Greetings web chums! That's right, not only is this my 300th post but it's nearly Crimboli time and I have had a festive dickens of a weekend, which means I am only doing one post instead of the planned two. But you'll survive I guess somehow :) Anyway, be sure to check out all the loveliness at my self indulgent other sites and because it's (nearly) Christmas, be sure to say hello and howdy if you haven't done so before. And if you have then say it again! God, i've got to stop drinking before noon...
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THE HOLIDAY DIARIES:
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The holiday diaries for Gran Canaria trip are now all done and dusted. Be sure to go and check them out, enjoy the photos and listen to some holiday tunes :)
THE HOLIDAY DIARIES:
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The holiday diaries for Gran Canaria trip are now all done and dusted. Be sure to go and check them out, enjoy the photos and listen to some holiday tunes :)
LINK: The final days (where it all calms down)
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THE BEST OF LIVE LOUNGE:
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2006 was definitely the year Jo Whiley's Live Lounge seeped into everybody's consciousness.
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THE BEST OF LIVE LOUNGE:
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2006 was definitely the year Jo Whiley's Live Lounge seeped into everybody's consciousness.
LINK: Check out my top ten performances over at the Spinoff Blog…
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THE ZAPPING DIRECTORY:
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All the stuff you may have missed out on this week in one handy place!!
~ Monday - the singles selection committee looks at Gwen, Jamelia, Robbie and Fayden; the selected singles committee examines b-sides of Killers, Panic, Scissters and Paolo; We heart Cathy Dennis and busted, click five, jesse and mcfly get all festive on our asses...
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THE ZAPPING DIRECTORY:
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All the stuff you may have missed out on this week in one handy place!!
~ Monday - the singles selection committee looks at Gwen, Jamelia, Robbie and Fayden; the selected singles committee examines b-sides of Killers, Panic, Scissters and Paolo; We heart Cathy Dennis and busted, click five, jesse and mcfly get all festive on our asses...
~ Tuesday - Take That Retrospecticus part one; a-teens; christmas books by John Grisham and David Baldacci; thezapping does Christmas pop style...
~ Wednesday - Take That Retrospecticus part two; festive films like Deck The Halls; Digital; thezapping does Christmas Canadian style...
~ Thursday - Take That Retrospecticus part three; pop is all around with Jump5, Drake Bell, BWO and McFly; Martika; thezapping does Christmas Girls Aloud style...
~ Friday - Take That Retrospecticus concludes; pop stars unite in Love Shack; bloggers unite in search of top ten pop albums; Paolo Nutini; thezapping does Christmas Wham style (and so it seems does everyone else)...
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THE SUPER CHRISTMAS TREAT:
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Christmas isn't just about movies, books and music you know. There is that wonderful thing that in England is known as "the Christmas special" and in America as "the Christmas episode". Yes ladles and jellyspoons, I'm talking about the schmaltzy shlock that is festive television. And how much I adore it…there are a few shows I will be mentioning over the coming weeks, but I need to start off with what is one of my all time favourite shows – Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I think I loved this show for the romance rather than the writing (which wasn't always that great) or the special effects (what special effects?!). No, it was definitely the chemistry and magic that Dean and Teri bought to their roles. L&C lasted four seasons (I still need to do my write up on their brush with greatness and my view for the fifth season) and had a Christmas episode every year from season two…
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THE SUPER CHRISTMAS TREAT:
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Christmas isn't just about movies, books and music you know. There is that wonderful thing that in England is known as "the Christmas special" and in America as "the Christmas episode". Yes ladles and jellyspoons, I'm talking about the schmaltzy shlock that is festive television. And how much I adore it…there are a few shows I will be mentioning over the coming weeks, but I need to start off with what is one of my all time favourite shows – Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. I think I loved this show for the romance rather than the writing (which wasn't always that great) or the special effects (what special effects?!). No, it was definitely the chemistry and magic that Dean and Teri bought to their roles. L&C lasted four seasons (I still need to do my write up on their brush with greatness and my view for the fifth season) and had a Christmas episode every year from season two…
Season Two: Seasons Greedings – a Dean Cain penned effort, this was the story of a toy maker and his assistant (the couple from the Jeffersons) who were well miffed with Metropolis kids for rejecting their teddy bears and wanting "cool" toys instead. So they invent a rat that sprays chemicals that makes adults and kids act selfish and childish. Oh no! How on earth will Lois and Clark solve this one? By investigating of course while having trademark sparkling banter about how Lois hates Christmas (Clark loves it) and getting sprayed by the chemicals themselves. Of course a nice festive ending happens and they all live happily ever after. Til the next episodes….
Season Three: Home Is Where The Hurt Is – Lois and Clark are now engaged, and Lois knows that Clark is Superman. New Crimelord in Metropolis, Mindy Church wants to take Superman out so gets a hitman to grow a virus from Kryptonite (which seemed to be alarmingly available). Clark gets sick, Lois' family are fighting and she has to avoid being bumped off herself. Plus the insanely inappropriate subplot of her father making himself a lifesize robot to date. Of course a nice festive ending happens and they all live happily ever after. Til the next episodes….
Season Four: The Night Before Mxymas – the best festive offering to date. Naughty little imp from the fifth dimension Mxywhatsisname (a pre bald Howie Mandel) threatens to destroy Christmas by ground hog day-ing Superman and taking hope away little by little each day. A now married Lois and Clark have to prove that hope is alive and well in the world and convince that rascal to say his name backwards in order to banish him back to his own dimension. Of course a nice festive ending happens and they all live happily ever after. Til the next episodes…and then those scoundrels at ABC cancelled the show, just a year after Take That split up! Sheesh!! How much can a boy take. Luckily Buffy came along and all was ok….
LINK: Purchase Lois and Clark dvds
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THE CHRISTMAS BET(TE):
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Darren loves Bette Midler. I love Darren. Ergo I love Bette Midler. (Sadly it doesn't seem to work the other way for Deborah Gibson though. Curses. Though he does know the dance to Electric Youth…). I have to confess that I did actually kinda like Bette before I even knew Darren existed. I had wept at Beaches. Sassy broad'ed my way through For The Boys. Chuckled at First Wives Club. And I even had that quite saccharine sweet Christmas song Bette did for Home Alone 2 (Somewhere in my Memory), which sugar rush or not, I really liked for the longest time. So colour me bath-house tickled pink to get Cool Yule this year, which has the campest cover of a Christmas cd ever. Bette does Christmas with her trademark sincerity on the slow songs and acerbic cheeky wit on the more uptempo numbers and it fits in quite nicely with her recent "tribute" album releases as a trilogy of classic songs that all really should have sold better than they did (that's the loyalty to DazPants talking…) So for a nice evening in with a mince pie and a glass of mulled wine (eggnog is so last season), why not pop on the zip file below and listen to such delights as Somewhere In My Memory, White Christmas, (insert others), a festive remake of From A Distance (I love how adding sleighbells in the background makes it a festive remake) and (because I can) God Help The Outcasts (from Hunchback of Notre Dame)….
LINK: Purchase Cool Yule
DOWNLOAD: Thezapping Cool Yule selection box zip
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THE ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS
Disney sequels are often a pile of old pants designed to make money out of jiggered parents who want to keep their not so discerning kids happy for a while, while they make another. Luckily a second festive Beauty And The Beast entitled An Enchanted Christmas proved to be just exquisite. Basically a flashback into the Christmas that happened when Belle was falling for the Beast and therefore contemplating a bit of beastiality, it takes place somewhere between the title track of the song and Human Again. 5 new songs make their debut including the swoony As Long As There's Christmas which is here in original movie form, perky Play disco cover version and identi-kit obligatory ballad versions by Michael Ball & Elaine Page and Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack (Celine must've been busy!). I watch this movie every year much to Darren's dismay and always find it lovely. The bitter old organ is hilarious as is the attempt to get Christmas going in the castle, all with a nice happy Disney ending. Just like real life!
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LINK: Purchase Beauty and The Beast: An Enchanted Christmas
DOWNLOAD: thezapping enchanted christmas zip file
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Quick links/blog watch returns with everything else tomorrow :)
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Never seen that Beauty and the Beast sequel--I think I was getting older, but mainly I was afraid it would ruin the original, which I just adored. It uses "Human Again," though? I liked that song in the musical.
(Oh, wait...Wikipedia reveals that the special edition of Beauty and the Beast included "Human Again"?! Is this true? I had no idea!)
PS: did the thingy arrive?