The 2017 SYSK Christmas Extravaganza!

No but one of my that just reminded me of one of my favorite SNL skits of all time where the Sweeney Sisters? Um was it? Jan Hooks? Geez, the late Jan Hooks. Man very sad about that. And I think Norah Dunne, if I remember correctly remember them the Sweeney Sisters, of course, I do so great, And I think they did that for their their Christmas episode. They did a great medley of Christmas tunes and that one sort of went like that, nice, it's so good. Well

you just nailed it, man. How are you feeling pretty good? I'm feeling great because this uh is one of my favorite episodes of the year. Me too. And we'd like to point out not to tuot our horn. But one of the things we always fight for every year is that the Christmas episode, along with the Halloween episode, remains add free. We fight for it to the death. There's so many dead ad sales. People are awake, but you know what, they deserved it. They shouldn't have crossed. The

ship has just led us, you know. Yeah, so this is an ever free episode, like you said, and I'm pretty proud of that too. I think it's nice of us. Yeah, uh, this is this is just one of my favorite episodes of the year. It's fun. So as we do every year, Josh, I think we want to encourage everyone to light a fire, maybe pour up a hot buttered rum Oh yeah, that's a good one. Although we do have a good recipe

for this year. Yeah, I guess they could listen to that and then come back to the beginning or a rummy eggnog. We're just your favorite non alcoholic Christmas drink of choice. Get the family together, like the Yule log hangs the hang that missiletoe, right, and let's get this underway. So it's been a pretty pretty uh, it's been an interesting year so far, right, Yeah, but um, I always like these ones because they make me reflect on the year and it seems like it was just a month

ago that the year started. Uh, it has gonna by fast. I feel like I'm speeding toward death. But when I think about being forty six years old and speeding towards death, I think, wow, when I was a kid, that was a long time ago. So if I'm you know, around middle age ish, like, I got a long way to go. And it just seems like it's that trick that your mind plays on you, right where it seems like time is gaining speed as you get older. Right. I think

there's some science behind that too. I think there's two. I think it's because you have less time to compare it to when you're a kid, whereas the older you get you have more time to compare it to. Probably so, But the the I've had that same exact thought, chuck,

within the last probably two weeks, towards death. No, no, no, the other one where it's like, wait a minute, I've I've lived for a very long time and I'm right at middle age, so I've got a long time left, and baby, I'm gonna make the most out of it. And I'm gonna start with the two thousand and seventeen stuff you should know Christmas extravagance. I'll tell you what

you shouldn't do. Then if you if you've got a good feeling about the future and you're a long way toward death, don't then go down the road of Yeah, but I only got about fifteen or twenty more good years right now, it gets really sad. I assume that medical science is going to advance by such leaps and bounds. Yeah, we're going to be living healthy to like one fifty. Yeah, we're gonna be playing tennis at when I finally just go over and unplugged and drop dead right there on

the tennis court. Yeah, after you beat me in our final game. Yeah, and a simulation of Andre Agassi. All right, so let's do this. Should we take an ad break? Pretty good, Chuck. Let's take a little jingle break? How about that? Then we'll get into it, all right, Happy holidays, Chuck, Thank you, all right, buddy, we're back. Oh and speaking of jingles, big thanks to our pal John begin who

composed us for us. He's composed a number of stuff you should know ad break jingles, and we went to and said Hey, will you compose for us this Christmas season? He said yes, and it was a Christmas miracle. Agreed? And what should we start with? Oh man, I think we have to start with die Hard is dieharded Christmas movie? This? This, you you found this, you put together most of this. This is a world class episode. By the way, I

want to commend you for it. Thanks. And it's not like I dug this up this and almost got annoyed by this one because it's become a very trendy thing over the past few years to argue about whether or not die Hard as a Christmas movie. Yeah, it's basically the clear symbol that civilization is sliding into irreversible decline. Argument over this, so let's talk about it. Yeah, because I think the reason why I got jazzed about it, I feel very similar to you. It's kind of like, guys,

this could not matter less, stop arguing about this. That was my William Shatner impression. Um, this article you sent by art Ta Vanna from l A Weekly. I just think it really gets the point across so well. That jazz me. Yeah, you know what, do I even have that one? Why don't you lead this one? Then? Okay, well, Jimminy Crickets, I think I might have sent it to you and then not even use that one. Oh it's great, man, This one is like the best. I'm actually putting it

on my UM website. Are you serious, Clark, It's going on the reading list. What's the name of it. It's called Yes, die Hard is a Christmas movie? Stop debating it. Okay, I don't think I have that one, so but I'm I can I know die Hard inside and out so I can get in there. Okay, So Art Art says that he starts with a quote. Art says, this is a quote from a BuzzFeed article, but from way back

in two thousand thirteen. This has been going on a while, but the BuzzFeed wrote, quote most prized among people of this opinion that die Hard is a Christmas movie is the transgressive act of selecting a violent action movie over home alone or more classic fair. We get it, You're too cool for regular Christmas movies, right, So they laid down the gauntlet. I think they did a good bit of calling out and they probably got it right for

some people. But Art says, wait a minute, Wait a minute, who's to say what classic Christmas fare is if you're saying, if you're talking about It's a Wonderful Life, you're being brainwashed like Frank Capra followed in the tradition of Norman Rockwell, and all of this is like some weirdo small town

communalism utopianism that doesn't have even really exist. And the whole reason that you're crazy for It's a Wonderful Life is because it lost its copy right back in the seventies and the television networks around the country started showing it for free, so it almost was force fit into a Christmas tradition. And it's a Wonderful Life, I mean, if we gotta, if we're really gonna take this down that path. Is not a Chris Smiths movie. It's not even set at Christmas. There is a scene set on

Christmas Eve, one scene in that movie. And something I read because I was looking up whether or not It's a Wonderful Life as a Christmas movie or it's just got that by association, and they said, if if It's a Wonderful Life is a Christmas movie, then e t is a Halloween movie. I don't know, man, I don't know, because here's the thing, and this is, this is we'll just reveal the end here. Then the one thing that die Hard and It's a Wonderful Life have in common

is getting your family back before Christmas morning. Like the the whole thing that's driving the plot is a race against time to get everything the way that it should be before Christmas morning happens. Sure, And also, is a Christmas movie one that is is set at Christmas or one that is just got filled with the spirit of Christmas? I think if are you asking what my opinion is.

My opinion is that if somebody feels like Christmas Eve when they watch a movie and it becomes like a tradition for them to watch it, or they have a good Christmas feeling from it, then leave that person alone. Well, but like, is the Godfather Thanksgiving movie because they showed Everythanksgiving on TV? And The Sound of Music is an Easter movie because they show it around Easter. If it is that to some people, then then that's fine. It

makes it that for those people. Okay, so you're saying the setting of the movie and the contents they're in have no bearing on whether or not, Like it doesn't even have to take place at Christmas or be Christmas Eve. No, I'm I'm saying that, yes, it does not have to take place at Christmas, but I'm not saying that the settings had no bearing because I do think that if if die Hard wasn't set at Christmas, no one would be talking about whether it was a Christmas movie or not.

So that the the time that it takes place definitely does have an impact on it. That's not the only thing. And if it doesn't take place around Christmas, that doesn't automatically disqualify it from being a Christmas movie. It just makes make it a Christmas movie. Right, So so that's our Those are our opinions. But let's get into what Art ta Vana says all the reasons why I die Hard is a Christmas movie? Huh? All right, what's he got?

So he says not only is it a Christmas movie, but he said that it is one of the This is a quote one of the most carefully sculpted Christmas allegories in history. So either Art ta Vanna is totally mad or this guy's got something figured out that everybody else is missing. Yeah, I mean he does make some pretty good points. Um. One of the things, well, I mean,

we can just tick through a bunch of these. One of the things is, uh is the name John from John McLean, he said, could be an illusion to John the Baptist or John the Apostle. And also Holly Gennaro the wife, her name is Holly. Doesn't get much more Christmas E than Holly, that's right, and so John. The premise of this is John has lost his wife. Ers.

In the process of losing his wife, she's moved from New York, their home, to l A to pursue her career, and in the process she's dropped her married name in favor of Gennaro, her her maiden name. That's what That's what she goes by professionally, right, John is out there. The premise of this is what has brought John out to l A for Christmas is to to basically reclaim

his wife, as art Ta Vana puts it. Okay, So that's the that's the premise in John's name can be an allegory for John the Baptist, John the Apostle, something religious and Christmas E christianny I should say. And then Holly's name is that pagan plant Holly. And then he also says that there's thirteen terrorists, which doesn't it first seem very Christmas e right, yeah, but he says that very Uh. Specifically, Han Scruber says that he is not a terrorist. Uh. And so then you have twelve to

see this is where it Paul's apart fer me. He says, twelve card carrying terrorists, like the twelve Apostle christ or the twelve Days of Christmas. But like, none of them are terrorists. They're all robbers. Uh. Yeah, but only one of them said that they're not a terrorist. Right. I thought that was a weak two. But then Art wins me back with the very next point. He says that, um, like Santa Claus John McClean, it keeps a list, but

he writes its sharply on his arm. And rather than it's boys and girls who have been good or bad, naughty or nice, these are terrorists he's either killed or plans to kill. Uh. And of course, in one of the great scenes, uh when and by the way, spoiler alerts, oh, man, I guess, I guess so people like man I was just gonna watch die Hard this year for the first time ever. Uh. He sends one dead terrorist down in one of my favorite scenes from the thirty second floor

down the lobby, the door opens. He is dead and has a on his chest. Okay, say it in a German accent, please, and not only that, I'll say it with my best Alan Rickman r I p now a half a machine gun. Ho ho ho oh goodness. So he says this proves that McClean is a sociopathic Santa Clause yeah, and that the elevator was his chimney. Yeah. M hmm. So it's getting a little weird here. John McClean has Christmas dinner. That's the twinkie that he eats

during a period of respite week. It's weak um, but he says, Art says, there is a miracle in this, and they even call it out there's a Christmas miracle because remember THEO, the guy who's kind of like the hacker of the group. He's trying to crack the safe with the drill and Hans comes down to see how the progress is going, and THEO tells them it's going to take a miracle to get past this electromagnetic lock. Very in very short order, the FBI turns off the power.

But before this, Hans Gruber says, THEO, you asked for a miracle, I give you the f B. I. So they specifically say there's a miracle in this, in this ship, in this movie. Yeah, that's another one, that's right. What else John McClean makes it. He makes it back to his family. He and his wife are reunited. At the end, she gives him her Christmas gifts. She identifies herself as Holly McClean. Right, and then ostensibly by extension, I guess they're going to go home to their six year old

daughter for Christmas morning. The sun has not risen yet, so it's still Christmas Eve, and there are Barra bonds floating down like snow around them, and they even play the song let it Snow. So Art points some stuff out. He says he went back and looked at reviews that he could find because he works for l A Weekly, he's a he's a movie critic. I think he sold water to me. At this point, he said, I could not find any reviews that cited this thing as a

Christmas movie. It came out in July. Yeah, this this is definitely something that has been retrofitted for sure, Right, No one called it a Christmas movie back then. Only the clever generations of today. So yeah, so he points out that, um that no one at the time said this is a great Christmas movie as a buddy picture. It's how they put it right, um or just an action like shoot him up fast, and it was. It

was a great movie still is right. But the he he says that, um, at the same time, there was a weird kind of foreshadowing that same year because Scrooge came out, which is another a great Christmas movie, and that is a bona fide Christmas movie because it's an adaptation of a Christmas Carol, there's no question about that.

But in it, Bill Murray plays a TV executive who has green lit a picture called The Night the Reindeer Died and it's about a terrorist attack on the North Pole in Santa's workshop, and he says, the implication of this is that you would have to be some soulless TV executive to watch an action movie for Christmas. Yeah. I don't buy it. Oh, I think it just ties the whole thing up. It just brings it right back to the beginning. Man. No, no no, no, I don't buy

that you would have to be a soulless uh. Oh yeah, yeah, I'm on board. I think it's a Christmas movie. Art Tavanna is the oracle of our time. Uh, so I have Are you done with Art Tavanna? Yeah? All right, because I've got a very special Christmas gift for you, sir. Okay, And I kept this a surprise, thank you. I was wondering what this was. You see, I'm holding a piece of paper in my hand, and when I have in my hand is an email exchange with the writer of

die Hard. What Jeb Stewart, What this is insider information? What I know? Right? Wow? All right? So man, look at that smile. I can't believe I'm dizzy. All right. So I was able to get this email and he was happy to oblige. Uh. He's sort of been making the rounds on this, I think interviewed him on it, and um, and he's just a great dude. So um.

I knew that there was a book that die Hard was based on called Nothing Last Forever by Roger Thorpe, and so I thought, well, when he wrote that, you know, was that said at Christmas? Was Christmas a big deal? Or did you run with it? So these are this is his reply and all this amazing chuck. Uh and this is it's not super long, but I'm just I'm gonna read the whole thing because that conserves it. So

he said that, uh uh nothing. Last Forever is a dark Nora novel about a sixty us year old man who comes to bits forty year visit his forty year old daughter in l A. So obviously he changed that stuff. Uh and then he and then he, you know, talks a little bit more about the writing process, and then he says, so back to your question, Yes, Christmas was always part of the theme. Thorpe said it on December the novel for a very practical reason. We need the

building as empty as possible. Yeah, so that makes sense. That's where that comes from. However, once he established this, he sort of abandoned the theme. Since I had a lot of dramatic leeway, I took the approach let's go for it first. So this all came from Jeb Stewart, all the Christmas e stuff. First. I changed the main characters ages set up the story about a thirty year old guy with old school ideas about marriage coming from New York to visit as a strange wife, but everything

right again with his family. L A represents and conflicts with his views of normal Christmas. Music is different, the office party and gifts are over the top. His wife keeps her maiden name, and the temperature is warm and not snowy. It drives him crazy. But once Hans Gruber takes over Nakami Plaza, all that melts away, all the action, all the struggle become John McLean's long journey to discover what really matters his family. You don't appreciate what you

have until you risk losing it. Since family is at the core of the idea of this work, what better than what better holiday than Christmas? Uh, there's no question in my mind that die Hard is a Christmas movie. You have you have it. A Christmas movie has more to do with just being said at the holiday. It has to include the holiday in the themes of the film. Christmas also needs to be reflected in the characters, their

stories and dialogue. I tried to do this as much as possible, even when it means sending a body down the elevator with a Santa cap and a message written on a shirt saying ho ho ho Now I have a machine gun. Anyway, that is my argument that Die Hards a Christmas film. I'm happy some people agree. As someone once told me, it's not Christmas at our house until Hans Gruber falls off nakatmi plaza. Amen to that, Jeb Stewart. Wow, that is definitive, Chuck, nicely done. Yeah,

that's funny. I had no idea that it was originally ho ho ho. Now I have a machine gun. I'm sure some exects workshopped it and focus grouped it and then they switched it around. Well I'm not sure if he's saying that's how he wrote it, but that's wonderful, Chuck. Kudos to you. That's a great Christmas present. And kudos to Jeb Stewart. He says he's a big stuff. You should know fans to take that for what it's worth. Well,

I just got you some socks. Oh wow, Sorry, I got you a personalized letter from Jeb Stewart and some socks. All right? Is that the end of our segment? Yeah? All right, Okay, which one you want to do next? I'm happy to rock around the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. Okay, Rockefeller, it's the The r is silent and invisible. So most of this information comes from an article this year from Dana Schultz The history of Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree a

New York holiday tradition. Dude. So the Rockefeller Center Tree. Everybody knows this thing, right, They probably know more than they realized that that statue is Prometheus, the big Golden Statue, which and I only say that because I didn't realize that until researching this article. But it's an extremely famous thing because it's a giant tree, it's in the middle of New York and everybody watches it. But it has some really sweet, humble origins that I weren't what wasn't

aware of at all. Yeah, and I gotta say, if you've never been to New York at Christmas, do yourself a favor and go, because the word magical is thrown around a lot, but it is truly magical. It is. It's just it's great Rockefeller Center. Uh, it's just it's wonderful to go down there. You know, even if you're a Scrooge McDuck, I think your heart might melt a bit. Sure.

Can you just see like Scrooge McDuck duck weeping quietly and in public off to the side of the ice skating rink, and it would be kind of neat like there's a cartoon in real life. So back to the origins, where are we? Yeah, and the Great Depression was in full swing. This is another thing I didn't realize. Did you know the Great Depression is also called the clutch plague? Is that what that is? Yeah? I did not know that.

The only explanation I saw was that the clutch plague more refers to the global depression, whereas the Great Depression is the American Great Depression. Gotcha, That's all I saw. But so the clutch Plague slash Great Depression is going on and a group of workers, construction workers are building Rockefeller Center at the time, and Christmas comes around and the workers decide, hey, we need to Christmas up this

place a little bit. So they pull their money together and they buy a twenty foot tree and they install it right there on the construction site. And if that's not heartwarming enough, uh, their families made garland to decorate the tree with. So it's truly like this great little you know, the thing that these people did in the in the peak of the depression, the deepest trough of the depression, to to increase their spirits as the holidays

Christmas sweaters always had embroidered up increase. Oh that's good. He really stubble that with man Um. So the men lined up apparently to get their paychecks at the tree. And a couple of years later, uh n three, Rockefeller Center said it. You know what, let's make this a thing. Uh. We're gonna actually erect a tree and have a lighting ceremony. It's gonna be fifty tall. And this is now, uh, just a great new tradition here in New York City. Yeah.

So yeah, in nineteen what was that three? They've been doing it ever since. And they actually were smart enough to broadcast it on the radio. Uh. And then twenty years later they started broadcasting it on television. And apparently today like tens and tens, if not hundreds of millions of people watch the tree lighting Except me. I wasn't one of them. I forgot to watch it. I have never watched it. I haven't either, but I always go. I mean, if I'm in New York City in the wintertime,

I always go by Rockefeller Center. Sure. So, there's actually some pretty cool facts about the tree that um, I wasn't aware of. They tend to be a typical species the white spruce. Yeah, and apparently that's because they are generally very straight and very strong, uh, and grow about the height that they want, which is, you know, between generally between eighty feet right. Um. And they find him by scouting by helicopter, like Pennsylvania, Connecticut, upstate New York.

Apparently they got one from Ohio once that had to be flown in the world's largest cargo plane. Yeah, how about that pretty cool? So they they I mean, they put a lot of thought and this is not like, oh, there's a big tree, and they want him to be upright. And the head gardener who his job in part is to go scout throughout the year to find a tree. Um, his name is Eric Pose. He says that you want to not be able to see the sky through it. Oh wow, you wanted to be dense enough that you

can't just see the sky through it. Yeah, So they erect that thing. Um. It usually does not derive by world's largest cargo plane, as he really in a truck. Uh. And then they have these guy wires. Of course, is so large they have guy wires supporting it. Right there at the midpoint, they have a steel spike in the base and for many, many years. They've had scaffolding installed around it so they can obviously get up there to decorate it. And they've been using LED lights for how long?

I thought I saw a year here, two thousand seven, alright, so about ten years they've been using the L E. D s about fifty thousand. So these trees are usually donated, and I get the feeling that's a great honor. Sure. I think some guy from New York City lands helicopter in your field and says, can I have that tree for free? Well, we'll mention your name in the press release. And the city slicker just takes advantage of the poor country folk and gets a tree out of them in

the true spirit of the season. So the one of the things that grabbed me was those LED lights. They save twelve hundred kill a lots of electricity a day, which is enough to power a two thousand square foot home for a month, Which means that about four years worth of energy for a two thousand square foot home is saved every year from the like month and a half that the tree is lit. That's what gets you.

That's nuts. That's so much energy, and that's not how much it uses that's how much they saved by transferring to l e ed s. You know, it gets me. What So, starting many years ago, they started to recycle the trees, um. And for a while what they would do was uh mulch it up and then spread it around the walking paths of Central Park, which is pretty great.

You know, it's a good way to do it. Um. But for the past eleven years, I think, including this year, what they do is they donate the tree to Habitat for Humanity, so it comes down on January seven, and then they mill the wood, make that into lumber and they build homes. So there are Habitat for Humanity homes that people are living in, built from the rocket fellow Christmas trees, and you can sell them for a million bucks. That's so great. It is pretty great. I mean, just

the Habitat for Humanity parts great enough. You know. I think when they were moltenate, they got about thirty thirty three bushel bags of mulch and everyone involved in the spreading of the molts was mugged. Yeah that's Central Park. It's nineteen well I guess back then maybe, yeah. So, Um. One of the other things that that grabbed me was the star that's now become pretty famous too. It's I

think it was introduced in two thousand four. It says it's made of twenty five thousand crystals, right, and the thing is like ten ft tall and weighs five pounds. Yeah, it's crazy. It's nine a half feet wide. It was designed by an artist, a Geman artist, Michael Hamas And uh, yeah, that's they've been using that thing since two thousand four. Yeah, I've had fifty pounds of star. Can you imagine if

that thing just came off the top up? It would it would kill somebody Because there's actually a pretty good chance that it could kill somebody. Chuck, because three quarters of a million people come see that tree every day, so the chance of it following on somebody or pretty high. I've never been by when it's just desolate. I'll say that. No, I can't imagine three quarters of a million in a day. That's crazy. So that's it for the tree. Huh, that's all I got. One of these days, we're gonna watch

the lighting. Will make some popcorn, Get our coziest socks on, get our eggnog on. Oh yeah, I think that that just went without saying, so, Chuck, this is one of my favorites of all time, which one I had no idea that well, like finding out about a little weird pop culture things that happened before I was born, I had no idea about It's one of my favorite things in the world. And you've delighted me by sending this thing to me about Christmas in space in Did you

know about this already? No? But I was just thinking, like you, you have been diligent about keeping a list of what we've done every year so we don't repeat ourselves. Um, and it's getting tough. I gotta say, there's only so much Christmas that's happened. I literally looked up like I think two or three different things. I was like, we've never done this, and then I saw your list. I

was like, ah, we've done that. So um, I thought, wait a minute, like astronauts spending Christmas in space, that's that's gotta have happened. Oh, you had an independent thought about it, like it wasn't You didn't just come across it. I don't know. I had an independent That is magnificent, a Christmas miracle. It must have increased your holiday spirit

tremendously by at least thirty eight percent. So Christmas in space happened for the first time in nine There was actually like a holiday transmission basically, um the Apollo eight crew starring Frank Boorman who was the commander, Tom Hanks slash Jim Level was the pilot, and William Anders was the Lunar module pilot, and they orbited the Moon on Christmas Eve, and they knew they were going to be orbiting the Moon, so they planned to transmission from space

to basically they launched on December twenty one, like, oh, wait a minute, I didn't Oh oh man, Yeah, did you pack a Bible for them to read from? I thought you did. Well, somebody thought about it because they had a Bible up there or else they have like a bunch of scripture rehearsed and memorized because they decided to go with Christianity that year for Christmas, which is appropriate, and they from space they read some scripture and uh

and bestowed blessings on the Earth below them. And apparently a billion people watched this transmission of their live pictures in their audio over the like from the lunar module. Yeah, so they sent out this transmission. Uh. They closed with the message good night, good luck, a merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth. That was a great Frank Bourman, you know, Burman, very stiff. I thought that was nice. It was kind

of velvety. Oh well, I appreciate that. Right. So the the Christmas and space thing, it was kind of sporadic for a while. Sky Lab U five years later where the next group to UM spend Christmas in space. They made a little Christmas tree out of food cans. There was a Space Shuttle launch or a Space Shuttle mission in ninety four or nineties. I'm sorry, UM they spent Christmas in space and they fixed the Hubble telescope on that mission, which was huge, huge, it changed everything. Yeah,

that was a big deal. Um. The first time there was Christmas in space on the Russian mirror, American astronaut John Blaha I went up there and said, yeah, I'm appear with cosmonauts, but I guess I'll celebrate Christmas anyway. And I believe, uh, I believe that was his second Christmas in space. Yeah. That guy was just showing off by then. Yeah, He's like, I don't have a family I care about, Just go ahead and send me up. This was just a single guy. I got some plants

I don't take very good care of. And you know what, my parents are gone to some mothers and Father's Day. Go ahead and send me right, They always said him, whether he wanted to go or not, if it wasn't, if it wasn't in space, he was eating by himself and kind of weeping quietly at Cracker Barrel. So which one is it gonna be? You choose? Buddy? Is cracker Barrel on Christmas? Is it? Yeah? I knew waffle House was? Yeah? You mean I ate there for Thanksgiving this year at

waffle House? No? I think Cracker Barrel. Okay, it was actually really good. I ate waffle House Thanksgiving one year by myself outside. Is that? Did you really? Yeah? I can't remember the deal, but it was one year where like my family wasn't around, or maybe I was away from them and everyone was gone, and so I was like, all right, scattered some mother and cupboard. Well that sounds pretty good. It was great actually that Thanksgiving. Ever, So

that's I was gonna say, like, what was it? Actually? Like? Way more amusing than you thought like, that's how it was for us. I was like, is this gonna be like sad or great? And it was great. They serve traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, and again it was really good. I mean, just as salty and tasty and fatty as you would imagine Thanksgiving a cracker barrel to be. Yeah, we do. Uh, Thanksgiving is my mom's jam. So we always go to Diane's place and I cook up my cornbread,

dressing and mashed potatoes is what I bring. Very nice. But this is not about Thanksgiving, No, it's about Christmas and space, that's right. So now it's become kind of routine. Charles um Ever since they launched the International Space Station.

It's been continuously occupied since November of two thousand, so every year there's astronauts and space from all different countries aboard the I S S. And one of the cool things I saw about that was that they at any time you're on the I S S, you you go around the Earth about every ninety two minutes, So in any given day you see about fifteen sunrises. But on Christmas Day that means that the astronauts get fifteen Christmas mornings throughout the whole day. I thought it was pretty cool.

That is pretty cool, and every year that you know, they make a big deal about it. Now, um, I think it's a bit of an honor to to go up and be at the I S S on Christmas now and imagine they have you know, it stinks to be away from your family, but imagine they have a great familial experience together up there taking care of business they do for the future of humanity. You got anything else, space, No?

All right, well we'll move along right after this jingle to some great great Christmas toys of the twentieth century. M Okay, Chuck. I don't know if you remember this or not, but the twentieth century was just seventeen eighteen, nineteen years ago. Yeah, I remember it. Okay, I remember it too. It formed a substantial portion of my life. Those were our best days. Yeah. And one of the reasons why they were some of our best days is because there were some of the greatest toys ever invented

came out of the twentieth century. Yes, dangerous, dangerous toys that you had to have the first time in in world history that anyone ever had to have a toy on Christmas happened in the twentieth century. All right, before we get to these, I'm gonna ask you, do you have a standout memory of one Christmas where that was something you had to have? I can't. I think that Nintendo, the original Nintendo was probably it. UM and I don't remember. I don't remember if I got it for Christmas or

some other time or whatever. But UM, for me, I remember opening a robot arm, which I hadn't asked or but turned out to be like one of the coolest things I've ever had, opening a robot arm. Yeah, it was a robot arm. And then there was another UM like zip Racer, Remember the cord that that would like make a motorcycle go really fast, which we talked about in the Evil Kinevil episode. I remember that. I remember opening that on Christmas morning too. Is the robot arm

something that you could wear? No? No, it was like on a tabletop robot arm you could pick stuff up with. Okay, Yeah, So do you have a must have toy that you remember? Well? I do. I have a couple. One was the year that the pac Man Atari cartridge came out. That was a big one. UM And little did we all know that that game sucked really bad pac Man did. Yeah, it was okay actually, but you you wanted it to be like the Arcade game. Oh it wasn't high. I

don't remember playing pac Man on Atari. Yeah it was instead of waka waka waka, it went dot don't don't, don't, don't don't. Oh yeah, yeah, when it ate one of the things like it was, it was pretty bad. Uh. And the other big one before that was when I was younger, I wanted more than anything. One year, I wanted a stretch armstrong and did you get it? Well that they my parents actually did the old trick a ruski on me, like, oh, is there one more thing

over there? Because I was disappointing because I didn't get stretch arms song, so they actually pulled one over on me and I got stretch Uh. It would have been funny if they were like, oh no, there isn't anything. Is there one more thing under the tree? Oh no, that's just dog poop, right, which we wrapped up for some reason. All right, but getting to these iconic twenty century toys. First on your list is uh, the iconic iconic cabbage patch kid. I had one of these. Maybe

I got it at Christmas. I don't remember well at our house, and I may have told this story before we had the original um dolls, the ones that these were later ripped off from. Yeah, the original all cloth dolls handmade by Xavier Roberts I think was his name, because they were made right here in Georgia and Cleveland, I'm sorry, not made born in Cleveland, Georgia where baby Land General still is. But my sister got I think the seventy five or one ever made that was signed

by him, and it's worth some dode today. Do you still have it? Oh? Yes, Michelle's got it, so she has. It was one of the top hundred ones made and it became pretty valuable. And then I have My mom ended up getting my brother and I to each which I literally have never touched. But I'm just waiting for those to gain enough in value and I'm gonna sell those. Is this still like in the box? No? No, no not. They didn't come in boxes. They were they were just

like on a shelf. Oh oh wow, those were early ones. The ones I got came in a box. Yeah, that's when they I think. I can't remember who took it over. Kalico y Colico took it over. They got plastic heads and those were sort of the mass market version, and I guess Xavier Roberts probably got rich. Oh yeah, I'm not that deal. I would think so. So the Cabbage Patch Kid three was when Kalico took over and it

became like just a breakout hit. It was one of the first times, if not the first time, when there were reports of people like shoving and punching each other in the face and paying like way more than the actual value of the doll Like apparently people were selling it for like ten times what the dollar went for, which was twenty five bucks, which back in bucks is not cheap. I have no idea how much it would

be now, but I'll bet it's a lot. And the Cabbage Patch Kid craze was so significant it's spilled over to the next year and there if so, Christmas of Night was just as crazy as Christmas of nineteen eighty three. And apparently they made two and a half billion dollars off of Cabbage Patch Kids between nine eight three and nine. Yeah, that is uh. I think nine eight four was just two point five billion, wasn't it. Oh my goodness? Is that right? Yeah, that's that's just one year, dude, that's

so many. That's like a hundred million cabbage patch kids. Yeah, and they, like you said, it went all the way through nineteen eight. This is not a one year craze. Um, and it's just nuts. You can, like I said, you can still go to Babyland General. And the whole deal with those was they were born and not made, and they were I mean, that was like the little cute ce selling point. But the dolls came named. Yeah, do

you remember your name? Well? I remember. I don't remember my two original dolls they were they were like the little TV stars or something that was on their T shirt. Um, but my sisters I remember because her doll and it is even kind of misshaping. Those early ones were kind of funny looking, like his hairline was crooked and stuff because it was like folksy and handmade, and it was routinely drunk while he was making. But her doll's name, the one that's so valuable is Chuck. No. Yes, that's

a sign from God. YEA. Mine was Webber din No white is that first and last name. No, that was his first and middle name. His last name was Clark. Obviously Webber Dino d I n oh, yep, Webber Dino Clark. Pretty weird. Huh, I didn't I didn't name him. That's great. Yeah, you U still have it. Oh no, no, imagine those probably are worth much money. No, probably not in the shape he was in by the time I aged out of him too, did a mohawk and stuff. I don't

think his head was attached any longer. Yeah, eventually he blew up that doll. Right, so there's more chuck and we gotta go backward in time. That's right, this next one, because it turns out and we talked about this in the Action Figure episode a little bit, but so Star Wars. When Star Wars came out, it was such a total surprise to everybody that um Kenner, who had the rights to make the action figures, hadn't even started production by the time Christmas came around. Yeah, I mean no one.

No one thought the movie was going to be big, much less the ancillary products associated with that movie. So little kids got vouchers, remember that. Did you have a voucher? I don't think so. I think I got the toys a little bit later. Okay, because this is Christmas, of they're like, oh, God, we got caught with our pants down. Get some vouchers out quick. So little kids got vouchers wrapped up his presence that they were finally able I guess in eight sometime, um to to trade their voucher

and or the actual action figure. Yeah, and they were a hot ticket for a solid seven years. Uh. And I certainly had a ton of them. Um. I did. Had no idea that there was a thing that people did where they left them in boxes and didn't play with them. I didn't know that was the thing. So I've played with mine and they were all very well worn, which I think is the way to do it. Same here, I've still I think I still have like a box of like busted up g I Joes that are in

no way shape or form sellable. Yeah, my brother and I have a bunch of these. But yeah, unless you have some super rare java. Uh. And I'm not on gonna get it wrong, but it's either the cloth cape or the plastic cape. Cloth one. Is that the valuable one? I don't remember. There are nerds out there that are freaking out right now, I'm so sorry, or loose skywalkers, take your eye out, lightsaber right the double telescoping. Yeah, I think that was that was worth a lot of dough. Yeah.

But back in Christmas, the nineteenth of any seven, no one had any idea and little children were unwrapping presents and going I had no idea what a voucher was until just now, thanks Mom and Dad. And they said, well that's good, because here, Mom and Dad, I have what I got you as vouchers for a backscratch in breakfast in bed free hugs so cute. And then lastly, Chuck is tickle Me Elmo, and I have to say shout out to history dot com. They came up with

this article. I think there was a lot more to it, but these are the ones that held the most water. But Tickle Me Elmo. If you thought the cabbage Patch doll craze was nuts, tickle Me Elmo. Was it just off the chain? Yeah, Elmo. I think we've even talked about this before for some weird reason, but it became way after me, probably in the Muppets episode. Uh So, I was never an Elmo aficionado because this was by that point I was fifteen years old. I didn't care

about things like that. But my daughter loves Elmo and it has transcended, uh since then for sure, because almost still super popular. You were twenty five, by the way, Oh yeah, I was thinking eight six. Oh yeah, I was way too old for real, right, he'd been more so than being fifteen would have been. Yeah, I was

still drunk in Athens, Georgia. But I think that's cute that that, um she's still into that or that almost still around for kids to be into today because almost just too cute and great a character just just go away because of some stupid craze. You know. I agree, And I had the I have the curse of doing too good of an Elmo impression. So now almost every morning still I have to start out by doing Elmo voices with the Elmo doll. Oh that's sweet, it is sweet,

so um on. In October, I guess there was a big surprise on the Rosie O'donnald Show when she debuted the Tickle Me Elmo doll, which most people hadn't heard of by this time. And if you remember, do you remember the doll? Right? I think you like Pressett's belly or maybe even tickle it. And I'd be like stop stop right, yeah, I think he gave it a squeeze and he giggled right, and it was super cute and it just captured America's heart. And Rosie O'donnald's show was

huge at the time, like Oprah level huge. So it was a huge plug for the tickle miomo makers and they were totally caught off guard. They had no idea that this was coming. And since it was October, there was a huge shortage of this suddenly very much in demand doll by the time Christmas rolled around. Yeah, and they did not do vultures, right, didn't they. Um, they just did raffles or something. I think they did raffles

and um stampedes. Those are the big ones, the classic stampede. Yeah, there was a report of a Walmart employee in Fredericton, New Brunswick who was trampled and had to go to the hospital because yeah, they did this the smartest thing possible line up. But then when we opened the doors, it's every person for themselfs for themselves. Yeah, and this

is the final thing from history dot com. It says in New York, the son of jailed mob boss John Gotti, along with his friends, dropped eight thousand dollars at a toy store and report will be made off with a case of Tickle me Elma. Pretty smart. I hope it is too. That would be so great. So what's the must have toy this year? Do you know? I have no idea? Do you have no idea? Nope? All right, we'll find out one way or another by hanging out

at toy stores. I guess I get the feeling there isn't a Well maybe that still happens sometimes, like a single must have. Oh yeah, it definitely happens sometimes. I don't know what it is, though, I guarantee it's not going away like the Ferbi remember that that silly thing. Now it's hatchamles. Oh well that might be the thing. Actually that was last year, right now, Yeah, because I remember Noel had trouble finding one for his daughter. Oh yeah, but you came through it, and you know he did.

It was a Christmas miracle, It was all right. So we're gonna have another little jingle and come back with our traditional Christmas boozy recipe. Yeah, okay, So I have a little background here because we're talking about Wasstle. Did you see the background thinking? Did I send it to you? So the etomology not the entomology the etymology of wostle.

The word w A s s a I l. Yeah, apparently it comes from the Old Norse vest hile, and then the old English, because most English words come from the Norse or Germanic words, right, wass hall, and the whole thing was basically like a greeting or a toast, which was being good health. Eventually it was turned into wass hale and then wostle, and wostle is so old that it actually appears in Bao Wolf as a greeting,

right again being good health. So there was this tradition of going on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, I can't remember which one um or you would basically just go to people's houses around town, like during a whole day and hang out and maybe bring them a little present or eat some food. And it was like kind of a roving Christmas party, and that was called wostl ng. And then eventually this warm punch that you would serve

your guests came to be called wostle. And because it kind of came out of this tradition, there's no one watle recipe, but it's usually a very strong, drinky, boozy, warm punch is basically the only the only requisite for it. That usually has something like nutmeg or something in it. That's right, And uh, you're the cocktail man, so you want to go over the recipe here. Well, there's two. Did you see both? I only saw the one that was super rummy? Okay, well will this go with that

one then? Because the other one is pretty traditional. This one is not just rummy, but it's beery. Oh so sounded funny. I gotta admit, I'm I'm ready to try this one. Chuck two quarts of lager beer. And you don't have to just use beer that comes in a court size. As a matter of fact, you might want to just steer clear those all together for this one. A court of rum they just get giddy. Five ounces of simple syrup, three ounces of lemon juice, a teaspoon

of grated nutmeg. You want that freshly grated, teaspoon of grated ginger, you want that fresh too, and then fruit slices for garnish. Pretty simple stuff that you can really kind of put together, uh, from from just about any store. Yeah that sells such things. So you take the beer, the simple syrup, the lemon juice, the nutmeg and the ginger, and you put it together in a sauce pan and you warm it on low heat for about ten minutes. You want to get a nice steam off of it,

but do not let it boil. If you boil it, all the alcohol will cook off, so don't do that. You add the rum and you stir it, and then you place some that fruit in a heat resistant bowl or some sort of serving vessel, and you pour the watle in there um and then you have wastle. You drink it. So you haven't had this, No, I haven't. I just found it the other day, all right, it's for this recipe was from the spruce. And there's another one they have which has brandy and sherry in it,

but beer and lagger. Two quarts of beer in one quart of rum. That's a party. It's a party in your mouth, it is uh. And of course, always drink wastle responsibly. And if you're over twenty one in these United States, yes, And if you're watling and someone's home and they ask you to leave, do the Christmas e thing and leave, that's right. Interpretor in the UK you can be like twelve years old and drink probably is that true. No, I don't know. I think it's probably eighteen.

Is that a Christmas legend? Yeah? I think so so, Charles. We've reached the end here, that's right. This has been maybe our best one yet. I like to think each year they get a little bit better. The guests appearance from the writer of Die Hard, Are you kidding me? That was pretty pretty great. The socks that I got to those are amazing. Yeah, rate, that was very surprised. They're magic fingers toe socks. Uh. Well, Happy Happy Christmas,

Merry New Year, and all that stuff. To all of you people out there, we hope you have just a wonderful holiday season, no matter how you celebrate it, no matter what your religion, no matter whether you have no religion at all, no matter where you are in the world, we hope you have a very very warm and glad holiday tidings, right agreed, Thanks for joining us, and uh we'll see you next year in two