DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

      The Badwater Ultra marathon describes itself as "the world's toughest foot race". It is a 135-mile course starting at 282 feet  below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8360 feet  at Whitney Portal, the trail head to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in mid-July, when the weather conditions are most extreme and temperatures over 120 °F, even in the shade, are not uncommon. Consequently, very few people—even among ultramarathoners—are capable of finishing this grueling race.         Course     Originally, the run was conceived as being between the lowest and the highest points in the contiguous United States:  Badwater, Death Valley (−282 ft) and Mt. Whitney's summit (14,505 ft). The two are only eighty miles apart on the map, but the land route between the two points is substantially longer, 146 miles, because of detours around lakebeds and over mountain ranges. Additio

   Horror films have been a part of American (and international) culture since the very beginning of cinema. In the last 40 years alone, we have seen so many new icons of horror; from Freddy to Jigsaw, and Jason to Pinhead. But are these nightmarish juggernauts also the stuff money is made of?  We’ll see, as I present to you the top 10 most financially successful (highest-grossing) horror film franchises (Note: Many of these films are 15+ years old, so the amounts of money shown are in 2007-2011 U.S. dollars, and the amounts of money are only the profits of films (not TV shows, video games, etc.); also, there are some spoilers!):   1.  “Friday the 13th” Series  Main Villain(s): Pamela Voorhees; Jason Voorhees; a crazed ambulance-driver; Freddy Kreuger  Number of movies, etc .: 12 (including the remake, and “Freddy vs. Jason”); 1 TV show; 1 video game  Amount of Money Grossed, to date : $380,637,525 (not counting the TV show and video game)  Average A

    May is well known for Memorial Day, but what about other holidays? There is actually a holiday for every single day of the month. These national food holidays are not only fun to celebrate, but a great excuse to make delicious foods. Read on to get ideas on how to celebrate these fantastic food holidays. National Chocolate Parfait Day May 1 : This food holiday is very easy to celebrate. Just make a parfait using pieces of brownies, chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. National Truffles Day May 2 : On this food holiday, you can either prepare homemade truffles or visit your local candy shop. National Raspberry Tart Day May 3 : This food holiday is perfect for summer. Just use a pre-baked tart shell and fill it with a sweetened cream cheese, raspberry jam, and fresh raspberries. National Homebrew Day May 4 : If you love beer, why not make your own? You can find kits and recipe online. National Chocolate Custard D