A modern take on another classic..."You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" by Aimee Mann and Grant-Lee Phillips.

Classic Ella...

Munching while writing the last of the Christmas cards...

Natch. Taking a Malbec break from the last-minute Christmas flurry of wrapping.

To my fellow Americans: Merry Christmas!!! To the British Empire (current and former): Happy Christmas!!! To everyone else: Nollaig Shona! Nadolig Llawen! Gleðileg jól! Fröhliche Weihnachten! Hyvää Joulua! Feliz Navidad! Buon Natale! Joyeux Noël! vrolijk Kerstfeest! Glædelig jul! God Jul! С Рождеством! メリークリスマス! मैरी क्रिसमस! Jabulela Ukhisimusi! חַג מוֹלָד שָׂמֵח! Καλά Χριστούγεννα! Natale hilare! I am having problems with my computer and phone, so I don't know how many Christmas pms I will be able to send, if at all, so allow me to take this time to wish all of my friends here and the Forum as a whole a holly, jolly Christmas and a Happy New Year! May 2015 be twice as good a year as 2014. If you did not get all or any of the Led Zeppelin reissues, may Santa rectify that lack by this Christmas morning. Or perhaps some other Led Zeppelin item you long for. You can keep track of Santa here: http://www.noradsanta.org/ A warm Christmas cheer to each and every one of you and your families...especially you, Sam. Wish you were still with us, Brett...and Charles.

A customer just gave me a Christmas candy wreath.

One of the best movies and best soundtracks of the year...now this is some Christmas-wrapping music.

Adcom GTP-500 II.

Mr. All-American. Hope you had gravy to go with that? Guinness, steak and mushroom pie. Peas and carrots and pearl onions. Salad of butterleaf lettuce, tomatoes, cranberries, watercress, pine nuts and burrata. Hunk of crusty sheepherder's bread. Bottle of Abita Purple Haze beer.

Congratulations! My local Amoeba still has numbered editions of I, III, and IV on the shelves. Didn't see any II or HotH. So if you are one of the unnumbered classes, maybe you can return your unnumbered box and order thru Amoeba.com? Hahaha! Yeah, no doubt. I have to say that was very unprofessional on JB Hi-Fi's part. Makes you wonder how many people got stuck with unnumbered boxes due to their incompetence?

Once I speak my peace, I usually leave it at that unless someone asks me a direct question or directs a comment towards my post, but I know I am on here somewhere defending "In Through the Out Door". You and Juxtiphi are not alone by any means. By the way, when I mention the mix, I am not saying the entire album doesn't sound good. For the most part, instrumentally it sounds a-ok. My issue is with how buried Plant's vocals are on some of the songs...in particular the songs in which Plant wrote some of his best lyrics, i.e. "Carouselambra". A lyrics sheet would have been helpful to include with this album. Much more so than "Houses of the Holy", the only Led Zeppelin album with the lyrics included. Ironic, since "Houses of the Holy" features possibly the most clear vocals Plant recorded with Led Zeppelin. Merry Christmas.

Joe Cocker's first album, "With A Little Help From My Friends"...as a kid I loved seeing the picture of Jimmy on the back cover. And Chris Stainton reminds me a little of Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes. "Just Like A Woman" is a very underrated track from this album...and another one that features Jimmy on guitar.

Always cool to get new information on Led Zeppelin gigs. Especially from the murky 1968-69 period pre-Led Zeppelin I, when they were sort of flying under the radar and record keeping and media reports weren't always accurate...or even available.

Here we go, folks! It's been another topsy-turvy season and my thanks to everyone who joined in the spirit of fun...and in memory of Brett, aka pottedplant, Superfan of the New Orleans Saints. Hope to see you next season. If someone wants to start a playoff thread, you're welcome to it...I'm exhausted. Okay, good news...NO Thursday or Saturday games to worry about! All 16 games are on Sunday. By now you know where you stand in the rankings...good luck to you all in this final week of the Pottedplant Memorial NFL Pool. Week 17 Schedule Sunday Dec. 28 Cleveland @ Baltimore Dallas @ Washington Indianapolis @ Tennessee Jacksonville @ Houston San Diego @ Kansas City New York Jets @ Miami Chicago @ Minnesota Buffalo @ New England Philadelphia @ New York Giants New Orleans @ Tampa Bay Carolina @ Atlanta Detroit @ Green Bay Oakland @ Denver Arizona @ San Francisco St. Louis @ Seattle Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh

jb126 and I tied for the win this week. Nobody really had a great week...a lot of red slashes on everyone's sheets, topped by in_the_evening, who suffered thru a dismal 4-12 week. More importantly, jb126 picks up another game on Walter and two more games on Anjin-san. Walter, you should have stuck with your Miami pick. Her lead going into the final week is 5, 8, 10, and 12 games on the rest of the top 5 finishers. It will take a monumental collapse and some creative picking for someone to topple her. Week 16 Results jb126: 10-6* Strider: 10-6* apantherfrommd: 9-7 Bong-Man: 9-7 LedZeppfan77: 9-7 paul carruthers: 9-7 Walter: 9-7 zepscoda: 9-7 Anjin-san: 8-8 ebk: 8-8 mack: 8-8 jabe: 7-9 in_the_evening: 4-12 * = Winner of the Week Season Standings After 240 Games 1. jb126: 165-74-1**** 2. Walter: 160-79-1**** 3. Anjin-san: 157-82-1***** 4. Strider: 155-84-1*** 5. apantherfrommd: 153-86-1*** 6. paul carruthers: 152-87-1* 7. Bong-Man: 150-89-1** 8. ebk: 147-92-1** 9. in_the_evening: 144-95-1** 10. mack: 144-93-1 11. jabe: 142-97-1* 12. LedZeppfan77: 141-98-1** 13. zepscoda: 139-99-1** * = Weekly Wins

Musical Monday at work... 1. "Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" OST 2. Judy Garland "Meet Me in Saint Louis" OST 3. "Damn Yankees" Original Broadway Cast Album 4. "Mame" Broadway Cast Album 5. Judy Garland "A Star is Born" OST

I guess he wasn't feelin' alright, but did he die with a little help from his friends? Strangest singer I have ever seen. R.I.P. Joe Cocker.

Double Breakfast today: Watermelon and honeydew melon slices. Bowl of Greek yoghurt and granola. Two cups of coffee, two tall glasses of orange juice, and two tall glasses of water.

Amen to that and I second the motion.

Lamb is good. Lamb chops. Lamb curry. Lamb vindaloo. Crown rack of lamb. I'm on my fifth bloody mary watching football...and munching on onion rings and vegetable crudites and roasted pepper hummus.

May the spirit of pottedplant curse you. J/K. Any other changes you wish to make? No, it's too late to change your San Francisco pick.