The Great Christmas Light Fight

Comprehensive Review

Carter Oosterhouse and Taniya Nayak are the hosts of the show, which is good, because they are both attractive, enthusiastic, and kind to the "light fighters."

Carter visits 4 places and picks his favorite light display, and Taniya goes to 4 light displays and chooses her favorite. The winners get 50,000 pazoozas and a stupid looking trophy, shaped like a Christmas light bulb, which all of the winners seem to cherish more than the 50,000 smackers! Go figure.

If you have not seen these unbelievable Christmas light displays, you NEED to watch this show to comprehend the vastness, enormity, colorfulness, sometimes lights syncopated to music, and total obsessive behavior these whole families and friends  of "light fighters" , umm...display!!

Millions of colorful lights, hand made wooden characters, giant candy canes, castles, little trains, and lots of "blow molds!" I never knew what a "blow mold" was until I watched this show!! 

Examples of blow molds.

Okay, I've seen "blow molds" all my life, but did not know they were called "blow molds." 

Beware! There is LOTS of hugging on this show! I think it's because Carter and Taniya are so cute! It seems like the old men will find ANY excuse to hug Taniya, and the old women enjoy hugging Carter...a LOT!! Most of you would not even notice, but since I'm not a big hugger, it kinda invades my virtual space, vicariously. Did that make sense? It didn't to me either! 

My hugs usually turn out like Ted's hug, above. 

I really enjoy the fast moving, computerized, set to music, dazzling displays, but I prefer a mix of old characters, new tech stuff, along with Jesus in the manger, and that Toyland feel that some "light fighters" create magnificently!!

Here are a few examples of what you will see on "The Great Christmas Light Fight"...

I give this show 4 Christmas stars...

Tell us what you think!

Disclaimer: Bloggadocious 222 does not receive any compensation from the ABC Network, The Great Christmas Light Fight program, or ANYONE! It would be nice if "THEY" sent me a few bucks, but that ain't ever gonna happen in my lifetime! On the other hand, monetary assistance would only tend to steer my favorable comments toward the entities providing the moolah, and that wouldn't be fair to the cheapskates who refuse to grease my palm. Have a super day! 

Long Tom...No Blog!

Disclaimer: Any use of the name, Tom, as a substitute for time, is purely coincidental. It is an uncanny, mysterious transformation that also occurs with the word world/worm and a few other worms, I mean, words. Pay no attention to the words behind the curtain! I am the GREAT, All-POWERFUL OZ!!!

In all transparency mode, I did not purposely take a break from my blog over the Thanksgiving vacation. I'm on a continuous vacation, so what does it matter? 

It just seemed like little things got in the way, and threw me off my regular routine. 

I know what you're thinking... "How could you leave us blogless for so many endless days, suffering, and thirsting for distorted truth and dysfunctional humor?!!"

I OFFICIALLY apologize to all of you Bloggadocious 222 believers, and will try and make it up to you in future blog postings! Remember, forgiveness goes a long way, when it comes to forgiving ME! As for everybody else, I'll need to decide that later.

On the other hand, ANY and ALL of you Bloggadocious 222 readers, who have faithfully clicked on this ridiculous blog over the years, are absolved of any misdeeds of your misspent youth, or even misdeeds of last week, because you've received enough mental torment from reading my dumb drivel to take away any punitive punishment you deserve from said, past misdeeds!

Just kidding! Only God can absolve your misdeeds, but it sounded good for a second, right? Right?

You didn't believe me, anyway? That figgers!! 

So, how was your Thanksgiving (for U.S. readers)? Did you give the dog turkey? Some say that's a big no no. Others say it's okay.

Fluffy (my childhood dog) ate all the stuff dogs aren't supposed to eat nowadays. Turkey, turkey bones, chicken bones (although they DID make him cough a bit), potato chips, chocolate, ANYTHING we kids dropped on the floor, he ate! 

Did it kill him, or make him sick? Heck no! Dogs weren't sissies back then! Since he roamed the town on the "free range" system, he would eat all kinds of contaminated stuff he would find in garbage cans, dead on the sidewalks, in backyards...then come back home to eat half a can of Strongheart dog food, which may have been worse than the scavenged food! 

Not saying Strongheart was bad, but it smelled bad and looked gross. 

Don't get me wrong. I'm not recommending giving our pets food that will hurt them, or letting them run free in the neighborhood. I'm just wondering why all the dogs didn't drop dead back then! If my memory serves me well (which it don't), dogs lived to be 10 to 16 years old, 60 years ago, about the same as today. 

Anyway, I got my train off track again! I was trying to tell you why I have missed my blogging deadline these past few days, but I think you're just happy I'm back, RIGHT?  Right? Anyone?

We Just Can't Let Things Be, Can We?

How often I've made the mistake of messing with stuff that didn't need messed with, thereby creating a mess that did not need to be created in the first place!

This is not me as a two year old baby.

Example: The screw is in the screw hole just fine, but I think it needs one more turn to REALLY secure it firmly, right? What happens? I strip out the hole, and cause myself BIGGER problems! 

Example 2: I'm blowing up a really cool, expensive,  balloon for the grandkids, that came directly from Disney World. It looks super cool, but just one more blow will make it perfect, right? Well, you know what happens.

Whom ever has had a similar situation, please stand up. Okay, you may all be seated now, if you wish.

It's that thing about "going from the frying pan into the fire," or "the grass being greener on the other side," or "don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got "till it's gone..."

Remember the teacher who you thought was so horrible, until you had old Miss (insert name here) the next year! 

Keep this in mind, when we are so eager to remove friends, family members, situations, bosses, jobs, cars, pets, Presidents, houses and horses from our lives, it's highly possible we will experience even worse stuff than before!! 

Conversely, changing situations, bosses, cars, Presidents (through valid elections), jobs, "friends" and houses can be of benefit, but leave us not do it in haste!! 

"Act in haste, repent at leisure."

How many times have we done something in haste, and later on down the road wished we had thought about it more carefully, because it didn't go too well?

Of course, who am I to suggest you do this or that? I can't even stop screwing a screw until I strip out the hole, or blowing up the baloon until...

The Sands Of Tom Keep Shifting Up And Down Like A Rolly Coaster

Happy Days Are Here Again, the skies above are clear again, let us sing a song of cheer again, Happy Days Are Here Again!! 

When the above song came out in circa 1929, twas right before the Great Depression, and little did they know the economic hardships that would follow until the WW II years were over. 

Why am I sharing this depressing news on a miserable Monday morning, making it more miserable than les miserables?

                                                Talk about miserable.

It's to illustrate how times are always a-changin'!

                                     Performed by Robert Zimmerman

Life is a giant rolly coaster, one day you're down, the next day you're up, one year you're doin' fine, the next year you're in the gutter, for two decades you're hungry, homeless and wretched, the next two decades you're living in the lap of luxury, on your yot yaat yaht... I never could spell yacht!

So..two things! If you are on top of the world at this moment in tom...feeling wonderful...happy...successful...it WILL all go downhill in the twinkling of an eye.

On the other hand, if you are at your rock bottom low ...no money... no friends...♪♪ nobody knows the trouble you've seen...♪♪...eventually you'll be ridin' high with the 1%, and won't know what hit ya!!! 

That's just the way it tis! 

Does anyone get my point? Raise your hand if you do. Let's see...one...oh, you were just stretching? Okay...ONE...sorry...yes, I see the crack on the ceiling. Anyone? ANYONE!! 

Where'd everybody go? 

ANYWAY, my point is not to lose hope when your situation seems hopeless, AND don't become cocky and arrogant when you're doing well!

Your whole wide worm can change at any tom, when you least expect it!

However, it may take a decade or two for your situation to change, but it WILL definitely change, according to my exhaustive calculations and ciphering! So keep the faith, man/girl!! 

Look at me. I should have hit the  'big tom",                      3 decades ago, and have I given up? Ha! NO WAY!!! 

I'm too dense!! And proud OF it!!! 

Disclaimeer: Any use of the words tom and worm are most generally for comedic purposes, or to irritate the nitpicky grammar police. We are not responsible for dense folks who may take my misuse of worms seriously. 

Why Is November So Winter..Wintry?

At 69 years of oldness I cannot remember a November so winter! Snow? Icy roads? Cold, bitter temps? What's with this November?!!

My ideal November.

I know that many of you dear readers don't have the same climate as me in central Illinois, U.S. of A., but I'm sure you feel my pain, right?

Well, even if you don't, I'll still whine about it, to release my frustration and stress.

I've always looked forward to the cool, mellow, colorful, crisp, hot chocolate feelings of November. 

A November of joyfully raking leaves, jumping in a pile of leaves, watching the dog or cat jump in a pile of leaves, raking them again, stuffing them in paper bags, dragging them to the curb, noticing that you've bagged up the dog and cat, releasing them, raking again, putting those leaves in new paper bags, dragging them to the curb, again, finding the bags torn up by the mean  naughty neighborhood kids the next morning, raking again...you get the point.

All the fun stuff I usually experience in November has been dampened by freezing rain, billions of snowflakes (not talking about college students), below zero wind chills, and icy, slippery, treacherous (especially for a teetering old dude like me) walking conditions, that could make me fall and break my tussie! 

I think you all know what it means for an almost septuagenarian to break his tussie, correct?

Let's just say, It ain't pretty, or painless when your tussie is cattywampus!!

Now, if the world is all bass akwards, as we all know it is, Christmas will be a balmy...
balm·y

/ˈbä(l)mē/

Learn to pronounce

adjective

1. 1.

   (of the weather) pleasantly warm.

 72 degrees, no snow, flowers will be blooming, and kids will be crying for a White Christmas.

In spite of everything I've opined about...

o·pine

/ōˈpīn/

Learn to pronounce

verb

FORMAL

past tense: opined; past participle: opined

1. hold and state as one's opinion.

   "“The man is a genius,” he opined

the important thing is to ignore the physical realm of external forces, like the weather, body aches and pains, squirrels in the attic, tight fitting clothes, the heartbreak of psoriasis...and do the old switcheroo, to spiritual, outer body, transmeditational, oddball thinking, that will allow you to be FREE! Even if "THEY" come and take you away to Happy Valley Sanitarium, you'll be free inside your own Kingdom of Me, Myself and I.