IX. One of the Great Christmas Albums of all Time.

Now that it is the season I have to let you all know what I think is one of the best Christmas albums of all time: A Charlie Brown Christmas.

The late Vince Guaraldi just seemed to hit it right with the blend of jazz and holiday music that makes it a timeless classic. What also makes it a great is using real 'normal' children singing the songs.

I just picked the CD up for the first time after years and years of telling myself that I would, and what a joy to be able to listen to it when I want to, not when the radio station gets around to these songs on their playlist.

So I guess you know what I will be playing to death until December 25th when I have to put it away until the next Christmas season...

...and you know, I will not get tired of it.


Eirik Farwanderer
28 November, 2009 Anno Domini

VIII. The Lost Holiday?

It seems to me that we have lost a holiday and replaced it with a fake holiday. The push for Christmas has seemed to erase Thanksgiving from the mind of retailers so that they can celebrate 'Black Friday', the new holiday for November.

To see the Christmas items in the store BEFORE Halloween just depresses me for Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays out there. But how can you push SALES when everyone just about shuts down for that Thursday. Plus you don't give 'Thanksgiving Gifts' which puts a crimp on sales.

So now it's Halloween, Black Friday and Christmas being the new big three holidays for this time of year. But what a depressing name 'Black Friday' is. It sounds like the name that should be given for Good Friday. I know that the 'Black' is good for business because they move into the 'black' from the 'red' on the balance sheets. But remember another 'black' day in history? 'Black Tuesday' when the market crashed in 1929. That was not good for the balance sheets, that's for sure.

'Black Friday' is not a holiday for me in any way. I do not go for the commercial end of Christmas, I remember what it is for: The birth of Christ. For other faiths it is their time also for remembrance and not shopping.

So I'll just keep Thanksgiving and let the others have that depressing Friday to themselves.


Eirik Farwanderer
28 November, 2009 Anno Domini

VII. Penguin Lust and Other Things.

Berkeley Breathed was WRONG! DEAD WRONG! That is something I am happy about. He just didn't think that people like me were out there. People who wanted EVERY strip of 'Bloom County' available to us. They did it with 'The Far Side' and 'Calvin and Hobbs', how could they not do it for poor old Opus, Milo, Binkley, Steve Dallas and Bill?

I was a raved fan of 'Bloom County' and still am. Sadly I did not get into the two follow up strips 'Outland' and 'Opus'. I was a 'Bloom County' man all the way. It was the last strip I would read in the funny pages. Save the best for last and all that.

But alas, poor old Berkeley Breathed didn't think that 'Bloom County' was that well remembered to have every strip published. He was proven wrong by the throngs of fans out there like me. Now my number one item on my Christmas list is the first of five volumes of the 'Bloom County Library' so that I may see strips I have never seen, or only once when first printed. It was THE political satire strip out there with the best stuff every four years when Bill and Opus would run for the highest office in the land. It did not matter that Opus was born outside the US in South America and that Bill was dead (sounds like Obama and Biden), they always ran the good race for that office...

...and lost.

But now those that love good humor at everyone expense have won. 'Bloom County' may never come back as a daily, or even weekly strip. But at least we had the funny pages of long ago and the books to prove it.


Eirik Farwanderer
25 November, 2009 Anno Domini

VI. What can I say? I am Hooked.

What can I say? I am hooked. I remember back in 1983 when a 4 hour Science Fiction television event happened. It was called 'V'. It had me hooked from the start and I ate up every minute of the mini series. Then that next year came the 6 hour 'V: The Final Battle' that gave us new characters to love, but started to weaken a bit. Then BOOM, they dropped that bomb which was 'V: The Series'. My heart was crushed and the whole 'V' thing faded away...

...until now.

I have never been a real fan of this 're-imagining' of TV shows and movies. They always seemed to fall WAY short of the original and filled with politically correct garbage, which means that it was 'safe dribble' for the networks or studios to run with. Why did we need Wil Smith in a 'Wild, Wild West' remake? Why do we need to have a mindless 'Lost in Space' movie? Please do NOT get me started on 'BattleTrek Galactiprise'! I have not even seen the newest 'Star Trek'!

When I heard that they were going to start 'V' all over again the first thing through my Dane Bramaged little mind was 'oh no, not again'. But for some reason I watched that first episode, sadly coming in a bit late. I was hooked. This is not PC garbage at all! This was believable! How the V's had sent sleepers ahead to prepare. How they bring 'Hope' and 'Change' to a people that want it unable to see the price they have to pay for it. How there are those V that do not like what is going on and are rebels against their own kind.

When one looks at history you can see how these all have been fitting together so far in the first 4 episode that have aired on ABC. Even the infighting between family members. Science Fiction has suffered lately in television in my humble opinion with the last great show being Babylon 5. I had been wondering what the next show would be that could grab my attention. This one is it!

If you love SF TV watch this! If you just love good TV watch this! Turn off the 'reality' shows and see what television can really do!

Entertain with a great story.

Erirk Farwanderer
24 November, 2009 Anno Domini

V. The Night of the Shadow.

It was on All Hallowed Eve when it happened, way back in 1988. The town was Stillwater, Minnesota and it laid next to the mighty Saint Croix River. I was a young, wet behind the ears DJ at a small 5000 watt radio station with the call letters of WTCN and 1220 on the AM dial. Now saying 5000 watts is a bit of a misnomer because when the sun went down I had to power the transmitter to a lowly 220 or so watts at night. It's a FCC thing. But I digress.

This happened to be the 50th year of a radio broadcast that took place on October 30th of 1938. You wouldn't know anything of it because is really wasn't a big thing at all. You might have heard of the man who did it by the name of Orson Wells. No, didn't think you had. Because of this anniversary all sort of hubbub was centered around this radio broadcast day in and day out. Now I am not one to be all gaga about hubbubs, or if I do I take it into another area and so I did.

I was in the general managers office just before my shift on that Halloween when I noticed a collection of records behind his desk. They were all recordings of The Shadow radio series. That is when the idea hit me. What better then to play all night those programs and give a bit of haunting of my own for this holiday. The GM gave me the blessing and when it came to the right moment that same Orson Wells (who had that other radio broadcast) boomed through the airwaves with 'Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows.'

I do not know how many listened that night, if any. Like I said, we only had enough wattage to be picked up by the SuperAmerica across the street. But I had a blast listening to these adventures. The next day the GM came to me and said that what I did that night was interesting BUT that he wished I had asked him first before doing so. I told him that I did ask and that he okayed it which caused him to walk off with a confused and pained look on his face.

How great it would be to do that all over again when the fall moon is close to full and all sort of ghosts and ghouls are out and about. To have then come back in from 'tricks or treats' to a darken house with only the radio dial to break the inky blackness and hear that laugh from The Shadow!

Eririk Farwanderer
23 November, 2009 Anno Domini

IV. It's The End of The World!

Sitting in church this morning several things hit me at once during the sermon. It all had to do with the Middle Ages. The first being that our pastor Dr. Gary Zieroth of Saint John's Lutheran in Chaska would have made an excellent preacher in that time. His sermons are interesting, but long. This one lasting 25 minutes. The other was the topic of 'Doomsday'!

What differed was that it, unlike the Middle Ages where the preacher drilled fear of the 'End of the World' with the big moment being 1000 AD, but that as true Christians we do not truly know when because Jesus stated as such in Mark 13:24-37 and we have nothing to fear, except a bad movie.

No, this is not a sermon, or Bible thumping. I just started this off with one view of it, which I do believe in. But it seems that 'End of Times' and 'Doomsday' keep coming up. Every Generation has that Doomsday Weapon or Plague that is going to end all life.

Let me see. The crossbow was going to end all life because no one could kill so fast before. The machine gun. The a-bomb. WMD's. There would be no life left after these horrors of war.

We get blasted with the latest plague news from the fear mongers. They hate calling it the H1N1 virus because they cannot put a face with the name, or even a curly tail. The Pig's had a perverse joy in having it called 'Swine Flu' being that large numbers of people quit eating pork because of it. It was party time in the sty until people figured they had to start killing the pigs to keep from getting the virus. The irony is that pigs are the ones getting the H1N1 virus from humans, not the other way around.

But wait! Remember the fear mongers not too long ago? The Bird Flu is coming! It will kill us ALL! (Cough-chirp!)

SARS! My word help us all! SARS will wipe mankind out for good!

What am I saying. Life did not end in 1000. It did not end in 1991 because of the Gulf War in the Mid East. We survived the great Y2K (Jesus did not descend to Earth from Heaven and Bill Gates did not descend to Hell to rule). We even survived 06-06-06 without Satan running amok in our back yards. 21 December, 2012 will be no different...

...except for one thing that does make me believe that it will be the end. It will be Tom Barnard's last day on KQRS, and I do think there is a verse in Revelations about that.

Eirik Farwanderer
22 November, 2009 Anno Domini.

III. I Was The Doctor.

Science Fiction and Fantasy has always interested me, even when I was a wee lad and sacred poopless of it. Star Wars really helped me start truly enjoying SF/F and I could not get enough of it. In the 80's I discovered Doctor Who and it fast became my favorite SF show of all time. I will talk of this journey of discovery more of this some other time.

In 1989 the BBC put an end to the show after 26 seasons, much to the disappointment of fans around the world until the Beeb brought it back fully in 2005. Between that time, and even before the Beeb axed it, fan films started being made. They mostly were spoofs of the show and played it up for laughs. But some fans wanted to do more then that.

I became envolved with a project that was ment to be a serious effort, a true fan made story in the style of what was seen on the Beeb. It was a 'Two Doctors' sequel that never fully got off the groud, but through it I got to know the lovley and talented Patti Keiper who was playing Peri. A few years later she wanted to try her own hand at it and asked me to join in as a bad guy heavy. More then happy to help.

I learned later the that person they had playing the Doctor was not working out and Patti asked if I could slide into the role. ME? Play the Doctor. If I had a chance to play ANY science fiction hero it would be the Doctor over all of them. So guess what my answer was.

This project had such potintial. What was important was that this was to be an original Doctor, not an attempt to ape a past era one giving the feel that this was truly new episodes of Doctor Who. We had a Police Box TARDIS that could be taken apart for ease of transport and an actual TARDIS console that was made in the style of the Pertwee Era. Debates made on the look and style of my Doctor between Patti and myself ended in give and take. She didn't want the scarf (too Tom Baker I believe she said) and I hated the cane prop I. Well, I kept the scarf, and the cane alas.

The project came to a sad end when the garage the TARDIS Police Box and the console had a car crash into it distroying both items. I wonder what it would have been like if it was finished, and often would love to try another effort. So Patti, what do you think?

Eirik Farwanderer
21 November, 2009 Anno Domini.

II. The Scot Boy and the Norse Giant.

In 1994 I was lucky enough to be one of four members of the Viking Age Club to travel to Norway for the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, the other three being Dennis Rusinko, Ron Peterson and Joel Brude.

I was the late comer joining them a few days after the event started for what was an event that I will never forget. In fact I tell people it was the best Olympics I never saw. We worked in a Viking Village of tents just down from the ski jump where we showed visitors how chain mail was made.

While there I came across a Scotsman who's nephew was the standard bearer for the United Kingdom, and he was damn proud of it too. This chap must have been a Highlander for he was just mad about the Norse and Vikings in general, even more obsessed then members of the club.

While talking I mentioned that I truly enjoyed the bagpipes and found the music they made just hauntingly wonderful. With that he called his son over, who must have been about 12 years old, and told him to open his case and play for me. The young lad, being a bit shy, refused but was told in no uncertain terms that he WOULD play. That's what you get when you have a proud Scot papa. Well, the lad took his pipes out and started to play and as he did a large crowd started to surround him and listen to his music applauding like mad when he finished.

Now close by where the Norse Giants. These two men where called the "Strongest Men in Norway" and I do not doubt it at all. Their job was tossing stones for the public. They did this by throwing a weight backwards over their head over what looked like an old style football goal post with a cross beam across the two upright poles. The object of this was to throw heavier and heavier stones and not knock the crossbeam off.

So as the Scot Lad finished his set for his new fans a huge meat paw came out of no wheres through the throngs of people that had been watching the Giants and now surrounded the boy and grabbed his shoulder. The Scot Lad look up, and up, and up into the eyes of one of the Giants causing him to turn shades whiter then the snow around us. With a booming voice the Giant said, "You. I want you to play for US".

I watched as this poor, scared out of his wits Scot Boy was dragged to the throwing area to play as his father beamed with pride. Crowds and even TV cameras started to surround the area as the Scot Lad played his pipes and the Giants threw stones giving many people memories that will never fade.

Eirik Farwanderer
21 November, 2009 Anno Domini.

I. Michael and Me

I cannot help but still feel the loss of Michael Jackson. Not the over hyped freak show pop star, but the Beer Hunter. For several year Michael was the head judge at the Home Brew Festival that took place in October at the now sadly closed Sherlock's Home in Minnetonka, Minnesota. It was there that I was lucky enough to become an acquaintance of his and it came not from the love of great beers, but of books.

Michael had written many books on both beer and single malt whiskey which I was more then happy to add to my collection for he was an excellent writer in these fields. But one year I came with a book that quite surprised him - his book on mixing drinks. It had been out of print for ages and hard to find. I found one at a bottle shop in Bloomington and picked it up for the oddity of it. anyone who knows me can tell you I love books, and sometime the odd ones are the ones that grab me.

"Where did you find that?" he asked when I handed it to him to sign. Michael was about to release an updated version of that book the next year and we started in on a conversation about our love of novels and tomes. Michael always recognized me after that and always greeted me with a great smile with the question did I find any interesting new books.

Sadly Sherlock's Home closed and the festival ended, and I never saw Michael again. He passed away in August of 2007. A video came up on YouTube of his last interview (click here for that interview) that still gives me tears.
If you choose to watch it, please make note on his ideals are on drinking. You will find that true beer drinkers have that same ideal.

I do not forget to give a toast to the memory of Michael when I am drinking a beer that I know he would approve of, or even a single malt. I miss his writing and wit, but they still live on in his books and articles.

Cheers Michael,

Eirik Farwanderer
21 November, 2009 Anno Domini.