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Head Butler 2018 Holiday Guide
By
Published: Dec 20, 2018
Category:
Holiday
I never order entrees in restaurants any more — there’s just too much food on the plate. Instead, I order two appetizers. The variety is appealing, as is the size. This year I’m thinking of holiday giving the same way. Fewer big presents, if any. More appetizers — you know them as Stocking Stuffers. Here are a great many.
THE GREATEST HITS
Timex Easy Reader Watch
Esquire: “The simple retro face looks cooler than some watches that cost six times as much.” Under $30.
Zojirushi Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Mug
What is astonishing about the Zojirushi? Hot stays hot and cold stays cold. Reader review: “You say this keeps coffee/tea hot for 6 hours. Well, sometimes I put coffee in at 10 PM — and it is still steaming when I open it at my work desk the next day at 8 AM.”
Bruce Springsteen
His recording of his history-making nights in the theater, “Springsteen on Broadway,” is a lot cheaper than the $2,000+ most people paid for tickets. [To order the CD from Amazon, click here. For the MP3 download, click here.]
Mental Clarity
A friend known for his strong opinions started taking Mental Clarity once a day. He reported back: “A number of situations have occurred — both work and play — that would have had me up the wall, but I’ve just shrugged my way through them. After one incident, I noted how unstressed my reaction was. So there’s a rousing testimonial.” Mental Clarity contains Brahmi, which is said to “improve capacity for attention and focus, improve the ability to withstand emotional stress, reduce nervousness and anxiety and improve immune system function.” And it has Ashwaghandha, which is said to improve memory and “protect the brain against brain cell deterioration.” In short, Ayurvedic medicine.
Nam Prik Asian Chili Hot Sauce
Nam Prik is an Asian chili sauce that’s both spicy and sweet. Nam Prik (pronounced: nam-preek, literally “fluid chili”) isn’t like all the other smartly-labeled sauces you see on grocery shelves. It delivers fire and flavor, adding personality to eggs, Mexican food, Asian dishes, meat and chicken entrees — it could be the next Sriracha.
John Prine: The Tree of Forgiveness
John Prine, at 72, made the best record of the year. The title is the name of a bar he’d like to open in Heaven — a sign of his boundless humanity. The songs are heartfelt. Sometimes hearbreaking. And refreshingly ironic: (“If I came home, would you let me in/ Fry me some pork chops and forgive my sin”).
Prine just got a 7-minute profile on “CBS This Morning.” His CD promptly shot up to #1 on Amazon.
Waterproof: APIE Portable Wireless Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker
Big? Not: 7.3” x 2.8” x 4.5.” Heavy? 11 ounces. Batteries? Not needed. The rechargeable battery is good for 10 hours. Bonus feaure: The Hands-Free Speakerphone lets you pick up a call when it‘s connected to your Smartphone. Expensive? $29.
Allbirds: “the most comfortable shoes ever made.”
Allbirds is a two-year-old major fashion trend of a shoe — made from knit wool and castor bean oil. The two styles (lounger and runner) are unisex and everything is $95 (kids styles are $49-$85)
Proraso Shaving Cream
Proraso was formulated by a venerable company in Florence in 1948. The ingredients remain unchanged. All natural, of course. Friends who have tried every multi-bladed trick razor and cream in the world say this is the missing link to an even, truly close shave. And it smells great.
“Maybe You Touched Your Genitals” Liquid Hand Soap
The label features an attractive woman in a crisp white blouse and a neighborly smile shaking hands with a man in a suit. A “Secret Santa” present for the dinosaur male in the office who didn’t get the memo?
Egyptian Magic
Burns, scrapes, skin irritations, diaper rash, sunburns, eczema, psoriasis — it’s the go-to cream for every external problem. When an exceptional moisturizer is needed, we open the Magic. The ingredients are olive oil, bees wax, honey, bee pollen, royal jelly and bee propolis. And — so it says — “divine love.” With the exception of the last “ingredient,” you could whip it up yourself. But you couldn’t improve on the original. DISCOVERY: I’ve been working stupid hours and started getting bags under my eyes. I started rubbing Egyptian Magic under my eyes. In 3 days…. gone!
Kenny White
If you saw the Judy Collins/Stephen Stills tour this year, you saw an opening act who could easily have been the headliner. The Twitter shortcut to describe Kenny White would be “the East Coast Randy Newman.” But that understates. Just listen.
PENCILS AND PAPER
French Notebooks
When you want something more distinctive than a marbleized composition book.
Perfetto Pencils
Louise Fili’s pencil case and pencils makes me think of the Italy of the 1930s and 1940s. It’s very clean, very precise, very bold design: a sturdy case, with twelve double-sided, two-color pencils. Want multi-colors? Here.
Moleskine Notebooks
The leather-like cover takes more wear than you’ll ever give it. The elastic band is useful both to keep the notebook closed and to mark your place. There’s an inner pocket to hold business cards, receipts and small photographs. The spine is sewn, not glued, so the cover lies flat when it’s opened. The paper is acid-free. What more do you want from a notebook?
Palomino Blackwing Pencils
John Steinbeck wrote with a Blackwing. Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Quincy Jones used Blackwings for scores. Chuck Jones drew cartoon figures with Blackwings. They are “the best pencil ever made.”
Emily Dickinson Notecards
A dozen 5-1/2″ x 4-1/4″cards, “made with prints from the beloved poet’s pressed-flower albums, where she collected over four hundred specimens.” With matching envelopes, in a matching box.
Personalized Stationery
Suzanne Eagle makes a unique gift: personalized stationery that shows how much attention you’ve paid to your giftee. Each box consists of stationery with a variety of icons that reflect what your recipient is passionate about. Beautifully designed with magnificent liners, if you desire. The process? Very simple. Email: SuzanneNEagle@gmail.com.
CANDLES
Thymes Frasier Fir Candle
The Thymes Frasier Fir candle in a dark green glass won’t quite convince you that there’s a fir tree in the corner, but it proposes the idea. The smell is of “crisp Siberian Fir needles, heartening cedar wood and relaxing sandalwood.” In simple English, this candle defines fresh.
Diptyque candles
Reader review: “What’s the very best Christmas gift? Simple. A candle. Many hours of joy and serenity, a universal source of delight, sets a tone for not just your home, but your life. So why not get the very best one in the world for someone you love? That would be the Diptyque. A candle could be a ho-hum gift rather than a ho-ho, but not this one. It takes 1300 roses to make ONE gram of pure rose oil used in a Diptyque. This candle lasts so long it’s like a bottle of Dom Perignon that keeps refilling itself while your back is turned. Just buy one and see what happens. Would you give your love a $7 bottle of champagne?”
HEALTH AND BEAUTY
Anthelios XL SPF 50+ Sunscreen
What’s so great about Anthelios with Mexoryl? Dr. Vincent DeLeo, Chairman, Department of Dermatology, Founding Director, Skin of Color Center, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt and Beth Israel: “It produces a product which gives us almost perfect protection against sunshine.” Dr. Darrell Rigel, clinical professor of dermatology at New York University: Mexoryl “is the No. 1 individual ingredient in terms of protection from Ultraviolet A radiation.” Get the idea: It’s just a lot better than American products.
Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C
I hope I’m not jinxing myself by typing this, but…. since I’ve been taking Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C, I haven’t had a cold. Seriously. For two years. Most of the Vitamin C in pills or capsules — that is, Vitamin C in the form you probably take — never reaches the bloodstream. Estimates of its absorption rate are less than 50%. Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C has a 90% absorption rate. And that’s just the start of the good things liposomes do.
IRONY
Anne Taintor Coffee Mugs & More
When the Young Person buys a t-shirt, it is the quintessential expression of 16-year-old attitude (“National Sarcasm Society: Like we need your support.”) So I wasn’t surprised when she gave her mother an inexpensive coffee mug with art of a l940s mom holding a perfect toddler and the words “Parenting… when messing up your own life isn’t enough.” This 14 oz. ceramic gloss finish coffee mug is the handiwork of Anne Taintor, who combines Retro advertising images with snarky captions. Choose from 17 mugs, including “If It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere Can I Go Home Now,” “Why Yes, I Am Overqualified,” “The Paleo Diet…. Isn’t That What Killed The Dinosaurs,” and “Martinis…they’re not just for breakfast anymore.”
HORROR SHOW
Sunrise Highway
“The most memorable psychopath since Hannibel Lechter.” I say: more memorable than “Silence of the Lambs,” because for a woman there can be nothing more terrifying than being pulled over on a back road by a cop and realizing his grinning face is the last you will ever see. But “Sunrise Highway” is not just a thrill ride. It’s also a study of a psychopath: a teenage shitbag sees police work as a career path to bigger, more monstrous crimes that will never be solved because he knows how to leave no trace, not that anyone would suspect him. And it’s a story of the system that enables that sicko and rewards him.
SERENITY
Jennifer Berezan
“ReTurning” is one idea, 52 minutes long, not quite a loop, definitely a drone. The idea is hymnal — a chant “returning…. to the mother of us all” — with occasional solos in several languages. It is instantly mesmerizing and calming.
Snow Globes
Beautiful, calming, meditative.
FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE
Miles Davis: Ascenseur Pour L’Echafaud
This soundtrack, recorded in a single, champagne-fueled session, is one of the greatest jazz soundtracks in film — some say the greatest. Miles Davis’ trumpet couldn’t be more evocative: mostly slow and breathy, thoughtful and tender, lonely and okay about it.
Claridge’s: The Cookbook
Claridge’s opened in 1853. From the start, it was viewed as “an annex to Buckingham Palace,” and travelers who require 5-star comfort have followed Queen Victoria’s lead; unlike other venerable institutions, Claridge’s has little need for “marketing” or “branding.” Still, the cookbook is perhaps overdue. “It’s only taken 164 years, so we’re a bit slow with that,” says Chef Martyn Nail, which is just what you’d expect from a man who’s had the same employer for 30 years.
Atlas of Remote Islands (Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot on and Never Will)
The author disdains any island you can easily get to. The more remote the destination, the more enthusiastic she is for it. Like Peter I Island in the Antarctic — until the late 1990s, fewer people had visited it than had set foot on the moon. A one-of-a-kind treat.
Pu-erh tea
It looks like a cow pie. But it has taste benefits. And is distinctively packaged. Alice Waters drinks Pu-erh tea. And swears by it: “My cholesterol went down 100 points since I started drinking this.”
Viva la Repartee: Clever Comebacks and Witty Retorts
it’s exhausting to be witty on cue. On the other hand, it sharpens the mind to read several hundred pages of great repartee — which Mark Twain defined as “something we think of twenty four hours too late.”
FOR HER
L’Artisan Nuit de Tubereuse Eau de Parfum
Years ago my wife declared allegiance to L’Artisan Nuit de Tubereuse Eau de Parfum. A few years ago I went to Barney’s and bought a bottle — at $166 (with tax: $178). On a whim, I checked Amazon. All L’Artisan Perfumes — not just Tuberose — are $60 on Amazon. I returned the gift to Barneys, replaced it at Amazon. I feel smart. You can too.
Clarisonic Facial Sonic Cleansing System
A doctor friend — a distinguished doctor, at that — advised us to get this. “This isn’t just good, it’s not just useful,” he said. “It’s magic.” How good is it? This good: You may never need to visit a dermatologist again. You may never need a facial again. Which is why, for the price of two or three facials, you can call the Clarisonic a bargain.
T3 Professional Hair Dryer
A high-powered woman in media — you’ve seen her hair — wrote me to praise this dryer: “It feels gentle, and yet it dries my hair faster. I was told I would never have another bad hair day, and I haven’t. I don’t understand how it works, but it is easier to get my hair to do what I want it to do. The only conclusion is magic.”
Dori Salerno: “Mrs. Bennet’s Sentiments”
Doesn’t everyone love “Pride and Prejudice?” Really, it’s the favorite book of millions. Growing up, it was Dori Salerno’s. A few years ago, she reread it: “There was a section that seemed different this time around. Darcy was making fun of country families and Mrs. Bennet called him out on it, and her daughters disregarded her with the all-too-familiar eye-roll. But I thought, this mother is telling the truth. It made me think that maybe there was another reason for her to act the way she does besides just being ridiculous.” So she retold the story. This time around, Mrs. Bennet, agitated by menopause, sees clearly the grim fate that awaits her daughters if they don’t marry, and marry well. She’s sane and heroic, she rediscovers her talents, locates desirable suitors, and just generally kicks ass. Her “sentiments” are eye-opening and altogether delightful.
[To buy the book from Amazon, click here. For the Kindle edition, click here.]
THE HOLIDAYS FOR CHILDREN
The Polar Express
On Christmas Eve, a father tells his son that there’s no Santa Claus. Later that night, a train packed with children stops in front of a boy’s house. He hops on and travels to the North Pole, where Santa offers him the first toy of Christmas. The boy chooses a reindeer’s bell. On the way home, he loses it. How he finds it and what that means — that’s where you reach for the Kleenex.
A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens and Jesse Kornbluth: How is that for a byline? How did it happen? Because the Dickens masterpiece is 28,000 words. Good luck reading them all to a kid. So I edited it to 13,000 words, and Paige Peterson created great illustrations. From an Irish teacher: “I had been searching around for a very long time for a good version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and I finally found one. Well done on such a venture — and how it was needed. I have read the original many times with many classes and it goes knee deep in treacle in some parts and I lost the class for a while. You have surely gained the trust and admiration of Charles Dickens and he must nod in approval from his eternal writing desk.”
The Snowman
A boy in rural England builds a snowman. At midnight, as the boy looks out his window, the snowman lights up. The boy runs outside. He invites the snowman to tour his home. Then the snowman takes his hand. And off they fly, over England, over water, to the North Pole. There, Santa gives the boy a scarf. The boy and the snowman fly home. As the boy is going inside, the snowman waves — a wave of goodbye. The boy rushes into his arms and hugs him. The next morning, the snowman’s just a few lumps of coal and an old hat. Did that magical night really happen? The boy reaches into his pocket and finds the scarf. He drops to his knees and, almost as an offering, places it by the snowman’s hat. Fantastic story. Amazing animation. The most beautiful song. This 22-minute film is the very definition of perfection. For kids 3 and up. [I’m reminded that the book is just as exceptional, and ideal for kids 4 to 8.]
HOLIDAY MUSIC
Phil Spector: A Christmas Gift for You
The best holiday album ever made.
Christmas with the Tallis Scholars
Founded in 1973 by Peter Phillips, this English group has released 50 CDs and given 1,600 concerts. Over the decades, the Scholars have become the gold standard of Renaissance music. As this recording proves.
SPORTS
Levels of the Game
On the surface, this is an account of a single match between Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner in the semifinals at the U.S. Open in Forest Hills. But as the title suggests, a game — any game, at any degree of competition — is not just about competence. How you play is a revelation of character; how you play is who you are. Many tennis buffs think this is the best book ever written about the sport.
COOKING
Canal House Cooks Every Day
Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer won the lottery. They get to live authentic lives and cook real food and write books that are both creative and simple. These 250 recipes are the proof.
At Home with May and Axel Vervoordt: Recipes for Every Season
The Vervoordts live in a castle. Axel is an art and antiques dealer and a decorator. May cooks. She quotes Virginia Woolf: “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Her guests do.
PERSONAL PLEASURE (FOR WOMEN)
Good Vibrations: ‘Eva’ and ‘Fin’
By the shoddy standards of what is known as the sex toy industry, these designed-by-women vibrators are revolutionary. They use medical-grade silicone. Their tiny batteries power devices have three speeds, hold a charge, and are quickly refreshed.
LUXURY
The Filson Briefcase
The Filson briefcase is so well designed and so well made it could be the last briefcase you’ll ever buy. What if it glitches down the pike? Clinton Filson’s original pledge still applies: “We guarantee every item purchased from us. No more, no less. Your satisfaction is the sole purpose of our transaction.” Reader testimonial: “I’ve had a Filson briefcase since the early 2000s. Mine survived a car fire and the laptop inside was fine.”
Capresso Burr Coffee Grinder
A cheap grinder batters the beans and chips them into uneven bits. Worse, it runs fast, so it heats the beans, which is exactly what you don’t want, particularly if, like me, you run the machine for a full minute for a finer grind. The pros use a burr grinder. Because it runs at a slower speed, it generates less heat. And the burrs create uniform grounds.
MY STUFF
Married Sex: a Love Story
From the New York Times review: “Kornbluth’s debut novel, about a happy marriage interrupted by a ménage à trois, could easily have coasted on its promise of titillation. Instead it is a skillfully written, lighthearted and clever story that manages to be steamy but never salacious… Kornbluth has a screenwriter’s ear for witty banter, and the novel hinges on the charming voice of its narrator.”
HeadButler.com: The 100 Essentials
I read through a decade of Butlers, picked the best 200, pared that list to 150, walked around the block, took a shot of bourbon for courage, and came up with 100 of my favorite pieces on books, movies and music. You know how I like short books? This isn’t: 242 pages, almost 80,000 words.
