PrepForOne

04.08.10: TODAY IS...

- National Notice a Wildflower Day
-Draw a Picture of a Bird Day (the animal, not the gesture)
-Hammerin' Hank Day marking Hank Aaron's 715th home run on this day in 1974.

POP QUIZ: In a landslide, this actor was elected mayor of Carmel, California on this day in 1986

Hint:

ANSWER: Clint Eastwood

IN SEARCH OF

What folks are Googlin' this morning

"southpark facebook episode" - Behind everything that's hilariously cruel about the show Southpark, there's a message in each episode. The latest episode tackled Facebook, and how the social site can take over your life! Really? Haven't noticed. Get the full rundown here

"criminal minds spinoff" - If you're a Criminal Minds fan on CBS, you'll be happy to know the family is getting bigger. Last night's episode called "The Fight" featured Forest Whitaker as the head of a new team -- or in TV land means SPIN OFF!

"american idol" - Two surprises from last night's American Idol. First - Tim Urban was NOT in the bottom three. They call him "Teflon Tim" for the criticism he's been able to survive so far.

Bottom three: Michael Lynch, Aaron Kelly and Andrew Garcia.

Michael Lynch receives the fewest votes. But now it's up to the judges to save him. So he sings. The fans weep. Simon says "We've decided we're going to see you next week." Fans scream. All is right with the world.

BTW: Ratings for American Idol have been slowly falling. In fact, Tuesday's ratings were the lowest they've been since way back in 2002 during the first season. 20.2 million is nothing to laugh at, but the trend is clearly heading in the wrong direction. More details here

"tiger woods nike commercial" - When will the madness end! There are new allegations this morning that Tiger Woods may have slept with his neighbor's 22-year old daughter (picture here).

Meanwhile, Nike is back with a Tiger commercial - a very serious one (and a little creepy). The voice over you hear is from his father, Earl, who died of prostate cancer in 2006. No word on where they got the recording and in what context. Watch

PHONE BUZZ

Light 'em up!

What was the coolest toy you played with in the 80's that you can't find today?
Gunaxin.com put together a great list of the Coolest, Grossest Toy's of the 80's! Remember these?

Bloglins! Goblin puppets...




Blurp Balls It's a crazy looking ball that squeezed out a smaller ball shaped like something it ate or killed. A boy's dream




Dr. Dreadful Freaky Food Lab Make disgusting food at home!




Queasy Bake! - This was an obvious attempt to get boys into an Easy bake Oven...




Madballs! One of the hottest and most disgusting toys of the 80's. The biggest challenge was collecting the entire set.




See the full list here



What is the one thing another driver can do that will send you over the edge?
Let's be honest -- most people CAN drive. If you look around you right now, most people are obeying the law and are polite. It's the amazingly insane few that, for some reason, feel the road is theirs and you're just an obstacle to overcome. Why? There are apparently 6 Scientific Reasons People Drive Like Jerks (I changed the title to be a bit more, let's say, "family friendly."

#6 He just finished playing a racing video game: "A recent study found that men who simply play racing games and then get behind the wheel of a real car tend to take more risks, display more aggression toward other motorists and generally drive like they're trying to cross some imaginary finish line before everyone else."

#5 The Dunning-Kruger Effect: "Cornell psychologists Justin Kruger and David Dunning describe this phenomenon as someone being "unskilled and unaware," meaning they have a specific short circuit in their brains that makes them (stink) at figuring out they (stink)

#4 The safer they feel, the worse they drive: "Everybody has an acceptable level of risk, and scientists say we try to keep risk at the same acceptable level in any situation. This sort of makes sense until you realize that if your risk level is too low, you will actually engage in riskier behavior to compensate."

#3 His or her genes: "Good drivers' brains have high levels of BDNF production (a protein responsible for maintaining the health of our synapses) which allow them to learn faster and perform better during tasks that require advanced motor function. Bad drivers, sadly, do not."

#2 Their car stinks: " bad odors have an adverse affect on your driving ability"

#1 He just watched The Fast and the Furious...again: "members of the LAPD have to do extra patrols around theaters showing Fast and Furious sequels just to keep teenagers from squealing off into the distance and smashing head-on into a tanker truck.


See the entire article here

FACE BUZZ

Post this: What is one of your biggest pet peeves?

CELEBRITY TWEETS

Kate Gosselin has been taking a beating lately. First her husband is demanding full custody of their 8 kids claiming Kate is an "absentee mom" since the show started. And then her dancing -- let's just say her days are numbered. Oh, and then Jimmy Fallen's take on Kate's paso doble:




The 36th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Celebrity Race is a week from Saturday, and last year's winner, Keanu Reeves will be back. He'll be up against Adrien Brody, Adam Carolla, Tony Hawk, Christian Slater, Brian Austin Green, Jesse McCartney, Zachary Levi, Patrick Warburton and Patrick Dempsy (pic)


Check out Rachel Ray's hairy husband (pic). She brought hubby John Cusimano, a lawyer, to the NY premiere of "Date Night" starring Steve Carell, Tina Fey and Hugh Jackman. Rachel's husband said a date night for the couple is usually PJ's, something she cooked and drinks he mixed. "That's pretty much every night," she joked.


If you're a fan of Tom Clancy, then you'll LOVE this news -- his new book, "Dead or Alive," will be out December 7th. Jack Ryan and John Clark are back battling terrorism together.

Jessica Simpson is stripping for Marie Claire... at least her make-up. She'll appear with nothing on her face to promote an initiative she's launching called "A Beautiful Me," which is supposed to encourage young women to feel comfortable in their own skin. "I don't have anything to prove anymore. What other people think of me is not my business," said Simpson. Look for the issue on Newsstands April 13th (pic)


Tennis pro Martina Navratilova was diagnosed with breast cancer in January. She told USA Today that it was a "total shock" because she has been so healthy. She blames herself for letting 4 years pass between mammogram screenings. She had a lumpectomy on March 15th and will begin 6-weeks of radiation treatment in May.



CUTTIN' CAKE TODAY
John Schneider is 56
Patricia Arquette turns 42
Katee Sackhoff is 30

BIRTHDAY QUIZ: Patricia Arquette turns 42 today, name the movie from 2000...

ANSWER: Little Nicky starring Adam Sandler


Here's a little taste of Patricia Arquette. Is she going to, or coming from a party?

FUN STUFF

GADGET OF THE DAY
Ok, it's not like you couldn't do this on a regular calculator, or a smart phone, or heck, even a piece of paper, but it's still cool. The Monthly Budget Calculator is divided into six categories - food, clothing, transportation, entertainment, medical and miscellaneous. Just set your monthly limit for each, and then keep your purchases punched into your calculator. $20. More here


GOTTA SEE THIS
This is a very funny breakdown on how to get rich like Nicholas Sparks! Check it out here


DID YOU KNOW:
Men, women and work-stress:
"More women than men in the survey reported on-site stress. Of female respondents, 28 percent said they were under stress at work, while only 22 percent of male respondents felt the same way. And 37 percent of men said there was almost no tension at their job, compared with 29 percent of women."
More here


WHO SAID IT?
"I'm not big on costumes in bed, to be honest. I wouldn't say no if he wanted to try, but it seems so inorganic. Maybe it'll come later – in five or 10 years, I'll start buying funny outfits. But for now, we're nice and spicy in that department."
-Heidi Klum in Cosmo mag



JOKE OF THE DAY
Four high school boys afflicted with spring fever skipped morning classes. After lunch they reported to the teacher that they had a flat tire.
Much to their relief she smiled and said: "Well, you missed a test today so take seats apart from one another and take out a piece of paper."
Still smiling, she waited for them to sit down. Then she said:
"First Question: Which tire was flat?"



SURF THIS!
Need to apologize to your neighbor for losing her cat while she was on vacation, so you bought a new cat you thought looked like the old one, which you got away with until the old one returned home? Or maybe you need to apologize for something else (although what else is there)? LetMeApologzie.com is a way to make a public apology to the world, or someone you know. They can either accept or deny your apology. Of course, it may be better to talk face-to-face, but this is a start.


GAME BREAK!
We're getting warmed up for the Masters today...by playing where our balls usually land -- IN THE POND! Try a round of Golfish!
Go!