HAPPY FESTIVUS, EVERYBODY!

Yeah.. I was watchin' Seinfeld last night, and they made reference to the fact that the Costanzas celebrated Festivus on December 23rd. So, y'know... I'm going to a friend's holiday party tonight that she's throwing for a whole bunch of people from "The Hill" in Central Park. (She just doesn't know that it's gonna be a Festivus party.)

"The Hill" in the summer

Thanks for stopping by the website today.

Y'know, a guy named Sean Friedman just sent me a whole bunch of photos from the "Year End Concert" at Merkin Concert Hall last Saturday. I'll probably post a bunch of them over the coming weeks. That was a fun gig.

Singing with Cindy Bubniak at Merkin

Last Saturday night after the concert, a bunch of us went out for something to eat. And a lovely young woman from Catalonia, Spain was with us. She told us all about one of the Christmas customs in her part of the world... and, had us all rolling.

Have you ever heard of the Christmas Shitting Log?

No... me neither.

But, it's real.

In Spanish it's CagaTio... shitting log.

What happens is that each family has a Caga Tio. And through the Christmas season, the kids all leave food and treats for their log before they go to school. While the kids are at school, the log eats the food they've left for it. (Like American kids leaving cookies for Santa Claus.) When the kids come home, it's a thrill to see the crumbs and leftovers near the log.

Then on January 6th, or Three Kings Day, the children throw a blanket over the log.... and sing the "shitting" song, while beating the log with sticks. (I'm not makin' this up!) Then, when they pull the blanket back... yep! The log has shit their presents.

It's a wonder to behold!

No kidding. We were all hysterical. But, the woman telling the story said, "Well, you have a big, fat, strange man sneak into your house while you are sleeping!!!"

I hadda go online and look this up!

"Caga Tio" - the Shitting Log!

This is sooooo cool!

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Man! I love people. We are just the weirdest things!

Anyway, listen...

I'm gonna be back tomorrow here at the website with my own Christmas tradition... something I didn't get to do at Merkin Concert Hall this year because the gig ran so long.

And, then I'll be back in full force to get every single person reading this to show up at the Voices Together Concert in January.

(What a great event that is gonna be!) It is a very special concert to raise money and get direct help to the Iraqi cvivilans, the ordinary people in that part of the world whose lives are being torn apart by war, fear and violence since the US invasion.

We are going to really try to make a differnce in some lives if we can. Please join us.

But, much, much more about that very soon.

Um, listen... in the meatime, click on this logo and visit the Voices Together Website to see what it is I'm talking about.

I'll be back tomorrow.

If you're travelling today.... be cool to each other and yourselves, okay?

Thanks again.