Probably the most famous single list in the world is the Ten Commandments.
Just one list, 10 things.
Santa Claus maintains two lists, naughty and nice, updating them continuously.
Me? I’ve got three lists: Christmas list, Christmas card list, and my life goal list, referred to now as my “living list.”
I update that one continuously too.
And for a further explanation, check out today’s episode of Math and Musings.
When the next edition of 365 Movies drops (c. 2028) I’m replacing Christmas Vacation with 8-Bit Christmas.
Yes, Christmas Vacation is a classic, but damn 8-Bit Christmas is the story of my life. Seriously, even the dates line up and everything. It was Christmas ’88 that I fell in love with Nintendo and became obsessed with getting one after playing it… nay, experiencing it at a friend’s house. (It was actually my cousins’ place.) I begged my parents for six months and then… magic.
And I still have it.
And 35 years later I’m telling my son the story of how it all happened. And playing those games with him.
And watching movies like 8-Bit Christmas.
The H.B. Reese Candy Company was established in 1923 by Harry Burnett Reese in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Mr. Reese had been a shipping foreman for one Milton Hershey, then left his position to start his own candy company and, five years later, developed the signature “cup” which bears his name.
All told there are probably a hundred different variations of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. From miniature to King Size and thin to Big Cup, there are also trees and hearts, and various fillings, including but not limited to potato chips, pretzel bits, and cereal puffs.
Yeah, they’ve done the Oreoification bit.
And in classic fashion, all of these variations are… almost as good as the original.
Until now.
Enter Caramel Reese’s. Or should I say reenter, as various sources claim such a product existed in certain markets the past decade or two.
I had one for the first time yesterday.
I don’t think I can ever go back.
Dammit, Caramel Reese’s! You’ve ruined the regular cup for me now.
Okay, time to stock up before these things disappear.
On today’s episode of Math and Musings you’ll hear me discuss Neil King Jr.’s American Ramble. It’s similar to the Jenkins story from last week… but better written and 40 years into the future.
And damn I wish I’d thought of it first.
Holiday festivities this season have centered around striking a balance between what I can and cannot allow my nine-year-old son to experience. For example, 8-Bit Christmas? Yeah, he can handle that. South Park Christmas? Not so much.
It’s not that I don’t think he’ll get it. I worry he’ll get it a little too well.
Bloom’s off the rose with Santa Claus; there are only so many things left to keep sacred.
In my front yard these days I have an eight-foot-tall inflatable Santa Claus. Every morning I wrestle with it for 20 minutes or so getting it upright and balanced properly. If you’ve ever seen an episode of Family Guy where Peter is fighting the chicken it’s kind of like that.
Needless to say my Santa Claus is not very jolly. And for an old fat guy he fights pretty good.
A few weeks ago I wrote about Peter Jenkins and his book, A Walk Across America, and my book, The Other Side of the Coin.
You didn’t think I was going to skip out on talking about it too, right?
Enter today’s episode of Math and Musings.
You’re welcome.
I’ve noted before that the days between Thanksgiving Day and the first of December are among the silliest of the calendar year. When Thanksgiving is over you just want it to be December.
This year I’m trying to make the most of that time, having gone full Clark Griswold on holiday decorations from about seven a.m. last Friday morning.
If you want to see my progress…
mine’s the one with the eight-foot-tall inflatable Santa Claus in the yard.
I’ve been a teacher for the past 16 years. During this time I’ve seen dozens of movies and TV shows that involve an unspoken premise, that somehow it’s easy to enter the teaching profession. Like any other job, you show up, interview, get hired, and start. Or often, after many failed attempts at “real” jobs, you decide to settle for being a teacher. So you just start. Somehow.
A little like knocking on the door of Yankee Stadium and asking for a tryout.
This week’s episode of Frasier shows Dr. Crane in full Dr. Crane mode, attempting to parlay his charm and celebrity into full-professor status. (Just being Doctor Frasier Crane isn’t good enough; Professor Crane is the title he seeks.) Without giving too much away, let’s just say that in the episode, it’s tougher than it looks. There’s a process and a review board and Frasier is reminded that these promotions take years, regardless of celebrity status.
Yeah, it was weird how on the first episode of the reboot the gentlemen of Harvard just let him waltz in and be a teacher, but this time they got it right.
‘Bout time.
It’s no secret that the little podcast I do is not live. Actually I think every podcast, by definition, is not live. Sometimes I record the things a few days ahead, sometimes it’s like weeks or months.
Hence my having absolutely no idea what today’s episode is about.
As I used to say on TV: a few surprises… sometimes even for me.