Christmas Caroling...awkward

I was recently thinking about caroling and I believe it has to be one of the most awkward activities ever. I would rate it right up there with being approached by panhandlers.  Before you label me as an Ebenezer Scrooge, let me explain myself. I enjoy Christmas time and carols, but successful caroling is not as easy as it looks. I'm sure there are those who love visits from carolers and are touched by the experience, but I'll bet most people, like myself, feel kind of uncomfortable.

How it is supposed to work:
A group of cheerful, attractive, and vocally talented people approach a home while singing Christmas carols. As they arrive at the porch, someone opens the door with a smile and the occupants of home quickly come to see their visitors and begin to soak in the Christmas spirit. When the singing is done the listeners are touched thank them for sharing their talents. If the recipient is an older or lonely person they may even shed a tear during the performance or offer some sort of treat to the carolers. This is the ideal way you would probably see it happening in the movies.

How it happens in real life:
You hear people singing outside your home but you can't turn off your lights quick enough so you reluctantly open the door and you are immediately reminded how freaking cold it is. You obviously can't invite the big group in so you stand there shivering with a fake smile on your face. As you listen to their singing, you ask yourself "Are they doing this for me because they think I like it?". There is nothing more awkward than staring at a group of strangers who have showed up at your home to sing to you with no warning.

What it's supposed to be like:

How it feels for me:

I'm sorry if I come across as a party pooper. I appreciate people who enthusiastically serve others by sharing their vocal talents, but I'm just saying it sometimes gets kind of weird. Merry Christmas.

The Best Band Names

Recently I was thinking about what I considered to be the best music group names and I realized this was yet another topic that needs to be analyzed and categorized. Thinking of starting up a band? Here are some things to consider before deciding on a name.

Normal Names-One of the most common practices is sticking with your name and keeping it simple. Elton John, Rod Stewart, Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, and Celine Dion are examples, although many of these artists have modified their birth names. The only disadvantage is there are bound to be thousands of people with the same name who could cash your royalty checks if they ever fell into their hands.

The Bands-They feature the lead singer's name and do little more than acknowledge the band as is the case with the Greg Kihn Band, Steve Miller Band, or Dave Matthews Band. Another variation of this is to name the band after some sort of entity. I suppose it is a step up from being known as "band", but I wonder if The News , The Heart breakers, or the Pips ever get jealous. I hope Huey Lewis, Tom Petty, and Gladys Knight can sleep well at night knowing they've hogged more than their their fair share of the fame.

The one word names-These are also popular. U2, Devo, Prince, Moby, Cher, Madonna, Muse, Queen, Yes, etc. You can't argue with success these guys have had with keeping their names simple. Seal was actually named Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel. I think abbreviating his name was a wise business move.

The Abbreviations-No need for an explanation here. Some of these groups are better known by their initials than they are by their full name. A few that come to mind are ELO, CCR, BOC, OMD, TLC, REM, and RATM.

The long creative names-These guys try hard to come up with a unique name. Dexy's Midnight Runners, Bullet for My Valentine, The Stone Temple Pilots, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Panic at the Disco, Fine Young Cannibals, The Goo Goo Dolls, Hootie and the Blowfish, etc. I think it is ironic that there are now so many groups with crazy complicated names that they no longer sound unique. It's kind of like getting perfume overload. After a while you just want to say " I get it, you have a unique and random name-who doesn't?"

If Congress passed some legislation enforcing limits to band names it would save the musicians a lot of time and they would be able to use their creative energies on making music instead of trying to think up with unique and catchy names. I'm sure it would also alleviate friction and break ups between band members. I think a numbering system would be most efficient. Each band would get a number and they would increase each time a new group came on the scene. If we went back to the beginning of time we could start with The Rolling Stones at #1 and just go from there.

That's my contributing idea to society for the day. Do what you will with it. If you are thinking of naming your band and need some help feel free to let me know. I'm sure I could help you think of some good ones.

Gossip for Nomads

I'm sure gossip has been around since the beginning of man, but with the invention of checkout stands at grocery stores, the industry has flourished. In today's world it is just too easy to find out gossip about celebrities thanks to instant communication, social media, and fine publications like The Enquirer. I'd like to see dirt digging ventures like TMZ really earn their money and make a living without the Internet or modern technology.

Can you imagine trying to run a juicy celebrity gossip business a thousand years ago if you were living with a bunch of Nomads in the desert? You would have to write everything down on a scroll or tell others your exciting stories when you came across a caravan or bought supplies at a market. I'm guessing the big stories and headlines might sound like the following:

"One of the rich man's goats went into it his nice tent and it angered him. One of his wives said this is a common occurance!"

"Naaman adds yet another chariot to his lavish collection. How many vehicles does one person need?"

"The servant caught trying to stay in the shade when his master was not watching now acuses him of being cruel and having a wicked temper."

Yeah, it's definitely more entertaining gossip these days. I'm pretty sure the paparazzi could not have made a living in ancient times. I'll bet those racy engravings of the queen sunbathing didn't circulate as quickly as they do today either.

Gratitude

I have been meaning to write a post about gratitude for a long time. Since Thanksgiving is around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to finally share some thoughts on the subject. First, I'd like to acknowledge the fact that my family has received many blessings this year. Some of them are things we have been looking forward to for a long time. There are three particular events that have been a huge deal for us.

1) After a longer than usual wait, we had another baby this year. I know many people look at us like we are crazy or irresponsible for having 10 kids, but it is something we feel strongly about. It would be more affordable, convenient, clean, and quiet, if we had fewer kids, but my family is the best part of my life and each one of them makes the world a better place. Besides, I am not going to get my own reality TV show unless I can surpass the Duggars. Our newest addition is such a bright spot for our family and I can't imagine what it would be like without her.

2) After 14 years of living in a home with absolutely filthy carpet (click here for proof), we were finally able to re-carpet our house. I'm really not into material things, but it is amazing how after being surrounded by nasty carpet, when you get clean flooring, it can boost your spirits and make you feel so much better.

3) We finally went to Disneyland! Our family has not been on a real vacation for over 11 years. We have been to family reunions and over the weekend events, but not a full blown family vacation. I had been telling my kids we were going to go to Disneyland for over 10 years, but each year the money just wasn't there and we ended up putting it off for another year. As a result, I have become the boy who cried wolf to my kids and they would just say "whatever" when I told them we were going to go this year again.

This year as the date was approaching, things were still not panning out. I know Dave Ramsey would rip me a new one if he knew I was taking my family on a vacation under our current financial situation. Somehow, a string of miracles occurred over the last few months that allowed us to pull it off by the skin of our teeth.

I love Disneyland, especially the magic of seeing kids reactions to it for the first time. I'm not sure how my 5 year old was able to maintain such a calm reaction going over the falls while her older brothers thought they were going to die.

I have so many things to be grateful for, but I am particularly thankful for these three events that we have patiently looked forward to for a long time.

Pinterest Update

Several months ago I did a post about Pinterest and basically made fun of it for being a glamorized digital version of scrap booking. I was going to give it a shot and see if I could create a testosterone laced page until I found out that signing up would automatically change my Facebook account to the timeline format. A couple of months ago, I was moved to Timeline against my will anyway, so I decided it was time to give Pinterest a shot. I'll admit that 90% of the content floating around on it is total chick stuff, but I have still been able to create some fun boards and I actually like it. Feel free to check it out.

My Pinterest page

This year I have really been distracted from my usual blogging habits and production as a result of Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter. (Sorry Linkedin, you are too boring to be classified as a distraction). As a result, I have done fewer posts and they have probably been lower quality too. I feel like a slacker.

I'm probably not the only one who has experienced this, so I thought I would list some of those links here for my blogging friends in case they'd care to get connected on some of these other social networking sites.

My Facebook link

I have also recently come to the realization that in order to market successfully in today's world, you have to have your business listed on Facebook. As a result, I have started using it for my personal training business and have also started a YouTube channel for videos. Feel free to check them out at the links below and like or subscribe. I will continue to blog on Chaka's World, but I am also going to be spending more time on some of these other sites.

Your Fitness Quest on Facebook

Your Fitness Quest Videos on YouTube

On a side note, I am glad the election is finally over. I am not going to miss all the political ads! I have been sickened over all of the divisive talk over the last several months. Regardless of your political persuasion or how you feel about the outcome, I just hope that we can all come together as a country and work together to solve our nation's problems. Hopefully we will be mature and civil enough to do it on our own without having to be compelled to be united by some natural disaster or being attacked by aliens. I really hope things improve for everyone in the future.

I stole this from Kristina P. 

Scary Movies

It's nearly Halloween and I'll be the first to admit that I'm a wimp and don't like being scared. I love movies that offer suspense and surprises, but I don't care for the ones that get in your mind and instill fear in you long after you watch them. There are plenty of movies in the horror genre. I don't think the ones about serial killers, chainsaw wielding psychopaths, or monsters are that scary, but I do get spooked with the more subtle supernatural stuff like ghosts.

The first movie I remember being scared of was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I saw it in the theater with my parents when I was a little kid. They ended up taking me out to the lobby. I'm not sure if it was the Oompa Loompas, watching kids get picked off, or Gene Wilder's hair, but something was just wrong and scary about that movie. It should not have been classified as a children's movie.

Here is a list of horror movies that have since scared me. Since I'm not a big fan of this genre, I admit I haven't seen very many scary movies so my list is limited.

Psycho- This is a classic. The concept behind this movie has been copied quite a bit since then. I miss the subtlety and suspense that Hitchcock featured in his movies.

The Ring- I never thought a little girl could scare me so bad, but I wet my pants when she crawled out of the TV.
The Exorcist- I've only seen parts of this movie. Whenever I am flipping channels and come across Linda Blair's spinning head, I just keep moving on.
The Shining- All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Nosferatu-The original from 1922 and Klaus Kinsky's 1979 German version is also great.
Salem's Lot-Several things about this movie freaked me out. It was no fun walking home from my friends house after it was over.
Poltergeist- I've never looked at clowns the same after seeing this movie.
Nightmare on Elm Street-This movie had a scary premise. I only saw the original so I can't vouch for any sequels.
Alien(s)- One of the few " monster" movies I think is extremely intense and scary.
What Lies Beneath-The real horror in this movie is that Harrison Ford plays the bad guy for a change!
The 6th Sense-My wife's family all slept in their living room after watching it because they were too afraid to sleep in separate bedrooms.
The Others-Not that scary, or original, but I still liked it.
Diabolique-I'm referring to the original 1955 French version. Very suspenseful.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers- Both the 1956 original and the 1978 remake were pretty good. I love the concept of people not really being who they appear to be.
The Haunting in Connecticut-Makes you want to get a very detailed history of a home before you buy one.

What are some movies that have kept you from wanting to go down in the fruit cellar at night?
PS- This post was borrowed from The Movie Guy.

Are You In The Right Profession?

At least this is not your job.

Over the years I have realized that some people don't enjoy what they do for a living. Some of them hide that fact, but others make it painfully obvious that they don't like their job. I'm sure many people who are competent employees would totally excel with a different occupation. Paul Potts previously selling cell phones comes to mind.

What if Michael Jordan would have decided to become an insurance adjuster instead of a basketball player? I'm sure he would have been great at what ever he chose to do, but we would have missed out on his basketball talents. At least he didn't stick with the baseball thing.

I'm sure there are many people who wish they could do something else for a living. I also have a feeling more of those buried desires are aimed at the entertainment industry as opposed to the science field. I bet a lot more people strike out for Hollywood on a bus with their last 50 dollars hoping to catch a break than people who head out to MIT to see if they can impress someone and become a famous scientist. Does that mean Hollywood has less substance to it if just about anyone who is ambitious enough could break into it regardless of their experience level or talent? I'd say yes.

Under the current economic conditions people should be grateful to have any job, but I am especially happy for those people who enjoy what they do for a living, regardless of what their work is. I think it's good advice to go into a field that you enjoy. By the way, if any of you happen to know of any openings for positions in the NBA, or for work as a movie critic, comedian, or food critic, that doesn't really require that you are good at it, I'd love to hear about it. I hear it's all about who you know.