Products

2016: As the year ends…

By Jesse Kornluth
Published: Dec 22, 2016
Category: Beyond Classification

THE AMAZON LINK: There are now two ways to get to Amazon and support this site. Old: Click on the “Buy it from Amazon” link on any review and go anywhere on Amazon to shop. New: CLICK HERE. You don’t need to limit your shopping to stuff featured here or in the archives. Everything you buy on Amazon after you click from Head Butler generates a commission. And thanks.
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THE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: 50 affordable suggestions (and a few luxury items), plus 20 unusual stocking stuffers. Click here.
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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE FOR CHILDREN: 27 non-digital suggestions. Click here.
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HOLIDAY HAM: A Head Butler tradition since 2004. Prep time: 5 minutes. Click here.
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THE GIFT OF GIFTS: After I abridged A Christmas Carol, I wondered what a new version would be like. I’m still wondering. But then I recalled “The Gift of the Magi.” And that I could update. So I wrote a story about the troubles of a suburban family and what the wife does that seems to make their situation more dire. To read “The Gift of Gifts” — it’s just 1,000 words — click here.
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It’s that time of year when we part briefly and, after a break we thought we needed, run toward one another, full of anticipation, like in a hair commercial filmed on a beach. Okay, maybe not exactly like that, but you get the idea. I’ll read some of the books in the stack, write less than I intend, hear some music and see some movies and annoy the Small Person, and you’ll do something like the same, although you’ll also probably exercise more and watch more sports.

Just in case you get antsy, let me leave you links to some features I created around themes and share favorites from 2016 media, add videos I watched more times than I’d care to admit and head out with a few classics.

And just to get the emotional stuff out of the way, massive thanks to all for dropping in and writing to me and even buying a thing or two. In a world that struggles to balance light and dark, you are definitely on the side of light. It’s an honor to be in your lives. See you in January. Stay safe.

But enough of me. Let’s serve some links.

Who wants it calmer? Here are 10 de-stressers.

Movies and binges to help you survive long holiday weekends

Questions: How did we get here? What next? Clues: 12 books, 1 movie.

A Guide to Great Coffee

Rejuvenation: Beauty, Diet, Home, Spirit

Rejuvenation: Vitamins, Minerals, Water, Tea

MY FAVORITE PIECES OF JOURNALISM

David Remnick: Leonard Cohen Makes It Darker
(On January 24, there will be a tribute concert to Leonard Cohen in Brooklyn. For tickets, click here.)

Bob Dylan: Nobel Prize Speech

MY FAVORITE VIDEOS OF 2016

Aretha Franklin at the Kennedy Center