Dr. Caligari's cabinet is now so crammed that he had to stow stuff in the Cupboard. Time may wound all heels but once in a while you need a cup of tea.
Ike was absolutely correct, we truly need to beware 'the military-industrial complex.' I had been highly suspicious of the follow statistic - the US has been involved in some form of 'armed military' conflicts 227 out of the 244 years of it's existence. But I've tracked it across a number of different sources, for example 1, 2&3, and a consensus seems to be that we are a very war-like nation. So it is very easy to see how the true reason for the holidays is lost in the fog of war -
Today's theme - The holidays during wartime -
The Christmas Truce on the Western Front of 1914 -
Little Jack Frost Get Lost - Bing Crosby & Peggy Lee -
Christmas In Korea -
Christmas in Viet Nam - Soul Searchers -
What set the Christmas songs of the Vietnam War apart was their naked honesty concerning the plight of the soldier. These guys weren't very happy to be there - at least, they didn't stay that way very long after going "in country."
Bob HopeUSO Christmas Special from the Persian Gulf -
If you can’t wrap Christmas presents well, at least make it look like they put up a good fight.
Today's theme - our first guest programmer, the birthday girl.
She has an interesting mix this year:
Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Originally, this was an instrumental piece that Vince Guaraldi wrote to open A Charlie Brown Christmas. About a month before it aired, Lee Mendelson, who produced the special, decided it might work better with some words, so he wrote the lyric in about 10 minutes sitting at his kitchen table.
All I want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
In terms of airplay (at least in America), this is by far the most successful Christmas song written after 1963, when Bing Crosby recorded Do You Hear What I Hear? The most popular holiday songs on American radio were all written between 1934-1963, with Sleigh Ride (1948), usually the most-played.
All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth - Alvin & The Chipmunks
This novelty Christmas song was written by Don Gardner, who is not to be confused with the vocalist and drummer Don Gardner. After graduating from Westchester University, Pennsylvania, Donald Yetter Gardner and his wife Doris moved to Smithtown, New York where they taught music at the local elementary school.
Merry Christmas - New York Jazz Lounge
The birthday girl want to wish everyone a 'Buon Natale'!
Before our feature presentation, ACME would like to start the evening with another Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny cartoon, the 1953Bully for Bugs, directed by Chuck Jones.
The conception of this cartoon came about when Eddie Selzer randomly appeared in the writer’s office to announce that there were to be no bullfighting cartoons made because bullfights weren’t funny. Chuck Jones and Mike Maltese happened to witness this, and began making a bullfighting cartoon immediately.
Before the start of our feature presentation, ACME Eagle Hand Soap who like to join the BBC in wishing this cracky 80 year-old a very Happy Birthday -
Raised in Los Angeles, Terry Gilliam gave up his US citizenship in January 2006. As a result of renouncing his American citizenship, he is only permitted to spend 29 days a year in the United States, considerably less than the average U.K. Citizen.
We hope you are doing well with your self quarantines - the programming department of The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour have been vigorously scrubbing themselves with ACME Eagle Hand Soap - If your eagle's hands are dirty, we'll wash them clean! and sanitizing themselves for your protection. We are also engaged in social distancing - we are communicating with each other via Binary Codes and Caesar Cyphers.
The holiday season is once again upon us and with the month nearly being over, we here at Acme are proud to bring you the Thirteenth Annual Holiday Video Festival. This weekend could be the start of the holiday season for some people (most of the staff of ACME start working on the holidays well before Thanksgiving but after Halloween; we're not insane,) and you may be decorating the house today. Why not put The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour on in the background and watch this completely forgotten (at least to me) 1964 animated television special, the first produced by Rankin/Bass, Return to Oz:
The reason this animated special is not well remembered could be that the program was first televised on the same day that The Beatles made their first appearance on American television on The Ed Sullivan Show and two weeks after CBS's 1964 telecast of the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, with Judy Garland.
Since today's theme isHoliday Cartoons, The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour encourages you to keep watching
Santa's Workshop(1932) -
If you look closely a Mickey Mouse doll can be seen peeking out of the bag of toys as Santa Claus is saying goodbye.
The Night Before Christmas - Tom and Jerry (1941) -
This cartoon was originally titled Not Even a Mouse. This is the first time Tom rescues Jerry.
A Christmas Dream (1946) -
This film by Karel Zeman became the first to win the award for Best Animated Short at the first annual Cannes Film Festival.
Santa's Surprise- (1947) -
The character Little Audrey or Audrey Smith, introduced here, was one of the most popular characters used by Famous Studios and Harvey Comics. She starred in her own animated film series from 1948 to 1958.
Toys Will Be Toys(1949) -
This was one of the final Screen Song cartoons produced by Paramount, featuring the "bouncing ball" progression through the lyrics of Oh, You Beautiful Doll.
Remember to pace yourself we have a month of celebrating to do.
Here is a brief history of the holiday you may wish to share with your loved ones:
In the winter of 1620-1621, a group of immigrants in Massachusetts experienced a devastating winter. The weather was fierce. Food was scarce. Many died. At last spring came, then summer, and by the time of the autumn harvest things were looking about as rosy as they ever look in Massachusetts.
At a fundraising dinner that fall, Governor Bradford stood up and gave a speech:
"Thank God we survived last winter," he said. "Thank God this harvest gives us a fighting chance to survive the coming winter. And thank you for your support in the last election, please make checks payable to the Committee to Re-Elect the Governor, God bless America, amen. Let's eat."
The ensuing winter didn't turn out too badly, so the superstitious immigrants concluded that Governor Bradford's magic spell of "Thanksgiving" had done the trick.
The holiday was intermittently celebrated for years, with an enthusiasm scaled to the previous winter's weather, until November 26, 1789, when President Washington issued a proclamation calling for a nationwide day of thanksgiving for the establishment of the Constitution.
Washington's proclamation wasn't much different from Bradford's:
"Thank God we survived last winter," he said. "Thank God we've got a fighting chance to survive the coming winter. Thank God we've got our own damn country now and don't have to put up with a bunch of meddling European bastards. And thank you for your support in the last election, please make checks payable to Federalists for Washington, God bless America, amen. Let's eat."
Washington, the Constitution, and many of the immigrants (who were now Americans) survived the winter, so this new spell was also deemed effective.
President Lincoln later proclaimed the last Thursday of November Thanksgiving Day in 1863 (although he did not survive to see the next Thanksgiving),
but President Roosevelt moved it back to the fourth Thursday of the month in 1939 to extend the time available for holiday shopping.
President Ford proposed making it the third Wednesday in September, in order to really extend the time available for holiday shopping, but he only made the proposal to his golden retriever, Liberty, so the suggestion never reached congress.
And so we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year, in honor of having survived last winter, having got rid of those meddling European bastards, having invented our own rules and having plenty of time to shop before the holidays.
I know it sounds trite but please, take a moment to remember all of the people around our country who are homeless and out in the cold this evening.
Alright you've made it this far, it's skiing down the hill from here. All good things come to an end and so does your Thanksgiving meal. As most good hosts know, let your guest bring it. If you feel the religiously need to make some, here are a few very simply yet elegant suggestions -
Dessert:
Apple Crisp Brownies Vanilla Ice Cream Butter Pecan Ice Cream Cut Fruit Nuts Coffee/ Tea
Here are a couple more Thanksgiving themes episodes to watch while your thinking about what you've gotten yourself
Frasier - The Apparent Trap
Dharma & Greg - Thanksgiving Until it Hurts
I'll leave you today with a thoughtful quote from Erma Bombeck: Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.
Before you go - If you need it, I've posted my complete Thanksgiving menu guide here!
Once again, ACME is proud to repost the following holiday recipes over the next few days, so you can get through Thanksgiving with your liver intact:
It's time to consider the main course - Turkey. I am reminded of the Julia Child quote: I like to cook for 2, or for 4 or 6 at the most 8 people. Beyond that you get into quantity cooking and that is just not my field at all.
Since Mr. Teeny can't be your sou-chef tomorrow, I've posted a few notes on cooking the bird in question:
Turkey day is a mere days away. Hopefully you've begun thawing your behemoths (since we are only four this year, I bought a 9lb fresh 'Lil Butterball".) Also here's a tip for all cooks - begin drinking today - by Thursday you will develop a wonderful drunken haze that will get you through any emergency.
Do you know that a "frozen" turkey is fresher than a so-called "fresh" turkey? The frozen turkey have been frozen immediately upon preparation (execution.) The so-called fresh turkeys can sit in your store for days. For crisper skin, unwrap the turkey the day before roasting and leave it uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
Use a shallow roasting pan. Add some roughly chopped onions and carrots to the bottom of the roasting pan. Add about a cup or two of wine (or stock) into the roasting pan. Invest in one of those roasting racks to place you bird on - it will keep it out of the accumulating juices and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the roasting pan.
Do not stuff your turkey ahead of time as harmful bacteria growth could spoil the uncooked turkey. Just before roasting, stuff the body and the neck of the turkey. Do not pack in as the stuffing will expand during cooking. If packed in too tightly, it will be very dense instead of light. You can truss your bird (if you know how.) An easier version is to use the heel of the loaf of bread to cover the opening of the abdomen and tie the legs of the turkey together - this will help with a more even cooking of the stuffing. Cook the remaining stuffing (dressing) in a baking pan.
Before roasting, coat the outside of the turkey with vegetable or olive oil, season with salt and pepper. So your turkey is thawed, brined or not brined, stuffed or not stuffed. Now it's time to get it into the oven. Approximate cooking times listed below are for a whole turkey cooked at 350 °F.
Calculating Cooking Time: Weight (Pounds)8 to 12 12 to 14 18 to 20 20 to 24 24 to 30 Unstuffed (hours) 2.75 to 3 3 to 3.75 4.25 to 4.5 4.5 to 5 5 to 5.25 Stuffed (hours)3 to 3.5 3.5 to 4 4.25 to 4.75 4.75 to 5.25 5.25 to 6.25
To prevent the breast meat from drying out, loosely cover just the breast with a triple thick sheet of aluminum foil, butter on the inside to prevent sticking. Remove after the first hour of roasting so the breast has time to brown and lower the temperature to 350°F.
I have no firm opinion on basting - baste if you enjoy basting every half hour (this will resulting in a slightly longer cooking time as the oven will have to continuously have to come back up to temperature) or baste once an hour (this will result in you worrying about a possible dry turkey. I have two suggestions for that - make more gravy and continually drink during the entire cooking process.)
Never rely on the little plastic thermometer in some turkeys to pop out. If you wait for it, the turkey will overcook. Instead stick an instant read thermometer several inches down through the skin between the thigh and the breast so the tip ends up about an inch above the joint. They turkey is ready when the thermometer reads 165 degrees F.
Let the cooked turkey "rest" after it have been removed from the oven. While the turkey cooks, the juices are forced away from the heat to the middle of the turkey. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes after it is removed from the oven. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the turkey. A moist turkey is easier to carve and tastier too.
If you need your oven to reheat or cook side dishes, it's better to serve the turkey at room temperature with hot gravy than to reheat it. Reheating dries out the meat. The interior of a large turkey will stay quite hot for at least an hour.
Gravy
Ingredients
* 4 cups of reduced-sodium chicken broth or your own, (which would be infinitely better.)
* 2 tablespoons of butter
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Drippings from Turkey roasting pan
Tools
* Large heavy bottom saucepan
* Whisk
* Large wooden spoon
* Sieve
* Unwashed Roasting pan from Turkey
* Medium sized bowl
Directions
Pour out the drippings from roasting tray, set aside.
Place roasting tray over medium heat and add stock. Bring to a boil and scrap bottom of pan, getting all the accumulated brown bits (fond) off the bottom. Lower the heat, occasionally stirring as you continue with the recipe.
Place the large saucepan over medium high heat. Add butter, 2 tablespoons of pan dripping and 1/2 cup of flour to saucepan and whisk until mixture turns a light brown (in about 4 minutes - do not burn.)
Lower heat to medium and slowly whisk the heated stock into the saucepan (straining through sieve.) This is a good time to call someone into the kitchen to lend a hand, i.e, hold the sieve, pouring the stock through the sieve, slowly whisking or making sure you are properly hydrated. Add about 3 cups of the stock and continue cooking until the gravy has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes - if it's a little too thick add a little more stock (add a little more pan drippings.)
When you've wanted to order 24 or 25 sheets of paper in English without having to say “I would like 24 or 25 sheets of paper, please” (or one twentieth of a ream.) Ask for a Quire. Problem solved.
Before our feature presentation, ACME would like to start the evening with anotherMerrie Melodies Bugs Bunny cartoon (featuring Yosemite Sam,) the 1953 Hare Trimmed, directed by Friz Freleng.
This cartoon is the first to reveal Granny's real name; Emma Webster, although this alias is rarely used in many shorts. This is also the first of one of the few shorts where Granny is not paired with Tweety and Sylvester, others include This Is a Life? and Corn on the Cop.
Before the start of our feature presentation, ACME Eagle Hand Soap who like to share with you a PSA from our German affiliates -
So remember, be a hero, do nothing, stay at home!
We hope you are doing well with your self quarantines - the programming department of The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour have been vigorously scrubbing themselves with ACME Eagle Hand Soap - If your eagle's hands are dirty, we'll wash them clean! and sanitizing themselves for your protection. We are also engaged in social distancing - we are communicating with each other via hollowed out pumpkins and Ikea product names.
We've picked another entry from the excellent reference book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider for today's feature. Today's choice is of 1949 Academy Award winner, The Heiress - William Wyler's film adaptation on a hit stage adaptation of Henry James’s Washington Square. The film starred Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson (in his first Hollywood role,) and Olivia de Havilland (in her Academy Award winning performance.) Both the play and film were true to the novel. The theme was the age-old conflict between love and money (represented by social class). So we would like you to relax (quick, find the most comfortable seat on the sofa,) get a snack (perhaps, some chestnuts roasted on an open fire,) and a beverage (some mulled wine,)and join The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour in watching this classic film, The Heiress.
After seeing The Heiress on Broadway, Olivia de Havilland approached William Wyler about directing her in a screen adaptation of the play. He agreed and encouraged Paramount Pictures executives to purchase the rights from the playwrights (Ruth and Augustus Goetz) for $250,000 and offer them $10,000 per week to write the screenplay. The couple were asked to make Morris less of a villain than he was in their play and the original novel in deference to the studio's desire to capitalize on Montgomery Clift's reputation as a romantic leading man.
Before our feature presentation, ACME would like to start the evening with anotherLooney Tunes Bugs Bunny cartoon (featuring Yosemite Sam,) the 1953 Southern Fried Rabbit, directed by Friz Freleng.
This cartoon is usually edited due it's Confederacy content. The scene with Sam yelling "CHARGE!" after Bugs first tries to cross the Mason-Dixon Line is usually cut due to the short scene featuring the Confederate "bars and stripes" flag (which is considered a very controversial flag in American culture/history). Also usually cut out is the entire part where Bugs poses as a slave, then gets his cover blown when he sings Yankee Doodle, shoves a whip into Sam's hands, begging Sam not to beat him, and Bugs posing as Abraham Lincoln to chastise Sam about whipping slaves.
Before the start of our feature presentation, ACME Eagle Hand Soap remembers Alex Trebek -
We will always answer the questions in the form of a question.
We hope you are doing well with your self quarantines - the programming department of The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour have been vigorously scrubbing themselves with ACME Eagle Hand Soap - If your eagle's hands are dirty, we'll wash them clean! and sanitizing themselves for your protection. We are also engaged in social distancing - we are communicating with each other via a Tor IP address and Steganography.
We've picked another entry from the excellent reference book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider for today's feature. Today's choice is another of the underappreciated 1948 film noir film on this list, The Reckless Moment was directed by the master of camera movement Max Ophüls and starred James Mason and Joan Bennet. The film received good reviews but a noir melodrama released at Christmas wasn't what the public wanted, and Ophüls returned to France in the 50s to direct his masterpieces Earrings of Madame de..., La Ronde, and Lola Montès. The Reckless Moment would be his last film made in America. So we would like you to relax (quick, find the most comfortable seat on the sofa,) get a snack (perhaps, some chips,) and a beverage (a highball or two,) and join The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour in watching terse drama film, The Reckless Moment.
Walter Wanger, who produced the film The Reckless Moment, and Joan Bennett were married from 1940 until 1965. In 1951 Wanger shot Bennett's agent, Jennings Lang, apparently based on the assumption of a romantic involvement between the two.
Before our feature presentation, ACME would like to start the evening with another Merrie MelodiesBugs Bunny cartoon (featuring Elmer Fudd,) the 1953 Upswept Hare, directed by Robert McKimson.
Upswept Hare is one of the few cartoons in which Elmer Fudd comes out victorious against Bugs Bunny, and quite possibly the only time Bugs concedes defeat.
Before the start of our feature presentation, ACME Eagle Hand Soap would like to bring you another toad elevating moment -
But imagine how good it could be if everyone was in the same place??
We hope you are doing well with your self quarantines - the programming department of The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour have been vigorously scrubbing themselves with ACME Eagle Hand Soap - If your eagle's hands are dirty, we'll wash them clean! and sanitizing themselves for your protection. We are also engaged in social distancing - we are communicating with each other via Illuminati coding and Vigenère squares.
We've picked another entry from the excellent reference book,1001 Movies You Must See Before You Dieby Steven Jay Schneider for today's feature. Today's choice is the almost completely forgotten 1948 film made by master documentarian Robert J. Flaherty (co-written by his wife, Frances H. Flaherty.) This film not a documentary but is a work of film, commissioned and paid for by the Standard Oil Company. Virgil Thomson won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his score to the film . So we would like you to relax (quick, find the most comfortable seat on the sofa,) get a snack (perhaps, some pralines,) and a beverage and join The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour in watching this fine film, Louisiana Story.
After a screen test had been shot of Joseph Boudreaux, but before he had been chosen for the role of The Boy, his uncle gave him a "G.I."--i.e., very short crew cut haircut. The production had to delay shooting until his hair grew back.
