WATCH: U.S. Air Force Band Stages A 'Holiday Flash Mob'

WOW ....... I am shedding a few tears hearing this, OK, not a few, many, this is beautiful.

I remember, we had one of these, and those and those ...

We had a "fridge" like the one on the right, it was a Frigidaire, of that I am sure, not sure if this is one of them or not. Seems like ours was larger. We might even have had it until 1943 when we moved and got a new one. On Brown street, many of our neighbors  still got ice delivered. I think that portion at the bottom was for the motor and the refrigeration unit. It held milk in glass bottles, this water pitcher, oddly enough, found it on Google, we had lost the stopper though. I think we later learned that it was made with something harmful and we got rid of it.

The old Philco, pictured here, sat in our living room much of my life and ended up in a bedroom upstairs. I spent many hours listening to this radio. It had a few "shortwave" channels also. Heard my first music from London on it, London Symphony as I recall, and heard much news of the war, from England. I remember hearing some live broadcasts with bombing going on in the background.

I think the top know was for tuning the dial, which lit up, one was off and on, one volume, and the other for choosing which of the bands or wavelengths it played.

The speaker was gigantic and was behind most of that cloth area. They were later used for "hifi" when it became popular, as a base speaker.

I've spent many an hour in front of one of these, same one.

An Amazon Fulfillment Center

Irony at its best .......

DALLAS (AP) — Although rain couldn't stop Gene Kelly from singing and dancing, an ice storm has postponed the auction of the Hollywood star's gray wool suit.

Heritage Auctions spokesman Noah Fleisher says accumulated ice cut the power to the auction house, so there's no way the suit Kelly wore as he joyously danced in a downpour in "Singin' in the Rain" can be auctioned as scheduled Friday.

Fleisher says the auction has been rescheduled for Thursday.

Heritage expects the suit to sell for more than $20,000.

Memorabilia collector Gerald Sola has owned the suit for more than four decades. He bought it for $10 at a 1970 sale of MGM props and wardrobe items.

Snuggles-R-Us

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's ultra-liberal capital city is a place where just about anything goes, from street parties to naked bike rides. But city officials say a business is pushing even Madison's boundaries by offering, of all things, hugs.

For $60, customers at the Snuggle House can spend an hour hugging, cuddling and spooning with professional snugglers.

Snugglers contend touching helps relieve stress. But Madison officials suspect the business is a front for prostitution and, if it's not, fear snuggling could lead to sexual assault. Not buying the message that the business is all warm and fuzzy, police have talked openly about conducting a sting operation at the business, and city attorneys are drafting a new ordinance to regulate snuggling.

"There's no way that (sexual assault) will not happen," assistant city attorney Jennifer Zilavy said. "No offense to men, but I don't know any man who wants to just snuggle."

Snuggle House owner Matthew Hurtado hasn't responded to multiple requests for an interview. His attorney, Tim Casper, said in an interview last month the business is legitimate and Hurtado has put precautions in place to protect clients and employees from each other.

"The concept is obviously a novel one and you can see where they (the city) might be a little skeptical," he said. "Could something happen? Yeah, I suppose. But they're taking every precaution."

In recent days, it's become unclear whether or not the house is still in business. No one answered the door there Saturday. A posting on a Facebook page claiming to be the Snuggle House's site said it had closed, but the page owner wouldn't identify themselves — or confirm if it was the home's official site. Neither Hurtado nor Casper have returned phone and email messages.

Madison's concern seems to be deeper than in other cities where similar businesses have set up shop as cuddling has grown into a cottage industry over the past decade.

Police in Rochester, N.Y., said they've had no complaints about The Snuggery, which offers overnight cuddle sessions. Be The Love You Are in Boulder, Colo., offers cuddles with "Snuggle Stars." Cuddle Therapy in San Francisco offers packages that "focus directly with your current needs around connection, intimacy and touch," according to its website. Police in San Francisco and Boulder didn't respond to The AP's inquires about those businesses.

I remember him, Al Ruscio ... not so much Kate Williamson

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Character actress Kate Williamson, who appeared in such films as "Disclosure," ''Dahmer," ''Dream Lover" and "Racing With the Moon," has died at age 82 after a lengthy illness, said her manager, Judy Fox.

Williamson died Friday at her suburban Encino home, less than a month after the passing of her husband of nearly 60 years, veteran character actor Al Ruscio. "They were the epitome of true and forever sweethearts," Fox said.

Williamson also appeared in dozens of TV shows going back to the 1970s, including "7th Heaven," ''JAG," ''NYPD Blue," ''Home Improvement" and "Ellen."

Williamson is survived by four children and five grandchildren.

Buckeyes try to cope with rare, painful loss

When you schedule "The Church of the Little Sisters" each week, it is difficult to face a good team, blame the OSU AD and the coaches for scheduling such a "crimpy" schedule. They will blame the B one G, that's what the logo states, the Big Ten for making them play a quality team. Read below, Meyer is setting a great example for his team, "Cry, sit, sulk, put your head in your hands, when you lose." I personally have little to NO respect for the coach, anymore. Maybe he should go back on TV and dazzle them with his knowledge of the game, he never loses, there. He was a WINNER on TV." He can go and sulk in his little home in Columbus, and he just coaches football, nice place, Urban." I think he's on the 9th at Muirfield, not to bad for a football coach.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Urban Meyer sat in the passenger seat of a golf cart as his players streamed out of the locker room and toward the team bus. In between bites of a small, pepperoni pizza from Papa John's and sips of red Gatorade, Meyer placed his head in his hands. His wife, Shelley, occasionally tried to console him. But mostly, Meyer just stared blankly. 

It was a look that no one had seen Meyer wear in a long time. Since Nov. 27, 2010, in fact. That's when he suffered his last loss as a head coach, against Florida State when he still led Florida. His current team, Ohio State, hadn't experienced a defeat since Jan. 2, 2012, in the Gator Bowl. 

Allen Kee/ESPN ImagesUrban Meyer suffered his first loss as Ohio State coach in the Big Ten championship game.

Several of the Buckeyes' underclassmen had never even known what it was like to lose a college game. Until Saturday, when Michigan State pulled off the 34-24 win in the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Ohio State struggled with how to react to such a foreign concept. 

"I’m just at a loss for words," linebacker Ryan Shazier said. "I haven’t lost in a while and it kind of hurts. We worked so hard and it just slipped out of our hands." 

Of course, this just wasn't any defeat. It's as if the football gods timed Meyer's first setback just right so as to inflict maximum pain. 

Had Ohio State not blown a 24-17 second half lead, had it found a way to pull through as it so often had, then a date with Florida State in the BCS title game almost certainly awaited. The Buckeyes had to sit home and watch the national title game with a 12-0 record last year because of NCAA probation. They'll be watching it from afar again this year and thinking about it long after that. As Meyer put it, losing to the Spartans is "is going to haunt all of us, I imagine, for a little while." 

"Man, it hurts," running back Carlos Hyde said. "To be that close to going to a national championship my senior year, that hurts." 

What stings even more is the Buckeyes' first Big Ten title game appearance served as the inverse of what fueled much of their success. All season long, Ohio State jumped on opponents with early scores then broke their will with physical play in the second half.

Plate valued less than $1K sells for over $1M

Walker’s Fine Arts and Estate Auctions was commissioned to sell a Chinese plate by the George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto, Canada. As reported by CTV, the auction house estimated that the glazed pottery featuring a three clawed dragon was between 300-500 years old and valued the piece at $700-$900 Canadian (over $656-$844 US).

Walker’s president, Jeffrey Walker, admitted that he was not a specialist in Chinese porcelain, so he consulted with experts who indicated that the plate was quite rare. Jeffrey told CTV the plate was, “Said to be from the late Yuan, early Ming Dynasty. Produced in an imperial kiln. Quite a rare example where only, only a very small handful are known to exist in the world.” Still, the auction house kept their estimates low. “We’re conservative with the dating and we’re conservative with the pricing,” said the auctioneer.

From the developing interest in the plate as the auction date neared, Jeffrey realized they valued the plate much lower than what interested parties may spend though they thought, “We were hoping then for $10,000, maybe $15,000.” Their expectations were blown away when the winning bidder, who chose not to reveal his name or nationality, purchased the plate for $1.025M Canadian (over $961K US). The anonymous foreign winner flew in to Ottawa to bid in person and competed with other international internet and phone bidders.

The winner spent a total of $1.2M Canadian (over $1.125M US) including Walker’s commission of $175,000, or over 1200 times the plate's original valuation. The Chinese plate has fetched the highest price the auction house ever received on a single item and Jeffrey said, “We’re researching to see if this, if this might be the most expensive Asian art sold in the country.”

With nearly a ton of butter, Texas gingerbread house sets record

BRYAN, Texas (Reuters) - Holiday cheer in Texas has become even sweeter thanks to a giant gingerbread house that has broken a world record for confectionery construction.

Coming in at 35.8 million calories and covering an area of 2520 square feet, or nearly the size of a tennis court, the 21-foot high gingerbread house in Bryan, Texas, 90 miles northwest of Houston, has been declared the biggest ever by Guinness World Records.

The house, with an edible exterior mounted over a wooden frame, was built by the Traditions Club near Texas A&M University to help raise money for a trauma center at the regional St. Joseph's Hospital.

"We think big around here and we are competitive," said Bill Horton, general manager of the club.

The Texas creation topped the previous record holder for gingerbread houses, a 36,600-cubic-foot model constructed in Bloomington, Minnesota's Mall of America in 2012.

The recipe is simple. Mix 1,800 pounds of butter (820 kgs), 2,925 pounds (1,327 kg) of brown sugar, 7,200 eggs, 7,200 pounds (3,266 kg) all-purpose flour, 1,080 ounces (31 kg) ground ginger and a few other ingredients, bake and form into panels for mounting.

The bakers tried to cut back on the butter and baking soda as much as possible to help the gingerbread better stand up to the weather.

Elementary school’s alleged holiday party rules, including the ban of red and green, cause outrage

Season’s greetings are the talk of the town these days in Texas. The state passed HB 308, legislation referred to as “The Merry Christmas Law,” back in June. It, in part, states that “A school district may educate students about the history of traditional winter celebrations, and allow students and district staff to offer traditional greetings regarding the celebrations including (1) “Merry Christmas”; (2) “Happy Hanukkah”; and (3) “happy holidays.” I, uh, guess they forgot Kwanza. KDFW Fox 4 News is reporting that Texas State Representative Pat Fallon (R) thinks a Texas school is running afoul of this law.

The source of consternation is a party being thrown for students by Gene and Ruby Nichols Elementary School in Frisco. Apparently a PTA member, without approval, sent out rules regarding what they referred to as a “winter party.” KDFW acquired the email and it reads:

The Winter Party Rules…

1) No reference to Christmas or any other religious holiday
2) No red/green or Christmas Trees
3) Nothing that will stain the carpet (red juice, dark colored icing, etc.)

Outrageous! No red juice??? So, what the kids can’t drink punch? Unbelievable! Oh, and the other two rules seem quite pushy. Representative Fallon, co-author of HB 308, thinks it’s silly, “We’re celebrating Christmas, so why can’t it be a ‘Christmas party’ or maybe a ‘holiday party?’ But they skipped over ‘holiday’ and gone to ‘winter.’ That’s, you know, political correctness gone too far.”

After hearing about the rules, Fallon told KDFW he spoke with Frisco Independent School District Superintendent Jeremy Lyon, and was told the rules are not, “district policy.” He was also told by the PTA that kids could indeed say, “merry Christmas.”

However! Representative Fallon then got another email that said the PTA was going to keep the rules, because they didn’t want to “offend any families and since each family donates money they feel this is the best policy…”

What, me worry?

B one G - Anyone???????

I wish someone could explain to me, the top logo

It says .......... B then a 1 which is a ONE and then a G

BONEG

What does that mean

I have tried to get in touch with the league office, no response from them

The bottom one says what it says .... Big Ten

But, the use the top one with says

B one G

????????????Does anyone know the meaning?????????????

Sunday School Lesson for Today

"Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

The "let he who is without sin, cast the first stone" incident is one of the most well-known lessons of the Bible. A woman, who had been caught in the act of adultery was brought to Jesus Christ by the scribes (see Lawyers) and Pharisees (see Who Were The Pharisees?) as a test to see if the Messiah was a liberal in matters of the Law of God. In response to their deceitful query, He didn't condemn the woman, not because He was a liberal, not because He condoned her sin, but because the men who brought the woman to Him were Hypocrites. He was the only person there that day who was free of sin, the only one who had the right to "cast the first stone." He didn't stone her (or her accusers), but instead forgave her and told her to "sin no more." Otherwise, the day is coming when she, if she didn't thereafter repent, won't be stoned, but will be burned - along with the hypocrites who brought her to Him that day, if they didn't thereafter repent of their sin:

"Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." (Revelation 22:14-15 KJV)

A fitting tribute

Nelson Mandella was a great man, had a wonderful life, and spread his goodness throughout the world, and died at a time, when there was a void on television. After today, I will know more about him at the end of this day, than anyone, dead or alive.

He was remarkable, but, 24 hours a day, on TV, is a fitting tribute to him. I am sure he is deserving of each accolade he receives. Four presidents from the USA will be in attendance, two of them, I think, deserve to be there, two, when doing comparisons with the life of Mandella, will fail. I am assuming that Mandella never cheated on his wife, or was considered to be a liar.

One of our presidents embarrassment will show, one will not.

"Let He Who Is Without Sin..."

The Ohio State University football team ..... lost, post game tradition, forgotten

I was thinking of Ohio State football, this morning, and Jim, way out there in Oklahoma. Many OSU fans felt they should be NUMBER ONE in the country. I got the impression that knowledgeable football analysts didn't feel that way. As there ex maligned spendthrift president, Gee, once referred to teams who play the "Sisters of the Poor," I think it was, and referred to other schools when he should have looked at his own horseshoe, so to speak.

Only OSU fans, naturally, felt they were qualified to be Number one.

They played Michigan, I team I felt was not very good this year, and OSU didn't win, Michigan lost. Big Difference. Now, they have played MSU and lost.

I think all doubt has been removed about the quality of OSU.

I must admit, I did not watch the second half, I went to bed. I woke up later on, and turned the radio on to our local station, which had broadcast the game. I listened to the Post Game interview with the coach and a few players. Listening to their comments, their attitude, I assumed that OSU had won the game. Not till their interview was over and they announced the score, did I know that MSU had won. I am not sure they think that they lost. That is one reason that I am no longer an OSU fan, I used to be an avid one. I wonder how many OSU fans had already made plans to attend the Championship game.

INDIANAPOLIS – If you want to know how badly the Big Ten championship loss wounded Ohio State, consider this: After Michigan State had finished harmin' Ohio, the Buckeyes bagged "Carmen Ohio."

At a school that takes its traditions seriously, that will be considered sacrilege by some fans. Under former coach Jim Tressel, the ritual was non-negotiable: Win or lose, the team would gather postgame before the marching band and sing the song, written more than a century ago by an Ohio State student. For 24 games under Urban Meyer, that continued. Game ended, players gathered, song was sung. Meyer, a self-proclaimed lover of Buckeye lore, was always front and center, flanked by players on either side.

Made for a nice photo op, at the very least.

Of course, for 24 games there was never a loss, never a chance to test the commitment to tradition in a time of adversity.

Saturday night, that changed. Saturday night, Meyer's Buckeyes finally lost – and did so in shocking fashion. They fell behind the Spartans 17-0, roared back for a 24-17 lead, then were hit with another 17-0 flurry in a devastating 34-24 loss.

National title aspirations vanished. The program that had dominated a diminished Big Ten finally played an opponent of consequence – and was exposed as a cut below championship mettle.

My Facebook Logo .........

Togetherness

Pennsylvania newlyweds "just wanted to murder someone together:"

(Reuters) - A newlywed couple in Pennsylvania killed a man whom the wife had lured to a rendezvous though an online dating advertisement, strangling him and stabbing him repeatedly, police said on Friday.

The pair, named as Elytte and Miranda Barbour, "just wanted to murder someone together," Sunbury Police Corporal Brad Hare told Reuters.

Elytte Barbour, 22, hid under a blanket in the back of their car as his 18-year-old wife Miranda drove to pick up a man she met through Craigslist at a mall north of Harrisburg on November 11, the Sunbury Police Department said in a report.

On Miranda's signal, Elytte strangled the man, 42-year-old Troy LaFerrara, with a cord while she stabbed him about 20 times, it said.

They dumped his body in an alley in Sunbury, where police found him the next day.

"It was pretty twisted," Hare said.

Miranda told police she connected with LaFerrara through Craigslist, which she used to meet other men who would pay her for escort-style "companionship," he said

Elytte was arrested on Friday and faces multiple criminal homicide and assault charges. Miranda was arrested on Tuesday and faces similar charges, according to local media reports. They were being held without bail.

After dumping the body, Elytte and Miranda bought bleach wipes, towels, and cleaning liquid to remove the blood from inside the vehicle, police said.

After cleaning it, they went out to eat.

Coffee shop holds food drive for tip jar thief

Here's something to help restore your faith in humanity. The Nervous Dog Coffee Shop is holding a food drive to help benefit a man who allegedly stole money from the baristas' tip jar.

News of the coffee shop's good deed was reported by WKYC in Ohio. Apparently a man (still unidentified) was caught on camera pilfering money from the employees' tip jar. But instead of going after him with the help of the police, the coffee shop workers decided to give the guy a helping hand.

Manager Scott Moses told WKYC, "He stuck his hand straight into the tip jar and took out as much as he could get and walked out like nothing happened."

But rather than automatically think the guy is a heartless jerk, Moses said, "we assume that if he was desperate enough to steal tips, he's probably in desperate times."

Both coffee shop locations are taking food donations for the alleged thief and will give them to him if he comes forward, no questions asked, according to WKYC.

An interesting wrinkle to the story — some people have sounded off on the Nervous Dog's Facebook page that the shop is, in effect, rewarding a crook. WKYC asked viewers to give their opinions on whether it's an act of generosity or a bad move.

Opinions are mixed. One person wrote, "Rewarding a thief will only make it worse. Desperation is NEVER a reason to steal from others. What happened to asking your local church for help? When is asking for help become something resented while stealing is promoted?"

Another disagreed, writing, "The forgiveness and compassion of the coffee shop is refreshing!!"

December 7, 1941

The old "Billy Mitch"

The USS William T. Mitchell TAP114

In the Navy, I went aboard her in 1954, she was berthed in Seattle, I went aboard her at night. She looked so big tied up there. I was relieved, never get seasick on anything this big. She was a troopship, 622 feet in length, and while I was aboard her, we took troops and passengers, dependents, to Yokohama Japan, and then on up to Pusan or Inchon, and then back home. Made one trip to Okinawa, and berthed in San Diego and San Francisco as well as Seattle.

I think of her during this holiday season, we had NO Christmas on one of our trips. I think going over to Japan, we crossed the International Date Line and lost a day. That day was December 25, and I think it was in 1955. We had quite a few children on board, so we never told them. We printed a "Plan Of The Day," each day, and even though it was, the 26th, we called it the 25th.

Many had spent Christmas away from home, for one reason or another, but it is difficult to celebrate the day, "at sea." We made it as "Christmassee" as possible for the children, and Santa did leave presents aboard ship, so he was aware of our plight. He had quite a logistics problem showing up on a day that did not exist, it had to be a problem issue on his schedule.

"What did I do," you ask. Well, it is a long story, but when I went aboard her, they didn't need me, or even know I was arriving. They made me the "Chaplain's Assistant." Later on, worked in the Personnel Office and was the "Diary Yeoman." The Diary is that last thing to leave the ship prior to sailing. Actually, the ship does not sail till the Diary is off the ship. Had some tense moments. "Diary Yeoman to the Bridge." heard that a few times, it meant get it all done and get your butt up here with the Diary so the pilot can take it with him.

I enjoyed my time aboard the "Mitch" .... good memories.