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Crazy Christmas Traditions From Around The World

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Infinity Dental Web.

Not every country believes in Santa Claus, see who delivers presents in other places around the world.

Santa Claus seems to be everywhere this time of year. Stores put him in their windows, people put him on their front lawns and on their rooftops, but it turns out that not every country believes that Santa is responsible for bringing presents. Here are a few of the other traditions people follow around the world.

Japan: There are not many Christians in Japan, per capita, so it is a little odd that the country would have a strong Christmas tradition. However, they do. KFC began an ad campaign back in ’74 that pushed people to eat fried chicken on Christmas Eve, and the tradition caught on. In one of those marketing campaigns that company’s dream of, KFC featured a Japanese family chowing into their chicken. The tradition has slowly become so popular that Christmas Eve sales night are typically roughly equivalent to the rest of the year. Itadakimasu! (Let’s eat)

Iceland: Gryla and her Yule Lads take the place of Santa Claus in Iceland. Gryla is a hideous troll that lives in the mountains, with her 13 sons that are known as the Yule Lads. Every night for the days leading up to Christmas the kids in Iceland leave a shoe on the windowsill, and if they have been good that year when they wake up their shoe will be filled with candy or little toys. If they have been naughty there is a chance that Gryla will steal them away to the mountains and boil them in her cauldron, or if she is feeling lazy she might just leave a potato in the shoe. Gryla also has an enormous black cat. The cat is said to eat any Icelander who does not receive a new piece of clothing for Christmas. I’m still looking to see if this was a GAP advertising campaign, but so far it looks like it originates from their folklore.

Italy: In Italy the Christmas story features a unique caveat. Instead of simply following the star to find their way to baby Jesus, the three wise men stop and ask an old Italian woman for directions. However, they ask her in the middle of cleaning, so she tells them she doesn’t have the time to help them find their way. She is subsequently forced to ride a broom stick for eternity, delivering presents to good children and ash to naughty ones. This is why it always pays to give directions, even if you have no idea how to get there.

Ukraine: In the Ukraine people decorate trees much like they do in the USA, but they include on element that we would use, spider-webs. They have an old folk-lore about a poor family who could not afford to buy ornaments for their Christmas tree. They went to bed on Christmas Eve, sad that there was no way for decorate their tree, however in the middle of the night a few spiders come along and cover the tree in beautiful gold and silver webbing. When morning breaks, and the tree is revealed, the whole town comes together to see it.

Dr. Mike Malone and his team practice expert cosmetic dentistry in Lafayette, LA. Dr. Malone is the former president and current accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is also the official Cosmetic Dentist of the Miss Louisiana USA and Miss Louisiana Teen USA pageants. Check out his website for more information.

What’s the Meaning of ‘Auld Lang Syne?’

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Infinity Dental Web.

Auld Lang Syne — it’s the quintessential New Year’s Eve song. But how did it gain that reputation, and where does it come from? What does ‘Auld Lang Syne’ even mean? We were curious to find out, and if you are as well, read on.

‘Auld Lang Syne’ was not originally a song, but a poem written by Scottish author Robert Burns 1788. Burns intended for the poem to be sung along to the tune of a traditional Scottish folk song. Somewhere along the way, the Auld Lang Syne tune changed, yet the older tune is still sung throughout pubs in Scotland and Great Britain by those who wish to preserve the tradition. According to Scotland.org, the original tune has a more “douce, gentle, nostalgic feel to it then the popular tune.” Either way, the words still evoke the same emotions of love, kindness, and friendship to this day.

Just recall how often the tune has turned up in films. Surely everyone can identify with this heartwarming moment at the end of It’s A Wonderful Life when all the townspeople of Bedford Falls come together to literally bail out George Bailey?

In Scotland, the song was sung for the Scottish holiday of Hogmanay (which happens to also fall on New Year’s Eve). The song was popularized in the United States in 1929 when a band director named Guy Lombardo started playing the song on his radio channel and television broadcasts.

But Auld Lang Syne isn’t only popular in American culture. On New Year’s, the song can be heard throughout Bangkok, Beijing and Tokyo. In France, it is treated as a song of hope, sung at funerals and at moments of parting to ease grief and anguish.

No matter where in the world you live, the song’s meaning doesn’t change. “Auld Lang Syne is one of Scotland’s gifts to the world, recalling the love and kindness of days gone by, but in the communion of taking our neighbor’s hands, it also gives us a sense of belonging and fellowship to take into the future.”

So what does ‘Auld Lang Syne’ mean? According to Yahoo, it means ‘old long since’ or for ‘old time’s sake.‘ The lyrics have changed over time as the song has crossed international borders. For example, here are the words from the original Robert Burns poem:

FIRST VERSE:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And days o’ lang syne?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my jo, For auld lang syne,

We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne.

Now for the way we tend to sing it:

FIRST VERSE:

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old times since?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,

we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

For the rest of the lyrics, click here. And Happy 2014!

Someone Won Our iPad Air Holiday Giveaway!

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Infinity Dental Web.

And the winner is…………..Jessica! Jessica won our iPad Air contest. Thank you to everyone who entered and be sure to enter our next contest! Happy Holidays!

The Most Non-Traditional Holiday Decorations

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Infinity Dental Web.

During this month of holiday-themed blog posts, we thought this week we’d compile all of the fun, ridiculous, and completely non-traditional holiday decorations floating around the internet. While we avoided some rather lewd ornamentations out there, these are still unusual without being too conventional. Be warned, those of you who take the holidays very seriously — you may not appreciate the alternative style of some of these folks. Enjoy!

1. Someone’s neighbors were lazy! It’s a good laugh for passerby’s though…

2. These are some creative folks to design a Star Wars nativity set successfully:

3. How you know you work in a hospital:

4. “I came in like a wreckingggg balllll!”

5. These next two guys just couldn’t make up their minds:

6. We can’t decide which is worse! Too many inflatables or too many neon figurines??

7. Umm we still can’t figure out why someone would want a Santa Claus jail in their front yard…

8. Some people like some Christmas cheer in every room of their house!

9. Very appropriate decorations for a frat house…

10. And our favorite non-traditional holiday decorations this year:

And there you have it! How do you folks decorate for the holidays?

Unknown Facts About Your Favorite Christmas Movies

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Infinity Dental Web.

The same Christmas movies are on television this time every year… A Christmas Story, Elf, It’s A Wonderful Life, Jingle All The Way, and so on. Even though we’ll never tire of these films, we thought we could spice up your viewing experience a bit by offering some interesting and little known tidbits about your favorite holiday classics. (These fun facts are mostly from Mental Floss’ 25 Facts About Famous Christmas Movies.) Enjoy!

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

In the film, the Dodge pickup truck tailgating Clark Griswold’s family station wagon is the same one Kurt Russel used in the film Overboard.

The Griswold’s neighbor’s house is one and the same with Murtaugh’s house in the Lethal Weapon series…in case it looked familiar to you.

If you’ve ever noticed during the scene where Uncle Louis and Aunt Bethany arrive, the camera shakes a bit. That’s because there was a minor earthquake during filming, and the producers just left the scene in!

Elf

Supposedly, the concept of this film was first introduced in 1993 during which time Jim Carrey was lined up for the lead role, not Will Farrell. Would have been a different film entirely we think!

As you probably noticed, Will Ferrell enters Gimbels Department Store, but Macys in fact put Gimbels out of business in 1987. So in the film, the Gimbels is in fact the Macys on 34th Street in Manhattan but with computer alterations.

Buddy’s elf friend Ming Ming from the opening scenes of the film is in actuality Peter Billingsely or Ralphie from A Christmas Story! This is probably because Peter Billingsley and director Jon Favreau are friends.

Home Alone

Christmas movies are known for alluding to other holiday classic films. If you recall, a scene in Home Alone references It’s A Wonderful Life when the family is watching television in their Paris hotel room.

The scene in the end of the film when Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern finally catch up with Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci bit Kevin’s finger a bit harder than he’d intended leaving Culkin with a permanent scar.

When Daniel Stern had to endure the scene with the tarantula crawling on his face, he said he’d only do it on the condition it was done in one take. His scream was added in afterwards, since a real scream would have scared the spider away.

A Christmas Story

Apparently, Jack Nicholson wanted the role of Ralphie’s father yet director Bob Clark didn’t want to pay Nicholson’s high salary. Clark was very happy with Darrin McGavin’s performance, and rightly so. Could you imagine such a sentimental film with Jack Nicholson in that role?
We all know well the tongue-freezing scene. But have you ever wondered if it was possible for your tongue to become stuck on a piece of cold medal? Well you don’t have to experiment yourself to find out — Mythbusters has done this already and found out yes, it is possible!

It’s A Wonderful Life

If George Bailey looks particularly sweaty during the scene on the bridge between him and Clarence, that’s because he was in real life. THe day that scene was filmed it was 90 degrees outside! But it works to the film’s advantage, since the ‘sweat’ can be interpreted as part of his nervous breakdown or as snow melting onto his face.

Considering the popularity of the film today, It’s A Wonderful Life received mixed reviews and was considered a box office flop back in December 1946 when it was released.

What’s your favorite holiday film?

Dr. Mike Malone’s Holiday Promotions!

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Infinity Dental Web.

It’s the season of giving, which is why Dr. Mike Malone and Associates is running two big holiday promotions! The first of which is a Holiday Whitening Special! We’re giving 35% of the Zoom Whitening treatment which brings down the cost to $395 from the usual $600. To get this offer, visit our Facebook page and look for this post:

The offer is good through January 31st, 2014.

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Now for our second offer, we’re giving away an iPad! All you have to do is subscribe to our blog through December 20th to win a free iPad Air!

Must be 18 & older to win. Local entrants only. Winner must pick up prize at the office of Mike Malone D.D.S. and agree to sign a release form to be feature on Dr. Malone’s social media pages. Call for more details.

Mike Malone, DDS and Associates

300 Doucet Rd.

Lafayette, LA, 70503

Phone: 337-989-1268

Christmas at the Cinema 2012

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Infinity Dental Web.

When the wrapping paper is finally cleared and the presents have been opened, enjoyed, and put away, what’s left to do on Christmas Day? Some people like to spend the 25^th kicking back with a warm mug of cocoa or taking a well-deserved holiday nap, but a growing number of yuletide diehards want to extend their Christmas experience as long as possible. A visit to the local movie theater is a great way for these tireless revelers to spend time with their families and enjoy their reprieve from work or school. What films should you check out on Christmas Day? Check out the list below and you’re sure to find something that will help you make the season bright.

Lincoln

For those seeking some brain candy during the holiday season, this historical drama will deliver. Lincoln tells the story of America’s sixteenth president during one of his most trying times: While he’s still trying to win the Civil War, Lincoln has just begun his efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment and officially abolish slavery throughout the U.S. A field of political landmines and personal challenges separates the lauded statesman from his goal. With a standout performance by Daniel Day-Lewis and a keen eye for historical authenticity, Lincoln is one of this year’s most critically acclaimed films. It’s an intellectual tour-de-force that is sure to delight well beyond the Christmas season.

Rise of the Guardians

A family film perfect for this time of year, Rise of the Guardians has a premise that will instantly hook the young as well as the young at heart: What if all the holiday characters we meet throughout the year joined forces? In this movie, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, Jack Frost, and, of course, Santa Claus, team up to stop the Boogeyman from covering the world in fearsome darkness. Rise of the Guardians features a star-studded voice cast and 3-D computer animation, making it an ideal choice for both parents and children.

Les Miserables

Based on the smash hit musical, Les Miserables is one of the most anticipated films of the year, and it makes its debut on Christmas Day. Victor Hugo’s classic story of fugitive prisoner Jean Valjean and his quest to bring peace and justice to his troubled world will live again on the big screen—and this time, it’s with celebrated actors like Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried playing the lead roles. If you loved the Broadway show, you simply must check out what director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) has done with 19th-century France. And even if you can’t sing along to every line of “On My Own,” you’ll be reaching for your box of tissues and cheering along with the revolutionaries as Christmas Day draws to a close.

https://youtu.be/b1SJ7yaa7cI

The Hobbit

Another literary gem now in theaters is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first part of the Tolkien novel’s cinema adaptation. The Hobbit, predecessor to the timeless Lord of the Rings series, tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a homebody hobbit convinced to go on a wild adventure with a merry band of dwarves. On his mission to reclaim a lost treasure from a dragon’s hoard, Bilbo meets some familiar faces and encounters sights both wondrous and dangerous. If you’ve ever wondered just how the crafty cave-dweller Gollum got the ominous One Ring, this is your chance.

Skyfall

Daniel Craig’s latest outing as 007 is widely considered his strongest yet. Skyfall is a Bond film that celebrates the classic early entries in the series while allowing Craig to fully explore the role of James Bond. The plot is classic spy-fi fare: This time around, Bond has to investigate an attack on his agency, MI6. With the action this close to home, the thrills are sure to be explosive. For action seekers and Bond fans headed to the theater on Christmas Day, it’s tough to do better than Skyfall, even for a repeat viewing. Everything’s better with Bond.

https://youtu.be/s8CZKbDzP1E

Django Unchained

For those who don’t mind a little bloodshed on Christmas Day, Django Unchained promises everything fans of director Quentin Tarantino have come to expect: Brilliant performances, memorable characters, and serious violence. Jamie Foxx plays Django, a newly-freed slave roaming the Wild West. With guidance from a German bounty hunter played by Christoph Waltz, Django learns the tricks of the trade and soon begins his own career hunting criminals.

No matter which film you choose, going to the movies is a great way to spend those relaxing hours that follow the joyous excitement of Christmas morning. So, as they say: Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

We Have a Winner!!

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Infinity Dental Web.

Mike Malone DDS & Associates would like to congratulate the winner of our Sony HDTV Holiday Sweepstakes…….AMAR LANCON!!! Amar won a 32-inch Sony HDTV for him and his family just in time for Christmas. All he had to do was like us on Facebook and subscribe to this blog. Congratulations, Amar… we hope you and your family enjoy your new TV! Thank you to everyone who entered our sweepstakes. We will be having contests like this one all throughout 2013 so check out our Facebook page often for updates. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. We hope your holiday is special!

This Friday, Celebrate International Buy Nothing Day

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Infinity Dental Web.

After the turkey’s gone, will you celebrate Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day?

If you were one of the lucky ones who didn’t lose power from Hurricane Sandy, the storm likely kept you home from work (or your kids from school) for a day or two. Not only that, it offset Halloween celebrations, postponing official ‘trick-or-treating’ festivities two days in some towns and up to a week in others. As a result, you or someone you know might have spotted holiday shopping advertisements on television, in circulars or at the mall before you even showed off your Halloween costume.

It seems that every year signs of the holiday season are showing up earlier and earlier, whether we want them or not. Upon entering a Yankee Candle store the Monday after Halloween, I was harassed by tinsel, whiffs of cinnamon and employees sporting Santa hats. It was 70 degrees out; when I left my house earlier that day, I almost ran over trick-or-treaters. A little over-zealous this year, aren’t we? If this trend keeps up, our mailboxes are going to be stuffed with Black Friday circulars before Back-to-School ads are even released.

Not everyone is enthusiastic about the prospect of busting down Wal-Mart’s doors at 5 am on November 23^rd—correction, Wal-Mart isn’t going to wait until Black Friday this year; they’re opening at 8 pm on Thanksgiving Day. In protest of the issue of over consumption and consumerism during the holiday season, Adbusters is promoting its “Buy Nothing Day” campaign more than ever before. The non-profit Adbusters Media Foundation is a reader-supported magazine “concerned about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces.” The first Buy Nothing Day was held in Mexico back in 1992, and it has since broadened to 65 countries including America where the celebration is held on the day after Thanksgiving—Black Friday, one of the ten busiest shopping days of the year.

On Adbuster’s website, the Buy Nothing Day campaign is also referred to as Occupy Xmas, a part of the Occupy Movement. The campaign is requesting shoppers to buy nothing for the 24-hour period that is Friday, November 23^rd into Saturday November 24^th, which is the International Buy Nothing Day. Adbuster’s website reads: “Go cold turkey from consumer culture completely!” The hope is to spread the message to people to not get caught up with the Black Friday tradition of holiday shopping hysteria, and as a result realize the benefits of a lower-consumption lifestyle and mindset for the Christmas season.

It is very likely that many people will ignore this plead to remain home and not shop—for many women, their livelihood is waking up early and landing great bargains on items normally priced more than 50% higher. Not only that, but it seems Adbusters needs to, well, advertise their idea more. Despite the fact the campaign has been a presence in America since 1997, I had never heard of it until browsing on Meetup, the social networking site for local groups. On this site, Buy Nothing Day has been taken to the extreme. A group of activists got together to turn Buy Nothing Day into a “Carnivalesque Rebellion” in efforts to shut down consumer capitalism for an entire week, culminating in Black Friday. You can find your local community who are participating in the campaign and join them in spreading the word, if you so desire.

While the Carnivalesque Rebellion effort seems a bit ridiculous, Adbuster’s website at least pokes fun at their movement, providing comical suggestions for those want to still go out and have some fun on Black Friday but still raise awareness. One idea named ‘Whirl-Mart’ reads: “You and nine of your closest friends silently drive your shopping carts around in a long, inexplicable conga line without ever actually buying anything.” Another titled ‘Credit Card Cut Up’ suggests you stand at one location in a mall with a pair of scissors offering “an end to extortionate interest rates and mounting debt with one considerate cut.”

Adbuster’s idea to get people out of the stores not only for Black Friday but the holiday season overall is a bit overreaching. Americans love to shop, recession or not. A much more realistic goal for Buy Nothing Day (or Occupy Xmas) was mentioned by Lauren Bercovitch in an interview last holiday season. Bercovitch said the campaign wasn’t realistically trying to get everyone to resort to do-it-yourself Christmas presents. “It could be something as simple as buying locally—going out and putting money into your local economy.”

Now that is a much more pragmatic goal, one we should all keep in mind when shopping this holiday season.

Dr. Mike Malone is an accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and served as it’s formal president. Dr. Malone is the official cosmetic dentist of the Miss Louisiana USA and Miss Louisiana Teen USA pageants and his work has been featured on the Sharon Osbourne show.

Enter our Holiday Sweepstakes to win a free 32-inch Sony HDTV.

Inject Some Magic Back Into Childhood

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Infinity Dental Web.

Children grow up too fast these days. Soon, the days when they no longer believe in Santa, the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny will be here. As a parent, there are some measures you can take to make this period last a little longer. Giving these imaginary creatures some authenticity never hurt, at the very least, it will give them pause when the kids in school tell them there is no Santa. Children want to believe in these things; it is part of what makes being a child exciting. Take it from me, a person who believed in Santa until she was 17.

My parents had the Santa thing down to a science: there were no elves, Santa had a factory in Alaska, he had millions of helpers that delivered his presents, my parents had to pay them, they came through the front door, etc. They basically made it sound like Santa was a just the middleman between Mattel and UPS. While this may have not been in the spirit of Christmas, this back story rang of authenticity and had me believing until the devastating day when my dad took me to Ross and told me to pick out what I wanted in my stocking on Christmas morning. It’s not that I didn’t have my doubts about Santa before I was 17 but Christmas has never been quite as fun since. I plan on lying to my daughter until she leaves for college because I want her childhood to be magical as my own. Anyways, since we’re a dental office, let’s explore how to give your child an exciting tooth fairy experience.

1. The Fairy Dusted Dollar: Glitter, Hairspray, Done.

2. Gold Coins & Glitter: Trading dollar bills for pretty gold dollar coins makes the money more special. They can also play pirates with it later.

3. The Microscopic Letter: Put on your reading glasses and write your child a letter from the tooth fairy’s own “hand” thanking them for their tooth and reminding them to brush their teeth. Don’t forget the little envelope! You might want to have a magnifying glass nearby for when your child wakes up.

4. The Tooth Receipt & Pouch: This can be a more involved process if you decide to sew the pouch yourself but it is worth the effort to have a customized one with your child’s name or favorite design. Just attach it to his or her bedpost with the money and receipt and you don’t even have to mess around with their pillow.

5. Fairy Footprints: These two are variations on the same idea which suggest that either the tooth fairy leaves fairy dust trails or has very dirty (red?) feet. The footprints in the glitter is a prettier but entails a more involved clean up.

6. The Built-in Fairy Door: This is by far the most involved project and may require you to know your way with a carving knife. Installing a life-like fairy door next to your child’s bed may seem extravagant, but it is little details like this that infiltrate and inspire your child’s dreams. Your child will always wonder what’s behind that door, even beyond their tooth fairy believing years.

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