Holiday cartoons about frozen zombies

December 7, 1969 -
Another Rankin/Bass production, Frosty the Snowman, premiered on CBS-TV on this date.



This was Jimmy Durante's final film (not counting documentaries and one short film appearance).


The original recording of Frosty The Snowman by Gene Autry was his seasonal follow-up to his successful recording of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1949.



This time he peaked at #7 in December 1950.


The Snowman in July  (1944)




Frosty The Snowman (1953)




Snowman's Dilemma (1960)




The Snowman (1982)



When this program first aired on PBS stations in the United States, the introduction featured a newly filmed introduction by David Bowie instead of Raymond Briggs on the grounds that the animation needed a star.

I will not play the songs featuring Olaf from Frozen (the earworms they cause has led to a UN report being issued concerning possible war crime being committed by yours truly.)  Really, don't bother to look for them if you can help yourself.



And so it goes.

That nice Turkish man you let into your house every year.

December 6 -
It's the Feast of Saint Nicholas (yes, that St. Nick.)

Amongst other things, he is the patron saint of children and was known for his generosity. He's also known as the patron saint of sailors, fishermen, merchants, the falsely accused, prostitutes (Huh), repentant thieves, pharmacists and broadcasters.

Let's check out some other ways St. Nick has been portrayed:

Evolution of Santa Claus -




Santa School -



Santa Claus and His Helpers (1964)




Santa Claus  They Might Be Giants -




Santa Stole My Lady  Fitz and The Tantrums -




Today is the 52nd anniversary of the original broadcast of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, we have another Christmas video countdown today - Rudolph!



Rudolph was born 77 years ago this Christmas season, at the Montgomery Ward department store headquarters in Chicago. He was the star of a humble coloring book, written by a copywriter, Robert May, who almost named the protagonist “Reginald.” May, who’d been lonely as a child, based the character on himself. Store executives fretted that shoppers might think Rudolph’s nose was red because he was drunk, but something about Rudolph’s story spoke to people. He was an outcast, down on his luck. When Santa gave him a job (it was the Great Depression, after all)—well, something clicked.

That Christmas, the company passed out two and a half million copies of the book


Original Rankin/Bass Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer GE Commercials




Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1944) -




Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer  Gene Autry -




Honest Trailers - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer -




various commercials feature Rudolph and his friends -














And so it goes

Our First Guest Programmer of the Season (Next year I'll be good, just wait)

We asked back one of our guest programmers (I actually had no choice, I was stuck for a theme and she'll always hanging around here.) to give us a few of her favorite holiday songs.  Take it away Julietta -

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas  Michael Bublé -



The song Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas was first published in 1943 and is one of the saddest Christmas songs of the season


Baby, It's Cold Outside  Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer -



Yeah, I didn't have the heart to tell her about the very creepy undertones of this song and the fact the Johnny Mercer was Margaret Whiting's godfather only adds to the general unease with the song.


Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)  Michael Bublé -



SOS seems to be on a Michael Bublé kick at the moment.  We'll hear more about this song later.


Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer  Elmo & Patsy -



The kids love this song; it appears on either of their list every year.  (We hate it and continue to try to steer them to other choices.  Once again, we lost.)


The Twelve Days Of Christmas  Ray Conniff Singers -



(Once again, here's a great bar bet winner - not that SOS is in the habit of making bar bets - the five gold rings probably do not refer to jewelry. Given that the first seven days, except the five, refer to birds - the gold rings refer either to the five golden rings of the ringed pheasant or refer to "five goldspinks" - a goldspink being an old name for a Goldfinch.)


Here's a bonus track - An inspired mash-up of Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You and My Chemical Romance's Welcome To The Black Parade -



This is so perfectly matched that it seems it was written this way.



Demand Euphoria

Surprise theme (can you guess the theme?)

Our holiday theme today is one of our favorite holiday games, "Guess the theme?"


Winter Wonderland  Annie Lennox -



Due to its seasonal theme, Winter Wonderland is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere, although the holiday itself is never mentioned in the lyrics.


Santa Baby  Kylie Minogue -



It adapts the conventions of Christmas songs to become a kind of love and seduction song.


Sleigh Ride  Fun -



This song does not make any specific reference to Christmas, but the seasonal imagery has made it very much associated with the holiday. It's hard to think of a sleigh in winter without thinking of Santa.


I’ll Be Home for Christmas  Frank Sinatra -



This was originally recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943, and it quickly became one of America's most popular holiday songs along with White Christmas, which Bing had recorded the previous year.


I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm  Billie Holiday -



Another song that is not strictly a Christmas song as the lyrics make no mention of the holiday, the tune has been recorded for many artists' Christmas albums


Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow  Dean Martin -



This song was first recorded by Vaughn Monroe and released in 1946. The song became a huge hit, so much so that it inspired other artists to record it.


Demand Euphoria!

There really was a Celtic saint called St Elvis

As our tribute to the anniversary of St. Elvis' comeback -

It's an Elvis Christmas today

Santa Claus Is Back in Town




If Every Day Was Like Christmas




Blue Christmas




I Believe




Silent Night




If you find yourself all tingly in your bulbous naughty bits;

you're listening to Elvis; he understands.

Demand Euphoria

Can we swap out ducks for any of these birds?

The 12 Days Of Christmas   Straight No Chaser -




OK kids, PNC bank has reported that there is a .7% increase in the price of the items needed for the 12 days of Christmas. In the 33rd year of their survey, PNC has found that the 12 items come out to a grand total of $34,363.49, a mere $232.50 increase from last year. The cost of this year's CPI rose ever so slightly, driven by the price increases for the Turtle Doves due to lack of availability, and wage increases for the Drummers and Pipers.  (I did not know this but you do not get any bargains by purchases these item online; buying all 12 items from the comfort of your living room would cost you $44,602, an increase of 2.2% from last years total of $43,627.)

These prices are, of course, just for one verse of the song. If you add up the total cost of all the items from the entire song (what PNC Wealth Management calls “The True Cost of Christmas”) it would surmount $156,507.00, up more than $1,100 from last year!



The 12 Days Of Christmas  The Sinatra Family -




Frank Kelly's Christmas Countdown  -




The Twelve Days of Yaksmas -




The 12 Gifts of Christmas  Allan Sherman -




Yet Another Partridge In A Pear Tree -




Creature Comforts - Merry Christmas Everybody! -





And so it goes.

Damn the environment, light that bulb

Today's theme - People who like to flex their carbon foot print - Christmas Light Shows:





New York State used appx. 99,521,135 Mega watts over the holiday season last year.  To put that in some context, that's just slightly less than Vietnam uses in energy over an entire year (101,000,000 MW).





A typical household uses about $11 extra a month to light their household Christmas decorations.  Some extreme household decorators can spend an extra $2,000 to light their displays!





It's nice to see that the public is helping support the public utilities.  You know that they are barely eking out a living.


And so it goes.