love Christmas time — even the parts of it that are tawdry and blatantly commercial. Christmas may commemorate the birth of Christ, but it has a longstanding tradition in America and much of the rest of the world that has nothing directly to do with that.
By Michael Masterson | Thu, Dec 24, 2009
According to the book Did You Ever Wonder… by Jeff Rovin, “Xmas” comes from the Greek word for “Christ,” which is “Xristos.” The shortened form of the word “Christmas” became popular in Europe in the 1500s. Today, we see it a lot, especially in ads. (Maybe because it has the [...]
By Michael Masterson | Thu, Dec 24, 2009
Nothing but fun stuff for me to do today — putting the finishing touches on the Christmas village, wrapping presents, listening to Christmas music, eating, drinking, spending time with the family.
By Michael Masterson | Wed, Dec 23, 2009
When the Three Wise Men gave the Christ child frankincense and myrrh, they were doing much more than giving him something that smelled good. They were giving him a gift of good health. In those days, these two aromatics were widely used as medicine.
By Early To Rise | Wed, Dec 23, 2009
Fatuous (FACH-oo-us) — from the Latin for foolish — means idiotic or smugly stupid.
By Michael Masterson | Wed, Dec 23, 2009
If you like wine, having your own wine “cellar” will give you much pleasure. And it doesn’t have to cost a fortune or take up much space. A small closet can be turned into a very respectable beginner’s cellar. (Just vent in some air conditioning.) Or you could buy a relatively [...]
By Michael Masterson | Wed, Dec 23, 2009
On a normal workday, I try to do something “important-but-not-urgent” first thing in the morning (like writing an Early to Rise article or a chapter for my next book). And if you’ve been reading ETR for any length of time, you know that important-but-not-urgent tasks are the ones that can really [...]
By David Cross | Wed, Dec 23, 2009
Consumers — yes, that means you and me — know what we want. More choices! May we have more sizes, colors, and flavors? And could you add soy milk, skip the cinnamon, then top it off with ice cubes… to go, please?
By Michael Masterson | Wed, Dec 23, 2009
Sally has an ambitious weight-loss goal for 2010. She told me she is planning to lose 40 pounds. She said she figured she’d lose four pounds a month for 10 months, and then celebrate in October. If she fell behind a little bit, she’d have two months to catch up.
By John Forde | Tue, Dec 22, 2009
I shaved this morning thinking about “commodity hell.” That’s when a market for a product is so crowded that every version of it is practically the same. Interchangeable with the competition. And the only way to give yourself an advantage is to slash prices until the pain of profit loss squeezes either you [...]
By Michael Masterson | Thu, Dec 24, 2009
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