Tag: Christmas

Christmas and me

I like Christmas. I like the traditional songs, the lights, the trees, the food, the presents, the getting together with friends and family, all of that stuff. I like A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Christmas Carol (Muppet, Mickey Mouse, George C. Scott or Alistair Sim versions, or all …

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The annual alcohol column

[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/uploads//2011/12/Annual-Alcohol-Column-2011.mp3[/podcast] Every Christmas/New Year’s holiday season brings with it a spate of articles about alcohol—you know, like this one. Alcohol is a very odd thing for us to imbibe, when you come right down to it. It is, after all, the waste product of another life-form: namely, yeast. There are very few other life forms …

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A Christmas Magebane giveaway contest!

I just received a fresh batch of Magebanes from the publisher, and in the spirit of the season have decided to give two of them away. If you’d like an autographed copy of Magebane mailed to your door, just leave a message below: no need to leave any contact information except an email address–if you …

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Blame your brain for overeating

[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2009/12/Why-We-Overeat.mp3[/podcast] Put on a few extra pounds over Christmas? Wonder why you feel compelled to eat half a box of chocolates half an hour after finishing your second plate of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy? Feel a little guilty? Well, new research offers clues to one of the most baffling aspects of the eternal …

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The mathematics of pizza slicing

[podcast]https://edwardwillett.com/wp-content/upLoads//2009/12/Pizza-Slicing.mp3[/podcast] It’s almost Christmas, and Christmas means food: turkey, dressing, candy canes, oranges, cranberries, chocolate, and, of course, pizza. (OK, maybe pizza is not the most traditional of foods, but it’s still a popular holiday choice, so humor me.) Pizzas normally come pre-sliced. The question is, and I’m sure you’ve asked yourself this a lot, …

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O Tannenbaum

Time to re-roast an old chestnut, a column I wrote several years that has become fresh in my mind due to the successful completion last night of Operation Dress-the-Tree (to be followed in a few weeks, of course, by Operation Curse-the-Tree as the needle-shedding skeleton is hauled out to the alley). Is there scientific interest …

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I’m a Santa expert!

No, really, that’s what it says in the headline to this story, written by Vivian Song for Sun Media, in which I’m one of several theorists quoted in an in-depth examination of the latest scientific thinking regarding the amazing feats of Jolly Old Saint Nick. This appeared in the Winnipeg Sun, but it’ll probably be …

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Myths of the season

If there’s one thing science has taught us, it’s that just because “everybody knows” something is true, that doesn’t mean it’s true. Just in time for Christmas, two doctors, Aaron Carroll and Rachel Vreeman, both associate professors of pediatrics at Indiana University and practicing pediatricians at Riley Hospital for Children, have published a study taking …

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And while we’re on the subject of Christmas…

…which we were, post before last:(From Savage Chickens, via Editorial Ass.)

Photo of the Day: A little pre-Christmas cheer

Pre-order Terra Insegura now!

The pre-ordering link is up at Amazon for Terra Insegura, due out May 5–you know, if you just can’t wait: A print-out of a confirmation of your pre-order from Amazon would make a great Christmas gift! Wouldn’t it?

An old chestnut, re-roasted

Time for the traditional Christmas column, and just as we haul out the same old ornaments year after year, this year I’m hauling out an old column (from 1994) because, well, it’s timeless. Also, it’s almost Christmas, and I’m lazy. (Something to do with the conservation of mass and energy: at Christmas, your mass increases …

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