Tagged: Christmas

An anthropologist embeds herself with hackers. Santa opens shop in Hooksett. A Hobbit scholar explains why Tolkien fascinates. Women comedians find success on through podcasts. And the very interesting history...of boredom.

Part 1:

Thieves have stolen the lights off a small New Hampshire town's Christmas tree twice in less than a week.

Officials in Boscawen say someone stole the bottom set of lights off the town tree in the overnight hours last Monday or Tuesday just hours after firefighters had put the lights up. The tree has been a tradition in Boscawen for decades, standing by the road at a well-traveled junction.

It’s not terribly surprising that for the second year running, the national retail federation claims the hottest holiday present is a gift card. But are we losing something when we focus on the material aspects of gift-giving? With us to rundown some alternative ideas for experiential gifts you can’t fit under the tree is Rick Broussard, editor of New Hampshire Magazine.

I hate Monopoly. Always have. The reason is simple: it's impossible to play the game and feel good, even if you win. Monopoly, simply put, is all about crushing  your fellow players through bankruptcy, even if they're your own kids. Turns out, there might be a reason for my hatred of Monopoly.

The most popular game in the world, according to this amazing article in Harpers, is, simply put, theft. And it has an incredible, almost unbelievable history:

Students from the Indian River School in Canaan worked with sculptor Emile Birch to create New Hampshire's official ornaments for the 2012 National Christmas Tree.

The tree will be on display at President's Park in Washington, D.C. throughout December.