DO YOU KNOW THESE COMMERCIAL SLOGANS?

Here's some fun for the day……….

TRIVIA:  (Answer at bottom)
What common household cleaning tool is used in the sport of curling?

BRAIN TEASER:
I'm full of holes and yet I'm full of water.   What am I?

JOKE:  
Q:  Who does a Pharaoh talk to when he is sad?
A:  His mummy.

QUESTION TO PONDER:
How come there are never any TV commercials about string?  Aren't there different brands?

COMIC FUN:  

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
God has a plan for each of us.  The only way to see that plan unfold is to follow the will of God.

COMMERCIAL SLOGAN TRIVIA:

Thanks to the fast forward button on the DVR, I don't watch commercials quite like I used to.  Still, I catch them every now and then.   Here's some commercial slogan trivia.    The slogan is listed….can you name the product? Some are slogans from today….some from the past.

SLOGANS:

1.  Just Do It
2.  It's everywhere you want to be
3.  Save money.  Live better.
4.  It keeps going and going and going….
5.  Share moments.  Share life.
6.  When you care enough to send the very best.
7.  Let your fingers do the walking.
8.  Tastes Great.  Less filling.
9.  Eat Fresh
10.  I'm lovin' it.
11.  What's in your wallet?
12.  It's finger lickin' good
13.  Push button publishing
14.  When there is no tomorrow
15.  Where's the beef?

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ANSWERS:



1.  Nike
2.  Visa
3.  Wal Mart
4.  Energizer
5.  Kodak
6.  Hallmark
7.  Yellow Pages
8.  Miller Lite
9.  Subway
10.  McDonald's
11.  Capital One
12.  KFC
13.  Blogger
14.  Fed Ex
15.  Wendy's


TRIVIA ANSWER:
a broom

BRAIN TEASER: 
A sponge

Until next time……….

THE MESSAGE OF 'A CHRISTMAS CAROL'

Here's some fun for the day…….

TRIVIA:  
What was the first animated holiday program ever produced specifically for television?

CHRISTMAS BRAIN TEASER:  (Decipher these Christmas Carols)

1.  Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle
2.  The Quadruped with the Vermillion Proboscis
3.  Query Regarding Identity of Descendent 
4.  Minuscule Hamlet in the Near East
5.  Mirthful Ancient Despot


JOKE:
Q:  What nationality is Santa Claus?
A:  North Polish

COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
It often takes more faith to go through something victoriously than to be delivered from it.  Put your faith in God and come out stronger.

I'm a Christmas movie fan and one of my favorite Christmas movies is "A Christmas Carol".  Not surprising since it combines spookiness with a Christmas theme.   As a kid, my favorite version was a cartoon version.    Here's a pic from that one:

Jacob Marley visits Scrooge

I also really liked "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol."   There's a lot of catchy tunes in that one.       The 1951 version with Alastair Sim as Scrooge is a classic as well and I also like the Muppet's version.   For me, the all time best came out in 1984 and starred George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge.  I still remember my first time seeing it.  I was staying at home on my Christmas break from college and my Dad & I watched it.   We were very impressed.   George C. Scott is a great actor and was a wonderful Scrooge.   He was the only American in the film.   There was also a great repoire between he and Edward Woodward who played the "Ghost of Christmas Present"

I could pretty much quote this entire movie.   When I got married,  I made my husband watch it with me every year and then our daughter joined in as she got older.   I assumed they loved it as much as I did.   One year, I was doing my usual 'favorite quotes' from the movie as they appeared ( our daughter usually rolled her eyes during my quoting) and noticed all was silent.   I looked around and both my husband and daughter were asleep.    That was the year they broke it to me that watching this movie was slight torture for them.    How could this be so??

These days, I have my "Christmas Carol" viewing on an evening when I have the house to myself.   I recently had that evening and watched the Mr. Magoo version and the George C Scott version. Quite festive.

As much as I love the spookiness of "A Christmas Carol", there are wonderful messages to be found.  I try to remind myself of these throughout the year, but it's always good to have the 'visual' reminder each Christmas season.

THE MESSAGES OF 'A CHRISTMAS CAROL'

1.  It's easy to get caught up in the trap of holding onto money.   

Being miserly with money and not using it to help others was the trap that Ebenezer Scrooge fell into and is one that can grab hold of many of us.   Scrooge was very wealthy, but his nephew Fred makes an important observation.    

Fred:  "His wealth is of no use to him.  He doesn't do any good with it.  Who suffers from his ill wills?  Himself, always."   

This reminds me of Jesus words that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

2.  Blessings are found in family and friends, not in things.    

This message is also found in "It's A Wonderful Life" (another fave of mine)    I love that both of these movies remind me of what is really important.   It's not about things and our own selfish wants.  What is important is relationships, helping other people and being there for our family and friends.   

3.  It's never too late to change.   

Scrooge became an entirely different person after his experience with the ghosts.     Scrooge was in the later years of his life, but still made a complete change.  Some people just say to themselves '..that's how I am….I'm too old to change…'   I don't agree with that, but you do have to want to change and be willing to change.   I love the ending of the movie/book when it talks of his lasting change.  

"Scrooge was better than his word.  He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as a good a man as the old city knew, or any other good ole town, or borough, in the good old world."

4.  Beware of ignorance and want.    

Near the end of the Ghost of Christmas Present's visit, he reveals 2 children under his cloak.   

Spirit of Christmas Present:   "...the boy is Ignorance.  This girl is Want.  Beware them both, but most of all beware the boy for on his brow is written the word doom."

5.  The real meaning of Christmas.   The birth of Jesus.    

It's subtle in this movie, but it is there.  When Bob Cratchit comes in from church with Tiny Tim on his shoulder.    Mrs Cratchit asks how Tiny Tim behaved in church.   

Bob replies  "….as good as gold, and better.  He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk and blind men see…."

Take time to cherish your blessings and what is truly important.    It's easy to get caught up in the busyness of our lives and to not take time to notice people that need help and people that need love and care.   

….as Tiny Tim exclaims…..

"God bless us…Every One!."

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TRIVIA ANSWER:
"Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol"  (1962)

CHRISTMAS BRAIN TEASER
1.  Go Tell it On the Mountain
2.  Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
3.  What Child is This?
4.  O Little Town of Bethlehem
5.  Jolly Old St. Nicholas

Until next time……..

STORY BEHIND 'DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?'

Here's some fun for the day….


TRIVIA:
In what country would you most likely encounter a Tasmanian devil?

JOKE:  
Q:  What goes 'oh, oh, oh'?
A:  Santa walking backwards.


CHRISTMAS BRAIN TEASER:  (Decipher these Christmas Carols)

1.  Arrival time: 2400  hours - weather:  Cloudless
2.  Loyal Followers Advance
3.  Our Monarchial Triad
4.  Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers 
5.  Red Man En Route to Borough


COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:

God is the only constant in this life.  We know that no matter what happens, we can rely on Him and trust in His unchanging nature.  

STORY BEHIND "DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?"

Here's some interesting tidbits about the Christmas Carol "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

1.  Written by Noel Regney & Gloris Shayne Baker in 1962.   They were married at the time. It was written as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

(I grew up thinking this song had been around since the 1800’s)

2.  Regney wrote the lyrics & Shayne the tune.  Regney was inspired to write the lyrics "Said the night wind to the little lamb, 'Do you see what I see?'" and "Pray for peace, people everywhere", after watching babies being pushed in stollers on the sidewalks of  New York City.  

3.  Gloria Shayne stated years later that neither could personally perform the entire song at the time they wrote it because of the emotions surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis. "Our little song broke us up. You must realize there was a threat of nuclear war at the time."

4.  Noel Regney was born Léon Schlienger in France.  Léon Schlienger, written backwards, is Noël Regnei (-lhcS. dropping "lhcS"replacing i by y).. He was drafted into the Nazi army despite being a Frenchman.  He soon deserted, joined a group of French Resistance fighters, and became a double agent working for the French. He led a party of Nazis into an ambush, was shot in the arm, but survived.  

5.  Bing Crosby recorded the song in 1963 and it became a worldwide hit.  

6.  Gloria Shayne was shopping at Bloomingdale's when she thought of the first music line.

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TRIVIA ANSWER:
Australia 


CHRISTMAS BRAIN TEASER ANSWER:
1.  It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
2.  Oh Come All Ye Faithful
3.  We Three Kings
4.  God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
5.  Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 

Until next time……...

THE FROSTY COMPLEX

Here's some fun for the day……….


JOKE:  
Q: What's brown and sticky?
A:  A stick

BRAIN TEASER:
Paul's height is six feet, he's an assistant at a butcher's shop, and wears size 9 shoes. What does he weigh?

COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
It's easy to quit - it takes faith to go through




FROSTY THE SNOWMAN TIDBIT:

Paul Frees, the voice of Santa was a popular voice actor.

My favorite voice he did was that of the 'Ghost Host' on the Haunted Mansion ride at Walt Disney World.  One of the singing busts in the ride now bears Frees' likeness in homage to him.  
He also voiced the Burgermeister in "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".    He was Boris Badenov in the "Rocky & Bullwinkle" cartoon show.    He is also the voice of the "Dead Man tell no Tells" on the 'Pirates of Caribbean' ride at Walt Disney World which was later used in the movie.   

FROSTY THE SNOWMAN TRIVIA:

1.   What does Frosty say each time he comes to life?
2.  How many times did Santa make the Professor/Magician write  'I am very sorry for what I did to Frosty'?
3.  What is the Professor's last name?
4.  What is the rabbit's name?
5.  What is the one thing that Frosty does not like?

The Professor is sporting some Bob Fosse dance moves here

I'm taking a look at the cartoon Christmas special "Frosty the Snowman" in this post.    I loved it as a kid, but it was a bit tragic too.    Basically, let's gather the little children around and get them to love this snowman.    Then they can hold onto their parents while the watch Frosty melt and die in front of their eyes.   So sweet.    

'heartwarming' scene from Frosty

I boo hoo-ed every time during that scene and got to where I almost dreaded it.   I'd think, '..there's not point liking Frosty, he'll be dead soon'.  Since Frosty died/melted in a greenhouse with poinsettias, I wasn't a fan of those for awhile either.    I got over that, they are pretty.

Karen's big feet.  You're smiling now Karen, but just wait…..

Another thing I couldn't understand as a kid was the little girl Karen.   First, her feet were huge.    How did she walk around with those big lugs?   Second, I couldn't deal that she just up and went to the North Pole with a Snowman she barely knew & didn't let her parents know where she was going.    Third, the magician got a bad rap in this flick.   It was his hat.   It wasn't Frosty's.   But once it brought Frosty to life it's like '…whatever Frosty wants, Frosty should get…'.    A mentality that can sometimes be prevalent in today's world.   So we should call that The Frosty Complex.

ME & THE FROSTY COMPLEX

So here's a thought or scenario from my dream world.   When I go to the store and put on a beautiful dress, it makes me feel like I've come to life.  I think this means that I can just take it.   I know what I'll do.   I'll get a bunch of kids with big feet to come with me and they'll help me take the dress.   They'll tell the store owner that the dress brought me to life and that I must have it.    It's The Frosty Complex.    Then we'll march through the mall singing "Tricia the Human" to the tune of "Frosty the Snowman".    I'll realize that a tan would look good with the dress and I'll need to go to Florida.   Bigfoot Karen says she'll go with me and tell her parents later.    I turn her into the Mall cop and have them call her parents.    Karen's parents have had enough of her rebellion and she will be going to boarding school now.   Serve's her right for having Frosty bring her into a greenhouse.  She killed a snowman for crying out loud.   

I then see the evil Professor.   I ask him to say 'busy, busy, busy' for me because I like the way he says it.    Being the villain fan that I am, I high five him and buy him an extra magic hat just in case a bigfoot little girl comes around and tries to take his.   Now he'll have a spare.    The evil Professor and I take the kids with the big feet to the grocery.   I tell the clerks that food keeps me alive and so I take all I want and they can't do anything about it.   The kids remind the store of The Frosty Complex.   Food brings me to life so the store has to give it to me.   

Ok, so all of that aside, I still do love to watch Frosty.   Jimmy Durante singing the song is priceless.    I also love how he says the word 'world'…it's kind of like woirld.    (Frosty was the best belly whopper in the worild ya know)


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BRAIN TEASER ANSWER:
Meat


FROSTY TRIVIA ANSWERS:

1.  Happy Birthday
2.  100 zillion times
3.  Hinkle
4.  Hocus
5.  Red thermometers 

LUKE 2: 8
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

Until next time………..

THINGS YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE GRINCH

Here's some fun for the day…...

RANDOM TRIVIA: (Answer at bottom)
What is the capital of Australia? 

CHRISTMAS BRAIN TEASER:  (Decipher these Christmas Carols)
1. Oh holiday conifer 
2. Ten plus two twenty-four hour periods of holiday festivity 
3. Hey tiny city in Israel 
4.  In a remote location in a barn stall.
5.  Hey!  There’s a group of celestial proclaimers making a melody

JOKE:
Q:  What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus?
A:  Claus-trophobic


QUESTION TO PONDER:
Why is the lyric '…they'll be scary ghost stories…' in the song "It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year'?   I don't know a lot of people that grew up having their parents scare the bejeebers out of them telling ghost stories around the Christmas tree.


COMIC FUN:

TRICIA'S TWEET OF THE DAY:
In every bad experience there is a good illustration.

"How The Grinch Stole Christmas"

Growing up (and still today) I always loved watching Dr. Seuss's "How The Grinch Stole Christmas".   (the original cartoon version.   The annoying Jim Carrey version doesn't count)  I would get so scared watching it, but I also had this love of villains, so the Grinch's evil smile and such were something I oddly liked too.   

I always felt like a bad kid at the end of the cartoon because I thought to myself 'there's no way I'd be singing if someone came in and took all my presents on Christmas".   I wanted to be like the Whos and rejoice, but the true me would have been a bit upset to see all the presents gone and everything out of the house.    I still wouldn't go outside and sing around a tree if that happened today.   Those Whos are some pretty good folks.



GRINCHY TIDBITS

Here's a few tidbits about "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" that you may not know.

1.  Boris Karloff, the narrator is the 'famous' Frankenstein from the early Universal Pictures Frankenstein movies.

2.  Thurl Ravenscroft, the singer of the "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch" song was a frequent voice actor.    Here's just a few of his numerous credits

a.  Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes cereal) He's was the voice of "Theeeyre Greaaat!"
b.  His voice can be heard in the "Grim Grinning Ghosts" song at Disney's Haunted Mansion attraction.
c.  Voiced the "no dogs allowed" in the Peanut's movie "Snoopy Come Home"


3. In Dr. Suess’ book, the Grinch was a black-and-white character; Chuck Jones’(friend of Dr. Seuss & Looney Tunes illustrator) idea to make him green, a shade he chose because it reminded him of the rental cars popular in the Washington-Baltimore area during that time. In the cartoon, the Grinch’s face looks more like Chuck Jones’ face than it does the face of Grinch in the book.

4.  June Foray, the voice of Cindy Lou Who, was also the voice of Rocky the flying squirrel and Natasha Fatale in the “Rocky & Bullwinkle” cartoons

5. Dr. Seuss was not a doctor.   His full name was Theodor Seuss Geisel.  While the name Seuss (which is also his mother’s maiden name) was always his, between his first and last names, he didn’t use it until he was in college.  He began using it as a surname when he was caught with gin in his dorm room and was asked to step down as editor of Dartmouth’s humor magazine. To continue working on the magazine, he used Seuss instead. The correct pronunciation of the name rhymed with “voice” rather than “goose,” but Seuss eventually gave in to the popular pronunciation.

GRINCHY TRIVIA  (easy & difficult)

1.   What is the name of the Grinch's dog?
2.   What was the name of the town where the Grinch stole Christmas?
3.   What did the Grinch carve at the end of the movie?
4.   Finish this line from the "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" song   "you have all the tender sweetness of a ________________"
5.  What does the Grinch give Cindy Lou Who?
6.  What was the main reason the Grinch hated Christmas?
7.  What was the thing the Grinch liked the least about Christmas?
8.  According to the song, what type of sandwich was the Grinch?
9.  When the Grinch cleaned out the icebox he also took the last _________?
10.  Where specifically did the Grinch live?

RANDOM TRIVIA ANSWER
Canberra

CHRISTMAS BRAIN TEASER ANSWERS:

1.   Oh Christmas Tree

2.  12 Days of Christmas

3.  Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

4.  Away in A Manger

5.  Hark the Herald Angels Sing

GRINCHY TRIVIA ANSWERS

1.  Max
2.  Whoville
3.  The Roast Beast
4.  Seasick Crocidile
5.  a cup ( of water)
6.  His heart was two sizes too small.
7.  When the Whos in Whoville would start singing.
8.  three decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich with arsenic sauce
9.  Can of Who Hash
10.  Just North of Whoville atop of Mt. Crumpet

Matthew 2:10 
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

Until next time……..