Vol. 20 Iss. 41

Volume 20 Issue 41 - 10/26/2012

I’m Annoyed by Halloween

The local Target is jam-packed with outsized spiders, witches, scary masks, and gobs of gobstoppers and other inedible bits and bites. I keep buying Hershey’s chocolates that I have no business eating. And on the days I get all self-righteous about nutrition and the oversized marketing of junk food, I glare at the bits and… Read more »

From Where I Sit – It’s Gotta Be Done

After a self-inflicted estrangement of about 30 years, Roy’s aunt called us. With no explanation for the distancing, she was gently reinserting herself into our lives. And I suppose it was understandable. She is now 95 years old and alone. She never had children, and her marriage ended decades ago–a matter she has never spoken… Read more »

Health Matters – Halloween Skeletons

As October 31 approaches, there’s an abundance of Halloween images?including, of course, creepy skeletons. But when I see these skeletons, skulls, and other bony appendages, I think of our own bones, something we often take for granted. How healthy is your skeleton? That’s a question that should be asked not just at Halloween, but throughout… Read more »

Maghreb Voices – Khaled, C’est la vie

Album: Khaled, C?est la vie ?Make prayers, Mother?your poor son is suffering. Pray hard. I know one day the moon will sleep, so pray until the day comes. God doesn’t break His promises! At the door of Paradise I will dance with my mother, at the door of Paradise I will dance with my mother,… Read more »

Click of the Wrist – Playing Dress-Up

Come Halloween night, the streets will be filled with kids disguised as princesses, superheroes, witches, and zombies. But dress-up isn’t just for October 31! Click through this week’s links for some innovative approaches to costuming. Night Owl Wanted: someone to dress up as an owl and help me sleep. That was the gist of an… Read more »

Green Light – Jack-o’-Lantern

Creating jack-o?-lanterns this weekend? Make the fun last beyond the season! On November 1, don’t plastic-bag the pumpkins and put them out on the curb. If they’re in decent condition?and if your weather’s been cool they should be?you can roast them for cold-weather salads or steam, strain, and freeze the pumpkin ?meat? for future recipes…. Read more »

Did You Know? – Minding My Own Business

Most of us have at some time?even if only briefly?entertained the dream of running our own businesses. Maybe we already have a great idea, one that we’re sure would be at least a moderate success. But making the jump between idea and reality is such a drastic step that we get stuck at stage one;… Read more »