I love the Transformers and Terminator references in this video. Not sure who Dan Chianelli is, but with work like this I think he has a bright future in movie making.
The New England Patriots took care of business over the past month winning their four remaining games - all must win - with a combined score of 133 to 54. Getting to a record of 11-5 this season after going through major [and and it doesn't get more major than losing Tom Brady 7 minutes into the first game of the season] injuries shows how special an organization we have here in New England. Granted the Pats got a soft schedule this year but having only 5 teams with a better record really highlights how good the coaching staff and player personnel are here. And by setting a new record for least number of accepted penalties in a season [57], it shows how focused the players were and how hard they worked to make a run this year. Hey it could have been worse, just look at how bad the Lions were this year.
It is really unfortunate that the Pats are not in the playoffs because they were really playing some great football this month and now we are relegated to watching teams like the Dolphins, Chargers and Cardinals who will most likely be One and Done next week. Only 9 short months till the 2009 season and the return of Tm Brady!
Originally formed a dozen years ago while students together at Indiana University, the a cappella group has reassembled and recorded a new album called Holiday Spirits. Thank you very much YouTube!
Fourth-grade student Jenna Baginski and her father, Tom, dressed up pillars at Charlotte Central School's entrance in red-and-white stripes this week just as a decoration for the holiday season. Charlotte Vermont is a sleepy town with 3,500 residents located approximately 12 miles south of Burlington on the shores of Lake Champlain. A resident of this small town took offence to the decorations calling them a religious symbol. William Gerson wrote a letter of protest to the School Board stating that candy canes are associated with Christmas and therefore a religious symbol unfit for public display.
Seriously? Candy Canes = Jesus? Really? I do understand that candy canes are more prevalent during the holiday season but I can't make the leap that they are a form of religion. Ironically, one theory of the origins of our modern day candy cane is that people decorated their Yule trees with food, the bent candy stick [which was first shown at the Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association in 1837] was invented as a functional solution. The Yule Yule or Yule-tide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic peoples as a pagan religious festival. So maybe Mr. Gerson is right but I would be willing to bet his objection was not because he felt candy canes were a pagan which can stir up a specific image in most people's mind.
Thankfully the school board agrees with me and agreed that candy canes are a secular symbol and don't represent an improper government endorsement of religion. Sometimes candy is just candy - red and white stripped or not.
International Answer the Phone like Buddy the Elf Day
Today, answer at least one phone call, "Buddy the Elf. What's your favorite color?" The movement could lead to a whole new for businesses to answer their phones...
And remember, the best to spread Christmas cheer is to sing loud for all to hear!
Drew mentions another perfect bid which according to Wikipedia "occurred on the 1970's nighttime version hosted by Dennis James, but because there was no Double Showcase Rule on this nighttime syndicated version (or at least at the time), the contestant only won their own Showcase. The podium purportedly displayed 00000." This occurred prior to the current incarnation of the show which debuted on September 4, 1972. In any event, pretty cool that he got it correct after all these years [and more than 6,900 episodes in all].
Last night, I went to the mall to try and get some Christmas shopping in. The parking lot was busy but not yet at the must-follow-a-fellow-shopper-to-their-car-or-you-will-never-get-a-spot level. I made a trip up and down a couple of isles until I found a parking space among many empty spots. As I walked toward the mall entrance, I noticed a black SUV with it's blinker on waiting to pull into a spot which I guess was soon to be vacated. This caught my attention because the SUV was parked on the wrong side of the road, which I thought could be a traffic flow problem if any other cars wanted to go either direction in that isle while the SUV waited for their spot. Not giving it much thought beyond that I continued walking toward the mall on a beautiful evening where the outside temperature felt about 40ish. I finally got up to the car the SUV was waiting for and the car was started and the occupant was inside doing, well doing what ever they were doing. Just as I passed by the car in the parking space, the woman in the SUV started to honk her horn as in could-you-vacate-your-spot-now and I thought to myself, now there's the Christmas spirit. The car quickly backed out of the spot and left. Ms. SUV is lucky it wasn't me, because I think I would have turned off my car and went back in the mall just out of spite. Ahh it's the Holiday season just grand?