Halloween Luxury

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Maxwell Perkins

Here’s a repost from a few years ago:

Ten Most “Luxurious” Things About Halloween

I’ve thought for a long time that the “holiday season” and “festive season” are what help us North Americans (and others in the Northern Hemisphere) fight back against Seasonal Affective Disorder – the holiday lights keep us from getting depressed after the summer sunshine is gone. The holidays start with Halloween, and that’s one of the things I like about it (although there are at least ten more):

Jack o’ Lantern as an art form

Here’s an art genre for you: carve a hollow vegetable into a work of art that involves light from the inside and typically has a theme of horror, and will start to rot within a week or so. I like to use power tools, like a jigsaw and an electric drill, to add an element of drama (and loud noise).

Children in costumes enjoying Halloween

Halloween is most definitely a holiday for children, but they will come right to your door to show you their costumes (whether you want them to or not).

Costumes as an art form

Those of us who have children, or are invited to masquerade parties, get another opportunity to express our creativity. My idea for an adult costume, a bicycle racer with syringes and blood bags hanging off of his arms, has not gone over too well.

Candy

Yes, candy.

Halloween videos for the festive season

Can’t, absolutely can’t write this post without mentioning “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” Just can’t. On the big screen, there are movies like “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” which uniquely bridges Halloween and Christmas Day by blending the spooky elements of Halloween with the festive spirit of Christmas, highlighting the transition from one holiday to the next.

Seasonal beers

For those of you who are fans of craft beers, you can be almost 100% sure that your local brewery will have a seasonal pumpkin ale or something similar to get you in the holiday spirit. These seasonal beers are often enjoyed during holiday shopping sprees.

No gifts

Even department stores haven’t yet started pre-pre-pre-holiday sales, or mounted holiday decorations before you’ve gotten the artificial cobwebs out of your trees. Your only obligation, should you choose to accept it, is to dole out piles of candy to those sweet little goblins, Avengers, and Spidermen that appear at your door. Halloween offers a welcome break from the usual holiday gift-giving obligations, allowing you to enjoy the festive season without the pressure of buying presents.

It’s an ecumenical holiday

Like Thanksgiving Day, Halloween is a holiday that can be celebrated by everyone. Though some consider it Satanic, I fail to understand how streets or parties full of children and adults dressed, often badly, as their favorite superhero or Presidential candidate could possibly reflect the worship of evil to any serious person. Halloween is all in fun. Try to take it that way.

There’s no snow on the ground

At least, not usually.  Halloween is celebrated while the air is crisp but, typically, still mild enough not to require a parka or boots.  Leaves are still on the trees, you can just begin to smell wood burning in neighborhood fireplaces.  It offers no lyrical waxing about sleigh bells, silver bells, or jingle bells — just hayrides through scarecrow-guarded fields and an occasional bob for apples. The mild weather of Halloween contrasts with the colder winter holiday season, which is marked by various cultural celebrations and increased commercialization.

Haunted houses, prisons or mental hospitals

Halloween provides innumerable opportunities to have the bejeezus frightened out of you.  If you like to be terrified, now’s your chance, and you can often do it in the most unpleasant surroundings imaginable.  Creaky old mansions, converted penal institutions, places with straightjackets and handcuffs and maniacs — oh, my!  — have been repurposed into sites where ordinary people dress up as zombies, monsters, vampires, and mummies to frighten other ordinary people for a small fee.

Luxury Halloween Decorations

In recent years, luxury Halloween decorations have taken the holiday to a whole new level of sophistication. Homeowners are now transforming their spaces into eerie yet elegant wonderlands, complete with elaborate lighting displays, intricate animatronics, and custom-designed props. Whether you’re aiming for a classic horror theme or a modern-day fright fest, these high-end decorations offer endless possibilities. The best part? Many of these luxurious items are designed to be reusable, making them a worthwhile investment for those who revel in the holiday spirit year after year. You can find these opulent decorations at high-end retailers and online marketplaces, with prices ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

Gourmet Halloween Treats

Why settle for ordinary candy when you can indulge in gourmet Halloween treats? Elevate your holiday celebrations with artisanal candies, gourmet popcorn, and cookies made from high-quality ingredients and unique flavor combinations like pumpkin spice and chocolate. These treats aren’t just delicious; they’re also visually stunning, making them the perfect addition to any holiday party or gathering. Specialty food stores and online retailers offer a wide range of gourmet Halloween treats, with prices varying from a few dollars to several hundred dollars. It’s a delightful way to add a touch of sophistication to your Halloween festivities.

Exclusive Halloween Events

For those looking to celebrate Halloween in style, exclusive events are the way to go. These high-end gatherings are often held at luxury venues and feature live music, gourmet food and drink, and other upscale amenities. From costume parties to haunted houses and other spooky attractions, these events offer a sophisticated and thrilling experience. Many of these exclusive Halloween events are designed for adults only, providing a perfect opportunity for a night of elegant scares. You can find tickets for these events through luxury event planners and online ticketing websites, with prices ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

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Fountain Pens Turned Out to Be the Smoothest Writing Instruments of All

Posted on September 27, 2024 by admin

Much too late in life, I learned what the best writing tool was. Pencils were always good, but they were too temporary. Old timey felt-tips, like Flairs and Sharpies, were strong and bold and made great signatures, but they got too mushy for everyday. I never liked ballpoints, so I went to rollerballs and stayed there. Good balance between a strong line and staying power. I always had to put a pad or something down underneath to make the best impression. Fountain pen I dismissed outright, thinking they were too scratchy and maybe one step up from dipping a goose quill in an inkwell.

My son introduced me to fountain pens. Fountain pens plural; they range from the cute Japanese Pilot Kakuno, mostly for children, to the high-end Japanese Sailor, to the American-made Cross (one of many). They are as smooth as can be and you don’t apply any pressure. You just let the ink flow.

Posted in Gifts for Anyone, Gifts for Children, Gifts for Men, Gifts for Women, Lifestyle, Tools | Leave a comment

Quitting Facebook the Right Way

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Maxwell Perkins

Are you thinking about quitting Facebook? Of course, it’s very easy: just don’t ever look at it again. I’ll get back to that later. The very first thing to do is make sure that quitting Facebook is what you want to do. Facebook is a bad thing; how much convincing do you need of that?

Why Quit Facebook?

First, it is a major distraction and a time suck. A half hour a day on FB is nearly half of a working day per week, every week. If you are watching your child play, are you really engaged if you are trying to take pictures and write a FB post? Real life is best experienced without being concerned about how it will look on your FB wall.

Quitting Facebook

Second, social comparison is bad for the spirit. I have a few friends (and they truly are my friends) whose relentless humblebragging has just gotten old. It’s human nature to wonder why YOU are not always standing at a podium receiving awards or watching your child hit grand slam home runs or seeing sunsets in tropical paradises. Finally, FB is a risk to your privacy – you are giving a lot of your personal information out for free.

Quitting Facebook, the Wrong Way

Actually, you can do whatever works for you. The advice you’ll get will range from cutting down the time you spend, either on your own or with software like FB Limiter, to deleting your Facebook account entirely. They have the drawbacks of being either not enough or too much. If you limit your time on Facebook, you will still waste time and continue to have FB’s other drawbacks. If your goal is to leave FB forever, it may seem like too drastic a step to actually take.

Quitting Facebook, the Right Way

Just stop going there. That’s it, that’s all you have to do and you won’t miss it. A few important suggestions, however:

  1. Download and save your Facebook data. That way, you won’t worry about losing anything. Here’s how.
  2. Start using email to keep in touch with your real friends.
  3. Use Instagram or Twitter to have an idea what’s going on in the world.
  4. Rely on other sites for news – your hometown newspaper page, the New York Times and the Huffington Post are all good places to stay current.
  5. Keep your pictures and video somewhere else in the cloud. Gmail and DropBox are good places with a lot of storage.
  6. Pick a date – a Monday or the first day of the month are good times to remember as the beginning of your new Facebook-free life. Or binge on Facebook in advance of your New Year’s resolution.

That’s it. How to quit Facebook. Try it out, see if you miss it and enjoy the hours you get back!

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The Steampunk Rain Barrel

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Maxwell Perkins

Not so much the steampunk rain barrel, it’s the rain barrel itself that is the affordable luxury. Free water for your yard, your houseplants, cleaning and/or your iron with no chlorine. In fact, in some places, like the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, you can get the rain barrel itself installed free of charge. They’ll come by your house, bring the rain barrel, drill into your downspout and hook everything up. Takes about fifteen minutes, but the only problem is the rain barrel is blue plastic and it doesn’t quite blend into the green, brown and gray garden setting.

Of course, you can paint them – faux wood barrels and flower scenes are especially popular. They look much better, but still look like painted plastic barrels. For our century old, Edwardian house, I imagined a top of the line rain barrel back in 1915 would be made of brass, to match the copper gutters and downspouts. The upside-down, sawed in half oak barrel makes a good stand to add a little water pressure.

Steampunk Rain BarrelOnce I got out the Rustoleum Antique Brass spray can, though, I got a little carried away. Some PVC pipe and fittings from Home Depot, real brass spigots to replace the plastic ones, bike gears and some random decorative objects and I was done – for now. Every old copper tank needs a gauge, so the barrel made a good place to mount the outdoor thermometer and humidity gauge. Here’s the general idea of what it’s supposed to look like:

Meccano Steam Engine

It’s still a work in progress (for example, might need some stronger glue for some of the pieces), and if you get tired of the old timey brass look, you can always paint over it. The only problem has been the lack of rain here over the last couple of months. I’m looking forward to catching some actual rain soon.

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Hose Quick Connectors Are So Much Easier (and More Fun)

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Maxwell Perkins

Hose quick connectors just might be something you’ve never seen. I did not know about them, and when I found out about them, got some, and tried them out, it was almost life-changing …

It’s finally summer, and we’ve gone from chopping ice and shoveling snow to watering the lawn and washing the car. We unroll the hoses and attach them to the outside faucets. Attaching them means screwing the hose on to the faucet and then screwing the sprinkler or nozzle of your choice to the other end. It’s great that water is not ice outside anymore, but hoses can be a pain. The hose is invariably at an awkward angle to the tap, so it’s hard to screw it on without skinning your knuckles. You have to get them tight enough not to leak, but not too tight to unscrew the next time. Once the hose is on, you’re tempted to leave it there instead of unscrewing it and putting it away.

Hose Quick Connect

Hose quick connectors turn your hoses and fittings into the grown-up’s version of a child’s construction set – like Tinker Toy or LEGO. You break out the channel lock pliers to get them seriously tight and leakproof, then after that it’s suddenly fun to put the hose on, add fittings to the end, add another hose for more distance – you get the idea. With the water shut off, there is not a drop of water wasted when connecting or disconnecting.

You can get green plastic ones for cheap at your local hardware or big box home store, but I really like the look and feel of the brass ones. They have a ten year warranty, but that doesn’t matter much – they will last forever. The ones I got have a special gasket that might need to replace every other year or so, but your garden hose tasks will be so much easier and more enjoyable, you won’t mind.

Available from Amazon.

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A D-Core Pillow Can Save Your Neck

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Daisy B
I’d never heard of a D-Core pillow until several years ago I visited the emergency room with an intolerable headache. I had never before suffered anything like this pain, which was so severe it nearly made me nauseous. After lots of tests, the ER doctor suggested that I visit — GASP! — a chiropractor, because the tests showed no organic dysfunction, and, to make a long story short, one of the remedies the chiropractor recommended was something called a D-Core Pillow that (surprise!) her office happened to sell. The headaches, she explained, were caused by neck strain, and the pillow (along with some chiropractic adjustment) would relieve that strain.
Needless to say, I was skeptical that a mere pillow could be part of the solution, and that THIS particular pillow (that the doctor herself was selling) could help, but after a single night’s sleep — no kidding, it took ONE night — my headache was barely noticeable. After several days, I was no longer experiencing headaches at all. They were caused, it seemed, by poor cervical alignment, which the shape of the pillow helped to correct as I slept.
How does it work? The pillow is shaped like this:
Shape of D Core Pillow
The core in the center of the pillow, which is shaped (obviously) like a “D,” cradles the back of your head, while the surrounding cushion support the natural curvature of your cervical spine. As I’ve learned the hard way, this curve can be disturbed, or your neck otherwise severely strained, if you sleep on your stomach (my favorite position) or on your side without adequate support for your neck, or if you spend too much time hunched and leaning over a computer keyboard, tablet, or mobile device (have you noticed that Bill Gates’ head leans precipitously forward even when he’s simply seated upright in an interview chair?). I have tried many (many!) other “cervical support” pillows over the years — memory foam, buckwheat hulls, side-sleeper shoulder-supporting — and each one of them has caused me to awaken with stiffness in my neck and shoulders. The D-Core is the only pillow that not only prevents that morning strain but relieves any strain I’ve accumulated in my neck or shoulders during the day.
The only bad news about the D-Core pillow is that it’s not really packable for travel. You can — as I do — stuff it into a suitcase and compress it to allow room for the rest of your belongings, or you could get the “mini” version that’s about half the size.
I’d be thrilled, though, if someone designed an inflatable version so I could more easily take my very necessary neck support on trips, and I’d be interested to know via comment whether anyone has found a comparable inflatable solution. In the meantime, you can get the D-Core Pillow or its smaller sibling fairly easily from Amazon.
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Spray Detailer – Have Your Car Look Just Washed Every Day

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Maxwell Perkins

You get your car washed and waxed, or you spend time doing it yourself. It looks shiny and like new – until it starts to get smudged, or the worst thing: ugly, caustic bird droppings. Could be that an otherwise clean, detailed car with an unsightly dirty spot looks worse than a uniformly dingy car. In any event, you don’t want to have to wash 100% of the car when 99% still looks perfect. That’s why they invented spray detailer – a “secret” well known to celebrity chauffeurs and car show concours winners. Keep some in the trunk of your car, along with a fairly clean microfiber and you will be ready anytime for the 30 second touch-up.

Spray Detailer
Every company that makes car care products makes spray detailer: Turtle Wax, Mothers, Meguiars, etc., and they all do the same job. Personally, I prefer Armor All or other products made with carnauba wax. My attitude is the more carnauba wax on my car, the better (and maybe I can get away with going that much longer before I have to wax it again).

Even without some cosmetic catastrophe like a bird bombing attack, you can easily improve the overall look of the car by turning the dustiest part into the shiniest. I find that the little triangular space behind the wheels tends to get dusty and dirty much faster than the rest of the car, so treat those spots and the car looks freshly washed again. Do as little or as much as you feel like doing.

Spray detailer is the perfect product for when you need a little moisture for touch-up to avoid scratching and to add back some shine. Combine it with a California Duster and you just might find out your car looks cleaner than ever with hardly any actual water. What could be easier?

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WAZE Is the Best GPS App (and It’s Free)

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Maxwell Perkins

Full disclosure – I want you to start using the Waze app on your phone while you’re driving to get directions, because maybe someday I’ll be on the highway a little distance behind you and you’ll be adding to the crowd-sourced speed and traffic information provided to everyone.

WAZE GPS App screenshot

Waze harnesses the real-time location information from all its users and distributes it to everyone, so as soon as traffic begins to build up, the word gets out. It will start to route drivers around the jam, so the jam starts to shrink. Or you can be a little more hands-on – when you start to see the brake lights go on ahead, Waze will tell you whether you’ll be past it all soon or whether the road is blocked all the way to your destination. Get off the highway and Waze will direct you to the quickest new route.

To get the maximum benefit, it’s best to have a copilot/navigator handle the Wazing. There is too much information on the screen to digest while driving, and posting information is a little too distracting (although you can do it with voice commands). To just use navigation, the information is spoken through the Bluetooth connection, politely interrupting the music. The speech can be set on one of the voices that tells you everything: right, left and the full name of the exit or street. Or have the voice of Elvis tell you when to go left or right.

Waze also warns you of objects in the road, vehicles parked on the shoulder, red light cameras and police cars. Its maps are constantly being updated by the Waze user community.

We just priced a new car – the absolute top of the line loaded model differed from the next one down mostly because of the navigation system. That’s $3,500 worth of vehicle navigation that will ultimately be obsolete. We decided to go with Waze instead – it’s free.

Learn more and get it here.

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A Mallory Snow Brush, and You’ll Be Ready

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Maxwell Perkins

If you don’t have a Mallory snow brush (or any snow brush) after it snows, that’s just too bad. You can’t drive to the local auto parts store right then and pick one up without brushing the snow off your windshield, and after that’s done, you don’t need the brush anymore. Until it snows again.

Mallory 532 Brush

A snow brush is a simple tool, but so much better than using just your (hopefully gloved ) hands. So get one now, before the next snow. They are cheap and light, and you can put one in your trunk or just on the floor in the back seat. There’s no predicting when it’s going to snow again – even the weather forecasters seem to get it wrong about half the time. All we know for sure is that it WILL snow again. Especially in Canada, where the Mallory snow brush company is located. A Canadian snow brush just makes sense, and things made in North America are usually better quality than things made in factories in the Far East. They don’t have to be shipped as far, either, so less fossil fuel is used. If you want something even more environmentally friendly, check out the Mallory 203, a sturdy wooden model that has probably looked the same since Eisenhower was President.

If you want something a little more modern, and/or one that will easily reach all the windows on your monster truck or Chevy Suburban, Mallory makes many different models of brushes with plastic handles, plus they have scrapers and shovels. There’s one only 16″ long to please the owners of Smart cars, and there’s one that extends to 53″, which seems like it would be long enough to reach just about anywhere.

They have the integrated ice scraper and the handle is padded and notched for that all-important hand comfort. The next time it snows on your car, you’ll be totally ready.

Available from Amazon.

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Thanksgiving Luxury

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Maxwell Perkins

Here’s a repost from two years ago:

Ten Best Examples of Thanksgiving Luxury

I live in the Northeastern United States for a reason:  I love the seasons (and I’m holding onto them as long as climate change will let me).  I especially love autumn, though — the colorful leaves, the comfort food, the football, the holidays.  All the best holidays occur in the fall; the winter Monday holidays are mostly for quick getaways or shopping bargains, and Memorial Day is a great excuse for a cookout . . . as is July 4th . . . and Labor Day . . . so you see my point?  Easter and Passover have their solemn traditions, but for three quarters of the year, nearly all of the holidays we celebrate are both redundant and fairly insignificant.  But Thanksgiving . . . Thanksgiving is the middle and best of three holidays that celebrate this part of the year:

Disney Scrooge Thanksgiving

1. You’ll Never See So Much Food (until next year) – Of course I started with the food!  What greater luxury could exist than a holiday dedicated to EATING?  Whether you roast your turkey or smoke it, serve mac-and-cheese or mashed potatoes, garnish with cranberry sauce or gravy, prefer Russets or yams, cornbread or Parker House rolls . . . see?  That’s eight options and I haven’t even reached actual vegetables, salad, soup or dessert.  The beauty of Thanksgiving is that it’s all about the meal.  You don’t even have to make these choices.  You can eat some of everything on the table, make Aunt Edythe happy that you like her cooking, and still have the weekend to work it all off, because Thanksgiving also offers . . .

2. You Have An Extra-Long Weekend – Stay up late watching holiday movies.  Go to Best Buy at 4 a.m. (why?  I don’t know . . .).  Spend your days and nights doing whatever you want.  You have three full days — literally 72 hours — to catch up on your sleep, make lots of cookies, overdose on college football, find endless ways to serve turkey and stuffing.  And that’s not including the actual holiday, which is, as I said, all about those things anyway.

3. No Presents – Can’t figure out what to get Cousin Martha to match her gingham wardrobe?  Don’t know Grandpa’s shirt size?  Save all that worry for . . . well, Friday, maybe, but you can put it off for the weekend if you want.  Thanksgiving requires no gifts.  Just show up with your appetite, good manners (please), and maybe a pie as a contribution to the National Day of Pot Luck.  No trees, no ribbons, no packages required.

4. There’s Football – If you’re a football fan, Thanksgiving is your weekend.  With two pro games on Thursday (and this year the Detroit Lions are actually winning), at least two college games on Friday, and the usual line-up of both on Saturday and Sunday, you’ll barely need to leave the couch except to refresh the snack bowl.  Even a sad Penn State fan might find something to cheer about.

5. It’s the Beginning of Extended Holiday Shopping Hours – I have never figured out why, but some people — including some I love dearly — like to line up at midnight to catch super-early holiday sales. Really, I don’t understand this desire on a weekend that is built around so much lazy luxuriating, but if dawn at Target is your thing, start napping to prepare.  The stores try to make this activity even more appealing by offering deals like plasma TVs for $1; if you go, try not to mow anyone down with your shopping cart. People have been trampled at these sales.  Be careful, and enjoy!

6. Black Friday – The original post-Thanksgiving shopping tradition, Black Friday is the shopping day on which retailers plan to return their ledgers to the black, hence the name, “Black Friday.”  In this endless recession (that allegedly ended in February of 2010), the stores need us more than ever, and who are we not to help them out?  After all, consumer confidence is a leading indicator of economic recovery.  So come on; it’s Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus!  Go out and get more stuff for those nice friends of yours who already have too much stuff.  They’ll thank you for it with some new stuff for you!

7. Santa is at the Mall – Okay, okay, he’s already been at some malls for two weeks.  But respect Thanksgiving, and treat the day AFTER as the start of the Christmas season.  Use the weekend to get those holiday photos of the kids — or you and your best friends — on Santa’s lap.

8. Holiday Movies and Animated Specials – As I said above, you can spend all weekend watching them, because they start now.  Cable television has an endless supply of channels with nothing to broadcast, and many of them start their holiday programming on Thanksgiving Day.  Check your local listings, and I bet you’ll find at least one showing of “The Christmas Story,” with Peter Billingsley.  I don’t know how or when it became a classic, but it did, and it really is funny.  There’ll be more.  Take a look.

9. It Has Parades – Macy’s is, of course, the Thanksgiving Day Parade to end all Thanksgiving Day Parades, but if you live in a major city, chances are yours has its own turkey trotting down the center of town, with bands, dancers and floats leading and trailing behind.  Your local high school glee club, cheerleading squad or marching band may even be participating.

10. It’s Ecumenical – Thanksgiving — thank goodness! — is the one holiday celebrated by all of us.  Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Atheist; any racial or ethnic group; in America we all have something for which to be grateful to a higher power than our own. You can wish everyone “Happy Thanksgiving” with no fear of the PC police. Whether it’s for the opportunity to gather, the people with whom to gather, the food we’re overeating, or just the day off, Thanksgiving is the day when all of us, whoever we are, can take a breath and acknowledge that whatever else may be wrong, we at least have THIS.  And that’s enough.

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