During the last week of January, the price of the GameStop Corporation stock increased from $20/share to nearly $350/share. The GameStop business model was thought to be in trouble as video game purchases moved online. According to the data collection company, Statista, about 83% of video game purchases are currently made online, compared to 20% in 2009.
When it comes to snacking, I am always looking for three things: crunchy, filling and delicious. One of my favorites: roasted chickpeas. A great plant-based source of protein, they are also high in fiber, an excellent source of folate and vitamins B and C, and they contain potassium and calcium among other minerals. Whether savory or sweet, once you get them all brown and crispy with your favorite seasonings, what’s not to love?
Many people have taken to the great outdoors during the pandemic to relieve boredom: walking, ice skating, snow-shoeing, sledding, building a snowman or just getting a dose of fresh air during these trying times. And while winter is not my favorite season, I like to bundle up and take a walk on a sunny but cold winter day.
The farther away I get from my days of traveling abroad, the more I have come to appreciate one aspect of my holidays more than any other. It’s not the beaches, though I definitely long for warm sunlight and rolling waves. It’s not the sight of palaces, carved stone and preserved marble to admire. It’s not even the variety of local dishes that we dearly miss – fresh seafood, freshly made pasta, paella, or a glamorous high tea served with sparkling champagne.
If you are among the legions of Valentine’s Day haters, you will be happy to know that this highly-commercialized, ooey-gooey, annual celebration of hearts and flowers didn’t exactly start out as a love fest.
Between March 2020 and January 2021, the price of a Bitcoin skyrocketed from $6,000 to $40,000. This leads to the question of whether Bitcoin is a “bubble” like the dot com stocks were in the late 1990s and the housing market was in the mid-2000s. It is hard to identify a bubble; just because an asset’s price sharply rises does not mean there is currently a bubble.
As I write this, we are just a few days from the inauguration of President Biden and ushering forth the Biden-Harris administration. To say that the past two months have been interesting, politically, would be an understatement. I had hoped that this election would be a landslide (one way or the other) to give us a feel for our country’s temperament; unfortunately, like the election of 2016, it seems to have further driven the wedge of division. As always, I will keep the new administration in my prayers as they attempt to unite our country.
Whether it’s using that rice that’s hiding in the back of the cupboard, the bag of garden-fresh tomatoes in the freezer or the carefully canned dilly green beans, now is the time to use the produce you put up for winter or bought extra at the beginning of quarantine.
Those who have seen “Searching for Sugar Man,” the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary about the search for a long-forgotten but influential ’70s musician from Detroit, will recall its more-or-less happy ending. In a similar vein now comes “The Changin’ Times of Ike White,” another small slice of pop music history with a back story just as interesting – if not as ultimately uplifting.
For most, the birth of a new year means a new beginning, a positive outlook. We leave the old year behind (good riddance) and look toward a bright future. We make plans, create new goals and reevaluate where we are and where we’re headed. For the majority of 2020, where we were was home and (for some) where we were headed was “to work.” We all wanted to get away … but couldn’t. Our trips and vacations were canceled, pastimes and gatherings limited and, although the pandemic continues, the new year brings hope for a return to normalcy. Who’s to say we won’t be able to visit a distant shore or exotic climate in summer or later?
Most people dream of warm, sunshine-filled holidays – vacations chock full of waves lapping the shore, cold drinks and tan lines. A little rest and relaxation, a little culture, a little sightseeing, a little luxury. But then, there are those who decide a holiday might be pleasant in a new place, on a new adventure, something a little out of the ordinary – and off-season.
