Another curse broken

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies: Under manager Charlie Manuel, the "Phightins" beat out a young Tampa Bay Rays team to win the World Series, 4 games to 1.

Most of the country didn't really care about this series (as evidenced by a 25% drop in ratings from 2007), but it was still pretty exciting.

...and hopefully I don't have to bail out my friends from jail tonight.

After a 3-2 Philadelphia win in Game One, Tampa Bay struck back Thursday to even the series. The Phils then stormed back after a 90-minute rain delay Saturday, winning in one of the oddest endings to a game I've ever seen [click here to read the recap]. Then came Sunday, when the Rays just basically rolled over and died--even Phil's pitcher Joe Blanton jacked one out of the park.

Then we had the controversial Game Five. On a cold and rainy Monday night, the Phillies struck early, going up 2-0 on a Shane Victorino single in the first. Tampa Bay's slumping stars finally got a little something going in the top of the fourth, making it 2-1. The elements started to take over in the fifth inning, but Commissioner Bud Selig allowed the game to continue long enough for the Rays to manufacture another run off Phillies ace Cole Hamels. The tarps came out and the Phillies fans cried foul.

After rain and snow --yes, snow-- Tuesday, the teams took the field tonight, 46 hours after Game Five's suspension. The 3-inning game, which required an exorbitant amount of strategy, began with a lead-off double by Geoff Jenkins, followed by a sacrifice bunt by Jimmy Rollins and an RBI single from Jayson Werth. Tampa Bay's Rocco Baldelli jacked one over the fence in the top of the 7th, tying the game at 3, but not for long: Pedro Feliz put the Phils back on top in the bottom of the 7th and Brad "Lights Out" Lidge came in in the top of the 9th to shut down the Rays and bring Philadelphia its first championship since 1987.

[NOTE] Before I get into my schpeel and get scathing comments in respone to this post, I have a guest writer on-deck to write a "Yay Philadelphia" post in the coming day, so chill out on the hate messages. Now, on to my rant...

I grudgingly congratulate the Phillies because--being from south Jersey--I've just had it with the bandwagon fans who have come out of the woodwork the last month, and especially the last week. I know it's to be expected, but it's just obnoxious. Philadelphia was a city that was all about "bleeding green" for its Eagles for the last several years, and now that the Eagles are in last place, these people are jumping ship and "painting the town red," as they say. Suddenly everyone remembers that Philadelphia has a baseball team and their clothing, cars, away messages and Facebook statuses are overwrought with Phillies exclamations. You talk about bleeding green--I think I'm vomiting red. (That doesn't sound very healthy, eh?)

But hey, congraulations to all the real fans. Your curse is over. Now you can stop complaining. Hey, now you're just like everyone else. Now you've just gotta win 24 more World Series titles to catch up with the Yankees, haaaa. Oh, and the Eagles still suck.

RELATED LINKS
Or don't blame it on the rain...
Blame it on the rain
Taco, taco, taco!
World Series set to go
Boston wins World Snoozefest
Speedy Gonzalez
Yo quiero free taco
Dem's fightin' Phils

Newsfeed eating up lies

I heard a funny story this morning about a guy in Australia who took a "sick day," but got busted because his boss read his Facebook status: "Kyle Doyle is not going to work, f..k it i'm still trashed. SICKIE WOO!"


I laughed out loud when I heard it, thinking, "See? This is exactly what they told us in college about the professional backlash possible in putting dumb crap on social networking sites."(Thanks, Prof. Brown!)

An e-mail, presumably between Doyle and his boss, surfaced on the Internet shortly thereafter: The boss asks the 21-year-old AAPT worker for a medical certificate to prove he deserved the day off, and he writes back saying he did not need a medical certificate for one day's leave. The boss then discloses his proof behind the doubt, and Doyle says, "HAHAHA LMAO epic fail. No worries man."

This story is all over the damn Internet... but now it appears that the now-famous Kyle Doyle might have been framed! [DUN DUN DUN]

"Following an investigation into AAPT's email records, we can confirm the email exchange between two of our employees ... never occurred." -- statement from AAPT.

It appears that either someone set Doyle up--even his mother is vouching for him. Yeah, set up or he set this up to get his 15 minutes of fame, mmm? Either way, pretty comical.

As of this morning, Doyle's status reportedly read: "trying to hide :-/" and he had received at least 175 personal messages regarding the incident.

'Dark' curse?

By now, you may have heard about Morgan Freeman's car accident that put him in the hospital last night.

CNN.com is reporting that Freeman, 71, was in serious condition but appears to be "in good spirits" after suffering a broken left upper arm, several other fractures and neck and shoulder injuries in the wreck.

Freeman, who could have surgery as early as Monday, was enjoying the recent success of the latest installment in the Batman series. This got me thinking...

*Does anyone else see a somewhat ominous trend falling over the stars of "The Dark Knight"?

Similar to Poltergeist, perhaps this big blockbuster is carrying some sort of curse.

We've seen the death of star Heath Ledger ala painkillers and sleeping pills shortly after the movie wrapped. (Sources say his role as the Joker was causing insomnia.) Then, Christian Bale has assault charges filed against him by his mother and sister days after the movie's premiere. Now, Morgan Freeman's car flips off the road and he lands in the hospital as the movie continues smashing all sorts of records?

RELATED LINKS
Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint...and a Chupa Chup
Coasting by
"WHY SO SERIOUS?"
Update: Heath Ledger death an accident
Update: Heath Ledger's death
BREAKING NEWS: Actor Heath Ledger found dead

That's the catch

In operating this blog, I often have friends and family members throwing stories and videos my way to see if it's anything I'd be interested in posting. Today, my dad asked me if I'd seen the incredible catch made by a ballgirl at a minor league game this week.

An incredible catch? Yes. But there's a figurative catch to the video, too. Take a look...



At first glance, it looks like this little brunette goes Griffey on the long foul ball toward the left field wall, but take another look at the catcher's equipment--During the initial shot (the actual footage), the glove is on his left hand and the equipment insignia is on his right shoulder; in the (staged) reaction shot, it's the reverse.

It appears viral advertising has struck again. Check out that sports drink bottle clearly displayed at the feet of the mini outfielder. Tricky, tricky Gatorade.

Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself. It's awesome, but not real.

Pathetic at the pump

While some of you Hummer owners may have experienced this months ago, this week marks my very first pathetic "at the pump" experience: When I saw the cost to fill up my tank pass the $40 mark, I let out an audible whimper. And I may or may not have shed a tear.

I drive an extremely fuel efficient car, and I'm sure people reading this are like, "Yeah, $40. Go to hell." But, at the same time, I have an average commute of 85 miles round trip to work each day, which means I fill up every three days and it is absolutely murdering my bank account--thanks, meager journalist salary!

That being said, I came across this article that lays out some of the gas-saving myths that people may be throwing your way in these times full of fuel woes. Learn if premium gas actually gives you better gas mileage or if using your A/C is or is not eating all your gas. It won't tell you how to save money on fuel, but it will give you the knowledge to tell people they're full of something when they tell you to fill up your tank in the morning because the gas is colder.

Update: Those Bostonians just don't stop, do they?

The David Ortiz jersey that was buried on-site at the Yankees new stadium this weekend is outta there.

The Red Sox jersey was put there by Gino Castignoli, a construction worker hoping to put a hex on the team.

"We were upset about it and we didn't like the idea. There's enough Yankee fans, enough people on this project that are proud of what they are doing and they knew about it and they knew where it was and they decided to get rid of it right away." - construction worker Frank Gramarossa.

The team is looking to take legal action...Yeah, the Yankees aren't messing around. Eat it Red Sox moron.

Those Bostonians just don't stop, do they?

So about a week after sicking a vicious hawk on an innocent child with the same nickname as the Yankees' star third basemen, construction workers are working to bring a new curse to Ruth's new home.

The New York Post reported today that two construction workers --who are remaining anonymous-- secretly buried a Red Sox t-shirt in the concrete under the future visitor's clubhouse.

Not sure if it's completely true, but the Yankees said it ain't so.

"We noticed that the NY Post wrote a fun and interesting story about a T-shirt today - but it never happened, Yankee fans know that burying something in concrete in the basement is never a good thing. Memo to the Post: You're 10 days late for April Fools' Day."--Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion.

RELATED LINKS:
"A-Rod" attacked by evil BoSox hawk

Mmm, plastic and microwaved...

I found this mildly entertaining article on The Consumerist, which linked to a German site depicting the art of food photography, i.e. making hideously disgusting food look delectable. It's worth a few quick peeks.

Check out these in particular: Seehecht Fllet, Streit, Hacksteaks.


And as a supplement, check out this article on the secrets behind the photography.

Circle, circle, dot, dot

Please watch this video. I freaking love the sad little blond kid. "All I did was trade Lunchables [sad look downward]."

Tryst under a parasite?

NOTE: A special guest feature for the holiday season, by Jerc Store correspondent, word to the ferg.

With the holiday season upon us, many local stores and markets are stocked up on the quintessential decorations. A recent trip to a local supermarket provided me with a wide selection of holiday items in various shapes, sizes and colors. In the hunt for some festive apartment décor, I found the holiday classic mistletoe.

That’s right, the $2.99 bunch of leaves and berries that every December gives hope to us guys who don’t exactly look like Tom Cruise…

I quickly purchased this sprig of splendor and when I returned to my apartment, I cunningly placed it just above one of the many doors in my apartment with the hopes of catching a fair maiden beneath it.

After standing under that compact bushel of delight for about 10 minutes in my empty apartment, two thoughts came to mind:

1. Can I really get any more pathetic than this?
   
2. And what is this mistletoe nonsense about anyway?
   

Not wanting to actually know the answer to the first question, I decided to investigate the second. What is it about this petite plant that allows average people to kiss beautiful people every December?

According to the book of Google, Mistletoe is actually a rootless aerial parasite that attaches itself and lives off of trees (mostly apple trees). The form most often used around the holidays is called Phoradendron Flavescens and is native on the Coast New Jersey to Florida. While interesting, I wouldn’t recommend using the parasite fact with anyone you are actually trying to “catch” (oddly enough, parasites don’t do it for everyone...).

But wait, it gets better! Some of the oldest references to mistletoe are paired with the ancient belief that the plant was actually propagated from bird droppings. You read correctly: In ancient times, it was a commonly accepted idea that plants and animals could spontaneously materialize from dung. This is actually how the parasite received its name. Originally called “misteltan,” in Anglo-Saxon language, “mistel” literally means dung and “tan” means twig.

So mistletoe literally means, “dung on a twig.” How romantic! There is nothing quite like locking lips under a product of poop. I would recommend that you keep this fact to yourself as well. (I can’t speak for everyone, but I believe that dung and kissing should never mix).

So, now that we understand the science of mistletoe, how did we get to the kissing part? Well, the roots of mistletoe use are commonly attributed to the Celtic Druids who believed that the parasite contained power to aid in fertility and served as an aphrodisiac. (Now we know why the Druids didn’t last…the berries can be poisonous!).

The Ancient Greeks also believed in the mystical powers and used it in marriage rites at their annual Saturnalia festival. As early as the middle Ages, mistletoe was being placed above doorways or barns in Europe to ward off evil spirits and witches.

In Northern Europe, mistletoe symbolized peace by which opposing sides could declare a truce or battling loved ones could kiss and make up. A combination of these legends is what eventually brought about the Victorian custom of kissing under the ball of mistletoe during the Christmas season.

Even though our beloved mistletoe has a bit of a twisted heritage, the hope of potential romance during the holiday season warms the hearts of many. Who would have ever thought that a parasite named after dung could fill so many with glee? Best of luck to all of you looking for a “catch” under the mistletoe. Happy Holidays!

Honey, I'm cured!

A new study today showed that honey can help ease a cough.

When compared to the cough syrup ingredient dextromethorphan or no treatment, honey came out on top.

The study tested 105 children seeking treatment of nighttime cough and separated them into three groups: those who took buckwheat honey, those who took a honey-flavored dextromethorphan preparation, and those with no treatment.

Parents were surveyed on the day of the doctor's visit and on the next day, after those in the treatment groups had given their kids honey or dextromethorphan at bedtime. Among the three groups, children given honey had the greatest reduction in cough frequency and severity, and the most improved sleep, as did their parents.

So apparently that old folk remedy actually is effective.

Get the bust outta here

*Sincerest apologies for the lack of posting this week. I'll step my game up from here on out...

In true Disney family movie fashion, another not-so-family "subliminal" message has emerged, this time out of "Enchanted," the half-animated, half-live action fairytale story starring Dr. McDreamy that raked in $50 mill this weekend and was number one at the box office.

Fortunately for the Disney empire, this one has been quickly debunked by taking a second listen to the scene. Without knowing otherwise, it appears that an off-camera extra shouts, "Get the F*%$ outta here!" Buuut...it's really a shout of "Get that BUS outta here!" And no, that's not some damage control concotion; there really is a large bus in the way.

It makes me wonder if some of those popular dirty Disney messages are just our own mind's imagination, but because they were before the days of blog, the public was lacking "heroes" with no lives to do some detective work and find that the genie in Aladdin isn't actually telling kids to take off their clothes. Who knows?

But what I do know is not all of those pause-worthy Disney moments are false. The topless woman in the background of The Rescuers movie is definitely topless. But otherwise, most of the salacious scenes have been overblown. [click to watch an amateur, but comprehensive, video of the movies...didn't know about that Jessica Rabbit one!].

Fowl fabrication

Tomorrow, when you're done eating your Thanksgiving feast, don't blame the turkey for your lethargic ways--that's an urban legend.

The fact that tryptophan found in turkey is the reason you conk out after your dinner-o'-thanks is actually not true. In reality, tryptophan's effects can only be felt when ingested on an empty stomach. There is tryptophan in the bird, but the real reason for the lethargy is probably a combination of drinking alcohol and overeating a carbohydrate-filled meal.

And it's not just the turkey that tryp-ing; chicken, beef and milk also contain the amino acid.

So despite the fact that George and Jerry got to play with Jerry's girlfriend's awesome toy collection by feeding her turkey, that episode is only promoting a common misconception that is most often brought up this time of year.

Still, you don't have to share this realization with anyone tomorrow if need an excuse to fall asleep on the couch rather than participate in menial family conversation.