Red velvet ding dong
We all have favorite sweets from our childhood. Or perhaps from our adulthood. Twinkies, or Moon Pies, or Pinwheels. How about the Ding Dong? How about a red velvet Ding Dong?
Red velvet Ding Dong
That’s right. Red velvet cake, a dense, creamy filling, and a thick, chocolate shell. That right there, is delicious.
Google Sky Map
There are some pretty cool apps out there. My current favorite is Google Sky Map. This app turns your cell phone into an interactive star chart. Just hold the phone up to the sky and it will show you what constellations, stars, planets and other objects you’re looking at.
Google Sky Map
With pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope, and a great search function, the app will even point out whatever it is you’re looking for. It even has a night mode that displays in red so as to not disrupt your view of the stars.
Balboa Park
Balboa Park is home to the world-renowned San Diego Zoo. But it has a ton more to offer than just the zoo. The nation’s largest cultural park houses 15 museums, performing arts venues, and gardens.
Lilly pond at Balboa Parkman
With special kid-friendly events, carousel and miniature railroad, the park is a great family venue, as well as a fantastic place for adults to explore and unwind.
Cyndi Lauper
Yes, Cyndi Lauper is a great musician. She’s an amazing performer. She was a total treat on the Celebrity Apprentice. And she’s an awesome person.
Cyndi Lauper's Give a Damn project
Cyndi’s True Colors Fund and Give A Damn campaign have served to educate about the importance of equality in our communities. Engaging people like Whoopi Goldberg, Ricki Martin, and Betty White. She has used her no-nonsense, over-the-top style to spread the message that equality is something we should all care about.
The Awe-Manac
The Awe-Manac
This book is not only awesome, it’s an awe-manac.
Really.
The Awe-Manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder is just that. It’s a page-a-day book that helps us see the wonder and awe in everyday.
It’s beautifully put together–bright and cheery and light. And with all the awesome information in there, it’s such a joy to read.
There’s a daily soul vitamin, a toast of the day, awe-servances, aha-phrodisiacs, a dose of mirth and journal juju.
Today’s journal juju, for example:
Write a list of thinks that bring you hope and rewrite them in a Cure for Hopelessness recipe.
Write what you would do if you were the righest person in the world. Now decide what small part of that you could actually do even if it’s in a small, abbreviated form.
See? Awesome!
Ig Nobel awards
2010 Ig Nobel poster
The Ig Nobel Prize is not quite like the Nobel Prize. It’s awarded from Improbable Research–research that makes people laugh, and then think. How awesome is that?
The 2010 Igs were given on September 30.
The Medicine Prize went to psychologists who discovered that breathing difficulties brought on by asthma can be alleviated by repeated rollercoaster rides.
The Peace Prize went to a psychologist for confirming that swearing relieves pain.
The Management Prize went to some folks who demonstrated mathematically that companies work more efficiently if staff are promoted at random.
Really.
Check out the rest of this year’s winners here.
Solar and electric powered airplanes
Image from Solar Impulse, via Ode
We have electric cars, so why not electric airplanes?
Solar Impulse, a Swiss company, has a zero-emissions airplane that’s powered by solar energy and electricity. They hope to fly internationally by sometime next year.
That’s pretty darn awesome.
Read more on Ode Exchange.
JustFruit Bars
Just Fruit bars
Getting 2 to 4 servings of fruit in a day can be difficult when you’re on the go. And in the winter months finding it fresh and local is near impossible.
These fabulous bars made of just fruit are a pretty awesome alternative. 100% Northwest grown fruit, there are no preservatives or added sugar in these bars.
JustFruit bars by Gorge Delights; dense, yummy and deliciously satisfying.
Kindness sticker
Re-attachable Kindness Sticker
A group of Feng Shui consultants got together and thought of a great way to spread kindness.
Small and simple, they created a re-attachable sticker with a meaningful reminder: you can carry kindness with you everywhere you go and spread it anywhere.
Place these powerful pink prompts on anything: a note to the teacher, a tip to the waiter, the pump at the gas station…the possibilities are endless.
Find them at CarryOutKindness.com. They’re awesome.
Chillicothe, Missouri
Sliced Bread
Sliced bread is pretty awesome. Hence the saying, “the best thing since sliced bread.”
Chillicothe, Missouri, is awesome because it’s the home of sliced bread. The first commercial bread slicer was installed in the Chillicothe Baking Company and the first loaf of sliced bread was sold right there in 1928.
In 2007, Chillicothe officially became the “Home of Sliced Bread.”
Awesome.
