Archive for December, 2009
Party Prep
Whether you are braving the bar scene or settling in at home tonight, it’s likely that you’ll be around people and have some interesting conversations, especially the closer you get to midnight and the closer your bottle gets to empty. Among the topics you might discuss are Tiger Woods, Charlie Sheen, Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, George [...]
Full (Blue) Moon Fever
We’ve all heard the phrase “once in a blue moon,” but many of us don’t know the exact definition of a blue moon. Today, a blue moon is considered to be the second full moon in a single month. As you may expect, the moon will NOT look blue, which is where the history of the [...]
Boxing Day – no gloves required
Boxing Day is always on December 26th, but it is being observed in many countries today because the 26th fell on a weekend. Americans are often unfamiliar with Boxing Day, but it is celebrated in well over a dozen countries including Canada and the United Kingdom. By celebrated, I mean people get the day off [...]
Football on Christmas night!
When the spiced wine starts kicking in, you may notice some people in your house have flipped on a football game. No, it’s not Sunday, but yes, that’s the NFL. Tonight, the Tennessee Titans host the San Diego Chargers. What you need to know: the Titans started the season 0-6, but have since changed their [...]
Health care bill voted on again?
It’s Christmas, but Dinner Topics won’t take a break. In fact, with a family dinner likely scheduled for today, you need us now more than ever. The big news story of the past couple days is the Senate’s approval of the health care bill. Here’s where you want to make sure you don’t get confused. [...]
What is Frankincense and Myrrh?
When you have your annual conversation about who was the wisest of the Three Wise Men tonight, you should probably know what they brought with them. Of course you know about gold1, but what is frankincense and myrrh? It’s not a cartoon on Disney2 nor is it a breakfast cereal. Frankincense is a dried tree [...]
Yuletide and the 12 Days of Christmas
While my daughter was butchering the lyrics to “Deck the Halls” the other day, I had to explain that it’s “troll the ancient Yuletide carol,” not “yuletime.” Then I realized I couldn’t really explain what Yuletide was. With Christmas right around the corner, you need to know this too. Yuletide roughly translates back to its [...]
Gitmo to Thomson??
The story is about a week old, but there’s a good chance if you live in the Midwest, people will still be talking about this topic at your next get together – the prisoners from Gitmo are scheduled to be transported to the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois. President Obama’s plan is to close the [...]
