Dan York

Hallmark Christmas Movie Bingo Cards - and the Fascinating History of the Hallmark Channel

This past holiday weekend our older daughter brought a new fun activity - “Hallmark Christmas Movie Bingo”. If you are familiar with the “Hallmark Channel” here in the USA, they produce many seasonal romance movies. They vary widely in quality and some are a bit cheesy and cringe-worthy. Many of the movies follow a common formula … something like… high-powered marketing exec in New York City finds out her fiancé is cheating on her, and so goes away to spend Christmas with one of her old friends at her house in some rural location (often Vermont). While there, something happens (car breaks down, big town event is in chaos), and she meets some hunky man who she is initially repelled by… but by the end of the movie they are either kissing, getting married, or she is leaving her job in New York to relocate to this ideal life in the rural town. Or something like that. Usually the main character seems to be female, although I’ve seen a few male. Often they are cynical and think Christmas is just a consumer spending experience.

Anyway, this formulaic production model turns out to be perfect for a bingo card. Here are just some of the squares on one of the free sites that offer these cards:

• Trip to a Christmas tree lot
• Main character is a single parent
• Main character is a workaholic
• Setting is a Christmas-obsessed town
• Characters pretend to be dating/engaged
• Town's major industry/historical landmark/major tradition is in peril
• Character from the big city grows to love small-town life
• Unexpected help from angel/Santa
• Main character is keeping secret that could ruin everything
• They lost their Christmas spirit when a parent or spouse died
• Reliving Christmas traditions past helps renew someone's Christmas spirit
• Love interest comes to her rescue by doing something manly
• Cute dog
• Delayed flights
• ...

You get the idea.

It was a fun addition to watching the movies - and quite honestly kept me watching one very cringe-y and unrealistic movie when I might have just left the room to do something else. Hallmark staff clearly understand this, as they have written about it, and even sell a bingo kit. There are, of course, many free sites offering such cards.

What fascinated me, though, was to learn a bit more about the Hallmark Channel itself. A Wikipedia article traces its history from its origins in the late 1980s and early 1990s with two religious cable channels. These combined to become first the “Faith and Values Channel” in 1993 and then the Odyssey Network in 1996. In 1998, Hallmark Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company (think of the Muppets) became investors and the channel further reduced its religious programming to focus more on “family” shows.

In 2000, the ownership structure changed and in 2001 it was rebranded as the “Hallmark Channel”. The Wikipedia article goes on to detail the evolution of the channel, including the involvement of both Hillary Clinton and Martha Stewart at different times - things I was not aware of - as wall as the development of the seasonal content that many of us may be aware of today. I also was not aware of all the animal programming, although that makes sense in the context of their historic “family friendly” programming.

The article also notes some of the Hallmark Channel’s struggles between its more conservative origins and the more inclusive society we are in today. And noting the evolution of the channel to include LGBTQ characters or stories.

I seldom watch the Hallmark Channel myself, and I don’t know that this weekend’s experience will change that, but it was an enjoyable way to spend some time together - and it was interesting to learn of this larger history.

The Christmas Story, As Told by ChatGPT in Iambic Pentameter

For those who celebrate Christmas, as I do… MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

As I am off celebrating the holiday with my family, I thought I’d ask an AI to tell the Bible’s Christmas story. So I went to ChatGPT and asked:

> Tell the biblical Christmas story in iambic pentameter

Why iambic pentameter? I don’t know… other than thinking it could be more interesting than just having Chat GPT regurgitate blocks of text. This requires a little bit more effort.

After getting the first version, I found the focus on Herod to be a bit odd, so I pressed the “Regenerate response” to get a second version. Then I did it three more times, and decided to include all five versions here. I find the differences very interesting, as each takes a different view on the story, and includes or excludes different aspects of the story. For instance:

• Herod, Egypt, and Nazareth only show up in version 1.
• The shepards only appear in 2, 3, and 4.
• The wise men are only in 2 and 3.
• Gold, frankincense and myrrh only appear in 2.
• Angels only appear in 3 and 4.
• Version 5 has almost no details but instead focuses on the religious meaning.
• None of them mentioned why Joseph and Mary where traveling (to register for a census in his home town for tax purposes for the Roman government).

It also shows that you can’t just take ChatGPT’s answer as gospel (quite literally). Imagine if you asked ChatGPT and got only version 1? You would have a very different view of the story from the other ones.

No matter which story you may or may not agree with, including none of these, I wish you all a very merry Christmas!

---

Version 1

Once in the land of Judah, long ago
A virgin fair was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter
But in her womb, a child was set to grow
Conceived by power of the Holy Ghost, as told by angel Gabriel

This child would be the savior of us all
A king, descended from the line of David
His birth had been foretold by prophets tall
And now, the time had come, the promise given

But in the land, a ruler did hold sway
A cruel and wicked man, by name of Herod
He heard the news of this newborn king at play
And in his jealousy and fear, did order

That every male child, two years and under
Should be put to death, in Bethlehem and near
To try and kill this child, the Son of Thunder
But Joseph took Mary and the babe in fear

And fled to Egypt, till the danger passed
They stayed in hiding, till the coast was clear
Then returned to Israel, at last
And settled in a town called Nazareth

Thus Jesus grew, in wisdom, age, and grace
And when the time was right, he took his place
As savior of the world, in love and peace
This is the story of the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

---

Version 2

In Bethlehem, a city of Judea,
A child was born, the savior of mankind.
This infant, wrapped in swaddling clothes so new,
Was laid in manger, for there was no room
In inns of Bethlehem, on that holy night.

The news of this great birth was quickly spread
To shepherds in the fields, who did not stay
But hurried to the stable, where they found
The newborn king, lying in a bed of hay.

The shepherds marveled at the sight they saw,
And they returned to their fields, praising God
For sending them the savior of the world.

But news of this great birth was not confined
To shepherds in the fields or Bethlehem's town.
Three wise men, guided by a shining star,
Came from the East, bearing gifts of gold,
Frankincense, and myrrh, to honor him.

And so, on this most holy night, the world
Was blessed with the arrival of the one
Who came to save us all, the son of God,
Jesus, the Christ, the savior of mankind.

---

Version 3

In Bethlehem, a town so small and poor,
A child was born to Mary, pure and fair.
This blessed babe, the Son of God, was sure
To bring salvation, love, and mercy rare.

The angels sang, and shepherds came to see
This newborn king, in stable low and mean.
Three wise men, led by a bright star, did flee
To offer gifts, and worship on their knees.

This holy child, so pure and innocent,
Was sent to save us all from sin and death.
He lived and loved and healed with great intent,
And willingly submitted to his earthly death.

But death could not contain him, as was plain,
For he rose again, and lives forevermore.
He brings salvation, hope, and joy, and reigns
As Lord of all, forever and always.

---

Version 4

The Christmas story, as told in the Bible,
Is one of joy and love, a miracle true:
It starts with Mary, chosen by the Lord
To be the mother of His only son,
A son who would redeem the world from sin.

The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary
And told her she would bear a son, and he
Would be the savior of the world, a king
Descended from the line of David, great.
Mary, though frightened, knew that this was right,
And so she said, "I am the Lord's servant.
May it be to me as you have said.”

The time came for Mary to give birth, and so
She and her husband Joseph traveled far
To Bethlehem, the city of David's birth.
But when they arrived, they found no room
In any inn, and so they had to stay
In a stable, where the baby Jesus lay.

The shepherds, watching over their sheep by night,
Were startled by a bright and shining light,
And saw an angel, who told them the news
Of Jesus' birth, and said, "Do not be afraid.
I bring you tidings of great joy today:
A savior has been born in Bethlehem, a boy.”

The shepherds went to see the baby Jesus,
And when they saw him lying in the manger,
They knew that this was the son of God, and so
They spread the word throughout the countryside.
And so it was that Christmas came to be
A day of joy and celebration, free
From sin and sorrow, as the world rejoiced
In the birth of Jesus, our beloved Lord.

---

Version 5

The Christmas story, as told in the Bible, is a tale of hope and redemption. It begins with the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, in a humble stable in Bethlehem.

Joseph and Mary, betrothed in marriage,
Were traveling to the town of David's line
When Mary, heavy with the child she'd carry,
Was forced to stop and give the baby time.

And so, in poverty and low estate,
The Son of God was born, a lowly king.
But though His birth was humble and sedate,
His purpose was to save the world, and bring

Salvation to all those who would believe.
For He was sent to be the sacrifice,
To bear the weight of sin upon His sleeve
And through His death, bring us to paradise.

And so the Christmas story, full of grace,
Brings hope and joy to all who seek His face.

Ceremonies of Light and Dark

I have always enjoyed our ceremonies of light and dark, here in the cold mid-winter of northern New England.

The winter solstice here is always a time of celebration. For us, it is the shortest “day” in terms of daylight - and the longest night. It is cold here at this time of year.

The solstice gives us hope. From here on out, the days only get longer… and at some point will start to actually get warmer. (We have to go through some much colder periods first, though!)

We celebrate here so often with candles… with fires… with flames… with light to drive away the darkness.

In the Christian tradition, there are the candles of advent, the Christmas trees with their lights, and… today… the many lights that people decorate their houses with. In the Jewish tradition, there is the menorah with its 8 candles that are lit during the days of Hanukkah. In older pagan traditions, there were similar ceremonies of light. Today, in our less religious times, we cover our houses with “holiday lights”. In a school our daughters attended when they were younger, there was a beautiful advent spiral walk with candles.

Many of the ceremonies have different meanings, of course,

Yet each in their own way brings light into a time of darkness.

There is beauty and magic in that.

Resolution Song - a global movement of voices singing a common song for peace and climate action

Today I was blown away by the beauty of a song woven together of voices from around the world - Resolution Song !

I was completely unaware of the Planet Resolution movement that has now seen this song sung by thousands of people in over 100 countries. Their YouTube channel is full of inspiring versions of this song, and you can see even more at the YouTube hashtags #planetresolution and #NoMusicOnADeadPlanet. 

This article by Abbey Wright in April 2022 explains the origins of this project back in 2019 and how it evolved into a global movement. I liked this part:

Resolution represents hope. It is an expression of global unity and a celebration of diversity. Resolution is a living, breathing example of the kind of global collaboration that we need to solve the planetary emergency. 

While there was a big push for people recording songs back around Earth Day 2022 in April, the project continues to ask people to record their own versions and publish it with the hashtags. The sheet music is available on planetresolution.com

I love seeing music bringing people together in this way!

Playing with ChatGPT: A song about the Internet

Like many others, I’ve been playing around with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Just for fun I gave it the prompt “a song about the Internet”, and was amused by the response. Now we just need someone to set this to music… 😀

A song about the Internet

Verse 1

I spend my days and nights surfing the web
From morning to night, I'm on an Internet quest
Searching for answers and knowledge untold
Expanding my horizons, I'm never getting old

Chorus

The Internet, the Internet, it's a magical world
A place where I can explore and learn so much more
The Internet, the Internet, I'm never bored
So many stories and places to explore

Verse 2

YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter what a mix
Gather information, I'm getting my fix
From the latest news to a funny cat meme
It's a world of fun, what a great scene

Chorus

The Internet, the Internet, it's a magical world
A place where I can explore and learn so much more
The Internet, the Internet, I'm never bored
So many stories and places to explore

Bridge

I'm connected to the world, I'm never alone
Wherever I go, I'm never on my own
The Internet's a world, with endless possibilities
A place where I can come and be free

Chorus

The Internet, the Internet, it's a magical world
A place where I can explore and learn so much more
The Internet, the Internet, I'm never bored
So many stories and places to explore

----

Image credit: also from an AI… generated by DALLE-2.

Dear Duolingo - I am doing fewer lessons since your "learning path" change on November 1

Dear Duo,

I’m not sure your new “learning path” that you rolled out on November 1 is working quite the way you wanted it to. At least for me.

You see.. yesterday I did not do a single French lesson!

Why not? Simple… because now that you have forced users along a single path, I know that when I do the one lesson I have available for me to do, I will then be rewarded with a “15-minute double XP boost” (I will receive double the “experience points” (XP) for each lesson.) And during the day yesterday, I didn’t have a block of time where I knew I could have another 15 minutes to do more lessons. I had random moments of 5 or 10 minutes, but not a larger block of time. And sure, I could have just done a lesson and NOT used the 15-minute double-XP period, but at this point I’m DEEP into the gamification, and so I want to use those time periods to get more points!

The result was.. I didn’t do any French lessons.

Finally, about 9:00pm I realized I hadn’t done any Duolingo, and so I went in to do a practice session to at least continue my streak. But it wasn’t one of the regular lessons.

Somehow, I don’t think this is what you want people to do.

To back up a bit and provide some context, I started using Duolingo a bit over 9 years ago in July 2013. I started paying for Duolingo Plus (now “Super”) 3 or 4 years ago. I’m currently on a 415-day streak, and I’ve bought into the gamification to the point that I’m in the “Diamond League” and work each week to get enough XP to stay in that league.

So I’m all in.

But your November 1 change is seriously affecting the way I’ve used the app. It used to be I would work in several different skills at once. And if I was challenged for time, I could just so lessons in multiple different skills, potentially bringing several skills to be one lesson away from being complete (which would then get the reward of the double XP boost). Then, when I had a block of time, I could start completing those skills to get the double XP boost.

Now, that approach isn’t an option. I have to keep moving along a path. I can’t work in multiple skills at once. (I can switch to another language and do lessons there, but then that is diluting the time I want to spend learning one language.) I understand your view that this is a better way of learning, and maybe I’m just that grumpy guy who is resistant to change, but it is a VERY different way of working than how I’ve been doing it for the past 9 years.

I do wish there was the option to work on different skills and not be so locked into the same path. Maybe I’m missing something with the new redesign, but so far I haven’t figured this out.

Sincerely,
A previously enthusiastic Duolingo user who is less excited now