I think that if you were trying to explain to an alien the essence of that side of American capitalism which is ridiculous, kitschy, pointless crap at its finest, one of the best places you could take them is the kitchen. It is amazing–exhilarating– to bask in the glow of that special mix of entrepreneurship...

We got married fairly recently in our lives, and as those of you who have had a wedding will know, one of the bonuses (other than a lifelong partnership with the love of your life) is getting all kinds of stuff you didn’t have (or necessarily need) before. We now are the proud owners of...