Join us for a virtual round of caroling, with Songs of the Season, a fun and quirky music hop. Discover new and wonderful songs each day of the hop, handpicked by great bloggers and vloggers - plus lots of other cool things to browse.
I realize that Laura already posted a version of The Little Drummer Boy, but I had to post this...my absolute favorite rendition. I'm a huge David Bowie fan. I even remember watching this on TV all those years ago (1977)...I was nine years old. =O)
Commentary: This one really struck me. It looks so cozy and the painting above the nook is so inviting. The only thing I might change would be to have the shelf be full of books (which there wouldn't be any other choice in my house...I have so many books).
Commentary: Oh my! Another Christmas nook. No Christmas tree this time, but how very cozy. Looks like this might be a nook for a reading pair...unless somebody is just really thirsty. ;O) Love that mantle!
***Please pause the music player in the upper right sidebar before enjoying this selection***
Enya's music always evokes an old world feeling for me. Her music is
so peaceful. I just love listening to it with the lights turned low, candles
burning, and the Christmas tree alight. This song is especially lovely.
Lyrics: How I remember sleepless nights When we would read by candlelight, And on the windowpane outside A new world made of snow;
A million feathers falling down, A million stars that touch the ground, So many secrets to be found Amid the falling snow.
Maybe I am falling down. Tell me should I touch the ground? Maybe I won't make a sound In the darkness all around.
The silence of a winter's night Brings memories I hold inside; Remembering a blue moonlight Upon the fallen snow.
Maybe I am falling down. Tell me should I touch the ground? Maybe I won't make sound In the darkness all around.
I close my window to the night. I leave the sky her tears of white. And all is lit by candlelight Amid the falling snow.
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The Sharing the Joy event at The Christmas Spirit: come join me for a season long event of holiday guest posts, stories, recipes, crafts, book reviews, giveaways, and more!
Goodies!
Through Dec. 31, 2011: Win a pretty box of stationery, featuring quotes by writer Charlotte Brontë and her sisters, who were also novelists. Browse details
Through Dec. 31, 2011: Win a book-and-DVD set of a romantic drama set in New York during the Gilded AgeBrowse details
Available starting Dec. 25, 2011: Win a book-and-DVD set of great classic film, Little Women (trailer shown above). A chance to win this delightful gift will be available at the Dec. 25 session of Bookie Brunch, hosted at Jennie's Corner(Host: @JoanieFontana)
If you have a favorite song, feel free to share in the comments. Thanks for stopping by, and hope you have a chance to enjoy a cup of hot spiced cider on the way to your next stop on the hop!
You're invited to join us for Songs of the Season, a fun music hop from Dec. 10-25. I'm hosting on December 13, so feel free to drop by to see which song I chose to share with you. There are lots of great bloggers on the music hop, and so there will be some new and wonderful music picks for you every day. Feel free to drop by and share some of your own favorites, if you like.
Here's the schedule, if you'd like to check it out:
*****Songs of the Season schedule*****
Commentary: Here is another lovely Christmas nook. I love the toile chair and the quaint stockings hanging from the mantle. I envision this as a nook in a library with white floor to ceiling bookshelves (or built-ins) lining the rest of the walls. Yet another nook for me to dream about!
Commentary: As you probably noticed, I'm featuring Christmas-y book nooks in honor of the holiday season. I love this one so much! I adore sitting by the tree at Christmas with all the lights off except for the tree. Unfortunately, I do not have a fireplace, but this is a dream nook for me...someday. =O)
Kings of the boardwalk empire - Atlantic City's real-life wise guys
Boardwalk Empire, a show in its second season on HBO, is quite the masterpiece of a depiction of prohibition era Atlantic City and its real-life wiseguys. Executive produced and directed, in part, by Martin Scorsese, the show centers on the life and times of Nucky Thompson, the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who was equal parts politician and gangster.
From the show’s creator:
“Nucky (Enoch Johnson, sheriff of Atlantic City, New Jersey such-and-such years) is a complicated guy,” says (show producer) Terrence Winter. “I think he’s equal part politician and gangster. He’s got a dark side, but he also has a benevolent side. I think the real Nucky probably didn’t see himself as a criminal. I think he was more of a pragmatist, in the sense that he felt, that in order to keep the city running, he had to skirt the law.
“But the world was changing so quickly around him,” says Winter. “Nucky is sort of changing with that too. The world he was used to was more genteel in its criminal element. But there are young guys all around him ready to use violence and he has to get comfortable with that.”
Empire is based on Nelson Johnson’s 2002 book, Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City. But while the book covers decades of city history, the show focuses on the 1920s, a time of profound change in America, especially where crime is concerned. (reference for the above sections)
About the book:
For longtime Jersey residents, the phrase "Atlantic City politics" carries a pungent aroma all its own; the strong scent of cigars in backrooms, stale smoke from gambling arenas. New Jersey Superior Court judge Nelson Johnson has been observing the underpinnings of the boardwalk scene for three decades, both as a professional and an amateur history buff. His scintillating new book traces the city's long, eventful path from birth to seaside resort to a scandal-ridden crime center and beyond. The Sopranos with salt-water taffy. Now in paperback. (Goodreads)
Atlantic City's real-life wise guys
Steve Buscemi's character Nucky Thompson is based on Enoch L. Johnson, the sheriff of Atlantic City, who ruled Atlantic City for 30 years as the boss of the Republican political machine. Unlike the thin Buscemi, Johnson was a 6-foot-1, 200-pound man who rose to power by allowing crime to flourish while he and the police force looked the other way. Nelson Johnson, author of the book "Boardwalk Empire," on which the series is based, told the Press of Atlantic City that Enoch Johnson held power in two distinct circles -- organized crime and politics -- and "was able to make those two spheres one thing."
Under Prohibition, Atlantic City was one of the few cities where people could openly drink alcohol, and drink they did. Atlantic City became one of the most popular holiday destinations and won the nickname the "World's Playground." Johnson took a percentage of every gallon of alcohol sold.
"Johnson was famous for sporting flashy suits, his $14,000 powder blue limousine, pinky rings, a red carnation on his lapel (which he wore daily) and devouring platters of eggs and ham in his luxury suite after a night of debauchery with money-hungry showgirls,"Ginger Adams Otis wrote in the New York Post.
He was also famously helpful to the poor, and they helped him right back by providing the votes he needed to steer senators and congressmen into power. After three decades of power, though, a couple of documents Johnson thought had been flushed down the toilet led to Johnson's arrest and conviction for tax fraud.
Lucky Luciano was the first boss of the Genovese crime family, which purportedly still functions today. Luciano is credited for much of the organization of the organized criminal world. He divided the mafia in New York into the five families and he set up the Commission to settle mafia disputes. He was connected with the start of casinos in Atlantic City, Cuba and Las Vegas. (portrayed in the show by Vincent Piazza)
Jim Colosimowas the kingpin of Chicago's flesh trade, Colosimo owned one of the most popular nightclubs in Chicago and most of the brothels with his partner and wife Victoria Moresco. He fell victim to the same vice he pedaled: lust. He fell for a young dancer, divorced his wife and made his empire suddenly vulnerable to take over. (portrayed as a guest in the series by Frank Crudele)
Frankie Yale was a New York gangster who heard of Colosimo's infatuation with the young dancer. He saw an opportunity to take over his business, so he headed for Chicago where he reportedly shot and killed Colosimo, though the police were never able to prove the murder. However, his takeover attempt failed and he returned to New York where he maintained a gang in Brooklyn. (portrayed as a guest in the series by Joseph Riccobene)
Johnny Torrio had been brought from New York to Chicago to help Colosimo run the brothel business. After Colosimo's death, he took over the business and created a vast empire. (portrayed in the show by Greg Antonacci)
Al Capone, one of the most famous gangsters, got his start in 1920s Baltimore. Capone was a bookkeeper whom Torrio plucked from the city to work for him in Chicago, but Capone quickly rose to become Torrio's partner and eventually took over the business after a failed assassination attempt scared Torrio back to a life in Italy. (portrayed in the show by Stephen Graham)
(reference for this section is from Melissa Bell, The Washington Post, unless otherwise indicated)
***Guys and Molls - Goodies***
WIN this hilarious deck of flashcards, and you'll have fun learning how to sling some lingo.
About: Get a line on this racket: flashcards feature famous one-liners and slang from 1930s gangster classics. Dish out some gangster speak and your pals and enemies will think you were made for the silver screen. 30 movie flashcards, boxed. Preview: Check out the deck
AND
WIN this great multi-title DVD, which includes four of the best gangster movies that were ever made. Host your own 1930s mobster movie marathon!
About: There are four vintage films included on this DVD.
(turn off the automatic music player in the right sidebar)
The Public Enemy (1931) - A taut, realistic time capsule of the Prohibition Era, showcasing James Cagney's powerhouse breakthrough as a streetwise tough guy who rises high in the bootleg racket. The Roaring Twenties (1939) - Screen legends Humphrey Bogart and Ida Lupino star in this soulful study of a gangster whose hard-boiled persona finds itself at war with his compassionate side -
a side that will ultimately be his downfall. Little Caesar (1930) - Loosely based on the life of real-life Prohibition-era mobster, the infamous Al Capone. Edward G. Robinson rocketed to stardom as a pugnacious hoodlum who murderously rises to
the top ranks of the underworld. Smart Money (1931) - In their only screen teaming, Little Caesar's Edward G. Robinson leads the way and The Public Enemy's James Cagney rides shotgun in this brisk tale of barbers who go from cutting hair to cutting in on the gambling racket. (Source: Amazon product description)
HOW TO PLAY: There are four steps, but they're all fun and easy to do.
1. Leave a comment on this post, giving your take on this question: Have you watched Boardwalk Empire on HBO? If so, what do you think of the show? If not, after reading this post, would you watch it, if you could?
Feel free to sign it with your own mobster nickname or syndicate, or Twitter name.
3. Comment on ANY other third Guys and Molls post.
4. Share a link to ANY Guys and Molls post on Twitter.
Note: Please remember to include email address in entry form so you can be contacted if you win.
Additional info: International. DVD is region 1/NTSC but should play on multi-region player.
Winner will be selected at random using random.org. Ends December 15, 2011, midnight, EST.
ENTER TO WIN:
Please enter using Rafflecopter widget above, which makes it simple and easy to keep track of your entries.
Have fun and good luck!
***This Guys and Molls feature has been brought to you by Blood Bath Alice of the The True Book Addict syndicate.***
Nov. 12
Double feature vvb32reads (@vvb32reads)
Secret doors and liquid fire - Speakeasies
and
Theater of the air - Radio show: Angels with Dirty Faces
Talk like Jane Austen Day is an annual event, but October 30, 2011 is a particularly special day, as it marks the 200th anniversary of the first printing of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Austen's first published novel.
In honor of the day, we've assembled a delightful collection of interesting features on all things Jane Austen and her times.
Silhouette from the second edition of Mansfield Park(1833?) , inscribed "l'aimable Jane" and presumed to be Jane Austen. Owned by the National Portrait Gallery, which considers it is possibly by Mrs Collins, a silhouettist who worked in Bath ca. 1800. There is no documentary evidence to confirm the identity of the sitter, but the provenance and title suggest it could be JA. (source: JASA)
And now, here is a feature on Jane Austen, for your perusal...Tea and Sweets
Jane Austen's House...a virtual tour (to turn off the music on my blog, push pause on the player toward the top of right sidebar):
As a special gift connected to the celebration, please enjoy a complimentary download of a delightful work by Jane Austen:
Emma
About: Emma wasn't a particularly popular name during the Regency era, although the name underwent a
sudden upswing in popularity between 1800-1820. Jane Austen published the novel, Emma, in 1815.
The main character, Emma Woodhouse, is essentially a spoiled young person and not particularly likeable - although it can be noted that Jane Austen says herself that it was her intention to try drawing a character 'whom no one but myself will much like.'
Eventually, through the influence of friends - in particular her former governess, and the sensible and compassionate George Knightley - Emma leaves off meddling, matchmaking and other idle pursuits, and might finally be on the way to redeeming some of her earlier follies. (More)
WIN this book at Bookie Brunch, offer open through December 15, 2011.
About: When publisher Thomas Cadell declined an unsolicited manuscript offered to him by a Hampshire clergyman in 1797, he made one of the biggest mistakes in publishing history, for the manuscript was an early version of Pride and Prejudice, and the clergyman's daughter was destined to become one of the most recognizable names in literature... (More)
You might also have a nice time at another Jane event coming up this November:
INVITATION to Pemberley Ball, Nov. 14-19, 2011
You're also invited to another charming Jane Austen event, the annual Pemberley Ball, held every November
and hosted by vvb32reads (@vvb32reads).
Please feel free to browse the collection of badges below, as each one of them will feature an interesting topic related to Jane Austen and her times, and you're sure to enjoy them all.
We hope you've enjoyed Tea and Sweets. What was your favorite thing about Jane Austen's house? Feel free to share with us in the coments. Thank you for visiting, it's been so nice to see you. Happy Talk like Jane Austen Day!
