A Christmas production

I was feeling a bit down this morning about the fact that our lights still aren't up and they'll be lame once they are. My neighbors typically do a very nice job and the tree across the street is even prettier this year than I ever remember it. We're the neighbors who look like we're barely trying (because we aren't). I'm not big on the whole holiday lights deal and could live without them entirely but my wife wants lights, even if it's so minimal that it looks stupid. So I get to spend the Christmas season feeling like a schmuck, I try not to think about it.

After reading OKDad's missive about Christmas decorations I was feeling even worse. Nothing like trying to keep up with the Jones from everywhere. Later today, with the discovery of this video I was feeling a heck of a lot better about the whole thing (thanks Matt!) Now that we're all lame, I don't feel as bad (oddly enough).

Despite the favorable initial reaction in the community, the notoriety and attention caused by all the buzz caused some problems and the display was turned off. How big did this get? Snopes has an article discussing Christmas lights. WonderlandChristmas has enough background information and details so that you can build your own if you like (me? Not happening). There are other copies and a version from the same house a couple years back with a different tune. The fellow at WonderlandChristmas happens to like the Boston Pops.

While watching the video, I realized that I quite liked the tune Wizards in Winter from The Lost Christmas Eve by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I'd never heard of them before but that's no longer the hurdle it might once have been. After some listening on iTMS I decided to buy the whole album. By the way, does it intrigue anyone else that Apple calls them albums? As Christmas music goes, it's interesting, I'll give it that. I burned a CD and this evening Jon and I played it on the way to the bowling alley and back; we listened to a lot of it but we also skipped a few tracks. I especially liked the instrumentals and we liked everything we listened to all the way through. I'll be beating on it a lot in the car for the next few days. Worth a listen.