"A Charlie Brown Christmas": Commercialization, and the Meaning of Christmas

I have yearly list of things I do whether it be listening to various Christmas albums and songs. watching various movies, TV specials and episodes, and drink my yearly carton of egg nog, and other stuff.  In fact, here is my yearly checklist.  It's become a tradition for me.

Movies and Television:

-"Home Alone"

-"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York"

-"Die Hard"

-"A Charlie Brown Christmas"

-"A Muppet Family Christmas"

-Hershey's Kiss "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" commercial
-"The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" - Original animated not live action movie
-"Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean"

Music:

-Boney M's "Christmas Album"

-"Once Upon a Christmas" - Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers

-"Christmas Time Is Here" by Daniela Andrade - The video especially
- Kenny G's "Miracles: The Christmas Album"

Food and Drink:

-Yearly carton of egg nog

"Linus is right, I won't let all this commercialism ruin my Christmas."
-Charlie Brown

Words to live by.

I always watch the 1965 Christmas classic A Charlie Brown Christmas.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" has some good messages we could learn from.  There are topics of not feeling Christmas, sadness on the part of Charlie Brown, commercialization, and the meaning of Christmas in which Charlie Brown doesn't understand.

The quote about not letting commercialism ruin his Christmas is one we should learn from.  Growing up, getting presents was, of course, something I looked forward to.  What kid didn't?  Getting CDs ("Best of Van Halen Vol. 1 for instance), video games (Super Nintendo, Game Boy, etc.), toys, etc..  I loved Christmas.  It was my favourite holiday.  Maybe the presents had something to do with it.

I knew what the meaning of Christmas was in many respects from the story of Jesus' birth to spending time with family and friends and all that stuff.  As I grew up and no longer got presents, I still loved Christmas.  Getting the odd gift or not getting gifts at all is not a big deal.  But for some, exchanging presents is a big deal.  That's all fine and well.

For decades and decades, Christmas has become more and more commercialized.  Stores start putting out Christmas decorations and the goodies you eat during that time such as chocolates and cookies, etc. way too early.  Before Halloween.  At work, even a kid said it was too early.

The ads and commercials bombard us with getting the latest technology (phones, computers, video games), gadgets, and all sorts of other stuff.  Go here or go there for your all your holiday needs.  Get various deals.  That's all fine and well.  I would have Christmas deals on if I had a business.  Just makes good business sense.

If someone was to get me something, get me something practical that I need.  I at one point was getting a yearly pair of socks from my Grandma Sheldon.  Thanks, Grandma.  Better than nothing as they say.

Now, in A Charlie Brown Christmas, commercialization is mentioned many times.  Charlie Brown was wise to not let commercialization ruin his Christmas.  He focused on the little tree he thought was perfect even though that's not what Lucy wanted for the Christmas play.  He stuck to his guns and loved that little tree.

He left to go and decorate the tree and not focus on the commercialization of Christmas.  We could all learn that from him.  Although, at the beginning, Lucy mentioned getting all sorts of presents of things she wanted.  Sally wanted money from Santa. As kids, that's what we wanted.

Now, I have a little tree that I call my Charlie Brown tree.  Of course it's nothing fancy, but I don't care just like Charlie Brown didn't care.  He was disheartened that a single ornament made it fall over.  I get how one might feel that way.  After he left, Lucy, Sally, Pig-Pen, Schroeder, and the others decorated his tree.  Lucy saying afterwards:

"Charlie Brown is a blockhead, but he did get a nice tree."

Here is the clip that ends this classic including his reaction to his tree being decorated by everyone.

It's good they learned the meaning of Christmas.  We should get a reminder instead of that in case we forget.  You should not focus on commercialization of the season and focus on what truly matters.  Family, friends, good food, good times, making memories, etc. are what matters.  As said I said, getting presents is all well and fine, but that's not what truly matters.

Oh and we shouldn't forget to thank Linus for telling Charlie Brown about one of the meanings of Christmas when he didn't know.  It lifts Charlie's spirits and makes him feel slightly better.



Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown.  Merry Christmas one and all.

Song of the Day #67 - Ben Rector

He articulates what we're all feeling. No matter when, it's a good reminder that the best is yet to come even if you don't think so. Thanks for this, Ben.

"The Best Is Yet to Come" by Ben Rector
YouTube link

Here is a version with just piano which is titled "The Best Is Yet to Come (A Song for the New Year)."

Officiating in the NHL Continues to be Horrendous

Let's get this out there that this isn't coming from a point of bias due to myself being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.  It just happened to be three examples as of late.  Horrendous officiating happened all last season as we all know.

You can say that refs can't see everything.  But when it's blatantly obvious, that's when you have a problem.  On Saturday (December 4), the Maple Leafs were in Minnesota to play the Wild.  During overtime Marcus Foligno mows over Jack Campbell and lands a hit to the head.  Play blown down?  Why bother.  Not like it was a penalty over anything.  Foligno was untouched.  He could have stopped and not hit Campbell the way he did regardless of intent.



Last night (December 5), the Maple Leafs were in Winnipeg to play the Jets. Late in the third period Neal Pionk landed a knee on Rasmus Sandin.  Pionk didn't make a legal check and instead was out of Sandin's path when the incident occurred.  Sandin made a shot which is why Pionk was out of his path.  It was a knee on knee hit that could have been avoided.  Did the refs blow the play down and call a penalty?  Why would they?  It's not like Sandin was injured or anything.  It was his right leg that was injured and he had to be helped off the ice.

Sandin will be at least two to three weeks.  That's a big loss for the Leafs.

The NHL and NHL Player Safety handed down a suspension for the Pionk incident.  Warranted.  Pionk got two games for it.  The non-call is what increased it to two games.

"We acknowledge Pionk's argument that this is an attempted full-body check, but this play cannot be classified as merely a collision between two players, where one or both move reflexively or defensively at the last moment to avoid contact," said the department of player safety in a video explaining the punishment.

"If he wants to deliver this hit, the onus is on Pionk to take an angle of approach that ensures he's in good position to make a legal, full-body check. Instead, having taken an angle which has him lined up outside of Sandin's path, Pionk turns his right leg and extends his knee, jutting it forward to avoid missing the check entirely. This results in forceful, dangerous and direct knee-on-knee contact."

Here is a breakdown of incident.

Now, Jason Spezza retaliated with a hit on Pionk.  Sticking up for his fellow teammate.  That's usually what they do in most cases.  But the hit Speeza on Pionk was dangerous and could have been a lot worse.  The refs didn't make a call on this either.  If they did, there would have been a massive uproar.  Rightfully so if that did happen.



Spezza's hearing is tomorrow (December 7) via Zoom.  With the hit he did on Pionk, I can see them handing down a slightly longer suspension.  That's another blow for the Leafs.  Wayne Simmonds on the other hand was fined $2,250, the maximum allowable under the CBA for laying a stick into the back of an opposing player.  Simmonds cross-checked Jets forward Jansen Harkins.

Things need to be handled in the correct manner.  These suspensions and fines need to handed out if necessary.

Also during the Leafs and Jets game, Pierre-Luc Dubois kneed Joseph Woll in the head.  Call?  Why?  Just keep going with the trend of non-calls.  That's the standard and status quo for NHL refs.

As recent as this past summer, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman touted they had the best refs out of any sport.  Did he not see last season?  Tim Peel was fired and banned from reffing in the NHL after a hot mic take on wanting to call a penalty on the Nashville Predators last season.

"Nothing is more important than ensuring the integrity of our game" says hockey operations VP Colin Campbell.

Everybody can smell that bullshit.  If that's the most important thing, then the issue of horrendous officiating would have been dealt with.  But it's only dealt with when refs like Tim Peel are exposed via hot mic takes and want to look like they're doing something.  Brad Meier on the other hand doesn't have anything done to him.  They need to be tougher on refs and have them do better.

It's long overdue for Gary Bettman and Bill Daly to be replaced as NHL commissioner and deputy commissioner.  Find someone who will take a hard look at the issue and do something about it.  That won't sugar coat things and only do something when exposed.  GMs and owners need to put pressure on the league to make such changes.  This can't go on any longer.

Christmas Truce 1914

 I have a music based Facebook group for the Rush bassist Geddy Lee (you can join here if you're a Rush fan).  One of the things I do is post new music as Rush no longer makes music.  Being that we're in the midst of the Christmas season, I posted a song called "Christmas Truce" by the Swedish power metal band Sabaton.  I was reluctant to put it on the list.  When I watched the video, which you can see here (or here, I decided to put it on the list.  The imagery of the video and the song are so powerful and rife with emotion.  Until I watching the video and listening to the song, I had no idea that it had any historical significance surrounding it.




On December 7, 1914, Pope Benedict the XV called for a temporary hiatus of the war.  Many warring countries refused any sort of ceasefire.  But an unofficial ceasefire was declared by many troops in the trenches on Christmas.

Christmas truce occurred on Christmas 1914 during World War I.  Many troops ceased their fire while others kept fighting.  Not sure why they all couldn't have put down their weapons for a brief period.  For those who did, it started on Christmas Eve, when British and German troops fight in the war started singing Christmas carols.  At various points, the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their singing.

At the light of dawn on Christmas Day, German soldiers emerged out of the trenches approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, and were calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, Allied soldiers were fearful that it was a trick at first. Once they saw the Germans were unarmed, they also emerged from the trenches and shook hands with them.

They exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings, sang Christmas carols and songs. Some Germans even lit Christmas trees around the trenches. Some documents show that they played a good natured and rousing game of soccer.

At least some fighting had a temporary ceasefire and truce even if only for Christmas. Again, the countries and troops that kept fighting should have done the same.

For those that did stop fighting, we could learn something from that.  But hey, hopefully you and yours all have a Merry Christmas.

Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Maple Leafs Win

Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Maple Leafs both won yesterday (November 28). Good day for sports fans.

Roughriders:

Cory Fajardo needs to play better. Throwing four picks was not good. If he makes stupid plays which could lead to things like this, for instance, Winnipeg is going to eat him alive. They weren't tops in the West for no reason.

Brett Lauther says he is the best kicker in the league. Getting the game winning field goal helped that. When need be, he needs to continue playing well. Don't just be lip service.

Maple Leafs:

It's been a month of winning on the road. Swept their California road trip. Seven wins on the road. 13-2 in their last 15 games. A record breaking November.  That put them in a tie for first overall in the NHL.

-Mitch Marner: He has been so consistent. He went a points streak earlier this season. 11 points including eight assists in five games. -William Nylander: Off to a good start. 9 goals, 12 assists for 21 points. A couple game winning goals.

-Johnny Toronto: 10 goals, 12 assists, 22 points. A number of tip ins. Being around the net has led to those.

-Auston Matthews: Even though his shot is not completely back (wristers for instance), he is adapting as seen against the Ducks with the tip in. Scoring in different ways will make him even more dangerous.

-Wayne Simmonds: Even though he isn't racking up points, he is contributing in other ways which makes a player valuable.

-Michael Bunting: Has worked out much better than Nick Ritchie. There were high hopes for both and you know the rest. 6 goals, 8 assists while Ritchie has a disappointing four assists. Bunting is getting to play on the top two lines. His overall play is an indication as to why that is.

To top it off, Jason Spezza played his 1200th NHL game.  Great milestone.  The following you see is pretty sick.

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With that being said, the Leafs are back at it on Wednesday (December 1) against the Jets. The Roughriders play the Blue Bombers on December 5th. A Grey Cup berth hangs in the balance. Let's hope the Riders work on things to make sure they're ready.

Top Lines Mainly Contributing for the Maple Leafs

Third and fourth lines as well as the defensive pairings are not doing much in the way of contributing and production.It can be said that the Toronto Maple Leafs have a great team.   If you look at the stats from the their five game winning streak, you'll see the first and second lines were doing most of the production.  The usual suspects such as John Tavares, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Auston Matthews.

Tavares has been hot.  So has Marner.  Now if you break down the numbers in the last six games, Tavares got six goals and four assists for ten points.  Mitch Marner got 11 points in five games.  During that span he got three goals, eights assists. Auston Matthews got four goals, three assists.  William Nylander got three goals, three assists including the overtime winner against Tampa Bay.  Top guys on top lines doing everything.

Others need to step up. But when guys like Nick Richie hasn't impressed or produced, that's a problem.  In fact, he's been a bust.  He hasn't been what the Leafs have been looking for thus far.  If you compare him to other off season acquisitions, Michael Bunting had done far more.  He looked great in the preseason.  Now in the regular season, he has three goals, three assists thus far.  Richie on the other hand has one assist this season.  If they need someone to deal away, Richie is a likely ones.

Bunting has secured himself a spot on the first and second line while Richie is sucking wind on the fourth line.  It was a coo for Bunting to be on the first line with Matthews and Nylander on Monday (November 8) against the Los Angeles Kings.

The third and fourth lines need to step up.  Sure it's great you have Marner and Tavares being as hot as they are and Matthews finding his groove after his wrist injury.  But you can't rely on the first and second lines night in and night out.  Sure it would be nice if Matthews got between 30 and 50 goals a season, but that's not always going to happen.

Monday's game against the Kings was as if the Maple Leafs didn't show up.  The Kings played vastly better.  Johnathan Quick was sensational in net.  But the lone goal came from, surprise surprise, Johnny Toronto (John Tavares).  Not saying that's a bad thing, but it lends credence to the fact there aren't contributions all around.

Sheldon Keefe needs to switch up the lines and sit people out if things don't change on the third and fourth lines as well as defensive pairings.  Shake things up.  Send that message.  They need a fire lite under their asses and realize this is what could potentially happen.  Something's got to give. 

There is still a lot of season left to go.  Hopefully things turn around for the third and fourth lines, defensive pairings, and those outside of the core four.  Let's start with the Philadelphia Flyers tonight (November 10) and go from there.

Sick of Food

Food is everywhere.  We are bombarded with ads for products, delivery services, food kits, restaurants, etc..  We have easy access to "junk food" more so now than ever.  Eating habits is changing for many.  The options for vegans, for instance, has become so expansive in the last ten years.  The food industry is a billion dollar business.  Sure, we need to eat to sustain ourselves.  But for the first time ever, I am sick of food.

I should consider myself lucky to have food.  First world problem as they say.  But, a sister of mine had hanging art with a quote or motivational bullshit on it.  It said "we don't eat because we're hungry, we eat because we're bored."  It's true.  There have been many a time that I was so bored, that I would eat.  I order something.

According to Food & Nutrition they say: "As we know, boredom causes us to participate in behaviors that result in pleasure. However, if we constantly use one particular behavior, our brain becomes less able to experience pleasure from anything else. So if we always rely on food to relieve boredom, our brain becomes re-wired to derive the most pleasure from eating."

For me, it's not just about eating when bored.  It's the fact that I've eaten way too much food lately.  I've gotten sick of food.  When I'm at home, the thought of food is just ugh (for a lack of a better term).   When at him, I still eat and more than I should at times.  It's stupid.  But as a diabetic, I have to eat.  Eating prevents things like low blood sugar which can cause hypoglycemia.  Hypoglycemia can lead to other issues.

My problem is not eating a balanced diet.  My diet is absolute shit.  As the adage goes, "old habits die hard."  It's a seemingly vicious cycle.  I fucking hate it.  I have said a number of times that I will make changes, but it never happens.  It also doesn't help that my sleep schedule hasn't been off recently.  Ugh.  I don't want this to be lip service, but I need to make changes.  Motivation can be a bitch.  My motivation has been low which also doesn't help.  Getting outside especially when it's spring and summer makes one feel better.

Why we feel better during these seasons is because it brings more sunlight thus we enjoy the energy that is used to fight off drowsiness.  Serotonin is released due to more light.  Serotonin is a chemical that makes us feel happier.  To be honest, it does make me feel better.

Now to just get motivated to do more, eat less, and not be sick of food.