Sean & Stefan say...
Christmas was a great holiday this year! We spent the Christmas holiday in Virginia Beach with Sean's Mom, her cat Vanilla, and his sister Mikelle's dog Cierra. Sean's sister Holly and her husband Frank came along later Xmas Day. All the gift's haven't been handed out yet so we won't talk about what we gave this year. We will just show you the pictures of us having fun!
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The McFreeds want to wish everyone a very Merry Xmas!!! We are off to Sean's mother's house for another exciting Christmas and won't be posting for a few days. But we hope to show you, our fans, pictures of what happened! We know there will be surprises!!! With that here is a little Xmas song to celebrate the season! We've chosen three classics for our blog. Sean's favorite Xmas song is "Christmas Can't Be Far Away" from Burl Ives. Unfortunately, that isn't available on YouTube and we are novices at the audio portion of Vox so here are our selections for you and yours! So Merry Xmas from Sean and Stefan, may your Christmas be wonderful and joyous!
A sneak preview of A Very Special McFreed Christmaskah!
Sean says...
Growing up with my sisters Mikelle and Holly, we always looked forward to the multitude of Christmas shows that would come on every year. We especially enjoyed the Rankin & Bass stop-motion shows. A huge favorite in our house was A Year Without A Santa Claus! It wasn't because it had a great story. It was because the minor villains of the show, Snow Miser and Heat Miser, had these great entrances . I bet many of you agree! Here are their songs courtesy of YouTube! Maybe for Halloween next year I will go as Heat Miser... he is my favorite (childlike giggle)!! He's TOO much! Enjoy!
I found this great story on CNN.com today! For those of you familiar with the holiday show Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer you will find this bit of nostalgia interesting and a fun read!
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- They look terrific for a duo whose holiday act debuted 43 years ago.
Though one still carries around a spare tire of belly fat, it doesn't seem to have aged him, and the other is still a bright, shining guy despite some rough times.
Rediscovered and restored puppets of Santa Claus and Rudolph that were animated for TV's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" are making holiday appearances, delighting fans of the special that has been a perennial favorite since its first airing in 1964. CBS plans to show it again Tuesday.
In the animated feature, inspired by the Johnny Marks song, Rudolph is laughed at and excluded from reindeer games over his glowing red nose. He finds acceptance at the Island of Misfit Toys before reuniting with Santa one foggy Christmas Eve.
"It's like meeting a celebrity, like meeting Clint Eastwood, or ('Batman' stars) Adam West and Burt Ward. These are icons," said Rick Goldschmidt, historian of the Rankin/Bass animation studio, who accompanied the 8-inch-high red-suited Santa and 4-inch-high yearling Rudolph with antler nubs to a comic book convention over Thanksgiving weekend.
Two years ago, the figures were acquired by current owner Kevin Kriess. Santa's face was stained, there was mold under his beard and half his mustache was gone. Rudolph was missing the red light bulb from his nose, said Kriess, a longtime fan of the special whose Harmony, Pennslyvania-based business TimeandSpaceToys.com sells action figures and other collectibles based on movies and TV shows.
Kriess, 44, said he bought his two treasures from a person whose family had received them years ago from a relative who worked for Rankin/Bass. For many years, the delicate wood, wire and fabric puppets had been treated casually: first as toys and later as holiday decorations.
"They had Rudolph in a candy dish with candy all around him, just on a coffee table, and people would just reach in around Rudolph's body and pull out a candy cane or something," Kriess said. In the family's holiday photos, you could spot Santa slumped under a tree in a corner, he said.
Arthur Rankin Jr., who with producing partner Jules Bass created the "Rudolph" special for original sponsor General Electric, said the figures were just going to be thrown out, so his secretary took them home and gave them to family. No effort was made to preserve them, because no one imagined the show would become a hallowed classic.
"You make a film and you don't know whether it's going to work or not, whether it will have an audience," said Rankin, 83, reached by phone in Bermuda, where he is now retired. "In the case of 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,' it went beyond any expectations."
The firm in Japan that animated the figures likely had a half-dozen replicas of each figure, Rankin said. But he believes any other red-suit Santas and yearling Rudolphs were probably discarded, because the puppets tended to get worn out by the animators.
The firm used the "stop-motion" method -- starting and stopping a camera while arms and other parts are moved in tiny increments that appear as fluid movement in the final film.
Kriess bought his pair after he shared photos of them and what he knew about their history with Rankin, who confirmed they had been used in the filming. The sale contract requires that the purchase price and the seller's identity not be revealed, Kriess said.
He took the figures to Los Angeles stop-motion animation studio Screen Novelties International, which restored them. Animal hair was found to match the surviving half of Santa's mustache, and Rudolph's red nose was rewired and now lights again. Kriess said the company did the work mostly as a labor of love and charged only $4,000 for expenses.
A few puppets of other characters are still in the possession of people who worked on the film, said historian Goldschmidt, whose books include "The Making of the Rankin/Bass Holiday Classic: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
Kriess has scheduled more pre-Christmas appearances: in the Chicago area at the Brookfield Zoo and a Borders book store December 8-9, and at Kriess' new brick-and-mortar store at the Monroeville Mall near Pittsburgh the following weekend.
He hopes to make a holiday tradition out of an annual tour, though he acknowledges receiving sometimes-tempting offers for his puppets ranging up to tens of thousands of dollars.
Even if he ever sold them, Kriess said, he would require the buyer to allow him to continue exhibiting the puppets occasionally.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Sean & Stefan say...
Happy Holidays everyone! Well McFreed fans, the 2007 holiday season has begun and its time to decorate!!!
This is our second Christmas and Hanukkah together, but the first living together so we are very excited! We wanted to start off celebrating our family and faith traditions right so we showed our pride with a menora and a Xmas tree.
As some of you know Sean was brought up in the Christian faith (lapsed Catholic who attends the gay-friendly Metropolitian Community Churches) and Stefan was brought up in the Jewish tradition, very much left of Reform. This means the McFreed household is inter-faith. Christmas and Hanukkah are both celebrated here!
Hanukkah this year begins at sundown December 4th and ends at nightfall December 12th.
Here is the official McFreed Hanukkah display! We plan to observe the celebration by lighting the candles together and partaking in gift giving and traditional Hanukkah foods of potato latkes with applesauce.
Your McFreeds also put together a Xmas tree! We kept with Stefan's love of a mid-century style and kept in mind the purple shades of paint in our front rooms of the condo when picking our tree. Ultimately, we went with an artificial 7 1/2 slim white Christmas tree! Never fear, Sean's "legacy" ornament know by the politically incorrect name "Chemo Girl" has made it on the tree this year - again! Check it out! We went crazy with the ornaments! Click on our pictures to get a closer look at all our decorations!
Dear Santa
Well another year has passed and Christmas has come around again! This year has found me, Sean, in such happiness. If we flash back to last season, job woes had me down. But now love, life, family, and work is truly going well... knock on wood of course! Please make note of my new address since I have moved in with Stefan. I believe I gave it to you last year so you could throw some gifts his way. If you still need it just give me a jingle! (tee hee)
Stefan and I have selected a white Xmas tree this year to emphasize our mid-century obsessions and because it would look cool next to the purple-tone paint in the main room of our home! So please ensure the presents have a wrapping paper, bow, and/or bag that shows off this new addition! (cue raised right eyebrow) We don't want anything clashing now do we? New ornaments that look great on a white background would be fun too!
As I do every year, I am writing you an overly sweet and greedy letter asking for presents in a vague attempt to avoid actually directly asking/telling family what I would seriously enjoy for Xmas! Being that Stefan and I started a blog this year, I thought what appropriate way to broadcast then through it! And Santa, after all, I know you keep up with the latest technologies up at the North Pole. So here goes... (smirk)
...items are highlighted in blue so it will be easier to find through my prattle...
Ok, so I won't be AS greedy as I am usually this year. Now don't shake your head now, Santa! I saw you! I really mean it this year. Stefan and I made some financial goals that I really want to stick to and so the only true thing I would want is for those to stay on track this year. Yes, this is pretty much a prayer that nothing screw up our path toward a home and embracing a child to our hearts over the course of the next year and half. Living together has been a wonderful, albeit crowded, time - but space is space and these legs gotta stretch! So please grant me strength as the new work contract gets processed so money is secure with our household. And may we both stay healthy so God can truly bless us with our true desire, to love a child someone cared most about to entrust them to someone else. Xmas won't be Xmas I think until Stefan and I have that little hand to write Santa letters with in the future.
Ok, so security to buy a new home, health, and a child of our very own... check!
Now for the avarice!
What does this "boy" want on Xmas morning? Well I know that a High-def TV with 1080p resolution might be too big for the sleigh along with the accompanying Bose sound system and Toshiba HD DVD player... so best leave that for our first day in the new house's souped up media room (said with a dwindling mumble). But Papa (the name I chose in leiu of Dad for when we get our bundle of joy) still collects the DVDs so bring them on!
Here are the Top Ten DVDs (a good site to look for them on) on my goodie list (in no particular order):
2. Aliens - Collector's Edition 2 disc set
3. The Complete Thin Man Collection
4. The Lady Vanishes (Criterion Collection)
5. Once & Again: The Complete First Season
6. Seinfeld - Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and/or 9
8. Walt Disney Legacy Collection (Worlds of Wonder, Creatures of the Wild, & Nature's Mysteries [I already have Lands of Exploration])
9. Walt Disney Treasures Disney Rarities Celebrated Shorts 1920s - 1960s and/or Walt Disney Treasures More Silly Symphonies Volume 2
10. 2007 World Series Collection
I had to pare it down since you know how gluttoniness I can be about DVDs! But someone has to have a hobby! If you could squeeze in the new release of Flash Gordon (1980) that would be welcome too. I saw the film at my 10th birthday party and have loved the camp ever since! I know Dad is proud that he took me to that. (hee hee)
Now music wise, instead of compact discs (CDs) this year - an iTunes gift card is more than welcome! What a great way to find music - one song at a time! I use my iPod almost every day on the MARC train to work and lord knows I need walking and room entrance music in my own head! Some Bose over the ear head phones would be nice...but not expected... Even an inventive medley on a self-made cd would be fun! A copy of Paul Robson in Showboat would be a fun twist though.
This Thanksgiving, Stefan and I did a lot of cooking as our part of a huge event with his family. It would be nice to have a small and large food processor so we could make it faster next year. A few Calphalon pots would be a nice addition as well. But otherwise, our kitchen is full so waiting until the new house kitchen or some other special event requiring gifts of kitchen items is probably a great idea!
Reading is fundemental as you know Santa, but sometimes I don't have a lot of time for it. It helps that Stefan is a librarian, but sometimes you just want to own a book. The Russell Quant gay detective mysteries would be fun to kick around in paperback. I already have Amuse Bouche (which I love to say as "Bushea" not "Boosh" as the French do because it makes me sound pretentious), so that leaves Flight of Aquavit, Tapas on The Ramblas, Stain of the Berry, and Sundowner Ubuntu. Other ideas would be the books on Spanish Colonial design. A Bartlett's Quotations would be great since I love quoting things all the time... just ask my friends!
Lately, I have become obessesed with Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart pop up books and Marvel Comics Civil War series. Any of those would be nice additions to my ecclectic collection! Books on the history of Fenway Park would be nice too.
Clothes as usual are always nice. Never bring me pants though! Santa, I know you don't have a return policy, but in this house noone asks someone's pants size! However, extra large turtleneck sweaters, long sleeve henleys, light jackets, socks, and amusing underwear is always welcome. Please keep in mind that a Mike Lowell (Number 25) Boston Red Sox Replica jersey would be even more welcome!
In the end I already have my Xmas gift in Stefan of course. But a few more trinkets never hurt anyone right?
Thanks Santa!
And have a Merry Xmas!!!
Your pal,
Sean
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