Happy Easter!

I usually post a favorite work of Easter art, but this year I've decided to do something a little different and post music instead. Enjoy! 

Happy Year of the Rooster!

It's Chinese New Year/Spring Festival! Eat until you explode!

Travels with Charley - I Mean, Chin Ho Kelly

A celebrity goes to the Middle East and doesn't launch into half-baked political yammering and virtue-signaling moral preening! Instead, he conducts himself with grace and humility (and some charmingly self-deprecating humor too). Kudos to one of my favorite Asian American actors for doing it right.

‪A #Christmas Tree, a #Crescent Moon and a #dove with 8 lights for #Hanukkah, all present in one holiday display in the city of Haifa. This simple monument, more than anything else, captures my feelings about my visit here to the Middle East. Though I have listened and heard many impassioned viewpoints, my trip is not a political one. I am not so arrogant as to think that a two week stay qualifies me to be an expert on a conflict that has lasted for thousands of years. I am here to appreciate the beauty of this region. I am here to meet its extraordinary people, from every walk of life. I am here to respectfully bow my head in the birthplace of many of the world's religions. And most importantly, I am here to learn. ‬ What I do know though, is that I have already had some unforgettable experiences with people I now consider friends- Israeli, Palestinian, Bedouin, Jordanian, Christian, Jew and Muslim. And to all of you, above all else, I wish you #PEACE and a harmonious #COEXISTENCE. In fact, I wish that for us all. ‬ So if you shout. Or if you rage, I will not hear you. But if you want to share your opinion below in respectful dialogue, you are welcome here. ‬

A photo posted by Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) on Dec 29, 2016 at 5:36am PST

Christmas Eve Is Here!

As always, it's time to engage in that annual tradition of tracking Santa with NORAD!

LOL: Honest Trailers vs. Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer

It's December 1, so let's kick off the countdown to Christmas with some irreverent hilarity from the humorists of Honest Trailers:

Time for More Pre-Turkey Family Touch Football!

ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?  There may be complications.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Macy's Parade!

I'm not crying ... I'm chopping onions for the turkey stuffing!

Thanksgiving Recipe Festival!

The big day is nearly here, my darlings. Need some recipes? Here you go!

• Crispy sweet potato roast. Please do not desecrate lovely sweet potatoes with marshmallows!
• Mashed potatoes. Carb-errific! Please pass the gravy. 
• How about these pretty potato stacks made in a muffin pan? They look like roses!
• The ever-reliable Alton Brown offers his own version of green bean casserole.
• How I do green beans: steam or blanche them briefly, and then saute for a couple of minutes in olive oil and garlic. Add a little salt and pepper, and that's it. They should be bright green and just a tiny bit crisp, not mushy. Try a bit of fresh lemon juice on top at the last minute for a tangy variation.
• Roasted parmesan green beans are a nice option.
• Try some roasted Brussels sprouts!
• Cornbread dressing that's leaps and bounds ahead of the insipid white bread variety. Make your own cornbread, obviously.
• If you already have the gorgeous cornbread dressing, you probably don't need dinner rolls (they're just filler anyway), but I know some people insist on them, so here's a recipe from King Arthur flour, and I have to admit that that flour is excellent.
• Try making your own cranberry sauce if you don't want the canned kind.
• Finally, the main event: Horrify your vegan friends and delight your fellow carnivores with a spectacular bacon-wrapped turkey. (Need a refresher on how to carve said turkey?)
• Dessert: So many options! I'll leave you to pick your favorite(s). I always go for pumpkin pie first myself.

Happy Fourth of July! The Original Brexit

On this quintessential American holiday, haters gonna hate ... but living well and having fun is the best riposte and response!  Enjoy your cookouts and fireworks!

You can sign the Declaration yourself at the National Archives online, indulge in some deliciousness, and/or enjoy this snippet from the delightful musical "1776":

Happy Easter 2016! Χριστός ἀνέστη!

Best wishes to all for a happy, contemplative, and restful Easter!  This year's art of the Resurrection comes from Baroque Venetian painter Sebastiano Ricci and dates around 1715-16.  Currently it resides in the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London.  Click the image to enlarge for better detail.

Usually for holiday art postings I go for something from the Renaissance, but Ricci's vision has such a wonderful sense of color and composition.  Immortal angels and all-too-human soldiers alike are stunned by the sheer power of the figure of Christ risen in sublime glory.

For more Easter art (and related items), see the archives here.

Happy Valenswine's Day with Bacon Roses!

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy this traditional Latin Christmas carol sung by a great tenor who happens to be a Franciscan friar.  He's Italian, because of course.

NORAD Tracks Santa 2015

The delightful annual tradition continues!

Fugly or Fabulous? Declaration of Independence Skorts for 4th of July

What say you?  I think I can see myself wearing them to a good 4th of July cookout ...

A Tweet For Flag Day

I almost forgot!  June 14 is Flag Day. Of course the incomparable Iowahawk is on task:

#FlagDay PWN3D, haters pic.twitter.com/uM2a8gqnZw

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) June 14, 2015

Memorial Day in the Netherlands

A good read for the day.

Awesome: Rube Goldberg's Passover Seder

Happy Easter 2015! Christos Anesti!

Happy Easter, everybody!  This year's Easter art is a painting (c. 1511) that was only recently identified as a work by Titian, one of the artistic giants of the Italian Renaissance.

Holiday Humor: Jon Stewart vs. Easter and Passover

From the archives and still hilarious: 

The Daily Show
Daily Show Full Episodes,  More Daily Show Videos,  Comedy Central Full Episodes

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Today we're all Irish, my dears!  Have fun, be safe, and take a listen to an old favorite: