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Negotiation tip: Do nothing

Parent of toddlers often use the “A or B?” strategy to give their kids autonomy within limits. Do you want to wear the red shirt, or the blue? Do you want to eat the broccoli, or the cucumber? Unfortunately, kids eventually get smart enough to say, “Neither!” Grown-ups can say Neither too. If you get …

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24 Days of Christmas All

Christmas On Ice

[Originally sent out December 2021 in 24 Days of Christmas Newsletter, with plot synopses for Hallmark-style holiday movies that I’d like to see.] Figure skater Josie Lee has sacrificed everything for her skating career, including her high school boyfriend who would have done anything for her. Now she’s back in her hometown after an Olympics …

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A Castle for Christmas (Netflix)

Knitting club, softest cashmere, and Brooke Shields in Scotland. Rating: one million. [Originally sent out December 2021 in 24 Days of Christmas newsletter] Up at 3 a.m. and instead of breathing deeply while meditating on all for which I am grateful, I grabbed my laptop to watch my first real Christmas movie of the season. …

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Santa v. Satan

[Originally sent out December 24, 2021 in my 24 Days of Christmas newsletter] And now, the final story — which was going to be longer and include more thorough legal analysis, but I ran out of time — SANTA V. SATAN. Satan sues Santa for trademark and trade dress infringement and dilution. Santa’s name and …

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