Christmas Pals: Mari Lwyd

Ah, Wales.  Beautiful.  Ancient.  Brave.  Steadfast.  Home of a baffling language and a horse-skulled excuse to get drunk.  

Apparently this is not some ancient character - it's just something some drunk Welshmen came up with.  Make a hobby horse out of a skull and go a-wassailing.  Horse skulls are kind of jolly, I suppose, and when you show up at someone's door with it, they kind of have to address you, so you sing and drink.  Not bad.

The Mari Lwyd is a skull affixed to a pole like a hobby horse and then you bedazzle that skull.  One person under a sheet carries it around, and another speaks/ sings for it as a leader.  And then a bunch of other drunks join in, singing in a small crowd around the figure.  You knock on someone's door, and you carol for booze.

No one is quite sure where the tradition started, why, or, indeed, what "Mari Lwyd" refers to - but it might just mean "The Gray Mare".  She ain't what she used to be, indeed.

So, no, don't fear the Mari Lwyd.  It's just here for your booze and snacks. 

Wait... am I Mari Lwyd?

Christmas Show: The E(Xmas)ist

 

Lifelong pal CB Goodman - former film school collaborator and sometime roommate - has gone on to become a director and producer of local plays.  The nice thing is, I don't have to be polite.  I actually like her work when I've been able to catch it.  It is not a new idea that I think CB, indeed, has a terrific sense of comedy, conceptualization and design.  She works with a collaborative called Gracklejack Productions, and they stage shows pretty regularly.

A few months back she informed Jamie and I that she was working on The E(Xmas)ist, which she described as a mash-up of The Exorcist and Krampus, and I said "well, yes".   

We caught the opening night show on Thursday 12/11 at the Crashbox in Austin.  I guess the shows are now all sold out, but you never know.  Tickets may be got here.  

Written by Vince Kelly and directed by CB, it was what she advertised.  Hilarious, great stuff.  It did not hurt that I'd just revisited The Exorcist during October, so it was all very fresh.  True team effort, I wouldn't single anyone out of the cast as they all delivered, and all of them had highlight moments.  

After way too many Hallmark movies and Christmas cheese, it was great to revel in a show that was absolutely as described:  

The ultimate campy Christmas parody, The E(XMAS)IST is everything we ever wanted in a holiday show! It’s got drag, sass, and ridiculous DIY special effects.

Anyway, I can see this becoming a sort of Christmas tradition.  Not that I want to saddle CB with more work, but I'm just saying.  The audience loved it, and I can see other players want to try on some of these parts.

Amazing show.  If you can still get a ticket, Austin, do it.

Enjoy Some Holiday Tunes

I don't know what I was expecting, but I haven't heard much new Christmas music.  But, that doesn't mean I've not heard any.  Also, there were some highlights the past couple years we'd be remiss if we didn't share.

Some Final Girls are here with some Christmas cheer (found via Barbara Crampton's social media)

Kylie Minogue has a whole new Christmas record.  I quite liked the song and video for Office Party

Minogue also has a video coming end of the week for her new song, XMAS, but this live performance is pretty keen.

For the rockingest Christmas music, may I recommend 

Who would we even be if we didn't give Ms. Hannah Waddingham's Apple+ Christmas special a shout-out?

Last Christmas, before anyone knew who she was stateside, Raye performed at the NBC Rockefeller Christmas Tree lighting

In 2023, Cher herself had a new song she performed at the Tree Lighting.

Christmas Pals: The Yule Cat

Iceland is a place of curious myths and legends.  I won't get into all the western gods and monsters that have come out of Iceland, but here for the Christmas Season, I'll introduce you to The Yule Cat.

Sure, the German mountains may have given us Krampus, but over in Iceland there's multiple Christmas folk characters, and, for my dollar, there's nothing says Christmas more than a cat larger than a house who will stalk and murder you on if you (checks notes) did not receive new clothes under the tree.  

Suddenly that ugly sweater from Aunty Gertrude is pretty nice, right?

I mean, it seems less than chill to get murdered because no one thought to gift you some new socks, but folk beasts are not always fair.  So you make sure you're VERY CLEAR in your Santa Letter that you want pants.

Anyhoo, the idea of sitting at home and looking out the window into the hub-cap sized eye of a cat is pretty spooky stuff and not very jolly.   

League Weekly Rewind (Week of December 1)

I totally forgot I was trying to do this on the regular.  Apologies.

I already wrote last week about going to see Chorus Austin and Austin Symphony Orchestra perform Handel's Messiah.

I Need to get a 2026 Calendar

Our calendar hangs inside a cabinet door in the kitchen, and is more or less an affectation at this point.  But I do like having one.  

Over the years, we've had a variety of calendars, from sports to scenery to events to, this year, Godzilla.  

So, in 2026, I was pondering the following:

• Longhorns (the animal)
• Owls
• Chicago Cubs
• Texas Wildflowers
• Indiana Fever or Las Vegas Aces WNBA

I dunno.  Let me know in the comments.  Fresh ideas are welcome.

My Foot

I'm driving a little.  The biggest problem is that I'm in this surgery boot, and it's very wide.  Honestly, it keeps also tripping me up on carpets and corners at home.

When I drive, the wide toe sometimes doesn't entirely leave the gas pedal when I push on the brake.  And because the sandal-like support is flat like a board, it is unsubtle with the brake, so I will abruptly slam to a halt if I'm not absolutely mindful.

I cannot wait to be back in shoes.

The foot gets tired and it hurts sometimes, but all in all, progress is really good.  Also, people keep telling me absolute horror stories of broken bones, and I know I have it really good.

Golden Globe Nominees

My disinterest in award shows continues unabated.  

What I'm reading 

I've started the audiobook of 1960's Austin Gangsters by Jesse Sublett.  It's a non-fiction accounting of what passed for organized crime in Austin, Texas in the decades before I arrived.  I *just* started it, but it's off to the same popping start that got me into Sublett's book Last Gangster in Austin, which - especially for locals - I highly recommend.  

When it comes to comics, there's a few things I'm enjoying.

Right now Superman has a few titles going.  

Action Comics is taking a step back into the past to tell the story of young Clark Kent, merging the Silver Age of DC Comics and Superboy tales with a much needed modern reframing.  

Superman has been wrapped up in the meganarrative stuff that's leading into K.O., which feels creatively bankrupt and is something I could not care less about, but I need to read it to know what's happening.  Plus, I think we're getting a new Legion series on the other side.

Supergirl is a terrific fun read, and aimed at a younger and jollier crowd than myself.  Highly recommended.  It's pure, four-color goodness and much deserved after decades of Supergirl misfires.

Wonder Woman is the polar opposite of Supergirl, but has spent 27 issues telling one of the most compelling Wonder Woman stories that isn't a Greg Rucka-penned origin in 20 years.  I'm loathe to describe it, but it's worth picking up the trades now, or waiting for an inevitable Omnibus.  Beautiful work by writer Tom King and especially the issues drawn by Daniel Sampere.  

People struggle with King.  But this is a sorely needed departure from what's felt like drain-circling the past decade.

Superman Unlimited feels like a class writer who maybe doesn't know Superman all that well (Dan Slott), but he's getting there more and more with every issue.

Adventures of Superman: The Book of El knows Superman very well, and is picking up massive plot threads abandoned after Phillip Kennedy Johnson left the Super-books a couple of years ago.  It's nice to have this odd, stand-alone book that's wildly not new-reader-friendly, but worth the cover price.

I've been picking up Fantastic Four again for the first time in a while as - in conjunction with the movie this summer, they renumbered and restarted.  I have *no* idea what is going on at Marvel these days, but it's a fun read as a stand-alone.  

The Spider-Man Holiday Spectacular was really good!  The DC Christmas issue was typically bad.  I always give them a chance, and they're always a disappointment.  It feels like a try-out book, and no one involved is able to make the format work from a writing perspective, and artists don't seem to have their game down, delivering confusing and C level art.

Christmas Concert: Handel's Messiah w/ Chorus Austin and Austin Symphony

Every year we try to do something for Christmas - some sort of live show.  And most years, we include my parents.  For example, we've been to Zach Scott to see Christmas Carol and Long Center for The Nutcracker.  

And, every year, after it's already happened and I see a TV report on it, or mentions online, I say "next year I'll go see Handel's Messiah performed for once in my life".  And, on December 2nd, we did just that.

We all know two or three selections from the work, but I didn't know much about it other than those bits and that it's a staple.  At this point in my life, I'm not getting younger and I feel like I should take in come of Western Culture's biggest hits. 

League Rewind (Week of November 30th)

Happy post-Thanksgiving.

That picture above is my (first) plate of food from Thanksgiving dinner at my folks' house.  Jason, Amy and the kids were visiting her parents and family in Phoenix.  Back here we had Karebear at the forefront making an amazing dinner.  Jamie made the stuffing (and it was great).  The Admiral poured wine.  My Unky B, who moved here this year, was in attendance - as was Cousin Sue.  And Jamie's Dad, DocDik, rode up with us.  My folks' friend, Janie, arrived a tad later and joined us.  

It was lovely.  Had some nice pumpkin pie, too.  

The Phoenix voyagers returned before the weekend, so we did all manage to catch dinner out (where I ate so much cheese, I needed to be rolled home).

The Thanksgiving Day Parade