Let’s go whole hog into the holidays, whether being on talk-show TV or balancing on the beer pong bar rail

Its a happy holiday with friends and their party atmosphere, and along with that, did I mention beer pong?
— All I want for Christmas is to see my friend Jahnna Randle on the Steven Colbert show. I was showering when a call came from the living room that the model, actress, writer and director who now lives in L.A. was on the late night talk program! Turns out the guest was William Macy of TV’s Shameless, and he was talking about being “discovered” by someone named Jahnna, not a common name, who got him a gig on ER back in the 1990s, one where he was most known for showing his butt! That’s not my friend, who distains nudity on the tube, but someone else by that name. Still, I had to be all ears for a few minutes to be certain. But way back in the ’90s, my Jahnna would have been aged, well … OK that’s a little creepy!
— Pong is the game this season. At the all-night Freedom Value Center in North Hudson, they have not only the typical holiday treats available for purchase, but in the same display area the gift of beer pong. That is, the colored and labeled ping pong balls available for purchase as a six pack (fitting), or just a refresher in a pack of two, along with about a dozen cups.
— My bartender friend at the Village Inn and I had a disagreement about holiday cooking. I get a bit befuddled in having to juggle making a number of dishes at once, but Sue said that when she’s all-in, she’s all-in. We joked that when she says cooking “whole hog,” she really means whole hog, as in serving the whole thing. And that should be more likely this Christmas, as she has a few rare days off.
— Don’t check my social media much while at a sports bar, but once in a while … The silly subject line on a search-for-housing email was “Santa’s Ho-Ho-Home is on Zillow.” I didn’t know the Jolly Old Elf was running a house of ill repute!
— Going to see A Perfect Circle proved to be a great holiday present — even if you don’t remember the whole deal that well because of, what should I call it, a possible enhancement. A friend received a gift of a ticket to the concert, and free transportation there, but it was the third part of the present that made her even more warm and fuzzy, with a candy twist. Infused into a few chocolates she was given were some special mushrooms, and although she said this isn’t something she normally does, she went along with because, you know, they were going to go see Maynard, which makes it just special.
— The sign at Kozy Korner says: “Help wanted. Apply within.” That’s much like the old Edgar Winter Group song, all answers “come from within.” And how does this relate to Christmas? With my name being Joe Winter, I have joked about being related to Edgar Winter and Johnnie Winter, to the point that I once got my dad, John Winter, a Christmas gift CD from the latter. He didn’t get the joke.
— An Aaron Rodgers lookalike was wearing a Santa hat the other night. You’d think he’d portray instead the Christ child, as both have been praised as Messiahs, in their own way.
With that said, happy holidays from HudsonWiNightlife!