I couldn't tell you how old I was before I realized that the 4th of July was actually a holiday meant to celebrate the independence of the United States; for the bulk of my childhood, I assumed it was a Very Important Day to celebrate the pure hedonistic joy of blowing stuff up.

I spent most of today in a car driving through the mountains, and even I was unable to escape the news of Bernie Madoff's 150-year sentence for running the largest Ponzi scheme in the history of this country. Twitter was abuzz with the news, it was all over the radio and the 'net, and basically everyone seemed to have something to say about it.

Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald gained national acclaim in 1999; as a scientist at the South Pole's Amundsen-Scott station, she diagnosed herself with breast cancer and managed her own treatment with the help of (untrained) staff until weather allowed for her rescue by the National Guard. Her story became the best-selling book "Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole" and was later made into a movie.

Dear Dad, So it's just about Father's Day again, and this time of year always makes me just a little sappy, I know. And it's not even the typical stuff, the "Oh, let's walk down Memory Lane and talk about when I was such a Daddy's Girl and thought you could do no wrong." What gets me, these days, is not the memories, but the present. It's a rather excellent present, I think.

It seems like only yesterday that the world looked on as Miss California Carrie Prejean faced Perez Hilton during the Miss USA pageant and insisted that God wasn't okay with gay marriage. And then there were those topless photos of Miss Prejean, too; you know the ones, the ones where the wind came out of nowhere or the photographer took advantage of her.