Monday, August 15, 2011

Top 10 Area Fairs


The end of the Summer brings fair season. Here are the Top 10 Local Fairs:

  1. THE BIG E: While technically not "local" this popular fair in Springfield MASS is easily the most popular choice for Connecticut fair goers.
  2. DURHAM FAIR - Sept. 23-25. Held at 24 Town House Road, Durham.
  3. PORTLAND AGRICULTURAL FAIR - Oct. 7-9. Route 17A, Portland.
  4. CHESTER FAIR - Aug. 26-28. Middlesex Turnpike, Chester.
  5. 100th HADDAM NECK FAIR - Sept. 2-5. 6 Quarry Hill Road, Haddam Neck.
  6. HEBRON HARVEST FAIR - Sept. 8-11. 347 Gilead St., Hebron.
  7. BERLIN FAIR - Sept. 30-Oct 1. 430 Beckley Road, East Berlin.
  8. MERIDEN GRANGE FAIR - Sept. 10. 504 Broad St., Meriden.
  9. CHESHIRE GRANGE COMMUNITY FAIR - Sept. 24, 25. 44 Wallingford Road, Cheshire.
  10. WALLINGFORD GRANGE FAIR - Sept. 17. 586 Center St., Wallingford.
For more information on these fairs or events state wide, visit www.ctfairs.org.

10 Best Movies Of The Summer


August is half over. Come mid-August, students are preparing to return to college while parents are using up that last bit of vacation time and going away or taking the kiddies back to school shopping. Regardless of the reason, movie attendance is traditionally down come August. Because of the shrinking audience numbers, it is a time of year when studios dump films they have little faith in, hoping that they will fade quietly and find a new life on DVD or basic cable. As a result of that trend, the "Summer Movie Season" tends to run from the first weekend in May to the first or second weekend in August. That being said, The Summer of 2011 was indeed an exciting one for a movie lover like myself. Below I've listed my 10 Favorite Films of the past four months.

  1. HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 - The Potter franchise came to an exciting, satisfying close while staying pretty faithful to the book.
  2. SUPER 8 - A little bit of E.T. mixed with The Goonies and Stand By Me.
  3. RISE OF THE APES - This was a surprise for me. I didn't expect to love this movie about a brilliant chimp leading an ape revolution but I did! 4.
  4. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS: The story of how a bunch of teenagers and young adults became the X-Men did its job; washed out the bad taste left by X-Men 3 and Wolverine.
  5. BRIDESMAIDES - It was funnier than The Hangover 2. 'Nuff said.
  6. THOR - A worthy entry into the Marvel movie universe.
  7. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS - A small movie with big ideas, directed by Woody Allen and put out during the summer amongst big-budget blockbusters. Made for a fraction of the cost but just as enjoyable as any action or comedy put out this season.
  8. CAPTAIN AMERICA - The previews looked really cheesy but the film was actually well done. Captain America plays the perfect hero fighting against the world's most perfect villains - The Nazis.
  9. COWBOYS & ALIENS - This film worked for me. I love westerns and alien films so I was definitely interested in the product. I'd classify it as a 3.5 star western weighted down by a 2.5 star alien film making for a 3 star movie. Lots of fun.
  10. HANGOVER 2 - Just because The Hangover 2 was not the funniest film of the summer and not even close to as funny as part one, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. I laughed out loud and had a good time. That's all I ask of these types of films.
Did I leave out your favorite summer movie? Do you disagree with my choices? Feel free to comment below or e-mail wgogolya@middletownpress.com.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Top 10 workout songs from 2011 - so far

By Chris Lawhorn of Run Hundred

Most top ten lists tend to appear around New Year's, looking back and taking stock. For workout music, though, there might not be a better time than the summer, when folks are getting back outdoors and back in shape.

As you might expect, the most popular songs in the gym from the first half of 2011 err in favor of pop hits and dance tracks. But, as always, there are a few exceptions. The most interesting developments, perhaps, are Adele's omnipresence — even in the gym — and the continued crossover between dance and pop music.

Here's the full list, sorted by beats per minute, based on the 15,000 votes cast in 2011 by subscribers from RunHundred.com—a workout music blog:

105 BPM - Adele - Rolling In The Deep (Jamie XX Shuffle)
122 BPM - Jason Derulo - Don’t Wanna Go Home
125 BPM - Katy Perry - Teenage Dream (Kaskade Remix)
127 BPM - Deadmau5 - Sofi Needs A Ladder
128 BPM - Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger
129 BPM - Cee Lo Green - F**k You (Le Castle Vania Remix)
129 BPM - LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem
129 BPM - Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer – Give Me Everything
130 BPM - Tiesto, Diplo & Busta Rhymes - C’mon (Catch ‘Em By Surprise)
150 BPM - Avril Lavigne - What The Hell

To find more workout songs-and hear next month's contenders—folks can check out the free database at RunHundred.com. Visitors can browse the song selections there by genre, tempo, and era-to find the music that best fits with their particular workout routine.