Christmas Songs Worthy Of Coal

Not all Christmas songs are equal. That's very important to remember.

Edison Media Research and Pinnacle Media Worldwide found that people still prefer the classics when it comes to their favorite yuletide tunes.

Each survey found "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby, "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole, and "A Holly, Jolly Christmas" by Burl Ives at the top of the list of favorites.

There's nothing like a nice Christmas song on a cold night by the fire. Throw in a hot rum and your sweetheart and what could be better?

Nothing to ruin such a magical moment.

Except for one thing...

The AWFUL Christmas songs.

These surveys reassured me that I am not the only Grinch when it comes to some of the overplayed and annoying variations of songs.

People tend to dislike "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" by Elmo & Patsy and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" by Bruce Springsteen.

The top most hated Christmas song? "Jingle Bells" by those annoying Singing Dogs.

As for MY most hated Christmas song?

"Feliz Navidad" by Jose Feliciano!!

It's endlessly annoying AND bilingual! What a great combination! Let's make Spencer cringe in TWO languages!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish my eggnog before my Sinatra Christmas CD ends.

Is This What Little Girls Are Made Out Of?

Have you ever tried to buy clothes for a little girl? It’s hard to find anything that is halfway decent. Everything is slinky, frilly, or flirty. Sometimes all of the above.

What on earth is our society thinking? What are WE thinking? After all, WE collectively are to blame because SOMEBODY is buying this stuff. Either parents are buying it or the girls are buying it for themselves. I am not sure sometimes which is more reprehensible.

Wal-Mart stores pulled some pink panties marketed to young girls which read on the front “Who needs credit cards…” and on the backside “When you have Santa”.

In other words, every girl needs a Sugar Daddy…even young girls who may not even have reached puberty yet.

Why did they pull them? Because some parents are finally stepping up to the plate and saying ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

This is just a first step. There are still mountains of thong underwear aimed at young grade school girls. Tight belly shirts still abound the malls.

But it’s only because parents have become too permissive. Your daughter wants to go to school looking like a slimy Bratz doll? SURE! Let me buy you matching outfits!

Kudos to the parent who protested these perverted panties. We need more just like them. Armies more.

STOP SEXUALIZING OUR DAUGHTERS!

Take a stand. Put your money where your mouth is. And maybe, just maybe, parents will once again be able to find decent clothes for their daughters.

Be Somebody!! Even If It's Somebody Else!!

Wearing costumes was too good to save for just Halloween when I was a kid. It was not out of the ordinary to find a young Spencer Hughes wearing an old Batman Cooper Costume around San Francisco in the middle of July.

I look back and I think: "How embarrassing!"

But I was a kid!! I didn't have inhibitions yet! Watch a child sometime...they do funny and embarrassing things all the time and they don't care!

One of my favorite comedic characters is Tony Clifton, the alter ego of the late great comedian Andy Kaufman. Clifton is worth doing a "You Tube" search if you are not acquainted with him. Although he may not be for the faint of heart or the thin skinned. You see, Tony always said what was on his mind. He didn't care what ANYBODY thought about him. It was always "their loss" if they didn't understand him.

After years of toying with the idea, I recently decided to go for it. My Sweetie spent a bit of time on e-Bay and ended up ordering me all the components of a Tony Clifton outfit.

I have never had more fun in my life playing harmless pranks on unsuspecting people around me!

You see, when I was a kid and wore that Batman costume...I BECAME the Caped Crusader. And now as an alleged adult, I become Tony when I don the wig, mustache, aviator glasses, and bad, smelly smoking jackets!

This weekend I tricked my own MOTHER! It took her ten minutes to figure out it was her one and only son under the disguise and the attitude.

I find that doing this is very therapeutic to play "Uncle Tony" once in awhile. Even the kids love it. They go from being not too sure to wanting to come up and give him (me) a hug. And sometimes the wig and mustache go missing. Hmmmmmm.

Everybody needs a crazy Uncle Tony. And sometimes...everybody needs to BE a crazy Uncle Tony.

So whip out that spirit gum and fake mustache and go to town.

My in-laws want to treat Uncle Tony to a night on the town. Even if it means being possibly thrown out of the restaurant.

But I will hold back and get as close to the edge without falling off of it.

And I thought hosting a radio show was good therapy!!

So BE somebody! Even if it's somebody else! Even if it's just at a family get together to fool your own parents!

It's more liberating that you can possibly imagine!

Gas Is Good

Gas is good.

No, not that kind of gas. The kind that goes into you car. The kind that keeps the world spinning around.

It makes so many things work. And it is so expensive with no relief in sight.

So why not ask Santa for a fill-up at the tank this Christmas? Heck, it beats another dozen socks or a ceramic frog you have no clue what to do with.

WCVB-TV in Boston reports that more and more people are giving the gift of gas. Wouldn't YOU welcome a gas card as a gift? Heck a few years ago it might have made a nice stocking stuffer. Now with prices seemingly climbing all the time, it makes a nice UNDER THE TREE gift.

I don't think most of us stop and consider what it costs to fill up our cars. That is, if we still FILL UP our cars. It is very rare that we fill the tank completely. Usually we'll put in $40 and cross our fingers that it gets us half a tank.

A boston gas station owner is expecting this year a 30% increase in gas card sales.

So if you're debating one of those 9 million gift cards at the checkout stand...give the gift of gas.

They'll love you for it.

Putting Your Best Foot Forward

The expression "put your best foot forward" always seemed a little odd to me, considering we don't have more than two feet. But I think we all understand the meaning: to jump into any endeavor with enthusiasm and positive mental attitude.

And a person in the news who is doing exactly that is not only someone you have never heard of, it's someone who doesn't really have a best foot to give.

You see, Wang Fang is a waitress in China who was born with her feet facing the wrong way. Imagine looking down at your toes and not seeing them because they were BEHIND you!

Since birth, doctors worried that she would not be able to walk.

Now she is 27 and not willing to do what so many of us would have done long ago in her situation--feel sorry for herself.

Not only does she not fret about her physical disability, she is not even willing to label herself as disabled.

Good for her. She can actually walk as well as others. And according to her family, she can outrun most of them!

So let's get this straight...a woman is born with a physical deformity, learns to deal with this adversity, and ends up turning it into something positive and inspiring!

How many of US would turn away a disability check when the state says we are entitled to one? How many of us don't wake up EVERY DAY feeling down and out about the silliest of things.

"Oh, no! My lipstick broke!"

"Oh, no! My car broke down!"

"Oh, no! I'm not rich enough, good looking enough, smart enough, or special enough to get what I want in life!"

Call the Whambulance, please.

Next time you stub your toe or flunk a test or think there are so many things keeping you from what you want, remember the story of Wang Fang.

And remember that your feet can physically get you places, but it's your heart and soul that do the steering.

More Elusive Than Bigfoot!

Skeptics of Bigfoot, UFOs, and other paranormal phenomenon always like to use the argument: "Where's the photographic proof??"

It's true. Out of the zillions of such eye-witness sightings, few solid and compelling photographs have materialized.

But let me make a point with my own anecdotal example. Sometimes even if you have a camera always handy, you can miss the money shot quite easily.

My Better Half insisted that our baby girl starting smiling several weeks back...when she was barely TWO WEEKS OLD.

Of course, I was skeptical. It just wasn't possible! Babies aren't "supposed" to start smiling till around six weeks, on average.

"It must be gas!" I insisted. Even when some of the kids saw the supposed smile, I couldn't get myself to believe it. I started sounding like Men In Black: "That was a weather balloon you saw, not a UFO."

Well, I have now seen it with my own eyes! And even her doctor was amazed. It is very rare for babies to start smiling THAT young.

Even though between us this is our sixth child, we still run around with a camera around our necks acting like the stereotypical first time parents. We can't take enough pictures of God's little masterpiece.

HUNDREDS of attempts later, STILL no photographic evidence of a smile! She would get stubborn. The camera would get stubborn and freeze up or take forever to snap, always at the worst possible times!

But this morning...it finally happened...something more elusive than Bigfoot!

A picture of our smiling baby girl! I made an idiot out of myself and, as usual, it worked!

And this time, Mom was around to snap the picture. I have included it in this blog. Hope it makes YOU smile, too.

And now if you'll excuse me, there is a gigantic serpent like creature in our swimming pool and the camera just finished charging.

Who's Your Daddy?

A British study finds that one in four children do not consider their own fathers to be "close" family.

More boys surveyed chose a soccer star as their role model over their own fathers.

This is a sad reflection on the culture of fatherhood, British or American.

It has been assumed for a long time that fathers aren't as important to their children and their developments as mothers are. And look at the results. We reap what we sow.

Fathers are often too busy...at work, at play, at SOMETHING. But you are never too busy to be their for your children.

When I first got divorced, my children's peers asked them when they would ever see me. The biggest fear a child can have after a marital split is that they are not going to ever be with one of their parents. Or that the back and forth will diminish time spent with their parents.

It's true ONLY if you make it so. I spend more quality time with my children now than I ever did when I shared the same address with them full time.

Time is what you make of it. I still know some fathers who are NEVER at school plays, sports, or birthday parties. I used to drive 240 miles roundtrip just to spend 2-3 hours with my kids.

Meanwhile, I knew plenty of fathers who LIVED with their kids and didn't ever spend that long of a stretch with their own children. Even in a WHOLE WEEK!

This study is distressing. But it is not shocking. Dads need to stand up and be fathers to their children. And the system needs to be changed so that able and loving fathers ARE allowed to spend more time with their children, even after a divorce.

So work hard and bring home the bacon. But never, ever miss your child's birthday, graduation, or other milestones of life. You may not remember someday that you did.

But your children will never forget.

And they need to consider you close family...because you ARE.

Luckily more and more fathers are making the choice to stay at home as much as they can. It's a great thing to see, and a societal reminder that fathers are just as important as mothers in the emotional, physical, and spiritual well being and upbringing of children.