Happy Holidays-"It's The Holiday Season!"

Hunter, Haley and I were talking last night about how much we enjoyed this song. Hear it one last time before the season's over.

Happy Holidays / Its The Holiday Season - Andy Williams

12 Days Of Christmas

I love this version... It's from Leonard Bernstein, "The Joy Of Christmas", featuring The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and The New York Philharmonic.

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Christmas and B.C. Clark

It's just not Christmas until you hear the B.C. Clark Christmas Jingle. From their website: "When the B. C. Clark Christmas Jingle first aired, certainly no one could have predicted that over the years it would become the Oklahoma tradition that it is today. Intended to promote B. C. Clark’s annual Anniversary Sale, it has evolved over time into Oklahoma’s own Christmas carol.

The Jingle was first written and produced in 1956, and soon it developed a life of its own. The public made that clear in 1961 when B. C. Clark produced a new jingle thinking the original one was dated and had run its course. It was replaced with the old familiar one within hours, after a barrage of complaints. One small adjustment did have to be made in 1977 when television commercials went from 60 seconds to 30 seconds. Originally 35 seconds long, the line “The Christmas wish of B. C. Clark is to keep on pleasing you” had to be edited from the original song in order to make it fit. Today, people still ask about the mysterious “missing line.”

Hear it here:

Mae

Hunter introduced me to "Mae" and their song "Sic Semper Tyrannis". Hunter and Haley both, like me, have a wide spectrum of musical interest. Anyway, hang on when you listen to this.

Phantom Of The Opera

When Haley, Rhonda and I saw "Phantom" on Broadway, I had no idea what the story line was about; they knew but I wouldn't let them clue me in... typical man. The opening scene seemed slow and cryptic. Suddenly, with a blinding flash of light, the music and storyline engulf you like a rogue wave. I can still recall the rushing of adrenaline as the chandelier began lifting off the stage, and this music... this music... powerful.

Stop Smoking....

Palin-Rap

Dude...

The OKC Thunder

Now that Oklahoma has an NBA basketball team coming to play permanently in our city, with a new nickname, at least according to many media outlets including SI.com, and that new name is "Thunder". Hmmm, OKC Thunder. I actually like it. Now all they have to come up with is a mascot and music for the team introductions. I was trying to think of a good song to emphasise thunder and came up with ACDC's "Thunderstruck". Angus and Malcolm Young with that distinct hard rock classic style begin to play, as a sold out crowd readies, lights go down and smoke/fog rolls in and lightening begins to flash from overhead.... "Thunderstruck" begins to play. The announcer, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Your Oklahoma City Thunder!" Awesome...

EDIT: Today, Wednesday, 9/3/2008, the announcement was made at 5:05pm revealing the new team name, logo and colors. OKC Thunder. Interestingly enough, as they began the reveal, they began to play ACDC's Thunderstruck! Hmmm....

Three Sheets

I discovered "Three Sheets" with Zane Lamprey; a show that explores different beers from around the world. At first I thought it would be boring, however, this guy has a dry sense of humor that works. Not only does he set out to discover various beers, and gets tipsy along the way, but he does an outstanding job of providing some historical perspective of that country and alcohol as well. Click here to watch one of his many funny takes.

Evolving Candidates

How does it come down to this? The American Population has around 300 million people and this is the best we can come up with? These are my choices for President of the United States? You've got to be kidding me. Check this clip out. Talk about flip flopping.

Wisdom In The Words

My daughter Haley has written a post about one of our Schnauzers, Tiz, that was put to sleep after a long struggle with Diabetes. I smiled as I read her post, yet struggled as tears formed in my eyes as I read her "compassionate tribute" to a loyal member of the family. Tiz will be sadly missed for she was a loyal and loving dog.

Brushing Up My Resume'

With United Airlines announcing over 500 million in losses for the 1st quarter, and parking 100 of their Boeing 737 airplanes, which means they need fewer pilots, it made me think about my resume' and possibly brushing it up. This is as far as I've gotten....

1. I know how to fly an airplane
2. I was in the military. I pretty much just flew airplanes.
3. I have a BS in Business Management but I am not a business manager.
4. I minored in Human Resource Development, but don't have a clue how to "develop human resources"
5. I'm good at fixing things around the house.
6. I know when I'm screwed, but is that a job skill?
7. Oh yeah, I can pretend to be a people person. . . but that wears off kind of fast.

Guess What I Did With My Thirty Minutes...

I'm running low on things to post about and when I do think about something I might post, I blow it off. Anyway, here's 2 of my favorite Domino's Commercials that for some reason, crack me up.

Hunter Turns 16!

Today, April 30th, Hunter turned 16! How did that happen when I haven't aged a bit... I still find it hard to believe that he's driving. Hunter is officially a "Cadet Basic Airman" in the United States Auxiliary Air Force, otherwise known as the "Civil Air Patrol" (CAP). He and I have been blessed to share some special bonding times together, like the CAP meetings . Two summers ago, our trip to San Diego. This past summer, DC and Pensacola. We plan on attempting an international trip together this summer to Rome or Sidney. I'm incredibly proud of him, especially his continued growth as a Godly young man.

"Sweet Home Alabama".....Again

This is one of the weirdest things I think I've ever seen. The Finnish Rock Band, "Leningrad Cowboys" and the "Former Soviet Army Choir" sing "Sweet Home Alabama". You've got to see it to believe it.

Wierd Illusions

Stare at the image for 10 seconds then look at the back of your hand. Freaky!

Blingo

Google had been my search engine of choice until I discovered Blingo. Now I have the opportunity to win prizes with searches. I figured, why not win something, especially as much as I use search engines. You gotta love the internet... or not.

Soul Gospel

When it comes to Soul Gospel Music, you can't beat Kirk Franklin. This is one of his older one's but still one of my favorites.

I'm no Julia Child

With that being said, this web site can help transform my cooking into something that would make even Julia Child say, "bon appétit"; that is, if she were still alive. I do enjoy cooking, however, my recipes pretty much have that bland taste. Well not any more! Have you eaten a dish at a restaurant and wished you could get the recipe? Here's your chance. Click here and peruse the many famous recipes. Do you love the salad dressing at Olive Garden? Well, my gift to you. In the voice of Julia Child, "bon appétit"...

Autism Awareness

I was reminded today about the struggles of the many families who has a child diagnosed with Autism. There are families who are your friends who are parents of Autistic Children that share their struggle silently.

There's a video with a song from the band, Five for Fighting, which shows an incredibly moving and powerful video about Autism. You don't need to donate money. Just watch the video and money is donated to www.autismspeaks.org.

Victory Vipers

I was exposed to an activity that I previously had no idea existed. When my kids, Hunter and Haley, were into their activities, it was things like fishing, hunting, sports, horses, etc. Then when they both chose to try “Irish Dancing”, I thought that was an unusual activity. However, Rhonda, took me to her daughter, Kayleigh’s, sport. It was a world of competition that I didn’t even know existed and I was unsure of what to expect. It's also huge in Texas and I'm sure you're wondering what it could be... Well, it's called… Cheer Competitions. From about the age of 2 thru 18, kids can join this action packed, competitive and complicated sport. It's not just yelling cheers... it involves stunts, tumbling and tossing other cheerleaders high into the air. The cheerleaders that go flying through the air are called, as the name suggest, Flyer's. I learned an entire new language after watching over 3 hours of competition. These girls practice hard. 5-6 times a week, 2 hours a night for 5-6 months, preparing for the competitions. Dedication brings Championships. Kayleigh’s team is called the “Victory Vipers”. During this event, they took 1^st place at the Cheer Power Competition in Houston, Texas!

Travel Challenge IQ

Here's an addictive challenge, "Traveler IQ Challenge". Good Luck. I'm not going to share with you the level I reached. However, keep in mind that since I travel for a living, and have been to most of these countries... oh well, you get the point. ;)