Hanukkah parties are, as the kids say, lit.

The fifth night is an important one because it is the first night where the majority of the candles are lit. It's a representation of light and darkness, as well as resilience and endurance.

Here's another Hanukkah gift from your ole friend the doctor - Continue to invest in Pfizer stock, the maker of Lipitor as well as a COVID vaccine.


According to Forbes Magazine, Green Monday is one of the retail industry's busiest online shopping days, occurring on the second Monday in December. While the term Green Monday may not be widely known by shoppers, the phrase was coined by eBay in 2007. Though it isn't as well-known as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, Green Monday is one of the retail industry's biggest shopping days in December.

And believe it or not, Black Friday isn't the busiest shopping day of the year, the two days before Christmas are. Retailed note that 1 in 3 men wait until Christmas Eve to do their shopping. So do yourself a favor and start now.


December 11, 1957 -
The movie Peyton Place, based on the novel by Grace Metalious, had its world premiere in Camden, Maine, on this date, where most of it had been filmed.



Susan Strasberg was initially set to play Allison. However, when she upped her salary, she was fired. For a short period, Debbie Reynolds was set to replace her. Eventually, 20 famous actresses were screen tested before the unknown Diane Varsi got the role.


December 11, 1961 -
Please, Mr. Postman by the Marvelettes was released on this date



Marvin Gaye played drums on this song. He was 22 at the time and trying to break into the business.


December 11, 1968 –
Filming begins on The Rolling Stones‘ Rock And Roll Circus movie. Conceived by Mick Jagger, the event was comprised of two concerts on a circus stage and included such acts as John Lennon and his fiancée Yoko Ono performing as part of a supergroup called The Dirty Mac, along with Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, Keith Richards, Jethro Tull and The Who, as well as clowns and acrobats.



Originally, The Rolling Stones and The Who were going to stage a tour in which the bands would perform in circus tents. However, after that idea fell through, it was decided to stage the television special instead.


December 11, 1980 -
Hawaiian shirts and free mustache rides abound when Magnum PI, starring Tom Selleck, premiered on CBS-TV on this date.



Orson Welles provided the voice of Robin Masters, whose face was never seen on this show. Producers eventually wanted Welles to be revealed as the face of Robin Masters too, but he died before the series ended its run. In season seven, Magnum began theorizing that Higgins was Masters. During the final episode, the real Robin Masters was finally revealed.


December 11, 1982 –
Toni Basil's surprise hit Mickey reached No. 1 of the Billboard charts on this date.



This was originally recorded as Kitty by a group called Racey, which released it in 1979. In the original lyric, Kitty is a girl. Toni Basil changed the title from Kitty to Mickey and the gender from female to male. Basil choreographed the 1968 Monkees movie Head, but insists the song is not named after group member Micky Dolenz. She also says there's nothing dirty about the song - it's just a peppy tune about a girl who really likes a guy.


December 11, 1987 -
Greed is Good.

20th Century Fox released Oliver Stone's drama, Wall Street, starring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, and Daryl Hannah on this date.



Oliver Stone later admitted that everyone involved told him Daryl Hannah was miscast, but he was too proud to replace her. This caused tension on set, particularly with Sean Young who wanted the role herself.


December 11, 1992 -
Walt Disney Pictures and Jim Henson Productions' musical comedy adaptation of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, The Muppet Christmas Carol, directed by Brian Henson (in his feature directorial debut) and starring Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, alongside Muppet performers Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, and Frank Oz, premiered on this date in the US.



This was the first major Muppet project after creator Jim Henson's death. The role of Kermit the Frog was handed down to Steve Whitmire. He said he was incredibly nervous about taking over such an iconic character. The night before he recorded Kermit's songs for the movie, he had a dream where he met Henson in a hotel lobby and told him how unsure he was. In the dream, Henson reassured Whitmire that the feeling would pass. After waking up, Whitmire was confident and able to do the part.


Another Guest Programmer


Today in History:
December 11, 1688 -
King James II attempting to flee London as the "Glorious Revolution" replaced him with King William (of Orange) and Queen Mary, threw the Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames.

He was, however, caught in Kent. Having no desire to make James a martyr, the Prince of Orange let him escape on December 23, 1688. James was received by his cousin, Louis XIV, who offered him a palace and a generous pension.


December 11, 1882 -
Fiorello Enrico La Guardia, Mayor of New York for three terms from 1934 to 1945, was born on this date.



With a boundless enthusiasm and energy to match that of Teddy Roosevelt, La Guardia could be the last Mayor of NYC who really loved his job.


December 11, 1919 -
The citizens of Enterprise, Alabama, erected a monument to the boll weevil. The only monument dedicated to an agricultural pest!!

The invasive insect devastated their fields but forced residents to end their dependence on cotton and to pursue mixed farming and manufacturing.


December 11, 1931 -
Rita Moreno (Rosa Dolores Alverio,) winner of an Peabody, Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, was born on this date.



She is currently one of only three PEGOT winners; she is the only Puerto Rican PEGOT winner.


December 11, 1936 -
Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson. Edward VIII had been king of Great Britain and Ireland for less than a year when he abdicated the throne to marry "the woman I love."



After his abdication, Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor became George VI, King of the United Kingdom and Edward was awarded the title Duke of Windsor by his brother, the king. Edward and Mrs. Simpson married on June 3, 1937.


The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II.



UNICEF provides many types of assistance and help to children and mothers. It receives money from different governments and private persons. It works in almost all countries of the world.


December 11, 1964 -
Sam Cooke, popular singer, was shot to death by Bertha Franklin, manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California. Franklin claimed that he had threatened her, and that she killed him in self-defense.



The shooting was ultimately ruled to be a justifiable homicide, though there have been arguments that crucial details did not come out in court, or were buried afterward.


December 11, 1967 -
The Beatles' Apple Music signs its first group - Grapefruit, on this date.



With unwise business decisions like this, I'm sure the Beatles must have gone broke very shortly after this.


More Christmas Trivia:
Two weeks before Christmas is the one of the two most popular times for couples to break up.



According to data analyzed from Facebook posts and statuses, couples are more likely to end their relationship two weeks before Christmas and two weeks after Valentine’s Day, during the spring break. Christmas Day, however, is the least favorite day for breakups.

So now you know.


And on a personal note: Happy Birthday Julietta

(Hope you're having a good one this year.)

And so it goes