…after getting shot in the tabloids on Christmas Eve.
Now it’s Christmastime
Bethlehem Steel Plant
In December, the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, hosts the Christkindlmarkt, a large outdoor craft fair. More interesting are the rusting structures at the former Bethlehem Steel Plant, where the market is located. After the company went bankrupt around the turn of the century, the factory complex was transformed, and is now home to a casino, the SteelStacks arts and culture center, a museum, and more.
These photos were taken from the Hoover-Mason Trestle, an elevated walkway that runs alongside the furnaces and other industrial buildings.
My 1972 Adult Christmas List, from the Sears Wishbook
The Ancient Greek Inspiration for the Legendary Leg Lamp?
Does the Royal Ontario Museum have the real inspiration for the Leg Lamp from the classic movie A Christmas Story?
The lamp in the movie was allegedly inspired by a Nehi soda advertisement, but the original source must be this Archaic Greek leg vase, on view at the Toronto museum.
For the more recent history of the leg lamp, see A Christmas Story House.
Yes, I post this every December.
It’s Still Not Christmas Time Until Darlene Love Sings
Her 1995 performance of Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) on Late Night with David Letterman.
Everybody Knows It’s Not Christmas Until Darlene Love Sings
It’s Not Christmas Time Until Darlene Love Sings
Darlene Love’s first appearance on Late Night in 1986, singing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). With a bonus Spuds MacKenzie commercial afterwards!
The Ancient Greek Inspiration for the Leg Lamp in A Christmas Story
The famous leg lamp from the classic film A Christmas Story was created by the movie’s production designer, Reuben Freed. But how could it not have been inspired by this Archaic Greek leg vase, created in the early sixth century B.C. and on display in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto?
Rock and Roll Christmas Songs
Here’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s list of 20 “essential” rock and roll holiday songs. The somewhat random list includes Brenda Lee (no, not that song), Elvis (of course), Ray Stevens (what?), Louis Armstrong (a rock and roller?) and more. Listen to all of them here.