Two Days Until Christmas

Two shopping days until Christmas.

With that said, I ask that everyone keep this in mind:  Though presents are nice to give and to receive, they are NOT the end all and be all of Christmas.  

Christmas isn't just about stuff.  Arguably, it's not necessarily about the birth of Christ either, (but that's something to ponder at a later date).  For now, let's concentrate on today, the second to last shopping day before Christmas.

This is the question I pose to anyone out there feeling the need to find that "perfect" Christmas gift:  why?

It's not a tangible object that makes Christmas Christmas.  There's nothing that can be sold in a store that will automatically make Christmas "perfect", nothing.

Though it's fun to receive, and give, gifts, the ones we can see and hold aren't always the best ones to give or get.  Sometimes it's a warm hug, or a phone call, even something as simple as a smile, that's worth more than anything money can buy from a store.

Also, when did we as people decide it was okay to make this particular day more about what we get and give one another, rather than about just being together with family and friends to celebrate however we've chosen to do so?

It's not that any of us needs to walk around being all "bah humbug" about Christmas, quite the contrary.  We should not only indulge, but overindulge, in the joy and wonderment of the day.  All I'm saying is, what we shouldn't do is fabricate that joy and wonder using gifts as the base to build our happiness on.

As usual, I'm rambling, and not sure I've quite gotten my point across.  I guess, over all I feel like maybe the Whos in Whoville had it right all along.

Bring On The Christmas Music!

Though Christmas comes but once a year, the plethora of Christmas songs that have been written over the years would lead one to believe that its a year-round event.

Whether the songs are from generations past, or new to the year at hand; whether they're traditional, or barely resemble a holiday tune, they're all out there, just waiting for someone to come along and have a listen.

Sometimes the old is meshed with the new, literally, and those old songs get a breath of life and return to the airwaves during the holidays.

A couple of great examples, (at least in my opinion), are "Baby It's Cold Outside", originally recorded by Dean Martin, and years later, re-released as a duet with country artist, Martina McBride; and Frank Sinatra's "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town", updated as a duet with Cyndi Lauper.

Rather than being re-recordings of these songs, Martina and Cyndi's vocals were actually recorded, then blended with Martin's and Sinatra's original recordings.

It seems that every year I hear a new song, or version of a song, that catches my attention, and becomes a new favorite.  And each time I think, "I've never heard that before, it must be brand new", only to find out it *isn't* brand new at all; it's usually been out a few years, and I'm just hearing it for the first time.

The 2015 holiday season is no different for this happening to me.  In the past month I've heard two remakes of songs that I hadn't heard before; and each has actually been around a few years.

The first song is the John Lennon classic, "Happy Christmas".  While I've heard several versions of the tune, none have quite lived up to the original.  Then I heard Maroon 5 do the song, and wow!  Still maybe not quite as good as Lennon, but still the only other version I've liked well enough to want to hear again and again.

The second song is "Mele Kalikimaka", written by Robert Alex Anderson in 1949.

While there have been many versions of this song over the decades, my current favorite is by country artist, Jake Owen. Like with Maroon 5, Jake's rendition has been around for a while, and I'm just now hearing it.

Funny thing too, as a fan, I usually can recognize Jake's voice, but I didn't, and was surprised to hear the DJ on the radio say it was him.

With only a few more days until Christmas, I'm not sure I'll hear anything new  this season.  I look forward already to next year though, to see what treasures will be unearthed for my listening pleasure.

It's That Crazy Christmas Time of Year

Well, it's that time of year again; Thanksgiving has passed and it's the Christmas season, officially.

I say "officially", because we all know that the Christmas "season" comes around earlier and earlier every year; usually once Halloween is over. This year though, not only did the Christmas season start at the beginning of November, so did all the controversy over the holiday.

By now, I doubt there are many people who haven't heard about the 2015  red Starbuck's cups.

Every year during the Christmas season, Starbucks serves their hot beverages in special holiday cups.  In the past, the cups have featured ornaments, snowmen, etc. for the holidays.

This year however, the company decided to go with a plain red cup.  The next thing you know, there's a media frenzy about how Starbucks is against Christmas, and Jesus, you name it.

What a lot of people don't know is, this probably wouldn't have been such a big deal, had it not been for one man,  Josh, Feurstein. Feurstein is a self proclaimed disciple of Jesus, and he's the person who declared that Starbucks was anti-Christmas.

Funny thing is, when I saw the red cup, *my* first thought was, "ah, more corporate greed; less printing on the cups saves money for Starbucks, and makes them more profits".

Back to what was happening in the public eye though.  People everywhere were buying into the idea that Starbucks was anti-Christmas. There were those who boycotted the franchise because of the cups, as well as those who thought it was okay that the company took a somewhat "neutral" approach to the season.

In between all the yays and nays were those, (myself included), who just didn't care one way or the other about the color and design, or the lack of one.  It's a cup, you use it, it gets thrown away.
 
To me, that was the bigger concern. Even with recycling and all, it's still a cup that gets tossed after one use.  And though some are recycled, most just get thrown into trash cans at home or work, or on a street corner, to be added to landfills.

 Others took a humorous approach to the cup controversy.  Weird Al posted a pic of a Starbucks cup in a sleeve with a sticker added, suggesting the paganism of Starbucks.

 To me, it was funny, because, though Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, it *is* attached to a pagan holiday.  That's a whole other story though, so we'll skip that for now.

 One of the DJ's, Chunky, from "Chunky Mckinzie & Jake" on The Bull in Portland, Oregon made a great point about the Starbucks cup situation.

Chunky is Jewish, and posed the question of why doesn't Starbucks have blue cups for Hanukkah?  He was being lighthearted about the whole thing of course, but again, in my opinion, he did make a great point about how people aren't getting all up in arms about not having Hanukkah cups and other items in honor of their holiday; why are Christians making such a big deal over a cup?

By now you're probably wondering why I've brought all this up again, since it seems to have finally calmed down and gone away.  Truth is, I wouldn't have brought it up at all, except it kind of helps set things up for why I'm writing this post now.

It seems now that there's no longer a huge issue about Starbucks red cups, the focus has turned to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups; specifically their tree shaped offering for the holidays.

Yes, you read that last paragraph correctly.  People are all bent out of shape because it seems this year's Reese's peanut butter trees are more blobs than trees.

Okay, I get it, people buy these specifically because they're tree shaped, for the holidays.  But really, is someone's entire holiday going to be ruined because a piece of candy isn't tree shaped?

My warped sense of humor kicked in when I saw this latest uproar in the media.  I looked at the pic of the tree blob and thought, "hmmm...Reese's Easter Egg candy must not have sold well, they're repackaging them for Christmas".  It makes sense to me anyway:  Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ, and Easter is to celebrate his rising; the two holidays are connected in that way at least.

As with the Starbucks cups though, I really don't care about this latest issue with Reese's Peanut Butter Trees.  It's a peanut butter cup that's been shaped into a tree.  The two items taste the same, the candy company just makes an extra profit by charging more for the special shape.

 It's going to be fun to sit back and watch though, to see if this latest controversy will have the longevity the Starbucks one had. 

I Want, I Want, I Want!!!

Ah, Christmas!  That season when you hear the sounds of "I want", more than any other time of the year. Young and old alike can be seen and heard coveting any number of things they feel are certain "must haves" on that special day. Sadly, it seems Christmas has become more about commercialism, rather than it's intended purpose of celebrating the birth of Christ.

The trend seems to get more out of hand every year that passes.  At some point, I guess, the old adage, "if you can't beat them, join them", comes into play.  With that said, through this post I'm officially "joining" the masses and announcing to one and all what *I* want this Christmas.

There's actually A LOT I want; so much that this post would take the rest of the year to write.  I know that sounds selfish, but if I'm going to be honest, then that's the truth.

For the sake of getting this post written however, I've decided to focus on the three things I want the most this year.  I'm thinking, if I get what I want, then the rest of my wish list will be filled as well.

This Christmas I want:

 Gold.  Any gold is fine, white gold, black gold, yellow gold, all of the above. In fact, the more gold, and the more varied kinds, the better.  My ultimate gold want though is this:

  I want at least two things that are rarities.  I'm hoping these rarities are something I can share with others, who in turn can share them with more people; then maybe they'll become more common.  In this case, common is better than rare.  My two ultimate rarity wants are:

  I want the magic of this season to last year 'round.  Every second, minute, hour, day, week and month of  every year.  This is my third want, only because if I get #2 on my list, I'm pretty sure this third want will also  come to fruition.  This is the magic I want:

And there you have it, my "I want", "must haves" for Christmas 2013.  Even if I only get one of these precious items, I'll feel like the luckiest person ever!

Christmas 2012

(There will be no KUPL Listener Blog words for the rest of 2012.  The words will resume on Tuesday, January 1, 2013.  Thank you for your understanding.)

Just a quick note to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! 

Hopefully you'll be with family and friends on this glorious day.  If not, I wish for many warm thoughts and memories to surround you this day.

Above all, remember what Christmas is meant to be, a time of peace, love and caring.  I wish this to all my friends and family everywhere this Christmas of 2012.

That Wonderful, Glorious Time of Year

(Today's word will be in red and bold.)



Thanksgiving 2012 is past, and we've moved on to my absolute favorite time of year:  Christmas time!

For me, Christmas isn't about presents and getting stuff; it's about the *feeling* of Christmas. It's the sights, the sounds, the smells, and all the warm fuzzies the holiday is supposed to encompass.

It's the Christmas trees, the lights, the decorations; everything that helps make this time of year seem magical.

Whether it's tradional things, or a more modern approach to something, this time of season embraces, and shares it all.

Like Christmas carols/songs.  Radio stations play all genres of music at this time of year, from big band, to new Christmas tunes; from classics, to new twists on classics.  Until I heard them, I never knew how many versions of "Last Christmas" there are out there!



I myself lean more towards nontraditional Christmas music, my all-time favorite tune being Elton John's "Step Into Christmas".

Yes, I did use this same video when I wrote about Christmas last year; that's how much I love this song!

Phil Vassar just came out with a new Christmas tune this season, "Santa's Gone Hollywood".  While I realize that some people may not see this as a true "Christmas" song, it is a fun, and funny little ditty that adds a new meaning to "holiday spirit".

I love the whole Christmas spirit thing!

Okay, not so much the one of the future.  Even the one in the Mr. Magoo version of "A Christmas Carol" kind of creeps me out.

Aside from that though, as I said, I love this time of year!

There will always be those who are Scrooges, or Grinches about the season; some for legitimate reasons, and others just because that's how they are.   Nonetheless, Christmas time is a wonderful time of year; so forget the commercialism, and consumerism, and just soak up all the good cheer the season has to offer.

Tis the Season...Almost

Everyone has their own timeline as to when the "official" Christmas season begins.  A lot of stores have decided the middle of summer is the time.  Some say the day after Halloween.  Most however deem the start of the Christmas season as the day after Thanksgiving.

In some cases though, it takes time to be ready to start the beginning of the Christmas season.  For instance, the lighting of the tree in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square; the tree doesn't just magically appear the Friday after Thanksgiving.  In reality, it takes days of hard work positioning the tree in the middle of the square, adding all the branches to fill it out, and adding thousands of lights

Even before the work begins at the square, the tree has to be chopped down, loaded on a semi truck and readied for it's trip to the square.  It's not just a "ho hum", (or would that be "ho, ho, ho hum in this case?), trip though, not in the least.

Nope, once the tree, (provided every year by Stimson Lumber in Forest Grove, Oregon), has reached downtown Portland's streets, the slow procession of festivity begins.

Portland police block the streets at each intersection of 6th Avenue, and provide a motorcade for the two semi's bringing the tree.  In front of the semis is a marching band playing Christmas songs.  And who but Santa himself is riding shotgun in the truck carrying the tree.

You'd think, as adults, those working in downtown Portland wouldn't get overly excited about watching a Christmas tree go through the streets at about 5 miles an hour; yeah, you'd think that.  However, there are those who still think it's pretty cool to watch, especially when it goes right by your office during your lunch time.

Those adults are the ones who go outside, and take pictures of the procession; or just watch, so they can blog about it.

Yep, you guessed it!  The following photos were taken by my co-worker, Doug Baker.  Thank you Doug for taking these so I could watch and write about it!

(Click on the photo for a larger view.)

Merry Christmas Eve

Nowadays it seems like Christmas Eve is almost a bigger deal than Christmas. For little ones especially, since Christmas Eve is when Santa comes to visit.

To me, Christmas Eve is the fun leading up to Christmas, with Christmas still being fun, just more laid back than the hoopla of the night before.

With that said, I had planned on posting this Christmas day; but decided it fits in more with the frivolity of Christmas Eve. Once again, my brain has mashed together various things in my head, and come up with something somewhat odd.

It started with the caricatures I did awhile back of the KUPL air staff; I was wondering how I could do something for the holidays with them.

Then, at the Colt Ford concert, I saw the KUPL blinkie stars. I have at least three of them, though for the first time I looked at them and thought, "that would make a great tree topper".

That idea lead to a Christmas tree I created from scratch with Paint Shop Pro about four years ago; with ornaments using photos.

That dot connected to the dot, of "I have a blog and want to write about Christmas"; so to work I went!

In between all this, I had come up with a way to do a holiday theme for the caricatures; though I did say Rudolph was unavailable because he had a stuffy nose, and Vixen didn't want to participate, because she thought Lola would "out bling" her. This was in explanation of why there are only seven reindeer in the picture.

Originally there were also two elves, KUPL Producer Sputnik, and KUPL webmaster, Kelsie. Since I was only using on air staff for my latest idea, Kelsie wasn't added to that creation, though I did make an ornament for her. This is her Christmas elf costume, and photo ornament.

When everything was the way I wanted it to be, I placed the tree in the middle of the picture; put some presents in front of it; added the photo ornaments to it, then placed the KUPL air staff on either side of the tree. (On a side note, the bells aren't really on the reindeer's scarves; they're supposed to be under them a bit. They're what I call their "jingle belly buttons". Just another odd twist my brain presented me with!) This is the result:

Before I had this done, KUPL played a version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", that they made. When I heard it, I thought it was great and would go great with the picture I was creating, (even though not everyone in the song or pic is represented in both), so here's the KUPL Christmas Carol also:

http://www.kupl.com/2011/12/20/have-yourself-a-merry-little-christmas/

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone, and don't forget to leave Santa some cookies!

It's A Wonderful Leg Lamp

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)

(This will be the last KUPL Listener Blog word for 2011. The word will return the first Tuesday of 2012.)

So far this holiday season I've posted about Christmas shows, and Christmas music; so why not do a post about Christmas movies too?

There are several classic Christmas movies that come to mind: "Miracle on 34th Street", the original "Dickens' Christmas Carol", "Holiday Inn" and "White Christmas" are just a few.

I have two movies that are my personal favorites.

The first is, "It's A Wonderful Life", starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Not sure why this is a favorite of mine; I just know I want to watch it every year. Last year I actually made it through the entire movie with no interruptions; a first for me!

My number one favorite Christmas movie is the favorite of a lot of people; "A Christmas Story".

It's the story of Ralphie Parker, a boy and his family living in the 1940's.

All Ralphie really wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB Gun. Unfortunately for Ralphie, all the adults keep telling him, "you'll shoot your eye out kid". This is a running line through most of the movie.

Another memorable quote is "Fra-jill-A, must be from Italy", said by Ralphie's "old man", when receiving a prize he'd won. Who could ever forget the infamous "LEG lamp"?

Even more memorable however is the Christmas gift Ralphie received from his Aunt Clara; a pink bunny suit.

There are so many other images and quotes from "A Christmas Story" I could list here, however, it would probably take longer than watching the movie!

So, for those who know the movie, 'tis the season to enjoy it once again. And if you haven't seen "A Christmas Story" yet, fear not; once again TNT will be running a 24 hour marathon of the movie from Christmas Eve, through Christmas day.

Dogs & Reindeer Banned From Christmas

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)


As stated in an earlier post, I'm not one who really listens to traditional Christmas music. My collection has several genres to chose from for holiday listening.

Not that I don't like the traditional tunes; I'm just a bit more off-beat than that is all.

Then there are the songs I don't ever want to hear again. Every year, I make it my mission to NOT hear them any time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

One song I've been successful in not hearing for a few years now is "Jingle Bells", by the Barking Dogs.

It's not that this is a bad song; I actually used to like it at one time. However, after hearing it over, and over, and over, one year, I hit a breaking point; done with the dogs.

It's also why there's a picture on this post, rather than a video, or sound byte. Anything other than a picture, I might actually have to hear the song; not taking the chance!

The other song I wish I'd never hear again is "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer". It was cute the first couple times I heard it eons ago; since then, not so much.

So if I dislike it so much, why did I post the video here? Might as well; this is a song I've yet to avoid over the years. At last count this year, I've heard it six times, (not counting having to look for the video for the post). I think I hit a new record this year for how soon I heard it too. Didn't even get halfway through the day after Thanksgiving and it took me by surprise; argh!

These two songs are the ones at the top of my list of "banned" Christmas music. There are others, I just don't hear them on the radio, so they're easier to avoid.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels this way, am I?

KUPL Holiday Shows

(Today's word will be in ALL CAPS, BOLD, ITALIC, and STRIKETHROUGH.)


This Saturday, (October 29, 2011), KUPL is hosting it's 3rd Annual KUPL Boo Cruise on the Portland Spirit. The event includes a costume contest, (with the winner receiving an iPad2), food and music.

This year's music will be provided by "American Idol" finalist, Danny Gokey, Kip Moore and new artists, The Farm.

Think this show is a big one? Wait until the Christmas HOLIDAY season!

This year's "2011 KUPL Safeway Honky-Tonk Ho-Ho-Down" will be Friday, December 9, 2011 at the Roseland Theater.
Sunny Sweeney and Steel Magnolia will open for headliners, Montgomery Gentry.

Montgomery Gentry alone is worth the price of a ticket, which is $25 for general admission, and $40 for reserved seating. Throw in the other two acts, and you've definitely got a show worth seeing!

Tickets go on sale, Saturday, October 29, 2011 at all Safeway TicketsWest outlets, and at www.ticketswest.com.

THE 12 MONTHS & SHOWS OF REALITY CHRISTMAS

Wednesday on "Simon in the Morning", they had a segment asking listeners what type of reality show would they be best at.  For the life of me, I couldn't think of anything for myself, except maybe "Useless Trivia 24/7". 

What I did think of though was something I wrote a few years ago.  I don't remember how I got the idea, however, since I still have it, I've decided to share it on my blog.  I know it's been awhile ago, since some of the shows aren't on the air any more. 

With that said, I now present, "The 12 Months & Shows of Reality Christmas".

(Names of shows below represent what each Christmas show is patterned after; actual names will differ.)

(Shows run concurrently, starting the day after Thanksgiving and ending on Thanksgiving Day of the next year.)

   1.      Manhunt—To find the perfect Santa Claus.

    2.      The Bachelor—The new Santa picks his perfect Mrs. Claus.

    3.      Pimp My Ride—To customize Santa’s sleigh.

     4.      Extreme Makeover—To make the new Mr. & Mrs. Claus even more

                                            believable.

     5.      The Apprentice—The new Santa chooses which teams of elves-{hundreds,

                              but only show key elves}-continue on and which gets fired.

6.   Fear Factor—Elves must prove their abilities in various ways.

7.      The Amazing Race—All elves from the winning teams must split into new

                                            teams, then race to the North Pole.  At each pit stop Santa

                                            will eliminate a team of elves.

      8.      Survivor—All elves not eliminated will have to prove their survival skills at the

                           North Pole, or be eliminated.

9.      Big Brother—All remaining elves, along with Mr. & Mrs. Claus, have to prove

                                      they can survive together when snowed in at the North Pole.  Will

                                     also have to learn how to care for reindeer, make toys, etc.  More

                                     eliminations.

    10.  What Not To Wear—All final winning elves, along with Mr. & Mrs. Claus, get

                                               a complete fashion makeover.

       11.  Monster House—Santa  & Mrs. Claus, along with the elves, get their living

                                            space made over into the ultimate Christmas themed home.

          12. The Ulitmate Reality--All winners from the previous 11 shows
                                                      appear together in the Macy's Thanksgiving
                                                       Day parade.

                                            

Bonus Show—Unlucky #13

   13.  Cops--Santa and the elves are arrested for passing out black market toys to little children. It's a federal offense crossing state and international lines.  Meanwhile, Mrs. Claus is taken in to custody for putting a little too much "joy" in her brownies.