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.
Another reason Hanukkah feels better than Christmas -
betting Hanukkah gelt (money) on candle races.
Impress your friends: The fifth night of Hanukkah is called 'the darkest night', not because it falls on one of the last days of the Hebrew month of Kislev (meaning there is no moon), but because it is the only night of Hanukkah that can NEVER fall on Shabbat
Kurstin x Grohl: The Hanukkah Sessions 2022: Night Five -
Who knew?
Dreidels Of Fire Adam Green -
Chanukah Honey Rachel Bloom -
Chanukah Trivia With Strangers Meir Kay -
Tchotchkes The Lemon Twigs -
Not quite a Hanukkah song but I think we can let it slide
Pass It On The What's Up Band -
The Kvetch -
Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy explains Hanukkah -
Chanukah at the North Pole -
I believe that oil fatigue may have already set in. Hold on, you will get through this.
We are smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, given Christmas is a mere week away! Why not join The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour in watching celebrating our second holiday feature - that How the Grinch Stole Christmas! written by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel was published as a book by Random House in December of 1957. The book criticizes the commercialization of Christmas and the holiday season.
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! the CBS animated special based on the book of the same title by Theodor Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss), directed by legendary cartoon director Chuck Jones, premiered on this date. The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour would like you to join us in watching this fun holiday special, so push away from pile of gifts you are wrapping, if you can, get comfortable and enjoy the show.
The special is notably the first prime-time animated television special based on a Dr. Seuss book, it features narration by Boris Karloff (who also voiced the title character) and music written by Albert Hague.
Here's a brief interview with Chuck Jones involvement with the special -
Boris Karloff was picked to voice the Grinch after Chuck Jones heard a recording of him reading Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book stories (which Jones was a fan of).
Here's a 'making of' documentary of the special, hosted by the late Phil Hartman -
and finally some very rare original commercials from the original broadcast -
Much like the Coca Cola sponsor plugs from A Charlie Brown Christmas, the original broadcast of How The Grinch Stole Christmas was sponsored by the Foundation for Full Service Banks and featured plugs for them at the beginning and end of the special. These have since been edited out of subsequent airings and are quite difficult to find, however they recently resurfaced in 2021.
So, welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas Day is in our grasp, so long as we have hands to clasp. Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have we. Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart, and hand in hand.
No don't need to clean the chimney during Hanukkah.
Another reason Hanukkah feels better than Christmas - Never a silent night among Jewish families.
After hosting the fourth night of Hanukkah,
now is the time to figure out how to send all the mishpokhe home.
Adam Sandler had nothing better to do than to update his song yet again - Chanukah Song Part 4 -
It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know.
Kurstin x Grohl: The Hanukkah Sessions: Night Four -
Tonight Dave and his family celebrated celebrated the teenage Jewish girl anthemist- Janis Eddy Fink.
A Jackson 5 Hanukkah Y-Studs -
Fill the dark with all the light
Hot Hanukkah Couplet -
Eight Nights Of Joy Rabbi Joe Black and Maxwell Street Klezmer Band-
Spread Light UPMIX DJ Farbreng, Alex Clare & Matisyahu-
As the grandmas will say, "... such nice boys, as comforting and sweet as a freshly fried jam-filled sufganiyah".
Dreidel Dreidel Kosha Dillz -
Not quite an oldie but a goodie
Bunkies, it's half way over.
Will you profit from what I've shown you of the good in most men's hearts?
Today is the 192nd anniversary of the publication of Charles Dicken's story - A Christmas Carol.
There are literally dozens of adaptations of A Christmas Carol. Let's take a look at a few of them:
A Christmas Carol (1910) -
This is one of the earliest film adaptations of the story. It featured Marc McDermott as Ebenezer Scrooge and Charles S. Ogle as Bob Cratchit.
Scrooge (1935) -
This film is the first live action production to include the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come's scene of Scrooge's shrouded corpse as in the book.
The Christmas Carol (1938) -
Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge McDuck was probably based physically on this version of Ebenezer Scrooge, with the fringe of hair and the small tuft of hair on the top of his head.
The Christmas Carol (1949 TV special) -
This is a very rare example of a 1940s television broadcast still surviving in entirety. In the infancy of television, programs were always broadcast live because videotape recording technology did not yet exist.Although crude (a film camera was pointed at a television monitor filming the broadcast,) it was the only available method to record a live broadcast during the earliest days of television.
Scrooge (1951) This is the favorite in the Caligari manse-
Scrooge was likely based on a real person named John Meggot (born John Elwes), who was a local celebrity, a member of Parliament, and a famous miser from Charles Dickens' part of England. Meggot was dead by the time Dickens was born, but he heard quite a bit about "Scrooge" from locals where he grew up.
A Christmas Carol (1971) -
This was the only film version of A Christmas Carol to win an Oscar. After this television short won the Oscar, the Academy changed its rules so that a made-for-television cartoon could never again win this honor, even if it was shown theatrically
Blackadders Christmas Carol (1988) -
It has been noticed by some that Robbie Coltrane's costume and character in this Christmas special, has a nearly identical portrayal to his much later role as Hagrid, in the film versions of J.K.Rowling's series of Harry Potter books. Also, its been claimed that JK Rowling herself had said Robbie Coltrane was always intended to have been cast as Hagrid in the films, suggesting that this Blackadder episode may in part have inspired the creation of Hagrid.
A Christmas Carol (1999) -
During the 1990s, Patrick Stewart wrote and starred in a one-man play based on A Christmas Carol, performing it in various places in the United States and the United Kingdom. He performed it again for the survivors and victim's families of 9/11, and again in 2005. In the play, he performed over forty different characters.
Please join us in watching what could be the greatest mash-up ever, or at least the most labor intensive. Heath Waterman spent 18 months putting together this labor of love, retelling the story of Ebenezer Scrooge in his video A Christmas Carol Encyclopedia, Stave 1 (which is an update of his original Twelve Hundred Ghosts - A Christmas Carol in Supercut.)
Mr. Waterman uses clips from over over 850 sources to make this holiday classic. (Make it your business to watch this!)
And there is no better way to get into the holiday spirit than drinking spirits -
Eggnog is usually thought of as a Christmas beverage and to tell the truth I am not a huge fan of Eggnog. So I find it amusing that the recipe that I'm posting is for Eggnog (Above is a copy of my family recipe - my father sent it to his sister in 1962.)
Coquito, a Puerto Rican twist on the classic, is a family favorite and I thought I'd share it with you and perhaps you can try it out on your family.
Please note: these drinks go down quite smoothly and are very potent - they could be administered as a calmative for frayed nerves during the holiday season.
Ingredients:
* 4 large egg yolks * 1/4 cup of sugar * 1/2 can of (14-ounces) condensed milk * 1 14-ounce cans evaporated milk * 1 1/2 cans of 15-ounce cans cream of coconut * 1/2 of a Fifth of white rum (or more) * 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon * 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg * 1 teaspoon coconut (or vanilla) extract
Tools:
* Drink Blender * Can opener * Glass
Directions:
Add the egg yolks, sugar, spices and vanilla into the blender. Mix until well blended.
Add the evaporated & condensed milk to the blender and briefly mix. (Condensed milk is very thick - you may want to open the can up all the way and scrap out all of the milk with a spatula.)
Vigorously shake the can of cream of coconut (it tends to separate.) Pour the cream of coconut into the blender and mix well. Scrap out any remaining coconut stuff from the can.
Add the rum and mix. Taste. If you think you need more rum, add it.
Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Serve cold.
Let's see what's on the ole turntable for Hanukkah this evening -
Let's see what's on the ole turntable for Hanukkah this evening -
The Chanukah Song Part 3 Adam Sandler -
Kurstin x Grohl: The Hanukkah Sessions: Night Three -
What wouldn't we do for love ... of latkes!
A Very Jonas Hanukkah Y-Studs x Jonas Brothers -
8 is Great Monty Pickle and Kosha Dillz -
Weinerville Chanukah Special -
I'm still sure you Bunkies have never seen this one
Mayim Bialik and Noa Tishby Light Candles for the Third Night of Hanukkah -
Eight Nights A Week Loudon Wainwright III -
Remember to eat some steamed vegetables or a bran muffin.
Happy Holidays! I'm sure you are just starting to run around doing your holiday shopping. So why not sit back and relax (quick, find the most comfortable seat on the sofa,) get a snack (perhaps, some popcorn,) and a beverage before our special starts, here's our final guest programmer with her favorite Christmas jingles (she was able to produce these within a day - Brava!)
Remember, it's the holidays (there are no bad choices, especially if the guest programmer lives in my house. There also seems to be some duplication between some of the guest programmers)
Jingle Bells Barbra Streisand -
The words and music for this Christmas classic were written by James Lord Pierpont, a popular American composer, in 1857 with the title of One Horse Open Sleigh. Pierpont was a member of a staunch Unitarian Church family, and his father was a minister. It was originally written for a local Sunday school entertainment on Thanksgiving Day in Savannah, Georgia. Its catchy tune was soon taken up by Christmas revelers.
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) Darlene Love -
This is a favorite in our home. We'll talk more about it later this holiday season.
The Grinch Tyler the Creator -
This was written and recorded for the classic 1966 Dr. Seuss TV Holiday Special How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Seuss wrote the lyrics and Albert Hague wrote the music. The song appears three times in the special, starting when The Grinch begins crafting his impostor Santa suit. Each time it plays, we hear more about the despicable green guy, who eventually grows a heart. The version played on radio is a combination of the three show uses.
The Christmas Song Nat King Cole -
Mel Torme and Bob Wells were songwriting partners, and used to take turns going over to each others' homes to write songs. One particularly hot July day, Mel drove over to Bob's house in Teluca Lake, California. When he got there he walked into the house, couldn't find Bob, but found a spiral notepad of paper with some words on it: "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, Yuletide Carols being sung by a choir, folks dressed up like Eskimos." When Mel found Bob, he asked him, "What's this?" and Bob said, "It's so blistering hot here, and thought it would be fun to see if I could write something about a totally different season, the winter season, Christmas season, and see if I could mentally, virtually cool off." Mel said, "Not only have you also cooled me off, but I think you've got a song here!" And the duo wrote the rest of the song in about 35 minutes.
Snowman Sia -
The song is a poignant love song using a snowman as a metaphor for someone she doesn't want to lose or see melt away, as she sings, "I'm Mrs. Snow, 'till death we'll be freezing".
Before you go - Once again, I'm going to play a perennial favorite bonus track (in our house, anyway) - the inspired mash-up of Mariah Carey'sAll I Want for Christmas Is You and My Chemical Romance's Welcome To The Black Parade.
In case you've ever wondered what Thom Yorke would sound like singing a Christmas song
This is so perfectly matched that it seems it was written this way. I didn't think this one would work but give it a listen
Okay, maybe you've had enough of Mariah -
We'll end this session with the Mariah Carey/ Marilyn Manson mashup (by the brilliant Bill McClintlock.)
Gather your family around and listen to some more Hanukkah songs -
The Chanukah Song Part 2 Adam Sandler -
The Hanukkah Sessions: Night Two Kurstin x Grohl –
Kpop Demon Hunters Hanukkah Medley The Maccabeats –
THIS CHANUKAH Miami Boys Choir –
Hanukkah (Favorite Time Of The Year) Too $hort –
Festival of Lights The Temple Rockers -
(Psst - pace yourself with all the fried food.)
When I was five my parents bought me a ukulele for Christmas. I quickly learned how to play it with my father's guidance. Thereafter, my father regularly taught me all the good old fashioned songs. – Tony Visconti
Let's make everyone a little happier - tonight's second theme is a Uke Xmas
Mele Kalikimaka Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters -
What Child Is This Jake Shimabukuro -
Winter Wonderland Ukulenny -
Good King Wenceslas The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain -
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas She & Him -
Happy Xmas (War is Over) Cynthia Lin, Ukulenny, and Abe Lagrimas, Jr.-
ACME is proud to sponsor the annual U900 Christmas Special featuring Usagi-no U (Rabbit U) and Kuma-no Kulele (Bear 900)
- Nothing says Happy Holidays more that a pair of ukulele playing knitted puppets.
There's something about the ukulele that just makes you smile.
Happy Hanukkah! Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah -
You add the candles from right to left but light them left to right.
So, let the serious eating commence.
Original Hanukkah Song Adam Sandler -
Golden: A KPop Demon Hunters Chanukah Six13 -
Hanukkah is Here! Firebuds -
Mi Y'malel (Who Can Retell?) SATB Choir -
A Freylekhe Nakht In Gan Eydn The Klezmer Conservatory Bandr -
Eight Hanukkah Nights by Marvelous Matzo Balls Stacy Kelly and Ellen Allard -
Please pace yourself - Eight days is a long time. And kids, know when a simple game becomes an addiction - please no actual gambling while playing with your dreidels.
Gamblers Anonymous (718) 352-1671
Speaking of gambling, for the thirteenth year in a row, the gentlemen from Bensonhurst were so moved by our themes concerning Frank and Dino that I have be persuaded (strong armed) by those gentlemen to present the 13th Annual Mobbed Up Christmas Special this year (our second theme of the evening).
(ACME's Legal Dept. would like to emphasize at this point - the appearance of any of these singers in this Holiday Spectacular should in any way denote their association, actual or implied, with organized crime. Enjoy)
It's just that the usual suspects, Frankie Lupini, Molluschi Vincenzo, Joey Carrozza, etc, 'requested' these songs.
Oh, You're All I Want For Christmas Al Martino -
Merry Christmas Baby Dion -
I’m Gonna Be Warm This Winter Connie Francis -
Do You Hear What I Hear? Bobby Vinton -
Christmas Candle Tony Martin -
Deck the Halls Vic Damone -
Give Me Your Heart For Christmas The McGuire Sisters -
After many shots of Grappa and plates of scungilli, baccalà alla vicentina and fried calamari, the boys want to wish everyone Buon Natale and Happy Hanukkah.
Before our feature presentation, The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour would like to start the evening with a holiday favorite the 1948 Disney short, Once Upon a Wintertime, directed by Hamilton Luske.
The scene where Joe skates a pair of hearts struck by an arrow on the ice represented Melody Time in the finale segment of Wonderful World of Animation.
Before the start of our feature presentation, we thought that we'd watch one of our favorite musicians, performing on NPR's tiny desk top concert:
listening to David Byrnes play is never a bad waste of time.
Happy Holidays! ACME wants you to join them in celebrating the holidays with your friends at The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour - the official soap of our nation's bald eagles. Remember if your bald eagle's talons are filthy, do we have a soap for you! So why not join us in watching the Pink Panther holiday special, the 1978 Christmas special, A Very Pink Christmas, directed by Bill Perez and voiced by, Mel Blanc, and Clarence Nash.
You must laugh at the previous credit - all the characters are in silent.
I once shook hands with Pat Boone and my whole right side sobered up.
Today's Holiday Theme is A Dean Martin's Christmas (Dean died on Christmas day in 1995.)
As we mentioned yesterday, Frank wasn't the only member of the Rat Pack to sing carols -
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer -
Because Gene Autry's reputation was that of a Western star, he didn't feel suited to sing a Christmas song. The songs writer Johnny Marks, however, was determined to change Autry's mind (even though he'd never met him). He enlisted an unknown singer named Al Cernik to record a demo in the style of Autry and shipped it to the star in California. After a long wait - and some prodding from his wife - Autry agreed to record the tune.
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! -
This was written by the lyricist Sammy Cahn and the Broadway songwriter Jule Styne in 1945. It was first recorded by Vaughn Monroe, and has since become a standard.
I'll be home for Christmas -
The song was written by Walter Kent (music) and James Kimball "Kim" Gannon (words). Though Kent and Gannon collaborated on other songs, none reached the same level of popularity as I'll Be Home for Christmas.
Silver Bells -
This song was originally sung by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell in The Lemon Drop Kid. The following year Bing Crosby, together with Carol Richards recorded the first recorded version.
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm -
This was written in 1934 by Richard B. Smith and Felix Bernard. The lyricist Richard Smith served as an editor of a newspaper before taking up a career in music. The composer Felix Bernard, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, played the piano with popular orchestras and was also a tap dancer and writer of musical comedies for Vaudeville. He later became a composer and though this proved his greatest success, he also earned a steady income writing songs for Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor on radio shows.
What the hell I'm starting to feel the bourbon, let's watch an entire episode of The Dean Martin Christmas Show -
If people want to think I get drunk and stay out all night, let 'em. That's how I got here, you know
I would like to be remembered as a man who had a wonderful time living life, a man who had good friends, fine family – and I don’t think I could ask for anything more than that, actually. –
Welcome to our 15th Annual tribute to Ole Blue Eyes - Acme's tip of the hat to The Chairman of the Board.
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm -
It's not really about Christmas, but there's plenty of winter imagery in this frosty tune, what with the snow snowing and the wind blowing, making it a holiday classic with covers besides Sinatra: Billie Holiday, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, Judy Garland, and Rod Stewart..
Whatever Happened to Christmas -
The song was written by Jimmy Webb and first appeared on the album, The Sinatra Family Wish You A Merry Christmas. Jimmy Webb related the story of having dinner with Frank Sinatra to discuss the recording of an entire album of Webb songs. But Webb's father was also there, and Sinatra and the senior Webb got caught up in comparing memories from their younger days, so the discussion about the album, and indeed the album itself, never happened.
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear -
One could claim that this was the first Christmas song to be composed in the United States, and today it is considered a standard. In the mid 1850s the Americans were only beginning to celebrate the Christmas traditions of their English forebearers. The influence of works such as A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens were beginning to enthuse the American nation.
I'll Be Home For Christmas -
The tune was originally composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840 for the second chorus "Gott ist Licht" ("God is Light"), of the cantata Festgesang ("Festival Song"). Festgesang was written by the German composer to commemorate Johann Gutenberg and the invention of printing. Mendelssohn died in 1847 and in 1855 Dr. William Cummings, who was an enthusiast of the German composer, put the words and music together in spite of the fact that Mendelssohn had made it clear that his music was not be used for sacred purposes. Additionally, Cummings had envisaged his words being sung to the same tune as his Easter hymn, Christ the Lord is Risen Today. However it is Mendelssohn's tune that is generally used today.
The Christmas Waltz -
This song was written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954 as the B-side of a new recording of White Christmas.
Shhh -Acme would like to bring you their annual presentation of the 1957Christmas episode of The Frank Sinatra Show - Happy Holidays with Bing and Frank (I have no idea how long this will be up before it 's taken down from the intraweb.)
Because Bing Crosby liked to pre-record his music in the morning and lip synch on film and Frank Sinatra preferred to record live in the evening, the musical "duets" were recorded ten hours apart with only soft piano accompaniment. Nelson Riddle overrode the piano with the orchestra during editing.
We will leave you with a little yuletide cheer from the Rat Pack -
More from those fellows in the next few days
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland.
