Have yourself a Totally Rad Christmas, Dudes!

Today’s guest is THE Gerry Davilla from A Totally Rad Christmas, and as you can tell right from the beginning, this episode is far out and gnarly and… all those other 1980’s terms I can’t remember. It begins with my very worst impression of one of my very favorite podcasters… and it derails from there… as you’ll hear in the interview, I left all the bloopers in. 🙂

Gerry and I get together and we laughed a lot, we told stories, we talked about movies, about the 80’s, we had some moments of loud laughter and deep thoughts about our families and a little bit about faith, too. Come sit with us by the cozy Christmas fire, and enjoy today’s episode!

I share a story a listener sent me about a special memory she has of her grandpa, and then I read “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry and reflect on the story for a few moments.

There’s a lot of fun you won’t want to miss! Later dudes…

Music Credits:

Deck the Halls by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100263

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Angels We Have Heard by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=004&page=1

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

SILENT NIGHT by John Vallis (johnvallis.co.uk) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

It’s Part 1 of a 2 Part episode focused on A Christmas Carol!

In today’s episode, I sit down with author Gina Dalfonzo and talk about the theme of redemption in A Christmas Carol. She had a new book published this year called The Gospel in Dickens, and if you’re interested in the theology of Charles Dickens you should check it out.

So come on in, sit down by the Christmas fire as we discuss some of the theology found in A Christmas Carol.

And stay tuned for the next episode – it’s dropping on December 14, and we will have a very special guest who comes by to chat more about A Christmas Carol.

Note: Religion can be a touchy subject. I know that all my listeners will have different views in their beliefs, and I in no way want to exclude anyone from this episode or the conversation. I’m here to learn and my hope is that this episode gives us all a deeper understanding of the text of A Christmas Carol and the religious beliefs of Charles Dickens that did influence a lot of his writing.

More about Gina Dalfonzo:

Dickensblog

The Gospel in Dickens

You can help support the show: https://ko-fi.com/cozychristmas

Music:

Deck the Halls by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100263

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Pack your bags and grab your movie popcorn we’re going to Canada… I visit with author and Christmas movie lover Rachel McMillan and her new book “A Very Merry Holiday Movie Guide”! If you have a movie fan in your life – especially fans of Hallmark Christmas movies, this book is a great gift idea.

Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089K2BVBW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Rachel McMillan’s Website: https://www.rachelmcmillan.net/

I also read an entry from my wife’s blog who is writing some advent reflections this year. togetherforgood.wordpress.com

(This episode was delayed because of COVID, and was supposed to air before Thanksgiving. That’s why you’ll hear me talk about Thanksgiving as if it were still coming.)

No, not presents… PRESENCE.

In today’s episode I interview singer songwriter Rehya Stevens. We talk about her album Celebrate and we have a lot of laughs sharing Christmas memories. We talk about the importance of giving our presence – that’s with a “c” not “t”! – and being there for our family and each other this during this difficult time. This is one of the most enjoyable interviews I’ve had so far, and I can’t wait for you all to hear it.

My listener memory comes from my sister, and she talks about the joy of baking Christmas cookies with our Grandma.

I know it’s past Thanksgiving, but I have another Thanksgiving story to share: I read A Mystery in the Kitchen by Olive Thorne Miller. It’s a tender story of a sister named Jessie who’s brother has run away from home. And why is Jessie sneaking around in the kitchen?

If you’d like to support the show: https://ko-fi.com/cozychristmas

The song that follows the story is called Song for a Winter’s Night by The Nancies. It’s a beautiful song, and you should check them out.

Music:

Deck the Halls by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100263

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Song for a Winters Night

URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Nancies/Yuletide_Entertainments_2012/The_Nancies_-_Yuletide_Entertainments_2012_-_02_Song_for_a_Winters_Night

Comments: http://freemusicarchive.org/

Copyright: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Christmas Eve

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Borrtex/Christmas_Time/03_Christmas_Eve

Comments: http://freemusicarchive.org/

Copyright: Attribution-NonCommercial: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Are you in the mood for a simple Christmas? In this episode, I have a phone interview with author Nancy Carey Johnson and talk about her book “The Vermont Homesteader’s Christmas Memories”. We talk about her book, homesteading, Christmas music, pets and we share heartwarming stories of family, friends, and Jolly the Christmas dog. It’s a conversation you won’t want to miss! And her book is full of many more wonderful stories.

Gracie and I have a chat about our hopes for Thanksgiving… she wants to see her Grandma and Grandpa, and I want to eat my weight in stuffing and turkey.

Then for our story, I read a couple of poems. “Christmas Carol” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, and “War Time Christmas” by World War I poet Joyce Kilmer.

Episode:

02:40 Interview with Nancy Carey Johnson

36:20 Gracie and I talk Thanksgiving!

44:18 Christmas Poems: Christmas Carol by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Wartime Christmas by Joyce Kilmer

Music Credits:

Deck the Halls by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100263

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Angels We Have Heard by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?collection=004&page=1

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

SILENT NIGHT by John Vallis (johnvallis.co.uk) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Hold on to your hats, I’m talking to three guests today!

There is a great community of Christmas fans that gather together on mymerrychristmas.com. Today I interview three of members of the website community that have used their creative talents to bring Christmas cheer.

I speak to Bill from thevillagecollector.com. He is a collector of Christmas villages and has an amazing website that showcases all of the decorative talents he and others have done over the years. We talk about his website, Christmas villages, and share some great family Christmas memories. 

Then, I’m joined on the phone by new author Sandra Macauley who has written a Christmas book called “A Town Called Festive”. We talk about her book, writing, and the joys of living in a small town. And of course we talk about Christmas too.

And finally, Sean from The Christmas Podcasts Podcast at https://christmaspodcasts.com/ stops by and we chat about podcasting, Christmas, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and we share some of our favorite Christmas memories.

mymerrychristmas.com has gathered together an amazing group of creative peoples of all types and hobbies. Once you’ve enjoyed hearing these folks come on over to the forums!

Stories for Halloween, Vol 1, Part 3 The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton by Charles Dickens.

Happy Halloween! The final story in our trilogy of terror and weirdness comes from Charles Dickens. Gabriel Grub is a mean old sexton, and we find him digging a grave late on Christmas Eve. What could possibly go wrong?

This has been a fun way to celebrate Halloween during quarantine, and also to read some classic scary Christmas stories. I’ll have a new regular episode out on Monday! Stay safe, and eat lots of candy for me tonight.

Episode Music:

“Tiptoes” by Aaron Kenny

“Remembering Her”, “Piano Journey” by Esther Abrami

“Maestro Tlakaelel” by Jesse Gallagher

Cozy Christmas Podcast Presents a Special Presentation!

In the first of three special episodes for Halloween week, I read the classic 1829 ghost story “The Tapestried Chamber” by Sir Walter Scott.

“When General Browne’s friend invites him to spend the week at his home, he’s delighted to oblige—that is, until he spends a night in the tapestried chamber!”

We invite you to sit back, relax, and turn down the lights… and enjoy this story for Halloween!

Music for the show:

Kevin MacLeod 

Atlantean Twilight by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100322

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Industrial Music Box by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100812

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Other music created by Esther Abrami, Aaron Kenny, and Myuu.

Halloween and Christmas meet together in space!

Today’s episode is an interview with author and classic science fiction/fantasy author Ray Bradbury’s official biographer, Sam Weller. He has just published a new collection of gothic short stories called Dark Black. It’s a book that will get you into the Halloween mood! There’s also a new audio drama podcast called The Way We Haunt Now. https://hauntnowpod.com/

In the episode we talk about these two short stories – if you’d like to read them you can find them online. They are pretty short and won’t take long to read.

The Gift https://classic.esquire.com/article/1952/12/1/the-gift (the picture that Weller talks about in the interview is also on that page.)

The Star https://sites.uni.edu/morgans/astro/course/TheStar.pdf

The Way We Haunt  Now https://hauntnowpod.com/

Dark Black https://hatandbeard.com/products/dark-black

Artist Dan Grzeca: https://www.dangrzeca.com/

A Lot Like Christmas: https://www.amazon.com/Lot-Like-Christmas-Stories-ebook/dp/B01N6RFENJ/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=A+lot+like+christmas&qid=1603205945&sr=8-2

Contest Winner! Congratulations to Rachel Rogers, she has won the Scrooge Ornament!