Author Topic: Holiday Entertainment Omnibus  (Read 9251 times)

Offline Phillip Dampier

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Holiday Entertainment Omnibus
« on: November 19, 2006, 04:15:26 pm »
A thread for holiday entertainment, music, movies, and whatever else you do to enjoy the season... share gift ideas, send holiday wishes, and more.
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Offline Andrew

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Re: Holiday Entertainment Omnibus
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2006, 10:08:28 am »
It finally got seasonably cold in Boston - and finally hit freezing at night, three weeks after the normal first frost.  Farewell my impatience! (the flower, not impatience for the holiday season to arrive, which is still alive)

So David selected our first holiday CD concert last night.  These are festive classical concerts discreetly seasoned with arrangements of carols so the latter haven't gotten pounded into the ground by the time the real day arrives.

And I have a recommendation from our concert: Christmas Goes Baroque (the discreet seasoning)

These are very clever and very well done arrangements of carols as if they had been composed by Baroque composers.  In some of them, like Jingle Bells, the tune peeps out in a cunning way from the eighteenth century business, such that you can even miss it, or experience it subconciously.

This music is on the budget Naxos label so the price is right (US$8 or $9 for new).  You can hear samples from this CD and its volume 2 at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Goes-Baroque/dp/B0000013OL/sr=1-2/qid=1164203626/ref=sr_1_2/002-6314108-6466443?ie=UTF8&s=music

http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Goes-Baroque/dp/B0000013OL/sr=1-2/qid=1164202405/ref=sr_1_2/002-6314108-6466443?ie=UTF8&s=music

Or you can hear audio samples, and if you like it get it directly, at the Naxos site:

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.550301

http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.550670

You do need to log in with email address and pass before you can hear audio at Naxos.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2006, 10:15:59 am by Andrew »

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Holiday Entertainment Omnibus
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2006, 11:57:46 am »
And I have a recommendation from our concert: Christmas Goes Baroque (the discreet seasoning)

These are very clever and very well done arrangements of carols as if they had been composed by Baroque composers.  In some of them, like Jingle Bells, the tune peeps out in a cunning way from the eighteenth century business, such that you can even miss it, or experience it subconciously.


Although I can't provide links to buy or listen, that reminds me of a couple of my Christmas favorites, Christmas in the Aire and A Fresh Aire Christmas, by Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller.

These collections include arrangements of carols that didn't exist in the Renaissance as if they had been composed in the Renaissance. A Fresh Aire Christmas includes an arrangement of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" "in 16th-century style" that makes it sound right out of the court of Henry VIII.

And for something completely different, and/or for jazz fans, there is always the soundtrack recording from A Charlie Brown Christmas, by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.  ;D
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline dot-matrix

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Re: Holiday Entertainment Omnibus
« Reply #3 on: December 02, 2006, 06:01:56 am »
I have all the Celtic Christmas Cd's for anyone looking for something a little different but stilll in keeping with the spirit these are a nice change of pace.  I also just got the new Loreena McKennitt CD, An Ancient Muse , excellent gift for anyone who enjoys her clear as a bell voice and Celtic or Medieval Music, just beautiful.
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Offline dot-matrix

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Re: Holiday Entertainment Omnibus
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2006, 06:06:05 am »
OK from the serious to the upsurd.  My Dad collects copies of Frederick Remington Bronzes and I was surfing the net the other day, also looking for cowboy ornaments so I could have Ennis and Jack on my tree this year and I came across this "stocking stuffer" which has to be right up there with one of the stupidest products ever marketed IMO...you be the judge for yourself...

Pooping Sheep Candy for Christmas… OMG…they’re not kidding…I wonder what Ennis and Jack would have thought of this, or the coiner of the phrase, Ebenezer Scrooge himself…





a little plastic sheep wearing a Santa hat…If you check out the expression on its face, you'll notice the sheep is mighty grumpy. This is either because he hates the Holidays or he is constipated. Perhaps it's both.

He does have a special skill, though. When you press down on its back, Baa Humbug! LIFTS HIS TAIL and POOPS OUT JELLY BEANS! And to drive home the point, the jelly beans are varying shades of brown.
 
Apparently there are also pooping reindeer and pooping pigs available, What will they think of next. My initial thought was WHO buys this stuff and then I thought of some young boys I know and thought...hmmmmm maybe there's a market after all.
 ;)
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Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Holiday Entertainment Omnibus
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2006, 07:19:10 am »

Pooping Sheep Candy for Christmas


But Dottie, you forgot to include a link.  How are we supposed to order it for our favorite Brokies? :)

Actually I Googled it, and found them for as little as  US$4.88 each.  :) 

Offline Meryl

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Re: Holiday Entertainment Omnibus
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2006, 01:22:41 pm »
OMG now I've seen everything!  :laugh:
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Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Holiday Entertainment Omnibus
« Reply #7 on: December 03, 2006, 04:46:15 pm »
Today it is the first Advent. The weeks before Christmas are counted by their Sundays: first, second, ... Advent.

A visit at a Christmas market during the time of Advent is an appreciated tradition for my family; it's almost obligatory. Today were went there, but sadly I forgot my camera.
Yet I wanted to share it with you and so I googled pics from the internet.

This is the Christmas market in Landau, our next town:




The above pic is from a former year. No snow here yet. On the contrary, it is unusual warm. Today we had 15.5°C (=59°F). People were sitting outside in sidewalk cafés. The next pic shows the same market in daylight and without snow. This is how it was today: sunny and warm. But much more crowded than in the picture.




Normally a visit at the Christmas market demands for Glühwein (= mulled wine). But today it was too warm for it.

A pic from home made mulled wine:



But you can also buy the ready stuff in bottles (that's how I do it  ::)):



There was a historical carrousel, very similar to this one:



The historical carrousel is there every year and the kids love it. To historical carrousells belong carrousell organs, which look like this:



The organ at "our" Chrsitmas market was bigger and prettier, with moving figurines who "play" instruments. But the above pic was the best I could find. At least you have an idea of what I'm talking about.

When we were back home, we sat around our Advent wreath, lit the first candle (one candle for ervery Advent Sunday), ate the sweets we had bought at the Christmas market and actually sung a Christmas carol (we rarely sing together, not even at Christmas - but today the mood was just right).



Our Advent wreath this year has blue ornaments and candles. So you have to imagine this pic with blue and only one candle lit  :D

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Holiday Entertainment Omnibus
« Reply #8 on: December 03, 2006, 10:52:57 pm »
Today it is the first Advent. The weeks before Christmas are counted by their Sundays: first, second, ... Advent.

When we were back home, we sat around our Advent wreath, lit the first candle (one candle for ervery Advent Sunday), ate the sweets we had bought at the Christmas market and actually sung a Christmas carol (we rarely sing together, not even at Christmas - but today the mood was just right).



Our Advent wreath this year has blue ornaments and candles. So you have to imagine this pic with blue and only one candle lit  :D

Ah, yes, the First Sunday in Advent. Today in my church, at the beginning of the service, we lit the first candle on the wreath.

In the Lutheran congregation where I grew up, the lighting of the Advent wreath was a big deal. It was an important part of the liturgy on the four Sundays preceding Christmas. The congregation would sing something appropriate for Advent, often one stanza of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," while the acolyte lit the candle. Then the first Scripture lesson for the day would be read. I've always felt that this practice helped to contribute to a growing sense of anticipation as we moved toward celebrating the Nativity on Christmas Eve.

When I was a child, purple was the liturgical color in use for Advent, so the candles on the wreath and all the church hangings for the season were purple. Blue is the preferred color for Advent now. In addition, our church's Advent wreath always had a white candle, taller than the others and in the center of the wreath, which was called the Christ Candle and was lit on Christmas Eve.

In the Episcopal (Anglican) church where I worship today, we don't seem to make as much of a fuss over Advent as in the Lutheran church of my youth. Also, there is no Christ Candle for Christmas Eve, just the four blue candles for the Sundays of the season. Different churches, different traditions, I guess.  :-\
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Lynne

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« Reply #9 on: December 04, 2006, 06:25:44 am »
« Last Edit: December 04, 2006, 06:29:21 am by Lynne »
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