1. Follow the coolest guy in the universe: Commander Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield on Twitter) arrived at the International Space Station in December for a 5-month tour of duty and ever since he’s talked Star Wars with William Shatner, dropped the puck for the Maple Leafs, performed with the Barenaked Ladies and chatted up the Queen of England—all from space, where the Canadian astronaut gets to see sunrise and sunset 16 times per day. No big deal. It’s just another day. He also dressed up for St. Patrick’s Day, showed how hard it is to do things like add salt and pepper to food, while sharing fantastic photos he takes daily from space. Follow this guy. He’s awesome, which means when you retweet him, you’ll be awesome, too.
2. Ride The Run: The latest addition to Splish Splash will debut Memorial Day weekend, and it’s the first-ever water ride in New York State featuring new generation hydromagnetic technology. Bootlegger’s Run will take a four-person raft through a series of drops, including one from nearly five stories high, while powerful electromagnetic fields propel the steel-bottomed rafts uphill, just like a roller coaster. “Imagine a cross between a whitewater raft ride and a roller coaster,” says Mike Bengtson, Splish Splash general manager. “Bootlegger’s Run is like a roller coaster that races on water instead of rails.” Sign us up!
3. Download Vine: Now, instead of telling your Facebook friends and Twitter followers what you ate for breakfast and sharing pictures of your bagel on Instagram, you can video yourself taking your first bite for the world to see. Vine lets you take 6-second looping videos using your phone that are easily shared through social media. So, whether you’re polishing off a bagel or filming a family of geese crossing the street, this will probably be your new addiction.
4. Meet Steve Schirripa: You probably know Schirripa as Bobby “Bacala” from HBO’s The Sopranos, but these days the Brooklyn-born actor, comedian and Goomba series author has bridged the gap from TV crime to real-world crime. Schirripa hosted two seasons of the Investigation Discovery series, Nothing Personal, and is now hosting Karma’s a B*tch! on the same network. Schirripa will sign copies of his latest book, Big Daddy’s Rules, on May 22 at Roslyn’s Bryant Library, on May 23 at the Book Revue in Huntington and on May 29 at Port Washington Public Library.
5. Drink Long Island Craft Beer: Uniting local breweries, restaurants, retailers and bars with beer enthusiasts, the 2013 annual Long Island Craft Beer Week will be a 10-day Island-wide celebration of beer, the making of beer, and the enjoyment of beer. From May 10-19, local retailers and restaurants team up with their favorite breweries to host special events—pairings, tap takeovers, special menus, meet the brewer nights, and more—showing the local beer enthusiasts why they love craft beer. Visit www.longislandcraftbeerweek.com for a full rundown of events.
6. Read Murder on Long Island: A 19th Century Tale of Tragedy & Revenge: In 1854, James Wickham was a wealthy Cutchogue farmer with a large estate. He and his wife were later murdered by an ex-employee with an axe. The man was captured, and on Dec. 15, 1854, he became one of the last people to be hanged in Suffolk County. Written by the Southold Historical Society, this book documenting the murders can be purchased through the Southold Historical Society or Amazon.com.
7. Youtube How Animals Eat Their Food: So, two guys sit down at a table and start to eat their salads, when one asks, “Want to see how animals eat their food?” You can probably guess what happens next, so we won’t spoil the rest for you, but the flamingo and rhinoceros win, hands down.
8. Get Pixelated 8-Bit Glasses: For the old-school gamers out there who want to rock the kind of shades Super Mario would have in his hay day, hold on to your Atari stick. These sunglasses (Amazon, $9.99) laugh in the face of rounded edges and look pretty surreal in the 3-D world.
9. Check Out The Hot Baby Names for 2013: There are a ton of Johns and Marys already so maybe you’re looking for something a little different for your kids. What about Severine or Phaedra? Thor? Mingus? Are you cringing yet? Well, check out the rest of the list on Nameberry.com.
10. Celebrate Memorial Day! Pin on your poppies, slap on that red, white and blue, and fire up the grill!
