...til CHRISTMAS!
GOOD NEWS FOR THE ADELE HATERS
It's been eleven months since ADELE'S album "21" came out...and since then, she's been one of the biggest sensations in music.
That's despite the fact that she's had to cancel a lot of tour dates because of throat problems. Last month, she had surgery on her vocal cords. It was a success, and she expects to be able to perform again by February.
But Adele isn't planning on beginning work on her next album anytime soon.
She says, "I'm really looking forward to some time to do nothing...I imagine I'll be 25 or 26 by the time my next record comes out. I haven't even thought about my third album yet."
Adele is 23 now. She turns 24 in May...so if you really want to take her at her word, that means we probably won't see another Adele album until late 2013 or 2014.
She adds, "I'm just gonna lay some concrete, set up home and just 'be' for a bit. I'll disappear and come back with a record when it's good enough. There will be no new music until it's good enough and until I'm ready."
PFFFFT
Men might procrastinate on buying gifts. Men might not always buy the perfect thing. And men may not have a reputation for buying THOUGHTFUL Christmas gifts...But dammit...at least men are willing to drop some serious money.
A new survey found that men spend approximately 52% MORE on Christmas presents for their women than their women spend on them. Men spend an average of about $235, women spend approximately $155.
SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOP DOES THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Next month, we're going to find out if SNOOP DOGG has a handle on how much normal people's kitchen appliances cost...because he's going to be a contestant on "The Price Is Right".
Snoop is participating in the show's first ever celebrity week. He'll compete against regular, non-celebrity contestants on Monday, January 2nd. (The celebrity episodes have already been filmed.)
JENNY MCCARTHY will take on the contestants on Tuesday...NEIL PATRICK HARRIS will be the celebrity on Wednesday. Thursday will feature former "American Idol" star CHRIS DAUGHTRY, and HEIDI KLUM will be Friday's star.
Naturally, the celebrities will be playing for charities. Snoop's winnings will go to his Youth Football League.
Btw, it sounds like Snoop did pretty well. Producer Mike Richards says, "It was a lot of fun to watch these celebrities play our iconic games. Each one had their own unique strategy to win.
"Let's just say Snoop knows more about the price of grocery items than you might think!"
CHRISTMAS: WOMEN ARE IN CHARGE, BUT...
Women are in charge of Christmas. That's a fact. A survey last week found that 0% of couples say the man takes the lead for the holidays. But deep down, men secretly think they could do it better.
A new survey found that more than one-third of men think Christmas would be MUCH better if they ran the show. Here's what men say they would change...
#1.) People would be expected to spend less on gifts.
#2.) Family Christmas cards would become rare...more than half would stop sending them.
#3.) There would be NO visits from the in-laws.
#4.) They'd do whatever it took to make the holiday season LESS STRESSFUL.
#5.) And finally, instead of traditional Christmas dinner, they'd serve STEAK and FRENCH FRIES.
YEAH!!!
CHRISTMAS: BY THE NUMBERS
And now, Christmas by the numbers. The Postal Service will handle 16.5 billion cards, letters, and packages...
two billion candy canes will be sold...
220 million poinsettias will be sold...
Americans will buy 25 to 30 million real Christmas trees and 17 million fake ones...
and the average family will mail out 28 cards.
According to a new survey, the way the average family spends their time together on Christmas is...watching TV. Almost EIGHT HOURS of TV. About 20% of families say at least one argument breaks out over what to watch on Christmas. Movies, Christmas specials, and sports are the most common picks.
SHUT UP & FLY
You know what makes Christmas more fun? MATH. "The Atlantic" magazine ran the numbers on Santa's Christmas Eve journey and found the following: There are 526 million Christian children under age 14 worldwide. Santa needs to hit 22 million per hour, every hour. That's 365,000 kids per minute, or 6,100 per second.
BAD GIFTS AND WHAT TO DO WITH THEM
"Consumer Reports" released their annual holiday survey, and found that one in five people have gotten a lousy holiday gift. Which might seem kind of low, but that's 49 million people.
11% of people said that their in-laws give them the worst presents, and 5% blamed their grandparents. Here are the five most common things people do with a bad present. (People could choose more than one answer.)
#1.) Make the best of it: 44%
#2.) Keep it and store it someplace out of sight: 39%
#3.) Donate it to charity: 18%
#4.) Re-gift it: 13%
#5.) A tie between "throw it out" and "return it to the store": 11%
6% of people say they try to sell the bad gift. 2% give it back to the person that gave it to them, and 2% post a picture of it online to make fun of it.
KATY PREGNANT??
People keep trying to make KATY PERRY pregnant. Wait, that didn't quite come out right. Although I Know *I* would! People keep trying to SUGGEST that Katy is pregnant. There, that's better.
But Katy keeps denying it. There may be a little paunch there, but Katy swears it's all down to JUNK FOOD. (And can't we all relate!) On the BARBARA WALTERS special the other night, she specifically called out Taco Bell.
Katy wore a tight dress Wednesday while pimping her new perfume...and when the pictures hit the web yesterday, the chatter ignited yet again.
MTV's TOP 10 ARTISTS OF 2011
1.) Katy Perry
2.) Nicki Minaj
3.) Adele
4.) The Throne
5.) Lady Gaga
6.) Rihanna
7.) Beyoncé
8.) Lil Wayne
9.) Drake
10.) Justin Bieber
THE HOLIDAY POLL (POLE?)
Harris Interactive just conducted a huge holiday poll. Here are some of the results:
Favorite Christmas Movie: "A Christmas Story"...but not by much. 20% of people chose that one...while 19% went with "It's A Wonderful Life", which NBC is airing on Christmas Eve this year. TBS will have your hookup for "A Christmas Story".
What a RIPOFF. EVERYONE knows "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" is THE.BEST.CHRISTMAS.MOVIE.EVER. DUH!
Favorite Christmas Special: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". This is the animated version, not the JIM CARREY movie. It was chosen by 23% of respondents.
This was another close one. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" got 22%.
WOW, LADIES...WOW. SAD SAD SAD.
2,000 women were asked about their husbands and boyfriends...and NONE of them said their man was perfect. Not ONE.
The average woman rated her man as being about 69% perfect, which meant that they had a long list of things that needed to be fixed. Here are the five biggest complaints.
#1.) Not getting along with her family.
#2.) Using her toothbrush. (what? ewwwww)
#3.) Leaving the bathroom dirty.
#4.) Hating her friends.
#5.) Not being good with children.
Some of the classic complaints about men finished lower than expected. Driving complaints were #10. Being a mama's boy was #11. Burping and farting was #16. And watching too much sports was #19.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
THE NICKELBACK STORY...
...since people have asked, here's a quick run-down.
FEBRUARY 2010:
On a Saturday morning, I get tipped off by a friend that Chad Kroeger, lead singer of Nickelback, had been spotted at a bar in Salem, Ohio 2 nights prior. Understand, Salem is a small town (12,000), about 40 mins east of Canton, 20 mins SW of Youngstown.
I'm skeptical right away...sure he was! Pffft. Why is the lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands in the world...at a bar in SALEM, OHIO?!
When I say biggest, I MEAN biggest. 31 singles...21 went top 10, 11 went to #1. They've sold 50 MILLION albums in 10 years.
So I cautiously and skeptically go to the air with it. "Hey, supposedly Chad Kroeger has been around here recently, if you saw him I'd love to hear from you".
Well the phones lit up. People saw him having dinner. "My buddy saw him" at such and such a place. Within the hour, it came out that he was dating someone from the area and he was here to visit her. I let that part get out.
Well, you know how this is gonna go. EVERYONE that knows the girl or knows OF the girl starts to call in...I didn't air many of them. A few. I shy'd away from that angle of the story. I wanted to take the 'rockstar in small town' angle, which was the real story.
Monday afternoon, I took a recorder out to Salem and chatted with the bartenders and owners at Spanky's, the place where Chad had been seen 2 nights prior. That video is on Youtube.
One of the calls I had taken on Saturday afternoon was from someone who claimed to be a friend of the girl. She said the family had been aware that we were talking about it, but Chad had already left town. (I wanted to get him to the station)
Another of those calls that afternoon were from Mo. HE talked about it Monday evening and got MORE of the calls from people who knew the girl. He aired them, including one from her ex-boyfriend, who had a pretty heavy case of jealousy going on, as can be expected.
It went as far as our Program Director (our boss) getting a call from the management and record companies saying basically "You WILL stop talking about this". So, we stopped talking about it.
DECEMBER 2011:
Fast forward to last night, Mo is out at a bar in Canton...The Pub. Chad was in the bar last night with the girlfriend and someone who was there told him that Mo had come in. Chad walked up to Mo and asked to speak with him for a minute.
Chad told Mo that the girlfriend's family was very upset about the things that were said on the radio and were really hurt by them. Long story short, Chad says he's going to come on Mo's show the next night and clear the air. Mo doesn't believe that Chad will actually show, so Chad GAVE MO his personal credit card!
I held it in my hand...it's metal. An American Express Business card.
I heard about it like so many of you did, from The DeLuca Show this morning and via facebook.
I was at the station tonight...we were all kind of wondering if he was actually going to show up.
I was standing in the lobby of Q92 with our owner/GM Donnie, talking about whether he was going to show up or not. He said "well 2 cars just pulled in. Probably some listeners here to see if he shows up, or maybe it's Charlotte"...a few seconds later...Chad Kroeger, lead singer from Nickelback walked right in the front door of the station. Hand to God.
He said "Hi, I'm looking for Mo?"...funny, there were a few people standing around, NO ONE said anything like "omg he's here"...it was just silent. A few people followed Chad into the building. That was the girlfriend, her parents, I believe her brother and sister. I said "yep, he's right in there, I'll take you to him"...meanwhile Mo had seen them walk in and was coming around to meet Chad and his family.
They chatted in the lobby for a minute, Mo apologized to Chad's girlfriend's mom and dad and talked with them for a minute, invited Chad into the studio. If you were listening, you heard it all go down at that point. It all unfolded in a HURRY...
I never got a pic with Chad. They were on their way out to dinner tonight. I wanted to roll video on the interview and also wanted to make sure the news that Chad was about to be on was posted on our Q92 Facebook right away, this was happening in LITERALLY 90 seconds. So while he snapped a few pics with people, I was feverishly making sure everything was set.
If you missed the interview, here is a link.http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53549894/CHAD%20KROEGER%20from%20NICKELBACK%20live%20on%20Q92.mp3
I'm not too worried about the pic. We can get one next time he's in town. Including the "Hey, this is Chad from Nickelback and whenever I'm in town, I listen to Q92" liner....and it'll be 100% true!
FEBRUARY 2010:
On a Saturday morning, I get tipped off by a friend that Chad Kroeger, lead singer of Nickelback, had been spotted at a bar in Salem, Ohio 2 nights prior. Understand, Salem is a small town (12,000), about 40 mins east of Canton, 20 mins SW of Youngstown.
I'm skeptical right away...sure he was! Pffft. Why is the lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands in the world...at a bar in SALEM, OHIO?!
When I say biggest, I MEAN biggest. 31 singles...21 went top 10, 11 went to #1. They've sold 50 MILLION albums in 10 years.
So I cautiously and skeptically go to the air with it. "Hey, supposedly Chad Kroeger has been around here recently, if you saw him I'd love to hear from you".
Well the phones lit up. People saw him having dinner. "My buddy saw him" at such and such a place. Within the hour, it came out that he was dating someone from the area and he was here to visit her. I let that part get out.
Well, you know how this is gonna go. EVERYONE that knows the girl or knows OF the girl starts to call in...I didn't air many of them. A few. I shy'd away from that angle of the story. I wanted to take the 'rockstar in small town' angle, which was the real story.
Monday afternoon, I took a recorder out to Salem and chatted with the bartenders and owners at Spanky's, the place where Chad had been seen 2 nights prior. That video is on Youtube.
One of the calls I had taken on Saturday afternoon was from someone who claimed to be a friend of the girl. She said the family had been aware that we were talking about it, but Chad had already left town. (I wanted to get him to the station)
Another of those calls that afternoon were from Mo. HE talked about it Monday evening and got MORE of the calls from people who knew the girl. He aired them, including one from her ex-boyfriend, who had a pretty heavy case of jealousy going on, as can be expected.
It went as far as our Program Director (our boss) getting a call from the management and record companies saying basically "You WILL stop talking about this". So, we stopped talking about it.
DECEMBER 2011:
Fast forward to last night, Mo is out at a bar in Canton...The Pub. Chad was in the bar last night with the girlfriend and someone who was there told him that Mo had come in. Chad walked up to Mo and asked to speak with him for a minute.
Chad told Mo that the girlfriend's family was very upset about the things that were said on the radio and were really hurt by them. Long story short, Chad says he's going to come on Mo's show the next night and clear the air. Mo doesn't believe that Chad will actually show, so Chad GAVE MO his personal credit card!
I held it in my hand...it's metal. An American Express Business card.
I heard about it like so many of you did, from The DeLuca Show this morning and via facebook.
I was at the station tonight...we were all kind of wondering if he was actually going to show up.
I was standing in the lobby of Q92 with our owner/GM Donnie, talking about whether he was going to show up or not. He said "well 2 cars just pulled in. Probably some listeners here to see if he shows up, or maybe it's Charlotte"...a few seconds later...Chad Kroeger, lead singer from Nickelback walked right in the front door of the station. Hand to God.
He said "Hi, I'm looking for Mo?"...funny, there were a few people standing around, NO ONE said anything like "omg he's here"...it was just silent. A few people followed Chad into the building. That was the girlfriend, her parents, I believe her brother and sister. I said "yep, he's right in there, I'll take you to him"...meanwhile Mo had seen them walk in and was coming around to meet Chad and his family.
They chatted in the lobby for a minute, Mo apologized to Chad's girlfriend's mom and dad and talked with them for a minute, invited Chad into the studio. If you were listening, you heard it all go down at that point. It all unfolded in a HURRY...
I never got a pic with Chad. They were on their way out to dinner tonight. I wanted to roll video on the interview and also wanted to make sure the news that Chad was about to be on was posted on our Q92 Facebook right away, this was happening in LITERALLY 90 seconds. So while he snapped a few pics with people, I was feverishly making sure everything was set.
If you missed the interview, here is a link.http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53549894/CHAD%20KROEGER%20from%20NICKELBACK%20live%20on%20Q92.mp3
I'm not too worried about the pic. We can get one next time he's in town. Including the "Hey, this is Chad from Nickelback and whenever I'm in town, I listen to Q92" liner....and it'll be 100% true!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
SOCKS (this has nothing to do with socks)
...unless you count me wearing some right now.
WORST CELL PROVIDERS:
"Consumer Reports" just released the results of their annual survey on cell phone service providers, and for the second year in a row, AT&T took its rightful spot in LAST PLACE.
But there's a difference. One year ago, they were the only ones with the iPhone. Now Verizon and Sprint both have it. So this time around, their bad rating COULD cost them customers who stuck with their bad service for the sake of the iPhone.
Verizon got the highest customer satisfaction ratings, just ahead of Sprint. T-Mobile was in third place...but significantly above AT&T.
ROCKIN' HO HO HO
"Rolling Stone" has put together a list of The Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Christmas Songs. There are 16 of them...but not all of them are "rock 'n' roll." In fact I would say, most are not.
Here's the list, which doesn't appear to be in any particular order:
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", Darlene Love (1963)
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", John Lennon (1971)
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Bruce Springsteen (1985)
"All I Want For Christmas Is You", Mariah Carey (1994)
"Little Saint Nick", The Beach Boys (1963)
"Run Rudolph Run", Chuck Berry (1958)
"The Chanukah Song", Adam Sandler (1994)
"Frosty the Snowman", The Ronettes (1963)
"Do They Know It's Christmas?", Band Aid (1984)
"Wonderful Christmastime", Paul McCartney (1979)
"Jingle Bell Rock", Bobby Helms (1957)
"The Night Santa Went Crazy", "Weird Al" Yankovic (1996)
"Christmastime for the Jews", Darlene Love (2005)
"Christmas in Hollis", Run-D.M.C (1987)
"Christmas in Harlem", Kanye West (2010)
"The Christmas Waltz", She & Him (2011)
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES
Every year, Jones Soda releases special limited-edition holiday flavors. And usually they have some RIDICULOUS and DISGUSTING-SOUNDING flavor, like green bean casserole or smoked salmon.
But this year, they're all pretty boring.
There's no awful-sounding flavor...nothing even close. The four flavors are Candy Cane, Pear Tree, Sugar Plum, and Gingerbread. All of those sound like they'll immediately cause diabetes, but not repulsion.
If you're interested, they sell a pack with one bottle of each flavor at JonesSoda.com for $8. And stores like Target generally carry the holiday flavors too.
SMELL YA LATER
Apparently, the way you smell is giving out more clues about you than you realized. And I don't mean that it's telling people you like Axe body spray, or that you don't like showering.
In a new study out of Poland, researchers found that people could accurately predict someone's major personality traits just by smelling them.
By smelling people's T-shirts, the participants in the study were able to predict whether other people were outgoing and extroverted, or neurotic and anxious. And they were particularly good at predicting those qualities in the opposite sex.
In other words, when you meet someone and start sizing them up as someone to date, your sense of smell is more involved than you realize.
I'm gonna try that next time. "Hi, I'm Rob. Can I SMELL you? Just..yeah, lemme.......ahhhhhhh yeah"
GIMME THE KEYS PLEASE
Usually when a cop pulls you over and you don't get a ticket, it's your lucky day. But that's assuming he doesn't steal your car and wreck it.
A 28-year-old police officer named Enrique Gonzalez pulled over a drunk driver in Newark, New Jersey back on November 15th. He was off-duty, but was still wearing his uniform.
And instead of giving the driver a ticket, Enrique told him to get out of his Ford F-450 pickup truck and sober up.
The unidentified driver says Enrique told him, "I'm not going to arrest you. I'm going to leave the keys in the tailpipe. Come back and get it when you're sober."
The driver left, but when he came back to get his truck, it was gone.
That's because Enrique STOLE the truck...drove it to his estranged wife's house in the nearby town of Garfield...and used it to RAM her 2011 Hyundai.
Internal affairs finally worked out the details of Enrique's arrest on Friday, and he's been charged with criminal mischief and receiving stolen property. His court date is December 15th.
TWITTER BEEF, FEATURING NICKELBACK
If you love NICKELBACK...and you're willing to admit it to yourself...would you mind tossing them a bone? They could really use some support.
After being bullied by the haters before performing at the halftime show of the Thanksgiving game between the Lions and the Packers...Nickelback is now taking shots from the Atlanta Braves pitching staff.
Relief pitcher PETER MOYLAN recently dissed the band after seeing a FOO FIGHTERS show. He Tweeted, "Note to @Nickelback: Please attend a @FooFighters concert. That's how it should be done Chad."
NICKELBACK responded with: Quote, "Foos are killer for sure. We're doing just fine too, thanks...? For you Pete, is watching Kimbrel better from the bench or on TV?"
That's CRAIG KIMBREL, who's also a Braves reliever. He was the National League Rookie of the Year, while Peter was injured and missed most of the season.
Since this is so random, this pseudo-beef could've been AWESOME. But unfortunately, it seems like it's over already.
The next day, Nickelback Tweeted, quote, "There is no beef [with] @PeterMoylan. We both took shots. We didn't take it seriously. To each their own. No harm meant, all the best to him."
And Peter responded, quote, "@Nickelback nothing like lighting a fire in the Twitter world! Where would we be without [smack] talking?
"For the record, watching Kimbrel deal is fantastic from anywhere."
50 CENT SAYS WEEZY IS "TURNING INTO 50 CENT"
50 CENT says LIL WAYNE is probably going to start getting some backlash at this point in his career...when he's trying to find NEW success, now that's he's already found initial success.
This is territory that 50 says he's very familiar with.
He tells "XXL" magazine, "[Lil Wayne] is turning into 50 Cent. He's going through that process of being successful, 'til people go, 'You know what? Get the [eff] outta here. We don't want you here no more.' Because you're successful.
"For me, the music is an artistic choice. I'll say, from the very beginning, that I can care less about a critic or how someone judges me for the actual music.
"People understand within hip-hop culture that I'm passionate about actually trying to do something different. I want to make a change in a different way. This is about me personally feeling like I wanna mean more after I'm dead, when I'm gone."
HEADLINE
"38% of People are Already Done With Their Christmas Shopping"
My response:
"Bahahahahahaha"
BIGGER N BETTER
Women are incredibly skilled at making guys think their packages are the PERFECT size. At some point, EVERY woman learns the catchphrase, "It's the perfect size for ME...if it were any bigger, it would be PAINFUL."
Lies. All lies.
Lawrence Barraclough is a sexuality expert, and he compiled data from several surveys to figure out what women are hoping for in a sexual partner's penis size.
He found that the average woman describes the "ideal" length to be 7.25 to 8.25 inches in length, and 6.25 to 6.5 inches in girth.
BUT...the average penis size is 5.5 to 6.3 inches in length, and 4.7 to 5.1 inches in girth. So most women's "ideal" size is longer and wider than what 98% of men are packing. Only 2% of men have junk that fits into that "ideal" range.
His research also found that basically NO women described a penis less than five inches long as satisfying. There was no max, though...there were women interested in lengths of 11 inches and up.
As for girth, no circumference smaller than 4.5 inches or bigger than 7.25 inches was considered satisfying.
THE 'YEAR END LISTS'...
And, it begins. The impending onslaught of "Best Music of the Year" lists has officially commenced...and this year, first blood goes to MTV.
MTV.com's "Bigger Than the Sound" column has released its 20 Best Albums of 2011 list...and top honors go to the indie pop band GIRLS for their album, "Father, Son, Holy Ghost".
As usual, this list is a blend of stuff you've never heard...alongside mainstream albums that you may or may not feel comfortable calling "the best music of the year."
Here's the list:
1.) "Father, Son, Holy Ghost", Girls
2.) "21", Adele
3.) "Take Care", Drake
4.) "David Comes to Life", [Effed] Up (A Canadian hardcore punk band.)
5.) "Skying", The Horrors
6.) "Let England Shake", PJ Harvey
7.) "Bon Iver", Bon Iver
8.) "Watch the Throne", Jay-Z and Kanye West
9.) "In the Mountain, in the Cloud", Portugal. The Man ...A band originally from Wasilla, Alaska...a.k.a. the home of SARAH PALIN.
10.) "Born This Way", Lady Gaga
11.) "Slave Ambient", The War on Drugs
12.) "Nostalgia, Ultra", Frank Ocean...He's in the hip-hop group Odd Future.
13.) "Helplessness Blues", Fleet Foxes
14.) "House of Balloons and Thursday", The Weeknd
15.) "Ceremonials", Florence and the Machine
16.) "El Camino", The Black Keys
17.) "How to Get to Heaven from Jacksonville, FL", Gospel Music ...That's a band name. It isn't actually gospel music, it's "post-punk." For the record, this is an example of how you can choose an extremely un-Google-friendly band name.
18.) "Talk That Talk", Rihanna
19.) "We're New Here", A collaborative album featuring old-school soul singer and poet Gil Scott-Heron, who just died this year, and Jamie XX of the British indie pop group The XX.
20.) "4", Beyoncé
You can find their write-ups on each of these albums at MTV.com.
From the comments under the story, the big snubs seem to be BRITNEY SPEARS' "Femme Fatale" and LIL WAYNE'S "Tha Carter 4". But wasn't the last project better for BOTH of those artists?
CAR VS. GIRLFRIEND
This survey comes from England...but since American men are CLEARLY manlier than British men, it's GOT to be true over here too.
According to the survey, the majority of men...just over 50%...say that they find it easier to maintain their CAR than their relationship.
Here are some other things the survey found...
10% say they sometimes find themselves more captivated by the curves on cars than the curves on their partner.
14% talk more about their cars than their partner. Only 3% of women admitted the same thing.
Spending money on a car makes the average guy THREE TIMES HAPPIER than spending money on his partner.
And finally, if they had to get rid of their car or end their relationship...8% would choose their CAR over their partner.
SNEAK IT IN
The holidays are a time to reunite with family, which makes certain things tricky: Try having intimate relations with your wife when you have relatives sleeping on an air mattress in the next room.
Thankfully, we have four ways you can sneak in some vacation sex with your spouse over the holidays...courtesy of the good people over at Astroglide sex lube.
#1.) Long showers: You get some privacy when you're in the bathroom, so take advantage of it. When your guests hear the water running, they won't know the two of you are in there together.
#2.) Set the alarm: If both of you wake up in the middle of the night while everyone else is asleep...or before everyone gets up...you should be able to cut loose. Just don't get too crazy, or you'll wake people up and defeat the purpose.
#3.) Take a nap: After preparing a big meal for everyone, you can announce that you need to lay down for awhile. And your spouse can find an excuse to check in on you.
#4.) Bribery: Offer to pay for a big family outing to go bowling or see a movie. Then come up with a reason that you and your spouse have to stay home.
WORST CELL PROVIDERS:
"Consumer Reports" just released the results of their annual survey on cell phone service providers, and for the second year in a row, AT&T took its rightful spot in LAST PLACE.
But there's a difference. One year ago, they were the only ones with the iPhone. Now Verizon and Sprint both have it. So this time around, their bad rating COULD cost them customers who stuck with their bad service for the sake of the iPhone.
Verizon got the highest customer satisfaction ratings, just ahead of Sprint. T-Mobile was in third place...but significantly above AT&T.
ROCKIN' HO HO HO
"Rolling Stone" has put together a list of The Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Christmas Songs. There are 16 of them...but not all of them are "rock 'n' roll." In fact I would say, most are not.
Here's the list, which doesn't appear to be in any particular order:
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", Darlene Love (1963)
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", John Lennon (1971)
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Bruce Springsteen (1985)
"All I Want For Christmas Is You", Mariah Carey (1994)
"Little Saint Nick", The Beach Boys (1963)
"Run Rudolph Run", Chuck Berry (1958)
"The Chanukah Song", Adam Sandler (1994)
"Frosty the Snowman", The Ronettes (1963)
"Do They Know It's Christmas?", Band Aid (1984)
"Wonderful Christmastime", Paul McCartney (1979)
"Jingle Bell Rock", Bobby Helms (1957)
"The Night Santa Went Crazy", "Weird Al" Yankovic (1996)
"Christmastime for the Jews", Darlene Love (2005)
"Christmas in Hollis", Run-D.M.C (1987)
"Christmas in Harlem", Kanye West (2010)
"The Christmas Waltz", She & Him (2011)
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES
Every year, Jones Soda releases special limited-edition holiday flavors. And usually they have some RIDICULOUS and DISGUSTING-SOUNDING flavor, like green bean casserole or smoked salmon.
But this year, they're all pretty boring.
There's no awful-sounding flavor...nothing even close. The four flavors are Candy Cane, Pear Tree, Sugar Plum, and Gingerbread. All of those sound like they'll immediately cause diabetes, but not repulsion.
If you're interested, they sell a pack with one bottle of each flavor at JonesSoda.com for $8. And stores like Target generally carry the holiday flavors too.
SMELL YA LATER
Apparently, the way you smell is giving out more clues about you than you realized. And I don't mean that it's telling people you like Axe body spray, or that you don't like showering.
In a new study out of Poland, researchers found that people could accurately predict someone's major personality traits just by smelling them.
By smelling people's T-shirts, the participants in the study were able to predict whether other people were outgoing and extroverted, or neurotic and anxious. And they were particularly good at predicting those qualities in the opposite sex.
In other words, when you meet someone and start sizing them up as someone to date, your sense of smell is more involved than you realize.
I'm gonna try that next time. "Hi, I'm Rob. Can I SMELL you? Just..yeah, lemme.......ahhhhhhh yeah"
GIMME THE KEYS PLEASE
Usually when a cop pulls you over and you don't get a ticket, it's your lucky day. But that's assuming he doesn't steal your car and wreck it.
A 28-year-old police officer named Enrique Gonzalez pulled over a drunk driver in Newark, New Jersey back on November 15th. He was off-duty, but was still wearing his uniform.
And instead of giving the driver a ticket, Enrique told him to get out of his Ford F-450 pickup truck and sober up.
The unidentified driver says Enrique told him, "I'm not going to arrest you. I'm going to leave the keys in the tailpipe. Come back and get it when you're sober."
The driver left, but when he came back to get his truck, it was gone.
That's because Enrique STOLE the truck...drove it to his estranged wife's house in the nearby town of Garfield...and used it to RAM her 2011 Hyundai.
Internal affairs finally worked out the details of Enrique's arrest on Friday, and he's been charged with criminal mischief and receiving stolen property. His court date is December 15th.
TWITTER BEEF, FEATURING NICKELBACK
If you love NICKELBACK...and you're willing to admit it to yourself...would you mind tossing them a bone? They could really use some support.
After being bullied by the haters before performing at the halftime show of the Thanksgiving game between the Lions and the Packers...Nickelback is now taking shots from the Atlanta Braves pitching staff.
Relief pitcher PETER MOYLAN recently dissed the band after seeing a FOO FIGHTERS show. He Tweeted, "Note to @Nickelback: Please attend a @FooFighters concert. That's how it should be done Chad."
NICKELBACK responded with: Quote, "Foos are killer for sure. We're doing just fine too, thanks...? For you Pete, is watching Kimbrel better from the bench or on TV?"
That's CRAIG KIMBREL, who's also a Braves reliever. He was the National League Rookie of the Year, while Peter was injured and missed most of the season.
Since this is so random, this pseudo-beef could've been AWESOME. But unfortunately, it seems like it's over already.
The next day, Nickelback Tweeted, quote, "There is no beef [with] @PeterMoylan. We both took shots. We didn't take it seriously. To each their own. No harm meant, all the best to him."
And Peter responded, quote, "@Nickelback nothing like lighting a fire in the Twitter world! Where would we be without [smack] talking?
"For the record, watching Kimbrel deal is fantastic from anywhere."
50 CENT SAYS WEEZY IS "TURNING INTO 50 CENT"
50 CENT says LIL WAYNE is probably going to start getting some backlash at this point in his career...when he's trying to find NEW success, now that's he's already found initial success.
This is territory that 50 says he's very familiar with.
He tells "XXL" magazine, "[Lil Wayne] is turning into 50 Cent. He's going through that process of being successful, 'til people go, 'You know what? Get the [eff] outta here. We don't want you here no more.' Because you're successful.
"For me, the music is an artistic choice. I'll say, from the very beginning, that I can care less about a critic or how someone judges me for the actual music.
"People understand within hip-hop culture that I'm passionate about actually trying to do something different. I want to make a change in a different way. This is about me personally feeling like I wanna mean more after I'm dead, when I'm gone."
HEADLINE
"38% of People are Already Done With Their Christmas Shopping"
My response:
"Bahahahahahaha"
BIGGER N BETTER
Women are incredibly skilled at making guys think their packages are the PERFECT size. At some point, EVERY woman learns the catchphrase, "It's the perfect size for ME...if it were any bigger, it would be PAINFUL."
Lies. All lies.
Lawrence Barraclough is a sexuality expert, and he compiled data from several surveys to figure out what women are hoping for in a sexual partner's penis size.
He found that the average woman describes the "ideal" length to be 7.25 to 8.25 inches in length, and 6.25 to 6.5 inches in girth.
BUT...the average penis size is 5.5 to 6.3 inches in length, and 4.7 to 5.1 inches in girth. So most women's "ideal" size is longer and wider than what 98% of men are packing. Only 2% of men have junk that fits into that "ideal" range.
His research also found that basically NO women described a penis less than five inches long as satisfying. There was no max, though...there were women interested in lengths of 11 inches and up.
As for girth, no circumference smaller than 4.5 inches or bigger than 7.25 inches was considered satisfying.
THE 'YEAR END LISTS'...
And, it begins. The impending onslaught of "Best Music of the Year" lists has officially commenced...and this year, first blood goes to MTV.
MTV.com's "Bigger Than the Sound" column has released its 20 Best Albums of 2011 list...and top honors go to the indie pop band GIRLS for their album, "Father, Son, Holy Ghost".
As usual, this list is a blend of stuff you've never heard...alongside mainstream albums that you may or may not feel comfortable calling "the best music of the year."
Here's the list:
1.) "Father, Son, Holy Ghost", Girls
2.) "21", Adele
3.) "Take Care", Drake
4.) "David Comes to Life", [Effed] Up (A Canadian hardcore punk band.)
5.) "Skying", The Horrors
6.) "Let England Shake", PJ Harvey
7.) "Bon Iver", Bon Iver
8.) "Watch the Throne", Jay-Z and Kanye West
9.) "In the Mountain, in the Cloud", Portugal. The Man ...A band originally from Wasilla, Alaska...a.k.a. the home of SARAH PALIN.
10.) "Born This Way", Lady Gaga
11.) "Slave Ambient", The War on Drugs
12.) "Nostalgia, Ultra", Frank Ocean...He's in the hip-hop group Odd Future.
13.) "Helplessness Blues", Fleet Foxes
14.) "House of Balloons and Thursday", The Weeknd
15.) "Ceremonials", Florence and the Machine
16.) "El Camino", The Black Keys
17.) "How to Get to Heaven from Jacksonville, FL", Gospel Music ...That's a band name. It isn't actually gospel music, it's "post-punk." For the record, this is an example of how you can choose an extremely un-Google-friendly band name.
18.) "Talk That Talk", Rihanna
19.) "We're New Here", A collaborative album featuring old-school soul singer and poet Gil Scott-Heron, who just died this year, and Jamie XX of the British indie pop group The XX.
20.) "4", Beyoncé
You can find their write-ups on each of these albums at MTV.com.
From the comments under the story, the big snubs seem to be BRITNEY SPEARS' "Femme Fatale" and LIL WAYNE'S "Tha Carter 4". But wasn't the last project better for BOTH of those artists?
CAR VS. GIRLFRIEND
This survey comes from England...but since American men are CLEARLY manlier than British men, it's GOT to be true over here too.
According to the survey, the majority of men...just over 50%...say that they find it easier to maintain their CAR than their relationship.
Here are some other things the survey found...
10% say they sometimes find themselves more captivated by the curves on cars than the curves on their partner.
14% talk more about their cars than their partner. Only 3% of women admitted the same thing.
Spending money on a car makes the average guy THREE TIMES HAPPIER than spending money on his partner.
And finally, if they had to get rid of their car or end their relationship...8% would choose their CAR over their partner.
SNEAK IT IN
The holidays are a time to reunite with family, which makes certain things tricky: Try having intimate relations with your wife when you have relatives sleeping on an air mattress in the next room.
Thankfully, we have four ways you can sneak in some vacation sex with your spouse over the holidays...courtesy of the good people over at Astroglide sex lube.
#1.) Long showers: You get some privacy when you're in the bathroom, so take advantage of it. When your guests hear the water running, they won't know the two of you are in there together.
#2.) Set the alarm: If both of you wake up in the middle of the night while everyone else is asleep...or before everyone gets up...you should be able to cut loose. Just don't get too crazy, or you'll wake people up and defeat the purpose.
#3.) Take a nap: After preparing a big meal for everyone, you can announce that you need to lay down for awhile. And your spouse can find an excuse to check in on you.
#4.) Bribery: Offer to pay for a big family outing to go bowling or see a movie. Then come up with a reason that you and your spouse have to stay home.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
SUNDAY NOT FUNDAY
um......here's some shtuff.
IF YOU *WANNA* GET WITH GAGA...
...cause I sure DON'T! But maybe you do.
LADY GAGA doesn't exactly seem to ooze sex appeal, but if you're someone who IS interested in her, here's what she's looking for:
According to Britain's "Sun" tabloid, Lady Gaga describes her type as, "[Ranging] from a really big [manhood] to a degree at Harvard."
She adds that she's also attracted to, "Talent and perseverance and pushing the boundaries of love and acceptance."
That being said, it's unclear how available she is. We've heard that Lady Gaga is hooking up with TAYLOR KINNEY from "The Vampire Diaries".
MIDNIGHT BLACK FRIDAY IS HERE TO STAY...
Stores posted all-time record sales on Black Friday and the ones that opened at midnight or earlier...including Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and Macy's...all reported enormous sales. SO...expect those early openings to be back next year.
Terry Lundgren is the CEO of Macy's. He says they LOVED the midnight opening because it brought a younger crowd they usually don't get on Black Friday. Then, around 4:00 A.M., the usual, older Black Friday crowd came as a second wave.
HOLIDAY STRESS? BLAME THE DECORATIONS!!
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, a lot of people will be breaking out the Christmas decorations. But if you're not careful, apparently you can ruin the holiday season with poor placement.
Robyn Bentley says she's an expert on the proper placement of household items. From now I'm going to call myself an expert on frozen microwave dinners, how's that?
She also calls herself the Feng Shui Diva. I'm a guy so I don't even know what the HELL that is, let alone how to pronounce it.
She points out that many families have more sickness over the holiday season, people argue more, and feel more depressed...and she blames the decorations. So here are her decorating tips:
#1.) No red lights on the East or South sides of your house: According to Robyn, there's illness energy in the East and South sections of every house. And red lights add the "fire" element to your home.
Oh....Lord.
Obviously, you don't want such an intense element in areas of the house filled with illness energy. So use silver, white, and gold there instead. Obviously.
#2.) Don't create clutter or obstacles: First of all, squeezing past the talking, dancing snowman to get into the kitchen is just going to increase everyone's stress level. But clutter also slows the "chi flow" in your home.
The what? Is that something to do with Chicago?? I hate the White Sox too, maybe she's on to something with that.
#3.) Turn the Christmas lights off at bedtime: Too much light makes your body think it's daytime, and you won't get restful sleep. So turn off the holiday light display before hitting the sack.
SEASONS GREETINGS
I kinda like getting the Christmas cards in the mail.....hint hint!!! (especially when money is in them!)
According to a new survey, 63% of people say they plan to mail a holiday card this year, whether it's a Christmas card or letter to all of their family or friends or just a regular Hallmark card.
People also say they prefer hard-copy cards to e-cards, email, and phone calls.
HUGGERS UNITE!
HUGGING plays a way bigger role in your life than you ever quite realized.
According to a new study out of England, the average person wants a hug THIRTEEN TIMES a day. Each of those hugs averages 9.5 seconds. (That seems like a LOT of hugging for an awful LONG time to me...)
And every month, we spend one hour hugging. That means you spend somewhere around 40 FULL DAYS of your life hugging.
The study also found that 69% of people turn to their significant other for a hug. (And hopefully 100% turn to them for a 69.)
14% look to close friends when they want a hug...9% look to their parents.
About 14% said that they do their hugging in private because public displays of affection are inappropriate.
33% said it's inappropriate to hug in the workplace.
THE DREAM HOME
A new survey asked people to describe their dream house and, basically, the average person wants something that seems pretty obscure...an isolated, rural house on a lot of land that's also very convenient to work and shopping.
Here's the breakdown of the average dream house...
In a rural area, on at least a half-acre of land.
So isolated that you can get privacy without having to close the curtains.
BUT...less than 10 miles from work, less than five miles from the nearest town, and less than two miles away from school, the grocery store, and the doctor.
And despite the isolation, people want good neighbors who they're on a first-name basis with.
The only things people want from the house itself are four bedrooms, a study, a dining room, and a kitchen with a breakfast nook.
As for any "fantasy" elements of the house, there was only one that made the list...about half of the people polled wanted an indoor swimming pool.
About 10% of people surveyed said they were already living in their dream house. 25% of people say they're saving for it. The rest don't think they'll ever achieve their fantasy.
BURNING THOSE WINTER CALORIES
Chances are you gained a little weight this holiday season. or will soon. So here's something to keep you motivated: Four winter activities that can burn 500 calories in one hour.
#1.) Skiing and Snowboarding. It depends on how much you weigh, and how tough the slopes are. But you can generally expect to burn between 350 and 500 calories an hour.
#2.) Ice Skating. Just skating around in a circle for 60 minutes can burn between 400 and 500 calories.
#3.) Snowshoeing. Not like anybody DOES this. But if you want to strap on snowshoes and go for an hour-long hike, you can easily burn 500 calories or more.
#4.) Sledding. Obviously the actual sledding-downhill part doesn't burn that many calories. But the rest of the time, you're just walking uphill. So one hour of sledding can burn about 400 to 500 calories for the average person.
WEEZY & EMINEM DO A WORLD TOUR:
Peep the link: http://www.vibe.com/posts/lil-wayne-announces-world-tour-eminem
ANNND PLUMPING ON UP!
A new Gallup poll found that we're getting heavier, and we don't seem to care.
The average American is just under 20 pounds heavier than they were in 1990. Men weighed 180 pounds back then, and women weighed 142.
Now the average American male weighs 196 pounds, an increase of 16 pounds in 21 years. The average woman is up 18 pounds to 160.
Even our "goal weight" has increased over that time. Most people name a target weight that's ten pounds heavier than it was in 1990.
Back then, men said their ideal weight was 171 pounds. That's increased to 181.
The ideal weight for women went from 129 pounds in 1990 to 138 now, an increase of nine pounds.
And even though nearly 70% of American adults are considered overweight or obese by the CDC, just 39% think they're overweight. 56% of us think our weight is "just right."
OHIO STATE SAYS NO WAY!!!
We've all heard that men think about sex every seven seconds. According to a new study, that's a myth. Men don't think about sex THAT much. BUT...men DO think about sex more than women.
The study was conducted at The Ohio State University and had both men and women record how often they think about sex, food, and sleep on a daily basis.
The average man thought about sex 19 times per day. That's not once every seven seconds, obviously. To think about sex every seven seconds, you'd need to think about sex 8,000 times a day.
The average woman thought about sex 10 times a day...which is about half of what men reported.
The man who thought about sex the most in the study thought about it 388 times a day. That's about 24 times per hour. The woman who thought about sex the most thought about it 140 times a day, or almost nine times an hour. I'm pretty sure I know who that girl is.
NO ONE in the study of either gender had zero sexual thoughts per day.
The study also found that, in addition to 19 sexual thoughts, men think about FOOD 18 times a day and sleep 11 times. Women think about sex 10 times, food 15 times, and sleep about 8-and-a-half times.
72% OF GUYS...
This poll asked guys if they've ever used a pick-up line. 72%, or about three-fourths, said NO. 28% said yes. And here are some of the most popular lines they've used...
8% have said to a woman, "Is that a ladder in your pants or a stairway to heaven?"
7% have said, "You must be tired because you've been running through my mind all day."
And 5% have tried, "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"
RANDOM:
Two-Thirds of Expectant Parents Google Potential Names for Their Baby...To Make Sure It's Not a Stripper or Serial Killer's Name
NICKELBACK SAYS EFF THE HATERS
NICKELBACK says their fans always come out to support them, so they're not concerned about the haters. Specifically, the ones that supported an online petition to have them removed from the Detroit Lions' Thanksgiving game halftime show.
Singer CHAD KROEGER says, "We get [hate like] that all the time. We've never really been a critics' darling or anything like that...The people speak. We sell a lot of records and fill a lot of arenas, and we don't hear many complaints."
Well, I'll give them that.
The petition picked up over 55,000 supporters. But Chad is right...according to their label, Nickelback has sold over 50 million albums worldwide, and has had over a dozen hits on the "Billboard" charts.
Of course, "the people" started that petition, not music critics. Every band has haters...Regardless, Nickelback seems to take that in stride.
MUSICAL TURNOFFS:
Tastebuds.fm recently conducted a poll to determine the Top 10 Musical Turnoffs according to their users. The site defined these acts as, quote, "The bands you just can't stand...REALLY can't stand."
Perhaps not surprisingly, NICKELBACK came in at #1...followed by JUSTIN BIEBER. (OK, so Canada = Good at healthcare, bad at fostering good music.)
Here's the Top 10, which is filled with some predictable names:
1.) Nickelback
2.) Justin Bieber
3.) Lady Gaga
4.) Ke$ha
5.) Coldplay
6.) U2
7.) Creed
8.) Katy Perry
9.) Lil Wayne
10.) Britney Spears.
LADY GAGA...
...in the new issue of "Vanity Fair". She says: "I Have an Inability to Know What Happiness Feels Like with a Man. I think what it really is, is that I date creative people. And I think that's what intimidates them is not my purse, it's my mind.
"It starts out good. Then when I'm in these relationships with people who are also creative, or creative in their own way, what happens is the attraction is initially there and it's all unicorns and rainbows. And then they hate me.
"It's a hideous place to be in when someone that you love has convinced you that you will never be good enough for anyone."
DREADING THE HOLIDAYS: HERE'S WHY
I love this list because it's so not politically correct, and so HONEST. "Consumer Reports" surveyed more than 1,000 Americans and asked them what they're dreading about the holiday season. Here's the full top 11:
#1.) Crowds and long lines, 68%
#2.) Gaining weight, 37%
#3.) Getting into debt, 37%
#4.) Gift shopping, 28%
#5.) Traveling, 25%
#6.) SEEING CERTAIN RELATIVES, 24%
#7.) Nonstop seasonal music, 23% (none of that on Q92!)
#8.) Disappointing gifts, 19%
#9.) Having to attend holiday parties and events, 16%
#10.) HAVING TO BE NICE TO PEOPLE, 15%
#11.) Holiday tipping, 12%
SHOPLIFTING ON THE RISE...
When I look at the photos and watch the videos of the mob scenes from Black Friday, I wonder, "How do these stores keep people from stealing EVERYTHING?" And the answer is...they don't.
The National Association of Shoplifting Prevention just released some new statistics...and it turns out shoplifting is WAY bigger than you ever realized. Check this out...
Statistically, one out of every ELEVEN people who walks into a store shoplifts something. Seriously.
Retailers are set to lose $119 BILLION this year to shoplifting. That's 1.45% of total sales.
Only 3% of shoplifters are pros.
70% of shoplifters didn't go to the store planning to steal...but saw an opportunity and took it.
75% of shoplifters are adults, most of whom have jobs. And 35% have help from a corrupt employee.
Shoplifting is up 6% compared to last year.
AND WHAT ARE WE STEALING?
"Adweek" magazine surveyed store security pros from around the country and asked them what items are shoplifted the most from their stores. Here's the top ten:
#1.) Filet mignon. (LOL!!!!) "Luxury meat" thefts are up 21% since 2009 and are the most commonly stolen items from grocery stores.
#2.) Expensive liquors. Stolen more by alcoholics than underage kids.
#3.) Small electric tools. This covers everything from power drills to electric toothbrushes.
#4.) iPhones. iPhones, plus other small electronics, get stolen all the time. Approximately 100,000 laptops are stolen from stores every year.
#5.) Gillette Mach 4 razor blades. Razor blade thefts account for 2.7% of all store losses.
#6.) AXE body spray. AXE is the most stolen brand of deodorant, body wash, and body spray.
#7.) Polo. Polo is the most stolen designer brand, and Tommy Hilfiger is second. Clothing theft is up 31% since 2009.
#8.) Let's Rock Elmo. This Elmo toy, along with all the other hot toys for this Christmas season, are major targets.
#9.) Chanel No. 5. Designer fragrances account for 4% of losses in stores where they're sold.
#10.) Nikes.
I-O-WA!
The Good News: ASHTON KUTCHER returned to his hometown last week, and was swarmed by girls. The Bad News: Ashton's hometown is in Iowa. (I kid, I kid. I LOVE the cornfed Iowa girls! Seriously!)
Ashton and some friends hit a few bars in Iowa City, and a source says, "He was drinking beer, and girls kept coming up to him. He loved the attention. Girls were hugging him and shaking his hand.
"He was swarmed by girls. A few tried to convince him to go to a strip club...but he declined!"
FACEBOOK FTW!
Here's a great shot in the Facebook-versus-Twitter rivalry. Twitter only lets you post updates that are 140 characters. That's their signature characteristic.
Well...Facebook is going in the OTHER direction. Yesterday, they announced that they'll let you post a status update or wall post that's 63,206 characters.
In other words, their max is 451.5 times higher than Twitter's.
The previous max on Facebook was 5,000 characters, which they established in September. Before then, you could only post 500 characters.
The 63,206 characters basically means you'll NEVER hit the limit. To compare, a full-length novel is about 500,000 characters...which means it would only take you eight Facebook posts to put up an entire novel.
IF YOU *WANNA* GET WITH GAGA...
...cause I sure DON'T! But maybe you do.
LADY GAGA doesn't exactly seem to ooze sex appeal, but if you're someone who IS interested in her, here's what she's looking for:
According to Britain's "Sun" tabloid, Lady Gaga describes her type as, "[Ranging] from a really big [manhood] to a degree at Harvard."
She adds that she's also attracted to, "Talent and perseverance and pushing the boundaries of love and acceptance."
That being said, it's unclear how available she is. We've heard that Lady Gaga is hooking up with TAYLOR KINNEY from "The Vampire Diaries".
MIDNIGHT BLACK FRIDAY IS HERE TO STAY...
Stores posted all-time record sales on Black Friday and the ones that opened at midnight or earlier...including Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and Macy's...all reported enormous sales. SO...expect those early openings to be back next year.
Terry Lundgren is the CEO of Macy's. He says they LOVED the midnight opening because it brought a younger crowd they usually don't get on Black Friday. Then, around 4:00 A.M., the usual, older Black Friday crowd came as a second wave.
HOLIDAY STRESS? BLAME THE DECORATIONS!!
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, a lot of people will be breaking out the Christmas decorations. But if you're not careful, apparently you can ruin the holiday season with poor placement.
Robyn Bentley says she's an expert on the proper placement of household items. From now I'm going to call myself an expert on frozen microwave dinners, how's that?
She also calls herself the Feng Shui Diva. I'm a guy so I don't even know what the HELL that is, let alone how to pronounce it.
She points out that many families have more sickness over the holiday season, people argue more, and feel more depressed...and she blames the decorations. So here are her decorating tips:
#1.) No red lights on the East or South sides of your house: According to Robyn, there's illness energy in the East and South sections of every house. And red lights add the "fire" element to your home.
Oh....Lord.
Obviously, you don't want such an intense element in areas of the house filled with illness energy. So use silver, white, and gold there instead. Obviously.
#2.) Don't create clutter or obstacles: First of all, squeezing past the talking, dancing snowman to get into the kitchen is just going to increase everyone's stress level. But clutter also slows the "chi flow" in your home.
The what? Is that something to do with Chicago?? I hate the White Sox too, maybe she's on to something with that.
#3.) Turn the Christmas lights off at bedtime: Too much light makes your body think it's daytime, and you won't get restful sleep. So turn off the holiday light display before hitting the sack.
SEASONS GREETINGS
I kinda like getting the Christmas cards in the mail.....hint hint!!! (especially when money is in them!)
According to a new survey, 63% of people say they plan to mail a holiday card this year, whether it's a Christmas card or letter to all of their family or friends or just a regular Hallmark card.
People also say they prefer hard-copy cards to e-cards, email, and phone calls.
HUGGERS UNITE!
HUGGING plays a way bigger role in your life than you ever quite realized.
According to a new study out of England, the average person wants a hug THIRTEEN TIMES a day. Each of those hugs averages 9.5 seconds. (That seems like a LOT of hugging for an awful LONG time to me...)
And every month, we spend one hour hugging. That means you spend somewhere around 40 FULL DAYS of your life hugging.
The study also found that 69% of people turn to their significant other for a hug. (And hopefully 100% turn to them for a 69.)
14% look to close friends when they want a hug...9% look to their parents.
About 14% said that they do their hugging in private because public displays of affection are inappropriate.
33% said it's inappropriate to hug in the workplace.
THE DREAM HOME
A new survey asked people to describe their dream house and, basically, the average person wants something that seems pretty obscure...an isolated, rural house on a lot of land that's also very convenient to work and shopping.
Here's the breakdown of the average dream house...
In a rural area, on at least a half-acre of land.
So isolated that you can get privacy without having to close the curtains.
BUT...less than 10 miles from work, less than five miles from the nearest town, and less than two miles away from school, the grocery store, and the doctor.
And despite the isolation, people want good neighbors who they're on a first-name basis with.
The only things people want from the house itself are four bedrooms, a study, a dining room, and a kitchen with a breakfast nook.
As for any "fantasy" elements of the house, there was only one that made the list...about half of the people polled wanted an indoor swimming pool.
About 10% of people surveyed said they were already living in their dream house. 25% of people say they're saving for it. The rest don't think they'll ever achieve their fantasy.
BURNING THOSE WINTER CALORIES
Chances are you gained a little weight this holiday season. or will soon. So here's something to keep you motivated: Four winter activities that can burn 500 calories in one hour.
#1.) Skiing and Snowboarding. It depends on how much you weigh, and how tough the slopes are. But you can generally expect to burn between 350 and 500 calories an hour.
#2.) Ice Skating. Just skating around in a circle for 60 minutes can burn between 400 and 500 calories.
#3.) Snowshoeing. Not like anybody DOES this. But if you want to strap on snowshoes and go for an hour-long hike, you can easily burn 500 calories or more.
#4.) Sledding. Obviously the actual sledding-downhill part doesn't burn that many calories. But the rest of the time, you're just walking uphill. So one hour of sledding can burn about 400 to 500 calories for the average person.
WEEZY & EMINEM DO A WORLD TOUR:
Peep the link: http://www.vibe.com/posts/lil-wayne-announces-world-tour-eminem
ANNND PLUMPING ON UP!
A new Gallup poll found that we're getting heavier, and we don't seem to care.
The average American is just under 20 pounds heavier than they were in 1990. Men weighed 180 pounds back then, and women weighed 142.
Now the average American male weighs 196 pounds, an increase of 16 pounds in 21 years. The average woman is up 18 pounds to 160.
Even our "goal weight" has increased over that time. Most people name a target weight that's ten pounds heavier than it was in 1990.
Back then, men said their ideal weight was 171 pounds. That's increased to 181.
The ideal weight for women went from 129 pounds in 1990 to 138 now, an increase of nine pounds.
And even though nearly 70% of American adults are considered overweight or obese by the CDC, just 39% think they're overweight. 56% of us think our weight is "just right."
OHIO STATE SAYS NO WAY!!!
We've all heard that men think about sex every seven seconds. According to a new study, that's a myth. Men don't think about sex THAT much. BUT...men DO think about sex more than women.
The study was conducted at The Ohio State University and had both men and women record how often they think about sex, food, and sleep on a daily basis.
The average man thought about sex 19 times per day. That's not once every seven seconds, obviously. To think about sex every seven seconds, you'd need to think about sex 8,000 times a day.
The average woman thought about sex 10 times a day...which is about half of what men reported.
The man who thought about sex the most in the study thought about it 388 times a day. That's about 24 times per hour. The woman who thought about sex the most thought about it 140 times a day, or almost nine times an hour. I'm pretty sure I know who that girl is.
NO ONE in the study of either gender had zero sexual thoughts per day.
The study also found that, in addition to 19 sexual thoughts, men think about FOOD 18 times a day and sleep 11 times. Women think about sex 10 times, food 15 times, and sleep about 8-and-a-half times.
72% OF GUYS...
This poll asked guys if they've ever used a pick-up line. 72%, or about three-fourths, said NO. 28% said yes. And here are some of the most popular lines they've used...
8% have said to a woman, "Is that a ladder in your pants or a stairway to heaven?"
7% have said, "You must be tired because you've been running through my mind all day."
And 5% have tried, "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"
RANDOM:
Two-Thirds of Expectant Parents Google Potential Names for Their Baby...To Make Sure It's Not a Stripper or Serial Killer's Name
NICKELBACK SAYS EFF THE HATERS
NICKELBACK says their fans always come out to support them, so they're not concerned about the haters. Specifically, the ones that supported an online petition to have them removed from the Detroit Lions' Thanksgiving game halftime show.
Singer CHAD KROEGER says, "We get [hate like] that all the time. We've never really been a critics' darling or anything like that...The people speak. We sell a lot of records and fill a lot of arenas, and we don't hear many complaints."
Well, I'll give them that.
The petition picked up over 55,000 supporters. But Chad is right...according to their label, Nickelback has sold over 50 million albums worldwide, and has had over a dozen hits on the "Billboard" charts.
Of course, "the people" started that petition, not music critics. Every band has haters...Regardless, Nickelback seems to take that in stride.
MUSICAL TURNOFFS:
Tastebuds.fm recently conducted a poll to determine the Top 10 Musical Turnoffs according to their users. The site defined these acts as, quote, "The bands you just can't stand...REALLY can't stand."
Perhaps not surprisingly, NICKELBACK came in at #1...followed by JUSTIN BIEBER. (OK, so Canada = Good at healthcare, bad at fostering good music.)
Here's the Top 10, which is filled with some predictable names:
1.) Nickelback
2.) Justin Bieber
3.) Lady Gaga
4.) Ke$ha
5.) Coldplay
6.) U2
7.) Creed
8.) Katy Perry
9.) Lil Wayne
10.) Britney Spears.
LADY GAGA...
...in the new issue of "Vanity Fair". She says: "I Have an Inability to Know What Happiness Feels Like with a Man. I think what it really is, is that I date creative people. And I think that's what intimidates them is not my purse, it's my mind.
"It starts out good. Then when I'm in these relationships with people who are also creative, or creative in their own way, what happens is the attraction is initially there and it's all unicorns and rainbows. And then they hate me.
"It's a hideous place to be in when someone that you love has convinced you that you will never be good enough for anyone."
DREADING THE HOLIDAYS: HERE'S WHY
I love this list because it's so not politically correct, and so HONEST. "Consumer Reports" surveyed more than 1,000 Americans and asked them what they're dreading about the holiday season. Here's the full top 11:
#1.) Crowds and long lines, 68%
#2.) Gaining weight, 37%
#3.) Getting into debt, 37%
#4.) Gift shopping, 28%
#5.) Traveling, 25%
#6.) SEEING CERTAIN RELATIVES, 24%
#7.) Nonstop seasonal music, 23% (none of that on Q92!)
#8.) Disappointing gifts, 19%
#9.) Having to attend holiday parties and events, 16%
#10.) HAVING TO BE NICE TO PEOPLE, 15%
#11.) Holiday tipping, 12%
SHOPLIFTING ON THE RISE...
When I look at the photos and watch the videos of the mob scenes from Black Friday, I wonder, "How do these stores keep people from stealing EVERYTHING?" And the answer is...they don't.
The National Association of Shoplifting Prevention just released some new statistics...and it turns out shoplifting is WAY bigger than you ever realized. Check this out...
Statistically, one out of every ELEVEN people who walks into a store shoplifts something. Seriously.
Retailers are set to lose $119 BILLION this year to shoplifting. That's 1.45% of total sales.
Only 3% of shoplifters are pros.
70% of shoplifters didn't go to the store planning to steal...but saw an opportunity and took it.
75% of shoplifters are adults, most of whom have jobs. And 35% have help from a corrupt employee.
Shoplifting is up 6% compared to last year.
AND WHAT ARE WE STEALING?
"Adweek" magazine surveyed store security pros from around the country and asked them what items are shoplifted the most from their stores. Here's the top ten:
#1.) Filet mignon. (LOL!!!!) "Luxury meat" thefts are up 21% since 2009 and are the most commonly stolen items from grocery stores.
#2.) Expensive liquors. Stolen more by alcoholics than underage kids.
#3.) Small electric tools. This covers everything from power drills to electric toothbrushes.
#4.) iPhones. iPhones, plus other small electronics, get stolen all the time. Approximately 100,000 laptops are stolen from stores every year.
#5.) Gillette Mach 4 razor blades. Razor blade thefts account for 2.7% of all store losses.
#6.) AXE body spray. AXE is the most stolen brand of deodorant, body wash, and body spray.
#7.) Polo. Polo is the most stolen designer brand, and Tommy Hilfiger is second. Clothing theft is up 31% since 2009.
#8.) Let's Rock Elmo. This Elmo toy, along with all the other hot toys for this Christmas season, are major targets.
#9.) Chanel No. 5. Designer fragrances account for 4% of losses in stores where they're sold.
#10.) Nikes.
I-O-WA!
The Good News: ASHTON KUTCHER returned to his hometown last week, and was swarmed by girls. The Bad News: Ashton's hometown is in Iowa. (I kid, I kid. I LOVE the cornfed Iowa girls! Seriously!)
Ashton and some friends hit a few bars in Iowa City, and a source says, "He was drinking beer, and girls kept coming up to him. He loved the attention. Girls were hugging him and shaking his hand.
"He was swarmed by girls. A few tried to convince him to go to a strip club...but he declined!"
FACEBOOK FTW!
Here's a great shot in the Facebook-versus-Twitter rivalry. Twitter only lets you post updates that are 140 characters. That's their signature characteristic.
Well...Facebook is going in the OTHER direction. Yesterday, they announced that they'll let you post a status update or wall post that's 63,206 characters.
In other words, their max is 451.5 times higher than Twitter's.
The previous max on Facebook was 5,000 characters, which they established in September. Before then, you could only post 500 characters.
The 63,206 characters basically means you'll NEVER hit the limit. To compare, a full-length novel is about 500,000 characters...which means it would only take you eight Facebook posts to put up an entire novel.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
I AM THANKFUL...
...for delicious chocolate chip cookies that I just ate. For without them, Amos wouldn't be very famous.
...for chapstick. I tend to be a lip-biter. ....uh. Anyway, it keeps my lips juicy. Or something.
...for a remote control. What the HELL is on Channel 3 right now? ::clicks off::
...that I have the best friends money can buy. Really. They cost $20 but you can't beat them!
...that my hearts a stereo.
...that I don't work for a guy named "Wade". How could anyone take a Wade seriously?
...for shampoo that leaves my hair full of body. Wait, I don't have hair.
...that *I'M* not cooking today. Wait, I rarely do that anyway.
...for brain farts so I can sit here and stare at the screen. ::Stares::
...for women!! hey, we wouldn't be here without them. And who doesn't love a beautiful woman with a cute ass?
...for cute asses on women.
...for breasts. ....it's Thanksgiving, right? TURKEY you perv!
...for the fact that I WILL NOT be Black Friday shopping tomorrow.
...for social media. Seriously, how would we all be able to stay in touch with eachother like we do without it?
...for dentists. I may need one soon :/
...for my mattress. It feels nice.
...for Sheetz. Stan and Steve, you are visionaries. You should win the nobel prize.
...for soap that makes me smell purdee.
...that gas is $3.07 - hey, it beats $3.49
...for the TURKEY BOWL on Fox 8! OMG how could I forget about this! They go to a Giant Eagle, set up a ton of canned good and contestants 'bowl' with frozen turkeys. Lol!
...that I DON'T work in retail. And the only time I ever did was a grocery store (Fishers) in high school.
...for pizza. Pizza is awesome. Who invented that? I think his last name was Hut. Or maybe John?
...for pizza places that don't end in "John" cause his pizza really sucks.
...that it will be in the 60's for highs tomorrow and Saturday! Enjoy!
...that I can like your status when I'm too lazy to say anything on it.
...that someone decided to put RASPBERRY in ICED TEA! What a GENIUS move!
...for coffee.
...for biscuits.
...maybe I should eat something. Wait, that's not thankful for anything...
...to work for Q92 and have a cool boss that makes sure we always win!
...for this chair I'm sitting in. It's comfy.
...that you sat and read all this junk. HAPPY TURKEY! Gobble?
...for chapstick. I tend to be a lip-biter. ....uh. Anyway, it keeps my lips juicy. Or something.
...for a remote control. What the HELL is on Channel 3 right now? ::clicks off::
...that I have the best friends money can buy. Really. They cost $20 but you can't beat them!
...that my hearts a stereo.
...that I don't work for a guy named "Wade". How could anyone take a Wade seriously?
...for shampoo that leaves my hair full of body. Wait, I don't have hair.
...that *I'M* not cooking today. Wait, I rarely do that anyway.
...for brain farts so I can sit here and stare at the screen. ::Stares::
...for women!! hey, we wouldn't be here without them. And who doesn't love a beautiful woman with a cute ass?
...for cute asses on women.
...for breasts. ....it's Thanksgiving, right? TURKEY you perv!
...for the fact that I WILL NOT be Black Friday shopping tomorrow.
...for social media. Seriously, how would we all be able to stay in touch with eachother like we do without it?
...for dentists. I may need one soon :/
...for my mattress. It feels nice.
...for Sheetz. Stan and Steve, you are visionaries. You should win the nobel prize.
...for soap that makes me smell purdee.
...that gas is $3.07 - hey, it beats $3.49
...for the TURKEY BOWL on Fox 8! OMG how could I forget about this! They go to a Giant Eagle, set up a ton of canned good and contestants 'bowl' with frozen turkeys. Lol!
...that I DON'T work in retail. And the only time I ever did was a grocery store (Fishers) in high school.
...for pizza. Pizza is awesome. Who invented that? I think his last name was Hut. Or maybe John?
...for pizza places that don't end in "John" cause his pizza really sucks.
...that it will be in the 60's for highs tomorrow and Saturday! Enjoy!
...that I can like your status when I'm too lazy to say anything on it.
...that someone decided to put RASPBERRY in ICED TEA! What a GENIUS move!
...for coffee.
...for biscuits.
...maybe I should eat something. Wait, that's not thankful for anything...
...to work for Q92 and have a cool boss that makes sure we always win!
...for this chair I'm sitting in. It's comfy.
...that you sat and read all this junk. HAPPY TURKEY! Gobble?
Saturday, November 19, 2011
FINALLY
...a new blog!
THE AVERAGE WOMAN CAN ONLY KEEP A SECRET FOR 32 MINUTES
Remember this the next time you confide in someone. Odds are you only have about a half an hour before your secret starts spreading.
According to a new survey by a British skin care brand called Simple, the average woman can only keep a secret for 32 MINUTES before she tells someone else.
The survey was only conducted for women, so we don't know if men are as willing to immediately leak information.
The survey also found that about 10% of women say they can't keep ANY secret, no matter how personal it is. 13% say they tell secrets specifically because they want gossip to spread.
Almost half said that they share secrets because they can't handle being the only person who knows.
10% say they've had a friendship end because either they leaked a secret or their friend leaked a secret...and a fight over that tore them apart.
And finally, 85% say they LOVE hearing gossip from other people.
PINKERS WANTS MORE KIDDERS...
Just five months after giving birth to her daughter Willow, PINK wants husband CAREY HART to fill her uterus again. And again. And again.
She says, "We want a basketball team. We want lots and lots and lots."
Not that she's not enjoying Willow. She says, "She stops crying when I sing. My dogs leave the room and she stops crying. I sing 'You Are My Sunshine' and I make up songs for her because I'm goofy."
GQ MEN OF THE YEAR
JAY-Z says he WILL change diapers when his wife BEYONCÉ gives birth.
In the new issue of "GQ"...which happens to be its annual Men of the Year issue...Jay says, "Providing...that's not love. Being there...that's more important.
"I mean, we see that. We see that with all these rich socialites. They're crying out for attention; they're hurting for love. I'm not being judgmental...I'm just making an observation.
"They're crying out for the love that maybe they didn't get at home, and they got everything, all the material things that they need and want. So we know that's not the key."
Also Making "GQ's" Men of the Year List Are:
Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon, Michael Fassbender and...MILA KUNIS. (???) Yes, they named her Knockout of the Year.
The issue comes out November 22nd.
DROPPIN' COIN ON TURKEYS...
Last week, the American Farm Bureau Federation released their annual study on the cost of serving Thanksgiving dinner. And they found the average cost of a 10-person dinner, including turkey, lots of sides, and dessert, is $49.20.
We aren't sure what grocery store they're shopping at...because NO ONE here in the real world thinks they can host Thanksgiving that cheap.
In a new nationwide survey by Harris Interactive, only 31% of Americans who are hosting Thanksgiving think they'll spend under $100. Spending $50 is such a ridiculous notion that Harris didn't even ask about that small of an amount.
52% of people believe it will cost them between $100 and $250. 17% of people will spend over $250. That means, total, seven out of 10 Americans will spend at LEAST $100 to host Thanksgiving.
The main way people plan to save money is using coupons, at 60%.
37% will shop at a warehouse store like Costco...and 34% will ask their guests to bring a dish.
10% are planning to play a VERY dangerous game...they're planning to wait until the last possible second to go shopping, hoping that stores will slash prices to empty out their inventory.
NO VACAY FOR YOU!
I guess Americans really are afraid to go on vacation...in this economy, you feel like the second you leave your desk, someone else is going to scurry in there and replace you.
According to a new survey by JetBlue, more than HALF of Americans will end this year with unused vacation days.
A LOT of vacation days. The average worker who isn't taking all of their time off will end the year with 11 leftover vacation days.
39% say the reason they aren't taking their vacation days is they're reluctant to ask their bosses for time off...like it makes them seem less committed to their jobs.
SHOVE THAT MCMUFFIN UP YOUR BLANKING....
Look, we've ALL had that moment where we ALMOST freaked out at McDonald's, over their evil policy of switching from breakfast to lunch and REFUSING to serve certain things on the menu. Or the Saturday morning DASH to get there by 10:59! (Reminder: Sheetz serves breakfast 24/7)
This woman actually did it.
JUST after 3:00 A.M. on Sunday, 22-year-old Shanaya Edgell of Janesville, Wisconsin and her 40-year-old boyfriend went through a McDonald's drive thru...because Shanaya REALLY wanted a cheeseburger. Look at the time. This is clearly a drunk meal.
But there was a problem. Since it was after 3:00 A.M., the McDonald's had already switched over to their breakfast menu. Which means they would NOT give her a cheeseburger.
Now this would make me HAPPY. I love some drunk breakfast food! But Shanaya FLIPPED OUT.
She started by punching her boyfriend a bunch of times, then got out of the car and climbed onto the hood so he couldn't drive away. She caused such a scene that the police were called in to calm her down.
When they got there, she told them she was, quote, "freaking out over" McDonald's switching their menu. She was arrested for disorderly conduct.
JUSTIN DOES THE BALL
If you are on my facebook (and you SHOULD be!), you probably saw me post the link to JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE's story of the MARINE CORPS ball that he attended.
CORPORAL KELSEY DE SANTIS...who was JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE'S date to the Marine Corps Ball in Richmond, Virginia over the weekend, says he was a "complete gentleman."
Speaking on the "Today" show, Kelsey said, "I didn't know what to expect really. I was super, super excited."
She added, "It was a great time. He had a smile on his face the whole time."
As for her favorite moment of the evening, Kelsey said, "The sweetest moment was definitely right after the ceremony ended and being able to see his face. You could see he genuinely cared about what he saw."
She added, "We were on the dance floor, having a good time at the table, joking and laughing. So, it was, altogether, really great."
MOVE LESS...
I don't know if this is because of the economy...or because we're just lazier than ever. But either way, we aren't buying boxes, packing up our crap, and moving anymore.
According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, only 11.6% of Americans moved to a different county or state in 2010. That's the lowest percentage EVER RECORDED.
The Census Bureau started tracking movement in 1948, meaning last year had the fewest people moving in at least 62 years.
The moving rate peaked in 1985, when 20.2% of Americans changed counties or states. It's been gradually decreasing ever since.
The data also found that 59% of Americans currently live in the state where they were born.
Louisiana has the highest number of people living there who were born there, at 78.8%. It's followed by Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Yep, don't believe the hype that people are fleeing here. Apparently they aren't!
Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Washington, D.C. have the lowest rates...less than 40% of their residents were born there. And Nevada has the lowest rate of all, less than 25% of the people who live there were born there.
SO IF YOU *DO* MOVE...
Where are you moving TO?
The Census Bureau just released data on moving in 2010, and it included the ten most common state-to-state moves for the year.
And number one is...moving from the highest-profile liberal state to the highest-profile conservative state. That's California-to-Texas. Here's the full top ten:
#1.) California-to-Texas, 68,959 movers.
#2.) New York-to-Florida, 55,011 movers...many of whom are probably grandmas.
#3.) Florida-to-Georgia, 49,901 movers.
#4.) California-to-Arizona, 47,164 movers.
#5.) New Jersey-to-Pennsylvania, 42,456 movers. (New Jersian's want to get out of Jersey!)
#6.) New York-to-New Jersey, 41,374 movers. (New Yorkers want out of New Yawk!)
#7.) California-to-Washington, 39,468 movers.
#8.) Texas-to-California, 36,582 movers.
#9.) Georgia-to-Florida, 35,615 movers.
#10.) California-to-Nevada, 35,472 movers.
perhaps more blog tomorrow!
THE AVERAGE WOMAN CAN ONLY KEEP A SECRET FOR 32 MINUTES
Remember this the next time you confide in someone. Odds are you only have about a half an hour before your secret starts spreading.
According to a new survey by a British skin care brand called Simple, the average woman can only keep a secret for 32 MINUTES before she tells someone else.
The survey was only conducted for women, so we don't know if men are as willing to immediately leak information.
The survey also found that about 10% of women say they can't keep ANY secret, no matter how personal it is. 13% say they tell secrets specifically because they want gossip to spread.
Almost half said that they share secrets because they can't handle being the only person who knows.
10% say they've had a friendship end because either they leaked a secret or their friend leaked a secret...and a fight over that tore them apart.
And finally, 85% say they LOVE hearing gossip from other people.
PINKERS WANTS MORE KIDDERS...
Just five months after giving birth to her daughter Willow, PINK wants husband CAREY HART to fill her uterus again. And again. And again.
She says, "We want a basketball team. We want lots and lots and lots."
Not that she's not enjoying Willow. She says, "She stops crying when I sing. My dogs leave the room and she stops crying. I sing 'You Are My Sunshine' and I make up songs for her because I'm goofy."
GQ MEN OF THE YEAR
JAY-Z says he WILL change diapers when his wife BEYONCÉ gives birth.
In the new issue of "GQ"...which happens to be its annual Men of the Year issue...Jay says, "Providing...that's not love. Being there...that's more important.
"I mean, we see that. We see that with all these rich socialites. They're crying out for attention; they're hurting for love. I'm not being judgmental...I'm just making an observation.
"They're crying out for the love that maybe they didn't get at home, and they got everything, all the material things that they need and want. So we know that's not the key."
Also Making "GQ's" Men of the Year List Are:
Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon, Michael Fassbender and...MILA KUNIS. (???) Yes, they named her Knockout of the Year.
The issue comes out November 22nd.
DROPPIN' COIN ON TURKEYS...
Last week, the American Farm Bureau Federation released their annual study on the cost of serving Thanksgiving dinner. And they found the average cost of a 10-person dinner, including turkey, lots of sides, and dessert, is $49.20.
We aren't sure what grocery store they're shopping at...because NO ONE here in the real world thinks they can host Thanksgiving that cheap.
In a new nationwide survey by Harris Interactive, only 31% of Americans who are hosting Thanksgiving think they'll spend under $100. Spending $50 is such a ridiculous notion that Harris didn't even ask about that small of an amount.
52% of people believe it will cost them between $100 and $250. 17% of people will spend over $250. That means, total, seven out of 10 Americans will spend at LEAST $100 to host Thanksgiving.
The main way people plan to save money is using coupons, at 60%.
37% will shop at a warehouse store like Costco...and 34% will ask their guests to bring a dish.
10% are planning to play a VERY dangerous game...they're planning to wait until the last possible second to go shopping, hoping that stores will slash prices to empty out their inventory.
NO VACAY FOR YOU!
I guess Americans really are afraid to go on vacation...in this economy, you feel like the second you leave your desk, someone else is going to scurry in there and replace you.
According to a new survey by JetBlue, more than HALF of Americans will end this year with unused vacation days.
A LOT of vacation days. The average worker who isn't taking all of their time off will end the year with 11 leftover vacation days.
39% say the reason they aren't taking their vacation days is they're reluctant to ask their bosses for time off...like it makes them seem less committed to their jobs.
SHOVE THAT MCMUFFIN UP YOUR BLANKING....
Look, we've ALL had that moment where we ALMOST freaked out at McDonald's, over their evil policy of switching from breakfast to lunch and REFUSING to serve certain things on the menu. Or the Saturday morning DASH to get there by 10:59! (Reminder: Sheetz serves breakfast 24/7)
This woman actually did it.
JUST after 3:00 A.M. on Sunday, 22-year-old Shanaya Edgell of Janesville, Wisconsin and her 40-year-old boyfriend went through a McDonald's drive thru...because Shanaya REALLY wanted a cheeseburger. Look at the time. This is clearly a drunk meal.
But there was a problem. Since it was after 3:00 A.M., the McDonald's had already switched over to their breakfast menu. Which means they would NOT give her a cheeseburger.
Now this would make me HAPPY. I love some drunk breakfast food! But Shanaya FLIPPED OUT.
She started by punching her boyfriend a bunch of times, then got out of the car and climbed onto the hood so he couldn't drive away. She caused such a scene that the police were called in to calm her down.
When they got there, she told them she was, quote, "freaking out over" McDonald's switching their menu. She was arrested for disorderly conduct.
JUSTIN DOES THE BALL
If you are on my facebook (and you SHOULD be!), you probably saw me post the link to JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE's story of the MARINE CORPS ball that he attended.
CORPORAL KELSEY DE SANTIS...who was JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE'S date to the Marine Corps Ball in Richmond, Virginia over the weekend, says he was a "complete gentleman."
Speaking on the "Today" show, Kelsey said, "I didn't know what to expect really. I was super, super excited."
She added, "It was a great time. He had a smile on his face the whole time."
As for her favorite moment of the evening, Kelsey said, "The sweetest moment was definitely right after the ceremony ended and being able to see his face. You could see he genuinely cared about what he saw."
She added, "We were on the dance floor, having a good time at the table, joking and laughing. So, it was, altogether, really great."
MOVE LESS...
I don't know if this is because of the economy...or because we're just lazier than ever. But either way, we aren't buying boxes, packing up our crap, and moving anymore.
According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, only 11.6% of Americans moved to a different county or state in 2010. That's the lowest percentage EVER RECORDED.
The Census Bureau started tracking movement in 1948, meaning last year had the fewest people moving in at least 62 years.
The moving rate peaked in 1985, when 20.2% of Americans changed counties or states. It's been gradually decreasing ever since.
The data also found that 59% of Americans currently live in the state where they were born.
Louisiana has the highest number of people living there who were born there, at 78.8%. It's followed by Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Yep, don't believe the hype that people are fleeing here. Apparently they aren't!
Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Washington, D.C. have the lowest rates...less than 40% of their residents were born there. And Nevada has the lowest rate of all, less than 25% of the people who live there were born there.
SO IF YOU *DO* MOVE...
Where are you moving TO?
The Census Bureau just released data on moving in 2010, and it included the ten most common state-to-state moves for the year.
And number one is...moving from the highest-profile liberal state to the highest-profile conservative state. That's California-to-Texas. Here's the full top ten:
#1.) California-to-Texas, 68,959 movers.
#2.) New York-to-Florida, 55,011 movers...many of whom are probably grandmas.
#3.) Florida-to-Georgia, 49,901 movers.
#4.) California-to-Arizona, 47,164 movers.
#5.) New Jersey-to-Pennsylvania, 42,456 movers. (New Jersian's want to get out of Jersey!)
#6.) New York-to-New Jersey, 41,374 movers. (New Yorkers want out of New Yawk!)
#7.) California-to-Washington, 39,468 movers.
#8.) Texas-to-California, 36,582 movers.
#9.) Georgia-to-Florida, 35,615 movers.
#10.) California-to-Nevada, 35,472 movers.
perhaps more blog tomorrow!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Evil laugh. Yeah. Spooky.
Sup? How ya DO-EN? Here's some shtuff.
JOHN MAYER IS RECOVERING...
JOHN MAYER is currently recovering from surgery on his vocal chords.
Last month, John revealed that he had a "granuloma"...or an inflamed mass of tissue in his throat, near his vocal chords.
In a new blog post, he says he's, "on complete vocal rest for a month or more." (For more, you can read John's blog at JHNMYR.tumblr.com.)
NICKI MINAJ DOESN'T GO FOR RICH DUDES...
NICKI MINAJ has all kinds of male suitors flaunting cash and jewelry in her face...but she says she isn't attracted to that.
She says, "I may be smiling in their face, but my antenna is up (wonder if THEIR antenna is up. HEY!!!)...when they're trying to show off their cash or their watch, it's an immediate turn-off.
"You can't run game on [me]. I'm always 10 steps ahead of you."
So what IS Nicki into? She explains, "I do like a dope nose profile...one that's straight on the side. And I like full lips. I've never kissed someone who didn't have full lips."
Excuse me, I need to go find a mirror and examine my kissers.
50 SAYS THE WORLD IS EFFED UP
Even though he's basically a corporation himself, 50 CENT has dumped a big anti-corporate rant on his website, ThisIs50.com. He says, "The world is so [effed] up. People don't seem to care anymore.
"People seem to have distanced themselves from other people's problems, they have been programmed not to care! Politicians are corrupt...so many companies are corrupt and taking excessive profits...and we keep allowing this [stuff] to happen."
Hasn't 50 Cent heard about this "Occupy" stuff? People ARE beginning to not only care...but to try to do something about it.
ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN STUFF...
#1.) Trick-or-treating. It comes from an old tradition where poor children in England and Ireland would go door-to-door praying for the dead on All Saints' Day.
After World War Two, children in the U.S. started doing the door-to-door walk, and people started giving them candy...which led to trick-or-treating.
#2.) Jack-o-lanterns. This comes from an Irish legend about a farmer named Jack who would play tricks on the devil AND God. That got him banned from heaven and hell, so he roamed the world as a flame inside carved vegetables.
Jack-o-lanterns became part of Irish superstition too. People would carve turnips and put them outside their houses to scare away evil spirits. Americans used pumpkins instead because there were more of them and they were easier to carve.
#3.) Haunted houses. These don't come from any tradition...except the tradition of people finding a way to MAKE MONEY off holidays.
In the 1950s, Junior Chamber International clubs realized they could make money off haunted houses that played off the Halloween spirit, so they did...and everyone else followed their lead.
I AIN'T 'FRAID OF NO GHOST!
Here's one of those "Hey, it's Halloween, let's do a survey" surveys. According to a bed and breakfast website, 15% of people say they've definitely seen a ghost in their lifetime.
The survey also found that 44% say they've visited someplace that was actually haunted...37% would like to visit a real haunted house...and 27.5% would want to spend the night in a haunted house.
GIVE UP WHAT?
Remember this survey when a guy leaves you because he's not sexually satisfied, and you turn to Facebook for comfort.
A new survey by "Cosmopolitan" asked women if they'd rather give up sex or their computer, cell phone, or Facebook. And sex REALLY didn't fare so well. Don't get me wrong, I like FB as much as the next guy, but...
57% of women would rather have their computer for a week than sex...50% would rather have their cell phone for a week than sex...and 20% even said they need Facebook for a week more than they need sex.
OH, HI...
I was just thinking, "It's been, like, four hours since someone released a new study about porno, I hope someone fills the void soon." So, well played University of Sunderland in England...you stepped up.
And actually, they somehow pulled off a massive international survey on pornography that's actually interesting. Here are some of the preliminary results.
#1.) Women 18-to-25 are the biggest porno fiends. You'd never guess it...but they asked people how much they watch porno and how important it is to their sex life. And women 18-to-25 had the highest numbers by far.
Between ages 26 and 35, the genders basically even out their porn frequency and importance. After that, it becomes more frequently viewed and more important to men.
#2.) Here are the main reasons people watch porno, in order. "I feel horny"..."I'm bored, can't relax, or can't sleep"..."I WANT to feel horny"..."I don't have anything better to do"..."It's a good way to enjoy my sexual interests/fetishes."
The five least popular reasons for watching porno are: "I saw a pop-up ad and clicked it"..."I want to see things I shouldn't do"..."I want to see things I wouldn't do"..."I like the drama of the stories"...and "For a laugh."
#3.) Here are the main places people go for porno, in order. Free porno sites, like Porntube or YouPorn...downloads..."amateur" websites...sexual fiction sites...and specialty fetish sites.
Notice that DVDs and magazines didn't even make the list...they both finished in the middle of the pack.
The places people go the least are: Porn star pay-per-view sites...porno studio pay-per-view sites...live sex cam sites...hook-up or AdultFriendFinder-type sites...and chatrooms.
DETROIT: WE NEED A NAP
That's what they're saying in the Motor City. Two groups that don't get mentioned together very often are the Centers for Disease Control and Sleepy's, The Mattress Professionals. That's a chain of mattress stores (we don't have any stores locally.
But Sleepy's used CDC data on the sleep habits of 350,000 people, and came up with a list of the most sleep-deprived cities in America.
The most sleep-deprived city is Detroit, which, as Sleepy's points out, might be because it's also one of the most dangerous cities in the country.
Are they saying no one is sleeping cause they're out murdering folks?
The rest of the top five are:
Birmingham, Alabama, which is also one of the least-healthy cities in the U.S.
Oklahoma City, which has seen a huge rise in prescription drug abuse.
New Orleans, which was hit by Hurricane Katrina six years ago. (they stretched for a reason on some of these cities.)
And New York.
Sleepy's also pointed out that most of the sleep-deprived cities are east of the Mississippi, and known for crime, recession, or poor health.
Three of the five most-rested cities are in California. San Diego tops the list, followed by Dallas; Richmond, Virginia; San Jose, and San Francisco.
SHE MAY BE BAD, BUT SHE'S PERFECTLY GOOD AT IT...
RIHANNA was in Paris last week...and according to the British tabloids, she spent $1,500 at a SEX SHOP called Lovestore.
Her purchases included sexy panties and other lingerie, toys, leather handcuffs and scented candles.
A source says, "She knew exactly what she was after and didn't want any assistance picking out items. A blacked-out car parked on the pavement right outside the shop...There was no dithering.
"She was grinning from ear to ear and seemed to be in a hurry to get back to her hotel."
CHEATIN' FOOLS...
Thinking about having an affair? Good news: You have a surprisingly decent chance that your significant other will take you back once they inevitably find out.
According to a survey, these are the latest numbers on cheating. And they show some pretty bad/sad trends....
#1.) Tons of people are cheating. Shockingly, 47% of people...or almost HALF...admit they've cheated on a partner.
#2.) A decent amount of cheaters are getting away with it. 63% of cheaters have been caught...meaning you have almost a two-in-three chance of being nailed, but more than a one-in-three chance of getting away with it.
#3.) 42% of the people surveyed said they've taken back someone who cheated on them. That means you've got about a TWO-IN-FIVE CHANCE of being forgiven for an affair.
30% of people said they would actually give their partner PERMISSION to cheat on them with a celebrity. (.....hi!! do I count? kidding)
Of the cheaters, 25% say DRUNKENNESS was their primary motivation...and 20% say they were getting REVENGE on their partner for cheating on them.
WHAT YOUR CANDY SAYS ABOUT YOU...
This is pretty much nonsense, but Gawker has a list of different types of candy, and what they supposedly say about your personality if you hand them out on Halloween. Here are the top six.
#1.) Fun-Sized Candy Bars. Basically, it means you're normal. You care about the tradition of Halloween, but not TOO much. And you know it's what most kids WANT.
#2.) Candy That Doesn't Have Chocolate. Gawker says if you give out things like Skittles, Sweet Tarts, or Starburst, it means you care about Halloween, but you want to be DIFFERENT.
Apparently ignoring kids' love of chocolate makes you some kind of trailblazer.
#3.) Candy Corn. The last time kids were EXCITED to get candy corn was sometime between 1950 and 1960. Or my friend Ashley yesterday. So if you give it out now, it means you're either out of touch, or trying to recreate your own childhood.
#4.) Tootsie Rolls. You could make the same argument here, but according to Gawker, Tootsie Rolls are one of the BEST things to give out. They say Tootsie Rolls make you come across as simple, but classic.
#5.) Lollipops. It means you're not into Halloween, and might even leave your porch light off. But you want to have something in case kids knock on your door anyway.
$6.) Full-Sized Candy Bars. It means one of two things: You're either trying to impress your neighbors. Or you're so emotionally scarred that you desperately need the approval of nine-year-olds.
WANNA SNAG SOMEONE TONIGHT?
If you're single, Halloween is a GOLD MINE for meeting people. Costumes just make EVERYTHING easier.
The people at the social dating site Zoosk.com just released the results of their survey on Halloween and pick-ups...here's what they found, and the advice you should follow...
Men most prefer women in SEXY costumes. 71% of men said that's their favorite. (DUH)
Women most prefer men in FUNNY costumes, although it's not as overwhelming. 51% said funny is the best.
Only 5% of men and 12% of women say they'd be attracted to someone in a SCARY costume.
Group costumes with your friends aren't the way to go if you're looking to hook-up. 47% of both men and women say they would be reluctant to approach someone in a group costume, mostly because they seem "taken."
44% of men and 42% of women say they'd be willing to go out on a date on Halloween night.
CANCER STICKS....
According to a new survey by Yahoo, the perception of smoking has done a full 180 in the past 40 or 50 years.
Across all age groups, 57% of men and 71% of women say that smoking is, quote, "VERY UNCOOL."
61% of people under 34 say they've NEVER smoked.
58% of women and 49% of men say they would NOT date a smoker.
As for the smokers surveyed . . .
Only 28% admit they're addicted.
72% say, "I choose when I smoke and can go without at any time."
Sup? How ya DO-EN? Here's some shtuff.
JOHN MAYER IS RECOVERING...
JOHN MAYER is currently recovering from surgery on his vocal chords.
Last month, John revealed that he had a "granuloma"...or an inflamed mass of tissue in his throat, near his vocal chords.
In a new blog post, he says he's, "on complete vocal rest for a month or more." (For more, you can read John's blog at JHNMYR.tumblr.com.)
NICKI MINAJ DOESN'T GO FOR RICH DUDES...
NICKI MINAJ has all kinds of male suitors flaunting cash and jewelry in her face...but she says she isn't attracted to that.
She says, "I may be smiling in their face, but my antenna is up (wonder if THEIR antenna is up. HEY!!!)...when they're trying to show off their cash or their watch, it's an immediate turn-off.
"You can't run game on [me]. I'm always 10 steps ahead of you."
So what IS Nicki into? She explains, "I do like a dope nose profile...one that's straight on the side. And I like full lips. I've never kissed someone who didn't have full lips."
Excuse me, I need to go find a mirror and examine my kissers.
50 SAYS THE WORLD IS EFFED UP
Even though he's basically a corporation himself, 50 CENT has dumped a big anti-corporate rant on his website, ThisIs50.com. He says, "The world is so [effed] up. People don't seem to care anymore.
"People seem to have distanced themselves from other people's problems, they have been programmed not to care! Politicians are corrupt...so many companies are corrupt and taking excessive profits...and we keep allowing this [stuff] to happen."
Hasn't 50 Cent heard about this "Occupy" stuff? People ARE beginning to not only care...but to try to do something about it.
ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN STUFF...
#1.) Trick-or-treating. It comes from an old tradition where poor children in England and Ireland would go door-to-door praying for the dead on All Saints' Day.
After World War Two, children in the U.S. started doing the door-to-door walk, and people started giving them candy...which led to trick-or-treating.
#2.) Jack-o-lanterns. This comes from an Irish legend about a farmer named Jack who would play tricks on the devil AND God. That got him banned from heaven and hell, so he roamed the world as a flame inside carved vegetables.
Jack-o-lanterns became part of Irish superstition too. People would carve turnips and put them outside their houses to scare away evil spirits. Americans used pumpkins instead because there were more of them and they were easier to carve.
#3.) Haunted houses. These don't come from any tradition...except the tradition of people finding a way to MAKE MONEY off holidays.
In the 1950s, Junior Chamber International clubs realized they could make money off haunted houses that played off the Halloween spirit, so they did...and everyone else followed their lead.
I AIN'T 'FRAID OF NO GHOST!
Here's one of those "Hey, it's Halloween, let's do a survey" surveys. According to a bed and breakfast website, 15% of people say they've definitely seen a ghost in their lifetime.
The survey also found that 44% say they've visited someplace that was actually haunted...37% would like to visit a real haunted house...and 27.5% would want to spend the night in a haunted house.
GIVE UP WHAT?
Remember this survey when a guy leaves you because he's not sexually satisfied, and you turn to Facebook for comfort.
A new survey by "Cosmopolitan" asked women if they'd rather give up sex or their computer, cell phone, or Facebook. And sex REALLY didn't fare so well. Don't get me wrong, I like FB as much as the next guy, but...
57% of women would rather have their computer for a week than sex...50% would rather have their cell phone for a week than sex...and 20% even said they need Facebook for a week more than they need sex.
OH, HI...
I was just thinking, "It's been, like, four hours since someone released a new study about porno, I hope someone fills the void soon." So, well played University of Sunderland in England...you stepped up.
And actually, they somehow pulled off a massive international survey on pornography that's actually interesting. Here are some of the preliminary results.
#1.) Women 18-to-25 are the biggest porno fiends. You'd never guess it...but they asked people how much they watch porno and how important it is to their sex life. And women 18-to-25 had the highest numbers by far.
Between ages 26 and 35, the genders basically even out their porn frequency and importance. After that, it becomes more frequently viewed and more important to men.
#2.) Here are the main reasons people watch porno, in order. "I feel horny"..."I'm bored, can't relax, or can't sleep"..."I WANT to feel horny"..."I don't have anything better to do"..."It's a good way to enjoy my sexual interests/fetishes."
The five least popular reasons for watching porno are: "I saw a pop-up ad and clicked it"..."I want to see things I shouldn't do"..."I want to see things I wouldn't do"..."I like the drama of the stories"...and "For a laugh."
#3.) Here are the main places people go for porno, in order. Free porno sites, like Porntube or YouPorn...downloads..."amateur" websites...sexual fiction sites...and specialty fetish sites.
Notice that DVDs and magazines didn't even make the list...they both finished in the middle of the pack.
The places people go the least are: Porn star pay-per-view sites...porno studio pay-per-view sites...live sex cam sites...hook-up or AdultFriendFinder-type sites...and chatrooms.
DETROIT: WE NEED A NAP
That's what they're saying in the Motor City. Two groups that don't get mentioned together very often are the Centers for Disease Control and Sleepy's, The Mattress Professionals. That's a chain of mattress stores (we don't have any stores locally.
But Sleepy's used CDC data on the sleep habits of 350,000 people, and came up with a list of the most sleep-deprived cities in America.
The most sleep-deprived city is Detroit, which, as Sleepy's points out, might be because it's also one of the most dangerous cities in the country.
Are they saying no one is sleeping cause they're out murdering folks?
The rest of the top five are:
Birmingham, Alabama, which is also one of the least-healthy cities in the U.S.
Oklahoma City, which has seen a huge rise in prescription drug abuse.
New Orleans, which was hit by Hurricane Katrina six years ago. (they stretched for a reason on some of these cities.)
And New York.
Sleepy's also pointed out that most of the sleep-deprived cities are east of the Mississippi, and known for crime, recession, or poor health.
Three of the five most-rested cities are in California. San Diego tops the list, followed by Dallas; Richmond, Virginia; San Jose, and San Francisco.
SHE MAY BE BAD, BUT SHE'S PERFECTLY GOOD AT IT...
RIHANNA was in Paris last week...and according to the British tabloids, she spent $1,500 at a SEX SHOP called Lovestore.
Her purchases included sexy panties and other lingerie, toys, leather handcuffs and scented candles.
A source says, "She knew exactly what she was after and didn't want any assistance picking out items. A blacked-out car parked on the pavement right outside the shop...There was no dithering.
"She was grinning from ear to ear and seemed to be in a hurry to get back to her hotel."
CHEATIN' FOOLS...
Thinking about having an affair? Good news: You have a surprisingly decent chance that your significant other will take you back once they inevitably find out.
According to a survey, these are the latest numbers on cheating. And they show some pretty bad/sad trends....
#1.) Tons of people are cheating. Shockingly, 47% of people...or almost HALF...admit they've cheated on a partner.
#2.) A decent amount of cheaters are getting away with it. 63% of cheaters have been caught...meaning you have almost a two-in-three chance of being nailed, but more than a one-in-three chance of getting away with it.
#3.) 42% of the people surveyed said they've taken back someone who cheated on them. That means you've got about a TWO-IN-FIVE CHANCE of being forgiven for an affair.
30% of people said they would actually give their partner PERMISSION to cheat on them with a celebrity. (.....hi!! do I count? kidding)
Of the cheaters, 25% say DRUNKENNESS was their primary motivation...and 20% say they were getting REVENGE on their partner for cheating on them.
WHAT YOUR CANDY SAYS ABOUT YOU...
This is pretty much nonsense, but Gawker has a list of different types of candy, and what they supposedly say about your personality if you hand them out on Halloween. Here are the top six.
#1.) Fun-Sized Candy Bars. Basically, it means you're normal. You care about the tradition of Halloween, but not TOO much. And you know it's what most kids WANT.
#2.) Candy That Doesn't Have Chocolate. Gawker says if you give out things like Skittles, Sweet Tarts, or Starburst, it means you care about Halloween, but you want to be DIFFERENT.
Apparently ignoring kids' love of chocolate makes you some kind of trailblazer.
#3.) Candy Corn. The last time kids were EXCITED to get candy corn was sometime between 1950 and 1960. Or my friend Ashley yesterday. So if you give it out now, it means you're either out of touch, or trying to recreate your own childhood.
#4.) Tootsie Rolls. You could make the same argument here, but according to Gawker, Tootsie Rolls are one of the BEST things to give out. They say Tootsie Rolls make you come across as simple, but classic.
#5.) Lollipops. It means you're not into Halloween, and might even leave your porch light off. But you want to have something in case kids knock on your door anyway.
$6.) Full-Sized Candy Bars. It means one of two things: You're either trying to impress your neighbors. Or you're so emotionally scarred that you desperately need the approval of nine-year-olds.
WANNA SNAG SOMEONE TONIGHT?
If you're single, Halloween is a GOLD MINE for meeting people. Costumes just make EVERYTHING easier.
The people at the social dating site Zoosk.com just released the results of their survey on Halloween and pick-ups...here's what they found, and the advice you should follow...
Men most prefer women in SEXY costumes. 71% of men said that's their favorite. (DUH)
Women most prefer men in FUNNY costumes, although it's not as overwhelming. 51% said funny is the best.
Only 5% of men and 12% of women say they'd be attracted to someone in a SCARY costume.
Group costumes with your friends aren't the way to go if you're looking to hook-up. 47% of both men and women say they would be reluctant to approach someone in a group costume, mostly because they seem "taken."
44% of men and 42% of women say they'd be willing to go out on a date on Halloween night.
CANCER STICKS....
According to a new survey by Yahoo, the perception of smoking has done a full 180 in the past 40 or 50 years.
Across all age groups, 57% of men and 71% of women say that smoking is, quote, "VERY UNCOOL."
61% of people under 34 say they've NEVER smoked.
58% of women and 49% of men say they would NOT date a smoker.
As for the smokers surveyed . . .
Only 28% admit they're addicted.
72% say, "I choose when I smoke and can go without at any time."
Saturday, October 15, 2011
SATURDAY SPECIAL
I have no idea what's special about it. Probably nothing. But here we go.
AMERICAN MUSIC AWARD NOMINATIONS!
My favorite music-awards show. Now, that we've all had the chance to regroup from the SHEER HYSTERIA of Columbus Day Weekend, we can get back to the REAL business at hand:
The nominees for the "39th Annual American Music Awards" were announced...and this year, ADELE topped everyone with four nominations.
Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Katy Perry, Rihanna and The Band Perry followed with three nominations apiece.
AMA nominees are determined using a formula that weighs artists' music sales, prevalence on radio and TV, Internet streams and videos...plus, "additional online metrics," which include "social-media activity."
ABC will air the ceremony live on Sunday, November 20th. So far, only two performers have been announced: Katy Perry and Pitbull.
As usual, YOU will choose the winners. Voting is open NOW at AMAvote.com. Before casting your vote, you'll have to sign in through Facebook...or provide an email address to register. You can vote up through November 11th.
Here are your nominees . . .
Artist of the Year:
--Adele
--Lady Gaga
--Katy Perry
--Lil Wayne
--Taylor Swift
Favorite Female Artist - Pop / Rock:
--Adele
--Katy Perry
--Lady Gaga
Favorite Male Artist - Pop / Rock:
--Justin Bieber
--Bruno Mars
--Pitbull
Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop / Rock:
--LMFAO
--Maroon 5
--OneRepublic
Favorite Pop / Rock Album:
--"21", Adele
--"Loud", Rihanna
--"Born This Way", Lady Gaga
Favorite Artist - Rap / Hip-Hop:
--Lil Wayne
--Nicki Minaj
--Kanye West
Favorite Rap / Hip-Hop Album:
--"Tha Carter 4", Lil Wayne
--"Watch the Throne", The Throne
--"Pink Friday", Nicki Minaj
Favorite Male Artist - Soul / R&B:
--Chris Brown
--Trey Songz
--Usher
Favorite Female Artist - Soul / R&B:
--Rihanna
--Beyoncé
--Kelly Rowland
Favorite Soul / R&B Album:
--"4", Beyoncé
--"Loud", Rihanna
--"F.A.M.E.", Chris Brown
Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary:
--Adele
--Bruno Mars
--Katy Perry
Favorite Artist - Alternative Rock:
--Foo Fighters
--Black Keys
--Mumford & Sons
Favorite Artist - Latin Music:
--Pitbull
--Enrique Iglesias
--Jennifer Lopez
New Artist of the Year:
--Foster the People
--Hot Chelle Rae
--The Band Perry
--Thompson Square
--Marsha Ambrosius
--Miguel
--LMFAO
--Wiz Khalifa
Voting for New Artist of the Year is a little different. There's a separate link above the other nominees at AMAvote.com.
All of them are eligible until October 21st. At that point, a smaller group of finalists will be determined...and there will be another round of voting.
HOW YOU HOLD YOUR DRINK...DESCRIBES YOUR PERSONALITY
At least according to an old study by a psychologist at King's College in London named Dr. Glenn Wilson. He visited bars, observed 500 different drinkers, and came up with eight different personality types...and how to approach them.
According to Dr. Wilson, "The simple act of holding a drink displays a lot more about us than we realize...or might want to divulge." Check it out.
#1.) The Flirt: A woman who holds her glass in a provocative way, with her fingers splayed. She might hold her drink over her chest, to draw attention to her cleavage, or peer over the rim to check you out as she's taking a sip.
According to Dr. Wilson, "She may 'tease' the rim of the glass with her finger, perhaps dipping it into the drink and sucking it dry." Obviously there's no guess-work here...just go for it.
#2.) The Gossip: A woman who holds a wine glass by the bowl, and uses it as a prop to gesticulate and make points. She tends to cluster in a group with other women, and she's critical.
She also likes to lean in over her drink towards other people, so she can speak more honestly and be more confidential. She already has a close-knit social group...and she's NOT looking to extend it.
#3.) The Ice Queen: A woman who drinks from a wine glass or a short cocktail, and holds it firmly as a barrier across her body. She's cold, defensive, doesn't want to be approached, and she'll put you down if you do.
#4.) The Fun-Lover: Someone who likes to drink beer from the bottle, hold it loosely by their shoulder, and take short swigs so they don't miss out on anything in the conversation.
It means you're friendly, lively, you enjoy being with your friends, you like to laugh, and you drink to be sociable...so you're ALWAYS down to meet new people.
#5.) The Wallflower: You hold your drink protectively and you don't let go...like you're afraid somebody will take it. Your palms are hidden, and the drink's never finished...there's always a mouthful left 'in case of an emergency.'
Obviously it means you're shy and submissive, and you're using the drink as a social crutch. If there's a straw, you fidget with it, and you stir the drink between sips. You copy the pace of the drinking around you.
With Wallflowers you have to take it easy...they need to be approached with a few subtle compliments to build their self-confidence.
#6.) The Player: A guy with a tall glass, cocktail, or a bottle who uses it as a phallic prop, and plays with it suggestively. He's self-confident, possessive, and can get a little 'handsy' with the women around him...and get away with it.
#7.) The Peacock: The player who's actually more into himself. He spreads himself over as much space as possible, like pushing the glass away and leaning back in his chair. He's over-confident, arrogant, and would rather just drink with his friends.
#8.) The Browbeater: A verbally hostile know-it-all who prefers large pint glasses or bottles, grasps them firmly, gesticulates in a threatening in-your-face way, and is always making fun of other people. If you can't handle it, don't bother.
BETTER WITH THE LIGHTS ON?
You always hear about people who won't have sex with the lights on. But I can't remember ever hearing about people who won't have sex with the lights OFF.
According to a survey by the adult store Adam & Eve, about 10% of people say they NEVER want to have sex in the dark...they ALWAYS want to be able to see EVERYTHING.
Naturally, they're the minority. The survey found that 41% of people NEVER want to have sex with the lights ON. And 48% of people prefer variety...sometimes doing it with the lights on, sometimes with the lights off.
PET PEEVES!
This week is National Pet Peeve Week, and to celebrate, the dating site Zoosk conducted a survey on biggest dating pet peeves.
Apparently, men are more annoying than women. One in four men could only come up with one pet peeve, if they could think of any. One in five women listed more than five.
The biggest pet peeve for women is when their date smells. Almost half of all women listed that as a complaint. How DARE you expect me to shower for you!
Half of men said that their biggest pet peeve was when their date was too occupied with their cell phone.
Cell phones were women's second-biggest complaint, followed by dates who were late. Talking about yourself too much was the fourth worst thing, and asking her too many questions about herself was right behind.
For men, smelliness was second, followed by lateness. Too many questions was fourth, and too much makeup was fifth.
Half of women say that sexual innuendo on a first date annoyed them, but only one in 11 men were bothered by it.
When it comes to appearance, too much body hair was women's biggest pet peeve, followed by inappropriate clothes. Dressing badly was tops for men, followed by crooked teeth.
STAY-AT-HOME DAD!!!
This is a pretty big generational split...and your grandfather would WHUP YOU with a switch if he heard about it.
Men used to spend their entire lives with one goal: Making enough money to provide for their family. It would've KILLED THEM not to be the breadwinner, the way the MAN is supposed to be.
Men today? Yeah...they'd GLADLY sit on the couch and play video games while their wives go out and make big money.
In a new survey, 75% of guys ages 16 to 35 say they'd be FINE living an easy life of just hanging out at home while a wife or girlfriend provided for them.
The survey also found that 85% of guys between 16 and 35 say that if they ARE the breadwinner, going out and serving as the primary provider for the family every day, they'd expect dinner to be waiting for them when they get home.
RIHANNA: SEXIEST
RIHANNA has been named "Esquire" magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive for 2011.
Not surprisingly, Rihanna posed NUDE for the magazine. Unfortunately, all her AREAS OF INTEREST are strategically covered. Here's the gallery: http://www.esquire.com/women/the-sexiest-woman-alive/rihanna-naked-1111
The first runner-up was KATY PERRY.
Other ladies in the running included Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Maria Bello, Emma Stone, Beyoncé, Mila Kunis, (!!!) Hope Solo (???) and MMA minx Gina Carano.
In Rihanna's accompanying interview, she regurgitates the usual clichéd stuff chicks always say when they're awarded some kind of "sexy" honor: She doesn't really think about being sexy all that much.
She says, "At the end of a concert, I don't feel like I've been this sexy thing. Really, I don't even think about it...But I don't know. I guess people find different things sexy."
Is anybody buying this? Pretty much every second that Rihanna is in front of a camera or an audience, she's TRYING LIKE HELL to be as sexy as possible. We know it and she knows it.
Far more interesting is what Rihanna had to say about CHRIS BROWN. It turns out she's EXCITED to see how well he's doing since he beat her up in February of 2009.
She says, "It's incredible to see how he pulled out of it the way he did. Even when the world seemed like it was against him, you know? I really like the music he's putting out. I'm a fan of his stuff. I've always been a fan.
"Obviously, I had some resentment toward him for a while, for obvious reasons. But I've put that behind me. It was taking up too much of my time. It was too much anger.
"I'm really excited to see the breakthrough he's had in his career. I would never wish anything horrible for him. Never. I never have."
TAKE MY PICTURE
We've really turned into a nation of VOYEURS. According to a new Harris poll, 50% of American adults say that, yeah, they sometimes pull out their phone to take a secret photo or video of someone.
And here's who they're targeting...
--23% have taken a photo of someone in an embarrassing outfit.
--20% have photographed an athlete at a sporting event.
--15% have gotten someone tripping and falling.
--10% have taken a secret picture of a sexy waitress.
--9% have taken a photo of a shirtless guy mowing the lawn.
--7% have taken photos of cheerleaders.
--7% have photographed their boss or a coworker eating.
--6% have photographed someone's disgusting grooming habits.
--And 5% have taken a picture of a couple making out.
BREEZY TREATS 'EM RIGHT
Surely, I don't need to remind you that CHRIS BROWN is a man who really understands how to treat a woman...but I'm going to anyway.
Chris and BOW WOW were at a strip club in Miami last week called King of Diamonds...and they spared NO expense.
TMZ says they, "lined the floor with singles"...bought "untold bottles of booze" for their entourage...and after they were through, "at least three dancers walked away with $5,000 in tips, each."
COUPONS ON DATES
One of the unofficial rules of dating is that you NEVER use a coupon on a date. At least we THOUGHT that was one of the rules. This economy is throwing everything out of whack, man.
In a new survey by the website CouponCabin.com, 18% of people say they've used a coupon on a first date.
And believe it or not, it didn't sink most of them. The survey found that 73% of people say it's not really a turn-off if someone uses a coupon on a date.
100% of those people were LIARS.
What? Anyway...26% say they'd actually be IMPRESSED if someone had a coupon ready to use.
Only 4% of the people surveyed said it's NEVER acceptable to use a coupon on a date...not even when you're having "date night" with your husband or wife.
But if you're on a date and not sure whether it'll ruin things to use a coupon, you can always try this trick...Go to the bathroom, find your server, and let them know you'll leave a good tip if they apply the coupon off discreetly.
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING...
It's about two-and-a-half weeks until Halloween, so if you haven't started shopping for your costume yet...DON'T. It's WAY too late for that. Time to scrap it altogether and get going on your CHRISTMAS SHOPPING.
According to a new survey, 29% of people say they've already started buying their holiday gifts. Women are almost twice as likely as men to have to have gotten started.
But if you want to hang with the slackers, 11% of people with kids and 23% of people without kids say they're going to wait until December to start their shopping.
The survey also found that 65% of men and 56% of women plan to spend more than $1,000 this Christmas.
And 40% of people are going to buy ALL their gifts online.
FIRST DATE IN JAIL
One of my past first dates....well we didn't really call it a date, but the first time we spent some length of time together.....ended in the back of a Cuyahoga Falls PD cruiser.
Don't ask. I don't feel like telling you more than that :)
Anyway, on October 5th, 18-year-old Devin Norling and 19-year-old Sydney Sanders from Vero Beach, Florida went on their first date.
And Devin went with my favorite first date spot...T.G.I. Friday's. He even let her order the FRIED GREEN BEANS!
Unfortunately, he didn't have any money. So after the waitress brought their bill for $25.16...the couple pulled the old DINE-AND-DASH move.
A manager spotted them running through the parking lot toward a Wendy's, and called the cops.
The cops easily tracked them down, and both Devin and Sydney were charged with obtaining food with intent to defraud, which is a misdemeanor.
The cops also found a marijuana pipe in Sydney's purse, so she was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia too.
AMERICAN MUSIC AWARD NOMINATIONS!
My favorite music-awards show. Now, that we've all had the chance to regroup from the SHEER HYSTERIA of Columbus Day Weekend, we can get back to the REAL business at hand:
The nominees for the "39th Annual American Music Awards" were announced...and this year, ADELE topped everyone with four nominations.
Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Katy Perry, Rihanna and The Band Perry followed with three nominations apiece.
AMA nominees are determined using a formula that weighs artists' music sales, prevalence on radio and TV, Internet streams and videos...plus, "additional online metrics," which include "social-media activity."
ABC will air the ceremony live on Sunday, November 20th. So far, only two performers have been announced: Katy Perry and Pitbull.
As usual, YOU will choose the winners. Voting is open NOW at AMAvote.com. Before casting your vote, you'll have to sign in through Facebook...or provide an email address to register. You can vote up through November 11th.
Here are your nominees . . .
Artist of the Year:
--Adele
--Lady Gaga
--Katy Perry
--Lil Wayne
--Taylor Swift
Favorite Female Artist - Pop / Rock:
--Adele
--Katy Perry
--Lady Gaga
Favorite Male Artist - Pop / Rock:
--Justin Bieber
--Bruno Mars
--Pitbull
Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop / Rock:
--LMFAO
--Maroon 5
--OneRepublic
Favorite Pop / Rock Album:
--"21", Adele
--"Loud", Rihanna
--"Born This Way", Lady Gaga
Favorite Artist - Rap / Hip-Hop:
--Lil Wayne
--Nicki Minaj
--Kanye West
Favorite Rap / Hip-Hop Album:
--"Tha Carter 4", Lil Wayne
--"Watch the Throne", The Throne
--"Pink Friday", Nicki Minaj
Favorite Male Artist - Soul / R&B:
--Chris Brown
--Trey Songz
--Usher
Favorite Female Artist - Soul / R&B:
--Rihanna
--Beyoncé
--Kelly Rowland
Favorite Soul / R&B Album:
--"4", Beyoncé
--"Loud", Rihanna
--"F.A.M.E.", Chris Brown
Favorite Artist - Adult Contemporary:
--Adele
--Bruno Mars
--Katy Perry
Favorite Artist - Alternative Rock:
--Foo Fighters
--Black Keys
--Mumford & Sons
Favorite Artist - Latin Music:
--Pitbull
--Enrique Iglesias
--Jennifer Lopez
New Artist of the Year:
--Foster the People
--Hot Chelle Rae
--The Band Perry
--Thompson Square
--Marsha Ambrosius
--Miguel
--LMFAO
--Wiz Khalifa
Voting for New Artist of the Year is a little different. There's a separate link above the other nominees at AMAvote.com.
All of them are eligible until October 21st. At that point, a smaller group of finalists will be determined...and there will be another round of voting.
HOW YOU HOLD YOUR DRINK...DESCRIBES YOUR PERSONALITY
At least according to an old study by a psychologist at King's College in London named Dr. Glenn Wilson. He visited bars, observed 500 different drinkers, and came up with eight different personality types...and how to approach them.
According to Dr. Wilson, "The simple act of holding a drink displays a lot more about us than we realize...or might want to divulge." Check it out.
#1.) The Flirt: A woman who holds her glass in a provocative way, with her fingers splayed. She might hold her drink over her chest, to draw attention to her cleavage, or peer over the rim to check you out as she's taking a sip.
According to Dr. Wilson, "She may 'tease' the rim of the glass with her finger, perhaps dipping it into the drink and sucking it dry." Obviously there's no guess-work here...just go for it.
#2.) The Gossip: A woman who holds a wine glass by the bowl, and uses it as a prop to gesticulate and make points. She tends to cluster in a group with other women, and she's critical.
She also likes to lean in over her drink towards other people, so she can speak more honestly and be more confidential. She already has a close-knit social group...and she's NOT looking to extend it.
#3.) The Ice Queen: A woman who drinks from a wine glass or a short cocktail, and holds it firmly as a barrier across her body. She's cold, defensive, doesn't want to be approached, and she'll put you down if you do.
#4.) The Fun-Lover: Someone who likes to drink beer from the bottle, hold it loosely by their shoulder, and take short swigs so they don't miss out on anything in the conversation.
It means you're friendly, lively, you enjoy being with your friends, you like to laugh, and you drink to be sociable...so you're ALWAYS down to meet new people.
#5.) The Wallflower: You hold your drink protectively and you don't let go...like you're afraid somebody will take it. Your palms are hidden, and the drink's never finished...there's always a mouthful left 'in case of an emergency.'
Obviously it means you're shy and submissive, and you're using the drink as a social crutch. If there's a straw, you fidget with it, and you stir the drink between sips. You copy the pace of the drinking around you.
With Wallflowers you have to take it easy...they need to be approached with a few subtle compliments to build their self-confidence.
#6.) The Player: A guy with a tall glass, cocktail, or a bottle who uses it as a phallic prop, and plays with it suggestively. He's self-confident, possessive, and can get a little 'handsy' with the women around him...and get away with it.
#7.) The Peacock: The player who's actually more into himself. He spreads himself over as much space as possible, like pushing the glass away and leaning back in his chair. He's over-confident, arrogant, and would rather just drink with his friends.
#8.) The Browbeater: A verbally hostile know-it-all who prefers large pint glasses or bottles, grasps them firmly, gesticulates in a threatening in-your-face way, and is always making fun of other people. If you can't handle it, don't bother.
BETTER WITH THE LIGHTS ON?
You always hear about people who won't have sex with the lights on. But I can't remember ever hearing about people who won't have sex with the lights OFF.
According to a survey by the adult store Adam & Eve, about 10% of people say they NEVER want to have sex in the dark...they ALWAYS want to be able to see EVERYTHING.
Naturally, they're the minority. The survey found that 41% of people NEVER want to have sex with the lights ON. And 48% of people prefer variety...sometimes doing it with the lights on, sometimes with the lights off.
PET PEEVES!
This week is National Pet Peeve Week, and to celebrate, the dating site Zoosk conducted a survey on biggest dating pet peeves.
Apparently, men are more annoying than women. One in four men could only come up with one pet peeve, if they could think of any. One in five women listed more than five.
The biggest pet peeve for women is when their date smells. Almost half of all women listed that as a complaint. How DARE you expect me to shower for you!
Half of men said that their biggest pet peeve was when their date was too occupied with their cell phone.
Cell phones were women's second-biggest complaint, followed by dates who were late. Talking about yourself too much was the fourth worst thing, and asking her too many questions about herself was right behind.
For men, smelliness was second, followed by lateness. Too many questions was fourth, and too much makeup was fifth.
Half of women say that sexual innuendo on a first date annoyed them, but only one in 11 men were bothered by it.
When it comes to appearance, too much body hair was women's biggest pet peeve, followed by inappropriate clothes. Dressing badly was tops for men, followed by crooked teeth.
STAY-AT-HOME DAD!!!
This is a pretty big generational split...and your grandfather would WHUP YOU with a switch if he heard about it.
Men used to spend their entire lives with one goal: Making enough money to provide for their family. It would've KILLED THEM not to be the breadwinner, the way the MAN is supposed to be.
Men today? Yeah...they'd GLADLY sit on the couch and play video games while their wives go out and make big money.
In a new survey, 75% of guys ages 16 to 35 say they'd be FINE living an easy life of just hanging out at home while a wife or girlfriend provided for them.
The survey also found that 85% of guys between 16 and 35 say that if they ARE the breadwinner, going out and serving as the primary provider for the family every day, they'd expect dinner to be waiting for them when they get home.
RIHANNA: SEXIEST
RIHANNA has been named "Esquire" magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive for 2011.
Not surprisingly, Rihanna posed NUDE for the magazine. Unfortunately, all her AREAS OF INTEREST are strategically covered. Here's the gallery: http://www.esquire.com/women/the-sexiest-woman-alive/rihanna-naked-1111
The first runner-up was KATY PERRY.
Other ladies in the running included Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Maria Bello, Emma Stone, Beyoncé, Mila Kunis, (!!!) Hope Solo (???) and MMA minx Gina Carano.
In Rihanna's accompanying interview, she regurgitates the usual clichéd stuff chicks always say when they're awarded some kind of "sexy" honor: She doesn't really think about being sexy all that much.
She says, "At the end of a concert, I don't feel like I've been this sexy thing. Really, I don't even think about it...But I don't know. I guess people find different things sexy."
Is anybody buying this? Pretty much every second that Rihanna is in front of a camera or an audience, she's TRYING LIKE HELL to be as sexy as possible. We know it and she knows it.
Far more interesting is what Rihanna had to say about CHRIS BROWN. It turns out she's EXCITED to see how well he's doing since he beat her up in February of 2009.
She says, "It's incredible to see how he pulled out of it the way he did. Even when the world seemed like it was against him, you know? I really like the music he's putting out. I'm a fan of his stuff. I've always been a fan.
"Obviously, I had some resentment toward him for a while, for obvious reasons. But I've put that behind me. It was taking up too much of my time. It was too much anger.
"I'm really excited to see the breakthrough he's had in his career. I would never wish anything horrible for him. Never. I never have."
TAKE MY PICTURE
We've really turned into a nation of VOYEURS. According to a new Harris poll, 50% of American adults say that, yeah, they sometimes pull out their phone to take a secret photo or video of someone.
And here's who they're targeting...
--23% have taken a photo of someone in an embarrassing outfit.
--20% have photographed an athlete at a sporting event.
--15% have gotten someone tripping and falling.
--10% have taken a secret picture of a sexy waitress.
--9% have taken a photo of a shirtless guy mowing the lawn.
--7% have taken photos of cheerleaders.
--7% have photographed their boss or a coworker eating.
--6% have photographed someone's disgusting grooming habits.
--And 5% have taken a picture of a couple making out.
BREEZY TREATS 'EM RIGHT
Surely, I don't need to remind you that CHRIS BROWN is a man who really understands how to treat a woman...but I'm going to anyway.
Chris and BOW WOW were at a strip club in Miami last week called King of Diamonds...and they spared NO expense.
TMZ says they, "lined the floor with singles"...bought "untold bottles of booze" for their entourage...and after they were through, "at least three dancers walked away with $5,000 in tips, each."
COUPONS ON DATES
One of the unofficial rules of dating is that you NEVER use a coupon on a date. At least we THOUGHT that was one of the rules. This economy is throwing everything out of whack, man.
In a new survey by the website CouponCabin.com, 18% of people say they've used a coupon on a first date.
And believe it or not, it didn't sink most of them. The survey found that 73% of people say it's not really a turn-off if someone uses a coupon on a date.
100% of those people were LIARS.
What? Anyway...26% say they'd actually be IMPRESSED if someone had a coupon ready to use.
Only 4% of the people surveyed said it's NEVER acceptable to use a coupon on a date...not even when you're having "date night" with your husband or wife.
But if you're on a date and not sure whether it'll ruin things to use a coupon, you can always try this trick...Go to the bathroom, find your server, and let them know you'll leave a good tip if they apply the coupon off discreetly.
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING...
It's about two-and-a-half weeks until Halloween, so if you haven't started shopping for your costume yet...DON'T. It's WAY too late for that. Time to scrap it altogether and get going on your CHRISTMAS SHOPPING.
According to a new survey, 29% of people say they've already started buying their holiday gifts. Women are almost twice as likely as men to have to have gotten started.
But if you want to hang with the slackers, 11% of people with kids and 23% of people without kids say they're going to wait until December to start their shopping.
The survey also found that 65% of men and 56% of women plan to spend more than $1,000 this Christmas.
And 40% of people are going to buy ALL their gifts online.
FIRST DATE IN JAIL
One of my past first dates....well we didn't really call it a date, but the first time we spent some length of time together.....ended in the back of a Cuyahoga Falls PD cruiser.
Don't ask. I don't feel like telling you more than that :)
Anyway, on October 5th, 18-year-old Devin Norling and 19-year-old Sydney Sanders from Vero Beach, Florida went on their first date.
And Devin went with my favorite first date spot...T.G.I. Friday's. He even let her order the FRIED GREEN BEANS!
Unfortunately, he didn't have any money. So after the waitress brought their bill for $25.16...the couple pulled the old DINE-AND-DASH move.
A manager spotted them running through the parking lot toward a Wendy's, and called the cops.
The cops easily tracked them down, and both Devin and Sydney were charged with obtaining food with intent to defraud, which is a misdemeanor.
The cops also found a marijuana pipe in Sydney's purse, so she was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia too.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
IT'S SUNDAY, SUNDAY, GOTTA GET DOWN ON SUNDAY...
...no? Does it not work when you use Sunday? Well it IS still the weekend!
I BROUGHT GOODIES! Here we go...
THIS IS BAD NEWS FOR AMERICA...
I think we've actually reached a point in society where, for women anyway, gorging on food is LESS socially acceptable than having sex with a bunch of dudes. And this survey backs that up.
According to the weight loss company Atkins, 54% of women say they spend more time fantasizing about FOOD than about SEX. (They must be having BAD sex?)
More than one-third of women say they think about food more than they think about their boyfriend or husband.
A quarter of women say that they put more effort into their diet than they do into their relationship.
And now, the final kicker: One in ten women say they feel guiltier cheating on their DIET than cheating on their PARTNER.
The most common reason women gave for dieting was to try to get a perfect beach body. The second-most common reason was people making fun of them for being chubby.
The survey also found that at least 75% of adult women have been on a diet at least once in their lifetime.
FACEBOOK STATS
According to a research firm called SocialBakers, Facebook is still the king of social networks. Not that you are surprised by that at all.
As of the end of September, Facebook had 760 million users. That's more than twice as much as Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus combined. Twitter had 200 million users, LinkedIn had 120 million, and Google Plus had 30 million.
Facebook is so popular that the most-followed person on Google Plus is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, with 570,000 fans.
The most popular brand on Facebook is Coke, with 34.5 million fans. Disney, Starbucks, Oreo cookies, and Red Bull round out the top five.
Starbucks is the only brand of the five that also makes the top five on Twitter. They have 1.7 million Twitter followers, second to Whole Foods, with two million.
If you want to keep up with your favorite brand, the best day to check is Thursday. That's the most popular day for companies to update their social networking statuses. Sunday is the least popular day.
If you write to a company on Facebook, your best bet for getting a response is with a cell phone company or airline. They return messages to customers about a quarter of the time.
I would like to think I have a 95% response rate :)
HER PINKNESS ROCKS THE BIG SCREEN...
PINK has joined the cast of "Thanks for Sharing"...a movie about SEX ADDICTION. Sadly, it's not quite as dirty as it sounds. Pink will play a "free spirit" who bonds with a sex addict played by an actor named Josh Gad.
His biggest claim to fame right now is starring in "The Book of Mormon"...the Tony-winning Broadway musical from "South Park" creators TREY PARKER and MATT STONE.
Also in the cast are Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim Robbins, Joely Richardson and Mark Ruffalo.
RIHANNA AIN'T YO ROLE MODEL. WHICH IS GOOD...
RIHANNA isn't really a good role model for the girls of the world. And that's cool with her. Because she doesn't want to be an example for anybody else. And she adds that the Rihanna WE see isn't even real.
She says, "That's not me. That's a part I play. You know, like it's a piece of art, with all these toys and textures to play with.
"See, people...they want me to be a role model just because of the life I lead. The things I say in my songs, they expect it of me, and [being a role model] became more of my job than I wanted it to be. But no, I just want to make music. That's it."
They EXPECT her to be a role model after "S&M"? ooook.
Meanwhile...Rihanna claims she didn't know until recently that the C-WORD was dirty. In fact, she says it's NOT offensive to people from her home country of Bardados.
She says, "You know African-Americans use the N-word to their brothers? Well, that's the way we use the C-word.
"When I first came here, I was saying it like it was nothing, like, 'Hey, [C-word],' until my make-up artist finally had to tell me to stop. I just never know."
WOMEN USE FB, GUYS USE THE PHONE
I had to laugh the other day when I saw a girl I know write on someone's FB that she sees EVERYDAY. Women are more likely to use Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks to keep in touch with people.
A study by the telecommunications company Rebtel found that 68% of women use social networks to keep in touch with friends, while 54% of men do.
60% of women use social networking to keep in contact with family members, compared to 42% of men.
At work, 34% of women use Facebook and other social networks to contact colleagues, while 22% of men do.
Men are more likely to use the phone or leave a voicemail to stay in touch with friends, family, and work colleagues.
That contradicts previous studies that found that men were better at using new technology to network.
LET'S TALK SAUSAGE!! HEY!!
If there's one area where you should trust an American's opinion, it's on the subject of greasy meats. We're all doctorate-level geniuses on that. So take this very seriously.
A new poll by the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council...which is a real thing...asked Americans to name their favorite type of sausage. And here are the results.
Breakfast sausage is America's favorite, at 27%.
Italian sausage came in a close second, at 25%.
Bratwurst is third, at 18%.
Kielbasa is fourth, at 14%.
And chorizo came in fifth, at 7%.
The remaining 8% said "andouille" or "other".
Overall, 82% of Americans, or more than four out of five, eat sausage. That's divided up into 87% of men and 77% of women.
54% of sausage eaters eat it most often at breakfast...4% eat it most often at lunch...and 26% eat it most often at dinner.
When they're eating breakfast sausage, links are more than twice as popular as patties.
mmmmmm, sausage!
CONGESTION!
If you've been sitting on 77 during rush hour this week, it's about time we saw a study about the most congested cities...nasal, not traffic.
Here's a list of the ten most congested cities in the U.S. based on pollen numbers, air pollution, climate, smoking rates, purchase of congestion products, and flu rates.
#1.) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
#2.) Birmingham, Alabama
#3.) New Orleans, Louisiana
#4.) Louisville, Kentucky
#5.) Memphis, Tennessee
#6.) San Antonio, Texas
#7.) Dallas, Texas
#8.) Charlotte, North Carolina
#9.) Houston, Texas
#10.) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DON'T HIT A DEER!
I'm ALL FOR hunting of deer. Not that I would ever go do it myself (that's silly, I can buy meat a place called Fishers, or Giant Eagle), but I sure as hell don't wanna HIT one of the stupid things going down the road at night! Hunting should be year round.
State Farm Insurance just released its annual report on car accidents involving deer. Which gives us a perfect opportunity to tell the people of West Virginia they need to STOP KILLING BAMBI'S MOM over and over.
The study found that almost 2% of drivers in West Virginia hit a deer in the past year...one in every 53 drivers had a car-on-deer accident. That's almost FOUR TIMES the national average, and 50% higher than the next closest state.
Iowa came in second, with a one-in-77 car-on-deer rate. South Dakota is third, at one in 81...Pennsylvania is fourth, at one in 86...and Michigan is fifth, at one in 91. Trust me, in Northern Michigan...there's a TON OF DEER, everywhere!
Overall, the nationwide average is one deer collision for every 193 drivers.
Hawaii...where there are fewer deer AND fewer drivers...had the lowest rate, at one in 6,267. That means you're 11,825% less likely to crash into a deer in Hawaii than you are in West Virginia.
Car-on-deer collisions have dropped the last three years. State Farm says that gas prices have led to fewer drivers, which has led to fewer drivers smacking deer.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204524604576608812442303374.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#project%3DDEERCHANCES111020111003%26articleTabs%3Dinteractive
ADELE: CANCELS AGAIN
ADELE has been forced to cancel her U.S. tour...for the second time...because her voice is messed up. This time, she has a hemorrhage in her vocal chord.
She has posted a long apology on her site...saying that if she doesn't take a, quote, "extended rest period" now, she could permanently damage her voice.
She explains, "If I continue to pick up everything before I have properly conquered these problems and nipped them in the bud, I will be totally and utterly [effed]...I have absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or I risk damaging my voice forever.
"I have great confidence in believing you know how much this upsets me, how seriously I take it and how truly devastated and annoyed I am by this...I will be back and I'm gonna smash the ball out the park once I'm touring again."
All the shows were sold out.
She also canceled a bunch of U.S. dates back in June when she came down with laryngitis. All those shows were sold out, too.
There's no word when she might be able to return to the road
WE FOUND RIHANNA...
RIHANNA has announced that her next album is called "Talk That Talk", and it'll come out on November 21st. It'll be her sixth album in seven years. Her last album "Loud" came out on November 10th of last year.
OLD SCHOOL MUSIC NEWS: GARBAGE
Remember GARBAGE? Of course you do, "I'm Only Happy When It Rains", "Stupid Girl", "Special", and several other mid-90's female-rock songs of AWESOMENESS!
Well, they've just announced plans to release their first album since 2005.
There isn't a title or a release date yet, but the band recently posted a Facebook message saying, "OK we're back in the studio today, we have 3 more weeks booked to hopefully finish everything!"
LEAF PEEPERS UNITE!
Sure, Hurricane Irene destroyed homes, killed at least 45 people, and caused $7 BILLION in damage...but WOW, look at those leaves in Vermont!
New England states are experiencing EXTRA COLORFUL and BEAUTIFUL fall foliage this year...and it's all thanks to Hurricane Irene.
The heavy rain helped keep the soil in the Northeast extra moist, which helps the leaves stay on the trees longer. There will be more leaves, brighter leaves, and a longer period with gorgeous foliage...and it's all thanks to Irene.
Foliage tourists...or "leafers"...are huge for the New England states. Every year, tourists who come to see the leaves on "leaf peeping" tours contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the states' economies.
HERE'S WHERE YOU SHOULD AVOID GOING...
If you're going on a vacation soon and the boyfriend asks if you wanna hit the Motor City Casino...suggest WINDSOR instead.
"Forbes" magazine just put out a list of America's most dangerous cities, based on FBI statistics for four types of violent crimes: Murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
And the number one city is...yep. The DETROIT metropolitan area was named the most dangerous in the U.S. in 2010, thanks to its really high murder rate. Here's the full top 10:
#1.) Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan. 1,111 violent crimes per 100,000 people.
#2.) Memphis, Tennessee. 1,006 violent crimes per 100,000.
#3.) Springfield, Illinois. 855 violent crimes per 100,000.
#4.) Flint, Michigan. 827 violent crimes per 100,000.
#5.) Anchorage, Alaska. 813 violent crimes per 100,000.
#6.) Lubbock, Texas. 808 violent crimes per 100,000.
#7.) Stockton, California. 805 violent crimes per 100,000.
#8.) Tallahassee, Florida. 775 violent crimes per 100,000.
#9.) Las Vegas, Nevada. 763 violent crimes per 100,000.
#10.) Rockford, Illinois. 760 violent crimes per 100,000
THE LIFE OF STEVE JOBS
--1955. STEVE JOBS is born in San Francisco to a Syrian Muslim grad student named Abdulfattah, and an American classmate. They put him up for adoption.
--1972. He drops out of his first semester of college in Portland, Oregon, earns money by returning Coke bottles, and scores free meals at the local Hare Krishna temple.
--1974 - 1975. He quits his first job at Atari to backpack across India, take psychedelic drugs, convert to Buddhism, and shave his head . . . experiences that he credits with shaping his creative vision.
--1976. STEVE JOBS and STEVE WOZNIAK form Apple Computers and build their first personal computer . . . in Jobs' parents' garage.
--1977. Apple releases the Apple Two, which becomes the first widely-used personal computer in the world.
--1980. Apple goes public. After one day of trading, Jobs is worth $239 MILLION. He's 25 years old.
--1983. Apple announces "Lisa," the first computer to be controlled using a MOUSE. It fails. The mouse will go on to become a vital part of basically every computer made in the next 28 years.
--1984. Apple launches the Macintosh, a desktop computer with the screen built in. One year later, Jobs would leave Apple.
--1986. Jobs buys Pixar Animation Studios for $10 MILLION. In 1995 they release "Toy Story", the first movie made entirely with computer animation. It changes animation forever. When Pixar goes public, Jobs becomes a billionaire.
--1996. With Apple dying and about to be sold or killed off, Jobs returns, and becomes CEO. He takes a salary of $1.
--1998. Apple releases the iMac. It becomes the fastest-selling personal computer ever. Apple immediately returns to being profitable and makes money for four quarters in a row.
--2001. Apple introduces their first retail store and releases the iPod. There are now 357 Apple Stores. The iPod would capture more than a 75% market share and turned out to be the device that finally led digital music past the CD era.
--2003. Apple launches the iTunes music store. This began the transition away from illegal digital music downloading and toward people LEGALLY listening to music again.
--2007. Apple introduces the iPhone, the first phone with a touchscreen and no keyboard. It revolutionized the cell phone industry.
--2010. Apple introduces the iPad . . . a device no one even knew they needed until they tried one. Apple now has at least an 80% share of the tablet market and they're used at 92% of Fortune 500 companies.
--2011. Apple . . . the company Jobs started in his parents' garage . . . is briefly the world's most valuable company. On August 9th, for a few hours, Apple's market cap hit $342 BILLION while ExxonMobil's was at $341 BILLION.
That same summer, Apple lists more cash reserves than the U.S. Treasury
WHEN MEN AND WOMEN EAT TOGETHER...MEN EAT MORE, WOMEN EAT LESS
Sharing a meal with someone of the opposite sex affects how much we food we get...and it affects men and women in opposite ways.
Researchers from the University of Akron watched people in campus dining halls and kept track of how much food they ordered...and who they ate with.
Think about that, Akron students. People were spying on you while you ate and you probably didn't even know it!
They found that when men were eating with women, they ordered MORE food than they did when eating with other guys.
When women were eating with guys, they ordered LESS food than when they were eating with just the girls.
There's one major flaw: They only looked at how much food each person ORDERED...not whether they actually ATE it. So if a guy bought lunch for his girlfriend and brought it to her, he'd get credit for two meals, and she didn't get any credit.
The conclusion the researchers drew is that men don't want to come off as light eaters in front of women, because it would make them seem less manly. Women don't want to look like big eaters in front of guys.
Marcia Cottingham co-authored the study. She said, "You're more aware of gender when you're with the opposite gender and may want to prove your gender more." (Okay, got it...gender.)
Another theory suggested by the authors was that women focus on the social aspect of a meal when eating with the opposite sex...while guys just want to eat.
OUT THE WINDOW...
This goes against everything we think we know about men and women...but it's good news, so we're going to roll with it.
According to a nationwide survey by the people who make K-Y Jelly, women are now more SEXUALLY ADVENTUROUS than men...because they get bored with traditional sex faster than men. Here's what they found...
Women are more likely to report having sex outside the bedroom, 85% to 83%.
Women are more likely to TALK DIRTY, 76% to 63%.
Women are more likely to suggest WATCHING PORNO TOGETHER, 51% to 48%.
Women are more likely to have sex when there's a chance of being heard or getting caught, 68% to 55%.
Women are more likely to strip for their partner, 45% to 33%.
Women are more likely to have been in a THREESOME, 10% to 6%.
Women are more likely to have ROLE PLAYED, 23% to 17%.
And finally, women are more likely to have had BACKDOOR RELATIONS, 49% to 38%.
The survey also found that both men and women who did more experimental and adventurous things reported higher levels of sexual satisfaction...and relationship satisfaction...than people who didn't.
So, try something a little different tonight and spice it up a bit!
LOL....SERIOUSLY...
How many lives must Facebook ruin? There's blood on your hands, Zuckerberg.
On Monday, 36-year-old Benito Apolinar of Carlsbad, New Mexico posted a Facebook status update about the anniversary of his mother's death. And his wife, Dolores...who he just separated from after 15 years...didn't click "Like."
That sent Benito into a RAGE!!! He told his wife he couldn't believe so many other people "Liked" his status and she didn't. They argued, it escalated, and he ended up grabbing and pulling her hair.
She called the cops and he was arrested. He's now facing battery charges.
Seriously.
I BROUGHT GOODIES! Here we go...
THIS IS BAD NEWS FOR AMERICA...
I think we've actually reached a point in society where, for women anyway, gorging on food is LESS socially acceptable than having sex with a bunch of dudes. And this survey backs that up.
According to the weight loss company Atkins, 54% of women say they spend more time fantasizing about FOOD than about SEX. (They must be having BAD sex?)
More than one-third of women say they think about food more than they think about their boyfriend or husband.
A quarter of women say that they put more effort into their diet than they do into their relationship.
And now, the final kicker: One in ten women say they feel guiltier cheating on their DIET than cheating on their PARTNER.
The most common reason women gave for dieting was to try to get a perfect beach body. The second-most common reason was people making fun of them for being chubby.
The survey also found that at least 75% of adult women have been on a diet at least once in their lifetime.
FACEBOOK STATS
According to a research firm called SocialBakers, Facebook is still the king of social networks. Not that you are surprised by that at all.
As of the end of September, Facebook had 760 million users. That's more than twice as much as Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus combined. Twitter had 200 million users, LinkedIn had 120 million, and Google Plus had 30 million.
Facebook is so popular that the most-followed person on Google Plus is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, with 570,000 fans.
The most popular brand on Facebook is Coke, with 34.5 million fans. Disney, Starbucks, Oreo cookies, and Red Bull round out the top five.
Starbucks is the only brand of the five that also makes the top five on Twitter. They have 1.7 million Twitter followers, second to Whole Foods, with two million.
If you want to keep up with your favorite brand, the best day to check is Thursday. That's the most popular day for companies to update their social networking statuses. Sunday is the least popular day.
If you write to a company on Facebook, your best bet for getting a response is with a cell phone company or airline. They return messages to customers about a quarter of the time.
I would like to think I have a 95% response rate :)
HER PINKNESS ROCKS THE BIG SCREEN...
PINK has joined the cast of "Thanks for Sharing"...a movie about SEX ADDICTION. Sadly, it's not quite as dirty as it sounds. Pink will play a "free spirit" who bonds with a sex addict played by an actor named Josh Gad.
His biggest claim to fame right now is starring in "The Book of Mormon"...the Tony-winning Broadway musical from "South Park" creators TREY PARKER and MATT STONE.
Also in the cast are Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim Robbins, Joely Richardson and Mark Ruffalo.
RIHANNA AIN'T YO ROLE MODEL. WHICH IS GOOD...
RIHANNA isn't really a good role model for the girls of the world. And that's cool with her. Because she doesn't want to be an example for anybody else. And she adds that the Rihanna WE see isn't even real.
She says, "That's not me. That's a part I play. You know, like it's a piece of art, with all these toys and textures to play with.
"See, people...they want me to be a role model just because of the life I lead. The things I say in my songs, they expect it of me, and [being a role model] became more of my job than I wanted it to be. But no, I just want to make music. That's it."
They EXPECT her to be a role model after "S&M"? ooook.
Meanwhile...Rihanna claims she didn't know until recently that the C-WORD was dirty. In fact, she says it's NOT offensive to people from her home country of Bardados.
She says, "You know African-Americans use the N-word to their brothers? Well, that's the way we use the C-word.
"When I first came here, I was saying it like it was nothing, like, 'Hey, [C-word],' until my make-up artist finally had to tell me to stop. I just never know."
WOMEN USE FB, GUYS USE THE PHONE
I had to laugh the other day when I saw a girl I know write on someone's FB that she sees EVERYDAY. Women are more likely to use Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks to keep in touch with people.
A study by the telecommunications company Rebtel found that 68% of women use social networks to keep in touch with friends, while 54% of men do.
60% of women use social networking to keep in contact with family members, compared to 42% of men.
At work, 34% of women use Facebook and other social networks to contact colleagues, while 22% of men do.
Men are more likely to use the phone or leave a voicemail to stay in touch with friends, family, and work colleagues.
That contradicts previous studies that found that men were better at using new technology to network.
LET'S TALK SAUSAGE!! HEY!!
If there's one area where you should trust an American's opinion, it's on the subject of greasy meats. We're all doctorate-level geniuses on that. So take this very seriously.
A new poll by the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council...which is a real thing...asked Americans to name their favorite type of sausage. And here are the results.
Breakfast sausage is America's favorite, at 27%.
Italian sausage came in a close second, at 25%.
Bratwurst is third, at 18%.
Kielbasa is fourth, at 14%.
And chorizo came in fifth, at 7%.
The remaining 8% said "andouille" or "other".
Overall, 82% of Americans, or more than four out of five, eat sausage. That's divided up into 87% of men and 77% of women.
54% of sausage eaters eat it most often at breakfast...4% eat it most often at lunch...and 26% eat it most often at dinner.
When they're eating breakfast sausage, links are more than twice as popular as patties.
mmmmmm, sausage!
CONGESTION!
If you've been sitting on 77 during rush hour this week, it's about time we saw a study about the most congested cities...nasal, not traffic.
Here's a list of the ten most congested cities in the U.S. based on pollen numbers, air pollution, climate, smoking rates, purchase of congestion products, and flu rates.
#1.) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
#2.) Birmingham, Alabama
#3.) New Orleans, Louisiana
#4.) Louisville, Kentucky
#5.) Memphis, Tennessee
#6.) San Antonio, Texas
#7.) Dallas, Texas
#8.) Charlotte, North Carolina
#9.) Houston, Texas
#10.) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DON'T HIT A DEER!
I'm ALL FOR hunting of deer. Not that I would ever go do it myself (that's silly, I can buy meat a place called Fishers, or Giant Eagle), but I sure as hell don't wanna HIT one of the stupid things going down the road at night! Hunting should be year round.
State Farm Insurance just released its annual report on car accidents involving deer. Which gives us a perfect opportunity to tell the people of West Virginia they need to STOP KILLING BAMBI'S MOM over and over.
The study found that almost 2% of drivers in West Virginia hit a deer in the past year...one in every 53 drivers had a car-on-deer accident. That's almost FOUR TIMES the national average, and 50% higher than the next closest state.
Iowa came in second, with a one-in-77 car-on-deer rate. South Dakota is third, at one in 81...Pennsylvania is fourth, at one in 86...and Michigan is fifth, at one in 91. Trust me, in Northern Michigan...there's a TON OF DEER, everywhere!
Overall, the nationwide average is one deer collision for every 193 drivers.
Hawaii...where there are fewer deer AND fewer drivers...had the lowest rate, at one in 6,267. That means you're 11,825% less likely to crash into a deer in Hawaii than you are in West Virginia.
Car-on-deer collisions have dropped the last three years. State Farm says that gas prices have led to fewer drivers, which has led to fewer drivers smacking deer.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204524604576608812442303374.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#project%3DDEERCHANCES111020111003%26articleTabs%3Dinteractive
ADELE: CANCELS AGAIN
ADELE has been forced to cancel her U.S. tour...for the second time...because her voice is messed up. This time, she has a hemorrhage in her vocal chord.
She has posted a long apology on her site...saying that if she doesn't take a, quote, "extended rest period" now, she could permanently damage her voice.
She explains, "If I continue to pick up everything before I have properly conquered these problems and nipped them in the bud, I will be totally and utterly [effed]...I have absolutely no choice but to recuperate properly and fully, or I risk damaging my voice forever.
"I have great confidence in believing you know how much this upsets me, how seriously I take it and how truly devastated and annoyed I am by this...I will be back and I'm gonna smash the ball out the park once I'm touring again."
All the shows were sold out.
She also canceled a bunch of U.S. dates back in June when she came down with laryngitis. All those shows were sold out, too.
There's no word when she might be able to return to the road
WE FOUND RIHANNA...
RIHANNA has announced that her next album is called "Talk That Talk", and it'll come out on November 21st. It'll be her sixth album in seven years. Her last album "Loud" came out on November 10th of last year.
OLD SCHOOL MUSIC NEWS: GARBAGE
Remember GARBAGE? Of course you do, "I'm Only Happy When It Rains", "Stupid Girl", "Special", and several other mid-90's female-rock songs of AWESOMENESS!
Well, they've just announced plans to release their first album since 2005.
There isn't a title or a release date yet, but the band recently posted a Facebook message saying, "OK we're back in the studio today, we have 3 more weeks booked to hopefully finish everything!"
LEAF PEEPERS UNITE!
Sure, Hurricane Irene destroyed homes, killed at least 45 people, and caused $7 BILLION in damage...but WOW, look at those leaves in Vermont!
New England states are experiencing EXTRA COLORFUL and BEAUTIFUL fall foliage this year...and it's all thanks to Hurricane Irene.
The heavy rain helped keep the soil in the Northeast extra moist, which helps the leaves stay on the trees longer. There will be more leaves, brighter leaves, and a longer period with gorgeous foliage...and it's all thanks to Irene.
Foliage tourists...or "leafers"...are huge for the New England states. Every year, tourists who come to see the leaves on "leaf peeping" tours contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the states' economies.
HERE'S WHERE YOU SHOULD AVOID GOING...
If you're going on a vacation soon and the boyfriend asks if you wanna hit the Motor City Casino...suggest WINDSOR instead.
"Forbes" magazine just put out a list of America's most dangerous cities, based on FBI statistics for four types of violent crimes: Murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
And the number one city is...yep. The DETROIT metropolitan area was named the most dangerous in the U.S. in 2010, thanks to its really high murder rate. Here's the full top 10:
#1.) Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan. 1,111 violent crimes per 100,000 people.
#2.) Memphis, Tennessee. 1,006 violent crimes per 100,000.
#3.) Springfield, Illinois. 855 violent crimes per 100,000.
#4.) Flint, Michigan. 827 violent crimes per 100,000.
#5.) Anchorage, Alaska. 813 violent crimes per 100,000.
#6.) Lubbock, Texas. 808 violent crimes per 100,000.
#7.) Stockton, California. 805 violent crimes per 100,000.
#8.) Tallahassee, Florida. 775 violent crimes per 100,000.
#9.) Las Vegas, Nevada. 763 violent crimes per 100,000.
#10.) Rockford, Illinois. 760 violent crimes per 100,000
THE LIFE OF STEVE JOBS
--1955. STEVE JOBS is born in San Francisco to a Syrian Muslim grad student named Abdulfattah, and an American classmate. They put him up for adoption.
--1972. He drops out of his first semester of college in Portland, Oregon, earns money by returning Coke bottles, and scores free meals at the local Hare Krishna temple.
--1974 - 1975. He quits his first job at Atari to backpack across India, take psychedelic drugs, convert to Buddhism, and shave his head . . . experiences that he credits with shaping his creative vision.
--1976. STEVE JOBS and STEVE WOZNIAK form Apple Computers and build their first personal computer . . . in Jobs' parents' garage.
--1977. Apple releases the Apple Two, which becomes the first widely-used personal computer in the world.
--1980. Apple goes public. After one day of trading, Jobs is worth $239 MILLION. He's 25 years old.
--1983. Apple announces "Lisa," the first computer to be controlled using a MOUSE. It fails. The mouse will go on to become a vital part of basically every computer made in the next 28 years.
--1984. Apple launches the Macintosh, a desktop computer with the screen built in. One year later, Jobs would leave Apple.
--1986. Jobs buys Pixar Animation Studios for $10 MILLION. In 1995 they release "Toy Story", the first movie made entirely with computer animation. It changes animation forever. When Pixar goes public, Jobs becomes a billionaire.
--1996. With Apple dying and about to be sold or killed off, Jobs returns, and becomes CEO. He takes a salary of $1.
--1998. Apple releases the iMac. It becomes the fastest-selling personal computer ever. Apple immediately returns to being profitable and makes money for four quarters in a row.
--2001. Apple introduces their first retail store and releases the iPod. There are now 357 Apple Stores. The iPod would capture more than a 75% market share and turned out to be the device that finally led digital music past the CD era.
--2003. Apple launches the iTunes music store. This began the transition away from illegal digital music downloading and toward people LEGALLY listening to music again.
--2007. Apple introduces the iPhone, the first phone with a touchscreen and no keyboard. It revolutionized the cell phone industry.
--2010. Apple introduces the iPad . . . a device no one even knew they needed until they tried one. Apple now has at least an 80% share of the tablet market and they're used at 92% of Fortune 500 companies.
--2011. Apple . . . the company Jobs started in his parents' garage . . . is briefly the world's most valuable company. On August 9th, for a few hours, Apple's market cap hit $342 BILLION while ExxonMobil's was at $341 BILLION.
That same summer, Apple lists more cash reserves than the U.S. Treasury
WHEN MEN AND WOMEN EAT TOGETHER...MEN EAT MORE, WOMEN EAT LESS
Sharing a meal with someone of the opposite sex affects how much we food we get...and it affects men and women in opposite ways.
Researchers from the University of Akron watched people in campus dining halls and kept track of how much food they ordered...and who they ate with.
Think about that, Akron students. People were spying on you while you ate and you probably didn't even know it!
They found that when men were eating with women, they ordered MORE food than they did when eating with other guys.
When women were eating with guys, they ordered LESS food than when they were eating with just the girls.
There's one major flaw: They only looked at how much food each person ORDERED...not whether they actually ATE it. So if a guy bought lunch for his girlfriend and brought it to her, he'd get credit for two meals, and she didn't get any credit.
The conclusion the researchers drew is that men don't want to come off as light eaters in front of women, because it would make them seem less manly. Women don't want to look like big eaters in front of guys.
Marcia Cottingham co-authored the study. She said, "You're more aware of gender when you're with the opposite gender and may want to prove your gender more." (Okay, got it...gender.)
Another theory suggested by the authors was that women focus on the social aspect of a meal when eating with the opposite sex...while guys just want to eat.
OUT THE WINDOW...
This goes against everything we think we know about men and women...but it's good news, so we're going to roll with it.
According to a nationwide survey by the people who make K-Y Jelly, women are now more SEXUALLY ADVENTUROUS than men...because they get bored with traditional sex faster than men. Here's what they found...
Women are more likely to report having sex outside the bedroom, 85% to 83%.
Women are more likely to TALK DIRTY, 76% to 63%.
Women are more likely to suggest WATCHING PORNO TOGETHER, 51% to 48%.
Women are more likely to have sex when there's a chance of being heard or getting caught, 68% to 55%.
Women are more likely to strip for their partner, 45% to 33%.
Women are more likely to have been in a THREESOME, 10% to 6%.
Women are more likely to have ROLE PLAYED, 23% to 17%.
And finally, women are more likely to have had BACKDOOR RELATIONS, 49% to 38%.
The survey also found that both men and women who did more experimental and adventurous things reported higher levels of sexual satisfaction...and relationship satisfaction...than people who didn't.
So, try something a little different tonight and spice it up a bit!
LOL....SERIOUSLY...
How many lives must Facebook ruin? There's blood on your hands, Zuckerberg.
On Monday, 36-year-old Benito Apolinar of Carlsbad, New Mexico posted a Facebook status update about the anniversary of his mother's death. And his wife, Dolores...who he just separated from after 15 years...didn't click "Like."
That sent Benito into a RAGE!!! He told his wife he couldn't believe so many other people "Liked" his status and she didn't. They argued, it escalated, and he ended up grabbing and pulling her hair.
She called the cops and he was arrested. He's now facing battery charges.
Seriously.
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