It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Blog

I promised a Muppet Christmas Blog and here it is.  I may have waited until the last day but I couldn't decided which Muppet Christmas Special to choose and I didn't want to cram them all into one (each one could've had its very own blog in my series).  Why did I choose this one then?  Well, Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Family Christmas are so classic that I honestly was intimidated to write about them.  I haven't seen the Muppet's Letters to Santa since it originally aired and I honestly couldn't remember enough about it to do it justice.  That really only leaves It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.  Also, I did end up getting this movie for my second cousin, Carter.

I'm not too worried about Carter finding out about this gift and the surprise being ruined for him.  For one thing, Carter is 2 so no offense to the little guy, but I don't think he even realizes who the Muppet's are really (which is totally okay for him since he is only 2).  Also, this gift is going to be given to him within the next 24 hours.  For somebody to really ruin the surprise it would take an awful lot of effort.  Also, anybody willing to go through that much effort to ruin a 2 year olds Christmas surprise is just plain wrong, like worse then the Scrooge but probably just under the Grinch.  I am also fairly certain that out of my few readers, only maybe 2 of you actually know who Carter is thus making it pretty hard for you to tell him if you don't know who he is or what he looks like (for those of you don't know, Carter is my Cousin Jared's son).

This isn't about my awesome gift giving skills though.  This is about a Muppet Christmas movie that is often overlooked.  Now, it is inspired by It's a Wonderful Life which my mother absolutely loves, I myself am not a big fan.  Now, luckily they don't do the "every time a bell rings, an angel gets their wings" thing.  That little phrase is quite annoying.  Nope, it is just what life would be like if Kermit was never born, and as you could imagine, it would be pretty horrible.  Just like if the Muppets were never created, this world wouldn't be the same.  For starters, I wouldn't be typing this post.  Also, there wouldn't be a Sesame Street (I know, I just shuddered at the thought).  Imagine never seeing the Swedish Chef with his "bork, bork, bork" or Pepe ok (Pepe is the King Prawn who says ok after almost everything he says and Pepe is also awesome)?  No Gonzo or even Fozze Bear.  There wouldn't be anybody for the two old men in the balcony, Statler and Woldorf, to mock and criticize.  In fact, there wouldn't be a Statler or Woldorf.  My mind was just blown by trying to imagine a world without Muppet Treasure Island or any other Muppet related movie, series, or even special (like the Scrubs episode, which, Scrubs makes an appearance in this movie).  A world without Muppets is scary, but luckily we still have the Muppets.

I hate to put such a scary, Muppet-less world in your mind and run but that is exactly what I'm going to do.  You see, I still have to get ready to go spend Christmas Eve with some family.  Now, there is no way you can get mad at me for ditching out on this post early so I can go spend time with family on Christmas Eve.  If you do, well then you are the Grinch and I must admit, I feel honored to have such a celebrity as the Grinch read my blog.  I hope all of you are able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with your loved ones, in fact, I hope you were able to spend the entire Christmas Season with your loved ones.

Merry Christmas and God Bless you all,

-LD

Blogging All the Way

“Cookies? Who told you you could eat my cookies!?  Put that cookie down, NOW!!” (I really hope somebody was eating a cookie while reading this).  If you were unable to figure out the topic from the title or that hilarious quote, which is funnier in Governor Schwarzenegger’s accent, then I guess I will just tell you.  The 11^th Christmas Special being discussed in this series is Jingle All the Way (Thanks to a suggestion from Brad Thomas).  I just want to make one more quick mention of that opening quote; Governor Schwarzenegger yelling about cookies is immensely funnier then him shouting about getting to some chopper, and that isn’t just my opinion, it is scientific fact.

If you haven’t seen this film the main thing you need to know is that Governor Schwarzenegger (yes, I will be referring to him as that for the rest of the post) and Sinbad are two fathers after a sold out toy, a Turbo Man doll (or action figure).  Now, the Turbo Man was essentially like a Power Ranger.  If you were a little boy in the 90’s, you know how popular, cool, and awesome they were.  Well, take and combine Power Rangers with Tickle Me Elmo and you may come close to the popularity of what a Turbo Man doll has in this movie.  Turbo Man is bigger than big and hilarious situations occur while the two fathers pursue this hot, sold out item.  Nothing special as far as plot goes, as I’ve just told you, but teaming up Governor Schwarzenegger with Sinbad is genius, like teaming up Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor (who is not the father of Terrelle Pryor, one of 5 Ohio State football players who likes to sell off his awards).

Is it the Governor or is it Turbo Man?

One of the real keys to this match up isn’t Governor Schwarzenegger’s accent or his large rippling muscles, but instead it is Sinbad’s comedic timing and rants.  Yes, Sinbad who some thought was dead not too long ago (he is still alive).  In fact, I just saw his recent special on DVD.  I enjoyed this in my managers van on the way back home from my first business trip (I had special training to take in the Chicago area).  One of my fellow co-workers had brought it and if I do say so myself, Sinbad is still hilarious.  But that isn’t very Christmasy.  I have something Sinbad related that is Christmasy though, and it is not Jingle All the Way.  Every year my dad’s company throws a big Christmas party up in Michigan.  What would a GFS Christmas party have to do with Sinbad?  Really?  You haven’t figured it out?  Ok, I will tell you.  Sinbad was there.  No, he isn’t the newest night transit driver for GFS, but instead he was the entertainment and did a private show for all of the GFS employees.  Now, that is pretty exciting and both my mother and father thought he was hilarious.  In fact, my mom even got a bit of it on her camera and let me watch and it was good.  Hopefully I will be able to post the video on this blog.  If not, I apologize in advance for enticing you with the thought of a video clip and disappointing you when there isn’t a clip posted.

I feel like I’ve got myself a bit of a conundrum.  See, I don’t want my blog to take too long to read; otherwise it seems more like a burden to read instead of entertaining.  That having been said, if I am able to add the video that’s an extra 3 minutes added to blog time.  Instead of going on more about Turbo Man and the Governator (you knew it was going to happen sometime) I think I will make this my concluding paragraph.  That way by blog doesn’t seem to blog down your day (get it? Blog down instead of bog down.  That was punny and you know it, see, punny instead of funny since it was a pun).  Yep, that’ll do pig.

It’s Turbo Time,

-LD

Grandma Got Run Over by a Blog

You may be thinking to yourself that LD has finally lost it because Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer is a Christmas song, not a special, but you would be wrong.  It is actually both.  Also, it isn’t just some Christmas song; it was recently voted the second most annoying Christmas song played on the radio.  That’s a pretty big honor because it is on a list with Santa Baby (also a bad Christmas Special, with Jenny McCarthy), I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.  All of these are terribly annoying Christmas songs that cause the majority of us to switch radio stations when they come on.  One would think a Christmas special about one of these would be too unappealing to even watch once, but I’ve watched it at least 3 times (I have been ridiculed for watching it as well).

As you should know by now that there is really very little rhyme or reason as to whether or not I like a particular Christmas special.  One may assume I’d be ripping this one to shreds because that could be done very easily.  Well, I implore you not to assume (because it makes an…you should know the saying) because I actually kind of like this special.  I’m not sure why either, there isn’t really anything that sticks out as great to me and I definitely don’t like the song for which it was inspired.  Perhaps it is just the pure uniqueness of the whole thing.  It really is the only special I have seen featuring a missing Grandma, a wicked cousin, a courtroom, and fruitcake.  See, those 4 things and now I have all of you intrigued to this special as well.  Since I can tell you are all anxious to see this special now, I promise to do my best not to reveal too much of it.

Potential Spoiler Alert: It wasn’t Egg Nog that got Grandma ran over.  I won’t tell you what it was though.  Egg Nog is one Christmas tradition that I myself have never indulged in myself.  To me, Egg Nog just doesn’t sound appetizing.  I haven’t had it spiked either.  Even though I must admit I kind of want to try some Nog-A-Sake, a mixture of Egg Nog and sake (a drink I heard about from Andrew Bernard of the Office).  I really just want Nog-A-Sake because it is fun to say (and I hope you just said it out loud).  I guess also because it was mentioned on the Office, even though I haven’t been impressed with recent episodes of the Office.  But, this is about Grandma and her Egg Nog addiction not the quality decline of the Office.  I did say that Egg Nog did not cause Grandma to be run over, but she really did have too much.

Nag-A-Sake

Despite Grandma’s Egg Nog addiction, she did make the best fruitcake.  Now, I know that the topic of fruitcake has been done to death by just about any comedian out there.  I’m not calling myself a comedian to clarify, but I’m just saying the topic has been well covered.  With this topic being so well covered it would be crazy for me to try to add more to it.  Well, call me crazy.  The thing is I’ve never had fruitcake.  I’ve sold it when I worked at GFS but I never have tasted it.  From what I’ve heard from various people, including comedians, I think it has kind of a bad wrap (get it? Since it is Christmas).  To me, it sounds like a pound cake with Skittles in it.  How could that be so bad?  Maybe somebody should just start making pound cakes with Skittles in them and call them fruitcakes.  Actually, Skittles should patent the idea and call them SkittleCakes.  I would totally try a SkittleCake.  I’m not big on desserts but I love Skittles and I’m not against cake.  I think SkittleCake could be my best idea since December 15^th being Die Hard day. 

So, I don’t think I really talked about the special.  I may have mentioned it but the majority is more rants about Egg Nog and fruitcake (and the soon to be holiday treat, SkittleCake).  I feel good about that.  The random rants feel natural and organic so I’m leaving them.  Also, I like how my blog is self-aware.  I say that meaning that when I type I know it’s a blog and not some great piece of literature.  There are probably tons of grammatical errors but as long as it can be read an understood I’m ok with it.  I mean, this is for entertainment not some English course, am I right?  Of course I’m right.  It is my blog.  I’m always right (ok, I know I’m not always right, infact, I was corrected on the Elf blog that the whale with a unicorn horn is a real animal called a narwhal).  Anyways, I’ve kept you from trying to find and watch Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer long enough.

As for me and Grandpa, we believe,

-LD

Frosty the Blogman

I don’t know about you, but I build at least one snowman every winter.  It became a bit more difficult when I wasn’t living in out in the country with a ton of yard to work with but I still did it.  Some of you who know me will know that I built snowmen in the small grassy area by the W.E.B. and also in the front yard that the Highley’s (also Terel and Robbie for a small period of time) used to live.  This post isn’t about my awesome snowman building abilities though (but I am a pro), instead it is about the most famous snowman of all time, Frosty.  Frosty has at least 4 well-known specials which is pretty impressive, even though he has to share the title of one of them with that little red-nosed punkdeer better known as Rudolph.

Me with one of the W.E.B. Snowmen I built

Frosty is pretty great, he may not be the smartest character but he had a heart of gold.  When I say not the smartest character I’m being kind too (he was unable to count to 10).  But, he literally sacrificed himself to save that little girl in the first movie (this movie is old and popular enough I feel no need for spoiler alerts).  You may not remember, but she was about to freeze to death but Frosty saved her.  After finding a greenhouse (and if you haven’t been in one, they are hot and humid) Frosty, braves the heat and brings her inside.  Now, he ends up getting trapped in the greenhouse and melts but the point is that he did it all to save that little girl.  Like I said, not bright but heart of gold, well, classic Frosty that is.  No offense to John Goodman, but I’m not a huge fan of Frosty Returns.  The animation looks like a rip-off of Charlie Brown and it just seems too, I don’t know what but there is just too much of it.  It is a shame too though, because I do like Goodman’s voice for Frosty (I don’t care what you say, but to me he has the voice for a jolly fat man of snow).

Frosty...Duh

In fear of ticking off Jack Frost, I will give him a quick tip of the magic hat here.  If you are wondering what Jack Frost has to do with Frosty then you haven’t seen Frosty’s Winter Wonderland.  If you had seen it, then you will recall that Jack gets jealous of all the attention Frosty gets and attempts to ruin all the fun for Frosty.  Well Jack, I just want to say that I myself really like your very own self titled Christmas Special (which I sadly do not own…yet).  I know that without Mr. Frost there wouldn’t be any snow to make Frosty.  I also want to clarify when I’m talking about Jack Frost I am talking about the guy who looks like a chilly elf who nips at your nose, not that movie about the dead musician dad who comes back as a snowman.  Think I just made up that last part?  Go ahead; question my knowledge of all crummy Christmas movies.   Look it up, you will find that I am 100% correct.  Guess you just got Christmas movie owned.  Anyways, Jack Frost deserves props for snow so we can have Frosty.

Jack Frost (see, chilly looking elf)

Snowmen are great because they aren’t just Christmasy.  That is the very reason why I purchase some sort of snowman decoration for my dear mother every Christmas.  I literally (also, when I say literally it is in the correct context, I know the difference between literally and figuratively and if you don’t then you need to learn or you shouldn’t use those words at all, ever) started her snowman collection.  Others now will buy my mom snowman stuff because she now officially collects them.  I think that it is a better Christmas gift then any sort of Santa decoration (no offense to the big man) because you shouldn’t be displaying Santa all winter long (I guess it is “tacky”).  But a snowman on the other hand, you can keep those out for all to see up until spring time.  To me, you are getting a lot more bang for your Christmas gift that way.  Someday I should really get mom an actual Frosty figurine; she doesn’t have a legit Frosty one yet, just a bunch of generic snowmen.

I hope the weather soon will give me good packing snow so I can build my annual snowman.  I’ve never placed a hat upon ones head before so maybe this year I will try that because secretly every time I build a snowman I hope it comes to life like Frosty.  Seriously, if you know me then you probably know that I will do just about anything for the story but could you believe how awesome of a story that would make.  I could start up a whole new blog dedicated to stories about me and my snowman.  It could easily become a book.  Then it would become a crummy Christmas movie with sequels upon sequels.  I can see it now.  Well, now I’ve lost all interest in this blog and I’m daydreaming about the adventures I will have with my snowman, Franklin (like the puppet from Arrested Development).

Happy Birthday,

-LD 

Does Everyone Know What Time it is? Blog Time!!!

No, this isn’t a post about Home Improvement or Tool Time (which was actually a part of Home Improvement) but it is a post about the Santa Clause series.  The connection if you haven’t made it already is that Tim Allen is the star of both.  That’s right, the Tool Man replaced his Neanderthalic grunts for jolly ho ho ho’s.  He traded in his hot rod for a shining red sleigh with 8 reindeer power.  He’s trading in Al for a sidekick elf name Bernard.  He gave up his shop full of tools for a workshop full of working elves and toys.  I could keep going but they really only make sense if you have seen both and I question how popular they are with my blog audience.

That all being said, I know many probably don’t care much for the Santa Clause but my mother thinks it is pretty swell so I have bought for her the first 2 (she admits to not caring much for the 3^rd).  I must agree with her that the first two are pretty good as far as feature Christmas movies go.  Now, for me it is always difficult to please me when you are dealing with Santa.  As you may have noticed from previous posts, I have pretty strong feelings about how I like my Santa portrayed. Luckily for the Tool Man, he didn’t screw up the part.  They also did a good job of keeping the general Santa story intact as far as the elves and the milk and cookies and reindeer.  Sometimes when a movie takes their own idea about Santa they end up changing too much which turns me off to the whole concept.  This one was very unique and even I was able to get into it and support it.  I was also surprised at how jolly Tim Allen was once he put on the Christmas suit.  Though, now that I think about it, I shouldn’t have been.

Tim the Toy Man Taylor (lame I know)

Tim Allen not only did the 3 Santa Clause movies but he was also in another Christmas movie, Christmas with the Kranks (base on Grisham’s novel Skipping Christmas).  Granted, he does play a bit of a scrooge in the film but it is still a Christmas movie.  But that was after the Santa Clause movie.  What should have led me on to Tim’s ability to be full of Christmas cheer was Home Improvement.  I do believe that ther was a Christmas episode every year.  Most of them focusing around Tim’s obsession to win the neighborhood lights contest (usually his were over the top and extreme and he lost to some doctor).  Now, I’m not going to give Tim Allen a pass for life like I did Chevy Chase, but I would give him a many hug with 3 back pats for his roles in these Christmas flicks. Now, regardless of how you feel about Tim Allen as a standup comedian or actor, the fact remains that the Santa Clause can be considered up there in the top Christmas movies that were released in theaters along with the likes of Christmas Vacation, Jim Carrey’s Grinch and Christmas Carol, Elf, and various others (I really haven’t seen as many as I would like but I hear Fred Clause is good too).

Bernard the Elf (or the Dude from Numb3rs)

I know this is one of my shorter Christmas Special posts but I have a confession to make.  I know this is a public blog so it isn’t a secret, just a confession.  As you may know, it is well into the evening on December 20, 2010 and I have yet to begin wrapping presents.  I also have to completely clean house before any guests arrive which will definitely be on Christmas and maybe even before.  Instead of focusing anymore time on this I will begin to clean.  Hopefully I can get enough of a head start on cleaning that I can have time to wrap presents tomorrow (also, I have to wrap whatever my dad has bought for my mother).  Luckily, I have completed all of my Christmas shopping (even though one item isn’t due to arrive until Christmas Eve).  So with all this I hope you forgive how I rushed this blog.

Something clever involving Tim Allen and Christmas

-LD

Friends Call Me Blog Miser

If any one of you called me on my cell phone right now I would be altered with a ringtone of FM Static’s cover of Snow Miser.  This is because The Year Without a Santa Claus is my favorite Christmas Special.  I’m not saying it is the best Christmas Special, but it is my favorite.  The reason for that is mainly because of the Snow Miser and the Heat Miser (which Thousand Foot Crutch did a rockin’ cover of the Heat Miser song).  I’m not sure why but I truly enjoy their portion in the special.  Also, this special has my favorite version of Santa (the only reason it isn’t the one from Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town is because that Santa is young throughout the majority of the special).  Well, guess that’s enough of an intro, let us dive in shall we?

I want to start off by defending Santa in his decision to take a holiday and skip Christmas.  Firstly, it was the elf doctor who told him that he should spend the day at home recovery from a bad cold.  Granted, he was a very scroogey elf doctor, but Santa was just following doctor’s orders.  Also, how old is Santa by then anyways?  I work for a retirement company and I can tell you one thing for certain, Santa is way past retirement age.  Sure, we all know Santa is magic but there is only so much magic can do to prevent the aging process, look at Dumbledore (also, I do not support the way ABC Family always shows Harry Potter during its 25 Days of Christmas).  Even if we take Santa’s age out of the equation, how many of us can claim we have enough of a work ethic to never take a vacation from work or school?  If you said you do then I will call you out as a liar right now.  We all need a break to recharge our batteries no matter what it is we are doing.  Also, even though he is obviously under the weather he still goes after Jingle and Jangle Bells (by the way, those are the best names for 2 elves ever) and little Vixen when they go to find some Christmas Spirit.  This act proves that Santa isn't completely selfish.  Also, Santa sings that song I had previously mentioned in another blog about how he believes in Santa like he believes in love.  Now, does that sound like a man who doesn't deserve a holiday?

Snow Miser and Heat Miser (in respective order)

Now, I can totally look past the fact that the main kid, Iggy, is a ginger.  Guess it is because of the Christmas Season also, the Snow and Heat Miser just the special for me.  I realize the songs they sing aren’t by any means masterpieces or really all that clever.  All I do know about those songs is that they are darn catchy and I love them (thus the ringtone).  Heck, it could’ve been these songs that subconsciously made me decide to play the trombone (heavily featured in the songs).  It was these songs that began my love for these two characters, so when they were given their own Christmas Special on ABC Family I had to watch it (and DVR it).  Now, the Miser Brothers’ Christmas wasn’t really everything I had hoped it would be.  The updated animation had me thrown off a bit and I couldn’t get past how much the North Wind (the bad guy in the special) looked like Jay Leno.  I could’ve gotten past the resemblance if Jay Leno would’ve done the voice for the North Wind.  I guess I just had too high of standards for the new Miser Brothers special.  Luckily, it didn’t tarnish my love for the original Heat and Snow Misers in the least bit.  I must be honest, of the two I prefer Snow Miser.  That is probably because physically I look more like the Snow Miser (tall and lanky) who is quite the devilishly handsome miser if I do say so myself.

Jay Leno...oops, I mean North Wind (see the confusion?)

Spoiler Alert: Santa doesn’t end up taking a holiday and Christmas goes on as planned.  You see, Mrs. Claus and the gang go through all this trouble to get people to let him have a holiday.  In doing this, the world reminds Santa of why he does Christmas in the first place.  There is a great scene where they show kids of every nation preparing Christmas presents.  Also, the best use of the song Blue Christmas is used in this special.  I don’t know about you, but when Santa blows his nose like a trumpet blast and tells the elves to prepare the sled for Christmas it brings a little tear of joy to my eye (my left eye to be exact).  I’m sure this is the Christmas Special that got me hooked on them and I can’t imagine a year without watching a Year Without a Santa Claus ( I know, a little lame and corny but if you know me at all then you know I had to type it).

There'll be no year without a Santa Claus,

-LD

Mr. Magoo's Christmas Blog

Today was this first time I had watched Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol and I was unsure what to expect.  I mean, I knew there would be 4 ghost (yes 4, because many forget about Jacob Marley’s ghost) and a tiny Tim because those are in every version of the Christmas Carol.  I watched it today because it was included in one of my Christmas Classic Collection sets.  Now with any Christmas Special I go into with an open mind and Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol was no different.

Now, I realize that the Christmas Carol isn’t the happiest story, well at least til the end.  There are many depressing aspects to this story.  That being said, I have never seen an animated/family version of the Christmas Carol that was so gloomy.  I was expecting more comic relief but the majority of that was just vague references to Mr. Magoo needing spectacles (for those who don’t know, Magoo is a pretty blind old man).  Usually I can fully appreciate old cartoons but perhaps I just don’t get Mr. Magoo.  I was able to look past the animation which is very basic but I just felt it needed more humor.  It’s not that it was a bad special by any means.  In fact, I liked how they switched up the order of the ghosts.  They actually had the spirits come with the Ghost of Christmas Present first and then the Ghost of Christmas Past flowing right into the Ghost of Christmases yet to come.  I’m just clarifying that I didn’t dislike this special.

Mr. Magoo

There were lots of musical numbers (probably because the premise is that Magoo is doing the Christmas Carol show on Broadway) which is always a plus for a Christmas Special.  The problem is that the majority of them are kind of sad.  There is one in particular that I really could’ve used some comic relief soon after, but it just didn’t come.  The song I’m discussing is when Scrooge is a young lonely lad.  He is in the school house alone singing about how alone he is and then the old Scrooge joins in the song.  How depressing is that?  Not all the songs are depressing though.  There is this song the Cratchit Family sings about what they want for Christmas Dinner.  It could be considered depressing but Tiny Tim gives it the old razzle dazzle (this is a great pun if you’ve seen it, because Tiny Tim keeps bringing up razzleberry sauce).  It’s quite cute and the song ends up having a very good message at the end.

Alright, I feel like I’m forcing this blog.  I guess I just need to relax and let it flow more.  I feel I’m over thinking it because of my unfamiliarity with Mr. Magoo.  The only experience I’ve had with Mr. Magoo before watching this special was the Leslie Nielson (I took a brief moment of silence after typing that in remembrance of him) movie in the late 90’s.  Leslie was a great comedic actor.  From Naked Gun to Airplane he has had some memorable roles.  Surely you must have seen one of the many films he has been in (and I hope somebody out there said out loud, “Don’t call me Shirley”).  Now, much like I said with Will Ferrel, I think Leslie is a hilarious actor, but I’m not necessarily a fan of all his movies.  I must admit, most of his roles late in life were not in films that I never saw nor did I have a desire to see.  He was in a lot of the recent spoof and satire movies which in my opinion aren’t quite as good as the older satire movies.  Spaceballs being one of my favorite satire movies of all time (I realize Mr. Nielson was not in Spaceballs).  Keeping with the Christmas theme I want to point out Leslie played Santa Claus in a TV movie called Santa Who?. Mr. Nielson will always be remembered whenever I watch the movie Airplane.

I hope the topic switch to a recently deceased actor didn’t depress you.  If it did, I apologize and I recommend you not watch Mr. Magoo Christmas Carol because it may depress you as well.  I don’t mean for this to sound like I’m coming hard on Mr. Magoo, but I guess it just isn’t the Christmas Carol for me.  The Christmas Carol for me is more up the Muppets Christmas Carol route.  Which I have been unable to locate in the stores so I count myself as blessed that I have friends who own it and will allow me to watch it with them (because that is what Christmas is all about).

Have a Razzle Dazzle Christmas

-LD

Christmas Blogcation

You guessed it, Christmas Vacation.  This is probably one of my favorite Christmas movies of all time.  This is one of those few Christmas movies that could easily be considered just a good movie.  I have watched the Griswolds every year since I can remember.  In fact (and I know my friend Nate can attest to this), one Christmas season not too long ago, I was searching online and on the Dish to see when they would show Christmas Vacation and on what channel so I wouldn’t miss it.  My tireless search came to no avail and I was unable to locate a time this movie would be aired.  I did the only thing that I could.  I went to Wal-Mart and I walked straight to the DVD section, found it, and purchased it.  Once I was back at the apt I immediately opened it up and Nate and I watched it.  That is how important this Christmas Special is to me.

I am willing to make the bold statement of saying that Christmas Vacation is Chevy Chase’s best movie.  In fact, Chevy Chase has earned a pass for life for me just because of his performance in Christmas Vacation.  Sure, he has had some pretty bad cameos and guest starring roles like in Chuck (really bad, I swear).  Even is role in Community is really only mediocre.  I’m sure the last one could make some a little perturb but this is my blog and my opinions so deal with it.  Seriously, whenever I watch this movie I have to fight myself from saying all of Clark’s (Chevy Chase’s character) lines.  So much of this movie is quotable.  In fact, you all need to watch this movie so I can feel free to quote it whenever and you will know what I’m quoting.  I hate it when I quote movies and TV shows and nobody knows what I’m quoting (some of the main ones are Seinfeld, Arrested Development, South Park, Tommy Boy, and especially Dumb and Dumber…if you haven’t watched Dumb and Dumber your job is to watch that after Christmas Vacation).

It seems everybody in Clark’s family is crazy, but none more than is cousin in-law Eddie.  As it turns out, Eddie is crazy in real life.  I’m not sure if any of you heard about this but about a month or so ago Randy Quaid, who played Eddie, and his wife were on their way to Canada to seek asylum.  Turns out he and his wife were arrested for residential burglary and illegal squatting.  It cost them a tidy little price of $500,000 for bail, which they lost due to their Canadian escape.  What could possibly make these too run from California to Canada?  I have 2 words for you: “Star Whackers”.  Apparently Cousin Eddie is convinced that there is a secret society in Hollywood and they have a hit list.  His theory is that they have been the ones behind many of the recent Hollywood deaths, including Heath Ledger’s.  Quaid is certain that he is next on the hit list.  I know that we shouldn’t be laughing because there are really only too possible options here and neither is funny.  Option number 1 is that Quaid is wrong and thus he is crazy and mental illness is not a laughing matter.  But the other option is much more grave and serious.  What if he is right and there is a Hollywood hit list being carried out by the “Star Whackers”.  Who is going to be next?  Jaleel White (Urkel)? Jonathon Taylor Thomas?  The Hanson Brothers?  I believe we need a federal investigation before something happens to these stars.

Cousin Eddie (in keeping with my keeping my blog clean I won't quote the line he is in the middle of saying)

Enough with conspiracy theory, there are so many classic scenes that I could literally discuss each and every one of them.  Instead I will choose the one of which I have the most fond memories.  That would be the sledding scene where Clark adds a super friction reducer to his sled and goes flying down the hill at exceptionally dangerous speeds.  This is brings back memories of my childhood.  I remember going sledding and my dad trying to make our sleds go faster.  He never found that super friction reducer but he did try (he tried Pam Cooking Spray, and different brands of silicone spray).  None of his attempts gave quite the same result as Clark’s but of course, that was a movie.  I know that following up Cousin Eddie’s conspiracy theory about the Hollywood hit list and the “Star Whackers” is pretty weak, but that is just really hard to follow.  I could’ve changed the order around but I wanted my blog to be more natural an organic so it is staying just like this.

 Mele Kalikimaka

-LD

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Blogdeer

We all know the song and I hope that the majority of you have seen the claymation special.  In fact, it is the longest running Christmas TV special and has been shown at least once a year since 1964.  This fact alone could arguably make Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer the most classic Christmas Special still around.  I watch it every year but, I only watch it out of respect of its classicness and longevity.  This is because Rudolph is my least favorite Christmas Special.  I despise him and his little dentist elf friend, Hermey (not that I have a problem with elves, but I do not like the dentist). 

Hermey the wanna-be dentist and Rudolph

Firstly, I have one major problem with the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special that I must get off my chest right now.  Why is Santa skinny?  The Santa in this special is not only skinny but he is mean and ill tempered (probably because Mrs. Claus has him on a diet which is making him testy).  I don’t know about you, but the Santa I know and love would not have put down Rudolph like the one in this special.  The Santa I know sings about believing in love (like in the Year Without a Santa Claus) and would never discriminate against a young reindeer calf (yes, it is calf and not fawn because a reindeer is technically a caribou and not a deer) just because of a red nose.  I don’t know why this grumpy curmudgeon of a Santa Claus isn’t pointed out more often.  To me, Santa is supposed to be like that loving grandpa that everybody loves, not the old man sitting on a rocking chair on his porch yelling cruel (and sometimes bigoted) insults at pedestrians as they pass, which in my mind is the Santa depicted in Rudolph.  Somebody needs to get that Santa some milk and cookies stat.

A skinny Santa preparing to verbally abuse Rudolph and his mother

Let us overlook the poor depiction of Santa Claus and do a quick examination of Rudolph.  Why is it that we are meant to cheer for such a cry baby with a whiney voice?  I think we should start calling him Rudolph the Emo Reindeer.  He continually goes on about his red nose and how everything is his fault.  For some reason Clarice actually likes him.  I mean, she is one cute reindeer (if I do say so myself) yet she goes off searching for Rudolph when he runs away.  If I was her I would’ve let that red-nosed cry baby go and I would find myself a real reindeer.  But nope, she likes Rudolph, and even though Rudolph has this cute reindeer who wants him, he is still a crying little baby.  If you can’t reindeer up and deal with a little bit of teasing then I don’t want to watch a special all about you.  Let alone 2 other specials (I don’t include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys).

Clarice the Cutie

How is it that both Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July and Rudolph’s Shiny New Year are supposed to take place after Rudolph had saved Christmas (with his shining nose during the fog…you know the story) yet in these specials he is back to being a young reindeer?  At the end of the original special, Rudolph has grown up and has a full set of antlers, yet some how he must’ve found a time machine and was transformed back into a pre-teen reindeer for his sequels.  I don’t know about you, but that kind of irks me.  Also, why is Rudolph and Frosty even in the circus together?  The concept makes no sense at all.  You’re telling me that Frosty leaves those kids who created him (some of them cry when he leaves) so he can join the circus with an emo pre-teen reindeer and I’m supposed to be ok with that?  I don’t buy it.  It was a weak attempt to combine the most beloved snowmen with a reindeer I don’t much care for.  As far as Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, what really makes Rudolph qualified to save Baby New Year?  His job in saving Christmas was essentially the same as a headlight on a car.  If one of my friends loses a baby, I’m not just going to hop in my car and turn on the high beams.  As you can tell, I have no faith in Rudolph.

Now, I don’t like the specials as you can tell, but I must admit they aren’t all bad.  I do like Burl Ives as Sam the Snowmen.  I like Burl Ives when he sings Christmas songs because that is down right classic right there (it makes me want to have a holly jolly Christmas).  Also, I get a kick out of Yukon Cornelius mainly because he of his infinite knowledge of the Bumble Monster (the Abominable Snow Monster of the North) and his almost Walker Texas Ranger like (he sniffs the air and licks his pick ax) search methods for silver and gold (actually turns out he was searching for peppermint).  But even all the moments I like don’t redeem any of these specials for me.  I still watch them, but I don’t enjoy them quite like I do with most Christmas Specials.

4 down and 8 to go, what will I write about next?

-LD

Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Blogger

I hope you weren’t offended by the title but I cleaned it up pretty good.  You may be wondering what Christmas movie could possibly be connected with such a phrase.  Well, it is actually 2 movies; Die Hard and Die Hard 2: Die Harder.  You may be wondering how these action packed flicks could possibly be considered Christmas movies.  It is quite simple; they both take place during Christmas time (Lethal Weapon also takes place during Christmas time, it even starts off with a Christmas Song, but I chose to discuss Die Hard because there are 2 movies).  Die Hard even takes place on Christmas Eve.  There are several instances in both movies that reference Christmas so I feel that including them in my Christmas Specials Series.

 Die Hard, as some of you may recall, is the favorite movie of Joey, Chandler, and Ross from friends.  Ross even claims that he had the idea of Die Hard first and he had it written on a napkin (Ross also claims to have came up with Jurassic Park as well).  Why is Die Hard their favorite movie?  That’s probably because it is one of the manliest movies of all time.  John McClane is truly one tough dude.  Since that Bruce Willis played that role people instantly started seeing him as one BA dude.  One may be surprised to find out that Mr. Willis (I try to be respectful because I know he could beat me up) was actually starting up as a comedic actor.  True story, look it up on Wikipedia.  But I believe he is most famous for playing John McClane, a character who has been thwarting terrorists in 4 separate films for almost 20 years and in 3 separate decades.  Always being technically challenged but highly skilled in afflicting some major pain, John McClane is the epitamy of a die hard hero. 

We all should know that in Die Hard John defeats a gang of European Terrorists led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman better known as Professor Snape) in a skyscraper and if you don’t then you are required to watch Die Hard.  Many though, do not know what happens in the sequel.  In this one, Officer McClane takes down professionally trained mercenaries and an international drug lord at an airport in the snow.  He literally fights hand to hand with not one, but two different guys while on the wing of the plane (also, the plane is moving).  How awesome is that?  Now I will admit that Die Hard 2 is the lesser of all the Die Hards (I rate them in order from favorite to least favorite as follows; 1, 4, 3, then 2).  But even if it is lacking as far as Die Hard movies go, it is still one of the most action packed Christmas films you will have the pleasure to watch.  Also, in Die Hard 2, John and his wife, Holly, are in the best place as far as their relationship goes in all of the movies.  This makes it a bit more family friendly, just a smidge.

There is nothing like watching one man take on an entire terrorist group by himself to get you in the Christmas Spirit.  When watching you can’t help but fell all warm and full of goodwill towards men as you cheer on Officer McClane.  Well, most of us.  There is an episode of How I Met Your Mother where Barney confesses that he roots for Hans Gruber.  This is because in Barney’s words, “Hans Gruber, charming international bandit. In the end, he dies hard. He's the title character.”  But Barney is a fictional character so he doesn’t really count.  In fact, I think I’m going to create a new Christmas Tradition around the country.  I believe that on December 15, families shall pop popcorn and make hot cocoa and put on holiday headwear (Santa hats, Elf hats, Reindeer antlers etc) and watch one of the first 2 Die Hards.  I’m sure I could talk TNT into showing them back to back every December 15.  If TNT won’t do it then I will just go to TBS, FX, or Spike.  It could be just as big as the Christmas Story marathon on Christmas Eve.  I say we all start with this tonight, and if you are reading this too late, you can join in too.  We won’t judge if you do it on the 17^th or anytime between now and Christmas.  I think we really have a good idea here so let us all take it, and run with it. 

Merry Christmas Mother Bleep (still censoring myself)

-LD

Buddy the Elf, What's Your Favorite Blog?

As you may have noticed, I have been putting the word blog in all of my titles.  Some of them fit nicely and others (like this one) seem pretty forced, like a square peg in a round hole.  I tell you this so you won’t judge them by their title, because it isn’t easy slipping the word blog into all of these titles.  I’m sure there was a better title I could’ve used, but it is too late now so don’t judge and just read.

If you haven’t seen the movie Elf, then you are indeed missing out.  It was an instant classic and probably one of Will Ferrel’s best movies.  Actually, it is one of Will Ferrel’s best movies.  Don’t get me wrong, I think Will (that’s right, I’m on a first name basis with him) is hilarious but some of his movies are only ok.  Anchorman was a bit disappointing (though I did have high expectations for this one), Semi-Pro, Blades of Glory, Land of the Lost, Step Brothers, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (even though the knife in the leg scene gets me every time) aren’t what you would exactly call great movies.  I did however thoroughly enjoy The Other Guys and I thought Will’s performance in Stranger Than Fiction was quite good.  But I’m not typing this out to rip on some of Will’s other movies; I’m typing this out to discuss his role as Buddy the Elf.

Buddy gives us many great quotable lines throughout the movie (who of us hasn’t answered the phone, “Buddy the elf, what’s your favorite color?”).  One of my personal favorites is actually said to Buddy by the claymation whale with the unicorn horn.  This happens when Buddy first leaves the North Pole and the whale says in a deep voice, “Bye Buddy, hope you find your dad.”  I don’t know why but I the way he says that.  There is actually a shirt depicting this scene that I kind of want to buy.  What do I mean kind of, I do want to buy it, I just don’t want to drop 20 bucks on a t-shirt.  I do have a pretty cool Christmas Story shirt that shows the kid with his tongue stuck to the pole and it says I triple dog dare you.  And back to Elf, my apologies for that brief tangent about my wardrobe.

My dad likes Elf as well.  For those of you who don’t know my father I must tell you that he doesn’t watch much TV or movies, so when he finds something he likes he quotes the crap out of it, randomly. We spent an entire family vacation saying, “How ya doin’” back and forth because it was on some beer commercial (there is a pretty good story about this involving a mama black bear and her cubs).  I tell you this so as to give you background for this story.  Earlier this year I was with my dad at Home Depot shopping for tools and what not for the patio we built (connected to my current dwellings).  My dad felt this was a good time to start quoting the movie.  He began in a very boisterous voice to sing the following words in a fashion imitating Will in the movie; “My name is Buddy, I’m singing, I’m in a store and I’m siiiiiingiiiiiing, I’m in a store, and I’m siiiiiingiiiiing!”  My father continued this for several minutes, trying to get others in Home Depot to notice in a failed attempt to embarrass me.  The moral of this story is this; if you are easily embarrassed, don’t go in public with my dad.

Jovie

Will isn’t the only star of Elf and I’m not talking about James Caan or Bob Newhart.  That’s right; I’m talking about Zooey Deschanel.  Isn’t she just so pretty?  She also has a lovely singing voice.  I also like her as an actress.  Am I gushing?  I feel like I may be gushing.  Well, who can blame me, right?  Well, I really like Zooey’s (I’m not really on a first name basis with her, I just wish I was) characters name in Elf, Jovie.  I like it because it is unique.  Every other cute girl in a Christmas movie is named Holly, Eve, Noel, or Belle (also Joy, but that is too close to Jovie to help prove my point).  I like it, it sounds jovial (I know, don’t worry, I realize why).   Also, Zooey’s character Jovie (spoiler alert) is the one who starts singing and gets everybody’s Christmas Cheer back up so Santa’s sleigh will work again making her somewhat of a Christmas Heroine (female hero, not the other one).  Now I kind of want to go watch it for the 2^nd and a half time this year (the first time I started it and didn’t finish).

“Bye reader, hope you enjoyed this post” (said in the style of the whale with the unicorn horn)

-LD

How the Grinch Stole This Blog

I just want you all to know before I even kick this series off that I do realize the 12 days of Christmas actually refers to the days after Christmas, thus one would think that my 12 holiday specials of Christmas blog series would begin after Christmas, and you would be wrong.  Nobody wants to read about Christmas after Christmas so I’m doing it now.  It will also end on Christmas Eve, because I don’t want to post anything on Christmas.  I most likely will not even get on the computer on Christmas.  With all this out of the way, let us kick off this series (also, I did not do the 1 of this and then 2 of that etc all the way up to 12 so sorry if that’s what you were expecting).

 As you should be able to tell by the title, this one is all about the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.  I did just recently watch both of specials (yes, there are 2).  I watched the classic animated one first, and then the updated Jim Carrey movie.  I will tell you this, I thoroughly enjoy both of them, but there is a special place in my heart for the classic Christmas specials, so I do prefer the original animated one.  Jim Carrey and Ron Howard do an excellent job of brining the Grinch to life and expanding on the story, but I love the original.  Quick side-note, I know for a while people would argue about who was better; Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler and I just want to say that I’m on Team Carrey (that’s right, a tiny bit of a Twilight reference).  I just to clarify, It is not because this is a Christmas post and Sandler is Jewish.  Carrey is just a better actor.  Glad we got that cleared up.

If you can't tell, Original Grinch

Jim Carry as the Grinch

Here is a fun fact for you all to share with your friends and loved ones, in the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the guy who sings the classic song about the Grinch is all the same guy who does the voice of Tony the Tiger (once you know this, the next time you hear the song you will just be waiting for him to go “and he’s grrreat!”).  I learned that while watching a special about the original.  During this special I started thinking of all the different Dr. Seuss stories and characters and came to a conclusion.  The Grinch is the most BA (does not stand for Bachelor’s of Art) Dr. Seuss character there is.  There are some troublemakers and schemers and not so good guys, but none of them compare to the Grinch.  Just think about it, this guy stole Christmas not from just one Who household, but from everyone in Whoville.  Why did the Grinch go to these extreme measures?  Because his heart was 2 sizes too small is the textbook answer.  I’m going with my opinion.  He was in a bad mood so he did it out of spite.  Can any of you imagine doing nearly that much evil just out of spite?  I didn’t think so.  Even hardened criminals wouldn’t do something like that just out of spite.  Let alone, who is capable of pulling off such an incredible act in one night?  Sure, Santa brings presents to everybody in one night, but the Grinch not only stole those presents, but he also stole anything that had anything to do with Christmas.  He stole trees, stockings, decorations, and even every last crumb of food in all of Whoville.  See, it wasn’t enough that they couldn’t have Christmas favorites to eat; the Grinch decided they weren’t going to eat anything at all.  You name one other character capable of performing what the Grinch did and I will give you a candy cane (the good ones too, Hershey’s Chocolate Mint Candy Canes).

I could dissect the Grinch’s song, or the similarities and differences of the 2 versions but that just doesn’t feel like my style.  Instead, I want to point out that in the Jim Carrey version, Molly Shannon was a perfect cast as Betty Lou Who.  Not because of her acting ability (not that I have a problem, I think Molly is a very funny actress) but because she already looks kind of like a Who.  I mean no insult in this statement.  It’s just something I kind of noticed and feel this is a good place to share.  Christine Baranski kind of looks like a Who in real life as well.  If you’re not sure who she is, she played Martha May Whovier.  The one who Betty Lou Who was competing against in the Christmas light contest and she is also who both the Mayor and the Grinch have a major crush on (some of you should’ve saluted and said “Major Crush” crush out loud and some of you will not get that joke).  There is one more actress who I think looks like a Who.  I’m quite sure none of you will know here by name.  I have said from the very moment I saw her that Amy Ryan looks like a Who.  Who is Amy Ryan you may request, why she plays Holly Flax on NBC’s the Office.  But was she in How the Grinch Stole Christmas you may wonder, well then I will give you a moment to ponder.  Perhaps you are looking it up right now to see, on that site that they call IMDB.  If you did this then you probably already know, that the answer to that inquiry is a simple no.  Though she looks like a Who without even trying, she was not cast but don’t start crying.  I am done with this rhyming it isn’t much fun, so after this sentence I promise to be done.  (The attempt at writing in rhyme just sort of came to me, so don’t judge…unless it’s positive judgment).

Molly Shannon

Amy Ryan

Christine Baranski

I hope none of you readers were hoping for a complete summary of the movies, because that’s just isn’t what this series is going to be about (or my blog in general).  I hope you all stay tuned for what else is next in this Christmas Series.  I don’t want to give anything away (mainly because I haven’t thought this through yet, I don’t even have the 12 topics picked) but I can promise that there will be some stop-motion Christmas Classics, as well as at least one for the Muppets.  I also plan on maybe doing some more obscure ones, not sure yet.  All I can say is I plan to follow through with one a day for the next 11 days (oh, also, I wasn’t kidding when I said I would give you a candy cane if you thought of a more BA Dr. Seuss Character).

Merry Christmas (since the Grinch did bring Christmas back…oops sorry…should’ve said Spoiler Alert)

-LD

The Great Muppet Blog

Firstly, I would like to thank any of you who actually did read my last blog post.  If you did, you would’ve seen that the last line had a hint to what this blog post’s topic would be and that hint was Electric Mayhem.  If you knew that Electric Mayhem (also known as Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem) was the name of the Muppet rock band lead by Dr. Teeth and featuring Animal on drums.  I just want to give a bit of a heads up because this post is going to be more of a high overview on my outlook on Muppets.  There are bound to be many posts to come that are Muppet themed.  In fact, expect at least one more Muppet themed one before Christmas (I literally just decided that the 12 days before Christmas I’m going to do a daily series called the 12 Christmas Movie Specials of Christmas). 

This topic was actually inspired by a young man who will not be named (Jason Simon…that’s right, I went back and decided to name names, so what) who saddened me when he confessed to not knowing who the Swedish Chef was (Bork, bork, bork).   It was after a recital and like usual the family had prepared and set out a few refreshments (I do not recall what all exactly was included in the spread).  Anyways, something came up about Swedish meatballs, and I began to quote the Swedish Chef with my best, “Bork, bork, bork” impression.  All those in the circle either giggled or at least smirked, except this young lad.  He had more of a quizzical look on his face.  I then felt the need to respond to his quizzical look by explaining my impression, “Ya know, the Swedish Chef…from the Muppets.”  He admitted then and there that he was unfamiliar with the Muppets and that he especially did not know who the Swedish Chef was.  I little bit of me may have died right then because I had been living under the assumption that everybody knew about the Muppets.  It has become my mission to inform the world…ok, just those who may happen upon this blog.

I LOVE the Muppets.  I feel if you didn’t watch Disney or Muppets (Sesame Street counts) as a child you were deprived and that is some form of abuse.   The Muppets are the definite puppet embodiment of true friendship.  Don’t let me forget to mention that they are also exceptionally entertaining, from songs and grand musical numbers to wit and one liners to the just plain wacky.  I’ve tried to see as much of the Muppet entertainment there is, but I must confess I fall short.  There are a few specials I haven’t seen and quite a few episodes of The Muppet Show, Muppet Babies, Muppets Tonight and even some of the YouTube videos (though Bohemian Rhapsody was amazing, link included http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY).   I’m trying not to go into too much detail for fear of boring you the reader (but how could the Muppets ever be boring?).  As I said earlier, this is just a high overview.

I must confess; my library of Muppet entertainment is pretty skimpy.  I have only one physical movie which is It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.  I picked it up for 6 bucks and it came with a 9 track Christmas CD.  That was the highlight of my day.  I also have just the first season of the Muppet Show.  I’ve seen season 3 (Fozzie Bear is on the cover) in the stores but refuse to purchase it until I have season 2 (Miss Piggy is on the cover).  I have never seen season 2, but others have so I know it exists.  I do have both Muppets take Manhattan and Muppets from Space sitting in my Netflix instant queue (side note, I love Netflix too).  I really need to get the other main movies though.  Firstly, Muppets Christmas Carol if I can get it before Christmas, then Muppet Treasure Island, gotta love Cabin Fever, then Great Muppet Caper, the first Muppet Movie I saw, and finally, the Muppet Movie.  I’ve seen them all and they are all worth a view.

While we are on the topic of movies I have a nugget of info for all of you fellow Muppet fans.  Some of you may know of Jason Segel, if not he is Marshall on How I Met Your Mother, he was in I Love You Man, he is the guy you showed his dong like 9 times in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and he has been in lots of other things.  If you are a fan of his, or Muppets, then you will be excited as I was to hear that he is working on a brand new Muppet movie.  One of the rumored titles is The Greatest Muppet Movie.  But if the title isn’t enough, here is a quick list of rumored actors and actresses whether it be cameo or larger role; Amy Adams, Zach Galifianakis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rashida Jones, Mickey Rooney, Ricky Gervais, Billy Crystal, Charles Grodin, Rachael Ray, and of course Jason Segel.  I’m totally pumped for this film due out in theaters sometime in 2011.  If this news of upcoming Muppet awesomeness did not put a smile on your face than you sir or madam are cold and may not have a soul.

I would like all to know that this was typed while I was wearing my Kermit the Frog shirt, because it’s not easy being green (my shirt doesn’t say that though).  I hope this wasn’t too high of an overview, I promise to get more into Muppet detail in time.  I also didn’t want 2 old men in the balcony to start heckling me.  I was also worried I’d miss my poker game with Rizzo, Gonzo, and Pepe okay?  I also didn’t want to forget to leave time to give Lips, Janice, and Sergeant Floyd Peppers a lift to band practice.  Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker also wanted me to lend them a hand on an experiment.  Not to mention Scooter keeps bugging me about other things I have on my schedule with Sam Eagle, Sweetums and Rowlf.  Until another time I guess readers.

Waka, Waka, Waka

-LD