The stockings have been hung, the halls have been decked, and the eggs have been nogged... It is almost time for Christmas. Personally, I am not the most festive when it comes to the holidays. While I am definitely no Grinch, my enthusiasm also falls way short of Buddy the Elf's. However, one of the things that jingles my bells, is a good Christmas movie... and there are lots to choose from. So, in honor of the impending holiday, I present you with Kevin's Eleven: Christmas Edition. These are the top 11 films that get me going this time of year: 11. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)While it is certainly outdated and cliché, this Jimmy Stewart film is very watchable, and still a staple for the holidays. This heart-warming tale presents us with a man who has given up his dreams to help others, but ends up down on his luck, and questioning his life's worth. Just as he is about to give up on life, his guardian angel appears help him realize that he is surrounded by love and support by everyone in his life. 10. Trapped In Paradise (1994)This Christmas themed crime comedy is a tale of 3 brothers (Jon Lovitz, Dana Carvey, and Nicolas Cage), who travel to a small, quaint Pennsylvania town for the purpose of robbing its unsecured bank. However, they are unable to escape the "Paradise" due to a snow storm, and are taken in and cared for by the very people that they just stole from. Their generosity and holiday spirit warms the hearts of the criminals, prompting them to return the money and turn their lives around. 9. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)Based on a Dr. Seuss book of the same name, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic animated musical tale that shows how even the biggest curmudgeon's heart can be warmed by the innocence of a child. The story also enforces the lesson that Christmas isn't tangible, and can't be stolen, the season is about joy and love, not presents and material wealth. 8. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)While technically not a movie, this 28 minute animated classic follows Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts as they prepare to put on a Nativity Play. Charlie, however, becomes annoyed at his friends for losing sight of the holiday's true meaning, and set out to show them that Christmas is supposed to be... and while they initially mock his efforts, they eventually find the error in their ways. 7. Miracle On 34th Street (1947)Santa Claus has been sent to the loony bin, and put on trial? The department store Santa is truly THE Kris Kringle? This holiday classic helps us all find our inner child, and allows us to suspend our disbelief long enough to remember what it truly feels like to "believe." 6. A Christmas Story (1983)"Fra-Gee-Lay!? Must be Italian!" Deck the harrs with bows of horry, Fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra! 'Tis the season to be jarry, Fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra! Everyone has seen this classic Christmas comedy at least once (or 24 times if you're TV has ever been stuck on TBS during Christmas Day). This story follows the dysfunctional Parker family, through the reminiscent eyes of their son Ralphie, who wants nothing but a Red Ryder BB Gun, with a compass in the stock, and "this thing which tells time" for Christmas. However, no matter to whom he relays this wish, he is always greeted with the same response "You'll shoot your eye out, kid!" 5. Scrooged (1988)Bill Murray stars as Frank Cross, a wealthy, successful television producer with cruel, cold heart in this modern comedic adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Life begins to imitate art as his life begins to mirror the show he is managing, a Live Christmas Eve production of the same Charles Dickens play. Eventually, Frank sees the error of his ways, and urges everyone to celebrate the holiday with the ones they love, and not waste their time watching television. 4. Elf (2003)While I am generally not a huge fan of Will Ferrell-centric movies, Elf is a clear exception. The tale of a child reluctantly adopted by elves from the North Pole, but is clearly out of place. When he realizes that he is not one of them, he ets for New York, to find his real family. Along the way, he finds love in Zooey Deschenel (a cute quirky girl, go figure), and is able to re-inspire the Christmas spirit for the entire city. 3. Home Alone (1990)Before he turned into a complete weirdo, Macaulay Culkin starred as Kevin McCallister in the highest grossing comedy of all time. Kevin, the trouble-making black sheep of the McCallister family is accidently left behind as his extended family travels to Paris for Christmas. Left to his own devices, Kevin is able to thrive and survive in solitude, even as his house is raided by two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) known as the "Wet Bandits." He locks down the house, sets booby-traps, and is able to outsmart the crooks, reunite with his family, and even bring his creepy neighbor closer to his estranged family. 2. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)This stop-motion animated classic about Santa's top reindeer shows us that it is okay to be different. Rudolph is mocked and excluded by the other reindeer for having a red, shiny nose; and decides to run away from home. He teams up with another loner, Hermey, one of Santa's elves who aspires to become a dentist, and not make toys. The two embark on an adventure where they come across the "Island of Misfit Toys," a place for the toys that nobody wants, they feel welcomed, and learn that being different is a good thing, not a curse. They return to the North Pole, where Rudolph learns that he can be a great help to Santa, using his glowing nose to guide the sleigh through a snowstorm. 1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)Even though it is the third different portrayal of Rusty and Audrey, the Griswolds are all the same in this yule classic. Clark and Ellen are set on hosting a great family Christmas for the whole Griswold clan, however, as all of their ventures, things go very awry. From electrocutions and explosions, to SWAT Teams and a good old-fashioned kidnapping, this film has everything you could want in a Christmas movie. In honor of its #1 status, here are some great quotes from the movie: * "They had to replace my metal plate with a plastic one. Every time Catherine would rev up the microwave, I'd piss my pants and forget who I was for about half an hour." -Cousin Eddie * "You don't want him around if you're wearing short pants, if you know what I mean. Word of warning though, if he does lay into ya, it's best to just let 'em finish." -Cousin Eddie * "Dad, you taught me everything I know about exterior illumination." -Clark Griswold * Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead? -Clark Griswold Honorable Mention: Die Hard (1&2), Frosty The Snowman, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Jingle All The Way, Ernest Saves Christmas, The Polar Express
- Kevin Aherne I was at the 990WBOB.com Christmas Party mingling with fellow talk show personalities, when I got into a disagreement (debate) with a 22 year-old talk show host regarding the Middle East. We were both compassionate about our beliefs and went back and forth for several rounds that after that we gave each other a nod and changed the subject not missing a beat with No Hard Feelings and he said Dave that is what I like about you we can disagree and it’s okay, he said today if you disagree with somebody they call you an A-hole and walk away. The next morning a 20 year old evil young man killed 20 children and six adults at a school in Connecticut. I ask myself what type of evil parasite kills innocent children at a school or movie cinema or mall or just kill. The answer is Some 20 something year old males who are socially inept, sociopath, narcissistic, intelligent, evil SOBs. The big question is why are American’s young adults Snapping like Twigs? There are many countries that have handgun and riffle ownership how come these countries Do Not have the problems of young sociopaths going on killing sprees? There is no one answer to this question, although there many parts of the question that makes up the whole answer. The first thing I noticed is the main stream media and political machine are trying to use this horrific tragedy for their own agenda instead of focusing on why young males are losing their minds and have no remorse for life. CNN- MSNBC- Television Stars - Liberals are scream gun control .They are willing to change the U.S. Constitution instead of asking searching for answers to the important questions of why. Think about the Colorado Movie shooter he had his apartment booby trapped it took the cops days to gain access. He learned to do this by information he received on the Internet. Remember the new breed of sociopaths are intelligent and have access to the internet and the local hardware store. So what are we going to do? Take away the Internet or Blame the Killer? There are Many Questions I wish main stream media, main stream politicians and empty taking heads should address: 1. What are the effects of violent gaming? 2. What are the effects of Song Lyric glamorizing violence? 3. What are the effects of violent movies and reality TV advocating dysfunction and hate? 4. What are the long term side effect of Ritalin and Anti-depressants on children? 5. What are the effects of the removal of Prayer and God from our schools on the morality of our youth? 6. What are the effects of lack of discipline and personal responsibility have on our youth? 7. What are the effects of the breakdown of the traditional family have on our youth? 8. What are the effects of coddling the child to be self-centered? 9. What are the effects of no face to face socialization? 10. Do the zero Non Tolerance Programs in the schools work or exacerbate intolerance? There are many more questions that must be answered before we can jump to a conclusion. Ask yourself why the liberals say guns kill but advocate over 3,000 abortions daily. Why doesn’t CNN-MSNBC-The View or MTV discuss the mixed message being sent to our young? Ask yourself the agenda of the main stream media I believe this is not a gun issue we are doing something wrong in raising our young as a society also I believe in our Constitution. Ask yourself the liberals want to ban guns however Drunk Driving deaths are roughly equal to gun deaths so why don’t we also ban Beer, Wine and Whiskey? The Main Question Ask yourself why are Some American Twenty year olds becoming evil killing machines and Snapping like Twigs - You Tell Me. There is no innocence like that of a child -My prayers go out to the families. God Bless the Children and may God Save the United States of America. WildSide David Clyde On the way home last night, I listen to Alice Cooper sing "Devil's Food," and play the Cramps' "Psychedelic Jungle" CD thru for the umpteenth time, searching for inspiration to come up with an idea for this week's Haunted Cabaret... Done. Mission accomplished. Next, I decide to pop The Evil Streaks' new CD into the car stereo for the all-important Car Stereo Test. A couple days ago, my producer at WBOB hands me this CD and says it's up my alley. We are about to find out... I turn the volume knob hard right... and the sonic black magic of The Evil Streaks surges from the speakers and penetrates my head. It's the sound of an All-Hallows-Eve Carnival from Hell, complete with farfisa organ and tambourine, saturating the chill interior of my beat-up Chevy Malibu. I check out all 13 tracks, then listen to tracks 2,3, and 5 again. And again. Here indeed we have a potent witches' brew, thick as blood pudding, agile and quick as attacking amphetamine spiders. Drummer Too Fast Jim hits 'em just right, bassist Rev maintains a solid backbone, and guitarist John Kozik and guitarist/vocalist Myra put flesh on the demon. Jen Brunelle contributes the farfisa and tambourine & backups, while something or someone known in the credits only as Sloth contributes additional backups. Not everything here is perfect: there is an instrumental or two I don't think is necessary except to reach the final tally of 13 tracks, and a couple of the lyric rhymes sound forced. But the existence of a few small negatives, in a project this good, just makes you appreciate all over again the level of creative excellence at work here. Credit for the high quality of production goes to Clay Neely at Black Coffee Sound. The bottom is deep and dark without being murky, the guitars and vocals cut through the mix when they need to, and the farfisa decorates the overall sound like the ornate carvings on a gothic cathedral. Good stuff. Buy this CD and enjoy it. Give it your own Car Stereo Test, and let it possess you. Remember, I said buy it; don't just download it, because you'll want the artwork, too. The graphics are eye-catching, especially the beautiful and creepy cover drawing by artist Haig Demarjian, and the fold-out centerpiece Ouija board. I repeat: you want to own this. We have been given an early Christmas present: a high-quality recording by a top-notch band at the height of their creative powers. I hope we appreciate it, almost as much as I hope The Evil Streaks never get tired of working that planchette. Check out music from The Evil Streaks, Alice Cooper, The Cramps, and whatever else crawls out from under the bed and into my head, on The Haunted Cabaret: Wednesdays @ 10pm - George Goner Daily Mail- Scott Hall was bitten by his neighbor Robert Oates during an altercation in the victim’s Norwalk, Ohio garage. They may not have recorded the hit song Maneater made popular by the band of the same name, Hall’s mugshot shows that he tried to recreate his own version. Hall, 40, was watching football in his garage with a friend when Oates, 48, drove to the home to confront him about a previous run-in with the law. Local site News Net 5 reports that Oates was upset because Hall refused to testify on his behalf for a different underage consumption complaint that he faces a sentencing for. The incident report states that Oates started running at Hall in a ‘bull rush’ style, proceeding to tackle him to the ground with the help of his friend Ronald Mantz who arrived with Oates. The Smoking Gun reports that Oates bit a piece of skin from the area above Hall’s left eye, and left him bleeding profusely. ‘It appeared as though the chunk of skin had almost been completely bit off,’ the police report reads. Oates and Mantz, who were allegedly intoxicated at the time of the Monday night altercation, then drove back to Oates’ home. When police arrived on the scene, the pair refused to leave and Oates had to be stunned with a Taser twice by police before he was handcuffed. Oates’ mugshot shows that his mouth is dark red, presumably dripping in Hall’s blood from the bite. Note: the only thing that would make this story any better, was if the victim was the former WWE Star Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall. |
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