The very word, “Snap!” demands your attention, but I’ll bet you don’t know the origin of the acronym “SNAP.”  It is short for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, an agenda designed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to put food on the tables of 40 million elderly, disabled, and low-income Americans struggling to survive in the […]

Human capital working inside a plant or on girders fifty floors up.   An 18-wheeler loaded with commodities rumbling down a rain-soaked highway.  Your summer patio furniture.  What do all of these things have in common?  All represent assets: something that you have paid to acquire and no doubt insure; all represent something of value that […]

Surgeons utilize instruments made of stainless steel because of the metal’s purity.  Serious cooks use stainless for the same reason, and more: for its durability, to curtail impurities and even toxins that can be imparted by other metals, and because stainless is an excellent conductor of heat.   The general population loves stainless steel because it […]

You no doubt have trouble coaxing your little girl to clean her plate of her Brussels sprouts.   And you probably have difficulty separating her from her cell phone.  But you won’t have any problem at all getting her into the gorgeous designer apparel offered by Tea Collection.  Unwrap this fun, fashion girls clothing before her […]

Mr. President, something happened to me the other day that I feel compelled to share with you. On the first bitter cold Manhattan morning, I settled into my usual table at my usual coffee shop, with my usual steaming coffee, opening the first of two Irish newspapers that I usually buy each Wednesday.  They are […]

“When you’re tired of living in New York, you’re tired of living!” As much as I’d like to attribute this insightful quote to the proper individual, I can’t.  All I remember is that its originator was an octogenarian quoted years ago in New York magazine.  Every once in a while, I trot that quote out […]

In the ’80s, this lyric from a beloved Cyndi Lauper hit became the breakout battle cry of girls young at heart across the nation.  Now in the second decade of a new century, girls still wanna have fun — but with more contemporary pop stars.   Girls of elementary school age, “tweenies,” and high school students […]

Public venues have always had a need to contain crowds in a systematic manner, for the safety of those crowds as well as others such as politicians, leaders of industry, and celebrities.  In light of how the world has changed in the past decade, however, this need has become even more critical.  Wherever crowds gather […]

Marco Polo risked his life, trekking more than a thousand miles through unexplored territory to procure them and bring them back to Italy.  At one point in history, some of them were so prized for their preservative qualities that most of Europe used them for money.  Down through the centuries, they have never fallen out […]

Paris Hilton and Piers Morgan, please navigate away from this article.  You’re wealthy enough to buy and sell nations and employ personal shoppers to purchase your household items, technological gadgets, and other necessities and creature comforts.  The rest of us are forever seeking bargains that deliver brand names and quality as well as attractive pricing. […]