Christmas Songs that Aren't

I came across this on the internets the other day, and I thought it beared repeating.



Christmas songs that aren't.

It's Christmastime, and the easy listening FM radio stations are festooned with Christmas music.

Or are they?

Despite the fact that most radio stations seem to have a playlist that encompasses all of about 15 songs, I'd posit that a good third of them at least aren't even Christmas songs.

They're winter songs.

Here's my list of "Christmas Music" that has nothing at all to do with Christmas:.

Jingle Bells
Frosty the Snowman
Let it Snow
Sleigh Ride
Winter Wonderland
My Favorite Things (from The Sound of Music)

Just because a song talks about snow or winter doesn't make it a Christmas song. Christmas is just barely even in winter. Four days into winter to be exact. If you want to associate a winter or snow song with a holiday, perhaps Valentine's Day would be more appropriate, or even Martin Luther King Junior day. Both are more squarely in wintertime then Christmas is. Snowmen also have nothing to do with Christmas, but that's another rant

But using the commonly adopted association of winter and Christmas, I'd like to propose one more Christmas song:

Brick, by Ben Folds Five.

Sure it's about abortion, but in the song they use this line:
"Six AM,
Day after Christmas
I throw some clothes on in the dark
The smell of cold
Car seat is freezing
The world's asleep and I am
Numb"

Ben mentions both "Christmas" and "cold", and therefore by the same logic that makes My Favorite Things a Christmas song (snowflakes, silver white winters, sleigh bells), Brick is now also a de facto Christmas Song.

So keep this in mind while you listen to everybody and their mom cover "Winter Wonderland."

Merry Winter

The Traveling Kreiders

For the past three weeks, Jason and Christine Kreider have been in Vietnam adopting their daughter, Anika. They've been sending pictures and updates, and IM chats and phone calls, but today, they finally made it back to North Carolina.

Tristan, Zoe, and I went to Terminal C to meet the Kreiders when they arrived, and to document the momentous occasion in photos, since the family (including Big Brother Alex and Grandfather Jere) would surely have their hands full.

Here's the first sight of Jason, Christine, and Anika, just past the security checkpoint.

Family Addition Hosted on Zooomr

And Alex meeting his new little sister for the very first time

New Sibling Hosted on Zooomr

Alex holding Anika

Big Brother Hosted on Zooomr

Anika is quite amused with Tristan and Zoe.

T&Z Meet Anika Hosted on Zooomr

And the kids jump at their chance to hold the baby too.

Newest Friend Hosted on Zooomr

Jason displaying the amount of stuff two American adults and a baby need for three weeks in Vietnam.

Traveling Light Hosted on Zooomr

Jere (Jason's dad) could not be more proud.

Jere and Anika Hosted on Zooomr

Anika, despite being three months old, had never been in a child safety seat. . . until now.

First Car Seat Ride Hosted on Zooomr

That's it for now as the Kreiders start getting used to a new life as normal. I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty more pictures of all of them over the years. . . especially once Jason gives me my camera back.

A Shameless Plug

It's no secret that we take a lot of pictures. Many of the best, you've seen here, but there are plenty of others that you haven't seen because there's no room for them in the blog, or there isn't a relevant place to put them.

Enter Zooomr. Zooomr aspires to be the world's premier photo hosting site, and has become one of my favorite places on the Web. I've moved a bunch of our photos there, and plan on moving many more.

What's so great about Zooomr? You can tag your photos with any key words you choose, and that makes them easier to find by others. You can Geotag your photos so that they'll show up on a map of the world. You can "fave" photos you love, add friends, create smart sets, leave text or voice comments. I have 4GB of upload bandwith a month, and best of all. . . it's FREE.

So take the time to vist the TravelingRoth's Zooomr Photos:

http://beta.zooomr.com/photos/TravelingRoths

And just becuase I can, here are some of our newly added pictures

Ristorante Italia Hosted on Zooomr

Swiss Cheese Bus Hosted on Zooomr

Lake Geneva Panoramic Hosted on Zooomr

La Spezia, Cinque Terre Hosted on Zooomr

Strikers Season Finale

Saturday was week two of the end-of-season festival, and the Strikers continued their winning ways, taking the first game against the Sharks 4-2, and the second game against the Storm x-x.

Since I wasn't there, and don't know how it went, other than Tristan scoring a goal in the first game, and Zoe taking a shot to the face (again), the rest of this post will be pictures of the games, taken by Jennifer.

(As a side-note, these are just about the only pictures on this blog so far that Jennifer has taken, and they're awesome!)

Team Traveling Roth Hosted on Zooomr

Focus on Tristan Hosted on Zooomr

Solo Zoe Hosted on Zooomr

Breakaway Hosted on Zooomr

Left Hook Hosted on Zooomr

Kick it Hosted on Zooomr

The THD Strikers

Just in case you were curious, here are the "official" team photos of Tristan and Zoe's team the THD Construction Strikers.

Zoe

Zoe Strikers Fall 06 Hosted on Zooomr

and Tristan

(actually, Zooomr is having an issue with that photo for some reason. Check back later once I can get it worked out.)

Needless to say, I don't have much respect for other peoples' photo rights on pictures of my family that I paid for . I don't understand why I don't own the rights on photos I purchased, like you do when you when you buy your portraits at Heirloom. BTW, LifeTouch still uses film! Can you imagine that?

Soccer, Festival, Week 1

As a departure to the spring's end-of-season tournament (which the Strikers lost the championship by one penalty kick), this season has a "Festival", where each team in both the U8 Blue and White divisions play four games over two Saturdays.

In today's first game, under clear skies and 33 degree (F) conditions, the Strikers took on the Lions from the U8 White division. The Strikers won 2-0, with the first goal scored by Cameron, and the second by Tristan. (I would post pictures, but I didn't attend the game nor photograph.) Zoe informs me that she almost scored a goal.

The next game was at 12:15 against the U8 White Kickers. The Strikers won that one too, 3-2, with two goals scored by Cameron, and one by Asalyn. There would've been pictures, but Jennifer prefers the Canon to the Sony, and the Canon is in Vietnam right now with Jason and Christine Kreider.

Next Saturday, two more games in the conclusion of the Fall 2006 season Festival