Click to make bigger. The Czar of MuscovyБожію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia … Continue reading →
Click to make larger. The Czar of MuscovyБожію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia … Continue reading →
Click to make bigger, or perish. The Czar of MuscovyБожію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of … Continue reading →
Click to make bigger. As if you need to make an eight-foot-tall robot bigger. The Czar of MuscovyБожію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, … Continue reading →
Click to embiggen… GorTGorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ Century who routinely time-travels to steal expensive technology from the future and return it to the past for retroinvention. The profits from this pay all the Gormogons’ bills, including … Continue reading →
Click to enlarge, of course. The Czar of MuscovyБожію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all … Continue reading →
Eric Brown, came up with this nifty compare and contrast between Odin and Santa. The evidence does not have the same weight as the Amazon as front for the North Pole conspiracy, but it is compelling, nonetheless. The Lil Medstudent … Continue reading →
Man, it’s been a sucky year or two, Charlie Brown. The retail sector has no shame. They have been pushing their Christmas decorating earlier and earlier every year. Indeed, the Charlie Brown Easter special back in 1974 was hip to the … Continue reading →
Are you ordering take out for me, Master Jedi? Dr. J. who is half-Italian on Mama J.’s side was raised to enjoy the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. The tradition is that seven dishes made with varying … Continue reading →
Where do you think he got those tattoos? Your Gormogons are the stuff of legend, and as such run into other legends at the annual convention in Las Vegas. While Dr. J. has assurances from the Tooth Fairy that what … Continue reading →
Greetings. cretins! Today is Рождественский сочельник, or Christmas Eve. This is a big deal for people with Slavic blood; in fact, outsiders might think that Christmas Eve is a bigger deal than Christmas Day for Slavs. This is understandable: Christmas … Continue reading →
Puter’s been known from time to time to go to NYC on business. He mentioned to Dr. J. that while he was there he was going to get his tree. NYC being known for all kinds of shopping but Christmas … Continue reading →
Some people put antlers, elf ears or candy canes on their car. Dr. J. went the whole nine yards, pimping his ride for Christmas: Imperial Star Destroyer – Christmas style.Note the Christmas Light undercarriage! But, as you know. Clan J. … Continue reading →
The Volgi has created the first Christmas Golem. He will be the first to tell you that the first golem was not the clay golem of Jewish folklore, but rather the wood golem, constructed of Lebanese Cedar wood by the … Continue reading →
Mandy, has not only one tree, but like Mrs. Dr. J., has two trees! The inscrutable Mandarin, who has been known to experiment with particle rays and magnetic fields brought his work home this year: Mandy was muttering something about … Continue reading →
In keeping with the holiday theme here at the Castle, your Mandarin has decided to decorate the lab. May you have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year! The MandarinThe Mandarin, whose real name is 吏恆, joined the order … Continue reading →
Gort is going for simple this year. Simply titanium, that is. What else did you expect, a Christmas Graph? Dr. J.
Continue reading →There is a Facebook picture making the “like” rounds on the social network that is credited to the Occupy Wall Street movement. A number of liberal groups on Facebook have shared and liked it and liberals following those groups have … Continue reading →
Dr. J. loves the season of Advent with sense of hope brought by the coming celebration of the birth of the Christ child. Historically, he’s made a greater effort to attend the Saturday vigil during Advent. Don’t ask him why, … Continue reading →
Volgi’s…maybe… Dr. J.
Continue reading →Merry Christmas, Gentle Readers! Dr. J. and your Gormogons are enjoying Christmas today with Christmas Mass (we actually took in the children’s vigil yesterday afternoon where the Lil Med Student brought up the baby Jesus and laid Him in the … Continue reading →
Merry Christmas. It is a beautiful morning, no matter what. The Gormogons are very excited, and you can see us all gathered around the tree opening our gifts. Your Œcumenical Volgi, or 孔夫子, for those who came in late, or … Continue reading →
Given how infected with the Christmas spirit your Gormogons are this year, with GorT’s Advent Calendar, Dr. J.’s Christmas singles, Volgi’s Christmas albums, and other various and sundry Chrismassy posts past, present, and yet to come…Dr. J. doubts you could … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
The final day of our calendar brings up the door to these charities: The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (one of ‘Puter’s picks)The Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (GorT frequents this charity)The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (also a pick … Continue reading →
In a police lineup, it would not be hard to pick out ‘Puter’s Christmas Tree. Our little, lovable Luddite went with a Hello Kitty theme. Here you can see his tree, with Mrs. ‘Puter modeling the latest in Hello Kitty … Continue reading →
Uncle Jay finds this gem. A Terry Gilliam salute to Christmas cards. Surprisingly fun for the whole family. The Czar of MuscovyБожію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes … Continue reading →
Confucius, our Œcumenical Volgi (The Notorious ŒV) is kicking his Christmas tree old school style. He is sporting a traditional Cantonese money tree. This tree is typically brought out by single Chinese individuals for the Chinese Spring Festival. Red envelopes are … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
Continuing our advent calendar charity doors, today’s door is to the following charities: The Military Order of the Purple Heart (one of the Czar’s picks)Paralyzed Veterans of America (favored by the Mandarin) For those who like contributing to other charities … Continue reading →
We’re in the final stretch of the advent season and it is a time to be generous. Generous with your spirit, your hospitality and your charity. So today’s advent door is a door into some of the charities that your … Continue reading →
Now, the Czar has been our Minister of Substantive Posts™ of late, with ‘Puter hideously busy dealing with all things reality based, and GorT, Volgi, and Dr. J. being all Christmassy with our content, and Mandy, well, being Mandy. But … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
Rounding out the third pass through the castle of the advent calendar is Dat Ho – who has been enjoying his mini-hibachi grill down in the basement. He opened his door and unfolded a small shirt and held it up. … Continue reading →
Pac Man turned 11111 (Eleventy-eleven) this year, and Gort chose to recognize his binary buddy with his Christmas Tree this year! For all of our global warming fanatic friends, be reassured that GorT is only using cold fusion to power … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
Today was GorT’s turn to open a door on the advent calendar and while the treat was more along the lines of the traditional advent calendars, I still seem to feel like someone in the castle is snickering. GorTGorT is … Continue reading →
For a look at the Inscrutable Mandarin’s Christmas Tree, you have to go to the proving grounds behind the Castle proper. In true Mandarin fashion, Mandy wanted to kill two birds with one stone. His MO has always been to weaponize … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
The Gormogons love us some grilled meat. A number of us like showing off our grill skills. The Czar got really excited when he saw the day 19 gift. He’s already fully assembled it and started making dinner for all … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
Much like at the White House, we at the Castle have taken to decorating our own Christmas Trees. Dr. J. has decided to be so kind as to share a glimpse of the one adorning his corner of the Castle. … Continue reading →
The Gormogons aren’t into flashy jewelry. However, when it’s a piece of functional jewelry, eyebrows get raised. So the Mandarin had to immediately try on his new ring and give it a whirl. I think Dat Ho will be ok, … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
The Volgi is old….school. Well, old too. So, he was happy opening today’s door on the calendar and getting his gift: It is nostalgic for him while functional as it has a 3-CD loader. He has already loaded up all … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
Sometimes the items behind the advent calendar doors are just random and defy explanation. Maybe Dr. J will actually make use of his gift today: Then again, he’ll have to keep Mandy’s hands off them. GorTGorT is an eight-foot-tall robot … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
Traditionally, advent calendars are small and have tiny candies behind each door – usually chocolates. ‘Puter might have been disappointed at first that these were not real but rather chocolate, he got over it quickly and actually found a way … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
Dat Ho has been on his best behavior: cleaning up the carcasses on the shores of the moat after ‘Puter’s grenade fishing, helping the Mandy and Czar back to their respective rooms after late nights at the Leaping Peacock, dusting … Continue reading →
Inspired by Dr. J’s 12 Days of Christmas Music, Confucius says: here’s twelve albums of Christmas music from the past dozen or so years that are worth your while (and money). Of course, this will only bring us to the … Continue reading →
Lucky me! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Day 13 is GorT’s second turn at opening an advent calendar door. A number of the Gormogons are early birds (and we get plenty of worms), particularly GorT and ‘Puter whose body clocks … Continue reading →
The Czar camped out all night watching the calendar just to make sure that a repeat of day 5 didn’t occur. So, a ragged-looking, spear-carrying Czar slowly opened the door on day 12 of the advent calendar to reveal: He … Continue reading →
Thank you all for hanging in there during Dr. J.’s Christmas present to himself this season, an indulgent walk down memory lane where he could reflect on the glories of Christmases long long ago, to copy a phrase. So here … Continue reading →
Like many of you, the Gormogons get busy this time of year. Office parties, tree trimming, cookie exchanges (one of ‘Puter’s favorites)…etc. So it wasn’t until late tonight when all of us could watch Mandy pry open the doors for … Continue reading →
It’s a Christmas carol! It’s a love song! It’s whimsical! It’s New Wave! It can only be Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses! Dr. J. loves loves loves this song! It is one of a few songs he taped off of … Continue reading →
This might be the most requested item on Dr. J.’s 12 Days of Christmas Music. That would be Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. A Charlie Brown Christmas is Dr. J.’s favorite Christmas special of all time. It captures the … Continue reading →
Mandy finally got the Volgi to stop pushing those huge blocks about the castle. Periodically, you’d hear: thuuuump. Thuuump. Thuuuump. And you’d look out your door and the Volgi had lined up several blocks to spell some message in 2′ … Continue reading →
GorT is fond of talking about generational politics, as was introduced to him by GorT 0.6b. (aka GorT, Sr.). The rest of your Gormogons (Gen X’ers all) have bitched about cleaning up the mess that is the Baby Boomer Generation. … Continue reading →
Day 9 brings us our only ‘novelty song’ of the countdown. For this spot, Dr. J. has chosen The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late), by none other than David Seville and the Chipmunks (aka Ross Bagadasarian). Given the title, … Continue reading →
Our resident doctor had to get up early for rounds today, so when we made it to the common room, he left a kind note saying that he’s very excited to try out his new gift today as he started … Continue reading →
As we continue the downhill slide to the ultimate in musical Christmas cheer, Dr. J. rings in day number eight with O Holy Night. O Holy Night is the Double Black Diamond slope of Christmas songs. If there were a … Continue reading →
So it’s back to the top of the rotation and ‘Puter is all a twitter (seriously, go follow us on twitter…he is all a-twitter) with opening the next door. He was a little disappointed that the door was substantially smaller … Continue reading →
Better late than never. All was quiet for there was one more denizen of the castle to open a door before we head back to the top of the rotation – Dat Ho. Well, he’s been lying low since the … Continue reading →
You put your peanut butter in my chocolate! No, you put your chocolate in my peanut butter! Wait, they’re two great tastes that taste great together. Just like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, your next selection is a pretty nifty duet. … Continue reading →
Well, yes, it’s rolled around to you-know-who – GorT. I’m never in much of a rush. Heck, when you can time-travel, why does it matter, right? So I’m a bit later in the day today posting about my token advent … Continue reading →
We hit the halfway point in our Christmas Music list. Dr. J. has been happy to see that his picks have met with great interest, especially on twitter. If you aren’t a follower, check us out, our twitterbuddies alone are … Continue reading →
More nostalgia for our gentle readers. For GenX-ers The Charlie Brown Christmas Special and The Grinch That Stole Christmas (the Chuck Jones/Boris Karloff classic, not that Jim Carrey trainwreck) were appointment television, especially in the years when they were broadcast … Continue reading →
Each morning the Czar sits patiently in the corner of the group as others open their advent calendar, but the look on his face tells the tale – he wants it to be his turn so bad that someone’s going … Continue reading →
For day four, we’re going to borrow GorT’s Time Bubble and go back to Mid-19th Century England. Dickensian images of Christmas are iconic, when one says picture Christmas in their head, all of the sugar plum that dance in your … Continue reading →
The Mandy has been patiently waiting for his turn to open a door and sure enough, he drew day 4 of advent. They were a bit smaller than what he expected after a car and huge Chinese toy blocks but … Continue reading →
Day 3 brings us Children, Go Where I Send Thee. This is an African-American spiritual. It’s a counting song, much like the Twelve Days of Christmas, but instead it counts various numbered things in the bible as opposed to someone’s … Continue reading →
The Volgi drew Day 3 on the advent calendar. He’s not one to get up early so the rest of us waited for him to come down to the Castle common room. He excitedly opened the four-foot doors on the … Continue reading →
Dr. J. is a child of the ’80s. The local classic rock stations would break out the ‘Rock and Roll’ Christmas Tunes, so they had to dig broadly and deeply to find stuff that would both fit their formatting AND … Continue reading →
Dr. J was the next lucky draw to open the next door on our 30-story advent calendar (I told you, we like gifts and small chocolates just ain’t gonna cut it). He was dancing around like a little schoolkid. So … Continue reading →
Christmas music is an important and pervasive aspect of the season. The music at mass thankfully goes up a notch, and Mrs. Dr. J. and the lil resident’s favorite radio station (the maudlin love song station, you know, the one … Continue reading →
The advent calendar started with German Lutherans who would physically count down the days to Christmas starting on December 1st. It has morphed into the modern ones which are traditionally cardboard/plastic frames with small doors that are opened on each … Continue reading →
Gentle Readers, A couple more missives have come in. The first is from Operative FJR, who writes in from a secret mission to the North Pole to get ‘Puter switched from the Naughty to the Nice list: Dr. J., Thank … Continue reading →
This news item has many of the reasons why President Obama needs to be a One Term President™(h/t Drudge). The Obama Administration is levying a 15¢ fee (tax) on live Christmas trees. This levy is was not voted upon by the … Continue reading →
A nice, slow and relaxing morning in GorT’s house after midnight Mass. We had some flurries (no accumulation). Presents are open, stockings emptied…legos are being built, mini fashion shows going on and a little Wii gaming (by the way, “Just … Continue reading →
Every year since 1984, PNC Financial Services has compiled the “Christmas Price Index” (CPI). It measures the cost of each group* of items in the Christmas carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” (a total of 78 items). They have a nice … Continue reading →
No, not really. This is a thoughtful piece that deserves your time, though. But both books come around to a similar argument: this month’s ubiquitous carols and crèches notwithstanding, believing Christians are no longer what they once were — an … Continue reading →
Sssh. Do not tell. The Czar has completed his Christmas shopping for the others. Fortunately, as you know, they do not actually read the Czar’s posts, so we can be quite safe here. For GorT, the Czar got him one … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: Twelve Dirty Teacherseleven Volgi weapons ten ‘Puters singing nine dancing Czars eight sex milking hits seven GorTs a’ traveling six Man’drin Bootingsfive Gor-mo-gonsfour bags of mailthree Guest Spotstwo Boxing Daysand a Hello Kitty in … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: Eleven Volgi Weaponsten ‘Puters singing nine dancing Czars eight sex milking hits seven GorTs a’ traveling six Man’drin Bootingsfive Gor-mo-gonsfour bags of mailthree Guest Spotstwo Boxing Daysand a Hello Kitty in an orange tree … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: Ten ‘Puters Singingnine dancing Czars eight sex milking hits seven GorTs a’ traveling six Man’drin Bootingsfive Gor-mo-gonsfour bags of mailthree Guest Spotstwo Boxing Daysand a Hello Kitty in an orange tree We all have our … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: Nine dancing Czarseight sex milking hits seven GorTs a’ traveling six Man’drin Bootingsfive Gor-mo-gonsfour bags of mailthree Guest Spotstwo Boxing Daysand a Hello Kitty in an orange tree Of course everyone is expecting this post … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: Eight sex milking hitsseven GorTs a’ traveling six Man’drin Bootingsfive Gor-mo-gonsfour bags of mailthree Guest Spotstwo Boxing Daysand a Hello Kitty in an orange tree We check our web server logs pretty regularly – they … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: Seven GorTs a travelingsix Man’drin Bootingsfive Gor-mo-gonsfour bags of mailthree Guest Spotstwo Boxing Daysand a Hello Kitty in an orange tree I do a lot of traveling (time and otherwise) and if there is one … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: Six Man’drin Bootingsfive Gor-mo-gons four bags of mailthree Guest Spotstwo Boxing Daysand a Hello Kitty in an orange tree Here’s a quick recap of the six most recent bootings by the Mandarin. We keep these … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: Four Bags of Mailthree Guest Spotstwo Boxing Daysand a Hello Kitty in an orange tree We get a lot of mail here at the Castle. Each Gormogon deals with their fan (or hate) mail in … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: Three Guest Spots and two Boxing Daysand a Hello Kitty in an orange tree We’ve been busy over the years. Dat Ho was kind enough to pull out the Gormogon media guide as we sipped … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: Two Boxing Days and a Hello Kitty in an orange tree This is the second Boxing Day that the Gormogons have been around the blogosphere posting on various topics. Hopefully we’ll been entertaining and educating … Continue reading →
…the Gormogons gave to me: A Hello Kitty in an orange tree Over the next twelve days, join us as we share a little holiday cheer with our readers by way of a familiar holiday tune. We’ll tie days in … Continue reading →
Given the good weather here in the DC area, GorT and family decided it was time to hang up the Christmas lights. Mind you, we’re not turning them on until after Thanksgiving (a family rule – 1 holiday at a … Continue reading →
‘Puter’s been AWOL on posting for a while. Sorry. Christmas, kids, spouse, family, dogs and general malaise conspire against ‘Puter. Quick update, for those who care. ‘Puter took off two weeks at the end of the year and still lost … Continue reading →
