Another Christmas Song

I wrote weeks ago about updating my iPod with Christmas music. I had almost 250 songs, which I pared down to closer to 200 by eliminating some versions of the same song. I don't know how many renditions of Silent Night I deleted, and I still have a number remaining on the poderoo.

However, I am still such a sucker for Christmas music that I like to purchase a new album every year. Last year, it was Sarah McLachlan's, Wintersong, a beautiful album. This year, I couldn't make up my mind when I was browsing in the record shop (yes, I still call them records). Two that caught my eye, Bocelli and Enya were very expensive: almost $23 each.

I decided to give iTunes a try (where you can purchase the albums for $11.91 or individual songs for $1.29) and was able to listen to clips from both albums and several others. I picked only two Bocelli songs because many were traditional tunes that I already have versions of. I simply don't desire any more renditions of White Christmas, Silent Night or Adeste Fideles, for example. But I did download two that sounded good from the brief clips that iTunes enables.

One of his songs, God Bless Us Everyone, is new to me, and I like it. (Although it is the same title as the song that I presented the other day, it is a totally different piece.) The piece de resistance is What Child is This with Mary J Blige. I really like this wonderful tune (to Greensleeves — see info below) no matter who does it, but this performance is incredible in my tiny and humble estimation, and to me, it's Blige's efforts that make it so special. I say this, not generally being a fan of Blige or even of Bocelli for that matter.

Oddly enough, they also sang this for the first time on Oprah the other day. You see, Bocelli had recorded his part and sent it to Blige to make of it whatever she would. The duet was, therefore, created without them ever singing together — until the Oprah show. I find it amazing and have embedded a clip below. I figure if iTunes can offer little clips, so can I. From comments the other day, I assume that some of you don't have Flash enabled, so I'll offer two ways to listen and hope that one works for you.

Note: music now archived until next Christmas.



From Wikipedia

"Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song and tune ...

A broadside ballad by this name was registered at the London Stationer's Company in 1580[1] as "A New Northern Dittye of the Lady Greene Sleeves"...

The tune is found in several late 16th century and early 17th century sources ...

There is a persistent belief that Greensleeves was composed by Henry VIII for his lover and future queen consort Anne Boleyn. Anne rejected Henry's attempts to seduce her and this rejection is apparently referred to in the song, when the writer's love "cast me off discourteously." However, Henry did not compose "Greensleeves", which is probably Elizabethan in origin and is based on an Italian style of composition that did not reach England until after his death.[2]

The hymn What Child Is This? by William Chatterton Dix, set to the "Greensleeves" tune, is used across the Western Christian Church.

In Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, written around 1602, the character Mistress Ford refers twice without any explanation to the tune of "Greensleeves," and Falstaff later exclaims:

Let the sky rain potatoes! Let it thunder to the tune of 'Greensleeves'!

These allusions suggest that the song was already well known at that time.

I Confess, I Doubt

It was noon, and I was a might peckish, so I asked her if she fancied soup and grilled cheese. I didn't expect her to say, "Yes," but I thought I'd to her the courtesy of inquiring. To the plebeian me, that particular lunch represents haute cuisine, but it is not her favourite. Cuppa would normally prefer of lighter noon meal: crackers and cheese, for example. As expected, she did reply in the negative because it sounded a bit heavy to her and because she wasn't really hungry anyway.

Like most normal people, Cuppa tends to lose her appetite when she's ill: not so much me though. Tempt me with any of my likees, and I will probably wag my metaphorical tail and commence to salivating in anticipation. You see, I am not normal, and my appetite often doesn't diminish significantly whilst experiencing a bugarious smiting. Of course, it does abate to some degree, I am still very tempted by such delicacies as grilled cheese and soup.

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It was 3:00 AM, and after three hours of tossing and turning, I gave it up and got up. I was sick and needed sleep, but it wouldn't come. In this, too, I am not normal. It seems to me that most people sleep more, not less when they're ill — at least in my limited circle. Cuppa has been so poopdicated and out of it at times recently that she has pretty much spent several days in bed, almost unable to open her sore eyes.

Whereas most normal mortals sleep more, possibly much, much poor when they're ill, I tend to experience the reverse phenomenon and be more wakeful that usual — if that's humanly possible. Frankly, that rather peeves me because who wouldn't want to escape into sleep when they're feeling miserable, not to mention how repose might accelerate one's recuperative process. I mean to say that it's the most natural and normal thing to do. Whatever I am, however, I seem not to be entirely normal.

---

What I wonder about whilst awake is why in this year of all years the clan is suffering from the attack of the bugarious smiters so much. I mean to say that we're all being more careful than ever and washing our hands frequently and furiously like demented fools because we are told that it's the best form of prevention from the dreaded H1N1 virus. Perhaps, they're right; perhaps, it's true, for no one that I know has contracted it. Meanwhile, however,we have succumbed to every other virus that we've come within miles of.

My feeling is that even if hand washing is a good thing, and it certainly is, it nigh unto impossible to wash them frequently or thoroughly enough for it to do all that much good. If sickness surrounds us, it is pretty darn difficult to escape unscathed. At least, this is what I conclude from the clan's recent history. We lather up because it can't hurt and it might help, but I am beginning to doubt that it helps a whole lot.

A Small Town Parade

Is it just me, or is there something inherently heart warming about a small town parade, particularly a Santa Claus parade? In the big cities it's all about the dazzling spectacle, and there's nothing at all wrong with that. In the towns, however, it seems to be about spirit and joy, and there's just about everything right about that.

I posted photos of Nikki Dee at the parade several days ago, but I thought I'd now show you some pictures of the parade itself.

There were critters: a cow, dogs, horses, and goats (if I recall). Here is one of the dogs and one of the horses.





There were no really big bands. Our two high school bands went by on floats ...



... and there were two small highland bands. (There are many Scottish and Irish roots in this area.)





There were no American-style marching bands to speak of. For whatever reason, we don't do marching bands in schools up here. Some communities do sponsor Drum and Bugle Corps, but this form of musical expression simply isn't as prevalent here. When we lived in Sarnia, a border community, two or three big high school bands from Michigan would make the effort to play in our Santa parade, and we'd always be impressed.

Several groups of dancers, representing local clubs and academies, sashayed by.



Most floats, and I used the term lightly, were pulled by trucks, tractors ...



... or even buses (although the bus itself was the float in this case).



Even the genuine floats were pretty rudimentary.





But there was spirit, camaraderie and joy. Everybody and their dog enjoyed it ...



So did Nikki Dee.

A Scroogian Blessing

One of our Christmas traditions is to watch Scrooge (A Christmas Carol). Since our family is somewhat divided on the relative merits of the older Alistair Sim version (1951) versus the somewhat newer George C Scott version (1984), we generally end up watching both. There are other versions, but it's between these two for us. You can watch the first ten minutes of the Sim version on YouTube. I am prevented from embedding it, but this link will take you there. I imagine that the whole film is available, one segment at a time.

As much as I like that version, I seem to prefer Scott's version as seems a little more updated for our times. I suppose it helps that it's in colour, but the older film can also be obtained in colour, so that's not the whole difference for me. In case you have never seen it, here is a clip from the film, the part where Marley's ghost appears. Although I could embed this one, I'll leave it up to you to view or not as I don't want to cram too many accessories into one blog.

What I did want to say is that I really like the feature song from this film: God Bless Us Everyone. For a long time, I thought it must have been an old song that had gone out of fashion, but I eventually discovered that it was made for the film and hasn't gone anywhere since then. In fact, I've never heard it in any other context, and I don't know why since I think it's very good. I am presenting it to you below, and you can also hear it on YouTube although, apart from a static photo of Scott, there are no visuals.

Note: Music now archived until next year.



If watching Scrooge isn't one of your traditions, perhaps you might try watching one or t'other version this year and see if you think it should become one. There are other good Christmas movies such as It's A Wonderful Life and Miracle On 34th Street, but, as much as I like them, for me, they don't quite achieve the exalted Scroogian status for me.

I have told this story and presented this clip in other years, but what's the harm in repeating myself? Besides, I am primarily intending to present the song to you (which I have also done previously). I would like to offer more Christmas music from my library over the next few weeks.

Rockin and Snoozin to Jingle Bells

On Sunday afternoon, Cuppa and I were left to babysit for a few hours while all the kids made a Costco run. Cuppa took care of Zach and some meal preparation while I tended to Nikki Dee outside. She was content to enjoy swinging for quite a long time. She chatted some, we counted some, and I began to sing some. I sang Jingle Bells, and, oddly enough, my rough voice didn't keep her awake. She must have dozed out in the fresh air for at least 20 minutes, perhaps a bit longer, before rejoining us.

Although it was I who was singing Jingle Bells on Sunday, the version in the background is by Boney M. This is her favourite Christmas song. She listens to it over and over.



Just a note: YouTube is smart enough to recognize this music as Jingle Bells, by Boney M, licensed by Sony. I presume that posting a short clip like this is okay, but who knows if it will still be there when this blog goes to press in the morning.

The Last Man Standing ...

... is Now Lying Down

You know, I wasn't really bragging in my previous post when I mentioned that I seemed to be the only one of the clan not smitten by the current bugarious smiters. Really, I was just stating a fact. There really was no reason for the universe to decide to execute retribution upon my poor beleaguered bod. Really.

What can you do, eh? The bugarious smiters have struck where they always do — in my throat. Whatever else is to eventuate during my bouts of affliction, I can almost take it to the bank that The Grief will begin in my throat. It's very sore, and I'm very tired. Just for you, however, I'll be glad to post a blow-by-literal-blow description of Bugarion's progress into other regions of my bodily temple ... if you ask nicely.

However, whilst lying in a futile recuperative effort this afternoon, my spirits were somewhat buoyed to hear a blessed sound: a train whistle! Not long ago, I posted that the local trains stopped running sometime last spring and that I didn't expect them to ever recommence. Apparently they have, however, for Thesha heard one or two the other day, and I just heard my first. This is good: right? Just as long as one doesn't live too near the tracks, I suppose.

Because my blog got spammed today, I have enabled comment verification for the nonce. I don't love comment verification and think it unnecessary for the most part, but I think I should adopt it as a temporary measure and apologize for the inconvenience. I hope to be able to remove that restriction in a week or two.

A Great Time!

A whirlwind visit ended yesterday when we drove the girls to the airport. Cuppa and I came home rather despondent and poopdicated, but when we got a call from Mom to see if we could pick up Nikki Dee at Day Care, where she goes twice a week, we perked up a bit. She was the tonic that the doctor might have ordered for flagging spirits as she screamed our names and ran to us in enthusiastic abandon when we entered her classroom. She jabbered in good spirits all the way home and for as long as we stayed for a brief visit with Mom. What a kid! It's so good to see her feeling better after several sickly and sometimes whiny weeks.

We've all been rather down with it here lately although I keep shaking my head and knocking on wood because I am the only family member not to be overtaken by the cough and cold. I have endured persistent sore throats, but that is not uncommon for me, so I've pretty well been the only semi-healthy person in two families.

So it was that I was facing a dilemma as the darkness began to descend late last Saturday afternoon. We had been having our annual tree-decorating get-together at the kids' place, but it was also Santa parade day in our town, and surely Nikki Dee would like to attend. For sure, Cuppa and Daddy weren't up to it and Thesha hadn't exactly been a picture of health lately either. However, just as I was internally deliberating whether I could manage Nikki Dee on my own, Thesha declared that she felt she should find the energy to take Nikki Dee. I quickly agreed to tag along and help out. I am so glad we both made the effort because the kid loved it, fussing when it was time to leave even though the parade was over.

Main Street always looks fetching at night because they light up the street all year. However, it looked especially inviting just before the parade commenced.



As we settled in and her friend joined her, Nikki Dee, somehow, ended up in his wagon while he stood and roamed. Both were happy with these arrangements.



The parade began and Nikki Dee was in her element. She waved excitedly and rocked in the wagon to the music.



She craned her neck in anticipation of the next float and had a blast.





It was heart-warming and both Mom and I were thrilled that we made the effort.



I'm sure it made Santa's and Missus' day too.