"It's the Thought That Counts"

The holidays are coming up and we are all itching to have  time off to enjoy, what most people say, is their favorite time of the year. Whether you are celebrating Christmas or not, most all of us will be receiving gifts! During this time of year, it's not uncommon to hear the statement "it is the thought that counts."  When you receive a gift, it is important to think about the effort the giver has taken to give you that gift. But to what extent is this statement  true? All of us have been in the situation that you have to tell your mom you "love" the scarf she bought you or thanking your dad for the game cube that's "virtually the same as the Xbox Kinnect".  Do you believe that no matter what the present is, it is the effort that matters? Here's a fun little video! You'll be glad that your gifts aren't nearly as bad as the ones mentioned in this video!

Here are a couple of my favorite holiday videos to enjoy.

I know that you  have worked hard this semester.  I appreciate your work and want to wish you and your families  happy holidays and a great break!  Finally, I want to give a huge shout out to my guest blogger.  Although she wishes to remain anonymous, I hope she knows how much I am grateful for her writing this blog.

All I Want for Christmas (is a funny video)

Imagine being in the British Navy and leaving for a seven week training exercise.  Now try to imagine that it soon turns into a seven month deployment as your  ship is assigned other tasks.  So, maybe you want to record a video to send home to families and friends letting them know you are on your way home.  Navy ships do it all the time.  Would you make it serious or funny, especially with the holidays approaching?  You decide on funny and create one unforgettable video that rapidly goes viral and is seen on most every news service throughout the world. 

Thus you have  this video produced by the HMS Ocean called All I Want for Christmas, set to the Mariah Carey tune of the same name.  Take a look at the video.  Do you think it is funny?  I think I understand British humor and I certainly understand Navy humor, and I think it is!  Very simply,tell us what you think of the video.  If you were a family member of one of this ship's sailors would you be laughing?  Would you have done something different?

The Green Men

I have been asked to repeat one of my most popular blogs from recent years.  Enjoy this one!

Even if you are not a hockey fan, you have just got to love these green guys. Since December 2009 , the pair have become fixtures at Vancouver Canucks hockey games. Known for taunting players on opposing teams, the green men certainly add "color" to the games. Videos of their antics have popped up on YouTube and sports highlight shows. In addition, they have their own web site, and a Facebook page with over 160,000 likes!

We will look at a news article on them and view a couple of videos.
What do you think of them? Are they amusing, nuisances or just plain funny? Do you think there is a place for other green guys in sports besides hockey? Remember to proofread!

Symbols of the Holidays

You see them everywhere. Christmas Trees, Santas, Menorahs, candles, wreaths and lights. Yes, they are the symbols of the Holiday season. But, how much do you really know about them? Where have all the symbols come from and what kind of history do they have?

Here is your assignment: Pick a symbol of the upcoming holiday season and find out about (research) it. Then tell us about the history, origin or other interesting information about your chosen symbol in your posting!

This should be at least 3 sentences long and be proofread. Have fun and I hope you learn something new!

You Are a Mean One Ms. Grinch

Can you believe the audacity (go ahead, look it up if you need to) of some people?  I am not even sure if the Grinch would approve of this.  It seems that a lady in St. Louis has been stealing Christmas trees from a lot run by the Boy Scouts.  Here is the news article complete with video that you just have to see.  Can you believe that she has done this for several years, also?  What do you think of this?   What do you think the punishment should be, if she is caught?   Do you think she will ever return the trees or at least the value of those that she took.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

We are all familiar with the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas." If you were to purchase all the gifts mentioned in the song, how much would it cost? Do you wonder how many total gifts that would be. For example is it only 1 partridge in a pear tree or 12 of them?


So your assignment for today's blog is simple. How many total presents  will you need to purchase? How much will it all cost you? Of the twelve  presents purchased, which one is your favorite and why? You will need to do some web searching and a calculator is probably a good idea. Remember to proofread!

On a more serious note, some of you seem to think that posting is optional. It is not. Proper posting is required. You can not earn your full daily class grade if you do not post, or if your post is not up to standards. So make it simple and do it.