The sad funk out

My sister in law is disapointed on two fronts now that the "Godfather" is dead. She had two tickets to his concert in Montreal and she'd never seen the man perform.

Soul legend, James Brown, the 'Godfather of Soul' has died at the of age 73.

Brown is credited with bringing funk into mainstream music and influencing a new generation of black music that spawned rap and hip-hop

Brown had been admitted to hospital in Atlanta over the weekend for treatment of severe pneumonia.

He is credited with bringing funk into mainstream music and influencing a new generation of black music that spawned rap and hip-hop.

The singer had more than 119 chart hits in the US and recorded over 50 albums. He was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame and received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in 1992.

Brown also built a successful business empire, including a string of radio stations and his own production company, and owned a fleet of expensive cars and his own plane.

He even played the role of a manic preacher in the hit 1980 movie 'The Blues Brothers.'

He once said: "Soul is all the hard knocks, all the punishment the black man has had, all the unfulfilled dreams that must come true."

He combined his soul-rending music with a theatrical delivery. He also developed a trademark routine in which he would keep coming back on stage after a show and sing a few lines of "Please, Please, Please" with the sweat pouring from his bare-chested body.

It seems odd however that Steve on the left just has to mention an artist and they drop dead. Hey Steve maybe you shouldn't dis Santa alla time. May James finally rest in peace...yaaaaaaggghhh!(sic)
Merry Christmas all

What I would like for Christmas

If anyone is wondering what I might like for Noel, the New Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is not a bad place to start. It can travel from 0 to 60mph in 2.5 seconds, generates 3000 horsepower of which 2/3 is lost to heat leaving 1001 going straight to the wheels propelling the car to a top speed of 253mph (404.8kph)! Lets see Tremblant is about 130km's from my place so barring too much traffic I could be there in 20 minutes or so. That would be practicle insofar that I could sleep in for another hour. Check out more about this great gift idea here

It's just a Christmas tree

I'm getting a bit fed up with all the politically correct nonsense that seems to encroach on seasonal traditions in the so called tolerant west. It seems that liberal society in north america and much of europe has taken the initiative, either individually or through group policies, to make sure that no persons are offended by any religious symbols like Christmas trees or the Merry Christmas greeting. One example was the case in Seattle where a rabbi suggested that he might like to see a menorah alongside the Christmas tree so instead of obliging the recognition of another religious holiday that coincides with Christmas they scrapped the tree. Mark Steyn wrote in the Chicago Sun Times the other day of a skating performance where a school carolling group was asked to stop singing God rest ye merry gentlemen during a routine by olympian Sasha Cohen, suggesting she might be offended because she's Jewish. Wall mart rightfully brought back the Merry Christmas greeting to most of it's stores. Now I'm not religious by any measure, I don't go to Church or synagogue or temple or whatever, but I have a tree (pictured) cause my kids like it and frankly it brightens up an otherwise dark December. If we keep slamming otherwise harmless traditions in the name of political correctness then the terrorists have won.
Merry Christmas mes amis

Mikes favorite haunt

There might even be snow on the ground in time for Santa to join us for some grog.

Yule have a happy happy ho ho.....

Alright, I know it's been ages since I updated this thing and I'm not sure if this is the best way to do it right now. But John Moore of Canadian jurnalistic infamy wrote this really funny article in the paper today that I have decided to share with.....well, whoever.

One of the great phony battles in the concocted North American culture wars has ended in defeat for the dreaded secular forces of evil. On the eve of the holiday shopping season, Wal-Mart announced it would put the Christ back in Christmas, instructing its robotic employees to replace "season's greetings" with "Merry Christmas." The world's largest retailer dealt such a staggering blow to effete, religion-hating liberals that many of us were put off our Ahi tuna and snobby Gewurztraminer (it's the new Riesling!) for hours.

Initially, I thought Wal-Mart's gesture would temper the bluster of media blowhards, for whom the annual approach of the yuletide season has always been like, well, Christmas. But it hasn't. Bill O'Reilly and company have fired up the secular conspiracy machine once again, conflating a half dozen unrelated anecdotal incidents from across the continent into a fantastical full-scale insurgent effort to suppress the birth of Christ.

The irony in all this is that the most significant force in the secularization of the holiday has been that of the free market, something the Cossacks of conservative rage often seem to worship as religiously as they do their God.

Over the years -- largely unprompted -- merchants have stripped Jesus out of their December marketing. They've opted for what sells: Santa Claus, elves, snow and guilt. Meanwhile, it struck some people that Jingle Bell Rock and Frosty the Snowman were suitable alternatives to the awkwardness of compelling seven-year- old Muslims, Hindus, Jews and agnostics to sing nativity songs.

This passive capitulation came as a great relief to liberals who didn't really have the time to wage a concerted battle on Christmas -- as we had our hands full coddling terrorists and destroying the institution of marriage. But Wal- Mart's latest move has convinced me that we cannot blithely stand by while Christ is shoehorned back into Christmas. Indeed the time has come to put

the Yule back in Yuletide. After all, we were here first. It's the Christians who overlaid their holiday like new tile on old hardwood.

Long before the birth of Jesus, December found the Romans celebrating Saturnalia, a winter-solstice festival of candles, feasting, gift-giving and caroling (mummering) with enough booze thrown in to make the average office Christmas party seem somewhat Methodist.

The festivities culminated in an event in which one benighted person was fattened up, run through the streets and then slaughtered to cleanse the population of its sins. Happy Holidays indeed.

Less homicidal celebrations can be found in almost every ancient society. Dec. 25 was the feast day of the Persian sun god Mithras and the Greek deity Attis (who cut off his own genitals -- put that on your holiday card).

Jesus's birth did not coincide with any of these celebrations. Based on Biblical detail, the blessed event can persuasively be said to have taken place in the months of May, April or September. Dec. 25 was pronounced the saviour's birthday by papal fiat in the year 350, in an entirely cynical marketing move by Pope Julius I.