Happy New Year!!

Christmas Visits

I haven't posted in a while because like most I've been enjoying the Christmas season and spending a lot of time with family.

Things started for the Dunns on the 24th since my sister Becky and her family spent Christmas day at her in-law's house. We started early as if it was Christmas morning, had breakfast after opening presents and stockings, enjoyed the day and new toys together, had an early supper and then all headed to church for Christmas Eve services.

Christmas Day was very relaxing. After sleeping in I spent the day at my parent's house. We watched A Christmas Story (maybe a few times), had our steamed shrimp (a family tradition started when we spent Christmas in the Florida Keys with my mom's parents back in the mid 80s), and ate leftovers from the day before. I also got to speak to my good friend and academy classmate Mike on the phone.

Friday the 26th we headed up to York, PA to gather with the Stebbins family (my mom's side). The 26th was my grandfather's birthday and even though he and my grandmother are no longer with us we have kept up the tradition of getting together on his birthday. Almost 30 of us took over the back room of a local steakhouse for dinner and then most of us went over to my cousin Jeni's house to continue the visit.

Saturday morning Mom, Dad, Becky, Jesko, Rachel, Allison and I headed for Pittsburgh to visit with some of the Dunn side of the family. The Dunn family is quite a bit larger and much more spread out, but 16 of us were together at my cousin Terri's house on Saturday and Sunday.

It was so good to see everyone, especially considering all that's happened this year. I hadn't seen the Stebbins families since last December 26th and it had been a year and a half or more since I had seen my aunts, uncles and cousins from the Dunn side. It was also really good to get out of my house for a while and my parents got a break from walking and feeding my dogs who were in a kennel from Friday morning until Monday night.

So now that physical therapy has started and the holidays are ending I am starting 2009 with a resolution to get life back to "normal" (whatever that may be) as soon as possible.

The Nativity Story

The unmistakable voice of Harry Belafonte. Most of the pictures in this slideshow are from the 2006 movie The Nativity Story. Its a very well done cinematic telling of the story that Christians everywhere heard or will hear tonight and tomorrow in church.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas

Peace Carol

Written by Bob Beers

The garment of life, be it tattered and torn
The cloak of the soldier is weathered and worn
But what Child is this that was poverty-born
The peace of Christmas Day

The branch that bears the bright holly
The dove that rests in yonder tree
The light that shines for all to see
The peace of Christmas Day

The hope that has slumbered for two thousand years
A promise that silenced a thousand fears
A faith that can hobble an ocean of tears
The peace of Christmas Day

The branch that bears the bright holly
The dove that rests in yonder tree
The light that shines for all to see
The peace of Christmas Day

Add all the grief that people may bear
Total the strife and the trouble and care
Put them in columns and leave them right there
The peace of Christmas Day

The branch that bears the bright holly
The dove that rests in yonder tree
The light that shines for all to see
The peace of Christmas Day

Financial Crisis Humor

A little comic relief from the dire financial situation...


Click on the picture for a larger view. The small print is worth reading.

Hanukkah Blessings

From the Barenaked Ladies.


Their Album Barenaked for the Holidays is really good if you don't have it already. They do some really nice versions of some Christmas classics, added in a few Hanukkah songs (including the one in the YouTube clip) and a few goofy additions that are quintessential BNL. They do Deck the Stills which is Deck the Halls except instead of the actual lyrics they sing "Crosby Stills Nash and Young" over and over to the melody. Bizare but it works. Its on sale for digital download at Amazon.com this week and you can preview the other tracks.

And in case you haven't heard it on the radio yet this year, the most popular Hanukkah song from Adam Sandler-

Physical Therapy Begins (again)

I had my first appointment with Jessica today. I've been doing my exercises at home since Thanksgiving when I was cleared for therapy by Dr. Brumback, but this was the first actual appointment. I had to fill out all the new patient forms and be evaluated again so that they have a base line for this time around. I know that my knee is bending more now that it did at Thanksgiving when I got the go ahead to start working on it, but I was still pleasantly surprised that she measured it at 40 degrees when I was just sitting on the edge of the table and letting it "dangle." She was able to gently push it to 53 degrees without any major pain, so that's a great starting point. She said that she could feel a great deal of difference. There was resistance, but she said it felt more like soft tissue and not the bone on bone contact that I had through the spring and summer. She also thought it looked much more like a normal knee than it ever did before --normal except for the nasty scar and bulging muscle flap/skin graft area of course.

Jessica said that she and Amanda (the PT Director) will both be working with me and that they were going to enroll me in the Knee Group that meets every Monday and Wednesday afternoon. They are apparently really booked up and getting appointments is pretty difficult. This way I'll have two standing appointments every week. She said the group is mostly younger patients with ACL and other sports related injuries as opposed to other groups which are mostly knee replacements on older patients, so it should be a good fit for me.

I'm pretty happy with how things went and glad to be starting a new phase of the recovery process.

I picked up my last present on the way home and have already wrapped it, so I'm pretty well set for Christmas.

Dad, Jesko, Bill, Steve and Matt Hays and I are all heading to the Maryland basketball game tonight. Go Terps!!

Christmas Shopping

Well, I survived the mall and have taken care of all but one gift. This is actually pretty early for me. I'm such a last minute shopper. Back in college I got interviewed at Security Square Mall by the local news crew while shopping on Christmas Eve. I can't do that this year since we are going to have our family Christmas on the 24th since my sister and her family will be at the Hagees' on Christmas day.

I've got a busy day tomorrow with church and youth fellowship. Then Monday is my first physical therapy appointment and I'm going to a Maryland basketball game with Dad, Bill Hathaway, and Jesko. So today was pretty much my last chance to get the bulk done. I took the wheelchair since I wouldn't have lasted very long attempting this trip on crutches. I'm still worn out. I will say having a handicapped parking permit comes in awful handy.

I got home and found Elf on TV which is perfect for wrapping presents and decorating the tree. I've had the tree up with lights on it since last Saturday, but haven't decorated it yet. If you haven't seen Elf, do yourself a favor and rent it. Its hysterical and even though its only five years old it is already a classic that I must watch every year.

My top Christmas movies (not necessarily in order)

1. It's a Wonderful Life
2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947 - Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood version)
3. A Christmas Story (You'll shoot your eye out!)
4. Elf
5. Love Actually (which is also on tonight but I borrowed it on DVD and have already watched twice this year)

Luckily I had Dad put the star on top of my tree already so I don't have to use Buddy's method-

Make sure that you stick to Buddy the Elf's four main food groups - Candy, Candy Canes, Candy Corns, and Syrup. Me, I'm eating Christmas Tree Peeps and drinking Cherry Coke while I'm watching...

Hanukkah

I just watched Jerry Seinfeld on Letterman and he was talking about his kids (and himself as a child) wanting a Christmas tree despite being Jewish. It got me thinking of a similar problem for Kyle on the first season of South Park. After being told he can't eat Christmas snow or come see Santa at the mall, Kyle sings a poignant but comical song about being Jewish when all around him are celebrating Christmas.

The lyric that makes this song for me -- "I'm a Jew, a lonely Jew. I'd be merry, but I'm Hebrew....on Christmas"



Hanukkah starts Sunday night at sundown, so don't forget to wish your Jewish friends "Gut Yontiff"

Pronounced GUT YAHN-tiff (gut rhymes with put). That's Yiddish for "good holiday."

Straight No Chaser

I saw this last year for the first time and had forgotten about it until a friend at the Baltimore Presbytery posted it to Facebook. This is the original men's A Capella group from Indiana University back in 1998 doing a very clever take on the Twelve Days of Christmas (and for you '80s music fans a little Toto)

A Quote from Sunday's Sermon

Sunday's sermon from Rev. Bill Hathaway, Pastor of First Presbyterian Annapolis included discussion of Sarah Vowell's book The Wordy Shipmates. I'm not sure when or if I'll get around to reading this book, but I'm so glad that Bill chose to include this in his sermon. The main reason for its inclusion was to share a quote that Sarah Vowell calls "one of the most beautiful sentences in the English language."

'We must delight in each other, make other's conditions our own, rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body. ' -John Winthrop, Puritan minister and 1st Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

I love that sentence too. That puts into words, so much better than I ever could hope to, what it means to be the church. I think this is what Jesus was talking about when he told the Pharisees that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. That's not to say that it is easy. It certainly is not. But whether you are thinking about a marriage, a friendship, a family, a team, a church, a country or all of humanity that is certainly a standard to strive towards.

Regardless of what you believe or do not believe, whether you identify with a specific faith tradition or none at all I think you'll agree that there is an interconnectedness to our world and to all of our relationships. Life is so much better, and things go more smoothly when we act accordingly.

That is definitely what I get out of working, worshiping, and participating in the community that is First Presbyterian of Annapolis. I only wish that I was giving back anywhere near what I am getting from them. My goal in life is to "pay forward" the support, care, encouragement and love that God has graced me with through this church (and through my family and friends).

More Muppets!

Another from the 1979 TV special as promised. This may be my favorite of the pop/secular Christmas songs.

I also shared another track off of this album for our staff meeting devotion today. I played John Denver reciting his poem Alfie The Christmas Tree (below) and the song It's In Every One of Us

Did you ever hear the story of the Christmas tree
Who just didn’t want to change the show
He liked living in the woods and playing with squirrels
He liked icicles and snow

He liked wolves and eagles and grizzly bears
And critters and creatures that crawled
Why bugs were some of his very best friends
Spiders and ants and all

Now that’s not to say that he ever looked down
On a vision of twinkled lights
Or on mirrored bubbles and peppermint canes
And a thousand other delights

And he often had dreams of tiny reindeer
And a jolly old man in a sleigh
Full of toys and presents and wonderful things
And a story of Christmas day

Oh, Alfie believed in Christmas alright
He was full of Christmas cheer
All of each and every day
And all throughout the year

To him it was more than a special time
Much more than a special day
It was more than a beautiful story
It was a special kind of way

You see some folks have never heard a jingle bell ring
And they’ve never heard of Santa Claus
They’ve never heard the story of the Son of God
That made Alfie pause

Did that mean that they’d never know of peace on earth
Or the brotherhood of man
Or know how to love, or know how to give
If they can’t no one can

You see, life is a very special kind of thing
Not just for a chosen few
But for each and every living, breathing thing
Not just me and you

So in you’re Christmas prayers this year
Alfie asked me if I’d ask you
To say a prayer for the wind and the water and the wood
And those who live there too

Tonight a brand new Muppets special is airing on NBC. I've had it on as I've typed and twenty minutes into the program I haven't heard any musical numbers yet. It has been full of the usual Muppet antics, but I don't think there is much chance of it comparing to the John Denver special.

And before I hit "publish" they've broken out into song. Not a Christmas song, but cute... Woopie Goldberg, Uma Thurman and Nathan Lane just made cameos. I'm going to start paying closer attention....

They were a size ten

It's no secret that I'm no fan of George W. Bush, but this is just crazy. An Iraqi reporter threw his shoes (yes that is plural) at our President while in a joint press conference with Iraq's President Malachi. Bush was there to celebrate the signing of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) on an unannounced visit. Bush's reaction is pretty calm and cool. He ducks enough to dodge both shoes, but he remained upright and staring right at his assailant who was quickly taken to the ground and subdued. Bush later joked that "all (he) can report is that they were size 10." Somehow White House spokesperson Dana Perino managed to get a black eye out out of the deal during the scuffle to tackle the journalist. She's not visible in the video, but apparently was right in the thick of it.

And they thought Helen Thomas was tough!!



UPDATE - It didn't take long for several online games giving you a chance to virtually throw a few shoes yourself to pop up. Here's one.

Elf Yourself!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?

If not perhaps this will help-



No Christmas music quite signals that it is Christmas to me as does the TV special that John Denver did with the Muppets back in 1979 - A Christmas Together. This has been a family favorite since it originally aired. Becky and I got the LP from the library the year that it first aired and it has been a staple ever since. The librarian even let her keep the poster that was included with the album since we were the first to check it out and they had no desire to keep it. We've all (parents, sister and me) upgraded our copies to CD versions, but I could no more do without these songs than I could go without a tree.

For some reason it has never been released for sale as a VHS or DVD. You can find bootleg versions for sale online, but most state that the video and sound quality is not up to today's standards (like this YouTube clip). I keep checking each year to see if a digitally re-mastered DVD has been released, but after almost 30 years I'm not holding my breath.

There are several old standards like this song included, but also some that I had never heard anywhere else that are among my favorites of all Christmas music like It's in Everyone of Us, The Peace Carol, and The Christmas Wish. I will undoubtedly be sharing more of these in the next two weeks. In the mean time do yourself a favor and grab a copy of the CD for yourself. I don't think that you'll be disappointed.

Broccoli We Have Heard on High

Hat tip to Daily Dish for posting this.

If you click through to YouTube, this guy has made musical instruments out of loads of vegetables. It is apparently quite a hobby.

Obama Keeps it Cool

I have to say 1) Fred Armisen is getting better as Obama. Rumor has it that they are looking for a replacement. Maybe that was the motivation that Armisen needed to work on his impression.
2) SNL was pretty funny this week. Malkovich, like Christopher Walken, is a fantastic host. He's an extremely talented actor with lots of versitility and he's just warped enough to fully commit to the skits and characters like an actual cast member.

Other highlights this week included the twins who only wanted a calculator for Christmas, Amy Pohler's return as Hillary and at the Weekend Update desk, Plaxico's gun safety tips, Virgania Horsen's mail service and Boy George explaining about handcuffing and beating a gay prostitute with a length of chain.

Shinseki to head VA

Andrew Sullivan and James Fallows over at the Atlantic think that this is a masterful move by the President Elect. I whole heartedly agree.

Interesting Personal Note - At 57 seconds in to this video is Gen. Shinseki, who was then the Army Chief of Staff telling a Senate committee how many troops would be needed in post invasion Iraq. He was there that day with the rest of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Two seats to Shinseki's left is Gen. Michael Hagee, then Commandant of the Marine Corp. Gen Hagee happens to be my sister Becky's father-in-law and grandfather to my nieces. Not sure what he told the committee that day, but I do know he is good company at Thanksgiving Dinner and a very good grandfather.

Therapy and Blue Jeans

I haven't written in a while because there hasn't been much to report since my big appointment with Dr. Brumback last week.

I stopped in to the physical therapy clinic and made an appointment with Jessica. She didn't have any openings until the 22nd, so I'm on the cancellation list in case anything opens up sooner. I was disappointed that I have to wait, but luckily I've been through this already and can get a head start. I did get to talk to her though and have been doing my exercises at home this past week.

Being free of the leg brace has certainly made life much simpler. I can actually wear real clothes again. I don't think I've had jeans on since March. Its amazing the little things that one learns to appreciate when you have to do without for a while.

Other than that I've been working on youth stuff and had several meetings this week. We're gearing up for this year's confirmation class, getting the spring calendar finalized and working on an alternative worship service for the older elementary school kids. It is good to be busy.

It is hard to believe that Advent has arrived. I love the anticipation of what is to come.

Jon Stewart is Going to Miss Bush

"Every day has been joyous." ......What?

"Before I arrived in President....During I arrived in President" WTF!!?? This man has an MBA for crying out loud.

He is intrigued by the thoughts of doing charitable work. He's not going to do it, but isn't it intriguing?

January 20th can't come soon enough. Less than 48 days.

Prop 8, the Musical

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die