It’s going to be cold for the next week or so here in Connecticut. It’s all anyone can talk about. The normal low temperature around here is about 20 degrees. The highs are only going to be half that. The lows are going to be below zero. It might not be Minnesota cold, but it…
Today was the big day. After a month of prepping, Christmas finally happened. It went well. Santa was overly generous to my daughter. So were her grandparents. She had a great day overall. One of the strange things since my divorce (or at least one thing I didn’t expect) is that I feel a lot…
It’s Christmas Eve and I’m completely finished. All the shopping is done. All the wrapping is done. I finished two days ago. There’s nothing left to do but to put out the milk and cookies and wait for Santa to do his thing. The funny thing is, I’m kind of bummed about it. Generally, I…
There is a correct answer to the question, “What’s the best Christmas album.” The answer is Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas by Ella Fitzgerald. It is a truly great album. Not just a great holiday album, but a great album. It sounds as good in July as it does in December. It’s basically perfect….
Every year, PNC calculates what they call the Christmas Price Index. Basically it is the amount of money it would cost to buy all of the gifts in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. This year, the total is $34,558.65. That’s a 0.6% increase over last year. If find the number interesting in a…
“Ho, ho, ho, it’s that time of year again,” Santa said. It was one month until Christmas. “Time to start matching the Nice List with the Wish List.” An elf named Whinny placed two giant books on Santa’s desk. Santa opened the one to his left and said, “Let’s see. Ah! I knew it, ho, ho. …
I’m going to start my annual re-reading of A Christmas Carol tonight. One stave a night for five nights will let me finish it on Christmas Eve. My edition of A Christmas Carol also contains several other Christmas stories that Dickens wrote. I’ve read them before, but it’s been a while and I had some…
I just saw The Last Jedi for a second time. I still don’t know what to make of it. It’s fine, I guess, sort of. It’s as least more OK than could be expected given that it’s the second chapter of a story started by Force Awakens. Nothing’s really changed since I last wrote about…
I always wonder why any song about or featuring winter becomes a Christmas song. “Jingle Bells”, “Sleigh Ride” and “Winter Wonderland” have nothing to do with Christmas. We should be just as happy listening to them in February as we are in December. But we’re not, and I think that’s strange. Other holidays don’t co-opt…
I just saw Star Wars – The Last Jedi. I am at a loss what to write about it. I have no strong opinions about it. Sure, I can say things about it: it was way too long, one of the main plot threads turned out to be a snipe hunt, Luke’s “Just For Men”…
