Christmas Lights Synchronized to Music
Nice to see several cars stopped out front tonight. Traffic had been a little thin the last couple nights. The roads being a little slick didn’t help that, I’m sure.
The lights will continue running each night through at least 1/5. Come by and take a peek, if you haven’t already. We are still collecting for KCRM, as well.
…for a few more hours. If you’re tired of sitting around watching tv, or bored with your toys, or just a little stir crazy, come on out and see the lights! The display is up and running until about 10:45. It will run each night through January 6th. Don’t forget that we are collecting for the Kansas City Rescue Mission, so bring along some funds for them 🙂
Merry Christmas!
It’s hard to believe that Christmas is almost here. Just a month ago I was fretting about getting the lights up and going. Thanksgiving came and went, and the lights were still dark. After a huge effort by my dad, my wife and me, we finally got the lights (mostly) going by the first weekend in December. However, this delay put the kibosh on our annual open house, and between that and the unseasonably warm weather, it really hasn’t felt much like Christmas. We’ve mostly completed our gift shopping, and are preparing for guests over the holidays, but even that hasn’t bolstered our Christmas Spirits. The kids are geared up, however, and they’re excited for the holiday events. I think we’ve watched Elf about 10 times already, along with a number of other Christmas movies and Christmas themed shows, but even these haven’t really sparked the holiday merriment.
So, what’s the plan? How do you get into the Christmas Spirit? We’re going to head out and see A Charlie Brown Christmas at the Coterie theater today, and then come back home and greet folks who are watching the lights and hand out some candy canes. We’ll likely try and greet folks tomorrow night, as well, and see what we can do towards doing it each night next week. We’ll go out as a family and look at other lights one night. We’ll keep plugging away at the advent calendar. And we’ll work to remember that none of these things really matter, and keep focused on the Reason for the season, and the redemption He brought when he came to this world.
For those of you who are coming out to the lights in the next week, please enter the neighborhood from Woodland onto 63rd Terr, and then you can continue around the corner at the house onto Millbrook Ave, and when through watching, continue down Millbrook to W 64th St, turning left back out to Woodland. This will help reduce some of the congestion that we experienced last year. Thank you for your cooperation 🙂
Please keep in mind that we are still collecting for the Kansas City Rescue Mission, and all donations that you feel compelled to give go directly to them. Helping others is another great way to get into the Christmas spirit!
If you’re sitting at home, tired of Sunday evening TV, and looking for something to get you out of the house, go find some Christmas Lights! There’s a link on our front page for the Johnson County driving tours, which are well-researched and put together. If you don’t feel that ambitious, just swing by our display! Everything is up and working, and we’ve been adding to the pixel tree sequences to fill them in 🙂
I feel like we rebuilt the entire show today, but I’m glad we put the effort in. All the pixel elements are finally up and going. Over 800 pixels were replaced today, including the entire pixel tree and both shooting stars. I also repaired the star on the original big tree, which was a trick to get to, even with large ladders. I also replaced two malfunctioning controllers and one SSR with spares, and repaired a couple light strings. Crazy day, had to delay the start of the show by a few minutes. Once up and going, though, it was all worthwhile. Visitors tonight were very complimentary, and many stayed to watch large portions of the show. Now to tweak some sequences… I’ll get it all together just in time to take it down 🙂
Those of you who have come by the show this year have only seen part of what was planned. The pixel tree, our new feature item, hasn’t run all season. Other pixel display pieces have had issues, as well, all due to water intrusion into the individual pixels, causing data errors and erratic operation at best. Tomorrow, the pixel tree will be redone with replacement pixels. These are better quality than the ones we had already. All in all, we plan to rebuild the pixel tree, two tree topper stars, and the two shooting stars this weekend. If you have seen the show already, it will be worthwhile to come back by and see the improvements. It’s been a difficult season, knowing that the show has only been partially operational. After this weekend, it should be up to speed 🙂
Okay, so for those of you who have been wondering about the lights, they are finally running! There are a few pixel elements that are still waterlogged, and will need to dry out before they work again. Hopefully by this weekend, we can be up to full speed. We will keep you updated. For now, all the standard string elements are up and going.
Keep watching and repeat after me: “I will come to the light show. I will come to the light show.”
All kidding aside, the new and revised pixel elements are all coming together well and should add some more fun to the display.
We’re down to single digits on the countdown timer. It’s hard to believe that it’s almost time! The weather cooling off and some flurries in the forecast for this weekend will probably make it more believable 🙂 Soon!
And I still have a lot to do! Much progress has been made this week, including installation of the new pixel tree, raising of the first layer of the spiral tree, and many smaller items coming together. I also have a final layout plan together, which will allow me to get on with my sequencing. There’s never as much time as I think there will be, so ‘crunch time’ becomes quite hectic. I get to eat, sleep, and breathe lights for a few weeks (yes, even more than normal).
It still looks like the lights will be running November 26, so if the NFL game Thanksgiving night isn’t your thing, and the MSG in your turkey hasn’t induced a coma, come on by and kick off your Christmas season!
In the meantime, here’s a short teaser of the new pixel tree 🙂 :
It’s only October, but seasonal opportunities to give are popping up already. The first one that arrived in my mailbox is one that I have participated in before: the Thanksgiving Dinner drive for Kansas City Rescue Mission (KCRM). Each year, KCRM feeds a large number of homeless people, as well as families and elderly folks that are unable to afford or are just unable to prepare a meal themselves. The cost per meal prepared is $2.07, which is quite reasonable, and makes it easy to give enough for multiple meals.
You can donate to the cause through the donation links on our site. Click on the ‘Make a Gift’ button HERE. There’s a spot on their donation page to give for the Thanksgiving Season.
You can read more about the meals services that they provide on page 2 of their Fall 2015 newsletter: Newsletter.
You can also sign up to volunteer to help deliver meals Thanksgiving morning to shut-ins and elderly. The volunteering information is also on the same page of that newsletter.
We will post more opportunities to serve as we come across them. Here’s to a good Thanksgiving season 🙂
Those of you who have visited our site for a while may remember a previous post about Old Time Radio shows. I posted it a little over a year ago, but those of you who may have missed it are welcome to view that post HERE. This year, I have selected another set of shows to share, and I hope you will enjoy them.
The first two shows share a common theme- one of the main characters in each of these episodes is based on the same person, but you’ll need to listen to see who. In the the first show, Casey is a newspaper crime photographer who inevitably ends up solving the crime that he is sent to take pictures of. You can follow him on this Christmas assignment with his partner Anne, a writer for the same paper. In the second show, Archie is the manager at Duffy’s Tavern. Due to his circumstances, he is down on Christmas. A visitor helps him overcome those feelings in this episode.
Casey Crime Photographer – The Santa Claus of Bums Boulevard
Duffy’s Tavern – Archie’s in Poor Spirits
The next show is this year’s choice for a rendition of Dickens’ Christmas Carol. Richard Diamond is often referred to as the singing detective, as he closes most shows by sitting down at a piano and playing while singing. While his cases can be rough, the show is light-hearted and fast moving.
Richard Diamond, Private Detective – A Christmas Carol
Next up I have episodes of The Whistler and The Shadow. These shows tended to be darker, and generally had tensions surrounding the lead characters. The Whistler would follow along, watching, narrating and giving background information, and usually the shows climax in some type of an unforseen plot twist. The Shadow worked more as an investigator, righting wrongs as he found them.
The Whistler – Christmas Bonus
The Shadow – The Stockings Were Hung
Now, to lighten the mood, I am including an episode of Fibber McGee and Molly. This show was a comedy, and generally has several laugh out loud moments. Many times, the main characters crack each other up during the show, which is always amusing.
Fibber McGee and Molly – White Christmas Tree
Lastly, an episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar. Dollar is an insurance investigator whose cases are varied and well thought out. When this series ended, with it ended the ‘Golden Age’ of radio shows. I enjoy this series immensely, and present this fun program to leave you with a smile.
Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar – The Missing Mouse Matter
Hopefully you have time to listen to these shows, and they can kick off your fall with a yearning for the Christmas Season that lays just ahead 🙂
As the Christmas season approaches, we will post more updates as well as fun Christmas-related posts. You can be notified of any new posts automatically by clicking on the “Follow” button in the lower right corner of your screen. Our posts are also cross-posted onto our Facebook page, which you can like by clicking the box at the bottom of the left side menu bar.
Weather is cooler today, and is a reminder that I need to get this show together… 76 more days until we fire up the display.
At least the silence around here. It been a few months since I posted anything about the show, so here’s my first update of the season to get things started.
New things to look for this year:
– A new all-pixel tree in front of the house
– Pixel candy canes
– A new tree in the front window, that may or may not fit… *look for this one*
– Additional pixels added to existing elements for effect
– Some new sequencing, and maybe some new songs. Time will determine how many.
Things that we have added that you won’t see:
– A second Bridge for network communication to our controllers
– Several new small pixel controllers
– Three additional 8 channel controllers for standard light strings
In other news:
– Two other local animated displays are closing down due to job relocations, and will not have shows this year:
– G-Town Lights in Gardner
– Simmons Holiday Lights in Lee’s Summit
-We would like to publicly thank Tyson and Chris for the shows that they have put on, and the friendship shown while they were in town. The Animated lighting community is a fairly small one, and we hate to see them go.
I have posted a handful of videos from this year’s show HERE
They’re not spectacular, but you can definitely get an idea of the scope of the show.
-B
It’s hard to believe that the season is already over. Granted, when one invests the amount of time into a display that we do, it seems like it should be left up for about three months, but I digress. It was a good season. We spent a handful of nights out on the drive handing out candy canes and meeting people. We made the front page of the paper. The show ran with very few hiccups. I only had to repair a couple light strings for the whole run. Our new pixel elements and electronic hardware worked perfectly. Traffic was up, as were donations. Speaking of donations, WE RAISED JUST OVER $600 FOR KCRM! Our totals over the last couple of years had been in the $320-330 range each season, so this is a nice increase for us.
Well, now to put together a plan for disassembly and get started on next year… Happy New Year and thank you for all the support.
If you want to come out and see the display, you have two more nights! Tonight, 1/5, and tomorrow, 1/6. There will also be a few random nights for getting video, but I’m not publicizing those 🙂
*As seen on the front page of the KC Star!
We’re honored to have been part of the KC Star’s write-up on elaborate light displays:
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article4829961.html
I made a small mention in the article, but got the majority of the photos spots 🙂
It’s hard to believe it, but we are only a few days from Christmas already. Many people are in the last minute shopping, rush to prepare everything, pull your hair out crazy, mode. It is easy to fall into this routine every year- trying to have that ‘perfect’ Christmas, forcing tradition in the name of ‘good’ memories, and trying to reproduce the type of Christmas found only on the screen and in lore. While it is easy to fall into this type of behavior, I try to avoid it by remembering a few simple things:
-If you’re tired and stressed out, no one will have fun around you. The only memories will be of ‘so and so being grouchy all weekend.’ Relax, rest, and enjoy yourself.
-In the same vein, don’t try to force it. You don’t have to have every second planned. Relax, rest, and let the spontaneous happen. There’s no need to get in the way of it.
-Eat sensibly. No, don’t start on ‘salads only’ the week of Christmas. That’s just setting yourself up for failure. Eat sensibly: reasonable portions, limited junk food, drink plenty of water. You will feel better if you aren’t bloated, and sleep better without the associated heartburn.
-Volunteer. Remembering that there are always people that are worse off than we are helps us to be thankful. Volunteering in some fashion to help the less fortunate helps us focus on something other than ourselves, immediately getting us out of the ‘woe is me’ mindset, and helping lift spirits all around.
-Remember why we celebrate. It isn’t the gifts, nor the family gatherings, nor the mall, nor the tv specials. A special Gift was given, one to be celebrated for all time. Take some time and get to church. Singing carols by candlelight is one of the most relaxing, mind clearing things a person can do during this season.
When you have time, drive by and listen to the lights. They run every night from 5:30p.m. until about 10:45p.m. We are still collecting monetary donations for KCRM, and we are out on the drive many evenings, handing out candy. Come by and say hi!
I had a fun time tonight with a photographer from the KC Star. He came out to take pictures of the display, as well as some behind the scenes shots. I had a few breaker issues, as the the show is usually only about 15-25% on at any given time, but I had large amounts of it lit for photos. He took it all in stride, and got photos he was happy with, so we should be good to go. I’m unsure what they will produce, but I know they have spoken to the owners of several of the large displays in town, so it should be interesting, anyhow.
Before I moved into my current house a little over two years ago, I lived on the main Christmas light driving tour in Johnson county. Consequently, I had limos and tour buses come by the display, which was neat. Now that I have moved to more of an outlying area, I haven’t had that happen, until last night. I was out front, talking to Chris S, who has a display over on the other side of KC, and a tour bus came crawling around the corner. I talked to him for a few more minutes, then walked over to the bus to make sure they had found the radio station and everything. The driver asked if it was my house, and when I said yes, he asked me aboard to talk about the display to the group of senior citizens that had chartered the bus. I gave a brief, non-nerdy run down on the display, and they all applauded. Pretty neat. Glad I was able to add something to their tour, lol.
Now that the show is once again underway, I have some time to pick at the website. I am reactivating the calendar for the show season. I have once again included information about the Advent Season and its progression. New for this year are short daily readings taken from Surviving Christmas, a devotional Ebook published by my friend, author Anne Miller (link). Anne is a fun, quirky author who draws from her personal experiences to write in a refreshingly honest, open manner, confronting some of the holiday headaches we all face. I hope you will enjoy them. I have also taken a bunch of show photos, which I need to go through and get some posted up for this year.
Come out and see the lights! If you do, let us know! Post your photos on our FB page! Help get the word out and increase our traffic at the show! The more people who view the show, the more funds we will collect for KCRM. It’s a win/win.
After a few weeks of scrambling, the lights are on! I have a couple more things to add tomorrow, but the basic show is up and going. Basic preview here:
I hope you have a chance to come by over the next several weeks and ‘Listen to the Lights!’
-B
If you share the city of Shawnee with us, or just live locally, there are a couple of Christmas-related items that I wanted to share:
First, the Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund is open for donations. The City sells ornaments for $5, which will then be placed on the Mayor’s Christmas tree. All funds then go to Head Start of Shawnee Mission. It seems like a no-brainer to skip a lunch out and help out a low income child and their family. See more details here: Christmas Tree Fund
Second, Shawnee puts on an event known as ‘Christmas Around Town.’ This event takes place on Saturday, Dec 6, starting in the afternoon and continuing into the evening. Events include the Mayor’s Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, a visit from Santa, carriage rides, and even live reindeer! If this event doesn’t get you geared up for Christmas, then I don’t know what will. After the event, come by our display and cap of the evening with some lights! Event details here: Christmas Around Town.
-B
October. Already.
As we near the holiday season, charities will once again begin to vie for your attention. From bell ringers to homeless shelters, food pantries to clothes closets, there are a great many charities that deserve consideration when deciding where to donate your money or time. Many people have a certain charity to which they donate yearly during the holidays, while other people prefer to have hands-on experiences by volunteering at local shelters or kitchens. Some people do not reach out to help others at all, and I believe they miss a great opportunity to better themselves as well as those around them. If you are someone who has not taken the time to engage in charity, I would challenge you to make that effort this year.
There are many ways to help others, and one of the organizations that I support is Samaritan’s Purse, and their Operation Christmas Child campaign. The basic idea is that people purchase small gifts, school supplies, socks, or any number of other small items that would benefit or entertain someone in a poor area abroad. These items are then placed in gender-specific shoeboxes, which SP deliveries to poor areas world-wide. Along with the shoeboxes, they present the gospel to box recipients. This is a pretty simple concept, but the scope of the operation is huge, with shoeboxes being delivered to nearly 75 countries each year.
Something else I found out about OCC this year is that they are providing discipleship materials to leaders in the areas where the boxes are being distributed. The materials provided are 12 lessons, collectively titled The Greatest Journey. Use of these lessons helps those children who make decisions for Christ begin to learn and live out their faith.
I would encourage anyone who is looking for a way to reach out this holiday season to consider making up a shoebox (or several), and brightening the day of a child who likely has little to nothing. If you have children, get them involved as a way to plant seeds of giving in their hearts. There are many drop-off locations in the KC metro (and nationwide, if you aren’t local to us). You can find more info at the links below. -B
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/the-greatest-journey/
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