Tag Archives: The Sing Off

17 Days of Christmas 2011: White House Christmas

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Can you believe it? Seventeen days left? I finally updated my Amazon.com wish list and ordered some gifts. Decorating? Well, maybe later. We’ll see.

One of my personal guilty pleasures is watching the HGTV White House Christmas special every year. I used to make my students watch it, thinking they actually cared about the history and beauty of the White House. Mostly, I got comments ranging from “what a waste of money” to “the White House is a public building and shouldn’t be decorated for Christmas, which is a religious holiday.” There is a certain amount of truth in both of those statements, but for me, watching the White House transformed for the holidays is a very special treat. The year, the special is airing on HGTV on December 11; set your recording devices NOW so you don’t forget.

Image via shelterpop.com

Aren’t they gorgeous? In 1961, Jackie Kennedy began the current tradition of decorating the White House Christmas tree with a specific theme. First ladies since the divine Jackie have put their personal spin on the tree decorations, but most have included handmade ornaments by artists around the United States. First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2011 theme is “Shine, Give, Share.” You’ll see all this on the White House Christmas special, but this photo essay from the Daily Mail has many beautiful pictures of the White House decorated for the holidays.

You’re probably not up for creating a 400-pound marzipan White House replica, but you can cook White House style with this cookbook.

You can buy this 1899 edition of the White House Cookbook through my favorite catalog or from Amazon.com, but you might want to consider the centennial commemorative cookbook which was published in 1996. The 1896 recipes have been lightened up and made more appropriate for modern tastes.

My post from last year at 17 Days was about the Sing-Off which was still a December phenomenon then. It was a lot of fun to watch this year’s version again with my UR buddies; sadly our hometown guys, The Yellowjackets, didn’t win. As you can see from their web site, national exposure has made them stars. We’re pretty proud of our UR singers, including my daughter’s college a capella group, Vocal Point.

17 Days of Christmas

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Really? How can Christmas be coming so soon? Somehow seventeen seems closer than eighteen did — more than one day sooner. Thanks to all of you who are following the countdown; my readership has soared exponentially. Twenty is exponentially more than three, right?

One of my December guilty pleasures in the past two years has been The Sing-Off on NBC. Not only do we have Ohio’s own Nick Lachay (a graduate of Cincinnati’s Walnut Hills High School) as host, but I am privileged to be allowed to participate in the University of Rochester’s a cappella alumni chat room during the television broadcasts.  It’s fun to be snarky with people who have been performers and know what these contestants are going through. It’s also fun to laugh at the judges’ comments, although Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman have some respectable musical chops. I’m not so sure about Nicole Scherzinger. She looks pretty, though.

If you missed it, you can download the episodes online. Here’s episode one, where all the groups were introduced. I was hopeful for Eleventh Hour, high school kids from Kettering, Ohio, but they didn’t have the chops to compete with adults. Whoops, I gave you a spoiler. Sorry. One of the groups has a young woman who graduated from the middle school where I teach.  The Backbeats is a “supergroup” from southern California. Rachel is the one who’s turned sideways in the promotional photo. Awkward.

I hope you take some time to watch The Sing Off. These are real people, actually competing to win something that is meaningful to them — some money and a recording contract.That’s what I love about music — it’s the level plane in the world. If you’ve got it, people will recognize it.

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