Andyland, USA

I've started listening to my Christmas vinyl--there's a lot of it. While I type this I'm actually listening to--and digitally ripping--the record you see above. I've had a copy for years, so long I don't even remember where I picked it up at (probably an antique store, sometime around 2002). I thought of this record when Andy Williams passed earlier this year, and I have no shame in admitting that I really like like "It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year", which first debuted on this record (Released to the public in October of 1963). Is this music/record "hip"? Well, I suppose most would say no. Sinatra is hip, Dean Martin is hip, Tony Bennett sure is. But Andy Williams? Hmm. I'm not saying it's bad, that it doesn't have merit, just that in the context of most modern music listeners, this isn't one they're apt to pull out and play. I'm sure they think of it as "grandma music." But I'm not your av

        Thanksgiving is over, folks. That means one thing. The holidays are here, and there's no stopping it. For some, this is a magical time filled with family, food, and causing Target's stock to rise. For others, it means having to actually spend time around your family, and being thankful that someone brought a bottle of wine. But fret not my friends, I am here with some helpful hints to make your holiday full of ho ho ho and not woe woe woe (See what I did there? Fork over the Pulitzer.)  There's an inherent awkwardness built in with holiday gatherings. The sense of things going awry in the blink of an eye. This being an election year, you get that added into the proceedings. Members of your family either grumbling or gloating—depending on the breaks. I advise to just nod your head and leave these situations as quickly as possible, tell them you gotta go put on that big ole moose sweater.  You might be involved in the food preparation, and if you are,

Does anyone ever actually have the perfect, Normal Rockwell, Thanksgiving? We all view Thanksgiving differently. To some, it's a chance to come together with dear friends and loved ones, and eat a mighty fine meal. To others, it's a horror movie far scarier than anything Hollywood could dream up. “From the depths of condensed canned soup, and instant mashed potatoes it came! Crawling from a black pool of unspeakable horror! This Thanksgiving, you can run, you can hide, but you can't escape from THE CASSEROLE FROM AUNT VERNA'S KITCHEN! No one will be seated during the shocking stuffing sequence.” This year, I wasn't hosting. It was worry free Thanksgiving for me. Completely lacking in stress. Stress from having to clean every micro inch of my house. Stress from having to bring forth a meal so amazing, it would make the saints cry. Matter of fact, the morning of Thanksgiving I felt so relaxed, I paraded around my house wearing only my bathrobe, singing “Se

Now don't get huffy at me, but let's face it. Once Halloween is over, it's the Holiday season. The stores have cleared away the spooks and spiders, and the snow and evergreen begins to make it's appearance. Everyone bemoans over the fact that they forget about Thanksgiving, but what do you want to do? Walk into Target and buy a plastic pilgrim? Thanksgiving is the holiday that you celebrate at the supermarket, while freaking out over the coming tidal wave of family and expectations. On the first of the month, I found myself out and about running errands. One department store I visited was already playing Christmas music, trees and glittery snowflakes up all over the place. With the Halloween paraphernalia all marked down to the lowest price. The only stores where you're not bonked over the head with Christmas, would be those food and kitchen specialty stores. They want you geeked up to cook a giant turkey dinner for the family, using their amazingly handy b

Last year when the good people at Shout! Factory released “The Ernie Kovacs Collection”, a six disc collection of the work of genius and TV pioneer Ernie Kovacs, I sang its praises. Ernie Kovacs is one of my heroes. From 1951, till his tragic death in 1962, Kovacs had a number of shows on the air. Each one stamped with his unique brand of humor, far more interested in what was happening on the screen, than what the audience in the studio thought. Kovacs realized that television was a visual medium, and did things with early TV equipment that no one else dared to do.  So here I am once again to sing the praises of Shout! Factory's release of “The Ernie Kovacs Collection: Volume Two.” I sing it's praises for a number of reasons. For one, it shows that the first collection was successful enough to warrant more, that gives me hope. Secondly, it helps to spread, and preserve TV's past. Something that doesn't get celebrated as much as film's past. There'