DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

    In recent years, modern witches have become more and more accepted. Some of them play on many of the old concepts of a traditional 'witch', but by and large the stereotypical image of a broom riding crone with a point hat does not match at all with the reality. So where is it that this image came from? Many of the common 'wicked witch' images are derived from periods of time when a witch was considered to be a catch-all term for a person who had a pact with demons or the devil himself. These are just a few of the origins for the iconic 'witch'.    Conical Hats - Medieval woodcuttings showed any number of variations on what witches wore, so where did the conical black hat with the wide rim originate? The witches hat became known as it is now somewhere between Victorian times and the turn of the century. They became common in the illustration of evil witches in children's stories. Why did it become thus? That is less clear. There are a number ...

  The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual American competitive-eating competition, which is run as a publicity gathering event by Shea Communications. It is held each July 4 at Nathan's Famous Corporation 's original, and best-known restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island , a neighborhood of Brooklyn , New York . In 2011 over 40,000 spectators attended the event, and an additional 1.949 million viewers watched it live on ESPN television.    The contest has gained public attention in recent years due to the sudden stardom of Takeru Kobayashi , his subsequent rivalry with American Joey Chestnut , and the current controversy over Kabayashi's contractual dispute and absence. In the ninety-sixth annual contest, held on July 4, 2011, four-time-defending champion Chestnut won his fifth title by consuming 62 hot dogs and buns (HDBs) in ten minutes. Recently he was beaten by Kim B with 65 hot dogs in 10 minutes The contest was telev...

   A vintage style Christmas is popular and you can choose to capture a 30 year period, perhaps from the late 1930s through the early 60s—or you can choose to be a bit more focused about your vintage Christmas and choose a particular decade to emulate.  The strangest thing is that many things haven't changed when it comes to Christmas, so in order to make things vintage, you'll have to focus on the little things and the signature items of a particular era. You also might want to throw in vintage pictures made into ornaments just to make it clear. Research    You can look specifically for Christmas traditions of the era—or you can look for the most popular art styles during the time. Art Deco, Abstraction, Neo Daddaism or even a single artist (like Norman Rockwell) can be your inspiration. Vintage Ornaments     You can find these online or at a local vintage or antique store. If you find you like a certain style, you can g...

   Each year on the second full weekend in July, Pinedale, Wyoming turns back the clock to the time when the Mountain Men would gather together with the native tribes and anyone else to trade their furs and tell their stories.   Back in the 1830s, the Rendezvous could last for months.    The Rendezvous events include the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal and Forum. Each year, the Mountain Man museum publishes a journal with writings from different authors. At the forum you can meet the authors, hear their presentations. The event is a reception on Friday evening.    Members of The American Mountain Men Museum will give presentations about what it was like to be a Mountain Man in the early days of the 19th century. Y ou will learn how the started fires, the tools they used in fur trapping, the firearms of the time, how to make rope and hear stories. There is a special program just for children as well.    The Plains India...

   Just lurking in the shadows of the neighbor's twinkling Christmas lawn lights is the darker side of the Yule tide. One rarely associates the holiday season with the ghouls and specters that cavort during Halloween, but in many traditions around the world Christmas does have a dark side. Aside from the specters in Dickens's A Christmas Carol , the threat of a lump of coal from Santa, and Chevy Chase's Holiday Vacation ; American traditions have been insulated from the horror show of Christmas traditions around the world. Here are just some of stories of Christmas evil that will make you glad that shipping Aunt Tillie's sweater is high on your list of holiday stressors. A Tender Norwegian Christmas    Besides eating lye treated cod during the Holiday season, the Norwegians have a number of frightful Christmas traditions. The foremost of these traditions being Julebukk the Christmas goat. Traditions centering around Julebukk are thought to have...

       But for one week each summer,  aviation enthusiasts totaling more than 500,000 from more than 60 countries attend EAA AirVenture at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where they rekindle friendships and celebrate the past, present and future in the world of flight.     "The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration" has it all when it comes to aircraft. Warbirds. Vintage. Homebuilts. Ultralights. Some you would normally find in a hangar at your local airport, others so unique they are the only one of its kind. You name it, there's likely an example of it at Oshkosh.    For many, arriving at Oshkosh is a rite of passage that can only be satisfied by being one of the more than 10,000 aircraft flying in, landing at what becomes the busiest airport in the world.    Whether you're an aviation enthusiast or an aviation novice, AirVenture has something for you. No matter what your ag...