Our continuing celebration of Spring (which has indeed sprung) leads inevitably to this: what does it take to get the old bounce back in your step? We've thought long and hard about the question and always return to the obvious: you gotta be a kid at heart, relax, get out more, meet people, eat well. We're happy for this, because as it happens we've just announced the theme(s) of this week's selection. How convenient.
The Internet Food Channel, which serves up everything you need to know about the stuff, is an obvious first choice. Beyond scrumptious news, information and links, we have a special affinity for their truly awful puns. For more on this, see their Nude Food pages. The site is still growing, but already offers consumer news and trends, an interactive forum for discussions, and links to recipes, beverages, cookbooks, restaurants and more. However, we would like to point out that the shame and humiliation they inflict upon Mr. Potato Head would never happen at Denny's Restaurant. This probably explains why Jason Alan Pfaff created Project: Denny's, with the goal of visting as many Denny's as possible before he dies. Jason seems well on his way; if he never does complete the mission at least he is taking a sizable bite out of it. Follow his roadtrips by date, location or restaurant franchise number.
If you also have plans that'll take a lifetime, you may want to play Northwestern Mutual Life's Longevity Game. Plug in your vitals and the site will calculate how long you can expect to live, based on life insurance industry research. Why not learn more about your ticker at The Heart, a virtual exploration at the Franklin Institute of Science Museum. Among its great resources, the tour includes an image of a preserved heart and tips for healthy living. While on the subject, if you already know that blood pressure and too much salt is the problem, take solace at the Salt Institute, where sodium chloride is the theme, and you can learn everything you need to know about its many uses.
Maybe it's not about eating well and staying fit. Maybe all you need is to be a kid at heart. In which case (shameless plug) try Yahooligans!, Yahoo!'s new web guide for kids. A collaborative project with Ingenius, a children-focused multimedia company, the directory offers a safe place for kids to play and learn online. For more on the ways in which young people interact and are influenced by the media, try the Just Think Foundation. The organization was established to promote critical thinking about popular media. One of their aims is to provide children with the necessary tools to understand what has become such a prevalent part of their lives.
Now, the getting out more. There is currently an attempt being made on Mount Everest. Although it is certainly not as challenging as the Denny's Project, what makes this expedition different is that it's the first to be covered daily on the Internet. The Sunday Times Everest Expedition offers the world an opportunity to follow the three month ascent, as a team of journalists reports from a specially equipped base camp at 5,800 meters. Cold, but fun. Finally, if you don't want to go to such heights but have the bandwith, there is always photographer Steven Hirsch's gallery of people to meet. The photographs are mainly set in New York, New Orleans and Paris and are worth the trip. Take your pick(s).
It is time to reclaim the true meaning of surfing, as the season of good times comes on, to lay out your towel, stake your claim on a stretch of white sand beside clear water, relax and read a book.
Beautiful St. John seems as good a place as any to start the tour. Only twenty-eight square miles and the smallest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, two thirds of St. John is a U.S. National Park. Folks are particularly pleased to point out that this stop in paradise was not damaged by hurricane Marilyn. We're glad for that.
For fun and sun down under, take a trip to The Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia. Located south of Brisbane on the Eastern seaboard of the country, this vacationer's dreamland boasts an average of 245 days of good weather a year. You can probably even convince someone to throw a shrimp on the barbie for you.
Or, if you were in the Greek island of Mykonos maybe you could convince some to skewer another shrimp on the kabob. Or, calamari. Hey, this is a holiday. Do what you want. Ancient mythology has it that Mykonos was formed by petrified giants killed by Hercules. That very well may be the case, but it sure does look pretty.
Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean 2,400 kilometres off the South East Coast of Africa, has only two seasons: hot and warm. The island offers a range of outdoor possibilities: scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing, para-sailing and, naturally, golf. It was once also home to the now extinct Dodo bird, but you're no dummy if you travel there.
Last on the trip is Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, home of the Copa, the Copacabana, and that now-middle-aged woman from Ipanema. This site offers graphics of some of the finest spots in Rio.
Finally, if you are planning a trip you'll need to consult the directory of All the Hotels on the Web. Whether the site does indeed live up to its name is negligible; the geographical index lists over 8,000 worldwide hotels. We had to stop ourselves from booking a room in the Holiday Inn Zambia. Bon voyage.