"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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(Photo by Graham Chastney) We're old-fashioned when it comes to games and toys. We prefer Lincoln Logs to Leapsters, Backgammon to Warcraft, and even Rock Paper Scissors to Grand Theft Auto. So when we recently learned about a traditional playground game that requires only horse chestnuts (also known as "conkers") and string, we were intrigued. The more we learned about the game of Conkers, the more we felt we'd been deprived of something wonderful as children. In Conkers (which is played mostly in the U.K., Ireland, and some former British colonies), the preparation is nearly as important as the game. Competitors -- generally school kids, although nostalgic (and sometimes inebriated) adults also partake -- select the biggest, toughest, or luckiest-looking horse chestnuts from the autumn crop. Some contestants boil, bake, soak in vinegar, or shellac their conkers in order to toughen them up -- though others insist that any conker-tampering is cheating. Players carefully bore a hole through each nut, and thread a string through it, knotting the end to keep it in place. And then the games -- and the bruises -- begin. The game consists of two competitors taking turns whacking one another's conkers with their own, with play determined by a catalog of arcane rules and traditions. The conker that breaks first is the loser, with the winning nut receiving a score that is the sum of its own victories, plus the victories of all the loser's vanquished opponents. A particularly lucky conker might have dozens of victories under its belt before being smashed or retired from competition. Once a competitor graduates from playground matches, there's only one place to go: the World Conker Championships. The annual event takes place in Ashton, England, on the second Sunday of October. If you can't make it to the games in person this weekend, grab your conkers and play along at home! Suggested Sites... World Conker Championships - official site of the world's most serious game of Conkers. Institution of Occupational Safety and Health: Conkers! - the safety group now sponsors the WCC, dispelling a myth that they once required children to wear protective goggles while playing Conkers. Conkers: A Favourite Childen's Game - detailed, illustrated instructions -- all you need to start playing Conkers. BBC: Caravan Conkers! - the boys from BBC's "Top Gear" play Conkers with cranes and RVs. The End of Horse Chestnut Trees? - BBC report on a deadly fungus that threatens horse chestnut trees -- and Conkers.

Directory categories: Conkers, Games, U.K. Games, Game Retailers

Archived under: Conkers, Contests, Games, Kids, Recreation and Travel, Regional, Sports, United Kingdom

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Homeowner's display in Boston, MA Decorating your house for Christmas is no longer just stringing up a single row of lights on the roof, and you'll need more than those cool "icicle" lights to please the public. (Of course, if you live anywhere near a house that synchronizes the lights to music, you might as well throw in the towel.) Nowadays, homeowners are jollier than ever, seemingly competing against each other for the most dazzling home display. Some towns do, in fact, hold competitions to reward these illuminated homes racking up their GE bills. People drive miles to see displays of electric Christmas cheer, and some houses take good advantage of the crowds, asking for donations for charities. Making it all for a worthy cause might also be good ammo against Grinch-like neighbors who want to shut the whole thing down. Apparently, some folks aren't crazy about constant lines of cars idling down their streets, blocking their driveways, and making it hard for their many friends and admirers to visit them. (Or they're just jealous.) This year, if you and your family enjoy scoping out well-lit houses with countless lights and goodies, give thanks to the homeowners, if you see them. And if you're the Grinch living next door, lighten up, will ya? Suggested Sites... Osborne Family Christmas Lights - this family's display was a victim of Grinch neighbors, but their display lives on at Walt Disney World. Tacky Light Tour - ginormous database of Christmas-decorated houses across America. Ugly Christmas Lights.com - they can't all be beautiful and tastefully decorated. Christmas Vacation Tribute Video - first featured is Clark Griswold's super-illuminated house, which may have inspired today's Christmas display enthusiasts. Wikipedia: Christmas Lights - the history of electric Christmas lights and other holiday decorations.

Directory categories: Christmas Displays and Lights, Christmas Light Retailers, Christmas

Archived under: Christmas, Contests, Decorating, Events, Holidays, Home and Garden

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(Photo by Torbert Timson) Around this time every year, the small Finnish town of Savonlinna becomes the center of attention. Summer solstice? Nope. Exquisite views of the Aurora Borealis? Think again. More important than all of these is the annual Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships. Let's be honest, there are plenty of good reasons to hurl a misbehaving cell phone as far it can go. There are the people with "Who Let the Dogs Out?" as their ringtone. There's the fool who'll happily answer a call while sitting on the toilet. And of course, you can't beat the theater-goer whose blasted phone goes off during that really sensitive bit in the movie, despite the numerous warnings telling them to shut off their cell phone or face death by stoning. Do we sound bitter? Perhaps. But these folks in Finland seem to have a lot of fun. Last year, for example, Lassi Etelätalo threw one 89 meters (that's over 290 feet for the metrically impaired). To make things fair, Finnish consulting company Fennolingua supplies all the phones which apparently weigh-in between 220 grams and 400 grams. This August, as the competition enters its seventh year, and thousands of people descend on the town, we salute all the competitors and organizers who vent their frustrations on those ubiquitous devices we've learned to love to hate. Suggested Sites... Etela-Savon Maakunta - home county to Savonlinna. Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships - an official site, naturally. YouTube: Mobile Phone Throwing Videos - hundreds of 'em!

Directory categories: Cell Phones, Finland, Cell Phone Etiquette, Bizarre Humor, Phone Ringtones and Graphics

Archived under: Cell Phones, Communication, Contests, Events, Regional, Sports, Weird Stuff

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(Photo by Jude) The word "quilting" may bring to mind visions of Chanel bags dancing like sugarplums, or it might recall images of women sitting around a table stitching and gossiping. The reality -- judging by the prize winners of national, state, and county fairs -- is closer to the first than you might think. Modern quilters are cousins to couturiers, creating custom pieces from specialized fabrics and utilizing stitch techniques and assemblages that we bet your Nana wasn't hip to. Paper, ink, wax, paint, even caustics are used to create the new breed of art quilt, while inspiration still comes from the wide range of traditional quilt styles: crazy, Amish, Hawaiian, and good old patchwork. Many are still machine washable and bed-sized, but even if you can afford them you won't be seeing these on top of the coverlet. Such coveted quilts as these will be entered in competitions like the American Quilter Society Expo that kicks off today in Nashville, Tennessee. Suggested Sites... The American Quilter's Society - hosts of this August's national expo, featuring special exhibits, prizes, and lectures. International Quilt Study Center - search their online database for an unrivaled collection of beautiful quilts. The Quilts of Gee's Bend - African-American quilters in Alabama produced some of the 20th century's most striking modern art.

Directory categories: Quilting, Hawaiian Quilts, Quilting Organizations, Quilt Collecting, Craft Fairs

Archived under: Artists, Arts, Contests, Crafts, Events, Home and Garden, Quilting

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