Hiking the Appalachian Trail

Alex Hullinger

Scott Hullinger

Best Cities to Live

The Economist Intelligence Unit — the city rankings specialists — has a new list claiming the best cities to live.

1. Hong Kong
2. Amsterdam
3. Osaka
4. Paris
5. Sydney
6. Stockholm
7. Berlin
8. Toronto
9. Munich

The top ranked city in the U.S. was Washington, D.C. (14), followed by Chicago (15), New York (16), Los Angeles (17), and San Francisco (18).

Click to read the article

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Nice to see Chicago rated so highly. Ratings are always controversial and what criterion are chosen can be debated.  I like Hong Kong and Amsterdam but don't agree that they are such great places to live.

KaBoom

San Diego Accidentally Sets Off All of Its Fireworks at Once

• AMANDA ERICKSON
• 11:05 AM ET
• 6 COMMENTS

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Fifteen seconds. That's how long San Diego's fireworks show lasted this year. Thanks to a technical malfunction, the city's pyrotechnics went off at the same time, creating a very dramatic show. Confused spectators waited for more (and the music played on), but there was little more. As an onlooker told CNN:

"It shook the whole building. I thought it was a bomb or someone was shooting everybody," said Teagan Hamblin, a Kansas resident who was visiting San Diego. "Car alarms, every kind of noise came on. It was really unexpected."

Here's the best video we've seen, courtesy of The Atlantic Wire:

Here's a closer perspective:

Finally, the panoramic view. Note the dude stating, "This is not supposed to happen":

Amanda Erickson is associate editor at The Atlantic Cities. All posts »

Jim Nesci and Critters

My friend Jim Nesci and his friends. Don't know what that says about me.

http://coldbloodedcreatures.com/

Happy 4th of July

Orland Park Downtown Redevelopment

The Village of Orland Park, Illinois has an excellent plan to redevelop their historic center. Check it out at:

http://www.downtownop.com/

Nice Sunsets

Click to see the Video