A Corona Kinda Christmas

Liz and I enjoyed making a pandemic parody medley in the guise of the old K-Tel style television commercials back in the spring.

We kicked around the idea of putting together a similar one but with a bit of a Christmas theme.

So I started to work on some lyrics. The cool thing about writing a "medley" album spoof is that you don't need to do the whole song; just small bits of it.

We never ended up getting to do the work on recording the songs or the video. Stuff happens.

But on Christmas Day, after spending far too long trying to get a picture of us with the fur family (the only family we saw over the holidays due to pandemic lockdown)...

Then we started goofing around and took a few pics of us drinking Corona in front of our book Christmas tree.

One of the images looked perfect for the album cover of the parody we never recorded. So I used it to make a fake album.

Here are some of the planned lyrics in the album that never happened.

[EDIT: Like an itch I HAD to scratch, these songs wouldn't let me go, so I quickly slapped a parody commercial together....and mocked the fact it came out AFTER Christmas]

 

This Year Blows 

(To the tune of "Let It Snow")

Oh these pandemic times are frightening
And my pants, they just keep tightening
Stuck inside with no place to go
This year blow, this year blows, this year blows

Rusty the Noseman 

(To the tune of "Frosty the Snowman")

Rusty the Noseman wears his mask below his nose
With both nostrils out for the world to see
And his eyes all glazed and stoned

Rusty the Noseman is a miracle they say
And he moves about with a protruding snout
As he goes about his day

He must think there is magic in
That cloth across his gums
He wears it on just half the face
That’s connected to his lungs

Oh Rusty the Noseman, is as stunned as one can be
Even children say, it don’t work that way
He’s a risk for you and me

 

Heck Those Malls 

(To the tune of "Deck the Halls")

Heck those malls are filled with folly
Fa la la la la la la la la
Shoppers crammed and no one’s jolly
Fa la la la la la la la la
Don we now our plague apparel
Fa la la la la la la la la
Troll the maskless, yell and quarrel
Fa la la la la la la la la

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like F*ck This

(To the tune of "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas)

It’s beginning to look a lot like f*ck this
Yes, this whole year blows

19 Years Later - 9/11 Reflections

For me, 9/11 will always be a day of quiet reflection about a terrible tragedy.

And, via something called Project 2,996, also a celebration of the lives (not the deaths).

Here's a post of celebrating some of those lost lives on the 10th anniversary via my own participation in that project.

 

Now, 19 years later, my reflections aren't just about those beautiful lives, because in the US alone this year, we are dealing more than 190,000 deaths, more than 9,000 deaths in Canada, and just under one million deaths world-wide due to a global pandemic.

In September of 2011, we were anxious, frightened, and mortified about deadly terrorist attacks. We responded by coming together, trying to focus on celebrating the lives of those tragically lost, of comforting those around us, and holding our loved ones close.

This September, the attack, we realize, hasn't come from a single calculated physical assault, but something far more deadly, far uglier, far more pervasive and far more difficult to over-come.

And I'm not just talking about a virus -- or at least not just about covid-19, a deadline virus transmitted through contact. That is part of it.

But we're also suffering from a much deadlier virus bred on hatred, fear, and lies -- a virus of intense and impassioned divisiveness, of anger, of fear-mongering, of objectifying and dehumanizing the "other" -- a virus of a belief that one's opinion and ready-made meme and confirmation bias is far better than actual science, that one's beliefs about race, about religion, about sexuality, are more important than basic and fundamental human rights, that a completely artificial construct and adhering to the "party of choice" is far more important than basic decency, compassion and respect.

I reflect on the words of a leader I long admired, a man whose own life was cut short. Jack Layton said it best in his final letter to Canadians when he said this:

"We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world....

".....consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.

"My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world."

No, it's not going to be easy to pick up the pieces, find ways to focus on what unites us, what we have in common, but it usually begins with the way we cherish and honor our loved ones, the way we seek to nourish and support rather than objectify and destroy. And seeing how we can extend that compassion beyond our our units.

If we can start with love, if we can start with respect, if we can have those difficult, painful, and awkward discussions that lead to growth rather than doubling down on our own confirmation biases, we can have hope and optimism.

------------
[Please don't comment with hate, anger, finger-pointing, blame naming, conspiracy theories, or any such ilk.This is not the place for it, and I will delete those comments. Go spread hate, fear, and anger on your own digital wall.

And if you feel that this post is a threat to what you believe, or where you stand, consider why you feel that way. What about what I said made you uncomfortable? What about what I said made you self-identify? You might notice that I haven't called out any specific persons, or groups, or political parties, except to quote from a man whose vision I respect and admire.

On the other hand, if you self-identified with the idea that compassion, that hope, that optimism, that love, are a good place to start, that is also worthy of reflection. What makes you optimistic, hopeful, respectful?

Also know that I see myself as being hopeful and optimistic, but I also see myself as being flawed - fixing that is an ongoing and never-ending process. I have made countless mistakes; I have done plenty of wrongs. I will, I know, inevitably continue to err, to fail at times, despite what I believe are positive intentions. But I try, in whatever small ways I can, to continue to be open to listen, to learn, to grow, recognizing that every day I am battling with so many pre-existing confirmation biases of my own. As we all are.]

The Importance of Laughter

I recently added an extra episode to my normally weekly podcast.


It was a Thanks for the Inspiration episode. These are an attempt to acknowledge and say thanks to the people, places, and things that have helped to either feed the muse, or perhaps just to feed the very soul and makeup of the writer behind that writing.

Link to Episode 126 - Thanks for the Inspiration and the Laughs

In this bonus episode of the podcast, I thanked the creative spirits who have produced musical parodies about Covid-19 and the current global situation. Because laughter is important.

As I said in the episode . . .

Yes, these are dark times, but laughter is important.

It connects people. And laughter has been shown to actually stimulate positive activity in a person's immune system.

I know we're all scared, we're uncertain, we aren't sure what's coming, for us, and for those we know and love. Things seem to be spinning out of control. But we can always control where we focus and how we respond.

I choose love, compassion, and humor.

And I choose to thank all of these amazing creative people who took the time to spread their own passion, through humor, to help others find smiles and laughs in these trying times.

You can click here to check out the show notes, with the audio as well as links to the original YouTube videos, or you can listen to the episode using the built-in media player above.

Below are the original YouTube videos

Covid-19 - The Taylor's - Parody of "Come On, Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners

JJ Mason Taylor (The Taylor Family)

My Corona - Parody of "My Sharona by The Knac

Kevin Brandow, Lyrics by Chelsea Brandow

Quarantine - Parody of "Let It Be" by The Beatles

Joe Cron

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (with new lyrics!) Parody of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke from the movie Mary Poppins

Daniel Matarazzo

One Week of COVID 19 - Parody of "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies

Pepper Coyote, Adapted original lyrics by @daniAwesome  

My Corona Home - Parody of "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys from the movie Cocktail

Jon Pumper

Coronavirus Rhapsody - Parody of "Bohemian Rhapsody by Quee

Adrian Grimes, lyrics by Dana Jay Bein

I have always loved musical parodies, and I am grateful for the fact that these awesome folks, and so many others, are continuing to create brilliant parodies to help us with smiling and laughing in these most challenging and trying times.

Hats off to them.