It’s happened to the best of us. You plan a wonderful Newport, R.I. vacation, pack up the car and go through the list- beach umbrella, towels, sand toys, sunscreen, cooler; it’s all there. Just as you pull out of the hotel, a flash of lightning strikes and the skies open up.

Most people think of exercise as simply running and weight lifting; however, there are many other ways to exert the body for the sake of developing physical fitness. After a long hard winter you may start to notice that you haven’t been exercising as regularly.

A visit to Howard Newman’s blue-shingled historic home is marked by a dismal, rainy Monday afternoon. A converted garage, steps from his kitchen, contains the studio where he creates the majority of his works. Drops of water sprinkle gently from the sky and the artist adjusts his navy beret over his gray mop of hair, to shield his eyes from the foul weather.

“Stop shopping!” screams Reverend Billy and his loyal choir as they march through parking lots, mini-malls, Wal-Marts, and even Disney Land before being tossed out by security guards and often times even arrested. “Why stop shopping?” wonder many of the consumers that Reverend Billy is preaching to.

If sitting your baby down in front of the TV and popping in a DVD of Baby Einstein to provide some educational entertainment while you tackle chores around the house seems too good to be true, it is.

Titles like Baby Einstein, Baby Galileo, Baby Shakespeare and even Brainy Baby with its original motto, “a little genius in the making,” lure unsuspecting parents to purchase these “educational enrichment” videos and substitute them for interactive playtime.