Tag: holidays

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Who Spooks YOU?

themuglytruth
Today’s episode, “Who Spooks YOU?” is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

With Halloween around the corner it’s likely many of you are lining up your favorite movies to get yourselves creeped out for the main event on October 31. With that in mind, we wanted to talk about popular villains associated with this time of year in our Who Spooks YOU? episode. And while most people know the big, BIG names of cinematic villain history, there’s really an entire universe out there from multiple genres to fill anyone’s needs. There are the classic villains like Dracula, Wolfman, the Blob and the Mummy. There’s the horror route with Freddy, Jason, Michael and Carrie. And let’s not forget Voldemort who actually made Harry Potter an orphan on Halloween night (please pause while Kris raises her wand in a moment of silence). For less horror and more wholesome-ish humor, Disney’s Sanderson Sisters, Kalabar, or Cruella de Vil are on tap (ummmm…did we say wholesome?). With so many to choose from we decided rather than talk a little bit about a whole bunch, we would instead delve deep into the dark closets of just two big time bad guys. Without knowing what the other one chose, we came up with two characters who couldn’t be more opposite in scope. Today we dig up the skeletons of none other than The Invisible Man and Oogie Boogie! So if you haven’t listened yet, head on over to your favorite podcast app and give it a go. Hopefully it will get you primed for your upcoming Netflix and chills.

H.G. Wells’ book, The Invisible Man. Public Domain, Wikipedia.
Poster for Universal Picture’s 1933 Invisible Man. Public Domain, Wikipedia.

Kris kicks off the episode discussing the classic H.G. Wells science fiction masterpiece The Invisible Man, written in 1897. Let that sink in. If you’ve seen the latest redux of the story in 2020 (Leigh Whanell’s The Invisible Man) you may be shocked the original story was written over 100 years ago. Or maybe it isn’t that shocking since horror greats such as Dracula and Frankenstein were also published in the 19th century (1897 and 1817 respectively). Thirty-six years after Wells’ book was published, the 1933 film starring Claude Rains was released to wild enthusiasm and became a part of the monster universe that had already found its way onto the early cinema screens with the 1913 silent film The Wolfman and Dracula in 1931 starring Bela Lugosi. If you’re interested in reading Wells’ original publication, you can do so with this Project Gutenberg eBook.

Kym’s Instagram photo of Oogie as he stands tall over the California Adventure entrance. Photo courtesy Kym Wagner.

Kym’s choice should surprise no one as it is one of Disney’s most iconic spooky villains of all time—the day-glo, bug-filled, zaftig, gamblin’ burlap sack Oogie Boogie! Kym delivers every line describing OB’s horrible character from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) with relish. Although Oogie was the most difficult to…um…flesh out (?) as a character, they hit vocal gold with Ken Page’s fantastic voiceover. Seriously. Can you imagine OB sounding like anyone else? No. No you cannot. Nightmare Before Christmas is the only movie we can think of that wholly encapsulates the HallowThanksMas holiday season, bridging the gap between what we believe are the two greatest holidays of the year…uh…Halloween and Christmas…DUHHHH. (That’s just our opinion and it’s totally ok if you disagree). It even has a passing nod to Thanksgiving in the forest portal to the holiday towns with a turkey carved into the door of the Thanksgiving town tree. As passholders, Kym and her family eagerly await the annual spooktacular overlay Disney does every year at the resorts, especially the “jacking up” of the Haunted Mansion with all the writhing, glowing Burtonesque deliciousness that is Nightmare. Best of all, it is infused throughout with Oogie’s particular brand of odious greatness.

It should not be a shocker that in our conversation about these two characters we had a whole slew of unanswered questions crop up! So to answer what seems to be more questions than we usually have, here are the links to the articles we cited in our discussion and links with answers to all the head-scratchers:

Article Citation

Things We Didn’t Know But Now We Do Thanks to the Interwebs

  • Oh THAT’S His Name. Sorry Mark STRONG. Kris unbelievably forgot your name and is forever shamed because Stardust is one of her favorite movies and you make drowned zombie Septimus a thing of wonder. Also, it’s John the Valet, not John the Butler in Cruella de Vil.
  • Saturday Morning Ghouls. The Groovie Goolies was a cool Saturday morning staple from 1970-1971 and even spawned a punk band later down the line. Who knew? We didn’t. But now? We all do.
  • Oh THAT’S His Name PART TWO. Sorry Rod TAYLOR who was an AUSTRALIAN actor, not English, and starred as H. George Wells in the 1960 film adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine.
  • Wells Welles Well. Orson Welles was NOT related to H.G. Wells (note the difference in spelling as clue 1) BUT, Welles borrowed from Wells and produced one of the most historic radio broadcasts in the…um…history…of…well, of radio broadcasting. (Regrouping, stand by). If you’re not familiar with Orson Welles, you are definitely under the age of 20, dare we say even 30, which is just sad as he was one of the best writers/directors/actors of the golden age of Hollywood who spooked — nope…FREAKED THE EFF OUT — the entire country of the US of A. Yep, America got severely shooketh in 1938 when his “War of the Worlds” radio drama was broadcast as a series of news bulletins about a small town in New Jersey getting invaded by murderous Martians. People all over the country panicked, calling police, calling newspapers, packing their bags and booking tickets for off this planet thinking we were indeed under attack by visitors from outer space. Oh, yes, young millennial…your great grandparents believed in martians if only for one night. By the way, Orson? Only 23 years old when he created the biggest fake news in the history of fake news.
  • Read This We Dare You. Ok, so Kris knows NOTHING about refractive air index thingy, as Mr. H. G. Wells described in his book The Invisible Man, but here’s an article that you can read if you really want to be a smarty pants. Please send synopsis of Refractive Air Stuff for Dummies when you’re done. Just…comment down below.
  • OH THAT’S HER NAME. Because we needed a token woman in this list, the most lovely Constance Bennett played ghostly wife Marion Kirby to Cary Grant’s (if you don’t know who Cary Grant is…why..who are…wha??) George Kirby in the delightful 1937 movie Topper. Watch it. GO WATCH IT. You. Must. Watch. It. GO! Shooo…And then watch Topper Returns.
  • Wait! Don’t Watch it Just Yet, We’re Almost Done. Jenna Elfman is not an Elfman by blood, but by marriage. She is married to Danny Elfman’s nephew Bodhi. We’re not linking to Bodhi. We’re tired of linking things. Go Google him yourself. We’re going to bed.
  • But Wait THERE’S MORE. For the love of…well we can’t go to bed til we talk about Amy Bruni, of Ghost Hunters and Kindred Spirits fame, who is now the host of her own podcast called Haunted Road. There are 12 episodes in a season, and season 1 just ended, so don’t be like Kris and think your podcast app is broken because there are no more episodes even when all the other podcasts were updating just fine because NO there can’t not be more episodes AND WHEN IS SEASON TWO COMING OUT???!!??.
  • Nope Not Done Yet: Hotel Transylvania. If you want a cute yet hip animated monster fix this Halloween, go watch the Hotel Transylvania movies. The cast is incredible (Adam Sandler, Andy Samburg, Selena Gomez, David Spade, Fran Drescher…the list is vurrrrrry long) the scripts are well written and humorous and the animation is Disney level (Sorry Sony…) The stories are great for the family without being too adorable (but that little ginger baby is actually adorable…just sayin’).
  • Finally, We End With Frankenweenie. For information about Tim Burton’s Disney-period stop motion short go here.We think it answers the questions we had. Frankly-nweenie, right now we don’t even know our own names.

Thank you for visiting our blog! Don’t tell us you made it this far without hearing the episode!? Go on…go listen, you’ll not be disappointed! (We hope).

Check out The Mugly Truth Podcast’s episode “Who Spooks YOU?” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or (almost) anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast!

Don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Please also follow Kym on Tiktok at kymtok.

© The Mugly Truth 2021 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2021. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, Clever as a Fox by Espresso, Inc. through premiumbeats.com.
Outtake music Big Top by Sir Cubfoot, courtesy YouTube Audio Library.
Featured photo of Ghostly Hand by Pedro Figueras on Pexels.com

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Dog Days of August

themuglytruth
Today’s episode “Dog Days of August” is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Hai thar! Remember us? We sure hope so. After some health issues and a death in the family hit all at once, we decided it would be a great idea to step back from the podcast to catch our breath, and ended up taking most of June and all of July off to recharge. We’re back now with our latest episode number 99 (soooooo close to 100!) and lots of ideas for upcoming episodes which will include Shark Week, a Disneyland birthday discussion, and a life hack/recipes episode with our good friend Kim from Tennessee.

In today’s episode, we step into the world of unusual and fun days to celebrate in August. For the record, we’re pretty sure it’s fairly simple to start a “national day” since the lists we found for August (here and here) have some highly questionable topics. Want to celebrate your end-of-July hangover? You’ll have to catch that special day on August 1, 2021. Don’t know what to do with all those zucchinis from your garden? Why don’t you Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch on August 8th? August is also the month to Admit You’re Happy, celebrate clowns (but why though), and be extra glad or extra sad with the mid-year Romance Awareness celebration just in case Valentine’s Day just wasn’t adorable enough.

Kym researched and discussed two particular days she found interesting: National Mahjong Day and National Mustard Day (both on August 1).

Piles and Piles of Lovely Tiles! Ah, elegant, graceful MAHJONG. We had no idea one of our favorite phone game apps was an illegal gambling game in China! Well, it was illegal from the 1940’s through to 1985. Amy Tan wrote about it in her book which was also made into a movie (The Joy Luck Club). And apparently collecting Mahjong tiles is quite the thing to do, which is unsurprising since they are often so exquisitely crafted. According to this website, the most expensive Mahjong set, made of silver, may set you back up to 35,000 Euros/$50,000 USD. You know, just in case you aren’t sure what to do with all that money currently laying about, being used as coasters, and bookmarks and hand-fans, and…uh…other banal stuff we can’t think of words for right now.

Pass That Humble Mustard. If you want to know about all the different kinds of mustards that are in the world, you can research it to your tummy’s delight with this article, A Guide To All the Different Kinds of Mustard. As for the religious significance of the mustard seed pendant such as the one Kris’s grandmother gave her and Kym’s mom used to have, the tiny mustard seed symbolizes faith, God’s Kingdom, humble beginnings, or change for Christians. This lovely blog post by Oh For the Love of Vintage! not only mentions the religious significance, but also has great photos of the different types of jewelry that has been made with a mustard seed encased in that little clear sphere we remember so fondly.

Pomp and Condiments. For an idea of what William Randolph Hearst’s dining room looks like with its dichotomy of ostentatious decor and humble ketchup and mustard bottles, check out kcet.org’s 2012 article by Ken Alpine called, Ketchup, Mustard, and All Things Egalitarian. Alpine deftly describes just how surreal it is to experience the Hearst Castle dining room in person. Pomp, grandeur, French’s mustard, Heinz ketchup…all together like bestest pals forever – D’AW!!! The dining room can be seen on the Grand Rooms Tour – and just to save you the headache of searching…the dining room is called “the Refectory”. Visit https://hearstcastle.org for allllll the details. It’s an 11 out of 10 on the Kym and Kris recommendation scale. Of course, the castle tours are temporarily suspended at the time of this writing, but we’re hoping that it, like the rest of the world, will open up safely once this Covid crap is finally BEATEN!

As for Kris’ topics, she chose to talk about the Perseids Meteor Shower, Vesuvius Day, and Frankenstein Day.

Pre-Dawn Delights. The Perseids Meteor Shower will be most visible in the post-midnight/pre-moonrise hours of August 11, 12, and 13. This article talks specifically about the meteors in 2020 and has some really good detailed information and tips for best viewing.

Silver Lining. Vesuvius Day is 24 August, the anniversary of the deadly eruption that destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae in 79 AD. While talking about Italy and the site of Pompeii, Kris also mentioned Sicily, Mt. Etna, and “Argento” with all the Parthenon-like structure thingies. Oy. To use a much-hated term, let’s unpack this cringey verbal poo and make some necessary clarifications. Argento is rooted in the latin word “argentum” which means silver. Argento is also an Italian surname. Agrigento, on the other hand, is the to-die-for must-see UNESCO World Heritage site near the coast of southern Sicily, where you can visit the Valley of the Temples (you know, with all that Parthenon-y stuff). These things…Kris knows them, but the words. There are so many, and talking is so stumbly sometimes. Anyhoo, Agrigento AND Pompeii should be on any architecture/archeology/history nut’s bucket list.

NERDNOTE: In the movie Gladiator with Russell Crowe (rowr), his character Maximus explains to a curious boy the names of the horses on his breastplate: Argento and Scatto, which translate to silver and trigger. Which are the names of the horses ridden by fictitious American western folk hero The Lone Ranger (you know, “Hi-HOOOO SILVER AWAY!!! ) and real-life cowboy/actor Roy Rogers (Trigger’s hooman). Fascinate your friends at your next Zoom party with THAT dose of smarts (did we use that joke in a previous blog post? We think we did. Pretty sure quarantine is melting our brains).

Yep, Ok, Back to Mt. Vesuvius. So when that stratovolcano blows again, there is a 72-hour evacuation plan in place. 72 hours. Almost 2 million people to move many, many….we’re talking vurrrrrrry much of the miles away from the blast. Whew. HOW? How will that work? We hope we do not see that in our lifetime.

RANTNOTE: Dear 2020, HANDS OFF VESUVIUS! You’ve had your mitts all over the globe: burning down Australia, plague, murder hornets, mysterious Chinese seeds, gassing protesters, dead whales in the middle of the Amazon rain forest, The Great Mask Debate (wear your effing’ masks please for the love of God and country!), playing golf and shopping at Walmart is ok but kids attending school isn’t, a mysterious mass discovered at the center of the earth, a Saharan dust cloud crossing continents and oceans to reach America, Bernie dropped out of the race again, and we lost John Lewis, the last good man in Washington. YOU HAVE HAD YOUR TIME you big jerky 2020 jerk jerk, LEAVE VESUVIUS ALONE.

But Wait There’s More. By the way, America’s very own Yellowstone Caldera is classified as a supervolcano, which doesn’t sound as horrible as a stratovolcano, but will actually destroy much of our country, for sure way more effectively than the torturous disaster we’ve endured at the hands of those dipshits politicians in Washington, DC.

Hey, 2020. Add Yellowstone to your NOOOOOOPE list. Though we’ll not say no over a little shenaniganery in the capitol. That’s not treasonous. NOT (clap emoji) TREASONOUS (clap emoji).

Moving on to Frankenstein Day. Frankenstein Day is 30 August, which is creator Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s birthday (we’re not sure what the other Frankenstein Day is on the last Friday of October…but you won’t hear us argue about celebrating both days). Let’s take a look at some answers to the questions brought up while discussing the August 2018 mentalfloss.com article by Joy Lanzendorfer called, 10 Surprising Facts You Didn’t Know About Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein:

  • The dreary but obviously inspirational summer vacation the Shelley’s took with Lord Byron in Switzerland was during what is known as “The Year Without Summer” and, interestingly enough – Kris had no idea there was such a connection in her stories – that drab weather was due to an explosion of Mt. Tambora in Indonesia. Yes. Again, a volcano eruption is the cause of much monstrous history. First Pompeii, then Frankenstein. Ahem.
  • Mary Shelley’s husband, famed poet Percy Bysshe Shelley died by drowning on 8 July 1822, just shy of his 30th birthday, in a boating accident.
  • And yes, the heart-on-her-desk story was actually true, as detailed in this other mentalfloss.com article. Who knew. It also goes into why experts believe Percy’s heart may have calcified prior to his death.
  • Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s other works, including The Last Man (NOT Last Man Standing as stated in the episode), Mathilda, Valperga and others are available for sale at booksellers such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon for various prices. Kris was able to buy a digital version of The Collected Works of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley for less than $5.00 USD on iBooks (surely Kindle also has a version) which includes Frankenstein, The Last Man, Mathilda, and Mary Shelley’s notes on the complete poetical works of husband Percy Shelley. These stories are also available on Audible. You can download a pdf of Lodore for free here (donations accepted on the website).
  • Here’s some more information on Mary Shelley’s mother (also named Mary). She sounds like she was a kickass woman in her day.

And finally, yes Virginia, Kym and Kris). There is a National Pizza Day. Merry Christmas in February.

Have you ever been to Hearst Castle? Want to go? Do you love or hate mustard? What’s your favorite game? Have you ever seen the Perseids Meteor Shower, visited Pompeii, Yellowstone, or read anything by Mary Shelley? Is there a day in August you’re looking forward to celebrating/observing? Let us know in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you!

Check out The Mugly Truth Podcast’s episode “Dog Days of August” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or (almost) anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

Don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Please also follow Kym on Tiktok at kymtok.

© The Mugly Truth 2020 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2020. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso, Inc. through premiumbeats.com.
Featured photo Universe by Raman deep on Pexels.com

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Feckin’ January!

themuglytruth
Today’s episode “Feckin’ January!” is on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Hey don’t look behind you now. We said don’t look! Sigh. Yeah. It’s January. Shhhhuuushhhh yes it’s stilllll lurking. DON’T! LOOK! It’s just hanging around, lurking, glowering gloomily all chilly and grey, like a glutinous unflickable blob. It’s like January’s not getting the hint. Sometimes you just have to be brutally honest and yell, “SCRAM buddy! You’re not welcome here anymore! Scat…shoo. FLICK OFF!” Ah, yes. January doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon and we’re all sitting over here feeling that post-holiday malaise: a distinct lack of energy and money, coupled with an excess of pastry/cookie/pie/candy-induced weight. Ooof. If you relate, you’ll really feel today’s episode!

We’d like to say thank you to Loving Dublin for their funny and relatable January 2018 article called, “13 Reasons Why January Is The Worst Feckin’ Month Of The Year” especially as they inspired part of our conversation and the title of the episode. Much like Loving Dublin, we talk about the reasons we feel like we’re struggling with January:

  • For people like us, that holiday-high from Halloween through New Year’s is gone, and the crash has left us tired and listless, counting the days til we can feel the excitement and energy of HallowThanksMas on the horizon!
  • But to get there, we have to get through our nemesis season: Summer. For us Autumn babies, it’s almost too much to bear knowing we are soon to face 110 degree days (in Southern California that is). That thought alone makes us curl up in the fetal position.
  • The lovely Christmas decorations are gone (except for those spotty stalwarts about town clinging to their wire-frame lawn deer for just a little while longer). So except for them, hearth and home is back to un-Christmas normalcy. There’s an internal struggle going on as we’re happy to have calm and uncluttered space back, but missing that twinkling, joyful magic which our smiling holiday inflatables, potted poinsettias, colorful lights, and elegantly draped garlands emanate. Sniff.
  • We don’t have to circle the lot for a parking space or queue up behind three other people for that rowing machine at an overpacked gym, but we kind of wish we could, because we need to work out just like almost every other person out there. Boy are we feeling the shock from that hyper-infusion of holiday sweets! And, as we discuss in the episode, the consequences of all that indulging doesn’t just affect the scale. It’s affecting our moods too!
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Of course, not ALL of January is bad. No way! It has plenty of redeeming qualities and we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge them. It’s time for new beginnings and renewal, and rededicating ourselves to a better course of action…so many goals and good intentions. We’ve got some great holidays (Martin Luther King! Abe Lincoln and George Washington’s birthdays! Woohoo!) And keeping Abe and George company, it’s Kym’s birthday month! In fact, TOMORROW 22 January is co-host Kym’s birthday so drop her a line on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (see links below). Happy Birthday Kym!

As for all the rest, here are links to the things we discuss in our episode today:

  • California’s Golden Boy. We LOVE and genuinely miss Huell Howser. A Southern California icon, Howser was a television broadcaster with a linebacker’s physique, a country-charm drawl, and a contagious passion for all things California (most notably in his KCET show, California’s Gold). Here is a clip from the Hearst Castle Neptune’s Pool episode Kym waxed nostalgic about. And if you’re from Orange County, or are vacationing in the area and are interested in learning more about Howser’s legacy, visit the Chapman University Huell Howser Archives in the old town section of Orange, CA.
  • Hearst Castle. If you haven’t been, visiting this historic landmark is a must for anyone coming to (or living in) California. The stories of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst, his “castle,” and the Hearst legacy (including granddaughter Patty’s adventures in the 70’s) are a fascinating bit of California heritage.
  • The Artist’s Way. Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, is a resource every creative person should own and utilize. Don’t think you’re a creative? Oh, dear reader, you are. Trust us, trust Julia. Not everyone may be a stereotypical “artist,” but everyone is creative. YOU ARE a creative being, and this book will help you discover your talents.
  • Get The Funk Out! For tips and tricks on how to get out of the after-festivity funk you may be in, here is the psychcentral.com article we reference, plus this rather dated but still applicable article from dumblittleman.com for good measure.
  • Sugar-Induced Depression. If you’re interested in diving into the rabbit hole about how sugar intake actually affects not just your waistline but your emotional and mental state, check this healthline.com article and its linked sources for an eye-opening read. You may still eat sugar (yep, guilty), but at least you’ll have a better understanding of WHY your body hurts, your brain feels foggy, and sadness seems pervasive.

Thank you for joining us friends! Want to know what all the write up is about? Check out The Mugly Truth Podcast’s episode “Feckin’ January!” on  iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

© The Mugly Truth 2020 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2020. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
Featured Photo of Rainy Day by Kaique Rocha on Pexels.com

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Christmas Food Around The World

themuglytruth
Today’s episode “Christmas Food Around The World” is on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Happy Tuesday! We all survived Friday the 13th and we are diving headlong into the home stretch to Christmas! If you celebrate this amazing holiday, whether by Faith or by simple joy of the season, we’re here today to make it a little sweeter. Maybe a little fatter. A little more savory. Definitely crunchier. Yes, we’re talking Christmas FOOD! Two of our very most favorite topics in the entire world.

This is a short blog post because last night Kris was celebrating her daughter’s 15th birthday, so grab your coffee, settle in and listen to the delectable delights of holiday feasting! But before you go, here’s some answers to our pressing questions and also links to the articles we read from:

  • The first day of winter is…drumroll please…Saturday 21 December 2019 and it ENDS on Thursday 19 March 2020!
  • Kris’ list came from aleteia.org. The Best Christmas Food Traditions From Around The World article by Cerith Gardiner can be found here.
  • For the lovely Polish tradition of Wigilia (Christmas Eve supper) please go here not only for more information but maybe how to pronounce it correctly.
  • For “Apostle Fingers” recipe…it’s a thing…go here.
  • That other word…Weihnachtsplätzchen…can be better explained here.
  • Kym’s list from Shannon Kennedy’s article Christmas Food Traditions Around the World from fluentin3months.com can be found here.
  • We think this is Kym’s “Sven Horn” but don’t quote us on that.
  • GO WATCH THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW MASTERCLASS RIGHT NOW PEOPLE. Or if you don’t want to do what we yell at you about, at least check out this recipe for Paul Hollywood’s St. Lucia Buns. Ooh La La.
  • Because FRUITCAKE, if you’re interested, here’s a story about a family who looks after a 137 (now about 140) year old cake of the fruit.

Thank you for joining us. Check out The Mugly Truth Podcast’s episode “Christmas Food Around The World” on  iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.

And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

© The Mugly Truth 2019 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2019. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com.
Featured Photo of Christmas Dinner by Kaboompics .com on Pexels.com

Episodes

Are You Hungary?

themuglytruth

Kym In Budapest
Kym on vacation in Budapest, Hungary!

 

Happy Tuesday and hello week 2 of 2019! In today’s episode, Are You Hungary?, Kym recaps her adventures in her grandmother’s homeland of Hungary.  Her trip proved a lot may be different across the globe from continent to continent, country to country, city to city, but so much is also the same.

For instance:

  1. Teenagers – Ahh, the lovely demeanor of a teenager. To shake things up, make it a local bit…teen, and you’re a tourist. Can’t you just SMELL the insolence? If they’re sitting in your assigned bus seat, they’re not going to give a solid rat’s ass about how much you paid for it – you silly not-us person – and they will roll their eyes at you and make your life a living hell when you get adulty with them.
  2. Karma – Karma IS a bitch all over the globe, and one of those little brats on the bus found that out sooner than later. Can we get a ginormous “TEE-HEE”??
  3. The Knight Bus – The Knight Bus might be a fictional mode of transportation in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but it’s very possible she got real life inspiration from a certain Pest bus driver.
  4. Traffic – crazy drivers and traffic sucks worldwide. Yup.
  5. The Cat Cafe – there’s one in Budapest and one right here at home in Southern California (Los Angeles to be exact). They’re also in Korea, Austria, Spain, Germany, France and the UK. Did we mention Taiwan? It’s safe to say in ANY location it’s always awesome to have a cuppa with a big ginger feline checking in on you at your table to say, “How are thee hooman peasants? Java good? I allow you to scratch my ear. Behold my majestic tail. And now…I leave. Meow, bitches.”
  6. Snooty Waitstaff – When Kris was a girl, her grandma shared stories about being a waitress and the very worst thing you could do to show your disdain for crappy service was leave a penny as a tip. Kym and fam would have left a certain Viennese server a single, gunky, nasty, old penny had the damned gratuity not already been included in the bill. Big snooty jerk server man. Pffft.
  7. Car accidents – It’s about as NOT FUN to be in a fender bender halfway around the world as it is at home. But it’s really interesting when you don’t know what the hell you’re supposed to do when it occurs and you can’t speak the language to find out what’s going on. No one was hurt, which is the best possible outcome no matter where you are.
  8. New Year’s Fireworks. All. Night. – Yep, it seems New Year’s Eve is celebrated by loud, happy people with lots and lots of fireworks alllllll through the night no matter where you are trying to sleep in the world.
  9. Coffee – coffee adoration is universal, and even though it might be a little more difficult to get coffee “to go” in Budapest, you can find it if you look hard enough.
  10. Love Locks – Paris isn’t the only city where you can seal your love with a lock on a gate near a river. Just sayin’. But are you a key lock person, or a combo lock person? AHA! There’s a difference…as Kym found out.
  11. Late Flights – Ohhhhhhhhh YESSSS! The supreme joy of sweating your butt off as you sprint through an airport trying to reach your connecting flight and make it in the very, very nick of time. So. Much. Fun.

Even though the similarities might have elicited a smile (or a snarl) from our intrepid cohost, they and the unique elements of Budapest and Vienna are now incredible memories and lively stories for her and the family: a vampire tour of Buda Castle, an energetic hike up Gellert Hill, crossing one (or more) of seven bridges spanning the great Danube river, trying local food and drink, writing on walls in a “ruin bar,” dipping into the splendid Széchenyi Thermal Baths, experiencing the poignant and emotional Holocaust memorial Shoes on the Danube Bank…well, go ahead and listen in to hear Kym tell it.

Oh, and sausages in Vienna are definitely NOT NOT NOT the same Vienna sausages we have here in the states. #sansgelatinousgoop #actuallyrealfood #kymsaysyum

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Budapest thermal baths. Photo courtesy of Kym Wagner and Kayla Miles.

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Fitting in beautifully in the country of her ancestors. Photo courtesy of Kym Wagner and Kayla Miles.

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This lovely, king-of-the-scratching-post, gentleman graced Kym and family with a visit at their table at the Budapest Cat Cafe! Photo courtesy of Kym Wagner and Kayla Miles.

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View from atop Gellert Hill. Photo courtesy of Kym Wagner and Kayla Miles.

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Holocaust memorial along the Danube in Budapest.

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Kym likes a guy in uniform. Oh, wait. KRIS likes a guy in uniform. Maybe Kym’s giving this guy Kris’ number?

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Coffee love transcends borders, oceans and snooty Viennese wait-staff.

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The love lock gate of Budapest.

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The sign says it all! Photo courtesy of Kym Wagner and Kayla Miles.

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© The Mugly Truth 2018 and © The Mugly Truth Podcast 2018. All rights reserved.
Intro and outro music, “Clever as a Fox”  by Espresso Music through premiumbeats.com