Fun

The 44th President of the United States turns 48 today.  Born in 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii, he came into the world at the tail end of the Baby Boom.  During the 2008 campaign, much was made of the fact that he was younger than the other candidates.  But did you know that he is actually not the youngest man ever to be sworn in?  A bit of trivia: According to Wikipedia, Obama is the 5th youngest person to be inaugurated as President.  Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Ulysses S. Grant, who were 42, 43, 46 & 5 months, and 46 & 10 months respectively at the times of their first inaugurations, beat him out for the title.

Filed under: Boomers • Fun • History • News

Last month, coffee lovers rejoiced when studies came out indicating that a daily dose of caffeine may help cut down on the buildup of protein on the brain that causes Alzheimer’s. Now, devotees of crossword puzzles, card games, and other brain-tickling activities can be glad. Reuters reports that a new study by New York’s Albert Einsten College of Medicine followed 488 healthy people between the ages of 75 to 85 for five years, tracking their mental decline and their daily participation in six different activities: doing crossword puzzles, reading, writing, playing board or card games, playing music, and having group discussions. The researchers discovered that for each additional mentally stimulating activity that their subjects did on a daily basis, accelerated memory loss was delayed by approximately 2 months. Those who participated in 11 activities a week were able to stave off the point of no return (so to speak) for 1.29 years longer than those who only engaged in 4 activities a week.

Here are some great online resources (all free) that we recommend for exercising your brain:

Weekly puzzles from the NY Times Crossword’s archives

Online Sudoku puzzles (also from the NY Times)

MSN games online: Bridge, Hearts, Texas Hold’Em, TextTwist

Facebook’s Scrabble and Chess Applications

Orisinal’s series of beautifully animated online games

Starting a blog through LiveJournal, WordPress, or Blogger

Participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

Checking out a book from the NEA’s The Big Read list

Reading the poem of the day at Poetry Daily

Following The Two-Way, NPR’s news blog

Reading about, or creating articles for, unusual locations at Atlas Obscura

Solving a Virtual Rubik’s Cube. (Need help? Check out this tutorial by one-time world record holder Leyan Lo)

Learning to play a new instrument by searching for video tutorials on YouTube

Filed under: Boomers • Diet and Fitness • Fun

It’s here! The 40^th Anniversary of what some of us would consider our most memorable summer. Whether you were there to slog through the muddy fields yourself, or you heard about it from friends, it’s hard to forget Woodstock and August of 1969.

In celebration of the good times that summer and all those that have followed, we present to you a small collection of sites and events that might help you to revisit that weekend:

The original Woodstock documentary was released in 1970, and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1996.

A new film called “TAKING WOODSTOCK” is set for release in late August. Visit the IMDB website for more information and to view trailers for the film.

NEWSEUM WOODSTOCK EXHIBIT:

If you happen to be near DC on Saturday Aug. 15, join former New York Times journalist Bernard Collier, as he talks about what made Woodstock newsworthy.

Share your own memories of Woodstock with us! What do you think was so unique about the event? Were you forced to stay at home or did you head off with some friends to camp out in the fields? Have you been to anything like it since?

Filed under: Boomers • Fun • History • Media

Yesterday and today, everyone here at Springboard and the Hachette Book Group decided to put our muscle where our publishing mouths are. Yes, the publishers of Gail Blanke’s Throw Out Fifty Things dug through those drawers, reshelved those books and decided what to give away and what to throw away. It was quite an energizing experience (I and others on the 16th floor did it yesterday; the 13th and 15th floor is throwing away as I write).
I gave away some of the duplicates of books I always wanted to read, but haven’t yet found the time. I brought other books home so that I’ll actually read them there (as opposed to trying to do so while I multitasked at my desk). And I threw out at least one pair of old shoes; I brought a mug or two that I never use to the swap room, and I recycled enough paper to make nests for flocks of birds.
You know what was the best part? I feel lighter and freer. I found things I forgot I had like nice note cards, great blush, and wonderful olive oil I had received as a Christmas gift, but hadn’t yet brought home.
I felt like I was coming into a new office this morning, and I was eager to get to the work on my relatively tidy desk!
I recommend the feeling highly.
Do you have the urge to spring clean? Let me know.

Filed under: Fun