20-foot snowman in Akron, Ohio
Ohio residents build a giant snowman — article includes picture.
My 2005 Christmas Loot
Everyone’s blogging about how wonderful it was to spend time with their friends and family. I could do that, but I talk about how great they are all the time. Instead, here’s a list of the cool stuff they got me, because they are awesome. (I still have to exchange presents with my friends Dan and Doug and Kathy).
- Wicked: The Grimmerie, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Hit Broadway Musical book
- Fireplace Mantel
- Fireplace Iron Grate
- Chicken Decoration
- Jaarsma Bakery Dutch Letters
- Brown Bobby Triangle Donuts
- 1933 Collectors Edition of King Kong (with Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young) DVD
- Island of the Skull King Kong Prequel Book
- a “rain” showerhead for my shower
- Bath & Body Works Lemon Verbena Salt Scrub
- Bath & Body Works Lemon Verbena home spray
- Bath & Body Works Ginger Verbena body lotion
- massager
- Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs — 5 mls of Annabel Lee, Bearded Lady, Jester
- Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs — Imps of Lightning, Fallen and Hurricane
- Nancy Drew retro DVD
- Wind-up Emergency Radio
- Dinosaur Pinata (I totally begged for this, because it’s great!!)
- Curious George Hallmark Ornament (#2 in series)
- Curious George Band Aids
- Curious George Uno Game
- Doggie Calendar
- monkey stickers (in stocking)
- doggie magnetic poetry (in stocking)
- The Experts’ Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do book
- Dr. Doolittle DVD
- Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines DVD
- 2 Barnes and Noble Gift Cards
- iTunes Gift Card
- 2 Different kinds of Laser Levels
- A large flashlight
- A disposable emergency flashlight
- Can of Windshield De-Icer
- Coffee
- Harry & David candies
- 2 Journals
- Greenpeace Calendar
- Monopoly Hand Towel
- Curious George Altoid Mints
- Chex Mix
- Stocking loot, including Hindu finger puppets
- Godiva Chocolates
- Chicken tablecloth
- Chicken t-shirt
- Avon Candle
- this years State Quarters
- A Sudoku Book
- a Candle Holder
- 2 Pomegranate scented candles
- monkey earrings
- handmade candy cane ornament
Stuff I bought for myself
- Motorola Razr Phone
- King Kong xBox Game
- Mah-Jongg PC Game
- A Feast For Crows book
- Jesus Is Not a Republican: The Religious Right’s War on America book
- Best Lesbian Erotica 2006 book
- Gourmet Amiguri “Little Monkey Me” (as a companion to a gift I got for Stephanie of a little Monkey version of her.)
How Santa Knows IF you’ve Been Good
Sung to the tune of…
"Santa Claus is Coming to Town"
You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I’m telling you why,
Santa Claus is tapping,
Your phone.
He’s buggin your room,
He’s reading your mail,
He’s keeping a file
And runnin a tail
Santa Claus is tapping
Your phone
He hears you in the bedroom
Surveills you out of doors
And if that doesn’t get the goods
Then he’ll use provocateurs.
So you mustn’t assume
That you are secure
On Christmas Eve
He’ll kick in your door
Santa Claus is tapping
Your phone
A Christmas Tradition is Born
One particular Christmas season a long time ago, Santa was getting ready for his annual trip … but there were problems everywhere.
Four of his elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones so Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule. Then Mrs. Claus told Santa that her mom was coming to visit. This stressed Santa even more.
When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out, heaven knows where. More stress. Then when he began to load the sleigh one of the boards cracked and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys.
So, frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of coffee and a shot of whiskey. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered that the elves had hid the liquor and there was nothing to drink. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the coffee pot and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw it was made from.
Just then the doorbell rang and Santa cussed on his way to the door. He opened the door and there was a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said, very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas Santa. Isn’t it just a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Isn’t it just a lovely tree? Where would you like me to stick it?"
Thus began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.
ACLU Announces Lawsuit against Santa Claus
CHICAGO – The American CivilLiberties Union announced today that it was bringing a lawsuit against Santa Claus for violations of the civil rights of children. An ACLU spokesman, Mr. E. Scrooge stated that, "Mr. Claus has been violating children’s right to privacy and has been putting that information in a vast database. The information is then used by the law enforcement arm of Mr. Claus organization to determine which children are considered naughty or nice. It is obvious Mr. Clause has violated the children’s rights, as we have alleged in our suit, because of the memos and other company information we have obtained. In addition, we believe Mr. Claus has been engaging in mind control experiments designed to prevent the free expression of beliefs."
Among the documents presented to the courts today was a memo in which reads, in part:
You better watch out.
You better not cry.
You better not pout.
I’m telling you why.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
He sees you when you are sleeping
He knows when you’re awake,
He knows when you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness’ sake.
Mr. Scrooge claimed the document, was obtained from one of workers in the distribution department of Mr. Claus’ organization, "…clearly shows a concerted attempt to restrict the rights of children to free expression and free thought. In addition, there are concerns about the security of the information. What would be the result of such a database being made available to other law enforcement agencies around the world?"
Lawyers at the Justice also confirmed today that they were investigating the possibility that Mr. Claus was at the core of a vast conspiracy against children. Anonymous sources from inside the Justice Department stated that, "We believe a large number of parent, ministers and teachers are involved in this business and we expect several of them will testify for the State in return for a lighter sentence."
In addition, the same sources indicated a parallel investigation by the Department and the FBI on possible charges of smuggling on the part of Mr. Claus, "our records do not show Mr. Claus, or any one else paying any import duties or taxes on any items he has delivered. Since Mr. Claus has representatives in all of the States of the Union we believe he should have to pay state and local taxes on all of the goods he delivers."
Lawyers for Mr. Claus stated, "The charges of the ACLU are absurd. Mr. Claus is a well known and highly respected figure. His supporters are from around the world and his message of love and respect can, in no way, be taken as a form of "mind control" or a violation of the civil rights of children."
The lawsuit is complicated by the fact that Mr. Claus is not a resident of the United States or any country which the United States currently has an extradition treaty. It is unknown where Mr. Claus is at the moment, but it is believed he is hiding out at his north pole estate.
In a brief statement, read by his lawyer, Mr. Claus said, "I find the charges of the ACLU absurd and am confident they will be rejected by the courts. As for any criminal charges, I believe the Justice Department will discover they have no basis."
Experts are uncertain what possible effect the suit or possible pending charges might have on Mr. Claus’ Christmas travels this year.
Christmas Fruitcake Recipe
You’ll need the following:
- 1 C water
- 1 C sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 C dried fruit
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 C brown sugar
- lemon juice
- nuts
- 1 FULL bottle of your favorite whiskey
(Sample the whiskey to check for quality).
Take a large bowl.
Check the whiskey again to be sure that it is of the highest quality. Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer; beat 1 C of butter in a large fluffy bowl.
Add 1 tsp sugar and beat again.
Make sure the whiskey is still OK – Cry another tup.
Turn off the mixer.
Break two legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Mix on the turner.
If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.
Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
Next, sift 2 cups of salt. Or something. Who cares.
Check the whiskey.
Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
Grease the oven.
Turn the cake tin 350 degrees.
Don’t forget to beat off the turner.
Check the whiskey again.
Go to bed. Who the hell likes druitcake anyway?
Cool Cologne Poster by eBoy
eBoy is an artist who makes lots of interesting “pixel art” drawings and posters. He recently produced this one of the city of Cologne, Germany that really rocks.
I visited this city in 1997 when I went to Europe to see my friend Cate. If you look at the row of colored buildings on the left of the poster, we stayed the night in one of them. My friends Dan and Doug also visited Cologne on their trip to Germany this year.
Current Music Videos
My niece pointed this site out to me last weekend at my Dad’s house: Codesandlyrics.com let’s you see current music videos, listen to the music, and grab code to embed the videos into your site.
While there, I discoved the video for the song Laffy Taffy, which explains why this page on my site has been getting so many hits and links. Sometimes I wonder when I see my weblogs.