.
Because it’s time for a break. From the NYTimes, at its most parochial:
… Television is rich with year-end traditions, whether it’s Rudolph’s resplendent nose or Charlie Brown’s defeated Christmas tree. But now one of these enduring institutions is about to fade out like so many Yule logs.
A few hours after this interview, Ms. Love, 73, stepped onto the stage of the Ed Sullivan Theater and sang this signature song on Mr. Letterman’s “Late Show” for the final time…
Her association with Mr. Letterman goes back to 1986, when she sang the song on his NBC show, “Late Night,” with the bandleader Paul Shaffer and what was then a four-piece rock group trying to replicate Mr. Spector’s echoing Wall of Sound style….
Ms. Love’s thunderous and heartfelt performance went so well that she was invited back the next year, and year after year, with more and more musicians joining the occasion.
“We started expanding, with the strings and horns and everything else that we need,” Mr. Shaffer said. “And now, it’s really become a party.”…
More details about Ms. Love’s career at the link.
What party or other holiday traditions are on the agenda in your neighborhoods this week?
Baud
Drinking and Balloon Juice.
Just like the rest of the year.
Baud
@efgoldman:
You make me want to be a grandpa.
Elizabelle
@efgoldman:
That is one lucky lil granddaughter. Enjoy!
Omnes Omnibus
I just ordered pink flamingos for my uncle who just moved to Florida.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
Shouldn’t you have bought him a gun?
SiubhanDuinne
Happy thoughts? HAPPY THOUGHTS?? We don’t need no fuckin’ happy thoughts!! (Haven’t you been reading the threads downstairs?)
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
Actually, that’s a lovely happy thought! Hope you and the delightful Mrs. EFG have a wonderful grandparently time during the visit.
skerry
I’m done with shopping and now is my least-favorite part – wrapping. I do have to grocery shop. Chef daughter (pastry) and chef son-in-law-to-be (savory) are cooking but they don’t get here until Christmas Eve. I have been given a detailed grocery list.
Looking forward to the holiday and seeing all my kids and s/o in one place for the day.
SiubhanDuinne
@efgoldman:
Seriously, can you tell at that age (16 months) how tall a child is likely to be? I’ve never had kids so if this is a Thing, it completely bypassed me.
Keith G
To get a fantastic view of the fabulous Ms Love, please watch the documentary 20 Feet From Stardom. It won the Academy Award for best documentary for a reason. It’s on Netflix.
On the home front, testing out an Amazon Fire Stick. It has some very useful capabilities.
lamh36
Started my day off watching a Who’s The Boss marathon. Ending it a little scared for my people.
But I’m gonna try to watch some Will and Grace and bake some chocolate chip cookies to snack on.
Pogonip
We expect to have a very quiet Christmas this year; nice to see the efgoldmans taking up the slack! I hope the baby has a wonderful time!
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: I am sure he already has one.
@efgoldman: I have no idea. He and his wife are people who have everything. Childless and well-off – if they want something they buy it. As a result, they are tough to find gifts for.
Baud
@Omnes Omnibus:
One?!
Gravenstone
@Baud: How do you know the flamingos aren’t packing?
JPL
@efgoldman: Christmas morning should be fun.
Christmas eve we have family and friends visiting for a feast. Christmas Day is just family. We tend to have a laid back Christmas, opening presents and watching a movie or playing games. My ex-step-sister-in-law is flying in Monday for the festivities.
Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)
@efgoldman:
If your daughter protests the largesse, remind her that the best solution is to provide you with a second grandchild so you can spread the wealth. ;-)
Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)
Also, I would like to say that I love that older women are now saying, Fuck it, I’m going to wear a sleeveless dress if I damn well feel like it. and Ms. Love looks spectacular in it at 73 (and is still in amazing voice as well).
JPL
@SiubhanDuinne: The charts were accurate for my two sons.
NotMax
“Saturday Night Happy Thoughts” sounds like a game show on Japanese TV.
Meanwhile, NotMax’s holiday gift to NotMax sits still all boxed up, taking up a goodly chunk of real estate in the living room. 51-inch TV, bought several days ago. Friend came by earlier with his vehicle, one which it could fit into (though just barely) and we drove into town to pick it up at the warehouse. What was being asked for delivery was unconscionable.
Don’t have the energy or gumption to deal with unboxing and setting it up right now. Maybe tomorrow. Still mentally flagellating myself for spending such a lump sum, even though it was a really, really good price.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Keith G:
Remind me again why I bought it? I stampeded to get one for half price when it was announced, and it just arrived yesterday. I was like, Oh, right. Mo’ better streaming, I know, but after that I draw a blank.
lamh36
My happy thoughts for the night will involved prayers and good vibes for the Black folk in NYC and Mayor De Blasio and his family. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer.
ETA: ya know what never mind…
But hey sorry, Happy thoughts, happy thoughts…um Merry Christmas and Happy New Year?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I just finished impulse shopping at Heifer dot org. Seems to me they’ve really expanded their operation.
SiubhanDuinne
@JPL: Here’s how ignorant I am about this stuff. There are charts?
Elizabelle
@Omnes Omnibus:
They are people for whom Kiva gift certificates were invented.
Let them be microfinanciers, for a cause other than themselves. The gift that gives, over and over again.
Baud
@lamh36:
You don’t need to apologize for anything.
gogol's wife
@Omnes Omnibus:
Did you see the alma mater season’s greetings with Ormsby featured?
Anne Laurie
@lamh36: I know, but I’m Sancho Panza. Tragedy gets center stage, but all around the margin, people are shopping & cleaning & looking out for their friends and their kids and their pets…
Iowa Old Lady
@SiubhanDuinne: Yes, there are charts and line graphs with curves. They were pretty accurate for my son too.
Also, I want grandchildren.
Keith G
@Steeplejack (phone): It is faster than the Chromcast (which might have more apps), so I am enjoying the lack of hanging up. I do like the easy integration of Amazon music and how easy it is to go from watching video content to listening to Christmas music.
One thing left me a bit weirded out, is that is seems to have accessed my phone’s photo gallery (without asking me) and offered up a slideshow of my pictures. Still trying to figure that one out.
I do hate the content stove piping. I want one dongle to rule them all.
@Mnemosyne (iPad Mini): Her vamping with the saxophone after the signoff was pure joy. She is the best.
ruemara
The sales pre-Christmas are poop and I have boatload of work to do, but for today, I zipped off to Zumba, chatted with the class owner since I’ve been guiding her marketing-gently. Did the grocery shopping, which was light because I blew so much cash buying things for the office party. And did my gift buying, which is picking up bags of dollar store toiletries for men, women & children, adding in some home baked goodies, then taking them to the shelter. Now I’m on movie two of tonight’s official taking off day: Only Lover’s Left Alive. I started with Belle and it was a gorgeous confection and I’m totally in love. I’ll be closing it out with Killing Them Softly. We do live on love and blood. Some of us more than others. I see we as a segment of the population will be paying for one person’s actions again. The perils of being an occupied people are once again ours.
Also, Mem, shoot me an email. I might have something for you regarding the cats.
Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)
@Keith G:
Someone (maybe me) should write a screenplay about the romance between Love and Bill Medley in the 1960s. He wanted to marry her, but there was too much social pressure against it. Even though the romance ended, they have apparently stayed good friends and colleagues through some tough times for both of them.
Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)
@ruemara:
Thanks! We’re running out to dinner, but I’ll try to email after that. Assuming I can find your card in the disaster that is our move!
Omnes Omnibus
@gogol’s wife: It was pretty cool. I even recognized one of my classmates – the current Dean of the Conservatory.
M. Bouffant
Tonight, a tree-trimming party a couple of friends have hosted the Sat. before Xmas for well over 20 yrs. now.
From the e-mail invite:
He’s not kidding (it is Southern Calif.) except, I hope, about the conservatives. Ho ho ho.
Jacel
I’ve been amazed reading in a longtime Letterman fan group the adventures of some of the members at that final Christmas show. One in the audience brought a nice card with her annual “My Night At The Late Show” parody verse printed inside, touching on memories of the entire history of Dave’s shows. She was able to be called on in the audience before the taping started to have the card handed to Dave — who took time to read it. Her poem got mentioned on the show — they even taped a second Top Ten List to include a mention of her poem.
In case you watched Friday’s show and were puzzled by those asides, here’s a link to the full text of it, included in The Wahoo Gazette for that episode.
http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/wahoo_gazette/1003603/
JPL
@Iowa Old Lady: One of my son’s just got engaged last week after being together for more that five years. I moved on from when are you getting married to I’m tired of all my friends sharing pictures of grandchildren without sharing some myself.
JPL
@M. Bouffant: I love the idea of hosting a gathering of folks willing to decorate the tree. It’s much easier.
schrodinger's cat
Gumbo has been made and eated. It was delicious and nutritious.
rikyrah
Just finished watching the White Collar series finale. Well done. Well done.
The Pale Scot
I’m debating whether to go ahead and watch Rare Exports like I want to or to save it for Xmas eve.
For now I’ve settled for Dead Snow,
Nazi Zombies, Zombie Nazis?
They apparently have a command structure, and a reconnoitering detachment.
Recon Zombies?
That is so the name of a band.
The camera pans down from a mountainside to a small rise topped by look out zombies down to the grizzled face of the veteran zombie Obersturmbannführer as he surveys the terrain and weighs his options,
It’s an Epic 9 seconds of film making.
Poro Rosso
The Hogfather is another christmas classic.
JPL
@rikyrah: Since I’m on antenna, I have to wait. I really enjoyed the previous seasons though so can’t wait.
jl
Got a big box of totally excellent homemade Christmas cookies Thursday and most of them are gone already. I really don’t what happened. Some kind of madness descended upon me. Not my fault. I am the (edit: real) victim here.
Edit: should have taken most of them to the office, probably.
maeve
I broke out the Christmas albums – they include
Cheiftans -Bells of Dublin
Aaron Neville – Soulful Christmas
Roches – We Three Kings
Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Christmas (playing now)
Willie Nelson – Pretty Paper
Blue Yule
Christmas Cocktails (Ultra Lounge)
Alligator Stomp – A Cajun Christmas
My sister in law has twice gifted me with Manheim Steamroller Christmas albums – I hate Manheim Steamroller so they are no longer with me
maeve
Our workplace is a statewide agency large enough to be self-insured (managed by Blue Cross) – so they have a wellness programs and they have an incentive program to get a rebate – I can earn 1 point for maintaining my weight from Thanksgiving through New Years (within 3 lbs and its self-reporting) – yet three diffferent people gifted me with chocolate bars last friday!!! I left 2 of them in the fridge at work (the 3rd was salted almond caramel milk chocolate – very tasty!)
NotMax
Debating whether to watch The Dead before or after the 25th.
My second favorite Christmas movie.
The Pale Scot
I’m debating whether to go ahead and watch Rare Exports like I want to or to save it for Xmas eve.
For now I’ve settled on Dead Snow,
Nazi Zombies, Zombie Nazis?
They apparently have a command structure, and a reconnoitering detachment.
Recon Zombies?
That is so the name of a band.
The camera pans down from a mountainside to a small rise topped by look out zombies down to the grizzled face of the veteran zombie Obersturmbannführer he surveys the terrain and weighs his options,
It’s an Epic 9 seconds of film making.
tybee
@Omnes Omnibus:
the movie or the yard figures?
lamh36
Happy Thoughts…just finished watching Will & Grace now time for Living Single!
Thanks Logo TV
maeve
I rewatched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (bought it rather than rented it on Amazon Streaming since I know I’ll rewatch it again) – I think it’s my favorite holiday movie now
Just Some Fuckhead
Darlene Love’s version of Marshmallow World is my favorite.
The Thin Black Duke
Getting ready to go to Barnes & Nobles tomorrow to do my last-minute Christmas shopping. It’s so convenient having friends and family who love to read. Meanwhile, I’m binge-watching Orphan Black, one of the best SF television show I’ve seen in years. (and why hasn’t actress Tatiana Maslany won a truckload of awards already?)
Omnes Omnibus
@tybee: The yard figures.
@The Thin Black Duke: I did 60% of my X-mas shopping in bookstores this year. Another bit in local record shops.
maeve
@The Thin Black Duke:
I love Orphan Black! Unfortunately I’m too cheap to pay for it so I have only seen Season 1 – hopefully when the 3rd season comes out then season 2 will be on Amazon Prime.
CaseyL
I don’t do Christmas, generally speaking. I’m not Christian, and my family is scattered across the country and world, making holiday visits rare and expensive. (Plus, you usually can’t put more than two of us in one spot without some kind of argument breaking out. We love one another, but damned if we can get along.)
This year, all my friends are traveling to family visits, or hosting them. So, not much going on with me. I don’t mind: a day spent sleeping in, cuddling kitties, watching movies at home, and reading, is pretty blissful.
The Thin Black Duke
@maeve: You need to check out The Long Kiss Goodnight then.
Omnes Omnibus
@CaseyL: I love it. It is easily my favorite holiday. Of course my family’s celebration of it is almost completely secular. The nonsecular part is my mom mentioning that she always enjoyed going to a midnight service on Christmas Eve and the fact that Jesus gets mentioned in some Christmas carols.
Omnes Omnibus
So this happened and it went well.
maeve
@efgoldman:
The funny thing is I’m not even sure my sister-in-law likes Manheim Steamroller (It doesn’t actually seem like their taste) – which leaves me with the dispiriting conclusion that she thinks I”m the type of person that would like Manheim Steamroller!
Edited to add – apologies to any readers who like MSR = to each their own! It’s more about when you get a gift now to your taste but you are not so close to the giver that you can tell them that – and then they give you the same type of gift in a different year!
Steeplejack
@rikyrah:
Now you’ve reminded me that I have to hit that on the DVR. I hope it is good, because I feel like they have been sort of treading water the last few weeks.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman:
Are these the same people who consider Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stuff to be opera?
NotMax
For anyone who has ever worked retail at holiday time (or knows someone who has) the Christmas customers from hell episode of Dobie Gillis.
(Couldn’t find a complete version without ads.)
raven
Back from a combo birthday/holiday party and thought I DVR’d the last quarter of the skins-iggles. Fail.
NotMax
@efgoldman
The song from that fershlugginer commercial is now running through the head.
raven
@efgoldman: Davey Crockett.
NotMax
Link fail. Let’s try this again. Why should I suffer alone? :)
The song from that fershlugginer commercial is now running through the head.
raven
@efgoldman:
Born on a mountain top in Tennessee
Prettiest state in the land of the free. . .
Gin & Tonic
@efgoldman: BTW, just one amateur’s opinion, but the Providence Singers have really gotten solid. Just got back a while ago from Messiah at the VMA, and I was impressed. The male soloists, not so much, but the chorus was very good.
joel hanes
Traditions no longer quite as maintainable:
when I was a sprout, _good_ present and bow ribbon would stick to itself if moistened.
My elders would give us many rolls in various colors, scissors, and suggest making ribbon chains for the tree. (Take a couple inch piece of ribbon. Lick one end. Stick it to the othe end. Voila! a link)
Cousin Helen would split her short bits of ribbon lengthwise into thirds to thirds, and made delicate chains suitable for the top of the tree. Sister Susan and I went for length, and made a chain of half-inch ribbon links that went up the front stairs, the length of the upstairs hallway, down the back stairs, and through the kitchen back to the table in the dining room where it started.
Now you can hardly find reels of ribbon for wrapping, and none of the available brands seem to have the self-stick property.
raven
@efgoldman:
Killed him a bar
When he was only three!
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Omnes Omnibus: I believe they are, and they also think Kenny G is jazz. ::shudder::
divF
Here’s some happy thoughts, courtesy of my in-laws. Every year we get together at my MIL’s place in a retirement community outside Santa Rosa on Christmas Eve. We do soup, sandwiches, gift exchange. For the latter, everyone gets one person, chosen at random by me (random selection without replacement, with rejection for spouses – I change the initial value for the random number generator every year). Then we go over to the senior apartments / assisted living facility that’s part of the community and put on a 30-45 minute performance of Christmas carols in the activity room. It holds 50 people, and we generally fill the place (this year the facility asked a month ago to make sure we would be performing). This is the highlight of the season for Madame (who’s been singing in choirs and choruses for over 50 years) and my MIL (who’s been doing the same for nearly 80 years). The residents participate – even ones who are cognitively impaired to the point that they can no longer speak are still able to remember the carols and sing along. At the end of the performance, we spread out through the room and wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and head for our cars and go home.
Omnes Omnibus
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): The uncle to whom I sent the pair of pink flamingos once gave my dad (his older brother) a Kenny G album as a Christmas present. Was it a passive-aggressive thing left over from his childhood or did he think my dad would like it? Dad was one of the guys in the late 50s and early 60s who was trying to tune his central Wisconsin radio to bring in black stations from Memphis. For Christmas this year, I am going to introduce him to the Decembrists, who I think he will like.
Gin & Tonic
@efgoldman: I guess it’s good to be on the outside. Just seemed to me they’ve stepped up their game with the new artistic director.
Gin & Tonic
@efgoldman: Christine Noel, appointed a year and a half ago. She’s director of choral activities at Clark U.
G’night.
divF
@efgoldman: Saw your post above regarding mrs. efgoldman and choruses. Madame divF sings in community choruses, and will be doing more singing when she retires (any minute now, she says). The next performance is Bach’s St. John Passion with the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra in January. 220 voices, and they were actually able to find a venue that would hold them, the orchestra, and an audience.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Omnes Omnibus: Sounds like he will.
Anne Laurie
@divF: Now that sounds like a most excellent holiday celebration!
sdhays
A gang member shoots two police officers, which he would never do unless the Mayor and African American leaders hadn’t mildly criticized the clearly unjustified actions of a NYC police officer, so Mayor de Blasio should resign and Al Sharpton should know that the blood of those officers is on his hands. And we should all accept the wisdom that racial profiling is both necessary and fun.
I seem to recall at least two murderous attacks on police officers by white right-wing nut jobs related to the thieving thug Bundy organization in Nevada. Funny how I can’t seem to find any calls from the NY Post or Fox “News” for the police to crack down on Bundy or for Rush Limbaugh to retire in disgrace or for the police to start profiling white people or blaming all white people or critics of the government for the violence. I’m sure it’s just a problem with my Google-fu…