Wishing you the happiest of holidays

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah/Chanuka, or something entirely different or nothing at all, I hope you have the happiest of days and get to spend time with friends and loved ones or otherwise doing something that makes you happy. This is a short and busy week for me as well as most of us, I assume, so I am keeping today's Music Monday/4M short and simple. I have two songs to share - the first is one of my favorite lighthearted songs of the season and the other is a repeat appearance from Christmases past. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know it's just not a Christmas post from me without its inclusion:

Jose Feliciano - Feliz Navidad

Jimmy Fallon, Tracy Morgan, Chris Kattan and Horatio Sanz - I Wish It Was Christmas Today

For more music, head to Dolly's to listen - and play along!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Too much eggnog?

Or not. (That photo is from five years ago, and I love it, as it is classic "me.") As it turns out, I still have some decorating to do - even though I'm only adorning my bar with a small holiday-themed vignette - I'm still in somewhat of an adjustment period for the holidays. It didn't help matters that I had been valiantly trying to fight off an illness since Black Friday only to succumb to it a week later. I'm still feeling a bit run-down from that. Also, there was Sons of Anarchy. I hadn't watched until about 1.5 weeks ago, but it didn't take me long to get completely addicted! So a lot of my time has been spent with the SAMCRO crew. I'm now at the end of Season 3, and will probably have withdrawals while waiting on FX to marathon the final season (pleasepleaseplease tell me FX is going to marathon the final season at some point!).

But yeah. It actually IS starting to look a bit like Christmas because that is just how Christmas is done here. One bit at a time. We're getting there, folks! I have bought one gift for each of my sons. Thanks to my wonderful Mom, I am no longer laptop-deficient. And thanks to my boys, I now have a way to listen to all my treasured vinyl albums.

Today's Coffee Chat theme is "What does Christmas Eve look like at your home?" I may not have my holidays together just yet, but I do know how this plays out! Christmas Eve in my home will begin about 5pm, after my shift earlier in the day. I will give my sons their gifts. I will force them and the dogs to take pictures with me which I will then plaster on Facebook and Instagram. We will have a low-key dinner - I'm thinking finger foods. We will be in our PJs. We will stay up late getting caught up on favorite tv, or movies, and sleep in late on Christmas Day (in the morning). We will be thankful for another holiday in which we have been immeasurably blessed.

Here's a little South Park humor:

What does Christmas Eve look like at YOUR home?

Decking the Halls

We are now into the second day of December and here at Casa Belle, holiday preparations are being pushed farther and farther behind. I am exhausted from work and housework and trying to help get my sons ready to leave for their three-week out-of-town construction stint, and so that leaves us roughly tomorrow before work and tomorrow night after work to get the tree put together as a family. (HEY! It could happen!) On that note...

I've decided not to break out the big tree this year. There are only three of us here, none of us are getting big gifts, and as I said before, two will be gone in a few days and won't be coming back till the 22nd. It just doesn't make sense to make a big production out of decorating. So in an attempt to make things simpler, tomorrow evening we will get the Christmas music going. We will nosh on appetizer-type foods and I will have a glass of wine while I polish my fabulous mid-century bar, plunk a 2 foot tree on top of it, and hang our stockings on it via our stocking holders. Obviously, I'll fill out the vignette at some point soon, but tomorrow's goal before the boys leave is to get the tiny lights on the tiny tree and get the stockings hung on the bar. Easy peasy. Pics when I get the entire thing done. Maybe.

Today's Coffee Chat topic is "What are some of your favourite pre-holiday preparations?" And yes, this was about the closest I could get. I've never really "prepared" for the holidays other than getting a tree up bit by bit and a few presents under it. I've never hosted parties or dinners since my schedule always directly conflicts with everyone elses, but I wish I could! Because you know I could host the hell out of an amazing party!

And one of the songs you'd surely hear at any holiday party of mine is this one:

Blue Decorations - B.B. King

I do hope we'd all be feeling Christmas-y, though! Be sure to come back Thursday to see what else I've included for my holiday edition of the Mix Tape Shuffle!

Howdy!

Just wanted to drop in for a quick Music Monday post before Christmas. Is anyone doing the Music Monday hops this close to Christmas? I hope so, because I have missed all my Music Monday people!

I haven't really gotten into the Christmas spirit this year because, just like Thanksgiving, I'm working too much to go visit family, and my son will be gone. (Visiting family, gift-giving and merriment is scheduled for Mid-January around my youngest son's birthday, so while everyone else is over the holidays and struggling to keep their New Year's Resolutions, the party will just be getting started for me!) So aside from taking a moment to reflect on the "reason for the season" when I have a day off on Christmas day, I'll just be spending late Christmas Eve and Christmas Day cuddling my furbabies, reading, getting caught up on housework, getting caught up on my tv-watching, and working on my obligatory year-end post which I really hope you'll all return for.

Christmas really snuck up on me this year - still seems to me like it ought to be two or three weeks away! Even though a tree didn't go up and cards weren't sent this year, I will still indulge in some holiday music here for a quick minute. And guess what? It doesn't even feature anything from the fake Megadeth Christmas Album! Here are a few of my over-played, certainly previously-posted-here yet beloved-all-the-same Christmas tunes:

Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley

Run Run Rudolph - Chuck Berry
Or is it "Run, Rudolph Run"? According to this YouTube vid, it is. But I never knew that!

I Wish It Was Christmas Today - Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sans, Chris Kattan and Tracy Morgan
(I guess SNL removed their official video. Boo. Hiss.)

Memorial Day and music for your Monday

Today is the day where we here in the U.S.A. honor those who have fallen in service to our country. I am so thankful to each and every service man and woman who risks their lives so that we can be free. And having both grandfathers, my father, an uncle, an aunt, my stepfather, and numerous relatives of my sons' on their father's side of the family (including him) who have served, we are very lucky that we never lost anyone while they were defending the nation.

So while I'm not into politically charged patriotic music, this video is a great live performance of a rock song with a patriotic message:

Don't Tread on Me - Metallica

Never forget those who have died serving this country, keep their loved ones in your heart and prayers/thoughts, as we honor their sacrifices.

Music Monday:

X-Mas Dolly
Run DMT
Be There 2Day
My So-Called Chaos

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A little music for your Monday

This weekend got off to an absolutely horrifying start, and while music isn't truly important in the wake of such a tragedy so fresh in our collective minds and heavy hearts, I do firmly believe it makes the world a better place.

"One good thing about music, when it hits you (you feel no pain)"
-Bob Marley, "Trenchtown Rock"

Since this is the last Monday before many of our holiday festivities begin, this will be my last Christmas contribution to Monday's Music Moves Me over at Christmas Dolly's.




The Rules:

1. You Tube, lock & load!
2. Grab "Monday's Music Moves Me" Button.
3. SIGN LINKY, Follow us, & leave a Rockin' comment!

Now, I give you my favorite Christmas song ever......



Yep! I love Elvis's sultry voice and twangy guitar on this one. And who doesn't love Elvis?

Last week, I did a bunch of different versions of "Run Run Rudolph" and I promise I won't do that this week! But I'd be remiss if I didn't include Georgia rockers Collective Soul's rendition of this song, too.

You see, sometime in the late 90s I signed up for Columbia House (anyone remember THAT?) and I often forgot to send the cards back to decline that month's featured CD. This meant that I ended up with a lot of accidental additions to my music collection because I was also bad at not returning the packages before my kids, young boys at the time, would excitedly open them! One of those CDs was You Sleigh Me, which featured Collective Soul's cover of my favorite Christmas song ever. It is quite the departure from the sound of Elvis and many others who've recorded/performed this.

Enjoy!



And as a non-Christmas-related bonus, here's "Trenchtown Rock" from Bob Marley, the song and artist referenced earlier in this post:



Have yourself a great week, and a Merry Little Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whichever other holiday you may celebrate if this is your last trip here before the holidays. And if you don't celebrate a holiday this time of year, I wish you the best and hope you get to spend precious time iwth your family and/or friends.

Howdy, y'all!

I know I have neglected this blog for so long now, but I do have plans for a re-launch around the end of the month. I will also be embarking on new blogging journeys at that time, but I'll touch base a bit more with that at a later date. I plan on doing a catch-up post to usher the this year out, but until then I will be attempting to revitalize my "participatory" posts. Hopefully find my groove.....again.

So today is Music Monday! And throughout the month of December, the theme is "Christmas." I know not everyone celebrates Christmas, but I do, and have a few holiday favorites to share.




First up is something that ALWAYS makes me smile......



"I Wish it was Christmas Today"

Love it. Love it. LOOOOVE it! This is everything that is right about (the frivolous side of) holiday music.

If you'd like to play along, head over to The Christmas Dolly's Place for the official rules, then just grab the button and leave your link.

Happy Monday!

Busy-ness sets in

It's another Friday, and another week has gone by without any attempt at memes, bloghops, social networking, or even updating the blog. I hadn't meant to let this much time pass between updates, but.....it happens. Life is keeping me pret-ty busy these days, and I haven't had much to say. Always a good thing, right?

My job is also keeping me pretty busy. We're gearing up for the holidays, and that has me thinking about gifts this season. One of my sons has asked for money, and I got my other son something he'll both enjoy AND find useful. And I finished paying for it today. Whew! Aside from small gifts for my parents and grandmother, that will be all I do this year, so I am basically done

As for me, my Mom has said before that she wanted to get me a Nook Color, like hers. I already have a second generation Amazon Kindle that I'm still using, but I'm seriously thinking of upgrading to the Kindle Fire if she wants to still get me something like that. Actually, I'm saving up for something a bit expensive myself, so I may ask for money as well. The trouble with money is that when I have money, things tend to yank that money right out of my grasp and then I have none left for what I was saving for to begin with. As much as I may try, I am just really bad at saving. Therefore, I am tempted to drop the hint that I'd like the Kindle Fire.

My current Kindle is in perfectly good shape, but basically only functions as an eReader. The internet on it is slower than dial-up was back in the day, but even this doesn't bother me so much. The main draw for me is that it has all the features I love about my current Kindle (books, magazines, music), PLUS it's backlit, color, operates on wi-fi, is app-capable, and will play videos and tv shows. It's basically akin to having a tablet at a fraction of the cost. And that's just what I know off the top of my head. I'm sure I could find a wealth of other information if I cared to actually research it.

Here's the thing: do I really need a tablet (I mean, Kindle Fire)?

I already have a Kindle. I already have a laptop. (I currently share my laptop, but that will be rectified soon as I am replacing my son's messed-up laptop) I have a Zune for music. And when I upgrade my phone, I will probably use the music player on the phone more than the Zune, so I'm definitely covered as far as music.

The main benefits of this are that the Kindle Fire will be even more portable to travel with than a separate laptop, Zune, and Kindle. And it will be nicer to look at - I have ALWAYS loved my Kindle, but also always had a bit of trouble with the "electronic paper" background. Nothing major, obviously. But I would love a more computerized screen.

Decisions, decisions.

Image source: Office Depot

Exhaustion sets in

I took a bit of a posting break after wrapping up my Countdown to Halloween posts, and I needed it. The store is now gearing up for Christmas big time, and this past week has been a whirlwind of work, housework, more missed television, and lots of driving.

Oh, and the Foo Fighters/Social Distortion show!

I'll be getting to that later (I'm actually hoping to get my friend Laura to write a review of it, since they're her very favorite band, and she is really good at describing all the right moments that can really "take you there."), but today I'm over at The Music Mamas with my first edition of "Whatever happened to..." Wednesday. This week, I'm writing about The Prodigy, one of my favorites from the 90s that I mistakenly thought fell off the face of the planet after their massive success with 1997's The Fat of the Land. I think you'll be just as surprised as I was at how much they've been up to since then, so be sure to go check it out! And while you're there, feel free to leave comments suggesting another act to check up on.

Image Source: This work by Prateek Bahadur is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

All these things that I've done

....and now I'm supposed to pick just one and talk about it?

Okay, well...here goes: two weeks ago, one of the prompts for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop was to "list 22 things you've never done," which I turned into a post about bands, artists, and tours I've never seen. The next week's prompt was to "list 22 things you HAVE done," in which I listed 22 bands and artists I HAVE been able to see live.One of the prompts for this week?

"Did you create a list of 22 things you've done in your life for last week's Writer's Workshop? This week, choose one item from your list and elaborate! We want the story."

I'm going with that one, since I've already held with the other two in previous posts. And, as you might have guessed, I'm going to pick just one artist and give you the goods on my experience at their show. This is incredibly hard on me, as most shows I've attended have been special in their own way. My favorite shows ever were in recent years and at smaller venues (except for 1985's Motley Crue shos in Memphis, which you can read about here if you choose to do so). There was the Hank III show in Huntsville in '09, which I wrote about here, and the 30 Seconds to Mars show in Atlanta from earlier this year, which I gushed about over at The Music Mamas.

And then there was the Type O Negative show in Atlanta back in 2007, which is probably my favorite of all shows, ever. Not only because they're one of my favorite bands, but because of Peter Steele's untimely passing, they sadly are no more.

I made a post about this at one of my old blogs, but it's waaaay too long to publish here. (I'll be sure to come back and link to it when I get it transferred, though!) So for post length's sake, here is the gist of it:

My friend and I got to hang out inside the venue all day (instead of having to wait in the rain), met some of the bands and crew (some of whom I still talk to!), got shout-outs from the sound board, and watched different sound checks before the shows started. We got our favorite spot along the security barricade, and of course it was right in front of Peter, who at the time was really looking and sounding good again. I enjoyed all the bands' performances, but Type O's was the best I've seen out of all the times I've seen them. And Peter seemed to really enjoy dousing the front of my shirt with water bottles throughout the night. A friend insisted that he just wanted to see me in a wet t-shirt, so I'm gonna run with that idea

So....tell me all about your favorite concert experience in the comments! I love discussing music and concerts.

For more of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop, head on over here to read or link up!

Yay! It's Halloween!

And probably my favorite holiday of the year: the new horror releases in theaters, the ghosts, witches, goblins, vampires, pirates, book and movie characters out roaming the streets; the scary movies from Halloweens past on tv; the haunted houses/hayrides; the CANDY AND TREATS!

And....the 1978 John Carpenter film of the same name. Featuring Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut (and also introducing us to the iconic blank, CREEPY white mask), Halloween was one of the highest-grossing independent films in recent history. Like Night Of The Living Dead, Halloween is also included in the Library of Congress's National Film Registry. I liked the film because, due to little violence and gore, it relied heavily on atmosphere, implication, and a compelling score. Halloween's main theme is one of the most widely recognized pieces of music associated with a horror film.

There's a lot of information up at the Wikipedia page I linked to, and it's all very interesting. Definitely sheds some light on why the movie was included in the National Film Registry. You should go read it! And tonight, if you're at home, you should watch Halloween.

Image Source: found at Best-Horror-Movies.com

1 day till Halloween!

It's time to do the Time Warp again, because Halloween just isn't Halloween without The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

This is one that I really had to grow into appreciating, because when I saw it as a youngster I was expecting something scary, and this? Just wasn't. However, it launched the career of the incredible Tim Curry, and amassed a HUGE cult following. RHPS is included in the Library of Congress's National Film Registry, and continues to be shown in theaters 35+ years after its original release. It is well-known these days for its unmistakable soundtrack, enthusiastic fan base and audience participation.

I know will get some flack for this, but I am STILL a RHPS virgin - as far as dressing up and participating goes - but I try to catch the movie around Halloween whenever I get a chance!  And if it counts?  I'd love to particpate someday!  I think I'd look more like a Magenta, but I'm obviously more of a Columbia, personality-wise

Image source: Wikipedia

2 days till Halloween!

We're getting closer and closer, y'all! And I think another movie is in order for today's post.

I think The Exorcist is hands-down the scariest movie I've ever seen in my life. ALL movies related to demonic possession and the Anti-Christ freak me out, but this one tops them all by far. It's also in the Library of Congress's National Film Registry, been named the "scariest movie of all time" by several different media outlets, and is one of the highest-earning movies of all time (source: Wikipedia).

As I've said before, I've pretty much always been allowed to watch horror films. Most of them never scared me beyond when I was actually watching the movie (and some didn't even scare me then, but I guess that's beside the point). But this one? Oh, my. I wasn't allowed to watch it for the longest time, and I think that was because my aunt had seen it in the theater (or the drive-in, I'm not sure which) when it was released and it really, really, REALLY scared and disturbed her. In fact, I've only ever seen the version shown on tv - and not even cable tv, but one of the "Big Three" television networks.

So I finally convinced my parents to let me watch it when I was about 12, and they sat right there beside me, and said that I MUST cover my eyes, or possibly even shut my eyes and stick my fingers in my ears whenever they told me to. Of course you all know I cheated, and watched all the graphic scenes through my eyelashes and didn't do a good job of plugging the sounds out of my ears, either. And it was hard sitting there trying to act like I wasn't seeing and hearing everything (at least the sounds, I probably couldn't tell you the actual words even to this day), when I had NEVER BEEN SO FREAKED OUT BY ANYTHING BEFORE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!! And to be quite honest, the hold this movie had on me was probably due to the fact that it was touted at the time as being based on actual events.

I've since come to learn that the novel The Exorcist (upon which the film is based) was merely "inspired" by actual events. That's a world of difference, especially to an adult as opposed to a child. But things of this nature will always both intrigue and frighten me, as I truly believe there is so much out there in terms of good and evil spirits, energies, etc, and there are a lot of things that more practical people would dismiss that I just don't find that farfetched.

Image Source: Wikipedia

3 days till Halloween!

So I know what my final three movie selections for the countdown to Halloween to be, but I'm drawing a blank today for the fourth. I think instead, I'll focus on horror/supernatural/fantasy on television. There is so much good stuff out there these days! I started watching Supernatural way back, but for some reason didn't watch it beyond two seasons even though it was a good show. I think I'd like to play catch-up one of these days.....

In the meantime, here are some recent and/or current shows that I have enjoyed this past year or am enjoying right now:

1. The Walking Dead
2. The Vampire Diaries
3. The Nine Lives of Chloe King
4. Death Valley
5. Teen Wolf
6. True Blood
7. Game of Thrones
8. Being Human
9. The Secret Circle
10. American Horror Story (more on this one later, as I really, REALLY want to discuss it with other fans!)
11. Once Upon A Time
12. Grimm

Not to mention, I've enjoyed The Munsters, The Addams Family, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, The Twilight Zone, Tales From the Crypt, Night Gallery, and  Dark Shadows!  (And probably many, many, many more that I can't think of right off the top of my head.)  And I am very much looking forward to Hell On Wheels.

What are some of your favorite horror/supernatural/fantasy-based television shows, past or present?

Image source: Wikipedia

More bands, artists, and tours

This week as part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop, one of the prompts was "Last week we wrote about what we have never done…this week write a list of 22 things you HAVE done."

So, in keeping with my last week's theme, where instead I posted a list of 22 bands, artists, or tours I have never seen, this week I will post 22 bands or artists that I HAVE seen:

1. 30 Seconds To Mars
2. Hank III
3. 100 Monkeys
4. Weezer
5. Blink 182
6. My Chemical Romance
7. Type O Negative
8. Motley Crue
9. North Mississippi Allstars
10. Willie Nelson
11. Ozzy Osbourne
12. Metallica (with Cliff)
13. Alice Cooper
14. Kiss
15. Bush
16. Satyricon
17. Ratt
18. Bon Jovi
19. Danzig
20. Cradle of Filth
21. Dimmu Borgir
22. Sevendust

This was actually a LOT easier than last week's prompt.  I consider myself very lucky that there really aren't very many bands that I want to see that I haven't, and that  I'll never be able to.

Head over to Mama Kat's for more Writer's Workshop.  And while you're there?  Link up your own!

4 days till Halloween!

Let's have another movie, okay?

The first "documentary"-type horror movie I'd ever seen was The Blair Witch Project. What attracted me to this film was the way in which the movie was shot, promoted (more on that in a minute), and the Blair Witch's resemblance specifically to a tale of southern folklore that I'd grown up hearing about due to several families I knew who were related to the Bell family of Tennessee: The Bell Witch.

There was SO much hype surrounding this film at the time that even our local news devoted time to it, and a lot of internet promotion touted the film as actual recovered footage from events which really happened. In this respect, it was probably one of the first movies to build such hype over the world wide web in what is known today as viral marketing.

This movie was another one that didn't rely on gore and violence, but worked well with all the movie's other elements: the setting was creepy, with dark woods and sudden movements, bizarre and unnatural sounds as well as sudden, heart-stoppingly loud sounds, steadily escalating fear and paranoia, lots of motion sickness-inducing camera work, and some of the dialogue was unintelligible to me because of the way in which it was filmed.

Still, it is a pretty scary movie if you could manage to suspend your disbelief (because really, there is NO WAY three college kids could have just disappeared off the face of the earth and it not be mentioned anywhere by anyone) and just enjoy the "footage" as it was intended.

Image source: Wikipedia

5 days till Halloween!

There won't be any actors, actresses, or movies today, because today is all about the music. Long before (and even since) movies began featuring songs by popular artists on their soundtracks, the instrumental score was crucial to setting the right mood; inciting the right emotions. Here are some instrumental selections from various horror movie scores over the years. Some you'll probably immediately recognize

• Psycho Theme - Bernard Herrmann - Psycho

• Friday the 13th Main Theme - Henry Manfredini - Friday The 13th

• JAWS Main Theme - John Williams - JAWS (yes, it's a repeat from another post, but still deserves to be here!)

• Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield - The Exorcist

• The Bride of Frankenstein Main Theme - Franz Waxman - The Bride of Frankenstein

• Halloween Theme - John Carpenter - Halloween

• Toccata and Fugue in D Minor - Johann Sebastian Bach - The Phantom of the Opera

• Ave Satani - Jerry Goldsmith -The Omen

Image source: PSD Graphics

6 days till Halloween!

My last post was all about the Scream Queens I adore. I've never heard the term "Scream Kings," but that's basically what this will be. The men who've made a mark in the genre or otherwise caught my attention in a horror movie in some way or another .

• Boris Karloff (Frankenstein) 

• Christopher Lee (Dracula - Hammer)

• Peter Cushing (Dracula  - Hammer)

• Lon Chaney Sr. (The Phantom of the Opera)

• Lon Chaney Jr. (The Wolf Man)

• Bela Lugosi (Dracula - Universal)

• Vincent Price (The Abominable Dr. Phibes, The Masque of Red Death, Edward Scissorhands (not horror, but still...), the voice and maniacal laugh in Michael Jackson's "Thriller," and so, so, so much more!)

And now, for a few more "recent" ones.....

• Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness, Bubba Ho-Tep)

• Jackson Rathbone (and I don't mean for the Twilight Saga; he's also been in Pray For Morning, S. Darko, Hurt, and Dread - the latter two are actually decent and underrated thriller-types.)

• Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood.  Not horror to some of you, and certainly not a movie - but he stays!)

• Skeet Ulrich (Scream)

• Brandon Lee (The Crow)

And my favorite, not only in his horror movies, but in all his other movies as well:

Johnny Depp.  Most already know that he got his start as a Freddy Krueger victim in A Nightmare on Elm Street.  But he's also been in other horror and/or atmospherically dark films such as Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, The Astronaut's Wife, Sleepy Hollow, The Secret Window, Edward Scissorhands, From Hell, Corpse Bride,  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and The Ninth Gate.

That's a LOT of horror/thriller stuff for a pretty mainstream actor.  And on top of all that, he'll be playing Barnabas Collins in Tim Burton's upcoming Dark Shadows.  My favorite actor is playing the main characer in the movie version of one of my favorite childhood tv shows, and with Tim Burton directing, you know it'll be visually stunning. 

Image Source:  found at Strollerderby