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Holiday books need side of chocolate

The post warmed me more than a mug of hot chocolate: “In Iceland, books are exchanged on Christmas Eve, then the tradition is to spend the rest of the night reading and eating chocolate.” I don’t know if this is true, but it sure ought to be. Which books should we give? Mine, ...

Too creaky to play hide-and-seek

Toy commercials are back! They probably never went away, but it’s the first time in years that I’ve taken notice with the rapt attention of my youth. And by “rapt attention,” I mean scribbling them in a notebook so I can detail my Christmas list for Mom and Dad. If I had spent as ...

Don’t raise a stink or you won’t pass the smell test

You don’t have to gag your way down the cologne aisles to know that we are enamored of odors. Our speech reeks of fragrances not meant to be taken literally. Take a whiff of some our favorite idioms: • “Wake up and smell the coffee.” (Meaning, “Buy a clue, Mr. Oblivious.”) • “Take time to stop and smell the roses.” (Slow down, you’re moving too fast, you got to make the morning last.) • “Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman.” (Daniel Craig has arrived.) • “Can you smell what the Rock is cooking?” (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is fixin’ ...

The Magazine Card Stuffings Wallpapering System

It’s time once again for practical decorating tips from Uncle Burtie, your home interiors answer man. Today, I introduce you to the Burt’s Eye Magazine Card Stuffings Wallpapering System. I came up with this piece of sheer brilliance thumbing through a magazine while putting off replacing that paneling at the end of the hallway. I was hindered in my search for cartoons because of all those cards stapled between the pages. You know the ones: “Subscribe now and save!” and “Please ship me my imitation china door knobs for only three easy payments of $39.95!” and “Yes, I’m ...

Men knew how to do things before YouTube, Google

When I was a boy, men knew how to do things. You didn’t hire mechanics or carpenters. You fixed and built stuff yourself. If you didn’t know exactly which direction to route the plumbing fixtures, you had your spouse call the spouse of one of the other guys who did. (Back then, men ...

Clothes trauma can be traced back to Smelly Ralph’s hand-me-downs

“Would you like to shop for your own clothes?” My wife asked this with a straight face. I waited for the punchline. None came. “I’ve got stuff,” I said. “No, I mean we could go shopping together for new shirts and pants for you,” Terry said. She couldn’t be serious. Could ...