GRABBINGSAND

“And now, when the whole [Christmas] thing feels like a parody of itself … what brings me back are a few simple truths that ring me like a bell still. While the Buddha suggests that we empty ourselves of all love, thereby freeing ourselves from all that can cause us pain, subsequently finding rest, the baby in the barn grows up and argues that we should love everybody, including ourselves, our neighbors, and yes, even our enemies, and the ensuing pain will work on us in the same manner that a sculptor’s chisel works on marble. And perhaps, ultimately, the answer to every moral and ethical question can be found in the simple mysterious words of the baby in the barn who grew to be a man: Love the creator of the universe with everything you can muster, and your neighbor as yourself.”

- Linford Detweiler*

Today’s Track Present: “All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue” was recorded live in Indiana last December. Over The Rhine has other Christmas songs — even an all-Christmas album, The Darkest Night Of The Year — but I would rather share this one. If this single track piques your interest, the whole concert is available for free (and abso-smokin’-lutely legal) download at Live Music Archive. After you download it, you can burn it to CD-R, paint it up nice with a red Sharpie and give it to a loved one tomorrow morning.

(If you missed any of the previous “Shopping Day” posts, fret not. They’re all stacked and folded neatly for you.)

Not all of them, but some of them.

In particular, the great big over-arching miniseries running its course at DC. Infinite Crisis is incredibly good, but the details are so densely packed that it can give even me a bit of a buzzing headache. Luckilly, Newsarama is running a series of accompanying monthly features called “Crisis Recovery.” Each one so far has been a to-the-point, page-by-page list of “Who is that?” and “What are they doing?” annotations — each one tempered with snark. I love it.

• Crisis Recovery 01
• Crisis Recovery 02
• Crisis Recovery 03

I’m guessing these will keep right on coming, up until the series ends next spring.

Odd. I take the day off and still this post doesn’t see light until way after 5pm.

Of course, I spent a great deal of the day out among my fellow Americans. I wouldn’t call what I was doing “last minute shopping” — I’m pretty good at the gift-getting thing — but rather, exploratory erranding. Unfortunately, my primary destination was right in the heart of Buckhead, way far from the suburban trappings of Alpharetta.

So to get from point A to point B, I had to slog through traffic for North Point Mall, for Perimeter Mall and for Lenox Mall. I’d include Phipps, but since their target demographic often arrive via helicopter and hovercraft, they don’t contribute so much to the automobile-load.

After my one big task was finished, I reverse my route and ascend northerly on 400. I could’ve gone on home, but something lured me into the exact place where nobody in their right mind would willingly go. Media Play. They’re closing. For good. I feel bad for them, but not so bad that I won’t swoop into their 30% to 50% off clearance sale to see what’s what.

Walked out with a couple of additions to our Christmas music library (about a $4 investment) and the realization that I should always carry a bottle of anti-bacterial stuff just for clearance shopping frenzies. If I picked up and put down about fifteen or twenty CDs, then most everyone else did as well, and people are … well … you know, people.

Filthy creatures.

Today’s Track Present: “At The Closing Of The Year” is from a movie that practically nobody likes. It’s overly colorful, it’s impossible to market, it’s a bit off-key and it puts Robin Williams and L L Cool J in the same room, each wearing ridiculous outfits. Of course, few people remember that Joan Cusack is pretty awesome throughout the film, and so is Michael “Dumbledore” Gambon. On top of it all, the now out-of-print soundtrack manages to effectively and believably combine Tori Amos, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Pat Metheny, Grace Jones and those two girls from Prince’s band. The movie? 1992’s Toys.

Gift Idea: - Ahimsa House exists to help save the animal victims of domestic violence. There are many shelters for human domestic violence victims in Georgia, but Ahimsa House is the only domestic violence shelter for animals in this state. And you can help.

My RSS feed (and my LJ feed) has been farked since October. I had no idea why. I would pour through threads on WordPress forums and never see an answer that made me happy. Then today, I see something. Somebody replied, “Yeah, my problem was with a WordPress plug-in. Theme Switcher. Had an extra space at the top of the code.”

Nah. Too simple. But I took a look.

Nope. No extra space at the top. So I scrolled. Huh. Space at the bottom. Just one line’s worth. [Delete.] [Save.]

Feed works now.

Welcome back, LJ folk.

I’ve been trying to find a story. There’s this story I remember from when I was little. Every year, starting around Thanksgiving, the local FM stations around Chattanooga would start putting various standards into rotation.

KZ-106 would go with the “Santa Claus and His Old Lady” bit from Cheech & Chong. You know the one … Yeah, magic dust, y’know? He used ta give a little bit to da reindeer, a little bit to Santa Claus, a little bit more for Santa Claus, a little bit more … This only made sense for a station that played little more than Steve Miller, Heart and Van Halen. If you didn’t like “Barracuda,” you just didn’t listen, because that song was just around the corner.

WDEF, the source for easy, easy listening and serious news, was big on Stan Freberg’s “Christmas Dragnet.” Most folks call them green onions, but they’re really scallions. I guess it was pretty funny, particularly now that I know just who Joe Friday was/is, but to a six-year-old trying to eat your scrambled eggs and toast, it just sounded like a couple of old guys talking about relish.

But there was this other thing.

Something about a guy in a humble shack who is staying up on Christmas Eve, just waiting for Jesus to come by and visit. While he’s waiting, someone knocks on his door. He’s all excited. He rushes to the door, expecting some fellow with a brown beard and white robe, and is confronted by just some human. I forget the particulars, but this person is bad off in one way or another. They need shoes, maybe? They’re hungry? Perhaps they are simply cold. Whatever is afflicting them specifically doesn’t matter as much as his reaction. He sighs, disappointed that this poor person isn’t Jesus, but not so much that he won’t help a person in need. So he gives them shoes. Or he feeds them. Or he lets them sit by his fire. Not-so-long story short, three strangers come a-calling and none of them look a bit like a Man From Galilee. Morning comes and he just assumes that Jesus has stood him up.

Of course, as the story soon reveals, the guy in the shack hasn’t been forgotten at all. His expected visitor arrived not once, but thrice. The story is a re-packaging of the rather familiar Matthew 25:40 — “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

It’s a good tale and understandably popular, but I was always struck by how incredibly disappointed the guy was with each successive person in need. I know he was expecting a visit from Jesus and all, but did he have to be so begrudging of just offering a helping hand in the meantime? If you say you’re such a really big fan, wouldn’t you want to do as He would do?

I think about this story from time to time when I read the news.

Today’s Track Present: “Oh, Santa!” is a Christmas carol/story/thing sung by a cucumber. It’s built a lot like the tale I’ve mentioned, but not nearly as heavy. I mean … it is sung by a cucumber, it features a bank robber, a Viking, a taxman and some cookies. All the same, I like it. More of the same can be found on A Very Veggie Christmas.

I promised a list of my favorite fifteen albums for 2005. Here’s 33.3%.

11. Anna Nalick - Wreck Of The Day - It looks like just another release from another girl with another voice just like what you’ve already heard. Looks can be deceiving. In spite of efforts to do otherwise, I found myself queueing up this album day after day for about a month. This might just be one of those guilty pleasure finds, but I don’t think so. The lyrics are engaging like a found diary and the sound is surrounding, almost comforting. Best Songs: “Breathe (2 AM)” and “Wreck Of The Day.”
12. Common - Be - Common has enough talent on his own. He needs no help. Even without the influence of producer/collaborator Kanye West, Be would’ve been noteworthy. As it turned out, Be is an album I’ll still be enjoying long into next year. And as an added bonus, Common invited proto-pioneers The Last Poets along for the ride on a brief history of rap called “The Corner.” Be is better than good. Best Songs: “Faithful” and “Go (with Kanye West)”
13. Kasabian - Kasabian - They’re a bit like Supergrass without the chemical distraction. Or Oasis without the obvious in-fighting. Or any number of other Brit bands that rock in a manner straddling the world of riffs and the world of beats. The difference here is a marked consistency across the course of their self-titled debut album. There isn’t an out-of-place track in the lot, nothing to send you scrambling for a fast-forward button. And the little instrumental string-alongs make me think of Martin Gore’s interludes on Violator. Best Songs: “Club Foot” and “Reason Is Treason.”
14. Ok Go - Oh, No - They sound so British! They wear paisley! They remind me of The Strokes / Jet / The Hives / The … Actually, they’re quite a bit better than their comparisons allow. It was a hard decision to make, determining whether to list this album (overly-dramatic vocals and rockin’ from wall-to-wall) or One Way Ticket To Hell (And Back) from The Darkness (overly-dramatic vocals and retro-rockin’ from wall-to-wall), but in the end I determined that I bought The Darkness only because I really miss Queen.
15. Bright Eyes - I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning - A fellow at work bought this on accident during his lunch break. Upon his return to the office, he sent around an email. “Free CD.” I took it. I really liked it, but I don’t expect everyone to feel the same.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know.

We’re careening dangerously close to the end of the afternoon and I’ve yet to post today’s track. A bad sign.

There is a certain class of song that manages to mention a given holiday without actually being considered a holiday song. Joni Mitchell’s “River” is a perfect example. Though the track begins with a piano-keyed reference to “Jingle Bells,” the lyrics are less about Christmas cheer and more about getting far, far away from the ill-fitting comforts of hearth and home. A holiday tune for the seasonally affected? Maybe so.

Pretty song, though. Particularly since this was recorded in 1971, back when Joni still had her trademark voice … as opposed to the hard-travelled alto she employs today.

Today’s Track Present: “River” is on the one Joni Mitchell album that everyone ought to own: Blue.

Gift Idea: Too often, it has been said that Jimmy Carter was a less than effective President. Rarely, however, is it ever said that Jimmy Carter has been anything but a highly effective former President. While Gerald Ford is busy skiing the slopes of Aspen, his immediate successor to the office has — through The Carter Center here in Atlanta — been curing blindness, stopping disease and fighting hunger. And they could do even more with a little help.

To the people who asked me yesterday (on no less than five occasions) if I had seen the “Lazy Sunday (Chronicles of Narnia)” rap on SNL, I can say to you now: “Saw it. Thanks. And yes, it’s pretty damned hilarious … particularly the bit with the cupcakes and the other thing about MapQuest versus Google Maps.”

(And if you’ve no idea just what I’m talking about, go watch for yourself.)

Update: As of 12/23, the skit is available as a free and legal download from iTunes.

In brief, we have found that there is substantial evidence the President, the Vice President and other high ranking members of the Bush Administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war with Iraq; misstated and manipulated intelligence information regarding the justification for such war; countenanced torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and other legal violations in Iraq; and permitted inappropriate retaliation against critics of their Administration.

The Congressman: John Conyers, D-Michigan

The Document: The Constitution In Crisis

The Chances of Success: About as good as your basic snowball traversing the nine circles of Gehenna, but this is going to be fun to watch while it rolls. Think of it like a big political Katamari with Conyers playing the little Prince of the Universe. Roll, damn it! Roll!

Hank loved Annie.

Some would say that he loved her to the point of distraction. Smart and pretty, with dark eyes and dark hair, Annie was quite a catch in her day, so who could blame the man. But much to Hank’s chagrin, Annie didn’t feel quite the same. Hank never took rejection well.

“This won’t work,” said Annie.

“But,” sputtered Hank, “I’ll treat you like a queen!”

“You’ve already got a queen, Hank,” she could’ve replied.

And well he did. Hank was married to Cathy, Annie’s boss. If he was going to get anywhere with Annie, something would have to be done about this whole marriage business. Divorce wasn’t just a phone call away in those days. Before he was done, Hank would move heaven and earth to clear a path for his pursuit of dark-haired Annie …

Some say Hank wrote her poetry.

Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.

Sound familiar? Maybe you need the chorus.

Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves.

Some two hundred years later, William Dix would use the melody of Henry VIII’s attributed love poem for the doomed Anne Boleyn (lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon) as a musical foundation for “What Child Is This?” — one of the most tender carols in the Christmas canon.

Today’s Track Present: Loreena McKennitt’s interpretation of “Greensleeves” is on a 1992 album entitled The Visit.

Gift Idea: Mercy Corps offers Mercy Kits. “A Mercy Kit is a unique way of sharing your dedication to help make the world stronger and better for those most in need.” For about the same cost as a couple of decent DVDs, you can fund a beehive in Central America. For the cost of an Xbox 360, you can build a playground in Sri Lanka.