Germany Gives Passing Marks to Cruise's 'Valkyrie'

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Though the Tom Cruise movie "Valkyrie" recieved mixed reviews in the United States, it has been greeted with a measured and hospitable reception in Germany, where it was once viewed with suspicion, Reuters reported.

In "Valkyrie," Mr. Cruise plays Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg, a Prussian officer who led an assassination attempt on Hitler in 1944. During the film's production, the German Defense Ministry briefly refused to allow filming at Berlin's Benderblock memorial, citing Mr. Cruise's beliefs in Scientology (which is not a recognized religion in Germany), and Stauffenberg's son, Berthold, told Der Spiegel, "I fear that only terrible kitsch will come out of the project."

But in writing about 'Valkyrie" the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper said that any fears that the "myth of the German resistance would be put through a Hollywood filter has turned out to be 'wrong and prejudicial.' And the German public broadcaster ZDF said that "Valkyrie" was "neither scandalously bad nore the event of the century. Neither is it the action thriller we feared, but it is a well-made and serious film."

Chanel to Lay Off 200 Workers

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to New York magazine, no one is safe in this economy, not even Chanel. The house of quilted-handbag fame plans to cut 200 jobs--10 percent of its production team--effective Wednesday, as the luxury sector brazens the credit crises.

The house will cut 16 jobs from the Chanel boutique on rue Cambon in the heart of Paris' fashion district. Others affected include staff on fixed-term and temp contracts.

The announcement is no great surprise considering Chanel recently called off its too-fabulous-for-the-times Mobile Art Exhibit. Chanel says it's just not selling enough stuff these days and confessed it didn't make sense to pursue ventures "Where we weren't selling anything."

Louis Vuitton has delayed the opening of a giant store. Bulgari is too nervous to give a financial projection for 2009. And Prada "shocked" Milan over Christmas when they put up sale posters in their store windows.

Two more Holocaust films coming out this week

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Coming in under the wire for awards consideration, the two final releases of 2008 are Paramount's "Defiance," and IFC's "Good" starring Viggo Mortensen.

According to Variety, the two films--both Holocaust dramas--will open in limited runs on Wednesday.

"Defiance," whose release was pushed back from eary fall, toplines Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber. The film is based on the true story of four brothers in Eastern Europe who escaped with scores of Jews, built a city and fought the Nazis.

"Good," directed by Vicente Amorim, tells the story of a German professor who unwittingly becomes a member of the SS.

"Defiance" and "Good" will have plenty of competition, considering the bevy of speciality titles already in the market. In terms of tone, there is also direct competition: Tom Cruise in "Valkyrie," which opened Christmas Day.

Woody Allen jazzes it up at Warsaw concert hall.

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to the Associated Press, an audience of almost 3,000 clapped and cheered as Woody Allen and his jazz band gave their first ever concert in Poland on Sunday.

The filmmaker, playing the clairinet, was accompanied by his New Orleans Jazz Band for a peformance of traditional jazz.

"We will do our best to entertain you," Allen told the audience at Warsaw's biggest concert hall, Sala Kongresowa, at the beginning of the two-hour concert.

He recieved a standing ovation at the end. The 73-year-old Academy Award winner rarely performs in large venues or outside New York City where he lives.

Sean Penn Honored

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Palm Springs really likes Sean Penn. The California desert city will honor Penn for the second year in a row--this time for his performance in "Milk"--at the 20th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, according to Variety.

Penn, who was recognized last year at the festival for directing "Into the Wild," will receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award at a gala on January 6. In "Milk," Mr Penn stars as Harvey Milk, among the first openly gay public officials in the United States when he became a San Francisco city supervisor in 1977. Past recipients of the award inclue Daniel Day-Lewis, John Travolta and James Stewart. Mr. Penn is the first to be honored at the festival two years in a row.

Weinstein reacts to 'Reader' criticism

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Harvey Weinstein told columnist Liz Smith that he wanted to address some criticism aimed at his hot Oscar bent film "The Reader."

"This is not a Holocaust movie. This is about what the Holocaust did to Germany and succeeding generations." (There are no concentration camp scenes).

Weinstein also rebuffed remarks that actress Kate Winslet was "too good-looking" ever to have been a collaborator in terrible crimes and that Lena Olin was also unrealistic.

Author and Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel concurred. "I don't know what people think when they say things like that. The Germans who colluded, or looked away were ordinary people. But they were people who had been convinced that Jews were actually sub-human. 20 years of propoganda works its evil.

"Do you know the way many 'ordinary' war criminals were found and brought to justice? The phone book! Investigators just looked in the phone book. These people had simply resumed their lives after the war. They didn't try to hide because they still didn't understand they had done wrong. When I sat in on some trials, I myself was actually shocked at how normal they seemed. No horns, no outward ugliness. That is the great horror--they weren't monsters. But they did monstrous things."

Top five movies and five chinese dishes consumed by Jews this X-Mas

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to the website Defamer, the top five Chinese dishes consumed by Jews this Christmas, (following their movie outings), are:
1. Beef with Broccoli
2. Pork Fried Rice
3. Kung Pao Chicken
4. General Tsao's Chicken
5. Hot and Sour Soup

And for the top five movies this Christmas:
1. Marley & Me-$13.9 million
2. The Curious Case of Bejamin Button-$11.1 million
3. Bedtime Stories-$9.75 million
4. Valkyrie-$7.35 million
5. The Spirit-$3.15 million

Jennifer Aniston's X-MAS Eve Dinner

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

It's a tradition!

Jennifer Aniston met up with close friends David and Courtney Cox Arquette and their 4-year-old daughter Coco Wednesday for their annual Christmas Eve dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills.

"Jen and Courtney chatted non-stop," a source tells PEOPLE. "Jen was also very sweet to Coco and the two giggled together."

While Aniston's beau John Mayer remained on the East Coast, Aniston, dressed in black and smiling from ear to ear--joined the Arquettes and a few other friends in the restaurant's private dining room, which over-looks the kitchen and features a rhinestone chandelier.

"Jen usually gets steak, but she asked for fish instead and she ended up getting the sole and veggies," the source said. "Jen also had some white wine with her fishk, while the rest of the table enjoyed steak."

Frank Sinatra played in the background and their table was festively decorated with candles.

Meanwhile, down the street at the pretty boutique Luxe Hotel, Israelis and other foreign visitors dined on a delicious gourmet five course meal in the hotel's tiny but cozy restaurant.

"The food is great here," enthused one visiting Israeli. "We come here every year for Christmas Eve dinner."

Holiday big-budge movies

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Thursday brings out one of the biggest slates of Hollywood entertainment to open on Christmas Day in many years.

Stars such as Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler are featured in a slew of big-budget movies hoping to lure people into theaters this holiday season.

Here are the top five movies opening Thursday:

1. "Valkyrie"- Tom Cruise stars in the true story of a German military officer who conspires to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
2. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"- Brad Pitt stars in this fantasy drama about a man who ages backward. He's born in his 80s and then gets younger as the years pass. "Button" is based on the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald and runs two hours and 47 minutes.
3. "Marley & Me"- Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston learn life lessons from an out-of-control canine, they decide to adopt.
Warning- Some audiences expecting a feel-good comedy may be surprised by this painfully realistic portrayal that could leave audiences teary-eyed at the end.
4. "Bedtime Stories"- Funny guy Adam Sandler shoots for the family crowd with this fantasy comedy about a hotel handyman who tells his niece and nephew a bedtime story, only to find out that his fantasy stylings are coming true.
5. "The Spirit"-Based on a graphic novel about a masked crusader and starring son of actor stephen Macht, Gabriel Macht who plays Denny Colt, aka The Spirit.

"Revolutionary Road" starring Kate Winslett and Leonardo DiCaprio opens the next day, December 26.

Couple adopts 116 cats

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Thanks to dedicated people like Bob and Katherine Rude, many homeless animals in Maryland will have a warm home this winter.

According to CNN.com, the Maryland couple currently cares for 116 cats and six dogs at Rude Ranch Animal Rescue, which they run out of their home in Harwood.

"We take in a lot of abused and neglected animals; animals that for whatever reason find themselves down on their luck," Katherine said.

It all started a decade ago, when the couple found a group of cats in an alley behind a restaurant. They began working with other organizations to help place the cats, but quickly realized they could do more.

"The more we got involved, and the more we found out about the world of animal rescue, the more we found out there was a lot more need....We felt we could fill a void," Katherine said.

A few years later, they bought a ranch house in Harwood and converted it into a shelter. They now work seven days a week, morning through night, caring for their cats and dogs.

Bollywood's biggest movie star

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Who is the world's biggest movie star? Brad? Will? Nah. According to Newsweek, his name is Shahrukh Khan, and he's the king of Bollywood.

It's not just that his romantic flicks make gazillions--it's where those gazillions come from. Khan is huge in the Muslim world, even in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the mullahs ban his films. The movies thrive on the black market. Their main appeal is certainly the song-and-dance numbers, but Khan (a Muslim married to a Hindu), makes devoutly secular films where love trounces bigotry.

Sonia Gandhi gives Khan's DVDs to visitors, especially Muslim ones. Here's hoping tolerlance will leap from reel life to real life.

Arab women fly the friendly skies

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to the New York Times, flight attendants have become the public face of the new mobility for some young Arab women, just as they were the face of new freedoms in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. They have become a subject of social anxiety and fascination in much the same way.

Rania Abou Youssef, 26, a flight attendant for the Dubai-based airline, Emirates, said that when she went home to Alexandria, Egypt, her female cousins treated her like a heroine.

"I've been doing this for four years," she said,"and still they're always asking, 'Where did you go and what was it like?'"

Many of the young Arab women working in the Persian Gulf take delight in their status as pioneers, role models for their friends and younger female relatives. Young women brought up in a culture that highly values community they have learned to see themselves as individuals.

"We're noticing more single Arab women going to the gulf these days," said sociologist Musa Shteiwi. "It's still not exactly common but over the last four years it's become quite an phenomenon."

Some gulf-based employers now say they tailor recruitment procedures for young women with Arab family values in mind. They may even hire groups of women from a particular region or town, so the women can support one another once in the gulf.

"A lot of girls do this now because this has a reputation for being very safe," said Enas Hassan, a flight attendant for Emirates. "The families have a sense of security. They know that if their girls start flying they won't be thrown into the wide world without protection."

Lil' Bush on DVD: Season 1

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Lil' Bush and his posse of playmates--Lil' Condi, Lil' Rummy, and Lil' Chenny--get into all sorts of playground high-jinks in this satirical Comedy Channel animated series.

The gang's adventures include a panty raid on an al-Qaida training camp, a feud with new school bully Lil' Kim Jong-il, and a special friendship with Lil' Tony Blair and more. Iggy Pop provides the voice of Lil' Rummy.

Lil' Bush premiered in 2007 on Comedy Central. The show takes place in an alternate reality version of the present day, where George H.W. Bush is president and George W Bush (Lil' George" on the show), along with his cronies are children attending Beltway Elementary School.

Issues in which the current Bush Administration is involved--for example, the Iraq War--are transferred to the elder Bush, but feature the younger Bush interacting with them in various way.

Lil' Bush (George W. Bush), voiced by Chris Parson, the leader of the gang, often makes choices without thinking about the consequences and is seldom corrected by his friends. Like the real George W. Bush, he enjoys giving people various nicknames. He doesn't seem to understand that Lil' Condi is in fact a girl. He has a crush on the "new girl" at school, who is the future Laura Bush. He refers to her as a "chubby nerd."

Lil' John McCain says "That's the straight talk" at the end of almost every statement and loves chocolate milk. He disrespects Lil' Bush when he's hall monitor. Lil' Bush gets his vengeance by stoking fear of hippies in the school, then detaining John McCain in the back of a nearby Cuban restaurant as part of his anti-hippie security measures.

Althought the show has recieved some negative reviews from critics, The Hollywood Reporter gave the show a positive review. A review from About.com cited the show's "cleverness and maturity," likening it to a "less bloody South Park."

Available on Netflix.

The Twilight Zone Marathon: Jan. 1, 2009

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Sci Fi Channel 6a.m.

If you're up this early, your head's probably spinning anyway, so why not compliment the hangover with a full day of Rod Serling's genius?

The Twilight Zone is a TV series created by Rod Serling. Each episode (156 in the original series), is a mixture of self-contained fantasy, science fiction, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist.

A popular and critical success, it introduced many Americans to serious science fiction and abstract ideas through television. CBS purchased a teleplay in 1958 that writer Rod Serling hoped to produce as the plot of a weekly anthology series.

The Twilight Zone episode "The Time Element" marked Serling's first entry in the field of science fiction.

The story is a time travel fantasy of sorts, involving a man named Peter Jenson visiting a psychoanalyst, Dr. Gillespie (Martin Balsam), with complaints of a recurring dream in which he imagines waking up in Honolulu just prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

"I wake up in a hotel room in Honolulu and it's 1941, but I mean I really wak up and it's really 1941," he explains concluding that these are not mere dreams; he actually IS traveling through time.

However Dr. Gillespie insists that time travel is impossible. During his dream, taking advantage of the situation, he bets on all the winning horses, all the right teams and eventually, tries unsuccessfully to warn others--the newspaper, the military, anyone--that the Japanese are planning a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

His warnings are seen as crazed ravings and are either ignored or met with physical violence as he is punched out by an engineer who works on the USS Arizona, after insisting that it will be sunk on Dec. 7th. Jensen's dream always ends as the Japanese bombers fly overhead on the morning of Dec. 7, prompting him to yell out "I told you so! Why wouldn't anybody listen to me?"
TRIVIA:

-The time element is rarely aired on television and it is available only in an Italian DVD box set.
-Despite his esteem in the writing community, Serling found The Twilight Zone difficult to sell. -Few critics felt that science fiction would catch on among viewers.
-Serling was reportedly nervous about hosting the show and had to be persuaded to appear on camera.
-According to some sources, Leonardo DiCaprio, a fan of The Twilight Zone, is planning to make a new movie with Warner Brothers.

But you can watch the whole series on New Years Day at 6:30 a.m. on the Sci Fi Channel.

Woof! Woof! MEOW!!!

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

When your dog says "Woof," you hear an eager "Let's take a walk." And your cat has a certain entitled meow that you know means "Put more food in my bowl--now!"

You are not alone.

Sixty-seven percent of pet owners say they understand their animals' barks, purrs and other sounds, according to an Associated Press-Petside.com poll released last week. And in a finding that many parents of teens might envy, 62% of owners say that when they speak their pets get the message.

"I speak to her on limited subjects and she does the same with me," said Stephen King, 63, a retired chemist from Texas who claims to understand his dog Dagny's repertoire of barks signaling anger, eagnerness, contentment and other feelings.

King is among about 20% of owners who said in the poll that they and their pets understand each other's sounds completely.

Older and lower-income people are especially likely to say they and their pets get the message. Men are twice as likely as women to say they and their pets are clueless about what each is saying to the other.

Dog owners are less likely than cat people to think their pet can't understand them: Three in 10 dog owners think their pets are baffled when they speak to them, compared with nearly half of cat owners.

Letters to God

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to Michele Chabin in the Daily News, Israeli postal workers have been delivering letters addressed to God to the famous Western Wall for 60 years, since the founding of the state.

Boxes in hand, they haul the thousands of letters addressed to "God, Jerusalem, Israel," "The Almighty" or "Wailing Wall," among thers. At the wall, the second holiest in Judaism, the workers separate by gender going either to the men's or women's prayer sections. They then carefully open the envelopes, fold the letters until they are slivers and insert them into the crevices.

Many Jews, as well as some followers of other Abrahamic faiths, believe God answers prayers inserted in the 2,000-year-old wall.

"If you live in Israel you can come to the Western Wall and place a prayer in the stones but the people who wrote these letters live abroad," says Chana Arvatz a postal worker. "It is a sacred responsibility, something I find very moving."

Most of the letters appear to be in Russian, but English, Spanish, Italian and French are also represented.

"The majority come from christians but a sizable number come from Jews and even a few Muslims," says Avi Yaniv who calls himself the manager of the "dead letters" department. "There are also quite a few letters to Santa Claus."

It's a Wonderful Life

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

It's a Wonderful Life (1946) was produced and directed by Frank Capra and loosely based on the short story "The Greatest Gift," written by Philip Van Doren Stern.

The film takes place in the fictional town of Beford Falls, shortly after WWII, and stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man whoe imminent suicide on Christmas Eve gains the attention of guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) who is sent to help him in his hour of need. Much of the film is told through flashbacks spanning George's entire life and narrated by Franklin and Joseph, unseen Angels who are preparing Clarence for his mission to save George. Through these flashbacks we see all the people whose lives have been touched by george and the difference he has made to the community in which he lives.

The film is regarded as a classic and is a staple of Christmas TV around the world, although due to its high production costs and stiff competition at the box office, financially, it was considered a "flop."

Ironically, It's a Wonderful Life was nominated for five Oscars without winning any but the film has since been recognized by the American Film Inst. as one of the 100 best American films ever made.

Trivia: The original story, "The Greatest Gift," was written by Philip Van Doren Stern in November 1939. After being unsuccessful in getting the story published, he decided to make it into a X mas card and mailed 200 copies to family and friends in December 1943. The story came to the attention of RKO producer David Hempstead who showed it to Cary Grant's Hollywood agent and in April 1944, RKO Pictures bought the rights to the story for $10,000 hoping to turn the story into a vehicle for Grant.

RKO created three unsatisfactory scripts before shelving the planned movie with Grant going on to make another X mas picture, The Bishop's wife.

At the suggestion of RKO studio chief Charles Koerner, Frank Capra read "The Greatest Gift," and immediately saw its potential.

It's a Wonderful Life was shot at RKO studio in Culver City, California and the RKO ranch in Encino. For months prior to principal photography, the mammoth set was populated by pigeons, cats and dogs in order to give the "town" a lived-in feel.
RKO also created chemical snow for the film. Earlier snow was made up of crushed cornflakes.
The RKO ranch in Encino, the filming location of Bedford Falls was razed in the mid-1950s. Because of this there is only one filming location still remaining from the film. It is the swimming pool that was unveiled during the famous dance scene where George courts Mary. The pool is located in the gym at Beverly Hills High School and is still in operation today.

No cake for young Hitler

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Plenty of parents "hang atrocious names on their offspring, cursing them for life," said Ed Morrissey in Hot Air, but New Jersey's Heath and Deborah Campbell take the cake. At least they wanted to. But their local ShopRite wouldn't make them a cake inscribed with the name of their son, Adolf Hitler Campbell,3. The Nazi admirer dad now demands tolerance. "It sounds like a Monty Python skit: No one expects the Nazi Tolerance Inquisition!"

The story does sound "too good to be true, like a below-average Onion article or an above-average Saturday Night Live sketch," said Jacob Sullum in Reason. But the swastika-touting Campbells--including daughters JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, almost 2, and infant Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell--are real. The question is, are they mentally ill or just idiots?

Well, you never know, said Boston Herald editor Jules Crittenden in Forward Movement. "The Boy-named-Sue effect could turn Little Adolf into a great cancer-curing, world-peace-making humanitarian some day."

It would be foolish to imagine this little Adolf taking on "the character of a genocidal maniac," said Cathy Lynn Grossman in USA Today. But his life will probably be "shaped by people who surmise that he's being brought up by people who glorify one." Parents more often name their kids after saints, or heroes--are any of them, or us, really "expected to 'live up' to our names?"

Hitler cake for 3-year-old

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to the Associated Press, the father of 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell, denied a birthday cake with the child's full name on it, is asking for a little tolerance..

Heath Campbell and his wife, Deborah are upset not only with the decision made by the Greenwich ShopRite, but with an outpouring of angry Internet postings in response to a local newspaper article.

"They need to accept a name. A name's a name," said Heath Campbell. "The kid isn't going to grow up an do what Hitler did."

Deborah Campbell 25, said she phoned in her order last week to the ShopRite. When she told the bakery department she wanted her son's name spelled out, she was told to talk to a supervisor, who denied the request.

The Campbells ultimately got their cake decorated at a Wal-Mart. The Campbell's other two children also have unusual names: JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell.

Scary Santas

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

He's a huge, strangely dressed man who sneaks into people's homes at night, then yells, "Ho! Ho!Ho!" at the top of his lungs. Who wouldn't be afraid of Santa?

According to CNN.com, authors Denise Joyce and Nancy Watkins know at least 250 toddlers who are. The two recently published a book called "Scared of Santa: Scenes of Terror in Toyland" that shows photos of children on St. Nick's lap--most of whom are desperate to leave.

The project started at the Chicago Tribune where both Joyce and Watkins work. They asked readers to send in their photos and got an overwhelming response that's still going strong. Last week, the Tribune's "Scared of Santa" Web site had 2 million hits.

Now, turned into a book, anyone can enjoy the chapters labeled "Titans of Tears," "Misery Squared," and "Santa Claus is Comin'...After you!"

"We have a whole chapter devoted to the Santas you would just not want to run into in a dark alley and you can see why the kids would be scared of those guys," said Watkins in an interview.

"I think you need to look at if from the perspective of a 2-year-old. I think 2-to 4-year-olds are most likely to freak out over Santa. When they're younger, everyone looks weird and new and different and you just never know what's going to make a kid cry at that age.

But a 2-year-old knows what a regular person looks like and Santa ain't it. Santa is huge, and he's got that crazy white suit and the huge beard and the hat. And he's sitting on this great big throne. He's very intimidating to a real little kid. So he can be the sweetest Santa on the planet, but I can see why a 2-year-old would have a meltdown."

Anxious New Yorkers popping more pills

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to Crain's New York Business, prescriptions filled for anti-anxiety drugs, anti-depressants and sleep aids have surged in the city as New Yorkers struggle to cope with uncertainties brought on by the financial crisis.

The spike was particularly evident in September, when an economic tsunami bankrupted Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., forced Washington to bail out insurer American Insurance Group Inc., prompted Bank of America Corp. to rescue Merrill Lynch & Co., and led Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley to reorganize as bank holding companies.

"If we looked to diagnose the city, I would say it has an anxiety disorder," said Mel Schwartz, a psychotherapist.

In September and October, prescriptions filled for sleep aids rose more than 7% to 366,870 compared to the same two-month period last year. Prescriptions for anti-anxiety drugs rose 5% to 317,268 and anti-dpressants were also up 5% to 926,654 in the two months in the city.

There's no way to say with certainty that the increases are directly tied to the financial crisis. But anecdotal evidence from psychiatrists, psychologists and sleep doctors suggest that patient volume is up and that rarely does a session go by without discussion of anxiety over the faltering economy.

When the Internet beats sex

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Researchers asked about 2,000 Americans which they'd rather go without for two weeks, sex or the Internet, said Chris Keall in New Zealand's National Business Review. The survey, financed by Intel, found that 46% of women and 30% of men "would rather swear-off sex for two weeks than give up the Net."

As if men didn't face enough "challenges when it comes to romance," said Don Clark in The Wall Street Journal online. And the news for men gets worse when you break it down by age group: 49 percent of women age 18-34 favored the Internet over sex, as did 52 percent of women 35-44. Intel didn't "set out to prove a point about modern sexual behavior," but their findings are far from sexy.

Men aren't the only ones getting frozen out here, said Ashlee Vance in The New York Times online. Network and cable TV companices will also be unhappy that "61 percent of the women they surveyed said they would rather go without TV for two weeks than lose access to the Internet for one week." The Internet also beats dining out, clothes, shopping and the gym.

It's not only women who prefer ".orgs to er...," nevermind, said Sylvie Barak in The Inquirer. Surprisingly 39 percent of men 18-34 were "willing to take up temporary celibacy," but only 23 percent of men 35-44 would "rather lose two weeks of sex than losing their, er, connection."

Dustin Hoffman talks about Despereaux

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A modern fairy tale, the "Tale of Despereaux" tells the story of several unlikely heros: Despereaux (Matthew Broderick), a brave mouse banished to the dungeon for speaking with a human, Roscuro (Dustin Hoffman), a good-hearted rat who loves light and soup, but is exiled to darkness, Pea (Emma Watson), a Princess in a gloomy castle and Mig (Tracey Ullman), a servant girl who longs to be a Princess, but is forced to serve the jailer (Robbie Coltrane).

Dustin Hoffman, spoke honestly about the laborious process of voicing a character (he most recently voiced one of the lead characters in Kung Fu Panda).

"Of course I don't like the process of doing animated films," he admitted. "Being in a small room--no I don't have to like everything I do. I mean, do you like doing these interviews? Do we like everything we do?"

Matthew Broderick: "Well I don't hate the process of voicing characters. It's not that bad being in a little room. But then again, I'm not as honest as Dustin. But I loved the size of Despereaux's ears. And my little guy will love it I'm sure," he said referring to his 6-year-old son James.

Tiny and graced with oversized ears, Despereaux was born too big for his little world. Refusing to live his life cowering, he befriends a Princess named Pea and learns to read (rather than eat) books--reveling in stories of knights, dragons and fair maidens.

On December 19, a little mouse with big ears and even bigger heart charms his way into theaters.

Eric Braeden in The Man Who Came Back

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A well-heeled crowd showed up at the home of "Young and the Restless"star Eric Braden today for an afternoon Christmas party to benefit the German American Cultural Society. Braeden is the president of the organization which sponsers many German-American oriented cultural events like concerts, films and lectures.

Speaking of Braeden, his new film "The Man Who Came Back," is out on DVD now and Eric couldn't be happier.

"I've always wanted to do a film that I can control," he said in an interview, of his decision to step into the executive producer role as well as playing the lead in the Civil War saga.

"I liked this story and I was involved in the creation of it since the inception of the script rewrites. To have been in this business as long as I have been, and to do something that you have enormous influence over....it is so gratifying.

I loved making the film. Loved it!" he said. You must realize that I've learned a lot in this business over the years. I have far more experience than most people and I've never really used it to the fullest extent. It was so gratifying being about to have your fingers in every aspect of a film--from hiring the director, the scripts, casting, looking for locations, looking for the right camera people, trying to figure out whether to shoot it in digital or in film. Then there is the post production process, choosing the right music, the right editors. There's enormous pressure, but the whole process of it, I must say, I loved it completely."

Braeden said that he is thankful and deeply grateful to George Kennedy, Billy Zane, Armand Assante and Sean Young, who also stars in the film.

"I was just so touched by their willingness to cooperate and make this a go. It sort of re-established my faith and my enthusiasm for this profession."

To learn more about Eric Braeden, visit ericbraeden.com and you can rent "The Man Who Came Back" on Netflix.

The Heist at Harry Winston

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Their timing was impeccable. As the second hand ticked, four men--three disguised as women with long blond hair, and sunglasses--stood in front of an intercom and demurely requested to enter the famed Harry Winston jewelry store on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. It was just before closing time on a chilly evening along this golden triangle of boutiques that includes, Dior, Channel and Gucci.

Buzzed in, the men rolled a small valise on wheels and then pulled out a hang grenade and a .357 Magnum. As Parisians strolled unawares past the store, the robbers smashed display cases and barked out orders--and the names of some of the Harry Winston employees. They spoke French with strong Slovak accents.

There was no time for the police to rush over. In less than 15 minutes the diamond thieves were gone roaring away in a waiting car with sacks of emeralds, rubies and chunky diamonds valued at $105 million.

The meticulous planning, swift execution and creative style raised suspicion that the Harry Winston heist was the handiwork of a loose global network of battle-hardened, ex-soldiers and their relatives from the former Yugoslavia.

Investigators, marveling at the gang's ingenuity, have dubbed this unlikely network the Pink Panthers.

According to The New York Times, the Serbian Pink Panthers have been roving the world's luxury capitals since 2003 on reconnaissance missions for hard diamonds that can be, "soft targets."

Investigators say there are about 200 members in the group--linked by blood and village--and they blame the group for scooping of jewels worth more than $132 million in bold robberies in Dubai, Switzerland, Japan, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Monaco. They live all over Europe, with some working in mundane jobs as hospital cleaners, waiting to be summoned from the next discount flight to a foreign capital, they said.

Just a day before the Winston robbery two men--Boban Stojkovic and Goran Drazic--were sentenced respectively to six and 10-year sentences.

"Almost all of them are intelligent," said prosecuting lawyer, Gilbert Lafaya, at their sentencing. "But with this intelligence why do they follow the path to easy money?"

Morocco, popular filming location

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to Variety, Morocco is an ideal filming location for Hollywood movies. Driven by cheap costs, stunning terrain and highly skilled crews, Morocco has long been a preferred Hollywood location for big-budget drama. Following Ridley Scott's "Body of Lies," this year alone has seen the kingdom host Paul Grengrass', "The Green Zone," for Universal and Mike Newell's "Prince of Persia, Sands of Time," the new Jerry Bruckheimer film.

But Morocco is facing increasing competition from alternative locations. An even stiffer challenge to Morocco's hold on the sand, sets and suck package is ambitious, cash-rich Studio City in Dubai. That studio aims to offer a comprehensive film production package with everything from film schools to 65,000 square feet of studio soundstage planned.

Yet "Body of Lies" about a CIA agent sent to Jordan to stymie a terrorist attack was a political potato too hot for Dubai to handle, allowing Morocco to step in, and raising questions about how well a marriage of convenience between Hollywood and oil money might work out.

UCLA-educated Fouad Challa, CEO of production house Dreamaker, highlights the increasing number of Moroccan execs trained in the US and Europe who understand what Hollywood wants.

Kanzeman CEO Denise O Dell has worked in Morocco on many occasions over the years, most recently with Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven." Concurring with Sail who notes that "Morocco has really come of age as a production center," she highlights King Mohammed VI's backing of the film biz and the consequent willingness of the military to cooperate with production--a useful competitive edge for producers who need well-armed extras to double as Mideast combatants, a subject and area that continue to fascinate filmmakers.

Coffee war brews between McDonalds, Starbucks

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to CNN.com McDonald's new ad campaign is taking a non-too-subtle jab at Starbucks.

Residents in Seattle, Washington, the birthplace of Starbucks, can now see approximately 140 McDonald's billboards emblazoned with "large is the new grande" or "four bucks is dumb."

In a statement released Thursday, McDonald's called it "a light-hearted, fun approach to our brand," aimed at promoting the company's McCafe coffee products. However, Starbucks is not finding the ad campaign funny.

"Comparative campaigns are all well and good but only when they're credible and authentic. If the claim is not supportable or the tone is off, you risk losing credability," Deb Trevino, director of global communications for Starbucks, said.

A 12-ounce cup of coffee at Starbucks in Sewattle costs just $1.40, only a penny more than the average price for a same size cup at McDonalds.

"We will not enter into a tit-for-tat," Trevino said. "Our customers are interested in more than just the coffee, they come for the experience."

For now, McDonald's said it does not plan to take its "four bucks is dumb" campaign nationwide.

A Christmas Story still draws thousands of fans

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Of all the holiday films to depict the giddy anticipation of Christmas, only one has inspired a cable marathon, a booming leg lamp industry and fans who dress up in pink bunny suits.

It has been 25 years since "A Christmas Story" arrived in movie theaters and soon vanished from the big screen and peoples minds. Reviews of the film were mixed. Yet fans today tune in to the regular holiday showings of the classic film including an annual 24-hour marathon on Christmas Day--and who have transformed a small house in Cleveland Ohio, into a tourist attraction simply because it was featured in the movie.

"It's a film where almost every actor seems like they're born to the role," said Brian Jones, a fan and the owner of A Christmas Story House and Museum which sees more than 30,000 visitors a year.

Jones bought the home for $150,000 on eBay in 2005, but he was already making a living selling leg lamps--replicas of the hilariously tacky "major award" one of the characers wins in the movie.

The Thanksgiving weekend covention in Cleveland attracted more than 4,000 people. "They have 'Star Trek' conventions, 'Star Wars' conventions, why not have 'A Christmas Story' convention?" said one fan.

The story is about cute Ralphie, a 9-year-old boy growing up in 1940s Indiana. He's on a mission to convince his parents, a cranky department store Santa and anyone who will listen that a BB gun is the perfect gift for Christmas.

"You'll shoot your eye out," everyone replies, to his exasperation. Along the way, viewers meet Ralphie's colorful family, friends, classmates and tormentors, who fill the nostalgic landscape with lots of humor and childhood angst. The film was based on the stories of radio host and writer Jean Shepherd, who drew from his own childhood in Hammond, Indiana.

Calling All Cars: Trouble at Chuck E. Cheese's, Again

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to The Wall Street Journal, no restaurant has triggered more calls to the police department since last year than Chuck E. Cheese's in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Officers have been called to break up 12 fights, some of them physical, at the child-oriented pizza parlor since January 2007. The biggest melee broke out in April, when an uninvited adult disrupted a child's birthday party. Seven officers arrived and found as many as 40 people knocking over chairs and yelling in front of the restaurant's music stage, where a robotic singing chicken and the chain's namesake mouse perform.

Chuck E. Cheese's bills itself as a place "where a kid can be a kid." But to law-enforcement officials across the country, it has a more particular distinction: the scene of a surprising amount of disorderly conduct and battery among grown-ups.

"The biggest problem is you have a bunch of adults acting like juveniles," says Town of Brookfield Police Capt. Tim Imler. "There's a biker bar down the street and we rarely get calls there."

The environment also brings out what security experts call the "mama-bear instinct." A Chuck E. Cheese's can take on some of the dynamics of the animal kingdom, where beasts rush to protect their young when they sense a threat. Amid pressure from local politicians, some Chuck E. Cheese's have stopped serving alchohol and added security guards who carry pistols.

The first Chuck E Cheese's was opened in San Jose, Calif in 1977 by Nolan Bushnell, founder of the Atari videogame company. He thought there weren't enough places where young people could play games in a family atmosphere. To appeal to adults, about 70% of the chain's locations serve beer and wine. Some city officials have pinpointed that as the main cause of the fighting.

"It was like something out of a Quentin Tarantino film," says once source, referring to the "Pulp Fiction" director. "What parent is going to take their kids to a place where there is alchohol and pistols being brandished?"

HBO's "House of Saddam"

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

We knew that a dramatic re-telling of late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's rise and fall "wouldn't be filled with puppies, rainbows and butterflies," said Heather Havrilesky in Salon. But watching HBO's two-part miniseries House of Saddam "Is more grueling than you'd expect, in part because this script doesn't paint Hussein in very many shades other than the pitch black of pure evil."

"But when considering the history of a dictator who ordered the extermination of thousands of people, including his longtime best friend," said Tom Shales in The Washington Post, "isn't the word 'evil' hard to avoid?" House of Saddam isn't "the story of a good man gone bad but of a bad one gone worse--a chilling and riveting essay on the evils that men do and continue doing."

But this miniseries manages to hint at the "softer side" of Saddam--something essential to making any villian interesting said Joanne Ostrow in The Denver Post. "Just as Hitler was a painter, Hussein was a warm and charismatic guy with a grand vision for Iraq's future as a player in the Arab world." But as we take stock of a war started on flawed intelligence, a look at Saddam the man is just a "narrow slice of what matters to most Americans about the war in Iraq."

Influx of Holocaust films for the holidays

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to The New York Post, "Tis not the season to be jolly at the movies--there are no fewer than six Holocaust-theme flicks coming to a theater near you."

In the days ahead, moviegoers will have their choice of "The Reader," with Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes, and "Adam Resurrected," with Jeff Goldblum (both opening Friday), "Valkyrie," with Tom Cruise (Dec. 25), "Defiance," with Daniel Craig and "Good" with Viggo Mortensen (both Dec. 31). Already out is "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," with Vera Farmiga.

The pile-up of movies about the slaughter of Jews by Adolf Hilter's Nazi Germany might reflect the tastes of Academy Award voters, who gave seven Oscars to "Schindler's List", four to "Life is Beautiful," and three to "The Pianist."

ADL chairman Abe Foxman has seen three of this year's Holocaust films and praised all of them in a statement he gave to Page Six.
Reader: "I was extremely moved by this wonderful film. Extraordinarily acted, directed and filmed. The viewer shares the knowledge, shame and poignancy of the characters, based on Bernhard Schlink's brilliant book."

Harvey Weinstein whose studio is behind "The Reader," believes no number of Holocaust movies is too many. "What a wonderful subject to explore in as many ways as possible," he told the Post. "I hope our children get educated about the Holocaust, so it will be 'Never again.'"

The most unusual title of the group, may be "Adam Resurrected," which is being touted as Goldblum's role of a lifetime. He plays a mental patient in 1960s Israel who survived the Holocaust by serving as a Nazi commander's "dog."

Pop singer brutally murdered by a paid assassin

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Egyptians are captivated with the murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim. And the fasciation grew when Egyptian billionaire businessman Hisham Mustafa was accused of paying a former police officer to kill her.

According to CNN.com, the rumors were flying from publication to publication: "She dumped him," "He paid for her plastic surgery," "He was angry she fell in love with another."

And it was hard not to speculate over the various theories of what really may have happened.

Now the head judge in the trial has placed a gag order on any reporting of the trial, stating that the sensationalism of some media organizations were affecting the proceedings, but yet he still considers the trial "open?"

"We're not allowed to publish any of the testimones of the witnesses," Mohammed Radwan, the managing editor of Al-Masri Al-Youm said. "I think this is very negative for the reader in general."

But what really concerns some is the belief that the order was placed to help Mustafa's case and his friendship with the son of President Hosni Mubarak played a role.

"He is considered one of the most prominent businessmen in the country. So we believe that the gag order was to protect him and not for the trial itself," Rawda Ahmed, a lawyer who is appealing the media blackout, told CNN.

Amsterdam to clamp down on sex shops and dope cafes

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to the Associated Press, Amsterdam unveiled plans to close brothels, sex shops and marijuana cafes as part of a major effort to drive organized crime out of the tourist haven.

The city is targeting businesses that "generate criminality," including gambling parlors, and the "coffee shops," where marijuana is sold openly. Also targeted are peep shows, massage parlors and souvenir shops used by drug dealers for money-laundering.

"I think that the new reality will be more in line with our image as a tolerant and crazy place, rather than a free zone for criminals," said L. Asscher, a city council member.

The news comes just one day after Amsterdam's mayor said he would search for loopholes in new rules laid down by the national government that would close pot cafes near schools citywide. The measures would affect about 36 coffee shops in the center itself.

Under the new plan, Amsterdam will spend $38 million to $51 million), to bring hotels, restaurants, art galleries and boutiques to the center.

Prostitution will be allowed only in two areas in the district, notably "The Walls," a web of streets and alleys around the city's medieval retaining dam walls. The area has been a center of prostitution since before the city's golden shipping age in the 1600s.

Prostitution was legalized in the Netherlands in 2000, formalizing a long-standing tolerance policy. Marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but prosecutors won't press charges for possession of small amounts. Coffee shops are able to sell it openly.

Australians love their booze and brawls

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

According to the L.A. Times, Australia has long been known as a nation of beer-loving boozers. But now the government, fed up with what it sees as a growing crises of out-of-control drinking and subsequent violence, has decided it's time for a change.

In the last six months, a barrage of measures have been rolled out: a multimillion-dollar campaign against binge drinking, a heavy tax on pre-mixed drinks and a ban on late night revelers entering certain bars.

"We've got to change our drinking culture and habits. It's not negotiable," says a source. "We'll drink ourselves off this lovely continent if we don't."

Question: Does Australia need to change? More important, does it want to?

This is, after all, a country whose Prime Minister Robert Hawke once held the Guiness world record for chugging beer: 2 and half pints in 11 seconds. It's a country where some cellphones come programmed with text messages that read, "Let's go to the pub. Mine's a large gin and tonic." And where former cricket star and sports legend David Boon--is best known for a 1989 flight from Sydney to London during which he drank 52 cans of beer.

Critics of the efforts to lock out pub patrons say history shows they will fail.

"There's going to be absolute mayhem out there," says a bar owner. "You pour those people out into the streets at 2 a.m. God forbid what's going to happen."

Australians actually aren't the world's biggest drinkers; Ugandans are. The World Health Organization ranks Australia a distant 34th in per capita alchohol consumption. Aussies drink less than the British, but slightly more than Americans.

The Simpsons: Season 1 on DVD

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

One of the smartest, most consistently funny shows to ever hit the airwaves is also the longest-running prime-time cartoon.

Originally an animated short on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpson family is here in its inaugural season as a stand-alone show. From satire to slapstick and moronic to memorable, laugh and wince as Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie stumble down their very different paths in Springfield.

Funniest episode: Bart travels to France as an exchange student. Rollicking good fun.

1989
2 hours and 30 mins
Netflix

Run Santa, Krampus is Coming!

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

In Austria, Santa keeps track of who's been naughty and nice--and unleashes a 7-foot-tall horned devil on the naughty. He's called the Krampus and he's unlike any Christmas tradition you've ever seen, according to Spiegel Online.

Santa's all well and good, but darker things have always lurked in Austria's woods. Take the Krampus, a towering, hairy creature with a long, long tongue, goat's head and horns and cloven feet. He roams rural Austria clad in chains and carrying a stick, terrifying misbehaving children on December 5, the night before St. Nicholas' Day.

There's no doubt today the frightening figure is an integral part of Christmas celebrations in some parts of Austria. Krampus brings punishment back to the X Mas holiday, threatening naughty children with more than a lump of coal in their stocking.

In the mid 1950's, well-meaning educators feared that the frightening apparition might scar children for life. One anti-Krampus pamphlet distributed in Vienna was earnestly entitled "Krampus is an Evil Man." As with most traditions, Krampus has been somewhat commercialized and toned down. Today the tradition often devolves into a mid-winter bacchanal, where scaring kids takes a back seat to heroic bouts of drinking. The town of Schladminger is home to a sort of Krampus convention, with more than a thousand goat-men roaming the town's streets, harassing the town's young women.

Austrian cat survives car's engine

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

An Austrian cat has survived nearly a week stuck inside the engine of a man's car, according to The Week.

Peter Hochberger drove more than 300 miles before discovering his neighbor's cat Luna, trapped so deeply in his car's motor that it had to be dismantled to free her.

"I have no idea how she got so far into the engine," said a mechanic. Luna was unharmed but for some minor singeing.

Pirates target the rich

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

The luxury American cruise ship steaming across the Gulf of Aden with hundreds of well-heeled tourists just might have been too much for Somali pirates to resist.

But the six bandits, riding in two boats and firing rifle shots at the gleaming ship, were outrun in mintes when the captain of M/S Nautica gunned the engine and sped away, a spokesman for the company said yesterday.

The potential for massive ransom payments from the families of hundreds of rich tourists may encourage similar attempts, especially following the successful capture of a Ukrainian cargo ship laden with tanks and a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million in crude.

And the brazen attack also raises questions: What was a cruise ship doing in the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden? How many such targets are sailing these seas? How can they be protected?

"It's very fortunate that the liner managed to escape," said once source. Some of the world's leading cruise companies said yesterday they are considering changing their itineraries to avoid going near the coast of Somalia following news of the weekend attack.

Porn in the office

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Jenna Jameson now has a 9-to-5 job, according to Newsweek magazine. Fully one quarter of employees who use the Internet visit porn sites during the workday.

"People are looking for an escape," says Steve Hirsch, CEO of Vivid Entertainment Group, an adult online video provider. And rightly or wrongly they think their bosses are too busy to notice says Dawn Adams CEO of Wisconsin consulting firm HResults. "Managers are dealing with so many issues now that sometimes people are able to hide out and no one knows what they're doing."

Some can't seem to stay away from porn. Earlier this year, nine Washington DC city employees were fired for viewing porn sites thousands of times while on the job. The worst offender reportedly logged an average of one hit every 2.5 minutes.

The threat to companies isn't just the lost hours of productivity and the risk of sexual-harrassment lawsuits. Adult sites also expose somputers to viruses, adware and spyware--though such ills can serve as smoking guns.

Adams fired an exec for spending hours a day on adult sites. "His computer was always crashing," she says. "That's how we found out."

Kate Winslet speaks about sex and weight

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio have done steamy onscreen sex scenes together before, but for their upcoming film "Revolutionary Road," they had to pair up in front of Winslet's director-husband Sam Mendes.

"I had a total meltdown," Winslet said at New York City's Time Center on Monday. You just have to deal with it. Leo was remarkably fine with the whole thing."

For her part, Winslet 33, said she is fine with getting naked onscreen as long as the scenes fit the story.

"Everytime I've been asked to do nudity on screen, I've always believed in the scene," said the actress who is also naked in her movie The Reader. "I think it's important that women on screen are portrayed as real women. I'm at ease in my own skin and I'm comfortable with all the imperfections that I have."

"As a kid, I was bullied at school because I was always quite chubby," she admitted. "I was always told I was wrong, I was doing the wrong thing. I was made to feel ashamed of myself and my appearance. And you develop a self-preservation muscle when you experience something like that."

DOUBT coming soon

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

John Patrick Shanley brings his play DOUBT to the screen, in a story about the quest for truth, the forces of change and the devasting consquences of blind justice in an age defined by moral conviction.

It's 1964, St. Nicholas in the Bronx. A vibrant charismatic priest, Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), is trying to upend the school's strict customs, which have long been fiercely guarded by Sister Aloysius Beauvier (Meryl Streep), the iron-gloved Principal who believes in the power of fear and discipline.

The winds of political change are sweeping through the community, and indeed, the school has just accepted its first black student, Donald Miller. But when Sister James (Amy Adams), a hopeful innocent, shares with Sister Aloysius her guilt-inducing suspicion that Father Flynn is paying too much personal attention to Donald, Sister Aloysius is galvanized to being a crusade.

Tina Fey's famous scar

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

Since shooting to fame and winning Emmys as the star and creator of 30 Rock, Tina Fey has remained quiet about the dramatic story behind the faint scar that lines that left side of her face.

"It's impossible to talk about it without somehow seemingly exploiting it and glorifying it," Fey, 38, tells Vanity Fair in its January issue. But when she was 5, the future TV star was playing in the front yard of her Penn. home when a stranger approached the young Fey and violently cut her cheek.

"She just thought somebody marked her with a pen," says her husband Jeff Richmond.

Although it hasn't really affected her she has overcome the obstacle but says "supposedly I will go crazy. My therapist says,'When Alice is the age that you were, you may go crazy."

Went on Weight Watchers: Besides collecting her Emmy gold, Fey spent this fall on Weight Watchers.
"She was quite round," Richmond admits of his wife's pre-fame days in Chicago. "But in a lovely turn-of-the-century kind of round--that beautiful Rubenesque kind of beauty."
But after a makeover and going on Weight Watchers during her SNL period she lost close to 30 pounds.

"Because of the Greek-girl thing, I have like, boobs and a butt," she says. As a result, she adds, "I only have two speeds--either matronly or a little too slutty."

A Charlie Brown Christmas

By: Vickie J. Rubinson

A Charlie Brown Christmas was produced and directed by former Warner Bros. and UPA animator Bill Melendez, who also supplied the voice for the character of Snoopy. The special aired on CBS from its debut in 1965 through 2000 and has aired on ABC since 2001.

A Charlie Brown X Mas is also one of CBS's most successful specials, airing annually more times on that network than even The Wizard of Oz.

Synopsis: On their way to join the rest of the Peanuts gang all skating on a frozen pond, Charlie Brown confides in Linus that even thought the holidays are approaching he still feels depressed despite all the presents and cards and tree decorating. Though his mailbox is empty of X Mas cards, he tries sarcastically to thank Violet for the she "sent" him, though Violet knows she do no such thing.

Ultimately Charlie Brown visits Lucy in her psyciatric booth. On her advice, he gets involved in directing a school play about the Nativity. She also sympathizes with Charlie Brown about holiday depression, always getting " a lot of stupid toys," instead of what she really wants: real estate. Charlie Brown now realizes he does not have to let commercialism ruin his X Mas and with a newly found sense of inspiration, he quietly picks up a little tree and walks out of the auditorium, intending to take the tree home to decorate and show the others it will work in the play.

Interesting facts: The production was done on a shoestring budget, resulting in a choppy animation style. Also network execs were not at all keen on several aspects of the show, forcing Schultz and Melendez to wage some serious battles to preserve their vision. They didn't want Linus reciting the story of the birth of Christ from the Gospel of Luke.
Another complaint was the absence of a laugh track, a common element of children's cartoons at the time. Schultz maintained that the audience should be able to enjoy the show at their own pace, without being cued when to laugh.
Also the song "Christmas Time is Here" has become a popular holiday tune and the musical soundtrack was composed by Vince Guaraldi.