Catfished

There’s a documentary on Netflix called ‘The Tinder Swindler,’ which recounts the story of Simon Leviev, a man who used dating apps like Tinder to pose as a wealthy diamond mogul and con women out of large sums of money. The documentary features interviews with some of Leviev’s victims, who were defrauded of an estimated […]

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Nickel-and-Dime

This past spring, my niece graduated from UW Law School. She had a hooding ceremony for the law school on Friday followed by the service for all the grads at Camp Randall on Saturday. Despite having about 10,000 hotel rooms in Madison, there were only about three left when I booked one online. While I […]

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Preserve and Protect

About a month ago, I watched ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ on Netflix. Eddie Murphy reprised the title role in the fourth installment of the franchise, and John Ashton and Judge Reinhold returned as Taggert and Rosewood. Even Paul Reiser came back to play Jeffrey and Bronson Pinchot as the sassy Serge. The film was […]

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Master of the Public Domain

Last year, the movie ‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ was released in theaters. It was a live-action horror film that put a sinister twist on the beloved Disney character. In the film, Christopher Robin has grown up, gone off to college and met a girl. Feeling abandoned, Pooh and Piglet go on a bloody […]

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Grilled in Court

When I was a kid, fast food chains were typically associated with a marketing persona. I remember ads featuring Ronald McDonald, the Burger King, Long John Silver, Wendy and A&W’s Rooty the Root Bear. One of the best characters, however, was a real person. Colonel Harland Sanders began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant […]

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Shrinkpotle

Shrinkflation was a hot topic during this year’s presidential election. The trend of offering less product for the same price began during the pandemic and was magnified as costs rose due to the ensuing inflation. I recently wrote about a Subway customer who sued the chain for putting less meat on her steak-and-cheese sandwich compared […]

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Shaky Landing

Last month, my wife and I went to Aruba. My uncle generously let us use his timeshare, and we had a great time. We got to see some beautiful beaches, ate delicious meals, and relaxed and read by the pool. We flew there on American Airlines. Thankfully, our flights were uneventful and went smoothly. Unfortunately, […]

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Ice Cream Fixin’s

When I was in junior high, my buddies and I would walk to McDonald’s after Friday night dances. On one occasion, my buddy, Tree, ordered a hot fudge sundae. The person taking his order asked if he wanted his nuts crushed and he immediately replied, “Good God, no!” She turned beet red and rushed off […]

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Skimpy Sub

While watching TV recently with my kids, I lamented today’s commercials. I said ads from the ‘80s were clever and funny – today’s are just boring. Of course, my kids rolled their eyes at yet another of my elderly tirades. So, to prove my point, I shared with them some of Wendy’s ads featuring Clara […]

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Stir the Pot

While channel surfing a few weeks ago, I came across ‘Up in Smoke,’ the cult-classic movie starring Cheech & Chong. The comedy duo met in Tommy Chong’s native Vancouver after Cheech Marin moved there from L.A. in 1969 to avoid the draft. ‘Up in Smoke’ was the first of seven movies featuring the pair, in […]

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