A Christmas Yuleblog

Okay... you're probably saying to yourself "Self, that cover looks awfully familiar. Have I seen that somewhere before or have I just drank too much eggnog???" Before you dial up the EggNog Anonymous hotline, this identical cover was used as an alternate of The Murk Family's Christmas album. It later appeared as an alternate cover for Mickey Rooney's Christmas album (but if you saw the other cover, you'd understand why this one was used... you've been warned!). When I saw this album at a thrift store in Chicago, I was half tempted to pass it up - who needs yet another Christmas organ album and I don't need a THIRD album with the same cover in my collection. Or did I? I read the back and kept asking myself "Why does the name Frank Pellico ring a bell?" I added the album to the pile and continued on my merry way (you can never beat 25 cents for an LP). Only after I left the city limits of my former hometown and got back to my curr...

In March of 2007, I travelled to Chicago sans wife & kids to search through the bowels of Chicago thrift stores, flea markets, and rare record stores to search for Christmas LPs for my collection. This past weekend, I travelled again to Chicago sans wife & kids to do the exact same thing. Upon learning the news, the Chicago River turned green with envy (keep reading). My weekend trip began last Friday and I stopped at various flea markets and antique stores along the Lincoln Highway from Fort Wayne to Chicago. I walked away with two Christmas albums (both have been shared out by our friend Ernie (Not Bert) - keep reading). After getting to Illinois, I went to a thrift store location that two years ago had just opened, had one entire corner of their store reserved for LPs, and yielded a good portion of the titles I shared out last year. Upon my return this year, their selection was reduced to an eight ft. folding table with about 10 milk crates full of LPs. Sadly, I ...

The picture says it all. The 2008 Chicago Cubs died a simple death on Saturday, October 4, 2008. Cause: no offense, shaky defense, and the weight of a century of losing. My kids have tried to console me: "We'll get 'em next year, Dad". They don't know... Why did I ever subject them to this? I should be locked in jail for making them Cub fans. Another cold winter to deal with but there's always the promise of a warm spring. Next February, when pitchers and catchers report, the whole process will begin again. And so it goes... Click here to see whose bandwagon I've jumped on for the remainder of the season. Capt

What a year... the 2008 Chicago Cubs have given us many a thrill this season and have provided one amazing feat right after the other. I thought I'd never see the day when a Cub team was 30 games above .500 in September, let alone vying for their SECOND consecutive division championship! Last night, Carlos Zambrano (R in the picture above) was coming off a twelve day layoff thanks to rotator cuff tendinitis. Originally scheduled to pitch in Houston against the Astros, Hurricane Ike forced the two teams to play their games in Milwaukee - 90 miles away from Chicago. 25,000 Cub fans from Chicago and the surrounding areas made the trek north to Wrigley Field North. Zambrano threw a no-hitter against the Houston Astros, blanking them 5-0. Congrats Carlos on a masterful performance on the mound and giving Cub Nation another amazing memory in a year already full of them. My heart goes out to the Astros. Their homes and playing field were ravaged by Mother Nature and they we...