Top Ten Christmas Songs

This Christmas I decided to compile my top-ten Christmas Songs list.  Some choices might seem a little controversial to you, others might seem downright insane.  Here it is nonetheless:

10.       All I Want For Christmas is You by Mariah Carey

This is one of those Christmas songs that 1^st hits the radio to kick off the holiday season.  This song combines  90’s pop with Christmas romance.  A fact that amazes me is that this is one of the very few songs that was recorded post 1970’s that somehow broke into the timeless holiday song arsenal. This song will be played every December for the next 100 years.  I will always envy Mariah Carey for her precious bit of Christmas immortality.

9. Christmas Don’t Be Late by Alvin and the Chipmunks

I  was slightly reluctant to sneak this song into the list. I’ve been trying to run away from this song for a couple years now.  However, I cannot deny that it is a part of me.  When I was younger I would have this album ready to go all year round, and when I got the go ahead from my mom in late November, I would blast it on our living room stereo.  I loved it.  Sometimes I would perform it at Christmas parties, sometimes with props (hula hoop, Alvin puppet)

8. Happy Christmas by The Plastic Ono Band

Only John Lennon could accidentally create a Christmas classic. This song sung by the Plastic Ono Band was originally made to protest the Vietnam War but managed to become an universally recognized  Christmas song.

7.Sleigh Ride recorded by The Boston Pops

Sleigh Ride proves Christmas music to be the most versatile type of music.   Where else will you find a song that invokes such specific spirit and feeling, without any lyrics. (Yeah I know there are lyrics in some versions, but everybody likes this version better)

6. Auld Lang Synge performed by Jimi Hendrix

I found this song on a Hendrix bootleg about 5 years ago.  Auld Lang Syne has always been a favorite of mine and hearing this live improv brings new energy to the song.  It’s from the 1969 New Years Eve show at Fillmore East. After the traditional version of the song is played over the house PA, Jimi interrupts the host and breaks into this electrifying jam.  I think it is an appropriate way to say goodbye to the 60’s, ‘Out with the old, In with the new’.  I know this is a Christmas list, and Auld Lang Syne is technically a new years song, but Frank Capra used it in It’s A Wonderful Life, so live with it. (The song begins at !:00 and starts to get intense at 1:50)

5.I’ll Be Home For Christmas performed by Michael Bublé

This is that song that barely comes through on your car radio all scratchy when you’re stuck in a snow storm coming home from college with nothing on your mind but to be home and in good company.  Michael Bublé never ceases to amaze me.

4.Christmas Time is Here from  A Charlie Brown’s Christmas

I can’t help but identify with poor Charlie Brown, over-thinking  things and missing the point. Linus says it best, “Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you’re the Charlie Browniest”.  To me this song has a certain charm to it that convey’s the mellowing effect of watching Christmas Eve TV.

3.White Christmas performed by The Drifters

The severe yet beautiful contrast between the deep bass vocals and the dazzling tenor vocals allows this version to overflow with Christmas magic.

2. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas  performed by Chris Martin of Coldplay

This is a Christmas Eve song at its purist. It so magnificently captures the feeling of comfort you get from sitting in a comfy chair by the fire watching the snow gently accumulate on the windowsill.  The ornaments on the tree glimmer in the fire light.  Your troubles are far away. Your family close by.  How merrier could it be?

I stumbled upon this version a few months ago off of a Coldplay bootleg.  Coldplay has recently become a guilty obsession of mine.  However this particular song is very uncharacteristic of Chris Martin.  Usually he is very flashy with his vocal range, but in this song he tries to stay deep the entire song as if he was on the Rat Pack Christmas Album.  Having said that, the song is very unique to Coldplay and simply beautiful.

1.O Holy Night  performed by Celtic Woman

This  song packs more punch than any other Christmas Carol.  When you’re sitting in a pew with your family at midnight mass and that choir belts out that 1^st chorus as if they were singing to Santa Claus himself, and your heart starts to beat out of your chest, that’s Christmas.

It’s hard to pinpoint the best version of this song.  Many consider Celine Dion’s version the most supreme. Frankly I can’t stand the sight or sound of that Canadian wench.  This performance stuck out in my mind.  Other notable versions come from Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and believe it or not N’Sync.

Hope you enjoyed!

Merry Christmas

-Charlie

Haiku of the Day:

My  dog is the best,

She has antlers on her head,

She is a reindeer.

Yo Mama Joke of the Day:

Yo mama is so fat, Santa was going to bring her a hula hoop, but unfortunately Saturn was still using it.

I'm in a garden state of mind.

Back at work.  Wishin I was still in the islands. The trip was a spectacle from start to finish.  It’s so hard to describe the feeling that you get from a true escape.   Not only do you get the bliss of living in the moment but you also see your busy life from a distance, which helps you determine the importance of every aspect of your life.

Right now I am in NJ for 2 ½ weeks filming at a few haunted locations on the Jersey shore.  We are staying at a very nice resort called Seaview.Its right on a golf course by the ocean 10 minutes from Atlantic City, and the lobby bar has a 5-7 happy hour where appetizers are half price.  Ideal situation for 17 days.

I can’t say that everything Ben Harper does agrees with me but I can say that at times he has a dazzling mix between grace and electricity(watch the last minute of the video).   That combination certainly matches the spirit of  the Beatles Sgt Pepper album(‘Strawberry Fields’ was originally supposed to be released on Sgt. Peppers).  I’d like to think that Ben Harper is an example of how The Beatles affected rock music.

(however I do think that the maraca player is bit obnoxious

That’s all for now.

-Charlie

Haiku of the day:

Atlantic City,

The place where Per Diem goes,

I won’t eat this week.

Yo Mama Joke of the day:

Yo Mama is so fat, when she cries, her tears are made of maple syrup.

...just scared the shit out of a donkey.

While I’ve been here on St. John’s, I’ve been running a lot.  The roads are very rocky and  hilly, and on top of that my legs have been in rough shape the past few weeks.  In spite of this, the runs here have been fantastic. I think that it may be from a combination of the great weather, stunning landscape, and overall positive energy that I’m pushing through any pain or short of breathe.  I had one particularly memorable run my first day here. Despite my legs being stiff from the plane, I was hammering up and down these potholed hillsides, suckin down the oxygen rich air, great tunes, sun setting, simply ecstatic about where I was.

On the last hill coming back into the campground there was a wild donkey grazing on the side of the road.  I was moving pretty quickly down the hill and I didn’t see him until I was about 10 feet away from him and apparently he didn’t see me either.  He jumped a good three feet in the air and started galloping down the road looking back every few seconds to keep an eye on me.  I had to stop running  because I was laughing so hard.

Here were the musical highlights from the run:

Maps and Atlases- “Witch” and “Artichokes” (I’ve been listening to these songs very sparingly since I first heard them because every time I listen to them, they ignite a rush of fresh adrenaline and excitement, thus I don’t  overplay them because I don’t want them to lose their spark.

Radiohead- Jigsaws Falling Into Place- at times I have a hard time buying into the magic of Radiohead. Other times they fit my mood just spectacularly.  At 1:45 where the second layer of guitar chimes in, that moment hit the right note.

Coldplay- Everything Not Lost – This song usually serves as a pick-me-up type song for me, but I couldn’t help myself :-)

That’s all for now. 

-Charlie

                                                             

Haiku of the day:

I run down the hill,

The donkey doesn’t see me,

Don’t fear the human

Yo Mama Joke of the Day:

Yo mama is so fat, her nick name in high school was ‘heart failure’.

Island Living= Busy Living

Quick update from the island:  It’s been a fantastically busy week so far.  Here is what's been goin on.

Sunday: AM church, swimming and snorkeling at Cinnamon Bay, Mahi Mahi Sandwich for dinner at Skinny Legs which is an island sports bar.

Monday: breakfast at campgrounds, beach, frisbee, and PB&J’s at Maho Bay, evening photo session at Peace Hill  (beautiful hillside that looks out across the ocean and has been  the setting for several Dewey Christmas Cards,  Seafood Buffet at Caneel Bay which is considered to be one of the more luxurious resorts on the island, (Simply absurd dining conditions.  Imagine all of your favorite foods in one spot, on the beach, while the sun was setting.  Here are some of the foods that made it on and off my plate: prime rib, roasted duck, marinated pork w/applesauce, stuffed tomatoes, pop-overs, lobster and for dessert Banana’s Foster, bread pudding, and chocolate cake)

Tuesday: AM food hangover, Reef Bay Hike(It’s a 3 mile hike that goes from the top of a mountain down to a secluded beach, there’s a waterfull near some ruins and petroglyph writfings on rocks  from an ancient civilization.  The whole hike I felt like I was in an episode of Lost. There wasn’t any polar bears or black smoke and fortunately no one was kidnapped by the others or accidentally went back in time.  But we did see some deer, mongoose, and plenty of lizards), after the hike we stopped at a place called Vie’s Chicken Shack(It’s a small snack shack and the only reason we always go there is because my brother Jabez got pecked by a rooster there when he was 5), at night we went into Cruz Bay for some terrific island barbecue, then some of us stuck around and bar hopped until the last taxi for Maho Bay was leaving.  Great night!

Wednesday: My parents rented 2 charter boats, early in the day we went to a good snorkeling spot(we saw a bunch of starfishes, sea turtles, sting rays, and hundreds of kinds of tropical fish big and small), then we traveled to Jost Van Dike which is part of the British Virgin Islands(there we went to a beach bar and got some conch fritters and some Caribbean burritos.  The fritters were some of the best I’ve ever had.), then we went to an uninhabited island that’s famous for being the island where Corona films their palm tree commercials, the last stop was at another bar on Jost where Jabez, my dad, our boat captain, and I had an intense frisbee toss. Very exhausting yet unbelievably fun day.

Thursday: AM Turkey Trot 5k(The race went through various trails on the island and past some sugar mill ruins from the 1600’s.  Very rugged and hilly course but lots of fun and great scenary), beach at the campgrounds,  most of the day just hung at the beach at the campground, tonight we’re having Thanksgiving dinner at the campground pavilion, they should have a good spread there.

That’s all for now.

-Charlie

Interaction of the day:

5 year old girl on the beach: Daddy, how come there aren’t any turkeys here?

Daddy: Because turkeys don’t go camping.

Yo Mama Joke of the Day:

Yo mama is so fat, her shadow changes the seasons.

Viva la Maho

Yesterday was a great day.  On Friday night I took a train up to Boston where my parents had a hotel room right near the airport in order to get to the early  flight on time.  My day started at 330 am when I was woken by my parents discussing what to wear on the plane.

Mom: Don’t forget you have your pirate underwear.

Dad: I know, I’m saving those.

We flew from Logan to Charlotte then to St. Thomas.  The flights were relatively painless with a couple exceptions. .  At one point during the first flight I dropped a water bottle on the ground.  US Airways has the bare minimum for leg room so I was blindly feeling around on the ground to find it.  I felt directly underneath my chair and thought I found it so I tried to pull it up before quickly realizing that it was the women behind me’s shoe.  I immediately turned around and apologized but I was looking in between  the seats and we didn’t make firm eye contact, so I stood up  and apologized a second time.   And she gave me a nod that subtly told me that she had gotten the 1^st apology and the 2^nd one had been unecescary and it had only heightened the awkwardness.  Meanwhile, as I stood up my water bottle fell into the guy sitting next to me’s lap.  It had been right on my lap the entire time.  So that led to another apology and then a look from the guy that said he already overheard the interaction with the woman behind me and that he was now uncomfortable that he was included in the awkward moment.  So I sat there feeling like an idiot for the rest of the flight.  If that’s not enough, guess who sat next to me on the second flight….The woman who’s foot I grabbed. Sweet.

We got to St. Thomas and within 90 seconds of being off the plane I was given a free shot of Coconut Rum. I love how the locals in the Virgin Islands try so hard to make sure you know you’re on vacation.  I realize that it’s just a clever scheme to loosen tourist’s wallets, but I like it.   We then took a ferry ride over to St. John’s. There was a pleasant Caribbean sun shower during the ride which is always an agreeable experience.  Next we got the rental car(which is a pickup truck with 2 cushioned benches in the truck bed) and drove to our camp site at Maho Bay.  The roads on the island wind around the coast and there is an amazing vista every half mile.

For the rest of the night we just got situated at our campsites, met up with the rest of the group for dinner at the campground restaurant, and went to the beach for a quick nightswim. 

This morning everybody went to church in the harbor(Cruz Bay), then went swimming and snorkeling at a beach near our campground(Cinnamon Bay).

I still haven’t come down from the vacation high that I got the second I got off the plane yesterday,  There is something intoxicating about breathing in that warm oxygen-rich tropical air.  Great vibes all around. More good stuff to come.

That’s all for now.

-Charlie

Quote of the day:

Mom: Dad is this campsite okay for you?

Grandpa: This place is perfect. I can pee right off the balcony.

Yo Mama Joke of the Day:

Yo Mama is so fat, she uses the Big Dipper as a cereal spoon.

More Updating....

After Halloween, I went back to Hartford for a week where GH investigated at Harriet Beecher Stowe’s house.   It was actually right next to Mark Twain’s house.  I know right, nutty coincidence.  Hartford still sucks.

After my second dose of the city of sirens, Ghost Hunters went up to Fort Ticonderoga. It was a Fort used by the French in the French Indian War(1750’s) and was occupied by the British during the Revolutionary War(1770’s). I’d say it is the coolest location that I’ve been to while on this show. It has unbelievable scenery and has a very exciting battle history. 

During the filming, I spent a lot of time with the curator of the Fort and he gave me a one-on-one tour of the exhibits.  I was amazed at how much the guy knew about every single one of the hundreds of artifacts at the Fort.  By the end of the filming I was spiting off facts about the Fort left and right to the rest of the crew.  The curator had also given me a play-by-play of how each battle went down.  If you stood and looked at the landscape, you could actually see why the French/British Generals made the military maneuvers they did.  The highlight of the trip was standing at the top of one of the turrets, looking out over Lake Champlain, picturing the battles unfold.

More good stuff en mañana.  Unbelievably long day, too much to talk about.

That’s all for now.

-Charlie

Interaction of the day:

Airport Security X-Ray Person: Sir I’m going to have to take this bottle of water from you.

Charlie: It’s amazing how similar your job is to a mugger.  I mean is it really neces….

Airport Security Metal Detector Person:  Sir can you please empty your pockets.

Yo Mama Joke of the day:

Yo Mama is so fat, she went skydiving and needed a circus tent for a parachute.

October/ November Update

So I took the about a month and a half or so off from blogging.  I had a rough stretch of long work days and the blogging was cutting into my sleeping.  One day I came into work utterly sleep deprived and I ALMOST made a disastrous mistake, that would have easily cost me my job(losing a tape).  After that inicident I decided to take a break from the blog.  My plan now is to blog more frequently but not burn so much time with it.

To summarize from the last entry, after Hartford, I went down to New Jersey where we were filming at the Hindenburg crash site.  We were inside this enormous airship hanger that was built to house the Hindenburg.

You can’t really tell by the picture but the building was 12 stories high. One of the nights that we were there, I placed a camera up on the rafters to record a time lapse of the sun setting.  Getting up there was a very fun experience.  I felt like an acrobat climbing up to do a tight rope act.  However, the down side to that was that I had to retrieve the camera once the sun was gone.  When people ask me whether I have ever felt scared while working on the show, I can now say I have.  Climbing up to the rafters on a rickety old staircase built in 1927 in pitch black was one of the scariest moments of my life.  There was a powerful whistling wind that night and when I was at the top I could feel the supports wobbling.  I resisted the heavy urge to panic.  When your heart beats so hard you can hear it, that’s when you know you’re making a memory.  I’ll never forget that.

The big news of October was that my sister Anna got engaged.  I was very shocked at the news and could not have been more thrilled.  Anna and Robbie go together like knick and knack and I will be anxiously counting the days until their wedding next September.

After the trip to New Jersey, Ghost Hunters had a two week hiatus in between Season 5 and Season 6.  During those two weeks I spent time in both New Hampshire and Providence.  In New Hampshire I visited my parents, sister, and dog.  I went through some boxes of old memorabilia that was in storage.  I also got to go swimming with my dog which was a blast. In Providence I spent time visiting with old teachers, coaches, teammates, friends, and enemies.   The highlight of the entire break was Halloween.  I somehow forgot how much of a madhouse PC is on Halloween.  Seeing Eaton Street swarmed with semi-sober costumed individuals is definitely one the peaks of my college experience.  The memorable part of the night was that I found a creative solution to two problems I faced.  Running out of candy and disposing of my old memorabilia.

I’ll continue  the update tomorrow.  Right now I need to finish packing my suitcase.  Tomorrow I am going to St. John’s in the Virgin Islands with my family for a week.  My mom has been planning this trip since last Thanksgiving , and there is a lot of hype surrounding it.  We’ve been going to the Virgin Islands once every 4-5 years since I was 3.  Aside from Disney World, it is my favorite place in the world. I know this trip will certainly live up to the hype.

My hotel floor smells a lot like Play-Doh.  I’m not sure why.  It makes me wonder what has gone down on this floor. I’ve stayed on a couple of other floors in this hotel before, no Play-Doh smell. This will stay on my mind for quite some time.

That’s all for now.

-Charlie

Haiku of the Day:

Off to the islands

I have no money to spend

Pirate’s life for me.

Yo Mama Joke of the Day:

Yo Mama is so fat, in order to drive her, you need to get a Class XL drivers license.

Hartford Sucks

I was in Hartford all last week.  It sucks.  I had already heard this from a few people, but in order to cast judgment myself, I really had to experience it.  Here is my complaint list with Hartford:

- CVS closes at 7:00pm

-There is construction on virtually every single street.  Driving downtown is like going through an obstacle course of pot holes and jersey barriers.  And if there isn’t any construction there is just arbitrarily placed orange cones everywhere, making it impossible to park legally.

-The only concert that is coming to Hartford is Miley Cyrus and it’s sold out.

-The Burger King does not have a dollar menu.

- Every 90 seconds you hear a chorus of 100 sirens coming from all directions.  I’m beginning to think that the firetruck and ambulance drivers get bored so they drive in circles around the city.  Kind of like an emergency roller derby.

-I  searched google maps to find a bookstore to buy Huck Finn(written in Hartford).  Three bookstores came up in the downtown area.  One was closed (closes at 430pm  during the week).  One was no longer a bookstore but a Money Order/ Off-Track Betting Station(which was also closed).  And the last one had been completely demolished(It was literally an empty lot with a sign attached to a wooden stick that said “For Rent- 203-384-3294”,).

- A glass of milk at the hotel bar was $4.

- I went to get my photo taken for a passport application. I tried CVS, a camera store, and the post office.  At all 3 locations(no joking), I was told the exact same thing, “Our camera is down.”  What the hell does that mean,’ down’?  Does that mean they have to wait for a technician to come in to bring it up? It’s a tiny single function digital camera, not a space shuttle.  Finally the post office clerk told me that a nearby P.O. had a working camera.  “It bout halfamile downda road.” I mapped it out afterwards. It was 2.6 miles away.  :-)

-But most irritating of all: Everyone in downtown Hartford walks around like they have nothing to do.  There is no immediacy in their stride.  When you go to New York or Boston, everyone has firm intentions on their face and are focused on getting from A to B.  Hartfordians  have no agenda.  They just mull around like mindless vegetables in a stew of stagnant capitalism.

Now I do realize that perhaps there are nicer facets to this old New England town.  After all, we did film at two beautiful locations: The Mark Twain House, and the Old Statehouse.  And the restaurants that we ate at were fairly good. (Trumbull Kitchen - Excellent Menu) However, I must say my position towards the city as a whole remains to be quite negative.

Here are some pics of the Old Statehouse:

House Chamber

 Original GW Photograph.

Stuffed two-headed cow that was in the statehouse for some reason.  I think it was applying for duel citizenship (thats all i got).

That’s all for now.

-Charlie

Haiku of the Day:

Don't hide in the fridge.

Surely you will freeze to death.

Don't call me Shirley.

Yo Mama Joke of the Day:

Yo Mama is so dumb, her IQ is lower than absolute zero.

Post-Rock

The only way to listen to music is on your own terms. Music can exist only where your life permits it to exist. To a certain extent, you can predict someone’s music library according to how they live. A person's genre preference(Rap, Rock, Hip-Hop) is a mixed bag that is complexly rooted in their music listening history. But music specificity and how far someone delves into a genre is usually consistent with their life structure. For example: If you are a person who has an extremely busy schedule and are always moving from task to task without taking a moment to breathe, you are most likely going to have a relatively shallow music taste. When you spare 20 minutes to jog on the treadmill, you want your ipod to play your favorite songs on repeat, no more no less. When you drive to work you want to hear only the top hits. That’s all you have time for. Most people are like this and this is the reason why radio stations play the same songs over and over again regardless as to whether they are any good. Take the opposite example: If you’re the kind of person that has gaps in the day to sit down, think, and analyze, you’re going to have a much more elaborate music palate.  It's those gaps in the day where you not only think creatively but you also individualize. This is why many people expand their musical boundaries when they get to college where they have time on their hands.

I’m not saying either example is the right way to go. I just think it is an interesting way to look at musical preference.

I do realize that is a rather pretentious way to introduce a genre of music, but I couldn’t think of any other way. Post-Rock started in the early 90’s. It has the instrumental melodies and rhythms of rock, but leaves behind the spirit and structure of the typical rock song. Today, the average post-rock band plays very heavy harmonious melodies that gradually rise and fall in energy/tempo. Also the typical post-rock song is without lyrics and is drawn out over ten or so minutes. To me, post-rock is music that is trying to be more involved in your life. It is for the person that only takes out their ear-buds for conversational purposes and sometimes not even then. Listening to it makes you feel like what you’re doing is so much more purposeful and dramatic. Now I’m not saying that it will turn your life into some sort of  artsy music video. I am saying that listening to it will bring new energy and thought to virtually any place in your life.

"First Breathe After Coma" by the American group Explosions in the Sky, was the post-rock song that quickly caught my interest. It is a very relaxing and uplifting 9 1/2 minutes and gives you an accurate sample of what the genre is all about. Other post-rock outfits that I highly recommend are Mogwai (Scotland), Godspeed You Black Emperor! (Montreal), and The Redneck Manifesto (Ireland).

That’s all for now.

-Charlie

Thought provoking question of the day:
Why is it such a priority to know who, and under what circumstances, can screw in a lightbulb?

Yo Mama Joke of the day:
Yo mama is so fat, when she died, she tried to cross over to the other side, but got caught in the doorway.

Ain't No Matter....

First off, I apologize I haven’t been all that diligent about posting entries.  Sometimes its tough to stay focused when you don’t have a consistent workspace.

This week Ghost Hunters is investigating at Mark Twain’s house in Hartford, Conneticutt.  The house is fully renovated and restored to its original state when Mark Twain lived there.  Supposedly the Ghost of Mark Twain’s daughter inhabits the house and terrorizes anyone who disturbs her.  From what I hear, the team has gathered some very interesting evidence, that of which I am not at liberty to discuss. When I had some down-time on Tuesday night, I went into the house by myself. It was a rather stirring feeling walking around a museum in pitch black with only a headlamp to guide me. It reminded me of the book, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  If you aren’t familiar with the story, it is about two children who secretly live at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art for a month and get into all sorts of shenanigans.  I thought of how cool it would be to covertly reside in Mark Twain’s house.

Sleep in his bed.

Use his bathtub.

Play with his toys.

Smoke his corn cob pipe.

On Wednesday before work, I went to a bookstore and bought Huckleberry Finn. That night I sat and read the book on my lunch break in the very same 4x4 foot spot where it was written. His desk was in the corner of a third story room and he sat facing the wall so he wouldn’t get distracted. “You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter….” (opening lines of HF) I had read it before when I was in middle school, but this time the words held so much more meaning and wonder. Perhaps it’s because I have slightly matured since then and can appreciate his usage of southern slang. However, I’d like to think it was because Mark Twain’s ghost was there with me assisting my intellect.  Sitting there on the floor(because you’re not allowed to sit on the furniture) was one of the moments where I couldn’t help but admit I was glad to be doing what I was doing where I was doing it.  Not exclusively in the moment, but also on a larger scale.

When I got back to my hotel room, I moved my desk away from the window and into a corner of the room.

That’s all for now.

-Charlie

Haiku of the Day:
If onions could speak,
They’d only tell sad stories,
Please don’t fear the tears.

Yo Mama Joke of the Day:
Yo mama is so fat, her DNA strands are made of cinnamon twists.