HAVE AN ELVIS CHRISTMAS

Elvis Arron Presley, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply "Elvis," is the legendary and mythical figure who brings the gift of rock 'n' roll to good children on Christmas Eve, December 24th. In olden times he wore rockabilly robes, and later on was fat and jolly and wore a white jumpsuit with a huge white cape. Skeptical kids wondered how the late period, Vegas Elvis ever made it down the chimney, but Elvis was magical. He certainly was in this clip from the 1968 Comeback Special.

After years of making Hollywood movies (and being outshined by British longhairs) Elvis surprised everyone by showing up lean and mean, dipped in black leather, and rocking the house. He sang a couple Christmas songs for kids who still believed.


"Santa Claus is Back in Town/ Blue Christmas"
Elvis Presley, 1968 Comeback Special


"Santa, Bring My Baby Back To Me" by Elvis Presley. Click button:


"Merry Christmas Baby" (alternate take) by Elvis. Click button:

WALKING HOME

A snow storm--the worst in years--covers the entire Northwest with ice and snow. The buses are running on "snow schedule," which means they are erratic and infrequent and don't climb the hills (dress warmly, warns the travel advisory). Tonight, after work, the bus dropped me off a couple miles from home and I had to trudge through the snowstorm up those hills. The temperature was in the teens. Snowflakes tumbled down. The path was icy and tricky. Once I left the main road the snow stopped falling and it was quiet except for the crunch and squeak of my boots. It was eerily beautiful. It was Dr. Zhivago all over again. At one point, I thought I saw Julie Christie in a fur ushanka cap but then I realized I was only freezing to death so I picked up my pace.

It had started snowing again. I watched sleepily the flakes, silver and dark, falling obliquely against the lamplight. The time had come for me to climb the steep hill where I live. Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over the Northwest. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the lakes, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon Ballard, and Fremont, and Queen Anne, and the University District, and, farther westward, softly falling into the dark mutinous hills where I lived. It was falling, too, upon every part of the lonely churchyard on the hill where the old robber barons lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. My soul swooned slowly as I heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.

with apologies to jams jarce

THE GRINCH VARIATIONS

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is a classic, and this documentary narrated by Phil Hartman sheds some light on it's creation.

If you're a certain age you probably remember watching the Grinch on TV over the holidays (We're talking the original Dr. Seuss cartoon, not the ugly, ill-advised horror show starring Jim Carrey). Everyone loved the Grinch. The animation was great, the story was fun, and Boris Karloff narrated. There was even a cute, overworked little dog. It was brilliant.

the original book

Where did it all begin? The Grinch is nearly as old as Christmas itself. Well, not quite. The wonderfully weird Christmas tale was first published in 1957, and the television cartoon came out in 1966. Since then, children of all ages have pulled up hassocks and throw pillows and watched this wicked cave-dwelling creature with a heart "two sizes too small." He may have been a bad banana with a greasy black peel, but he came around in the end. See, there was a message hidden in the tale like a little green citron in a fruitcake. It was a message we snot-nosed kids may have missed or chose to ignore but ingested nonetheless, and I'd like to think that we were somehow affected by that weird little citron and moved toward greater understanding, growth, truth, beauty, and the possibility of change--at least for the duration of the cartoon. Then we started kicking and screaming again like the brats that we were.

Thanks, Dr. Seuss.

PLAYING FOR CHANGE

This worldwide version of "Stand By Me" comes from the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music." The Ben E. King classic was sung by musicians around the world, each adding their part to the song as it traveled the globe. Very cool.

The concept driving the project is obvious: Music is a common factor uniting different cultures, ethnicities and regions. Working and playing together is a step toward recognizing one another as human beings. No one is suggesting that all our problems will be solved by a simple singalong, but as poverty and injustice and nationalism continue to divide us, and battles rage worldwide, we must applaud this effort to bring people together with a song. Besides, bullets, guns and bombs don't seem to be working all that well.

Playing for Change is not just about making and distributing music. The PFC foundation is building and sustaining a music school in the township of Gugulethu, and an arts center in Johannesburg, South Africa, as a way to provide opportunities for growth and education for youth in the community. PFC is also maintaining a Tibetan refugee center in India and Nepal.

Here is an extended trailer of the documentary:


The film and music will be available in 2009. More information on the project can be found at the Playing for Change website.

Tip sent in from Vic Rini (thanks, Dad!)

FIRST SNOW FOR A CHIMP!

This chimp saw snow for the first time last Saturday, December 13th. The chimp lives in Cle Elum, Washington, at the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW).

Keith LaChapelle built CSNW to provide lifetime quality care for formerly abused or exploited chimpanzees. The sanctuary also advocates for great apes through education and collaboration. The seven chimps LaChapelle took in--nicknamed "The Cle Elum Seven"--had spent their lives undergoing liver bioposies for a hepatitis vaccine and were forced to breed heavily. Now the chimps are recovering in a safe home.

Keith La Chapelle spent a fortune of his own money building the sanctuary, and is now actively fundraising to keep the place afloat. I first heard about the project through my girlfriend Wendy. She met with CSNW staff and worked on their strategic plan as a graduate student, and she was inspired, to put it mildly.

Watch the ABC News story about the chimp sanctuary here.


Meet Foxie, one of the Cle Elum Seven: "Prior to her sanctuary life, Foxie was used in Hepatitis vaccine research and as a breeder for the biomedical research industry. Foxie had five babies during her years in biomedical research, including a set of twins. All of her children were taken away from her when they were very young - sometimes just days old. Foxie adopted a doll to care for at the sanctuary - a Troll doll with bright pink hair."

Meet the other chimps here.


YOU CAN HELP:

Visit the CSNW website, where you can meet the chimps and learn their story, or sponsor a chimpanzee through the Chimpanzee Pal program. It’s not too late to make a gift donation to the chimps for Christmas. If you give your gift by Monday, CSNW can get a card out to your gift recipient before the 25th!

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BUSH FAMILY

This is what you've been waiting for: the official White House Christmas video--the very last video starring Barney the dog. Who says Bush hasn't been busy lately? The man is a dynamo. And not a half bad actor. (In fact, I suggest he quit his day job immediately).

So pull up a chair, and enjoy the holiday with the Bush Family. I suspect Barney's dream sequence has been doctored by subversives, but the film would be unwatchable without a little tampering. Even so, the warmth and blandness of the First Family shines through, and I guarantee your Christmas spirit will flare up like treacle in a cavity.

Can we go now?

TAKE THAT, IMPERIALIST DOG!

What really happened on George Bush's last trip abroad? The arrested man, Curly Howard, is being held at the headquarters of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said one official who wished to remain anonymous.

Curly was immediately subdued, and remains in Iraqi custody.

Gif courtesy of the great blog Automatic Daddy.