Having A Dog's Holiday?

Now this really took some work. You've got to appreciate the commitment.

Now get out there and do your Christmas shopping!

Three Wise Monkeys - Sydney Australia

Remember the Three Wise Monkeys?

"Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil!"

It's widely thought that the original philosophy of the Three Wise Monkeys came from a Tendai-Buddhist legend, which originated in China in the 8th century (Nara Period) but he pictorial maxim was popularized by a 17th century carving over a door of the famous Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō, Japan.

Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.



As I was strolling around Sydney the other day, I was reminded of this maxim as I passed by 555 George Street.

That's the current home of the 3 Wise Monkeys Pub. The location has a long history and attachment to the banking industry. The Bank of Australia's 'Southern Branch' was established on this site during 1879 in rented premises. In 1886 the existing building was constructed under the supervision of Architects Wardell & Vernon. The property was owned by the Estate of James Powell and was sold to the Bank of Australasia in 1902 for 10,000 pounds. The property operated as a bank, changing affiliations several times, until 1998.



In September 2000, 3 Wise Monkeys opened their doors as a Pub, just in time for the Sydney Olympics.



There are three unique bar areas and there is free live music offered 7 nights a week! If you stop by, you'll be tempted to make a monkey of yourself. So just for the record, I should remind you that as the legend goes, there was a fourth monkey - Shizaru. This last monkey is sometimes shown covering his abdomen or genital area. He symbolizes the principle of "Do No Evil."

Have fun out there but be careful......

Merry Christmas - 2009

Here's Wishing you Joy, Peace, and Happiness!

Merry Christmas!

Here's a clip from the movie Elf starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, and

Zoey Deschanel.

If you're looking for a silly and fun movie to watch during this Holiday season, take a break and watch Elf. I think you'll find it entertaining.

Cheers!

Christmas at the Grove

Ten years ago, in 1999, the real estate firm Caruso Affiliated broke ground on a great undertaking. Their goal was to create a 575,000 sq ft. retail and entertainment center directly in the heart of Los Angeles. In 2002, their dream was realized when The Grove opened it's doors.
Featuring an animated water fountain and a trolley in addition to great restaurants and shopping venues, The Grove has become a popular destination for just about everyone. I seem to stop by every other month or so to eat, catch a movie, or just unwind. The Grove's many restaurants include Maggiano's Little Italy, Wood Ranch BBQ and Grill, Morels French Steakhouse, The Whisper Lounge, The Farm of Beverly Hills, La Piazza and The Cheesecake Factory...... just to name a few.

In 2003, I went to the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony which featured Kenny G, BeBe Winans, Kirk Whalum, Norman Brown and Joe Lawrence. The show also featured live snow and culminated with Santa arriving in his sleigh. It was a nice touch and a great opportunity to share the Holiday spirit!

Since then, I try to pop by at least once during the Christmas Season. Here are a few shots from my visit this year:

Lots of lights and lots of people. It was an enjoyable night!

Continue to enjoy the Season where ever you are!

Christmas Time is Here! Prep and Landing!

A Charlie Brown Christmas on Blue Ray.... Isn't that exactly what you want in your stocking?

Don't get me started on the whole Blu Ray thing... but I am a big fan of " A Charlie Brown Christmas." I usually try to catch it every Christmas season.

It's special in it's own way.

I've been slowly catching up on my Christmas specials, including Charlie Brown, and tonight, I watched a new Christmas special - Prep & Landing.

Prep & Landing is a 30 minute animated story based on an idea by Chris Williams at Walt Disney Animation Studios and developed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton. It first aired December 8, 2009 on ABC. I missed it then but I recorded it and just got around to watching it tonight. It was cute. It's about an elite unit of elves, Prep and Landing, who ensure that homes around the world are properly prepared to be visited by Santa. You can catch it again Thursday December 24, 2009 on ABC.

Enjoy!

Free Christmas music Downloads! -Free Holiday Music Sampler!

That's right, you heard it here! Free Christmas Music Downloads. In fact, it's an entire sampler album.



In keeping with the spirit of the season, and hoping to perpetuate the belief that it is "Better To Give Than to Receive," I'm hoping to give everyone an early Holiday present!


Read below:


In keeping with the season’s theme of spreading goodwill and holiday cheer, Apple is offering an ITunes album packed with 20 Yuletide tunes performed by various artists, all for free!






The iTunes Holiday Sampler includes renditions of such holiday classics as We Wish You a Merry Christmas, performed by Weezer, and The First Noel, sung by David Archuleta, as well as original Christmas songs by comedian Stephen Colbert and Glasgow band Glasvegas. The album also comes with iTunes LP, so you can check out lyrics, view photos and read more about the artists associated with the album. Here’s the complete roster of tracks in the sampler:

1.O Come All Ye Faithful by Amy Grant
2.The First Noel by David Archuleta
3.Silent Night by Sarah McLachlan
4.Carol of the Bells / Jingle Bells by Barry Manilow
5.It Snowed by Meaghan Smith
6.Above the Northern Lights by Mannheim Steamroller7.Baby, It’s Cold Outside by Lady Antebellum
8.We Three Kings by Toby Keith
9.God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Rascal Flatts
10.Silent Night by Wynonna
11.Twelve Days of Christmas by Mexicani Marimba Band
12.We Wish You a Merry Christmas by Weezer
13.A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss) by Glasvegas
14.Another Christmas Song by Stephen Colbert
15.Greensleeves by Vince Guaraldi Trio
16.Dream a Dream by Charlotte Church
17.The Nutcracker, Op 71, Act 2: Character Dances (Divertissement) by Kirov Orchestra & Valery Gergiev
18.Angels We Have Heard on High by Aretha Franklin
19.O Holy Night by Musiq Soulchild
20.Auld Lang Syne by The Lonesome Travelers

You can download the free album here Itunes free Holiday Sampler:

Note that this offer is valid until December 17, 2009 and is available from the US ITunes Store only.

You will need to have Itunes installed on your computer with an active Itunes account to enjoy the album.




Good Luck....


And pass this link on. Keep in mind the expiration date.

BOBB'E Says! - Spotlight on Bobb'e J. Thompson

You could say that Christmas is coming a little early for young Bobb'e J. Thompson.

Bobb'e Thompson - Merry Christmas Jake & Josh' Premier

If you're not hip to Bobb'e J. Thompson, (Check out that spelling) here's some background information:

Bobb'e has had an impressive career in front of the camera since the young age of five. Bobb'e rose to fame as a child actor well before his teens, initially with a small but colorful and energetic supporting role as Tupac in My Baby's Daddy (2003). He subsequently appeared in television and film productions such as "The Tracy Morgan Show" (2004), Shark Tale (2004), "That's So Raven" (2004), and "Joey" (2005).

He joined up with Vince Vaughn in the holiday comedy Fred Claus (2007) and then starred in the hit comedy Role Models as the hilarious, wisecracking Ronnie Shields, for which he was nominated for Best Breakthrough Performance - Male at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.

Furthermore, 2009 is proving to be a break out year for Thompson. He appeared in Land of the Lost with Will Ferrell and the family comedy Imagine That, in which he plays a junior extortionist that hazes Eddie Murphy. Thompson is also a semi-regular on NBC's "30 Rock," in his role as Tracy Jr., the son of Tracy Morgan's character.

And who doesn't want to be a Nike star???

Nike recruited Thompson for multiple commercials as Lil Dez, who gives NBA greats Kobe Bryant and LeBron James a run for their money while babysitting. Up next for Thompson is Snowmen with Ray Liotta and his current hosting gig on the Cartoon Network show Bobb'e Says.

Here are a few YouTube clips from Bobb'e Says:

Okay Bobb'e, that's some pretty solid advice and your show is generating lots of buzz. So at 13 years of age with all of this wisdom and criticism of these "geniuses", will you be heeding your own advice? Keep in mind the media is very unforgiving when Pop Stars make mistakes. Don't turn into someone who says "Do as I say and not as I do." And please don't turn into one of these guys:

BOBB'E Intrepid says - Bobb'e, you're a young man with a promising future; Don't do drugs, excessive alcohol, crime, and other silly things and end up with your face on a mugshot.
Enough Said!

See more of these celebrity mugshots at: http://www.mugshots.net/

(anyone recognize the guy in the first photo?)

Music Monday's - Believe

I still Believe!

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted.

A Grinch Sighting!

Have you seen the Grinch lately? You know - The Mean One! The one with the tiny heart! The deviously clever and stingy guy!

Do you remember how the Grinch stole Christmas? Well, almost that is..... I hear he's out there looking for a way to steal it again. He's cleverly thinking of ways to ruin our Holiday season and hijack our cheer. This summer, he was reportedly seen at the gas pumps!

That may have been true but he seems to have departed that location.

I verified that to be true yesterday when I filled up my car and only paid $1.89 for premium unleaded gasoline versus the $4.41 (and higher) I've paid earlier in the year. And believe it or not -Oil dropped to $36 US a barrel today! So I'm not convinced he's still hanging around the oil markets. Regardless, I'm on the lookout for him because I know he's hiding and waiting for another opportunity to get us. Besides, "he owes me money!" He borrowed it from my retirement plan!

"He's a mean one you know?"

He was recently seen suspiciously walking the streets in this little town. He was caught on film "speaking in tongues" by a random tourist who supplied this clip:

If you know his name, please leave it in the comments section.

If you know his whereabouts or happen to see him, please let me know. I want my money back!

Thanks!

Christmas Epilog!

Well, the Christmas rush is over. Santa has come and gone. Bah Humbug!



It was a fun day at my house! Lots of new and fun experiences. Santa brought me some new toys - electronic devices- clothes, golf balls, and a ton of gift cards. All in all it was a good. Most importantly, I was happy to be home spending quality time with friends and family. I indulged (perhaps over-indulged) myself in some great food and wine. I'll be blogging later about some great crab cakes we had on Christmas day.... And let's not talk about my endless snacking on cookies, candy and ham. I'll be paying for my excursions in the gym in the next few weeks. Did anyone else run across any good recipes?

On a different note, after only a few small challenges, a Nintendo Wii showed up under our tree. (see my prior Wii posts: (Xbox vs Wii, and The Wii ) I managed to get that set up without too much trouble. Lots of fun followed. I'll be looking to post a review on the operation of the system later.

I really do love Christmas! I'm a big fan of all of the season all together. I love the food the lights, the movies, and the spirit. I love the excitement you see in young kids. It's truly a magical time. Unfortunately, it has to end. And the bills have to be paid! I'll be traveling to Japan tomorrow for a short trip.

I'll look forward to getting some rest on the flight over and a few quiet nights in the hotel.

More to come.....