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Dec 30, 2007

Happy New Year!

It's New Year's and time for fireworks in Pittsburgh. Actually any time is time for fireworks in Pittsburgh. As any Burgher can tell you, we get fireworks for any reason you can name.

If it's Tuesday, it's time for fireworks. If the Pirates win, it's time for fireworks. If the Pirates lose, it's time for fireworks. If some Yinzer spills his Ahrn on his Willie Parker jersey during a television time out at Heinz field, it's time for fireworks in Pittsburgh.

This Pittsburgh fetish for flying explosives is enough to make a guy sick of frickin' fireworks.

We won't be taking the Clan out this year so we'll probably just watch them on TV, flipping back and forth between them and the dessicated corpse of Dick Clark as he tries not to drool on Ryan Seacrest. Hopefully they'll spare us any more of the indignity of his barely audible whispers and rasps. Hint to ABC TV execs, the public doesn't want to see a stroke victim on their holiday specials, regardless of how beloved they might be. It's kind of a bummer.

Here's a question: When was the last year that Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve actually rocked? 1975? 1982? Has it ever?

Anyway, Happy New Year! May 2008 bring you joy and a few fireworks show. I know I'll have plenty!

4 Comments | Link to this post   posted by Teddy 11:52 PM

Dec 27, 2007

Keepon The Dancing Robot

This video has been viewed over 1.6 million times on YouTube:

As you can see by the comments, everyone seems to want one. I would too. I'd love to see how the little would respond to some old school Kiss or Grand Master Flash. That'd be cool.

Aside form being a cool toy to have, Keepon was actually created for a legitimate purpose. A Japanese roboticist, Dr. Hideki Kozima, invented it as a tool to develop social interaction among children.

Here's an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that discusses its popularity and how a Carnegie Mellon University doctoral student is using it in his research.

0 Comments | Link to this post   posted by Teddy 11:42 AM

Dec 24, 2007

Happy Holidays!

In case your not on the Carroll Christmas mailing list:

Merry Christmas!

0 Comments | Link to this post   posted by Teddy 11:07 AM

Dec 17, 2007

Site Problems

Don't know what the issue is, but I'm working on it. Please have patience.

1 Comments | Link to this post   posted by Teddy 12:22 PM

Dec 14, 2007

The Bag O Line

"No! Look, we put a label on every bag that says, "Kid! Be careful - broken glass!" I mean, we sell a lot of products in the "Bag O'" line.. like Bag O' Glass, Bag O' Nails, Bag O' Bugs, Bag O' Vipers, Bag O' Sulfuric Acid. They're decent toys, you know what I mean?" --Irwin Mainway

0 Comments | Link to this post   posted by Teddy 10:57 AM

Dec 12, 2007

Kennywood sold to Spanish company

Sadness consumes me. A cherished, family-owned landmark is no longer. Kennywood and its sister parks Idlewild and Sandcastle water park have been sold to Parques Reunidos of Madrid, Spain.

Yeah, sure management says that nothing will change and that Parques Reunido has a similar vision, blah, blah, blah. But management speak doesn't change the fact that an amazing little amusement park, which has been owned by the same family group for over 100 years, is now just a portfolio property owned by a giant international entertainment company.

Widely seen as the greatest traditional amusement park by those who rate those kinds of things, Kennywood is da bomb! Yeah, that's what they said: Da Bomb. It's especially impressive when you think of the place it holds in the amusement park aristocracy in light of it being a small, privately-owned business.

Will the Potato Patch become the Tapas Patch? Will I have to have sangria with my corn dogs? Okay, maybe I can handle the sangria as long as they don't mess with La Venganza de la Fantasma.

Things may not change, but they definitely won't be the same either. Sigh.

Link

0 Comments | Link to this post   posted by Teddy 10:31 AM

Dec 5, 2007

Top 10 Christmas Songs

As you might imagine, this list has been the hardest to write. There are hundreds of Christmas songs with each song done by dozens of performers. So where does one begin? Well, the first thing I did was to eliminate all of the religious songs. That's right all of them.

I did it not because I don't like them - Placido Domingo's Adeste Fidelis is amazing - but because I celibrate Christmas as a secular holiday. Xmas you might say. Let's not worry about why for now. Let's just get to the songs.

After much deliberation, here are my Top 10 Christmas Songs (in reverse preference 10 to 1)

• Christmas in Hollis, performed by Run D.M.C. - I don't know about the collared greens, but everything else about the song makes me want to run off to Queens to with Reverend Run and Daryl Mac, especially if Santa is dropping "cold hundreds of Gs."


• Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, performed by Bruce Springsteen - I love the arrangement of the original written and sung by Gene Autry, but the Boss's version is just too much fun.


• Let It Snow, performed by Lena Horne - Ms. Horne's voice is as smooth and light as the falling snow she describes in this song.


• Blue Christmas, performed by Elvis Presley - What's a Christmas song list without the King? But which one to choose? I went with this one because of the truly iconic status of it. Can you think of any other artist when you think of this song? And, no, Porky doesn't count.


• It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, performed by Andy Williams - I love this song, but what do scary ghost stories have to do with Christmas? Dickens not withstanding.


• Baby It's Cold Outside, performed by Dean Martin - Like an even more snookered Maurice Chevalier, Dino does a great "Wolf and Mouse" song about a holiday lethario trying to keep his lady friend by his side. I don't know why she's in such a hurry. It is awfully cold out there.


• Sleigh Ride, performed by The Boston Pops - Current conductor, Keith Lockhart, is a little snobby for my tastes but this recording of Sleigh Ride was done under the supervision of the man who is synonymous with the Pops, Arthur Fiedler.


• Holly Jolly Christmas, performed by Burl Ives - Sam the Snowman makes another appearance here with this version that was recorded for the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special. It was featured the following year on Ives's classic Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.


• White Christmas, performed by Bing Crosby - As with most number twos, this could've easily been number one. When he wasn't busy drinking and brutalizing his children, Bing made some great films and records. This number one selling single of all time, penned by Irving Berlin, is Christmas for many people.


• The Christmas Song, performed by Nat King Cole - I don't want to get into a Stairway to Heaven vs. Freebird kind of religious war, but, when I think of Christmas, I think of this song. Written by "The Velvet Fog" Mel Torme, it's no wonder that this classic is smooth and mellow. Each stanza paints an idyllic picture of a classic American Christmas until the final wish of "Merry Christmas to you."

You may have ten others to add to the list. I could've added another 15, but then I'd have a top 25 list and not a top 10. The hardest thing was not repeating any performers. The whole list could've been Bing and Elvis without that rule. Everything else was up for grabs so I performed the hum test. For the last week or so, I made a note of every Christmas song I found myself humming when not listening to any Christmas tunes. This list was the result.

4 Comments | Link to this post   posted by Teddy 7:19 PM

Dec 3, 2007

Favorite Holiday TV Specials

I remember waiting anxiously for the issue of TV Guide that listed when all of the holiday specials would be on. It came out the week after Thanksgiving. Yes, that's right there was a time when we would wait until after Thanksgiving to start celebrating Christmas. This year I was in target 2 weeks before Halloween and they had already begun stocking Christmas decorations. Oy veh! But I digress ...

The issue would arrive and I'd study it from cover to cover eventually knowing the complete schedule of holiday shows throughout the month of December. I was a walking encyclopedia of Christmas entertainment trivia. I even knew the schedule of the holiday episodes of weekly TV shows. You haven't lived until you've seen the Christmas episode of Barney Miller where Fish goes undercover as a sidewalk Santa to stop a mugger who's been targeting the Santas. Abe Vigoda in a Santa suit? Now that's the good stuff. And at age 7 I knew when it was on. But, again, I digress ...

Here are my Top 10 Holiday TV Specials (listed from 10 to 1)

• The Annual Bob Hope Holiday Special - "Ladies and gentlemen, let's have a big hand for Miss Joey Heatherton ... Miss Lola Falana ... Miss Ann-Margeret ... Miss Loni Anderson ... Miss Ann Julian ... Miss Brooke Shields. Grrrroowwwll!" What a horn dog old Bob was. But what a wonderful Christmas card he sent us every year from the 1950s through the 1990s. Bob Hope was a little cheesy, but he was a tireless entertainer who never stopped making people laugh. Whether because of his magnificent work for the USO, his celebrated film career, or these star-studded holiday variety shows, Bob Hope deserved his title of Mr. Entertainment.
  


• Frosty the Snowman - This is the first of many entries by holiday powerhouses Rankin/Bass and their Video Craft International production company. This duo along with songwriter Maury Laws made over a dozen holiday shows between 1964 and 1985. In this one Frosty comes to life after a magic hat lands on his head. Kids love this song and they love this show. Me too.
  


• Rudolph's Shiny New Year - In an attempt to fill the gap between Christmas and New Year's Rankin/Bass put together this less than stellar story of how Rudolph helps to save time by rescuing Baby New Year from the clutches of the evil Eon, a giant bird that wants to live forever. It's a bit of a clunker, but a must see for all of you Rudolph and Rankin/Bass fans.
  


• Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol - You may have guessed from the last list, Top Ten Holiday Movies, that I like Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Well, you're right. It is my most favorite holiday story of all time. I watch every version that I can every year. I even watch the bland but watchable An American Christmas Carol, starring Henry Winkler. This one is a joy because of the wonderful Jim Backus's take on Mr. Magoo's take on Ebenezer Scrooge. Confused? Don't be. Just watch this if you get a chance.
  


• Santa Claus is Coming to Town - The songs in Santa Claus is Coming to Town are some of the best work by Rankin/Bass songster Maury Laws. One Foot in Front of the Other and No More Toy Makers to the King are magic, and quite catchy. You'll be singing them for hours after viewing.
  


• Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas - What's a list of fun holiday TV without the Muppets, right? Not a big budget film like later Jim Henson efforts The Muppets Take Manhattan or another favorite The Muppet Christmas Carol, but Emmett's heart is in the right place. A good take on O Henry's The Gift of the Magi, Emmett and his mother each want to win 1st prize at the talent contest so they can get the other a wonderful gift, but the desire to give comes with a cost.
  


• The Year Without a Santa- "I'm Mr. Green Christmas. I'm Mr. Sun. I'm Mr. Heat Blister. I'm Mr. Hundred and One." If you know these lyrics and those for Snow Miser, then you know why this show is on the list. "Friends call me Snow Miser; whatever I touch, turns to snow in my clutch. I'm too much."
  


• A Charlie Brown Christmas - This is probably the most depressing holiday show ... ever! The famous song Christmas Time is Here is, by itself, enough to throw one into a full-blown attack of seasonal depressive disorder. But I have to put A CB Christmas on the list because, well, it's a classic. Charlie Brown's search for the real meaning of Christmas among rampant commercialism is a tough road for Charles Shulz's existential hero. But with Linus's help and some unexpected beauty from an unlikely source, he finds it.
  


• Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer - Burl Ives as Sam the Snowman starts off the show by asking that famous line, "But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?" He shows up later to sing the classics Silver and Gold and Holly Jolly Christmas, while keeping the story going as our yeoman narrator. Not only are the songs and holiday magic worth watching, but it's actually a good story too. Rudolph and Hermey set out to find a place where they won't be such misfits and undertake an adventure that has them helping others, saving Christmas, and finding a new job for a toothless Bumble.
  


• Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas - The classic Dr. Seuss story How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of his best. But Immortal animator Chuck Jones takes it and makes it even better along with the help of composer Albert Hague and the voice of Tony the Tiger, Thurl Ravenscroft. (Is that an amazing name or what?) Boris Karloff's wonderful narration rounds out what is the most magical combination of whimsy and holiday cheer on the list. I watch this show several times every holiday season and I smile like Max as he gets ready for the sleigh ride down into Whoville.

The next and final holiday list will be Top Ten Christmas Songs. That should be sure to create some arguments.

1 Comments | Link to this post   posted by Teddy 2:56 PM

Dec 2, 2007

Holiday List Season

With the Holiday Season at full throttle, I thought I'd take a few posts here and make a list of a few of my favorite things. (Hark, is that Julie Andrews I hear?) All lists will be ranked in order of preference from 10 to 1. Please feel free to weigh in and let me know about your favorites.

I'm kicking my list of lists off with my favorite holiday movies.

Top Ten Holiday Movies

• Christmas in Connecticut - I'm a huge fan of Barbara Stanwyck. Most famous for her sultry turns as a big screen femme fatale, she could also do comedy, and this movie might just be her best work. She stars as journalist Elizabeth Lane, a sort of mid-century Martha Stewart. She writes a column about her perfectionist homemaking exploits on her Connecticut farm. Complications start when her publisher tries to boost circulation by getting her to entertain a recently returned war veteran at her farm for the holidays. Problem is she's a city girl living in Manhattan and can't cook. It's a good old fashioned screwball comedy and it makes a great way to start my list.


• The Polar Express - Robert Zemeckis brought the classic Chris Van Allsburg story to life with Tom Hanks playing several characters, including a seemingly Valium-laced Santa. Despite some of the failings of the movie, the sleigh bell payoff makes the whole film, as well as the book, worth every minute.


• Scrooged - What can I say, I'm a big fan of Bill Murray. And even though he seems to be phoning it in through parts of the movie, I've really come to appreciate this modern retelling of A Christmas Carol. The replacement of Scrooge's counting house with a television network makes for a great shift to more modern sensibilities. There are also some fun bit parts for Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, and Mary Lou Retton. It also take a good stab at the commercialization of Christmas, especially the effects caused by TV.
  


• The Nightmare Before Christmas - Pumpkin King Jack Skellington is bored and decides that he can do a better job of running Christmas than "Sandy Claws." This stop-motion masterpiece is full of weird and twisted fun and images. Its offbeat characters are a perfect fit within the Tim Burton universe.


• The Santa Clause - I know after sitting through Clauses II and III you're about sick of looking at Tim Allen in a fat suit. Me too! But you can't go wrong with the original. It's a good concept - the man who accidentally brings Santa to an untimely demise must take over the red suit and sleigh - and is expertly acted by Allen. His cranky toy executive Scott Calvin is an unlikely fill in for Santa, but it's a Disney film so, hey, everything works out in the end.


• White Christmas - Sure it's sappy and sells a version of 1950s American that never really existed, but I'm still buying. Bing Crosby is as smooth as silk and Danny Kaye is his usual kinetic self in this film about two army buddies and successful song and dance men trying to put on a holiday show for their old general who has fallen on some hard times. Others may like the similarly themed Holiday Inn, both starring Bing and the music of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, but I love the Technicolor glory of this film better, despite the absence of Fred Astaire.


• It's a Wonderful Life -You either love this film or you hate it. I love it. I love the schmaltz and the schmarm and the overly sentimental treatment of Bedford Falls. The key is Jimmy Stewart's turn as everyman George Bailey. I don't believe this little bit of melodrama would've been remembered if it weren't for Stewart's gentle and heartbreakingly human portrayal of George. This role alone would've been enough to turn Jimmy into a movie icon. Again the studio was busy selling a slice of American life wholly fabricated on the back lots of Hollywood, but we didn't care then and we don't care now. This movie is holiday magic.


• Miracle on 34th Street - Edmund Gwenn is a perfect Kris Kringle in this tail of a Macy's Santa who may just be the real deal. Normally I cringe at any review that claims a story to be heart warming, but that really is the perfect testimonial for this gem from 1947.


• Scrooge - It's been my experience that most people don't know about this musical rendition of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. If you don't, then by all means do. Albert Finney plays one the best Scrooge's ever, while the movie is filled with infectious songs written by the legendary Leslie Bricusse. One thing that every adaption of A Christmas Carol has lacked is the understanding that this is a ghost story not just a Christmas story. This movie doesn't forget that fact. As a kid, I was scared out of my young pants watching the sequences with Jacob Marley. This movie truly does Dickens justice.


• A Christmas Story - Ralphie. Randy. Scott Farkus. The Bumpus Hounds. The Red Rider Range Model Rifle. And "Oh, fudge!" Yes, I've watched this movie as many times as you have - maybe more, but it never gets old. We recently took the kids to a screening at a local theatre. It was the first time I had seen it on the big screen, and it was like watching it for the first time all over again. While set in a fictional Indiana town in the 1940s, I could relate to my own Pittsburgh Christmases as a kid in the 1970s and 80s. Apparently my own kids can relate too; they loved it.
  
  "Deck the harrs with boughs of horry. Fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra."
  

Stay tuned for my next list: Top Ten Holiday TV Specials.

1 Comments | Link to this post   posted by Teddy 1:37 PM

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