A Mark and Brian Christmas: "The Polar Express"

More Classic Gems from Mark and Brian Christmas Past!

One year, Mark and Brian were talking about the awesome Christmas story THE POLAR EXPRESS by Chris Van Allsburg, and they were hoping to get their commentator Chuck Moshontz (who had a wonderful narrative voice) to read the book one morning before Christmas. He happily agreed, and after a week or so of preparing, they got him to sit down and read through the whole book, accompanied by some beautiful background music chosen by "Young" Anthony  just for the occasion!

 Well, it was an overwhelming success, and I came prepared and made sure I got the whole thing on cassette tape. Good thing too, because I had to make copies of that reading for many, many friends, and it occurred to me that it would be great to share it with other Mark and Brian fans out there who either haven’t heard it before or have special memories of hearing it on that incredible broadcast!

It was because of this reading that I eventually purchased my own copy of the Allsburg book, and although I scanned the pages to accompany the clip, in the end, the best way to enjoy this is the way I heard it that morning- Just close your eyes and listen to Chuck reading the story, and your own imagination will supply all the pictures you need!

A Mark and Brian Christmas: "O Holy Night"

More Classic Gems from Mark and Brian Christmas Past!

As I’ve mentioned before in previous posts, I was a HUGE fan of the KLOS Radio Program featuring Mark and Brian, and would listen to the show religiously every day throughout the years, til the show was unceremoniously yanked off the Hawaii airwaves, an evil act that I’ve never forgiven them for! (Thank God For Podcasts!)

  The Holidays were especially special ones to tune on to, because the show was filled with such warmth and real nostalgic conversations of magical Christmases of childhood, including Christmas songs, stories and movies, not to mention everyone’s memories of Christmas as kids.I've taken the time to rip some of my favorite Christmas skits (that I managed to capture on tape) to MP3s so y'all can enjoy them and get into that Christmas mood, too!

Today's Clip:

"O Holy Night" 

What would Christmas be without Christmas Carols? After an interesting discussion about their favorite Holiday Tunes, Mark and Brian got a call from a small group of Christams Carolers…This Choir featured only seven vocallists, but sounded just like pure heaven!


Their vocals were probably pretty loud, and unfortunately the connection over the phone seemed to sound “distorted” at times (especially in the beginning), but wait til you hear the buildup! OMG! An absolutely amazing (if short) performance of “O Holy Night”!

Afterwards Brian jokes, “Hey Amy, one of the guys was off!” then he laughs, and asks how many people were singing…He’s simply astounded that there’s only SEVEN people singing!

Sucking In The Seventies with "Dazed and Confused"

Sasha Jensen, Matthew McConaughey, Jason London, Wiley Wiggins

Just re-watched an old favorite movie of mine, the 1993 Richard Linklater classic Dazed and Confused. Like the George Lucas 1960's homage AMERICAN GRAFFITI (another big favorite of mine) which followed the footsteps of four 1962 High School students on the last day of school before heading out for summer, THIS movie was set in the garish and considerably louder year of 1976, where blaring Heavy Metal music and beer and pot were the specials du jour!

Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Marissa Ribisi, Jason London

Growing up in the 70's, I dug the reminiscent look and feel of the movie, and I loved its slow, thoughtful pace, where scenes really let you stop and take in the atmosphere. So much of the backdrops reminded me of my childhood-like the game parlor they all hang out at, that really took me back to those days! 

When I first checked out this movie, I knew it was going to be a period  piece of the 70's , but I didn't expect it to have such a laid-back story, and most of all, the show benefits from having very likeable characters, especially the Jason London character of Pink, who really represents all of those cool big-brother type older kids that watched out for you when you were growing up!

Wiley Wiggins, Jason London, Sasha Jenson

And Girls! Holy cow, I'd forgotten how many pretty girls were in this movie, and not only were they lookin' mighty fine, they were featured in those groovy 1970's hairstyles and those sexy and alluring seventies OUTFITS! Aw, this was FANTASTIC!

Deena Martin

Michelle Burke 

Christine Harnos

Christin Hinojosa

Milla Jovovich

Joey Lauren Adams

Parker Posey

One thing that I think is strange is that while some of the stars like Matthew McConaughey, Joey Lauren Adams, Parker Posey and Ben Affleck have gone onto bigger and better things, I haven't seen most of the others in a whole lot of stuff! Looking online, seems like most of them have migrated to televison, so maybe that's why sightings of them have been so scarce for me!

Michelle Burke, Christine Harnos, Deena Martin

I'm amazed that Dazed and Confused wasn't a more popular movie during its initial release, but perhaps it was because it was marketed as a zany pothead movie a la CHEECH AND CHONG, while it was really just this thoughtful and gentle movie. So people coming in expecting off-the-wall silliness probably ended up disappointed, while those that would have enjoyed it passed it up. But thanks to video and word of mouth, it's finally come into its own as the cult classic it is!

 BTW, as a HUGE fan of the show RENT, I was quite surprised to realize that the role of Tony was played by none other than a very young Anthony "Mark Cohen" Rapp! 

Anthony Rapp and Christin Hinojosa