Summer Goals for Everyone

Flipping your calendar from May to June feels good in the same way crossing something off a to-do list does; while largely insignificant, its highly psychologically rewarding. June means summer and that means girls in sun dresses, the meat of the Red Sox season, Sam Summer on draft, the lowering of inhibitions, and if you're lucky enough, wearing shorts to work. Here's the thing about summer, it goes by quick if you don't make the most of it. You can fly through June-July-August like pitchers fly through the Ortiz-Varitek-Lugo part of the lineup, so lets set some goals (we can keep the bar low) in hopes to get the most of the time of the year. 

1) Drink and eat outside as much as possible. The main reason: Everything tastes better outside. Whether its a tailgate, a bbq, an outdoor table at a restaurant, a patio or rooftop bar, or a picnic (do girls read this site?) a breeze and fresh air really goes a long way. Poetically, there's definitely something serene about the absence of walls, and more practically the people watching is stellar, especially with ogle-hiding sunglasses. 

2) Catch up on a past series of television (or three). All the good stuff is over by now so take the time to pick up on something you've missed. Thanks to On Demand and DVD's there are a couple ways to make up for lost time. Some often overlooked series: AMC's Mad Men, Showtime's Californication, and my deep deep sleeper, Starz's Party Down. But by all means if you live in aWi-Fi configured cave and haven't tried Lost, Arrested Development, or How I Met Your Mother (start with season 2), now is your chance. 

3) Get active. So maybe its hot out and a run isn't feasible, but there are still lots of choices from a beer softball league to shooting hoops to playing golf without a cart. I'm gonna get preachy here for a second: I happened across the ole high school yearbook last week and we're all noticeably fatter now mainly because our outdoor activities are becoming increasingly seldom. Summer is our chance to get in better shape, maybe get a tan too. Like they say in Knocked Up, "We didn't say lose weight, I might say tighten. Just like toned and smaller." Look, this isn't an intervention but dont sleep on summer's opportunities to get out and play.

4) Go away. Ideally a road trip is the best bet because it incorporates seeing somewhere new, bonding with others, inevitable problem solving, and blasting Summer of 69 with the windows down. Miles logged are far less important than the journey itself. Road trips be themed as in ballpark tours, reunions with college buddies, golf trips, beach weekends, the Shawshank Redemption trail or sporadic, haphazard stops. Road trips work because the process is usually greater than or equal to the results and like when the pizza guy shows up on late night Cinemax, the possibilities are endless. 

5) Knock out the summer staples early. Lightning round: A lawn concert, a beach trip, a few games of cornhole, a baseball game at a new stadium, a new set of flip-flops, a summer fling (nobody likes a prude!), a messy meal of crab or lobster, a top-40 song you like wayyyyy too much, a book that wouldn't sniff a scholastic reading list, and a last-minute day off from work.

Crush of the Week: Lizzy Caplan

New feature here at Not Not Untitled, a little something I like to call Crush of the Week. This is a way to document all of the eye-catching girls I see on a weekly basis and immediately forget. You can call me a missionary because I am trying to spread the good word of a pretty face.

Meet Lizzy Caplan, or I should say re-meet Lizzy Caplan, the first ever documented crush of the week. You may remember Lizzy from role as Janis Ian from Mean Girls. Remember that premonition that something cute was hiding behind the gothed out potential lesbian? Well you were right and the proof lies in Lizzy's newest role as Casey in Starz's outstanding (and under-appreciated) new series Party Down.

Casey is a girl you could really get hung up on, with her girl next door looks, snarky charm, and fake attainability, and I have a feeling Lizzy doesn't have to strain to hard to pull that off (By the way, Party Down is downright hilarious and must watch for a Starz subscriber. Think The Office set at a Hollywood catering company, but actually funny). In interviews, she comes across as down to earth and low maintenance, traits hard to find individually in Hollywood women.

Some other credits: Marlena in JJ Abrams' Cloverfield and a brief role on HBO's True Blood last summer.

And a few more bonus points for Lizzy: Did you know she lives next to Audrina from The Hills? Also Wikipedia says that she's a reform Jew and that she named her cat, Lisa Turtle, all things I can deal with. In conclusion, Lizzy Caplan, we salute you as Crush of the Week, and maybe one day when we're dating we can look back at this whole thing and laugh.