This year our entire holiday decorating effort has been to hang a wreath on the front door. We’re off to snowy Colorado for Christmas so I thought we’d let the decorations rest this year. Others around our neighborhood have splashed lights around their houses with varying degrees of success and flair. There’s one “wonderland” type house a few blocks away. The owners add a little more to their one of a kind brick mansion every year. If you are looking for those “over the top” Christmas light shows check out the  12th annual Lights of the Valley website features about 350 homes across 93 cities / 22 counties of Northern California who have the best Christmas displays and decoration. The site features the best & brightest Christmas light displays from the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, San Joaquin and Sacramento Valley areas – from Eureka and Redding down to Fresno. Here is the link.

Oh, and the cost of firing up those lights? One house in Delaware features 1-million twinkling lights…yes MILLION. The Faucher family has been adding a little more luminance to their brand of Christmas joy over the last 25 years. All that light sets them back a whopping $686 per hour. They’re on 4 hours/night for about a month. The energy bill? $82,320! If they switched exclusively to LED lights they could save $71,640 per month.

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She’s a former heroin addict who lives in a crime riddled city along the southern U.S. border. Alma Rosa Gonzalez is helping poor children learn classical music and give them an outlet that might stop them falling prey to the gangsters who are terrorizing Ciudad Juarez on the Texas border. Inspired by Venezuela’s famous network of orchestras known as El Sistema (The System), which aims to rescue poor young people through music, the program has helped more than 400 children in Ciudad Juarez. The success has come despite threats, robberies and students dropping out when parents have been kidnapped. Most of the kids won’t become professional musicians, but music broadens horizons, teaches discipline and helps promote peace, Gonzalez said. This is one very inspiring story. Read all about it here.

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A crowd of KDFC listeners joined us at Yoshi’s in SF for the First Annual KDFC Holiday Concert Live on Tuesday November 30. The wonderfully talented, funny and overall entertaining Canadian Brass set a high standard for future musical groups in seasons to come. Here are some more photos from a very enjoyable evening.

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Google “Brian Wilson beard” and the most amazing amount of responses turn up.

Many feared bearded Brahms temper.

The sheer volume of blogs, comments and columns about “The Beard” is staggering especially considering we are in the mid-term election cycle. It appeals to folks who like a healthy dose of “quirky” in their sports heroes and, naturally, to people who are fans of folically enhanced faces. “Jack Passion, a two-time “World Beard Champion” and Giants fan who hasn’t shaved in seven years, is equally impressed. ‘In the beard community, we’re very proud of him,’ Mr. Passion said.” That’s a quote from the Wall Street Journal article today “Baseball Takes a Backseat to the Beard”. Check out the article and accompanying beard possibilities, including Brian Wilson’s look here. My favorite possibility is the Chewbacca. Has a nice “wolfman” look to it.

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I was talking this morning about the Smithsonian Magazine’s “National Museum Day”. Here’s the deal: You can’t just show up. You need to head to this link and download a free pass for two. Cal Academy, Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, Blackhawk Museum and so many more are involved.

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I took the same little Flip video camera I used in Europe in May to Davies Symphony Hall on Tuesday night for the 2010 Gala. Here’s a little more of what the attendees and your radio hosts enjoyed.

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Another opening, another show. Great fun as always with the SF Symphony and taking in the glitz and glamor of the gala. In the Press room, Dianne ran into movie maven Jan Wahl in a hat of note.

I had a quick tour backstage with the symphony’s Jean Shirk. Here’s what the bass fiddle players see.

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A beautiful evening beginning with a beautiful dinner! Check out these photos of the the Symphonix (the SF Symphony’s young professional association) and the Patron’s Dinner.

Dianne and Rik in the Broadcast Booth

Ever wonder what the broadcast booth looks like? Here’s a little glimpse with Dianne and Rik, telling us about their view for the night…and their secret jealousy for yours truly.

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John Goldman

What is John Goldman, President of the San Francisco Symphony, excited about this season?