A Christmas Yuleblog

To my family and friends: Still haven't found the playlist? First time receiving the CD? If so, click here .

Several years ago, I started a feature on this blog that showcased selections from my vintage Christmas ad collection. In years past, my collection of ads had come from antique malls and flea markets.  Vendors would take old magazines of LIFE, TIME, Look, Saturday Evening Post, Collier's, Newsweek, Ladies Home Journal, and dozens of older vintage magazines and rip the ads out one by one to sell individually. The profit margins were substantial and a huge market began. Many people still sell ads on eBay, the antique stores and flea markets still peddle them. Then someone noticed the effect it had on the used magazine market - old magazines that normally sold for $5 or less were now $20 or more. Thanks to the continued shredding of older magazines, finding complete magazines are getting more scarce in the marketplace. I began to look at the ads I had collected and noticed the uneven cuts out of the magazine with a box cutter. The quality of many of the ads were good but could ...

Received an interesting package at the P.O. Box a few weeks ago.  Inside was an advance copy of a Christmas album (in a clear DVD case) from a band I had never heard of before. The cover letter read thusly: I quickly added December 3rd to my calendar as I sat down trying to figure out more about this band.  From their bio : CB&J has been performing their distinctive style of folky swing since the spring of 2005. They released their first full-length album, “Love and Circumstances” in November of 2006. Their second and most recent album, “Custom Made For You,” was released on December 12th, 2008. In addition to headlining many shows, Christabel and the Jons has also performed at numerous festivals in the US including Bonnaroo, Riverbend, Bele Chere, Blue Plum Festival, Shakori Hills Festival, Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, and Sundown in the City. They’ve also opened for many national acts including The Brazilian Girls, The Be Good Tanyas, The Red Stick R...

Merry Christmas! Here it is - my last share of the 2009 downloading season. I look forward to this one just as much as some of you! While I'm searching for albums throughout the year, I'm looking through 45s and 78s to locate those lost Christmas singles that might have fallen through the cracks. When I find a certain record, I purchase it and place it on the " TBD sampler" pile. Although my vinyl search and rescue missions this year didn't yield as much as I would have liked, I did manage to locate several vintage jewels. With the care of a gemologist, I carefully transferred them over to digital and packaged them in one nifty package. Your 2009 Christmas Yuleblog Sampler: Track 1 - Miss Frances - 'Twas The Night Before Christmas (Part I) RCA Victor - WBY 28 (F2CW-5193)- 195? Long before "Sesame Street", "Mr. Rogers", and even "Captain Kangaroo", there was "Ding Dong School" with Miss France...