Boxes and Booze 1/2/21 Boxes and Booze 1/2/21

A Long Wait

It is not the premise that reality

Is solid. It may be a shade that traverses

A dust, a force that traverses a shade.

- Wallace Stevens

Boxes and Booze 12/26/20 Boxes and Booze 12/26/20

Cheshire Cat

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where –" said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

Boxes and Booze 12/19/20 Boxes and Booze 12/19/20

Eat Me

Once of the more memorable scenes from Alice in Wonderland (and there are many) is her intrepid sampling of strange food and drink, each labeled with entreaties to try them. They lead to all sorts of occurrences and you would think that Alice would learn her lesson but there she goes again.

Boxes and Booze 12/12/20 Boxes and Booze 12/12/20

Father William

‘I have answered three questions, and that is enough’

Said his father: ‘Don’t give yourself airs!

Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?

Be off, or I’ll kick you down-stairs!’

Boxes and Booze 12/5/20 Boxes and Booze 12/5/20

Humpty Dumpty

Over the next few weeks I’ll be taking you on an adventure down the rabbit hole. Many have heard tales of this fabled project, and it is time to celebrate the makers. It all begins at Christ Church, Oxford, in the afternoon on Jul 4, 1862.

Boxes and Booze 11/28/20 Boxes and Booze 11/28/20

Canfield-Shaker

I’m about to shake things up here at Boxes and Booze – figuratively, literally and otherwise.

Boxes and Booze 11/21/20 Boxes and Booze 11/21/20

Lo-Fer

Things are afoot here at Boxes and Booze, and there’s no time to loaf(er) around. Fresh off the heels of the brass beer stein from Rocky Chiaro comes the next step in this series, surely a shoe-in for a favorite.

Boxes and Booze 11/14/20 Boxes and Booze 11/14/20

Beer-Stein

“Beer, if drunk in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit and promotes health.” – Thomas Jefferson

Boxes and Booze 11/7/20 Boxes and Booze 11/7/20

Reptile Box (Free Me 8)

Joe Turner comes from a big family – eight brothers and three sisters - and Christmas was always a challenge.

Boxes and Booze 10/31/20 Boxes and Booze 10/31/20

Dormouse Box

A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere.

— Washington Irving, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

Boxes and Booze 10/24/20 Boxes and Booze 10/24/20

Apricot II

Should the east winds blow,

Carry to me the fragrance

Of apricot bloom;

And though your master is gone,

Never forget the springtime.

- Sugawara no Michizane

Boxes and Booze 10/17/20 Boxes and Booze 10/17/20

Champion

I’m unlocking a new edition of “Locks and Libations” this week to feature another fantastic creation from magician and inventor Eric Stevens. Let’s look at another one of his unusual, innovative and original ideas – a puzzle lock made entirely from playing cards.

Boxes and Booze 10/10/20 Boxes and Booze 10/10/20

Turtle Trip

Sometimes you get invited to the party, but you just can’t find your pants. So begins the premise for one of the most surprising (and good) puzzles of what has been one of the most surprising (and bad) years in recent memory. This puzzle is so good it will make you forget about 2020, for a little while. It’s a trip worth taking.

Boxes and Booze 10/3/20 Boxes and Booze 10/3/20

Arbitrage Box

“arbitrage - the simultaneous buying and selling of securities, currency, or commodities in different markets or in derivative forms in order to take advantage of differing prices for the same asset”

Boxes and Booze 9/28/20 Boxes and Booze 9/28/20

Euklid for Nick

I'm "mixing it up" here at Boxes and Booze this week, with a surprise "Special Edition" of "Packing and Potions" in honor of that legend of logic, the duke of dissection, the grand poobah of puzzles, his royal highness of hi-jinks, yes, the one and only, Nick Baxter.

Boxes and Booze 9/26/20 Boxes and Booze 9/26/20

Tumbler

I’m flush with excitement about introducing this new designer to the world of puzzles and puzzle boxes. He’s got a pair, no, three of a kind of special puzzle design he invented during the quarantine downtime that are quite magical. Get them all and you’ll have a full house of clever items. Ok, let me get straight to the point here – these puzzles are aces.

Boxes and Booze 9/18/20 Boxes and Booze 9/18/20

Sea Chest

Neverfear! I’ve just the thing for you, my boisterous Buccaneers, a treasure chest plundered by the Corsairs straight from Davey Jones Locker. How they came to acquire it, we shall never know, as dead men tell no tales.