5/5 Xmas Songs: Fairytale of New York

4/5 Xmas songs: Merry Christmas, I Don't Want to Fight Tonight

What would Christmas be without Jewish songwriters? I'm guessing it would be a mix between traditional hymns and Kraftwerk. Without greats like Irving Berlin, Mel Tormé, and Johnny Marks Christmas music would be rather bland, and in the case of Marks especially, a lot less rocking. Here's a list of some of the best known Christmas songs of all time, all written or co-written by Jewish people. For more details see The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs.

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Do They Know It's Christmas? (Feed the World)
Santa Baby
Holly Jolly Christmas
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
I'll Be Home for Christmas
Silver Bells
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Sleigh Ride
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
White Christmas

On a slightly different note, it's a bit of an understatement to say that Paul McCartney was a great song writer. Yet his attempt at writing a Christmas song, Wonderful Christmas Time, is unabashedly the worst Xmas song of all time, as well as a splendid example of how not use the FX button on a Radioshack keyboard.

Back when the Beatles were known as the Silver Beatle Band, Paul McCartney called himself Paul Ramone. Years later a group of misfits from Queens, New York would all adopt the same last name and in their own way change the face of music forever. The Ramones were able to do what Paul McCartney never could, write a great Christmas song. Coincidentally, front man Joey Ramone was also Jewish. Was this the magic ingredient missing from McCartney's Casio-fueled Xmas clunker? Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, Merry Christmas I Don't Want to Fight Tonight.

Final Puzzler 2009

Here is the Final Puzzler of 2009: Eight pictures and 16 questions. Contest ends Midnight December 31st, 2009. No more clues will be given. Good luck.



















Puzzler One SOLVED

What is the name of this insect? 500 points.
What is the name of the plant it is mimicking? 500 points.
Please answer in binomial nomenclature.



















Puzzler Two
Who is this guy? 500 points
What was the name of the woman to who he was once engaged? 500 points.


















Puzzler Three
In what country is this painting located? 500 points.
What is the name of the cave where it can be found? 500 points.











Puzzler Four SOLVED
What is the name of this bone? 500 points.
Who sold it for over $8000? 500 points.

















Puzzler Five SOLVED
What is identification number of this skull? 500 points.
What species is it? 500 points.












Puzzler Six
What movie is this? 500 points.
What is the name of the actor? 250 points.
The name of the character? 250 points.


















Puzzler Seven
What band is this? 500 points.
What city did they come from? 500 points.




















Puzzler Eight
What is this? 500 points.
Who built it? 500 points.


And the Final Puzzler for 2009: SOLVED
Four friends met up for drinks at the local cafe on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of last week. Over those days, every woman had three different drinks. The woman who drank milk on Friday drank cocoa on Saturday. The woman who drank coffee on Thursday drank milk on Saturday. Sylvia drank cocoa on Thursday. The drink chosen by Rose on Saturday was the same as that consumed by Sylvia on Friday. The drink consumed by Pam on Friday was the same as that chosen by Tina on Thursday. Who drank what on each day? Oh yes, the unmentioned drink was Tea. Answer this for 1002 points. Unlike Puzzlers 1-7 you can only attempt this question once.

3/5 Xmas Songs: God Rest Ronnie James Dio

Today's Xmas song is a traditional number sung by Mr. Ronnie James Dio, with Tony Iommi on guitar. In an interesting coincide, these are the only two living metal performers who were actually present at the time of Jesus' birth.

2/5 Xmas Songs: Elvis VS. Elvis

Remember the Great Stamp Debate of 1992? It focused around which Elvis should appear on a US postage stamp, the young rocker or the old cheeseburger? I can't understand why anyone would want a Las Vegas Elvis stamp more than Jailhouse Rock stamp. It's absolutely absurd.

What is also rather absurd is the '68 Comeback Special, not because of the performance, but because of how the comeback developed. The '68 Special captures Elvis in his last moment of glory, before he was damned to spend the remainder of his days as a second rate lounge singer. In order to drill this redundant point a little deeper into the sands of redundancy I'd like to compare two videos. First up is the 68 Comeback Special which features a performance of Blue Christmas.



Now we have Cheeseburger Vegas Elvis doing Merry Christmas Baby.



If that doesn't settle the Great Stamp Debate of '92 I don't know what will. Oh wait, this was already settled some years ago. Carry on.

1/5 Xmas Songs: Don't Believe in Christmas

Over the next five days I will count down the top five Christmas songs of all time. Today we begin with a cover of the Sonics tune Don't believe In Christmas by Pearl Jam. If you've never heard the original, go listen to it. Drummer Bob Bennett pretty much invented punk rock drumming. I've decided to go with the cover version, because anyone who has heard the Sonics has undoubtedly already heard the original.

Music, Cinema and Sports of the 00s

"Best of 2009 " lists are pervading the slippery tubes of the interwebs once again. This year ends in a number nine, so that means you're likely being continually inundated with delightful "Best of the decade" lists. Let's skip the year review and head straight for the prizes of the decade.

Who was number one in music?

According to Billboard it's none other than Theory of a Nicklecreed, er Nickleback. Their smash hit "How You Remind Me" was also named the top rock song of the decade. Coincidentally Nickleback was also given the award for Worst Band in the World by the readers of Word Magazine earlier this year. Whether you loved them or hate, they were nothing else if not consistent. I've always said a good song is like a mix between package of factory made cookies and Alan Thicke: nearly identical and completely irrelevant.

What was the best movie of the past decade?

According to the Internet movie Database, the best film of the 00s was Avatar. A film that was released last week. Nothing defines a decade more than the last few weeks of the last December. The AV Club sites Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind as the film of the decade. However, both of these lists so overlooked the fifth and final installment of the Air Bud series Air Bud Spikes Back. This time Bud isn't playing basketball, baseball or hockey, he's heading the beach to try his gnarled paws at volleyball. This poignant conclusion changed the face of cinema forever. It also paved the way for the Air Buddies spin-off, of which another four feature length films have been made which feature dogs playing sports. Hollywood is awash in new ideas.

What was the greatest moment in Sports of the oos?

Some might say it was Lance Armstrong winning the Tour-du-Frace. Others might say it was Michael Phelps winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. These people would however be wrong, because the most memorable moment in sports history was clearly FOX's Celebrity Boxing which pitted Paula Jones against Tonya Harding. It may have matched up two people that had been forgotten about since the mid-90s, but the punch Harding threw to the back of Jones' head, after Jones had given up, was absolutely delicious. Delicious in a Alan Thicke cookie sort of way.