Ah, historic Hudson Valley"¦ the place where allergy sufferers go this time of year to keep Kleenex in business. Having recently been there, I can tell you this is a) true and b) most unfortunate because c) it's so gosh-darn beautiful up there, you'll want to whip out a canvas and paint some landscapes "“ which can get pretty messy if you have to stop every few minutes to blow your nose. Another reason to wander up yonder is the Beekman Arms: our country's oldest continuously operated hotel,... READ ON

I'm not suggesting that anyone actually break into Boston's Museum of Science to obtain these things for me -- you'd just get tracked down and I'd have to give them back -- but nonetheless, I have a birthday coming up, and if someone wanted to send me replicas of these wonderful gewgaws I spotted last weekend, I wouldn't send them... READ ON

I don't particularly like iced coffee. More of a 44-ounce, 600-calorie smoothie kind of guy. But when this coupon found its way into my Gmail, I was willing to expand my beverage horizons. With an expiration date of 9/30, I could hit all fifty-three Starbucks within walking distance without sheepishly presenting my coupon to the same barista twice. It's been printed out on my desk all week. Actually, I've got a whole pile. And today was the big day. And then I read this: An email offering a free... READ ON

The two Munch paintings that were stolen from a museum in Oslo two years ago have been found, and in pretty decent condition at that: "We are 100% certain they are the originals. The damage was much less than feared," police said. They had been missing since two armed men ripped them from the wall and threatened staff at the Munch Museum in the Norwegian capital in August 2004. Three men were found guilty of charges relating to the theft in May. BoingBoing notes that "the paintings were found just... READ ON