Merry Christmas!

While this blog has been sorely lacking in posts lately, I can assure you that it is fully because I've been busy catching up with friends and enjoying my Christmas break (and a heavy dose of Community). I love Christmas. The couple of weeks leading up to Christmas are great, but nothing beats the tradition combination of Christmas Eve-Day. My family does the exact same things every year, and have for as long as I can remember. On Christmas Eve, we all drive out to our family friends' house, join with a crowd of friends that might as well be family, and spend the night eating, talking, and singing songs (the first few are Christmas songs, but we usually give up after the first few, and branch off into some Janis Joplin, Joni MItchell, and The Eagles, to name a few). Christmas Day, we get out of bed, open presents, eat breakfast, and spend the rest of the day lounging around in our (new) pajamas, reading our newly acquired books, amusing ourselves with our new presents, and eating too much chocolate. For dinner, we usually have a nice traditional dinner with just the family. This year, we've finally accepted the inevitable and are having a dinner consisting solely of bread, cheese (in fondue form), and appetizers. It's lovely, and I couldn't be happier. Now, if you don't mind, I have to go join the family for (first annual?) Christmas Day Harry Potter double header, featuring Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 and 2. I love this.

(P.S. ALSO. GETTING A KITTEN. YAY.)

5 YouTube Videos

Okay.. so this whole "Christmas song a day" thing didn't quite pan out. But I've been busy, and I have an exam coming up, so I'm going to let that slide, and maybe start it up again after exams are done (and it's closer to Christmas). But just because I haven't posted anything in a while, here are 5 YouTube videos that I've found in the last week or so that are especially awesome:
Community's Freaks and Geeks
This is Childish Gambino's song "Freaks and Geeks" set absolutely perfectly clips of Community, the TV show that he stars in. It's really really well done. Don't just listen to the song, watch the video too.


Childish Gambino- Heartbeat (Violin Cover)
This is just straight up awesome. I am a sucker for when people do stuff like this with rap/hip-hop/etc songs. And this guy is really talented.


15,000 Singing "Say You Like Me"
This is footage that Charles Trippy from the YouTube channel CTFxC filmed onstage during a concert of his band We The Kings. It gets good at around 1:10. Seriously, this video almost gave me chills, and puts a smile on my face every time I watch it. Check it out.


Rod Stewart Gasoline Alley
Courtesy of my sister at thefemiwriter.tumblr.com, this is Rob Stewart singing Gasoline Alley. Just listen. It's nice.


Forever Yours
I'm subscribed to charlieissocoollike and nerimon on YouTube. I like them. And this is a cute video.  


So there you go! For those of you who still have exams, good luck! Now I have to get back to studying... :( 

All I Want For Christmas

Mariah Carey singing "All I Want For Christmas" is a classic for the holidays. After starting (and doing a lot) of my Christmas shopping yesterday, I now feel justified listening to songs that actually have the word "Christmas" in the title.


PS. She also just redid this song with Justin Bieber. Which is kind of weird, but not awful. (And it's "SuperFestive!"

Drummer Boy

Here's another song from my favorite Christmas time collection:
The Little Drummer Boy, Bob Seager and the Silver Bullet Band


Always a classic. Enjoy!

It's time.

It is time.

CHRISTMAS SEASON TIME. This year, I'm going with the argument that, because it is now officially December, I am entitled to whatever Christmas activities I'd like. Today, I started my Christmas shopping and had eggnog ice cream. Hell. Yeah.

Also, the best part of Christmas becomes (widely, but not wholly)  acceptable today. Yeah. CHRISTMAS MUSIC. My favorite thing about the holidays. For me, the only Christmas music to rock out to (with very few exceptions) are these two CDs: A Very Special Christmas and A Very Special Christmas 2. They're compilation albums of all kinds of Christmas music. You have your Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, your Tom Petty and your U2, even Boyz II Men make an appearance, among many other big names. These albums were released in 1987 and 1992, and they are what I think of when I think of Christmas music. Every year for my entire life these CDs have been played during the holiday season, and every November I get excited about listening to them again. So go check out the track lists, and give the songs a listen. I guarantee that it will get you in the Christmas spirit. Depending on how I'm feeling (I'll try) I think I'm going to post one song for one of the albums each day until Christmas. Sound good? Good.

First song I'll share? Whitney Houston's version of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" It's lovely, and always reminds me of the warm fuzzy feeling I get around Christmas.