Tom McMahon

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Robert Goulet Enters A Contest On The Howard Stern Show

From Christopher Blank

The goal was to make something sensible out of a few terrible song lyrics penned by one of the show's regulars. Thousands of people entered the "Restless Restless" contest. A friend of Goulet encouraged him to enter as a lark.

"I said send me the sheet music," Goulet remembers telling his friend. "He said, 'There is no sheet music.' So I read the poem and thought: "What a bunch of malarkey." I went into the studio and said 'Give me a Basie sound.' We did it in two takes."

It's easy to describe what Goulet did with the inane tune: he created a punchy, big-band swing version that would hold up on any bandstand. But it's hard to figure out why Stern and his cohorts declared Goulet and his throwback lounge baritone one of the top three entries. They burned up brain cells analyzing his bravura delivery: "Like a guy who has gotten over the breakup and moved on." Amid rap versions, country versions and even a spoken-word version entered by William Shatner, Goulet's big-band slam was played over and over, with the host shouting "Yeah!" each time the brass kicked in.

"Stern called me and asked if I would come perform it live, but I said I had just landed this tour of 'Camelot.' I'm rehearsing my bananas off right now," he said. "But Vera (Goulet's wife and manager) said why don't we take him up on the offer? So I'm going up after we finish in North Carolina. I'm supposed to sing it at 6 in the morning. Who sings at 6 a.m.?"

A result of the song entry -- a bonus that didn't escape his wife -- was that Stern and his cronies began wondering "Who is this Robert Goulet?" So did a million listeners.

All manner of wonderfully odd stuff at RobertGoulet.com (via J-Walk)

Old Christmas Ads

Old Christmas Ads

(via Sugar n Spicy and J-Walk)

The Big Picture

From Ann Coulter

Since the attack of 9-11, we've won two wars, liberated millions of people from monstrous regimes, presided over one election in Afghanistan and are about to see elections in Iraq and among the Palestinian people. Focusing like a laser beam on the big picture, liberals are upset that, during this period, the secretary of defense used an autopen. ...

As president, Clinton sold burial plots in Arlington Cemetery and liberals shrugged it off. What really gets their goat is the autopen. Evidently, the important thing was that every one of those pardons Clinton sold for cash on his last day in office was signed by Bill Clinton personally.

Falkland Oil

From Der Spiegel

60 billion barrels of oil lie under the ocean around the Falkland Islands, say experts. Twenty years after the war in the South Atlantic, the islands have struck it rich. But who does the oil belong to? Argentina continues to eye the archipeligo even as British oil companies start moving in for the drill.

Photographic Fine Art Prints by David Sanger

Photographic Fine Art Prints by David Sanger

A great selection, all prices ranges. A terrific gift idea that's not the same old thing. I gave my Dad a David Sanger photograph of the island where he was wounded in 1944. And if you know anyone from Zimbabwe, a photo of Victoria Falls will be a big hit. Trust me.

Some Ground Rules For A Philippine Christmas Family Reunion

Just a couple of them from World Famous in the Philippines:

8. The telephone can only be used after relatives from the US and other countries have called and talked to each person in attendance.

9. During the reunion, any rumor heard or discovered, such as the crack addict cousin who suddenly is thinking of becoming a priest, can only be discussed after New Year.

Listen, Moscow is Speaking!

Listen, Moscow is Speaking!

World War II: A Preamble On A Page

Just a short excerpt from David H. Lippman

On the morning of September 1, 1939, a German battleship named Schleswig-Holstein standing 600 meters off the Polish coastal fort of Westerplatte, opened fire on the fort and began the Second World War. 2,193 days later, on September 2, 1945, the Second World War ended off the coast of Japan, as that nation surrendered on the deck of an American battleship named Missouri.

The Schleswig-Holstein was built in 1884 and was powered by coal when built. She had been converted to fuel oil in 1926, but was outdated by 1939, called up from training duties to hurl 11-inch shells at an equally outdated Polish fort. Schleswig-Holstein's antique guns were loaded by hand and aimed by optical sights, in a style used at Jutland or Tsushima, even recognizable to someone who had fought at Trafalgar.

The Schleswig-Holstein fired her shells at the Polish defenders and scored a number of hits, temporarily putting the fort out of commission. As German shells rained down on Westerplatte, neither side realized that both battleships and coastal forts would soon become obsolete, if not already.

The Missouri was launched in 1943, could steam at 27 knots, and bristled with 16-inch, 5-inch, and 40mm guns. They were sighted and aimed by radar, computers, and electronics, in a style that would be recognizable to men who fought - on the same ship - in the Persian Gulf War of 1991.

One of the most interesting web pages I have read in a long, long time. Lots of great WWII info.

A Christmas Candelabra?

From Jonah Goldberg

I attended a Reform Jewish day school, and almost everyone I knew had a Christmas tree at home. I don’t remember anyone calling them “Holiday Trees,” but quite a few called them “Hanukkah bushes,” which always struck me as lameness on stilts — like calling a menorah a “Christmas candelabra.”

And keep in mind, this school, Rodeph Sholem, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, was virtually a madrassa of knee-jerk Jewish liberalism. Why, a couple years ago they — I kid you not — cancelled Mother’s Day because it was mean to kids with, uh, two daddies. Note, they never canceled Mother’s Day out of consideration for kids whose mothers were, you know, dead. But that’s a battle for another day.