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What a great year we had in Central Park this year.

CLICK ON THIS PHOTO TO VISIT
A PHOTO GALLERY FOR 2009

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I'll be posting updates right through until the end of the year and the beginning of 2010. Maybe not every single day.... but often.

This is our holiday greeting for 2009.

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In keeping with the whole Christmas thang I'm doing here this week...

Okay yesterday's thing was a musical thing.

Today's moments are a couple of screen-acting gems from a brilliant actor, Alastair Sim.

Except for Albert Finney who appeared in a musical version of "Scrooge" which is a whole different animal, as far as I'm concerned Reginald Owen, Jim Carey, George C. Scott, Patrick Stewart and the rest can all jump in the lake. This is the only portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge that counts for me because Mr. Sim made him real... a real man. He didn't play him like a cartoon character. He didn't play him over-the-top.

This first scene is one of the "keepers" of all time. It's the morning that Scrooge realizes that he's alive and that he has chance at redemption. The absolute giddiness of the scene is contagious, but for me the moment between Scrooge and dear Mrs. Dilber on the stairway is what screen acting is all about.

Man!

Okay, now in the next scene... I weep. I mean, I sob. I feel that the look on the chamber maid's face as she eases the old man's fear is undeniable one of the sweetest things ever filmed. Alastair Sim makes me feel the nervousness, the timidity, the humility of a man who is seeking forgiveness when he feels he might not deserve it. On top of that, I'm moved by the unconditional Love and acceptance in Scrooge's nephew, Fred... such unthinking joy in seeing an old man who has treated him so poorly all his life. And then... the look on Ebenezer's eyes as he approaches and apologizes to his nephew's young wife whom he never accepted as family.

THEN... in the final scene between Mr. Scrooge and his abused clerk, Bob Cratchet, Alastair Sim turns in one of the finest pieces of screen acting of all time.

Have fun.

Okay!

I'll be back tomorrow (Christmas Eve) with another update... some more Christmas stuff.

Getting ready to kick 2009 in the ass as it heads out the door. We did that pretty well at the big "Year-End Concert" a couple of weekends ago. If you missed it, nearly the entire thing is posted again here today.

We had a blast that Saturday night. We really did. If you were in that theater with me, you know... we laughed, we cried, we had a great time together. We made another memory this year... another keeper.

James Marino - - my good friend, webmaster, and the evil genius of this website fed a LIVE stream of the concert to the entire world last Saturday night. (It was a first-time attempt to see what's possible with this kind of thing and we've learned a lot from the experience.) I heard from people in different parts of the country, from people here in New York city who couldn't make it to the show in person, and from people as far away as London and Stockholm. That's.... very cool.

But since this was an experiment, this might be a little buggy. It took some time to crank it up and so the beginning of the concert is missing. And the audio timed out for about 20 minutes right in the middle of the show. (During Teresa Reynold's solo, George Wurzbach's "I'm God" and my song from the new album "Some Wounds Never Heal")

Dammit!

But, most of the show is here.

I'll be back with clips of those missing sections later this week.

In the meantime, ENJOY the gig!!! (Make a cup of coffee or pour yourself a drink. the video is about 2 and half hours long!)

Click on the image to watch.

Okay...

Listen, I'm gonna be back this weekend with another update. I'm gonna try to break down the concert into smaller segments... highlights... to make watching it easier. And I'll be back with some still photos sent in to the website by Laura Manske and others.

In the meantime, if you're new around here are the links for the 2 brand new galleries.

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After you're all done here, here's another fun thing to do. (Especially if you're new around here.) Browse through "The Archive".

It's a Wonderful Life!!!!

Y'think?

Click on the image

See you guys back here tomorrow.

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But in your heads, in your hearts... FLIP THE SIGN!!!!

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PEACE