THURL

My father has a deep, deep voice. In high school when friends would call me they would often comment on the long, low "Heellllo" that he would use to answer the phone. One of my favorite things about going to church when I was young, was hearing my father's voice singing hymns. My younger sister and I would sometimes sing a little quieter so we could hear his low rich tones, we would look at each other and smile. Freud said, "At bottom God is nothing more than an exalted father." In my mind, when I would picture the voice of God, his voice was identical to my father's.

This joy is recalled by me when I hear the even deeper (and more Godlike?) voice of Thurl Ravenscroft. I am sure many of you would recognize this voice as the voice of Tony "They're Grrrrreat!" Tiger... Of course this is still when Tony Tiger was cool looking and not the big steroid-infused feline he is now. It is also when Kellogg's was OK with calling them SUGAR Frosted Flakes!

For those of you who think you only know Mr. Ravenscroft from this, think harder...
He is also the singer of one of the greatest insult songs of all times, "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch. His work on voices in movies, theme parks and records for Disney alone is amazing. While reading the entries for Thurl on Wikipedia or IMDB, you are sure to say to yourself multiple times, "Wow! That was him too?"

A great Thurl site can be found here... http://www.allthingsthurl.com/

and the amazing New Jersey station WFMU has a great write-up and an amazing archive of
Thurl songs - THAT YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FOR FREE!

But I'll leave you with one more video... actually just the audio for "Asleep In The Deep," it has an example of Thurl at his lowest and deepest.



While I wouldn't consider his voice the voice of an angel, it is better. It is more like the voice of God singing in the shower.

Choo Choo Charlie

"Licorice is the liver of candy." -Michael O'Donoghue (1942--1994)

There are those who love black licorice and there are those who can't understand why anyone would want to eat it. There are very few people in the middle.

I love it.
One of my favorites is "the oldest branded candy in the United States" - Good & Plenty!


Of course any card holding baby boomer can sing the Choo Choo Charlie song...



But recently I found out - if you are vegetarian - stay away from this candy!

The beautiful pink color is bestowed upon this candy by a wonderful, magical coloring called K-Carmine.

What is K-Carmine?
It is made from the crushed bodies of the female cochineal bug!

yum yum!

Oh well, as long as it's crushed.
-It's probably not any worse for you than any artificial coloring!