THE PUZZLE CORNER: DECEMBER 9, 2023

 😎FUN FACT

Having just finished filming Goodfellas, actor Joe Pesci allegedly had to watch his language while filming Home Alone 1 afterwards.

🥇FAMOUS FIRS5TS: THE CHRISTMAS CAROL EDITION

Just about everyone has sang every song, to date, for the holiday season. But do you know who the first to perform each tune listed was?

01. Frosty the Snowman⛄

02. Have A Holly Jolly Christmas

03. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

04. Here Comes Santa Claus🎅

05. I’ll Be Home For Christmas

06. Jingle Bell Rock

07. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!❄❅❆

08. Rocking Around The Christmas Tree🎄

09. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer🦌

10. Santa Baby

11. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

12. Silver Bells🕭🕭

13. Sleigh Ride (as an instrumental)

14. Sleigh Ride (with lyrics)

15. White Christmas

16. Wonderful Christmas Time

17. You’re A Mean One, Mister Grinch

We’ll reveal all next weekend but for now, let’s open up THE ANSWERS BOX🎁 and discover the results from the December 2, 2023 Puzzle Corner.

REBUS

We’ve decorated The Free Choice E-zine office for the holidays and something familiar is represented by our Christmas Tree.

Do you know what it is?

Noel. (No L)

RHYME TIME

The clue to something is below, but no matter how long your answer is, each word within it must rhyme. Ready?

Why we have a specific holiday. = Season’s Reasons.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: BOOKISH HUMOR

Having a fur coat helps, but it's still cold!

Hello Everybody! Autumn the Puppy here!

"Winter is the time for comfort. For good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire. It is time for home." ~ Edith Sitwell

Whether or not you believe in climate change, it is definitely colder outside than it was at this time in past years, so I'm glad I'm nice and safe within my warm doghouse, even if the people I live with consider it their house.
Okay. I guess they have that right. After all, I'm certainly not paying any of the utilities or mortgage. 😉

2B or not 2B. Maybe the address was 3A?

Anyway, while this puppy is staying in, I have to do something, so I've been curling up with a good book.

"Outside of a dog🐶, a book📕 is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." ~ Groucho Marx.

Actually, I've got to wait until after my people go to bed before I can pursue what they've been reading because for some reason, they're afraid I'll chew their books📚 up.
PERISH THE THOUGHT!

Now I've read some good ones. Some really great ones, and there have been a few clunkers that make me scratch my head and wonder how they ever got published in the first place. To wit...

How To Serve Your Fellow Man by Ima Cannibal
I Win by U. Lose
Robots by Anne Droid
Hot Dog by Frank N. Furter
Foot Problems of Big Lumberjacks by Paul Bunion
The Roof Has A Hole by Lee King

Okay. I made those up, but these ARE REAL!
And I'll let you make your own judgement call on THESE.

In any event, have a great week everybody. Stay safe wherever you are, and please be back here again next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!—AtP.
All links were active at the time this article was posted.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: DECEMBER 9, 2017

FUN FACT
Because Thurl Ravenscroft was accidentally unaccredited in the 1966 television special How The Grinch Stole Christmas, the singing of ♫You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch♫ is sometimes attributed to Boris Karloff.

REBUS
Something familiar is represented in the image at right.
Do you know what it is?

THE LETTER SHUFFLE
How many new words can you spell out of the letters in CHRISTMAS?

We’ll reveal all next weekend, but for now, let’s open up THE ANSWERS BOX and discover the results from the December 2, 2017 Puzzle Corner.

TRIVIA TIME
When was the original version of Miracle on 34th Street released?
June 4, 1947; because Darryl F. Zanuck was under the impression even Christmas themed movies did better during the summer months. Either way, 2017 is the classic’s 70th anniversary.

WHAT’S THAT SONG?
The lyric from a famous Christmas carol is below. All you have to do is identify the song. Ready?

♫And mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again!♫

The line is from ♫It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas♫, but one has to wonder how the parents of the past would feel about the over hyped commercialism of today.

BELATED SUNDAY FUNNIES: MIXED BLESSINGS

Hello Everybody. Editor-In-Chief Lee Houston, Junior with you once again, and a day late at that!
For that, we must apologize, but it was not the fault of any member of The Free Choice E-zine.

NOT our old computer system. It just seemed like it.

The issue was that Tech Support (a friend, for most of the staff "works" here on a volunteer basis) had been promising to upgrade the E-zine's software when they got the chance.
We had the files backed up for weeks, but Tech Support was a no show, until yesterday.
The good news?
Everything is running great now, as the TFCE office system is up to the latest and greatest software wise, so there is no risk of our computer ever becoming like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey on us and trying to take over the ship, let alone the universe. 
However, with the unannounced arrival of Tech Support, by the time we were able to get back to using our PC again, it was discovered that what would have been December 8's Sunday Funnies was lost, and it was way too late to contact either of our contributors and ask for a replacement column.
The fact that we were up till 3am overseeing all the updates didn't help.

With that in mind, and considering everything we've been through to get to this point, The Free Choice E-zine would like to run one of our perennial images to illustrate our theme.

This is either a representation of law enforcement on its toes or the ultimate in eternal optimism.
Either way, have a great week folks and please be back here next weekend when the Sunday Funnies returns in all their glory!
Until then.... lh,jr.