Bob and Mark ur hoachin as they tromp through the Scottish moors in kilts and tap shoes tae be tellin eh day’s good craic eh a fever dream – the Christmas Zombie Pandemic High School Musical — “Anna and the Apocalypse”.  There’s nothing better than flesh-eating festivities eh go wae ye haggis.  It’s pure bagging!  Yin join us mate eh speak Gaelic, talk holiday scran, hold hands with Thor and Odin, and burn a little o’ the Rowan branch. And we ain’t blootered!  We also recall auld lang syne as a wee bairn wae the Orchids song “I Wish I Was”.  It leaves is pure greeting. Ye won’t be ‘scunnered!

Email Address: festivefans@gmail.com

Festive Foreign Film Fans Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QIjYWNP1TS0hC2OFeBXqO?si=8791632a966d4f53

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092522416848

What nationality is Santa Claus?  North Polish!  Ha, we are starting this episode’s summary with a (Gran)Dad joke to celebrate the birth of our new podmast-cot (and Mark’s granddaughter) Lana “Festivus Fania” Chandler.  In fact,  Mark your Chanlenders because his family is all over this show.   They are the Pole-y Spirit as we traveling  to Poland — the ancestral homeland of Mark’s wife Sue.  We watch a great film called Listy do M (I know it, sounds like a porno movie, but it means ‘Letters to Santa”).  We also jam out to the Polish Mariah Careys and their song  “Kto Wie”,  plus we talk Wigilia and food, lots of rich, hearty food to fill out our Santa physiques.  Join us for our Eastern European journey to find the first star, so we can begin eating already!

Email Address: festivefans@aol.com

Festive Foreign Film Fans Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QIjYWNP1TS0hC2OFeBXqO?si=8791632a966d4f53

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092522416848

It’s a colorful challenge, but Mark and Bob are just the two-dimensional, cartoonish guys to tackle this episode’s first animated film Tokyo Godfathers.   Mark goes deep, but Bob — he’s here for the anime pillows, electric eels, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.  All that’s missing is Pokemon and Hello Kitty!  Yes, Mark is still injured, but the boys  manage a tour of the Pacific Rim and the lively and eclectic country of Japan.  We stumble our way through a touching story, original characters, fun customs, and Tatsuro Yamashita’s popular song “Christmas Eve” (with English words too!)   So, let’s take a pause to bask in the holiday rays from the Land of the Rising Sun!

Our Movie:

 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388473/

4F Test:  Festive = (It’s a Christmas movie);  Feel = (It’ll give you the feels);                Future =  (Going to watch the sequels);  Fan =  (A recommendation with caution)

Where to watch it:

 Tubi TV (https://tubitv.com); Vudu (https://www.vudu.com); Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/games?hl=en_US&gl=US); iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com);  Amazon Instant Video (https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Video/b?ie=UTF8&node=2858778011)

Manga:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga

Anime Pillow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDrsUHAyE_Y

Tokyo

https://www.gotokyo.org/en/index.html

Transgender Issues                

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/06/28/americans-complex-views-on-gender-identity-and-transgender-issues/

AIDS

https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/about-hiv-and-aids/what-are-hiv-and-aids/

Three Kings

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/three-kings-magi-epiphany

How to Say “Merry Christmas” in Japanese:

https://www.japanesepod101.com/blog/2017/12/14/how-to-say-merry-christmas-in-japanese/

Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas in Japan

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/kfc-christmas-tradition-japan/index.html

Domino’s Reindeer Delivery Service 

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/domino-s-tried-reindeer-delivery-program-you-can-guess-how-n691171

Japanese Christmas song:  “Christmas Eve” – Tatsuro Yamashita

 

Email Address: festivefans@aol.com

Festive Foreign Film Fans Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QIjYWNP1TS0hC2OFeBXqO?si=8791632a966d4f53

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092522416848

It’s the second episode of Festive Foreign Film Fans.  We have shortened the name to “4F” which is an acronym that we only divulge to our closest friends.  Shhh!  This show we travel to one of the few Asian countries that celebrates Christmas as a national holiday — South Korea!  Bob and Mark first discuss the Christmas disaster thriller film The Tower, than embarrass their listeners by trying to understand and explain newfound Korean traditions they’ve only just researched online.  They do also enjoy a vigorous music interlude of K-pop holiday merriment with the Twice song “Merry & Happy”.  We strive to give you a few interesting facts, but also to bridge that physical and cultural distance that separates us from our shared global Christmas experience.  And we are just the mediocre guys to do it!

Our Movie:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2554270/

4F Test:  Festive = (Bob says yes, but Mark disagrees);  Feel = (It’s an emotional rollercoaster);  Future =  (Not so much);  Fan =  (Not for Christmas, but as a thriller)

Where to watch it:

iTunes https://itunes.apple.com

Amazon Instant Video  https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Video/b?ie=UTF8&node=2858778011

Mark’s College:  Slippery Rock University  https://www.sru.edu/

And his football team:  Rockets Football:  https://rockathletics.com/sports/football

Bruce Willis (from Die Hard and Armageddon)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Willis

 Game of Thrones:   https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones

September 11, 2001

https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/9-11-attacks

Korean Christmas Cake

https://www.dramasrok.com/2015/12/christmas-cake-korea-2015/

How to pronounce Merry Christmas in Korean?    

https://www.90daykorean.com/merry-christmas-in-korean/

 K-pop:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-pop

 Korean Christmas song:

 “Merry & Happy” – Twice   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi_6oaQyckM

 

Email Address: festivefans@aol.com

Festive Foreign Film Fans Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2QIjYWNP1TS0hC2OFeBXqO?si=8791632a966d4f53

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092522416848