Christmas Vacation

We had a great Christmas. We must've been really good this year because Santa left lots of presents for everyone. We had a great Christmas dinner. I suggested we have something besides Turkey but was overuled by both the kids. It's nice to know that they enjoy my holiday cooking so much that they don't want anything different. So we had: Turkey, Oyster Stuffing, Potatoes Au Gratin, Broccoli Casserole, Jambalaya, Avocado Salad, Rolls and Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream for dessert. Same as always, but it was good. Chuck made the Oyster Stuffing and Pototoes Au Gratin.

Becoming Jane

A new movie about Jane Austen is in production to be released in 07. It's called Becoming Jane. Anne Hathaway stars as Jane. You can vote on which poster you like best for the movie here:
The Film Factory

I voted for this one because it included a Jane Austen quote.

(Thanks to AustenBlog for the information.)

"Great Books" in the News

Should Linsay Lohen be cast as Natasha Rostov in a new movie version of Tolstoy's War and Peace?

From the article "New Chapter in Great Books Debate"

Literary canon losing ground
For the third time in 21 years, The Siena
Research Institute asked college students and faculty nationwide which of the
"Great Books" they have read. The list of 30 volumes was selected in 1984 by
William Bennett, then chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Survey dates were 1985, 1997 and 2006. Here is a sampling of their findings.
Oscar-nominated films based on a classic tale can boost the books'
popularity among students.
"The Odyssey" and "The Iliad" rose from 43
percent to 59 percent readership from 1985 to 2006. That follows the 2004
release of "Troy," a film adaptation of Homer's epic stories, starring Brad
Pitt.
Readership of "Pride and Prejudice" increased from 14 percent (1985)
to 26 percent (2006). Keira Knightley starred in the 2006 film version of Jane
Austen's story.
Perhaps a new adaptation of Dostoevski's "Crime and
Punishment" starring Keanu Reaves or Tolstoy's "War and Peace" with Lindsay
Lohan could revive interest: Those authors sit at the bottom of the list along
with such luminaries as Aristotle, Machiavelli and de Tocqueville.
Over
time, about half of students say they've read the Bible -- 55 percent in 1985,
50 percent in 2006 -- but faculty members' habits changed dramatically: In 1985,
80 percent recommended it, but only 56 percent in 2006.
Apparently, faculty
members instead chose to recommend that students read Emily Dickinson's poems:
68 percent in 1985, 75 percent in 1997 and 80 percent in 2006.

Read the whole article here:
Siena opens new chapter in Great Books debate

O Tannenbaum

I hope you know I was kidding in my previous post about the blog awards. Maybe someday I'll really get into this blogging thing. Anyway, I'm sitting here on a relaxing Saturday morning in front of our beautiful Christmas tree. Somtimes I feel like the Grinch or Ebenezer Scrooge when it comes to Christmas lights and trees. I wasn't looking forward to getting a tree because of the space it takes in our living room and the mess that falling needles make. I tried to convince the rest of the family that a nice fake tree would be just as good but it was no go. Everyone else wants the real thing.

Well now that it's up I'm glad we have it. I love the way my son gets into the whole thing. He reminds me of Chevy Chase in the movie Christmas Vacation. You know, the guy who never has enough lights and has to outdo everyone in the neighborhood, the one who blows the fuse on the electricity because of the power drain. That's my boy. Every year he insists on getting more lights. It's a good father son activity. But, every other morning the electric outlets in the bathroom don't work because of a blown fuse from the Christmas lights. At first I thought my blow dryer was dead, but no, it was merely a blown fuse caused by the drain of the Christmas lights, bah humbug.

I also love the family time of putting up the tree. We have some great keepsake ornaments that the kids have made through the years, some with baby pictures and little boy and girl pictures. I especially like the one Eric made at daycare when he was three. It's a reindeer head made from the outline of his foot and the antlers are his hand outline. Where did that little boy go?

When I was growing up we had a family tradition that my brother and I each had an angel ornament. Every year we would put that ornament on the tree as high as we could reach. I've instituted that with my kids, but alas, Eric's is almost off the top of the tree, it's even with the star at the top of the tree. I guess we'll have to get a taller tree next year...

Here's an interesting article on the origin of the Christmas Tree:
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

Best Blog Awards

Okay, so no one nominated me for the The 2006 Weblog Awards. Well it's true. But if you're interested here is a link to the finalists.

If you want to vote for one of the finalists you can click here (scroll down to the list of finalist categories).

It's a good way to find interesting blogs in categories of interest to you.

It's been way too long

UCLA 13 USC 9

It's been seven long years since the Bruins have triumphed over their crosstown rivals. That losing streak ended on Saturday. And what a great game it was. I don't watch much football but this was a game to watch, and I was so happy not to be disappointed by the result.

Read more about it here.

GO BRUINS!