Twill: (a nearby clock strikes the hour) Oh, what was that? Union: Two o'clock. Twill: Is it too early for breakfast? Union: Yes. Twill: Oh good, suppertime!

What ah say what an employuh he was! As hard ah say as hard and ruthless as a rose petal!

Foghorn Leghorn

Wally: There's only one more sleep 'til... Christmas....

Wally: *screams internally*

It’s so quiet at work I’ve begun to workshop which character would be the human and which muppets would be cast as certain characters in FFXIV.

Workshop with me friends.

*At Dedede’s castle, the Star Allies and friends are having Christmas dinner together. At the table, Kirby gets up*

Kirby: Welcome to the Star Allies' Annual Christmas Party. At this time, it's a tradition for me to make a little speech.

Marx: And it's a tradition for us to take a little nap!

Kirby: *as everyone laughs* Pay no attention to them! *takes out a paper* Here is the speech: Thank you all, and Merry Christmas!

Marx: That was the speech?

Magolor: It was dumb!

Dedede: It was obvious!

Susie: It was pointless!

Dark Meta Knight: It was... short.

*Beat*

Everyone: I loved it!

Marzipan: I suppose that on the blessed day of Decemberween, one must to drink to the health of, uh, Strong Bad, even though he is odious…

Strong Sad: (nods) Mm-hmm.

Marzipan: Stingy…

Strong Sad: (nods) Mm-hmm.

Marzipan: Wicked…

Strong Sad: (nods) Mm-hmm.

Marzipan: And unfeeling…

Strong Sad: (nods) Mm-hmm.

Marzipan: And badly dressed!

Strong Sad: (gasps in shock)

given that my two favorite christmas movies are both adaptations of A Christmas Carol one of these years I should really sit down and read the book and then watch as many A Christmas Carols as I can, which will make me deeply insufferable but otherwise accomplish nothing

Tell me about a turn of phrase that introduced you to the power of language, especially if it comes from a source that most people disregard.

I'll start: one of the first times I really fell in love with a line from a song was when I heard "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight" on the radio.

The chorus goes:

I'm not talking about moving in

And I don't want to change your life

But there's a warm wind blowing the stars around

And I'd really love to see you tonight

I have been obsessed with the line "there's a warm wind blowing the stars around" since I was something like 6 years old. It's so beautifully economic in its word use, isn't it? You know that the night is clear and beautiful, it's windy but warm, it's a perfect night for being outside and looking at the sky. In eight words, even as a small child, I had a perfect mental image of what that night looks like.

The other one that always comes to mind is the Muppet Christmas Carol song "It Feels Like Christmas," for one line only:

It is the summer of the soul in December

The "s" sound in summer, soul, and December all fall on the beat. It is a perfect example of using consonance (as opposed to alliteration, which would require those sounds to all be at the start of the word) in lyrics or poetry, and is one of the first times I really remember that concept sticking in my mind. (I use consonance very heavily in my poetry, so that's, like, formative.)

Tell me about the language that showed you what language can do - and for my sanity, please make it cool stuff and not like "and that's how I learned how shitty propaganda works," bc while that is in fact part of how language works, this is Tunglr dot com and I'd prefer to have a nice time today. Thanks.

Muppet Fact #938

According to Brian Henson, "Inside the Muppet Company, [they] love to hate Bean Bunny." This is why he is often the subject of so much Muppet violence.

Source:

Muppet Christmas Carol. DVD commentary by Brian Henson.

Atsushi: *sighs* Awataguchis don't understand these things.

Aizen: You were never a lonely child?

Atsushi: I had twelve hundred and seventy-four brothers!

Aizen: Geesh, Awataguchis don't understand these things.

What I think is the ACTUAL meaning behind the movie Nightmare before Christmas:

I was googling the meaning behind a Danny Elfman song today and something unrelated popped up. It was a Tor dot com article about the "Meaninglessness of Nightmare before Christmas."

It seemed "profound" as far as online articles go but obnoxiously it was clearly an opinion piece dealing with someone's personal interpretation that the movie has no meaning. And Google had sucked up as a valid source of information and "facts." And it was mostly just this pretentious author insisting that the whole thing is "beautifully meaningless." and there's no moral and no one grows and there's no meaning at all. Yeah... No. I disagree. I do NOT think The Nightmare before Christmas is meaningless. Though I don't think it is the deepest thing ever. "Or perhaps it's really not as deep as I've been lead to think. Am I trying much to hard?" - Jack Skellington quote from the song Jack's Obsession by Danny Elfman.

And no, I don't fall in line with the popular interpretation that it's a big metaphor for cultural appropriation. That sort of thing never mattered much to Tim Burton as a film topic and he has said he was just inspired by seeing a store window display change over from Halloween to Christmas. So what do I think it's actually about? ...Love.

Let me explain. We begin with Jack finishing a successful Halloween but he feels empty inside. For all the praise and cheer, he's lonely, isolated. He's the big celebrity everyone fauns over. He knows he's popular but he's always separate, always alone. He has his dog but that's it. He's lonely in that crowd of cheering fans. He feels a longing and he doesn't know what that longing is for. He aches for someone to just understand and accept him, not idolize him. An equal. A companion. When he discovers Christmas that "Empty place is filling up." Christmas spirit is all about love. The Muppet Christmas Carol even has the song "The Love we've Found." The joy Jack associates with Christmas is akin to love. He wants others to feel this happiness, this desire to give and bring joy to others. What he is experiencing is something David Bowie once decribed in his song called Soul Love. "All I have is my love of love. A love that's not loving." Jack tries to share this wonderful feeling with the rest of Halloween but they don't understand it. Most of them don't crave love the way he (and Sally) do. And Christmas is all about love. Not necessarily romantic or carnal love but a love, just the same. A love for others, a love to give. A love of making others happy. Jack substitutes love with Christmas. And he wants to share it with his people. "Well, at least they're excited but they don't understand that special kind of feeling in Christmas Land. Oh, well..." Through the story Jack goes through an identity crisis, partly out of boredom and partly out of this child-like craving for love he doesn't fully understand. Sally gets it though. "Jack, I know you think something's missing..." First Jack has to come to terms with himself and self-acceptance. He does that. He comes to a new appreciation for who and what he is as he talks himself out of despair in the song "Poor Jack." when he exclaims "I am The Pumpkin King!" And then at the very end of the movie he finally connects with that thing he had been missing all along. And it's fitting that it's on Christmas that he discovers that thing he's been longing for - love, combined with a new reinvigorated appreciation for who and what he is. He finally finds that love that fills the void in both himself and in Sally because she has already told us that she feels the same way as Jack (*Whispers* She's just smarter than him...). Though Sally didn't exist in Tim Burton's original children's book / poem that became the film, he did approve of the creation of the character Sally and provided the early concept art. He even modeled Sally on his then girlfriend, Lisa Marie. And the book The Making of Nightmare before Christmas tells us that Sally gave the film its heart. She gave substance to the thing Jack was longing for and had never known- the love of another that wasn't idol worship. I know Henry Selick was the director and Caroline Thompson wrote the script but Tim Burton created the characters and he told the story bit by bit to Danny Elfman, who composed the songs before there was a script. So they conceived of Sally before anyone else and I think Danny Elfman caught on to what an important keystone Sally was for the story. Also Tim Burton is a romantic at heart. All of his films have a love story in there somewhere. And he tends to prefer that the couples get their fairytale ending "And they lived Happily Ever After." He even managed to turn Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow into a romantic fairy tale with a happy ending in his 1999 film, Sleepy Hollow. So there you have it. I feel that the real meaning behind Nightmare before Christmas- the thing Jack was longing for and ultimately realized was right there waiting for him- was love.

Round 3: For the classic fans

Les Misérables (Musical)

Adapted from novel by Victor Hugo

I’m a novel lover at heart, but the stage play really is incredible. It trims the fat but still gets to the heart of what makes the novel’s story incredible. The scenes of the barricade are particularly great, where the live music thumping through you really makes you feel the pulse of the scene. The songs wonderfully capture the emotions and turmoil of the characters, standout numbers include “I Dreamed a Dream”, “Stars”, “Do You Hear the People Sing”, “One Day More”, and “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”. —@sanestlunaticyouevermet

The Muppets Christmas Carol

Adapted from A Christmas Carol (Novella)

It’s a Muppets adaptation, so a few minor details like the number of Marleys and the species of most characters have been changed, and there are now musical numbers! But it’s really faithful to the original plot, even including the voice of the narrator. (It includes scenes/characters that other adaptations leave out.) And the costume design is absolutely top-notch. (Especially the three spirits.) Not only there is a lot of dialogue of the novel, it's the tone and spirit of the movie with the hilarious fact that Scrooge is the only human.

When a cold wind blows, 

It chills you - 

Chills you to the bone, 

But there’s nothing in nature 

That freezes your heart 

Like years of being alone. 

It fills you up with bitterness 

Like a forest fills with fog ... 

And the worst of the worst - 

The most fearsome and cursed - 

Is the king that we call Bog! 

(source: ‘Mr Scrooge’, The Muppet Christmas Carol; lyrics adapted to fit the Dark Forest during the ban on love)

Whose better at acting with Muppets, Micheal Caine or Tim Curry? Personally, as much as I love Micheal Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol, to me he plays it as if the Muppets are people, where as Tim Curry in Treasure Island plays it as though he is fully part of the muppet world. I find his performance more fun.

I think the Muppet Christmas Carol is a fantastic adaptation of the original source material-- to the point I am astound by their period appropriate wardrobe. To me, it is one of the three top tier Christmas Carol adaptations and a lot of that is from the seriousness of Caine's acting. He played it straight, which allowed for this very sincere piece to be born.

THAT said, Tim Curry legit looks like he's having a blast in 'Muppet Teasure Island'. I want to be there and have fun on the set with them, and I think it hearkens back to the feel that 'The Muppet Show' had during its original airing. It always looked like the guests were having so much fun not taking things seriously. I want to be in on the campy fun!

While I get literal chills from the 'Marley and Marley' song in the way the song goes baller in intensity... Let's admit it, it's more fun to sing along to 'Cabin Fever'. Muppet Christmas Carol feels like you're engaged with a masterfully made performance, where as Muppet Treasure Island is like you're having a party with friends.

Both are valid, both have their place.

Because I'm apparently in Analysis mode right now, I think the Muppet Christmas Carol is about learning to appreciate non-romantic love.

The whole reason Scrooge is Like That is because of a failed romance. He tried the traditional, Hollywood love story with Belle, and it didn't work out (due to his own actions, sure). Since he was burned by the "true" love, he's abandoned ALL forms of love.

The Ghost of Christmas Past forces him to confront that failure, but it ALSO reminds him of the warm, community love at Fezzywig's and the colder, mentorship love of his headmaster.

The Ghost of Christmas Present builds on that: "It Feels Like Christmas" just lists a whole bunch of examples of places you can find love, NONE of which are romantic! Love is a reunion with a friend or a brother, or a pair of mittens that were made by your mother. It's not just kissing and cuddling. Then, Present shows Scrooge sources of FAMILIAL love in his own life -- his nephew Fred's wife and friends, and the Cratchits family.

The horror of Christmas Future, then, isn't that he doesn't have a wife or kids to leave his money to. It's that he wasn't connected enough to anyone, and hasn't made any difference in the world.

In his final transformation, Scrooge donates his money to charity, reconciles with his own relatives, and forms a deep, personal bond with Tiny Tim. That's what "keeping Christmas all the year" means. It's accepting and cultivating love, in all its forms, in all the places you find it.