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In honor of Father’s Day, I have chosen a few of my favorite pop-culture dads. They don’t always make fatherhood look easy, but they usually have the best intentions.

In many ways, these guys could’ve helped write Stuff Every Dad Should Know… and could also be readers who learn a little something from the book.

It’s Worst-Case Wednesday again, so prepare for more useful advice, just in case. Last week, we covered weddings in anticipation of all the ceremonies that will be taking place this month. This week, it’s time to approach the other end of the romantic spectrum, with an excerpt from The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Guide: Dating and Sex.

Dates can be just as terrifying as weddings, maybe more so, as they happen to us far more often. From minor disasters, like a wine stain, to more serious dilemmas, like a terrible kisser, dating is dangerous. So, we’ll start out with the worst-case scenario for any date.

Searching for a baking project? Consider National Applesauce Cake Day on June 6th for your inspiration. Scents of cinnamon and apple will remind you of the holidays, you won’t spend too much on ingredients, and it’s wonderfully delicious.

You can make the cake with or without frosting. It’s tasty no matter what. The pictured cake was made with the walnuts mixed into the frosting, but you can always bake the walnuts (or raisins) into the cake itself. Applesauce cake is flexible to your whimsy. I recommend using coconut flour, which is loaded with nutrients and contains less carbs. The flavor blends in nicely, and the prevailing belief is that it’s a healthier alternative to regular flour. You will be doing your tastebuds and your body a favor.

An historical aside…applesauce cake was promoted as a patriotic dessert during World War 1 because applesauce was easy to produce and affordable for customers. Also, it used fewer expensive materials such as eggs, butter, and sugar. The economical cake made its debut into cookbooks in the 1910s. In today’s cake world, applesauce cake is still very popular, and after stocking up on essential baking items it is still pretty lean on the pockets. Enjoy!

According to Wikipedia, an adult can achieve a blood alcohol level of .03 (or less) after consuming 1 alcoholic beverage.  Said beverage would result in mild euphoria, relaxation and joyousness with little impairment to your judgment.  After a long day, that sounds pretty good, right?  

A still from the Secret Garden film adaptation

From Gilgamesh’s Garden of the Gods to the Garden of Eden, cultivated green spaces have found their way into writing since the practice began. Recently, garden clubs across America have declared June 6th as National Gardening Exercise Day, a reminder that exercise in nature is more fun than hitting the treadmill indoors yet again.

Some of our favorite fictional gardens have been the sight of some serious exertion as well, both mental and physical. Check them out.

Kublai Khan’s Garden in Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino: In this strange and beautiful novel, Marco Polo sits in Kublai Khan’s garden and describes to the emperor the various, wondrous cities he has seen on his travels.

The garden itself is as magical as the invisible cities Polo describes. As he tells Khan, “Perhaps this garden exists only in the shadow of our lowered eyelids, and we have never stopped: you, from raising dust on the fields of battle; and I, from bargaining sacks of pepper in distant bazaars… Perhaps the terraces of this garden overlook only the lake of our mind.”

The Gardens in Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence: This scandalous 1928 novel tells the story of Constance, Lady Chatterley, a bored and frustrated young wife who begins an affair with the estate’s gamekeeper. Lawrence’s novel was censored for its explicit descriptions of sex, but the garden details are racy enough in themselves.

Take, for instance, this brief snippet: “Yellow celandines now were in crowds, flat open, pressed back in urgency, and the yellow glitter of themselves. It was the yellow, the powerful yellow of early summer. And primroses were broad, and full of pale abandon, thick-clustered primroses no longer shy.” Whew!

As we approach Gay Pride 2012, we start to hear the rumblings (from the gay community itself) to the effect of “Why do we even need Pride celebrations? Nowadays we’re all over the TV and more visible and accepted than ever. Even Obama loves us now!”

While much of that is true, there are still religious organizations calling for blatant discrimination against us, as well as presidential candidates and a chunk of this country who’ve made it clear that we are still 2nd class citizens in their eyes. And for every out, proud, and headstrong gay adult, there are still those scared or confused gay kids (millions of them, actually) who are just coming to terms with their own truth.

As a gay teen, I had no idea there were other people just like me. Or that there was a place I could be and feel safe, let alone a yearly celebration that wasn’t hidden or shameful.

So our Pride celebrations are still essential, because they give us the opportunity to be among only friends, to feel 100% free to be ourselves without judgment, to rejoice in our uniqueness, and to discover that we can create a family with people we’re not even related to.

Many gay people in Born This Way have shared those exact revelations in their own growing up experiences. Perhaps someday very soon, the LGBTQ community will finally have complete and full equality. But until that time comes, we still need to gather together to remember our past and celebrate the possibilities of the future.

And yes indeed, look fabulous doing it!