The Upside of Brain Damage - Smoking Cessation

You've chewed the gum, worn the patch, walked the steps and even smeared on the hand gel. Now your skin is smooth as a baby's behind, but its still clutching the butt end of a cigarette. Left with a deep sense of frustration and self-loathing (admit it all you traditionally inclined addicts out there, you blame everyone else but yourself), you'll go to any length, and I mean any length to quit. A new study has revealed that a small area of the brain called the insula, is the nerve center of addiction. While this is good news to scientists, it's not such great news for current smokers. The only way to create the desired effect is to damage this part of the brain in a fairly traumatic event, such as a stroke. With all hopes dashed, I feebly light up and announce the award for today's most useless scientific finding goes to the University of Southern California. Since I will be accepting the award on USC's behalf, I'd like to thank Studio 60 for planting the idea of useless scientific findings.

[Source] Fox News

Will Carrie Underwood Score on Grammy Night?

One might say I've had gamblin' on the brain since my review of Casinomeister's Best and Worst of 2006. In that vain, all bets are on that Carrie Underwood will take home the Best New Artist Grammy on February 11, 2007. Thanks to her overwhelming popularity on American Idol last season and her phenomenal rise in the Billboard Charts with her debut album Some Hearts, she appears to be the favored winner. According to BestBetting , Underwood has a slight edge over James Blunt, and has held this position since December 2006.

One-third of the bets have been placed on Corinne Bailey Rae, who has also had a stellar year with her fresh baby-jazz vocals and playful lyrics on her hit single "Put Your Records On". But a win by Rae would be an upset on the same level as Norah Jones' win for Best Album of the Year in 2003 over Bruce Sprinsteen. Not the exact same level, but close.

My prediction confidence has grown to near unrecognizable heights since accurately predicting Underwood would take home two of her four CMA Award nominations. How do I think she'll fair in the Best Female Country Vocal Performance, in which she's nominated against heavy hitters Gretchen Wilson and Martina McBride? Let's just say I believe this will be Wilson's to lose, but the viewing public won't be horrified if Underwood secures another win.

Casinomeister Names Best and Worst of 2006

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Act has not dampened the spirits of online gambling websites, and has energized Casinomeister to bestow recognition with the "...only Awards that Matter". Without further ado we delve into the previously untouched arena of casino awards:

A lawsuit was bound to be brewing in the Evil Player category of 2006, but disaster was averted by handing the award over to all evil players everywhere. Previous winners with "evil" in their monikers cried out for nomination and deservedly so, causing casinos to tighten security for evil and angelic players alike.

One way to jam a craw in the jaw of an annoying forum member is to ban them from your site for all eternity. Another is to give them the title Most Annoying Forum Member to wear like a crown of victory over all who doubted their status as "King of Annoyancropolis". Thesmacker is undoubtedly wearing said crown in an extended three-way conversation...with himself.

In a bold move, Casinomeister added the category for Most Bizarre Press Release of 2006, and the winner's press release (CasinoFortune.com) is admittedly very bizarre. But an award for a press release is so bizarre, it borders on groundbreaking. The award for Most Creative but Admittedly Bizarre Category goes to Casinomeister.

You may win big at an online casino, but collecting your winnings in a timely manner is another story. If retroactively changing your payout policy is common practice in the online gambling industry, I'd say its time for a little class action, action. At the very least the Worst Player Experience Runner-up may benefit from an investigation into his claims, and a good attorney.

And finally, in the winner-takes-all category of Best Casino 2006, the award goes to 32Red Casino in a four-year-running record landslide. As can be imagined, a successful online gambling establishment should exude trustworthiness and banish even the slightest inkling of rogue behavior from its collective thought process. See ya next year, and here's hoping 32Red Casino doesn't reappear in Casinomeister's Fall From Grace category. That would be one mighty plunge.