I worked for Hallmark for over seven years and didn’t know that Sweetest Day — that’s today — was all about candy.
I’m not sure how I missed that.
But now that I do, my Saturday — and this holiday — has a whole new sense of purpose. And my menu for the day is all planned.
Care to join me?
The fifth sentence from page 56.
That’s how folks are honoring National Book Week on Facebook — grabbing the book closest at hand and posting that random phrase.
I thought I would go one step further and talk up one of my favorite books. Not my ‘desert island book’ — A Prayer for Owen Meany, which I have lauded here before — but a book by Mario Puzo that did not achieve the commercial success of the Godfather saga.
I have read and re-read The Fourth K countless times since its 1990 publication. Although it was a commercial failure, Puzo called it his “most ambitious novel.” I would argue it is his most imaginative.
The novel follows the Presidency of Francis Xavier Kennedy, the fictional nephew of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Ted Kennedy. On an Easter Sunday at the end of his first term of office, the Pope is assassinated and Kennedy’s daughter is taken hostage and murdered. Soon after, a nuclear device is discovered in midtown Manhattan.
The crises have a fundamental effect on the President’s approach to governing, and impact his decision to seek re-election. But many question his ability to lead after his daughter’s death and attempt to invoke the 25th Amendment.
It’s an exciting, edge-of-your-seat read, and I think it would make an incredible film.
But it’s National Book Week, so I’ll say it — the book would be better.
Posted in Books, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Holiday, Humor, Movies, Politics
Tagged 25th Amendment, A Prayer for Owen Meany, books, celebrities, commentary, desert island, Easter Sunday, entertainment, Facebook, fictional Kennedy nephew, Godfather saga, holidays, hostage crisis, Humor, John F Kennedy, Manhattan, Mario Puzo, Movies, National Book Week, nuclear device, politics, Pope assassination, presidential election, Robert Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, The Fourth K
Look, up in the sky!
It‘s a bird!
It‘s a plane!
It’s one of the cast members of Spiderman: Turn on the Dark crashing to earth!!!! (Sorry…I couldn’t resist.)
Happy ‘Look Up in the Sky’ Day everyone!
Stand on a street corner and look up into the sky in awe. See how many people you can get to look up, too.
It’s fun for the entire family.
(Bonus points if it’s raining.)
Posted in Beauty, Broadway, Entertainment, Family, Holiday, Humor, Life, Movies, Walking
Tagged airplane, beauty, bird, Broadway, Broadway cast, comics, entertainment, family, holidays, Humor, life, Look Up in the Sky Day, Movies, New York City, Spiderman, Spiderman: Turn on the Dark, street corner, superheroes, Superman, walking
Celebrating a less traditional Turkey Day?
Me too!
But perhaps we should consider adding pumpkin pie back to the mix.
A new study reveals that pumpkin — one of Thanksgiving’s mainstays — has an exciting alternative use.
Chicago’s Smell and Taste Research Center found that men really like pumpkin, but not necessarily because of the taste. Apparently the smell of pumpkin ‘turns them on’ more than any other scent.
The scientists measured arousal by the amount of penile blood flow. (He he — I know, right?) Vanilla and strawberry scored next highest in the study.
So…interesting stuff.
Of all the foods traditionally served at the ginormous Turkey Day dinner that I am purposefully avoiding this year, pumpkin pie is my favorite. I usually buy one at Thanksgiving and eat on it for the next week or so. But this year?
I’m gonna save some to put behind my ears.
Posted in Cooking, Dating, Food, Foods, Friends, Holiday, Humor, Life, News, Relationships
Tagged arousal, Chicago's Smell and Taste Research Center, commentary, cooking, dating, food, Foods, friends, holidays, Humor, life, men and smell, news, penile blood, pumpkin pie, Relationships, smell and arousal, strawberry, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving dinner, Turkey Day, Turkey Day dinner, vanilla
“Time to nut up or shut up!” — Zombieland, 2009
That’s right — it’s National Nut Day!
No doubt most of you have the day off from work, gathered with your family and friends, celebrating all those great National Nut Day traditions.
Um…any idea what those are?
Don’t feel bad. No one really knows how National Nut Day got on the calendar…or if it was, in fact, originally dedicated to the food category of nuts as you might first expect.
Perhaps the founder created National Nut Day to pay tribute to all those crazy, kooky characters that make our lives more interesting — the ‘nuts.’
They act like nuts. They drive us nuts. Their brains are full of nuts. And seriously — without them, wouldn’t life be a whole lotta boring?
(I think I prefer this version. I’m going with it.)
There’s no data on when National Nut Day was added to the calendar, either. So you have to wonder if the founder was thinking about real-life nuts — family, friends, wacky neighbors who borrow tools and don’t return them…argh! — or if he was including nuts from television and movies.
(I think I prefer this version. I’m going with it.)
Then National Nut Day could pay tribute to Senor Chang from “Community.” And pretty much everyone in the “Anchorman” and “Hangover” movies. Gosh, there are so many nutty fictional characters. Oh! The original nuts — Chip ‘n’ Dale!
I’m sure you have your favorites as well. And I hope you’ll salute them during your day off.
That’s right — during National Nut Day!
Posted in Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Family, Food, Foods, Holiday, Home, Humor, Life, Movies, Television, TV
Tagged Anchorman movie, Chip and Dale, Chip n Dale, comedy, commentary, Community tv show, entertainment, family, Foods, holiday calendar, holiday traditions, holidays, home, Humor, kooky characters, life, Movies, National Nut Day, nut up or shut up, nuts, nutty people, people who drive you nuts, Senor Chang, Television, The Hangover movie, TV, vacation, wacky people, Zombieland movie
When I started at Hallmark Cards in 1992, my first position was in licensed properties. I was the editor for Peanuts and Garfield cards, and later Cathy and Ziggy and Disney and “Saturday Night Live” and pretty much any other licensed character that could sell a humor card.
I even traveled to Disney in California at one point and attended ‘Pooh College’ — as in Winnie the Pooh — and became somewhat of a corporate expert on how Winnie should look and sound to greeting card audiences, whether they be children, young adults, teens or even adult Pooh fans.
Because each Pooh is different. (You can quote me on that.)
Winnie the Pooh is also the World Ambassador of Friendship. The United Nations made an official declaration in 1997.
It’s a piece of trivia that you might find handy, because it’s National Friendship Day. Yep — Congress made that official as well, way back in 1935.
So, here’s my official note of gratitude to my friends — the ones I see every day, the ones I miss every day and the 340 I ‘talk’ to every day on Facebook.
I’m sure Pooh would approve.
Posted in Books & Mags, Family, Holiday, Humor, Life, Relationships
Tagged Cathy comic strip, corporate expert, Disney, funny greeting cards, Garfield comic strip, greeting cards, Hallmark Cards, holidays, life, National Friendship Day, Peanuts comic strip, Pooh College, Relationships, Saturday Night Live, Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the pooh college, Ziggy comic strip
By mid-morning, Facebook was filled with status updates about ice cream.
Heck — it’s summer. It’s hot. Ice cream always sounds good. And since today is National Ice Cream Day, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that everyone is focused on this cold, creamy delight.
But did you know that today is also National Caviar Day?
Yep. That salty, fishy, icky treat of the upper class has its national holiday on the same day. But so far, I haven’t seen any Facebook status updates celebrating caviar.
Fishy.
I certainly think my friends are upper class. But perhaps, like me, the thought of eating fish eggs on a cracker doesn’t have the same appeal…especially when the really good stuff — Beluga caviar — cost $150 an ounce.
I can buy an awful lot of ice cream for that amount of money. And a hot dog…and a hamburger…and a movie ticket…and a cab ride home.
I think we have a winner.
Happy National Ice Cream Day!
Posted in Comedy, Family, Foods, Holiday, Humor, Internet, Summer
Tagged Beluga caviar, caviar, comedy, Facebook, Facebook status updates, family, fish, fish eggs, food, Foods, hamburgers, Holiday, holidays, hot dogs, hot weather, Humor, ice cream, Internet, National Caviar Day, National Ice Cream Day, roe, summer, upper class, weather
There she is
So what does Anderson Cooper have on his mind as the holidays draw near?
Or, more specifically, what effect our princess, pageant and beauty-obsessed society might be having on young girls.
I attended the taping of Anderson today with my friend Caroline. It was my third time to be a part of his studio audience.
The first time he discussed women who discovered their husbands were cheating online.
Snore.
The second was a special screening of the movie 50/50 followed by the show taping with interviews with the movie’s stars.
Score.
Triple word score.
Thanks Anderson, for asking me back!
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Posted in Beauty, Celebrities, Children, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Television, TV
Tagged 50/50 movie, Anderson, Anderson Cooper, beauty, beauty pageant, beauty pageant contestant, celebrities, commentary, entertainment, family, holidays, Humor, life, movie screening, New York City, online cheating, pageant mom, princess, show taping, studio audience, Television, Toddlers and Tiaras, TV