There are many things to dislike about Christmas: the bloated newspaper ads, the second-rate music repeated endlessly in shopping malls, the inane evangelical bleating that “Jesus is the reason for the season”, and the pressure to conform lest you be labeled a Scrooge, or, even worse, a Grinch.

But there’s one Christmas tradition that my wife and I have never shared: deceiving our kids about the real nature of Santa.

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The Kangbashi district began as a public-works project in Ordos, a wealthy coal-mining town in Inner Mongolia. The area is filled with office towers, administrative centers, government buildings, museums, theaters and sports fields—not to mention acre on acre of subdivisions overflowing with middle-class duplexes and bungalows. The only problem: the district was originally designed to house, support and entertain 1 million people, yet hardly anyone lives there.

The key to a good TV game show is creating a concept that allows viewers to play along from their couches, and “Million Dollar Money Drop” does just that.

A good host helps, too, and Kevin Pollak is at the helm of “Million Dollar Money Drop.” He knows when to step in with a joke to move the contest along.The concept here is fairly simple: Two people play as a team. At the start, they’re handed $1 million to lose. Really.

Over the course of the show, they’ll face a series of multiple-choice questions. Each time, they must bet a chunk of the money on their answers. What’s left over at the end, they keep. But having anything left, of course, is easier said than done.

A chemical called chromium-6 or hexavalent chromium has been found in the tap water in 31 out of the 35 American cities tested, reports the Environmental Working Group.

Norman, Okla., Honolulu and Riverside, Calif., had the highest levels of the substance, dubbed the “Erin Brockovich chemical.” New York, while far down on the list of cities, still had more chromium-6 in the tap water than what California is proposing as a “public health goal” for safe levels: 0.06 parts per billion.

Marilu Henner was featured on 60 Minutes because it’s a day she’ll never forget — just like every other day.

The Taxi actress, 58, appeared on Sunday’s program since she’s one of the handful of people discovered to have “superior autobiographical memory” after rigorous testing. She can remember almost every day of her life as vividly and accurately as if it was yesterday.

“It’s like putting in a DVD and it queues up to a certain place,” Henner says during her interview. “I’m there again, so I’m looking out from my eyes and seeing things visually as I would have that day.”

After going over this list of “Products You Shouldn’t Buy During The Holidays,” I can’t help but wonder what is left out there that is okay to buy!?!

Marketers and retailers want you to think that now is the time to spend, because you won’t find better deals at any other time of the year. While that may be true for some products, you’re best off waiting to buy several big-ticket items.

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