A short weekend post today, to announce a drawing winner and spread a bit of Christmas cheer ...
First things first: dziendobry and 21CM, e-mail me (info@runingandrambling.com) your address - you've won a sample box of the MoodBoost drink I reviewed earlier this week. And for anybody else who'd still like to try some, Monarch Nutrition is offering a discount code for 20% off your purchase; type coupon code BLOG20 at checkout for the reduced price. Link to the MoodBoost site is here.
** As for the Christmas cheer ... the follwing video has been my daughters' favorite new Christmas song so far this year: Andrea Bocelli's rendition of "Jingle Bells", accompanied by The Muppets. They debuted on a PBS special earlier this fall, and performed on the Jay Leno Show last week. Leno's version is on Hulu but not YouTube, so you have to suffer through a typically awkward 40-second PBS intro for the embedded video below - but that's what the scroll bar is for, right?
Additionally: The Muppets have pretty outstanding range, wouldn't you say? 2 weeks ago they were rocking out to Queen, and now they're alongside one of the most talented operatic singers in the world. It helps to prove what I've believed all along: there should be a little Muppet in all of us.
Andrea Bocelli with The Muppets, "Jingle Bells" (click to play):
In traditional fashion, let’s take care of business before pleasure with this post …
Thanks to everyone who entered my Sockwa giveaway, and special thanks to Gretchen for posing for that Sockwa photo. For the winners, you’re indebted to my 6-year-old daughter who pulled your name out of a hat. For those who didn’t win … the good news is that Sockwas aren’t very expensive to purchase on your own, so I’d definitely encourage you to give them a try. And if that’s not enough consolation, you can always file a formal complaint with my customer service department.
So without further ado ... Barefoot Angie B, Danny Miller, and Bob Tucker: drop me an e-mail (info@runningandrambling.com) with your address. You’ve won!
And since I don’t have anything else constructive for today, please allow me a little foolish indulgence – because sometimes I simply marvel at the timing of things in my life.
Less than 2 weeks ago, a topic of discussion on a trail run was how we develop associations with certain songs that never go away, regardless of how much time goes by, or how infrequently we hear the song in later years. One example that a friend of mine offered – and which I agreed with 100% - was that he couldn’t hear Queen’s "Bohemian Rhapsody" anymore without thinking of Wayne and Garth’s crew rocking out in the AMC Pacer. For children of the early 1990s, it’s a classic bit of cinema:
"Bohemian Rhapsody" from Wayne's World (click to play - song starts after :50):
For more than 15 years, that’s been the automatic association: "Bohemian Rhapsody" = Wayne’s World. And no sooner do I receive independent confirmation of such, than along come the Muppets.
During Thanksgiving week, Muppet Studios released their hilarious remake of Queen’s opus, and my laughter at the computer was enough to bring my two girls running to the screen to see what was so funny. The timing was particularly fortuitous, as I’ve been doling out old Muppet Show skits (which, tragically, are very scarce on YouTube or anywhere else aside from the DVD sets) to my kids over the past several months. I know funnier things have come along since that show aired, but the level of inspired brilliance that The Muppet Show churned out from one week to the next over the course of five years in the late 1970s may be unmatched in the history of television – and it seems like one of my responsibilities as a parent is to make my offspring aware of such. (Yes, really.)
So the kids already had a little bit of the groundwork; they recognized Gonzo and Animal and the Swedish Chef and Fozzie Bear and the "Mahna Mahna" guy, but much of the remaining cast was a complete revelation to them, just as much as the musical compilation was to me. And I suspect when I hear "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the future, that jostling going on inside my head will be the Muppets elbowing their way past Wayne and Garth to become my primary association with the song.
At any rate, you can judge for yourself. The action really gets good at about the 1:50 mark.
The Muppets, "Bohemian Rhapsody" (click to play):
Now there’s just a single parental responsibility lingering from the weekend – one that was phrased succinctly by my 6-year-old:
