Staying cool with fashionable pale straw fedora hats this summer has gotten both sexes in on the action. With popular TV shows like Mad Men showcasing the new cool, fedora hats although giving little relief from the heat rays of the sun, are providing the cool factor on beaches and in particularly cities. There are styles to fit any person’s pay check or discriminating taste. Popular in movies of the 40’s and 50’s these hats took up space at the top of the heads of not only leading men, but characters that played newspaper reporters or gangsters. Even real life gangsters made them popular off screen too. Often these were of the felt variety worn with suits back in the day when men actually dressed up unlike the casual times we live in today.

Today these hats are worn not just with suits but whatever fits your fancy through a generation of stars from rock performers to sports figures. From rappers to models. Women may wear these beauties the most. And this summer the accessory to be seen in is the fedora hat. The stingy brim fedora is a cool and trendy model. More expensive models are hand-woven with a tighter weave. The shape of a person’s face adds to the decision making process for if it doesn’t go well with your face why bother wearing it.

Okay, I know what your thinking. Sounds pretty disgusting doesn’t it? Well it’s not exactly what it sounds like. It seems the creative folks in New York City are going to provide it’s residents and tourists a chance to dive into one of these unique dumpster swimming pools this summer. It’s part of a city summer street initiative that will provide needed relief from hot summer days. The pools will be lined so don’t expect to see rust.

These clean mobile pools will be installed for three weeks on Park Avenue. Not a bad address. And it will also come with portable changing rooms – think cabanas, showers and toilets. So now New Yorkers can take a dip at lunch hour and have a place to change and shower. There will also be life guards on duty as well.

So if you are planning to visit New York City this summer you may want to pack along your bathing suit. It’s not everyday you get to jump into a dumpster filled with water. And don’t forget to bring a camera. Your friends back home probably wouldn’t believe you without proof.

You don’t hear from them all winter. It’s like they go into hiding. More likely they go into maintenance mode and new construction mode, but they are doing their marketing planning because once warm weather approaches, here comes the TV commercials and more. Then they gear up for the big weekend. That is the fourth of July and with that usually brings fireworks. But what attracts us to these theme parks is the fun. The fun of getting scared out of our minds on gut churning roller coaster rides, haunted houses and some other death defying ride that isn’t for weak stomachs.

And it isn’t just rides. Some parks are also water parks. Slide down the winding water tube and slam into a pool of water. Stand under a pirate ship and get soaked with a bucket full of water. Swim or paddle boat on the lake if the park has one. Stay late and catch the entertainment. Musical acts take the stage making your entrance fee worth the price. Bored with the entertainment, get yourself over to the row of games lining up to take more of your money. You can drop a week’s pay trying to win the stuff animal you could easily buy for a tenth of the money it’s costing you to lose. But hey, that’s what makes these theme parks fun. It’s entertainment. So enjoy the day and who knows, you might just win the stuffed Panda.

My three year old knows how to turn on our laptop computer, start up Firefox and enter the word Noggin into the browser. She finds her favorite internet website and she is off to the races running her fingers on the pad searching her favorite computer games of interest. Now we do monitor her and we limit the time she is allowed on the computer, but here is proof that any three year old can operate a computer. She is in preschool. She gets lots of play time – physical activity at school and at home. Sure some TV. These days she is into Tom and Jerry cartoons. Great stuff. And she is read to every evening with original spur of the moment, off the cuffs story telling thrown in for good measure. When she is unplugged she entertains herself or with her sister finding creative ways to rearranged the furniture into forts, cars, boats, or whatever her young mind dreams up. She paints and draws, plays dress up with endless combination of wardrobe changes. No family member’s clothing is safe. So what’s the big deal with a little computer time.

Oh it’s been awhile since I sat through a Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus show. But all that changed the other day when I went old school. Today with the fashionable and modern Cirque du Soleil selling out performances, it was a nice to see this family entertainment hasn’t gone away. With kids in tow I sat there enjoying myself. And I must say the circus did not disappoint. Truly entertaining. A great family venue, these guys worked hard. From the acts to the crew there wasn’t a hitch in the show. Even when the trapeze artist missed on the “quad” flip you still marveled at the feat well worth a hand of appreciation.

We had celebrity seating which was a treat. You get pretty close to the action since you’re on the floor but not so close that you would be in danger. No they don’t do this when the elephants or tigers show their stuff. That would be unsafe, but if you’re looking for that little extra by all means pay the extra money for this “step right up” spectacle. And don’t forget to buy your kids the funny paper hats. A great souvenir to go along with your celebrity seating pass. Yes the hologram pass comes with paying for premium seating and for being part of the show.

When you think of Internet marketers do you think of snake oil salesmen? Is annoying spam in your mail box getting to you? So called gurus are preaching their gospel of ways to make oodles of money on the Internet and they make it all sound so easy. Yet in fact it’s hard work. But there are smart people on the web and to figure out who the liars are, well that is going to take some trial and error. You start with one Internet marketer and you listen, and then you move on to another and listen some more. If you think you’re going to be swimming in a lot of bull, well that certainly may be the case. Yet if you do enough homework you will soon weed out the fakes while the real deals appear. They are the ones that give you real value from their expertise. They’re the ones that don’t promise the pie in the sky. They’re the ones that have learn their lessons and want to share the what works and what doesn’t. The web is changing fast and the good marketers are keeping up. So whether you want to know how to build an e-business or how to get the most out of organic traffic, you will find marketers out there selling the dream.

I can never get enough of jelly beans. Kidney shaped, colorful and flavorful, jelly beans seemed to appear almost everywhere these days fighting for your sweet tooth alongside of chocolate. And it doesn’t just appear around Easter time. But unlike chocolate, jelly beans are easy just to set out on a small bowl placed anywhere in the house for company or just for self-indulgence. Today there seems to be an endless array of sugar flavors. Want a Tiramisu? You can have it. Want some mouth-watering strawberry cheesecake? You can have that as well. In fact picking out your favorite ones from a mixed assortment is half the fun. And if you happen to make a mistake in your choice, how bad could it be? So next time when you head to the movies grab yourself some popcorn and enjoy the show. Oh, I meant popcorn jelly beans. It’s the quieter choice.

It wasn’t too long ago that wearing designer jeans was all the rage. Today I think the sneaker industry  has taken a page out of that business plan and has become an explosive market. Day-glo colors that were once reserved for night joggers are now common in just about any brand of sneakers you find out in the marketplace. Nike leads the way in athletic footwear setting the bar in design and color. On Nike’s heels are Reebok, New Balance, Adidas and Saucony to name just a few. But what is it about the sneaker that wearing them with denim has become an American fashion statement?

Sneakers are made not only for sport but for casual wear. In summertime they are worn with shorts more than flip flops. Finding a sneaker that is not only comfortable and functional can take some time. If you ever have visited a Nike outlet store you know what I mean. Just the incredible selection could keep you there for hours. Most likely if you do you’ll go home with more than one pair. Reason might be as simple as you have an outfit that just might look good with the colors from the sneakers. The other reason might be the cost. Good style sneakers run upward in the $100 figure range. Outlet stores lessen the financial burden. You might not get today’s hot fashion statement but you will go home with some kind of statement.

Lines formed outside of Apple stores all across the country as techies needing their latest fix waited to be the first to own a piece of history. Apple claims to have sold more than 300,000 iPads on the first day. That’s no small feat. One teenager took a bat to one and made a video that is being seen on YouTube. That is one way to become famous. Performance art for the masses. Whether you agree with the teenager or not the last time I checked it had more than 300,00 views. The number 300,000 seems somewhat coincidental. But in time I would suspect Apple to sell more iPads then teenagers trashing the hell out of one.

Yet before you plop down some of your hard earned money these iPads may not be for everyone. For instance if you are a multi-tasker you won’t be able to run more than one app at a time. If you are you might have to wait for the next generation of iPads. And although you can call someone on it it doesn’t make a good case of being an iPhone unless you long for those days of boom boxes when wedged up on shoulders snugged to the ear.

Most restaurants are built on a theme. Some themes are obvious just by their signage and menu while others are less so. Trendy restaurants look for an edge to beat out their competition. They may have an underlining theme like “traditional Italian” or call themselves a “trattoria”. Most consumers will not know the difference. And sometimes I wonder if these establishments do as well. Trendy restaurants are popular spots to hang out and people watch. Yes some put out appetizers and main plates of works of art. But how many consumers remember the meal over the atmosphere of the place. Restaurants pay attention to these details. They will stay what works and abandon what doesn’t. What matters to them is filling the seats and doing a certain about of covers. And of course how much the bar did that evening.

Trendy restaurants can suffer from bad food but get high marks as a place to meet people. At the end of the day if buyer and owner get something out of it then everyone can expect more of the same. A place to meet and greet. A hot spot to bring people in and spend money. It’s a formula worth repeating.