BBB Destination - Home

For the holidays, there's no place like hearth and home ... family, friends, stories, games, feasts, and song.

From my home to yours ... a wish for a joyous holiday season!

So Now You Know

The word Christmas is Old English, a contraction of Christ's Mass.

And just to clear up a common misconception, in Greek, X means Christ. So, no need to feel guilty about using "Xmas".

Some Holiday Sites of Note

Worth1000.com is a fun site where digital artists are challenged with daily contests. Two this week certainly reflect holiday times: "Holiday ModRen" where the contestant is asked to "inject a dose of holiday spirit into a work of fine art". Also of note is "Ultimate Holiday House" where one can add decorations to a photo. And on Christmas Worth1000 hosted an Ornamentation contest: Ordinary objects, made yuletidey.


So you say you haven't been able to get to New York City to see the decorations and window displays? Then let them come to you!





Want some cool ideas for your next gingerbread house design?

Site 1; Site 2; Site 3.




Oh, and if you're interested in various movie and TV forms the classic "Christmas Carol" has taken, ski on over to Scrooge U. Who knew ... Xena Warrior Princess' "A Solstice Carol"? Jim Hill is up to 30 references as of this morning.







And finally, here's a site with some recent Holiday Funnies. Ho, Ho, Ho! Keep checking in for updates.

Today in History - 1958

The Chipmunks were at the #1 position on the music charts on this day as Alvin, Simon, and Theodore sang with David Seville. The Chipmunk Song, the novelty tune that topped the charts for a month, is still a Christmas favorite today...

Christmas, Christmas time is near
Time for toys and time for cheer
We've been good, but we can't last
Hurry Christmas, hurry fast

Want a plane that loops the loop
Me, I want a hula hoop
We can hardly stand the wait
Please Christmas, don't be late

BBB Administrative Note

BBB will be taking a long winter's nap and reawake refreshed and ready for the New Year!

Hope to see you back here January 1.

BBB Geeky Novelty

Click image to see larger version.

News from all over - Goleta

This Santa didn't volunteer -- he was drafted. But he's accepting his lot with good cheer. John Dickinson is getting up to 100 calls every day from kids who think they're calling Santa Claus. Dickinson operates an Internet communications business out of his home in California. He manages Santa Barbara's online visitor guide and answers its toll-free hotline.

Apparently, a lot of kids have been misdialing one digit -- getting Santa Barbara instead of Santa Claus. Dickinson says playing Santa has been fun. He says he always asks who's been naughty and nice. He says he'll continue to take toy requests between business calls until Christmas.

So Now You Know

Before 1882 Christmas trees were displayed in homes with lighted candles - many tragic fires resulted from this custom. An associate and friend of Thomas Edison, Edward Johnson, is recognized as the first person to put electrified lights on a real Christmas tree.

With 80 hand-wired red, white and blue hand-blown bulbs strung around a rotating evergreen tree, Johnson's event took place at his home in support of his belief in the lighting product's safety. In truth, those first bulbs became very hot and were nearly as dangerous as the candles they were replacing.

It would take decades for affordable lighting to become available to most Americans. However, just after President Grover Cleveland commissioned a lighted White House tree in 1895, members of high society started hosting Christmas tree parties. These events became more numerous even as the typical lighted tree of the early 1900s could cost as much as $300, that would be $2000 today.

Today in History - 1620

The Mayflower, and its passengers, pilgrims from England, landed at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.

BBB Swell Site

Jim Hill of JimHillMedia.com has been compiling an impressive list of movie and television adaptations of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. BBB has created a separate blog dedicated to this effort and entries will be added as Jim updates his. Here's the list, so far ...


Related BBB entry

News from all over - the Web

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Carl Sagan's death and to honor him, a Sagan blog-a-thon is happening ... right now.

An article from Cornell University

A blog by Nick Sagan, Carl's son

Today in History - 1904

It was at Martin's camp on the Mount Wilson trail that George Ellery Hale received the news that the Carnegie Board had approved his plans for the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory (the word ``Solar'' was dropped with the completion of the 100-inch telescope in 1917). What the future held, only Hale could have imagined. Already, even before the Snow telescope was completed, he had discussed with Adams plans for the next solar telescope, one with a ``high tower and no tube'' and in his typical straightforward manner, climbed a tree with a telescope to test the seeing conditions such a telescope would enjoy.

Quotable Quote

For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.
--Carl Sagan

BBB Etymology - Yule

The word Yule is currently used to refer to Christmas, but it was originally a midwinter holiday around the time of the solstice that marked the beginning of a new year. Like the Shire Calendar, the Old English calendar had months called Ærra Geola - meaning "before Yule" - and Æfterra Geola - or "after Yule." The precise meaing of geola is uncertain, but it may be related to the word "wheel," implying the turning of the year.

Today in History - 1732

Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia first published Poor Richard's Almanack. The book, filled with proverbs preaching industry and prudence, was published continuously for 25 years and became one of the most popular publications in colonial America, selling an average of 10,000 copies a year.

Quotable Quote

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.
- Benjamin Franklin

News from all over - Cedarburg

A remote control invented by a Wisconsin man has been added to a device that lets people turn off their lights by clapping and is being test-marketed in several U.S. cities. "I've taken that to the next generation," Mark Grossmeyer, 51, said. "It's called The Clapper Plus."

The Clapper has been demonstrated in television commercials for years by a grey-haired lady who keeps forgetting to turn her light off before crawling into bed and uses the device to do so by clapping.

Company owner Joseph Pedott would like to broaden the product's appeal to a younger demographic and said the addition of the remote control, which operates from eight metres away, should help people who can't move around easily.

BBB Pulp Pick - Disney's Christmas Parade

So, you know why Disney has a parade on Christmas day? Me, neither.

But I do know back in 1949, Disney released the first in a series of Disney's Christmas Parade magazines. Volume 1 was a whopping 132 pages. The big comic story was "Letter To Santa" staring none other than the coverfoul, Donald Duck. But there was a plethora of other stars, too, including Mickey, Goofy, Bambi, the Seven Dwarfs, Pluto, Cinderella, Dumbo, and even Li'l Bad Wolf.

The edition has been reprinted a couple of times and you can even pick up a modern copy (only 80 pages now) from your favorite online retailer

News from all over - Lake Buena Vista

Throngs of children created a scene at Disney World after they confused a 60 year old Florida man with Saint Nick himself. The rotund white-bearded man played along so as not to disappoint the kids and that sparked problems with the Disney management.

Apparently doing the ho-ho-ho got the man the heave-ho. Disney said that is because Santa is not a character legally approved by the Disney management.

Today in History - 1941

Walt Disney is called to Washington, D.C. to meet with the Treasury Department and the IRS. He is asked to provide a film to promote paying taxes - to be completed by the end of February 1942. And thus was born The New Spirit.

Quotable Quote

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
-- Walt Disney

BBB Destination - Santa Claus

In 1852 Santa Claus, Indiana was named Santa Fe, and was toe-to-toe with another Santa Fe, IN, that had the name first. According to some reports (vigorously protested by some Santa Claus loyalists) the first Santa Fe threatened legal action against the town, forcing a group of local elders to come up with a new name. Whatever their motivation, no one argues that, on Christmas Eve, they heard a young child yell "It's Santa Claus!" and they decided that indeed it was.

The entrance to this quiet town is marked by a giant Santa statue. The Santa Claus post office postmarks about 500,000 holiday cards and another half-million Santa letters each Christmas -- it's where the US Postal Service really sends letters addressed to Mr. Claus (Santa's zip is 47579, in case your kids ask). Santa Claus even has a Santa Claus Cemetery.

News from all over - Clinton

An Iowa man arrested for burglary also was charged with theft for taking the handcuffs he was wearing when he escaped from officers, police said.

David Lee Griffin, 19, is accused of taking items from cars with two other people early Wednesday. After being arrested, he escaped from the Clinton Police Department - still wearing handcuffs.

So Now You Know

More than one million lights decorate the landmark Fort Myers winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford during the holiday season.

Today in History - 1854

Philadelphia residents were amazed as the first street cleaning machine was put into operation. A series of brooms attached to a cyclinder mounted on a cart was turned by a chain driven by the turning of the cart’s wheels.

BBB Geeky Novelty

For an extra $10,000 or so, you, too, can purchase a self parking option on a Lexus or other fine motor vehicle. But when you don't have that kind of dough but you do have enough time and enough geeky lego smarts, you might just build one of these ...



OK, it's not perfect but neither is the Lexus? (But maybe in this case it's "probable user area".)

(thanks to John T for hints on including video in a blog)

News from all over - Weston

10 year old Chris Campo had to fight a wild beast for his puppy's life on Friday when a red tailed hawk tried to turn the youngster's Dachshund into dinner. But, a well-placed kick by Campo to the hawk's head freed 5-month-old Dimi, who quickly high-tailed it to safety.

"I go outside and there was this enormous red tailed hawk and it had attacked the dog on its leash," said Charles Campo, Chris' father. "It was trying to carry the dog off, and my son wouldn't let go and he fought off the hawk. My son was literally fighting a hawk - I was stunned."

The hawk had a wingspan of about 3-4 feet, while the wiener dog Dimi weighs only about 8 or 9 pounds. Apparently, the hawk was not scared off. When he went outside yesterday, the hawk was perched on his air conditioner and then flew to a nearby tree. "It's been hanging out here all day," said Chris, who said his dog was resting comfortably yesterday.

Today in History - 1911

Norwegian Roald Amundsen becomes the first explorer to reach the South Pole, beating his British rival, Robert Falcon Scott. Amundsen, born in Borge, near Oslo, in 1872, was one of the great figures in polar exploration. In 1897, he was first mate on a Belgian expedition that was the first ever to winter in the Antarctic. In 1903, he guided the 47-ton sloop Gjöa through the Northwest Passage and around the Canadian coast, the first navigator to accomplish the treacherous journey. Amundsen planned to be the first man to the North Pole, and he was about to embark in 1909 when he learned that the American Robert Peary had achieved the feat.

Amundsen completed his preparations and in June 1910 sailed instead for Antarctica, where the English explorer Robert F. Scott was also headed with the aim of reaching the South Pole. In early 1911, Amundsen sailed his ship into Antarctica's Bay of Whales and set up base camp 60 miles closer to the pole than Scott. In October, both explorers set off--Amundsen using sleigh dogs, and Scott employing Siberian motor sledges, Siberian ponies, and dogs. On December 14, 1911, Amundsen's expedition won the race to the Pole and returned safely to base camp in late January.

So Now You Know

Elevation at the South Pole is 9300 feet above sea level, although the bedrock is only 100 feet above sea level the annual mean temperature at the South Pole is -58°F.

Compare that to ...

The elevation at the North Pole is 3 feet of sea ice. The bedrock is located 1400 feet below sea level. The annual mean temperature at the North Pole is 0°F.

BBB Swell Site

This Holiday Season
Prepare To Track
The Fastest Thing on Earth

And now the news
and video

News from all over - London

An eBay listing has promised British bidders the winner will receive 10 tons of snow delivered to the door on Christmas Eve. The auction, which was nearing $1,400 Monday, also includes a decorated tree, a front door wreath and Christmas lights to be delivered to the buyer's home by "trained staff," The Daily Mail reported Monday.

The auction states any home in England or Wales is eligible to win the delivery of a white Christmas from British company SNO!zone, which operates three indoor ski slopes. However, the listing says: "There is no guarantee attached to how long the snow will last and there is no provision for the snow to be removed."

Proceeds from the auction, which ends next Monday, will go to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Today in History - 1939

The first production Lincoln Continental was finished on this day (prototypes of the touring car had already been driven). The Lincoln Continentals of the 1940s are commonly considered some of the most beautiful production cars ever made. Today, the Lincoln Continental remains one of the world's most popular luxury cars.

So Now You Know

According to Canadian Forces Maj. Jamie Robertson, Norad's deputy director of public affairs, the tradition of tracking Santa began by accident in 1955. That Christmas, a newspaper ran an ad for Sears Roebuck giving out a "Santa Hotline" phone number for children to call with their wish lists. But the number was misprinted, and kids found themselves on the secret operations hotline for Continental Air Defense Command, Norad's predecessor.

BBB Etymology - Dead as a Door Nail

"Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

"Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail."

Other than this reference in a classic Dickens' tale, from whence does "dead as a door nail" come? My favorite etymological story is this ... Nails were once hand tooled and costly. When an aging cabin or barn was torn down the valuable nails would be salvaged so he could reuse them in later construction. When building a door however, carpenters often drove the nail through then bent it over the other end so it couldn't work its way out during the repeated opening and closing of the door. When it came time to salvage the building, these door nails were considered useless, or "dead" because of the bend.

News from all over - Englewood

A mom who hurled last year's Christmas tree out in the yard of this Pennsylvania town when an opossum popped out, scaring her teenage daughter, said the family will stick with an artificial tree this year.

"My daughter's still afraid she'll look at the tree and see eyes looking back at her," Patricia A. O'Connor said. Though her husband, Michael, would like a real tree, she said, "We thought we'd give it one more year."

Daughter Mary Kathleen O'Connor was doing her homework by the tree a few days before Christmas 2005, when, she said at the time, "this head just popped up. ... I was thinking, 'Oh my God!' And I screamed."

The family came running, and called the state Game Commission. A wildlife conservation officer removed an 18-inch-long opossum and released it in the woods about five miles away.

Today in History - 1901

Italian physicist and radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi succeeds in sending the first radio transmission across the Atlantic Ocean, disproving detractors who told him that the curvature of the earth would limit transmission to 200 miles or less. The message--simply the Morse-code signal for the letter "s"--traveled more than 2,000 miles from Poldhu in Cornwall, England, to Newfoundland, Canada.

So Now You Know

Charles Dickens was an enthusiastic amateur magician. In August 1849, in one of his most ambitious performances he introduced himself as "The Unparalleled Necromancer Rhia Rhama Rhoos, educated cabalistically in the orange groves of Salamanca and the ocean caves of Alum Bay."

BBB Pulp Pick - Christmas with the Super-Heroes

Not sure this is the group I'd like to try and fend off to get at my Christmas packages ... but I suspect it wouldn't be dull!

This special 1988 release contained classic tales including Batman's Wanted: Santa Claus--Dead or Alive and The Silent Night of Batman; Superman starring in 'Twas the Fright Before Christmas; and stories of the Teen Titans and the Justice League.

All I can say is thank goodness someone thought to package up Superman's gift in lead so he couldn't take a before-Christmas peek!

Today in History - 1946

In the aftermath of World War II, the General Assembly of the United Nations votes to establish the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), an organization to help provide relief and support to children living in countries devastated by the war.

Of the 184 member states of the United Nations, only two countries have failed to ratify the treaty--Somalia and the United States. Somalia does not currently have an internationally recognized government, so ratification is impossible, and the United States, which was one of the original signatories of the convention, has failed to ratify the treaty because of concerns about its potential impact on national sovereignty and the parent-child relationship.

News from all over - London

A recently discovered cache of 1869 ale should have been undrinkable, but liquor and beer connoisseurs are claiming that the brew tastes "absolutely amazing" with the flavor of raisins and sultanas, baked apple and honey.

The Victorian beer was part of a cache of 250 vintage bottles found in the vaults of Worthington's White Shield brewery in Burton-on-Trent. The Ratcliff ale commemorates the birth of Harry Ratcliff into the brewing family, which became part of the Bass, Ratcliff and Gretton Empire.

All the beers were bottle conditioned, which means they were allowed to develop and mature after they were corked, like a wine. They were also strong - around 10 per cent proof.

The beers will be recorked to preserve them and displayed at the Museum of Brewing at Coors Visitor Centre in Burton.

Quotable Quote

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.
- Shirley Temple

Today's Chuckle

To see larger image click here or on image itself.

Today's Chuckle

To see larger image click here or on image itself.

BBB Destination - Rothenburg

When you think of destinations at Christmas time, there are few more Christmasey than Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Not only is it a picturesque city but you can find the Kathe Wohlfahrt Chritmas Shop and the Deutsches Weihnachtsmuseum (German Christmas Museum). Even if it's too late to book flights, you can virtually wing over and do some shopping and enjoy a peek at the exhibits.

Quotable Quote

I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.
--Bernard Manning

Today in History - 1813

Ludwig van Beethoven's 7th Symphony premiered in Vienna at a charity concert for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Hanau, with Beethoven himself conducting and Louis Spohr among the violinists. The piece was very well received, and the allegretto had to be encored. The same concert saw the premiere of Beethoven's Wellington's Victory, a great popular success in its day, now almost forgotten.

News from all over - Des Moines

A house owned by Drake University has sustained some $50,000 damage in a bottle rocket war.

Four young men have been charged with reckless use of fire. "They were playing around with fireworks like a lot of the rest of us have done at one time or another," said Des Moines Police Detective Jack Kamerick. "They are all good kids. But if you're going to have a bottle rocket war it would be a lot better to do it outside."

"It all started as they were getting ready to go to a party," he said. "They came across a box of fireworks that belonged to a friend who hadn't been over to pick them up. Apparently the temptation was too great and there was a little bottle rocket war. And then they left the house."

Later another resident of the house came home with a friend and saw the smoke and the bottle rockets but didn't realize a fire was starting in a couch. They went upstairs. After awhile they realized the smoke was getting worse and by the time they went to investigate the fire was burning out of control.

BBB Geeky Novelty

The folks over at M&M candies created a pretty cool site that requires a geek with great movie title recall plus rebus solving abilities. Here's the deal .. look around the canvas at the various scenes, when you think you've come up with a movie title that fits the scene, click and type in the title. If you are correct, the box turns green and that part of the picture becomes a silhouette. You can zoom in and out using the Z and X keys or the + - keys. Gook luck finding all 50!

News from all over - Dublin

Staff at an Irish riding school were forced to postpone festivities after Gus the camel chomped his way through 200 mince pies and several cans of Guinness Stout intended for their Christmas party.

Gus, starring in the riding school's Santa's Magical Animal Kingdom show, helped himself to the feast while staff were getting changed for the party. The 11-year-old camel, originally from Morocco, cracked open six cans of Ireland's famous stout with his teeth after the door to his stall was left open.

Gus appeared well after Monday evening's feeding frenzy, Fagan said, adding: "We were all looking forward to it, but you couldn't blame him. He's really a very gentle, docile sort of camel."

Christmas Geekyness

I'm dreaming of a gingerbread Tie Fighter, just like the ones I used to ... wait... what?

Today in History - 1963

Instant replay was used for the first time during the Army-Navy game. CBS-TV used the new video technique over and over and over and over and over again.

BBB Swell Site

Storytelling seems big this time of year. Maybe it's the short days, cozy fires, family gatherings, new year's celebrations, .... It's also a time to read children's books aloud .. some with pull-downs, others with pop-ups.

Here's a storybook site that retells a classic tale with updated references. (There are even some pull-downs and slides to enjoy.) It's a Wonderful Internet.

Quotable Quote

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.
-- Benjamin Franklin

Today in History - 1884

Workers placed the 3,300 pound marble capstone on the Washington Monument, and topped it with a nine-inch pyramid of cast aluminum, completing construction of the 555-foot Egyptian obelisk. Nearly fifty years earlier, the Washington National Monument Society choose Robert Mills's design to honor first American president and founding father George Washington. The privately-funded organization laid the monument's cornerstone on Independence Day, 1848, in Washington, D.C.

So Now You Know

Number of different familial relationships for which Hallmark makes cards: 105

BBB Etymology - The Big Apple

John J Fitz Gerald wrote a regular column in the old New York Morning Telegraph that he latterly renamed Around the Big Apple. He first used the name in 1921 to refer to the racetracks of New York: “The L T Bauer string is scheduled to start for ‘the big apple’ tomorrow”. He broadened the term to refer to the whole of New York in February 1924: “The Big Apple, the dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York”.

In 1924 Fitz Gerald wrote that he had first heard the term from a couple of black stable hands in New Orleans in 1920, for whom the Big Apple was the New York racetracks that represented the big time, the goal of every aspiring jockey and trainer.Where did those New Orleans stable hands get the phrase from, since it seemed to be well-known?

It seems from an early example of the phrase that people were thinking of an apple as a treat, and that for those New Orleans stable hands the New York racing scene was a supreme opportunity, like an attractive big red apple.

Today in History - 1933

The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and bringing an end to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America. At 5:32 p.m. EST, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, achieving the requisite three-fourths majority of states' approval. Pennsylvania and Ohio had ratified it earlier in the day.

News from all over - Bordeaux

Angler Gary Hagues has landed the world’s heaviest carp — the SAME fish he caught to break the record a year ago. Gary, 34, hooked the 87lb 2oz monster while on a holiday he won for catching it last time. Experts said setting a new record twice with the same fish was a million-to-one chance.

Derbyshire golf professional Gary battled for 30 minutes to land the carp at the French Rainbow Lakes. The fish had grown — weighing 83lb 8oz the first time he caught it. Gary said: “It was as strong-willed as it was the year before. Maybe it will get even bigger.”

Today's Chuckle

BBB Pulp Pick

Before albums came in tidy, rigid plastic cases, there were cardboard sleeves. And, of course, cardboard is another pulp product, so, with a bit of a stretch, album covers qualify as BBB Pulp Picks.

There were many oddities that graced the shelves of record collectors across the land but this one seems odd on many fronts. For one thing it was a promo for the Union Carbide chemical company. For another, how was it you listened to the LP at the stream site?

Today in History - 1927

Duke Ellington's band opens at the Cotton Club. Staying three years, Ellington became established as a national artist by way of radio broadcasts from the club. Working with a variety of instrumental and vocal soloists, Ellington created such memorable music pieces as "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated Lady," and "Take the A Train."

News from all over - Liverpool

Thousands of people dressed as Santa Claus have taken part in the annual "Santa Dash", setting a new world record in the process, organisers of the event say. To raise money for local charities, about 5,000 people dressed up in red suits, white beards and black boots and ran for five kilometres through the streets.

The event's website acknowledges that it will face stiff competition for the world record from an event in Las Vegas later this month. Stay tuned.

So Now You Know

The only letter not appearing on the Periodic Table is the letter “J”.

BBB Destination - Boston

All great cities have their share of great disasters, Chicago had it's fire, San Francisco had its earthquake, and Boston had it's Molasses Flood. On January 15, 1919, a gigantic tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses burst, sending a crushing, 30-foot, 14,000-ton wave along the waterfront near the North End. The accident killed 21 people and injured 150 more. Today, a plaque commerates those who died; some say that on a hot, humid day you can still smell the molasses. Book review of Dark Tide. More info.

You can visit the site near Langone Park in Boston's historic North End.

News from all over - Centralia

Esther Medley is legally blind, but when she bowls she can glimpse a bit of the floor to line up with the lane. Medley, 94, can't see straight ahead, so her 86-year-old husband Ralph tells her which pins are left after her first ball. That's how Medley recently bowled a score of 244, which included eight strikes, at Fairway Lanes in this western Washington town. It was the second-highest score of the year for her league.

Today in History - 1887

Sherlock Holmes first appears in print in Arthur Conan Doyle's novel A Study in Scarlet

So Now You Know

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.