A Dynamite December

Here's the holiday pages from the December 1976 issue of Scholastic's Dynamite magazine.

Besides the cover story about Donny & Marie, the other featured articles were --
The Amazing Spider-Man: Meet his makers!
"When I Was a Kid": Ron Howard tells his whole story from the beginning to the "Happy Days" of today.
Jay J. Armes: Getting the facts on a real private eye!

THE WORLD$ MO$T EXPEN$IVE HOLIDAY GIFT$

BUCK THE GIFT-BUYING SYSTEM!

December Is Monster Month!

Count Morbida's Monthly Puzzle Pages

Christmas Photos

I didn't get the chance to go through all of my old Christmas photos, but here's two that I had on hand --

Me and my brother, probably late 60's

My nephew and son with Santa in 2004

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town/Frosty The Snowman OST

ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. & JULES BASS PRESENT
THE ORIGINAL TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK RECORDINGS

SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN
Told and Sung by
FRED ASTAIRE Starring the talents of:
Mickey Rooney and Keenan Wynn


FROSTY THE SNOWMAN
Told and Sung by
JIMMY DURANTE
Starring the talents of:
Billy De Wolfe and Jackie Vernon

Lyrics by JULES BASS * Music by MAURY LAWS
Both RANKIN/BASS TV Specials written by ROMEO MULLER

This a rip of the CD released by Turner Records/Rhino in 2002.

Click the link below to download --

--> Santa Claus/Frosty <--

Christmas Misc.

If you're looking to download classic Christmas music from vinyl, you need to visit these sites --

FaLaLaLaLa (check out the forums)
Ernie (Not Bert)
Music You (Possibly) Won't Hear Anyplace Else

Here's a couple of interesting Christmas songs --

If you grew up in the late 70's and early 80's you probably wanted some Star Wars toys for Christmas. Here's a song that celebrates that. From the Twelve Months Of Christmas blog.

Christmas Tauntauns by Kristy Dawson

Be sure to get Christmas In The Stars: STAR WARS Christmas Album that I posted last year.


To go along with The Twelve Days Of A Cleveland Browns Christmas that I posted a few weeks ago --

The Twelve Days Of A Pittsburgh Steelers Christmas

(scroll to the bottom of the page for the link)


Eating Tips for The Holidays

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can and quickly. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an 'eggnog-aholic' or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it!!!! Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone! Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other peoples food for free. Lots of it. Hello???

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, pumpkin and mincemeat - have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips: Start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Holiday Announcement

Well, I'd planned on sharing a bunch of Christmas music and photos this month, but my darn personal life keeps getting in the way. It's nothing that we won't eventually overcome, but right now it sucks. I'm still gonna try to get a few Chistmas posts up before the 25th (just not as many as I'd hoped).

Happy Holidays everybody and thanks for perusing the Wonderful Wonderblog!

Do You Fear What I Fear

If you like your holidays filled with mirth, mayhem, madness, monsters and murder than this is the compilation for you. I put this comp together because I'm a huge fan of monsters and Christmas. I hope you enjoy it.

Track Listing

1. A Really, Really Scary Merry Intro - SheDaisy
2. (All I Want For Christmas Is) My Two Front Teeth - The Count
3. I Hate Christmas - Oscar The Grouch
4. 100,000 Turkeys - Chris T-T
5. A Visit Form St. Nicholson - Bob Rivers Comedy Corp.
6. Jingle Hells Bells - Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio
7. Away In A Madhouse - Matt Fahey
8. It's The Most Horrible Time Of The Year - J.D. Titan
9. Dead By Xmas - Hanoi Rocks
10. Happy Ghoultide - Roy Odis
11. How The Grinch Stole Christmas - The Ohio City Singers
12. Little Drummer Boy - Tonto, Tarzan and Frankenstein
13. 13 Shopping Days Till Christmas - Boris Karloff
14. HMH Foyer - Haunted Mansion Holiday
15. HMH Graveyard - WDI
16. HMH Madame Leota 13 Days Of Christmas - WDI
17. HMH Stretching Room - John Debney
18. Scary Bells - Disneyland
19. Humbug - The Alcoa Singers
20. The Stingiest Man In Town - The Alcoa Singers
21. It's Christmas Or Us - Old Friend, Chorus
22. Monster Christmas Mash - Dracula, Chorus
23. No Presents For Christmas - King Diamond
24. Special Message To Station Owners - Boris Karloff
25. Psycho - The Western Caravan feat. Thirsty Dave
26. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - The Mutineers
27. Silent Night, Deadly Night (Title Score) - Perry Botkin, Jr.
28. Santa's Watching (from Silent Night, Deadly Night)
29. Secret Satan - Karkis
30. Santa And The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
31. The Munsters Scary Little Christmas closing
32. Auld Lang Syne - The Lothars

Click below to download --

--> Do You Fear What I Fear <--

Some notes --

Tracks 7 & 8 are from a CD called A Very Scary Solstice by The HP Lovecraft Historical Society. You can buy the CD here. They also have a free download of the song "Blue Solstice" from An Even Scarier Solstice.

Tracks 19 & 20 are from the album An Old-Fashioned Christmas. The full album is available for download at A Christmas Yuleblog.






Tracks 21 & 22 are from the album Monster Christmas Mash. This is one of my favorite albums that I've had since it came out in 1974. It's probably the reason for my love of monsters and Christmas. You can download it at Mostly Ghostly Music Sharing Blaaahhhggg!!!.

More scary Christmas music is available at the Universal Horror Sounds blog.

HOLIDAY HORRORS - A Seasonal Compilation









TALES FROM THE CRYPT - Have Yourself A Scary Little Christmas (1995)








A MERRY MONSTER CHRISTMAS (1964)

Evel Knievel, RIP

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Evel Knievel, the red-white-and-blue-spangled motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over crazy obstacles including Greyhound buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69.

Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs.

Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills. He also suffered two strokes in recent years.

Longtime friend and promoter Billy Rundle said Knievel had trouble breathing at his Clearwater condominium and died before an ambulance could get him to a hospital.

"It's been coming for years, but you just don't expect it. Superman just doesn't die, right?" Rundle said.

Immortalized in the Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for a failed 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered cycle and a spectacular crash at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. He suffered nearly 40 broken bones before he retired in 1980.

"I think he lived 20 years longer than most people would have" after so many injuries, said his son Kelly Knievel, 47. "I think he willed himself into an extra five or six years."

Read the full story here.

Here's a comic book add from the 70's featuring Evel Knievel toys. Me, my brother and friends had some of these when we were kids. Mr. Knievel was an icon and he will be missed.

A Couple Of Christmas Songs

Fulfilling a couple of requests --

Merry Christmas Santa Claus (You're A Lovely Guy) by Max Headroom. Click here to go to my original post from last year with a new download link.






The Twelve Days Of A Cleveland Browns Christmas by Elliott, Walter & Bennett. This single was released in 1980 at the height of the Browns Kardiac Kids era. Download it here.





Click here to see all of my holiday posts from last year.

Quiet Riot Lead Singer Kevin DuBrow, RIP

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kevin Dubrow, lead singer for the 1980s heavy metal band Quiet Riot, which scored a hit with "Cum on Feel the Noize," was found dead in a Las Vegas home Sunday. He was 52.

Determination of the cause of death was pending an autopsy and toxicology results, Clark County coroner's spokeswoman Samantha Charles said.

A neighbor summoned police and paramedics to the house, where he was pronounced dead, police and coroner's officials said.

There was no forced entry, and no suspicious circumstances were reported, police Officer Jose Montoya said Monday.

Quiet Riot was best known for its 1983 cover of "Cum on Feel the Noize." The song, featuring Dubrow's powerful, gravelly voice, appeared on the band's album "Metal Health" — which was the first by a metal band to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

DuBrow recorded his first solo album in 2004, "In for the Kill," and the band's last studio CD, "Rehab," came out in October 2006.

Cum On Feel The Noize

Mama Were All Crazee Now

YouTube video's courtesy of 80sMetalVideos.

Black Friday!

Thanksgiving day is almost over and as usual I ate WAY too much. After dinner we went to the movies and saw Fred Claus. It was a cute movie, but I think I could have waited to rent it next Christmas.

Now it's time for BLACK FRIDAY! Some people might think I'm crazy, but I don't mind the crazy crowds and waiting in line for hours. I'm a patient man. We're not going at 4:00 AM though, we're going to wait until 7:00 or 8:00 AM and see what's left. I have to work Friday, I need to get a couple of hours of sleep before all of that crazy shopping.

The first time I went shopping on Black Friday was 2004. Back then we did go at four in the morning. While I was at Best Buy a reporter from our local newspaper (The Akron Beacon Joural) interviewed me and took a bunch of photos. I was the main photo of the article in Saturday's business section (by the way, I didn't spend $480. I only bought video games and DVD's).