There are famous scenes from movies depicting it. There are Facebook bumper stickers dedicated to it. There are songs that shout the praises of it. There are how to articles and, hell, it even has search results on Wikipedia. Yet for the entirety of my life, the closest I’d come to Sex on the Beach was double fisting them on Friday nights. This had to change.

With the advent of summer upon us, I decided it was high time I was no longer a sex on the beach virgin. I grabbed my manfriend (chuckle chuckle, Carrie Bradshaw) and headed to the shore.

It was a perfect night for just being at the beach, let alone hooking up. Full moon, light breeze and crashing waves. Very romance novel. So boyfriend and I wandered along the beach until we found a secluded(ish) spot.

When we got there, however, I found that I could have done with some good advice before embarking on this adventure. So for all you beach bunny virgins out there contemplating some sea-side action, here is what I wish my experienced girlfriends had told me:

Bring a Flashlight: Luckily for us, the moon was enormous and lit our way pretty well. I happen to be completely blind in the smallest amount of darkness, though, and was petrified of stepping on baby sea turtles. If it’s even semi-cloudy out, a small light should help you navigate. Read More »

I’ll be the first one to admit that once a band wrongs my tastes musically; it’s kind of hard for them to undo that first impression. I mean, I believe in artists progressing and changing. In fact, I believe that if your art is static on any level…you may not be an artist.

After all, the idea is to CREATE, not to continually replicate. So for the bands who I hear and think, “OH GOD, I hate this…“, I do genuinely want for them to eventually appeal to me. It’s just that a lot of bands get set in their ways and begin to define themselves by the genres they have been shoved into.

However, more and more bands have been walking gracefully into my corridors of forgiveness these days. And THRICE is one of them.

I’ll admit that I was never crazy about Thrice before. When a friend told me last spring that she’d be on tour with the band in the fall…I couldn’t think of any song in particular that I knew, but I remembered not liking them. She elevated my hopes slightly by telling me the band would be releasing a 4 disc set starting in the fall called The Alchemy Index. Read More »

So by now, the majority of us are back at school, making attempts at being organized that we know will never last the entire semester, scanning our syllabi in horror and stocking up on the snacks we know we’re going to need for those nerve-grating late nights. But while we’re preparing to study up, a lot of other people who aren’t even in school are doing a little bio homework of their own.

Living green is getting more and more popular, not to mention much easier. There are tons of organic choices lining supermarkets, pharmacies, even clothing stores.

But how do you even know what to pick while you’re cruising through the aisles? You want to help out Mom Nature, of course, but you don’t want your wallet to go the way the polar ice caps are going. Here are five of the best methods to save earth and your money, a little bit at a time.

5) Always always buy your fruit and veggies organic: It’s healthier for you, and since it’s gotten so popular, it’s just the same price, and sometimes cheaper. If you can, try to buy local produce; it supports your local farms and sometimes you can even see where it’s grown, if you live nearby. (Quickie tip: while you’re shopping, just bring a backpack or a canvas bag instead of wasting the paper and plastic bags at the store.) Read More »