In My Footsteps: A Gen-X Nostalgia Podcast

Episode 124: Most Annoying Christmas Songs Ever, Nighttime Photo (Mis)Adventures, Kraft Holiday Recipes Show, Colonel Sanders(12-13-2023)

• Christopher Setterlund • Season 1 • Episode 124

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Annoying Christmas Songs? A Kraft cooking infomercial disguised as a children's Christmas movie? Drunk nighttime photography? It's a fever dream masquerading as a winter wonderland on Episode 124 of the podcast.
We begin with a new Dedication to the Craft segment dealing with nighttime photography. There will be some helpful tips on getting the most out of shooting after dark. There will also be some hilarious and head-scratching stories of previous night photo shoots for your entertainment.
Christmas music can add a warm, fuzzy feeling to anyone's holiday season. This week's Top 5 will not be featuring those songs. The return of Me v. AI Top 5 showcases the most annoying Christmas songs ever released. Yes, even ChatGPT had choices for annoying music.
Kids have their favorite holiday specials to watch each year. Many of them debuted in years long gone by.  One Christmas movie that might have slipped through the cracks of 80s kids' minds comes back to the forefront as we go way Back In the Day. The Christmas Toy, created by Jim Henson Studios, debuted in 1986. However, the movie itself is not the most interesting part. No, that goes to the fact that Kraft sponsored the entire show. This meant that in place of commercials, there were nonstop Kraft Holiday Recipes to be shared!
There is also a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule looking back at the death and legacy of Col. Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
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Speaker 00:

Hello, world, and welcome to the In My Footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund, coming to you from the vacation destination known as Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and this is episode 124. We are knee-deep in the holiday season, coming up on the start of winter, and I've got a fun show this week to keep you warm with laughter. It's going to start off with a brand new Dedication to the Craft photography segment as I share some of my greatest nighttime photo adventures and a little bit about what to do if you want to take some good nighttime photos. We're going to go way, way back in the day and celebrate the holiday season with something that sounds like it's out of a fever dream, but it's totally real. The 1980s movie, The Christmas Toy. That is not the fever dream. The fever dream part is that it was sponsored by Kraft and ends up being essentially an hour and a half long infomercial about Kraft and their products. There's going to be a brand new top five. It's the return of me versus AI. This is part of the As we look at the most annoying Christmas songs ever released, I've got my top five. ChatGPT has theirs. We'll see who you think wins. And there'll be a brand new This Week in History and Time Capsule centered around the death of Colonel Sanders from Kentucky Fried Chicken. All coming up right now on episode 124 of the In My Footsteps podcast. So I'll ask again, as I have the past few weeks, have you gotten all your holiday shopping done? I'm not going to lie. I haven't had much in the way of inspiration for things to buy for family and friends. For me, things like money, gift cards, scratch tickets, those are last resorts when I don't have anything more creative to get people. Don't get me wrong. All those things are great, but I try my best to get things for people that show that I put in a little more effort. As you heard through my read-through, there is no road trip segment this week. I mentioned last week that I had done a whole bunch of polls on social media to gauge what the audience likes and doesn't like. And road trip segments never got any votes as far as what people really enjoyed. I don't think people didn't enjoy them, but I think they enjoyed other stuff more. So I'm going to try to lean more into that stuff. Don't worry, every now and then the road trip will pop up. And I might try to find other segments to debut as I'm always trying to keep the podcast evolving. I have to make sure to thank all of you who listen on whatever platform there is. But recently I got my Spotify wrapped for podcasters and it's got a whole lot of great info to learn more about my audience. And I'm so grateful for these numbers. My total number of listeners went up 246% year over year in 2023. The number of streams started by people went up 292%. And my number of total followers overall went up 116%. The number one episode, according to Spotify, was episode 100, which was my supersized Lady of the Dunes episode. That's an easy one to see why that got shared a lot. They don't do that really for any other podcast platform, so I'll just give a general thank you to everyone who's been listening. If you want to become a subscriber on Patreon, you can definitely do that. It's great for the holidays. Access to bonus episodes of the podcast, digital art, probably podcast merch like bumper stickers. Special shout out to my Patreons, Laurie, Leo, and Mary Lou. The third... Bonus episode for subscribers on Patreon is up right now. So go check it out. It's kind of a fever dream as all of these bonus ones are. For those of you listening, when the podcast goes live on December 13th, tonight at 6 p.m., I'll be at the South Yarmouth Library. And tomorrow night, December 14th at 5 p.m., I'll be at the Eldridge Library in Chatham. Both nights, speaking about my Cape Cod travel guide, the revised version, and my Cape Cod photography book. So come on out. Or you can check out my website, ChristopherSatterlund.com or Amazon.com to check any of my nine books out. They're great for holiday gifts. The days are going to keep getting shorter, at least for a little while. The winter solstice is coming December 21st. For all you lovers of photography or just being outside, even when it's cold, That gives you a lot of nighttime to do some nighttime photography shooting. So we're going to kick off episode 124 of the podcast with the newest Dedication to the Craft segment, just entitled Nighttime Photo Adventures. Nighttime photography can be one of the most rewarding and also one of the most frustrating things that photographers can do. For every one photo that looks amazing, You've got dozens or more that are just complete garbage. Luckily, thus far, this is one area of photography that smartphones hasn't really capitalized on. Because in reality, a lot of people with smartphones can take great photos because the cameras keep evolving. I don't know how it is with the newest of the new smartphones that are out now, but I know with mine that's a couple of years old, nighttime photography, it's okay. but nowhere near as good as you can do with an actual real DSLR camera. Since this is a new dedication to the craft segment, I'm going to be giving some basic information along with some really funny stories about my nighttime photography adventures. Those who have no idea, DSLR or SLR for cameras, it's digital single lens reflex camera or single lens reflex camera. I always equate DSLR with real camera, quote unquote, not a smartphone. SLR cameras can cost you anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, depending on what you're looking for. Naturally, if you're a hobbyist or a hack like me, you get one that's lower on the cost scale and then use your intangibles as far as framing of photos and having the ability to find places that others don't go. to kind of make up for the lack of expensive equipment. I mean, I wish I had the kind of equipment that my buddy Steve has, but I make do with what I have. My favorite time of year for nighttime photography is the winter, I guess selfishly because sunset is so early. To get real, true, good nighttime photography, you've got to go out typically about an hour after sunset to start getting good shots. So if it's June or July, you're looking at starting to go out to take night photos at 9.30 or 10 o'clock. So the irony is I think most of these stories I'm going to share are in wintertime. So let me start sharing the laughter and embarrassment. And I'll kind of give you photo tips based around my stories to kind of help you not do the same things I did. The A number one thing you need when taking night photos is a tripod. If you don't have a tripod, you might as well not even go out, not even bother. Because everything that has to do with night photography is long exposure, leaving your shutter open for several seconds or much longer. So if you're holding a camera with the shutter open, all you have to do is have a breeze touch you and it's going to make the picture blurry and then it's ruined. Me being stubborn or perhaps the FOMO of seeing other people's photos, I had times that I would go out night shooting without a tripod. This was before I had a really good camera. I had point and shoot digitals like the Fuji FinePix or even GE made a camera. That was one I had. Those cameras and most SLR cameras have a maximum shutter time of 30 seconds. It'll stay open. Unless you get one that has, I believe it's bulb mode, and the shutter will just stay open, so you get a remote shutter. My buddy Steve got me one. Then you press and hold it, and the thing will stay open for hours if you need. That's how you see people get the Milky Way photos and such. They leave the shutter open for several minutes. So before I had a tripod... I would go out, sometimes with people, sometimes by myself, to do some night shooting. And I would have to find things to balance the camera on, to sit it on, and then do the timer and the long exposure. So you hit the countdown timer, so it's two seconds, three seconds. Then the shutter stays open for however long. And then you wait and hope that it's good. Man, I tell you, out of all those trips I did... night shooting without a tripod, I might have had two or three photos out of hundreds that were any good. So get yourself a tripod. They're not that expensive. I just looked. Good ones, they're anywhere from $15 to $50, depending on what you want to spend. A great advantage of night photography is being able to have light play tricks with the camera at times. One time I went with my buddy Steve to Nobska Lighthouse in Falmouth on Cape Cod. A beautiful, perfect night photography spot in the winter. Nobody's there. The first time we went, I didn't have a tripod, so all my photos were crap. But Steve had his, and there was one photo he took, long exposure with the lighthouse, and while the shutter was open, two joggers came running by with their headlamps on. So there's a photo of Nobska Lighthouse with these two blue lightning bolts going through the shot. It's wild. Sometimes you get things like cars driving through your shot. I have a few photos of Chatham Lighthouse with the headlight trails going through it. And of course, you can do it intentionally. You see people do that, either running through the photo, holding a flashlight to create patterns. People do the flaming steel wool where they light it on fire and spin it around and it's crazy looking. Night photography leads a lot of chances to be creative. I have a great photo from Nobska with my buddy Steve. He was in front of me taking a picture of the lighthouse. And I had the shutter open for probably 60 seconds. And for the first 30 seconds, he's in front of me. And then for the other 30, he's left. So the photo, it looks like a ghost standing in between me and the lighthouse. So if I wanted to scam people, I could say it was a picture of a ghost at Nobska. After getting a tripod, the next most important thing for nighttime photography is to dress appropriately and have patience. Because a lot of night photography is standing around. So if it's after dark in December, January, and it's 20 degrees, and you're waiting 20, 30 seconds for your shutter to open and praying the photo is clear and not blurry because the breeze shook your camera... You need to be dressed appropriately. Also bring a flashlight, not just to see where you're going, but to shine on something to get the camera to focus. I can only speak from my experiences, but I've had to have a flashlight shining on something if it's complete darkness. So my camera will then focus on it and then I can hit the shutter button. Most times when you're out shooting at night, you're typically somewhere where there is something lit up that you can focus on, but bring a flashlight anyway. A big thing to remember when it comes to night photography is if you're out after dark, nocturnal animals will be around. Way back in episode 76 of the podcast, I did a dedication to the craft about coyote adventures and specifically told a story about... taking photos at night and at sunset of Highland Lighthouse in Truro, and two encounters with groups of coyotes. So I won't rehash that. You can go check that episode out. However, it's important to remember there could be creatures in the dark that you don't see. Of course, I have examples. My buddy Steve and I, who's always the photo travel tag team partner, so you'll hear his name a lot, We went to shoot this place called the Forefathers Monument in Plymouth. And shooting that after dark, it's amazing to get this 80-foot-tall granite statue with the stars behind it. In fact, I think one of my photos I took from this trip ended up being in their guidebook in 2021, I think. There's a big open field in front and around this statue, but there's also steps directly in front of it with bushes on either side. So, of course, instead of going to the wide open field, I decided to walk up the steps. And I must have gotten too close to a family of sleeping birds in the bush because they came flying out at me. So it goes from perfectly silent to these birds squawking and flying at me. I scream like I just got jumped by five people. And so Steve's yelling, what happened? What happened? And I said, birds flew at me. I think he just literally was like, oh my God. Yeah, all right. Sometimes the nocturnal animals make your photos one in a million. One time we were shooting at the harbor in Duxbury where one of the piers had this amazing Christmas tree on it. So it looked even better at night. I set up my camera on my tripod focusing across the water on this tree. I clicked the shutter and stood there letting it absorb all the light. And during the photo... A great blue heron landed on the railing in front of my camera. So that first photo looks like a snow squall entering the picture. And it sat there long enough for me to get another photo of it. Crystal clear. Oh, it was so good. It's one of the best photos I ever took. Of course, as soon as the shutter clicked to let me know the photo was done, the heron heard it, looked at me, and took off. Of course, when it comes to night shooting and animal encounters... Sometimes you're on the periphery of what's going on. I love going and shooting the canal bridges, the Cape Cod Canal. There are three bridges that go across it, the Sagamore, the Bourne, and the Railroad Bridge. I typically go up there once or twice a year in the winter, shoot the same photos repeatedly, but I still love them. At the eastern end of the Cape Cod Canal, there's a power plant on the Cape side, and across from it on the mainland side is Scusset Beach. which is a really large area. You can camp there, but it's also crawling with critters. So I'm out there a couple years ago on the Cape side, shooting towards the Sagamore Bridge with the canal power plant on the left. When I hear across from me at Scusset Beach, the sound that I can only describe as an animal being caught and then eaten, it was so bad and ugh. But there's literally nothing I could do. I can't yell across at the coyote or whatever it was and say, you leave that rabbit alone. So I had to just listen to this animal getting killed and eaten, echoing off of the water. Sometimes the animal encounters you bring on yourself. One of my nighttime photo stories and stories in general where I look back and say, what the hell was I doing was when I... Borrowed my buddy Steve's tripod and took my old, less reputable camera. This was probably 10 years ago. And I walked after dark all the way out to Stage Harbor Lighthouse in Chatham. It's at Harding's Beach, so it's like a mile walk. And yes, there are coyotes out there. But I decided it would be fun to take all this out to shoot Stage Harbor Light. but also bring some nips of vodka with me so I could drink and get a good buzz on before going to take photos at night in the dark surrounded by coyotes. Oh, but wait, it gets better. So I'm out there at Stage Harbor Light taking a few photos. I don't know how they're coming out because my brain is all buzzed. I look behind me and I see this kind of tower set up with a ladder that So I'm thinking, oh, it's a weather station. I could climb up there with the tripod and get these cool elevated photos of the lighthouse with the dunes behind it. So I'm hauling my camera and the tripod going up the ladder with a vodka buzz going through me. And I start hearing noises above my head. Luckily, it was nearly a full moon, so it was a little bit brighter. But I get almost to the top of this weather station. And only then do I see things starting to move because what I was climbing up to was an osprey nest and they were sleeping. One of the osprey squawks, I took one step down the ladder and then jumped because it was sand. So at worst, I was going to get sandy. I look up and in the moonlight, there's one black object circling around. That ended my shoot. Like I said, I have no idea what the point was of that photo trip. Stage Harbor Light is all well and good, and I've gone out there completely sober. But why did I have to have a few shots of alcohol to bring me out there? So for night photography, I would highly recommend a good DSLR camera, a tripod, dress warmly, be patient, play it safe rather than taking risks like me with the Osprey. But if you insist on going out there with your phone, always keep tabs on where it is. So we'll end this segment with this story that is mind-numbingly stupid. Maybe not as bad as the Osprey one, but up there. I went after dark once to shoot a video of the railroad bridge across the Cape Cod Canal being down with a train going across it. So it's a video, a long video, of the bridge coming down and a train going across and the bridge going back up. It's not that bright, but it's still cool because you don't get to see that often. I think it's twice a day that bridge goes up and down. So I shot this probably six-minute video with my iPhone. And when it was done, I got up out of the rocks down by the edge of the canal and climbed back up to the bike trail and walked back to the parking lot where my car was. Unlocked my car, got in, went to grab my phone to see how the video came out. And that's when I realized I didn't have my phone. No, I wasn't drunk and imagining I had my phone. I had actually shot the video But when I got up to get out of the rocks, my phone fell out of my coat and into the rocks. I had to grab a flashlight and walk back in the dark, probably a quarter mile, hoping that I remembered where I went down into the rocks to sit and get the view for the video. And then if I found the right spot, I had to reach around inside the rocks and hope I could find my phone and not syringes and broken glass. The story has a happy ending. I did find my phone, but good lord, I needed to get a chain on that thing like the cheesy wallets. But that wraps up Dedication to the Craft, Nighttime Photo Adventures, with hopefully a little bit of helpful information too. Because I wanted to give you some laughs, but I also wanted to give you something useful you could take with you. And it's that time of year. I've got some nighttime photo shoots planned. So maybe there'll be another follow-up segment with more foolishness coming up in the near future. This week in history, we're going back 43 years to December the 16th, 1980 and the death of Harland Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. For those who are younger than 40, you may not have many memories of Colonel Sanders with Kentucky Fried Chicken. except for the fact that his face was kind of the mascot of the company for many, many years after his death. I'm old enough that I can remember when I was really little, Colonel Sanders being in actual Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials. Granted, these had been filmed when he was alive, and I was probably five, six years old, and they were still playing some of them. But when you think about fast food mascots... Or logos, etc. You think of Ronald McDonald first. Maybe Wendy from Wendy's. Maybe the Burger King or Jack from Jack in the Box. But Colonel Sanders, his face became iconic in the world of pop culture, in the world of fast food. One of the big reasons why I like Colonel Sanders and his story is that his greatest success came much later in life. In 1930, when Colonel Sanders was 40 years old, he began working at a service station owned by Shell in North Corbin, Kentucky. It was here that he started serving his famous chicken, along with other items. And this first restaurant that was part of this service station is where KFC was born. In 1935, Harlan Sanders was commissioned a real colonel by Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon. And in 1939, the famed Duncan Hines food critic visited the restaurant Sanders Court and Cafe and gave it a hugely positive review, including writing about the fried chicken. By the summer of 1940, when Colonel Sanders was 50 years old already, he had finally perfected his secret recipe for seasoning and cooking his fried chicken. In 1952, when Colonel Sanders was 62 years old, he first franchised his Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe to a man named Pete Harmon in South Salt Lake City, Utah. That is the location of the very first ever Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. From there, the rest is history. Colonel Sanders kept franchising his chicken recipe... including traveling around the U.S. looking for these suitable places to open new franchises of KFC. He was very strict on how the restaurants were to be run. The chicken had to be made exactly the way his recipe said, which was great for the consistency of the food. By 1964, KFC had more than 600 locations. Colonel Sanders by this point was 73 years old. And he ended up selling the company in 1964 for $2 million, or just over $19.8 million when adjusted for inflation to 2023. So if you're thinking that Colonel Sanders didn't make as much money as he should have off of his KFC, think about it this way. As of 2022, Kentucky Fried Chicken, the chain, is valued at $6.1 billion. Sanders remained the face of the company throughout the rest of his life, appearing in so many commercials, making pop-in visits to KFC restaurants to make sure they were doing the chicken the way that he had intended. And just when you think Colonel Sanders' legacy couldn't be any greater, he had a hand in starting the Wendy's franchise as well. This is because in the 1950s, he met Dave Thomas, who was head cook at a Hobby House restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. But his dream was to own his own restaurant, and Colonel Sanders became one of his biggest supporters and a mentor. Thomas ended up running four different KFC restaurants, making them hugely profitable, and then selling them and using that money to start Wendy's in 1969. A hugely important figure in the history of fast food in 20th century pop culture, Colonel Harlan Sanders passed away 43 years ago this week in history. And now it's time for a brand new time capsule. We're going to stick to the same date, December 16th, 1980. Colonel Sanders has passed away at the age of 90. What was going on in the world of pop culture on that day? The number one song was Lady by Kenny Rogers. It's kind of ironic because Kenny Rogers had his own string of chicken restaurants. This song was written by Lionel Richie originally. It was number one for six weeks. And this version was released on Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits album. And this was the first of two Billboard Hot 100 number one songs for Kenny Rogers, with the other one being a duet with Dolly Parton, Islands in the Stream, in 1983. The number one movie was 9 to 5, and you could get into the theater with a ticket costing $2.69. Speaking of Dolly Parton, this is a comedy that starred Dolly Parton Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Dabney Coleman. As three female secretaries get revenge on their sexist boss by kidnapping him and then running the business themselves. It was a massive hit, making more than $103 million on a budget of $10 million, and it's currently 69% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. This movie made Dolly Parton a mainstream star and the soundtrack, including her song 9 to 5, which went number one for two weeks. The number one TV show was Dallas. This is the nighttime soap opera drama about the Ewing family and Ewing oil and cattle ranching and all that drama. The original series ran for 14 seasons from 1978 to 1991, 357 total episodes. There was a successful spinoff, Knott's Landing, and even a revival in 2012 that lasted for three more seasons and 40 episodes. And if you were around back then, December 16th, 1980... You've just heard the sad news that Colonel Sanders has passed away. You're feeling nostalgic. You want to take a visit to KFC. Well, if you go, they're running a very special promotion. The KFC liver and onions special for $1.96. What do you get in that? A half pint of chicken livers or gizzards with onion rings, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a hot buttered roll. I found this ad. I don't know if it was at all the KFCs around the country. And I don't know who of you out there, if you like chicken livers or gizzards fried. I've heard some people say it's good. Me, I'll pass. I'll just get the two-piece meal. And of course, mashed with gravy. That'll wrap up another time capsule. Another This Week in History. Now let's get into the Christmas spirit. Or the Grinchy Christmas Spirit with Part 2 of Me vs. AI Top 5 as we look at the most annoying Christmas songs ever released right now. Oh, it's time to get into the Christmas spirit as only ChatGPT-AI can bring you Part 2 of Me vs. AI Top 5 as we look at the most annoying Christmas songs ever written. There was such a positive response to the first Me vs. AI featuring 1980s pro wrestlers and the video segment that I put up on YouTube where I actually put the AI voice, which ended up sounding suspiciously like the old Banzai Buddy. That's what I think I'm going to do. For this segment, I will read ChatGPT's manifesto of their most hated Christmas songs, but I'll do it in my voice. and then I'll release a segment on YouTube where I'll put the actual AI voice with it. As we did last time, I will read my top five first, and then I will go through ChatGPT's list. There will be no honorable mentions, because with 10 listings in a top five, that's enough. So I apologize in advance if any of these songs you enjoy, but they just annoy the hell out of me. So let's dive in, starting with number one. All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Carey. I think my annoyance with this song comes mostly from the fact that it is played over and over again throughout the season. And the song came out in 1994, so I've been hearing it dozens and dozens of times every holiday season for almost 30 years. Of all of the ones on my top five, this might be the one that's the most divisive, where I think more of you will have enjoyed this. Because it is festive and cheery, But if you hear it millions of times, eventually it's like, all right, enough. And I'll be honest, I'm not the biggest Mariah Carey fan. I mean, she's all right, but it's not my cup of tea. So couple that with the fact that her Christmas song is on 24-7 and she's made this list. Number two is Dominic the Donkey by Lou Monte. This song is a classic one released in 1960. about a donkey named Dominic that helps Santa bring presents that were made in Brooklyn over to Italy. I think for me the reason this is so annoying is the earworm chorus with the donkey hee-hawing. I'd guess if you were growing up in the 60s, maybe this song was kind of kitschy and cool and fun. But I first heard it in the late 1980s, and I didn't find it cute or interesting. It was just that donkey hee-hawing. That's all I could focus on. And don't worry, there's another earworm-type song later in my top five. Number three is Happy Christmas by Maroon 5. Don't remake John Lennon's songs. The end. No, that's not all. But it is the main thing. I understand the desire to remake classic songs, whether Christmas songs or just songs in general. But there are some songs that should be untouchable, whether because they capture a certain snapshot in time, or because they're by certain artists whose music can't be improved upon, so it should be left alone. I think this song falls into both of those categories. Maroon 5's a great band. They've got tons of great songs. But John Lennon's Happy Christmas During the Vietnam War... They're singing War Is Over. It means more than with Maroon 5 doing it in 2005. Plus, I don't think Adam Levine's voice, that really high falsetto, captures the same magic as Lennon's voice. Maybe I'm just partial to him. We go from well-meaning cover songs to a song I can't believe is real. Number four, Santa Claus Has Got the AIDS This Year by Tiny Tim. Where do I even start with this? Tiny Tim, for those who don't know, was this novelty type singer with a ukulele and this stringy black hair. And you want to talk about a high pitched falsetto. He makes Adam Levine look like Barry White. His big hit song was Tiptoe Through the Tulips, which went as high as number 17 on the charts in 1968. His song, Santa Claus Has Got the AIDS This Year, is from 1980. It's a very dark song, although Santa, who has AIDS, quote unquote, claims that he's just a little sick and he'll be back next year. But this was when the AIDS epidemic was starting out, and there was no hope, seemingly no hope, for anyone who caught it. This is a song... I might say check out once just so you can shake your head like I did when I listened to it for this segment and then never listen to it again. And I apologize if you do go and listen to it. And finally, for me, on my top five most annoying Christmas songs ever is All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth by Spike Jonze. I said earworms right before Christmas. This one where the kid's singing and he says teeth and it whistles repeatedly. That whistling noise. Oh, it's so bad. It was originally written in 1944 by Donald Yetter Gardner, who was a teacher and he asked his students what they wanted for Christmas. And he noticed that almost all of them had at least one of their front teeth missing. So the song kind of wrote itself. The version recorded by Spike Jonze... And his City Slickers in 1947 had the lead singer, George Rock. I don't know which one would be the most famous version of this song. The Chipmunks did it. But this was one, every time I heard it with that whistling when they would say teeth, made this a song I never wanted to hear. Oh, but now it's time for ChatGPT's Top 5. You'll be amazed to know that when I asked AI what were the most annoying Christmas songs ever... they actually gave them to me. They didn't say, we don't have opinions on what's annoying, so I'm going to read exactly what they sent to me, and it'll be in an AI voice on the video segment I do, but not here. So take it away, chat GPT. Opinions about Christmas songs can vary widely, and what one person finds obnoxious, another might enjoy. However, some songs have gained notoriety for being divisive or perceived as overplayed. Keep in mind that opinions on what is obnoxious can be subjective and people's tastes differ. Here are five Christmas songs that some individuals have found to be divisive or obnoxious. 1. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer by Elmo and Patsy This humorous and somewhat dark song tells the tale of Grandma's unfortunate encounter with Santa's reindeer. While some find it amusing, others might consider it obnoxious due to its unconventional theme. This song tells a heartwarming story about a boy trying to buy shoes for his dying mother for Christmas. However, its sentimental nature and the perceived manipulation of emotions have led some to find it overly saccharine and at times obnoxious. This novelty Christmas song expresses the desire for an unusual and impractical gift, a hippopotamus. Some listeners may find the repetitive nature of the song or its quirky theme to be obnoxious. So far, so good by ChatGPT, but number four I'm going to disagree with, and that is Last Christmas by Wham! While widely popular, some find the repetitiveness and the melancholic tone of this song, which reflects on a past, failed relationship during the holiday season, to be a bit tiresome. Nope, I love it, ChatGPT. And the Casio keyboard version of the song is even better, so screw you. But wait, there's one more. ChatGPT's number five, Do They Know It's Christmas by Band-Aid. While the song was created for a charitable cause, some listeners find the lyrics to be somewhat patronizing or oversimplifying the issues faced by those in need during the holiday season. The original version was released in 1984 and featured numerous popular artists of the time. So there you have it. Chat GPT hates charity. And boy, they went out of their way. to make sure they said, some people find these obnoxious, but some people might like them. But do you agree with ChatGPT's top five? What about mine? Who won this me versus AI part two? I really enjoy these. It's fun to see AI make decisions like this and kind of compare and contrast. Be on the lookout for the video segment on YouTube, just like I did for the 1980s professional wrestlers segment. And I'll be sure to be bringing back Me vs. AI Part 3 in 2024 as well. For me, growing up as a child of the 1980s, nothing symbolized the Christmas season like getting to watch the specials that would be on in the weeks leading up to the actual Christmas holiday. Whether it was Charlie Brown or Garfield or Rudolph or Frosty, there were so many fun specials that were appointment viewing and ones that I still enjoy in my 40s. However, there were some that kind of flew under the radar, at least as far as I was concerned. And I happened upon one where the special itself isn't anything weird or unusual. But it's the packaging that surrounds it that makes it something that we've got to go check out as we go way, way back in the day and look at the Christmas toy movie that was sponsored by Kraft. The Christmas toy itself came out in 1986, and it stars a lot of Jim Henson's Muppets. The film is introduced by Kermit the Frog. But the rest of the Muppets are all ones that you would have never have seen before or probably again. It stars Rugby the Tiger, who reminisces about being the Christmas toy from last year and wonders if he's going to get unwrapped again this year. One interesting note about this movie is that a lot of the plot points from it, it's pointed out, are similar to the movie Toy Story that came out in 1995. where it centers around a favorite toy that is then replaced by a new favorite toy and the resentment between them and the fact that these toys are alive when their owner isn't around. The movie in and of itself is really good, but that's not really what I want to talk about. The main talking point of the Christmas toy movie when it aired on December 6th, 1986 is the fact that it was sponsored by Kraft Foods. And having a sponsor for holiday specials, that's nothing new or unusual. But what is unusual is that this Christmas special essentially turned into an infomercial about Kraft and their products. This was found out by it being a series of wraparound segments. So rather than there being commercials, there were recipes, Kraft holiday recipes. So the Christmas toy would go to break and it would fade into this festive holiday scene from Kraft.

Speaker 01:

The nicest gifts under the tree are the ones you make yourself. Say happy holidays with these strawberry almond bars. You blend buttery-tasting parquet margarine and brown sugar to make a base. Spread with Kraft Strawberry Preserves and bake. Drizzle with melted almond bark. Cool and slice.

Speaker 00:

And they had a bunch of different recipes like that. Holiday almond bars... And the narrator would explain to you how to make these recipes, but the specific items that you would need would all be craft-based. Like the almond bars, you need parquet specifically from craft, and also craft strawberry preserves for the almond bars. And the food looks good, don't get me wrong. It's just interesting. that Kraft became the sponsor where the whole entire show was based around recipes for the holidays that they gave. I don't know why I find it so unusual. Has anyone heard ever of specific brands sponsoring shows? I mean, it was different in the 1950s. Back then, it seemed like every show had a sponsor in the name. Texaco, Colgate, Jell-O. So I guess I think it's just a fascinating throwback that in the 80s, Kraft decided to do it. Another big thing about these Kraft holiday recipes is that they seem to be telling you to make these foods to give to people for the holidays, not to make for dinner. But there's an apple onion dip, of course, with Kraft mayonnaise. And you're supposed to cut bagels up and bring that as a gift. Maybe I'm confusing gift for bringing food to a dinner. You can make cheddar crisps with Cracker Barrel cheese. And it goes on and on. The one that makes me laugh the most, though, is this basket with rolled up slices of ham and pepper rings and Velveeta cheese individual slices like in the plastic wrap.

Speaker 01:

Create this festive sandwich tray for giving and start with Velveeta processed cheese spread slices. There's no single cheese like it. Arrange with ham and pepper rings and add a special holiday spread of chopped vegetables and parquet margarine. A beautiful way to give the seasons best.

Speaker 00:

It looks like a gift that a five-year-old would make just raiding the fridge. And at the end of each of these breaks... The narrator makes sure to tell you that these Kraft recipes are in that current week's issue of TV Guide. And if you go online, if you go on Reddit, you can find all of these recipes if you wanted to make them. I guess I could only assume that Kraft figured that parents would be watching this Christmas toy show with their kids. Because otherwise, if I had been watching this and I was nine years old when it came out, I don't think I'd go running in to tell my mother, ooh, I saw this recipe on the Christmas toy show. You need to make rolled up ham with Velveeta still in the packaging. If you go on YouTube, they have all of these, I guess you call them promos for these craft recipes. You can find the videos of them. I love retro commercials. I love retro almost anything. So I find them fascinating and a fun slice of life from the 80s. And you may think that's it. But when I started doing research for this segment about these Kraft holiday recipes, it's then that I found out that this wasn't the only time that Kraft did this sponsoring of a show. Kraft actually sponsored a salute to Disneyland's 25th anniversary in 1980. And they had Disney-inspired recipes.

Speaker 01:

If you've got big eaters around, these Disneyland-inspired Frontierland recipes will make everyone happy. They're full of the substantial flavors hearty appetites crave, and they're sure to be good because they're from Kraft.

Speaker 00:

This one starts off like it's trying to speak directly to kids, saying how much fun it's going to be to make these recipes. And then the first one is salad dressing where they're scooping like five cups of mayo into a bowl. I don't know about you when you were a kid, but I did not like mayo. So seeing this recipe would not have made me want to make it. Again, the narrator, who's the same as in the Christmas toy one, mentions that all these recipes will be in that TV guide. There is this really nice stuffed chicken breast that's stuffed with Kraft Swiss cheese that gets shredded. That looks really good out of everything on both shows. That might be the one thing that I'd make. Of course, the narrator, as he's reading about these recipes, goes over the top with Disney references, fairy godmothers. One dessert says you'll be the queen of tarts, which it's very cheesy. But as I was watching these ads, it gave me this warm and fuzzy feeling like from being a kid, even though I don't remember seeing either of these shows. It's just little slices of life in these ads. Like saying there's more recipes in the upcoming Reader's Digest. That's a very 1980s phrase. Do any of you out there remember either the Christmas toy sponsored by Kraft Recipes or this Salute to Disneyland one from 1980? I believe it was a smart idea from Kraft to attach themselves to the 25th anniversary of Disneyland. and to a Christmastime movie that was made by Jim Henson Studios. I guarantee you they got thousands of people to make those recipes either for Christmas or the Disney one was in March 1980, so some spring party. Things like this segment, the craft-inspired recipes, are part of the reason why I love doing this podcast because I find these things that I'd either forgotten about or never known about And research about them and laugh and then get to share them with you. And maybe some of you remember this. Or maybe some of you are like me and have no idea. And you'll go watch these commercials. You'll have to let me know if any of you make any of the recipes from either. And please don't send me a basket with rolled up ham slices and Velveeta cheese still in the wrapper. God, I can't believe out of all the recipes that made it through. But watching that Christmas toy movie, it left me feeling sad about how long it's been that Jim Henson's been dead. All the great Muppet stuff from when I was a kid. And anytime I hear Kermit the Frog's voice now where it's someone that's not Jim Henson, I think I'll have to write him down as a potential future Back in the Day segment just about Jim Henson and his Muppets. So I hope this brought back fond memories for those kids of the 80s. We're just fans of Kraft Foods. And for all of you out there, remember...

Speaker 01:

And

Speaker 00:

that's going to wrap up episode 124 of the In My Footsteps podcast. Thank you so much to everyone who listens to the show, shares it, watches the videos I put up on YouTube. Thank you so much to those who are subscribers through Patreon. You can always go and do that. Of course, you don't have to. You can always, if you share the podcast, that means just as much to me. Getting more ears, more eyes on this. Like I mentioned at the top, how much my numbers have increased year over year, at least especially through Spotify. It means a lot knowing that a lot of people are listening to this and the number keeps growing. And it seems like every week I find new things to talk about, to share on these shows. so I don't see me slowing down at any point in the near future. Find me all over social media. Find me on Instagram, threads. Subscribe to my YouTube channel. I've got some new ideas for videos. I've learned a few new tricks, which those of you who have been watching the videos, you might have noticed they're a little different. Nothing major. I'm no professional video maker, but I try to do my best to make them interesting and worth watching and worth sharing. One that's coming up or might already be up by the time you listen to this podcast is a video I called The Art of Making a Podcast. I always say anybody can make a podcast, so now I've put together a video of more step-by-step of how I made mine to try to help anyone that's thinking of doing it or inspire someone to make their own. I'll link to it in the description of the podcast if you're interested in checking it out. I want to take a moment to wish my nephew Landon a happy 16th birthday, which I can't believe that's real. His birthday will hit before the next episode of the podcast goes up, so I wanted to make sure I gave him a shout out. He reminds me a lot of me in some ways. Sorry to insult you. Where he's great in sports and plays a lot of sports, but the older he gets, he seems to be transitioning more to creative stuff like music. I was the same way. The later I got into high school, the more I began to focus on the creative stuff, writing, trying to make videos to become a film producer. And I'll be seeing you soon, but happy sweet 16. I wish I had hair like yours. Next week, I'm going to wrap up the year 2023 with episode 125, which is going to be a bonus episode, but we know those aren't short like they used to be. But it's going to be filled with Christmas memories. I'm going to try to dig up a lot of good memories from my life, but from the 1980s and 90s in general. So that those of you that don't share blood with me can actually enjoy the episode. Although funny stories are always good. But then the following week I will take off because so many people are going to be on vacation. So I figure 125 episodes, a Christmas show, it's a good way to wrap up 2023. And we'll come back strong the first week of January with episode 126. And even though winter's approaching, the days are shorter, the days are colder, I hope you take the time, at least when it's available, to get out into the sun and get that vitamin D. This is that time of year where you get that seasonal affective disorder. Just feeling blah because there's not as much sun and it's colder and we're all kind of indoors more than we want to be. Although I'm sure for some that's heaven. But get outside when you can. You don't have to go do night photography like I said earlier. That sometimes is for crazy people like me and my buddy Steve. But there's ample opportunity for holiday strolls. Go out and drive and check out the Christmas lights. Turn on that holiday music. Good songs. Not any of the ones that I had in my top five. And just make the best you can out of every day. Keep focus on your mental health. Because that's most important. If you feel good inside, the world sometimes seems better. And I'll be here to try to distract you at least for an hour a week or a little more if I have videos I share on YouTube or the subscriber bonus episodes. So I'll try to contribute to your mental health. And remember, in this life, don't walk in anyone else's footsteps. Create your own path and enjoy every moment you can on this journey we call life. You never know what tomorrow brings. Thank you so much to everyone who has been tuning into the show. I couldn't do it without you. This has been the In My Footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund, but you already knew that. And I'll talk to you all again soon.

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Christopher Setterlund

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