Jumpin' At The Woodside

I just finished what has become a November tradition with me. I watched " The Fortune Cookie " the 1966 film classic with Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau, their first teaming, and directed by Billy Wilder. Wilder directed Lemon six years earlier in what has become a holiday classic and tradition for me " The Apartment ." I also find it very comforting to watch these movies, and older movies in general, right around dusk. Not sure why, but for me there's nothing like starting an old black and white film just before sunset, such as " Holiday Inn " which I'll probably watch in the next couple weeks, and then finishing when it's dark but still early in the evening. Don't know why this is, but for me feels like the best time to watch these movies. Speaking of holiday classics, I saw that TBS is airing " How the Grinch Stole Christmas " - the 1966 animated classic - tonight before a holiday episode of what has to be one of the most unfunn...

The air is cooler, the days are shorter and the festive brews are hitting the shelves. So far I've had the Sam Adams holidays brews, Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale and yes even the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale! Not all in one sitting, but over the course of the last couple weeks. I may be one of the few people who noticed, but they changed the photo of the cabin on the label of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale. It used to look like a cabin at sunset that had a fire burning inside , but I noticed now it looks very much like middle of a wintry day and the windows are darker. Don't get me wrong, I still love the brew and their label will always be one of my festive favorites, but for what it's worth I like the older version better. Speaking of the holidays, even the new Sirius XM channel lineup features the Holly channel that has already started playing holidays hits. I'm actually excited about the merging of the channels and getting to hear the best of both wor...