Whimsy: December 2015 Archives
Hidden Wonders of the Digital World: Lord of The Rings Online | Atlas Obscura
"So when a game company called Turbine, Inc. released The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO), an open-world game that set out to create a living Middle Earth, it was no small task. They also had to do so without rights to the films or other media based on, or related to J.R.R. Tolkien's seminal works of fantasy--no visions of Frodo's hobbit house from the movies, or a Gandalf that looked like Ian McKellen. Their source material had to be the text of the the novels and their own designs.
"Somehow, though, those limitations have made LOTRO one of the most faithful visions of Tolkien's world."
The Star Wars Holiday Special - Dailymotion
Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca (and his family!), R2D2, C3PO, Harvey Korman, Bea Arthur, and Art Carney in a two-hour special that everyone involved wishes they could forget.
Hyperbole and a Half: The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas
A little girl tries to spice up the nativity story with her own play, but is thwarted by relatives who crack themselves up with a running gag about the '80s pop up superstar.
11 Smells That Are Slowly Disappearing | Mental Floss
Ditto fluid, burning leaves, diesel fumes, new car smell (it's different now), chalk dust, the gum that used to be in baseball card packs, dust burning on vacuum tubes, phone books, Polaroid film, Magic Markers, and cap guns. "The sole company that still manufactures ditto fluid in the U.S. only sells a few thousand gallons per year these days, as opposed to the over 100,000 gallons they delivered during the 1970s."
Selling Out the Newspaper Comic Strip - The Los Angeles Review of Books
Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) vs. Charles Schulz (Peanuts) on merchandising and artistic integrity.
Wells Cathedral - Rules for Choristers - 1460
How the boys are to take their meals: "Then they shall say their grace distinctly and audibly, after which they shall decently and silently approach the table and peacefully sit down. When they are seated they shall behave decently and not lean on the table. They must not deliberately or wantonly soil or spoil the cloth or other utensils in front of them, and they must take their food courteously and decently. They must cut their bread or break it decently, not gnaw it with their teeth or tear it with their nails. Also they must drink with their mouths empty, not full, and eat their food decently, in moderation and not quickly. On no account are they to raise their knives to their mouths with the food, nor clean their teeth with their knives. And if at dinner or supper-time there is anything lacking that they ought to have, they must ask for it softly not loudly, not in English but in Latin; and they must consider themselves satisfied with what is provided without any murmuring or disapproval."
How The Hidden Track Faded From Recorded Music | Atlas Obscura
I wasn't stoned, but I recall being surprised when the needle finally hit the second groove on one side of Monty Python's Matching Tie and Handkerchief album.
"The record featured a concurrent groove, which made it so that it would play different music based on where you placed the needle.... 'We had these visions of stoned fans, of which there were a lot in the early '70s, having the shock of their lives when brand new material was playing on a record they had had for months,' Python's Michael Palin recalled. 'Some people thought there was an alternative version because they would hear talk of these mysterious sketches that they had never heard on their record. It drove people mad. This was precisely why we did it, of course.'"
How Vince Guaraldi Made Charlie Brown Cool -- Cuepoint -- Medium
"Armed with Mendelson's story outline, Guaraldi knew he needed at least two more original compositions: something for an ice-skating sequence, and a vibrant number for a party that broke out on stage, when the kids failed to heed instructions from Charlie Brown, newly assigned director of the school Christmas play.
"The former became 'Skating,' a lyrical jazz waltz highlighted by sparkling keyboard runs that sounded precisely like children ice-skating joyously on a frozen pond. The latter emerged as 'Christmas Is Coming,' a bright bossa nova anthem with strong overtones of rock 'n' roll.
"'The cascading notes to Guaraldi's Vivaldi-like "Skating" are the most vivid representation of falling snowflakes in music,' a newspaper columnist wrote, decades later....
"'"The opening song was an instrumental,' Mendelson recalled. 'I felt we should get some lyrics, and some voices. We couldn't find anybody to write the lyrics, and I called all my Hollywood friends who were songwriters. But nobody took the assignment, so I sat down, and in about 10 minutes wrote the words to "Christmas Time Is Here" on an envelope...."
How Vince Guaraldi Made Charlie Brown Cool -- Cuepoint -- Medium
"Armed with Mendelson's story outline, Guaraldi knew he needed at least two more original compositions: something for an ice-skating sequence, and a vibrant number for a party that broke out on stage, when the kids failed to heed instructions from Charlie Brown, newly assigned director of the school Christmas play.
"The former became 'Skating,' a lyrical jazz waltz highlighted by sparkling keyboard runs that sounded precisely like children ice-skating joyously on a frozen pond. The latter emerged as 'Christmas Is Coming,' a bright bossa nova anthem with strong overtones of rock 'n' roll.
"'The cascading notes to Guaraldi's Vivaldi-like "Skating" are the most vivid representation of falling snowflakes in music,' a newspaper columnist wrote, decades later....
"'"The opening song was an instrumental,' Mendelson recalled. 'I felt we should get some lyrics, and some voices. We couldn't find anybody to write the lyrics, and I called all my Hollywood friends who were songwriters. But nobody took the assignment, so I sat down, and in about 10 minutes wrote the words to "Christmas Time Is Here" on an envelope...."
