Special Edition: A Very Kareem Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas so I decided to present a special edition of my newsletter where there is no discussion of politics or social issues. No outrage, no scolding, no bah humbugs. Instead, it will be a Christmas stocking filled with fun clips, music, and a general appreciation of the season. Start unpacking.
[I’ll be taking a brief break to spend the holidays with my family. Be back again on January 7, 2025.]
What the Holiday Season Means to Me
Humans are basically just containers that have pleasure and pain receptacles. They spend their lives trying to activate the pleasure receptacles as much as possible while avoiding the pain receptacles. Unfortunately in life, as Joni Mitchell puts it, “Pleasure moves on too early and trouble leaves too slow.”
Nothing activates my pleasure receptacles more than the Holiday Season. All the excess, the commercialism, and the fanfare don’t dim my enthusiasm one bit. Just the opposite. The fact that people are willing to jam their yards with outrageous decorations, festoon their homes with energy-sucking lights, quash grudges to have a family feast, and spend too much on presents is all part of people reaching deep inside to create the world they wish they lived in all year around. It may be a carefully curated snow globe, but so what? For one month of the year, we all try to be the generous, compassionate, loving people we always wanted to be. We look for the good in others—and in ourselves.
Sometimes it’s a challenge to love humanity. We can be horrid, petty, selfish, and nasty beings. But what always gives me hope is watching people try to overcome those fetid characteristics as they strive toward goodness. The one movie clip that is guaranteed to renew my faith in and love for people is the opening scene of Love Actually. Regular readers of this Substack know I haul the clip out every once in a while to share with you the way Grandma bakes her signature dish to share with her family.
When Love Actually was released in 2003, it was so close to the devastation of the Twin Towers that producers were worried people weren’t yet ready for a romantic comedy. So, they added this opening scene as a way to connect our grief with our need to heal. As it turns out, this kind of romantic comedy was just what we all needed. This opening scene is a soothing balm for the soul. It is pure love.
Kareem’s Video Break
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has had a tumultuous history. Written in 1944 by Frank Loesser (who wrote the music and lyrics for Guys and Dolls) to perform with his wife at their housewarming party, the song became an instant hit with all their friends. Recalled Loesser, “We became instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' It was our ticket to caviar and truffles. Parties were built around our being the closing act.”
The song was used in the movie Neptune’s Daughter and went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1950. However, controversy arose in recent years when some interpreted the song as not the romantic flirting it was meant to be, but as a man pressuring a woman against her will and maybe even spiking her drink with a date-rape drug. “What’s in this drink?” she asks at one point. However, that phrase was common back in the 1940s and was sarcastically said as a pretend excuse whenever someone was doing or about to do something socially questionable. Nevertheless, the song was canceled by various radio stations until a backlash brought it back again.
I love this version from the Christmas rom-com Love Hard because it acknowledges the ambiguous lyrics while still having fun with them. This is the moment they fall in love.
Kareem Video Break Redux
I’m bringing back this very funny clip of Liam Neeson auditioning to be a mall Santa. This will put you in the right holiday mood—or else.
Kareem’s Sports Moments
This isn’t Christmas-themed, but it’s still fun to watch. Arm wrestling has been the traditional male method of resolving conflicts for as long as I can remember. Does it make any sense? Not at all. Physically overpowering someone to resolve a disagreement is nonsense, yet so reflective of some of our social norms.
Having said that, it’s fun to watch two enormous men clash. For those who don’t follow the sport, Devon Larrat (the grinning man on the right) is one of the best arm wrestlers in the world who routinely competes with both his left and right hands.
Kareem’s Jukebox Playlist
Glee Cast: “We Need a Little Christmas”
People sing this song with such cheerful abandon, not always aware of the desperation driving it. “We Need a Little Christmas” comes from the 1966 Jerry Herman Broadway musical Mame, where Angela Lansbury performs the song after her character has lost all her money in the Wall Street Crash of 1929. She rouses depressed spirits with this song and it has always had the same effect on me.
What I like is that, unlike most Christmas songs that offer perpetual cheer, this one boldly announces the singer’s depression:
For I've grown a little leaner, grown a little colder
Grown a little sadder, grown a little older
And I need a little angel sitting on my shoulder
Need a little Christmas now
Yet, despite that, the song does exactly what is needed: gets us singing away or at least enjoying the enthusiastic singing of others. Mission accomplished: spirits lifted.
There are many worthwhile versions, but I chose the version from the TV series Glee because they don’t ham it up and simply deliver a rousing, cheerful version that is filled with hope and joy. We all need a little of that.
Bonus Jukebox Playlist: Evan Taubenfeld: “Merry Swiftmas (Even Though I Celebrate Chanukah)” (2009)
Evan Taubenfeld used to play guitar for Avril Lavigne as well as was her music director and co-wrote songs with her. In this very funny song, he pleads with Santa to bring him Taylor Swift for Christmas, even though he’s Jewish and celebrates Chanukah. The song was released in 2009, a year before Taylor Swift trademarked Swiftmas. Every time I hear it, I chuckle. Hope you will, too.
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, Kareem. I so enjoy your take on the world and, while we disagree on occasion, I'm right there with you 99% of the time. You're always on the list when I play that game of "Name Five People I'd Invite To A Dinner In My Home." Your intelligence, curiosity and all-around decency make the world a better place. All the best to you in 2025.
Such a great newsletter today. Short, sweet and cheery. Thanks, Kareem, for giving me a Christmas Eve with simple, yet happy cheer... and some great tunes.
Have a great holiday break with your family, Kareem and Happy Holidays to all my fellow Substackers.