The Naughty and Nice Holiday Harp Videos - 2021

 

Every year since 2013, I’ve made a holiday harp video for my YouTube channel, Faery Halo.  This year I posted two videos and a third on my Facebook page for my Likers to appreciate.  Last year, I did a COVID-19 themed parody, and I thought it would be my only chance to do so.  However this pandemic has lasted long enough to make a second COVID Christmas Carol.  Although it is sad that it’s going on for this long, I’m attempting to lighten the mood with some harped humor.  Last year the parody was of Silence Night, and this year it’s Jingle Bells.

Below is the COVID Christmas Carol for 2021.  This is the “Nice List” video.  My harp music is the audio from my 2016 holiday video, and then I added a track for my vocals.  I selected the coolest masks I could find for the refrain, and I took racial diversity into account. I made the viral snow animation at the end.

 

The next video is for the Naughty List.  Krampus is the Christmas monster who picks up badly behaved children and carries them in a sack, returning to his home where he either consumes them or makes them do his housework?  He’s known to whip the naughty kids too. 

In 2018, I spontaneously improvised a song for Krampus and recorded it.  I had filtered the first video in black and white for a nice, dramatic effect, otherwise it would have just been my living room and cheery trimmed tree in the background.  I took the same audio from that video and made a slideshow of fun Krampus images.  The progression of shaded Krampus pictures were my edits.  The last three slides are memes I made, which you can find on my Facebook page, Caro Memes.  The third video is also a Krampus video that I plan to post next year.  You can find it on my harp page also on Facebook, Faery Halo.

Here is the “Naughty List” video.

COVID-19 Christmas Carol

 

I wrote a parody song set to one of my Christmas recordings from my album, Harp Holly.  I don't just write, I also play harp.  The vocals are also me, and it was a bit rushed or else I would have done better.  I also included my photography and memes from one of my Facebook pages.  In some of the photos, I took a piece of one photo and enlarged it.  For example, the poinsettias are from a garland wrapped around a bannister in another photo not shown.  The puzzle-like picture is a collage of one ornament from one of the beginning photos.

If you like my harp playing, feel free to buy the album here: Harp Holly

For more harp videos, check out my channel:  Faery Halo - YouTube

This is my harp page on Facebook: Faery Halo

If you like the memes, there are more here on my page: Caro Memes

 

Saving Halloween 2020

 

Halloween is hard this year.  Children won’t be trick-or-treating.  Costume parties will have to wait.  Haunted houses will be closed.  Haunted hayrides will have empty carts.  Past nightfall, our neighborhoods become ghost towns.  The only thing haunting the day is the dread of the virus ruining it all.  Okay, enough complaining.  I have some ideas I wish to share.

To enliven the dead end this pandemic has cornered the holiday into, here are some activities to make the most of Halloween 2020.

1.  Make your home into a haunted house.

2.  Tell ghost stories in a circle.  Pass the flashlight.

3.  Bake Halloween themed sweets.

4.  Watch Horror flicks and Halloween movies, of course!

5.  Have a Zoom meeting party between friends.

6.  Do a photo shoot for your costumes, and share the photos with friends and family.

7.  Move the furniture, and turn your living room into a dance club; play Halloween themed music.

8.  Have a treasure hunt in your home.  Hide a present or treat, and leave clues around the house.

9.  Play a spooky board game or card game, if available.

10.  Read Edgar Allan Poe or Howard Phillips Lovecraft stories.  If you have kids or you’re young at heart, read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

11.  Carve Jack-o-Lanterns anyway!

12.  Have your children do some theater.  They could act out their costume’s character, or be the opposite of their costume for comic effect.

13.  Tell fortunes (if your beliefs permit).

14.  Make spooky jewelry.

15.  Have a scavenger hunt, and the items go into a cauldron.  The designated witch, pulls out an item, and sends the child on a mission based on the item’s description.  I don’t know, just go with it from there.

16.  Use the same cauldron or a hat, and fill with papers with words written on them.  Pick one paper, and sketch whatever it is.  Have your friends guess the object.  This is kind of like Pictionary.

17.  Bob for apples.  (Make sure no one has COVID-19, okay?)

18.  Play Limbo.  You can use a broom or a hockey stick as the bar.

19.  Play other random party games from your childhood, like musical chairs, hot potato, leap frog, pin the tail on the donkey (or pin the facial features on the pumpkin), duck-duck-goose (or call it “Suck, suck, your blood!”), telephone/whisper around the lane, hotter-colder, etc.

20.  Pull out the Christmas tree, except make it into a Halloween tree.  Make Halloweeny ornaments.

21.  Have your kids trick-or-treat in the house.  Have them dress up and knock on the bedroom doors and get candy.***

22.  Write Halloween Haikus, or other Halloween poetry.

23.  Have your children write witches spells and potions; play make believe with a cauldron.  (Don’t drink the potions unless it’s just pink lemonade!)  Have your witch children turn the family into animals and they can do mimicry.  When they turn Daddy into a frog, he can hop around, saying “ribbit!”  Mommy can kiss him and turn him back into a prince.

24.  If you know how to do stage magic, show off some tricks.

25.  Make goblins out of playdough or clay.

26.  Make a Halloween music playlist.

27.  Make a horror movie drinking game. (If you choose an alcoholic beverage, please drink responsibly.)

28.  Study the history of Halloween.

29.  Make a pretend graveyard in your backyard.  On paper epitaphs, scramble the names of famous dead people or write clues so family members can guess the names.

30.  Make carmel apples.

31.  Bask in the full moon light.  Howl like werewolves.  Be thankful you’re still alive. 

***When I was little kid, I was bored one day and decided to play Halloween, and it was nowhere near that time of year.  I convinced my big brother that it was a good idea.  We dressed up in different costumes, and went up the basement stairs to knock on the door, saying “Trick-or-Treat!”  Our mother at first had no candy, but with enough persistent trick-or-treating, she gave us sticks of spearmint gum.  It was better than nothing.

Benefits of Solitude

During this pandemic, here are some points to remember while you are staying at home.

Solitude is a special type of freedom.

Benefits of Solitude:
1. You can do anything without people staring or making comments.
2. You can read a book in silence.
3. You can watch a movie without hearing unsolicited opinions.
4. You can use your phone without interruption or being called a phone zombie, and you’re not in anyone’s way.
5. You can surf the internet without anyone wondering what you’re looking at.
6. You can work on a novel without being approached or harassed.
7. You can paint or do any art project without interruption or asked what you’re doing.
8. You can shoot a video without someone video-bombing it.
9. You can wear any outfit; no explanation necessary.
10. You can meditate.
11. You can master a musical instrument.
12. No one is blocking your path or hemming you in.
13. No one’s plans can get in the way of your creative plans, because those people aren’t there.
14. You can practice any religion.
15. You can watch Carebears, without someone duffbag questioning your maturity.
16. You can listen to unpopular music and not deal with people whining about it whilst ignoring real world problems.
17. You can get up to use the bathroom without someone switching the TV channel.
18. You can daydream without someone waving their hand in front of your face.
19. You can write poetry or anything without someone looking over your shoulder.
20. There’s no self-welcoming idiot approaching you with, “You look lonely,” and “No one wants to be alone! Let me make you feel welcomed.”

Originally a FB post from: February 17, 2019

Edited: August 13, 2020

Forbes Failed in Predicting the Future

Back in the mini-boss year of 2016, I read a short article by Forbes regarding the best and worst Masters degrees.  I flipped through the tedious 21-webpages ranking each major out of curiosity.  I felt insulted that my concentration was the worst. 

I know it’s been four years, but I can not help looking back at a Forbes article that foretold my Masters Degree would be the downfall of my career.  As time goes on, I laugh at how inaccurate it was. 

Now in 2020 with the viral empire of this global pandemic, I am completely regretless in my choice of pursuing a career in Criminal Justice.  I run criminal background checks from the comforts of my home, and I earn enough money to pay the bills without roommates or a husband.  With over 40 million Americans left unemployed, I realize how privileged I am to have a job in the midst of the economic devastation.  I utilize my privilege to help millions of Americans.  Earning my Masters in Criminal Justice was one of the wisest life decisions I have ever made.

The short article by Kathryn Dill and the ranking were based on data obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Payscale, a compensation software company.  Methods of data gathering were not mentioned.  There is mention of data indicating job satisfaction, stress, and meaningful work, but how is that measured?  Moreover, only the monetary values were displayed per rank.  While the data may be from reasonable sources, financial glory is not the only motive when selecting a career path.

My role in this pandemic is pre-screening job applicants who hope to become pharmacy and healthcare workers, as well as factory employees who produce ventilators.  I belong to a team of professionals who empower HR managers to hire the best people in a time of crisis.  If that isn’t meaningful work, Forbes, then what is?

Even before I landed this stellar job, I still enjoyed my previous position as security officer regardless of pay.  I investigated internal theft, employee drug use, and other illegal activities on the expansive premises of wind turbine factory and warehouse.  I was proud to guard the ~70 acre property that was worth roughly $60 million at the time.  Situated in an industrial park, I saw sunsets without an interrupting skyline.  Patrols were like long walks.  I appreciated different colors of dragonflies during exterior patrols on an EZ-Go kart.  The stressful aspects of my job made it more adventurous.  I worked through Hurricane Sandy, dealt with trespassers, and encountered growling wildlife.  These experiences add vigor to my career history.  Despite moving on, I still miss my team and colleagues.  I worked with interesting people, and my boss was a calculus teacher in his primary job.

Overall, I am happy with my career and I still do research pertaining to my Masters degree concentration, post-graduation.  I publish research projects on criminological topics in my crime blog, free for the public to read.  It is possible that I am an outlier in the statistics from BLS, but I would never trade in my Masters Degree in Criminal Justice for anything else.

*     *     *

If you are curious about the rankings but do not want to click through 21 pages of spam, here are the results from the Forbes article.  If your major is one of the worst, don’t feel discouraged.  They were wrong about me.

Best:
10. Software Engineering
9. Occupational Therapy (OT)
8. Physician Assistant Studies
7. Computer Science (CS)
6. Management Information Systems (MIS) (MBA)
5. Physical Therapy
4. Communication Sciences and Disorders
3. Speech-Language Pathology
2. Statistics
1. Biostatistics

Worst:
10. Architecture
9. Theology
8. Elementary Education
7. Taxation
6. Art History
5. Journalism
4. Library Science
3. Construction Management
2. Sports Management
1. Criminal Justice

Dill, K (2016).  The 10 Best and Worst Masters’ Degrees For Jobs Right Now.  Forbes.com.  Retrieved from:  https://www3.forbes.com/leadership/the-10-best-and-worst-masters-degrees-for-jobs-right-now/?utm_campaign=Best-And-Worst-Masters-Degrees-For-Jobs-mbl&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=referral&fbclid=IwAR38f565eDndmXHGzl57o2XBAr8KNOw3UsHbekXIAc6pPSLziPs5pCUClUk