Saturday, December 31, 2022

The Last Sunrise...

purty, ain't it?

...of 2022...
that I actually saw, anyway.

Hey, it was December, and we had something like 11% sunshine for the month.

That was December 28th...before and after that it was either cloudy, snowing, blizzarding (it's a word; look it up) or raining when the sun - allegedly - came up.

Now it's New Year's Eve, and we're just about ready to kick 2022 to the curb with a hearty...


But first, a recap of an eventful week:
As It Was in '64...

...so it was in the blizzard of '22...we were indeed FrOzen, with plenty of the white stuff and sub-zero wind chills.

morning, day one of the blizzard


yeah, we're not happy about it, either

Instead of the big get togethers we'd planned for the runup to Christmas, it ended up being just be the 2 of us on Christmas Eve.

Before we settled our brains for a long winter's nap, we shared a moment by the fire and gave thanks...


...for the baby born in a manger:


Thankfully, weather conditions improved enough that we were able to celebrate with some loved ones on Christmas afternoon...

Karen's daughters and their S.O.'s


#1 Son and 3 of his boys

...and a few days later, observed a moment of silence for my birthday...


...which surprisingly, wasn't all bad.

Remember my neighbor who offered to repair my Weltron turntable?

no, my neighbor is not Dean Martin

Well, he came through in spades, fixing not just the turntable, but also the 8 track player and the radio tuner!

Truly, couldn't be happier with the results.

And it was just in time to provide the music for our next event, when we gathered with more family that couldn't make it on Christmas...

#1 Son, his 4 older kids, and his granddaughter photo-bombing


#4 son's kids

...and finally, visited friends on New Year's Eve day:

no names...for obvious reasons they won't publicly admit they know us

We also spent a little time discussing the low/highlights of the year.

In the lowlights department were loved ones struggling with life's problems and the continued corruption and deterioration of our once great country.

Highlights included another year of gainful employment, time spent with family and friends, and God's continued love and care for all of us:

"This I recall to mind, therefore have I hope.

"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.

"They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

   - Lamentations 3:21-23

And now, after 365 days of laughter and sorrow, love and loss, good times and bad, we are finally ready for our annual tradition of cueing up the best New Year's Eve movie ever made...


...then watching the ball drop, sharing a kiss and greeting the New Year:


And so we combine a not so fond farewell with a hopeful greeting:


There will be problems of course; they're part and parcel of life.

But there will be blessings, too, with the assurance of God's faithful care, and for that we give thanks.

Happy New Year, mcm fans...

* Crass Commercialism Corner *

In the "so convenient you can't stand it" department, you can purchase my books here and on Amazon.com.

Get your paperback books here:



Get your ebooks here:


Saturday, December 17, 2022

Here At The Castle Frankenstein...


...we've been so busy... 


...the season almost slipped by us.

But not quite...7 more days 'til Christmas, so let's do this:

One Week To Go...


...and all through the land...people clamored to know, "O, when will it end?!"

"The answer's contained in the statement, my dear,


"Just 7 more days 'til Christmas is here!"

So hurry and watch those shows on TV!
The halls all need decking; you must trim the tree!


But somewhere amidst all the sparkle and shine,
The tumult and chaos that's stealing your time,

Take a moment or two for calm meditation;
Remember the Reason for this celebration.


The lights and the glitter are all well and good,
The ornaments, presents, songs and the food...


But when you consider the Grand Scheme of things,
They're really just heralds for our Newborn King.


So sing and be merry with those that you love,
But always remember God's gift from above.

With shepherds and Angels we echo it still:
"Glory to God, peace on earth and good will."




Now for a lesson in...



Recently I've been enjoying spinning Christmas vinyl on my early 70's Weltron 2005 record player / radio / 8 track player:


Apparently you're not supposed to say those types of things out loud, because a day or two later, guess what stopped working?

Frustrating.

Thus began an immediate two pronged approach to solving this problem:

1) a search for a suitable replacement, which resulted in this:


An ultra cool, early 60's Philco phonograph, and since it's tube electronics, even more MCM appropriate than my Weltron turntable.

shooting some 9 ball, listening to Elvis croon Christmas carols and watching the Lions beat Minnesota...no, really!

Love the warm scent of tube radios, TV's and phonographs.

Happy to report enjoyment of Christmas vinyl has resumed with reckless abandon.

But that's not the serendipitous event.

Since I didn't want my Weltron to sit broken and unused, I continued my problem resolution activities with:

2) an internet search for folks who repair vintage turntables.

This is somewhat akin to searching for Bigfoot...


...though unlike Mr. B, they do appear to exist.

Not in abundance, by any means - and many of them seem to be websites only, rather than functioning businesses.

Multiple email and contact form inquiries yielded a grand total of 1 response...from someone in Tennessee who said "...we have a gigantic backlog and might be able to get to your Weltron sometime in 2023, but no guarantees; check back in January."

Well.

Into this gloomy scenario, enter my new neighbor - who moved in this summer, literally right next door.

In casual conversation I mentioned my broken Weltron, to which he quite unexpectedly replied:

"Wow, those are rare nowadays.  If you like I can fix it for you."

One doubletake and a not so quick tour of his workshop later - he has over 2,000 radios, turntables and miscellaneous audio equipment, including an incredible 1954 juke box he rebuilt himself - I left my Weltron in the most capable hands in the Midwest.

And that boys and girls, is what's known as Serendipity


Since the Onrushing Holiday has you in its sights and...


...we here at the AMC have come up with some coping strategies for you...ways you can mitigate the stress of dealing with that whole gift giving / relatives scene.

We've conveniently grouped them into 4 categories, based on personality type:

The Stoic

1. Grin and Bear it - not just a comic strip started in the 1930's...

...but an actual method of managing holiday stress, to wit:

What, you think you're the first person who's ever had to fork out for presents nobody needs and endure bad breath and body odor from people swimming in your gene pool?

Come on, buck up and take it like a man!

The Actor

B. Disguise yourself - get some Groucho Glasses:


This is a sure fire method of being instantly unrecognizable even to your closest associates.

Why?

Because the world today is so historically and culturally illiterate, they couldn't identify this man...

"To our wives and girlfriends!  May they never meet."

...if they found him swimming in their Duck Soup.

Let's face it, if it didn't happen to them personally within the last 24 hours on their phone, they don't know anything about it.

Answer the door with your Groucho Glasses on and they'll run screaming for their safe space, convinced the dictator of Freedonia is poised to commit a micro-aggression against them.

The Houdini

III. Move without leaving a forwarding address - an extreme but effective means...


...of escaping those unpleasant holiday tasks, like, y'know...being there.

The Muskovite

$. Colonize Mars - admittedly this requires a bit of patience and forward thinking...


...but if you're ready to close ranks with those leaving it all behind, this could be your ticket out of the holiday stress grinder.

So mark your calendar for 2060.

Until then, do what most folks do anyway: stare at the device in your palm and ignore all nearby lifeforms as if they're from another...well, you get the idea.


Ibe habesheortophobiacs...everything you need to survive the season.

This service has been brought to you *FREE* of charge, forethought, substance and meaning.

No need to thank us...it's what we do.


Time for a quick sleigh ride...


...through the Parting Shots department...

Grin And Bear It



they said we could get up to foot of the white stuff this weekend...



...and they were close...10.5"



Romans 1:22


future project: a wine cellar, perfect for our half basement



another fan of Seafood Sensations



in a related story: did you hear about the 2 Minnesotans who froze to death in their car?  They went to a Drive-In to see "Closed For The Winter"



meanwhile, outside the Wild_Hare Pool Hall...



Never fear, there's a whole week to go before  Christmas blows onto the scene...



...so you've still got plenty of time to panic.

Before you do, a reminder from God's Word:


later, mcm fans...