Trying on the Star

Not sure if this will work
Its a short video of the LV star on our tree
I think that you'll need 'QuikTime ' to see the video

Last night on the buds :
A show about Xmas songs and carols. I know people who distinguish between carols ( religious ) and songs 
Apparently , this kind of music ( either ) was not allowed in churches. The singing happened outside the church walls.
Xmas dates to the 700 s AD. And Xmas was cancelled in the 15 C
b/c it wasn't religious enough..... do tell
The CBC show was , ' Around Midnight , the Sunday Edition '
Robert Harris was the expert and Michael Enright , the host.
Facts : since 1960 , 34 000 Xmas albums were released
The vast majority of songs were penned in the 1940 s ,  coinciding w/ the war years and the peace. As well , the vast majority were penned by Jewish songsmiths e.g. Irving Berlin , the Gershwins and later Mel Torme who wrote 'the Christmas Song ' .. chestnuts etc

Rudolph comes to town
Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer , was written in the late 40 s by a Jewish songwriter May. It was May's answer to the carols / songs that he heard. Rudolph was meant to be his interpretation of growing up a Jew in Christian America.
The lyrics tell of looking and feeling different and then accepting who you were. It spoke of equality of spirit and means
During the McCarthy years , singers and arrangers took out lines that were deemed Communist ( equality etc ).
The publishers offered the song to Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra and both said ' No '.  Gene Autry turned the song down as well.
Gene's wife heard the song and said ' Gene do it ' . 4 million copies later , Gene said , ' I can do this '
Gene wrote ' Santa Comes to Town ' in response

The digital age in America. Newspapers and magazines are taking a beating trying to compete w/ digital media.   Print books are holding out at 40 % of sales in the U.S. In Canada , 17 % of the book market is digital.
Prognosticators can see print books surviving
When polled , respondents cite the anonymity of digital devices.
Those polled , wanted others to know ( see ) when they were reading ' quality or important ' books

The fragrance industry is a $ 40 billion concern. The U.S. and Brazil are world leaders in consumption. Women spend 24 B$ , men 13 B$ and 3 B$ for non gender scents

Weather : near freezing and the air is damp. The day looks gray and ominous. The ' Santa ' bomb - gale winds and freezing rain , may not happen now. Temperatures are staying warmer than originally forecasted.
Last year , we spent Xmas in the basement around the gas fireplace minus electricity for 5 days.

Notice : Police and insurers are saying the 4 days running up to the 24 th are high in accidents. Drinking , stress and hurried moves cause large numbers of accidents
So , stay safe