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11/18/2007: My Major Award, Part 3!

I'm tipsy and tired. My apologies if that becomes a factor in this entry.

Tonight was the annual Christmas Fair at the church by my childhood home, which I've been attending on an annual basis for, God, around twenty years now? Crazy. It's become a little tradition for my sisters and I. We go, we browse, and we spend a ridiculous amount of money on the two hundred raffles they've got going for various holiday gift baskets, donated by families, stores and organizations from all around the city.

If you're a longtime reader, you've heard about this fair, and you've heard about the raffles. Three years ago, after spending well over fifty bucks on tickets, I went home with a couple of cocoa mugs and Bill Cosby's Cosbyology. It wasn't quite as bad as not winning anything at all, but it was close. Last year, we fared a little better by winning two baskets — one including shoddy art supplies, and another featuring lavender-colored bath salts.

It's become a running joke. With the amount of tickets I buy, it's nearly a given that I'll win something, but it always seems to be the worst thing possible. See, previously, when you entered a raffle, you weren't vying for any specific basket. They were grouped together, with 7-10 different gift baskets sharing one coffee can full of raffle tickets. You could gun for a television and walk out with a homemade pillow with a Cavalier King Charles stitched into the middle. What, you thought I honestly sought out Cosbyology?

This year, things were different. This year, every basket had its own raffle ticket pail. While this made winning anything of substance more difficult, it at least meant that if I won, it'd be a prize that I actually had some small bit of interest in.

So, we get there, and I immediately buy something in the realm of 60 tickets, which I have to write my name, address and phone number on before I can spend them. My hand still feels like I just got through jacking off everyone in the northern hemisphere. It took over 30 minutes to fill out those stupid tickets, and I left the experience cursing my ancestors for providing me with such a ludicrously long surname.

After that, it was time to peruse the goods. As usual, there were a lot of crap raffles, but a lot of great ones. My eternal favorite? The "six foot stocking." Since I was a kid, the church had this specific raffle going. They'd tape 20-30 toys to this ancient, gigantic wooden stocking, and if you won, you didn't get to keep the stocking, but you got all the toys on it. Granted, I don't have much use for what's taped to that stocking at my age, but I can't help but toss at least a few tickets into its corresponding raffle pail every year. I've been trying to win this thing since I was three feet tall. Someday, it will happen. Today was not the day, so don't think I'm building towards any kind of monumental climax.

Aside from the glorious six foot stocking, I was mainly aiming for a Playstation 3, or this one basket that included both a bottle of Kahlua and a bottle of Sambuca, which technically aren't my favorite liquors to drink, but are certainly my favorite liquors to say. Beyond those prizes were about ten others that seemed interesting enough to blow money on, and when all was said and done, I was confident that I'd spread enough tickets-with-my-name-on-them around to guarantee some sort of major award.

After that, we waited. We waited and waited and waited. They kept yelling "last call" on the raffle tickets, but after they did this eighty times, we figured out that "last call" was just a marketing ploy, and that it'd be some time before they actually got around to naming the winners. Part of me was ticked that I stood around in a hideously hot and crowded church for an extra hour just to come to this conclusion, but on the other hand, they were selling Irish coffees and cappuccinos spiked with Kahlua for 2 bucks a pop. Not sure if it's even legal for a church to do that, but I wasn't complaining, and this shit was strong.

So, we left the church and went to dinner at a sushi joint, where more alcohol flowed, along with lots of fish eggs and soup that they swore was miso despite the fact that it was very clearly just onion broth. There were a bunch of us, and since we'd all put in raffle tickets, the table was lined with everyone's cell phones. First, my sister gets a call. She won a basket. A few minutes later, I get a call. Couldn't hear too well, so I stepped outside. "You won the six foot stocking." I gleefully return to the table, only to find my other sister cracking up and championing her ability to pull off a prank call even while sitting right next to me. Bitch. I tried to be a sport, but seriously…you don't fuck around about the six foot stocking.

By the end of dinner, I'd given up hope. It was a total shock when my phone rang again, and this time, it was a legit call from the church. I'd won a basket, and for the first time in infinity years, I'd won a good basket.

Jackfuckingpot. JACKFUCKINGPOT! See, most of the baskets are pretty small, but there are a select few (around a dozen) that could be considered "big ticket" prizes. The raffle tickets for these particular baskets cost more, but if you win, you win big. And I won pretty big!

The main prize was a 7" NextPlay portable DVD player, which retails for around a hundred bucks. It's pretty, and blue, and for some reason, it comes with two different remote controls. The DVD player alone was more than enough to make this my most successful Christmas Fair adventure in history, but there was even more fun stuff under the cellophane. Also included were three DVDs — A Christmas Story, Elf and Shrek 3. I already have Ralphie and I don't really want Shrek, but let's not discount the regifting potential. Hidden even deeper in the basket was a $40 Blockbuster gift card, which provides me a reason to go to our local Blockbuster for the first time in over a decade. And to top it all off, there was some weirdass baby Shrek plushie! The showstopper!

I'm so stoked. I mean, sure, my life isn't going to change just because I've won a portable DVD player that I don't have much use for, but after a lifetime spent pouring money into this church fair and getting nothing back but Cosbyology and maybe a free cupcake with red and green sprinkles, this is damn near cathartic. I haven't beaten the system, but it hasn't beaten me.

And best of all, after we returned home with the goods, my girlfriend got a call — she won a basket, too!

Her crate full of pine nuts and anchovies can't hold a candle to my DVD player, but a bonus win is a bonus win, and we'll happily take it.

I have to admit, I've still got my phone sitting next to me, just in case there's a miraculous third win. True, it's after midnight and totally out of the question, but I've got the fever. Maybe they'll call tomorrow? I really wanted that Kahlua/Sambuca basket. Kahlua…Sambuca. Kahlua…Sambuca. So much fun to say!

Oh my god i think i just shit my pants in excitement over the first post….this is the first time for me. woot woot. anywho, i guess i really need to take a shower, then perhaps come back and actually READ the post before bed.

So how much do 60 tickets go for, i.e. did you come out ahead or spend as much as it wouldve cost to just buy the dvd player and shrek thing? Still an awesome win, though.

Ahaha Cosbyology is STILL hilarious. Congrats on winning an actual prize this time, instead of a basket full of stuff that didn't sell at the garage sale

Awhile ago, Bill asked for Thanksgiving recipes…I actually wrote up a little something, maybe if somebody's still looking for ideas it could come in handy: The Ultimate Guide to Green Bean Casserole
Happy SNT everybody!

They sell different tickets for different sections, and each costs a different amount. Some are under a dollar, while others, like for the group that included the DVD player, went for more than a dollar. I didn't buy too many of those, though. All told, I got back more than I put in. Maybe not by much, but as someone who will transform a night in Atlantic City into a seven night stay at a private island, money-wise, even breaking close to even rocks.

Oh and thanks Squee! I will be using that one this year. Let you know how it goes. I'm in charge of two dishes.

Leigha: You met Alton Brown!?!? That's awesome. He seems like a cool person to meet.

Was waiterbot your server at the sushi joint? I love it. Also, i like that your gift card says that it is scratch and sniff. But still, those pepperoncinis looks tasty.

Yeah, i met him, he is awesome. he was really nice. i kept giggling like a school girl, and he asked me why i was giggling so much, and i said it was because i was nervous. i was so scared that i was going to be like ralphie and when i got up to alton all i would be able to think of is "football" luckily i didnt get kicked down the slide. i did end up asking him which he liked better, the science or the food, and he paused for about 45 seconds and ended up stuttering out the answer that he couldnt decide. it was awesome. i stumped the master.

Hmm, I just noticed the time change hasn't went into effect here. That…or this entry is from the future. Now that I think about it, I hope it's the latter.

If only church was always like that, I'd be one devout motherfucker. So what do you get when you mix sambuca and kahlua? sambula or kahluca? Hmmmm… I like sambula.That could be a new pretend word "My sambula wasn't cooperating last night". Also, I spent all day driving a trolley and playing X-Mas muzak. For those of you stuck in Department stores and other places where 10 hours of this stuff is a daily routine, what's your favorite and most hated X-Mas song? Best would be anything from Phil Spector's Christmas album with the Ronettes. Also "Feliz Navidad". Worst would be Bing Crosby(?)'s version of "Silver Bells" So slow, so boring. There's a ton more i hate than like though. "Have yourself a Merry Little X-Mas" (though thanks to waiterbot, "Make the yuletide gay" is now the highlight of my day), "Jingle Bells" is horrendous, "Here Comes Santa Claus", I could go on, but I'm rambling.

for those of you who have access to MTV2 and are in the eastern part of the US, the nirvana unplugged is on. i feel like i am an angsty teen again…but then again, i am now merely a cynical twenty-two year old

My absolute favorite christmas song that they play on the muzak station at officemax is a song called "christmas wrapping" by the waitresses. i just had to google it, and i found out that it was by the waitresses, who are from my hometown of Akron, Ohio much like lebron james and devo. for realz, i am so excited to hear this song on constant rotation now.

CONGRATS on the big win! Woo! Elf on DVD would make that more than worth it to me!

And thanks to Knacks for the "happy birthday" on my myspace yesterday! I turned 21. But I don't drink. So I did shots of Purplesaurus Rex kool aid (okay, I cheated and mixed Grape and Lemonade) out of a Nightmare Before Christmas shotglass that I bought at Disney world.

After reading the post, I have two things to say. One is that once I finally get around to going and picking up Shrek 3, I'll be able to feel just a bit closer to Matt by having all three of those DVD's. The other is…a church selling alcohol? Maybe it's just because I pretty much live int he buckle of the Bible Belt but…something about that just doesn't seem right.

Congratulations, Matt. This must be a prime day for church bazaars. I went to one, too, but I wasn't there for very long and I didn't do the raffles. I also didn't find any good used 80s kids books like last year - it was all hand-made bead necklaces and craft stuff. Nice enough, but not the most exciting booths, especially when you have friends and relatives who can make half that stuff themselves, and better.

Leigha: Dear God, totally forgot about that song. Did the Waitresses ever do a song that wasn't in that sort of detached monotone/hip-hop style? That's one they played a lot in Europe during Christmas season. That, George Michael's 'Last Christmas" McCartney's "Simply Having a terrible synthesizer", and U2's cover of whatever that one song was. Their X-mas music is a million times cheesier than ours.

to be honest, i think that all of their songs were kind of detatched. i am obsessed with them though especially since they are from my hometown. chrissy hynde from the pretenders went to my high school too, and my mom went to high school with most of devo. so i guess i was destined to LOVE new wave. i have an entire wall covered with 80's albums mostly for the album art. the waitresses album is up there, and debbie harry, i also have a few hall and oates albums hanging because i have an inside joke with my fiancee about how i love them. i told the tattoo artist when i got my last tattoo done that i was going to get a backpiece done and it was going to be the faces of both hall and oates with the lyrics of "private eyes" including the handclaps. it would be pretty fucking awesome if i got that done for real though, although i would rather not waste my money on a tattoo like that only to later regret it.

PS- no matter how horrible the mccarthy song is, i still fucking love it, and i dont consider it to be the genuine holiday season until i hear the song and then afterwards hear one of my co-workers say how much they hate that song.

Good job Matt! Did you ever read Cosbyology or did you get rid of it? Or is it sitting in the darkest corner of your bookshelf, unread, but unable to be thrown out? I would do something like that

Picked up a 2-on-1 DVD at Best Buy, the first two Nat'l Lampoons Vacation movies, Original and European flavor, for $9! Score! Also scored with The Garbage Pail Kids for $9! Hellz yeah! Was looking for Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams, but no dice.

Booyah, the play I was doing lights for finished up tonight! Still have to strike the set tmrw, but oh well, not until afternoon! Any other theatre people on here?

I too am a Buckle o' the Bible Belt resident, and if that was even remotely suggested at the church I went to growing up, the person suggesting it would probably be sat down and prayed for right then and there whether they wanted to or not. Man, if we got liquored up at church functions, I'd be getting up early to go to church! Congrats on the win. Sounds like you got a pretty good haul there. The Best Buy gift card alone almost broke you even. Let's just hope potential reciepients of your re-gifting ways aren't devout readers of the site.

I had a pretty good today all things considered. It involved my cousin coming to town and us seeing Saw IV this morning and then going to a groovy comic book sale at the local comic book store I used to work at.

After that I went to work and had a looong night at work. We just picked up 4 new accounts so it's been pretty crazy. I'm surprised I'm even sitting in front of a computer right now cause I feel like my eyes are going to fall out of my skull if I have to look at another screen. I just hope all the graphics I did today look alright tomorrow.

So, the other day I was reading the infamous "I don't want to think about chicken when I'm eating Doritos" post. After reading all the hilarious results of Matt's challenge to work the phrase into conversation, I thought to myself that since I wasn't an X-E reader when that particular challenge was presented, I would resurrect the challenge just for myself and give it a shot tonight at work. The results are as follows:

ME: Yeah, well I really don't want to think about chicken when I'm eating Doritos.

After he stood there looking at me like I was some kind of idiot, I told him what it was all about and we spent the next 10 minutes reading that post and cracking up at the responses. I've been slowly indotrinating him into the X-E fold and I think before long we'll have a new follower.

Matt! I'm tipsy and tired too. That sounds like fun, though…my roommate thinks it's blasphemy that I haven't seen Elf yet. And I wish my church was cool enough to have alcohol at functions. All we have is grits and biscuits.

And DJ D, sorry, but South Carolina isn't the buckle of the Bible Belt…Nashville is. That's where both the SBC and Cokesbury headquarters are. Not to mention the GMAs and Dove awards.

Vanilla Fire Yeah, I think you might have me there. I'll settle for being one of the notches. A big, depressing, Confederate notch.

As much as I enjoy the Pretenders, the Smiths, and Devo, they don't hold a candle to Hall and Oates. Those guys are in another stratosphere. ABBA too. It's a shame history seems to lump those two in the "lame" category of rock, when they made catchier, better music than the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and The Clash.

And for bad Christmas music…Billy Gilman is always th top of my list…not only has his voice not cracked yet, but he has that beautiful, obnoxious country twang. Instant classic.

As far as Christmas music goes, I've always been partial to "Oh Holy Night" (sung with a good, lofty chorus, not solo), and pretty much anything Bing Crosby did, especially "Little Drummer Boy" with David Bowie. That was great. I've always hated "Faliz Navidad." I'm sorry, that song's just obnoxious, and the only thing more obnoxious is people around me singing it.

BenS I don't know, comparing Hall and Oats to The Clash is just about as apples and oranges as you can get. I think both were genius, but for completely different reasons and on completely different levels. They were shooting for different audiences and were relevent for totally different reasons, but as far as sheer talent I think they were about equal. I'm a fan of both.

Oh great, I spent half the night F5ing the last blog and when I stopped seeing responses, I thought "Matt must've posted something." And you did. You posted hard. VERY awesome.

This whole Church Fair thing takes me back to a childhood Christmas tradition, where my family went to the high school out east on LI of the son of my mom's friend for their annual Christmas Party.

First of all, it was this nice, fancy school out in the Northeast or so part of LI.

Second, it was a school for the deaf. Yes, the kid was deaf, but he was a good 5 or so years older than I was, and I idolized him. He was the one that got me on the track of gaming and being an all-out Nintendo Fanboy. He got every system before I did (even the N64). All the best games I ever played I played at his house first. He even had every Nintendo Power starting from the first issue til the last time I saw him a good number of years ago.

Before I digress, this annual Christmas party had all the traditional Christmas Party Faire, food, games, Kid's entertainment (I remember one year there was merry-go-round-esque ride, a magician/clown, as well as a TV playing Christmas specials!), and of course, the Raffle (Chinese Auction as its commonly called). As Matt always said here, the prizes ranged from the crappy, to the awesome.

I always tried to get the awesome, but always came out short. I remember the year I did win was the year Beanie Babies were popular, and I won 2 of them. Little did I know that this started the Beanie Baby craze in my world, which I shamefully admit to being a part of to this day. If I ever do sell my collection, which is on the verge of nigh-worthlessness, those 2 I won will never leave.

I think I like Feliz Navidad because it doesn't sound anything like a Christmas song and is a nice respite. But yeah, I like the Clash too, I just don't like how bands like Electric Light Orchestra or Fleetwood Mac get tossed aside because they were popular and therefore weren't making "real" music whereas The Clash, Talking Heads, etc are elevated to God status because they weren't embraced by a mass audience. Doesn't mean I still don't love the Talking Heads though.

Congratulations! Both of those prizes look pretty useful. Granted, pine nuts and anchovies aren't exactly my thing, but they're better than the crap prizes. Earlier this year my best friend and I entered a raffle for some big fancy serving plate, but she won. I'll admit, I was a bit disappointed. I have no use for such a plate, but it was really awesome.

BenS- "Simply having a terrible synthesizer?" I'll admit I do love the song for whatever reason, but I'm not sure which I love more: the song itself or how you just referred to it! So hilarious and also quite fitting!

Those guys are in another stratosphere. ABBA too. It's a shame history seems to lump those two in the "lame" category of rock, when they made catchier, better music than the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and The Clash.

As much as I also like New Wave (hell, this is what mostly plays on the CVS Muzak, INCLUDING "Private Eyes"), and that I agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, saying that they're better than The Ramones, Sex Pistols, and Clash?

As for Xmas Muzak, my CVS hasn't started yet (gasp!), but I want to kill people now for all the Xmases I worked at KB toys, where I had to endure kiddie Christmas songs from mid october to the end of January.

My favorites on the KB Xmas Muzak were either the obiquitous "Chipmunk Song," basically any song from a Rankin-Bass Special, a song titled "Howdy Doody Christmas" (it played as the theme song for that godawful remake of "The Year Without A Santa Claus" last year, minus the Howdy Doody parts) or a version of "Winter Wonderland" that was sung by a little girl. It just seemed to evoke something so calm and serene. It's one of the reasons why watching snow fall seems to calm me down, it just seems peaceful.

My least favorite? Take any classic Xmas song and Kidz Bop em, and that's what played. Also, any version of "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)" I hate that song with every fiber of my being, especially the version sung by Theodore of Alvin & The Chipmunks.

I'm starting to get into this Christmas swing of things. If only I had money to partake of the shopping part of it. Oh well. Money will come.

Yeah I spent most of my Saturday sleeping in, watching Bravo, and then going out to a big club in Reading where I danced for hours in 2" heeled boots. There was a live band there so I danced on the floor for a while, then on one of those upper platform things then in one of the cages then back on the floor and then on stage with the band. My feet hurt sooo bad and my ears are still ringing.

For real Christmas music, I prefer the religious stuff ("O Holy Night," "Angels We Have Heard on High," "Hark the Herald," etc.). I fully admit that this is probably due to being raised in the Bible Belt, but the more commercial stuff just doesn't give me that magical, Christmas feel.

Man, I know a lot of people who hate that McCartney song, but I love it. Granted, there aren't many Christmas songs I don't like, but that's one of my favorites. Makes me think of fancy wine and red tablecloths for some reason.

If I had to pick an all-time favorite, it'd be like telling one of my nonexistent children that I like him/her more than the others. But if pressed, I'd probably go with the Waitresses' song, which I like as much now as I secretly did in grade school.

Damnit, still no pom 7-up. Or peppermint peeps, only the regular flavored Christmasy shaped ones. I did see the gingerbread pop tarts, but I'm not much of a pop tart eater, so I passed.

I like Sleigh Ride… And having heard a cross between Sleigh Ride and music from Mario games, performed by a jazz group that does covers of music from video games (The OneUps, check them out!), I can say that that is my favorite Christmas song.

Next would have to be Angels We Have Heard on High. It's fun to sing (especially in Latin), even for tone-deaf people like me.

Congrats on the DVD basket! As much as it shames me to say it, I was hoping secretly, deep down, that you would have gotten one of those giant snow globes. They're awesome.

Hello, everyone! Digging the Christmas jukebox! Tonight I got a great deal on some used gamecube games at the local Hollywood Video. I'm going to find Phil Specter's Christmas album on CD, since they don't seem to sell it on iTunes. I tend to prefer "oldies" artists and songs for Christmas music, since that's what I was raised on. I also found Sierra Mist cranberry soda at the store. I might try it, although when it comes to red soda my favorite is Mountain Dew Code Red.

For some reason I've never cared for that Waitresses song. I can't explain why, it just doesn't appeal to me. I also hate the McCartney one, but I'm not generally a fan of any of his solo stuff anyway. Give me John Lennon's "Happy Christmas" any day.

I LOVE new wave music so much, though. As soon as I saw those words in this thread I got all giddy. I've been addicted to Singstar 80s the past few days and my throat is pretty pissed off at me right now.

I spent an hour or so at my mom's house earlier and they received a Hickory Farms catalog in the mail. My mom tossed it to me and told me to circle whatever I want. Without even realizing it, I was laying down in the floor flipping back and forth through pages trying to decide on just the right one. When I found it, I did as my mom asked and circled it. I really, really enjoyed it.

Carol of the Bells gets at least one of my votes for favorite, especially instrumental when it's all deep and sounds like it should be the soundtrack to something urgent and important that's happening. It's always seemed dark and kind of spooky to me. Apparently I find those to be desirable qualities in a christmas song.

Also, I can almost watch Jack Frost (the Rankin/Bass one) without feeling like I'm jumping the gun. I am very excited about this.

jazzy–I love Lennon's Happy Xmas (War is Over)…though the Jimmy Buffet version kind of kills my soul.

nork–Thanks for the Josh Groban video. It was probably the second-best version I've heard (after, of course, singing it at church, lit only by candles…nothing can really match that.) My roommate loved it, too.

Hey guys, guess what? I just found a crapload of Hickory Farms products! This is monumental because I live in Canada, and have never seen them before. They were selling them at this kiosk in the mall, and I pointed at them excitedly and practically shouted at my mother and sister, "Look!!! It's that Hickory Farms stuff I was telling you about! Y'know, the one with the 'Giant Summer Sausage'!" Sometimes I feel bad for my family for the embarassment that I cause…

Ooh, and I'm completely done all my Christmas shopping! Granted, I don't have many people to shop for, but it still feels good. Especially since I am now pretty much out of money and am relying on whatever cash I get for Christmas to pay for the rest of my school fees.

By the way, it was great to see some craft fair stuff, Matt.

Me and my family have been hitting them hard this weekend and last, visiting just about every fair in lower Vancouver Island. Would you believe there are about fifteen fairs going on at any given weekend? But it REALLY gets me in the mood for Christmas. Almost as much as A Christmas Story, but then again we watch that every single Christmas Eve. "HO, ho, ho!" Fuck, I love that movie.

Neat baskets! I like the container (basket?) that your gf's stuff came in. I think I would be really good at arranging gift baskets for a living. There are people that are hired by celebrities to arrange gifts that the celebrity gives their relative or another celebrity. I think I would be great at that.

So anyway do you want me to email my address to you now Matt so you can send me your basket? lol I own your soul until you give me something of material value HA! I love it! I crack myself up.

I think I might whip out a video before I go to bed I am not sure. My favorite Christmas song? This year it's I got a boner for Christmas by Nerf Herder.

Invader Norbert My Granddad growing up around Christmas time would ask me what I want for Christmas and I would say I don't know or something like that and he would say I know what you want your two front teeth and then he would sing that song. I didn't hear someone else sing it until just a couple of years ago. He also sings sometimes nobody loves me everyone hates me I will just go outside and eat a can of worms.

And sometimes I walk past him and he sings there goes Sam sweeping the floor and smoking a pack of cigarettes. LOL sometimes he insists I call him Sue and he calls me Sam from the classic song by Johnny cash called a boy named Sue I am assuming. My Granddad has his moments

If someone calls me Sam and calls him Sue it's awkward and wrong btw.

I love The Waitresses Christmas song to this very day, always have, always will. There's something so "We're 20somethings trying to figure this whole adult thing out" vibe that is missing in most family-centered Christmas tunes.

Belle and Sebastian did Christmas tunes, as well, including covers of Charlie Brown Christmas. Also awesome. So is the Home Alone soundtrack.

I forgot. I was saving this for SNT. This is the original Mickey's Christmas Carol.

It has The Christmas Carol on it with Scrooge saying bah humbug and Mickey being innocent and kind with the ghosts of christmas past present and future. The quality kind of sucks but it's better then nothing right? I recommend downloading it from the site and not watching it on the page (it crashes for me quite frequently when I download off of them) I think it's way better then nothing I haven't seen this in years. I remember they used to play towards the end a preview for the Disney movie coming out that holiday season.

Another reason why I LOVE joox. But I don't know how long that will stay on there so hurry on over.

I remember my other Grandma (my Grandma from my Dad's side) took us a few years on New years eve to the latest Disney movie in the movie theater. That moved them up a peg because they barely let us watch tv (and they had cable tv!! We didn't have cable tv at home so it was like salt in our wounds) and overall it was very boring at their house. We brought tons of coloring books and finished them a lot quicker then if they were at home.

Random last note until next time, today at GW I saw two sleeping bags one had the original teenage mutant ninja turtles on it (with all 4 of them) and little mermaid. I would of got one (even though I would have no use for them they were kid sized) but they were faded. Oh well I'll get a TMNT fleece blanket or something like that sometime and it will be worth the wait.

Congrats on the big win. You were overdue..
Go ahead and put me in that "I still can't get over the alcohol at church" category. Never would happen down here.

I guess it's about that time to send Knacks and Co. friend requests. Not sure if I want to expose myself

like that but I don't want to get any further behind. Better late than blah blah??

I really, really hate the Hippo song, the Two Front Teeth song, and "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." I also hate "Up on the Housetop" for some reason. I'm not sure if I could ever pick a true favorite, but for the sake of the thread, I'm in love with Trans-Siberian Orchestra's version of Carol of the Bells.

Vanilla Fire and Jeff Mack: Yeah, I'd have to say that one of the best version of "Oh Holy Night" I've heard was in Home Alone. That's what made me decide that that was my favorite Christmas carol. Nothing beats that song with a nice chorus and candles and all that jazz. It also has that kind of spooky vibe that clumsyonice was talking about….definitely a desireable quality in a Christmas song.

Deja vu, I've got Thanksgiving to go to in a few hours and I have no idea what to write down for a want list for a Christmas gift exchange.

I too enjoy boozing it up everyday even at church. After I drink my entire flask while at church I enjoy heading out to a restaurant and continuing to "get my drink on" so to speak. I think it's awesome especially considering that I'm pushing 30 to talk about drinking like I'm some kind of an alcoholic. All my friends say, hey Wiggle, why don't you shut the fuck up about the booze and head to the Betty Ford Clinic or something bro and then I say FUCK YOU!!! are you my friends or my mother you mother bitches. Then I take out a pack of cigarettes and smoke them all one after the other and blow the smoke into my so called friends faces in an effort to make them pay for asking me to quit talking about boozing it up. Bahahahahahahahhahahahaahahahahhaahahah I am tipsy too like a mothergrabber, whoa yeah woo hoo, son of a gun, light gun, stun gun, mamba jamba. Drink it up drink it up this site is about drinking get a sponsor like Jack Daniels or something, whoomp voila , whoomp voila - that's french yo. PARTY TIME ITALIAN STYLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - WATCH STRIPES BITCHES - THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG .. . …… … . .. . . SIR!!!!!

Too early for Christmas music but I will chime in and say I'm a Mannheim Steamroller guy. Hard to nail down a favorite but if I had to pick I would say the two part "God rest ye merry, Gentlemen" that is on their first Christmas album. They've got a new one out this year that I haven't gotten yet that's gotten mixed reviews.

And I'm showing my inner geek here as a railroad nut, but I also love a recording I have made by O. Winston Link of a freight train from the N&W railroad on Christmas Eve. If you listen very closely, you can hear the carillon bells of a small rural church playing "Silent Night" in the background throughout the whole track. It's very calm and soothing, and somewhat sad.

Everybody's gonna hate me for saying this, but I like Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You". Other than that, I really like the common classics like "Silver Bells", "Let it Snow" (probably my favourite), "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing", "The Night Santa Went Crazy", and "Carol of the Bells". Wait, one of those doesn't fit does it? Lol.

Oh Boy, The Last Starfighter is on SciFi! When you are channel surfing on Sunday morning to find this I believe it is a sign that there will be a plentiful harvest so something.

My favorite song has to be Little Drummer Boy, for obvious reasons. Last year I got to rock that song at church, and even had a little drum solo in the middle. It was awesome!
I used to LOATHE the McCartney song, but now I don't mind it. I must be getting old or something.

I've got to be one of the few people I know that actually likes Christmas music (or even Christmas itself for that matter), but the worst Christmas song ever has got to be Bruce Springsteen's rendition of "Santa Claus is coming to Town."

You know the one I'm talking about. The one where he sounds like he's completely trashed and starts cracking up towards the end. And that ridiculous deep voiced BETTA BE GOOD FOR GOODNESS SAAAAKE refrain.

Also anyone ever heard that Christmas song about the kid trying to buy shoes for his dying mother? I think they even made an equally depressing TV movie based on it.

Awesome entry. Congrats on the win. I'd be stoked too if i won that. You may now be somewhat close to breaking even with all the money you've given them.

I like the Paul McCartney song despite it's crappiness. C'mon, McCartney is probably the world's most celebrated cheese artist (and yes, that I am included some of his work with the Beatles). There is a place for cheese/crap and Christmas is definitely one of those times.
I have also found it good "clean the house" music which is wht I am doing right now. *yawn*

I went to a church bazaar not to long ago. Mainly because my great-grandma wanted some various food items like jellies and various nuts. I picked up a mini pumpkin pie and banana bread. They also had various crafts and blankets made by various people. No raffles, though.

Anyway, I think it depends on whose singing the songs. I love the California Raisins version of "Rudolph" and South Park's version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

As a general rule I like most Christmas music a lot, as long as it's fairly traditional, classic, or even funny. What I can't stand is modern, mediocre country versions of classic songs–the kind of crap they pump into Wal Mart every year. As for the Paul McCartney deal, I've always dug it. Say what you will about him, but he can write a darn good pop (and even Christmas) song.

DrummerJay, SNT=Saturday Night Thread. We usually have one every Sat. night. Usually it consists of Matt posting a topic specifically to be discussed, but in absence of that, whatever thread happens to be the most recent by default sort of becomes the SNT.

What is this McCartney song that everyone keeps talking about? I have the Ringo Starr Christmas album, but I feel like I'm missing out here.

And as for my least favorite Christmas music…the Alvin and the Chipmunks album that my mother insists on playing while we drive to her family's on Christmas Eve.

@Cameron T.: I love Manheim Steamroller. I just got the new CD today, and I'm listening to it right now. So far it seems good, no song's hooked me yet, but it's better then the mostly average stuff on Extraodinare.

Vanilla Fire: The song is "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time", although somehow I doubt it would seem as cheesy to someone who owns the Ringo album

My favorite Christmas songs are all the Charlie Brown songs, lots of the religious ones (especially "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "O Come, O Come Emmanuel") and anything by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I think one of my favorite things about the cold weather coming along is getting to bust out the TSO. I saw them live last year, and they're AMAZING live. They have everything, lasers, fire, screaming guitar solos, hot women playing violin… it's spectacular. And somehow in the middle of all that they manage to be heartwarming too. What's funny is there were a lot of old ladies there all dressed up thinking they were going to see a regular orchestra. Before they started, this kid behind me complained he couldn't see and his mom was like "Well you don't look at an orchestra honey, you just listen". I bet that kid was pissed at his mom when they busted out the special effects.

Congrats Matt! It's always awesome to win something you weren't really expecting.

For Christmas music - I've always been kind of a traditionalist with Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Sinatra and Elvis handling most of the musical chores. Of course, I'll mix in some Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Twisted Sister's Twisted Christmas for good measure. If you ever have the chance, see TSO in concert, you won't be disappointed. This will be the first time in like five years I don't go to see them live but they decided they weren't coming to my area until frickin' January. Tis the suck….

Congrats Matt! Glad you scored some great swag this year; I don't think anyone deserves it as much as you do!

The one thing I love about your church raffle stories is that with each progressive year, you describe the filling in of the raffle tickets with more and more intense images…

We start off slow and gentle:
2004 - "Large prizes were raffled off singularly, and no, I didn't win any of those despite having more tickets in those jars with my name on them that the total sum of tickets without my name on them…you write your name on phone number on each ticket you enter."

Then, after carrying the pain of Cosbyology in your soul for two years, you return with:

2006 - "but writing my name and phone number on the back of each proved a long and arduous enough journey to give my writin' hand a cramp so hardcore that I think it may warrant a hospital stay come tomorrow."

And after a year of bliss with generic art supplies and candles, you go for the throat with:

2007 - "I immediately buy something in the realm of 60 tickets … My hand still feels like I just got through jacking off everyone in the northern hemisphere. It took over 30 minutes to fill out"

Finally something good! Although I admit, I kind of got a kick out of the awful stuff you guys always got saddled with…I envy you that DVD player, I have to say. I've wanted one for ages, but can't justify spending $100+ bucks on something my TV can already do.

Jazzy–I just watched the video on youtube. It about equals Ringo for sheer cheese. The synthesizers, or whatever that background music was, were not a good idea when I'm slightly hungover and a little loopy from cold medicine.

Oh, and I just remembered…favorite non-religious Christmas songs: White Christmas (Otis Redding), Blue Christmas (Elvis, and only Elvis), and Little Saint Nick (don't judge me).

Congratulations on the nice winnings this year, Matt!! You can never go wrong with DVDs and toys in my opinion.

Vanilla Fire, I'm from Upper East Tennessee. We aren't just the buckle of the belt…we're that all important part of the buckle that goes through the notch and holds it all together.

I guess I'm in the minority here of actually liking the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas songs. They seem to be getting a pretty solid bashing lately. Could this just be misplaced (albeit warranted) anger over the movie? Back in the day my family used to have a tradition of listening to this old "45 that has several of the Chipmunks songs on it when we were opening presents at my aunt's house. I don't remember exactly when that tradition died, but I think I'm going to try to get it going again this year if they're up for it.

Mystie, Snow? Seriously? It's like 78 here today…in frickin' mid-November. That's it. You're dead to me.

DrummerJay, No problem. Although, that doesn't sound that bad. Maybe sometime between now and Turkey Day we can get that worked in there somehow. I doubt it, but it's fun to pretend.

Who all here has XM radio? I love that this is almost here. On Thanksgiving day, channels 103-107 (I may be off by the numbers, but I'm close) play nothing but Christmas music until around New Years.

Oklahomans, within range, can also tune their FM radios to 104.1 for non-stop Christmas music until around New Years day, as well.

Once Thanksgiving hits, my mp3s and cds do nothing but collect dust as I will listen to nothing else for an entire month.

BenS: Well said! I love new wave and punk, but that doesn't mean I can't rock out to some ABBA now and then. My parents raised me on them and Fleetwood Mac and Styx. I love them just as much as The Clash and Sex Pistols.

Favorite Christmas Songs? Just about anything off of the first three Mannheim Steamroller Christmas albums. Their last three, notsomuch (except for a gem or two here and there). I also love "I Want An Alien for Christmas" by Fountains of Wayne (thanks to Matt and Tummi) and almost everything off of an album I got at Target several years ago called Yule B Swingin which is all original 40's swing. My favorite from that is "(Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With the Bag" by Kay Starr. I sing that in the shower on a regular basis.

Everybody: Target has a fun little game you can play to get ready for Black Friday shopping! Check it out here!

By the way, I'd like to add that, had I won that basket, I would have had a huge moral dilemma… I refuse to own A Christmas Story because there is something magical about watching the marathon of it. Granted, that means that when I've got the bug to watch it in November (like last week) I have to wait another month and a half to see it…

Ragnarok–I still maintain that Nashville is the actual Buckle (but, then, I guess everyone thinks that their hometown is…I heard people from Tulsa claim to be the Buckle once. I mean, really?) East TN is pretty close, though…and speaking purely geographically, if Nashville is the buckle, then East TN would be close enough to be the little extend-y bit that goes through the notches.

Special K: No doubt, the marathon is a must-see and no DVD can break that tradition. To tell you the truth, I've owned the DVD for years, but barely ever watch it because it just doesn't feel right when it ain't on TV. Plus, it's like the only movie in the universe that doesn't need to be trimmed for content.

I gotta say Matt…you did me proud with your auction win. I used to frequent church auctions chinese auctions myself til i got married and had rent and utilities to pay and shit. My biggest haul I think was um…me and my mom won like a few hundred dollars worth of gourmet italian stuff from some fancy deli, My own personal haul though was one year I went to a Chinese auction that was strictly toys. I got a tickle me cookie monster and Bigbird…and Men in Black on VHS(which had JUST come out at the time)As for strange wins…my grandma won a gift certificate for a free parakeet when i was 8. Soooooo awesome! Friggin thing lived for like 5 years

My fave christmas songs are Have yourself a merry little christmas by Karen Carpenter, Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas, Elton John Step into Christmas and he did another one with john lennon in the back ground called Who wants to be a turkey at christmas…its very obscure but i beleive its floating around the net somewhere.

And speaking of John Lennon…Happy Christmas war is Over, it got TOTALLY ripped of in 1978 by Jmamica board of Tourism… Theres this commericial on youtube… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvbRd8bHSaw

Matt: It's kind of like owning the Charlie Brown holiday specials on DVD (I do have all of them, but only because I work nights and am never home to catch them on TV). Besides that, if I owned A Christmas Story on DVD I couldn't torture my parents with the marathon (they hate it) by saying, "This is the only day of the year I get to watch it! I don't own the DVD!" You'd think that would encourage them to buy it for me, but it doesn't, which I'm just fine with.

Back when we had cable, I used to watch the "A Christmas Story" marathon. My mom bought the DVD a few years ago, so now it's tradition to watch it the weekend after Thanksgiving to get us the Christmas spirit.

Oooh, ooh! I almost forgot today is Sunday! That means Black Friday ads!! YES!! And Wednesday starts ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas, though I don't know how much of a Christmas movie Meet the Parents is.

Vanilla Fire and Ragnarock, So does that make SC like the 3rd notch down or something?

I know Mystie, it was like the kick off to the 13 days of Halloween that started with ET. It seemed like a stretch just because they needed get their money out of something they bought the rights to.

I don't watch A Christmas Story until Christmas Eve. That is my tradition, and it will never change. There's nothing better then coming back from my Church's Christmas Eve service, making some hot chocolate and pouring a glass of eggnog, while slouching on the couch by the Tree while watching a Christmas Story. Wow, that has to be a confusing run on sentence.

Matt Congrats to you and your girl for the awesome baskets. I dunno, I think her basket looks pretty darn good, even without the electronic stuff you won!

DJ D–If you need that sort of validation, then, yeah, SC can be the third notch. (And on an unrelated note, I finally saw the 1st Batman movie…I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was actually a good movie, unlike the so-bad-it's-good charm of Batman Forever and Batman! The Movie.)

Apparently, I glossed over the second basket. I don't think I eat a single thing in there

Another day of trolleying down the Magnificent Mile with X-Mas music. I heard a song I've never heard before today, It was short, sung by Santa and went like "Jingle Jangle jingle, hear those sleigh bells ring, I am old Kris Kringle, I'm the king of jing-a-ling!" I was cracking up at that one, what a poorly worded song. People were saying it's too early for Christmas music, but it's cold, the lights are up, might as well feel festive with the music. We're all gonna be sick of the holiday by afternoon of the 25th, so I'm gonna listen to the music and enjoy it before it drives me crazy.

Anyone else love to watch Emmet Otters Jug Band Christmas? I love that special! Its made by Jim Henson, about this Otter who tries to win money for something for his mom in a talent show, and SHE tries to enter to win somethng for HIM!

ALso, I forgot to mention…i LOVE LOVE LOVE to watch Little Women(the one with Kirsten Dunst)on christmas eve!!! Its SUCH an awesome movie!!!

I've got this one Christmas lyric stuck in my head that's been driving me nuts all day. I know that I know the song, but can only remember this one phrase for some reason…."Uh-oh, the misteltoe.." That's it. That's all I got. What song is that from?

Vanilla Fire, I guess I just wanted to fit in with all the cool kids. Of course, I never thought that saying you live in/were from SC was ever considered cool, despite what Stephen Colbert says. I've been spending the last few years saving up and trying to figure out a way to get out. I guess I thought we earned a notch on the belt, you know, being all Confederate and such and providing the country with such luminaries as Strom Thurmond. Btw, I met the man once 13 years ago, and even then he was completely senile and could hardly carry on a conversation. Good riddance, you racist old bastard.

I don't have a favorite song. I did always dislike "All I Want for Christmas." I first heard it in my kindergarten music class, and guess who was missing her front teeth?

The other kids asked me repeat "Sister Susie Sitting on a Thistle" until I screamed. But 20ish years later, I heard a rendition by Count von Count from Sesame Street, and I like that one. I mean, it's the Count. And he makes it sound all Romanian/Klezmer. But I can ONLY stand that version.

DJ D: It's not Frosty The Snowman is it? I keep singing it and that's what I end up with.

Oh ho, the mistletoe
Hung where you can see
Somebody waits for you
Kiss her once for me
Have a holly jolly Christmas…

Matt, I used to live in that area. I went to the same church fair when I was a kid and it was awesome!

I won a basket full of food so bad nobody ever ate it but it was one of the proudest moments of my life

I just thought of another Christmas song I like, but I don't know if it has an official name. But I can tell you where it's sung. It's in the Muppet Family Christmas Special and in Jim Hensons underrated/almost forgotten "The Christmas Toy."

Some of the lyrics are:
Oh friend, Dear friend
All in the memory
We'll be together for Christmas

bill, Jemmy, Yep, that's the one! Thanks loads. That's been driving me crazy all day.

By the way, is there a difference between Bill and bill? Is there some sort of imposter/Bill wannabe out there, or do we have some kind of Sybil situation on our hands here?

In other news, (i.e. a shameless plug), as of tonight I just got booked to do my first official DJ'ing gig in over a year. I've kind of been away from the scene, mostly caused I moved away from the city, for a long time now and I'm glad to back in town and back in business. It'll be with 2 other Dj's who I've known and worked with for years, and a really groovy band from Columbia that I'm fairly impressed with. It's gonna be on Sat, Dec. 1st at The Art Bar, here in Columbia, SC. I'll have the flyer up on my MySpace page sometime in the next day or so. So, for you guys who live sort of nearby (*cough, cough, Bill/bill, cough, cough*), if by chance you want to make the drive and have nothing else to do that night, you should stop by. I'll buy you a drink and show off my spooky DJ'ing prowess…that is if you're not too put off by the whole goth/industrial thing. Now, if I can just hurry up and get my radio show back up and running between now and then we'll really be rolling. Ok, shameless plug over. Sorry bout that. I was just jazzed and had to share it with someone.

Some guys got all the luck! Way to win big this year, Matt! By the way, John Lennon's "Happy Christmas" is the worst christmas song out there. I'm striving to go the whole season without hearing that song… Won't be easy but will be well worth it.

Nizz–why is it the worst Christmas song? It's not the best, but it's certainly not the worst.

Oh, and Vanilla Fire, I almost had the chance to go see Stephen Colbert a few weeks ago. He came into town to do this campaigning thing for his show where he did like this whole press conference thing and the mayor presented him with the key to the city. A couple days later he showed footage of it on his show. Anyways, the whole thing took place like 5 minutes from my house, but unfortunately I had to work that day, so I missed my chance. That would have been a lot of fun. Oh well, there's always Hootie and the Blowfish (sense the sarcasm). They're from here and I've met them a zillion times (everyone here has, especially if you work at a radio and in clubs and such). For a while, when they were really big, this was the only city they could go where they didn't get mauled by fans. No one really cared that much around here. I guess no one really does anywhere these days…poor Hootie.

I'm glad you finally got to see Batman. To this day it's my all-time favorite movie ever. I can quote just about quote the whole stupid script. I think I mentioned this once before, but that movie, along with Beetlejuice and later on Pacific Heights, cemented Micheal Keaton as being my all-time favorite actor as well. I've never met anyone else that agreed with me on that, but I know there are plenty of them out there. I've been to the websites. Us loyal Keaton enthusiasts are a small army, but we're loud and proud. Ok, maybe not loud, but we're kind of proud.

I love the Waitress' song, too…came out when I actually was in my 20's, but not single. Might as well have been on some Christmases. I otherwise tend to go for classical, Celtic/Narada, and every single Twisted Christmas album that's out, with a smattering of Elvis (need to actually get the album, tho), Bing, and an album series probably most of you outside of the Northwest have never heard - Christmas in the Northwest.

Oh…and a Sailor Moon Christmas album. Yep, in Japanese, except for 'Last Christmas' which is in Engrish!

I utterly hate that Bruce Springsteen 'Santa Claus', tho, even the Twisted Christmas version that I accidentally played at work once while trying out music for the unit family Christmas party.

I'd love to have those DVDs you got, Matt, except that I already have Elf. Eventually I'll find copies I can afford I'm sure. Me, I HAVE to watch Rudolph at least once, to start off my Christmas season. Since I no longer watch TV I bought it on DVD and pretty much only do watch it once, usually on the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving. Always seems wrong to watch it more than once or twice, tho I watch all the others I have multiple times.

And I think that your girlfriend's basket is awesome, looks like its full of tasty, healthy foods.

BenS: That "King of Jingling" song is from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Do you mean to tell us you've never seen Rudolph? What kind of life are you living, man?

Happy Xmas (War is Over) >>>>> Wonderful Christmas Time. Or whatever that one is called. That's pretty obvious, though. John > Paul.

DJ D–I watched that Colbert thing on Facebook (someone posted a video in the 1,000,000 Strong for Stephen Colbert group)…it looked like so much fun. That sucks that you had to miss it. My friend got to see him at GWU. I was incredibly jealous.

Knegative, Oh you would have to bust out the "greater-than, lesser-than alligator". I'm in 4th grade math all over again.

I do that all the time. On the internet, I've never seen anyone put the preferred option second, so itis even easier to interpret.

I've seen the Rudolph movie, but that was maybe ten years ago, so the songs are all but forgotten. I guess the song is forgivable in the context of a film, but I kept thinking Santa was saying "I'm the king of ding-a-ling", which would have been hilarious.

BenS- He was. Remember that special was made back in '65 or so, so there are some phrases that have odder meanings now.

DJ D: That sounds awesome! I think I maybe on business that day down in FL but if not, count me in. Oh yeah, bill was me. I just had to fire that off fast before someone jumps me for thinking of the wrong song.

A few Xmas's ago I set the bar high for 8 straight views of the Christmas Story. I'm going to try and beat that this year so I am prepping the family in advance.
"RAALFIE!"

I would've wanted the Kahlua/Sambuca basket myself, but it seemed like every basket there was a winner. Oh! I dunno if anyone has seen Matt's YouTube videos yet, but Waiterbot has a vlog! This is probably the first time I've ever heard Matt speak! Does anyone else feel somewhat honored by that?

Fucking work today kept me away from my fellow X-E'rs. I probablay should not have gone to bed last night either….in the middle of the night i went to go to the bathroom, when i came back, i went to lay down and my fiancee slammed his elbow right into my right eye socket. it hurt so bad i thought my eyeball was bleeding. its kind of swollen still and my head hurts like a bitch. on a lighter note, at work today we had a christmas vacation conversation, and i told everyone that you can buy the moose mugs online…..needless to say i got quite a few puzzled looks as to how i would know that. other than that Goob I totally have the VHS of that Mickey's Christmas carol….it was the first VHS i ever owned as a child….i got it when i was 4. i think i might break it out during thanksgiving….hopefully the tape doesnt break or get eaten by the VCR. I also found out today that Officemax has a CD containing all of the songs from the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer christmas special. the last time i watched that, I drank a whole bottle of robotussin DM, and I couldnt figure out what was going on and i started freaking out.

Knegative: YES. John was so much more awesome than Paul, who I have always thought was overrated. I also think George was horribly underrated and underappreciated. And Ringo… well, he's pretty much just Ringo any way you slice it.

To throw my two cents into the Beatles debate…John, then George, and Ringo and Paul are tied. And I've never really understood why Paul was the "cute Beatle"…George was considerably more attractive, though Ringo probably aged the best.

LeighaThere are actually a few Rankin/Bass CDs out there - one with songs from all the major Christmas specials (sorry for the person who loves Jack Frost, its not on there!) and one with the complete soundtrack from Rudolph. Those are the ones I own, at least. You should be able to find them at Borders, B&N, Amazon, etc. or on eBay if they're out of print.

I will never deny that George was a very talented individual. I tend not to prefer some of his contributions to Beatles albums, though. My favorites of his were all on Let It Be. I DO appreciate the vast majority of Paul's work on Beatles albums, but as a solo artist John blows him out of the water.

Ringo. Oh man. I've seen way too many live examples of why it is hard not to love Ringo. He seems to me to be very happy and content at it. It is infectious. I loves me some Ringo

It's corny, cliche, and obvious, but the Beatles really are the sum of their parts. I just have very clear opinions when it comes to judging them individually.

Congrats on the big win! I never win anything. I seriously think I have the worst luck ever. I might be the only person on the planet that could buy 60 raffle tickets and not win a damn thing. It's sad really. I hope you win the stocking next year. I remember raffles from my youth that involved six foot long stockings, and no surprise here, I never won one.

DJ D: Not sure if you've been to a Target lately but they have these awesome lolipops with a lazer light on the opposite end. One features the Superman logo and the other has a Batman logo. I managed to annoy the wife with the Superman one for quite sometime, ensuring everything I passed sported a Superman symbol for at least a micro-second.

I missed SNT last night (I worked until 11 PM and then I got sleepy on the couch….and woke up at 5 AM to crawl to bed.)

I am reading all of the posts now….CONGRATS ON THE RAFFLE WIN. I completely have a thing like this in my tiny hometown, and I think I understand the hugeness of this.

Now, I am totally digging the 'favorite cheesy Xmas song of the season talk…and I totally have a different perspective this year as I am finally working in the service/retail industry for a Christmas season.
My bookstore has been playing Xmas music since Nov. 1st, so I am quickly learning which one of THESE songs I actually like for the long haul.

HAH! St. Patty's in Maysville, KY, would argue with you, iAM! Back when I was a kid, they had a festival every year that included a beer garden!

Dang I must live in the heavy bible belt of Kentucky. Either that or I don't know about the "cool" churches.

t's in the Muppet Family Christmas Special and in Jim Hensons underrated/almost forgotten "The Christmas Toy."

I remember that! Sadly, I only saw it once on Nickelodeon, but I remember most of it, like the antagonist was a Female Villain toy, the "New Toy" for Christmas who is doomed to replace the older ones.

Kind of made me think Toy Story ripped off of this special after I saw it. Most of what happened made me think of stuff that happened in the special.

As I already said my fav/least fav Christmas Muzak, I'll list my favorite songs (my least favorite remain the same):

-Christmas All Over Again (Tom Petty)
-Basically anything by the Trans Siberian Orchestra
-Carol of The Bells, any version. Especially Mr. Mackey's from South Park, the Vienna Boys Choir one found on the Jukebox, and the TSO Cover.
-Fairytale of NY, The Pogues. Such an awesome song.
-Do You Hear What I Hear, Bing Crosby's Version. That just screams Christmas for me, the big finish just embodies Christmas's message of peace and togetherness.
-I actually do like "Simply Having A Terrible Synthesizer," mostly FOR the Synthesizer cheesiness.
-Twisted Sister's cover of "O Come All Ye Faithful"
-Hark The Herald Angels Sing, the Charlie Brown version. Again, a classic and screams Christmas.

Ok, I'll admit one I also hate, "The Christmas Song" It just never clicked with me for some reason.

I also forgot to mention at KB, among all the other Christmas Muzak, there were songs from "Christmas In The Stars," aka The Star Wars Christmas Album. "What do You Get A Wookie For Christmas (If He Already Owns A Comb)?" and "Merry, Merry Christmas" were the songs I remember hearing.

Knegative, Oh you would have to bust out the "greater-than, lesser-than alligator". I'm in 4th grade math all over again.

Dear god, reading that…So am I, now. I totally remember doing that, as it was how I learned greater than/less than.

As for The Beatles…all this talk reminded me of the cutaway from one of the recent episodes of Family Guy about Ringo writing a song.

Paul (or whichever one): Oh, that's great, I'm gonna stick it up on the fridge so everyone can see it!

What is that song that they used to do on Saturday Night Live with Horatio Sanz… "I wish it was Christmas today?" By who? Anyway, I like that one…

The only thing I can remember winning is in a drawing at a video game store I won an xbox copy of the game Simpsons Hit and Run. It was right when it came out and I got it around Thanksgiving. It was like a Christmas present it was really neat. I got the latest Simpsons DVD set for Christmas so I watched some Simpsons and played the game at night. I beat the game in about 2 and a half months.

Leigh The first Disney movie I remember my Grandma purchasing for my sisters and I is the little mermaid. But that was so cool I felt guilty until I shared with everyone

Goob–I was never allowed to watch the Little Mermaid (because my mom's a feminist and Ariel changes herself for her man).

General question: What Christmas song goes "Dong-dong, merrily on high"? I've got it stuck in my head and can't figure out what it is.

Ding dong merrily on high,
In heav'n the bells are ringing:
Ding dong! verily the sky
Is riv'n with angel singing.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

E'en so here below, below,
Let steeple bells be swungen,
And "Io, io, io!"
By priest and people sungen.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

Pray you, dutifully prime
Your matin chime, ye ringers;
May you beautifully rime
Your evetime song, ye singers.
Gloria, Hosanna in excelsis!

I absolutely fucking LOVED The Christmas Toy when I was a kid. I watched it every single year and used to be convinced my toys moved around and did things while I wasn't in the room. Now when I try to talk to people about it no one knows what I'm talking about. Holy shit, thank you soooo much for bringing that up! Now I can stop questioning my sanity! (Well, at least on this particular issue.)

I thought The Christmas Toy was a great special…but it made me bawl like a baby every damn time so I've only seen it in its entirety like, twice.

Invader N.- Twisted Sister's version of "O Come all ye faithful"? Isn't that just "We're not gonna take it"? Dee Snider said that song was just a rip off of OCAYF and one other song I can't remember. And all the best Christmas songs are traditionally the old, christian songs. I love the one that has the long "gloria" in it. More hated ones "grandma got run over by a reindeer", and "I saw mommy kissing santa claus". I would love for them to just go all out with the white trash christmas songs and start doing songs like "Santa had too much eggnog and wrecked his sleigh into a Waffle House" or "I saw Daddy beat Santa with a tire iron".

I have never tried Sambuca…but it is a favorite amongst the cooks where I work. And it's fun to say.

Last night was one of the few in my life that I had so many vodka cranberries that I forgot what I did or did not do. And I totally thought I had posted here. But I didn't, and I think I am glad. Happy very late (so late it's over) SNT!

BenS- I have a song called "Blue Collar Christmas" from my Blue Collar Comedy Tour CD. You can look for it on iTunes, maybe. You might like it.

Moony: I just got done watching it (someone uploaded the entire thing on Youtube), and holy crap, I don't think I've cried that hard in a long time. The song Rugby sings to Mew absolutely kills me.

Still, I am UNBELIEVABLY happy right now. It's even better than I remembered. I think that might just be my favorite Christmas special.

Everybody keeps saying that "sambuca" is fun to say. Is it pronounced "sam-boo-ca" or is there some secret special pronunciation that makes it extra fun, and nobody has ever told me about it?

I only remember that song from 2 places: From Muppet Christmas Carol and at the end of the "Houseguests" sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Speaking of Muppet Christmas Carol, I found it in its 99% entirety on youtube last year, only to know that it got taken down a little bit after christmas.

During the Christmas Carol scene, I found it perfectly fitting for The Count to be singing "I Saw Three Ships."

Cameron: "Christmas Today" was done by Horatio Sanz, Jimmy Fallon, Tracey Morgan, and Chris Kattan.

Does Adam Sandler "Hannakuh Song" count as a Christmas song? I like listening to that at least once every year.

Mmm… Sambuca (Sam-BOO-kah in my Italian family) is fun to pronounce with the BOO enunciated. It gives it the Sopranos "salute" sort of feel like you are toasting to your college graduation.

DJD - There is a high school named for Strom Thurmond in our area (Augusta TV area) and the high school just won their first state title as an integrated school in 2005. I grew up in the north so when I heard that it took me back to what the ole' south has in its history.

Someone else uploaded it, too, and seems to have a better transfer - The Christmas Toy