Tuna Melt

What do you present as a present to a curmudgeonly old uncle who has presence of mind and the prescience to know what he requires, but is retired and, thusly, doesn’t need anything like ties or belts or shoelaces to get him through the day? A half-gallon of fresh apple cider and a large block of Vermont cheddar? Perfect! What can be better than a tuna melt and hot mulled cider on a wintry day? Don’t get me wrong, socks and gloves are always welcome but those only warm the heart existentially.

Ode to an ornament

This is my favorite new ornament for 2013.  I was the high bidder on eBay and was thrilled when it fell to me.  It reminds me of halcyon days in Hollywood, Florida while grubbing around in the garden and schmoozing and snoozing with naturism and a couple of beloved dachshunds.  I’m also rather fond of balloon animals.

O' Ceramics!

My ceramic tree is up and running again.  I fixed the circuitry and installed new light bulbs (plastic) and it’s shining merrily in the basement window, which is at ground level and viewable by passersby.  It is so schlocky and, in some eyes, tasteless and pretty much represents a period of my life when the living was easy and the artistic persona I later developed hadn’t as yet, well, developed.  I hadn’t planned on unboxing it this year but somehow my better judgment gave in to my need to be “ironic” this holiday.  It’s like spending hundreds of dollars to have an ugly bullfight poster or an Elvis-on-velvet framed, and if the irony is misread by those passersby, well, so be it. 

At the End of the Day

There is a thunderous song in Les Miserables titled “At the End of the Day.”  But I had forgotten that little bit of trivia until I Googled the phrase to see what popped up.  I made an appointment with Google because “at the end of the day” is a phrase that’s starting to get on my nerves.  It seems like every pundit on both network and cable news throws it into every story and/or opinion they proffer to the masses.  I’m sure they think it makes them sound erudite but it is so ubiquitous now it has pretty much ceased to mean anything.  It’s like “slippery slope” or “I didn’t see that coming” that is making language unwatchable.  Usually catch phrases catch on for a while and then they disappear but “at the end of the day” seems to be lingering like moss on a log, and I hate it.  Not the moss, the phrase.