THE PUZZLE CORNER: DECEMBER 20, 2014

FUN FACT
Despite the fact that most businesses already close on December 25th, Christmas didn't officially become a Federal holiday in the United States until June 1970!

TRIVIA TIME
If you've been following The Puzzle Corner this holiday season, you know there are 4 animated specials that have been continuously shown on TV annually since their debut.
Besides listing what the 4 are, can you also name the year each one debuted?

FAMOUS FIRSTS
Although it unfortunately hasn't gained the renown of the quartet above, there is one animated TV special that debuted before all the others. Do you know when and what it is?

We'll reveal all next weekend.
Now, let's open the festive holiday ANSWERS BOX and discover the results from the December 13th, 2014 Puzzle Corner.

TRIVIA TIME
What does "Mele Kalikimaha" mean in English?
That is the closest Hawaiian translation for Merry Christmas, as first sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters in 1950.

Video courtesy of YouTube.

REBUS
We've decorated The Puzzle Corner Christmas Tree for the season, but something is missing. Or is it?

There is No L for Noel.


We'll be back next weekend. In the meantime, keep your wits sharp and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

HAPPY HANUKKAH 2014

To those within our vast readership who will be lighting

the Menorah as part of the annual Festival of Light

HAPPY HANUKKAH

from The Free Choice E-zine

SUNDAY FUNNIES: JOKING AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Getting into the holiday

Hello Everybody! Waxy Dragon here, getting ready for Christmas. I've a lot to do as I put up and decorate my tree. Should I go with the traditional Draconian ornaments or just drape the limbs with empty Belgosian Dark Chocolate wrappers? Decisions, decisions...
Anyway, while I work and listen to some Christmas Carols to get me in the holiday mood. First, let me put on I Wanna Hippopotamus For Christmas by Gayla Peevey.
Now then, on to the jokes.

I Wanna Hippopotamus For Christmas?

Who is Santa Claus' wife?
MARY Christmas Claus.
What? You've never heard Santa call for her before. Geez, have you been living in a cave like some of my dragon friends or what?

If they did a survey in the Arctic, would it be a North Poll?

More funny Christmas songs!

Hmm... I don't want to use Great-Grandma Dragon's lights, because they're just a bunch of colored candles. But where did I put that box of ornaments? Anyway, time to change the record to one of my all time favorite Christmas albums.

What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
Frostbite.









Why does Santa like to go down the chimney?
Because it soots him.

What do elves do after school?
Their gnome work.

What is a parent's favorite Christmas carol?
Silent Night.

What is Tarzan's favorite Christmas carol?
Jungle Bells.

Time to get a little serious with the mood music.

OOPS! Time to change records again.

What do snowmen eat for breakfast?
Frosted Flakes.

What do reindeer always say before telling a joke?
"This one will sleigh you!"

Why does Autumn the Puppy hang up her Christmas stocking?
Because she's waiting for Santa Paws.

(Depending upon where you live...)
Why is it so cold on Christmas?
Because it's Decembrrrrrr.....

What do reindeer have that no other animal does?
Baby reindeer!

Waxy's tree

OKAY! ALL DONE! WANNA SEE IT?
TA-DAH!
Now, there's so much more to do like hanging up my stocking, making sure the place is clean, etc.; etc.; etc....

It's those et ceteras that will get you every time!
Okay, so while I try to decide between Alvin and the Chipmunks or Bing Crosby for my next album to play before I get back to work, have a great week everyone and please be back here next weekend for more Sunday Funnies!--wd.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: DECEMBER 7-13, 2014

TODAY IS SAINT LUCY'S DAY IN ITALY AND SCANDINAVIA.

THE GEMINIDS METEOR SHOWER REACHES ITS PEAK THIS WEEKEND.

HANUKKAH BEGINS AT SUNSET DECEMBER 16th.

AMONGST EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD THIS PAST WEEK....
*Hong Kong authorities are cracking down on protesters who are calling for better campaign reforms and voting rights in the Chinese government ruled country.
*Time magazine has named The Ebola Fighters their 2014 Person(s) of the Year.
*Workers in 50 Italian cities paused to protest impending new labor laws.
*Microsoft will preview the consumer version of Windows 10 on January 21, 2015.
*Merck has agreed to buy Cubist Pharmaceuticals for $9.5 BILLION U.S. Dollars.
*The last American operated detention center has been closed in Afghanistan.
*Suicide bombings still continue in the Middle East as the death toll from jihadist attacks was over 5000 victims in November 2014!
*A late report claims that Atiqullah Rawoofi of Afghanistan's Supreme Court has been assassinated.
*Today, December 13, 2014; is the last sequential date (12-13-14) to be found in this century!

WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...

POLITICALLY...
*The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has released a report condemning the George W. Bush Administration's interrogation policies post 9-11, 2001. Fearing possible retaliation, America has put all its foreign embassies on high alert.
*Congress is allegedly close to a 2015 budget/spending bill that may get passed and await Presidential approval before they go on their Winter Holiday break next week, thus possibly preventing a government shutdown threat.
*The Obama Administration has released new guidelines on racial profiling, to update and replace the ones that have been in effect since 2003.
ELSEWHERE...
*The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that any employees are NOT eligible to be paid for the time necessary to go through a work related security screening.
*Protests over the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner continue across the country.
*The last American operated detention center has been closed in Afghanistan.
*Sony Pictures is reportedly still having computer problems following a severe hacker attack recently.
*The oldest (known) time capsule has been unearthed at the Massachusetts State House. It was originally buried in the building's cornerstone by Samuel Adams in 1795.
*Bill Cosby has broken his silence in a recent New York Post interview, sort of; only saying that his wife is standing by him, as he now faces civil lawsuits stemming from recent allegations against him.
*Ken Weatherwax, who originated the role of Pugsley Addams on TV's The Addams Family, has taken his last bow on life's stage.
*Mary Ann Mobley, former Miss America (1959) and actress, is no longer with us.

For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.

THE PUZZLE CORNER: DECEMBER 13, 2014

FUN FACT
Until technological improvements cut down the necessary lead time, new Christmas songs and albums were usually written and recorded over the summer for a seasonal release.

TRIVIA TIME
What does "Mele Kalikimaha" mean in English?

REBUS
We're decorating the Puzzle Corner Christmas tree here in The Free Choice E-zine offices, but something is off. Or is it?

We'll reveal all next weekend.
But for now, let's open up THE ANSWERS BOX and reveal the results from the December 6, 2014 Puzzle Corner and our special quiz celebrating the milestones of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer.

01. When did Rudolph first appear, making 2014 a major anniversary milestone? In 1939, making 2014 the
75th anniversary of the character!

Early book cover

02. Although he has far outlasted the business, what retailer was Rudolph originally created for, and by whom? Robert L. May for Montgomery Ward. Legend has it the retailer was tired of giving out other company's coloring books as presents to customers' children and wanted a character of their own.
03. The classic song came AFTER the event covered in questions 1 and 2, but BEFORE the TV special. When was it written, allowing Rudolph to celebrate yet another milestone anniversary this year? 1949, making 2014 the tune's 65th anniversary!
04. Who wrote the Rudolph song, and who was the very first artist to record it?
Gene Autry first recorded the Johnny Marks song. Allegedly, Autry was one song short of completing his Christmas album, and his wife kept lobbying for "the baby reindeer song" to be included. Whether or not that's true, the rest is history.

Ad for Rudolph's debut

05. When did the TV special first air, making

2014 DVD cover

2014 yet another major anniversary for Rudolph?
On December 6, 1964, making 2014 Rudolph's 50th anniversary!
06. Everyone knows what network Rudolph has aired on since the early 1970s (here in the United States), but who originally debuted the special?
The NBC Television network, where it aired from 1964-1971. CBS has had it ever since. And as reported in last week's FUN FACT, Rudolph, A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Frosty the Snowman are the only animated Christmas specials to air annually since their debut.
07. Who are Rudolph's parents?
Mr. and Mrs. Donner, according to the TV special.
08. True or False: Sam the Snowman and Rudolph meet during the course of
the TV special.
FALSE! Their only meeting is staged on the CD cover to the show's soundtrack.
09. When shown with one, what is Sam the Snowman's musical instrument of choice? A banjo.
10. Besides the obvious edition of more commercials over the years, how has every showing of Rudolph on TV differed from the very first one?
The audience flooded NBC with protests that at the end of the special, Santa didn't keep his promise to collect the toys on Misfit Island and find them new homes. To correct the mistake, a new ending was created that has aired every year since 1965, but to make room, some dialogue and song reprises had to be cut. Most of those have returned over the years to some extent, but Yukon Cornelius' final scene of discovering a Peppermint Mine (instead of Silver and/or Gold) near Santa's Workshop and being set for life has NEVER aired on TV since 1964!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer images courtesy of Wikipedia's Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and company (c) whoever owns them now, since Montgomery Ward has been out of business since 2000.

SUNDAY FUNNIES: CELEBRITY CHRISTMAS CITINGS (Celebrity Christmas Quotes)

Hello Everybody! Autumn the Puppy here with our monthly look into the comings and goings of other people.
In other words, it's Celebrity Quote Time, and this month, the theme is naturally Christmas.
Let's see who has what to say on the subject, with my commentary afterward.

Coolidge, circa 1919

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real Christmas spirit."
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
I couldn't agree more. The mood should last year round toward all living creatures, with less commercialism.

Hope, circa 1978

"If you haven't got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble."
Legendary comedian Bob Hope

Not Ellen DeGeneres

Sad, but true.

"Nothing says holidays like a cheese log."
Ellen DeGeneres
At least it isn't a fruit cake!

"One Christmas I wanted an electric train set but got a saxophone instead."

Clemons, circa 2009

Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
Yeah, and we all know how that 'mistake' turned out.

"The two things women don't want to find in their stockings at Christmas are runs and their husbands."

Rivers, circa 2009

Comedian Joan Rivers
I've never had any reason to wear stockings, but I'll take your word for it.



Folks, there are many reasons to celebrate this month.
Family, friends.
Whatever your faith, I hope you and yours have the best time together you possibly can, even if some of your kin can't make it home to celebrate, just remember them in your heart and they'll always be there.
Until next time. Have a great week.--AtP.

Celebrity images courtesy of Wikipedia via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License. Anti-fruitcake picture courtesy of Google.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 6, 2014

FINLAND CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE DAY TODAY.
DECEMBER 10th IS INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY.

AMONGST EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD THIS PAST WEEK...

*In the holiday spirit, South Korea plans to erect a large Christmas tree near the North Korean border.
*Pro-democracy demonstrations are still going strong in Hong Kong, despite increasing resistance from authorities there.
*The current Ebola Virus outbreak has sadly now claimed over 7,000 victims.
*Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has ordered a new general election for March 2015, after parliament rejected his budget proposal.
*President Tabaré Vázquez has been re-elected in Uruguay.
*Donald Tusk is the new President of the European Union.
*Terrorist activities continue in portions of the Middle East.

BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE UKRAINE...

*Pro-European Union candidates have won a majority in Moldova's 2014 general election.

*While no new fighting has been reported, pro-Russian separatist still hold Donetsk.




WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
POLITICALLY...
*House of Representatives leader John Boehner has vowed to overturn President Barack Obama's Executive Action on Immigration while threatening impeachment proceedings for superseding Congress on the matter.
*New rumors of a possible government shutdown in the early months of 2015, after the Republican majority has taken over Congress, have started.
*Since it is cold and flu season, President Obama made a precautionary visit to his doctor to check out a sore throat Saturday, December 6th.
ELSEWHERE...
*As citizens in New York City are up in arms after no police officers were charged in the death of Eric Garner, who was choked to death during an impending arrest, the witness who recorded the incident has been arrested!
*Meanwhile, a white police officer in Chicago accused of killing a black woman while off duty WILL be facing a trial on criminal charges.
*Bill Cosby's attorneys are strangely silent after a woman has come forward accusing the actor/comedian of molesting her when she was 15. Perhaps because there is no statute of limitations on crimes against minors? Meanwhile, his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame had to be repaired after someone defaced it in support of all the women who have leveled accusations against him.
*The FBI is investigating what is reported to be a "massive" hacking attack against Sony Studios.
*NASA's new Orion spacecraft has had a successful, but unmanned, maiden voyage. The vehicle is expected to someday travel to Mars.
*Famed saxophonist Bobby Keys has passed away.
*Songwriter Bob Montgomery (Heartbeat, Misty Blue) has left us.
*Nintendo is promising new games in the Legend of Zelda and Starfox franchises for 2015.
*Chris Martin has hinted that Coldplay's 2015 release might be their last album.




Thanks to its loyal readership, The Free Choice E-zine closed November 2014 with 3,963 page views.




For more news at any time, either scroll down to our IN OTHER NEWS feature at the bottom of your screen or visit any other reputable news source.