Comments on: Holiday Media

By: Christopher Cwynar

Christopher Cwynar — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:54:09 +0000

Round these parts we always watch White Christmas on Christmas Eve. We never seem to tire of Bing’s mellifluous tones and Danny Kaye’s comedic sensibility. Those two make a great team, and the female leads – Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney – complement them perfectly here. I also have to salute the nosey innkeeper, played by Emma Allen, who gets most of the best lines.

We also like to rock the Christmas music from late November to early January. Particular faves include ‘The Bells of Dublin’ by The Chieftains, The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s soundtrack to the Charlie Brown Christmas special, and under-appreciated Sackville All-Stars Christmas record. That last one features swinging interpretations of Christmas classics by a very tight and supple jazz quartet.

By: Lindsay H. Garrison

Lindsay H. Garrison — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:44:54 +0000

I don’t really have any regular habits of pre-Christmas television, music, etc., perhaps because most of my Christmukkahs have consisted of lots of travel to various cities each year. But as we get into the week after Christmas and impending New Year, there is in fact consistent television I make a point to watch: college football.

I love college football in the fall of course, but bowl week is awesome. My dad used to take over the lobby television of whatever hotel he was in to channel surf through the bowl games during my winter breaks as a kid. (I know. He was that guy.) But I don’t care that there are 5,928,172 bowl games, most of them meaningless – it’s the last gasp of college football for another eight months. I could care less about the NFL really, but I will gladly watch the Meineke Car Care Bowl, or the PapaJohns.com Bowl, or the Ridiculous Sponsor Bush League Bowl and savor every minute of it.

And I must say, this year is even sweeter given that my (undergraduate) alma mater is playing for the National Championship. Hook ’em.

By: Andrew Bottomley

Andrew Bottomley — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:07:30 +0000

Ditto on “It’s a Wonderful Life,” though I’ll only watch it on network broadcast, which is bizarre because I hate watching films on network broadcast. It must be a childhood memory thing…

And ditto on “Die Hard,” too. Absolutely. I watched that like 3 times this month already.

“A Charlie Brown Christmas”… the 1960s special, not to be confused with “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown,” the 1990s one with the glossy animation and bad voices. And then there’s “Frosty the Snowman,” “Rudolph,” and all the cool Rankin/Bass stop-motion anime holiday specials. How is it possible I’m the only one mentioning these?

Music? Elvis. And I have a soft spot for old children’s choirs; I’ve got some random LPs of those that I’ve picked up over the years. But Christmas is all about politely succumbing to your family’s bad taste. I wish my parents liked The Pogues. My mom has a huge Christmas music collection of Kenny G, John Tesh, Celine Dion, etc. Christmas is about the only time I’ll listen to Johnny Mathis and actually be thankful.

By: Kyra Glass

Kyra Glass — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:56:03 +0000

Every year we watch White Christmas too and Holiday Inn, and I usually listen to il est nee le petit enfant

By: Kelli Marshall

Kelli Marshall — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:16:07 +0000

Hmmm, no one watches NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION every year? Or maybe just no one will admit it? =)

By: Erin Copple Smith

Erin Copple Smith — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 23:37:14 +0000

My family watches White Christmas together every year. We even sing along. It’s pretty fabulous.

By: Nick Marx

Nick Marx — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 22:08:12 +0000

Die Hard. Also, Die Hard.