Candy Cane Tradition?

Considered a seasonal item, 90 percent of candy canes are sold between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can’t ever remember having candy canes until 4 years ago. I was casually checking for things to buy on Amazon when I saw that yes there are a few sellers who do make candy canes in India. So I checked out a few and bought one. It comes in a pack of 6 ones, rather big in size. I have bought 1 the last two Decembers as well.

I bought a small pack of 6 big ones and it’s become an end of the year/Xmas tradition thing for me to do. I got my 2024 pack on Friday and these were a treat for the weekend. The ones I bought this time were the peppermint flavour and I didn’t like it as much as I did the regular ones, but they were still good.

5150 – Van Halen

5150 (pronounced “fifty-one-fifty”) is the seventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released on March 24, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records and was the first of four albums to be recorded with lead singer Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth. The album was named after Eddie Van Halen’s home studio, 5150, in turn named after a California law enforcement term for a mentally disturbed person. I bought the album in the mid 90s – I think by 1994 and listened to it a lot!

The album starts with a banger in Good Enough – actually it starts off with Sammy yelling “Hello Baby!” Second track and it was the group’s first single with Sammy and off the album. With Eddie’s keyboard riff dominating the song until the guitar solo, it went to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number one on the Cashbox Top 100, the week of May 16. It was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany and a top 20 single in Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden. Get Up is more rockier and probably my least favourite song on the album. Up next is second single and the best song in the album – dare I say it’s their best ever song. Dreams captures so many emotions, especially after the death of Eddie Van Halen. A lot of musicians chose this song to pay their tribute to a guitar legend.

It reached # 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #24 on the Cash Box Top 100 and was on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie & soundtrack. The now nostalgic Summer Nights which is the fun number and live favourite that is up next. Another fun rocker is Best Of Both Worlds which works so well live. One of my favourite semi-ballads of Van Halen, Love Walks In is the third single and the keyboard heavy song was the first song that the band wrote with Hagar. It peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard  Mainstream Rock Songs chart, and reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. The title track and live concert staple was never a major single but it is a fan favourite with it’s awesome guitar riffs. And the album ends with another of my favourites with Inside – that chorus is so cool.

The album hit number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, surpassing the band’s previous album, 1984, which had peaked at number 2. The artwork features an Art Deco depiction of Atlas kneeling while holding a mirror-polished metallic sphere on his shoulders. The model for the album was ESPN BodyShapings Rick Valente. The Van Halen logo wraps around the sphere.

Crystal Palace 1 Arsenal 5

Gabriel Jesus scored twice as Arsenal put five past Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park to move to within three points of the top of the Premier League.

It took the Brazil striker’s tally against the Eagles to five in a week, following his Carabao Cup quarter-final hat-trick on Wednesday. But there was a setback for the Gunners as Bukayo Saka limped off in the first half. Jesus scored two in the first half before Kai Havertz made it three, with Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice adding further goals after the break. Arsenal struck first in the sixth minute, Saka’s cross was deflected into the path of Jesus and he fired past Dean Henderson at the near post. The Eagles were level just five minutes later when Ismaila Sarr curled an excellent effort in the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Arsenal then went ahead again just three minutes later. A dangerous corner was not cleared and Thomas Partey teed up Jesus, who curled a shot into the top corner. Jesus then almost registered his second hat-trick in a week when his header hit the post, but the ball bounced out and Havertz was on hand to tap in from close range for the Arsenal third. Both sides had chances to score more in the first half, Jean-Philippe Mateta had a close range effort saved by Raya before Gabriel headed a Martin Odegaard corner against the bar. Palace started the second half brightly but Arsenal kept them out before Martinelli diverted in substitute Rice’s shot.

Rice himself then got on the scoresheet as he curled in an excellent strike for the Arsenal fifth. Arsenal are now three points behind leaders Liverpool, although they have played two games more. The biggest worry for Arteta will be the severity of Saka’s injury. The 23-year-old, who has 52 goals and 44 assists since 2019, is key to this Arsenal side and they will need him if they are going to mount a serious title challenge for the third season in a row. Before he limped off, he made his 250th appearance for Arsenal, making him the the youngest Englishman to do that for the club.