How to Spend Your Summer Indoors Quirk Books: Doing our part to protect you from harmful UV rays this summer. Useful Skill of the Month: How to Give a Toast The arrival of the month of June means you may be officially starting your wedding-graduation-Father's Day-celebration ’09 extravaganza. You also may find yourself burdened with the honor of giving a toast. You may be warned well in advance or (gasp) asked to do it on the fly. Here's a bit of Quirk-sclusive advice that will give you some guideposts for the perfect (or at least moderately appropriate) speech. We'll spare you from becoming the evening's social pariah. For those of you who only wish you had this advice when you raised a glass to the time you and the toastee met those girls behind the race track, there's always next time. 1. Stay sober. We know you’re nervous, but you can drink when it’s over. 2. Keep it short, sweet, and sincere. Don’t force jokes—especially at the expense of the honoree(s). Include several compliments. 3. Make it personal. Address the honoree(s) by name. Include your relationship and a few memorable stories or accomplishments. 4. Own the speech. Commit the toast to memory, if possible. Speak slowly, clearly, and confidently. 5. Make a connection with the honoree(s) and the other attendees. Look people in the eye and raise your glass. Find this and other helpful info in Stuff Every Man Should Know. We want ur LOLZombies!!! Since a site in possession of LOLZombies must be in want of more LOLZombies, we can’t seem to get enough. Now we want yours! You may or may not be familiar with LOLZombies. Just in case you’re not, here you go: Want to make one for us? Send us your submissions in jpeg format to lolzombies.submit@gmail.com. The winning submission will nom nom nom,... Sorry -- forgot what we were talking about. The winning submission will be featured on the Irreference site, the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Facebook page, and in July’s newsletter. The winner will receive a signed copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as well as an iPod Shuffle loaded with the audio book. Deadline for submissions is 6/26/09. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Now available in a lovely British accent! Go to Audible.com and download our zombie-filled regency romance featuring a spot-on performance by Katherine Kellgren.   Father’s Day Gift Finder On June 21, don’t forget to appreciate the man who brought you into this world. And so help him, he can take you back out, too. Just when you thought your duties as a child were fulfilled on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is inconveniently just around the corner. This year, let Dad know you remembered without a phone call from Mom and several thousand Father’s Day email blasts. To get some ideas, use our convenient gift finder to quickly flip through our Dad-approved titles such as DadLabs, Golf Guru, and Stuff Every Man Should Know. Use the coupon code QUIRKDAD to receive 35% off your purchase. Quirk Likes This (Thumbs Up) Maybe we’ve been spending too much time indoors, but it’s hard to see our laptop screens with the sun glaring off them. Let’s be friends on the internet: Follow us on Twitter, befriend us on Facebook, read our daily-updated blog, and watch some IrreferenceTV on YouTube. Digg it? Comic-Con or Bust! If you find yourself at Comic-Con in San Diego with some time to spare after getting Jack Katz to sign your chest, come see us at Booth #1637! It’s Comic-Con’s 40th Anniversary this year, which means, of course, that day passes are on the verge of selling out. If you have yours already, then lucky you: they are featuring some of Comic-Con’s greatest hits and the convention’s founders. Check out the roster. Geeky Dreamboat of the Month: Michael Showalter B-Day: June 17, 1970. We at Quirk would like to say Happy Birthday to Michael Showalter, one of our beloved Geekboats who brought us The State as well as Wet Hot American Summer and Stella. When, oh when will we be able to buy The State on DVD? Our VHS tapes are wearing out, and we don’t know what to do with all this pudding. After a string of empty promises and dashed hopes, it’s finally happening. The 5 disc set Is Actually For Real No Kidding Being Released. We’ve heard this one before, Show. Please don’t toy with our emotions again. (Of course, you can watch episodes on Hulu now, but you can’t display Hulu proudly in your DVD collection.) Quirk Evangelism What’s better than free books? Newly released free books! Want some? Whether you have a PhD in comparative literature or just review books in your spare time, let us know. We’d love for you to review our newest titles. Send an email to qbevangelist@gmail.com and include a list of your social media activity – like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let us know that you’ll talk about us and about our books, and we’ll send you a package of free Quirk books every season. Review it, tweet about it, link to it, and generally do what you do. If you spread the gospel, we will keep giving you free books. Sing it loud, brothers and sisters.   Give White Wine a Chance Nothing says mid-summer cocktail party or sitting inside playing Xbox quite like Sangria. You know the spicy-sweet, fruity punch in its red form, but why not try a cooler, lighter Sangria blanco? The oft neglect Chablis or Riesling makes a perfect, refreshing punch for June. Finally, an answer to the question, “Why do I keep buying white wine?” Clerico (Sangría Blanco): (Serves 4) 1 (750 ml) bottle dry white wine 2 teaspoons superfine sugar 1 banana, peeled and cut into chunks 1 orange, sliced 2 peaches, peeled and cut into 6 wedges each 1 red apple, peeled, cored, and diced Juice of 1 lemon 1/2 cup seedless red grapes 12 ounces club soda or lemon-lime soda Pour the wine and sugar into a pitcher, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and chill for an hour. Serve in chilled wine glasses. Read more about Sangria in all its forms here and check out Field Guide to Cocktails for more fun with booze.   Can’t get enough Quirk? Impatient? Download our Fall 09 Catalog for all your autumnal Irreference needs. See our upcoming titles and start updating your wish list now.