This week’s BSGS is going to be brief, as I am on the road, on my way to Disney with my family. To start with, driving from Philadelphia to Savannah in one day could be considered a sport in and of itself. My wife and I shared the driving, with her taking the first stretch from Philly to Emporia, Virginia, and then I took over from Emporia to Savannah. We’ll go the rest of the way to Orlando tomorrow. The sport aspect comes from trying to dodge drivers all along the way (especially once you get south of D.C.) who are driving in the left lane at 60 miles per hour, while you are trying to stick at a steady 80. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports, sports, travel & foreign lands by Alan Spoll
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10. If you’re drunk enough, slides of past vacations might seem like the real thing.

9. Instead of Fourth of July fireworks, have everyone in your family try closing their eyes and rubbing them.

8. Take your kids for “A Day at the Zoo”; PetSmart doesn’t charge admission.

7. If your local high school athletic field has sand in its pole vault pit, you and your family can set up beach chairs.

6. Instead of Disneyland, take your kids to Dizzyland. The admission is a lot cheaper, their Tea Cups Ride spins a lot faster, and your kids won’t feel like eating a bunch of expensive snacks.

5. With the right mindset, ferry boats are just miniature cruise ships.

4. If your kids have their hearts set on summer camp, there are a number of religious cults willing to take them in for free.

3. Swimming pool? Bathtub? I mean, water is water!

2. Dinner at Taco Bell is like a trip to Mexico – without the drug cartels or dysentery!

1. Eat baked beans before getting into the wading pool and – voila! – you’ve got your own Jacuzzi!

 
Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, travel & foreign lands by Bob Sullivan
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As everyone knows and fears, our final days resemble our first, in their helplessness, in their inadvertent comedy, and in their nearness to an unknowable existence. I am reminded of these patiently waiting realities every time I visit my father, now 95 years old, at the nursing home, and slowly convey to his mouth quarter-teaspoons of pureed rye bread, carrots, ham, and vanilla pudding. [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, getting older, recipes & food by Michael Antman
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Paula: We’ve talked about how the election of Barack Obama has changed the temper of race relations in this country. You’ve said you felt it. So have I. Obviously, the iconic value of the presidency means a lot. But I also think that much of our capacity to incorporate change in this country comes from our devotion to movies, which have taught us to see life in terms of simple dramatic narratives of change.

The dramatic narrative of Obama’s election is in the tradition of a Hollywood movie. [Read more →]

Tags: conversations with Paula and Robert, movies, politics & government by Paula Marantz Cohen
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It has been five months now since people from all over the country gathered in Washington to watch the first black president get sworn into office, and as his honeymoon fades into history while the economy struggles, I cannot help but think about the guy in Texas that most people blame for this mess, and what exactly happened to him, and us, that led us to this point. So I wanted to reflect, for the first time with a little perspective, on what were the basic truths behind the Bush administration, issue for issue, and how they translated into presidential success or failure. Maybe some simplified retrospection will show critics and fans alike what was so bad or good about this man. [Read more →]

Tags: politics & government, terror & war by Robert O'Hara
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Would you really  want to live to be 113 years old?

According to Guiness World Records, the previous record holder of the “World’s Oldest Man” title passed away in his sleep on Friday, making a British World War I veteran the new leader. Henry Allingham celebrated his 113th birthday on June 6th, and here’s hoping that he enjoys every single day of his reign.

I also hope I never even approach that number. [Read more →]

Tags: getting older by Glenn Giangrande
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Look, I love the fact that the Viking Answer Lady exists at all, but her website is a teeny bit of a letdown. Take for example this disclaimer: 

[I]t is the Viking Answer Lady’s goal to encourage more people to learn about the Viking Age, and some of the very best questions that I’ve been asked come from schoolchildren. So, what can the Viking Answer Lady do for students? I can direct you to books and other sources where your answers may be found. I can give you hints that will allow you to use your school library’s card catalogue more effectively. I can direct you to other websites with related information.

I’d bet most students who seek out the webpage of a self-proclaimed Viking Answer Lady aren’t writing papers but looking for a more effective way to exact revenge on school bullies in the embarrassing aftermath of those Dungeons & Dragons protection spells failing. I could be wrong. Still, Viking Answer Lady, I beseech ye — up the irons!

Hat tip: My paymasters at the world’s greatest extreme music magazine, Decibel. 

Tags: art & entertainment by Shawn Macomber
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Okay, before I even get started, if you like Bon Iver (pronounced bahn ee-vare) and want to see them live, your opportunities are dwindling fast, so go make arrangements now. Trust me. I saw them last week at The State Theatre in St. Pete, Fl and it was amazing. You can read my review of the show here.

Justin Vernon

Justin Vernon is the kind of rock star you should have a crush on. [Read more →]

Tags: music, nine questions with Van by Van McO
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When it comes to “Going Parental,” I will spend most of my time ranting about parenting, my kids, your kids, the way you parent and how much I hate it, and the inevitable damage we are doing to our children. Those are the obvious things. However, every once in a while, I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on the little things… those small and almost transparent moments that make it all worth it in the end. [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, going parental by Jaclyn Roth
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Dear Ruby,
An old friend friended me on Facebook recently and we emailed back and forth a few times. I was really excited to be back in touch until I realized that he believes in all kinds of crackpot 9/11 theories and now he is sending me links to videos and websites that I have no interest in. How do I get out of this relationship? I used to like him and agree with him on a lot of topics, but now I’m so turned off that I just cringe when I see new emails from him.

Sincerely, Defriend Me! [Read more →]

Tags: advice, black helicopter watch by Ruby Mac
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I think that every week I’m going to start with a random fact about me. It’s totally narcissistic and self-indulgent, but I will try to keep it entertaining. So here it is: I’m not one of those people that will ever end up with one of those hideous Family Stickers on their back windshield. It’s just not me. I imagine if they were to design a mom-type-scenario that really represented what I’ve got going on, it would come out looking something like this: [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, going parental by Jaclyn Roth
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So You Think You Can Dance was so annoying last night and when I say SYTYCD, I mean Mary. She’s always annoying but she was downright, mother f-in annoying last night. She didn’t shut her trap for one second. I had to pop another Xanax because she was so damn annoying. And did anyone understand a word Lil’ C said? You’re a krump dancer. Can you please use more words like “buck” rather than soliloquy and passion? Overall, I thought the show was disappointing. I have no connection to the dancers yet. Maybe one or two. They all have great talent, but I don’t think I like them yet. Anyway… [Read more →]

Tags: television by Lauren LaBumbard
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So, I had originally planned to review This Duchess of Mine, the next to last book in Eloisa James’ current series, but I didn’t really like it. The characters were boring, and since most of my posts have leaned toward the negative, I thought I would write a positive review about a book that I did like, but is not as current as the novel by James. However, The Virgin’s Secret came out at the end of April 2009, so it is fairly current. Also, it is Alexander’s first book in a new series. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, romancing history by Katie Colvin
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LONDON, ONTARIO (When Falls the Coliseum) — Yesterday the writer of the popular blog, Prawned! was found draped across his keyboard, unconscious.

Patrick Jones, aka Dedred S., was pronounced dead at the scene by the medical examiner.
[Read more →]

Tags: creative writing, technology by Mark A. Rayner
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As a Yankee fan, I find it comforting to know there’s at least one sport franchise making them look like a softball team sponsored by a local tanning parlor. When Florentino Perez became the president of Spain’s Real Madrid football club, he vowed to restore their glory days. Real Madrid has been the most successful team in the world and boasted many of its greatest players, such as Zinedine Zidane (you know, the head-butter). Recent years have been less glamorous though and with archrival Barcelona owning the world’s top player (Lionel Messi) and having completed the most successful season in Spanish history, Perez faced a disillusioned fan base and a towering challenge. [Read more →]

Tags: money, sports by Sean Cunningham
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June 10, 2009
I dream I am in a faceoff with three men. One suddenly runs with superhuman speed towards a mirror and disappears into another dimension. I am left facing a vampire and a man with a mysterious hole in his back. I have in my hand a hook-like contraption that shoots, but I know that before I can shoot it I have to cock it, and by the time I cock it the man with the hole in his back will kill me. The man demands that I take my hook-like instrument, stick it into the hole in his back and see if it does anything. I know he’s toying with me, but I obey. He points out that it’s not killing him, but it’s very painful. I pull the weapon out immediately. The vampire is amused.

[Read more →]

Tags: Fred's dreams by Fred Siegel
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The path to book publication for “young” poets typically involves entering at least one (more often many) first book contest. The oldest, and perhaps most prestigious, of these contests is the Yale Series of Younger Poets, which began in 1919. Since then, under the banner of the series, Yale University Press has had the opportunity to introduce the world to books such as Muriel Rukeyser’s Theories of Flight, W.S. Merwin’s A Mask for Janus, John Ashbery’s Some Trees, and Carolyn Forché’s Gathering the Tribes. [Read more →]

Tags: books & writing, living poetry by Les Kay
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Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) are a thirty-something, deeply-in-love unmarried couple expecting their first child but, lacking stable careers and roots, they still feel like children themselves. Burt and Verona take to the road, ostensibly to find a place to raise their child. But the real journey involves visiting friends and family while they try to decide what kind of parents they want to be. In this movie that has both comic and serious moments, the individual moments are better than the whole film. [Read more →]

Tags: Gail sees a movie, movies by Gail D. Rosen
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Leaving home for work in the mornings, I found I was occasionally leaving something behind. My train pass. My ID badge. My keys, sunglasses, phone, wallet. So I made a list on my phone which I check every now and then — not every day, mind you, but on those days when I have that nagging feeling I must be forgetting something. [Read more →]

Tags: getting older, health & medical by Mark Guerin
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“Nature alone is antique, and the oldest art a mushroom.”

This week the star of my local Farmers Market was undeniably the mushroom! Portobello, Shiitake, Morel, Oyster, Maitake, Crimini….all that and more! [Read more →]

Tags: easy weeknight dinners, recipes & food by Jessica Alfreds
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