Dahlia DeWinters – Author – Page 16 – Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

5 Favorite Classic Christmas Songs

Season’s Greetings!

I enjoy Christmas. I love being with my family on the long stretch of holiday between Christmas and New Year’s. The cold, the snow, and the good food, (natch). It’s a wonderful time of year. The after-Christmas sales can’t be beat either.
One of the things I like most about the season is music. As a self-proclaimed music geek, I’ve played in orchestras and sung in a few chorus and choirs in my time, and the best music was always the winter music. Right now, I’m going to invite you to participate in the spirit of the season and check out my five favorite classic Christmas songs.

Little Drummer Boy – Version: The Harry Simeone Chorale
The voices in this arrangement are so soft and lovely, how could anyone not be affected by this music, I don’t know. The message is so apt to Christmas too: “I am a poor boy too/I have no gift to bring…..Shall I play for you/On my drum? And at the end “…then he smiled at me….me and my drum.” No gift is too small if it’s from the heart.

Hallelujah Chorus – Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Sigh. While the high soprano notes (held over measures and measures) and the counterpoint of the tenors and basses are an earful to behold, the Hallelujah Chorus is actually part of the Easter portion of Handel’s Messiah, the part the section referencing the Passion/Resurrection/Pentecost. Still, it’s a lovely piece of music to listen to anytime.

Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful) – Luciano Pavarotti
I have got the softest spot for tenors and Pavarotti is my favorites of favorites. A gorgeous song, beautifully arranged to suit his lovely voice. Love the soft Latin “g” in “regum angelorum”

O Holy Night – Placido Domingo/Luciano Pavarotti
Two tenors for the price of one. Listen, don’t look because the audio/video synchronization is a little off.

Angels We Have Heard on High
An ethereal rendition of a song loosely based on a French carol.

Stay tuned, for next week, I’ll list my five favorite “popular” Christmas tunes.

What are some of your favorite Christmas carols? Leave ‘em in the comments!

1Love,

5 Gifts for Writers

It’s that time of year again. Shoppers are hitting the stores and the Internet to look for the perfect gift for that special someone. Some of you lucky dogs out there have some stellar writers in your lives. I’m going to tell you what writers REALLY want for Christmas. Well, at least me.

Pens and Journals: Most writers love pens. Though we tend to dither between our beloved writing software, a writer almost always comes back to the pen and the paper, especially if experiencing a bout of writer’s block. Pens make us feel like REAL writers, with a cigarette clenched between our teeth and a glass of bourbon at hand. Debauchery aside, the physical aspect of forming letters and words often is a trigger for ideas. Often, we get more words flowing on paper than we do sitting in front of the screen. In addition, pen/paper keeps us from the distractions of the Internet, and is portable. Sure, we can compose on the phone in our car, but it’s so much more lovely to write in a beautiful journal with a great pen.

Some of my favorites:

InkJoy Pens – The name says it all. I simply love these pens.
Leatherette Journal with Magnet – Doesn’t have to be fancy to be useful.
Cherish You Journal – Pretty and practical
Moleskine Journals – Can’t go wrong with these.

Beverage Containers: Not all writers drink coffee, true, some of us have Coca-Cola as their breakfast beverage (not me, of course, I have both!) However a beverage container is the writer’s true friend. We don’t have to get up to get our hydration/fuel/liquid courage to keep pushing forward in our work. Plus, the little sayings make us feel important.

Heat Activated Banned Books Mug – You can’t get any more writerly than this.

Inspiration Assistance: Sometimes our best ideas come to us when we’re in the shower, seriously! Well, yes, we DO get ideas OTHER places, but let’s keep it PG and simply suggest Aqua Notes, a little doodad that sticks to the wall in the shower. Handy note taking at it’s finest, for sure! The pencil is also included. When I saw this little cool thing, I couldn’t resist putting it on my list. Writers will love this! Aqua Notes

Totes, T-shirts, and Hoodies: Working from home doesn’t afford us much chance to flex our fashion muscles. We do, however, enjoy cool accessories related to writing. And those accessories include T-shirts and hoodies, so we don’t get too cold as we hunch over our keyboards in the basement. Visit Out of Print for more goodies.

Where the Wild Things are Tote

Organizational Software: Next to writing, the biggest task is research. How far can an eagle see? How much blood is in the human body? How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? We search every day for answers to these types of questions in order to make our writing as realistic as possible. Well, some writers do. (Yes, I’m throwing shade.) How do we keep all those links and cool websites in one place? Why Evernote, of course! Evernote has two levels – free and premium. Be a doll and gift your writer person a year of premium. They’ll have a year to figure out if they like using it, and if they do ,then they can pay for it themselves!

Evernote Premium

With a list like this, there’s no way you can go wrong with your writer gift giving this year. Order early!

1Love

Blogtoberfest – Classically Scary Music

Ah, it’s getting closer, isn’t it? It’s cloudy and raining outside. A chill is in the air and Blogtoberfest continues. Y’all still with me, I hope,.

I’ve got on my Sony bluetooth headphones, you know the ones, and I’m sending you some classically spooky tunes to create the perfect background for you and your Halloween celebrations. Whether it’s playing in the background or you are actively listening, these pieces are sure to raise the hair on the back of your neck. Plus, it’s good for the goth in you.

Shall we begin?

Franz Liszt: Fantasy and Fugue on “B-A-C-H”…..no not that Bach:

Heinrich August Marschner’s grand opera Der Vampyr (1828) is based on a fragment of a novel by Byron, which was completed by the poet’s doctor. Lord Ruthven Earl of Marsden, a newly created vampire, has asked the Vampire Master for another year on earth before being dragged into hell for eternity. This he is granted, provided he can sacrifice three young ladies by the following midnight. Marschner’s sinister chromatic writing and chorus of witches and hobgoblins is enough to put Twilight to shame.

GYÖRGY LIGETI – Volumina – Pieces of his music were used in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This such a classic, I couldn’t ignore it. You’ve heard it, I’m sure.

Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre

Oh, curse Disney and their creepy animations tho.

Another classic –

Mussorsky – Night on Bald Mountain

Last, but not least, one of my favorites…the trilling flutes, the ominous lower reeds and the muted brass give you the chill you desire…and don’t forget all those creepy broomsticks.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (HD)

Boo!

Dahlia

Horror Movie Review: Død Snø

Zombies, oh Zombies. Nazi Zombies. Nazi Zombies who are after their stolen treasure. What could be better?

Title: Død Snø
Genre: Horror – Zombies…Nazi Zombies!!
Director: Tommy Wirkola

How have I not reviewed this movie yet? For goodness sake, I’m slacking off.

Two words: NAZI ZOMBIES

Here is the synopsis according to IMDB:

A ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.

I gave this movie an A. I went into it knowing what I was going to get…a B grade zombie popcorn flick. This movie did not to pretend to be anything more than that. And they succeeded in a grand fashion.

First of all, we have the so-called Ice Monster prologue…a scary chase through the woods set to Edvard Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King, which is awesome stuff in and of itself (spoken like a true band geek, lol), but when included in the movie was just…choice.

Then we have your motley group of med students on vacation in a cabin that is literally in the middle of nowhere, that is lacking….say it with me now….cell service.

What a ride this movie was! It was gross, funny and thoroughly entertaining. I laughed out loud at some parts and covered my eyes at others.

I’d totally watch this again…..at nine in the morning, of course.

Note: Please, I beg of you, watch it in Norwegian with the English subtitles. The dubbed version is distracting. Plus, you get to hear what the actors’ voices really sound like.

Enjoy!
Grade: A

Blogtoberfest – Poor Fellas and Gals: Dog Halloween Costumes

I have a dog. I think she’s a rather judgy dog. She doesn’t like it when I dress her in her winter coat, even though as a pit bull, she has zero undercoat and needs the insulation in the colder weather. Still, the eyeballing she gives me as she stands there in her Land’s End insulated doggy coat. I mean, come on, what dog can’t look good in Land’s End outerwear? Not Athena. She hates it, and makes it clear she hates me for putting in on her.

However, I won’t be a party to dog Halloween costumes. I find them unwieldy, a pain to put on and something that can really be only worn once a year. The dogs, themselves, seem so….pitiful yet revenge filled when you snap that picture. After one year of one of my dogs dressing as something or other (I really don’t remember), I’ve learned my lesson. However, some humans never learn. Let’s take a look, shall we?

All Pictures courtesy of PartyCity.com, except where noted.