Omaha, and perhaps a new saint statue to add to my collection. They might have the new Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles CD too...

Dietze Music is just a few doors down from Gloria Deo, and although I'm not in the market for any new instruments I can always find something useful there...

I'll also pay a visit to House of Trains, my favorite local store catering to model railroad hobbyists. It is easier to shop there now that they have finished their recent emodeling.

The plan is to pick up a piece of track I need to display a model that doesn't fit anything I already have, but I'll need some willpower during this stop...

My last stop will be Lidgett Music back on the Bluffs side of the river. I've spent a fair amount of coin here over the years, and I'm sure they'll get a few more of my dollars today.

"Maybe they'll have that Fender '68 Deluxe Reverb amp you've had your eye on!"

I was thinking more along the lines of some new strings, maybe some polishing wipes...

Pigskin Preview

The weekend got off to a good start for my college football rooting interests yesterday, as Air Force registered a nice 27-20 win at home over No. 19 Boise State and No. 16 Nebraska got humiliated 40-10 by unranked Iowa, costing them the Big Ten West title and a spot in the conference's championship game.





As for the rest of "my" teams, Army has the weekend off, and in fact won't play again until the classic Army-Navy game on December 10. Iowa State plays at home against No. 18 West Virginia, hoping for a third straight win. Navy is on the road taking on SMU, Boston College travels to Wake Forest with a chance to become bowl-eligible
with a victory, and Notre Dame will be in Los Angeles for its traditional game against No. 12 USC.

I'm also rooting for my best friend Skip's beloved No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions, who play at home today against Michigan State. If PSU can win this game, and Ohio State beats Michigan in their traditional rivalry game, Skip's team will play in the Big Ten Conference Championship game against Wisconsin.

"All sorts of possibilities there, eh?"

Yes, indeed...part of what makes college football so much fun to follow...

Cartoon

From the wry comic strip Zits, by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, which you should read every day, as I do.

Until Next Time...

Coca-Cola is arguably the most iconic and uniquely American product of all time, known and loved around the world.

The company has a long history 
of distinctive Christmas advertising, most of it featuring the famous Santa Claus created specially for the company by graphic artist Haddon Sundblom beginning in the 1930s.

Coca-Cola has had a number of memorable jingles in its history, and many of them have been combined with the "Holidays Are Coming" jingle to produce some of the company's best-loved Christmas ads for television.

For those of us who love both the soft drink and the Christmas season, the appearance
of the first "Holidays Are Coming" ad (sometime on Thanksgiving Day, typically) marks the real beginning of the season.

Today's send-off is the company's full-length 2010 ad, featuring Austrian singer Tamee Harrison performing her Christmas song "A Beautiful Time." Enjoy...