Raining In the Holidays

It was very quiet here today. I spent most of the day on the computer. Looked up some things on the Disability site in the late morning; wrote two flash fiction stories and started the Holiday Books Inventory in the afternoon. The Holiday Books Inventory will include all books about a specific holiday - fiction, nonfiction, children, adults', cookbooks, craft books, picture books and novels. I got through the nonfiction and the two story anthologies today. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can at least start the fiction books.

It was raining when I first got up this morning, but the rain was quickly replaced by clouds, and then sunshine. It was also much colder, back into the lower 50s. I celebrated the return of seasonal weather with several rare Christmas specials and films.

Rankin Bass' output got more and more bizarre as the 70s went on, and one of their weirdest is The Leprichan's Christmas Gold. When a young sailor uproots a pine tree on a phantom Irish isle, he discovers a banshee who is after the gold of the wee people who live there. Art Carney and Peggy Cass narrate the only holiday special I know of that blends Irish mythology and Christmas legends.

The Stingiest Man In Town makes a bit more sense. It's an animated adaptation of a 50s TV musical version of A Christmas Carol. While many people who saw the original broadcast consider the live-action rendition to be superior, this does have it's charms, including some decent animation and fine vocal performances by Tom Bosley as the insect narrator and Walter Matthau as Scrooge.

(Hmm. Some research on Amazon.com reveals that, after it being lost for decades, the original 50s Stingiest Man In Town has been unearthed and released on DVD. The score is on CD, too. It has an equally good cast - Basil Rathbone is Scrooge, and other performers include Vic Damone and The Four Lads. I might have to put both on my Christmas list.)

I spent a pleasant hour before dinner watching the 1978 version of The Nutcracker while working on my current crocheting project. Russian star Mikhail Baryshnikov is the title character in the American Ballet Theater rendition of the beloved holiday fantasy. There are many other versions of this beloved holiday tale, but few with a star performer as good as this one.

Switched to a more colorful variation on the Nutcracker tale during a dinner of leftover chicken legs, romaine salad, and steamed green beans. The Care Bears made their only holiday special in 1988, a very loose adaptation of the fantasy ballet. Here, Tenderheart, Funshine, Grumpy, Lots-A-Heart, and BraveHeart join a little girl and the title character as they travel through a ravaged Toyland to rescue the Sugar Plum Fairy from the evil Vizier. Fun for younger kids or fans of the late 80s Care Bears Family show.