Is it just me or is this a little bizarre?

[Nikki Stone1]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061217/ap_en_tv/tv_yule_duel

TV offers competing Yule logs on Dec. 25

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer Sun Dec 17, 1:08 PM ET

NEW YORK - There's a Yule duel brewing this Christmas day. Not one, but two separate versions of "The Yule Log," one of television's oddest yet most heartwarming holiday habits, will beckon families as they open their gifts.

There's the traditional log, burning brightly since filmed by New York's WPIX-TV in 1970, and another that will air uninterrupted for 24 hours on INHD, with a high-definition picture so crisp you'll be tempted to reach for a poker.

For many years a peculiarly New York tradition, both Yule logs will now glow in most of the country.

It seems silly: Why would anyone want to fill their television screen with a picture of a burning log, backed by a soundtrack of Christmas carols? Yet its inventor bet correctly that "The Yule Log" would resonate with New Yorkers sentimental for the notion of home and hearth while living in apartments without fireplaces.....

[valerief]

1. What a waste of electricity! nt

[Nikki Stone1]

2. It's just a strange commentary on American culture that the appearance is

more important than the reality.

[americanstranger]

16. The Yule Log was huge in NY.

I moved here at the end of the 70s, and the management company my band signed with (and the crew who came to work for my band) were all native New Yorkers.

My first Christmas in New York was my introduction to the Yule Log. Nobody took it seriously - it was an object of high humor and camp appeal. The crew and management, to a man, told me 'You gotta see the Yule Log.'

Native New Yorkers saw it as something funny, and as something unique to the city.

The appearance wasn't 'more important' than the reality. It was, however, much funnier. How could you not love something as goofy as a film of a log burning on your TV?

- as

ON EDIT: Just for the record, the TV station that originally aired the Yule Log (known for a long time as '11 Alive') was well-known for being the place where you could catch The Honeymooners and The Odd Couple on reruns - two other TV institutions in NYC.

[Nikki Stone1]

41. Ah, this seems more likely

But apparently for many it's not camp at all.

[JHB]

68. It's not that it's camp...

...though I've done my share of snickering at the Yule log.

I suspect in its earlier years, it was a way for the station to stay on the air with too few hands to really run things.

These days? You know perfectly well what sort of crap they could be airing in its place, so don't dump on the ol' Yule Log. It's one of the last reminders of when local TV was local.

[xultar]

74. How is it a waste? They'd be broadcasting anyway plus people play it

like they would a stereo...there is music in the background. It is like the first music video. People play it while opening their gifts on Christmas day.

[hlthe2b]

3. Like the video aquarium...

Americans don't like to deal with the mess of "realism," it seems...

[Left Is Write]

6. Some Americans don't have fireplaces and would like the atmosphere.

I'm not really seeing anything wrong with it.

[hlthe2b]

29. I see nothing wrong with it either...just noting the trend...

[hlthe2b]

33. ditto..

Fortunately there are now ways to have a small fireplace (that burns non-polluting liquid fuel, I think) that don't require chimneys and can be put anywhere... But, in lieu of that, I'd buy the DVD... Just commenting on the trend...I know people who have wood-burning fireplaces that own the video and play it--just because they don't want to deal with the whole fire mess. Ditto with the virtual aquarium.

NOthing wrong with it--to each his own.

[TankLV]

47. I like the idea. Many can't or don't have fireplaces.

I'll spend my time worrying about something more important...

[seriousstan]

7. You do know you are in a "virtual" conversation?

[NMDemDist2]

9. ROFL!!!!

why so we are!!!

:rofl:

[valerief]

12. Yeah, but it's interactive. You're not as boring as a video clip of a fireplace. nt

[hlthe2b]

34. We all issue a collective "thank you" for that....

I suppose there may be exemptions, however ("you're not as boring as a video clip....") LOL

[JHB]

69. You're not supposed to sit and watch it...

...they play holiday music over it: carols, the Nutcracker, things like that. People in apartments not only probably don't have fireplaces, but they also have limited space for storing holiday stuff, and so might not have a collection of hoiday music to put on in the background during a gathering of family or friends. That's what the Yule Log is for: turn it on, let the musinc play and "fireplace" sit in the background (and with no commercials), and get on with your real party.

(on the other hand, some people probably do watch it, for the same sort of nice, cosy time you might spend in front of a real fireplace.)


(oh my god, I'm defending the Yule Log! In Public!)

[hlthe2b]

35. Oh, No.....! You're not real?

Who will tell the children...?! LOL

[Vox Acerbus]

24. In NYC you don't always have a choice...

A lot of flats don't come with fireplaces.

The yule log was a programme that people loved because it could let them jokingly bring in a "real fire" into the places where they couldn't afford a fireplace.

What's with all the bashing and "people are lazy" stuff? It's a necessity in such a high rent city.

The yule log is an awesome, fun, campy tradition and people who are too snobbish, stuck up and ignorant to "get it" are missing out.

Can't wait for a TV for the high-def versioN!

[hlthe2b]

37. Hey, hey, hey.... no offense intended. Nothing wrong with them...

I'm glad folks get enjoyment out of them... See my gazillion explanations upstream. Kindly don't jump to conclusions. I'm not too snobbish, stuck up and ignorant to "get it." In fact I own two of these kind of videos (snow scapes). So, kindly chill out....:shrug:

Jeez Louise...folks are so damned touchy tonight... Did all the beer suddenly go flat or something? :eyes:

[Critters2]

50. When I was a consumer advocate, I supervised an Americorps vol

who had this aquarium program on his 'puter. He had to feed the fish and "change the water" regularly, or he'd come home to find the virtual fish floating at the top of the screen! One night a training ran long, and he was in a total panic, because he hadn't fed the fish yet that day!! Apparently, if they died, he had to pay for new ones. On an Americorps stipend.

I still laugh!!

[hlthe2b]

52. Oh my!

:rofl:

Let's hope he/she only has cyber children!

[Nikki Stone1]

60. Ok, that's really bizarre

How about just buying a fishbowl with some real fish and FEEDING them?

[Critters2]

72. Yeah, that's what I thought. nt

[NMDemDist2]

4. actually I'd turn it on

Dear Hubby's beloved 42" HDTV is the focal point of the room and i wouldn't mind carols and a crackling fire to watch while I have my coffee

I usually just turn on music through the TV in the morning anyway and lately it's been carols

:shrug:

[lukasahero]

65. LOL - that's what I was thinking.

I was taking notes of what channel it was on. :rofl:

I have a fireplace where we will open presents but we open and run (head down to RI to do Christmas with the 'rents and nephews) so we won't have time for a fire. Sounds like a plan to me. :)

[Left Is Write]

5. I can see someone wanting to turn that on for atmosphere at Christmas...

perhaps someone who lives in an apartment and doesn't have a fireplace.

[NMDemDist2]

8. yeah no fireplace in my trailer

i'm gonna look for it and see if HDNET is playing one on Xmas Morning

[Critters2]

51. I saw a commercial for a DVD you can buy. nt

[Lurking Dem]

10. I think it's kind of cute.

I have a fireplace but it's been 70+ degrees outside!

[Nikki Stone1]

11. I lived in apartments for years and never had any desire to watch a televised "fire", but

to each one's own. I guess it's better than filling the airwaves with Fundy propaganda. Maybe we can get FAUX to change their cable "news" to a permanent log. :)

[Left Is Write]

13. I doubt anyone's just sitting there watching the fire.

I would assume people put it on for background atmosphere while they eat Christmas dinner or open presents or something. If the station is playing Christmas music too, I can easily see it being appealing.

[Nikki Stone1]

14. It's still odd to me. It's even odder that TWO stations will have rival "yule logs"

What's wrong with lighting a few candles?

[Left Is Write]

15. I don't know. I have a fireplace AND light candles.

It's just that I'm not seeing this as so totally bizarre, especially if it's something homey and comforting that reminds people of happy holidays past.

I don't see it as any bigger a waste of energy than holiday lights, having the stereo on playing Christmas carols or any other uses of electricity.

[Nikki Stone1]

20. Probably less electricity than all those damned lights

And, no, I don't have lights up either.

But there's something so absurd about the whole thing to me. It just strikes me as extremely funny. :D

[alfredo]

55. You have to first smoke some good bud. I can assure you it

will then entertain you until the munchies or sleep overtake you.

[BattyDem]

23. You don't really sit and watch it ...

it just sort of plays in the background, while adding ambience and Christmas spirit to the room. An added bonus ... if you take pictures or video of the family opening their presents and you happen to catch the television in the background, the log looks a lot better than a blank screen or some sitcom rerun. :D

[Vox Acerbus]

26. Right..

Don't know why people don't "get" that you don't sit and stare at it.

The programme plays nice songs and carols, perfect for opening gifts. The fire is great to watch, particularly if you aren't rich with a fireplace in your NYC penthouse. Not everyone has oodles of dough to spend on a fireplace.

But I'm not surprised some people just don't "get it"... it's different and funny, and hey any chance to insult or berate a tradition makes some people happy and warm inside. What-evah!

[Nikki Stone1]

31. It's a video of a LOG!

..

[Vox Acerbus]

32. Yeah not all of us have other options, like a fireplace...

Move on, if you don't get it. Hey, be a snob, but in NYC it's a tradition, even if YOU don't buy into it.

Sheesh. Why waste your time ****ing over something you're too clueless to comprehend? No one's asking you to put it on at Christmas, are they?

Some people!

[Nikki Stone1]

39. I never had a fireplace, and I never missed it

And it's hard to be a snob in a cheap studio apartment. I just don't get watching a video of a log, or of two stations having COMPETING logs! Maybe we should just have videos of people opening presents and save ourselves time and money by just watching the videos with a cup of coffee. :)

[BattyDem]

45. LOL! I guess it's an NYC thing

We grew up with it .... it's just part of our Christmas. Give it a try - it's very cozy.

[AngryAmish]

17. I suppose you also object to "The Puppy Bowl"

[Nikki Stone1]

21. Afraid to ask, but what is the Puppy Bowl?

:scared:

[AngryAmish]

30. A bunch of puppies playing in an arena themed enclosure

They show it on Animal Planet during the Super Bowl. They also have "Kitty Halftime" featuring kittens playing.

[Nikki Stone1]

38. OK. Thanks.

nt

[Vox Acerbus]

28. DUUUDE! I *HEART* The Puppy Bowl!

Thanks for reminding me that I MUST get this on tape this year!

Yeehaw!

A bigger basket of cute you simply cannot find.

[Marnieworld]

71. The Puppy Bowl rocks!

Can't get enough of it but I have to sneak it in small doses because my pug barks at any dog on TV.

[blonndee]

57. I love the Puppy Bowl!

Can't beat puppies for a pick-me-up!

[BattyDem]

18. The Yule log is a tradition!

I'm from the NYC area and it wouldn't be Christmas without the Yule log! Ok ... I know a video fireplace is kind of silly, but after watching "A Christmas Story" 5 times in a row, the Yule log is very soothing. We usually put it on when we open our presents on Christmas eve. It's nice.


edited: typo :blush:

[americanstranger]

19. I was just saying the same thing upthread.

Along with The Honeymooners and The Odd Couple, it's a NYC TV institution.

- as

[BattyDem]

25. That's so true!

Everyone I know can quote the dialogue from both shows, LOL! :rofl:

[americanstranger]

27. Another late-night staple of 11 Alive -

Ads for Carvel (with Tom Carvel himself doing the voiceover), and Karl Ehmer meats (with Karl Ehemer doing the voiceover).

I can remember that 11 Alive was the only station that was still on when we'd come in from a night of playing the clubs.

And they also had Yankee baseball with Scooter. Holy cow! :)

- as

[BattyDem]

42. Ah ... memories!

Those low budget Carvel ads for "Fudgie the Whale" and "Cookie Puss" with Tom Carvel's gravelly voiceover - he always sounded like he was making it up as he went along. :D Remember "Wednesday is Sundae at Carvel?"

When all the other stations were showing the color bars or were off-air completely (nothing but white noise), there would always be something on 11 Alive. It was amazing! How could a local television station afford to do that? Note to the kiddies: This was back in the old days, before cable. We had about 7 or 8 channels and they all went off the air at around 2AM - but 11 Alive broadcasted later than that. It was usually an episode or two of The Odd Couple, followed by a couple of episodes of The Honeymooners, followed by some low-budget movie you never heard of, but you watched it because it was the only thing on, LOL! 11 Alive kept us "night owls" sane for many years!

Scooter was cool! I remember when Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" was released. My friends and I went NUTS when we discovered that Scooter did a voiceover on the title track! :headbang:

Thanks for posting that. It was fun to think back to the old days. :toast:

[americanstranger]

44. One old New Yorker to another, eh?

Except I didn't get here until 1979.

Then again, once I got here, I never left. I've been living in the NYC area longer than I lived in the place I was born.

And that's how I came to learn the plot of just about every episode of the Odd Couple and Honeymooners - by not going to bed when I got home. :)

- as

PS - Did you know that Scoot was deathly afraid of lightning - and that if a thunderstorm came anywhere near Yankee Stadium, he left for the day?

[BattyDem]

46. Scooter was afraid of lightning?

Wow ... I never knew that. I wonder what he did if he was on-air? I know the game would stop, but when the storm was over and the game resumed, would he be gone? :shrug:

I remember he used to do the commercials for "The Money Store," which looked like they were produced by the same people who did Tom Carvel's commercials. They were big on personality, not on production value. ;-)

[americanstranger]

53. Yep, he'd leave.

Even if the game was in the middle innings, he'd high-tail it out of the stadium. I can remember Bill White having to finish a lot of games by himself. :)

And as he got closer to retirement, he'd actually leave every game early so he could avoid the post-game traffic.

- as

[Warren DeMontague]

22. I want one where the hand holding the fireplace poker is a gorilla hand.

That's what cable is all about - choice!

[blonndee]

58. ROFLMAO!

Holy shit! :rofl: Nice.

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. Back when cable TV first became popular

there was a Fish Channel. It was an aquarium. Feeding time was when they had the most viewers.

[Nikki Stone1]

40. That sounds like something out of a Saturday Night Live skit.

In fact, in the late 70s. SNL did have a skit like that. They had "the Census Channel" that went through a list of all the people in the US. Your name came up every six months. I remember thinking that was freaking hilarious too. (But maybe someone likes the idea ?)

[mitchtv]

43. Sounds a lot better than most tv shows on

TV. I would use it during dinner for example.

[Fredda Weinberg]

48. It gives the staff a day off n/t

[Cleita]

49. Without a fireplace or room

heat, I guess looking at something like that could make me imagine that I feel warm. (I do have blankeys and warm clothes to make up for it.)

[AZBlue]

54. OK, back off the Yule Log guys!

It's a local tradition. Local traditions don't need logic or explanations. Look around your own cities, states and regions.

I don't criticize your silly traditions that make you happy - don't criticize mine!

[laundry_queen]

56. It's not just a tradition in NY either.

I grew up with the 'yule log' fire on a local station, on Christmas morning, for years (Alberta, Canada). It was kind of a funny thing at first, and then we just started keeping it on every Christmas, it was nice to open presents to, since they played carols too. We didn't have a fireplace either, so it was nice to have even a fake fire. :rofl: I certainly don't see the problem with this.

[Cameron27]

59. I lived an hour away from the city

in CT and the log was blazing tradition also. Channel 11, oh boy, good stuff.:)

[Nikki Stone1]

61. I think I am the only one who thinks this is absolutely hysterical

Everyone else is defending the damned log. :rofl:

[Cameron27]

67. I thought it was weird too

until my mom came over for Christmas dinner and turned the thing on.

(I had a fireplace in the kitchen and one in the LR, but it was too hot to light up a fire while I was cooking)

Anyway, as funny as it sounds, it does grow on you.:hi:

[marions ghost]

62. we live in a visual world that is

less and less concrete. People create individual environments all the time. The flickering fire is an ancient attraction. Humans are hard-wired to respond to it. Never mind that there's no warmth, no woodsy smell, no 'clunk' of logs brought in from the cold. We still respond to the image. I use flickering flame string lights in the fireplace when I don't want to burn logs...same thing. everyone says they feel warmer when it's on.

Most of us in this country do not live close to nature. Not much that we buy, use, wear, is "natural" despite the widespread use of the term. You could argue that the virtual Yule Log is more in line with how we live today than the exotic real log is. Fascinating if it's becoming a new custom.

The visual image is powerful. I used to have a screensaver with autumn leaves slowly wafting down. I always got a sense of calm looking at it. No difference between this and the Yule Log IMO.

Interesting tidbit--thanks for posting.

[Nikki Stone1]

63. Are we that hard-wired for visuals that the reality makes no difference?

The fact that the "Yule Log" is merely video wallpaper (no warmth, no smell, no fire at all, just an image) makes no difference to the psyche?

I'd love to see a study on this one. Slap some electrodes on people and see the differences in reaction to a real fire and a video.

[youthere]

64. I actually bought a Christmas Fireplace DVD..

It plays for about an hour with or without background music. My husband and I put it in when we are wrapping gifts and like to watch it while we enjoy a bottle of wine.
I've never had a real fireplace in any home I've owned, and always wanted one, for the ambience..besides the outdoor wood furnace this is probably the closest I'll ever get.

[Suziq]

66. Not a Holiday Season Goes By . . . .

without turning to channel 11 to see the yule log. Been a holiday tradition in my house since the early 70's.

[Marnieworld]

70. I grew up in NJ

So it was always kind of fun and traditional to put this on TV for a bit. Comforting just to see it year after year even if only for a brief smile. It's just silly but a feeling of home.

[xultar]

73. I love this story! Very nostalgic.