History Lesson!!

You know the song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas''? Well, my dad told me a little something about the history of it the other night, and I went to investigate. Here's what I found
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Where to start... how 'bout at the beginning? That's a grand idear. In 1950, Jon Rox wrote the song "(I want a)Hippopotamus for Christmas" It was released in 1953, sung by ten-year-old Gayla Peevey. The song, released by Columbia Records, became a hit.
At the same time (Christmas 1953), the Oklahoma City zoo was trying to raise funds to buy they're first hippopotamus. So whenever the song played on the radio, the media, in order to raise funds for the zoo, would encourage listeners to send in their nickles & dimes to but Gayla a hippo! Over $3000 was raised, and Gayla got her hippo, Matilda. She promptly donated the baby hippo to the OKC zoo. Isn't that neat? I thought it was.

Hope it makes sense. Merry Christmas!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

"But the fire is so delightful...
Since we've no place to go;
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!"

Indeed, the weather here is quite odd. Frightful, as I said; so it was dog-gone near 70 degrees yesterday, and today, it is a mere 17!!! Is this not ridiculous?!?! I mean, I wouldn't mind so much if it would at least snow, but it's not even that!! It is just bitter cold. Maybe on Christmas... I'm dreaming of a white Christmas... with every Christmas card I write... *cough* Anyway, I need to get a life; I'm blogging about the weather!!! Sheesh. I'm sorry, I'm probably boring you to death. I'll try to post something worth reading soon. ;)

On Christmas Carols

Well a hello to all!! I was just sitting with my mother, stuffing Christmas cards, eating a "customized" trail mix (pretzels, raisins, marshmallows, and I WOULD have put chocolate chips in there but we were all out! *glares*), listening to the "All Christmas all the time" radio station, and I was inspired to write about Christmas music.

I've decided that there's basically three types:
1: The good ol', everyone knows em, traditional Christmas carols.
2: New, more contemporary, Christmas songs. (Christmas Shoes, Someone Special, Jingle Bell Rock, etc.)
3: My arch enemy. The "Updated" Christmas Carols. Where they take songs mentioned in category 1, change the timing, often certain words, and make it "Their Own". What ever.

I personally prefer the good ol', everyone knows 'em, not messed with Christmas carols. I mean, when they start messing with "Winter Wonder Land," "Here Comes Santa Clause," "O Holy Night," and countless others to the point where you can't sing along because the timing is so different then what you were expecting, you know you've got a problem. (Trans-Siberian Orchestra is the ONE and ONLY full exception, because they *generally* don't mess with the tune; they add electric guitars and what not. It's really cool =D)

Have you heard "Straight No Chaser"? It's a men's A Capella group that apparently just got back together. My big bro introduced them to me when he was home at Thanksgiving. Whilst I was stuffing Christmas cards and eating my trail mix, I heard them on the radio singing "Twelve Days of Christmas". It is probably my favorite rendition of this song that I've ever heard!! (They are, in certain cases, an exception to the category 3 rule.) Here's a link to the video of them singing "Twelve Days of Christmas":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

Less than two weeks til Christmas!! =D

"O, holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
it is the night of our dear Savior's birth"