Best Of The Rest

On The Show: Here's the place for videos, links, and stuff we talked about on the show.

7/29/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Dogs destroy 58,500 of these every year. What are they?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
A study tracking the moods of Twitter users has revealed that people are angrier on Thursdays than any other day of the week. "We're not really sure exactly why Thursday, but people's bad moods build from Monday until then," said Northeastern University professor Alan Mislove. "On Friday, it seems people's moods change and they become happier until Sunday when the cycle starts over." The study searched for words linked to certain moods and tracked how frequently they were used on the networking site.

It's reported from Mental Floss.com
According to the British newspaper the Telegraph, nothing gets cows more in the mood to produce milk than watching some Shakespeare!
Research had previously shown that when slow music was played for dairy cows, it relaxed them and helped them boost their milk production. But actors from the Changeling Theatre Company wanted to see what would happen if they switched out the music for some dialogue. They settled on entertaining the cows with a bit of the Bard. More specifically, they decided to use the most "lyrical and relaxing" scenes they could think of from The Merry Wives of Windsor, avoiding more woeful scenes from the tradgies like Hamlet, and that Play that shall not be named. Apparently, the open air performance truly mooooooved the audience-- exposing the cows to all that iambic pentameter resulted in a 4% increase in milk production!

Brian wrote this breaking all rules of Iambic Pentameter:
Oh cow, Oh cow, wherefore art thou cow?
Deny thy brand and giveth your milk
or if thou wilt not, we turn to soy,
And I will no longer eat cheese!
#  #

You spent all day outside, and even with the sun screen..you still get a burn....how do you soothe it?? Aloe and coconut oil, are givens..
Divine Caroline has more:
Baking soda - Try sprinkling a generous dose of soda into cool bathwater. or Make a paste by mixing some baking soda with water, then spread it directly on the burn and allow it to dry. As it does, keep patting water on it to keep the paste stuck there until the burn is sufficiently soothed. Oatmeal and cornstarch work in the same way.
Milk - Milk’s proteins also have soothing qualities when gently applied to a sunburn..mix 1 part with 4 parts water.
Witch Hazel - often used for relief from pain and swelling.
Apple Cider Vinegar - is one of the most popular kitchen remedies for burns. Although it can leave sunburn victims smelling a bit like pickles, soaking some up with a sponge or cotton balls and dabbing it over a burn will help reduce inflammation.
Read more about Egg Whites, Potato, Black Tea here.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
Dogs destroy 58,500 of these every year. What are they?
ANSWER: Cell phones

7/28/10:
Trivia Cafe:
24% of american men have a lucky this in their wardrobe. What is it?

Is Brian A Big Fat Liar:
#1.)  One of the first things ants do when they wake up is stretch their legs.

#2.)  It would take a full year to watch all the videos that are uploaded to YouTube in one day.

#3.)  The role of George Costanza on "Seinfeld" was originally offered to David Letterman's sidekick Paul Shaffer.

#4.)One in four people don't know their spouse's cell phone number, because they either dial the person using their name, or they use speed dial.

Answers at the end of today's entry:
#  #

Wildside:
Drew Ellis and Lisa Satayut exchanged wedding vows at a T.J. Maxx in Michigan last Saturday. The couple widened the size eight shoe aisle and decorated it with a covered arch and white chairs with red bows. Lisa, a self-proclaimed "Maxxinista," says that she chose T.J. Maxx because the store has "been the one constant in my life, no matter what." She wore a strapless white chiffon gown with long black gloves and neon green gladiator sandals.

A 17-month-old tiger named Panjo escaped from the back of a truck while en route to a veterinarian appointment in Johannesburg. The pet's owner, Rose Fernandes, says that anyone who encounters the tiger should treat it "like a dog" by picking up a stick and loudly saying "no." She says that giving the tiger chicken would likely keep it happy. Police were not as passive about the situation and have urged people in the neighborhood to stay indoors...maybe someone one should get a stick and tell rose..no!!! to owning a tiger.
#  #

Louisiana claims the top spot as the "laziest" state in America, according to a new ranking by Businessweek.com. Lazy, as defined by Businessweek, is "the amount of time people spend engaged in sedentary activities versus activities requiring physical effort -such as exercising or working." Southern and Southeastern states make up the bulk of the "laziest states" list. Mississippi and Arkansas placed second and third, respectively. But Eastern states like Delaware and New York are also in the top 20. North Dakota and Hawaii reported the least amount of inactive leisure time. Louisiana residents spend, on average, 8 hours, 44 minutes sleeping and 2 hours, 41 minutes working each day. They watch more television than people of any other state except South Carolina: a daily average of 3 hours, 5 minutes. They rank third for spending the most time socializing (54 minutes). Overall, Americans spend an average of 8 hours, 35 minutes sleeping; 2 hours, 38 minutes watching TV; 44 minutes socializing; 18 minutes relaxing, and 3 hours, 23 minutes working. That means Louisianans spend 3,285 more minutes sleeping and 9,855 more minutes watching TV than the average American.
#  #

If you're trying to lose weight, keeping track of how many you consume in a day may not help you melt off the pounds. More than 60% of people have no idea how many calories they should consume per day, according to a U.S. survey, and just 12% have somewhat of an accurate idea. Calorie requirements vary depending on a person's weight and age, and can range from 1,200 for a small, sedentary woman to more than 4,000 for an athlete who's training. And that's just to maintain weight, not to lose it. "For dieters, it's crucial to look at overall lifestyle changes, eating fruit and vegetables and having a balanced diet," Jayne Brocklehurst, a dietitian for the weight loss surgery clinic Gravitas, said. "Otherwise, people tend to get bogged down in calorie-counting. That way, you might lose weight, but your diet can still be unhealthily high in fat."
#  #

Statistics out yesterday (July 26th) for 2009 found that Japanese women have set a new high for life expectancy, at nearly 86 1/2 years, topping the global list for the 25th straight year. The figures from the Japanese government also show that the country's men extended their average life expectancy, to just over 79 1/2 years. Average life spans rose by almost five months for Japanese women and nearly four months for Japanese men compared to the year before. Japanese men, however, are fifth on the global list for male life expectancy. The leading countries are:

Women:
Japan -- 86.44 years
Hong Kong -- 86.1 years
France -- 84.5 years
Switzerland --- 84.4 years
....US is 80.8

Men:
1. Qatar -- 81 years
2. Hong Kong -- 79.8 years
3. Iceland -- 79.7 years
3. Switzerland -- 79.7 years
...US is 75.7
The average lifespan for the entire world is 66.6 years.
#  #

Going yard sale hunting this weekend? Keep this is mind.
Ten years ago, Rick Norsigian of Fresno, California, was at a garage sale.  He saw two small boxes containing film negatives of some cool California nature scenes.  The seller wanted $70, but Rick negotiated him down to $45.
Then, when Rick got them appraised, the people who examined them were shocked:  These weren't just ANY film negatives, they were taken by Ansal Adams . . . one of the most famous photographers of all time. So Rick's $45 purchase is valued at . . . ready for this . . . at least $200 million.
--The photos show Yosemite National Park and San Francisco, and were taken by Adams in the early 1900s, before he became famous.  Experts had always believed the negatives from early in Adams's career were destroyed in a fire.
Rick plans to cash-in by selling original prints from the negatives to museums and collectors.
#  #

Trivia Answers:
24% of american men have a lucky this in their wardrobe. What is it?
ANSWER: Underwear

Is Brian A Big Fat Liar:
#1.)  One of the first things ants do when they wake up is stretch their legs.
FACT:  They stretch all six legs and also open and close their mouths like they're yawning. 

#2.)  It would take a full year to watch all the videos that are uploaded to YouTube in one day.
I'M LYING:  It would take almost four years

#3.)  The role of George Costanza on "Seinfeld" was originally offered to David Letterman's sidekick Paul Shaffer.
FACT:  Jerry Seinfeld left Paul a message saying the part was his, but Paul was busy with music and never called him back.

#4.)One in four people don't know their spouse's cell phone number, because they either dial the person using their name, or they use speed dial.
I'M LYING:  Nearly one in two people . . .  47% of us . . . don't know our spouse's number.

7/27/10:
Trivia Cafe:
34% of those answering a survey say they have done this when having friends over for dinner. What is it?
answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
Global warcming is shrinking our french fries! This is already happening in Germany because of a heat wave, and it could happen to us:  Simply, hot temperatures may mean smaller french fries. Why?? Not as many extra large potatoes can grow in really hot weather . . . and that means shorter fries.  In Germany, they're telling people to expect fries that are only 1.8-inches long, instead of the usual 2.2-inches that they're used to. 

Christopher Weubben -- who was a paramedic in Denver until he got laid off and started delivering pizzas to make money -- saved the life of a man who ordered a pizza. The 22-year-old showed up with the pie just after the victim went into cardiac arrest. John Keily, the owner of Johnny's New York Pizza, told reporters, "Chris told [the victim's wife] that he was trained in CPR and knew what to do." A local hospital has reportedly offered Weubben a job as a result of his heroic display.

Now this is how the justice system should work.  A judge in Florida has basically made it illegal for two neighbors to hate each other.
--43-year-old Tony Alli and 48-year-old Jose Linares are next-door neighbors, on a street called Caron Road in Tampa, Florida.  And for the nine-plus years they've been living next to each other, they've despised each other.
--Tony likes blasting reggae and calypso music when he gets off of work.  Jose likes it quiet after work.  So Tony blasts music, and Jose calls the police. Finally, back in January, things finally boiled over . . . and Tony ended up hitting Jose in the face.
--Last week, in court, Tony was found guilty of assault.  He got 50 hours of community service, six months of probation . . . and something extra.
--The judge, Paul Huey, ruled that Tony and Jose need to have six family pot luck dinners . . . once a month for the next six months hoping that if they get to know each other, they'll stop fighting. If Tony skips any of the meals, it's a violation of his probation.  He's hosting the first pot luck dinner for the families on August 14th.
#  #

After a long hard days work, you go home and have all these tasks..that need to be done....but guess what...A new study finds that people who are busy are usually HAPPIER than people who wo don't have things to do.
--The results of the study are in a journal called "Psychological Science".  They found that people with more tasks and jobs are usually happier . . . because even if the tasks are kinda stupid, they still give you a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
--When you're sitting around without any specific tasks, you miss out on the rewarding feeling that comes from accomplishing something . . . ANYTHING . . . and that affects your mood. 
#  #

When it comes to happiness, philosophers and psychologists and motivational speakers all have advice on how to boost it. What really works? Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, set out to answer this question by personally testing happiness strategies! Here’s what she learned, courtesy of the Bottom Line Personal.

Try doing whatever you enjoyed at age 10. Rubin says the adult we are has more in common with our 10-year-old self than we realize. Take renowned psychiatrist Carl Jung – he started playing with building blocks as an adult to recapture the enthusiasm of his youth. So, if going fishing was one of your favorite things to do as a kid, plan a fishing trip with your friends. If playing the drums made you happy, it probably still will. Rubin liked keeping a journal as a kid, filling it with newspaper clippings, cartoons and random thoughts. She started doing this again and was amazed how much happiness it still brought her.

Seek out novelty and challenge – even if you don’t like change. Rubin says, being a creature of habit, she didn’t expect this to bring her happiness, but it was one of the best methods she found. That’s because the human brain is stimulated by surprise and discovery, and successfully tackling something unfamiliar is often more satisfying than doing something you know you enjoy, but do all the time. So challenge yourself with something new – like trying new foods, or visiting a different museum every weekend.

Read memoirs of others’ misfortunes. It seems backwards, but sad books can increase our well-being. That’s because they put our own problems in perspective. Rubin read Gene O’Kelly’s book Chasing Daylight. O’Kelly was the CEO of an accounting firm where he worked for over 30 years. He wrote the book after learning that he had just three months to live. Rubin says it’s not that we’re happy about other people’s misfortune, obviously. It’s simply a way of appreciating what we do have, and finding inspiration from people who can stay positive when faced with hardship.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
34% of those answering a survey say they have done this when having friends over for dinner. What is it?
ANSWER: Pass off takeout food as something they made themselves.

7/26/10:
Trivia Cafe:
One out of every four cows in the world lives in this Country. That's about 28% of the world's cow population.
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
Argentina - Prison staff said a lack of resources meant that only two out of their 15 guard towers were occupied at any given time.
They told a local newspaper they put a football with a prison officer's cap in a third, to create the illusion of an extra guard.
"We've made a dummy out of a football and a prison officer's cap, so that the prisoners see its shadow and think they're being watched," the source told Rio Negro.
"We named him Wilson, like in the film Cast Away, and put him in one of the towers," the source added referring to the volleyball Tom Hanks' character uses for company.
The source told Diario Rio Negro he hoped that by pointing out what he called glaring failures in the prison system, politicians would be forced to react.

A bow-hunting loving couple in Iowa was married in a treetop ceremony this past weekend. Kim Solver and Marvin Hunter hunt together so much that they decided to wear camouflage during the ceremony, which was held at the Anamosa Bow Hunters Archery Club. Throughout the ceremony, the bride and group fired arrows at targets. The groom said that even though he previously joked with his bride about getting married on a tree stand hunting platform, it "just seemed like the right thing to do."

A bear in Colorado got into an empty car and honked the horn before rolling it 125 feet into some bushes. Ben Story, the 17-year-old owner of the vehicle, says that the bear managed to open an unlocked door and climb into the car -- most likely to nab a peanut butter sandwich that was accidentally left inside. According to a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, bears often open unlocked doors to look for food. He said, "It happens all the time. They're very smart." The bear destroyed the interior trying to find a way out.
#  #

Walmart is turning to new radio ID tags for clothing. You can remove them, but many people believe it could be an innasion of privacy. Read more on that here.
#  #

Researchers have found that a foreign accent makes a person seem less honest. Listeners are less likely to regard what the speaker says as truthful, and the problem increases with the strength of the accent, according to a study from the University of Chicago. On a truthfulness scale prepared for the experiment, they gave native speakers a score of 7.5, those with mild accents 6.95 and those with heavy accents 6.84. Professor Boaz Keysar, of the University of Chicago, said: 'The results have important implications for how people perceive non-native speakers of a language, particularly as mobility increases in the modern world, leading millions of people to be non-native speakers of the language they use daily.'
#  #

Sandwich in a can...good idea or bad? Read about it here.
#  #

Last Week, a federal judge in Connecticut named Stefan Underhill ruled that competitive cheerleading in college is not an official sport. Last year, Quinnipiac University announced they were cutting their girls' volleyball team for budgetary reasons and replacing it with a competitive cheer team. But according to Underhill, cheerleading doesn't qualify as a sport under Title 9, the 1972 federal law that mandates equal opportunities for men and women in education and athletics. So basically, the university couldn't cut the WOMEN'S volleyball team unless they cut the MEN'S team too. They now have 60 days to come up with a plan to keep the girls' volleyball team through next season.
#  #

Mental Floss.com asks the question..what's the strangest thing that scares your dog?
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answers:
One out of every four cows in the world lives in this Country. That's about 28% of the world's cow population.
A: India. About 280 million cows live there.

7/23/10:
Yesterday, in the Ladies Room, we were talking about socks and sandals...Brian wondered if he could wear his nice sandals in the fall with socks...nice socks..not white...is this passable????




Let us know at mornings@literock973.com
#  #

Trivia Cafe:
In this survey, half of the women said they have turned down an invitation to one of these get togethers - what is it?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
So you're walking down the street, it's a good day..maybe you're singing a little tune...or whistling.....well in South Carolina, they might just haul you off to jail...ok..maybe a fine...they are proposeing a law, that would make it illegal to sing, yell, shout, whistle, hoot or holler on public streets if it is annoying nearby people, particularly between the hours of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.,
And who doesn't like a good hoot and holler???
It seems the wording of the proposed law came from an ordinance in North Charleston, S.C. The town code already bans crying, calling, shouting and using musical instruments if they are deemed annoying by people nearby.

Strange Laws In The US
·        A barber is not to advertise prices in the State of Georgia.
·        In Louisiana, a bill was introduced years ago in the State House of Representatives that fixed a ceiling on haircuts for bald men of 25 cents.
·        In Oklahoma, no baseball team can hit the ball over the fence or out of a ballpark.
#  #

People use a lot of quick fixes to fall asleep these days, and for good reason: Studies have shown that workers are more productive, and suffer fewer injuries, after they’ve had a full night’s sleep! Unfortunately, some quick fixes could be doing more harm to your health than good. So, here’s what you need to know about some of the most popular sleep aids, according to ABC News:

Quick fix #1: Alcohol. Experts say an alcoholic “night cap” is the most used over-the-counter sleep aid, because alcohol sedates breathing in a way that really does help you fall asleep faster. Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that once your body finishes processing your last drink – after about four hours - it’ll actually wake up your brain, and ramp up your heart rate. That’ll disrupt your deep “REM” sleep enough to leave you feeling drowsy the next day.

Another quick fix for sleep: Anti-depressants. Many doctors have prescribed depression medications off label for insomnia, because it’s been shown to help people fall asleep faster. The problem is that anti-depressants have recently been linked to Restless Leg Syndrome – or RLS. That’s a neurological condition that causes an irresistible urge to move your legs. It can get so bad that it’ll either keep you from falling asleep, or jerk you awake in the middle of the night! Plus, there are other side effects of anti-depressants – like nausea, anxiety, sweating and diarrhea.

A 3rd quick fix for sleep: Antihistamines. Certain over-the-counter allergy medications have been known to increase drowsiness, making it easier for you to fall asleep and stay asleep. However, those same drugs can linger in your system long after you’ve taken them, and leave you feeling sleepy the next day.

Finally, let’s talk about the most popular quick fix for sleep LOSS: Caffeine. A new British study has confirmed that if you’re nodding off at work, drinking a cup of coffee is an effective way to improve memory, attention, and performance on the job. Know this: Caffeine lingers in your system up to five hours after you drink it. So, never drink coffee within five hours of bedtime.
#  #

Thanks to Dan O'Hara NY State Fair director for stopping in. The fair starts August 26th, get your discount tickets at local Tops and Wegmans stores. More infor at NYSfair.org. Look for his interview in the on demand section.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
In this survey, half of the women said they have turned down an invitation to one of these get togethers - what is it?
A:  A pool party!

7/22/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Just over 1/3 of all women in the U.S. will do this to their personal appearence at least once in their lifetime. What is it and be specific? 
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
You're having a quiet day at the beach..and all of a sudden...a donkey attached to a parachute floats by! Now that's not right. Witnesses said the donkey's screams were terrifying and scared many of the children. The donkey ended up in the air as a result of an advertisement campaign gone awry. "As God is my witness, I thought donkeys could fly."

You know those "Ladies Night" nights at bars?? That's when bars and clubs do drink specials for the ladies, or let them drink for free, or waive the cover fee ..basiclly whatever it takes to get them to come out and pack the place..cause we all know the men will follow. Well in Gainsville Florida, it's considered a violation of an anti-discrimination ordinance. To get around this, the bars are getting creative..can't call it ladies night...how about "High Heels" night.  And at a place called the Grog House, is now calling it "Shaved Legs" night...and yes..at least 5 guys have shown up with shaved legs so far.

Strange Laws:
·        In Tennessee, it is against the law to drive a car while sleeping.
·        In New York, it is against the law for a blind person to drive an automobile.
·        In West Virginia, only babies can ride in a baby carriage.
·        In Georgia, it is against the law to slap a man on the back or front.
#  #

On Saturday in London's Regent Park, the world's first ice-cream van for dogs will open. Some of the flavors include "Dog Eat Hog World" -- a chicken and gammon sorbet, and "Canine Cookie Crunch." Sally Bezant who is the organizer of the event said that it has been so hot outside that all dogs deserve a cooling treat. All products have been taste tested by dogs and are safe for humans to eat as well.
#  #

A Sports Illustrated list out yesterday (July 21st) of the top-earning American athletes found that Tiger Woods' endorsements for 2010 year are down $22 million, but he still tops the list. Woods' estimated total earnings are more than $90 million, enough to make him the highest-earning athlete for the seventh year, but his earnings were nearly $128 million just two years ago. Rival golfer Phil Mickelson was second again in total earnings, with more than $61 million. His estimated endorsement income is $52 million, compared with $70 million for Woods. The top 10 from the list are:

Tiger Woods -- $90.5 million, $70 million of it endorsements
Phil Mickelson -- $61.7 million, $52 million of it endorsements
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- $60.25 million, $250,000 of it endorsements
LeBron James -- $45.8 million, $30 million of it endorsements
Alex Rodriguez -- $37 million, $4 million of it endorsements
Shaquille O'Neal -- $36 million, $15 million of it endorsements
Kobe Bryant -- $33 million, $10 million of it endorsements
Derek Jeter -- $31 million, $10 million of it endorsements
Peyton Manning -- $30.8 million, $15 million of it endorsements
Dwayne Wade -- $27.8 million, $12 million of it endorsements
#  #

British scientists said Wednesday that they've discovered what's believed to be the most massive star ever found. University of Sheffield astrophysicist Paul Crowther, who led the team, said the star called called R136a1 is twice as heavy as any previously discovered, but is actually much lighter than it once was, which could have been as much as 320 times the weight of the Sun. He explained that's because the star is already about halfway through its lifespan, and that stars lose mass as they age. The star is also shining at nearly 10 million times the luminosity of the Sun, because giant stars go through their energy reserves faster, leading to greater brightness and shorter lifespans. R136a1 is located in the Tarantula Nebula, a cloud of gas and dust in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy that's about 165,000 light-years away from our own Milky Way galaxy.
#  #

There's no such thing as the "five-second rule. Dangerous bacteria can be immediately transferred to food that has dropped onto the floor. According to Paul Dawson, a food scientist from Clemson University, bacteria such as salmonella can survive for up to four weeks on dry surfaces, and can potentially latch onto dropped food the instant those items hit the ground. The most important factor in whether or not fallen food is OK to eat is where it is dropped, not how much time it has spent on the ground: The kitchen, a cesspool of food bacteria, even if you clean regularly, is one of the worst places to drop food. Somewhat surprisingly, researchers say if you drop a snack on the sidewalk, it's probably still OK to eat.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
Just over 1/3 of all women in the U.S. will do this to their personal appearence at least once in their lifetime.  What is it? 
A: Dye their hair blonde

7/21/10:
Trivia Cafe:
50 years ago, they were never thought of as pets.  What are they?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
Would adding booze to cupcake recipes make men want them more? That's what baker David Arrick in New York thinks. He's concocted all sorts of male-leaning flavors including beer and whiskey cupcakes at his establishment, Butch Bakery. He says, "That's how Butch Bakery was born, I thought they are all very feminine and pink and lots of them are frilly with jelly beans and sprinkles and I thought I wanted to do something very different, and I decided to do something with a masculine bent to it." The shop even has an Elvis-like flavor that has peanut butter, banana and bacon.

Competitive eater Hall Hunt had a cake-eating contest with his bride Emily Wright at their wedding reception in Florida. Number-one ranked competitive eater Joey Chestnut was also at the wedding and went in on the challenge. Hunt, Wright and Chestnut did the contest with forks and the bride won.

Strange Laws
·        It is against the law to mispronounce the name of the State of Arkansas in that State.
·        In Illinois, the law is that a car must be driven with the steering wheel.
·        California law prohibits a woman from driving a car while dressed in a housecoat.
·        In Memphis, Tennessee, a woman is not to drive a car unless a man warns approaching motorists or pedestrians by walking in front of the car that is being driven.
#  #

Feng Shui - a Chinese geomantic practice in which a structure or site is chosen or configured so as to harmonize with the spiritual forces that inhabit it,” - what can it hurt...feng shui for your finances.
divinecaroline.com gives you some tips...it kind of comes down to your intentions..and determination. maybe it just puts you in a different mind set.
The southeast corner of your home is where you should focus your money-hungry energy. You can place different items in that area, depending on which room of your house it inhabits, in order to access the spiritual energy of wealth growth. For example, if the entrance to your house is in the southeast corner, then place a dish of coins or a bamboo plant nearby. If the southeast corner happens to be your living room, then place a leafy, healthy houseplant there, or a bowl of goldfish with multiples of three fish. But if it’s your bathroom that falls in the southeast corner of your home, don’t put a plant or fish in the room. Rather, keep the lid of the toilet down and the door closed, which is the usual feng shui advice for a bathroom.
Check out the article for a few other ways..including a money tree and all that surrounds that.
#  #

Tiger Woods' public image took a major beating this year, but he still comes out on top as America's Favorite Sports Star in the Harris Poll's survey, although he's sharing the Number One spot this year with L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant, after being all alone in first place since 2006. The full top ten list in the survey, which was taken last month, is:

1. Tiger Woods
1. Kobe Bryant
3. Derek Jeter -- New York Yankees shortstop
4. Brett Favre -- Minnesota Vikings' quarterback
5. Peyton Manning -- Indianapolis Colts QB
6. LeBron James -- Now with Miami Heat after leaving Cleveland Cavaliers
7. Michael Jordan
8. Tom Brady -- New England Patriots QB
9. Drew Brees -- QB for Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- NASCAR driver

On the women's side, tennis-playing sisters Serena and Venus Williams hold the top two spots. The top 10 list for Favorite Female Sports Star is:

1. Serena Williams
2. Venus Williams
3. Danica Patrick -- Race car driver
4. Mia Hamm -- Retired soccer star
5. Maria Sharapova -- Tennis player
6. Anna Kournikova -- Tennis player
7. Misty May -- Olympic gold medal-winning volleyball player
7. Shawn Johnson -- Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast
9. Lisa Leslie -- Retired WNBA player
10. Billie Jean King
10. Martina Navratilova

Thirty years ago, St. Gregory's Episcopal Church in Parsippany, New Jersey, lost its steeple in a storm. This month, they finally replaced it. With a cell phone tower.  The church couldn't afford a new steeple, but T-Mobile offered to pay for one (and pay rent) if they could slip cell tower guts inside. Churches are often ideal locations for towers, because many are located in the heart of residential areas.

We present a week of Strange Laws in the US
·        In Texas, it's against the law for anyone to have a pair of pliers in his or her possession.
·        In Philadelphia, you can't put pretzels in bags based on an Act of 1760.
·        Alaska law says that you can't look at a moose from an airplane.
·        In Corpus Christie, Texas, it is illegal to raise alligators in your home.
·        In Miami, it is forbidden to imitate an animal.
#  #

Here's how to tell the temp by their chirps...To get a rough estimate of the temperature in degrees fahrenheit, count the number of chirps in 15 seconds and then add 37.
#  #

Urban Legends debunked. Divine Caroline has a list of some..from backwash, swimming after eating, coffee sobering you up, hair growing back thicker and darker and more! See the answers here.
#  #

Bill Clinton spoke at the 18th International AIDS Conference yesterday, and somehow it came up that one of his favorite movies was "The Bucket List".
--That's the one where Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are two terminally ill guys who make a list of all the things they want to do before they kick the bucket.
--Clinton said, quote, "I'll soon be 64, so I think I'm old enough to join Jack and Morgan in making a bucket list, but I have an A list and a B list, and the B list would be fun to do, but doesn't amount to a hill of beans whether I get to do it or not."
--There were two things on Clinton's A list:  One, to live to see his own grandchildren.  And two, quote, "To know that all the grandchildren of the world will have the chance in the not-too-distant future to live their own dreams and not die before their time."
--And here were three things on Clinton's B-list:  First, he said he wanted to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro before the snow at the top melts.  That's the highest peak in Africa, and scientists have warned that climate change will melt the snow off it in 20 years.
--Second, he said he wanted to run a marathon.  And third, he said, quote, "There's lots of things I'd like to do, but it doesn't really matter whether I do them." 
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answers:
In a recent survey, 47% of people said 1it's NEVER OK to sell this on e-bay - what?
A:  Your wedding dress!

Brian & Jen are enjyoing their summer fun. And played a round of 18 holes in golf on a par 3 course.. Brian doesn't have the patientes for golf and threw his clubs in the water hazard after 9 holes...Jen was on fire and parred every hole! What was here score, and how long did it take brian to find his clubs.
A: Jen got 54 (18holes..3 shots each)..and Brian didn't find his clubs..because he gets distracted eaisly..and didn't want to get his shoes wet.

7/19/10:
Trivia Cafe:
According to Readers Digest - Besides not working and sleeping in - 42% of people say they look forward to the weekend for THIS reason!  What is it?

Is Brian A Big Fat Liar?:
#1.)  Doughnuts originally had holes in the middle so they could be dried by hanging them on hooks.

#2.)  The caffeine removed from coffee beans to make decaf coffee is resold to soda companies.

#3.)  Heavy rains in 17th century England would flood the streets and drown stray animals, which is where the phrase "raining cats and dogs" came from.

#4.)  The dog that played Toto in "The Wizard of Oz" was paid more than Judy Garland.

Answers at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
Portland Oregon:
Portland Police said the car was swerving in the eastbound lanes of the freeway just east of the Lloyd District just after 9:30 p.m. when it rolled over and crashed onto its top.
Sgt. Greg Stewart said people who witnessed the crash initially thought the victims' injuries were much more serious, because the people inside the car were dressed as zombies and they were headed to a party at the time of the crash.

Eager to please his new owners, A 13-year-old cat named Oscar had been bringing home presents to the family home in Portswood, Southampton. not your usual birds or mice as cats do....(llok what i got you mom!!!)
It was....Socks, gloves, ladies underwear -- almost anything left unattended was fair game for the thief, Especially underwear!.
On average he commits 10 robberies a day.
Now the couple will adopt Oscar full time but they still have yet to devise a way to curb his criminal instincts.
"He's still doing it now," said Peter. "We are thinking of training him as Fagin!"

From the offbeat water conservation tipline: The Vienna, Austria Council is getting pretty fed up with constantly refilling their swimming pools because ---- people keep swallowing the water while men insist on plunging in and out of the pool in their water-sucking Bermuda shorts
According to a survey carried out by managers at Vienna’s 18 public swimming pools bathers are drinking 5,000 litres of chlorinated pool water a day.
The council is also targeting people who wear Bermuda shorts to go bathing. Tests revealed that the average wearer takes 2.5 litres of water with them trapped in their swimwear every time they get out of the pool.
Thankfully..they haven't insisted that all men wear speedos.
#  #

We've been hearing about those full-body airport security scanners for a while now.  They're officially called "millimeter wave scanners," and the Feds are supposed to be deploying 450 of them around the country this year.
--Obviously, the controversy's been about whether they're an invasion of privacy, since they create a detailed image of the skin under your clothes . . . including your privates.
--If that's something you're not down with, there's a new product just for you:  Flying Pasties.
--Flying Pasties are pretty much what they sound like . . . removable pads that cover your genitalia and the front of your cans.  You can pick up 'His and Hers' sets over at FlyingPasties.com, for about 17 bucks each . . . or both for $20.
--They're made of, quote, "The highest quality rubber to obscure scanner images."  And you can slip them under your bra or underwear, or attach them to your clothing with some kind of adhesive hook.
--You can get the 'generic' design, which just has the website and a peace sign, or you can go crazy and get different phrases on them, like "Private", or "Only My Boyfriend Sees Me Naked." 
--Supposedly you can personalize them too, although it's not clear whether the website lets you do that yet.  Oh, and another thing that's not clear:  Whether these things are LEGAL. 
According to a spokesman for Flying Pasties named Michael Luongo, quote . . .
--"We must stress however, that no matter how your wear your Flying Pasties . . . whenever your airport screener questions you about your Flying Pasties, simply remove them and present it to them.
#  #

It's called the 'VizKID.'  It's a dummy you put in your front passenger seat, to remind you that your KIDS are in the backseat . . . so that you don't accidentally leave them alone in a hot car.
--The VizKID is basically a two-foot-tall plastic cone painted with a blue Hawaiian print.  On the top is a yellow plastic head with a happy face on it that sort of looks like a tennis ball.
--The whole thing weighs a couple pounds, and when you're driving around with a child in the back, you're supposed to place the VizKID on the seat next to you.  That way, when you get out at your destination you won't forget the kids.
According to Janette Fennell, the founder of the nonprofit Kids and Cars, quote, "It's not about good parents or bad parents.  There are a lot of things calling for our attention;  our memories can't always keep up." 
#  #




Trivia answers:
According to Readers Digest - Besides not working and sleeping in - 42% of people say they look forward to the weekend for THIS reason!  What is it?
A: Not having to dress up and wear nice clothes!

#1.)  Doughnuts originally had holes in the middle so they could be dried by hanging them on hooks.
I'M LYING:  It was difficult to cook the dough on the inside, so bakers began cutting out the middle.

#2.)  The caffeine removed from coffee beans to make decaf coffee is resold to soda companies.
FACT:  The majority of the caffeine in soda comes from decaf coffee waste products.

#3.)  Heavy rains in 17th century England would flood the streets and drown stray animals, which is where the phrase "raining cats and dogs" came from.
FACT:  Their bodies would float down the street, making it look like it really did rain cats and dogs.

#4.)  The dog that played Toto in "The Wizard of Oz" was paid more than Judy Garland.
I'M LYING:  Although it was close, considering one of them was a dog.  Toto got $125 a week.  Judy got $500.

7/16/10:
Trivia Cafe:
According to Business Weekly Magazine - It's estimated that American businesses loose over 200 million dollars a year because they ACCIDENTALLY do this.  What is it?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

WILDSIDE:
28-year-old Manuel "Lefty" Hernandez of Springfield, Massachusetts, only has one arm . . . his left one, logically. Wednesday, he stole a 58-year-old man's wallet.  The police found Manuel and the man identified him, ya know, based on the missing arm.
--So, since Manuel robbed the man without using a weapon, he's been charged with . . . wait for it . . . UNARMED ROBBERY. But seriously, unarmed robbery was actually the charge. 

Back on July 7th, Ronald White of Camden NJ was arrested for shoplifting slightly-defective coats from a Burlington Coat Factory.
--He was thrown in jail with bail set at $400.  And he decided to pay the bail with . . . counterfeit $20 bills.  But not good counterfeit bills . . . he just put a $20 in a color copier and made cheap copies on regular copy paper, then cut them out with scissors.

44-year-old Martin Schauder is a police officer in Munster and, earlier this year, he calculated that it takes him 15 minutes each day to get dressed for duty.  So he asked his boss to PAY him for the 45 hours he spends getting dressed in a year.
--Obviously, his boss refused.  So Martin took the issue to an administrative court . . . and amazingly, they sided with him.  They ruled that he deserves an extra week off of work each year to compensate him for his time getting dressed.
#  #

People are still making parody videos of Beyonce's Single Ladies - Check out this one.


#  #

Socks with sandals is a no-no according to Lemondrop.com for men in the summer..see what else made the list.
#  #

Baskin-Robbins announced yesterday (July 15th) that it's retiring five of its ice cream flavors to make room for innovative new ones in the future. The five flavors heading to the company's "Deep Freeze" are:

*French Vanilla -- One of the first flavors launched in 1945 by Irv Robbins and Burt Baskin.
*Caramel Praline Cheesecake -- Introduced in 1970, this flavor is vanilla cheesecake ice cream swirled with a caramel ribbon and pralined pecans.
*Campfire S'mores -- This flavor introduced in 1975 is made up of milk chocolate ice cream with a marshmallow ribbon and crunchy graham cracker bits.
*Apple Pie a La Mode -- This 1976 flavor is vanilla ice cream with real apple, crunchy pie crust and a caramel cinnamon creme ribbon.
*Superfudge Truffle -- The most recent flavor that's being retired, introduced just three years ago in 2007, is this chocolate fudge ice cream with chunks of chocolate ganache and toffee truffle pieces.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
According to Business Weekly Magazine - It's estimated that American businesses loose over 200 million dollars a year because they ACCIDENTALLY do this.  What is it?
A: Leave their "closed" sign displayed when they're really Open!

7/15/10:
Trivia Cafe:
According to USA Today - 38% of people admit that they always PLAN on doing THIS on vacation, but never do it...What is it?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

St. Swithin’s Day
Several weather proverbs are associated with this saint’s feast day. According to folklore,

St. Swithin's Day if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain.

Who was St. Swithin? A 9th-century bishop of Winchester, he requested that he be buried outdoors—beneath the sweet rain from heaven. When others decided to move his remains indoors, legend has it that St. Swithin caused torrential rains to fall for 40 days.
#  #

A mythological creature has been found in Texas. A rancher in Hood County, Texas, killed one of the  evil looking canines that some say look a lot like the mysterious Chupacabra.
“I’m not sure on that part. All I know is, it wasn’t normal,” said Animal Control Office Frank Hackett. “It was ugly, real ugly. I’m not going to tell no lie on that one.”
Asylum reports that another Chupacabra was killed earlier in the week in Hood County. The animals will undergo DNA testing to determine what they really are.
The Chupacabra, or the goat sucker, is a legendary vampire like dog. The Chupacabra is known to suck the blood of cattle animals like cows and goats.

Superstitious ways of bringing good luck seem to improve people's performance at certain tasks. Researchers from the University of Cologne conducted a series of experiments involving good luck charms. In one, they had participants putt a golf ball. Half the group was told the ball was "lucky". In another experiment participants were asked to see how many little balls they could stuff into a slab with holes. This time the test's administrators said they were "crossing their fingers" for some people, but not for others. Finally, memory tests were given, with half the participants being allowed to hold a good luck charm while taking them. In each experiment, the participants who were afforded the good luck gesture performed better. The researchers attribute this to the good luck charms allowing people to set higher goals, and making them feel more confident in their abilities.
#  #

Working at a computer makes us work up an appetite for sweet food like chocolate. Research shows that staring at a computer screen makes us work up an appetite for sweet treats like chocolate cake and biscuits (it's british...that is a cookie). It is thought that the mental stress of computer work triggers changes in blood sugar and hormone levels that trick the brain into thinking it has worked off lots of calories that need replaced. Computer games and TV watching have the same effect, the International Congress on Obesity in Stockholm heard.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
According to USA Today - 38% of people admit that they always PLAN on doing THIS on vacation, but never do it...What is it?
A: Read a book!

7/14/10:
Trivia Cafe:
According to USA Today - the U.S. has 2.3 Billion square feet of this.  What is it?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
A truck driver in Medina, Ohio accidentally flipped his vehicle over while rounding a curve. After the accident, the driver's scared pet monkey leapt out of the truck and climbed to the top of a pole where state troopers had a hard time coaxing the animal down. The truck driver escaped injury and got his pet monkey back. Who was this...BJ and the bear????? Maybe you shouldn't have a monkey in the cab of your truck..I'm just saying.

An Australian man was taken to hospital with leg injuries after he climbed a fence at a zoo and tried to ride a crocodile.
He then decided to mount the back of a 16-foot long crocodile named Fatso, but was spun around and bit on his right leg, reports the Metro.
Fatso then surprisingly released the man, who rushed back over the fence before being taken to hospital with some 'very nasty lacerations' on his leg, according to Sergeant Roger Haynes of the Broome police.
OH..this all happened After he was chucked out of a pub for being drunk in Broome, northwestern Australia, the man scaled over a barbed wire fence at a Crocodile Park while carrying a flashlight. the sargeant added: "Saltwater crocodiles...once they get hold of you, are not renowned for letting you go. He's lucky to have escaped with his life."
(It seems he reeked of whiskey..and the Croc is a vodka drinker!)
#  #

Billboard Magazine has calculated the most popular summer songs based on chart action. Here's the Top 10:

#1.)  "Summer in the City",  The Lovin' Spoonful (1966)
#2.)  "Wipe Out",  The Surfaris (1962)
#3.)  "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini",  Bryan Hyland (1960)
#4.)  "Surf City",  Jan & Dean (1963)
#5.)  "Endless Summer Nights",  Richard Marx (1988)
#6.)  "Summertime",  DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (1991)
#7.)  "Hot Fun in the Summertime",  Sly & The Family Stone (1969)
#8.)  "Surfin' U.S.A.",  The Beach Boys (1963) 
#9.)  "Summer Nights",  John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John (1978)
#10.)  "The Boys of Summer",  Don Henley (1984)
See the full list here.
#  #

George Steinbrenner passed away yesterday, the Yankee owner and sometimes member of the cast Seinfeld. Well ok, we always saw him from behind, and Larry David did the voice..but once, Steinbrenner actually was himself. Too bad it hit the editing room floor, he's pretty good!


#  #

There's a town in the Scottish Highlands called Firhall and it has officially BANNED young people from town.  To own a house, you have to be over 45.  You can't have any kids living with you.  And you can have, at most, one dog.  For some reason, you're also not allowed to own ducks or bees.
--Your grandkids can visit you, but only for a limited time.  David Eccles is one of the founders of Firhall . . . he says, quote, "Living here gives a certain measure of peace and quiet which many of us look forward to as we are getting older."  See their website here.
#  #

Stay slim during the summer. Your activities will help with that, from gardeing, to snorkling, even horseback riding...find out how many calories you are burning doing all the fun things of summer from Divinecaroline.com.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
According to USA Today - the U.S. has 2.3 Billion square feet of this.  What is it?
A: Self Storage space! 

7/13/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Accordiing to Travel Magazine - There are 354 steps to get to THIS well-known travel attraction! What is it?

Is Brian A Big Fat Liar: True or False:
#1.)  Every letter in the alphabet is used in the name of at least one U.S. state.

#2.)  In the 17th century, when meat was too scarce to feed animals, pet cats were given a ground tomato dish that became known as catsup . . . and eventually ketchup.

#3.)  Single guys are more likely to attract women while walking their dog if they have a beagle.

Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
A new product promises to eliminate hangovers. Drinkwel, an "alcohol nutrition supplement" promises short-term relief and long-term support against the negative effects of alcohol and claims to be approved by actual "doctor types." Co-founder Mike McAdams explains, "The combination of vitamins and antioxidants combat the effects of drinking on your entire body -- not just your headache -- and they promote overall nutrition." The trick, McAdams added, is to start taking the vitamins prior to any night of heavy drinking. It's not about one-off prevention but boosting up your system over time.
But isn't that what the greasy breakfast afterwards is all about???

Some residents in the town of Beatrice, Nebraska were upset to see a mannequin in a store window with its pants down. Police even covered the window after receiving several complaints about the half-dressed mannequin. City Attorney Tobias Tempelmeyer said, "We're not able at this point to issue a determination whether it's obscene or not." The shop's owner, Kevin Kramer, may sue over the dispute. His lawyer said, "Nothing about a naked mannequin constitutes obscenity . . . I think we've all gone into a department store and seen a naked mannequin at one point in our lives."
You know what's obscene..the ones without heads..what about those???
#  #

The Y.M.C.A is changing it's name to "The Y". And Twitter and mobile phones are being blamed for it. Here's the full article.
And The Village People are NOT happy about it. 
--Officials said that everyone calls it "The Y" anyway, and that the acronym was confusing, since "YMCA" stands for "Young Men's Christian Association."  And people don't realize that the Y mostly does outreach to families, children, and communities.
--But the publicist for the Village People . . . who, amazingly, still has a job in this economy . . . says, quote, "We are deeply dismayed by today's announcement from the YMCA that they feel a name change and a re-branding are in order after 166 years.
--"Some things remain iconic and while we admire the organization for the work they do, we still can't help but wonder Y." (yes they really went there.)
#  #

He's all the rage on the internet..see what happens when a guy sees a double rainbow. Some guy in Yosemite, California named Paul "Yosemite Bear" Vasquez saw a "double rainbow" in his front yard in January, and he thought it was so beautiful, he freaked out and started crying.



And anything out today needs to be autotuned into a dance mix! Enjoy!


#  #

Didn't know all these existed! The 24-page booklet includes color photos, trail info and driving directions for 19 public-access waterfalls near downtown Ithaca. They range from 215-foot Taughannock Falls, a major attraction in a popular state park, to 25-foot Potters Falls, a “local secret” in a hidden wildflower preserve. Find the details on how to get yours here.
#  #

Money Magazine lists these small cities that make them a great place to live. Newtown, MA is #3, Columbia/Ellicott City, MD #2, #1 Eden Prairie, MN. See details and the full list here.
#  #

Paul the Octopus, who had a perfect eight for eight record in picking the winner of World Cup games and became an international celebrity, is retiring from the prediction business. Paul correctly chose the winner of all seven of Germany's games, including the semifinal match it lost to Spain, as well as correctly predicting that Spain would beat the Netherlands to win the World Cup. But a spokesperson for the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany, where Paul lives, told AP Television News Monday (July 12th), "Paul will get back to his former job, namely, making children laugh." As a last hurrah, however, Paul was given a golden cup, similar to the official World Cup trophy, garnished with three yummy mussels for him to eat.
#  #

54-year old Wang Xianjun has a pretty unusual diet. Each morning, the Sichuan province native starts with a traditional rice or steamed bun breakfast common to the region. But Xianjun doesn't feel the meal's complete until he's capped off the breakfast by eating a light bulb. In fact, he's eaten a bulb a day, almost every day, for the last 42 years!
So, how does one start snacking on light bulbs? For Xianjun, the phenomenon started when he was 12, and he accidentally swallowed a fishbone. When he noticed no ill effects, he decided to try his luck with other materials. For some reason, Xianjun got addicted to eating light bulbs. When he's trying to reduce his light bulb consumption, he eats just a few shards instead of the full bulb. And for the most part, he tries not to eat more than one light bulb a day.
But you know..once you start..you just can't stop!
#  #

You are enjoying a nice ice cream cone this summer then wham!!!! BRAIN FREEZE!!!! Read about the phenomena and how to counteract it here.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
Accordiing to Travel Magazine - There are 354 steps to get to THIS well-known travel attraction! What is it?
A: The TOP of the Statue of Liberty!

Is Brian A Big Fat Liar Answers:
#1.)  Every letter in the alphabet is used in the name of at least one U.S. state.
I'M LYING:  No state contains the letter Q.

#2.)  In the 17th century, when meat was too scarce to feed animals, pet cats were given a ground tomato dish that became known as catsup . . . and eventually ketchup.
I'M LYING:  Early versions of ketchup were made from mushrooms and nuts, not tomatoes.  And ketchup came from a Chinese word for fish sauce.

#3.)  Single guys are more likely to attract women while walking their dog if they have a beagle.
I'M LYING:  Women are most attracted to guys with golden retrievers.  At least according to the book "Planet Dog: A Doglopedia".

7/12/10:
Trivia Cafe:
According to Reader's Digest - Nearly HALF of Americans polled say they would like to BAN the use of THIS word...What's the word?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
A new library in an upscale mall has been wildly successful in offering unconventional access to families who might not make a trip to a traditional public library, and it's one of a growing number of strategies used by librarians nationwide to reintroduce communities to their local library. "I think what's happening now is really that focus on convenience," said Sari Feldman, president of the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association. "How do we make the public library as convenient as Amazon, Netflix? Part of that is putting library branches in the path of customer." The American Library Association doesn't have a comprehensive list of how many libraries are in malls or shopping centers but has an informal tally of around two dozen such branches. One of those opened as far back as the 1960s, but the idea seemingly has grown in popularity in the last decade.

A recent heatwave prolonged the daily commute of several Chinese motorists. According to the "Zhengzhou Evening Post," dozens of cars became stuck to a road after street surface temperatures reached nearly 160 degrees. Plastic sheeting had to be placed on the road in order to free the vehicles. Motorist Lao Yang said it felt like his car was getting heavier as he drove, explaining, quote, "After getting out of the car to check what the problem was, I found both front wheels were covered in melted tarmac." He adds, quote, "I had to lift the car with a jack, and take off the tires to remove the asphalt."

Fans in Cleveland who are upset with LeBron James' departure are being rewarded for their anger. One bar in Cleveland offered patrons a free beer if they handed over their LeBron jerseys to be shredded. A local computer services company gave their customers a $23 credit for their LeBron jerseys and a local brewing company is planning a bitter ale inspired by James -- called Quitness.
#  #

For two days last month, they came to Paris. Over two dozen experts in the field of yawning. The topics ranged from "Yawning over a Life Span" to "Yawning in Non-Human Primates" to "The Theory of the Hidden Sexuality of the Yawn."
Unfortunately scientists are not yet able to differentiate between a yawn that signifies erotic arousal and simply the need to catch some sleep. The new theory was introduced at the first International Conference on Yawning, held in Paris. Much about yawning remains a mystery, despite the fact that the average person yawns 240,000 times in a lifetime. The concept of the erotic yawn was created after Wolter Seuntjens, a Dutch academic, noted that many sexologists were consulted by people who yawned during sex or foreplay.
#  #

Garfield, Archie, and a host of other staples from The Funny Pages are being honored with their own postage stamps! The “Sunday Funnies” stamps announced earlier this year by the United States Postal Service will be issued July 16. Get a sneak peek here.
#  #

American Greetings has introduced a memorable new experience in the greeting card aisle with Tasties.  Quote from the press release - Each card in the new line features a deliciously dissolvable flavor-strip, safely sealed inside, which recipients can enjoy along with the warm wishes of friends and family. These tasty surprises correspond with the art and sentiment of each card to offer the perfect recipe for a fun greeting. One birthday card in the new line features a mouth-watering image of a cupcake and reads, “If nothing else, birthdays are a great excuse to eat cake.” The inside reads, “…lots and lots of cake.” The dissolvable strip included encourages recipients to “take a bite,” and enjoy the taste of vanilla cupcake, expanding on the fun and sweetness of the greeting. Other flavors to help consumers celebrate include everything from donut to margarita.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
According to Reader's Digest - Nearly HALF of Americans polled say they would like to BAN the use of THIS word...What's the word?
A: Whatever!!!

7/8/10:
Trivia Cafe:
According to a new poll for Oxygen Media, 34% of women aged 18 to 34 say THIS is the first thing they did in the morning, even before washing their face or brushing their teeth. And it's not coffee either.
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside: Food Edition!
Last week, sheriff's deputies in Germantown, Tennessee, got a call about a woman slumped over her steering wheel and passed out . . . with her car halfway in a middle school's driveway and halfway out on the sidewalk.
And while there weren't any empty liquor or beer bottles in her car, there were two mostly-empty bottles of pure vanilla extract.
--Pure vanilla extract is 70 PROOF, by the way . . . at 35 percent alcohol by volume.  That's about the same as most vodkas, and at least twice as strong as most wines.
--The cops woke her up and said there was a strong odor of vanilla on her breath.  Her speech was also slurred and she couldn't stand up or walk without assistance.

Got the late night munchies?? Let's head down to College Park Georgia. Antoine boutte and a buddie were a little hungry and turned on the stove. Little did he remember....he keeps his gun in there. YES in the stove. As the food cooked, it started to melt the gun well.  That caused the bullets to start SPRAYING out of the barrel.  They were hitting the inside wall of the stove . . . not penetrating it . . . and apparently sounded like popcorn.
--So Antoine's friend, Christopher Henderson, went over to check on what was going on.  And when he opened the stove, a piece of a bullet casing flew out and hit him in the stomach.
I've heard of late night food causing stomach problems..but come on!
#  #

Here are some strange statistics about divorce. Depending on what you do, even if you smiled in pictures as a kid! REALLY????  Read them here from The Daily Beast!
#  #

It used to be you got a sweater or class ring..you know where you had to put yarn on it so it would actually fit your hand..these were simple things that showed teenage affection -
Today.....Biting!!!
The whole vampire rage has spawned a new tween obsession...biting...guess you could call it the new hickey!
American teens have been showing affection by biting each other.
According to New York-based MD Jennifer Ashton, bite marks are becoming a status symbol among teens, who are sporting the bites and their arms, necks, and even faces. Young adults say it’s a way to show someone you care about them and that you are chosen — just like in their favorite shows and movies.
#  #

Scientists have discovered that we might as well face it, we're addicted to love. In a study at Rutgers University, researchers found that it's as hard to get over a break-up as it is to get over a drug or nicotine addiction. Love and drugs both seem to affect the same areas of the brain, and make peo ple do equally irrational things. There is one big difference in the addictions, though: After a break-up, as time passes, your brain really starts to heal. With other drug, nicotine, or alcohol addictions it's much easier to backslide.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
According to a new poll for Oxygen Media, 34% of women aged 18 to 34 say THIS is the first thing they did in the morning, even before washing their face or brushing their teeth.
A: Check Facebook

7/7/10:
Trivia Cafe:
12 of these are constructed every day. What?
It's was a tough one today. Sports, part of something else, there are a few of these in one place. Jen said "good clue Tiger" Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside: You have some extra money lying around edition.
X-rays of Marilyn Monroe's chest and pelvis were auctioned off for $45,000 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The three X-rays are from a hospital visit the actress made in 1954, and were part of an auction of Hollywood memorabilia that included Christopher Reeves' Superman VI Costume, a dress worn by Audrey Hepburn and a crystal-studded glove from Michael Jackson that sold for $190,000.....it seems people like to look at Marilyn inside and out!

Because you have $300 to space...now you can turn your dog into a panda! Ok it's only dye and at pet spas in china..but who doesn't want a panda! Sun Ruowen started offering the service because "People are spending more money these days, and more and more people have dogs, so I decided to open a top-end pet store which offers luxury services such as spa and massage." At her spa, customers have free reign when it comes to the pet style and dye jobs, she explains, "Our motto is 'If you can dream it up, we can do it.'  
#  #

The Dutch Football Association only booked hotel rooms for the team through July 5th . . . because they never expected the guys to actually keep winning. (last time they made the infals was 32 years ago.) And there are NO hotel vacancies in South Africa leading up to Sunday's championship. Fortunately, FIFA stepped in and bailed out the Dutch . . . they're going to clear out some of their extra rooms so the team can stay all the way through the final.  Germany and Spain play today, the finals are Sunday.
#  #

We are in a heat wave. Tuesday's high was 93. The record high for July 6 in Ithaca is 99 degrees, set in 1911. For July 7, it's 97, from 1939. (officially at the airport, might be higher downtown).

Did you know that hot weather can cause you to lose your temper? As the thermometer rises, the body produces adrenaline to keep us cool, and a by-product of this is increased aggression. So if you feel your temper heating up this summer, breathe deeply. Breathing deeply literally lowers your blood pressure and reduces your stress hormones.
#  #

Customize your own chocolate bar! Pick your flavor, then up to 5 ingredients from nuts, fruit and candy, to spices and other items. You can get way creative! Find the site here.
#  #

The oil spill in the Gulf seems so far away, but it could effect the birds of our area. To find out more about the birds of the Gulf, and ours, we only have to look in our own back yard for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Also, you can help by becoming a nest watcher. Find that info here.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
12 of these are constructed every day. What?
A.   New Golf Holes!  

7/6/10:
Trivia Cafe:
According to Triple A - Nearly a quarter of women have THIS in their glove compartment.  What is it?
Answer at the end of today's entry
#  #

What are the “Dog Days” of summer? The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists the traditional timing as the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11. At this time, the Dog Star, Sirius, rises with the Sun. Sirius is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major.
The rising of Sirius does not actually affect the weather, but for the ancient Egyptians, Sirius appeared just before the season of the Nile’s flooding, so they used the star as a “watchdog” for that event. Since its rising also coincided with a time of extreme heat, the connection with hot, sultry weather was made for all time.
#  #

Competitive eating just got its first major scandal.
--Every July 4th is the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York.  And from 2001 through 2006, Takeru Kobayashi won the thing. 
--He's a 130-pound Japanese guy who had the superhuman ability to eat more than 50 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes.
--For the past three years, Kobayashi lost to a guy named Joey Chestnut from San Jose, California.  And this year's contest was shaping up to be another battle between them for the title of the world's greatest eater.
--But Kobayashi and the Major League Eating federation couldn't work out a contract, so he was scratched from this year's contest. (If he signs with MLE, he can't compete in other eating contests..and MLE isn't in Japan.)
--The contest went down on the 4th, and Chestnut won easily by eating 54 hot dogs.  But the real excitement started after the contest.
--It turned out Kobayashi was in the crowd.  Some fans spotted him and started chanting "Let him eat!  Let him eat!" So Kobayashi stormed the stage. 
--He was promptly arrested and led out in handcuffs.  He spent the night in jail, and yesterday he pleaded not guilty to trespassing, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration. He says, quote, "Everyone started chanting for me, and in the heat of it I jumped on the stage hoping that maybe because of the cheering, Nathan's would let me eat and prove that I am the champ."  Here's the video of him being arrested.


#  #

Wildside:
Hybrid vehicles are a lot less noisy that their standard counterparts, which you'd think most people would consider a good thing. But safety groups are instead calling for the cars that run on gas and electricity to have added artificial noises, saying the hybrids can be dangerous to some pedestrians, as well as the blind, who use sound cues. It is being addressed...we have a suggestion...meet george jetson!
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that hybrids are twice as likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes at low speeds. When a car is going faster, however, the friction between the tire and the road makes it louder. Some carmakers are already moving to address the problem. Nissan has created distinct sounds for the Leaf, its electric car set to go on sale this year. When the car speeds up to 20 miles per hour, it will emit a soft whirring sound that changes pitch as the car accelerates. When it backs up, an intermittent bell will sound.

Police in Colombia have seized a package that contained jerseys of the remaining World Cup teams and a replica of the World Cup trophy -- made entirely of cocaine. Authorities say the 14-inch cocaine statue was found at a mail warehouse in Bogota airport where it was headed to Madrid. The statue contains an estimated $1.5 million dollars of cocaine. Police are still looking for those responsible.

Popular and controversial Fox News Channel personality Glenn Beck is launching his online "Beck University" this week, instruction on U.S. history and politics that is meant to correct what the conservative host charges is a left-leaning slant in higher education in America, according to Yahoo! News. If you're interested you must became a member of "Insider Extreme" on Beck's website for $74.95 per year.  A few of the classes offered is how to rant like a lunitic..froth at the mouth, and how to scream without losing your voice.
#  #

Lady Gaga bested President Barack Obama Friday to become the first living person to score more than 10 million fans on Facebook.
Only five other Facebook profiles have more fans than Gaga. They are: Michael Jackson, Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, Family Guy, Mafia Wars, and Facebook itself. The King of Pop holds the all time record for the most fans at over 14.3 million
As of Sunday, July 4, Lady Gaga’s fan count was 10,011,919 strong. Muscle-bound actor Vin Diesel moved to second place with 9,726,869 fans. Obama followed a close third with more than 9.5 million fans.
#  #

And now - Vuvuzela Hero:


#  #

How many times have you found an article, started reading it and been distracted by an IM...or ..the boss coming by. Well now there's Read It Later. an application that allows you to quickly bookmark articles or posts for future consumption. To start set up a free account. Then install the app into your browser When you come across an article that interests you, click it.
#  #

;)  emoticons!
Carnegie Mellon professor Scott Fahlman is often credited as the father of the modern emoticon
He posted this message to a computer-science department bulletin board in 1982:
 I propose that the following character sequence for joke markers: :-)
Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use: :-(
But as a recent article in Good pointed out, the idea of turning punctuation marks into faces goes way back to the 19th century:
"In 1887, Ambrose Bierce wrote an essay suggesting ways to alter punctuation to better represent tone. He proposed a single bracket flipped horizontally for wry smiles, 'to be appended, with the full stop, to every jocular or ironical sentence.'"
In 1969, The New York Times asked Vladimir Nabokov how he ranked himself among recent writers. "I often think there should exist a special typographical sign for a smile," he said. "Some sort of concave mark, a supine round bracket, which I would now like to trace in reply to your question."
#  #

Did you know that grumpy employees are the most creative problem-solvers? That’s according to researchers from the Graduate School of Management at Rice University. So why is a bad mood so productive? When someone is in a negative mood, he or she is usually quite motivated to get out of it, and solving a problem often does the trick.
#  #

Trivia Cafe:
According to Triple A - Nearly a quarter of women have THIS in their glove compartment.  What is it?
A: A pair of undies!!

7/1/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Based on influence, popularity, and their hilarity, this Cartoon Character tops the list as the greatest of all time. What Character?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Finally men have a perfect excuse to avoid shopping: it could make them impotent. Researchers have made the startling discovery that a gender bending chemical compound is present on some till receipts. And the levels of hazardous substance Bisphenol A (BPA) can be high enough to suppress male hormones in the body. The compound, used to make ink visible on thermally sensitive paper, is ingested by men when they handle the receipts and then touch their mouths or handle food. Prof Frank Sommer, 42, a Berlin-based urologist, explained: 'A substance like that could shift the balance of the sex hormones in men towards oestrogen. In the long term, this leads to less sexual drive, encourages the belly instead of the muscles to grow and has a bad effect on erection and potency." (Don't even ask what happens when we have to hold your purse.)
#  #

Wildside:
A man who broke into a Tennessee home was arrested after he fell asleep on the couch at the home he broke into. The 22-year-old, who broke a window and the door when no one was home, fell asleep at the house. Police say the man used to live there, but was forced to move. They charged him with vandalism and aggravated burglary.

The Old Farmer's Almanac claims to have a nearly 80 percent accuracy rate when it comes to forecasts since 1792. How do they do it? According to the Web site , they derive their long-term forecasts from a "secret formula" invented by Almanac founder Robert B. Thomas that same year. The secrets are locked in a black box at the Almanac's headquarters in Dublin, N.H.
(Let's see what it says for this holiday weekend....Hurricane in mexico...wow think they got that right....let's see for us. 6 feet of snow and cold. Yea ..that sounds about right!)
#  #

Things you can recycle that you didn't know you could from Divinecaroline.com.

Shoes - Nike is happy to take your old rubber soled shoes! Any brand..and they will recycle them into new athletic surfaces like basketball courts and running tracks...the nike store in the outlets at Waterloo is a drop off point.

Wine corks - Yemm Hart Green Materials of Missouri. They’ve started an experimental wine cork-recycling program that processes the old bottle stoppers into lovely, environmentally friendly cork floor and wall tiles. They hope someday to pay you for your corks..right now it's out of the kindness of your heart.

Bras - Bosom Buddy Recycling takes your old bras and gives them to women around the country, including shelters, transitional housing and breast cancer survivor support groups.
Make sure to check the link for more.
#  #



Trivia Cafe Answer:
Based on influence, popularity, and their hilarity, this Cartoon Character tops the list as the greatest of all time. What Character?
A.  Bugs Bunny!

6/30/10:
Trivia Cafe:
He is Considered to be the Top TV Dad of All-Time. Who?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

listening to classical music doesn't make you smarter.
A lot of people think listening to Mozart makes you smarter.  I don't mean just for babies, and I don't mean just listening to Mozart.  I mean that whole idea that listening to classical music is somehow conducive to learning, studying, or whatever.
--It's called 'The Mozart Effect' . . . and the whole thing is bogus.  At least that's according to three researchers from the University of Vienna in Austria.  They looked at 40 different studies on the topic over the last 15 years.
--In case there's any confusion about what they found, they published their findings in a scientific journal called "Intelligence" and titled it "Mozart Effect, Schmozart Effect".  In other words, there's no specific evidence that listening to Mozart helps your brain.
Researchers DO say that listening to music IN GENERAL actually DOES stimulate your brain, and COULD boost cognitive capacity.  Read the article here.
#  #

Wildside:
Author Molly Ringle of Seattle is this year's winner of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for bad writing, which San Jose State University has sponsored annually since 1982. The competition honors the memory of 19th-century English writer Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, who famously opened his novel Paul Clifford with the sentence, "It was a dark and stormy night."
Entrants are asked to submit bad opening sentences to imaginary novels, and Ringle won the grand prize for her entry:
"For the first month of Ricardo and Felicity's affair, they greeted one another at every stolen rendezvous with a kiss -- a lengthy, ravenous kiss, Ricardo lapping and sucking at Felicity's mouth as if she were a giant cage-mounted water bottle and he were the world's thirstiest gerbil."
(Yikes!)
#  #

Go to LucyPhone.com, type in the customer service number you want to reach, and type in your own number.  'Lucy' calls the number, then calls you, to patch you in.  Then, unfortunately, you still have to navigate through the company's annoying phone menu.

--But once you get to the part where you're inevitably put on hold, YOU disconnect, and the service waits on hold for you.  Once you get a real person on the line, Lucy calls you back immediately to connect you with the customer service rep.

--Here's the catch:  When the customer service rep finally picks up, THEY get a recorded message.  It's from LucyPhone, telling them to press 1, to be connected with you.  And let's face it, the customer service agent might hang up on YOU at that point.

--But so far, LucyPhone says less than 10% of their users have had an agent hang up on them.  When it does happen, they're telling users to bombard companies on Twitter, so that they'll be cool with the concept. 
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
He is Considered to be the Top TV Dad of All-Time. Who?
A.  Mike Brady from the Brady Bunch! - Robert Reed of course played him on the 1969-1974 TV show. But we can't forget Gary Cole in the movies.

6/29/10:
There are only 14 women in the world that can claim this. What? 
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
A Chihuahua mix from California has won the World's Ugliest Dog title at the 22nd annual Sonoma-Marin Fair in California. The grayish brown-black chihuahua named Princess Abigail Francis was just recently rescued by her owner Kathleen Francis. A judge at the fair said that the dog's curved back and closed left eye are most likely due to the dog being inbred. (AP)

A cat named Oscar, who lost his two hind feet in an accident has made history by getting two prosthetic paws. A high-tech veterinarian in England attached metal implants to Oscar's legs so that the cat could regain mobility. The vet said that the $3000 paws had the cat mobile the day after the operation, making him the first "truly bionic cat."


#  #

How long should you keep things in the fridge? The Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have come up with some handy guidelines for how to safely store food in your refrigerator. 
--Check out some of their recommendations.  Obviously, the frozen stuff can be stored indefinitely, but the flavor will change if you go past the recommended time limits . . .
--Raw Ground Beef and Steaks:  Three to five days in the fridge . . . six to 12 months in the freezer.
--Raw Pork Roast and Pork Chops:  Three to five days in the fridge . . . four to six months in the freezer.
--Raw Chicken:  One to two days in the fridge . . . nine months in the freezer.
--Cooked Chicken:  Three to four days in the fridge . . . four months in the freezer. 
--Cooked Meat, or Soup:  3 to 4 days in the fridge . . . two to three months in the freezer. 
And for frozen? Check out this article from Real Simple Magazine.
#  #

It's not just the older people getting Botox treatments. Teenagers are turning to it as well. Read this article for the disturbing trend.
#  #

People are preparing for the onslaught of High School Reunions that’ll be happening this summer. By preparing we mean – trying to lose weight and turn back the clock, because on some level, everyone wants to look better than the former head cheerleader or football quarterback, or impress that secret crush who didn’t even know they existed. So, here it is – The High School Reunion Diet! According to the Bottom Line Personal, this will help you shed 20 years in 30 days. Here’s what to do.

First: Limit refined sugar. Dr. David A. Colbert is the founder of the New York Dermatology Group in New York. He says the trick to looking years younger is sugar control. That’s because the sugar added to many packaged foods triggers a process known as glycolsylation, which causes the skin to become stiff and discolored. So, don’t buy foods that list sugar in the top three ingredients – in ANY form. That includes high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, galactose and caramel.

Next: Eat antioxidant rich foods. A lot of skin damage is caused by free radicals. Those are molecules that damage cells and alter your genetic material, which leads to skin aging, wrinkling and skin cancer. However, antioxidants like those found in blueberries, carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes and onions can help repair your skin, and keep you looking younger, longer.

Another tip that’ll help shave 20 years off your appearance: Eat plain, unsweetened yogurt. Colbert says it’s high in protein and calcium, which are important for skin collagen. Yogurt is also good for weight loss. One study found that people who ate one serving each day lost an average of 12 pounds in a year without changing anything else.

Drink water, at least eight glasses a day. Water literally plumps the skin and makes wrinkles less apparent.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
There are only 14 women in the world that can claim this. What? 
A. That they're self-made billionaires!

6/28/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Generally speaking, the older you get, the less you want this.  What is it? 

Is Brian A Big Fat Liar:
1.)  Despite their involvement in technology, Apple was one of the last Fortune 500 companies to register a dot-com domain name

2.)  The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is one of the five most-photographed landmarks in New York City.

3.)  Zoo monkeys learned how to peel bananas because zookeepers served them half peeled.  But monkeys in the wild bite through the skin, like a human would eat an apple.

Answers at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
Democratic leaders in the House are pushing hard to get a comprehensive climate and energy bill passed by summer, with discussion of their draft bill slated to begin this week. But representatives and their witnesses have been bogging down the proceedings with skeptical rants and cockamamy theories. "The earth will end only when God declares its time is over," declared Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), explaining why it's unnecessary to worry about climate change. Barton raised the question of whether expanding wind power might actually cause the planet to heat up:
Joe Barton says about renewable power....Wind is God's way of balancing heat. Wind is the way you shift heat from areas where it's hotter to areas where it's cooler. That's what wind is. Wouldn't it be ironic if in the interest of global warming we mandated massive switches to energy, which is a finite resource, which slows the winds down, which causes the temperature to go up? ..basicly..he's saying we'll run out of wind, and that the wind farms will stop the wind....go back to school. Full article here.
#  #

Did you know that workers feel the most stressed on Tuesdays? Here’s why: Most workers coast through Monday, spending the day getting their brain in gear and catching up with gossip from the weekend. In fact, 53% of people who were polled admitted they don't do much work on Monday! So, since people don’t do a lot of work on Monday, they’ve got a TON of work to do on Tuesday, which makes them feel stressed!
#  #

Sad news for history buffs: Edith Shain, the nurse who was pulled into a liplock with an unidentified WWII sailor in the middle of Times Square in 1945, died this week. She was 92…
#  #

Trivia Answers:
Generally speaking, the older you get, the less you want this.  What is it?
Answer: A birthday party

1.)  Despite their involvement in technology, Apple was one of the last Fortune 500 companies to register a dot-com domain name
I'M LYING:  They were one of the first companies in the world to have a domain name, when they registered Apple.com in February, 1987.

2.)  The Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is one of the five most-photographed landmarks in New York City.
FACT:  According to a Cornell University study using photos stored on Flickr, it ranks ahead of the Statue of Liberty.

3.)  Zoo monkeys learned how to peel bananas because zookeepers served them half peeled.  But monkeys in the wild bite through the skin, like a human would eat an apple.
I'M LYING:  Monkeys don't eat banana skins, they peel them in the wild too.
Check out this great article on how they peel bananas...and
Watch this video to see how they peel bananas!


6/25/10:
Trivia Cafe:
People do this more on Saturday than any other day of the week.  What is it?
Answer at the end of today's enry.
#  #

Full Moon Tomorrow at 4:31AM...the strawberry moon...also known as the rose moon or hot moon.
#  #

Get the scoop. Ben & Jerry's is launching two new philanthropic flavors, Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder, exclusively at Target this week. When you register online for a volunteer project in your community, you and five of your friends will receive a coupon for a free pint of the ice creams, and after you do your duty, you'll receive a $1 off coupon for even more sweets! (I guess you could say "Scoop It Forward". Read more here.
#  #

Wildside:
Scientist say the shape of your brain is linked to your personality.,,,,for some of us..it's just lucky we have one. Jen wonders what shape snakry is?

A Florida man who passed out on a pool float while at a Tampa area beach woke up to find himself about a mile from the shore. The Coast Guard suspects that the man was very drunk ..good news though..he was wearing a life preserver.
A California kindergarten ceremony was stopped short when parents of the children got into a fight with each other. Witnesses told police that a few of the mothers were arguing in a field near the ceremony when things turned physical and several fathers jumped into the fight. Officials at the elementary school reportedly locked it down after the fight broke out. A police spokeswoman says officers responding to the fight didn't see any physical contact and that no arrests were made.
#  #

The son of the late heiress Gail Posner is suing over her will, which gave him only $1 million but left the bulk of her fortune to her servants and her dog, Conchita the Chihuahua. According to AOL News, Posner's only child, Bret Carr, is suing to overturn the will, which leaves $26 million to members of her staff and a $3 million trust for Conchita. She also left millions to charity. Her son argues the staff manipulated his mother into changing her will. Posner died of cancer in March at age 67.
The family is prone to battles over wills. Gail Posner's father, real estate mogul Victor Posner, left all his money to his ex-girlfriend, a former model. His family got a $14 million settlement in 2003.
#  #

If you buy an electric car, like the 'Smart' car or the new Nissan 'Leaf', you make a statement.  A hip, socially-conscious statement that says, "I'd spend an extra $15,000 to buy an underperforming car because I care so much about this planet."
--Well, it turns out a lot of potential electric car owners like the statement itself more than what it's actually saying.  A new survey found that 52.3% say the car's STYLE and IMAGE would be the main reason they'd buy it. Only 39.7% would by the car because of its lower emissions. 
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
People do this more on Saturday than any other day of the week.  What is it?     
A: Watch a movie

6/24/10:
Americans simply don't do this enough.  What is it?  You could rephrase it as...americans don't get enough of this.
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Did you feel the earthquake yesterday? Here is some history of earthquakes in the New York region. It does amuse me that they mention chimneys as a guage of how bad they were.

Wildside:
America's fast-food restaurants seem to be in a competition to build the biggest, nastiest, fattest sandwich ever. First, there was KFC's massive Double Down, which has bacon, two kinds of cheese and special Colonel's Sauce sandwiched between two slabs of fried chicken.Now, Friendly's has the Friendly's Grilled Cheese BurgerMelt. It's a Big Beef burger sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches. It weighs in at 1,500 calories, 97 grams of fat, and 2,090 milligrams of sodium. The Double Down has a piddling 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium. (just make them a treat..and not everyday food!)

A Utah woman is in custody after she allegedly stole and crashed two vehicles in a car chase with the police. The first chase started when the woman, climbed into a running car and stole it. After crashing that vehicle, the  woman was almost captured by police but wriggled free of their grasp and got away in one of their police cruisers. She wrecked the police cruiser as well, launching it about 50 feet in the air after hitting a slope. Oh..by the way...she was naked!
The woman is currently undergoing a mental evaluation and a medical assessment. Local police Captain Tom McLachlan said, "It appears there may be mental issues involved." (understatement of the year)
#  #

40-year-old Michelle Perrino of New Port Richey, Florida, doesn't see the world the way most of us do.  She used to work at a medical supply company called Bayonet Point Oxygen, and on May 12th of last year, she wanted to leave work early.
--So she decided that setting the building on fire would be the best plan.  Michelle set a fire in a filing cabinet . . . it spread to the whole office . . . and, mission accomplished, she and all her co-workers got to leave early.
--Michelle didn't think the police would do an investigation.  But unfortunately for her . . . they did.  And when they were questioning the employees, she slipped up and mentioned the fire starting in the filing cabinet.
--That detail had never been released . . . so, just like in a TV show when a criminal gets busted by mentioning an unreleased detail, the police used Michelle's slip to connect her to the arson.
--They figured out she'd also tripped the main breaker on the office building to kill the power AND screwed with the phones so they wouldn't work . . . REALLY making sure she'd be able to get off for the afternoon.
--On Monday, Michelle pleaded guilty to criminal mischief.  She was sentenced to nine months in prison, five years of probation . . . and has to pay $4,800 in restitution.  And, obviously, she was fired from her job. 
#  #

We're not sure if you heard, but ThinkGeek recently got a 12-page cease & desist letter. Apparently the lawyers of the National Pork Board believe that we sell meat made from geriatric unicorns fattened on candy corn and rubbed down with Guinness by nuns in Ireland. They're in a tizzy because we called it "The New White Meat." The best part was when our lawyer explained they were a month behind on an April Fool's joke.
And besides, who does more to promote the consumption of bacon than us? We should demand compensation for all the marketing we do for the magical animal known as the pig.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
Americans simply don't do this enough.  What is it? You could rephrase it as...americans don't get enough of this.
A: Sleep

6/23/10:
Trivia Cafe:
This was much more common on the dinner table 20 years ago.  What is it?

Brian Is A Big Fat Liar:
1.)  The official state vegetable of Oklahoma is the watermelon.

2.)  Eyelashes last about two years before they fall off and are replaced.

3.)  The reason flags are flown at half-mast during times of mourning is to make room for an "invisible flag of death."

Answers at the end of today's entry:
#  #

Wildside:
Someone threw an m80 firecracker out a car...a woman walking had some of her fingers destroyed....terrible story....in comes a doctor that replaced her thumb with HER BIG TOE!  So body parts are really interchangeable....shoudl we call her mrs potato head?
and if she puts her "new thumb in her mouth...is she sticking her foot in her mouth?

An octopus named Paul has successfully predicted the winner of each of Germany World Cup matches so far. Paul, who currently lives in a tank at an aquarium in Germany, even picked Serbia to beat Germany which has been one of the biggest upsets in the tournament thus far. So how's he doing it? Handlers basically place two clear boxes in his tank, one with Germany's flag and one with the opposing country's flag. They place shells and other treats inside both boxes and the box that Paul picks first is the winner. Until Germany gets knocked out of the tournament, the aquarium will continue to have Paul make his picks.
And if he's wrong...calimari for all!!!!!
#  #

Anybody want to get married? Two Montanans repeatedly take marriage vows without the benefit of divorce, but they aren’t polygamists; they are proxies for absent brides and grooms.
Montana is the only state that allows a double-proxy wedding, meaning both sides can be no-shows. Kalispell, Mont., began taking advantage of this quirk about five years ago, when a native son serving in Iraq wanted to marry his pregnant girlfriend.
Some research by lawyer Dean Knapton and — viola! — Friday afternoon nuptials were born.
The law had been on Montana’s books for several decades, perhaps to accommodate soldiers during World War II.
The cost to the real, albeit absent, bride and groom: $900, of which $50 apiece goes to the proxies, $100 to the judge, $150 to the lawyer-witness; $53 for court fees; $14 for two certified copies of the marriage certificate. The rest goes to a Pennsylvania couple who run a business facilitating proxy marriages.
#  #

If Accuweather's forecasters are right, the upcoming hurricane season could be one of the worst on record. A newly updated forecast predicts there will be 18 to 21 hurricanes and tropical storms worthy of being named between July and October this year. And several of them can be expected to hit the Southeast coast and Gulf of Mexico. That could be yet another complicating factor in the effort to clean up the effects of the massive Gulf oil spill. In the 160 years that records have been kept, 18 or more storms were logged in only five years.
#  #

Why do we call it soccer, and the rest of the world seems to call it football??
Talk about a long and confusing history of the name. It boils down to kind of a slang term derived from the soc in association. I'm not going to try to condense this great article sent to us by Gary(thanks). Read the article here.
#  #

Trivia Answers:
This was much more common on the dinner table 20 years ago.  What is it?  
Answer: Dessert

1.)  The official state vegetable of Oklahoma is the watermelon.
FACT:  It got the honor in 2007, when state senators pointed out that it's in the cucumber family.

2.)  Eyelashes last about two years before they fall off and are replaced.
I"M LYING:  They only last about six months.

3.)  The reason flags are flown at half-mast during times of mourning is to make room for an "invisible flag of death."
FACT:  It started in the 1600s on English ships.  In Great Britain, flags are still flown exactly one flag width lower than normal position.

6/22/10:
Trivia Cafe:
As far as the Secret Service knows, Gerald Ford was the only U.S. President to do this - what?

We also played a game of "Is Brian A Big Fat Liar?" Are these true?
1.)  American-made cigarettes cause more cancer than foreign-made ones.

2.)  Even though cosmetics have been banned in Iran for 31 years, women there spend about $2 billion a year on makeup.
 
3.)  Lawyers were originally prohibited from drinking alcohol, and could be suspended from practicing law if found in a drinking establishment, which is where the phrases "passing the bar" and "bar exam" originated.

4.)  The father-in-law of the guy who directed the "The Lone Ranger" TV show ran a summer camp for kids called Camp Tonto, which is how they got the name for the character.

Answers at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
Earlier this month, a 21-year-old and his 17-year-old sister were making mac and cheese in a small city in the middle of Washington called East Wenatchee. The brother asked his sister if she was using real butter, or margarine.  She said margarine. He flipped out, and started yelling....until...the sister stabbed her brother in the neck with the razor-sharp serrated edge of the spatula. (but he was right..butter makes it better!)

This red light is brought to you by....
The state of California is considering switching its license plates from good old-fashioned convict-stamped metal license plates, to digital displays.
When you're driving, the digital display shows your license plate number.  But when you're stopped for more than four seconds in traffic or at a red light . . . your license plate starts displaying advertising messages.
And of course, you don't get a cut of that.  All the money will go to California . . . where the state legislature is still trying to figure out what the hell they're going to do about their $19 BILLION deficit. On the good side, the digital plates could also display Amber Alerts if there's a kidnapping. (I just hope it doesn't distract me from my texting.)
#  #

Trying to stay cool this summer? Menshelath.com has some tips for those working out, but we can all use this info if we are outside in the real hot summer weather. From clothes, to sunburn advice, don't miss these tips.

Plus, water just not cutting it? Try these drinks instead to keep you hydrated this summer.
#  #

Sales of condoms jumped five-fold in South Korea as fans celebrated after the nation's football players rose to the occasion in their opening World Cup game against Greece.
 About a million red-shirted fans nationwide, including 200,000 in Seoul, packed boulevards, stadiums and parks on Saturday to cheer the side's 2-0 win over Euro 2004 champions Greece.
 The JoongAng Daily reported Bokwang Family Mart chain stores saw a near doubling in sales, stores in residential areas reported they tripled in beer sales and more than doubled in snacks.
After the game, fans in a celebratory mood bought five times more condoms than during the team's lackluster 2006 World Cup performance, the paper said.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
As far as the Secret Service knows, Gerald Ford was the only U.S. President to do this - what?
A:  Lock himself out of the White House!

Is Brian A Big Fat Liar Answers:
1.)  American-made cigarettes cause more cancer than foreign-made ones.
FACT:  According to a recent study, smokers of U.S. cigarettes absorbed three times more nitrosamines (a cancer-causing chemical) than smokers of Euro-cigs.

2.)  Even though cosmetics have been banned in Iran for 31 years, women there spend about $2 billion a year on makeup.
FACT:  They either buy smuggled black-market cosmetics or pay heavy taxes on imported makeup.
 
3.)  Lawyers were originally prohibited from drinking alcohol, and could be suspended from practicing law if found in a drinking establishment, which is where the phrases "passing the bar" and "bar exam" originated.
I"M LYING:  There used to be a wooden bar in the courtroom to separate the judge and lawyers from the people sitting in the courtroom.

4.)  The father-in-law of the guy who directed the "The Lone Ranger" TV show ran a summer camp for kids called Camp Tonto, which is how they got the name for the character.
IM LYING:  The director's father-in-law ran Camp Kee-Mo Sah-Bee, which is how they came up with Tonto's nickname for the Lone Ranger.

6/21/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Experts will tell you that the optimal temperature for this is 310 degrees. What is it?

We also had a trivia question for Cayuga Lake Wine Trail tickets.
What's the hottest recorded temperature on earth?
Answers at the end of today's entry.
#  #

The Summer Solstice on June 21 heralds the beginning of summer! The solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator. This year, it occurs on Monday, the 21st, at 7:28 A.M. EDT. The word “solstice” comes from the Latin sol (Sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the Sun appears to stop at this time (and again at the winter solstice).
#  #

Wildside:
A bomb inspecting robot was in called to inspect a package that someone left in a Tennessee parking lot. The box had writing on it, warning that anyone who touched it would lose their hands. A police spokesman said the owner of the box told police she brought ribs in a box from Chicago, and left the box in the parking lot to dry after removing the ribs. She had written the warning as a joke. No charges were filed.

From the bizarre crime blotter....
Fresno California - assult with pork products!!!
It seems a 21 year old man assulted one of the home owners with an 8" sasuage..by hitting him in the face with it...and another man with pappy's seasoning. The robber stole $900, and for some unknown reason, took off his shorts before leaving, which contained his driver's license, credit cards, school IDs, and cell phone. He ran into a nearby orange orchard, but was soon apprehended. However, cops were unable to recover the principal weapon. Deputy George Ozburn said, "I asked one of the assulted men where the sausage was, he said his dog ate it."
#  #

We've lost a record!!! we had the largest burger at 185 pounds and this Ausie bloke has beaten us!!! The owner of a Sydney restaurant said he set a world record by making a 210-pound hamburger from 178 pounds of beef and 120 eggs. Joe El-Ajouz, owner of Ambrosia On The Spot, said it took 24 hours to create the burger, including 12 hours just to cook the patty, and it
required four men to flip, The patty was topped with 16 tomatoes, 120 slices of cheese, four pounds of lettuce, a pound of barbecue sauce and placed between 46 pounds of bread. The Sydney Daily Telegraph reported Monday. “I’ve always wanted to break a world record and this is a bit of fun and a marketing tool to get people in here and get them talking,” El-Ajouz said.)
#  #

The World Cup continues, and so does the bad acting! World Wrestling Federation members have better acting skills then the soccer players that are faking injuries. Check out this video of one holding his face like he was assulted by sharp objects, when he only got a run in with an outstreached arm. Unfortunately, there's no instant replay, and the guy that got the fowl is out for the next game. This is inexcusable!! One person was heard saying that this was the best acting job in Italy since Fellini! Bring on the Oscar! Really now. Enjoy the announcers as well.
#  #

I don't see how people can hate on American cuisine . . . I mean, all we do is steal the best foods from other countries then deep fry them.  But, according to a survey of more than 2,000 people from 80 countries, U.S. cuisine is the second-worst in the world.
--The worst cuisine goes to the United Kingdom. Between England's meat pies and Scotland's haggis, the U.K. squeezed right in front of the U.S.  Here's the full list of the nine countries that were voted "worst cuisine in the world."
#1.)  United Kingdom.
#2.)  United States.
#3.)  China.
#4.)  Russia.
#5.)  Germany.
#6.)  Australia.
#7.)  Ireland.
#8.)  The Philippines.
#9.)  The Netherlands.
I bet we are #1 on the list of countries that eat the worst though.
#  #

Having a craving? Men's Health has some tips..from getting by that craving for the jelly donut, to ice cream before bed. See the article here.
#  #

Trivia Answers:
Experts will tell you that the optimal temperature for this is 310 degrees. What is it?
A: Making toast.

What's the hottest recorded temperature on earth?
El Azizia in Libya recorded a temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit (57.8 Celsius) on Sept. 13, 1922 -- the hottest ever measured. In Death Valley, it got up to 134 Fahrenheit on July 10, 1913. (but it's a dry heat.)

6/18/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Research shows - for 68% of women it's left - for 70% of men it's right - what?
Answer at the end of today's content.
#  #

Wildside:
An 8-year-old in Rhode Island was banned from wearing a hat he made to honor members of the armed forces. As part of a school project, David Morales glued toy military men to his camouflage hat to honor military members. Tiogue School officials said the boy's hat violated school policies prohibiting students from bringing weapons to school because the toy soldiers are holding guns. Morales' family disagreed but will honor the rule.

Two soccer loving sisters in Australia have set a new record after they watched World Cup soccer for three-and-a-half days straight. Joanne and Alanah Argyrou were monitored by officials from Guinness World Records who maintained that the sisters did not look away from the television for more than five seconds. They each got a five minute break per hour, which they surprisingly used to watch recorded matches and soccer documentaries. ..The reason they've been able to stay awake....one word..or should i say.......sound..Vuvuzela.
#  #

Plain and simple- words of wisdom from dear ol’ dad, gathered by the researches at Real Simple magazine.

Stand up for what you believe in, until you’re proven wrong. The worst thing you can be is wishy-washy. And if you are proven wrong, accept it gracefully. Happy Fathers Day!

Learn to ask for what you need. If you’re going through a difficult time and you need someone to be there for you – let them know. You can’t expect them to read your mind, because when they don’t – it’ll upset you. So open your mouth.

Never lend money to anyone, just give it instead. That is – if you have it to give. If you don’t – say so. This’ll keep you from being a scorekeeper, and from ruining friendships.

Remember - there are 3 types of people in this world: people who make things happen, people who watch things happen and people who wonder what happened. Whenever you get overwhelmed, remind yourself which person you want to be.

Always wear good shoes, always look in your partner’s eyes when you’re dancing, and when the sign says all-you-can-eat. Don’t.

 It’s easier to stay out of trouble than GET out of trouble. So make sure you think before you act.
#  #

Summer Alert!
Flip-flops aren’t designed for daily, prolonged use. Comfortable and freeing though they may feel initially, wearing them for too long can cause serious damage to our lower body.
Researchers asked thirty-nine volunteers to walk across a platform in flip-flops while they videotaped the movement. They also rigged the platform to measure how much pressure each walker’s step exerted. What the cameras and platform revealed was that people walk differently when wearing flip-flops. They take shorter strides, turn their ankles toward each other, and clench their toes together in order to keep the flip-flops from flying off midstride. Over time, these tendencies can lead to inflamed and/or painful connective tissue in the arch, stretched tendons, and ankle and hip problems. Researchers advised that switching from thong-style flip-flops to sandals that have an ankle strap could prevent such maladies.
#  #

It had to happen. Doc Martens are the latest item to get Hello Kitty-ized with the ubiquitous pink bow of the marketing juggernaut that is Hello Kitty. Celebrating 50 years, the classic 1460 style, the shoe retailer’s staple worldwide, will also get Little Twin Stars and My Melody characters to pretty up the utilitarian boots.

#  #

A man in New York says he just couldn't keep his Apple iPad because the device left him with no free time to be "bored." Peter Bregman writes in his blog, "It's too easy. Too accessible. For the most part, it does everything I could want. Which, as it turns out, is a problem." Bregman ultimately returned the gadget because it took over his life. He explains, "Being bored is a precious thing, a state of mind we should pursue," adding, "My best ideas come to me when I am unproductive." Bregman now spends 15 minutes of his newly freed up time chatting with his 8-year-old daughter before her bedtime, he says, "I listen and ask her questions . . . It really has become my favorite part of the day."
#  #

Father's Day Trivia:
First local Father's Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington.

Father's Day was first celebrated on the third Sunday of June.

Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, of Spokane, Washington, started the tradition of Father's Day in the honor of her dad, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran.

In 1916, US President Woodrow Wilson approved the idea of observing an annual Father's Day.

In1924, President Calvin Coolidge made Father's Day a national event.

In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.

Father's Day is the fifth most popular card-sending holiday, with an estimated $100 million in card sales. Husbands, grandfathers, uncles, sons and sons-in-law are honored as well as father.

This is a big day for the 66.3 million fathers in America.

While not everyone in America is a fan of Father's Day, 72 percent of Americans plan to celebrate or acknowledge Father's Day.

Neck ties, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, are the number one gift for Father's Day.

According to greetings card makers Hallmark, Father's Day is the fifth-largest card-sending holiday.

These days, fathers are generally three years younger where births occur outside marriage. The average age of the father where the birth occurred outside marriage decreased from 28 to 26 between 1971 and 1991 but had since increased to almost 28 again in 1999.

As the idea of Father's Day was conceived by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington, to honor her father, she chose his birthday which was proclaimed on June 19, 1910, by Spokane's mayor as the first Father's Day.

The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Father's Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
Research shows - for 68% of women it's left - or 70% of men it's right - what?
A:  The side of the bed they sleep on!
#  #

6/17/10:
Trivia Cafe:
When it comes to buying a new car, what's the #1 thing that couples argue about?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

The Wildside
A man living in the mountains of North Carolina claims that a 10-foot-tall blonde, hairy beast paid him a visit last week. When Tim Peeler went outside to investigate strange grunting noises, he came close enough to a Bigfoot-like creature to poke it with a stick.

The Vatican's official newspaper from time to time recommends movies....The Ten Commandments, Jesus of Nazareth, Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ...Joan or arc..The Blues Brothers. Yes!!! The Blues Brothers with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.
The newspaper has called it a Catholic Classic!!! and every catholic should see it.
Yes they were on a mission from God...and embark on an unlikely road trip featuring concerts, car chases, clashes with the police and neo-Nazi groups, and attempts at revenge from a spurned lover, all, ostensibly, to raise money for the church-run orphanage where they grew up.
But aside from a brief appearance from Kathleen Freeman as a wrist-slapping nun referred to as "The Penguin" and the brothers' periodic claim that they were on a mission from God, spirituality does not play a significant role in the film.
#  #

The average retail company spends 94% of its marketing budget trying to get people to call in.
Every company treats their callers like absolute garbage.  And we've got the numbers to prove it .
--45% of people tried to buy something in the last year over the phone . . . and 70% of them were placed on hold.
--The average caller's time on hold is 57 seconds . . .
--Business executives spend 15 minutes every day on hold . .
--And 68% of people say they'll stay on hold if they hear relevant information . . . like an automated message saying "Your call is important to us.  Please remain on the line and your call will be answered in the order it was received."
--12% will stay on hold indefinitely, even if they hear silence.
--And 34% of people who get frustrated sitting on hold will hang up and NEVER CALL BACK.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
When it comes to buying a new car, what's the #1 thing that couples argue about?
A: Should they choose standard or automatic transmission.

6/16/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Statistics show we're less likely to do this in January than any other month of the year - what?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

You remember the old manual typewriters. The ones you kind of hand to hit real hard to type with. Well now, you can have typewriters that you can hook up to your computer through a USB port . . . and use as a keyboard.
From engadget.com, "Nothing compares to the pure, physical, carpal tunnel-inducing feel of a manual typewriter. Lovers of the look, feel and quality of old fashioned manual typewriters can now use them as keyboards for PC, Mac or even iPad." You can get the modification kit..or just guy one that's already to go. See more and enjoy the name of this url.
#  #

Wildside:
The hit film, The Karate Kid is inspiring kids to take martial arts classes. "When movies like 'The Karate Kid' come out, we get more calls," says Janett Pabon, an instructor at World Martial Arts Center in New York. He added, "After 'Kill Bill' came out, people came in wanting to break wood using one punch. They see it and they want to try it. Believe it or not, people want to do SpongeBob karate," says Paramithis, referring to the porous cartoon character's board-chopping antics.

A bullfighter in Mexico made a last minute decision to run away from the bull that was charging towards him during a bullfight. 22-year-old Christian Hernandez said, "There are some things you must be aware of about yourself. I didn't have the ability, I didn't have the balls, this is not my thing." As the bull charged Hernandez, he turned and ran across the ring, jumping over the wall to safety. Following the fight, police had to arrest the bullfighter for breach of contract. He will reportedly retire from bullfighting. (We don't blame him.)


#  #

On the Radar today:
Gabourey Sidibe's mom auditioned on "America's Got Talent." Gabourey's the girl who played "Precious." And her mom, Alice Tan Ridley, has been making money singing in the New York City subway system for the last 20 years. Etta James would approve.

Betty White stars in Hot in Cleveland tonight. She stars with Valeri bertinelli, Wendy Malick, and Jane Leves. It's on TV Land..and it's the latest sitcom that Betty is starring in. Of course there was Mary Tyler Moore, and her big one..also with 3 other ladies...Golden Girls... Rue McLanahan just passed away leaving Betty as the last Golden Girl. She finds it odd she's the last one, and was the oldest.

A guy posted a video on YouTube showing how to tweak the frequency of the audio in the World Cup coverage and get rid of those annoying vuvuzelas. It actually works, but you won't be able to do it unless the sound for your TV is hooked up through your computer For all you techie types.here's the website.
#  #

Remember The Club?  It's not that popular anymore, but back in the day, it seemed like everyone had one of 'em locked around their steering wheel.  Well, uh, don't buy one.
--According to Jim Burns, who was a design engineer at Chrysler in the '90s, professional thieves say The Club actually makes it EASIER to steal a car.
--Quote, "A pro thief would carry a short piece of hacksaw blade to cut through a plastic steering wheel in a couple seconds.  [Then] he's able to release The Club and use it to apply a huge amount of torque to the steering wheel.
--"[That] breaks the lock on the steering column.  Pro thieves actually [seek] cars with The Club on them because [then] they don't have to carry a long pry bar that's too hard to conceal." 
#  #

Divinecaroline.com has a few Kitchen Myths Debunked. From where to store coffee, to how much alcohol is left in a dish after cooking. Check them out here.

Trivia Cafe Answer:
Statistics show we're less likely to do this in January than any other month of the year - what?
A:  Get married!

6/15/10:
Trivia Cafe:
The word "amen" is the #1 word that is the same in many languages.  What is the #2 word?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside of the news:
Florida police are looking for someone who broke into a Dollar General store to steal a box of Oreo Cakesters. Video footage shows a burglar breaking the store's glass door to get inside and steal a $2.50 box of Cakesters. According to a local paper, this isn't the first time someone has broken into the store for snack cakes.

A 74-year-old woman in Boise, Idaho has been busted for pouring mayonnaise in her local library's book drop box. Police say Joy Cassidy was arrested outside of Ada County's library right after she dumped an entire jar of mayo in the book drop. Cassidy is currently under investigation for at least 10 other condiment-related vandalism incidents that started in May 2009.
Reading is food for the mind...so it only makes sense that you want to have a little condiments with it!
#  #

Creators of cardboard tube fighting say that children usually win at the new sport that uses cardboard wrapping paper tubes as "weapons." The rules are simple, co-founder Ravin Pierre says, two players will face each other with cardboard tubes until one of the player's tubes bends at least 45 degrees. Pierre explains, "Generally, the big winners are children . . . I've thought about why and I think it's because their wrists aren't too resistant." They're not the only ones having fun with cardboard though, Pierre says, "We didn't know this, but there is a rival league in Scotland called 'Box Wars.' They're more hard core and into body slamming. I didn't know who they were, but they declared war on us. They're not very family-friendly -- and we are." The sport was created in 2007 by Robert Easley in Seattle, but has moved on to other cities like San Francisco and Philadelphia.
#  #

Modernmom.com has some tips of what to do with the kids this summer, that are cost effective!
What do you do with your kids for the summer?
#  #

The Beijing Zoo is one of the few places in the world where feeding the animals is a no-no, but feeding on them is totally acceptable. What can you find on the zoo restaurant's menu? Everything from hippopotamus toes to kangaroo tail to crocodile steaks with ant soup.

But recently, the zoo has been drawing protests from animal rights groups. As the Guardian reports, "The criticism is a sign of changing times. In the past, notices on each of the zoo's animal cages included information about which parts were the tastiest and most useful according to traditional Chinese medicine. Those details have now been omitted." Read more here.
#  #

World Cup Info..Soccer to us...football to the rest of the world.
Monday results
Netherlands beat Denmark 2-0
Japan defeated Cameroon 1-0
Italy tied Paraguay 1-1
In other World Cup news, organizers said yesterday that they won't ban the plastic vuvuzela trumpets, despite complaints about their loudness from players, who say they can't hear each other, and broadcasters, who say they nearly drown out their commentary. Vuvuzelas are part of South African soccer culture, and are also being used at the World Cup by fans of other teams.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
The word "amen" is the #1 word that is the same in
many languages.  What is the #2 word?
A:  Taxi!

6/14/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Experts claim there are 4 foods that almost all picky eaters will eat: fried chicken, french fries,
chocolate chip cookies and - what ??
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

South Africa's vuvuzela plastic trumpets have been a big hit with with fans at the World Cup soccer tournament, which is now being held in that country. But World Cup organizers are considering banning vuvuzelas because of how loud they are, with players complaining they can't hear each other and broadcasters saying the noise is almost drowning out their commentators. The Hear the World Foundation, a global hearing organization, has said that tests show the vuvuzela is dangerously loud, emitting 127 decibels, which is even higher than the 123.5 decibels of an air horn, and extended exposure could cause permanent hearing loss.
#  #

Ladies Room - One-pieces are back and they're becoming so popular that the fashion industry has given them a new name, the monokini. The rise of the one-piece falls in line with the return of minimalist, conservative-chic.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
 Experts claim there are 4 foods that almost all picky eaters will eat: fried chicken, french fries,
chocolate chip cookies and - what ??
A:  Macaroni and cheese!

6/11/10:
Trivia Cafe:
According to an insurance company survey, female drivers are 78% more likely than men to
do this - what?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

The World Cup starts today, which means it's the start of another very brief love affair between Americans and soccer.
--And tomorrow, the U.S. plays against England.  The three referees for the game are all Brazilian, and they're preparing for the game by . . . studying up on English SWEAR WORDS.
--The refs have been studying a list of 20 swear words . . . so they'll know if one of the American or British players is cursing out of frustration . . . or cursing one of them out.  Read the full article here.
#  #

While most students seemed thrilled at President Barack Obama'a commencement speech at Michigan's Kalamazoo Central High School, one student couldn't stop yawning. The student was caught on camera, as he was a member of the choir standing almost directly behind the President. At one point, the as yet unidentified student appears to nod off completely. Meanwhile, a Facebook page for "the guy sleeping behind obama at kalamazoo graduation" is gaining popularity and at press time has over 1600 people that "like" it.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
According to an insurance company survey, female drivers are 78% more likely than men to
do this - what?
A. Lose their keys!

6/10/10:
Trivia Cafe:
A recent survey asked parents what's the most annoying song of all time? Number 2 was Barney's "I Love You" - what was number 1? (sorry for the ear worms today.)
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

This sounds really cool but totally pointless, so, obviously we're into it.  On its next two shuttle missions, NASA is taking thousands of photos of Americans up to space.  And, if you want your photo to be included, it's easy and it's free. Go to http://faceinspace.nasa.gov and upload your photo, and next time they head into space, it'll go with them.  There's no scientific reason for this . . . it's not alien outreach or anything . . . it's just a way for NASA to make us feel included. Wouldn't it have been eaiser to have everyone become Nasa's Facebook friend.
#  #

So much more of today's show can be found in our On Demand section.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
A recent survey asked parents what's the most annoying song of all time? Number 2 was
Barney's "I Love You" - what was number 1?
A:  It's a small world!

6/9/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Dog owners name their pets after this food more than any other - what?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Helen Thomas is resiging..over unfortunate comments..she's been with the white house press cops forever..and has had a front row seat all these years...now everyone is abuzz over who will get the seat! right now..the front row is ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, AP and Reuters..those are wire services..Rotating pool reporter like when Thomas has been sick?? or Does FOX get a front row...how about Bloomberg..I say let them fight it out!
#  #

Thinking about exercising a little more this summer? Here's something that might help you stay motivated - the threat of a Zombie attack.
With the tagline "Fitness to Survive the Apocalypse," Illinois-based ZombieFit is training citizens to lift (and throw) heavy things, run for long distances, and efficiently navigate an urban environment. It's called parkour - the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one's path by adapting one's movements to the environment. And move through the area with a fluid movement.
From ZombieFit.org: "By following the ZombieFit WODs (workout of the day) and practicing parkour, you will achieve increased fitness through the performance of functional movements at high intensity."
Here's a video montage of the reports from WGN during the morning show.


#  #

Who says summer camps are just for kids! Have some time off? Divinecaroline.com has some suggestions from fitness camps, cooking camps, even one you can take the dog too! Brush up on your campfire songs!
#  #

A class of two hundred students at the University of Maryland, College Park, took on this very assignment. They were challenged to go without media for a full 24 hours on a day of their choice between February 24 – March 4, 2010—a time span that coincidentally included the Vancouver Olympics and a significant earthquake in Chile.
This week your assignment is to find a 24-hour period during which you can pledge to give up all use of media: no Internet, no newspapers or magazines, no TV, no cell phones, no iPod, no music or movies, etc. And definitely no Facebook. Although you may need to use the Internet for homework or work, try to pick a time when you can go without using it. This should be an interesting experience for you and examining your own dependencies, so really try to give yourself a chance to do the whole 24 hours. You will write a post about your experiences. Feel free to do some outside research on the effects of Internet or cell phone dependence and share those links with your fellow students. If you do NOT make it the full 24 hours, be honest about it. How long did you make it? What happened? What do you think it means about you? Read more about this study here.

The majority of published comments from students reflected on how disconnected they felt from friends and family—and from their “community”—when they were “unplugged.”
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
Dog owners name their pets after this food more than any other - what?
A:  Oreos

6/8/10:
Trivia Cafe:
It's estimated that 6% of office workers in America have left a job because of this - what?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

The medieval sport of shin-kicking lives on in Chipping Campden, where each year the townspeople gather to compete at the Cotswold Olimpicks, a traditional county sports day first celebrated in 1612. Stuff straw in your pants and socks, and have at it! The winner is whoever manages to bring their opponent to the ground after a series of blows to the shins - the harder you kick, the more likely you are to win. (we don't know who won..but i'm sure it's whoever has the least bruises!)
#  #

A hearing is set this morning for Parks and Recreation officials in Boston who want to turn former public bathrooms into eateries. Even though the "Pink Palace" and the "Duck House" haven't been used as bathrooms in 24 years, some food lovers could be grossed out by eating in spaces like this. Caitriona McCarthy, a Boston local, says, "I would go, if they obviously sanitized it . . . I'm assuming they're going to knock the whole thing down." Back in 2008, A local study said the Pink Palace "is out of use, is no longer maintained, and is well on the way to becoming a blight." Officials reportedly think the space is perfect for privately run restaurants.
#  #

In April, someone from Apple left an iPhone 4G prototype at a bar in Redwood City, California. Then somebody found it, realized what it was, and the website Gizmodo.com posted a detailed video showing off all its features. Yesterday during the OFFICIAL unveiling, Steve Jobs jokingly said, Have you seen this? Check out our discusson on air of this.
#  #

A little to close to home yesterday when we were discussing the weather yesterday, and the possible tornado in Chittenango on Sunday. But here's some irony. There was supposed to be a "Wizard Of Oz" festival this past weekend in Chittenango, New York  They call it 'Oz-Stravaganza.'  But they had to cancel it . . . because of a possible tornado. High winds . . . either a funnel cloud or a tornado . . . knocked over so many power lines and trees in Chittenango that the organizers had to cancel the event.  They say they're rescheduling for a later date. 
#  #

Matthew Engel is a columnist at the "Daily Mail" in England.  He says he's worried that our Americanized version of his precious English language is sneaking into his country, and he asked his readers to send their least-favorite American phrases.
--Here are 10 of the American-English phrases that his British-English purists hate the most . . .
#1.)  "Can I get a coffee?" instead of "May I have a coffee?"

#2.)  "I'm good" instead of "I'm very well, thank you."  (--Yep, this is around the point where I wanted to hop on a Virgin Atlantic flight and go punch someone over there too.)

#3.)  "Snuck" instead of "sneaked."

#4.)  "Schedule" pronounced "skedule" instead of "shedule."

#5.)  "Filling out a form" instead of "filling in a form."

#6.)  "Fries" instead of "chips" and "chips" instead of "crisps."

#7.)  Baseball metaphors.  Things like "you're on the team" or "can we touch base" or "that was a home run."  (--I guess they'd prefer cricket metaphors?)

#8.)  "Driver's license" instead of "driving license."

#9.)  "Food to-go" instead of "take-away food."

#10.)  "Hi guys" when addressing people of either gender. 
#  #

They call it ‘chemistry’ for a reason! When you start to fall for someone, your body knows it before you do. If you learn to read the signals, you’ll know when things are working out and when they aren’t. So, here are five signs that you’re falling head over heels in love, courtesy of Match.com:

You get clumsy. When things are clicking between you and your date, your brain produces a chemical called norepinephrine which brings out your inner klutz and makes you jittery and uncoordinated.

You’re all about the little details. If you notice the straps on your date’s shoes or the tiny mole on their pinkie, you’re in deep. Falling in love raises levels of the brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine increases awareness so you catch the little details.

The room seems brighter. When our eyes focus on something we really care about, our pupils dilate more than usual. It’s the body’s way of taking in more of what’s holding our interest and since more light enters the eye, everything’s brighter. 

You lose your appetite. Dopamine’s the culprit here too. Higher dopamine levels mean more energy and less appetite for anything other thanstaring at your beloved.

You’re more interested in holding hands than kissing goodnight. Unlike the chemicals released by physical attraction, falling in love causes changes in the brain’s limbic system. That’s the part of your brain that’s home for feelings of friendship and long-term attachment.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
It's estimated that 6% of office workers in America have left a job because of this - what?
A:  A failed office romance!

6/7/10:
Trivia Cafe:
Research indicates 99% of homes in America will buy this food in 2010 - what is it?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Wildside:
Lauren Rosenberg is suing google maps. because Google Maps issued directions that told her to walk down a rural highway. She started walking down the highway--which had no sidewalk or pedestrian paths--and was struck by a car. There's not much more to say--she started walking down the middle of a highway, and a car hit her. Who wouldn't have seen that one coming?
"This causing her to suffer sever permanent physical, emotional, and mental injuries, including pain and suffering." I think the mental injuries were pre-existing!
By the way...driving directions from san fran to tokoy japan..include  #13 Kayak across the pacific ocean to hawaii, # 14 continue straight. Read the article here.
#  #

You've heard of the clean plate club..you know..eat everything on your plate!
An environmentally-oriented restaurant owner in Australia charges diners more for their meals if they don't eat all the food on their plates  Chef Yukako Ichikawa of the Japanese restaurant Wafu in suburban Sydney offers a 30 percent discount for diners who eat all their food, which is organic and gluten-, dairy-, sugar- and egg-free. The menu reads, "Finishing your meal requires that everything is eaten except lemon slices, gari (sushi ginger) and wasabi. Please also note that vegetables and salad on the side are NOT decorations; they are part of the meal too." The restaurant's website says, "We are not only committed to serving meals that nurture and respect the body but are actively dedicated to the notion of waste prevention, and take seriously our responsibility toward the environment and sustainability for the future."
by the way....not only are you charged more...he then asks them not to return.
#  #

Round of Is Brian A Big Fat Liar.
#1.)  Shaggy's real name on "Scooby Doo" is Arthur Shagminster III.
I"M LYING:  It's Norville Rogers.

#2.)  'LOL' is actually a Dutch word that means "fun."
FACT:  Although in texting, obviously it's used as an acronym for "laughing out loud."

#3.)  Chuck Norris was offered the role of the evil coach of the Cobra Kai's in the original "The Karate Kid".
FACT:  He turned it down because he didn't want his martial arts skills being used negatively1

#4.)  Katherine Heigl used to date '90s teen heartthrob Joey Lawrence.
FACT:  They dated in 1994, when Joey was at the height of his "Blossom" fame and she was about to appear in "Under Siege 2:  Dark Territory".  They met at a 50th Anniversary party for the magazine "Seventeen".

#5.)  Despite all the shooting, no one ever died on "The A Team".
I'M LYING:  There was one on-screen death.  General Fulbright was shot, and the shooter's bunker was blown up on the episode "The Sound of Thunder".
#  #

Over the weekend, rumors hit the World Wide Web of Misinformation that Obama appeared in the video for the Tag Team song "Whoomp! (There It Is)" back in 1993.
--One minute and one second into the video, you see a light-skinned black guy wearing gold rings and a Compton hat, talking on an old-school cell phone, playing dominos. 
--The guy is wearing sunglasses but smiles at the camera . . . and, well, he looks an awful lot like Barack Obama.  And, since Obama has talked about how he's a hip-hop fan, it's not totally out of the question that he once was an extra in a video.
--BUT . . . now, for the reality check.  It doesn't really add up that it's Obama . . . in '93, Obama was a Harvard Law School graduate and a 31-year-old community activist in Chicago . . . probably NOT hanging around rap video shoots in Atlanta.


#  #

A 16 year old had a busy few days, passed his drivers test..delivered his step mom's baby..nothing special..wait.... Here's the story.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
Research indicates 99% of homes in America will buy this food in 2010 - what is it?
A:  Soup!

6/4/10:
Trivia Cafe:
On average, we here in the U.S. eat about 11.4 pounds of this each year - what?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
By the way - Here are some facts about Americans' infatuation with sugar and syrup:

In 1967, Americans ate 114 pounds of sugar and sweeteners a year per capita, nearly all of it as either raw or refined sugar. In 2003, each person consumed about 142 pounds of sugar per year.

Since 1950, soft-drink consumption per capita has quadrupled, from about 11 gallons per year to about 46 gallons in 2003--nearly a gallon a week per person.

With all that sugar-eating, it's no wonder people don't have much room for their vegetables. In 2003, Americans consumed, on average, a dismal 8.3 pounds of broccoli and just over 25 pounds of dark lettuces (the kinds that are really good for you).
#  #

The Wildside:
The power of nuns!!!
In pittsburgh, a nun who serves as a principal of an elementary school, stopped a theif with a single sentence. Seems a man had taken a wallet out of a purse in an unlocked car, The nun was alerted, walked out the front door and spoke to the man from the top of the steps, " you need to give me what you have!"  You need to give me what's in your pocket..The sister says, "he gave it to me and then he apologized." She said the man walked away camly, he didn't even run!" He would have if she had had a ruler though!
#  #

Vanishing in America - New American classics in danger is a great article on walletpop.com. Landlines, Personal Checks..and more are vanishing. What's next? Check out this article and be surprised by a few of them.
#  #

George Bush now has a Facebook page. Here's the story and link.
#  #

FreeCreditReport.com is rebranding, and soon they'll be known as FreeCreditScore.com. And to go along with their "awesome" new name, they're holding an online competition to find an equally awesome new house band. 
--All you have to do is learn one of their insufferable ad jingles, make a video of your band performing it, and upload it to the contest website. 
--The only rules are that all bands must have between two and five members, and all band members must be 21 or older. 
Enter your band here.
#  #

It's hard to believe that a spelling bee would draw protesters, but four people, some dressed in bee costumers, gathered in protest outside Washington, D.C.'s Grand Hyatt Hotel yesterday (June 3rd), where the Scripps National Spelling Bee is being held. The protesters represented the American Literacy Council and the London-based Spelling Society and were calling for the way we spell words to be simplified to make it easier for people to read, write and spell English. As an example of how they think words should be spelled, handouts from the protesters gave examples such as "fruit" being spelled "f-r-o-o-t," "slow" spelled "s-l-o," and "heifer" spelled "h-e-f-e-r." (Really???)
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
On average, we here in the U.S. eat about 11.4 pounds of this each year - what?
A:  Chocolate!

6/3/10:
Trivia Cafe:
According to careerbuilder.com, What is the most dangerous job in America?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

There are many jobs, but some I bet you didn't know existed! Like, professional sleeper, coconut safety engineer, resort waterslide tester, and golf ball diver. Let's not forget the disgusting ones like odor tester, gross stunt tester and pet food taster. Womensday.com has a fun list and descriptions. College graduates..here you go!
#  #

News from the Wildside:
Thanks to local tips, Iowa police were able to take a 20-year-old drunk driver into custody after he hit a street sign. Witnesses told police that they saw a drunk, naked man leave a convenience store on Tuesday (June 2nd), then hit a street sign with his car. When officers found the damaged car, they tracked it down to the driver's neighborhood where police discovered the man, still naked, outside his neighbor's home. The driver's blood-alcohol content was recorded at more than twice the legal limit.

A man in New York who was playing in traffic naked was taken to the hospital for treatment after it took four officers and four jolts from a Taser to restrain him. New York police went looking for the unidentified man after they got reports of someone running around in nothing but sneakers. An officer Tased him when the man ran towards them shouting, "Give it to me!" The man fell after one jolt but jumped up to try and take out the Taser darts when he was Tased again. While struggling with officers, the man was shocked two more times. The man was reportedly high on PCP.

A 32-year-old Florida man called 911 to demand that his mother be charged after she took his beer. When a deputy arrived at his home, the "very intoxicated" Dennison demanded that his mother be arrested for taking the beer. He told the deputy that he would not stop calling until she was charged, and now he faces criminal charges for making false 911 calls. He was jailed on $150 bond for the crime.
#  #

10 must have products for paranoid parents. Some of them have snarky comments..like the germaphobic sign..please wash your hands before toucing mine, baby kneepads..crawling for wusses..but some are good ideas..like the spring loaded pacifier..the choke tube tester. Check the products out here.
#  #

Have you heard of eating age-appropriate? Diet experts told MSNBC there are specific nutrients your body needs as you get older. For example:

If you’re in your 20s, it’s time to lay a healthy foundation! Instead of pizza, alcohol and coffee,
Try skim latte. You’ll get a shot of caffeine, but the non-fat milk has calcium and protein for your bones, and less calories for your waistline.
Oatmeal is a great choice because it’s quick to make and full of whole grains. It’s a perfect jolt of nutrition.
Don’t forget the vegetables, including spinach! It’s loaded with vitamins, anti-oxidants, calcium and iron!

If you’re in your 30s and probably chasing down a career and kids, easy energy-boosters are the key, such as:
Non-fat yogurt. The carbs fuel your brain while the protein builds muscle. It’ll also stabilize your blood sugar to help you stay alert and focused.
Also, healthy snacks are fantastic if you’re in your 30s. Try peanut butter on whole wheat bread for a mix of slow-burning carbs, protein and healthy fat.

If you’re in your 40s, the experts say pay attention to your cholesterol, and feed your heart and your brain. For example:
Fatty fish like wild salmon and trout contain omega-3 fatty acid - great for your heart.
Beans are full of fiber - which slims the risk of heart disease, and folate, a vitamin that can keep your mind alert.
Also, berries are good anti-oxidants, and some – like blackberries and raspberries – are a good source of fiber.

Finally, if you’re in your 50s or beyond, you’re probably trying to maintain a healthy weight. The experts suggest:       
Egg whites, which are low in calories and full of protein, and red bell peppers! They’re high in water and fiber, and give you lots of Vitamin C. That can lower your risk of arthritis.
Also, ginger is super for suppressing chemicals in your body that trigger arthritis pain! Add a little to your oatmeal, tea, soup and more.
#  #

Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga lost a perfect game last night (June 2nd) against the Cleveland Indians on a blown call by veteran umpire Jim Joyce. With two outs in the ninth inning, Cleveland's Jason Donald hit a ground ball between first base and second, Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera fielded it, and threw to Galarraga, who'd run over to cover first. Joyce called Donald safe, but replays showed he was clearly out. After some arguing by Detroit, play resumed and Galaragga got the next batter out, ending the game with a 3-0 win. After seeing the replay after the game, a distraught Joyce said, "I just cost that kid a perfect game." He asked to speak with Galaragga, and, in tears, hugged him and apologized, a gesture the pitcher said he appreciated. Currently, replays are only used in baseball for questionable home run calls, and a judgment call by a umpire can't be appealed to Major League Baseball.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
According to careerbuilder.com, What is the most dangerous job in America?
A: President of the USA!  9% have been assasinated.

6/2/10:
Trivia Cafe:
People do this more on Monday than any other day of the week.  What is it?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

Thousands of bees swarmed New York's Wall Street on Memorial Day, causing some pedestrians to run in fear.
No one knows yet where the insects came from but a local officer says that the 15,000 bees may have been looking for a new home...or filiming a new sci-fi channel movie.
#  #

The new jail uniforms in Cleveland County consist of hot-pink shirts and yellow-and-white striped pants, Apperantely, these inmates are not under arrest from the fashion police.
#  #

A man and woman in eastern Pennsylvania, who were born on the same day, in the same hospital, are set to marry each other on June 12th. Amy Singley and Steven Smith not only share the same birth date, but their mothers were roommates at the hospital. The families continued to interact after the hospital stay and even became acquaintances through their church. When the two kids were in high school, Steven asked Amy on a date. Amy says people think they were "destined to be together." If he ever forgets her birthday or anniversary..he's dead!
#  #

New Jersey isn't feeling the love. The 2014 Super Bowl will be at the new staduium in the Meadowlands, but NY gets all the glory. Read the story here.
#  #

EW in their latest issue has done a list of the 100 greatest characters in pop-culture over the last 20 years. ....Homer simpson is #1 who else should be on the list?
10. SpongeBob SquarePants from SpongeBob SquarePants
9. Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City
8. Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs and its sequels
7. Edward Scissorhands from Edward Scissorhands
6. Rachel Green from Friends
5. The Joker from The Dark Knight
4. Tony Soprano from The Sopranos
3. Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series
1. Homer Simpson from The Simpsons
#  #

Surprising Facts About The New America Family from YourTango.com

1. Longer Marriages -- In the 1950s, few women attended college and the average marriage age was 20. Today, women make up 58 percent of the students on our nation's college campuses and, on average, wait until they're 26 to walk down the aisle. What does this mean? That they can plan on being married a very long time. According to a study by Betsey Stevenson at the Wharton School of Economics, only 19 percent of college-educated couples who tied the knot after the age of 25 divorced by the time they reached their 25th wedding anniversary.

2. Happier Parents -- According to the Pew Research Center, in 1990 teens had more kids than women over 35 (13 percent and 9 percent respectively). But in 2008, the reverse was true -- 10 percent of births were to teens, compared with 14 percent to women 35 and older. At the same time, mothers in recent years have been more educated (54 percent attended some college, compared to 41 percent in 1990). And, birth rates have been declining -- in 1960 families had, on average, 3.6 children; in 2008 the average family had 2.1 kids.

3. More DIY Families -- First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage -- at least, that's what our grandparents told us. But things have changed a lot since our grandparents' time. Cases in point:

In 1990, 28 percent of births were to unmarried women. By 2008, that number was 41 percent.
In 1978, in vitro fertilization was just being pioneered. By 2006, nearly 57,000 babies were born via assisted reproductive technologies.
In 1960, only 9 percent of children lived in a step-family arrangement. Today, nearly a third do.

4. More Parent-Child Time -- Prior to 1995, mothers spent 12 hours a week with their children. By 2007, that number was 21 for college-educated moms and 16 for those with less education. For dads, the hours more than doubled among the college-educated (from 4.5 hours to 9.6 hours) and nearly doubled among those with less education (from 3.7 to 6.8). While these numbers show that women are still doing the majority of the diapering and doctors' appointments, they also indicate two happier facts: men are taking their parenting duties more seriously and children are getting more time with the grown-ups they love the most.

5. An Increase In Shared Housework -- Women still do about two-thirds of the housework in dual-income families, according to the University of Wisconsin National Survey of Families and Households. But men do far more dusting and washing than they used to. In the past fifty years, men's contributions to housework have doubled. And as one might hope, this bodes well for the state of marriage. American couples who share employment and housework responsibilities are less likely to divorce than couples that don't, according to research by Lynn Prince Cooke, of the University of Kent.

6. More Female Breadwinners -- Though more men than women work outside the home, and though men still earn more money than women, significant changes have taken place in the workforce. In 2008 women made up 47 percent of the workforce, compared to 35 percent in 1960, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. At the same time, the percentage of wives who bring home the big bucks has shifted. Today, women are the primary breadwinners in 22 percent of couples, up from 7 percent in 1970. Not surprisingly, these numbers aren't just good for women -- they're also good for marriages. A 2009 report from the Center for American Progress found that in states where more wives had paid jobs, the divorce rate tended to be lower.

7. Lower Overall Divorce Rates -- Contrary to what the naysayers and celebrity cheating scandals might have you believe, traditional marriage has not gone the way of the dogs. In fact, divorce rates have been falling since the 1970s, according to New York Times blogger Tara Parker Pope. "Changing patterns of marriage and divorce have improved the odds of staying married," she writes in her new book, For Better: The Science Of A Good Marriage. "Divorce is getting less common and marriage is stronger than ever."
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
Q. People do this more on Monday than any other day of the week.  What is it?
A. Complain

6/1/10:
And we're back - hope you had a great holiday!

Trivia Cafe:
According to Reader's Digest - 28% of Americans admit to doing THIS...even though they acknoledge that it's WRONG!  What is it?
Answer at the end of today's entry.
#  #

June starts today, and the Old Farmers Almanac says - June, named for the Roman goddess Juno, patronness of marriage and women, is a month embraced by brides and gardeners, schoolchildren, and strawberry growers.
June offers the most hours of daylight of any month of the year. One old proverb says, “Calm weather in June sets corn in tune.”
#  #

Every year, GMAC Insurance conducts a study to find out which states have the best and worst drivers.  According to the results of this year's study, the five states with the worst drivers are:
#1.)  New York
#2.)  New Jersey
#3.)  Washington, D.C.
#4.)  California
#5.)  Rhode Island
--And the five states with the best drivers are:
#1.)  Kansas
#2.)  Oregon
#3.)  South Dakota
#4.)  Minnesota
#5.)  Iowa
#  #

Now it's time to recognize our Distracted Driver of the Day . . . 42-year-old Trena Fiels of Detroit, Oregon (--about 55 miles southeast of Portland).
--On Saturday morning, Trena was driving down the highway when she suddenly lost control of her SUV, veered down a 40-foot embankment, and crashed into a river.
--Rescue workers showed up a few minutes later, and Trena was rushed to the hospital where she was treated for minor injuries and released.
--According to the police, the reason Trena lost control of her car was because she was trying to put sugar in her coffee while she was driving.
#  #

This week, the World Wildlife Fund is running a campaign in Canada aimed at getting people to drive less.  The idea is to show people just how bad driving is for the environment, and how much they can help by cutting back. 
--Anyway, as part of the campaign, Canadian drivers were given a list of choices and asked . . . if they HAD to . . . which they'd rather go without for the rest of their lives.  Here are some of their findings:
--36% chose junk food.
--14% chose coffee.
--6% chose TV.
--2% chose SEX.
--And just 1% chose driving. 
--In other words, twice as many Canadians would give up sex for the rest of their lives before they'd hang up their car keys for good.
#  #

Goodmorning America has Cynthia Sass on talking about  5 mood busting foods, including beets and chia seeds...yes those chia seeds.


#  #

Guatemala got hit by Tropical Storm Agatha over the weekend, and the result in the northern part of Guatemala City was a massive sinkhole that supposedly swallowed an entire house, along with a three-story building. 











#  #

Unofficial start to summer is Memorial Day. Now that it's here, time to break out the books. How about reading one with your partner. Yourtango.com has some suggestions from Orson Scott Card to Nick Hornsby. See their list here.

If books aren't your cup of tea, here are some movies to heat you up or cool you down! I agree with Rear Window and Some Like It Hot. See yourtango.com's list here.
#  #

What men think of women's hair. Enjoy the conflicting information here.
#  #

Trivia Cafe Answer:
According to Reader's Digest - 28% of Americans admit to doing THIS...even though they acknoledge that it's WRONG!  What is it?
A: Parking in a handicapped spot! (wrong and illegal!)

May 2010 Archive

April 2010 Archive

March 2010 Archive

February 2010 Archive

January 2010 Archive

December 2009 Archive

November 2009 Archive

October 2009 Archive

September 2009 Archive

August 2009 Archive

July 2009 Archive

June 2009 Archives 

May 2009 Archives

April 2009 Archives