Last September, a Soviet-era Yak-42 jet took off at a Yaroslavl Airport en route to a game in Minsk. It crashed 500 yards from the runway, instantly killing 43 of the 45 passengers on board (ultimately, one crew-member survived), including several NHL veterans. Among the victims was former Anaheim Duck/Detroit...

The only thing worse than forgetting to buy a Valentine's Day present is buying the same tired gifts year after year. Seriously, boys and girls, nobody ever needs to receive a Whitman's Sampler Heart again.

Thanks to this list of unique items from some of America's most creative entrepreneurs,...

The annual tradition of opposing mayors making a Super Bowl bet is taking place once again. This year, Mayors Mike Bloomberg of New York City and Thomas Menino of Boston made it a little more interesting, as the gamblers say, by putting together prize packages for one lucky...

Father's Day is the day we trumpet all things Dad -- and beers and barbecues are often central to the celebration. But that wasn't always the point. The original Father's Day, held on July 5, 1908, in West Virginia, honored the roughly 360 men who perished in the...

A recent New York Times story looked at how the market for green products hasn't rebounded along with the economy (which is definitely rebounding because rich people say so.) What I found curious is that there is one area where going green is going gangbusters, but...

Bob Williamson has lived the kind of life most of us can only dream of -- but only if half of those dreams are terrifying nightmares. In short order, here are some of the roles Williamson has played in his 64 years: Teenage vagabond, homeless drifter, armed robber, check forger,...

In 2008, David Arrick thought he'd had a stroke of luck in the middle of the cratering economy. He'd lost his job as a commercial real estate lawyer with a Wall Street firm, but an intriguing opportunity in Dubai came along. He went over for three weeks, got the lay...

Super Bowl XLV: Pittsburgh. Green Bay. Two towns that love their football. And their communities. And their beer.

So who better to talk about the importance of the Packers and Steelers than two bar owners? We spoke to one in each respective football-crazy city, to find out what it's like...

Come Super Bowl Sunday, Pittsburgh fans everywhere will be waving their Terrible Towels, hoping their beloved Steelers will bring home a record seventh Vince Lombardi Trophy. And while the towels' manufacturer, Gregg McArthur, will look out at the sea of yellow and black in Cowboy Stadium...

Come Super Bowl Sunday, some 100,000 football fans will descend on Cowboy Stadium -- and many of them will be wearing chunks of foam fromage atop their domes. These are, of course, the Cheeseheads, the proud army of Green Bay Packers loyalists with a good sense of humor...

Quick word-association game: What image pops into your brain when you see the phrase Booger Wars?

Whatever grossness you came up with, well, that's snot it (sorry, we couldn't help ourselves). A veteran warrior explains:

"Booger Wars is kind of like dodgeball, except there's no chance of getting hurt, because...

Over the past half-century or so, portable music players became commonplace and have rocked the proverbial party in many forms. Back when kids bought 45s and went sock-hopping, record players came in suitcases. When rap first hit and cassette tapes were all the rage, boomboxes ruled...

Right before Thanksgiving, the good folks at Blisstree posted "My Wife and I Spend the Holidays Apart (And We Like It That Way)," a little look at our non-traditional, non-together festivities. The piece struck an online nerve, eliciting a fair number of comments, both here and...

One of the great, underrated things about living in New York is meeting all those people who come from everywhere else. Not that Gotham natives aren't a barrel of monkeys, but it's cool that someone always seems to have a different frame of reference, a different slice of life about...

With the holiday season, the annual conundrum sets in: Time is scarce, but entertainment options are plentiful. You know, the garden variety merry events that always come around this time of year, such as:

• An "Elf Quote-Along" where you can channel your inner-Buddy in a sea of twirly swirly gumdrops
...

It's St. Patrick's Day in New York City, and there's a raucous soiree going on at Joe's Pub. But this isn't your typical green beer kind of party. The crowd is going wild for a man bench-pressing his dog, a woman hula hooping on one leg,...

The word whiskey, traced back to its Gaelic origins, comes from "usquebaugh" (later "usky"), which means "water of life." That water flows freely in these here United States, giving life to all manners of distilleries run by all kinds of entrepreneurs. Fitting, considering whiskey has been a central part of...

Last Christmas Eve, my wife Kim and I performed our annual holiday ritual. No stockings were hung, no champagne was toasted, no duet of "There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays" was sung, no gifts were exchanged, just a couple of simple "I love yous" before drifting off to...

Be afraid, they tell us. Be very afraid.

I read the Timeses, the Newses, the AM New Yorks. I watch the Ernie Anostoses, listen to the Brian Lehrers, check out the NY1s, peruse the Gothamists, and call the 311s, only to end up hearing the same message, the ongoing...

Have we become a nation of chronic employment? Out in California -- spiritual home to the Grateful Dead, Snoop Dogg, Cheech & Chong and Weeds -- it appears to be the case. According to a 2009 Field Poll, 56 percent of Californians want marijuana legalized, although enthusiasm for...