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Monday, December 26, 2011

Monday Matinee - Rocky

I don't know what it is about December 26th, but I've always felt a little bit of a letdown the day after Christmas.

Certainly yesterday was a time of celebration, love, and festive behaviour. But then what? The eggnog has been drunk, the presents unwrapped, the relatives gone back to their homes. It's all kind of depressing the day after Christmas, for everything goes back to normal.

On top of all that, there's the whole idea of Boxing Day, and the accompanying sales that come along with Boxing Day.

See, in the United States, the big shopping day is Black Friday. In Canada, our version just happens to be Boxing Day. And believe me, if I can afford to do it, I would stay far away from retail establishments as humanly possible.

Unfortunately, I work retail. And, unfortunately, I'll be working today. But that's okay. I don't mind. I have a huge walk-in cooler I can duck and cover in if the customers get too unruly.

At any rate, while people are likely going to be spending Boxing Day standing in long lines returning that crock-pot that they got from their Great Aunt Gertrude so they can get that Blu-Ray player that they really wanted for Christmas, I'll instead talk about the first non-holiday themed entry for the month of December in quite some time.

In this case, the phrase Boxing Day will be used in a literal sense.

I had always looked for an excuse to feature a sports themed movie in this blog entry. I myself am a terrible athlete, and pretty much fail miserably in any sport that is not volleyball or bowling, but for the most part, I find movies based on sports to be quite good. I may not get all the terms, or may not be able to tell the difference between a home run and a grand slam, but if the movies are well-written, they can still be enjoyable.



And the 1976 classic film Rocky is one of those films that still holds up 35 years later.

(Heh...imagine that. A film about boxing on Boxing Day. Go figure.)

Rocky was released in theaters in December 1976 (though New York City had an advanced screening about two weeks prior). What was interesting about the film was that the screenplay was written by a relative unknown in the business.  Not only that, but the person who wrote the screenplay also did double duty, starring as the main character of the movie!



Who knew Sylvester Stallone was a talented multi-tasker?

Prior to Rocky, Sylvester Stallone was struggling. He had gotten evicted from his apartment in New York City, and ended up being homeless for a few days. In an interview that he did with Total Film, he admitted to sleeping at the New York City Port Authority when he saw a casting notice for a soft core pornography production entitled 'The Party At Kitty and Stud's'. Stallone only took on the role in the film out of desperation, and that appearance would become his first credited appearance in a film.

But when Stallone showed off the screenplay that he devised for Rocky (a screenplay that he was inspired to write following the 1975 match between Chuck Wepner and Muhammad Ali), Stallone himself was far from being the first choice to play the title character of Rocky Balboa.

The movie studio that was producing the film, United Artists, loved the script that Stallone presented to them, but pictured the starring role as being played by a well-established star. Among the names tossed around for consideration? James Caan, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, and Ryan O'Neal, just to name a few. But Stallone was determined to star in the film, appealing to the producers to give him a chance to show off his acting chops.

Stallone had managed to convince the two executive producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler, that he was the one who should star as Rocky, but even though Chartoff and Winkler were receptive to the idea, their uneasiness about letting a relative unknown headline a motion picture was still present. Casting for the other roles in the movie proved problematic, as both the roles of Adrian and Apollo Creed were cast late in the film's production. Eventually, Talia Shire and Carl Weathers were cast on the same day for the two roles, though according to The Rocky Scrapbook, other actresses in consideration for the role of Adrian were Carrie Snodgrass and Susan Sarandon.

Rocky was also one of the first films (but not THE first) to use the Steadicam technology, which was used to take smoother shots while actors performed an action that would normally make the camera jiggle.

It has been said that the movie only cost a total of one million dollars to film, which by 1976 standards was quite low (especially when you consider that when Star Wars was released one year later, the budget was ten times that amount).  But consider this. When Rocky was released, the film managed to earn a profit of over $225 million, making it the 6th highest box office return of all films ever made!

One reason why I liked the movie a lot was because from the get-go, it was a real underdog story. And as someone who has been in that position in a number of instances, I can tell you that I am definitely a fan of rooting for the underdog.

I guess in one way, it was sort of an underdog story for Sylvester Stallone in real life. So many people doubted that he could pull off a leading role in the film, and were reluctant to take a chance on him, but Stallone insisted that he was perfectly capable of taking the role and running with it. And, well...you don't need me to tell you that five sequels later, and a bunch of Rambo films later that Sylvester Stallone has made his mark on the movie world ever since as a result of his persistence. So, kudos to Sylvester Stallone on that one!

Anyway, as you know, Stallone managed to convince producers to let him star as Rocky Balboa, a man who worked as a debt collector for a local loan shark in Philadelphia named Anthony Gazzo (Joe Spinell). He manages to make out a living in the Kensington area of Philly, but there's something inside of him that makes him realize that he doesn't want to continue this job forever. He needed a change, and he needed it badly.

Fortunately, a way out seems to present itself in the form of the World Heavyweight Championship, although Rocky doesn't realize it at first. The bout, which is scheduled for the first day of 1976 (to coincide with the American bicentennial later that year), was to take place in Philadelphia, and had undefeated heavyweight superstar Apollo Creed as one of the fighters taking part in the event. Unfortunately, fate threatens to cancel the match indefinitely when the scheduled opponent for Creed is forced to bow out due to an injury.



This event is unfortunate, but Creed is not one to simply walk away from a match due to an automatic forfeit from his opponent. Instead, he offers up another solution. He issues a challenge to the city of Philadelphia to take on an unknown. A local underdog that will take on Creed for the shot of winning the title.

And the person who is selected to battle Creed? Rocky Balboa, a.k.a. The Italian Stallion.

Of course, Rocky has absolutely no experience boxing professionally. He needed some major training to even so much as have a fighting chance against a professional fighter...particularly one with an unblemished record as Apollo Creed.

Enter one Mickey Goldmill, played by former Batman villain, Burgess Meredith.



(On a related note...having the Penguin teaching you boxing moves would be quite the surreal experience, would it not?)



Mickey taught Rocky everything he knew, having been a bantamweight fighter himself in the prime of his life. Although the two clash on a few occasions during the training sessions, Mickey eventually comes to the conclusion that Rocky's potential was much greater than his effort, and he tries to get Rocky to train harder and stronger to make sure that he can reach his maximum power.

Which in turn leads to the iconic scene of Rocky running up that set of stairs to this song.




Ah, yes...the whole running up the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the grey workout clothes, jumping triumphantly at his success in making it to the top. Still a classic moment thirty-five years later.



Other people are also on Rocky's side, and helped him gain the strength and confidence needed for him to have a fighting chance against Creed. Take Rocky's friend, Paulie (Burt Young). He let Rocky practice his skills on a slab of beef at the meat-packing plant where he worked. Sounds kind of barbaric, but it seemed to do the trick.



And then there was Adrian Pennino (Shire), sister of Paulie, and eventual love interest of Rocky Balboa. The two start dating during his training sessions, and have a rather romantic date on an ice skating rink (which was purposely filmed without extras in order to keep the budget costs down). Rocky admits to Adrian that the odds of him beating Apollo Creed are astronomically high. All he wants to do is last the entire duration of the fifteen round match without suffering a knockout, and that was good enough for him. No other fighter had managed to accomplish this, and Rocky really wanted to be the first. Then, and only then, would he finally be seen as someone who accomplished something and not just another bum from the neighbourhood.

So, when 1975 becomes 1976, and the match goes ahead as planned, it's Rocky versus Apollo in what was touted the match-up of the year, and while Apollo was determined to defend his undefeated title, Rocky just wanted to last the whole fight.

But, damned if I'm gonna tell you how it all went down. You'll just have to see for yourself.

But, really, Rocky was a great film. One of the few films I can think of in which we have fun rooting for the underdog...especially when the actor at the time was one himself.

But considering the legacy of the Rocky franchise, I think Rocky Balboa did all right for himself.

And, for that matter, so did Sylvester Stallone.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Sunday Jukebox - A Very Special Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS, BLOG FOLLOWERS!

I'm sure most of you are probably busy opening up your Christmas presents, cooking the Christmas ham, and singing Christmas carols, so I won't keep you from your celebrations any further. In fact, this blog entry will probably be one of the shortest ones that I'll ever do.

Today is Christmas, but it also happens to be Sunday, which means that it's time for the Sunday Jukebox feature. Since I began the Sunday Jukebox, I've posted a song that was up for discussion.

For today's blog posting, I think that a whole album is going to be featured. After all, today is Christmas, and this will be the last Christmas blog entry for 2011. I wanted to make it a memorable one.

There is a story behind this album too.

Certainly growing up, we all had our own holiday soundtracks that we all listened to during our childhood. My sisters and I were no exception.

For one sister, I believe the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer soundtrack was a part of her childhood holiday soundtrack. My other sister owned an album by the Peppermint Kandy Kids (at least I think that's what it was called).

And in my case, I had this album.



'A Very Special Christmas', released in 1987.

Would you believe that this was the first of SEVEN Very Special Christmas albums released? It's true. A Very Special Christmas was one of those albums that had classic and non-traditional Christmas carols recorded by popular artists at the time the album was released.

Now, I know what you're saying. Most pop artists tend to murder Christmas carols instead of making them better. Yeah, well, I tend not to agree. If a song is done well, I can overlook it.

You know something, I can even tolerate that Justin Bieber Christmas song that's out right now. Of course, back when 'A Very Special Christmas' was released, Justin Bieber wasn't even born yet, which makes me suddenly feel really old.

But really, the proceeds of 'A Very Special Christmas' went towards a fantastic cause. All the money raised from the sales of the album went towards the Special Olympics.

Keith Haring, who died from AIDS in 1990, designed the cover art for this album, as well as the six follow-up albums of the same series (basically the same picture, just with different background colours).

By 1998, the album was certified quadruple platinum (selling over four million copies over a ten-year-period.

That's a lot of money raised for the Special Olympics.

And really, that's all I have to say about this album. The reason why I wanted to talk about it is because every Christmas deserves a holiday soundtrack, and I thought...why not post the songs from the album in links on this blog so that you can enjoy the sounds of the season as well?

Here are the fifteen songs on the original pressing of the album in 1987. I say original because there's a substitution in later pressings of this album.

Here they are, in order.




Now, on some later releases, track #13 was replaced by a different Bon Jovi song (I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Christmas), but for the most part the track listing remains unchanged.

As far as my favourites, #5 is probably my all-time favourite...something about the way Chrissie Hynde delivers those lyrics sends chills down my spine. #2 is quite well done as well. I liked #8, just as a novelty hit. #12 and #13 are fairly decent songs as well.

Still, there are a few misses as well. I liked Madonna back then, but I find Santa Baby to be one of the worst Christmas songs ever written, so I call that a miss. I'm also normally a fan of Stevie Nicks, but felt she could have done a better job with a different carol.

But still, the album is worth checking out.

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope it's filled with everything you hoped it would be and more.

See you Boxing Day!

(waves goodbye!)

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Saturday Morning: Alvin and the Chipmunks

We've waited all year, and it's almost here! Happy Christmas Eve, everybody!

For today's blog entry, I really wanted to go back in time. To a Christmas long ago that holds such fond, fond memories. It's very much linked to the theme for today, which is Saturday morning programming. And, it's linked to a show that I specifically saved for today of all days. That's how much this show meant to me.

So, let's take a trip back in time. Christmas 1988 to be specific. That particular Christmas was a very special one for me, as it was probably the last Christmas where everyone in my immediate family still lived under the same roof. The following year, my eldest sister would end up getting married and leaving home once and for all. As for the other sister, she was seemingly sixteen going on thirty-five. As the lone person under the age of ten in the family at the time, I was not exactly all that thrilled with the idea that everyone else in my family was getting older, and I was still just a kid.

Granted, the age differences between my siblings and I don't seem all that huge now that we're all full-grown adults...but when you're a kid, it seems a lot more noticeable.

Anyway, Christmas 1988 was turning out to be one of those Christmases that was filled with lots of happiness, and joy, and wonderful holiday traditions. And of course, just like most other Christmases that I can remember, there was an assortment of beautiful presents. My parents may not have had a whole lot of money to go around back in the 1980s, but they certainly did know how to make a dollar stretch. I can't remember having a Christmas where we did without, anyway.

That particular Christmas, I can remember there being three gifts that were all identically wrapped. All three of them the same size, same weight, same wrapping paper even. Two of them were for my sisters, the third one for me. They were a gift from Santa Claus.

And when the three of us opened them up, well...this is what we got.



All three of us had gotten one of the three Alvin and the Chipmunks dolls for Christmas. 

My eldest sister got Alvin, which made sense. He was the leader of the Chipmunks and her favourite colour was red. The other sister got Theodore, who was her favourite Chipmunk of the three.

As for me, I ended up with Simon. Which ended up being a good choice, as I always saw myself as smarter than my sisters.

(Little sibling rivalry joke there. Heh.)

No, in all seriousness, Simon was always my favourite. And, besides, Simon was the tall one of the group and wore glasses. I wear glasses and am at least six to eight inches taller than my sisters. Really, looking back on it back then and seeing how I turned out as an adult, the choice couldn't have been more perfect.

You know, twenty-three years later, the Chipmunk dolls still exist. They're all at my parents place, each one displayed prominently in our Christmas decorations each year. Alvin, Theodore, and my Simon doll. Simon still even has the little piece of tape hanging from his glasses when I accidentally broke them.



But that was cool. It just added a little extra memory to the fondness that I have of Alvin and the Chipmunks, and how they made Christmas '88 all that more memorable.

Of course, growing up, I was always surrounded by Alvin and the Chipmunks. One of the first cassette tape albums that I ever owned was an Alvin and the Chipmunk album! It was one of those albums that was obviously released during the 1980s as the Chipmunks and their girl counterparts known as the Chipettes did cover versions of popular eighties hits. Michael Jackson's 'Beat It', Cyndi Lauper's 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun', Billy Joel's 'Uptown Girl', and many more. Gimme a sec...



...okay, I just Googled it, and found that the album was called “The Chipmunks: Songs From Our TV Shows", released in March 1984.

You know, come to think of it, I think my parents bought me the tape because I was so into the Saturday morning television show that aired on NBC at the time.



The cartoon, which aired on NBC from September 1983 to December 1990, was probably my first introduction to the Chipmunks. And it was such a wonderful show. I have so many fond memories of watching that show while devouring bowl after bowl of whatever sweetened cereal was in our pantry at the time. I never missed one episode of the show, and after a while, I could sing along with the Chipmunks no matter what episode aired.



It's also nice to know that the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise is being brought to a brand new generation of viewers through the computer-animated feature films that have aired since 2007. The film versions have already released two highly successful films, and a third sequel, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, was released just a few days ago, on December 16, 2011. While I haven't seen any of these films (for some reason I can't get used to the fact that Dave Seville is played by the same guy from 'My Name Is Earl'), again, it's nice that a new generation is being exposed to the same cartoon characters that brought me joy in my own childhood.

But the origins of the Chipmunks goes way back. Even before I was born.



The origins of Alvin and the Chipmunks came about in 1958. The creator of the Chipmunks was a man by the name of Ross Bagdasarian. In 1958, Bagdasarian had been on the charts with the song, 'Witch Doctor'. It became a big hit in the summer of 1958, and spent two weeks at the top of the charts. Of course, the song was recorded by Bagdasarian under the stage name of David Seville. Part of the novelty of the 'Witch Doctor' record was the fact that in some parts of the record, the vocals were sped up, making Bagdasarian's voice more high-pitched as a result.

Like that of a chipmunk.

'Witch Doctor' was a hit on the charts, but it also won a couple of Grammy awards for song engineering the same year the song was released.

And the success of 'Witch Doctor' prompted Ross Bagdasarian to use the same engineering techniques to create a new singing group.

The premise was for Ross to use his stage persona of David Seville to promote a hot new group that was making the scene. The catch? The group was made up of three singing chipmunks that he had adopted as his own children. The chipmunks each had their own names and personalities. Alvin was the troublemaking lead singer. Simon was the intelligent, bespectacled Chipmunk. And Theodore's personality lead him to be a little gullible in nature, but he probably had the sweetest disposition of all of them.

And here's a bit of trivia for you. The three Chipmunks got their names from the executives of their original record label.

It was decided that with the Christmas season fast approaching, the Chipmunks first single would be a holiday themed one. So, during the fall of 1958, Ross Bagdasarian went to work singing each of the Chipmunks parts in a different pitched voice, and then harmonizing them together to form the Chipmunks group.

And, here's the perennial Christmas classic that came about as a result.



ARTIST: The Chipmunks (featuring David Seville)
SONG: The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)
ALBUM: Let's All Sing With The Chipmunks
DATE RELEASED: Fall 1958
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS: #1 for 4 weeks



Ah, yes...Christmas Don't Be Late. Once again, I have such fond memories of this song. To me, you can't have a Christmas without hearing this song at least once. It's a classic song where the Chipmunks sing about not being able to wait for Christmas, and how all they really want for Christmas are toy planes that fly around in loops, while all Alvin really wanted was a hula hoop (which back in 1958 was one of the most requested toys on Christmas lists).

The song immediately became a hit, landing on the top of the charts on December 22, 1958. It remained on the top of the charts until January 12, 1959. It would become the biggest hit that Ross Bagdasarian would have his name attached to. It was also the last Christmas themed song to ever hit the top of the Billboard charts. Even as of 2011, no other Christmas themed single had even come close to making the top of the charts in North America.



Bagdasarian shifted his main focus towards the Chipmunks project and released a television cartoon known as the Alvin Show (it ran for one season in 1961), and several records starring the Chipmunks. Between 1958 and 1969, Bagdasarian recorded a few albums as the Chipmunks, and each one sold quite a few copies worldwide.

Sadly, on January 16, 1972, Ross Bagdasarian suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 52. For seven years, the Chipmunks went silent. After all, the man behind the Chipmunks was gone, and it seemed as though the Chipmunks would soon fade away into the background.



Enter the son of the Chipmunks creator, Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and his wife, Janice Karman.

In 1979, when the younger Bagdasarian was thirty, he decided to honour his father's legacy by rebooting the Chipmunks franchise. With Bagdasarian taking over the voices of David Seville, Alvin and Simon, and Karman becoming the new voice of Theodore, the Chipmunks were reborn.

During the last half of 1979, the husband-wife duo of Bagdasarian and Karman recorded the newest Chipmunk album, and in June 1980, the album 'Chipmunk Punk' was released in stores. The album, which were cover versions of punk classics by artists such as Queen, Blondie, The Knack, and Tom Petty, sold very well in stores, and peaked at #34 on the Billboard 200 Albums list that same year.



And with that, the modern-day version of Alvin and the Chipmunks was reborn.

I for one am grateful that Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and Janice Karman decided to bring back the Chipmunks once more, to honour the legacy that his father created back in the late 1950s.

After all, I wouldn't have had this Christmas memory to share this 24th of December if they hadn't.

Merry Christmas Eve, everybody!


Friday, December 23, 2011

TGIF: How The Grinch Stole Christmas

So, how many of you have completely wrapped up your Christmas shopping for this year? Are you completely finished yet? Still have a few gifts to buy? Haven't even started yet?

Well, if you are a part of the group to which that last question is directed to, what the heck are you waiting for? With less than 48 hours before the big day, time is running out!

Of course, the holiday season shouldn't be completely devoted to how much money you spend. It really should be about spending time with your loved ones, and not about how much you buy them. Certainly purchasing gifts that were tailor made for the person receiving the gift can provide much joy for the giver, especially if the gift is one that brings much happiness to them. But gifts shouldn't be the sole focus of having a happy holiday.

It kind of annoys me ever so slightly how commercial the holidays seem to be. From cell phone ads proclaiming that you can walk in a 4G wonderland (which actually sounds kind of dirty if you say it fast enough) to Hershey proclaiming that on the holidays they can stop the world and melt with you.

News flash, Hershey...Modern English did it first, and did it best.

Even walking through the shopping malls and department stores, it almost seems that the main motivation is pushing freight and merchandise to shoppers because of the fact that if you don't buy your loved ones a gift, you don't really love them. Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?

What else I find ridiculous is whenever I walk by a cash register with a long line-up approximately two days before Christmas, and hearing some people in the line complaining about waiting in line, and all of that jazz...I mean, those people do realize that they had three hundred and sixty-four days to plan ahead for the holiday, right? Sometimes there are circumstances where people are left with no choice but to do their shopping last minute, but not even those people seem to be mean-spirited about it all. I tell you, the things that go through some people's minds during the Christmas season.

Why it doesn't seem to take long for even the most well-intentioned people in the world to become a real nasty piece of work. And for what? An iPad? An XBOX Kinect? A partridge in a pear tree?

Why...one could almost call them a Grinch!



You know the kinds of people that make up a Grinch...they're self-centered, they do dastardly things to get what they want, if their holiday gets ruined, then s/he'll do whatever it takes to ruin someone else's holiday. Yeah, you get the drill.

If you have any Grinches in your family or your inner circle of friends, then you know that sometimes they can be quite hard to deal with. Sometimes they can be so aggravating to deal with that you find yourself resisting the urge to take their head and dunk it repeatedly inside the bowl filled with eggnog.

There is good news though. The Grinches of the world can be rehabilitated and with a little tender loving care, they can reclaim their love for the holidays and become warm-hearted individuals.

Here's one case study that I think we can take a lot from.

In 1957, Theodor Seuss Geisel (better known to you and I as Dr. Seuss) wrote a book that dealt with the whole idea of holiday Grinches. In fact, the main character of the book was a Grinch!



'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' was Dr. Seuss' first attempt at a Christmas-themed story. Not only did Dr. Seuss write the book himself in rhyming verse, he drew all the pictures in the story as well.



The book was eventually made into an animated television special, and a live-action movie featuring Jim Carrey as the title character. (You knew I had to slip in a reference to the 6 Days Of Box Office Christmas week, didn't you?)

But for the sake of argument (and because I haven't seen the Jim Carrey adaptation of the show), we're going to focus on the animated special, which debuted on December 18, 1966 on CBS originally. Over the last few years, the show has been broadcast on ABC and ABC Family, and is traditionally one of the holiday specials that kicks off the holiday season. It is also one of only four television specials produced in the 1960s that still airs on a regular basis, right alongside A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty The Snowman, and Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer...all of which have entries already devoted to them on this blog!

The voice of the Grinch, as well as much of the narration of the special was done by actor Boris Karloff. The role was one of the last ones Karloff would end up doing before his death in 1969. And what a fine job he did with the voice of the Grinch at that.



The song 'You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch', as heard above, was also recorded by a familiar voice. Many of you may not recognize the name Thurl Ravenscroft at first glance, but those of you with keen ears may notice that for several years, he performed the voice of Tony the Tiger in the commercials for Frosted Flakes cereal.

He's just that grrrrrrrreat!

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Anyway, the television special was just like the book as it was written, which was perfect for children. They could read the book and follow along with it as the show aired. Of course, the television special was done in full colour, while the original book was done in a red and black colour scheme.



The first part of the show takes place in the fictional town of Whoville, a place where the citizens, known as Whos, are getting incredibly excited about Christmas. They've decorated their homes with lavish decorations, putting together all the fixings for a lovely roast beast dinner, and are hitting the stores for the latest toys, such as a 'bizzle-bink'.

Apparently, Whoville was a place where the really great gifts were ones that were nonexistent in the human world. But, no matter. Christmas was a great big deal to the townspeople of Whoville...they even had their own song welcoming Christmas Day.



But not everyone in the vicinity of Whoville was excited and happy about the holiday. There was one person nearby who hated everything about Christmas. I mean it, he was one miserable miser of a man, who chose to live alone, away from everyone.

This man was the Grinch.

And he was about to do something incredibly despicable.



Living in an out-of-the-way cave away from civilization with his faithful canine companion, Max, the Grinch was one who hated the people of Whoville and their Christmas celebrations. He has hated Christmas for fifty-three years. Why this was the case however wasn't shown in the original version though. I have heard that they go into further detail in the Jim Carrey version, but as I haven't seen that one yet, I can't really comment on that.

What I can tell you is that the Grinch is so against Christmas that he has a rather selfish wish in regards to the holiday. Though, I guess you can't really hold that against him, as he was born with a heart that was two sizes too small.

His dream on one particular Christmas Eve is to prevent Christmas from coming to Whoville. At any cost. After all, if he wasn't going to enjoy the holiday, why should anyone else, right?

It isn't until he sees his dog Max covered with snow in such a way that Max looks like Santa Claus, the Grinch comes up with an evil plan, complete with a grin so obnoxious, it would be almost creepy.

His plan was to dress up as Santa (with Max getting dressed up like a reindeer), and head to Whoville in a sleigh filled with bags. The difference? Instead of leaving toys and goodies behind at every house, he would instead take every holiday decoration away from the poor, unsuspecting citizens of Whoville.

That's right, folks. The Grinch was going to steal Christmas from everyone.

Isn't that a kick in the pants?

Making their way towards Whoville, the Grinch is ready to steal items quicker than a shoplifter at a Kwik-E-Mart, and he's thinking that nothing...nobody would dare stop him now.



Enter sweet little Cindy Lou Who, who awakens from her slumber in time to see the Grinch helping himself to the Christmas tree. I assume that had I come downstairs to see Santa stealing our tree, I would have been horrified. Heck, had my dad come downstairs to see Santa stealing our tree, he probably would have shot him!

Alas, the Grinch was prepared for the inquisitive nature of Cindy Lou, and he explained that her tree was broken, and that he needed to take the tree back to his workshop to fix it. He then dismisses Cindy Lou back to bed.



Now, if I were Cindy Lou, I probably wouldn't have bought that story. But she was young and impressionable, so I guess we can kind of overlook it. Too bad that Cindy Lou didn't scream out loud there and then...otherwise her house might have been the only casualty. Because she didn't, the Grinch wasted no time in stealing all the presents underneath every tree...and then the tree itself. He even raided pantries, cupboards, and storerooms to steal all the food necessary for making those delicious Christmas dinners. He even stole all the supply of roast beast! How inhuman!

To add insult to injury, he even takes the decorations off of the village storefronts, and even robs the village of the town Christmas tree in the middle of Whoville Square! It's a wonder that the Grinch and Max even made it back home after stealing what must have been several thousand pounds of Christmas themed merchandise and decorations!

But it would all be worth it. The Grinch had successfully stolen every trace of Christmas from Whoville. It would almost be worth it to the Grinch when the people of Whoville woke up Christmas morning without any Christmas celebrations at all. He had them right where he wanted them...vulnerable and miserable...just like himself.

But the citizens of Whoville DIDN'T cry. Instead, they sang.

Despite the fact that all of their decorations and presents were gone, the Whos decided to welcome Christmas in their own, happy manner. By singing Christmas carols, and loving each other, and spending time together.

It was a lovely sight to see. That the Whos didn't even need any decorations or presents to have a lovely Christmas. They were going to have that great Christmas anyway.

And that very visual made the Grinch feel quite small...at least at first. He sees the people of Whoville having fun despite all of his crimes against them, and he starts to realize that maybe the gifts and the decorations aren't all that important. And as he realizes this, his heart begins to swell.

And then he notices that the sleigh filled with the Whos Christmas celebrations is about to cascade down the cliffside, and he and Max rush to try and prevent a disaster from happening.

As he does this, his heart grows three sizes, and as a result of this phenomenon, he becomes incredibly strong. So strong that he has the strength of ten Grinches, plus two! That's quite impressive.

And what do you think he did with his newfound strength? That's right! He took that sleigh back to Whoville and gave them back their Christmas gifts, decorations, and yes, even the roast beast, and the citizens of Whoville happily welcome the Grinch into their homes and hearts for a good old-fashioned Whoville Christmas.

You know, I think that the Grinch can teach us a couple of life lessons here.

One...you don't need to have fancy bells and whistles, or even expensive gifts to simply have a wonderful Christmastime. All you really need is the Christmas spirit to guide you through. And the love of good friends and family.

But secondly, it doesn't pay to be miserable towards others who just want to celebrate the holiday. It's only when the Grinch saw what the real holiday spirit was all about that he started to get what the real meaning was.

And, hey...if the Grinch could get it...so can everyone else, as far as I'm concerned.



Thursday, December 22, 2011

Across The Pond and Beyond - A Christmas Carol

Hey, everyone.

Yesterday's entry was one that was a bit hard for me to write, but it was one that needed to be said. It helped get a lot of the feelings that I was feeling out there. It's never easy to say goodbye to someone who you have developed a close bond with, and just writing about how much that friendship meant to me, it really helped me cope a little better.

Today is a new day, and I'm sure that if I knew my friend as well as I did, she wouldn't want me to feel sad for very long, so today we're going right back into the original purpose of this blog, which is to have fun with it.

After a little bit of a hiatus yesterday, we're going to restart the 7...6 Days of Box Office Christmas. And today's entry was the one that I was going to originally be posted yesterday.

(I decided to forego the arcade Thursday post because the only example I could find takes place on Christmas and the game is a survival horror role playing game. Mmmmm...nothing says Merry Christmas quite like killing off mutated creatures, doesn't it?)

So, today will become Across The Pond and Beyond Thursday instead. Today's topic has been made and remade into various movies, television episodes, stage plays, and operas over the years, and is based on a book written by a prolific British author. The book has remained in circulation for well over a century and a half, and is widely considered to be one of the finest works that Charles Dickens ever wrote.

Keeping in mind that Charles Dickens wrote several books in his career.



That book is Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

You ever have some sort of epiphany at some point in your life? One where you're sitting somewhere and you realize that the way that you may be living your life the completely wrong way? Then something just strikes you out of the blue, shows you what you're doing wrong, and then you make the changes necessary to improve things?

That's what this novella is about.

A Christmas Carol was written during the mid-19th century, and was first published by publishing company Chapman & Hall on December 19, 1843. Interestingly enough, the book was written at a time when Britain was experiencing a nostalgic interest in forgotten Christmas traditions. As well, it was written during a time when brand new traditions were being implemented, such as setting up Christmas trees and mailing Christmas cards. The book was also credited with restoring festivity and cheer to the holiday in Britian, in which before it was a period of sombreness.



The one thing I can note from reading and re-reading this book over the years is the amount of contrasting imagery within its pages. It's a very schizophrenic, manic-depressive sort of a book. While the book does a fantastic job of showcasing the joy and festiveness of the holiday season, it also provides darker imagery. Imagery filled with death, darkness, and despair.

What also makes the book a little more interesting is the fact that a lot of the book was influenced by the personal experiences of the author. A lot of these references admittedly were taken from Wikipedia (which I know gets a bad rap from people), but the books that the site cites (heh) are one hundred per cent real. So, you know what? I'm gonna go with it.

Dickens, who reportedly wrote the book in just six weeks, was influenced by a variety of sources. In fact, Dickens used some of his own humiliating childhood experiences as a template for the creation of the main character of the book, Ebenezer Scrooge. The depiction of Scrooge was more or less the conflicting feelings that Dickens had felt for his own father. What had happened was that when Dickens was twelve, his father was imprisoned, and he was forced to leave the life he knew behind for a much more depressing one. Back in the mid-19th century, there were no labour laws for children, and at twelve, he was forced to leave school to go and work at a blacking factory. He was forced to pawn all of his childhood possessions, including his collection of books, and he felt so uncomfortable at the factory that he began to develop nervous fits.

Although his father was eventually released from prison, Dickens was forced to continue working at the factory, his once happy childhood deemed a memory. As a result of this, Dickens' feelings for his father became conflicted. It was almost a split personality. He loved his father, yet hated him at the same time. For it was his father's imprisonment that changed his life forever. As a result of his experiences in the factory, it left him a changed person, and his writing work was ultimately affected in his work. Perhaps a better example of this in action would be Dickens' novel 'David Copperfield', but it also applies towards A Christmas Carol as well.

One has to wonder if Dickens' experiences at the factory, as well as his touring other factories in Britain where poor children often worked in disgusting and appaling conditions, was one of the catalysts towards reshaping the child labour laws in Britain. Regardless of which, Charles Dickens ended up writing a fund-raising speech for a charitable institution serving the poor in October 1843. The speech urged workers to fight ignorance with educational reform. That speech would later be the starting point towards the creation of A Christmas Carol.

Now that you know the story and the influences that went into creating A Christmas Carol, we can continue with the plot.

The tale begins on Christmas Eve, 1843...exactly seven years since the death of Jacob Marley, former business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge. It becomes clear within the first few pages that Scrooge isn't a nice guy. He's stingy, selfish, and would rather end up cutting off a limb than give even a penny of his fortune away. He doesn't even know the meaning of the words kindness, generosity, charity, or compassion.

Of course, this could be because a lot of the reason why Scrooge got so wealthy was by letting other people do the back-breaking labour involved with running a business for him for very little pay.

Oh, he was a real Scrooge, all right.

One of his poor unfortunate victims? Bob Cratchit. Overworked and underpaid, Bob just seems to take the abuse in stride, for it really is the only job he can get. If Bob lost the job, his family would be on the streets, and he couldn't let that happen.

Of course, Scrooge seems to take great pleasure in the poor man's misfortune.

Oh, and one more thing. Scrooge hates Christmas. Scrooge only has two words for Christmas. Bah, humbug!

Not only does he hate Christmas, but it seems as though he wants everyone else to hate Christmas just as much as he does. He slams the door in the face of a couple of men seeking donations for a charity, and he turns down a dinner invitation from his nephew. He does allow his employee to have Christmas Day off with pay, though the only reason he does this is to follow social custom. If Scrooge had his way, Cratchit would work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

That night, Scrooge closes up the business for the holiday and heads back home. But as soon as he arrives at the front door, he is shocked by the appearance of the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley. The ghost of Marley practically begs Scrooge to change his ways, or else he'll be condemned to an afterlife filled with torment and pain. The chain that Marley is forced to carry around with him is the burden that he had to shoulder from his ruthless business practice when he was still living...the very same practices that Scrooge still committed on a daily basis.

That encounter would be scary enough, but then Scrooge is visited by three more ghosts. The Ghost Of Christmas Past, The Ghost Of Christmas Present, and The Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come.

The first spirit that Scrooge is visited by is the Ghost of Christmas Past, and this ghost takes Scrooge back in time to when he was still an innocent youth. It is here that we discover the reasons behind why Scrooge hated Christmas so much. We learn that Scrooge was a lonely child, who was left at the boarding school he attended by himself while his schoolmates returned home for the holidays. The fact that the story showed him being entertained by his books makes me wonder if Dickens didn't base this part of the book on his own life story. The ghost takes him on a journey through the past, which includes the time he worked as Mr. Fezziwig's apprentice, and how his fiancee, Belle, ended her relationship with him, due to the fact that he seemed to care more about money than her. We also see how Belle fell in love with another man and married him happily, which angers Scrooge.

Some variations of the story have slight additions to the Ghost Of Christmas Past arc of the story. In the 1984 film adaptation, starring George C. Scott as Scrooge, we see an additional scene where Scrooge's father arranged an apprenticeship for him, making his homecoming last mere days, and is suggested that the reason his father had such resentment for him was because of the fact that his wife died while giving birth.



(On a similar note, I highly recommend the 1984 version of the movie. Very well done.)

The next ghost to visit Scrooge is the Ghost of Christmas Present, and this ghost takes Scrooge on a different journey. He shows Scrooge through the city square, filled with dozens of joyful people picking up supplies for their Christmas celebrations, dinners, and parties.

After seeing a vision of Scrooge's nephew, they also drop in on the family feast of Bob Cratchit, where Scrooge gets his first glimpse of the Cratchit's youngest child, Tiny Tim. Tiny Tim is not a very well young boy. He walks with crutches, and while Tiny Tim's disease is curable, the Cratchit family lacks the money necessary to give Tim the medical treatment he needs...mainly because Scrooge doesn't pay much money.

Scrooge is shaken to the core by this image...not just because of the fact that he realizes that Tiny Tim is very sick, but because of the fact that despite this, the Cratchit family still manages to find joy and peace from the Christmas season.

Using the images of two young children who the ghost gives the names of Want and Ignorance, the ghost does a pretty convincing job of making Scrooge eat all of the unkind words he uttered beforehand, along with a nice slab of humble pie to make the taste seem even more unbearable. The more the Ghost of Christmas Present speaks, the worse Scrooge feels.

The proverbial cherry on top of Scrooge's dessert from hell comes courtesy of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, which paints a portrait of a rather gloomy Christmas, should Scrooge fail to change his ways.

People on the streets seem to be in celebration of the death of a known miser, and how they were making light of it...about how they would only go to the funeral if a free lunch was provided. Clearly not someone who was well-liked by the community.

Scrooge also watches in horror as the dead man's belongings are stolen and sold to Old Joe, a man who specializes in making money from stolen merchandise. Poor families are relieved and overjoyed that the man who they owed money to was no longer alive to collect it. It puzzled Scrooge in a rather sobering way. How could anyone treat anyone so cruelly and without dignity after they died?

But when the ghost shows Scrooge images of the funeral of young Tiny Tim, and the Cratchit family mourning his death, Scrooge suddenly gets a sickening feeling inside of him.

And when Scrooge gets a picture of the unkempt gravestone in the middle of a lonely graveyard, and sees that a newly dug up grave was meant for him, Scrooge realizes that the cruel man that everyone was talking about was him all along.

What a nightmare to experience. Imagine being so ruthless and cruel in your life, only to have nobody caring about you after you die. That would be the worst possible feeling in the world, right?

But, fear not. That was just one possibility that could arise. If Scrooge could only find it in himself to change his whole personality around, and become more kind and generous to those around him, then maybe a brighter future would come to him.

This is Scrooge's epiphany.

I suppose I don't need to tell you what happens next, except for the fact that the Cratchit family gets a Christmas miracle, courtesy of the once cold-hearted Scrooge.

Even though the story was written almost two centuries ago, it is still one of the most classic tales of Christmas ever written. As a result, several specials and movies have been made, each one with an ingenious method of storytelling.



I already talked about the 1984 George C. Scott movie, but if you get a chance to watch it, the Muppets did a version of the classic tale which is worth watching.



And of course, there's one of my own personal favourite versions...Mickey's Christmas Carol, from 1983. I mean, you have Scrooge McDuck playing Scrooge...what could be better?

Watch it below!