Still No Recession – Rocky Wins This Round

Analogy- Rocky Balboa:Ivan Drago :: U.S. Economy:Subprime & Oil Prices
Explanation: The U.S. economy faces headwinds but is still not in recession. According to the Commerce Department’s estimate released this morning, 2nd quarter GDP grew at an annual rate of 1.9% (first quarter GDP was revised 0.9%). The unemployment rate is still at a historically healthy 5.5%. Industrial production [...]

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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Trailer!

It seems like just yesterday that the first novel in JK Rowling’s wildly popular series of books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was released in 1997. I’ve read most of the books – working on the final installment, The Deathly Hallows (Year 7), now. Yes, I’m a slow reader…one of the reasons that I [...]

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A New Watering Hole for The Lake (aka Nontantum, MA)

The West Street Grille & Tap was a neighborhood staple for over a dozen years in the Newton, MA village of Nonantum. Last fall, the West Street closed for business. With the great food, good prices, and the fact that it was soooo close to our apartment, Dan and I were disappointed (and surprised) when it closed.
But [...]

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Gas Prices Creating Major Changes in Travel Behavior

Today the Federal Highway Administration released their monthly traffic volume trends report for May 2008, and the data show a trend that is significant, although not surprising.

Nationally, travel on all roads declined by 3.7% for May 2008 as compared with May 2007. This marks the 7th consecutive monthly decline in this metric.
On a moving 12-month basis, [...]

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Kayaking the Concord River

It rained pretty much every day this week, so, with the promise of great weather today – finally! - Elicia and I set out for some kayaking in one of my favorite places: a stretch of the Concord River that runs right through the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge from Carlise, MA to the Old North Bridge in [...]

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Christian the Lion = YouTube Star

In 1960, a baby lion was purchased by a couple of guys (John Rendall and Ace Berg) in a department store (yeah – I guess they sold lions at department stores back then). They named him Christian. For years they raised him as their pet, but when Christian got too big to care for, John and [...]

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The Media Has a BAD Case of Obamania

Analogy – Media:Obama :: Lewinski:Clinton
Explanation: Last week I heard a primetime network news person declare, “Obamania is here to stay!” It’s not the first or last time such absurd media bias will show up on my TV screen. But anyway, what is this Obamania that’s evidently sweeping the nation? Well, let’s see, according to Webster’s:

Mania - (1) A form [...]

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Blogs to Buzz About

There are millions of blogs on the web. They can come in a variety of forms and can cover a variety of different topics. Among these millions are many blogs focused solely on entertaining and intriguing their readers. I wanted to share a handful of blogs that I’ve come across in recent months that I hope [...]

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Flat Bread with Grape Tomatoes

I’ve been growing a grape tomato plant since Memorial Day weekend and it’s about ready to be harvested. And, with the recent “tomato scare,” let’s just say I see a lot of home-grown grape tomatoes in my dietary future. So I’ve been thinking, what can I do with all these grape tomatoes besides throwing ‘em on [...]

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5 Questions

1. Are Facts Obsolete? Economist Thomas Sowell points out that many of Barack Obama’s positions are seemingly based on the notion that believing is seeing rather than actual information about the successes and failures of different policy concepts.                                 My Take: I share his frustration, particularly when it comes to important economic policy issues. There is an unbelievable amount of rhetoric [...]

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The Muppets Go to Hollywood

TMZ.com, which we all know provides some of the highest quality news reporting on the net , posted a photo slide show of celebrities matched up with their Muppet look-alikes. Some of the resemblances are simply uncanny! Check out the whole feature here or a few of my favorites below.
     
Telly and Zach Braff                       Kermit [...]

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Bubble Wrap

Often times it is the littlest things that bring us the most joy in life. Case in point…bubble wrap! This may be one of our wackier posts, but whatever floats your boat, right?

Pop dem’ bubbles online with some virtual bubble wrap.
Looking to buy a new calendar that is not only functional, but also extremely fun? [...]

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Willie and Wynton – Two Men with the Blues

Well, first of all, I think labels were invented to sell the music. You had to know what to call it before you could sell it. So they call it, the blues, jazz, bluegrass, gospel, or whatever. But, some music accomplishes it all…so what do you call that? And, that’s pretty much what I like to play.”  [...]

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Not Just Another Sunday (Princess Zelda Lives!)

White birds soar freely in the skies above the vast blue ocean. A pirate ship sails along, cutting through the waves. On deck is a crew of pirates and their leader Tetra, a brave and brash girl. Traveling with them is Link, the boy in green…

This is where my very own world-travelling, beast slaying, treasure [...]

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Independence Day – We Should Celebrate America and Her Symbols

On July 4, 1776, the same day that independence from Great Britain was declared, the Continental Congress also named the first committee (consisted of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams) to design a Great Seal, or national emblem, for the country. Similar to other nations, The United States of America needed an official symbol [...]

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