3, 2, 1 ...

December 31, 2022

Happy New Year 2023

Vlogmas 2022: Day 31

December 31, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 31: New Year's Eve/Day Tradition (Dec. 31, 2022)

New Year's Eve/Day Tradition, Dec. 31, 2022

For Day 31 of my Vlogmas 2022, which is also the last day of this month-long event, I thought that I would tell you about a New Year's Eve/Day tradition my father created in the early 1980s.

In the early 1980s, my father and I took a trip to western Austria to visit many of our Austrian cousins, including Hans and his wife Rita. On that trip, we spent New Year's Eve at Hans and Rita's house. When we returned home, my dad started a new tradition where Dad would call Hans on the phone from Dad's house on Long Island, New York, every Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. Eastern Time/U.S., which was 12 a.m./Midnight Austrian Time/Central European Time on Jan. 1. My father wanted to be one of the first people to wish Hans and Rita a Happy New Year.

When my dad sadly passed away in 1997, I continued the tradition. I have been calling from my various homes in southeastern Florida since I moved south from New Jersey in 1998. Sadly, Hans passed away in 2013, so I now call Rita directly. Today, I was able to leave a New Year's greeting for Rita in English and in German on her home answering machine after many attempts.

Since the early 1980s, I have visited my cousins across Austria seven times and have gone skiing in the Austrian Alps with several of them on many of those trips. My father and I once celebrated New Year's Eve at Hans and Rita's house, I think in 1983. On that trip, we were in Austria from December 27 to January 8. Hans and Rita lived on the side of a mountain ~ Rita still lives there ~ in the Austrian province of Vorarlberg, overlooking a small city. I remember the wonderfully subdued feeling as we gently raised our Champagne-filled glasses and quietly spoke the words "Zum Wohl" and "Prost" as the clock struck midnight in their living room. We then went outside onto their patio to watch the fireworks explode below us in arrays of colors. It is my most memorable New Year's Eve celebration.

On April 10, 2005, my wife and I shared Champagne with Hans and Rita in their house with two more Austrian cousins (Blanka, Hans' sister, and Blanka's son Markus) to celebrate our wedding engagement. I had just proposed marriage to my wife on a nearby snowy mountaintop with Hans and Rita just several yards from us.

My wife and I wed in southeastern Florida on Feb. 4, 2006, and we are still married.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

Thank you for watching my Vlogmas 2022 videos. I had fun making them.

https://youtu.be/o0w4LTOwhoo

Italian Lunch

December 31, 2022

For lunch, my wonderful wife roasted Italian sausages, green bell peppers, and sweet onions with olive oil to make hero sandwiches.

Good Luck In 2023

December 31, 2022

I'm ready for good luck in 2023. (Many thanks go to my wonderful wife for procuring Italian lentils and Canadian herring for me to eat shortly after midnight, as per tradition.)

Today Is ...

December 31, 2022

Vlogmas 2022: Day 30

December 30, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 30: My Many Jobs (Dec. 30, 2022)

My Many Jobs, Dec. 30, 2022

For Day 30 of my Vlogmas 2022, I thought that I would tell you about my many paying jobs, starting when I was a teenager in the mid-1970s until my retirement on April 1, 2017, due to disability. Rather than call it my professional career, I refer to my jobs as a series of gigs simply because I bounced around often. A couple of years ago, I constructed a Facebook game where I randomly listed almost all of my jobs from over the years. I included one false job and then asked my Facebook friends to guess the job that I never had. I still have the list saved on my phone, so I decided to slightly consolidate it and then tell you briefly about the diversity of my many jobs. By the way, I speak of my jobs randomly, so they are NOT in order of occurrence.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/-x0iRU3EGwA

What's Doin' Today

December 30, 2022

From 1992 to 1996, I was a writer, editor, and researcher for an international weekly magazine on the financial and technical aspects of the chemical industry based in New York City. In 1993, I was sent on a business trip to Rifle, Colorado, to cover the opening of a sodium bicarbonate solution mine. The factory produced six grades of baking soda for various uses.

Throwback Thursday

December 29, 2022

Throwback Thursday: Condominium, Eleventh Floor, North Tower, Trump Plaza, West Palm Beach, Florida, Saturday, April 21, 2012, while my wife and I were visiting vacationing friends from Toronto. I loved playing that piano. (You can probably tell that I took this photo of myself.) By the way, the pin on my shirt is the flag of Vorarlberg, the westernmost province of Austria, where my many Austrian cousins live or used to live. Also, I am wearing my wedding ring on my right hand, as per Austrian tradition.

Vlogmas 2022: Day 29

December 29, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 29: Thanks To My Wife (Dec. 29, 2022)

Thanks To My Wife, Dec. 29, 2022

For Day 29 of my Vlogmas 2022, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my wonderful wife for her love, for her help, and for everything she does for me. I also explain why, in part, I appreciate my wife so much.

At the end of this video are a photograph from our wedding reception and my wedding vows.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/tT3vfKy8Arw

What's Goin' On Today?

December 29, 2022

Vlogmas 2022: Day 28

December 28, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 28: Two Practical Jokes (Dec. 28, 2022)

Two Practical Jokes, Dec. 28, 2022

For Day 28 of my Vlogmas 2022, I would like to share with you two classic practical jokes among my father (1934-1997) and his friends in the 1980s: One was perpetrated by my father, and one was in retaliation a few days later. While I thought of my idea for Day 28 a few days ago, it turns out coincidentally that today is Holy Innocents Day, observed annually on Dec. 28 (sometimes 29). This remembrance commemorates the execution of the innocent, male children in Bethlehem as told in Matthew 2:16. On this day, it is custom to give the youngest child in the household the power to rule the day. From what to eat, where to go, and what to do, the youngest is in charge. In Mexico, it is a day for children to play practical jokes and pranks on their elders.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/eT52U_jpUMQ

Superman T-Shirts

December 28, 2022

Two Christmas presents from my wife were just delivered: two (2XL and XXL) Superman T-shirts. She wanted me to have them, basically, because I am still alive to celebrate the Christmas season. In March 2022, I had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery, including removal of a length of vein from my left leg to be used in the open-heart surgery. In May 2022, I had surgery to remove sternal (breastbone) plates from within my chest due to loosening of screws and an infection. Also in May 2022, I had reconstructive surgery to reattach my chest muscle flaps to my body. Last year, among other hospitalizations, I had three of four surgeries on my left foot (osteomyelitis and tumor removal); kidney failure with six weeks of daily dialysis (four straight hours each day); congestive heart failure; dangerously low blood-cell counts (red and white); thoracentesis of my right lung; two bouts of pneumonia; and a covid infection. She thought that after living through all of my health issues and because I was a journalist from 1982 to 2017, Superman T-shirts are appropriate for me. The store also sent us two more Superman T-shirts ( XXL and L), which we didn't order.

Several weeks ago, I ordered a T-shirt for myself with the words: "Quadruple Bypass Survivor/Official Member Open Heart Surgery Club.

What's Doin' Today?

December 28, 2022

Holy Innocents Day, observed annually on Dec. 28 (sometimes 29), commemorates the execution of the innocent, male children in Bethlehem as told in Matthew 2:16. On this day it is custom to give the youngest child in the household the power to rule the day. From what to eat, where to go, and what to do, the youngest is in charge. In Mexico, it is a day for children to play practical jokes and pranks on their elders.

December 28, 2022

My favorite chocolate-related candies are chocolate-covered marzipan and chocolate-covered candied orange peels.

December 28, 2022

My preferred card game is Hearts.

December 28, 2022

In the mid-1980s, while studying at Villanova University, I wrote and created an eight-minute movie for my film-production course. A few of my friends were in my film which was somewhat of an Alfred Hitchcock-type thriller. (I also took courses in film analysis, television production, theater production, and print journalism. That was after I changed my major from pre-med to communications with a minor in the French language after two-and-a-half years.)

December 28, 2022

Back in the 1960s, when I was a young kid, at school, we would face the flag in our classroom and recite The Pledge every school-day morning.

Vlogmas 2022: Day 27

December 27, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 27: My Many Nicknames (Dec. 27, 2022)

My Many Nicknames, Dec. 27, 2022

I will turn 62 years old in February 2023. My official name is William Santos III, meaning the 3rd, but over these many decades, I have gathered many nicknames. For Day 27 of my Vlogmas 2022 today, I would like to share them with you ... at least the ones I remember.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/8JsbbD85CbQ

Panettone For My Mom, Us

December 27, 2022

Today is National Fruitcake Day. I do like regular fruitcake, but I prefer the Italian version called panettone. I always give my mother a panettone imported from Italy every Christmas. My wife and I also always buy one for ourselves. Here is a photo of ours. (Actually, this Christmas season, my wife purchased four of them.)

Vlogmas 2022: Day 26

December 26, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 26: Christmas Dinner; Boxing Day (Dec. 26, 2022)

Christmas Dinner; Boxing Day, Dec. 26, 2022

On Christmas Day yesterday, my wife and I spent the day at home. She baked a homemade frittata for breakfast. I enjoyed a piece of her homemade pumpkin pie for lunch, as per National Pumpkin Day and my decades-long personal tradition. For dinner, she made pot roast with onions, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots, and green beans with roasted garlic and slivered almonds.

Since the late 1960s, when I was a young kid, my personal tradition forbids me from eating pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day. I must eat it on Christmas Day or close to it. Why? Pumpkin pie is mentioned in the song "Sleigh Ride," the Mitch Miller version, which I considered to be a Christmas song since my age was in single digits. As an adult, I realized that, in reality, it really isn't a Christmas song. Anyway, now, at age 61, I continue to follow my childhood tradition.

Today is Boxing Day, so Happy Boxing Day !!! Celebrated a day after Christmas in England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries, Boxing Day began as a day to give gifts to the poor. Servants receive gifts and a day off from their employers. It became official in 1871 and is now celebrated as a "shopping holiday." The holiday is traditionally recognised on Dec. 26 every year. If Christmas falls on a weekend, Boxing Day is celebrated on the following Monday. Today is Monday, so Boxing Day falls on its regular day.

I have been a huge Beatles fan since I saw them in their movie "A Hard Day's Night" in a movie theater in 1964, when I was three years old. The Beatles TV movie "Magical Mystery Tour" was broadcast in England on Boxing Day in 1967. While the movie was shot with a heavy dose of psychedelic colors, the BBC broadcast it in black and white, which contributed to its relatively failure.

At age 18 in June 1979, and still as a huge Beatles fan, I attended my high school senior prom. My white tuxedo and my hairstyle were an homage to The Beatles in the movie Magical Mystery Tour, when they sang their song "Your Mother Should Know." I wanted to wear tails and a black carnation like Paul McCartney did in the movie, but my mother said "no" to both of my requests.

Paul's black carnation is one of many "clues" in regard to the rumor that Paul McCartney died in a car accident in 1966 and was replaced by William Campbell.

I also explain the meaning of my T-shirt.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/fkUmmG8TC5I

Happy Boxing Day

December 26, 2022

Today Is ...

December 26, 2022

Christmas Day Dinner

December 25, 2022

Many thanks go to my wonderful wife for all of her recent baking, for her gifts to me, and for cooking this delicious Christmas Day dinner (pot roast with onions, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots, and green beans with roasted garlic and slivered almonds).

Vlogmas 2022: Day 25

December 25, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 25: Our Christmas Eve Celebration (Dec. 25, 2022)

Our Christmas Eve Celebration, Dec. 25, 2022

Happy Christmas !!! Today's video is about our Christmas Eve celebration yesterday. I describe the food, the festivities, and the special gifts.

My wife and I were at my mom's nearby home for a homemade Italian dinner and festivities yesterday afternoon into early evening. I played a little piano (two Christmas songs), plus my usual Christmastime piano improvisation, which I recorded and uploaded onto my YouTube channel yesterday as my Day 24 video of my Vlogmas 2022.

The best Christmas present that I received yesterday evening is a family heirloom from my mother: an electric mixer that belonged to her mother-in-law. My paternal grandmother whom I called "Nana" used this Dormeyer "Dormey" Model 7500 hand mixer from the 1930s until 1977, when she passed away. My mother inherited it and has been using it since then. I am quite happy to have it now. I was born in 1961, so I vividly remember both Nana and my mom using it quite often.

In addition to the delicious dinner and the mixer, many thanks also go to my terrific mother for the gift of tripods with Bluetooth remote controls for my cell phone to enable me to create better-looking videos for my YouTube channel. This is the second video I recorded using a tripod. The first was yesterday's piano improv video.

Many thanks go to my wonderful wife for all of her recent baking, for her gifts to me, and for cooking a delicious Christmas Day dinner (pot roast with onions, roasted potatoes, roasted carrots, and green beans with roasted garlic and slivered almonds).

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/f_y2aqj_KlQ

Nana's Hand Mixer

December 25, 2022

The best present that I received this Christmas is a family heirloom from my mother: an electric mixer that belonged to her mother-in-law. My paternal grandmother used this Dormeyer "Dormey" Model 7500 hand mixer from the 1930s until 1977, when she passed away. My mother inherited it and has been using it since then. I am quite happy to have it now. I was born in 1961, so I remember it quite well.

Pumpkin Pie On Christmas

December 25, 2022

Many thanks go to my wonderful wife for creating and baking for me this homemade pumpkin pie drizzled with honey. Since the late 1960s, my personal tradition forbids me from eating pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day. I must eat it on Christmas Day or close to it. Why? Pumpkin pie is mentioned in the song "Sleigh Ride," which I considered to be a Christmas song since my age was in single digits. As an adult, I realized that in reality it really isn't a Christmas song. Anyway, now at age 61, I continue to follow my childhood tradition. Also, today is National Pumpkin Pie Day, so my personal tradition is in line with general tradition.

A'Phabet Day

December 25, 2022

Frittata For Xmas Breakfast

December 25, 2022

Italian Christmas Breakfast: My wonderful wife made this delicious frittata for breakfast.

Vlogmas 2022: Day 24

December 24, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 24: Christmas Eve Piano Improv (Dec. 24, 2022)

Christmas Eve Piano Improv, Dec. 24, 2022

Happy Christmas Eve !!! My wife and I were at my mom's nearby home for a homemade Italian dinner and festivities. I played a little piano, including my usual Christmastime piano improvisation, which I record and upload onto my YouTube channel on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day.

In regard to my many piano improvisations, I like to sit at my digital piano and play whatever is in my head at that time. I make it up as I go along.

Many thanks go to my terrific mother for the gift of tripods for my cell phone to enable me to create better-looking videos for my YouTube channel. This is the first video I recorded using a tripod.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/EIfn6Ri02tI

Christmas Eve At My Mom's

December 24, 2022

Happy Christmas Eve !!! My wife and I are at my mom's nearby home for a homemade Italian dinner and festivities. I decided to drink white wine instead of my usual red wine because I do not wish to fall asleep at this time.

Happy Christmas Eve !!! My wife and I are at my mom's nearby home for a homemade Italian dinner and festivities. My mother made her famous Antipasto-Caprese Salad.

Happy Christmas Eve !!! My wife and I are at my mom's nearby home for a homemade Italian dinner and festivities. My mother made her famous Crème de Menthe brownies. I have enjoyed them for decades.

Many thanks go to my terrific mother for the gift of tripods for my cell phone to enable me to create better-looking videos for my YouTube channel.

(I played a little piano and recorded a Christmas Eve Piano Improv for Day 24 of my Vlogmas 2022 for my YouTube channel.)

Egg Nog With Whiskey

December 24, 2022

I like to drink eggnog in the traditional way: with a shot of whiskey, specifically Wild Turkey bourbon whiskey. I also freshly grate nutmeg for the top. Many people like it with rum, but almost all people around the world drink it with whiskey.

Squares: Chocolate, Walnuts

December 23, 2022

My wonderful wife made chocolate chip-walnut squares (precut).

Vlogmas 2022: Day 23

December 23, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 23: Airport Road, Boca Raton, Fla. (Dec. 23, 2022)

Airport Road, Boca Raton, Fla., Dec. 23, 2022

My wife and I had doctor appointments this morning, so I decided to record a video on our way home. We partially took Airport Road en route from the doctors' office in Boca Raton, Florida, to our home in Delray Beach, Florida.

I have been mostly convalescing at home due to continued weakness following three surgeries earlier this year: quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery in March 2022; surgery to remove loose sternal plates, plus a staph infection in May 2022; and reconstructive surgery to reattach my chest muscle flaps to my body later in May 2022.

While today's journey was taxing on my body, it was quite nice to get outside for a bit of time.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/6GGrxBoJtKs

Today Is ...

December 23, 2022

I do particularly like Pfeffernüsse.

December 23, 2022

My heritage is:

50% Italian

25% Portuguese

12.5% Austrian

12.5% Swiss

Happy B-Day To FZ !!!

December 22, 2022

Happy Belated Birthday to Frank Vincent Zappa !!! (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) ... I attended an FZ concert at The Pier in New York City in 1984 with my cousin. It was absolutely terrific.

Italian Christmas Cookies

December 22, 2022

My wife and I made my Italian grandmother's traditional Italian Christmas cookies. How many did we make? 70 cookies. We made and iced some of the cookies today. We will finish icing the rest of them tomorrow.

Vlogmas 2022: Day 22

December 22, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 22: Italian Christmas Cookies (Dec. 22, 2022)

Italian Christmas Cookies, Dec. 22, 2022

For Day 22 of my Vlogmas 2022, my wife and I made my Italian grandmother's traditional Italian Christmas cookies. How many did we make? 70 cookies. How did we create them? Make the dough; refrigerate overnight; roll dough into balls; bake; let cool; dip in sugar glaze; sprinkle with colored sprinkles; allow glaze to harden; and enjoy. We made and iced some of the cookies today. We will finish icing the rest of them tomorrow.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

UPDATE: We didn't ice the remaining cookies the next day.

https://youtu.be/OtTuT86bLP8

Throwback Thursday: Xmas

December 22, 2022

With Christmas Day approaching, I would like to share this photo from decades ago for today's Throwback Thursday.

In 1991, when I was between journalism jobs, I was working as an architectural assistant in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York, thanks to my dear friend Mark and his father Sal. I also had another job at the same time: Easter Bunny at the Walt Whitman shopping mall in Huntington Station, Long Island, New York. Here, for your enjoyment, is the classic photo of myself dressed in that furry costume, scaring a child and making another one smile, albeit uncomfortably. If you look closely at the bunny's mouth, you can see part of my face.

What's Going On Today?

December 22, 2022

2 AAA Takes Down AC?

December 22, 2022

Call me old-fashioned, but I find it incomprehensible that two dead AAA batteries can cause a whole air-conditioning unit to stop functioning.

UPDATE: That didn't help. We are still waiting for the AC repairman.

UPDATE: Our AC is now working. The technician fixed a clogged line.

Almond Cookies

December 21, 2022

This evening, my wonderful wife made almond cookies. Here are some of them.

Podiatrist Visit

December 21, 2022

My podiatrist made a house call this evening to tend to my recurring diabetic ulcers in both of my feet. I typically see him every 2 or 3 weeks. He has performed four surgeries on my left foot, three of them last year and one several years ago.

Several years ago - removed part of a decayed bone due to osteomyelitis (bone infection)

2021 - removed bone fragments and scar tissue due to osteomyelitis 

2021 - removed more bone fragments and scar tissue due to osteomyelitis a few days later

2021 - removed benign tumor growing within a diabetic ulcer

My wife and I gave him Christmas gifts, and he helped me with a computer problem. Through WiFi, I am now able to access the contents of my cell phone on my computer by using the app AirDroid.

*****

Surgeries this year (photos below):

March 2022 - quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery; removal of vein in left leg for the bypasses

May 2022 - removal of sternal (breastbone) plates that became loose, plus staph infection within my chest

May 2022 - reconstructive chest surgery to reattach my chest muscle flaps to my body

Please, no more surgeries.

Vlogmas 2022: Day 21

December 21, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 21: My 45-RPM Records (Dec. 21, 2022)

My 45-RPM Records, Dec. 21, 2022

For Day 21 of my Vlogmas 2022, I would like to show you some of my 45-rpm vinyl records (45s) that I still have with me. Throughout the decades, I have lost, misplaced, or had stolen a fair amount of 45s, as well as LP vinyl records, many of which may or may not still be in my father's (R.I.P.) garage at my stepmother's home. Nah. They are gone.

The 45s that I do have are 13 German-language music 45s that my father brought home to his hometown, Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York, in the late 1950s from his early times with the U.S. Navy (22 years total), transporting displaced persons from Bremerhaven, Germany, to New York City; 5 Christmas 45s; and 5 pop-music 45s; plus 13 plastic record adapters.

As a joke (in the 1950s), my dad (in his mid-20s) would switch the regular pop 45s in the jukebox in town with these German 45s just to confuse everyone. Other highlights of my 45s collection are "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney from 1979; and "Little Willy" by The Sweet from 1972; the latter belonged to the girl next door (R.I.P.) in West Islip, Long Island, New York, where I grew up mostly as a teenager in the 1970s. She wrote her name on it. She probably gave it to me because my first name is William.

I do have a record player, so I will be playing my 45s, especially the Christmas 45s, as Christmas Day fast approaches us.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/ki2GgJvIquk

Lots Doin' Today

December 21, 2022

One Vote

December 20, 2022

Hey, Yeah !!! I received a vote on my YouTube poll, regarding the possible renaming of my YouTube channel. I may not rename it.

Vlogmas 2022: Day 20

December 20, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 20: Reclaiming The Male Spirit (Dec. 20, 2022)

Reclaiming The Male Spirit, Dec. 20, 2022

For Day 20 of my Vlogmas 2022, I speak about my interest in the Men's Movement from the early 1990s until now. In the 1990s, our goals were "reclaiming the male spirit" and transforming men into gentlemen.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/KJJrBqKUGrk

National Sangria Day

December 20, 2022

Vlogmas 2022: Day 19

December 19, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 19: Thanks To My Mom (Dec. 19, 2022)

Thanks To My Mom, Dec. 19, 2022

For Day 19 of my Vlogmas 2022, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my mother for, well, everything. This year, she gave my wife and me her Christmas tree from recent years, along with some of her ornaments. She decided to display a smaller Christmas tree in her home. I also thank her for all of her help with my rough medical issues over the past two years. I also thank her for making my childhood just so wonderfully memorable. Thanks, Mom, for all you do for me and, of course, for my wife. I love you. We love you.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/tHLZH1MbNE4

No Hard Candy ... Maybe

December 19, 2022

I am not fond of hard candy. I believe that the day I start eating hard candy is the day I admit that I am old. (I'll be 62 in February 2023.) Notable exceptions: When I was a kid in the 1960s and 1970s, my paternal grandmother always had raspberry hard candy (large lozenges) imported from Austria; her heritage was Austrian and Swiss. I liked them, and I still do. I have found them recently. In fact, I think there's an open bag of them in a kitchen cupboard. Also, I have been known to enjoy the occasional horehound lozenge as an herbal remedy.

Beef Stew

December 18, 2022

My wonderful wife made this pot of beef stew for dinner and beyond.

Vlogmas 2022: Day 18

December 18, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 18: Another Published Poem (Dec. 18, 2022)

Another Published Poem, Dec. 18, 2022

For Day 18 of my Vlogmas 2022, I decided to recite another one of my many self-penned, published poems. Titled "That's Not What I Meant," this poem, which is copyrighted, was published in a national anthology titled "Best Poets of 2020: quarantine edition, Volume 3." by Eber & Wein Publishing. This is the second of three poems I have had published with this company. I had one published in 2010 in one of their regular anthologies, and I am having one published this year in their "Best Poets of 2021" anthology.

I have written more than 300, maybe 350 poems since 1986, many of which have been published in national anthologies, mostly in the 1990s, including with The National Library of Poetry.

I am in the preliminary stages of self-publishing a book of my best and favorite self-penned poems. I am also writing an autobiographical novel.

As an aside, I am a lifetime Performing Member of The Poet Jervis Poetry Society in Port Jervis, New York, although I live in Florida. In February 1990, I performed (acted) two of my poems on stage at our televised anniversary show. I moved to a different town shortly after this show, so I never performed poetry on stage again.

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

https://youtu.be/ntbJg9Tl7Eo

Pig Day

December 18, 2022

Vlogmas 2022: Day 17

December 17, 2022

Vlogmas 2022, Day 17: A Father-Son Christmas Tradition (Dec. 17, 2022)

A Father-Son Christmas Tradition, Dec. 17, 2022

For Day 17 of my Vlogmas 2022, I would like to briefly tell you about a decades-long Christmas tradition between my father and myself. Every Christmas, my dad would give me a box of Cella's chocolate-covered cordial cherries. After he passed away, I continued this heartfelt tradition by purchasing a box of them and giving it to myself from my dad. Here is the box for Christmas 2022.

I sorely miss my dad. He was born in August 1934 and passed away in February 1997 at the age of 62 on his mother's birthday and the day after his sister's birthday. (My dad had a twin brother who died in May 1935 at the age of nine months due to spinal meningitis.)

This video ends with a photo of my father and myself in December 1974 at my great-aunt's house in New Jersey. I was 13 years old.

https://youtu.be/7VQY5fysDKw

Vlogmas is a combination of vlog (video log) and Christmas. It's when YouTubers around the world upload a homemade Christmas video every day onto their YouTube channels throughout the month of December, either until and including Dec. 25 or Dec. 31. That means I will be uploading a new video onto my YouTube channel every day throughout December until and including Dec. 31, 2022, and then posting the links onto Facebook.

Music: Walk In The Park
Musician: music by audionautix.com
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

New Title For My Channel?

December 17, 2022

I am considering changing the title of my YouTube channel (Bill Santos: Piano & More) because I have been uploading many videos other than videos of myself playing my digital piano. However, after I finish with my Vlogmas 2022 (uploading 31 new videos about Christmas and everything else, one per day, during December), most of my videos thereafter will be my piano videos. Still, I am thinking of giving myself a creative, descriptive name. Here are some of the new titles I am considering. Please vote for your favorite. Also, suggest a new title or tell me to keep my current title. Thank you.

Bill Santos: Eclectic Bohemian
Bill Santos: Renaissance Bohemian
Bill Santos: Esoteric Bohemian
Bill Santos: Self-Proclaimed Bohemian
Bill Santos: Quizzical Sojourns

https://youtube.com/@billsantospianomore678

Maple Syrup Day

December 17, 2022

In celebration of Maple Syrup Day today, my wonderful wife made this large, chocolate-chip pancake for us to be accompanied by butter and pure/real maple syrup.

(I sometimes drink coffee with maple syrup and cream.)

Today Is ...

December 17, 2022

In celebration, my wonderful wife is making a large pancake to be accompanied by butter and pure/real maple syrup.

I sometimes drink coffee with maple syrup and cream.

December 17, 2022

(date changes annually)

December 17, 2022