December is always a big reading month for me. Each year I read Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story, which only takes a couple hours. I generally squeeze in at least one other quick Christmas read. And then the holiday break at the end of the month allows me to really finish the year strong.
2015 was no exception. I knocked out eight books this December! I think that’s even more impressive given the final book was a nearly 800-page beast that took over a week to get through the first quarter or so.
It has not been the best start to the New Year. As I would imagine most of you know at this point, my stepfather died a week ago today. I had mentioned his health issues, somewhat anonymously, in my final post of 2015 and my early posts for 2016. Unfortunately, his cancer had reached the point where there was just no beating it. As much as it hurts to lose him, I’m thankful that he is no longer suffering.
Among the various Breaking News bulletins on my phone when I woke this morning was the notification of David Bowie’s death.
I think I’m like a lot of people of my generation: not a huge Bowie fan - I really didn’t know who he was until his 1983 album Let’s Dance, which was the poppiest, most mainstream of his career - but I certainly recognized the impact he had on music.
youtu.be/IBtlTHYRS…
“Listen Like Thieves” - INXS
Already Friday of the first full week of 2016. Hard to believe we have just 51 weeks left before 2017. Which means only 50 weeks of shopping until Christmas. Better get a move on!
If my records are accurate, I’ve never shared an INXS track in the Friday Vids series. Which seems like a terrible oversight. As I’ve discussed with a few of you, I think INXS is a wildly underrated band.
I’m trying to get back into a routine after the holidays, and a few big sports stories demand some words.
As I drove home Monday night, I was able to listen to the Kansas-Oklahoma game. When I pulled into my garage, OU had just gone up by 8 with around eight minutes to play in the second half. By the time I got my gear inside, said hello to S.
Another weird start to the New Year.
Just like in 2015, this New Year’s Day I received a call that a close relative was experiencing some serious health issues. While last year I had a day to prepare to travel, this time it required me to pack a bag and get in the car immediately. I spent the weekend mostly sitting in hospital rooms with the relative, returning home late last night.
Last day of the year, so a few moments to reflect are in order.
2015 was a strange year. Many good things. A few not-so-good things. Some frustrations mixed in as well.
The year got off to a bad start for me. As many of you know, a close relative was going through some serious health issues this time last year. In fact, on New Year’s Day we had a series of phone calls that were a pretty terrible way to kick off the year.
I think this is going to end up being two pieces. I had planned on writing about the Star Wars phenomena as a whole as an intro to my thoughts on The Force Awakens. But I really should have posted that first, as it seems like it could turn into a pretty long post. So, for now, just my reaction to seeing my first new Star Wars movie in a theater since 1983.
Christmas week always has odd effects on time and space. On one hand, it roars by, packed with activities and stress. It seems like you blink and you’ve gone from December 19 to the 26th in a flash. On the other, when I think back to picking folks up at the airport just over a week ago, it seems like a month ago with everything we’ve done in-between.
So much to catch up on.
Just a few days into the Christmas break and already the stories are piling up.
We ended the calendar school year Friday with L. playing one of the lead roles in the first grade living nativity program. She was one of the cows that were annoyed by all the animals and people who were crowding into their stable in Bethlehem. She did a fine job, not missing any lines and getting laughs when she was supposed to.
“Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” - Darlene Love
With no more Late Night/Late Show with David Letterman, that means no more Ms. Love making her annual appearance to belt out the greatest Christmas song ever. So here’s a look back at her first appearance on his show in 1986, complete with a Spuds McKenzie commercial and a quick sit-down with Dave after, and then her final appearance last year. Funny how relatively spare the first version was compared to the huge spectacle it became over the years.
So I suppose I should finally do this.
I won’t say this was the toughest time I’ve ever had putting a list together. While some years the songs kind of sort themselves, there have been plenty of Decembers when I’m still trying to figure out what to include and in what order right up until I made my list public. But, as I wrote last week, this has been a tough musical year for me to crack.
Last week of school before the holiday break. I could sense some anticipation as I drove the girls to St. P’s this morning. There are a series of parties and other holiday activities scattered through their weeks, and then they all get extra early dismissal on Friday. The first graders do an annual Living Nativity program that day, and then they, and their siblings, can leave school early.[1] So we’ll leave right around 11:00.
Just a few links this week.
Drew Magary has become one of my favorite writers of late. He’s hilarious. Here is his epic takedown of the Williams-Sonoma holiday catalog.
The 2015 Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog
Scott Weiland’s ex-wife wrote a pretty powerful letter to the public in Rolling Stone.
Scott Weiland’s Family: ‘Don’t Glorify This Tragedy’
Finally, I have Fargo on the DVR and will dive into it once the holiday TV season ends.
youtu.be/2lFVn6Q0U…
The Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby Christmas Special, 1957
Ol’ blue eyes.
The Chairman of the Board.
Frank Sinatra was born 100 years ago tomorrow. I know a few of my friends will be gathering in the suburbs of Kansas City to celebrate the occasion. I will be here in Indy, listening to some of Frank’s best Christmas songs, drinking something stiffer than your average Christmas beer.
Sadly, this does not seem to be the entire special.
I’ve been struggling with my Music Favorites lists this year. Where I normally love sifting through everything I’ve purchased, streamed, and downloaded over the past year to put together my favorite songs and albums lists, this year it’s been a bit of a chore.
My first inclination is to say that is because this has not been a particularly good year for music. At least for the types of music I listen to.
We are dedicated online shoppers. Have been for years. During the last 6–8 weeks of the calendar year, it’s a truly fantastic tool for doing your Christmas shopping. No fighting crowds in parking lots and malls. No picking through damaged boxes looking for that last one that hasn’t been touched by a hundred grubby hands. Fill up your virtual cart, click the purchase button, and wait for the UPS/USPS folks to show up.
(Standard disclaimer that I’m terribly behind in sharing links, I’ll do better starting next week, yada yada yada…)
Let’s kick things off with a couple baseball links that are left over from October.
First, a rather fine oral history of the 1985 World Series. Which, you may recall, was the last time the Kansas City Royals won the title before this season. I had never heard the story about how George Brett and Whitey Herzog spent the afternoon of game seven before.
For some reason this week I was thinking not backward, to Christmases past, but ahead ten years or so to Christmases future. When M. and C. are in college and home for their breaks and L. is wrapping up her high school years. I wondered if I would still have my love of the various pop culture elements of the holiday season, and would greet the girls - and their friends who popped over to say hello - wearing thick cardigans as I offer them hot chocolate and other holiday treats, all while playing songs that are 40, 50, hell, nearly 100 years old in some cases.
There have been a few eagerly anticipated freshman debuts at KU over the years. As recruiting hype has grown over the past decade, the attention on those opening games keeps getting bigger. When you throw in an NCAA-mandated delay, it’s like Christmas morning getting delayed. I remember being unreasonably wound up to watch Josh Selby play his first game after a brief, “extra-benefits” related suspension a few years back. He looked sloppy and out-of-shape, but he did knock down the game-winning 3-pointer.