If I have to type the word “engaged” one more time…. Add Sherri Shepherd’s name to the list of celebrity brides who’ll be walking down the aisle in 2011. The host of the Game Show Network’s The Newlywed Game will soon be among the “wedded elite” after accepting a day after Christmas proposal from beau [...]
Posts Tagged ‘sally’
John Mellencamp Meg Ryan Dating
January 4th, 2011 |
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Hot On the Web Right Now: Eighties rocker John Mellencamp is dating When Harry Met Sally actress Meg Ryan. Interesting, considering John only announced his separation from wife of 18 years, Elaine, on New Year’s Eve. Meg, 49, has been spotted enjoying Mellencamp’s company on Martha’s Vineyard and in New York City in recent days, [...]
Sally Jessy Raphael “Jersey Shore†Spoof!
December 9th, 2010 |
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Will you just look at what Snooki and The Sitch have started? Former talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael enlists a little help from the cast of MTV’s Jersey Shore as she shops a new sitcom — I’m Still Sally – and aims to go viral like Betty White on Facebook. The Sally host, now [...]
Hosted CRM Software: Changes the Method of Doing Business Posted By : Sally Stephenson
November 23rd, 2010 |
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Hosted CRM software takes care of businesses and their customers. It makes outsourcing more efficient.
16 Feelgood Movies That Don’t Treat You Like A Moron
November 14th, 2010 |
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When someone calls a film a “feelgood movie”, that usually means it’s trite, boring, saccharine, cliché, or any combination thereof. Suitable for churchgoers, all-age events, and your Aunt Sally who has all the kitten photos. That said, there’s a collection of films out there that legitimately do make you “feel good”, and do so without [...]
Online CRM Software: Boost CRM Strategies Through Using Online CRM Software Posted By : Sally Stephenson
November 11th, 2010 |
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Online CRM software improves and helps in lots of business processes. That is the reason why a lot of companies select to utilize this software.
Phish: Alpine Valley 2010 Live CD/DVD Box Set
October 27th, 2010 |
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CD/DVD BOX SET HIGHLIGHTS
AUGUST 14-15 ALPINE VALLEY THEATRE
SHOWS
 Phish: Alpine Valley 2010 |
Phish will release a live
DVD/CD box set of their complete August 14, 2010 performance at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy,
Wisconsin. The DVD includes select bonus tracks from August 15, including “Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan,”
“Ghost,” “David Bowie,” and more. The set will feature two CDs of music from the August 14 show. Although there is
nothing official from Phish.com, Amazon has a pre-order page with a release date scheduled for December 14.
Click here to take a look.
August 14 Set List (via phish.net):
I: Tube, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg, Funky Bitch, Reba, Fuck Your Face, Alaska, Back on
the Train, Taste > When the Circus Comes, Lawn Boy, Sparkle, Gumbo, Run Like an Antelope
II: The Sloth, Down with Disease -> What’s the Use? > Scent of a Mule, Mike’s Song > Dirt > Sneakin’ Sally
through the Alley > Weekapaug Groove, Bug
E: Quinn the Eskimo
Phish
Tour Dates
::
Phish News
::
Phish
Concert
Reviews
How to Answer 12 of Your Kid’s Most Awkward Questions Like a Badass
October 4th, 2010 |
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We all know that kids can and will ask questions that you simply don’t want to answer. You’ve got to say something, because they won’t stop asking it until you do. The thing is, the straight and truthful answers to some of these questions aren’t exactly the sort of thing you tell a child.
Phish 6.22.10 – 6.29.10 | Photos
July 2nd, 2010 |
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Phish Summer Tour stopped
by Mansfield, MA this past week with a June 22 performance at Comcast Center (formerly Great Woods), and
continued
on June 24-25 for two nights at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ. After that, the band treated
audiences
to two nights at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD on June 26-27,
before heading to the Constellation Brands Performing Arts Center (CMAC) in Canandaigua, NY on June 29.
Photographer
Dave
Vann was on hand to capture the action.
View the photos in our gallery below or click to the next page to view them all at once.
var
siteRoot=”http://www.jambase.com”;var newPhotoIndex=”0″;$(document).ready( function() {
$(“#GalleryWidget”).load(siteRoot+”/Photos/Widget.aspx?galleryID=84″);}); 6/22/10 – 6/29/10 – Phish Summer Tour
(Mansfield, Camden, Columbia, Canandaigua) View Photos
Be sure to keep up to date with all things Phish via the JamBase Phish Twitter Feed.
All shows are available for download at Live Phish.
All setlist information from phish.net.
Tuesday :: 06.22.2010 :: Comcast Center :: Mansfield, MA
I: Lit O Bit, Camel Walk, Possum, The Divided Sky, Dirt, Sample in a Jar, Kill Devil Falls, Dr. Gabel, Run Like
an Antelope
II: Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove, Sneakin’ Sally through the Alley -> Light -> 46
Days, Limb By Limb, Golgi Apparatus, Slave to the Traffic Light, Loving Cup
E: First Tube
Notes: This show featured the Phish debut of Lit O Bit and the debut of Dr. Gabel. In Antelope, “Marco Esquandolas”
was changed to “Leo Esquandolas,” followed by a Page solo.
Live Phish Download
Thursday :: 06.24.2010 :: Susquehanna Bank Center :: Camden, NJ
I: David Bowie, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan, Water in the Sky, Ocelot, Uncle Pen, Boogie On Reggae
Woman, Gumbo > Timber (Jerry) > I Didn’t Know, Birds of a Feather, Bouncing Around the Room, Reba, The
Rover
II: Down with Disease -> Crosseyed and Painless > Nothing > Twenty Years Later > Harry Hood >
Fluffhead > Julius, You Enjoy Myself
E: Bug
Notes: During I Didn’t Know, Trey mentioned his prediction from the 6/7/09 Camden show that the Flyers would
win the Stanley Cup and announced that Fish would perform a voodoo vacuum solo for next year’s Cup. Some fans
in the audience then began chanting “Let’s Go Flyers.” Reba did not have the whistling ending. The Rover was a
Phish debut. At the start of the YEM vocal jam, some fans again chanted “Let’s Go Flyers.”
Live Phish Download
Friday :: 06.25.2010 :: Susquehanna Bank Center :: Camden, NJ
I: Alumni Blues > Letter to Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Runaway Jim,
Army of One, Free Man in Paris, Summer of ’89, Split Open and Melt, The Sloth, Time Turns Elastic, Golgi
Apparatus
II: Chalk Dust Torture > Prince Caspian > Heavy Things > Alaska > Also Sprach Zarathustra -> Billie Jean
Jam -> Also Sprach Zarathustra > Light -> Possum > Character Zero
E: Shine a Light
Notes: This show featured the first Alumni Blues since July 24, 1999 (222 shows) and the first Letter to Jimmy Page
since July 15, 1994 (587 shows). This show featured the Phish debut of Free Man in Paris (Joni Mitchell). Both Chalk
Dust and Caspian were unfinished. 2001 contained a Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ quote from Trey, the ensuing Billie
Jean Jam contained a Thriller tease from Trey, and the second “verse” of 2001 contained still more Billie Jean teases,
all on the first anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. Billie Jean was a Phish debut.
Live Phish Download
Saturday :: 06.26.2010 :: Merriweather Post Pavilion :: Columbia, MD
I: Crowd Control, Kill Devil Falls, AC/DC Bag, Sugar Shack, Tube, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Stash,
Backwards Down the Number Line, NICU > 46 Days, Suzy Greenberg
II: Rock and Roll > Free, Fast Enough for You, Sparkle > Tweezer, The Horse > Silent in the Morning >
Wolfman’s Brother > Slave to the Traffic Light > Tweezer Reprise
E: Show of Life, Good Times Bad Times
Notes: Prior to the start of the first set, Mike teased Do You Feel Like We Do. This show featured the Phish debut of
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel). Rock and Roll contained Moby Dick teases.
Live Phish Download
Sunday :: 06.27.2010 :: Merriweather Post Pavilion :: Columbia, MD
I: Walfredo, Mellow Mood, Stealing Time From the Faulty Plan > The Divided Sky, Tela, My Soul, Ginseng
Sullivan, Sample in a Jar, Bathtub Gin, Brian and Robert, Run Like an Antelope
II: Wilson > Meatstick -> Saw It Again -> Piper > Ghost -> Jumpin’ Jack Flash -> Saw It Again > Contact,
You Enjoy Myself
E: Fire
Notes: This show featured the first Walfredo since September 30, 2000 (131 shows). Antelope contained Brian and
Robert teases and an alternate “Michael Esquandolas” lyric. Meatstick contained Japanese lyrics. Jumpin’ Jack Flash
was a Phish debut. Piper, Ghost, Contact, YEM and Fire all contained Saw it Again quotes. YEM also contained
Jumpin’ Jack Flash teases and, in the vocal jam, quotes of Saw It Again and Surfin’ Bird (The Trashmen). The lyrics to
Fire were changed to “Let Jon Fishman take over.”
Live Phish Download
Tuesday :: 06.29.2010 :: CMAC Performing Arts Center :: Canandaigua, NY
I: The Connection, Down with Disease > Sample in a Jar, Ocelot, Reba, Horn, Funky Bitch, Undermind, The
Ballad of Curtis Loew, David Bowie
II: Possum, Mike’s Song > Simple > I Am the Walrus > Weekapaug Groove > Limb By Limb > Joy, Harry
Hood > Golgi Apparatus
E: First Tube
Notes: This show featured the Phish debut of I Am The Walrus. Weekapaug was unfinished.
Live Phish Download
Thursday, 07/01/2010 Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek , Raleigh, NC
I: Llama, Roses Are Free, Kill Devil Falls, Time Loves a Hero, Alaska, Water in the Sky, Runaway Jim > The
Moma Dance > The Divided Sky, Cavern
II: Backwards Down the Number Line > Halley’s Comet -> Light > Fluffhead > Have Mercy, Light Up Or
Leave Me Alone -> Free > Wading in the Velvet Sea, The Squirming Coil > Suzy Greenberg
E: Boogie On Reggae Woman
Notes: This show featured the first Time Loves a Hero since December 31, 2002 (127 shows), the first Have Mercy
since December 10, 1999 (189 shows), and the first Light Up Or Leave Me Alone since December 30,
1999 (181 shows), which was subsequently teased in Suzy.
Thanks again to Phish.net for the setlists!
All photos Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish 2010.
6/22/10 Mansfield, MA
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
6/24/10 Camden, NJ
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
6/25/10 Camden, NJ
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
6/26/10 Columbia, MD
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
6/27/10 Columbia, MD
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
6/29/10 Canandaigua, NY
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Used with permission from Phish. Photos by Dave Vann © Phish
2010
Dame Helen Mirren plays brothel madam in ‘Love Ranch’
May 17th, 2010 |
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Dame Helen Mirren plays the role of a brothel madam in her latest film ‘Love Ranch’.
The film, which is directed and produced by her husband, Taylor Hackford, is based on the real-life story of Sally and Joe Conforte, owners of the Mustang Ranch bordello in Nevada, which became the first legalised brothel in the US [...]
‘Spooked Jordan calls in ghostbuster to help her go house-hunting’
April 6th, 2010 |
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Katie Price has hired a ghostbuster to get rid of evil spirits from any new house she may move into.
The hottie claims that an old lady haunts the top floor of her current mansion. Also she believes a male presence hangs around her sunbed.
Now, she has requested for the services of TV psychic Sally Morgan.
Price [...]
Kate Wolf Memorial Fest Feat: Nevilles, Ani, Earle, Grisman
February 16th, 2010 |
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Early-Bird Tickets Are Now Available For The Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival
Early-Bird pricing for tickets to the Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival are currently available through March 22. The Festival takes place June 25-27, 2010 at Black Oak Ranch, five miles north of Laytonville, CA.
Lineup:
 The Neville Brothers |
The Neville Brothers
Ani DiFranco
Steve Earle
Robert Earl Keen
Greg Brown
The Waifs
David Grisman Bluegrass Experience
Charlie Musselwhite
Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir
Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart
Po Girl, Baka Beyond
John McCutcheon
Poor Man’s Whiskey
Rosalie Sorrels
Country All-Stars
Blame Sally
…and more to be announced in the near future.
Gogol Bordello | 12.19.09 | Tel Aviv
January 12th, 2010 |
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Words by: Kevin Schwartzbach | Images by: Goni Riskin
Gogol Bordello :: 12.19.09 :: Hangar 11 :: Tel Aviv, Israel
 Eugene Hutz :: 12.19 :: Tel Aviv |
In many ways, Israel is the perfect place for Gogol Bordello. A mix of punk rock and Eastern European gypsy music with a tinge of other multi-ethnic flavors, their music mirrors the diverse heritage woven into the fabric of Israeli society, heavy with immigrants from Eastern Europe and North America, but indeed also from all over the world. Made up of a Ukrainian, two Russians, a Scot of Chinese descent, an American, an Ethiopian, an Ecuadorian, and well, an Israeli, the members of Gogol Bordello might as well have been pulled off any random public bus recklessly surging through downtown Tel Aviv. The manic theatricality with which flamboyant frontman Eugene Hutz conducts their shows is reminiscent of an army drill, something to which all Israelis can relate (given their requisite army service). The stage performance these guys put on certainly requires the strength and endurance of a solider, constantly running around the stage and engaging in circus-like tomfoolery.
Outside Hangar 11 on a balmy December night in Tel Aviv, the Israeli versions of punks and miscellaneous hip youths gathered – a curious phenomenon one might think given that Israel is thousands of miles away from punk rock’s birthplace, situated in a part of the world that often tends to harbor a less than amicable attitude towards Western culture. A country built upon immigration, Israel actually represents what is likely the strongest enclave of Western culture in the Middle East. Despite a plain influence from regional Arab/Middle Eastern cultures, virtually any contemporary cultural movement found across Europe or North America, from punk rockers to hippies, has its Israeli analogue. Tragically, geographical inconvenience essentially isolates Israel from the iconic figures that comprise the culture that much of the country has so readily absorbed. So, when a band the likes of Gogol Bordello made its way to Israel for only the second time in six years, the punk rockers came out in droves.
 Gogol Bordello :: 12.19 :: Tel Aviv |
Inside Hangar 11′s cavernous hall the floor was already packed for opening act Boom Pam, a hometown favorite. This Israeli trio really reflects Israeli culture, synthesizing Western influences and local spiciness, combining punk and surf music with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean music. I caught the tail end just in time to see Uri Brauner Kinrot wailing away on his guitar, crooning raspy Hebrew words while Yuval Zolotov held down a steady bass line on his tuba.
Gogol’s Oren Kaplan (guitar, backing vocals) emerged to applause from his countrymen, leading the rhythm section out onto the stage. Sergey Ryabtsev riled up the crowd with violent slashes on his electric violin, rapidly traversing the stage with fellow Ruski comrade Yuri Lemeshev, who conjured up images of the old country with squeezes of his bellowing accordion. Dressed like an outlaw rebel commander, complete with idiosyncratic mustache, Hutz ran onto the stage, acoustic guitar in hand.
Few musicians possess the stage presence Eugene Hutz (born Evgeny Aleksandrovitch Nikolaev Simonov) does. Onstage, this guy just oozes personality. The mastermind behind most of the band’s music, he really brings it to life in a live setting, accompanying their energetic music with an in-your-face punk attitude topped off with frantic gypsy ravings and dance moves – like Johnny Rotten meets Michael Jackson on borscht.
 Eugene Hutz :: 12.19 :: Tel Aviv |
“If we are here not to do/ What you and I wanna do/ And forever go crazy/ Why the hell are we even here?” yelled Hutz in his thick Ukrainian accent – a point from their latest release Super Taranta‘s opening song “Ultimate” that the crowd took to heart, immediately going crazy in the mosh-pit. The band meanwhile wasn’t wasting anytime getting down to business, ending each song with the beginning of the next. “Drop the charges, man,” yelled out Thomas Gobena (bass, backing vocals) in the last seconds of “Sally” as the rest of the band crash-landed into “Not a Crime,” their not so subtle anti-drug-law anthem, inciting a cheer from the audience (JamBase readers will be pleased to hear of the relatively “420″-friendly attitude of most Israeli youths). In between choruses, Hutz and his crew haplessly rushed about the stage in all directions playing a game of musical microphones, each barely reaching a different mic just in time to yell out, “Not a crime!” Watching Lemeshev lug around his squeezebox in transit with a rapturous grin pointed at the crowd had a Yakov Smirnoff-like comedic aspect to it (in Soviet Russia, accordion lugs you!).
Pedro Erazo (percussion, MC) and Elizabeth Sun (dancer, backing vocals, general randomness) only added to Gogol Bordello’s already spectacular showmanship. From time to time Erazo relinquished his collection of toys at the back of the stage to rap for us while Sun pranced around banging cymbals together, changing outfits throughout the night.
A trio of “Through The Roof N’ Underground”, “Start Wearing Purple” and “Think Locally, Fuck Globally” came out, consecutively and seamlessly, each more energetic than the last, to end the show on a high note. The more hectic the music got the more the mosh-pit reciprocated, its boisterousness rippling throughout the whole crowd. One last trick up his sleeve, Hutz brought out the fire bucket, beating out fairly impressive drum fills on its tinny bottom.
A solitary Hutz returned to the stage to start the encore, dazzling us with a gypsy guitar solo, while providing his own percussion. Switching gears, he sang the lamenting “Alcohol” while Ryabtsev, plucking soulfully, and Lemeshev jauntily strolled back out. Slowly but surely the rest of the band returned. “Indestructible” gave us one final taste of what this band is truly made of.
There is a core and it’s hardcore
All is hardcore when made with love
Love is a voice of a savage soul
This savage love is
Undestructable
“Undestructable!” repeated the band and audience in unison at the top of their lungs while Erazo surfed the crowd on his bass drum until he dove headfirst into awaiting hands. Gogol Bordello may hail from all over the world but what irrevocably links the members is an indestructible bond – at heart they are all punk rockers. And like true punk rockers, these guys put absolutely everything on the table, leaving us with a sense of savage love. Dripping sweat, ears bleeding, I took that feeling home with me and bottled it. Israel, this little cultural island, won’t be seeing the likes of Gogol Bordello again for quite some time.
Continue reading for more pics of Gogol Bordello in Israel…
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How You’re Ruining Christmas – And What You Can Do to Save It
December 18th, 2009 |
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You’re ruining Christmas.
Not for me – how could you ruin it for me? No, you’re ruining it for yourself, for your family and friends, for everyone who loves you and who you love in return.
You started in August, when you saw the first little corner of the Mega-Mart decked out with Christmas bows and dancing Santas. It was just a few little grumbles then, but by Halloween it had grown into a roar. Every Christmas decoration, every carol, every artificial tree display you took as a personal affront.
“Can you believe it? Greedy bastards!â€
“Ugh, Christmas is so commercial now. Wake me up for New Years!â€
“Look at those people fighting over toys like animals. They’re disgusting.â€
And on and on and on and on and on. We get it. You HATE Christmas!
What’s that? You don’t hate Christmas? You say you just hate the materialism of it, the way it’s turned from a wonderful tradition into a buying frenzy, the forced gift-giving, the greedy little children waiting to open the latest whiz-bang-o on Christmas morning?
I see. You hate that everyone else just doesn’t get it. Not like you do.
OK, so: what are you going to do about it? Because nobody can ruin your Christmas but you. Not a thousand Grinches, not a million Scrooges, not a googol saccharine greeting card ads.
How to save Christmas
1. Give gifts.
I know this whole “mandatory gift-giving†thing is a drag. Why can’t you just give gifts when you feel like, instead of when society tells you to?
Here’s the thing: in every society in the world, gift-giving is an obligation. One of the highest obligations, actually. It is the fundamental basis of all human economic behavior. Here’s why: giving gifts ties us together in a profound way. It creates a web of reciprocity that binds us, one to the other.
Consider what a student told me about his family’s gift-giving tradition some years ago. He has 4 brothers, all scattered around the nation, reuniting in the family home in Queens, NY, every Christmas. On Christmas morning, they meet around the tree, and each gives the other $100. Cash.
There’s a practical reason: they don’t all want to fly home laden with bulky presents, then fly away laden with new ones – and they don’t want to get home just to find that the present they picked out is unwanted. But if you’re doing the math, you’re noticing something odd. Each gives the other $100. That’s $400 out ($100 to each of 4 brothers) and $400 back ($100 from each of four brothers). It’s a wash.
And yet, something happened there. It’s clearer if you ask yourself: why $100? Why not $20, since nobody was coming out of the exchange ahead? Or why not $1000? Or a million? After all, nothing’s coming out of anyone’s pocket, right?
They give each other $100 because they’re brothers, and because that feels right for a gift for a brother. You don’t give nothing, because that’s like saying your relationship isn’t worth anything. You don’t give a crazy amount, because that’s absurd.
The point is, quite literally, that it’s the thought that counts. We say it all the time, but they actually mean it.
So you’re going to give gifts. Because you think highly of the people around you.
2. Embrace materialism.
I know, you don’t mind giving gifts, it’s the materialism of it. Why do you have to go out, braving the maddened crowds, overflowing parking lots, and bitter winter cold to prove to your family and friends that you love them?
Well, you can make gifts, and if you’re talented at making things, by all means go ahead and make to your heart’s content. But here’s the rub: most of us aren’t. Good at making stuff, that is. We spent years developing a set of skills that allow us to get along in life, and making things isn’t really on that list. You can market the heck out of just about anything, balance the yearly books, make a global distribution network sing, or serve up platters of pasta like nobody’s business – but those highly developed skills don’t really translate to Christmas morning goodies.
Here’s what you are good at: you’re good at shopping. You do it to survive, and you’re still alive, right? I know that seems cold and detached to you, but seriously: it’s humanity’s oldest skill. 100,000 years ago your great-great-great-great[…]-great-grandmother walked through the savannas, forests, deserts, and river bottoms of Africa, the Middle East, Indonesia looking for food and raw materials, and every now and again she grabbed a nice melon or a juicy turtle thinking “You know who would like this? Sally in accounting would just eat this up!â€
That’s what you’re doing out there in the malls, craft fairs, and boutiques of the Christmas season: putting your own survival needs on hold for a minute while you consider the needs and desires of the people you love. Putting your skills to the test as surely as your woodworking father or candle-making aunt is.
3. Sing a carol. Decorate a tree.
It’s amazing to me that people can decry the materialism of Christmas in the same breath as they complain about hearing “Silent Night†or “Little Drummer Boy†over the PA.
I mean, we say we want to strip away the materialism so we can get at the “real meaning†of Christmas. Well, here’s the thing: those Christmas carols are the meaning of Christmas. They’re songs about love, joy, peace, and happiness – all things that we’ve been trained to see as stupid. That’s right – we are a cold, detached, ironic, cool-seeking people who hates songs that talk about being happy as if it were something people could do.
Put that in your corn-cob pipe and smoke it.
Christmas carols are our Christmas traditions. Some of them are hundreds of years old. They connect us with our parents, and their parents, and their parents parents, and so on – to people who wouldn’t know a Tickle-Me Elmo if it bit them on their bellies like bowls full of jelly.
Take away the gift-giving, and what we have are the songs, the red-and-green tinsel, the soft glow of the tree. Kids laughing. Seriously, you’re gonna bah-humbug Christmas carols?
4. Go to church. Or don’t.
For some of us, Christmas is a religious holiday. Not all of us. Maybe not even most of us. But if you’re one of the people for whom this day is important because it marks the birth of Our Lord and Savior, by all means, go to church. Celebrate. Pray. Give thanks. It’s a wondrous thing, to have a messiah.
But for many of us, Christmas is a day off from work, a day full of tradition and a spirit of giving that lets us be with our families. That’s not nothing! We live scattered lives – even if we live in the same city as the rest of our family, which is pretty unlikely, there’s a pretty good chance we don’t see them as often as we’d like. We don’t celebrate them as often as we’d like. And certainly not all together, in one place, with gifts and feasting and songs.
Let’s say you give up the gift-giving. No more materialism for you! And let’s say you give up the carols. And the tree. See, I get all that. I disagree, but I get it. It’s overwhelming. It’s too much. I understand.
But there’s your family, all with the same day off. Who cares why – you all have the day off! That’s a rare and special thing. So what are you going to do?
You could do what Jews have been doing for the last two millennia: catch a movie with your family and go out for Chinese. It’s great: the roads are practically empty, there’s always a great selection Christmas week (as studios rush to get their big Oscar contenders out before the year-end deadline), and Chinese food is delicious. What’s more, you’ll spend the whole day relaxing with your family, just enjoying each other’s company.
Or create your own traditions. Go sledding or hiking or kite flying (for our readers in the Southern Hemisphere). Pull out the photo albums and play “What was I thinking?!†Play GiftTRAP or some other party game.
4. Stop your whining and have a merry Christmas!
The world is how it is. We’re consumers, and we live in a commercialized society. If that bothers you – and it should – by all means, devote yourself to changing the world. But start December 26th and keep at it until next November, when it’s needed. Everyone’s a critic from Thanksgiving to Christmas, and we do nothing about it.
Becoming a revolutionary for the Christmas season isn’t helping. All it’s doing is ruining your holidays for you, and for everyone who cares about you. Instead of whining about how much Christmas sucks, how about applying some positive thinking to finding the special core that makes Christmas work for you, whether that’s the social relationships that Christmas gift-giving cements into something solid and enduring, the traditions that give us permission to imagine a world in which being good to one another isn’t an absurdity, or the time you get to spend celebrating your family.
It’s up to you. The stores are doing what they have to do to make money, which is their job. The mobs of shoppers are doing what they have to do to make their Christmas work for them. You’re the only one who can make Christmas special. You’ve got a week. Have at it!
Dustin M. Wax is a freelance writer and project manager at Stepcase Lifehack. He can be reached though his freelancing site at DustinWax.com</a., where his various projects can be viewed. When he's not writing, he teaches anthropology and gender studies in Las Vegas, NV. He is the author of Don’t Be Stupid: A Guide to Learning, Studying, and Succeeding at College.
Follow him on Twitter: @dwax.
Liz Taylor still longs for late hubby Richard Burton
September 18th, 2009 |
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Elizabeth Taylor still pines for late hubby Richard Burton, and believes that they would have got married for the third time if the Welshman was still alive.
Burton’’s niece, Sian Owen, revealed that the 77-year-old Taylor was still very much in love with Burton.
“I was in America last summer and I went to see Elizabeth. In [...]
Gogol Bordello: Live CD/DVD/Tour
September 10th, 2009 |
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Gogol Bordello’s Live From Axis Mundi CD/DVD Out October 6
Worldwide Fall Tour Announced
 Gogol Bordello |
Internationally acclaimed gypsy punk powerhouse Gogol Bordello will release the ultimate fan piece Live From Axis Mundi, a CD/DVD featuring all fan favorites captured live for the first time on DVD. Live From Axis Mundi will also feature a CD of previously unreleased tracks including “Stivali E Colbacco” from the Super Taranta! sessions and an instrumental version of “Immigrant Punk.” The CD also features six tracks from the band’s BBC sessions. Live From Axis Mundi will be available on October 6.
Gogol Bordello’s unique gypsy punk sound grew out of the immigrant experiences of front man Eugene Hutz, a Ukrainian forced from his home by 1986′s Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Hutz lived in Hungary, Austria, and Italy before settling in New York City and founding Gogol Bordello in 1999. Since that time, Gogol Bordello has been steadily packing in bigger and bigger venues and wowing festival stages around Europe, Asia and North America.
Live From Axis Mundi Track Listing:
Disc 1 – CD
1. Ultimate (BBC Sessions)
2. Wonderlust King (BBC Sessions)
3. Mishto (BBC Sessions)
4. Alcohol (BBC Sessions)
5. American Wedding (BBC Sessions)
6. You Gave Up (Roumania) (BBC Sessions)
7. Stivali E Colbacco (Super Taranta Sessions)
8. Troubled Friends (Gypsy Punk Sessions)
9. 60 Revolutions (Demo)
10. Immigrant Punk (Demo)
11. Immigrant Punk (Instrumental)
Disc 2 – DVD
1. Ultimate
2. Sally
3. Not A Crime
4. Dogs Were Barking
5. Wonderlust King
6. Mishto
7. Forces of Victory
8. Tribal Connection
9. 60 Revolutions
10. Start Wearing Purple
11. Think Locally, Fuck Globally
12. Punk Rock Parranda
13. Illumination
14. Baro Foro
Tour Dates:
10/03/09 Sat Burton Cummings Theater Winnipeg, MB
10/04/09 Sun Odeon Events Centre Saskatoon, SK
10/05/09 Mon MacEwan Hall Ballroom Calgary, AB
10/07/09 Wed Edmonton Event Centre Edmonton, AB
10/09/09 Fri The Vogue Theater Vancouver, BC
10/10/09 Sat The Vogue Theater Vancouver, BC
10/11/09 Sun Knitting Factory Concert House Spokane, WA
10/12/09 Mon Knitting Factory Concert House Boise, ID
10/13/09 Tue McDonald Theatre Eugene, OR
10/15/09 Thu Fox Theater Oakland, CA
10/18/09 Sun The Grove Of Anaheim Anaheim, CA
10/20/09 Tue Marquee Theatre Tempe, AZ
10/21/09 Wed Rialto Theatre Tucson, AZ
10/24/09 Sat Liberty Hall Lawrence, KS
10/28/09 Wed The National Richmond, VA
10/30/09 Fri Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
10/31/09 Sat City Park New Orleans, LA
12/01/09 Tue Glav Club St. Petersburg, RUS
12/08/09 Tue Stodola Warsaw, PL
12/09/09 Wed Rotunda Krakow, PL
12/11/09 Fri Sportovni Hala Prague, CZ
12/12/09 Sat Reithalle Offenberg, GER
12/13/09 Sun Backstage Werk Munich, GER
12/14/09 Mon Tollhaus Karlsruhe Karlsruhe, GER
12/16/09 Wed Principal Club Theater Thessaloniki, GR
12/19/09 Sat Hangar 11 Tel Aviv, IRL
12/20/09 Sun Barby Tel Aviv, IRL
Five Rules For Subject Verb Agreement
August 10th, 2009 |
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When speaking or writing English, it is important to make the subjects and the verb agree. Let’s go over some rules using basic sentences. These rules will help you choose the correct verb based on the subject. Rule #1: Subject Usually Left Of Verb Before you know which verb to use, first you need to [...]
Eugene Celebration: Set Times
w/ HBR, Bridge, Extra Golden, Gab
August 4th, 2009 |
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Outdoor Festival Scheduled For September 4, 5 & 6
 |
The Eugene Celebration Festival has announced the complete live music program for the Outdoor and McDonald Theatre stages during the 2009 fest in downtown Eugene.
The small scale music festival features some strong names in the jam, reggae and bluegrass scenes. Three day general admission passes are on sale for the low price of $12 and can be purchased here.
To view the current live music schedule, set times and updates, please visit eugenecelebration.com.
Following is a list of confirmed bands & stages:
KLCC Rogue Stage
-Friday, September 4: 10:30pm-Sonny Landreth; 9:00pm-The Bridge; 7:30pm-Izabella; 6:00pm-Just People.
-Saturday, September 5: 10:30pm-The Iguanas; 9:00pm-Extra Golden; 7:30pm-Thomas Mapfumo, 6:00pm-KEF, 4:30pm-Don Latarski; 3:00pm-Apropos; 1:00pm-Jessie Marquez.
-Sunday, September 6: 4:30pm-LeRoy Bell & his Only Friends; 3:00pm-Wendy Darling; 1:30pm-Blame Sally.
McDonald Theatre Stage
-Friday, September 4: 11:00pm-Woodland; 9:30pm-Scott Huckabay.
-Saturday September 5: 11:00pm-Gift of Gab; 9:30pm-Crown City Rockers; 8:00pm-Bach Remix winner.
Library Stage
-Friday, September 4: 10:30pm-Prezident Brown; 8:30pm-Reeble Jar; 7:00pm-Medium Troy.
-Saturday, September 5: 10:30pm-Melvin Seals & JGB; 9:00pm-Heavyweight Dub Champion; 7:30pm-Zepparella; 6:00pm-Black Joe Lewis; 4:30pm-Volifonix.
Broadway Stage
-Friday, September 4: 10:30pm-Studabaker John & the Hawks; 9:00pm-Ty Curtis; 7:30pm-Broh Taylor Blues Band; 6:00pm-Vicki Stevens Band.
-Saturday, September 5: 10:30-Mark Hummel & Rusty Zinn; 9:00pm-Henry Cooper & the Purple Cats; 7:30pm-Rooster AllStar Jam; 6:30pm-Walker T. Ryan; 5:45-Parade Awards; 4:30pm-Sassparilla Jug Band; 3:00pm-Casey Neil and the Norway Rats; 1:30pm-Conjugal Visitors; 12:00pm-Bad Mitten Orchestra.
-Sunday, September 6: 7:00pm-Hot Buttered Rum; 5:30pm-Hillstomp; 4:00pm-Paul Wright & Rootdown; 2:30pm-Andrew Heringer Band; 1:00pm-Swing Shift.
Brit cook-mum gets White House invite â€by new fan Michelle Obamaâ€
August 3rd, 2009 |
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A British mother and author of a healthy cookbook has received an invitation from the White House by her suggested new fan, US First Lady Michelle Obama.
The US First Lady allegedly admired Sally Bee, who penned “The Secret Ingredient†with healthy versions of traditional meals that helped her battle a life-threatening heart condition.
Sally was informed [...]