'A Christmas Carol'

There are films, books, records and a lot more being printed, pressed, released and spread around the Internet that will never be seen by 99 percent of everyone.

There's countless others that'll be seen and forgotten. Good stuff that deserves a better fate, but it's all too much for even the most media-savvy jerks to take in.

However, more than 150 years after it was released, A Christmas Carol resounds over and over through the generations. The words "Bah!" and "Humbug!" are known. The denotations are clear and their source is well known. The moniker "Scrooge" is easily recognizable as someone rich, but stingy and unsociable and uncaring.

That kind of resonance is astounding. You couldn't buy that kind of importance or relevance. It just happens. It's lucky and amazing when it happens.

Charles Dickens means more today than he did in 1843 when he published the novella on Dec. 19. It sold 6,000 copies by Christmas Day. It was adapted for the stage almost immediately. All of this passed down through the ages in so many film and stage adaptations that it'd be dumb to count them all. It came to a head a year ago when Robert Zemeckis directed an animated version with Jim Carrey providing Scrooge's voice. It grossed $137 million.

That's relevance for you. It's almost the perfect story if it can still matter.

During its original publication in 1843, England had undergone a change in Christmas traditions harkening back to previous traditions like caroling.

By 1841, the German-born Prince Albert had introduced and popularized the Christmas tree in England. Two years later, Christmas cards took off. Following the publication of A Christmas Carol, the phrase "Merry Christmas" became popular.

Despite the ending of the story, A Christmas Carol is very dark. The imagery alone is frightening. Throw in the chained ghost of Marley, the ghosts, Scrooge seeing the grave markers of Tim and himself. It's a stark look into the mirror for not only the Scrooges of the world, but ourselves. It's a statement on the working conditions and the need to help the less fortunate. It's downright socialist.

I find it fascinating that it didn't take Scrooge very long to be convinced of the folly of his ways. In disbelief after Marley comes and goes, Scrooge is shaken. However, I think it's while the ghost of Christmas past is taking him through his long, forgotten scenes, Scrooge is already talking about making changes in his life. Yet, the ghosts still come. It was never over and never going to take until he saw the ultimate sacrifice to the way Scrooge was living.

Also, I don't quite remember Scrooge going to his nephew's house for dinner. I seem to recollect Scrooge and the Cratchits being the center of his change. Instead, there's an actual higher concentration on the relationship with his remaining family, the son of his beloved sister.

'The Third Man'

Graham Greene actually wrote this novella before writing the screenplay to the film starring Orson Welles.

Later, the novella was actually released. So, this book has the distinction of being a film before it was a book, so I don't feel as bad about watching the film before I read the book. Although, I do hate watching the film before reading the book. I kind of feel the book is less intriguing. All the suspense, I think, is gone when the film is already seen. Although, Welles' character's speech in the ferris wheel is still pretty awesome.

Greene was fond of films, or so his career would suggest. He began as a journalist doing film reviews. He eventually did a number of screenplays -- including The Third Man -- and later appeared in Francois Truffaut's Day for Night.

Greene also appeared to be quite the commentator on the human condition and human rights. In The Third Man, he builds his plot around a seemingly "ordinary" guy who sells tainted medicine to children, who die. In other books, he chronicles atrocities and lifestyles of people around the nation in downtrodden conditions.

'The Breast'

In the grand tradition of Nick Gogol's The Nose, F. Dovstoyevsky's Crime and Punishment and Kafka's Metamorphosis.

There's actually another story about a guy who wakes up to find that his penis is missing. Like The Nose, the phallus is actually put in a bun as a hot dog ordered by a police officer. High jinks ensue.

Actually, Crime and Punishment doesn't fit the obvious connection of these stories (unaccounted for, arbitrary change), but I think it fits because it's an exploration of the human psyche and behavior. Except as a breast, a noseless guy or a bug.

I think there's a comment about human sexuality and relationships here. The guy that had little interest in having sex with his girlfriend (obviously, a work of fiction), but then can find his only release and pleasure as a breast in having his nipple worked over. Maybe men can't get along with women because they're all just sexual dissatisfied.

'The Postman Always Rings Twice'

Per this 1,001 project, I think I've read and seen the book and film of a particular title once.

It was "Naked Lunch" and I could not have chosen a particular opus that was written one way and made into a film a total different way. Not that it matters cause the book was so screwy.

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" is the second. The story and film follow hand in hand, except for one thing.

In the film, they have a soliloquy where he describes the idea of a postman ringing twice, as in, you will always get your comeuppance.

But they don't have the same explanation or dialogue in the book. I guess the writers/director thought they needed to explain the title because the film was being consumed by wider audiences.

Good story, though.

'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'

Reading all these books, listening to all these records and watching all these films, you pick up on a ton of trends and common threads between generations, genres and individual works.

A week ago I read "Candide," which is a short story about a man who deals with the cruelty of mankind and the ideas of human nature, fate and behavior.

In "Strange Case ..." we are confronted with the same sort of themes, most notably the duality of man. As we saw in "Candide," humans seem to have the capability of making their own decisions and often times we are met with evil, destruction, pain and ill intentions. This is personified in the body of Dr. Henry Jekyll as he personally struggles with his inner animal and desires only the things that agree with the flesh without conscious.

Funny note: Visiting Edinburgh, I visited the pub of the man who inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's story.

'Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris'

This may be the only time I use this adjective on this blog: Charming.

A sweet little short story about a charming, headstrong London housekeeper who wants nothing but a Dior dress. And then she proceeds to charm the pants off everyone she meets.

A comment on religion, fate and the thought that good things happen to good people.

Of course, it brings up the question of what is really important in life. Why can't thing be important, like dresses, cars, houses, watches and such?

I have a friend who makes a lot of money, but you'd look at him and not know the difference. He doesn't drive an expensive car or live in a large house. But he likes expensive pens. Yes, the utensils used for writing things. In no other part of his life does he spend large amounts of money except on pens.

So what's wrong with that? We're taught not to overly value merchandise and consumer products, but to instead embrace religion, family, friends, etc. But in the end, we can take neither (the family and such and the ephemeral items, too) with us to the grave.

'Breakfast at Tiffanys'

I think Norman Mailer said it best:

"Truman Capote is tart as a grand aunt, but in his way he is a ballsy little guy, and he is the most perfect writer of my generation, he writes the best sentences word for word, rhythm upon rhythm. I would not change d two words in Breakfast at Tiffany's, which will become a small classic."