On the Twelfth Day of iTunes...

"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" by Andy Williams. Besides Bing Crosby, is there any other singer better known for holiday music? The song is first found on 1963's The Andy Williams Christmas Album, and is one of the best holiday albums ever recorded. Even though you'll hear it at least 100 times on the radio (who listens to that anymore anyway?) at Christmas, this classic a must for you're holiday playlist.

On the Eleventh Day of iTunes...

"Home for the Holidays" by Perry Como. Yes, this is a familar classic, but it has become my second-favorite holiday song. The best version is found on his 1959 LP, Season's Greetings. Note to other singers: No need to pollute the airwaves with further attempts at this song ... it was done perfectly over 50 years ago.

On the Tenth Day of iTunes...

"Go Tell It On the Mountain" by James Taylor. Speaking of this song, (see Day Nine) this is a uniquely James Taylor rendition. Found on his only full-length holiday album, A Christmas Album, the tune's melody gets the perfect James Taylor makeover. Carrie's favorite version ... curl up by the fire and put this album on the iPod to elimate all signs of your holiday stress.

On the Ninth Day of iTunes...

"We Wish You The Merriest" by Frank Sinatra. In 1964, Frank teamed up with his idol Big Crosby to record this one. I discovered this boisterous tune on 2004's Frank Sinatra: The Christmas Collection, which also includes one of my favorite renditions of "Go Tell It On the Mountain," also with Crosby. A must-have for any fan of Sinatra and Christmas music, it's an excellent compilation of various holiday songs collected from his long career.

On the Eighth Day of iTunes...

"Sleigh Ride" by the Ventures. For a different spin on an old favorite, check this one out. From their aptly titled 1965 Christmas album, The Ventures Christmas Album. Perfect for the Christmas pool party and for those of you who like their holiday music with a vintage Rock n' Roll flavor and a whole lotta reverb.

On the Seventh Day of iTunes...

"Mele Kalikimaka" by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. You may remember this one from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (a holiday tradtion for Carrie's family.) Recorded in 1950, you can find this one on Crosby's essential Christmas album, Merry Christmas, which according to Wikipedia, has been continually in-print longer than any other album in the history of the United States. Note: the CD version, for no apparent reason, is now titled White Christmas.

On the Sixth Day of iTunes...

"I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" by Jo Stafford. I know, a zillion people have recorded this song, but I recently heard this version on Sirius and thought that it was a nice swingin' performance. Stafford was a talented female crooner that had a very successful career, peaking in the 40s and 50s.

On the Fifth Day of iTunes...

"Up on the House Top" by Gene Autry. My dad still has the original 1957 LP, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which included this song. The album has the more famous title track, of course, but this was one of it's lesser-known favorites. Autry was known as "America's Favorite Singing Cowboy," so most of the songs on the record have a western swing feel. The album was recently released on CD.

On the Fourth Day of iTunes...

"Song of the Sleigh Bells" by June Hutton. This vintage treasure was recorded in 1952. You may have to be resourceful in finding this one - it's not on iTunes, but you can track it down on various compilations. It's the perfect musical sleigh ride, and it's always the first song we play on Christmas morning. If this classic doesn't get you in a wintry holiday mood, you must must be working for the ACLU.

On the Third Day of iTunes...

"The Man with the Bag" by Kay Starr. Recorded in 1950, this song has become quite popular in recent years - I believe Target used it for a Christmas campaign several years back. This was a bit of a "gateway" song for other Kay Starr recordings for me. She has had a very interesting and varied career, singing everything from western swing to jazz. She's actually still living and was peforming until recently. Another holiday tune of hers, "I've Got My Love Tt Keep Me Warm," was given a hip remix by Stuhr.

Jim's 'Go or Don't Go' - G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra

If you consider your time on this earth precious, stay away from G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra. While watching a movie, I shouldn't find myself going through a list of other things I'd rather be doing. I was ready to bail on this mess at 1 hour and 15 minutes, but Carrie talked me into sticking with it - a painful 40 more minutes. She owes me.

Once again, we have another movie based on a toy, this time the beloved action figure from my childhood. However, this G.I. Joe bares little resemblance to the G.I. Joe that I remember. "Joe" is a now multi-national team that fights for, well, I really couldn't figure who exactly who they fight for, but they seem to be the good guys at least. I guess it's just not politically correct to have a macho dude fighting for the good old U.S. of A. anymore. It may offend the "international community." I digress.

The plot, as it were, invloves a double-dealing arms dealer selling nano-mites, a super-secret weapon that can eat metal. The G.I. Joe team is sent into action to keep these nano-mites out of the wrong hands and being unleashed to destroy various cities around the globe. There is a lot of fighting, shooting, explosions, flying bodies (a LOT of flying bodies), an endless supply of weapons that make the bodies fly, weak attempts a humor, girls in leather, ninjas, shirtless guys, a cheesy love story, predictable plot turns ... yada yada. Oh yes, and my favorite line, Dennis Quaid shouting, "Release the sharks!"

Actually, I could have plugged the title of this film into my review of the Transformers sequel. The more I think about this movie, the more I dislike it. And, as with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, we have a inappropriate film based on a toy that was marketed to young kids. How it got a PG-13 rating is beyond me. This film had way too much profanity and violence for any 13 year old that I would be supervising.

Stay at home at play with the action figure. I say don't "Don't Go."

Piano Progress...

Nearing the end of my first piano book... Here's a clip of "The Entertainer" (a very beginner version). Not without mistakes, but take a listen anyway.

On the Second Day of iTunes...

On the 2nd Day of iTunes ... I suggest "Jingle Bells" by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. During the 40's and 50's, Bing and the sisters recorded 6 Christmas songs for Decca records, which historically have become some of the most celebrated holiday recordings of all time. Jingle Bells is an excellent example of two acts blending pefectly - rarely do musical collaborations work this well. I suggest having all six songs in your collection, but this is a great tune to get your feet wet.

Jim's Twelve Days of iTunes...

Here's a new feature, just for the holiday season. If you're looking for some fresh Christmas music for your holiday collection, I thought that I would suggest one of our favorite songs every day for the next 12 days. Some will be familiar favorites, others will be lesser known gems. We hope you will find this list helpful!

On the First Day of iTunes... I suggest Frank Sinatra's version of the Christmas Waltz. I suppose there are other versions of this song, but if there are, they can't be as good as this one. We are big fans of Frank Sinatra, and, some of you may know, I secretly wish that I was Frank Sinatra. So it's no suprise that we have many Christmas selctions by him, but this is my top Sinatra pick.

The best version was recorded in 1957 for his Christmas album, "A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra." To me it seems like an unusual song for a man to sing, but he pulls it off, and I can't imagine anyone else performing it. Many of my favorite Sinatra tunes were recorded around this time, when his voice was at it's best. It's just a beautiful rendition of a beautiful song.

I have a feeling Frank may be making multiple appearances on this list.

The Robot Lives...

by Jim

Lots of good stuff came together last Friday. Since last Thursday was my last day at UPMC, (I'm back with Children's Hospital now) I had planned to take Friday off. During the day, I drove around and gave out tokens of appreciation (which Carrie found online) to some of my best freelance clients, celebrating the launch of my new web site, http://www.redrobotcreative.com/. It was like being Santa Claus.

Friday evening, I had a show opening at the Zombo gallery in Lawrenceville of my Roadside Attractions photos. The show started at 6 pm and we had a great crowd all night. It was so busy that it was hard to stop and talk to everyone as much as I would have liked.

Carrie did an awesome job of helping out and she had a ton of ideas to make the show even more special. There was lots of great food and drink, and we even had a Giant Eagle cake with my new logo.

Many thanks to everyone that took the time to stop by and see the show - I really appreciate it. I wish I could have spent more time with you. If you couldn't make it, the show will be up until January 2. The gallery is located at 4900 Hatfield Street.

Be sure to check out my new site - http://www.redrobotcreative.com/

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

It's our favorite time of the year here at Our New Old House, and the holidays are in full swing. We got the decorations up over Thanksgiving and everything is looking festive. Bear and Bailey are even behaving themselves and leaving the tree alone. I guess they know Santa won't come if they aren't good.




We hope you're getting into the Spirit of the season and preparing to enjoy this wonderful time of year. Don't get so overwhelmed by the to-do lists that you forget to have fun!