"Easy Tiger" by Ryan Adams -- It's no secret that Ryan Adams likes the Grateful Dead. In fact, the singer/songwriter went so far as to call the original jam band not punks, but pirates in a Pitchfork interview a couple years back (We're considering that a compliment). He's always had an earnest twang about him, but if anything proves his devotion to the Dead, it's his latest album, "Easy Tiger." If you don't believe me, take a listen to "Tears of Gold" after listening to the Dead's "Candyman" off 1970's "American Beauty." It's uncanny. As for the rest of the record, it's the more of the brilliant, intelligent melancholy we've come to love and expect from the prolific 32-year-old and his Cardinals (although it's flagged as a solo album). No major surprises here, just pleasant familiarity. -- Julie Lawrence

Flip flops from Old Navy -- Face it, most flip flops rub and wreck your feet. For whatever reason, the ones from Old Navy don't. Trust me. -- Jeff Sherman

Sports Justice -- In addition to being one of my favorite people in the press box and one of the best sports columnists in the country, Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle is one of the top bloggers on the Web. Granted, most of his posts focus on teams from Texas, but the writing and tone are perfect. Check it out at http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/. -- Drew Olson

Booking the first available flight -- Getting up early generally sucks. It's worth it, though. You get to start your vacation sooner. You get home sooner. And, there are fewer chances of having a flight cancelled and getting stuck someplace. Suck it up. You'll be glad you did. - D.O.

Bill Simmons "The B.S. Report" podcast -- ESPN "Page 2" columnist Bill Simmons, has a fairly new podcast that's already changed names. It started as "Eye of the Sports Guy," but (thankfully) has morphed into "The B.S. Report." It's great. Simmons is a common sense and down-to-earth "sports guy" who is also a huge NBA fan. His recent interviews with David Stern, Marv Albert, Paul Shirley and NBA writer Ric Bucher were great. Download it now at http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/player?context=podcast&id=2912030. -- J.S.

"The Paper Chase" -- Caught this 1973, "first-year of Harvard Law School" classic on cable while channel surfing a few weeks ago and couldn't turn it off. John Houseman is tremendous as curmudgeonly Professor Kingsfield, Timothy Bottoms brings the goods as Hart and Lindsay Wagner makes you forget all about that little "Bionic Woman" turn she did later. -- D.O.

Dark chocolate covered orange peel -- Orange peels are supposed to reduce cholesterol. Dark chocolate is the new miracle drug. Together, tasty. Try it from Kehr's Candies at the Milwaukee Public Market. -- J.S.