Category: Dan’s Stuff

Punxsutawney Phil predicts 6 more weeks of winter
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. ñ The groundhog has spoken. And it’s bad news.
Punxsutawney Phil has emerged to see his shadow before chilly revelers in Pennsylvania, meaning winter will last another six weeks.
German tradition holds that if a hibernating animal sees its shadow on Feb. 2 ó the Christian holiday of Candlemas ó winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says spring will come early.
The Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club annually announces Phil’s forecast at dawn on Gobbler’s Knob, about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Phil’s announcement came before hundreds of onlookers who huddled as temperatures hovered in the teens.
The Groundhog Club says since 1887 Phil has predicted more winter weather by seeing his shadow nearly 100 times, but there are no records for nine years.

Happy New Year from all of us here at www.anythingbut.com!!
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
To celebrate, here are Five Great Performances of Auld Lang Syne!!

Marshmallow ‘moon’ marks NASA anniversary
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. ñ NASA is celebrating the 40th anniversary of man’s first steps on the lunar surface with a giant moon pie.
The concoction of marshmallow squeezed between two round graham crackers and dipped in chocolate is normally made in a hand-sized portion.
NASA’s oversized treat will be available a slice at a time to visitors Monday to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral
The anniversary moon pie is 40 inches in diameter, six inches high and weighs 55 pounds. That includes six pounds of chocolate and 14 pounds of marshmallow.

Twas the Night before Christmas Poem
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ëkerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winterís nap.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
“Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.
His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ëere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”
Twas the night before Christmas Poem also called ìA Visit from St. Nicholas”
Clement Clarke Moore (1779 – 1863) wrote the poem Twas the night before Christmas also called ìA Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1822. It is now the tradition in many American families to read the poem every Christmas Eve. The poem Twas the night before Christmas has redefined our image of Christmas and Santa Claus. Prior to the creation of the story of Twas the night before Christmas St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, had never been associated with a sleigh or reindeers! The author of the poem Twas the night before Christmas was a reticent man and it is believed that a family friend, Miss H. Butler, sent a copy of the poem to the New York Sentinel who published the poem. The condition of publication was that the author of Twas the night before Christmas was to remain anonymous. The first publication date was 23rd December 1823 and it was an immediate success. It was not until 1844 that Clement Clarke Moore claimed ownership when the work was included in a book of his poetry. Clement Clarke Moore came from a prominent family and his father Benjamin Moore was the Bishop of New York who was famous for officiating at the inauguration of George Washington. The tradition of reading Twas the night before Christmas poem on Christmas Eve is now a Worldwide institution.

Well, there we go! That is the end of 2007!!
Thanks for your visits to our site this year, and here’s to a great 2008!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Dan & Dave
anythingbut.com

Billy Crystal brings ‘700 Sundays’ to Toronto
Billy Crystal is bringing his bittersweet autobiographical one-man show to Toronto next month.
700 Sundays will play at the Canon Theatre from Sept. 28 to Oct. 9, Mirvish Productions announced Thursday. Tickets are only available to subscribers.
The show has been a huge hit on Broadway, where it closed June 12. It outsold many other Broadway plays last year, and set a sales record for a solo show. It also won a Tony Award for best theatrical event.
The title refers to the number of Sundays Crystal figures he got to spend with his hard-working father, Jack Crystal. He died when Billy Crystal was 15.
“The best work I’ve ever done in my life has been 700 Sundays,” he said at the Tony Award ceremony in June. “It’s reconnected me with myself and reminded me of what I do best, which is performing in front of people.”
Crystal is perhaps best known for hosting the Academy Awards, which he has done eight times. A former Saturday Night Live cast member, he has also had roles in movies like When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers.

Gumby Making Comeback on 50th Anniversary
SAN FRANCISCO – Five decades after Gumby first captured the nation’s imagination, the little green guy and his chums are starring in a new art exhibit √≥ the first in a series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the television icon’s creation and launch his comeback.
“Gumby and Friends: The First 50 Years” attracted fans of all ages at Saturday’s opening at the historic Lynn House Gallery in Antioch, about 45 miles northeast of San Francisco. Creator Art Clokey, now 83, signed Gumby figurines at the two-story exhibit, which featured photographs, toys and other memorabilia.
“Gumby is an icon,” said Diane Gibson-Gray, 49, executive director of the Arts and Cultural Foundation of Antioch, which is sponsoring the monthlong exhibit. “He’s a cultural icon that many of us grew up with. And there’s another wave coming. There’s a whole new generation that’s going to embrace and love Gumby as much as I did.”
The Antioch exhibit is the first event planned this year to commemorate the 50 years since Clokey made a short art film called “Gumbasia,” featuring clay animation set to jazz music, that inspired the beloved television series that debuted a year later in 1956.
Over the next four decades, Clokey, along with his first wife and later his second wife, produced 223 episodes chronicling the adventures of wide-eyed Gumby, horse Pokey and other pals as they traveled to the moon, the Wild West and Toyland.
In mid-June, the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City will open a six-month exhibit about Gumby and creator Clokey. Later that month, Clokey’s family will celebrate Gumby’s 50 years at a birthday extravaganza in San Francisco, said Joe Clokey, 43, who now runs the family’s Gumby business, Premavision/Clokey Productions.
The first Gumby video game and a DVD of Gumby shows from the 1980s are scheduled for release this summer. And the family hopes a documentary film about Art Clokey’s life will be broadcast on television.
Joe Clokey, who owns a company that produces educational videos, said his father asked him to take over the Gumby business six years ago and bring the gingerbread-shaped hero back to children.
“My dad wanted Gumby back on TV,” said Joe Clokey, who lives just outside San Luis Obispo near his father. “He did Gumby because he loves children. He wants children to have something of value on TV.”
The Gumby story can be traced back to the creator’s troubled childhood, his son said. After Art Clokey’s father died when he was 10 years old, he moved from Michigan to California to live with his mother. But his new stepfather did not want anything to do with him, and his mother agreed to send Clokey to an orphanage.
“It was really hard for my dad psychologically,” said Joe Clokey. “That’s one of the reasons why he stayed an 11-year-old boy for so many years.”
Happily, Art Clokey was adopted by a well-known musician, Joseph Clokey, who encouraged Art’s creativity and artistic interests. After college, he joined a seminary to become an Episcopalian priest, but soon met his first wife, Ruth.
The couple decided to move to Southern California to join the film business. Besides Gumby, they also created the clay animation series “Davey and Goliath.”
Animators who worked on the Gumby series have gone on to work for Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks and director Tim Burton. Joe Clokey said animators are developing new episodes of Gumby as well as a new movie.
“The goal has always been about what’s good for kids and what’s fun for kids,” Clokey said. “If you’ve got a heart, then Gumby’s a part of you. That’s what it’s all about.”

Two Newfies go camping and pack a cooler with sandwiches and beer. After three days of walking, they arrive at a great spot but realize they’ve forgotten a bottle opener.
The first Newfie turns to the second and says, “You’ve gotta go back and get the opener or else we have no beer.” †
“No way,” says the second. “By the time I get back, you will have eaten all the food.” †
“I promise I won’t,” says the Newfie. “Just hurry!”
Nine full days pass and there’s still no sign of the second Newfie. †Exasperated and starving, the first Newfie digs into the sandwiches. †Suddenly, the second Newfie pops out from behind a rock and yells, “I knew it! I’m not freaking going!”