"What are YOU doing this weekend?" (Photo by Veronica ML) Ah, the lazy days of summer are here. Wait -- "lazy?" We Americans are lazy enough already, according to this month’s American Journal of Medicine. That means it’s time to get out, get active, and to take advantage of some summertime activities! Nothing on your calendar? No problem! Ours is packed through the season. Here are just a few ideas for just this weekend: In major metropolitan areas, of course, there’s always something going on. If you’re anywhere near Chicago, this weekend is "Taste of Chicago," with free admission and filled with food and music. Speaking of music, everyone in Dallas is likely lined up for the "American Idol" auditions. If you missed registering in Texas, get your plane tickets now for one of the upcoming auditions in Los Angeles, Orlando, or Denver. Are there events geared toward those who want to get or stay fit this summer? Certainly! Remember the "Seinfeld" episode where Kramer swims in the East River because the pool is too constricting? It turns out there's a gaggle of like-minded New Yorkers who are swimming around Liberty Island today. If you can't make it, don’t worry; they have more events scheduled. Of course, you don’t have to live in the big city to find cool things to do. Wherever you are, you can still participate in "Take Your Dog to Work Day" (provided your employer approves, of course!), Some folks in Petaluma, California, however, will be skipping work with their pooches to visit the Sonoma-Marin Fair and enter the "World’s Ugliest Dog Contest." If the thought of big crowds and rats on leashes makes you want to just stay home -- or if you’re just saving all your energy for the Fourth of July weekend -- you can still get involved by watching other people push the limits of hockey, golf, or pure speed. Just don’t say you’re bored!

Directory categories: American Idol, Recreation in Manhattan, Chicago Travel Guides, Activities for Dogs, Sports

Archived under: American Idol, Animals, Boredom, Calendars, Chicago, Cities, Contests, Dogs, Eating, Entertainment, Events, Festivals, Food and Drink, Health, Outdoors, Pets, Recreation and Travel, Regional, Seinfeld, Sports, Summer, Swimming, Tourist Attractions, Travel, Vacations

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"All aboard!" The "MUNI Diaries" logo Muni Diaries – whether you live in San Francisco and ride its slow and human-stained MUNI buses and trains or not, you can still be amused, shocked, and/or disgusted by these fascinating tales of the publicly-transported in all their tired, smelly, and crammed-together glory. Populated largely by user-submitted content, the "Muni Diaries" blog shows public transportation for what it is: a strange social experiment, a fecund human Petri dish where the rich and poor, the young and old, and the healthy and sick cram together with all the nudity, violence, vomit, and sexual indiscretion that keeps the riding citizens endlessly entertained -- and always coming back for more. SticK – because quitting smoking, saving money, or exercising regularly is hard, StickK.com has devised a web-based method to help you keep the achievement of your goals on track. If you set a goal and do not achieve it, StickK.com will charge your credit card accordingly and send the money to a designated recipient. I Do Now I Don’t – these pre-owned wedding and engagement ring auction sites are becoming quite a burgeoning little industry. Every time I see a new one, I think, “Oh, that’s kinda funny,” until I start looking at the pictures of the rings and thinking about the stories of heartbreak that many of them hold, and then it just starts to seem sad. "I Do Now I Don't" also sells wedding dresses, which makes sense because teardrops can usually be washed right out of most fabrics. Airfare Watchdog – a new take on the airfare-deal-finding website, "Airfare Watchdog" provides you a list of surprisingly-inexpensive flights to and from various destinations with limitations on travel dates and times. If you’re just looking to get out of town and you’re flexible on your dates (or even your destination), a quick browse through their daily list of fares might be of interest. Cat Workout – sites like this really make me want to lose my job and hang around my house all day coming up with funny things to blog. "Cat Workout" helps users see the real value in having a cat: you can save money on exercise equipment! Having a cute little kitty in my arms while I’m doing “European squats” would not only provide me with soft and fuzzy joy, but would also provide the resistance that I need to maximize the effectiveness of my workouts. Suggested Sites... Muni Diaries - SF Muni adventure blog with stories, news, videos, and commentary about the bus-tastic San Francisco Municipal Railway. Get Muni news and submit your own Muni adventures, photos, videos, and stories. SticK - enables users to form commitment contracts to help them achieve their personal goals. These goals may be to lose weight, run a marathon, exercise regularly, quit smoking, or a personalized goal. Cat Workout - work out with these cat workout videos. Exercises include leg lifts, European squats, biceps training, and more. Airfare Watchdog - alerts consumers to fare reductions, airline discounts, and other unusually low airfares from a wide variety of sources. I Do Now I Don't - buy and sell pre-owned wedding rings, engagement rings, jewelry, and wedding dresses.

Directory categories: San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI), Personal Growth, Airfare Consolidators, Cats, Online Jewelry Auctions

Archived under: Air Travel, Animals, Auctions, Blogs, California, Cats, Cities, Commuting, Diets, Exercise, In Character, Internet, Motivation, Recycling, San Francisco, Shopping, Smoking, Trains, Transportation, Travel, Weddings, Yahoo! Directory

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Midnight buffet (Photo by Alasam) Plenty of creatures are easy to dismiss as "pests" -- cockroaches, rats, mosquitoes, little brothers. But while we accept their biological purposes and important places in the food chain, some species go out of their way to wreak havoc and annoy their human neighbors. Raccoons, we're looking at you! Sure, you're adorable, with your fuzzy little bandit masks and goofy waddling gaits. And we admire your creativity, persistence, and dexterity (is there nothing you can't pry open, disassemble, or otherwise destroy?). We can even forgive that you have loud parties and/or fights outside our windows at 3 a.m., move into our attics without even offering to help with the rent, and use our yards as handy communal toilets. You're wild animals, right? Just because you live in the city doesn't mean you've learned manners -- in fact, you're probably more polite than most of the people on the subway any given morning! While we may not agree with your culinary choices (our trash can smells like, well, rotting garbage), we respect how you won't let anything -- not ropes nor bungee cords nor heavy cement blocks nor security lights -- come between you and your supper. Good for you! Humans could learn a thing or two about determination from you guys. And that washing thing you do with your food -- could that be any cuter? Even when you break into our homes and use our pets' water bowls -- or more alarmingly, our toilets -- for rinsing your snacks, leaving mucky paw prints all over our floors, counters, and walls, we're still charmed by your tiny, destructive hands. No matter how much you try to drive us insane and make us hate you -- and we have to give you credit, because you really do try -- we just think you're the cuddliest, cleverest, most lovable pests of all. Happy International Raccoon Appreciation Day, little buddies! Suggested Sites... International Raccoon Appreciation Day - a brief history of the day, ways to celebrate, and tips for dealing with pesky raccoons. Living With Wildlife: Raccoons - tips for humans and raccoons living in close proximity. Remo Raccoon's Home Page - photos and stories of a family of pet raccoons. Raccoon Tracks - information about raccoons and their relationships with humans, plus lots of adorable raccoon pictures. Raccoon Favorites - Flickr - ridiculously cute photos from OCPet.

Directory categories: Raccoons, Wildlife, Wildlife Organizations, Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Home Pest Control

Archived under: Animals, Cities, Garbage, Holidays, Nature, Raccoons, Science, Wildlife

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Welcome back to our occasional feature on what's happening in the exciting world of the Yahoo! Directory. Even though it's been a while since we've updated you, don't think our work has stopped: There's always new stuff to be added. For example, in less than two weeks, we'll mark the start of the Beijing Olympics. Folks from all over the world are preparing for their visits, so we've expanded our categories on Beijing hotels, tourism, and restaurants, to provide even the fussiest traveler with information on where to go and what to see. Of course, there are other aspects to the Games that we all find fascinating, and so we've boosted our information on such performance-enhancing drugs as Atenolol, GHB, and Rohypnol. And we're not sure if this relates to the sometimes-questionable air in the capital, but we've added sites about treatment of persistent coughs, pneumonia, and sore throats (not to mention the traveler's traditional bane: diarrhea). But it's not all athletics and pollution here. When you wanted good information on Hurricanes Bertha and Dolly, we went out and found it (and will continue to do so throughout the storm season). And when the good people at the Television Academy announced the Emmy Award nominations, and we added information about all the nominated shows and actors. There's always room in the Directory for stuff that's oddball or off-center, so say hello to Live Action Role Playing Games and (our personal favorite) Chess Boxing, a competition that combines the brain-straining aspect of chess with the brain-addling power of the Sweet Science. If that sounds as interesting to you as it did to us, give it a click. That's all for now, but please join us next time, as we continue to delve into the more than one million sites that make up the Yahoo! Directory. Suggested Sites... Yahoo! Directory: 2012 Summer Olympics: London - we know you'll be wondering. Yahoo! Directory: 2010 Winter Olympics: Vancouver - and here, too. Yahoo! Directory: Chess - checkmate your opponent with a left hook. Yahoo! Directory: 2008 Emmy Awards - the best in television -- for one night, anyway. Yahoo! Directory: Specific Drugs and Medications - from Abbokinase to Zyvox.

Directory categories: 2008 Beijing Olympics, Olympic Games, Chinese Travel, Beijing, 2008 Emmy Award Nominations

Archived under: Actors, Asia, Athletes, Award Shows, Awards, Beijing, Boxing, Celebrities, Chess, China, Cities, Disasters, Disease, Emmy Awards, Entertainment, Events, Gamers, Games, Medicine, Olympics, Recreation and Travel, Role-Playing Games, Sports, Summer, TV, Tourist Attractions, Travel, Women's Sports, Yahoo!, Yahoo! Directory

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Lancaster: it's more exciting than you might think (Photo by Jeremy B. Yoder) When we saw that Lancaster, Pennsylvania, had been the capital of the United States for one day -- September 27, 1777 -- we were prepared to mock the town for losing its sole claim to immortality. Little did we know.... After some research, we discovered that given Lancaster's history, it would have been more remarkable if the town hadn't been a U.S. capital. Unconvinced? Take the following quiz and see if you don't agree: * What city was connected to Philadelphia in the nation's first long-distance paved road? * Where did Meriwether Lewis travel to learn how to plot latitude and longitude? * What community boasts the oldest continuously running theater in the U.S.? * Where did Milton Hershey start his candy business and Frank W. Woolworth start his chain of five and dime stores? * Which U.S. city first adopted the German custom of the Christmas tree? The answer to all of the above is, of course, "Lancaster." So, on this, the 230th anniversary of only one of Lancaster's (and that's pronounced "LANK-i-ster," if you please) many achievements, we salute a town that, pound for pound, can take on any other. Suggested Sites... City of Lancaster - official site for the world's most important city. Lancaster County and Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau - there's more than the Amish to be found in southeastern Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Turrnpike Commission - they've come a long way since 1795. Fulton Opera House - presenting shows since 1852. Christmas Trees and More - who knew one little fir tree would go so far?

Directory categories: Lancaster, PA, United States History, Lancaster County, PA, United States Capitol, Pennsylvania Turnpike

Archived under: American History, Anniversaries, Cities, Government, Hershey, History, Pennsylvania

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