Christmas Eve 2015

White-ish

The National Weather Service predicted light snow for this morning, with less than an inch of accumulation. What we call a "dusting" in these parts. Turns out they were just
a little bit off...

View from my patio, 8:10 AM

It is now an hour since I took that picture, and the snow is still falling. There is virtually no wind, which suggests that the clouds dropping this on us may stick around for awhile. The flakes are those big, fluffy kind that everyone likes to see.

I don't know how much accumulation we'll get, or whether it will still be around come Friday morning, but for the romantics who long for a "White Christmas" this is as good as it gets...

"Does this mean the Christmas Eve snowball fight is back on?"

If there is still any snow left when I get home from Mass tonight, we'll see...

Last-Minute Hall Decking

Just the right size.

The last items I wanted to add to my all-traditional Christmas decorations this year were a live poinsettia plant (my mom's favorite), a sprig of real holly, and some real mistletoe. As things worked out during my shopping yesterday, I was able to find two of those three items.

I looked at poinsettia plants at several stores, but it wasn't until I stopped at my local No Frills grocery store that I found the perfect choice, a relatively small plant with no fancy ribbons or other ornamentation sitting off by himself on the display cart.

He fits perfectly on the opposite side of my TV set from my Christmas tree.

Not pictured: Angie Harmon

While the floral department at my local Hy-Vee didn't have any poinsettia plants that weren't too big for the space I had available, I was able to find some actual mistletoe, which I have hung above my bedroom door.

Now the waiting game begins...

"If I had fingers, I'd have them crossed for you."

I appreciate that, old friend...

Christmas Movies & TV Shows

Original 1968 "one sheet" poster

Of the relatively small number of movies that I never tire of watching, only one qualifies as a Christmas movie, and that only by virtue of its taking place on Christmas Eve, 1183.

1968's The Lion in Winter, with a screenplay by James Goldman based on his stage play, and directed by Anthony Harvey, is an acting tour de force for Peter O'Toole (Henry II) and Katherine Hepburn (Eleanor of Aquitaine). Their scenes together bristle with the sort of acerbic dialogue which I absolutely love.




The film tells the story of a Christmas court held at Chinon, France for the purpose of determining the heir to Henry's throne and avoiding a war with France. To say that the political maneuverings are complex would be a gross understatement. Of course, everything is made more complicated by the fact that it involves family. In that sense the goings on have much in common with most family Christmas gatherings.

O'Toole was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance (becoming the first actor nominated for playing the same character in two different films; he had also played Henry II in 1964's Becket), and Hepburn won the Best Actress Oscar. The movie also received a Best Picture nomination, and was the film debut of Anthony Hopkins (Richard the Lionhearted).

Dear Santa

Seeing my beloved Kansas City Royals win the 2015 World Series was an awesome Christmas present, Santa, but if you think I've been good enough this year to deserve a little stocking-stuffer as well...

All-Star and Gold Glove LF Alex Gordon still hasn't signed with anyone for 2016.

How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth

From the classic Jeff MacNelly-created comic strip Shoe, now being produced by Gary Brookins and Jeff's widow Suzie.

Until Next Time...

All of my favorite Christmas hymns and carols evoke an emotional response in me,
and several of them consistently move me to tears, but easily the most powerful of them all is "Silent Night," which is approaching its 200th anniversary.

The original German lyrics were a poem ("Stille Nacht") written in 1816 by Joseph Mohr, a Catholic priest in a small town in Austria. In 1818, he asked organist Franz Xaver Gruber to compose a melody to pair with his poem. The glorious result of their collaboration was first performed at Mass on Christmas Eve that year.

John Freeman Young translated the carol into English in 1859, and his translation is considered the standard version in English.

In those annual Catholic school Christmas choir concerts I took part in growing up,
"Silent Night" always closed the show. And I invariably got so overcome with emotion that I could only mouth the words instead of singing, and hope that no one noticed
my tears...

I have an iTunes playlist that consists of nothing but renditions of "Silent Night." As of now it takes more than two hours to listen to them all, and part of the fun I have each Christmas season is finding new versions to add to the collection. Not just any recordings will do, of course. To make it into my playlist, there needs to be Something Special. Unlike most of my other favorite Christmas hymns and carols, I tend to prefer individual vocalists rather than choirs for this song. This year I happened across a particularly moving version I hadn't heard before (and in a nice bit of Christmas serendipity, I was looking for something else altogether when I found it).

Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale was a musical comedy TV special based very loosely on Dickens's A Christmas Carol which featured the original American Idol winner performing songs from her Christmas album Wrapped in Red with a variety of guest stars. Originally broadcast on December 11, 2013, it was re-broadcast on December 23 last year and on December 17 this year.

Part One of today's send-off double-header is the official video of Clarkson's performance of "Silent Night" from the special. Kelly's beautiful voice is deeply affecting, but when she is joined first by Trisha Yearwood and then Reba McEntire, you've got something uniquely wonderful. I start tearing up early on, but when the trio goes a capella to conclude the song...

Because it was originally included as part of the Matins of the Christmas Eve vigil, modern adaptations of the Gregorian chant "O Magnum Mysterium" are frequently included in Christmas performances by choral groups. My favorite of the many adaptations I have heard was the setting composed by Tomás Luis de Victoria in the late 16th century.

The sublime choral ensemble Chanticleer included a pristine yet soulful rendition of the Victoria setting on their 1995 album Sing We Christmas.

That performance is Part Two of today's send-off doubleheader. It isn't quite the same as attending a Christmas Eve Midnight Mass in Latin, of course, but it evokes those memories, and that is enough. Enjoy...

Hot Cocoa Kind of Day...

Have Yourself a Soggy Little Christmas

December 2015 has been moderate, weather-wise. No bitterly cold temperatures, and very little precipitation. We're having some precipitation today, though...

View from my patio, 8:45 this morning.

According to the National Weather Service, there is some chance that the rain will turn to snow later this afternoon, and they're now saying there's a 50 percent chance of snow tomorrow morning, although it is not projected to amount to much (less than an inch, and it will melt off by day's end).

Barring a Christmas miracle, there will be no White Christmas in my neck of the woods this year. I can live with that...

"So you're saying our annual Christmas Eve snowball fight is canceled?"

Looks that way, old friend...

Christmas Movies & TV Shows

It is less true now than it used to be, at least in Hollywood, but it is safe to say that almost every popular story will eventually be turned into a musical. Some stories are
so popular they spawn multiple musical versions. That has certainly been the case with Charles Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol, which has seen so many musical adaptations that it is difficult to keep track of them all.

Original 1970 "one sheet" poster

Shortly before Thanksgiving my senior year in high school (1970), Scrooge arrived on movie screens across the country. The consensus of opinion among the people
I hung out with was that the filmmakers were hoping to repeat the success of Oliver!, the 1968 movie musical based on Dickens's Oliver Twist that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

With a screenplay and Oscar-nominated score by award-winning composer and playwright Leslie Bricusse, the film was one of the more faithful movie versions of the original story, and features a remarkable performance by 34-year-old Albert Finney as the title character. And while it may not have achieved quite the level of acclaim as Oliver!, it is generally regarded as the best musical version of the beloved story.

Among the film's many pleasures is a song called "I Hate People." For a humbug like me, that song is practically an anthem!

"You're not a 'humbug,' you're the most sentimental person I know."

It's not too late for me to put a lump of coal in your stocking...

Later Today

One of the things
I love most about World Market is that they have cool food and beverage stuff that you just can't find in any other store.

When I get around to making myself some hot chocolate later today, I'll be choosing one of these favorites from their collection...

"Are you going to get those little marshmallows to go on top?"

We'll see...

An Exaggeration, But Not By Much

From the indispensable comic strip Non Sequitur, by Wiley Miller, which you should read every day, as I do (even though Wiley is a squishy liberal).

Until Next Time...

My most favorite Christmas carols and hymns are the ones that moved me so deeply as a young boy that it was a struggle to sing them with my Catholic school classmates in choir without being overcome with emotion. One of the most difficult of these for me was always "O Holy Night."

Sheet music, 1947

It is a charming bit of irony that the Christmas poem upon which the song is based was written by an avowed French atheist, Placide Cappeau, to celebrate the renovation of a local church's organ in 1843. It was set to music by composer Adolphe Adam in 1847, and translated into English lyrics by John Sullivan Dwight in 1855.

Although there are any number of stirring individual performances of the song, my favorites are all choral versions, as they remind me of those happy days in Catholic school getting ready for the annual Christmas concert.



Today's send-off is a performance of the song by the Hillsdale College Choir that is as gorgeous visually as it is musically. Enjoy...

Fond Memories

Foliage

My mom's favorite.

Because I share my apartment
with felines, I have to be very careful about having any sort of foliage around, because many plants are toxic to them, and they'll munch on anything green or floral.

That is especially true of the traditional Christmas poinsettia plant, which my mother always placed on the fireplace mantle or some other location where our cats could not reach it.


Since I've decided to go traditional with Christmas decorations this year, I am going to include a poinsettia plant, which I can place on the Bose 201 speaker on the other side of the TV from the one supporting my Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

I don't think you can consider your halls fully decked until there is at least one bough of holly somewhere. I haven't figured out just where to put mine yet, but it will probably be on the wreath on my apartment door, and possibly around the base of the Christmas tree as well.

I plan to use actual holly, not the plastic stuff, which never looks particularly realistic.

And, last but not least, I plan on having a sprig of real mistletoe around, in case Angie Harmon drops by...

"I hear she's still single at the moment."

I know, right? It could happen...Christmas is a time for miracles...

Christmas Movies & TV Shows

Original 1992 "one sheet" poster

Other than the Nativity story itself, arguably the best-known Christmas story of all is the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. Heaven knows it has been the inspiration for dozens of Christmas movies and TV specials. That speaks well of Dickens's original idea, certainly.

By the time Jim Henson's The Muppet Show debuted in 1976 I was 23 years old, but because the show featured the sort of smart-aleck, wisecracking humor of which I had always been fond, I became a fan immediately.

Henson has passed away a couple of years before work began on The Muppet Christmas Carol, which was directed by his son Brian.



Released on December 11, 1992, and starring the wonderful Sir Michael Caine, it is one of the more faithful cinematic versions of the Dickens story, but it also features the trademark Muppet humor. Highly recommended!

Everyone in Congress Deserves a Lump of Coal

From the perspicacious pen of Mike Ramirez, whose editorial cartoons you should read regularly, as I do.

Until Next Time...

Although it was never included in the Christmas choral programs I took part in when
I was a child, because of my Irish heritage I became acquainted with the traditional Irish Christmas song "The Wexford Carol" at a young age, and it remains a favorite to this day. It is one of the oldest known Christmas carols, with some sources dating it as far back as the 12th century. Its lyrics focus on the Nativity story.

In 2008, famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma released his Songs of Joy & Peace album, on which
he collaborated with a wide variety of artists including Dave Brubeck, Diana Krall, and Paquito D'Rivera. The album received a Grammy Award in 2009.

One of the songs included in the project was "The Wexford Carol," on which he collaborated with American bluegrass-country artist Alison Krauss, the award-winning Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster, and members of the Silk Road Ensemble including bagpiper Cristina Pato.

Today's send-off is the official video of their gorgeous live-in-the-studio performance
of the classic Irish carol. Quite aside from the beauty of the music, I really enjoy the expressions on the artists' faces as they perform, as I hope you will...

Spirit of the Season

Just a Reminder

With Christmas just a few short days away,
it is easy to forget that there are many people who do not enjoy the material comforts that we do.




In addition to making donations when you see Salvation Army bell-ringers, you can also share out of your own abundance with local food pantries, coat and blanket drives, and many other charitable efforts. If you're stumped for ideas, check your local church, newspaper, Chamber of Commerce website, or social services agency for ideas.

That we cannot do everything and help everyone is not a reason to do nothing and help no one...

Things That Make Me Happy: Streak Edition

Yesterday afternoon my beloved Kansas City Chiefs won their eighth straight game, defeating the Baltimore Ravens 34-14 at M&T Bank Stadium. In doing so, they became the first team in NFL history to win eight straight games after losing five straight games.

The Chiefs offense had a so-so day, totaling just 277 yards. WR Jeremy Maclin caught
a touchdown pass, and RB Charcandrick West had a 38-yard TD scamper, but for the most part the game was dominated by the Chiefs defense. DB Tyvon Branch picked up
a Ravens fumble and rambled 73 yards for a touchdown, while rookie DB Marcus Peters had two interceptions, one of which he returned 90 yards for a touchdown.

"Early Christmas present, Chiefs fans! Wooooooooooo!"

The victory gave the Chiefs a 5-3 record on the road this season. The team's final two regular-season games will be at Arrowhead Stadium. While the Chiefs' playoff position
is good at the moment, even at 9-5 overall they are not guaranteed a spot just yet. They need to keep winning. If they defeat the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders the next two weeks, they will set a franchise record for consecutive wins, and could conceivably win the AFC West Division title. There is a lot left to play for.

"Wow. You used the 'P' word. Risky."

I threw salt over my left shoulder, so it's okay...

Christmas Movies & TV Shows

Original 1958 "one sheet" poster

Even though it is set during the Christmas season, not many people include the charming 1958 Kim Novak - James Stewart comedy Bell, Book, and Candle on lists of Christmas movies. It's a shame that they don't.

Based on the delightful stage play by
John van Druten, the plot is a hectic farce that really doesn't make a lick of sense, but the all-star cast is having so much fun that you really don't mind.

Highly recommended!

My "Charlie Brown" Christmas Tree Project: Day Eight

No tinsel, thanks.

It took some fussing, but my "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" project looks pretty good. Of course, come Christmas morning there will be a couple of things under the tree in addition to the Nativity scene..

Until Next Time...

I'm not a big fan of most of the popular modern songs celebrating the Christmas season. Since I spend so much of the season experiencing a certain degree of melancholy, I've never been a "Jingle Bells" / "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" / "Holly Jolly Christmas" sort of guy. I prefer the religious hymns and carols that remind me of the "reason for the season." As for modern songs, I'm partial to the ones which temper the celebratory mood with a bit of wistfulness.

Original 1944 "one sheet" poster

Perhaps the best example of that sort of thing might be "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," which was introduced to the world by Judy Garland in the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis.

As the story goes, Garland and the film's director Vincente Minelli felt the song's original lyrics were too depressing, and asked composer Hugh Martin to change them, which he did.

Years later, Frank Sinatra found even the revised version too downbeat, so he asked Martin to make further revisions. In the Sinatra version, the focus of the song shifts from imagining future happiness (as in the Garland version) to enjoying present happiness. It is the Sinatra version with which most people are familiar, but I much prefer the Garland rendition.

Today's send-off is Judy's poignant debut of the song in the film. Enjoy...

Peaceful

Fourth Sunday of Advent

The fourth Sunday of Advent marks the final week of prayer and penance in anticipation of the birth of Jesus Christ.

The candle we light today is called the Angel's Candle, symbolizing peace. The message of the angels heralding Christ's birth in Bethlehem was "Peace on Earth, good will toward men."

Wild Kingdom Bed & Breakfast Update

Broken.

I was so tired on Friday night that I forgot to empty the water out of the bird bath to prevent it from freezing over.

Saturday morning, as I was trying to get the frozen water out of the bowl, the weight of the water combined with the plastic being very cold resulted in the bowl snapping off the pedestal. When the bowl hit the ground, it broke around the edge, leaving four pieces.

I did my best to effect a repair, but the bird bath is in rocky shape now, and it leaks. It will have to suffice, though, until Amazon delivers the replacement.

Lesson learned...

"Admit it. You felt guilty, didn't you?"

It is possible that I did, yes...

Approved!

I'm not sure if this is just a seasonal offering, or if it is going to become part of the regular product line, but Sprite Zero Cranberry is a hit with me. The cranberry flavor is subtle, but pleasant. Well done, Coca-Cola!

I Know Just What You Mean

From the classic Jeff MacNelly-created comic strip Shoe, now being produced by Gary Brookins and Jeff's widow, Susie.

Until Next Time...

The lighting of the Angel's Candle today reminds us that one of the appellations by which Jesus is known to the faithful is "Prince of Peace."

On its 1996 debut album Christmas Eve and Other Stories, the progressive rock group Trans-Siberian Orchestra recorded a song called "The Prince of Peace." The song's lyrics, written by the band's producer Paul O'Neill, were paired with the music of the popular 19th century English Christmas carol "The Holly and The Ivy." The song also included a bit of the equally popular Wesley/Mendelssohn/Cummings carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."



Today's send-off is the result of that skillful blend of old and new. It is easily my favorite Christmas song of recent vintage. The tears well up at the end of the fourth verse, and when singer Marlene Danielle slowly transitions to "Hark!..." the floodgates open, but they are tears of pure joy...

Gifts

Early Christmas Present

Not long after my beloved Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series, I ordered this poster from The Highland Mint. It just arrived yesterday.

I features a photo of the actual World Series championship trophy, plus reproductions of the signatures of all of the players and coaches.





I haven't figured out where in my apartment to hang it yet, but the championship it celebrates was one of the peak experiences of my life, and was the best early Christmas present a Royals fan could have hoped for.

Now, if I can just get my beloved Kansas City Chiefs to give me an early birthday present (the 50th Super Bowl will be played on February 7, just 11 days before my birthday)...

"You want a Super Bowl win too? Greedy much?"

You know it has been nearly 46 years since the last time the Chiefs won one, right?

Cookie Master

Why yes, they do taste as good as they look. Thanks for asking!

I was pleased with the results of my first attempt at using flaked coconut in my famous drop cookie recipe.

If you're very, very complimentary to me,
I might just make you
a batch of these coconut pecan delights some day. Maybe...

"Can you make some with ant sprinkles?"

Not for all the tea in China...

There's Always a Catch

From the comic strip B.C., now being produced by creator Johnny Hart's daughter Perri and grandsons Mason and Mick Mastroianni.

Until Next Time...

One of the most popular Christmas carols of recent vintage is "Away in a Manger," which dates back to the late 19th century. It originated as a poem published in a Christian periodical, and has been paired with several dozen different melodies over the years.

The most popular version of the carol in America is the so-called "Mueller" version, which uses music composed by James R. Murray based on a waltz written by Johann Strauss, Jr. The most popular version in Great Britain is the so-called "Cradle Song" version, which pairs the poem with a song written by William J. Kirkpatrick, which
in turn was based on a melody by Jonathan E. Spilman. (You can listen to a splendid rendition of the "Cradle Song" version of the carol by clicking here.)

A large percentage of the students
I coached for contest speech events and directed in plays were also active in vocal music. For those kids, the appearance of the TV show Glee in 2009 was a Really Big Deal. And that meant that I had to pay attention to it, in order to have some idea what my students were obsessively discussing the day after each episode aired.




Today's send-off is the Glee cast's heartfelt production of the "Mueller" version of the carol, which was included in the episode "Previously Unaired Christmas," originally broadcast on December 5, 2013. Enjoy...

One Week Away...

Thank The Source It's Friday!

"Good luck finding a parking spot, mortals! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Brown Christmas

Thanks to that Irving Berlin song Bing Crosby made famous (which will be conspicuously absent from the Christmas music I'm featuring as send-offs this month), lots of people in this part of the country spend lots of time the last week before Christmas talking about a "white" Christmas, meaning a Christmas with significant snowfall. Something like this...

This year, the odds of that are slim, as there is no precipitation of any kind in the forecast for this area until Sunday, December 27.

It seems to me that the overall sentiment is in favor of a White Christmas, but speaking as someone who has seen more than his share of Christmas blizzards (including one during my time living in Wyoming that caused me to miss Christmas with my family altogether), I'm okay if we have a Brown Christmas this year.

"Spoken like an old man..."

Which I am, in case you haven't noticed...

Traditions

One Christmas tradition for me is baking cookies using my "special" recipe (and I'll be trying a new twist on it this year, too), but I also have enjoyed the famous Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies for many, many years.

I don't recall exactly when that tradition actually got started with me, but I do know that I can't remember the last Christmas where I didn't have a tin of those heavenly cookies to snack on as I went about my Christmas morning.

I haven't seen them yet this year in the grocery stores I usually frequent, but I'm hopeful of picking some up later this afternoon...

Christmas Movies & TV Shows

On December 18, 1966 a cultural phenomenon got its start when CBS first broadcast the animated special Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

As they had the previous year with A Charlie Brown Christmas, CBS tapped in to the sentiment that Christmas had become too commercialized. The show was a gentle reminder that Christmas isn't really about all the trappings, and the presents, and the food...

Although it has been broadcast annually each Christmas season since its debut, and has even spawned a live-action motion picture and a musical, I don't watch it as often as I do the Peanuts-based special, because there just aren't as many memorable scenes in it, and because there's only so much Dr. Seuss poetry I can tolerate.

First broadcast during prime time on a Sunday evening, the cartoon special was done
by famed Warner Bros director Chuck Jones, and the narration was provided by the inimitable Boris Karloff.

"There is...that one scene...that always gets me..."

Me too, old friend, me too...

The Law of Unintended Consequences

From the pen of Henry Payne, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

When I was a young man in Catholic school one of the carols I most enjoyed singing during the annual Christmas choir performances was "The First Noël," because it was a relatively easy song to master. It's simplicity appeals to me even today. My favorite versions of the song, which lyrically brings together elements of the Nativity story from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, aren't the soaring choral versions (although I do appreciate the beauty of those). I would rather hear renditions that keep things simple, and humble. That seems to me a better fit for the lyrics than more elaborate productions.

Lady Antebellum is an award-winning country music trio formed in 2006. They have considerable "crossover" appeal with people who don't generally listen to country music. They released a Christmas album, On This Winter's Night, in 2012. The album reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and No. 1 on its Top Holiday Albums chart.

Today's send-off is their simple, beautiful rendition of the classic carol, without a lot of bells and whistles. Enjoy...

Decking

My Halls...

...remain undecked with just 8 days remaining until Christmas. The wreath on my apartment door looks fine, but I wanted to add a small Nativity scene or angel to it this year, and have not yet found anything suitable.

The lights for my patio doors have to get put up today if I want them seen by the judges for the apartment complex's lighting contest, which is tonight. My humble little string of lights isn't going to win (there are some really elaborate displays on other apartments in the complex), but since I was able to get them up last year I am struggling to figure out why it is proving so difficult this year.

I have high expectations for even such a simple display, as I spent my adolescence and early adulthood around perhaps the most elaborate and beautiful Christmas lighting display in the United States, the Country Club Plaza lights in Kansas City...

"If you tried something that elaborate you'd electrocute yourself."

Or burn down my apartment...

I also hit a snag on the "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" project: I need to make another trip to Hobby Lobby to get some more ornaments. The package I bought initially turned out not to have enough to come close to what I see in my head for the finished tree.

This is the most fussing I have done about Christmas decorations in many years. It takes me back to my childhood days of helping my mom decorate the house and tree, and it has the added bonus of distracting me from all the idiotic shit politicians are pulling at the moment...

Christmas Movies & TV Shows

Many of my favorite "Christmas" movies are not explicitly about the holiday itself.
The reason for that is simple: Most of the films that are explicitly about the holiday are mindless comedies that do nothing at all for me. If you pay attention to movies much, you know the kind of schlock that hits the cineplexes this time of year. Unwatchable,
in my opinion.

Original 1992 "one sheet" poster

Writer-Director Keith Gordon's film  
A Midnight Clear didn't fit that pattern at all, being released in April of 1992.

Gordon's screenplay, based on William Wharton's 1982 novel, tells the story of a small U.S. Army intelligence unit during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II which encounters a group of teenaged German soldiers who wish to surrender.

Over the course of several scenes which serve to remind us that our humanity transcends politics (and warfare), the Americans agree to a "Christmas truce" with their German counterparts.



This is not one of those films that has a Hollywood-style "happy ending." Far from it.
But there is, at its heart, a profoundly moving message about what underlies what we call "the Christmas spirit."

Filmed in densely wooded areas of Utah, filming took place during a winter that was
the coldest Utah had seen in more that 80 years. The cinematography is breathtakingly beautiful at times.

The talented ensemble cast includes Gary Sinise and Ethan Hawke.

Another Christmas Tradition

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

Until Next Time...

There are a fair number of popular, non-religious Christmas songs that I find entertaining musically but annoying lyrically. At the very top of that list is "Deck the Halls," a traditional Welsh song dating back to the 16th century. The lyrics commonly heard with this song date back to the mid-19th century, and I find them silly, bordering on absurd. Even my favorite choirs aren't able to do much with those lyrics, so it won't come as a surprise that almost every recording of the song in my collection is an instrumental. There are a number of those versions of the song that I enjoy rather a lot.

Ensemble Vivant is a Canadian chamber music group with a somewhat unorthodox instrumentation (their sextet includes double bass and vibraphone). They have been recording and performing to great acclaim for more than a quarter of a century. Their 2005 Christmas Tidings album is among my most favorite instrumental collections.




Today's send-off is the group's lively rendition of "Deck the Halls," a track from Christmas Tidings that was included on the 2010 anthology album A Very Merry Christmas featuring Canadian singers and musicians. Enjoy...