Fast Company Recommended Events July + August 2009

July

August

Thu, July 02
Remember
"I Forgot" Day

Forgot to preorder your friend's Harry Potter tickets? Missed yet another anniversary? Today's the pseudoholiday when we pledge not to let it happen again. (We tried to find out who started this, but it seems everyone has forgotten.) If you're proactive, you'll seek technological help. On iTunes, apps like LifeMinder (which alerts you to key dates) and G-Park (which pinpoints your parking space) sell for $1.99 and $.99, respectively, while Remember the Milk (a to-do list maker) is free. And with Post-it's Digital Notes software ($19.99), you can turn your desktop into a virtual bulletin board. Alas, we're still awaiting the next-gen solution: reminders to create reminders. -- DAN MACSAI

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Thu, July 02
Journey
Fifth International Conference on Tourism
Athens, Greece

Business travel is expected to drop 5.6% this year, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Academics who study travel (sweet gig, right?) will convene in Greece to discuss the decline. There are only about 100 of them, so their talk, even with airfare and hotel, is pretty cheap and won't save global tourism. The U.S. isn't helping either: Our travel industry could shrink by 450,000 jobs in 2009. The ticket, says Gregory Papanikos, head of the Athens Institute for Education and Research, which is hosting the meet, could be China and India, two budding destinations that also have growing middle classes who want -- and need -- to travel. -- ANNE C. LEE

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Sat, July 04
Explode
Independence Day

Happy birthday, America! A 233-year-old needs a lot of candles, and for the fireworks industry, July 4 is Christmas. Over the past decade, the sector has almost tripled to nearly $1 billion in yearly revenue. But not everyone wants you, the consumer, to celebrate with a bang. A few of these fine united states -- including Fast Company's home state of New York -- still ban retail fireworks sales. Everyone else, shoot off a bottle rocket for us, will you? -- ZACHARY WILSON

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