As I remember, sometime back in the early 1980s, my dad, Dan McCornack, began a tradition of making a Christmas piñata for the kids every year. Some years he came up with the idea for the character or item on his own, and some years it was suggested by one or another of his grandkids. He gamely kept up the tradition year after year, and until his passing in 2005 Grandpa Dan’s piñata was a fundamental part of our family Christmas.

After we lost Dad, maintaining the tradition of the piñata became a way to remember him as we celebrated each year’s holidays. I’ve done my best to maintain the spirit of his constructions. This of course meant learning how to do serious paper maché and getting my hands and clothes all messy in the process. But I think I also learned why he kept doing it; it’s awfully fun. As a side note, if you have an interest in paper maché, check out ultimatepapermache.com, put together by a genuine paper maché artist, Jonni Good.

For 2022, William suggested that the piñata should be The Polar Express train, which he knows from the movie and book. Through some collection of miracles, I managed to get it done in time for Christmas. Below are some photos. I hope it adds to your enjoyment of the season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I’ve got books, music, movies and an appetite. Wish me luck?

Funny how things sometimes coincide. A dear longtime friend and musician, Nancy Barnes, discovered recently that an album she did as part of the band Sands of Time in the 1970s has developed a cult following, especially in Europe. As a result, she was contacted by a podcast host named Anssi in Finland to do an episode of his “Cosmic Turtle” podcast. Nancy did the interview, which included songs from the album and reminiscences about how it came together. The show came out wonderfully, and I would recommend it even if you don’t know Nancy and her music. It can be found on both the Cosmic Turtle website and Soundcloud.

Not long after I heard from Nancy about this project, I got a call from a former student from back in the 80s, Garon Tornell. Garon now has a podcast called “Let’s Hear It” in which he interviews his guests about their life stories. Garon and I got together near the first part of June 2022, and here’s what resulted. [Let’s Hear It on Spotify | Apple Podcasts]

Without them, what would I be?

Anonymous sources have told anonymous news outlets anonymously that the names Ivanka Trump, Hunter Biden, Kim Jong-un and Eddie Haskell have all appeared on the Internet on the very same day that news of the Springfield, Oregon “CardGate” scandal became public. A spokesperson not representing the late Mother Teresa said, “I am shocked”, immediately after touching a live electrical wire while in the bathtub. We will continue to follow this breaking story. If the story becomes completely broken, we will stop following it, because, after all, what’s the point then?

A guy named “Wes” contributed to this story. Well, actually, Wes asked us for spare change, and he looked kind of rough, so we gave him 35 cents. I mean, that’s kind of a contribution, right?

Irrefutably solid evidence of defective card decks has recently been found in the normally peaceful city of Springfield Oregon. Kind, upstanding, sweet human beings have apparently been victimized by this horrendous failure of decks of playing cards to function appropriately.

While those who hosted recent card games appear not to be directly involved in the devious plot, their victims have none the less been deeply emotionally damaged by this sudden outbreak of severely defective playing cards. The victims are certainly worthy of sympathy, and rematches with non-defective decks.

Actual stars are enormous balls of burning gas, and do not have 5 symmetrical points. Since you are reading this on the Internet, it is probably true.

Signed,

Come and get it! Here is the way to do Custom CSS in WordPress.

Straight ahead animation

This stuff was on my “Cool Links” page for awhile, to demonstrate some web hosting things for some friends. I’ve pulled it off after the demo was no longer needed, but I can’t bear to erase it all. Who knows why.

• Garden Variety Music – WordPress, hosted by Andy
• Now See Hear – WordPress, hosted by Andy
• Gracie – a (Free!) Google site. I have not attached a domain name to this site, but it can be done very simply and inexpensively. You can also easily use other parts of your Google account with it.
• neeughams.org – a site for a local disaster prep group I work with
• SomberMoose.com – this site, which I use for fun. Yes, this is how I have fun.
• Tim Goss, a friend of mine, has examples of his artwork at timgosswatercolors.com, and his great cartoons at www.everybodyslarry.com. Both are WordPress sites, hosted by a commercial hosting service.
• There are a number of commercial hosts, including:
  • Amazon Web Services
  • GoDaddy
  • Google
  • Wix
  • WordPress – this is WordPress’s own hosting service.
  • Bluehost