Do they know it's still Christmas?

Well, we're winding down 2013 and I'm *finally* putting this year's edition of A Very Micah Christmas up. Too late? Maybe. But Epiphany isn't until January 6th, so you still have a few days of guilt-free enjoyment.

I put all of the songs into a Spotify playlist - well, all that were available on the service - and you can stream it below:



But that's only part of the story. The full experience includes the following songs:

1. "Flannel Sheets" - Good Night, States
2. "Silent Night" - Nick Lowe
3. "Twinkle (Little Christmas Lights)" - JD McPherson
4. "(Don't Call Me) Mrs. Christmas" - Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler
5. "Underneath the Tree" - Kelly Clarkson
6. "She Wants It All" - Jumbled
7. "Deck the Halls" - 11 Acorn Lane
8. "Christmas at the Ale House" - The Irish Rovers
9. "You'll Never Find My Christmas" - Bishop Allen
10. "Breaking the Ice" - Samantha Crain
11. "Krampus" - Houndmouth
12. "Go Tell It on the Mountain" - Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors
13. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - Colorfair
14. "We Three Kings" - Mark Lanegan
15. "Sugar Cookie" - Sugar & The Hi-Lows
16. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" - Lyle Lovett with Kat Edmonson
17. "Blink Before Christmas" - Phil Moore & The Phil Moore Four
18. "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" - Leigh-Ann Eshleman
19. "Angels We Have Heard on High" - Beta Radio
20. "Can I Interest You in Hanukkah?" - Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart
21. "A Winter Romance" - Dean Martin
22. "Winter Wonderland" - Louis Armstrong
23. "The Christmas Song" - Frank Sinatra
24. "Merry Christmas from Scotland (Lulled with a Stiff Drink)" - Laurie Cameron
25. "Joy" - Tracey Thorn
26. "That Leaf Sure Is Heavy, But You Have to Turn It Over" - Listener & Dust
27. Surprise!

You can snag them all here. Happy listening!

Too big to fail

"You know what I discovered? I really like depriving myself of things. It's fun. Very monastic." - Cosmo Kramer

Well, bikini season is here and if I ever want to cozy up to a woman that can really fill one out, changes need to be made. (Oh yeah, there's also the health and fitting-into-my-clothes things, too.) So henceforth I'm going to be tracking my daily caloric intake and step up my exercise regimen.

I already religiously log the music I listen to, places I go to, books, shows, and movies I consume, and video games that I play. What's one more app to put on my phone? (Two, actually. I'm using both Lose It! and MyFitnessPal, at least for the time being.) If you want to be "friends" with me on them, give me a holler.

The gym will no longer be a "go whenever I happen to feel like it" place. BEEFCAKE!

And if you see me out and about and I'm ordering my third entree, don't refrain from giving me shit. Let's do this.

Office chatter

Over five and a half years later*, this is still the first shirt worn in my gym clothes rotation. Fare thee well, denizens of Dunder Mifflin Scranton. Dinkin' flicka.

*It was amazing how quickly these showed up on ebay after “Fun Run” aired.

"And the Oscar goes to...That's My Boy!"

Well, it's time once again for the prestigious annual Hollywood circle jerk that we call the Oscars. (A.K.A. the only thing that makes me put off viewing The Walking Dead.) Yes, the stars have come out to shine! And preen, mug, bloviate, etc. Just who will take home the big prize this year? The story about a President desperately trying to do the right thing and secure his legacy (Zero Dark Thirty), the exploits of a couple of mental patients training for a dance contest (Django Unchained), or the extreme close ups of singing people pretending to be French (Amour)? Or maybe one of the other nominated films?

I have seen very few of the nominated films this year, so I largely can't comment on the merits of them. But the fact that The Avengers only got one paltry nom in a technical category - and not nods all across the board - reinforces my view that the Oscars are a sham. In my heart the film has already won the Oscar for Best Picture Ever Made. (Apologies to Highlander.) Also completely overlooked: Bernie, The Cabin in the Woods, and Blue Like Jazz. COME ON!

It wouldn't be the Oscars without a lot of chatter about red carpet fashion! Yeah, well, unless someone is wearing something goofy like a swan dress, I don't really care about all that. But I will say that I'm currently wearing a shirt by Anton "Piggly" Wiggly, pants by House of Simpsons, and slippers by Louis Dockers.

Per usual, I'll be live blogging the ceremony here in the comments section. I invite you to join in the snark and comment along. Feel free to talk smack about what movies and actors you hate (true story: not everyone likes Anne Hathaway), who you love, what a mess the telecast is, who you are wearing, your predictions, the most glaring snubs, etc. (I'll also post some exceptionally funny tweets that I come across during the night; do the same, if you want. Twitter was made for events like this.)

Bring on the glitz, glamor, and phoniness!

I stand resolute.

"I've achieved plenty and there's no better than the best." - Dwight Schrute on New Year's resolutions

January's coming to a close and, while I hate the whole resolution thing, I guess I should lay out some areas for improvement within the coming year. But unlike previous years, I'm keeping it simple with only three attainable goals:

1. Cool it with the other screens while watching movies and TV. At home, that is. I'm not a Philistine that disrupts fellow moviegoers. But within the comfort of my couch, all too often I multitask with my laptop and/or phone when I put on a movie or TV show. And without my full attention, I miss things and don't fully appreciate what I'm half-watching. No more! Well... Just during commercials! And the boring parts!

2. Give back to my favorite podcasts. These days I listen to more podcasts than music. They've entertained me so much for no cost at all. While I've been pretty good about doing my Amazon shopping through The Christmas Stocking's affiliate link, I feel I should be better at supporting them. Get a premium subscription to Never Not Funny? Buy a Doug Loves Movies shirt? See Paul F. Tompkins or the Sklar brothers if they ever do a show around me? Purchase the Comedy Film Nerds book and Girl on Guy app? Yeah, I think I should do all of those things.

3. Don't start another book series until I finish the ones I've already started. Currently I'm in the middle of The Strain and The Hunger Games trilogies. No more new ones until I get through those. (I'm not counting my beloved Parker books, since there are 24 of those and few contain arcs that carry through to subsequent books. Or so I've heard.)

Bonus! When talking about Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and their spawn, I vow to never, ever use the loathsome word "Kimye".

Happy Burns Night!

Happy Burns Night! I shall be celebrating in the traditional manner: reading some of his verse on my Kindle, sipping a wee nip of scotch, and getting caught up on last night's NBC comedies.