This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Santa Claus' Punch and Judy
My haven't things changed in the last 60 years! I came across this old Christmas film from 1948. Children then enjoyed much simpler toys and entertainment. Society was much less obsessed with being "Politically Correct". Sit back and enjoy the entertainment. © 2008 Barry T Horst
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Friday, December 26, 2008
The Night After Christmas Morn; A Reprise
'Twas the night after Christmas morn, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings and such lay on the floor in a mess,
In hopes that it would surely not block our egress;
The children were playing all snug in their room,
While visions of new games danced in their heads I presume;
And momma in her finest, and I in my finer,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap in my recliner,
When out in the den there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the recliner to see what was the matter.
Away to the hallway I flew in a rush,
Tore open the doors and stood with a blush.
The light on the breast of the new-fallen tree
Gave the lustre of calamity to the objects I see,
When, what to my wondering eyes should materialize,
But 7 cats from the branches, "What am I to surmise?"
With a mischievous leader, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be Mister and his sidekicks.
More rapid than eagles his cohorts in crime came,
And I fussed and I yelled, and called them by name;
"Now, Peanut! now, Tabby! now, Callie and Boo!
On, Mister! on Rory! and now Bristow, you too!
To the top of the chair! To the end of the hall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild tornado fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, they jump to the sky,
So to the end of the hallway the cohorts they flew,
With an ornament of catnip, and a candy cane too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard Grandma quite clear,
She was scolding each cat, each scofflaw that was near.
As I drew up my hand, and was turning around,
Down the hallway Mister came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his tail,
It was all tarnished with the pine needles that fell;
A bundle of toys he had in his mouth,
As he looked like a tramp, beginning to head south.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! His tail was so comic!
His nose started to twitch as his whiskers he did flick!
His curious eyes were drawn down the hall,
He squinted and stared at his apparent downfall;
The bundle of toys he held tight in his teeth,
By my feet he stopped and left them beneath;
As if to leave an offering of peace,
An apology for being so caprice.
He stood regal and erect, a right stately old cat,
And I laughed when I saw him, as away he did scat;
A twinkle in his eye and a twist of his tail,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to bewail;
He made not a sound, but went straight to our room,
And started to refresh; and also to groom,
And laying himself down upon the furniture,
He gave us all a nod, and started for to purr;
He opened his eyes, to his cohorts gave a mew,
And away they all flew with barely an adieu.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he nodded off contrite,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."
© 2008 Barry T Horst
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings and such lay on the floor in a mess,
In hopes that it would surely not block our egress;
The children were playing all snug in their room,
While visions of new games danced in their heads I presume;
And momma in her finest, and I in my finer,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap in my recliner,
When out in the den there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the recliner to see what was the matter.
Away to the hallway I flew in a rush,
Tore open the doors and stood with a blush.
The light on the breast of the new-fallen tree
Gave the lustre of calamity to the objects I see,
When, what to my wondering eyes should materialize,
But 7 cats from the branches, "What am I to surmise?"
With a mischievous leader, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be Mister and his sidekicks.
More rapid than eagles his cohorts in crime came,
And I fussed and I yelled, and called them by name;
"Now, Peanut! now, Tabby! now, Callie and Boo!
On, Mister! on Rory! and now Bristow, you too!
To the top of the chair! To the end of the hall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild tornado fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, they jump to the sky,
So to the end of the hallway the cohorts they flew,
With an ornament of catnip, and a candy cane too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard Grandma quite clear,
She was scolding each cat, each scofflaw that was near.
As I drew up my hand, and was turning around,
Down the hallway Mister came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his tail,
It was all tarnished with the pine needles that fell;
A bundle of toys he had in his mouth,
As he looked like a tramp, beginning to head south.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! His tail was so comic!
His nose started to twitch as his whiskers he did flick!
His curious eyes were drawn down the hall,
He squinted and stared at his apparent downfall;
The bundle of toys he held tight in his teeth,
By my feet he stopped and left them beneath;
As if to leave an offering of peace,
An apology for being so caprice.
He stood regal and erect, a right stately old cat,
And I laughed when I saw him, as away he did scat;
A twinkle in his eye and a twist of his tail,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to bewail;
He made not a sound, but went straight to our room,
And started to refresh; and also to groom,
And laying himself down upon the furniture,
He gave us all a nod, and started for to purr;
He opened his eyes, to his cohorts gave a mew,
And away they all flew with barely an adieu.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he nodded off contrite,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
A Christmas Message From Our Family To Yours, CHRISTMAS 2008
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Picture Monday, December 22, 2008
Here is the list showing the 12 gifts:
12 Posts for Scratching,
11 Sprigs of Catnip,
10 Beds for Sleeping,
9 Windows for sunning,
8 Ribbons waving,
7 Fish a-swimming,
6 Mice for Playing,
5 Pounds of Cat Food,
4 Kitty Snacks,
3 Sachet Fresheners,
2 Litter Strainers,
And a Bag of Kitty Litter, Dust Free.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
HO, HO, HO...More Christmas Fun!!!
There is still time for you send that email to Santa, even though Christmas is 3 days away. Santa will reply even while making his rounds. I think he has a Blackberry or an iPhone or something so that he can text and email from his sleigh. Apparently Santa knows where all the dead zones are and stays away from them.
Check out Email Santa Claus. It's a great site for you and the kids. Be careful though, you may spend too much time there and forget to finish your holiday shopping.
Confidentially.....I found out that I was still on the Nice List. Imagine that!
Oh, while I'm thinking about it, you need to know that NORAD still tracks Santa Claus. After all, we don't want to mistake him for a nuclear missile gone wild. Here is a video and a link to the NORAD Tracks Santa site. Pick your language and enjoy. (The video is on the Norad site).
Here is another fun site: Sfeervol Nederland. It is Dutch and I can't read much of it. The page title very roughly translates to Attractive(ly) Netherlands. It probably is closer to Netherlands Holidays or something similar judging from the content.
Perhaps one our many friends from The Netherlands can help me with the translation.I like the page because on the left hand side of the opening page there is a link to various Christmas web cams and I have spent all day exploring them.
It is amazing to sit in your bedroom and visit the world through these web cams and experience the holidays with so many. I can imagine this must be how the first shortwave radio enthusiasts felt when they spoke to people half way around the world.
AMAZING!
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Mr. Bungle and My Classroom
Today was the last day of school before the Christmas holidays.© 2008 Barry T Horst
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Finally, a chance to have 2 weeks of peace and quiet. No kids, except the occasional grandchild.
So, what do I do?
I go straight home and watch films about school. And not just any film, but a film about manners. Manners in the lunch room no less!
Give it a go. It's really kinda good, in a.... strange sort of way.
Oh, by the way. I disabled the autoplay on the video. This way it won't play until you are ready for it to. So be sure to press the play button.
Contrary to popular belief the students in my classroom were not used in the filming of this mini-epic. It was filmed approximately 50 years ago. I know this because of the generic school house type of asphalt tile used for the flooring. It looks like the tile that was used then. I know this because I was 3 years old at the time and was very well acquainted with the floor. I spent a lot of time there. The copyright notice gave a little clue also.The copyright notice gave a little clue also.
Anyway, it seems that Miss Brown's class could certainly be confused for my class. I mean, did you see how well behaved those children were? Just like my class of kindergartners, in my dreams.
Then when Phil went to the Boy's Room I knew that it had to be my class because of the massive amount of soap that he used while performing this important task of pre-lunch hygiene. However, I realized it could not have been my class when Phil used only one paper towel.
You see, my class thinks that paper towels grow on trees.
Oh, wait! They do, sort of.
Anyway, my class thinks that it is a good idea to recycle used paper, so they try to use massive amounts in order to show others that they are recycling.
Then, on his way out of the Boy's Room, Phil had to stop and comb his hair. It looked like he was combing the fuzz on a peach.
Later in the cafeteria good ol' Phil must have been one thirsty camper. Did you notice how his milk carton kept changing from Meadow Gold to Pet Milk? At least three times.
And while we're in the cafeteria, did you catch that hunk of cake? I've never seen a piece of cake that big at any school I've been in. Obviously I've been in the wrong schools for cake.
Obviously!
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)