“THERE’S A SADNESS IN THE HEART OF THINGS”

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Doggs & Doggettes ~

Christmas 2011 ended here in Phoenix, Arizona, a little over an hour ago. For a number of reasons – which I could explain in excruciating detail, but which I’m sure you’re not the least bit interested in – Bobby Darin’s song ‘Christmas Auld Lang Syne’ makes me think of my dear departed Ma, who returned to her Creator in the Summer of 2005.

Darin recorded this song on August 18, 1960, exactly one year and ten days after my birth, and it did not do very well on the Billboard music charts. Nevertheless, it has become my custom to close every Christmas Day by listening to it.

For a number of years, it has also been a tradition of mine to remove all of my outdoor Christmas decorations on December 26th (my Brother’s birthday), to send the message that what I have been celebrating is not Happy Holidays or Winter Solstice or Winter Wonder or Season’s Greetings or Frosty’s Fruitopia or any other euphemism for “The Birth Of Jesus Christ”.

My lights and decorations were meant as a symbol of Christ’s birth. And after December 25th, the Birthday Party has come and gone, and my celebration has ended.



But, I fear I have gotten a bit sidetracked, as I often do.

What I really meant to say here is that Bobby Darin’s song, ‘Christmas Auld Lang Syne’, is a window into my soul. Not that anyone will or should care to know.

Every Christmas ends with me honoring my Mother by playing Darin’s Christmas song and acknowledging that, indeed, "there’s a sadness in the heart of things".

Bobby Darin - Christmas Auld Lang Syne
(lyrics and slideshow + good quality)
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfXYSb-KsSQ

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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BIG BLOW-HARD BUMBLE MONSTERS

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"CAMERA . . . ROLLING! And . . . ACTION!"

I was putting up Christmas decorations, thinking about something my friend Arlee Bird of the “Tossing It Out” blog had said, and-- uhm...

"CUT!"

[An Off-Camera Aside: Recalling what I had been taught in school as a young whippersnapper (whatever’n hell a “whippersnapper” is!), I used to assiduously avoid starting any written piece with “I”. But then as I got older, I came to realize that some of the classic and most influential written pieces in history began with the word “I”. For example: ‘Civil Disobedience’ by Henry David Thoreau, and ‘On The Road’ by Jack Kerouac both begin with “I”. So I decided that nonsense about NEVER starting any written piece with “I” was just more of that bolshevik that they crammed into my brain when I was a captive of Uncle Sam’s federal indoctrination centers, also known as “public schools”.]

"Alright, TAKE TWO.  CAMERA . . . ROLLING! And . . . ACTION!"

I was putting up Christmas decorations, thinking about something my friend Arlee Bird of the “Tossing It Out” blog had said, and I was drinking this good beer that I’d just discovered from the Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California. What Arlee Bird had said was-- ...er . . . hmmm...

"CUT!"

[Another Off-Camera Aside: In case you’re interested, the beer in question is called “New DogTown Pale Ale” and it has a rich, robust bitter hop bite right upfront, but it has a nice, clean, soft finish, without all that heavy aftertaste that normally hangs around in your mouth after the sip of a potently hopped-up brew has gone down the pipe.]



"TAKE THREE.  CAMERA . . . ROLLING! And . . . ACTION!"

I was putting up Christmas decorations, thinking about something my friend Arlee Bird of the “Tossing It Out” blog had said, and I was drinking this good beer I’d just discovered from the Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California. What Arlee Bird had said was this:

"I listen to [radio station KFI] in the early morning then shut it off when loud-mouth Limbaugh comes on."

It being Christmas time, I then made the mental association between Rush Limbaugh (or “Limboob”, as I often call him) and the “big blow-hard” Bumble Monster from the TV special ‘Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’. And I remembered what the wannabe dentist Herbie (or, Hermie) said about the Bumble Monster after he had defanged him:

“Don’t let this big blow-hard scare you anymore.
Just walk right past him!”

To which Yukon Cornelius added:

“…He’s nothing without his choppers. Let me at him!”

And that’s when I got the idea to create this LOL at the
‘I Can Has Cheezburger’ website:



Awhile back, blow-hard bumble monster Rush Limboob said, “This Ron Paul is going to destroy this [Republican] party...”

To which I say: “From Limboob’s lips to God’s ears!”

"CUT! . . . PRINT . . . THAT'S A WRAP!"

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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"MANKIND SHOULD BE OUR BUSINESS, BUT WE SELDOM ATTEND TO IT"

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It was in December, probably 1987 or ’88. I was at work in one of the offices of UCLA’s Parking Department, when two of my best friends there, Lonnie and The Countess, broke out in song. They began singing . . .

Thank you very much, thank you very much! That’s the nicest thing that anyone’s ever done for me . . .

When the singing finally came to an end, I asked them, “Where did you hear that song?” Their mouths hung open for a minute or two and they looked at me as if I had lobsters crawling out of my ears.

And then at once they both shouted (as if I were hard of hearing because of the lobsters), “SCROOGE!”

And that’s how I first learned there was a 1970 movie musical called ‘SCROOGE’, based on Dickens’ famous ‘A Christmas Carol’.

Yes, SCROOGE is a musical.

Now look here, I’m a “dude”, as in, “guy”. If you don’t believe me, you can ask my friend The Flyin’ Aardvark. Exactly one week ago, after I had made a rude remark, she wrote this to me: Ahem. ... You are such a GUY! Ha!

I was on my high school’s sophomore football team. I was on my high school’s varsity wrestling team. I NEVER cry (where anyone else can see it) and I DO NOT like musicals!

Well, except for Roy Rogers oaters.

And ‘Singin’ In The Rain’.

And ‘My Fair Lady’.

(Alright, I also like 'Guys And Dolls', 'Bells Are Ringing', and ‘The Sound Of Music’, but so help me, if you ever tell that to anyone, I – will – hunt - you - down - and - KILL - you! Twice!)

Therefore, I was predisposed to dislike SCROOGE. But I saw it anyway. With The Countess. I told her, “If it’s a musical, I won’t like it.” And I was right because... I LOVE it! It is by far my favorite filmed version of 'A Christmas Carol'. And, yes, I've seen the vast majority of them.



How good is this movie? Well, ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ and ‘Scrooge’ are both on my Top Ten favorite movies list. No, NO, NO! I do not mean “Top Ten favorite Christmas movies list”. I mean Top Ten list PERIOD!

In fact, I’m not sure which of those Christmas movies I love most. It pretty much depends upon which one I’m watching at the moment.

SCROOGE stars Albert Finney and was filmed in England with an all Great Britain cast. For those who know anything at all about acting, that means the acting is way, Way, WAY friggin’ better than what you will find in most American movies!

The direction is fantabulous, the sets are spectacular, the cinematography is delicious, and the music is so addictive it should be considered a controlled substance. For such an old movie, even the special effects are still pretty good.

Two of my all-time favorite quotations come from the movie SCROOGE:

Mankind should be our business, but we seldom attend to it.
~ Jacob Marley

There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish; the thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember, …time is short, and suddenly you're not there anymore.
~ The Ghost Of Christmas Present

I have only one negative remark to make about SCROOGE: There is one song in the score, sung by Tiny Tim, that is so high-pitched, stepped-on-a-cat’s-tail awful that I fast-forward through it every other year.

[Note: I watch my four favorite Christmas movies only every other year, so they don’t cease delivering to me the emotional impact I watch them for. This year, it’s the “modern” classics – ‘Scrooge’ and ‘A Christmas Story’ – next year it will be the old school classics – “It’s A Wonderful Life’ and ‘Miracle On 34th Street’.]

But even that awful song by Tiny Tim has become a part of the Christmas tradition that I share with my brother, Nappy. Every other year, we TRADITIONALLY fast-forward through it!

There’s a part in SCROOGE where - in anticipation of the second ghost’s appearance, and temporarily feeling bold and brave – Ebenezer yells out, “I’m ready for you!”

Well, this year, just as Tiny Tim’s dreadful song was about to be sung, I raised the DVD gizmo, my finger on the fast-forward button, and I yelled out, “I’m ready for you, Tiny Tim!”

Nappy and I both laughed. Yeah, you can make a “Christmas tradition” out of just about anything.

If you’re having trouble finding “The Christmas Spirit” this year – as it seems many people are – then you need to watch SCROOGE.

Here’s a link to about ten minutes of this wonderful life movie! (This is a future Christmas, in which Ebenezer has died, and the people indebted to him are joyfully singing "Thank you very much!")

Scrooge the Musical (1970) Part 9



See it mo’ bigger at YouTube by clicking here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BF5ZcMgd0Q

[Note: In actuality, the movie’s visuals are not as dark as they appear in this video.]

Dog God bless us, every one!
~ TinyTim @Dyslexia.moc

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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NEWT: THE ESTABLISHMENT’S TOADY

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Everytime I see an image of Newt Gingrich I can’t help thinking immediately that he looks like a big fat toad.





And that’s not too far from the truth either. Being a longtime member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) – [see the link below] – Newt is indeed a toady or a lap dog for ‘The Establishment’, that International Banker-controlled power behind the scenes that is instrumental in setting the policies for both major political parties in this country.

Below is a copy of the Email I received this morning from the ‘RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT’ campaign people. It tells you all you need to know in order to determine that a vote for Newt is a vote for 'the road always taken' :

Dear Stephen,

I am going to describe a candidate for you right now, and I want you to think about whether or not you would support him.

This candidate was for the individual mandate that served as the model for "ObamaCare." He was originally for the TARP bank bailouts before he was against them. He joined with Nancy Pelosi to promote the anti-business "global warming" agenda.

He slammed Paul Ryan's budget plan as "extreme," calling it "right wing social engineering."

You might think I am talking about Mitt Romney. Heck, you might think I'm talking about a liberal Democrat. But I'm not.

That candidate I'm talking about is Newt Gingrich. He is what I like to call a "counterfeit conservative."

And I have barely even scratched the surface!

My campaign team has put together a great video that tells you more about Gingrich and his liberal positions over the years. It tells you how he flip-flopped on a host of important issues.

And it shows, despite his claims, he is simply not a conservative.

You can take a look at the video HERE, which has spread like wildfire across the web, as it's received almost 600,000 views.

Newt Gingrich: Serial Hypocrisy



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWKTOCP45zY&feature=youtu.be

You might have seen recently that Mr. Gingrich traded on his former political office to land a $1.8 million lobbying contract with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Why is this so disturbing?

Because while these out-of-control federal agencies were ruining the housing market and causing millions of homeowners to lose their homes and life savings, Newt Gingrich was earning millions advising them.

At that same exact time, I was publicly declaring they needed to be stopped before they ruined the economy.

I guess Newt Gingrich and I have a different idea of what to do with federal bureaucracies. I fight to rein them in and shut them down before they can do harm. He pads his personal bank account while they wreck our economy.

While I was fighting environmental extremists, the out-of-control EPA, and the Soros-funded green movement, Newt Gingrich was filming commercials with Nancy Pelosi.

While I was fighting government bailouts, Newt was saying he would have voted FOR them.

Don't be fooled by the words candidates use when they are running for office. Look hard at their records. My record is one of true limited government, anti-Washington, D.C. conservatism.

Newt Gingrich has a long record of liberal appeasement, flip-flopping on key issues, and lobbying for insider millions.

Millions. That's right. Remember the individual mandate I mentioned earlier that Newt supported? His healthcare group received nearly $40 MILLION in contributions from the healthcare industry.

I have rarely seen a candidate who represents so much of what is wrong with Washington and what is wrong with our political system.

We can and must demand better.

We must demand REAL conservative values. We must demand a person who puts faith, family, and freedom ahead of all else. And we must demand a candidate who has remained true to principle his entire career.

I believe I am that candidate, and I ask you to take a look at my Plan to Restore America ...

You can tell I mean every word in it -- just as I've meant every word I have said in public life. And that's something that everyone will admit, whether they agree with all of my positions or not.

With me, what you see and hear is what you get. Wouldn't that be a nice change?

I am the only true conservative in the top tier of candidates running for the GOP nomination. And I ask for your support.

Together, we can stop the counterfeit conservatives AND the liberals in the White House. We can take back and Restore America Now.

For Liberty,
Ron Paul

P.S. Whether it's flip-flopping on TARP, supporting the individual mandate that served as a model for "ObamaCare," joining with Nancy Pelosi in support of the global-warming crowd's radical agenda, or making millions off of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they helped destroy our economy, Newt Gingrich is trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

He's what I call a "counterfeit conservative."
. . .
The Iowa caucuses are less than 1 month away. So please click here to make your most generous contribution so my campaign has the resources necessary to blitz the airwaves in Iowa with the message of Newt Gingrich's serial hypocrisy.

Also, VizFact’s Video Blog recently made aware of a couple other pro-Ron Paul videos that are brief but well worth watching. Here they are:

Blacks for Ron Paul 2012



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCNS72iQ9Do

Democrats Leaving Party to Vote for Ron Paul



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M34BNvlbsU

Newt Gingrich is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) . What’s that? Glad you asked . . .

Link:
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) : Conspiracy? Nah, Coincidence.

~ Stephen T. McCarthy

YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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