A Dickens of a Christmas Reflection

I was quite derelict in my Christmas blogging duties this year, so I thought I would let Charles Dickens shoulder some of the load for me. After searching Project Gutenberg for yuletide-related reading material, I came across a set of Dickens essays. Apparently the guy really liked writing about Christmas.

I'm not sure why, but the essay entitled "What Christmas Is As We Grow Older" struck a particular chord with me, so I offer my excerpt of it below. Warning: Dickensian English ahead. Proceed with caution and Merry Christmas!

Time was, with most of us, when Christmas Day encircling all our limited world like a magic ring, left nothing out for us to miss or seek; bound together all our home enjoyments, affections, and hopes; grouped everything and every one around the Christmas fire; and made the little picture shining in our bright young eyes, complete.

...And is our life here, at the best, so constituted that, pausing as we advance at such a noticeable mile-stone in the track as this great birthday, we look back on the things that never were, as naturally and full as gravely as on the things that have been and are gone, or have been and still are? If it be so, and so it seems to be, must we come to the conclusion that life is little better than a dream, and little worth the loves and strivings that we crowd into it?

No! Far be such miscalled philosophy from us, dear Reader, on Christmas Day! Nearer and closer to our hearts be the Christmas spirit, which is the spirit of active usefulness, perseverance, cheerful discharge of duty, kindness and forbearance! It is in the last virtues especially, that we are, or should be, strengthened by the unaccomplished visions of our youth; for, who shall say that they are not our teachers to deal gently even with the impalpable nothings of the earth!

Therefore, as we grow older, let us be more thankful that the circle of our Christmas associations and of the lessons that they bring, expands! Let us welcome every one of them, and summon them to take their places by the Christmas hearth.

Welcome, old aspirations, glittering creatures of an ardent fancy, to your shelter underneath the holly! We know you, and have not outlived you yet. Welcome, old projects and old loves, however fleeting, to your nooks among the steadier lights that burn around us. Welcome, all that was ever real to our hearts; and for the earnestness that made you real, thanks to Heaven! Do we build no Christmas castles in the clouds now? Let our thoughts, fluttering like butterflies among these flowers of children, bear witness! ...Shining from the word, as rays shine from a star, we see how, when our graves are old, other hopes than ours are young, other hearts than ours are moved; how other ways are smoothed; how other happiness blooms, ripens, and decays—no, not decays, for other homes and other bands of children, not yet in being nor for ages yet to be, arise, and bloom and ripen to the end of all!

Welcome, everything! Welcome, alike what has been, and what never was, and what we hope may be, to your shelter underneath the holly, to your places round the Christmas fire, where what is sits open- hearted! In yonder shadow, do we see obtruding furtively upon the blaze, an enemy's face? By Christmas Day we do forgive him! If the injury he has done us may admit of such companionship, let him come here and take his place. If otherwise, unhappily, let him go hence, assured that we will never injure nor accuse him.

On this day we shut out Nothing!

"Pause," says a low voice. "Nothing? Think!"

"On Christmas Day, we will shut out from our fireside, Nothing."

"Not the shadow of a vast City where the withered leaves are lying deep?" the voice replies. "Not the shadow that darkens the whole globe? Not the shadow of the City of the Dead?"

Not even that. Of all days in the year, we will turn our faces towards that City upon Christmas Day, and from its silent hosts bring those we loved, among us. City of the Dead, in the blessed name wherein we are gathered together at this time, and in the Presence that is here among us according to the promise, we will receive, and not dismiss, thy people who are dear to us!

'Nuttin' for Christmas' is actually quite somethin'

Courtesy of my animation buff brother, here is one last cup of Christmas cheer. It's a newly released animated short around a Christmas novelty song that I neglected to include in my previous post: Stan Freberg's immortal version of "Nuttin' For Christmas," which was originally released in 1955.

This animated version was single-handedly produced by animator Doug Compton and it's pretty brilliant. I've been listening to this song or many, many Christmases and Compton's animation closely matches what I've been picturing in my mind all this time. I like the fact that his interpretation gives the song new life and it really seems like this cartoon was meant to go with the song all along. It just took 55 years for them to come together...

Enjoy and Happy New Year!

The Fleeting Novelty of the Novelty Christmas Song

This is a big year for the most famous novelty Christmas song ever, as it is the 30th anniversary of the immortal, much-maligned "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."

Good Morning America did a segment on the tune, but annoyingly doesn't allow you to embed their videos, so you'll have to go to their site to watch it.

After hearing the back story, I actually appreciate the song a little more now. I've followed a strict "turn it off" policy for the last several years, but seeing Dr. Elmo, an old retired veterinarian who recorded the song for his friends and never expected it to go anywhere, the whole thing is a bit more palatable. It's not his fault the radio drove his song into the ground.

Also, I had somehow never seen the 1983 music video.

Novelty songs are aptly named, as the novelty usually wears off after a few listens. Nevertheless, I've heard a few over the years that have stuck with me and are worth dusting off once every Christmas season.

In no particular order, here are my Top 5 Novelty Christmas Songs. Don't overdo it.

Brave New World of Christmas Lights & Decorations

Anyone can string lights up on their house and the Osborne Family kind of took that to its greatest extreme. If you want to impress people today, your Christmas decorations have got to go the extra mile and do much more than just hang there and blink.

Below you will find three examples of where the decorative bar has now been set. Eat your heart out, Clark Griswold.

Computer-Controlled Dancing Christmas Lights
Bonus points for setting the light show to a techno version of "Amazing Grace."


A Guitar Hero's Christmas
The lights only work if you wear sunglasses at night like the kid in this video.


Frosty the Nano-Scale Snowman
All I want for Christmas is a nanomanipulation system.

Sketchy Santas: Best. Christmas. Site. Ever.

Who's got a beard that just won't stay?
Sketchy Santa's got a beard that just won't stay!
Who makes children run away?
Sketchy Santa makes children run away!
Beard won't stay!
Run away!
Must be Sketchy! Must be Sketchy!
Must be Sketchy Santa Claus!

Today I was pointed to the best Christmas Web site I'll probably ever see in my life. If you're on Facebook, Twitter, G-Chat or anywhere else that I have an account, I've already shared it with you and you probably passed it on to others, but it's worth re-posting here, too.

Sketchy Santas!




There's too many of them!



It's horrible, but you just can't turn away.



Is that even a Santa?!


I think the Web site's tag line sums it up quite nicely: Santas be sketchy.

Top 5 Christmas Saxophone Solos

With hundreds (thousands?) of Christmas songs to choose from, there are a seemingly endless number of ways to classify them and lots of "Top 5 This" or "Best of That" lists to be made. This is the first of a few unorthodox classifications I'll be adding to the pile this year.

I realized a while back that there are quite a few Christmas songs containing truly great saxophone solos. The saxophone is one of those incredibly instruments that has been almost universally neglected by post-1970s mainstream music with rare exceptions by Dave Matthews and Bruce Springsteen. Nevertheless, the horn's ability to express emotion is rarely topped by other instruments, as anyone who has ever listened to classic jazz music can attest.

Fortunately the saxophone comes out of hibernation for Christmas and takes its rightful place in the alternatively joyous, wistful and nostalgic sounds of holiday music. A well-executed sax solo goes beyond a few pleasingly placed notes that complement the melody. The best saxophone solo will stand out from the rest of the song and say, "Notice me!", and you do. The length of the solo can vary, but long or short, you can feel it.

Surprisingly, some of my favorite saxophone solos appear in some well-worn Christmas tunes. Take a fresh listen and be blown away by the musicianship of the saxophonists.

Unfortunately, Playlist.com didn't have one of my all-time favorite saxophone solos in an embeddable form, so I had to go to the mixed bag of YouTube. Fortunately, the song was available. In typical YouTube fashion, however, Harry Connick Jr.'s version of Blue Christmas is inexplicably the soundtrack for a music video about Star Trek Voyager's Janeway and her addiction to coffee. Enjoy the solo!



P.S. Am I missing any awesome Christmas sax solos? Leave a comment and let me know!

Hear the Distant Music of the Hounds

I came across the passage below in a random Christmas Treasury book of essays that I found at my local library. The piece is entitled The Distant Music of the Hounds and it was written by E.B. White in 1949.

Despite being 60 years old, the text is eerily prescient of the way Christmas is so often perceived in our own times. It made me realize that the hectic distractions of modern life that I often assume are byproducts of 21st century living were just as present in previous generations--even if the distractions had different names and were less technological.

The passage isn't that long, so I really think you should read it and then try to live it:

"To perceive Christmas through its wrapping becomes more difficult with every year. There was a little device we noticed in one of the sporting-goods stores—a trumpet that hunters hold to their ears so that they can hear the distant music of the hounds. Something of the sort is needed now to hear the incredibly distant sound of Christmas in these times, through the dark, material woods that surround it. “Silent Night,” canned and distributed in thundering repetition in the department stores, has become one of the greatest of all noisemakers, almost like the rattles and whistles of Election Night. We rode down on an escalator the other morning through the silent-nighting of the loudspeakers, and the man just in front of us was singing, 'I’m gonna wash this store right outta my hair, I’m gonna wash this store...'

The miracle of Christmas is that, like the distant and very musical voice of the hound, it penetrates finally and becomes heard in the heart—over so many years, through so many cheap curtain-raisers. It is not destroyed even by all the arts and craftiness of the destroyers, having an essential simplicity that is everlasting and triumphant, at the end of confusion. We once went out at night with coonhunters and we were aware that it was not so much the promise of the kill that took the men away from their warm homes and sent them through the cold shadowy woods, it was something more human, more mystical—something even simpler. It was the night, and the excitement of the note of the hound, first heard, then not heard. It was the natural world, seen at its best and most haunting, unlit except by stars, impenetrable except to the knowing and the sympathetic.

Christmas in 1949 must compete as never before with the dazzling complexity of man, whose tangential desires and ingenuities have created a world that gives any simple thing the look of obsolescence—as though there were something inherently foolish in what is simple, or natural. The human brain is about to turn certain functions over to an efficient substitute, and we hear of a robot that is now capable of handling the tedious details of psychoanalysis, so that the patient no longer need confide in a living doctor but can take his problems to a machine, which sifts everything and whose “brain” has selective power and the power of imagination. One thing leads to another. The machine that is imaginative will, we don’t doubt, be heir to the ills of the imagination; one can already predict that the machine itself may become sick emotionally, from strain and tension, and be compelled at last to consult a medical man, whether of flesh or of steel. We have tended to assume that the machine and the human brain are in conflict. Now the fear is that they are indistinguishable. Man not only is notably busy himself but insists that the other animals follow his example. A new bee has been bred artificially, busier than the old bee.

So this day and this century proceed toward the absolutes of convenience, of complexity, and of speed, only occasionally holding up the little trumpet (as at Christmastime) to be reminded of the simplicities, and to hear the distant music of the hound. Man’s inventions, directed always onward and upward, have an odd way of leading back to man himself, as a rabbit track in snow leads eventually to the rabbit. It is one of his more endearing qualities that man should think his tracks lead outward, toward something else, instead of back around the hill to where he has already been; and it is one of his persistent ambitions to leave earth entirely and travel by rocket into space, beyond the pull of gravity, and perhaps try another planet, as a pleasant change. He knows that the atomic age is capable of delivering a new package of energy; what he doesn’t know is whether it will prove to be a blessing. This week, many will be reminded that no explosion of atoms generates so hopeful a light as the reflection of a star, seen appreciatively in a pasture pond. It is there we perceive Christmas—and the sheep quiet, and the world waiting."

via The New Yorker

That's right. My blog is the only place on the Internet where you can find a post as profound as this one preceded by Porky Pig singing Blue Christmas. You're welcome on both counts.

Porky Pig Covers Blue Christmas

If you're in the right mood, you won't stop laughing at this.

Top 5 New Holiday Carols from Local Artists

One of the joys of the Christmas season is the onslaught of new Christmas music. Sometimes it's a newly discovered cover of a well-worn favorite and sometimes it's an original holiday ditty that strikes the right chords and pulls the right heart strings to earn a place in the annual yuletide rotation.

The official Christmas season is only four days old, but in this brave new world of incessant social media, I feel like my new holiday music horizons have already been expanded more than they sometimes are in an entire Christmas season.

Along those lines, the Chicago Tribune's Mark Caro is overseeing a "New Holiday Classic" contest that asked readers to write and perform original holiday songs and submit them via YouTube so that the general public could vote on them. From 110 entries, 12 finalists were chosen.

You can view all of the finalists here, but if you don't have time for that, you can check out my Top 5 below.

5. Christmas Everywhere by Elias Fey
It's country and catchy.



4. What Christmas Means by Dina Bach
Strong female voice? Check. Vibrant piano riff? Check. Heartfelt lyrics? Check.


3. Santa's Comin' Here by Dick Eastman
It's got a catchy chorus and a slight Doobie Brothers feel to it.


2. Just Can't Wait by Brad Smith
This guy's song sounds like a lost Barenaked Ladies track and he gets bonus points for using Calvin and Hobbes artwork.


1. CTA X-Mas Train by The Snow Angels
So it might not be the most musically or lyrically amazing new classic, but the fact that it's an ode to the CTA's magnificent Christmas train makes it the obvious winner of a contest looking for original Christmas carols from Chicagoans. And it's winning in the poll right now, too.


What's your favorite? Go vote for it!

A Scrooge-Like Perspective on 3D Movies

After stuffing ourselves with the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, my family has developed the tradition of dragging ourselves out of our food coma and heading to our local cinema to see the newest Christmas movie release. This has worked out well some years (The Polar Express was fantastic in IMAX) and not so well in other years (avoid Christmas with the Kranks at all costs). When Hollywood doesn't provide us with any halfway decent-looking options, we just stay home and watch Elf. (Instant classic. There's no denying it.)

This year we went to see Disney's A Christmas Carol in Disney Digital 3D. Yes, that is the full title. Trust me. When I called for showtimes, Fandango told me to "try again later" and hung up on me three times before I got the title right.

Before I give my take on the movie, I should probably come clean: I pretty much hate 3D movies. I didn't always hate them, but it's gotten to the point where 3D movies are being released almost every week and it's simply unnecessary. We saw trailers for four upcoming animated movies and three of them will be in 3D. WHY?! Is this the 1980s? 3D movie technology hasn't improved much since then and you're still relying on the quality of a cheap pair of used glasses to give you an effective movie-going experience. A good film will transport me to another world in two dimensions. Wearing glasses actually hinders the immersion effect.

So I knew we wouldn't be seeing Disney's A Christmas Carol in Disney Digital 3D in Disney Digital 3D. Fortunately, Disney released the movie shortly after Halloween, so it's not exactly the king of the cineplex anymore and it was easy to find a non-3D showtime.

Overall, the movie itself is definitely worth seeing. While he's no Michael Caine (The Muppet Christmas Carol is my vote for all-time best), Jim Carrey makes a pretty good Scrooge and the motion capture animation is both eye-catching and effective. Unfortunately, the 3D manages to disrupt my viewing of the movie even though I didn't see it in 3D. This is because rather than making a good movie and enhancing certain visual elements with 3D effects, director Robert Zemeckis goes out of his way to include cheap 3D tricks that are sometimes laughable and always unnecessary.

Does anyone remember the chapter in Dickens' immortal classic where Ebenezer Scrooge is being chased by a ghostly horse-drawn carriage, shrinks down to the size of a mouse and runs around the streets of London screaming? Me neither. In fact, it seems like Scrooge spends half the movie flying through the air. Now I'm all for artistic interpretation, but not when it's done solely so I can have 3D icicles flying in my face.

When a movie is crafted so specifically to be viewed in 3D that some scenes look ridiculous in 2D, that's a clear sign that you're serving the wrong master. Nevertheless, it is a decent Christmas movie and will get you in the holiday spirit, despite any three-dimensional shortcomings.

And at least Vince Vaughn isn't involved. After Fred Claus and Four Christmases, the biggest item on my Christmas wish list is a moratorium on his involvement in future Christmas flicks.

Christmastime Means Time to Blog

Once a year, my blog finds a niche.

From Thanksgiving to about January 2, my attention turns squarely to the most wonderful time of the year and all the societal, cultural, spiritual, musical (and other adjectives ending in -al) aspects of the Christmas season. This renewed focus also usually leads to a more prolific period of blogging, so hopefully my prolonged absence hasn't squandered what little audience I had.

To kick things off, I want to start by examining a new musical release for the 2009 holiday season. I don't necessarily consider myself an expert on too many subjects, but Christmas music is one arena where I really know my stuff. My family has amassed a vast and eclectic collection of Yuletide tunes over the years, and I'm always looking for new music to add to the library.

The new Christmas music train pulled out of the station a tad early this year when Bob Dylan dropped his uncharacteristic album, Christmas in the Heart, a few weeks before Thanksgiving. I haven't heard all the tracks yet, but I highly recommend this scathing review that not only hilariously pans the album but also questions the popular assumption that Dylan is a musical genius.

For your viewing pleasure, please check out the music video of his take on "Must Be Santa" (a classic kids carol that was definitively recorded by Mitch Miller & The Gang way back in the day). Dylan's interpretation is laughable, as he sings/shouts the lyrics backed by a polka-sounding melody. The "plot" of the video is off-the-wall and Dylan's appearance is more than slightly disturbing. Is that hair connected to his hat?

Maybe that's just what musical genius looks like these days.

Hopefully my next post will actually get you in the mood for the holidays without making you shake your head in disbelief at what has become of a folk music icon. Until then, peruse my Christmas content from the past two years.

What's So Wonderful About It's A Wonderful Life?

Answer: Everything.

I'm not exactly sure when it was that I realized It's A Wonderful Life is my all-time favorite movie (Christmas or not). For a long time I thought it was too difficult to make such a distinction and--to be completely honest--Casablanca jockeys for the spot when it's not the Christmas season.

But there's really no contest.

I saw the film three times in the past few weeks and also attended a wonderful (tee hee!) 1940s-style radio play adaptation performed by the American Theater Company. I have the movie memorized to the point that I was talking along with it on the Christmas Eve TV broadcast and annoying my family with my fun new habit of quoting IAWL movie lines at appropriate times in daily life and conversation. On top of all that, I would gladly watch it again right now. There is no such thing as getting sick of this movie and I swear I don't need a CAT scan.

So why do I love it so much? Well, let me first state my firm belief that despite having a happy ending and being directed by Frank Capra, the movie is not a sickeningly sweet piece of "Capracorn" as so many critics have claimed. The first half hour alone deals with issues of alcoholism, child abuse, death and financial insecurity. What is "feel-good" about any of those topics?

I would argue that IAWL is actually a very realistic portrayal of the ups and downs of human life. Although it's just a bit over two hours long, the film seems a lot longer. Thanks to excellent pacing, the ensemble cast and the astounding acting of Jimmy Stewart, I feel like I'm getting to know every aspect of George Bailey and the inhabitants of Bedford Falls. This obviously makes the ending even more effective, but not overly schmaltzy. I seem to tear up earlier and earlier every time I watch the movie and it's because the plot is so engaging and the characters are so true-to-life--not because Frank Capra tied everything up into a happy bow in the final scene.

As the movie rolls on, you can feel George's frustration building and Potter's greed simmering. You can appreciate Clarence's innocence and Mary's love for her husband. When George enters his Clarence-induced alternate reality, I always find myself mentally expounding on the less obvious impact that George's life has had on the denizens of Bedford Falls/Pottersville. For example, cabdriver Ernie Bishop mentions that he is separated from his wife and kid. One can infer that George's work through the Building and Loan to help Ernie buy a house might have saved his marriage. Few other movies get me thinking this much.

And I'm not alone. Well aware of my affinity for the flick, several friends sent me a good New York Times article that sardonically reexamines several aspects of the film and raises a few valid-if-nit-picking points, but ultimately concludes that it is still a fantastic cinematic experience.

I'd actually love to hear from the haters. What are the grounds for disliking this movie? I defy anyone with half a heart to watch it and not get choked up when Harry Bailey raises a toast in the final scene and says, "To my big brother George, the richest man in town."

We are all George Bailey and the movie lets us empathize with his emotional baggage, even if Mr. Gower didn't buy us a big suitcase to keep it in. Maybe that's why the ending is too sweet for some people. Whatever they're going through, they can't see anyone raising the toast for them and they're still stuck on the bridge in the snow, waiting for salvation from Clarence. Well, for me, the movie serves as an annual reminder to get off my metaphorical bridge and appreciate the little things I couldn't see before that make life so wonderful. It's a pretty great way to start the new year.

We Three Kings: The Wolverine Version!

I was surfing the Windy Citizen today and came across a post entitled Five Christmas Songs to Make You Want to Shoot Yourself. The last song on the list is a true rarity--a version of We Three Kings astonishingly performed by Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman and two other Aussie performers.

Far from making me want to shoot myself, I find the video so misbegotten, unexpected and strange that it's actually very amusing. When is this from? Why was it made? And what's become of that giant "Merry Christmas" sign hanging above the orchestra? Honestly, the more I watched it, the more I liked the way they sing the song. So I used Zamzar to rip myself a copy of the audio and it will take a place of honor on my next Christmas mix cd. Though it probably won't be the same without seeing their synchronized arm gestures on every "WESTward leading" chorus. What fantastic choreography!



(Incidentally, check out the trailer for the new Wolverine movie. It looks like they're finally getting him right and I can't wait!)

An Animated Sleigh Ride

Alternative rock band Relient K released a decent Christmas album last year and added three new tracks to it this year. They also win the prize for cleverest Christmas album title with Let It Snow Baby...Let It Reindeer.

For a taste of their sound, watch the cheery music video below for "Sleigh Ride," one of the best tracks on the album and one of the best versions of that song. The video is pretty entertaining in a Looney Tunes sort of way, and Santa Claus is cast against type as a villain of sorts.

Jingle Bells--Microwave Style

Who would even think of something like this?

The Only Christmas Playlist You'll Ever Need

I came across a great site today that seems like both a fantastic replacement for muxtape and a fantastic way to share Christmas music. I get the feeling I'm going to start using this more often. The song catalog is as deep as the Internet itself and the interface is simple.

The following is a list of 21 of my favorite Christmas carols, hand-picked for your enjoyment and sequenced for variety. Hopefully there are a few gems on this list that you've never heard before. Enjoy!

DJ Europe's Christmas Bells Music Video

One of my favorite things about Christmas 2007 was the release of an unconventional new Christmas song called Christmas Bells by a fellow named DJ Europe. I blogged about the song last year, but never bothered to follow up with the music video.

So for your viewing pleasure, I proudly present the Christmas Bells music video. I dare you to find a trippier display of Christmas spirit or a zanier ensemble of Christmas characters. Why is that snowman sitting in Santa's lap? Why is there a male angel with a five o'clock shadow wearing a dress? While one might question his music video methodology, there's no denying the infectious quality of DJ Europe's ditty. Close your eyes if you must--you can at least enjoy the song!



What? You still didn't like it? Try watching it backwards.

Free Christmas Music from Amazon!

What's the only thing better than Christmas music? Free Christmas music!

Amazon.com is playing Santa this year with a few Yuletide tracks that are completely free to download. I suggest you snap these up:

1. Angels We Have Heard on High by Brian Setzer Orchestra
Download
Brian Setzer has two great Christmas albums and this track gives you a taste of the rock-a-billy big band style at which he excels.

2. Elf's Lament by Barenaked Ladies with Michael Buble
Download
I don't care what anyone says: Old school BNL was pretty fantastic. Their Christmas album is kind of a letdown on the whole, but this track delivers and the unexpected pairing with Buble actually works.

3. Love Came Down at Christmas by Jars of Clay
Download
This song is literally a classic--written in 1885 to the tune of a traditional Irish melody. You can hear a MIDI version of the original here.

4. We Three Kings by Dave Brubeck
Download
A jazzy rendition from a talented musician.

Want more? Check out the Free Christmas Music Blog for more (legal) site suggestions. I also recommend trying your luck in the Hype Machine.

Know of any other places to get free Christmas tunes? Leave a comment! But don't recommend anything illegal. Santa's watching.

The Best Christmas Album Ever

Let's face it...I've completely fallen off the blogging wagon. But now it's Christmastime and the season has reinvigorated me. Just like I did last year, every post from now until the New Year will have a Christmas theme. This year, I will focus specifically on sharing the best Christmas music, movies and Web sites with anyone who might come across my blog (or actually reads it when I actually post). Hopefully this will also get me to post more frequently. We'll see...

To get things started, I want to recommend the best Christmas album of all time: Harry Connick Jr.'s When My Heart Finds Christmas. The album was released in 1993 and is the most enduring legacy of Connick's career. It's also currently about $4 on Amazon, so do yourself a favor and buy it right now.

Harry Connick Jr. fancies himself a latter-day Frank Sinatra and his belting voice and swingin' big band do an admirable job transporting you back to the old school sound of Old Blue Eyes, which is exactly what you want in a Christmas album. In addition to interpreting classics like Sleigh Ride, he also writes some awesome original carols, culminating in the epic (It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus, perfectly performed in his native New Orleans-jazz style. When my family first bought the cassette of this album, we would keep rewinding this song (remember rewinding?) and playing it over and over again.

One of my other favorite tracks is a song that rarely appears on Christmas albums, which is probably because it's technically not a Christmas song. Nevertheless, Connick's version of What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? is the definitive version of that song in my mind--even surpassing Sinatra's attempt.

Harry Connick Jr. has since released two more Christmas albums, but they can't live up to his original masterpiece. Harry for the Holidays has its moments (check out The Christmas Waltz), but his much-anticipated (by me) 2008 Christmas album--What A Night!--is a pretty big letdown. It lacks the charming arrangements and big band bravado of When My Heart Finds Christmas and the original songs are pretty wretched. I guess I can forgive him though, considering the undeniable greatness of When My Heart Finds Christmas. When you peak early, it's hard to top yourself.

So what's your vote for Best Christmas Album Ever?

What's Your Word of the Year?

Isn't New Year's Eve wonderful? It's the one holiday that everyone can agree on. There is no controversy here. Midnight rolls around and the calendar year has changed, like it or not. And I usually like it.

Every turning point in life--a graduation, a new job, an increased salary--offers the opportunity for introspection and reflection on where you've been, where you're going and how the heck you're going to get there. New Year festivities offer the same opportunity with a public twist--you get to share your annual battle with personal shortcomings with the world by crafting the all-important New Year's resolution. What will it be this year? Increased exercise? Eating healthier? Spending less money perhaps? I'm pretty sure there are really only seven original New Year's resolutions floating around out there and people just pick the one that seems most fitting for their current least favorite vice.

However, some of us do put a little effort into identifying a personal flaw that we want to work on and make a commitment to positive change. Like everybody else, my New Year commitments usually come with an expiration date of January 5th or so, but my resolution-making effort is always top-notch and that's got to count for something.

Before you can craft a good resolution, you must submit to a potentially dissatisfying 2007 self-examination. Who wants to play Monday Morning Quarterback on the last year of their life? That's no fun! Well, fortunately for everyone, I was recently introduced to a much less painful way of reflecting on the past 365 days. I was out to lunch with some friends and we were discussing the fact that Merriam-Webster has named "w00t" as their official Word of the Year.

Apparently that's the word all the cool kids are exclamatorily texting these days. While I had heard this word before (spelled "woot"), I had no idea that it stands for "we owned the other team." Also, I'm fervently against the idea that the Word of the Year can contain two zeros in place of o's. (Plus w00t seems to have beaten out "Facebook" for this wordly honor. That's inexcusable.)

But back to my point. After pulling out our cell phones and determining the logistical ease with which all of these Merriam-Webster-poll-swaying tweens could actually type "w00t" into a text message, my friends and I discussed a more useful question: What is your Word of the Year?

If you answered that question in less than two minutes, you probably didn't think of the right word. Your Word of the Year will take some time to come up with, but it will be worth the effort. I finally settled on troubleshooting. Not only does it aptly describe my current line of work, it also sums up my life this year, as I came to terms with the fact that I am no longer a college student or a grad student and must settle for being a (cliche alert!) student of life in the so-called Real World. So, I ask you, what's your Word of the Year?

After you've decided on your personal Word of the Year for 2007, it will be much easier to start thinking about what you want to change for 2008. And then coming up with your New Year's resolution will be a snap!

As for me, I resolve never to use the word "w00t." Ever.