There's a really nice site for the movie (including downloads and iPod DLs) Here
Jennifer Hudson singing And I'm Telling You will blow you away as few other singers ever have! (I'll see if I can post her rendition of the song soon.)
Opening this coming Christmas day (12/25) wide, it should be as big as Chicago when it opened! It stars Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover and Jennifer Hudson. Here's a summary, if you aren't familiar with this Broadway mega-hit:
Effie White, Deena Jones, and Lorrell Robinson - three friends from the Detroit projects - are a promising singing trio called The Dreamettes. Accompanied by their songwriter C.C. White (Effie's brother), they compete in a talent show at the Detroit Theater. Although the girls lose this first bid for fame, their talent attracts an ambitious manager by the name of Curtis Taylor, Jr., who uses unscrupulous tactics to move the girls from backup singers of "chitlin' circuit" star James "Thunder" Early to superstars of their own. Curtis starts a record label, "Rainbow Records: The Sound of Tomorrow", and reshapes Jimmy Early and the Dreamettes to "crossover" from R&B to the lucrative pop music scene. Curtis replaces the Dreamettes' lead singer, Effie, with the more attractive Deena, and soon also shifts his romantic interests from Effie to Deena as well. group evolves into a more sophisticated group, The Dreams, with a lighter sound and chic look. They successfully attract a "whiter" audience and The Dreams rise to international stardom. As the years carry on, however, the ladies find that the money, fame, and adulation don't bring them happiness. A depressed and unpredictable Effie is eventually dropped from the trio, and ends up a single mother on welfare struggling to make it in the music industry. Deena's life is controlled almost entirely by Curtis (now her husband), and she longs for freedom. Lorrell is trapped in a dead-end affair with Jimmy Early, whom she wants to leave his wife for her. The film's score includes the songs "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", "I Am Changing", "One Night Only", "Fake Your Way to the Top", "When I First Saw You", "Dreamgirls", "Steppin' to the Bad Side", and "Cadillac Car".
Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce Knowles and Anika Noni Rose in "Dreamgirls."
Currently listening to: Dreamgirls - And I'm Telling You
Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai poses during a product launch in New Delhi
Mon Dec 4, 9:49 AM ET BHOPAL, India (Reuters Life!) - A kissing scene from a movie starring Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan has irked a lawyer who has filed a criminal case against them, accusing them of obscenity, he said on Sunday.
Shailendra Dwivedi of Indore, near Bhopal, the capital of central Madhya Pradesh state, said the scene from the movie, titled "Dhoom 2," lowered the dignity of Indian women and gave an obscene message to youth.
"Bollywood actors are conveying vulgarity in the society," Dwivedi told Reuters. "These films cannot be watched with our families, they are so vulgar at times."
A local court accepted Dwivedi's petition to punish the actors and said it would hear the petitioner on December 11.
The Indian censor board, which certifies all films, released the movie with a "parental discretion" certificate.
A majority of Indians frown upon intimacy in public.
First kissing, now no "sexy" dresses! One way to get zero population growth, I guess!
Tue Dec 5, 8:18 AM ET
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Reuters Life!) - A town in Muslim-majority Malaysia has threatened to fine non-Muslim women for wearing "sexy" clothes, infuriating some women's organizations.
Authorities in northeast Kota Baru, which calls itself an Islamic city, will slap fines of up to 500 ringgit ($140) on women who expose navels, wear body-hugging outfits, mini-skirts or see-through blouses, the Star newspaper said on Tuesday.
"Such outfits are prohibited here as it smears the reputation of Kota Baru and affects its status as an Islamic city," the Star quoted municipal council spokesman Azman Daham as saying.
Some women's groups have voiced anger over the council's decision to use an existing by-law against indecent dress to curb non-Muslim fashions. In Malaysia, almost half the population is non-Muslim and national government is secular.
"It is not the job of the council to become the 'moral police'," Honey Tan, head of the All-Women's Action Society, told the Star.
Kota Baru is capital of Kelantan state, which is run by opposition Parti Islam se Malaysia, whose official platform is to turn the country into an Islamic state.
Kuala Lumpur, Dec 06: Malaysian officials have threatened a crackdown on divisive postings on news blogs, in what an international media watchdog calls a move to expan controls on the traditional media to the Internet.
All Malaysian news blogs may have to be registered with the ministry of information, local media reported earlier in the week, citing deputy science and technology minister Kong Cho Ha as saying the laws were necessary to dissuade bloggers from promoting disorder in Malaysia's multiethnic society.
But an international media watchdog warns that any crackdown on news blogs - online journals that can be written by anyone with access to the internet - would stifle criticism of the government.
Regulating the Internet could "push Malaysian bloggers daring to criticise the government to stop publishing or self-censor" to avoid possible legal action, the Paris-based media watchdog reporters without borders said in a statement last night.
Local news media outlets are strictly controlled by the government, and criticism of government policies are rare. A number of mainstream media organisations are owned by parties within the ruling national front coalition, or via their proxies.
"Malaysian bloggers currently enjoy an outspokenness denied to journalists in the traditional media," the reporters without borders statement said. "It is vital for the country's democratic life that the Internet is not pushed into self-censorship."
Now's your chance to get in on the ground floor of a new Yahoo! Group deicated to the Filipino singers Kyla and Nina. Some of you already know about Nina from the Nina Live! songs I have. Kyla is just as good in a different, more R&B way.
2004 publicity photo
Kyla
Background information:
Birth name Melanie Hernandez Calumpad
Born January 5, 1981
Origin Manila, Philippines
Genre(s) R&B/pop/soul
Occupation(s) Singer, actress
Instrument(s) Vocals
Years active 2000 - present
Label(s) EMI Music
Melanie Hernandez Calumpad, better known by her stage name Kyla is a Filipino singer dubbed as the "R&B Princess of the Philippines". She is the only female local artist who has won in the prestigious MTV Video Music Awards as 2001 MTV's Southeast Asian Viewers Choice Awardee along with OPM bands Eraserheads and Parokya ni Edgar. She has collaborated with international artists such as Fra Lippo Lippi, Ronan Keating, British boy-band Blue, Malaysian R&B singer Ferhad, and Keith Martin and many compare her voice to Aaliyah and Brandy.
Nina Girado (Nina)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marifil Niña Girado (born November 1, 1980) is a Filipino singer born in Quezon City, Philippines. She is doubt as the country's Soul Siren and now the Philippines Queen of Pop. She already released four success album and can be seen performing on Bagaberde grill and restaurant and on television through ASAP 06.
Marifil Nina Girado known as The Soul Siren was raised in Quezon City with three other siblings. Growing up, Nina, much like any aspiring singer, admired Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Gary Valenciano, Ella Mae Saison, and Regine Velasquez on the home front.
Nina stands barely over five feet but her vocal prowess and her ability to sing in the whistle register can stand up to a tidal wave. As far as she can remember, Nina has always been in the solemn presence of music. Her dad, Filbert, is a member of the Bayanihan Boys' Choir and her mom, Maria Daulet, plays the piano. She was five, singing in a corner when her dad gave her special notice. Intensive vocal training was the next chapter -- belting with her body submerged in a drum of water (hence, the tidal wave) and exercising those vocal chords early in the morning.
Indeed, hard work and dedication pay off eventually. She was a 7-week champion at the most successful singing competition in the country, Tanghalan ng Kampeonthe undisputed springboard for fresh talent. Before casting glorious light on the bleak music scene, pop and R&B find, Nina, found satisfaction soothing tired souls at the local clubs. Songs of love and loss, songs of firsts and lasts all delivered with intense passion and fiery emotion. Whatever the message, the effect is lasting, overwhelming. She can wail with the power of a crashing tidal wave or whine with the softness of a trickling rainfall. Waxing poetic describing vocal range can only mean one thingwhen she sings, expect to be moved in ways you never imagined.
Nina was 17 when she became one of the vocalists for the X’s, a show band working the club circuit. She honed her skills in clubs such as Strumm’s, Limits, Ratsky and Fashion Café, doing old rhythm and blues hits and Sergio Mendes numbers. Shortly after, she was hired by Big Thing, Randy Santiago’s band. This was followed by a six-month stint in Silk, and finally, the Essence.
Although she was already a fulltime working professional, Nina continued her studies, taking up and finishing accounting at Miriam College. At one time, she had thought of taking up law, but by the time she graduated, this had been replaced by another dream: to become a solo recording artist.
She put together a three-song demo which included her cover of “Foolish Heart” and sent it to Warner Music Philippines. The label recognized the potential. It wasn’t long before Marifil Niña Girado was transformed into Nina. The rest, as they say, is history.
While we're at it... Sarah's only 18... She's not related to the American Indian chief, btw - Many pinoy names are from the Spanish. That's why there are PI Avilas too! ^^
Pinoy Pop Idol Concert... Sarah singing Celine Dion Medley
Pretty cool to know all the songs you've listened to and share with friends - especially those that have many of the same musical tastes!
Recent Tracks
Nina – At Your Best 7 Dec 2006, 10:01 delete
Eva Cassidy – At Last 7 Dec 2006, 09:58 delete
David McCullough & Paul Roebling – Ashokan Farewell / Sullivan Ballou Letter 7 Dec 2006, 09:55 delete
Younha ユンナ – Ashita, Tenki Ni Nare あした、天気になれ。 7 Dec 2006, 09:50 delete
Chocolat – Ashes To The Wind, Roux Returns 7 Dec 2006, 09:47 delete
Diana Krall – As time goes by 7 Dec 2006, 09:45 delete
Sophie B. Hawkins – As I Lay Me Down 7 Dec 2006, 09:41 delete
Ottmar Liebert – Arrow W/o Destination 7 Dec 2006, 09:38 delete
Kevin Shields – Are You Awake? 7 Dec 2006, 09:36 delete
Enya – Anywhere Is 7 Dec 2006, 09:32 delete
Mariah Carey – Anytime You Need a Friend 7 Dec 2006, 09:28 delete
Nina – Anything for You 7 Dec 2006, 09:24 delete
Shakira – Antología 7 Dec 2006, 09:20 delete
Sarah McLachlan – Answer 7 Dec 2006, 09:16 delete
Madeleine Peyroux – La Javanaise 7 Dec 2006, 09:12 delete
Eva Avila – Fallin' For You 6 Dec 2006, 10:53 delete
Eva Avila – Meant To Fly 6 Dec 2006, 10:50 delete
Jennifer Hudson – And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going (Highlights Version) 5 Dec 2006, 21:55 delete
The Lion King [Broadway] – He Lives in You (Reprise) 1 Dec 2006, 23:07 delete
Disney – Best of Friends 1 Dec 2006, 22:59 delete
Disney – A Spoonful of Sugar 1 Dec 2006, 22:57 delete
Disney – You Can Fly 1 Dec 2006, 22:56 delete
Lara Fabian – The Dream Within (Love Theme from Final Fantasy) 1 Dec 2006, 22:42 delete
Bear McCreary – Scar 25 Nov 2006, 23:26 delete
Bear McCreary – Something Dark is Coming 25 Nov 2006, 23:17 delete
Bear McCreary, feat. Raya Yarbrough – Lords of Kobol 25 Nov 2006, 23:14 delete
Bear McCreary – Pegasus 25 Nov 2006, 23:11 delete
Bear McCreary – Standing in the Mud 25 Nov 2006, 23:09 delete
Bear McCreary – Martial Law 25 Nov 2006, 23:07 delete
Bear McCreary – Allergo 25 Nov 2006, 23:03 delete
Bear McCreary, feat. Supernova String Quartet – A Promise to Return 25 Nov 2006, 22:59 delete
Bear McCreary – Escape from the Farm 25 Nov 2006, 22:56 delete
Bear McCreary – Baltar's Dream 25 Nov 2006, 22:53 delete
Bear McCreary – Colonial Anthem 25 Nov 2006, 22:49
Malay (noun and adjective): refers to Malay peoples, the Malays, and their language.
Malaysian (noun and adjective): refers to the nation of Malaysia.
Malayan (noun and adjective): refers to Malay Peninsula or its various peoples, although today, because of its association with colonial times, it is being replaced with Malay.
I've always loved this movie - real Americana as only Jean Sheperd could do... The news story is about the guy that bought the house (on eBay) that the movie was filmed in (without his wife's knowledge) and surprisingly, it's been a hit!
Along with The Grinch and the 1951 Alastair Sim black and white British version of Scrooge, this is a must-see holiday favorite!
Have a merry holiday season! As Tiny Tim said - "God bless us, every one!"
Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer.
Cheer to all Whos far and near.
Christmas Day is in our grasp so long as we have hands to clasp.
Christmas Day will always be
just as long as we have we.
Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart and hand in hand.
I enjoy Christmas as much as the next person, but that doesn't mean I love everything about the holidays. One of the least favorite Christmas activities is listening to bad Christmas music. And if you have listened to your radio this week, you already know there is a lot of it being played.
Attempting to limit a list of bad Christmas tunes to just 10 selections was a much tougher job than I had anticipated. You could devote an entire list to nothing but songs by classic rock bands or singers with the last name 'Jackson.'
So the following list is strictly judgmental and entirely my idea. Feel free to disagree with any or all of my choices.
1) "Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer" by Elmo And Patsy This song might have been funny when it was written 25 years ago, but in today's world, this is about as humorous as the average episode of "The Wiggles." Even worse, it spawned an animated special, a number of spin-off songs, a ringtone and one truly dumb music video.
2) "Jingle Bells" by The Singing Dogs I'm not sure what is the worst thing about this song. The fact that it spawned a series of singing dog albums, or the fact that it prompted someone to release a couple of "Jingle Cat" CD's. I like dogs, but listening to them bark for 40 minutes is not my idea of holiday cheer.
3) "Last Christmas" by Jimmy Eats World A cover version of a bad Christmas tune by Wham is a bad enough idea. But the finished product (which is included on the compilation CD "Music From the O.C. Mix 3: Have a Very Merry Chrismukkah" sounds more like a cry for help than a Christmas classic. It meanders, it whines and seems to last forever.
4) "The Little Drummer Boy" by Jessica and Ashlee Simpson Jessica Simpson is an impressive singer, and her Christmas CD, "Re-Joyce: The Christmas Album" is an overall entertaining package. But this tune -- a duet with sister Ashlee -- sounds more like a German military march than a Christmas tune. And without being unduly mean, let's just say that Ashlee's voice does not quite come up to the standards of her sister.
5) "The Christmas Song (Holiday Remix)" by Christina Aguilera If you like your Christmas CDs to have a bit of bare midriff on the cover, than have I got a CD for you. Aguilera's "My Kind Of Christmas" is predictably upbeat, but any track that is described as a 'holiday remix' is in need of a lot of creative help.
6) "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney McCartney's post-Beatles discography falls into two basic categories. There are the really great tunes, such as "Band On The Run" and "Jet." And then there are the goofball, maudlin songs that often make me suspect those rumors about McCartney being replaced by a look-alike back in the 1970's just might be true. While this song was a modest hit when it was released, it gets played a lot on the radio every year. And it's managed to get more annoying as the years pass, primarily because the cheesy synthesizers and looping vocals make it more appropriate for playing at a roller skating rink than at a Christmas party.
7) "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" by Jeff Foxworthy Feel free to make up our own jokes about this tune. It's just as bad as you would expect from any Christmas song that combines rednecks, Christmas and mobile homes.
8) "Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto" by James Brown James Brown may be one of the best R&B singers ever, but his Christmas album is definitely an acquired taste. Sure, the tracks are funky and lively and easy to dance to. But I'm not sure that the thought of a funky Santa cleaning up the ghetto really gets me in the holiday spirit.
9) "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee Yes, I know that this song is considered a classic by many music fans. But there is something about Lee's piercing vocals and 1950's delivery that has always managed to give me a headache.
10) "What Can You Get a Wookie for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)" from "Christmas In The Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album" There have been a number of horrific Christmas albums released over the years, but "Christmas In The Stars" might just take the prize for being the weirdest, most painful holiday album ever made. Take some of the characters from "Star Wars," mix in the music of Meco and the result transcends campy and goes straight to painful. "What Can You Get A Wookie?" is just as peculiar as you might imagine, and it is truly impossible to adequately describe. But I can guarantee that playing it at your next Christmas party won't just clear the room, it'll empty your entire block.
This is one of the best stories I've read in our local "ad rag" The San Diego Reader free weekly. Butt-full of advertisments, (can you say breast enhancement?) but the occasional good story too.
This one is about a local surf school for women called Surf Divas. But the main interest for me is how it describes San Diego from the perspective of an outsider to the SOCAL lifestyle. I think you will find it most interesting too...
Elemental, Little Fish
By Rosa Jurjevics
Page 1 of 5
San Diego Reader
November 16, 2006
"You girls ready?"I raise my head from my pillow. I am shoulder deep in industrial-grade bedding, trying to pull the last dregs from an uneasy, however jet-lagged, sleep. Light pours through my window, slicing through the white strips of the blinds. Estela, in the opposite bed, is a moderate-sized lump under her covers, tufts of her black hair peeking out. As a fellow East Coaster, she must be feeling jet-lagged too. She mumbles something, sits up, blinks.
KT stands in our doorway, arms akimbo, grinning at our groggy faces. She's already dressed and exhibits no signs of fatigue; she is tying her long blond hair into a no-nonsense knot, watching us in good-natured amusement. Her sunglasses sit perched and at the ready atop her head.
It is 8:00 a.m. The first day of surf camp. At 22, I'm the baby of the group -- a surprise, but not unusual -- the only recent postgrad among vacationing professionals. Adrenaline hums through my morning grog. I'm excited but dodgy, unsure if my Queens sea legs will carry me. The waves are different beasts here, I am certain, not the occasional, clumsy rollers of Far Rockaway. My on-again-off-again year of lugging my nine-foot monster onto the A train for an afternoon of paddling around may not suffice in a place where some kids can surf before they learn to read. But as the old adage goes, ready or not... Here I come.
I stretch night-stiff shoulders, reorienting. Less than 12 hours ago, I arrived at the San Diego airport, a thick coat of East Coast pale on my skin. Now I am in California, tucked up in an empty dorm at UCSD, easily the most well-maintained college campus I have ever seen, and am about to go headlong into the Pacific waters.
Now, if they could only get you to play like Mozart!!
Tue Dec 12, 8:50 AM ET
VIENNA (AFP) - Sheet music of all of Mozart's works is now available online for free, following an initiative by Salzburg's International Foundation Mozarteum in honour of the 250th anniversary of his birth.
"With over 400,000 hits on the website in the first 12 hours, one can say demand surpassed our expectations," Mirjam Nellman, spokeswoman for the foundation, based in Mozart's birthplace of Salzburg, told AFP Tuesday.
"The server is a little slow at the moment because of strong demand, but we are working on it," she added.
The unique initiative, entitled NMA Online -- for "Neue Mozart Ausgabe," or new Mozart edition -- was launched with the help of the Packard Humanities Institute in Los Altos, California. More Here
Currently listening to: Mozart
Currently reading: sheet music
Wanna see some cute babies and vote for your favorite?? They've narrowed it down to 10 boys and ten girls... You can only vote for one baby per day.... Who did you vote for? I voted for the lil' girl in the "sherpa" hat (bottom, middle). You do have to register with the Kodak Easyshare site to vote, but I think that there's a good chance you've already registered here at some point - it is Kodak's photo site, after all!
You can print discount coupons from Kodak and BabyGap after you vote. The voting seems to act weird in FireFox, so you might want to use IE for this particular site...
OK, I had to have the new Dreamgirls movie OST! And for the free shipping, picked up these other worthies too! Now that Radio Blog is back, you can expect to see selections from these soon.
And btw, www.vox.com lets to store songs, DVDs and books as collections. The best I've seen to organize your stuff! Easy to cut and paste your Tabulas entries there too...
Come over to my VOX account and look at my review for one of my favorite movies, The Road Home. VOX lets you create (with help from Amazon, YouTube and others) collections of DVDs, CDs, and books. You can use these elements in posts, which is pretty handy! I added one of the themes from the film called Tear Drops and incorporated it into my review.
Currently listening to: Tear Drops from The Road Home
The beatings will continue till everyone's smiling!
Mon Dec 18, 8:23 AM ET
SHANGHAI, Dec 18 (Reuters Life!) - Eager to put on its best face for foreign guests ahead of the 2010 World Expo, Shanghai is sending teams of "smiling volunteers" onto the streets to teach stony-faced citizens to beam at strangers.
Forty university students have signed up to smile at people in public places, after a survey by a local chewing-gum maker showed that only 2 percent of Chinese people smile at strangers, the China Daily said on Monday.
"We ask all the members to practice smiling at home," team-leader Xu Xiaohong told the paper. "We smile at the mirror to determine whether our smiles are acceptable. We not only smile with our mouths but also with our eyes."
The group carried out their first "smiling task" on Saturday at a local theater, where they grinned at every visitor and asked people if they needed help.
Xu said the smilers would be recruiting more members and teams would be deployed at the 2010 World Expo, which has been touted by the Shanghai government as a coming-of-age party for the east Asian boomtown.
Attempts to generate warmth among strangers in China have had mixed success.
In October, volunteers offering "free hugs" to people in a busy shopping street in Beijing were detained by police for questioning.
1) Libra - Sept. 23 to Oct. 22
2) Aquarius - Jan. 20 to Feb. 18
3) Aries - Mar. 21 to Apr. 19
4) Pisces - Feb. 19 to Mar. 20
5) Scorpio - Oct. 23 to Nov. 21
6) Taurus - Apr. 20 to May 20
7) Sagittarius - Nov. 22 to Dec. 21
8) Capricorn - Dec. 22 to Jan. 19
9) Virgo - Aug. 23 to Sept. 22
10) Cancer - June 21 to July 22
11) Gemini - May 21 to June 20
12) Leo - Jul. 23 to Aug. 22
By Naomi Kim Thu Dec 14, 9:42 AM ET
TORONTO, Dec 13 (Reuters Life!) - Never mind how careful you are behind the wheel or how long you've been driving, the signs of the zodiac may be bigger factors behind your ability to avoid car crashes -- or why you have too many.
According to a study by InsuranceHotline.com, a Web site that quotes drivers on insurance rates, astrological signs are a significant factor in predicting car accidents.
The study, which looked at 100,000 North American drivers' records from the past six years, puts Libras (born September 23-October 22) followed by Aquarians (January 20-February 18) as the worst offenders for tickets and accidents
Leos (July 23-August 22) and then Geminis (May 21-June 20) were found to be the best overall.
"I was absolutely shocked by the results," said Lee Romanov, president of Toronto-based InsuranceHotline.com, who also wrote the book "Car Carma" which touches on the correlation between astrological signs and driving ability while doing the study.
Romanov originally wanted to have some fun by examining astrological signs as a possible cause for the variance between insurance companies quoting high and low rates but didn't expect to find anything interesting.
"Now, changing postal codes is far less significant to me than drivers of certain astrological signs," she told Reuters on Wednesday.
Even age, another variable for determining insurance rates, is less of a consideration to Romanov. The cutoff line for being considered a higher risk driver is 24 years of age; 25-year-olds are considered not-high risk.
"I'd rather get into a car with a 24-year-old Leo than a 25-year-old Aries," Romanov said.
Leos, described along with the study results on InsuranceHotline.com/a10.html, are "generous, and comfortable in sharing the roadway."
Aries, on the other hand, "have a 'me first' childlike nature that drives Aries into trouble."
"I wasn't believing in it before," said Romanov, "but I would think twice before getting into a car with an Aries."
We watched Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story yesterday, and it was fun to hear my kids laugh throughout one of my favorite holiday movies, a well-told story by a radio legend. Watching Ralphie listening to the radio stirred vague memories of tuning into to Jean Shepherd's radio show, with my family riveted to his every word. But it also reminded me of the only time as a kid I remember being riveted to the radio instead of the TV: Christmas Eve, listening to the NORAD sightings of Santa on his marathon gift run.
NORAD's Santa tracking operation moved onto the web in 1998, and kids and parents can go to the NORAD Tracks Santa web site and track the big fella's movements in six languages. The story goes that NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) got involved in Santa's movements after its predecessor, CONAD (Continental Air Defense Command), got calls about Santa's whereabouts after Sears & Roebuck mistakenly misprinted a Santa hotline telephone number in newspaper ads in 1955. The commander who answered the first child's call gave out the requested info, and a tradition was born. When CONAD became NORAD, the bi-national air defense command for the United States and Canada in 1958, it took over the duties of tracking Santa's around-the-world flight.
Kids can check out the Santa webcams that "capture images of Santa and the Reindeer as they make their journey around the world."
My kids have also liked the Santa at Claus.com web site, where they can check if they've been naughty or nice. But they have grown suspicious in the past when some of the same phrases popped up after they put in different friends' names. (As always, this is a good teachable moment to tell young kids not to put in full names or other personal information if they send an e-mail to Santa.)
Posted by MikeyMike at 11:14 AM on December 20, 2006 in Arts.
CrowCrow was looking for the best Holidays songs (since I had a list of the worst). Not my list, but a list none-the-less. Wonder if you can buy this as a PlayList on the iTunes store?? Enjoy!
By Vera HC Chan
Tue, December 19, 2006, 12:08 am PST
No celebration comes close to Christmas when it comes to music searches, although Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song always manages to crack the Buzz rotation.
If you want to plan your holiday party playlist, stick to the oldies. Only four songs among our top 20 are from the last 20 years, and Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas (Is You)" dominates the newcomers. If you can't prime your vocal cords for her high notes, check out the rest of the top 20 holiday ditties according to your searches...
Apparently, most Chinese frown upon organ donation, in the belief that the body must be whole to rest in peace... A wonderful story of how misfortune can be transformed in to a great gift.
Fri Dec 22, 9:06 AM ET
HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong schoolboy who died in a traffic accident has brought festive hope to at least seven other patients through the rare mass donation of a large number of his vital organs.
Fourteen-year-old Miu Chi-ho died from brain injuries after being hit by a bus several days ago, but doctors were able to save the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, skin, bones and corneas of the healthy and athletic teen-ager.
"There were at least seven recipients of the organs," said a spokeswoman with Hong Kong's Hospital Authority.
Miu's 41 year-old mother, a single parent on social welfare, ignored the protests of superstitious relatives in insisting on the donations to "bring hope to other families," Hong Kong's Apple Daily newspaper reported Friday. More Here
SINGAPORE, Dec 22 (Reuters Life!) - Dogs, bats, Kentucky Fried Chicken and barramundi will grace dinner tables across the Asia Pacific this Christmas, a festival celebrated with lots of cheer, and very little turkey, in this mainly non-Christian region.
Christmas Day is seen as a foreign, Western festival in many countries in Asia but that doesn't stop millions of people from cooking up banquets of local food unheard of in the West.
In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country which also has a substantial Christian community, Christmas feasts include delicacies such as pork soaked in blood and dog meat.
"We usually hold a family gathering at our parents' house or in-laws' house after Christmas eve mass," said Ermida Simanjuntak, a Batak Christian Indonesian. "We do not exchange gifts, we use this event more to meet and talk."
In the eastern island of Sulawesi, some Manado Christians swear by kawok, or garden rats, cooked with chilies and garlic, and paniki, or bats, cooked in coconut milk.
"Paniki's meat tastes almost the same as kawok but it has more muscles," said Manadonese Stephen Lapian. "But if you cut the arm pit in a wrong way, it will be very stinky."
In Japan, many people head to Kentucky on Christmas -- Kentucky Fried Chicken, that is.
The fast food joints do a roaring trade over the Christmas period, with restaurants turning away customers on December 24 if they haven't booked their chicken in advance.
"Over the period from 23rd to 25th December, sales can be as high as ten times normal levels," said Sumeo Yokokawa, of the public relations department at Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan.
The Kentucky Christmas habit started in 1974, after a foreign customer mentioned to a store manager that he had come to buy fried chicken because he was unable to find turkey in Japan. His words inspired a sales campaign that paid off.
"The fashion at the time was to have a nice American-style Christmas," said Yokokawa. "So we offered the chicken as a set with a bottle of wine and it was very popular."
HUNGRY?
Chinese sweet ham is a popular centerpiece for Christmas Eve dinner in the Philippines, where the affluent serve up roast pig or turkey. Filipinos pride themselves on celebrating the longest Christmas in the world, with decorations going up in September.
Although Christmas is a normal working day in officially atheist Communist China, big hotels in Beijing and Shanghai offer glitzy Christmas lunches and dinners.
Many smaller restaurants also get into the spirit with staff wearing Santa hats and windows decorated with tinsel, unthinkable in Chairman Mao Zedong's time.
Down Under, where Christmas falls in high summer, an Australian Christmas lunch is more likely to be seafood and salad than roast turkey and pudding.
Popular Christmas fare includes prawns or lobster, followed by barbecued barramundi or snapper, alongside cold meats.
"As the weather gets hotter and hotter, people just don't want to be inside cooking over the stove," fish market marketing manager Louise Nock told Reuters.
And if you still have room, try the region's vast array of desserts, which range from Filipino bibingka -- an egg-based rice cake topped with grated cheese and coconut -- to a Portuguese-style rice and fruit cake in Bangladesh.
In Japan, many families opt for a plain sponge cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries. As delicious as it sounds, the term "Christmas cake" was long used to refer to unmarried women over the age of 25, who were said to be past their best, like cakes after December 25.
(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds and Elaine Lies in Tokyo, Mita Valina Liem in Jakarta, Azad Majumder in Dhaka, James Grubel in Canberra, Carmel Crimmins and Karen Iema in Manila, Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Jon Herskovitz in Seoul)
Posted by MikeyMike at 12:52 AM on December 27, 2006 in Kawaii.
Dressed as Santa Claus, Einar Sveinsson, a 61- year-old philantropist from Iceland resident in El Salvador, comforts Jenny Rivas, an 11 year-old girl that had a recent heart intervention, at a children hospital in San Salvador on Christmas Eve, Sunday Dec. 24, 2006. (AP Photo/Luis Romero)
Hilarious video about the superiority of the new Sci-Fi Channel version of BattleStar Galactica, compared to the cheesy old Lorne Green version... Frakkin' awesome!!!
Come see my post about For Good from the Broadway musical WickedHere on VOX.
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return...
Mike from (Spring Valley) San Diego, CA
Uses Nikon P5000 digicam and Nikon D70 DSLR for most pictures here.
Mike's Crazy Hours (Pacific Time -8):
SUN: 10am-9pm
MON/TUES/WED: 3pm-1:30am
THU/FRI/SAT: Off - ;)
mavila_92111 AT yahoo DOT com
http://www.personalitypage.com/ISFP.html
Have a merry holiday season! As Tiny Tim said - "God bless us, every one!"
Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer.
Cheer to all Whos far and near.
Christmas Day is in our grasp so long as we have hands to clasp.
Christmas Day will always be
just as long as we have we.
Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart and hand in hand.
sounds more like a cry for help than a Christmas classic. It meanders, it whines and seems to last forever.
