"Auld Lang Syne".

I'm not a New Year's guy. I celebrated more when I was younger but now it's just another eve before a day off. However, I do love this rendition of "Auld Lang Syne". I first heard it when Mairi Campbell serenaded Sean Connery during the Kennedy Center Honors.


So - to 2015! May it bring you health, joy & happiness - and peace. Remember - most of us are just tryin' to crack ye old nut. There's much good in the world. Seek it out!

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Christmas Day @ the Ircink's in Waterford!

Merry Christmas! From Dee, Jim, me, Brother Jason, Molly & Zol (in picture).

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Christmas Eve @ the Ircink's of Waterford!

The family that drinks brandy old fashioned sweets together stays together - for over 50 years. Jim, Dee Dee, Jeff, Jason & Molly the American water spaniel. 'Twas a wonderful evening. Oh - Molly didn't drink any old fashioneds.

 She sipped port.

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My favorite line(s) from "A Christmas Carol"...

"Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world...and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!"

- from Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL

(pic from A CHRISTMAS CAROL - 1951, starring Alastair Sim)

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"A Christmas Carol" (1971)

I post this every holiday season on my blog and FB. The BEST animated CAROL of them all. And it won an Oscar. It's 24 minutes. If you're a Scrooge fan, it's worth it. The detail for that time is superb.

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A compendium of Santa Claus(es).

Sinterklaas. Father Christmas. Père Noël. Saint Nicholas. Grandfather Frost. Kris Kringle. So many names. So many cultures. Here are a few visions of Santa Claus that I like.

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"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (2010)

Probably my favorite Christmas carol. And probably my favorite rendition.
Celtic meets Renaissance Faire! Excellent!

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Jammin' @ Christmas time!

I usually make my black raspberry jam in September but never got around to it. Ircink family pierogi gathering this evening and I wanted to get some jam to my aunts and uncle. 23, 8-ounce jars. 32 last year. I swear I had the same amount of quart bags of raspberries. I did have the same amount.

Odd.

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Christmas Tree. Glen Mar. 2014.

 

"Now, the tree is decorated with bright merriment, and song, and dance, and cheerfulness. And they are welcome. Innocent and welcome be they ever held, beneath the branches of the Christmas Tree, which cast no gloomy shadow! But, as it sinks into the ground, I hear a whisper... going through the leaves. "This, in commemoration of the law of love and kindness, mercy and compassion. This, in remembrance of Me!"

- excerpt from Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Tree" (1850) 

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Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Seasons Greetings!

(and anything else I missed)

"Now trees their leafy hats do bare,
To reverence Winter's silver hair;
A handsome hostess, merry host,
A pot of ale now and a toast,
Tobacco and a good coal fire,
Are things this season doth require."

 

- Poor Robin's Almanack, 1684

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Ferguson looter list.

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First snow.

November 15, 2014. First snow in Greendale. Two views. Adjusted contrast/midtone (top) and normal (bottom). I try and record the first snow of each year. Sometimes it isn't the first snowfall (may amount to nothing) so then I record the first big snowfall.

12/19/09 (big snowfall).
Skipped 2011.
12/14/10 (first snowfall).
12/18/12 (first snow).
12/8/13 (can't remember - first snow or big snowfall)

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Kahuna Rendezvous 2014!

Just Brother Jas and I this year or our annual bow hunting/camping trip in honor of our departed friend and hunting mentor, Kenny "Kahuna" Koepsel. Buckhorn State Park in Necedah, WI - on the shores of Castle Rock Lake. That bow hunting time of the year. No - no pics of deer. Alas, the WI DNR in their infinite wisdom designated this park (as well as much of the state) as "bucks only" with a bow. First time I've ever hunted when I couldn't shoot a doe. Ohhh I probably wouldn't have hit anything anyway. But this trip is never about just deer hunting - it's about being in Nature. Ate like we were at a 5-star restaurant and survived a low of 13 degrees one night. And yeah - we're in a tent. Warm in the tent (really). It's getting out from under the covers that's the tricky part.

And for those of our brethren who were missed during our rendezvous, a poem...

"To Those Who Have Come and Gone"

by Jeffrey James Ircink

 

That well-worn path you trod,

amongst the smells of cedar and pine, of breakfast and coffee, of leather and canvas,

Earth and Fire – your presence still lingers.

The cool air rings of your gestures and musings – your essence.

We tipped our glasses to men – those who have conversed like we – about past sojourns and of Nature – all that which binds them.

This – is our solace.

The wind and water, the flutter and hoot – all the sounds of the forest do not break

your deafening silence.

Someday we too will be talked about.

To those who have come and gone,

We would rather you did not leave.

 

 

 



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BabblingStuffs is LIVE!

I'm a writer and published playwright but I don't feel like writing anything in my cards. I'm leaving it up to you to fill in the blanks. My original photos are my "words".

BabblingStuffs on Etsy - check it out here.

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Tricks or Treats!

I post this every Halloween - 'cause every year this song gets better & better.

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Happy No. 45, No. 4!

It's Brett Favre's birthday today. Thought you should know....

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No. 74

Happy Birthday, dear John....

"Julia".

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"Goat Fish" is in...the...can! Teaser video for The Horny Goat Film Festival is FUNNY!

ANNOUNCING! PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL!

Preview film for THE 3rd Annual REALLY FUNNY HORNY GOAT
INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL!

A Mack ManQueller film
Written by Jeffrey James Ircink
Starring Jason Ircink, Jennifer Naida, Bryan Damske & Jeffrey James Ircink

Saturday, Sept. 20 & Saturday, Sept. 27 in the BFT at The Horny Goat Brew Pub in Milwaukee! Go to the YouTube site and check the copy under this video for all event details.

If you don't need details, quick ticket link is here.

DRINK FILMS. WATCH BEERS.
DRINK FILMS. WATCH BEERS.

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THE 3rd annual REALLY FUNNY HORNY GOAT INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL returns!

 

 

 

THE 3rd Annual REALLY FUNNY HORNY GOAT INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL returns! Saturday, September 20th & Saturday September 27th in the BigFunTent @ The Horny Goat Brew Pub in Milwaukee!

Changin' things up this year - a DIFFERENT SLATE of short films EACH evening. Come both Saturdays and see some excellent funny, short films from Canada, Australia, South Korea, Germany, New Zealand and the U.S.

Screenings begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the door or online here. $15 OR $25 - which includes a fantastically delicious pig roast dinner! Dinner begins serving at 6 pm AND this is an online ONLY ticket option.

Entertainment? Of course! Sept. 20 - features Jazz vocalist and Milwaukee's own Jerry Grillo - WAMI Award winner for Best Jazz Artist/2011 and Sept. 27 we'll have Irish traditional session music, featuring Randy Gosa of Myserk.

AND - both evenings will be MC'd by Enobong "The Nigerian Gentleman" Umohette - your reigning Wisconsin, USA Super Heavyweight Boxing Champion! DING! DING! DING!

Giveaways, drink & food specials and short films you can't see but here. More details to follow! DRINK FILMS. WATCH BEERS. For all the details on the festival, see our website here.

 

Jerry Grillo

 

Randy Gosa

 

 

Enobong "The Nigerian Gentleman" Umohette

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