Category: Various and Sundry

Various and Sundry Writing

Okay, NOW it’s time for Christmas music

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

My kids independently confirmed they did not want Christmas music to play nor Christmas decorations to go up until after Thanksgiving. Indeed, they voiced their displeasure at local radio stations switching to Christmas music and lights going up on neighborhood houses before this sensible demarcation point. Alas, we are not the Holderness Family and will not be producing a Thanksgiving banger… for now (one kid does seem to feel that is a worthy mission, so…

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Various and Sundry

A Thought for your Pennies

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

After decades of debating whether or not to stop minting the penny, the United States has finally stopping minting them. Just last month, in fact. Maryclaire Dale has a good overview article for the Associated Press that came out right around the time the last pennies were being made at the Philadelphia Mint. For example, what will businesses do now that the penny is still legal tender and circulated, but no longer produced? And now…

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Various and Sundry Writing

Once Upon Many Times: Folklore Insights

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

All seven or nine regular readers may realize I like folklore, probably more due to two fiction podcasts (one more fairy tales, one more spooky tales) Jabberwocky Audio Theater makes versus posts here. Basically, you combine the fact that my siblings and I quickly went beyond Greek, Egyptian, and Norse mythology with the fact that we got to read O.G. (Original Grimm) fairy tales and the like, there’s always going to be a space for…

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Various and Sundry

Milwaukee has your layover plans covered

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

I knew Milwaukee’s Mitchell Airport had the added appeal of a Usinger’s store (which I no longer see listed, so maybe it doesn’t?), but I did not know it had a wonderful used book store, Renaissance Books, which you can learn about in this short piece: As with my post last week about retail stores trying to become more of an “experience,” this feels like it perfectly fits the bill. Here’s hoping they continue to…

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Various and Sundry

The Future of Retail is, if not Bright, Using Those Vintage-style Light Bulbs

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

Well, maybe. Retail is the era of omnipresent online shopping needs to have some extra experiential spice of its own. And it’s no secret that retail’s “biggest season” is upon us. Much digital ink is being spent on analysis as folks try and find trends. I’m a fan of “Small Business Saturday,” but and would note: In fact it was considering how small businesses are actively working to be experiences and potentially third places that…

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Various and Sundry

Was that a kawoosh? Stargate is coming back to TV!

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

You heard it right, someone is dialing the gate and a new Stargate TV show is coming through the wormhole. And no, as fans will patiently explain, they’re not talking about the 1994 movie, they’re talking about the multiple shows that started in ’97 and ran for a surprisingly long time as I posted about back in 2022. But for fans, of course, there have been no new chapters for a depressingly long time. So…

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Various and Sundry

The Muppets Remember Jim Henson

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

On May 16th, 1990, Jim Henson a writer, director, puppeteer, and all-around friend of imagination, died suddenly. There was a public memorial less than a week later and another one in July. Then, 35 years ago this night, November 21, 1990, the Muppets did their own remembrance on CBS. I had forgotten about it, but thanks to writer and de facto pop culture historian Mark Evanier, I was reminded of it earlier this year and…

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Various and Sundry

‘Tis the Season for Cyber Security

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

If you’re in a workplace like mine, you probably get a lot of seasonal online safety tips… but what if you aren’t? So in the spirit of remembering some handy tips as all the holiday deals start dominating our inboxes and site next week, check out some of CISA’s guides for shopping safely: Note I saw both of these pages were labeled “ARCHIVED CONTENT” which CISA cautions may mean “outdated information,” but a) it’s from…

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Various and Sundry

Remembering

By Bjorn Munson | by Bjorn Munson

In a more philosophical mood today, which is not unsurprising on Veterans Day (probably known better as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day for some readers). For most of the organizations I’ve worked for over the years, I have worked with a lot of veterans. In our current times where the United States is feeling far less united, I take heart that all the veterans I know came from very different walks of life. And now?…

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