Has Christmas Lost it's Meaning?

Hey there.  You know, earlier today, I got to thinking about what my young one wants for Christmas.  She said she wanted this Strawberry Shortcake Cafe set type thing.  I've never heard of it, but I figured, with the power of Google, I'd be able to figure it out and BAM!  There it is, in all it's glory.  The problem?  It's sold out at Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us... So I decided that I'll look for it later and see if I get lucky and find it somewhere.  That lead me to think of that movie, Jingle All the Way with Sinbad and California's very own, "Ahnold".  Has Christmas really gone so far down hill that most parents will go out and about, go through hell in a mall, trying to find a great gift for their young ones?  I know that the movie exaggerated the hell out of this idea since the two characters practically killed each other for the much wanted Turbo Man, but that general idea seems to be well and good.

Every year, I hear someone or another say that they don't have money to go and get gifts, which is absolutely fine, but the problem I have is that much emphasis is placed on gift giving.  Really?  Isn't Christmas supposed to be about spending time with your loved ones?  A time to reflect on the past year (or is that New Year's?).  Where gifts don't make the holiday but simply serve as a side dish to the main course of love, togetherness, and happiness?  Yesterday, I went and got gifts for the little one's in my family.  My wife and I told ourselves that we'd cut our list short to only include young ones under 7.  With the exception of being a parental unit, sibling, or grand parent, don't expect a gift from us.  lol  But the point being, we took the time to go out and get gifts knowing that we're not going to get some back.  And we didn't worry about it.  There was no, oh man, we spent too much, no worrying about forgetting this person or that person, or any of that.  It felt good to go out and get gifts with out all added pressure and that's how it should be.  Us going through a "recession" and all, we're at a point where we are able to give.  Whether we receive or not, doesn't matter.  At least not to us, the parents (the kids may be a different story).

I'm beginning to feel as if Christmas is becoming more of a "need to get a gift for someone" instead of it being a holiday filled with cheer.  Christmas shouldn't feel like a chore, yet for some reason or another, it does this year.  We haven't had a chance to put the tree up, we're not done getting gifts, let alone wrap them, and quite frankly, I'm tired of all the "gloom and doom" that seem to emanate from every TV or radio.  I say, screw all that.  Sit down with your family, bake some cookies, share some stories, and enjoy yourselves.  That, right there, sounds like a pretty bad ass Christmas to me.  Gifts are a bonus.  I don't remember seeing a Terms and Conditions sheet on celebrating Christmas.  I don't remember baby Jesus breaking into song and dance saying that the Wise Men must give gifts or they'll be hell to pay.  Just like every other holiday out there, I say we celebrate the way we see fit and be happy.  Get rid of the pressures that come with holiday shopping.  Go ahead and grab gifts.  I'm not saying you shouldn't, but what I am saying is take it easy when you do.  It's not worth the stress and killing your holiday because you were stressed out 23 days out of 25 because you were getting gifts, sending cakes, decorating the house, etc.etc.  You're only adding to the bah humbug that seems to plague this year's Christmas season if you're all moody and cranky.

Now...  I'mma go see Elf.  That elf sure knows how to do Christmas right.  I mean C' mon people.  He's parading around in an elf suit singing his little heart out without a care in the world.  I think I need to do that.  Yeah, I need to walk in a store and be like, "I'm in a store.  I'm in a store and I'm singing!"  Yeah, that'll spread some holiday cheer alright.  lmao  Later!

Top Commentator Contest is Here to Stay

Hey there. So I've decided, the top commentator contest will run on this site until I no longer breathe (or get shut down, whichever one comes first) lol I've gotten many comments from many readers that I've decided that we'll keep it going. The race has been tight with over 26 participants so far. Many of whom have made multiple comments. So... what are standings? Here they are so far:

$5 1st Place: Ann
$2.50 2nd Place: Silvergirl
$2.50 3rd Place: Underfloor Heating

Just outside the winner's circle: Buggys, Susie (Comadre), and Ally

If the contest ended today, those would be our winners. I won't disclose how many comments but trust me, the participants leading up to third place are many and are only separated by a few comments. The contest is not over so you still have time to put in your comments for a chance to knock the above readers out of the top 3 spots. Handle your business friends and comment away. Later!

10 Days Til Christmas

Hey there. Today, I took a day off from work. Mainly because my wife had a doctor's appointment and I wanted to take her, since it's in Downtown Los Angeles and it can be hell to drive there. We also decided that it would be wise to start tackling some of our Christmas shopping, since we have done absolutely none of it. Our tree is not even up! Yeah, it's kinda sad, but we've just haven't had any time to do ANYTHING. Something always seems to come up and we've been getting home later and later. We really don't want to set up any Christmas stuff without the kids and we send them off to bed at 9 PM. It's already close to 9 and they are rushing to take their showers, all the while my wife and I are sorting the gifts (while I sneak in a sentence or two) so that we can tackle the wrapping. I think we'll end up setting up the tree without the kids this year. We're going to have all sorts of wrapped gifts and no tree to place them under if we continue to wait.

So our day started off with some breakfast at Dennys and after spending a good hour and half chatting and eating, we went on to our shopping. We went off to the mall and I was expecting some holiday hell, even though it was a weekday, and we experienced none. We ventured int Victoria Secret, but came out with nothing. We then figured that we need to get the kids in our family first and foremost so we ventured into The Disney Store. We ended up with a bunch of gifts, a bill close to $150, and about half the kids knocked off the list. Whoo hoo!

After killing a few hours at my mother in law's, we took off to my wife's doctor's appointment. The camera crew for Deliver Me was there and we saw them shooting an interview with one of the doctor's patients. That, coupled with the fact that Dr. Bohn was just getting back from a delivery, she was backed up 4 patients so we had to wait longer than usual. All checked out well and off we went to get our kids.

Then... off to Target for more holiday shopping. Since I worked at a Target many, many moons ago, I know how the holidays look and I was expecting some holiday hell. Especially since it was close to 7, I was expecting it to be bad. None of that. I was surprised. We gathered another 9 or so gifts and another $130+ bill. Score!!!

Not bad, my friends. We tackled 19 or so kids out of 30. Not too bad. All in one day too. And the best part? None of it came out of pocket. I recently received my business debit card from Paypal (I'm still trying to grasp my head around that Metallman's Reverie is a business) so all the gifts purchased was paid by online income. SCORE! SCORE! SCORE! I was hoping to save it up for a family vacation, but hey... this is just as good, right? I know that many family members are tightening their belts this Christmas so I know that not many gifts will be given out. If our family is able to provide gifts for the kids, why not? I'm sure that they will be more than appreciated this year.

Well, it's time to start wrapping these up. 10 more days, friends. We're almost there! Later!

Back Up Your Blu-ray Movies with 123 Media Max

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of 123 Media Max. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. Ever since movie recording was invented, consumers have bought products to back up their precious movies. Whether it be a VCR to make a back up of your old VHS to the more modern DVD burner to back up your DVDs. Now, with the invention of crystal clear, picture perfect Blu-ray discs, consumers have been left wondering how to make a copy of their beloved movies. If you are one of the lucky few that have extra cash to burn for a Blu-ray burner, great! But what about the rest of us that more than likely have a DVD burner that came as standard equipment on our desktop and laptop computers? Well, we can turn to 123 Media Max.

It's a Blu-Ray Copy Breakthrough in the world of technology. With 123 Media Max, it is not necessary to have a coveted Blu-ray burner. You can still make blu-ray quality backups using a standard DVD. It's unheard of, yet, 123 Media Max is the software that makes it all happen. And that's not all it can do.

Not only will it convert Blu-ray to DVD, but you can convert DVD to practically anything else! Copy ANY DVD movie or movie/video from the internet to your smart phone, Apple TV, iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch, PSP, PS3, XBOX 360, Zune, Gigabeat, Creative Zen, Blackberry, to name just a few. And it works the other way as well. Convert those awesome Youtube or Metacafe videos into DVDs so that you can easily convert and share. And since it comes with it's own video editor, you'll have all the tools at your disposal to create, re-create, convert practically any video that you shoot or any video that you may stumble across on the web.

Even though the near perfect Blu-ray conversion to DVD is 123 Media Max's bread and butter, the slew of features that comes with the software make it more than just the average conversion tool. For all my video loving friends out there, you need to check out the 123 Media Max website here to read up on all the specs and requirements. Later!

Motivational Sunday - Relax

Hey there. I work too hard. Well, I like to think that I do. So I kind of figured that I would take it easy this weekend. No online work, no posts, no Myspace, no Facebook, no Entrecard, no nothing but hanging out with my wife and kids and spend some time at home. I must say, it feels good to relax. Considering that we live in a hectic world where anything and everything can be done via a computer, it's nice to just forget about that and just breathe. Take it easy, my friends. Later.

Metallica in Anaheim, CA

Hey there.  The show was awesome!  For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you received plenty of updates while I was at the show.  I'm going to make this a quick post, for now, but I plan on putting on some pictures that I took of the event.  Opening acts VolBeat and Machine Head were pretty damn good and I especially loved the Dimebag Darrell tribute that Machine Head displayed, but nothing came close to the electrifying display of power that Metallica imposed on the crowd.  I'll get back with more details, friends.  Until then, later!