Memorial Day: Suddenly, it’s summer
Here in southeast Wisconsin, we no longer have the gentle, blossom-scented springtimes of my youth. Thanks to the New Weather, we now get six weeks of 40-degree fog one year, suffocating heat and...
View ArticleSt. Patrick’s Day: Irish breakfast, Racine parade, Irish stew recipe
I’m not even a little bit Irish, but I love St. Patrick’s Day. I love Irish history and literature and music — especially James Joyce and Van Morrison — and for me, St. Patrick’s Day is the official...
View ArticleFirst day of winter is December 1
When I woke up this morning to a few new inches of snow, the temperature outside was -4°F, combined with a 23 m.p.h. breeze for a wind chill index of 28 below zero. The news anchor on WBBM 780 informed...
View ArticleNew Year food, New Year traditions for good luck
As the last moments of 2008 evaporate like a mongrel’s marking on the fire hydrant of hope, I’m doing a little extra-credit research into New Year food and New Year traditions — including any which...
View Article‘Auld Lang Syne’ by Robert Burns: New Year’s song lyrics
As the sun sets here in southeastern Wisconsin, I thought I’d share a recording of the New Year’s song, “Auld Lang Syne” (often searched for as “Old Lang Syne” — perhaps because “Same Old Lang Syne”...
View ArticleEaster traditions and the movie ‘King of Kings’ (Jeffrey Hunter, 1961)
It is funny how a few random details, repeated together over time, can solidify into a ritual which becomes essential to your psychological comfort. This is one of mine — the 1961 movie King of Kings...
View ArticleHalloween costumes: Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein
Happy Halloween to you and yours from Frankenstein’s monster and the lovely Bride of Frankenstein! Our Halloween costumes feature the classic Universal Studios Boris Karloff Frankenstein Mask, plus the...
View ArticleThe Krampus and St. Nicholas in Austria (December 5)
The excitement is palpable in the video above as a child greets visitors arriving in Dienten am Hochkönig, a little mountain village in Austria. Many Americans probably recognize St. Nicholas, whose...
View Article‘The Beatles Christmas Album,’ by The Beatles
Among all the John Lennon tributes yesterday, a friend of mine — Stripwax creator Jeff Moody — posted a link to a YouTube video featuring one of the Beatles’ wackier departures, “You Know My Name (Look...
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