Author: Jonathan Blundell

I'm a husband, father of three, blogger, podcaster, author and media geek who is hoping to live a simple life and follow The Way.

18 hours of Christmas music

What does an NPR music critic do when he’s flooded with Christmas music every year? He traps his family in the car and plays each of the 21 CDs – 18 hours worth.

I’ve always enjoyed hearing new Christmas music, but there’s just so much of it. Every fall, I receive dozens of new holiday CDs — countless hours of music to sift through in the long, agonizing buildup to Christmas.
This year, shortly before Thanksgiving, I decided to save them all for one epic binge during a 1,000-mile road trip to see family — to be captivated by the holiday spirit while held literally captive.
Pulling out of the driveway, I started — as one does — with A Swingin’ Christmas, by Michael Bolton. And thus began 18 of the longest hours of my life. Bolton’s “swingin’ Christmas” was my “ploddin’ Christmas,” a tensely endured soundtrack for a holiday hellride through D.C. traffic.

Stephen Thompson reviews all 21 albums for your enjoyment online.

Or if you’re interested here are some of my Christmas favs…

  1. Kenny G: Miracles: The Holiday Album – I might get punched in the face for this one, but nothing says Christmas like Kenny G! The first Christmas wishes/bumpers I ever recorded for radio used this album for my music bed. “Merry Christmas KEOM listeners. I’m Jonathan Blundell, taking this moment to wish you and your’s a very Merry Christmas. One of my favorite memories of Christmas….”
  2. Arbuckle Indians: It’s an Arbuckle Indian Christmas – not a well known group or album, although they did have a run up the Christmas charts at Mp3.com a few years back. You might be able to track down a CD copy of the album if you know the right folks.
  3. Various: Happy Christmas – Tooth and Nail artists share their own rendition of new and old Christmas songs. The entire collection is great and only one step behind A Very Special Christmas
  4. Various: A Very Special Christmas – it’s Christmas time in Hollis Queens. Doesn’t get much better than that other than U2 singing a cover of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).
  5. Bebo Norman, Allen Levi, Ed Cash: Joy – I can’t tell you where my original copy of this CD is, but the tracks I still have as Mp3 are worth a listen year round.
  6. Trans Siberian Orchestra: Christmas Eve and Other Stories – one of my favorites since it’s release in 1996. It doesn’t get much better than Christmas Eve Sarajevo. And who would have thought Laurie would have already started an annual tradition of seeing the band live every Christmas when they come to Dallas. Awesome.

What’s on your top list?

Re: Google releases Street View Dallas

Not that the picture in and of itself is spectacular – but here’s the spot where Laurie and I got engaged.
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You can barely make it out in this pic, but there’s a bench there which is where it all took place.

And here’s Cafe Brazil.
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One of my favorite hangouts in Dallas. Surprised my cars not there – granted it’s not normally there till after dark.

Save gas – don’t make left hand turns

Shipping giant UPS made a realization – they could save fuel and costs by reducing the number of left hand turns on their routes.
According to the NY Times, the international shipper is saving roughly three million gallons of gas a year by reducing those turns.

Think about the time and fuel used at each left hand turn. Left-hand turns are far more costly because of the waiting time involved. There’s rarely a “left on red” rule and thus drivers have to idle, wait for the lights to change and burn up gas. Depending on the cross street, that can take up considerable time and fuel.

Thinking about my new job, and duties at encounter and other places, it’s always exciting when someone comes in with a fresh set of eyes on things. You may never know how you’ve accepted doing something a certain way – only to find out there could be a much easier, simpler and cheaper way to do it.

What could you change in your ministry or church or organization to speed things up and cut costs?

Red light jobs available

“To raise awareness about the trafficking of women into sex slavery, Stop the Traffik set up a stand at a prominent careers fair for ‘Top Jobs Abroad’ a fictional recruitment company offering “the very best opportunities”. After being greeted by a friendly representative, visitors were ushered through a door at the stand and straight into a specially designed Red Light District window– in full view of passers by.”

View the Stop the Traffik blog – another hat tip to Thomas