Christmas 2011

The Bells of Christmas may be my favorite recording of a Christmas song ever.

Merry Christmas! It’s a Sunday morning and I’ll be going to church, but our choir is not singing; we sang on Christmas Eve, but not Christmas Day, which is fine by me. Besides, Santa is probably tired from putting presents under the tree.

Somebody I once met was born on Christmas Day 1924, and that’s the late Rod Serling. My blogger buddy Gordon has been trying to institute his and Humphrey Bogart’s birthdays (b. 1899) as alternative holidays for “those who may be atheists, agnostics, or just plain tired of the usual thing.” Don’t know how that’s working out.

Speaking of Serling, I reviewed his bio back in October, and I was thrilled to find that the book’s author, Joel Engel, commented on my post! Check it out.

And as for that OTHER holiday today, here’s The Bells of Christmas and Joy to the World, both sung by Julie Andrews. The former may be my favorite recording of a Christmas song ever; the latter recording pops as though it’s from that original Firestone tire LP that I owned as a kid, and in fact still own.

Want/Give for Christmas? QUESTIONS

What do you want for Christmas? What are you giving?

I’ve gotten pretty narrow with my Christmas want list, year after year. I always want a new Hess truck and a World Almanac. Every two or three years, a Leonard Maltin Movie Guide. And then I put a bunch of CDs on the Amazon list from which people select one or two; I’ve just added a couple of albums by Florence + the Machine, so it’s not ALL 20th Century artists.

As for what I’m giving, except for the wife and daughter, I’m usually utilizing the gift card.

What do you want for Christmas? What are you giving?
***
Christmas Eve in San Diego
The Tick Loves Santa!
What Shooting Parrots hates about Christmas; see my comment for related disdain.

 

Why Health Care Costs So Much in America

A provider is dealing with an insurance company that is claiming my wife has additional coverage, something she did actually have, but cancelled three years ago.

A worker in a health care provider’s office told me this story. It explains a lot.

A medical provider rendered services to a patient in 2008, and subsequently submitted a claim to the insurance company, which paid it.
In 2010, the insurance company decided to not pay for the service because the patient had other insurance coverage.
The provider had to go prove to the insurance company that the patient had no other coverage.
The provider resubmitted the claim to the insurance company.
The insurance company rejected the claim because it was not submitted in a timely manner!
The provider noted to the insurance company that it had PAID the claim two years earlier, then rejected the claim in error.
The insurance company finally paid – again.

I know this story is true because another provider is dealing with an insurance company that is claiming my wife has additional coverage, something she did actually have, but cancelled three years ago.
***
Take Out Some Insurance On Me, Baby (Uncensored) – The Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan.

Your Solstice Gift to Me – Ask Roger Anything!

So consider the gauntlet to be thrown down.

Doesn’t matter if you celebrate Hanukkah, Saturnalia, Festivus, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, Brumalia, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or nothing at all. You can give me a present, or presents. I LOVE presents!

The present will be to Ask Roger Anything. This means anything at all, and I must tell the truth or at least a variation of same. Last time Jaquandor did this, he wrote: “I’d also note that there are questions that I genuinely expect to get asked every time I do this, and none of those ‘Hey, will this be the time that X gets asked!’ questions has yet to show up!” I feel the same way. Though I DID try to press Jaquandor somewhat; he did edit one of my questions slightly.

So consider the gauntlet to be thrown down. I will answer at some points before Epiphany, depending on how the holiday turns out, and the number of presents (questions) I get.

The Fifteen Movie Questions Meme

Seems that “dream casting” often goes awry.

From here:

1. Movie you love with a passion.
West Side Story. I know it’s only a good, not great movie. But I love the music, dancing. I saw it when I was young, so it had a huge impression on me.

2. Movie you vow to never watch.
Saw 1 to infinity.

3. Movie that literally left you speechless.
Young Frankenstein, during which I laughed so hard, I couldn’t speak. Or Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part 1, that was so bad from a major director that I was slackjawed. Or Schindler’s List, which is probably the best answer.

4. Movie you always recommend.
I never “always recommend” anything. But if someone said, “I never like any of X (type or actor’s) movie,” I would see what has been seen and recommend something else. People who don’t like Woody Allen, e.g., I probably wouldn’t say, “Annie Hall”, which I love; I might pick Zelig. I’m likely to suggest Unforgiven for those who hate Westerns.

5. Actor/actress you always watch, no matter how crappy the movie.
Meryl Streep. I wouldn’t say I ALWAYS see her films, but she is the film performer whose body of work I’ve probably seen the most of, percentage-wise.

6. Actor/actress you don’t get the appeal for.
Oh, there are so many. The first person who came to mind was Megan Fox, whose acting lack of acting ability, even in the movie trailers, is evident.

7. Actor/actress, living or dead, you’d love to meet.
Denzel Washington. Seems like an interesting guy.

8. Sexiest actor/actress you’ve seen. (Picture required!)
Well, by the nature of the biz, a lot of performers are “sexy.” Not trying to overthink these things, the first person I thought of was Rose Byrne.

9. Dream cast.
I suppose it would depend on the project. I saw The Dirty Dozen when it was brand new, and it was perfect. Seems that “dream casting” often goes awry.

10. Favorite actor pairing.
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

11. Favorite movie setting.
Paris. I love Paris, though I’ve never been there.

12. Favorite decade for movies.
The 1990s. Probably saw more movies from that decade, too.

13. Chick flick or action movie?
Ignoring the argument over the nomenclature, chick flick.

14. Hero, villain, or anti-hero?
I’m not sure what antihero really means. So I’ll pick that.

15. Black and white or color?
Obviously, it depends on the film. But I’ll say b&w.

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial