How to Do It
Hikes are more fun, and much safer, when you go with friends or relatives, so recruit a companion or two to join you. With your hiking partner(s), study a local map and pinpoint the mountain you want to climb. It should be a well-traveled mountain (especially if you're not an experienced trekker) with a clearly marked path. You can get more information about local hikes from your state's parks and rec department or a website like www.localhikes.com.
To prepare, make sure you pack the following.
plenty of water: It's easy to get dehydrated at high altitudes, especially if the weather isn't hot enough to remind you to drink. Drink a bit of water before beginning the climb and sip along the way.
sandwiches and snacks: You'll work up quite an appetite after a mile or two of uphill trekking.
sunscreen: Even if the weather is mild, pull a mom move and protect your skin — getting burned is a total drag and happens even in cloudy conditions.
a hat or sunglasses: This will keep the sun out of your eyes.
a camera: Have one handy for those great photo ops, which are also good excuses to take breathers.
Once you reach the top, reward yourself with a nice rest and some quiet moments of contemplation before you head back down to the world below.
Flora and Fauna
Learn how to recognize poison ivy, poison oak, and other problematic plants, and find out if any wildlife is known to roam the terrain. Snakes might be cool in cages, but when out in the wild they can get a little … territorial.
48 Learn the Constellations
Constellations are groups of stars that, when linked together, make fascinating shapes in the night sky. The Phoenicians (seafaring European and African travelers) dreamed up the idea to play this connect-the-dots game and give specific names to these star groups some 3,000 years ago. In the 16th century, the Greek astronomer Ptolemy further developed the concept and came up with 48 of the 88 constellations that we commonly know of today. Europeans found the other 40 constellations in the 17th and 18th centuries. Despite some cryptic names (like Equueleus and Centaurus), constellations typically form easy-to-spot images of animals (lions, fish, and crabs) and objects (scales and arrows) if you know where to look. Learning the constellations turns looking at the night sky into a whole new experience. And getting to know them means always being able to impress a date on a late-night country stroll.
How to Do It
Some constellations, such as Ursa Major (the Great Bear), Scorpius (the scorpion), or Orion (the hunter) are visible without a telescope or super-strong binoculars. But barring an unexpected blast-off into outer space to get you up close and personal to Cassiopeia and Pisces Austrinus, the best way to see and learn to identify constellations is through a high-powered telescope. Visit a nearby planetarium to get access to the most advanced magnifying lenses. Star maps are available for download online. Once you establish a few signposts and a sense of interstellar direction, the sky's the limit.
The Big Misconception
Turns out that the Big Dipper, which most people think of as one of the big-time constellations, isn't a constellation after all. It's actually an asterism, a sort of social clique of the seven brightest stars in the Ursa Major constellation.
Constellations and Horoscopes
You may have noticed that the 12 zodiac signs are reflective of nighttime constellations. Why? The same way that countries are located at specific coordinates on lines of latitude and longitude on Earth, stars (and constellations) are located at specific coordinates on lines of right ascension and declination on what astrologists refer to as the celestial sphere. Like lines of longitude and latitude, the coordinates on the celestial sphere are also interpreted in degrees — but they also represent periods of time. (For example, the constellation Scorpious, known as Scorpio in astrology, is located at coordinates that cover a space in the night sky that spans from about October 24 to about November 21.) Everyone's birthday falls somewhere in the night sky and that determines your zodiac sign, which astrologers believe indicates aspects of your personality.
SIX: To Express Yourself
49 Make a Podcast
Everyone and their geeky brother's got a blog these days, and kids who aren't even born yet have social networking pages. If you want to exhibit some digital originality, launch your own podcast. Self-produced “radio” shows that can be recorded as audio files, accessed online, and downloaded onto any iPod, podcasts can be about anything from crossbow hunting to how to care for an unruly pet. You don't need much to get started, just an Internet-equipped computer, a microphone, headphones, audio editing software, and an idea — an original, thought-provoking idea. There are tons of podcasts already out there and, like bad AM radio, the boring ones don't attract very many listeners.
How to Do It
First, consider what you want your show to be about. It could showcase independent hip-hop artists or mixes by the sickest DJs (who just happen to be you and your friends). You can also format your podcast more like a talk show and interview unusual community members like that guy down the block who just got a tattoo on a very sensitive body part. Once you have your idea, come up with a name that captures the spirit of your show and packs a punch (like Motorcycle Diaries: How to Turn Your Clunker Into a Chick Magnet). An outline will give your show some structure and prevent you from “umm-ing” your audience to death, but don't script your whole show or you will sound like that classmate who always gives presentations while reading straight from a piece of paper. Launching your podcast is not technically difficult (hey, grandmas in the Midwest are doing it), but production methods will change depending on whether you have a Mac or a PC. Check out geek sites like www.engadget.com and www.cnet.com for the how-to.
Soundproof Your Studio
Record in a sound-controlled space, even if it is a bedroom, a bathroom, or that big walk-in closet where your old clothes are stored. Any background noise you might not otherwise hear (like fans, air conditioners, refrigerators, outside traffic, or a computer beeping and humming) will be picked up in your recording and make it hard for listeners to hear what you and your guests are saying.
50 Keep a Scrapbook
Are you a pack rat? Do you hold onto birthday cards, movie ticket stubs, love letters, magazine articles, report cards, and other bits of nostalgic ephemera? If your desk is overflowing with mementos of important events — or the “junk box” under your bed is no longer fitting under your bed — it's time to get more creative with your organizing. Make an everlasting autobiography by putting everything that represents your interests and activities into a scrapbook. Like a diary or journal, which usually contains your most private thoughts, a scrapbook provides cover-to-cover structure for collecting and preserving the small (and flat) material things that are important to you.
How to Do It
Shop around for a nice blank, about 12- by 12-inch book, that can accommodate a wide variety of stuff. Use light-colored pages if you want to write on them in dark ink, and black pages if you want to use silver or other similarly colored pens. Also pick up rubber cement, tape, and other means of affixing things to the book. Buy stickers, ribbons, and various decorative items to help add flair. When you're ready, sit down at a clean work space with your scrap-book supplies and contents, and begin to put the months' or even years' worth of papers into order. Organize chronologically, so that when you look at the book over time, you can see how your life was influenced by different important events. Also, as you move forward, you'll be able to just add new stuff to the scrapbook's back pages. Think of each page as an individual work of art and experiment by mixing and matching different elements, like photos, play programs, articles from newspapers, and artwork given to you by friends. Label the pages with dates, names, and locations so you'll always know who went with you to the My Chemical Romance concert (write the person's name on the ticket), or how old you were when you had your appendix taken out (that beautiful hospital bracelet — now that's a keeper)
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Themed Scrapbooks
If you have tons of stuff and want to organize it by category instead of date, keep a series of scrapbooks, each one dedicated to a particular area of your life — one for school-related stuff, one for crush memorabilia, another for music tickets and concert pics, and so on. You never know — if you reach movie star status someday, these books might be worth something.
51 Make a Video
Love going to the movies, but tired of sitting through lame Adam Sandler comedies, sappy chick flicks, and dull-edged Saw rip-offs? Instead of lining up at the multiplex this weekend for yet another overpriced dud, get behind the camera and make your own cinematic masterpiece. Relatively affordable video cameras and easy-to-use editing software are turning today's home-movie amateurs into film festival darlings. (Jonathan Caouette's Tarnation, which was made on an iMac for about 200 bucks, was a favorite at Cannes.) And with insanely popular sites like YouTube transmitting bizarre shorts and backyard epics to computer screens throughout the world, your three-minute work of art can be seen by millions of video fanatics looking for creative alternatives to the mainstream crapola churned out by Hollywood studios.
How to Do It
If your family doesn't own a video camera, borrow one from a friend or rent one from a local equipment facility. Familiarize yourself with all the little buttons either by thumbing through a manual or pushing things to see what they do. Make sure you figure out how to use the crucial Zoom button and how to change shooting modes. This way, you can, for instance, choose a widescreen setting for a professional look or black and white for artsy films. (You can also make some of these choices later on in the editing process.) At first, take time to learn technique and don't worry so much about content — you can practice by filming your dog doing stupid pet tricks. Once you've got the basics down, decide what kind of video you want to make. How about shooting a documentary on local musicians or casting friends in a no-budget intergalactic epic? Want to be the next Lonelygirl15? Turn the camera on yourself for an up-close-and-personal confessional (real or fake, it's up to you). Edit your footage into a final cut using iMovie or other software. Hold private screenings of your video at home, or post it on a peer-to-peer site for all to see. But remember: Once something's on the Internet, it's pretty much out of your control. Never publish something scandalous or incriminating. One click of a button can mean months or years of regret. Just ask Paris Hilton.
Spoof for a Goof
Making parodies of an overplayed music video, reality show, or obnoxious TV commercial is a fun way to mess with corporate media. Your satirical interpretation of the latest Justin Bieber video, the TV show America's Got Talent, or that mind-numbing SUV ad might just become an online phenomenon.
52 Learn to Match Beats
Back in the day, DJs would cart around back-breaking crates of vinyl records to block, house, and underground parties to spin hours-long continuous mixes custom made for booty shaking. Though some DJs still swear by vinyl, saying it has a greater depth of sound than later digital forms, lots of them also use CDs and MP3s to string songs together — a skill otherwise known as “matching beats.” Matching beats is definitely an art (the mixer is an instrument, too — that's how Moby got his start), but it can be learned by anyone with an ear for music and an understanding of simple technology. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to keep up the momentum of a party, amp up your social life (everyone loves a great DJ), and share your love of music without saying a word.
How to Do It
You'll need a computer that has separate headphone and speaker out ports, headphones to hear one song, and computer speakers to hear the other. Download a virtual mixer computer program that will help you learn to distinguish beats per minute (BPM) and avoid every DJ's nightmare: the nails-on-a-chalkboard audio trainwreck. You can find a mixer program (some are free, others cost a few bucks) by doing an Internet search for “virtual turn-table” or “music mixing program” (be sure to grab one that identifies the BPM for you). Then, pick a couple of MP3s from the same genre of music (they're likely to be close in BPM and easier to mix). Cue the second song at the point in the song where you hear the first drum beat. Then play the first song through the speakers. While it's playing, listen to the second song through one headphone, just like a DJ. (You'll use the program's Cue One and Cue Two buttons to control which song is coming out of the headphone and which is coming out of the speakers.) Next, match the BPMs of the two songs until they are the same (you may need to increase or lower the BPM of the track coming from the headphone to do so). Once the BPM is adjusted — the beats in your headphone match those pouring out of the speakers — use your mouse to slide the cross fader slowly from one side to the other to switch songs. Do it right, and the crowd will yell “Oh-Ohhhhh” when a hot new track feeds into another.
Grandmaster, Cut Faster
Matching beats is funda- mental to DJing, but once you've mastered that hurdle, there are so many other things you can do to turn out a seamless mix. Here are two masterly moves:
Adjust the treble and equalizer on the control panel to make a smoother transition from song to song.
Scratch records (cut them back and forth across a needle) in order to create repetition and emphasize a killer rhyme.
53 Create a Comic Strip
Way back in the 1950s, adults were convinced that comic books would be the downfall of society. US congressional hearings even cited comic books as a cause for rising juvenile delinquency. The whole country was worried that the violent adventures of Flash, Wonder Woman, and Batman would corrupt impressionable teenagers and distract them from more important things, like doing homework and drinking lots of milk. But today, comic books and cartoon strips are recognized worldwide as important art forms. From classics like Peanuts and Superman to edgy strips like Boondocks to mind-blowing anime from Japan, there's no limit to the crazy characters and wild worlds found in the comics. Taking inspiration from your favorites, create a brand-new comic book or cartoon strip. Who knows, maybe it'll end up in the Sunday paper or on the silver screen some day.
How to Do It
Comics are an ideal format for creative expression — you can choose to make serious social statements, indulge your surreal sense of humor, or reveal personal perspectives on life and how to live it. Once you've decided on a style, come up with a cast of characters to populate your strips. Are they humans, aliens, superheroes, or animals? Or throw all of the above into a fantasy world in which every conceivable creature thrives. Decide if you want to tell your stories in a single panel (like Dennis the Menace or The Family Circus), or stretch them out into four panels (like Garfield and Blondie). Once you're comfortable with a format, try to develop a more elaborate storyline that can fill an entire comic book.
Substance Over Style
Don't worry if drawing isn't your strong suit — being funny or charging your comics with unexpected emotion is more important than making everything look lifelike. If you're really struggling with the technical elements, consider partnering with a friend who excels at drawing. He or she can be in charge of the artwork while you focus on character, story, and text.
54 Take an Art Class
Personal expression finds its most poetic outlet in the arts. Given the right tools, training, circumstances, and a willingness to fearlessly explore your artistic potential, you'll find that even stick-figure drawings and macaroni-shell sculptures can reflect deep feelings that are otherwise difficult to express. Taking an art class is a wonderful way to tap into your creative instincts and learn that there's more to art than painting flowers and photographing sunsets.
How to Do It
Sign up for a class at a local art school or community center. You should be able to take a 12-session course for no more than a couple hundred dollars (though you might have to spend extra on supplies). If the enrollment fee is an issue, ask the instructor if scholarships or discounts are available to students — creative types usually aren't so hung u
p on money, and it's doubtful you'll be turned away. Choose among the offerings, from figure drawing, pottery, and glassblowing to candle-making, photography, and collage, and you're bound to find an artistic medium that jives with your particular style of creativity. Don't worry about getting messy — a little glitter in your hair or green paint on your ripped-up jeans is nothing compared with what some artists have endured in pursuit of their vision.
Show Off Your Accomplishments
Once you've built up a small body of work—like a series of luminous landscape paintings or abstract metal-and-wire sculptures — title the collection and host it as an exhibition. Hold it in a local café, library branch, or even your living room. Title the exhibition to give it further cohesion and prominence. For an extra-professional touch, send out postcards announcing the show. You can print your own on the cheap at a local copy shop or order them online. Leave stacks at businesses that have a space for flyers or community events postings, like bookshops and music stores, and distribute them at school, work, and parties.
55 Paint Your Room
Tired of the pistachio green decor that seemed so cool back when you were in fifth grade? You know your parents will take forever to give your house its much-needed makeover — they've been talking about it since before you were born. So take charge of your own room by painting it a brand-new color, like robin's egg blue, hunter green, burnt orange, or crisp white. Choose a color depending on the mood you're going for: Vibrant colors will brighten your private domain, while pastels will create a relaxing environment. Are you a photographer? Slap on a soft white and turn your room into a gallery ripe for hanging your art. Is your style goth? Represent with a deep purple. It's amazing how different you'll feel when surrounded by colors that relate to your own personality.
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