Pusan and Busan are the same city

Pusan and Busan are the same city in South Korea. Back around 2000, the government of South Korea decided to adopt a Romanization system, representing a symbol as written text.

When switching to such a system the English spelling and pronunciation of a word will can change, as is the case with Pusan becoming Busan.

Busan is the largest port in South Korea with a population of more that 3.6 million people. It is also the latest stop on the "Where in the world is Francis James" world tour.



According to the New York Times, South Korea makes the best bootleg purses in ALL of Asia.

I am partial to Coach...just in case anyone in South Korea was wondering ;)

Olive oil can be used for baking

Olive oil can be used for baking instead of butter or shortening. Olive oil is free of cholesterol, and is significantly lower in fat making your favorite baked goods a little bit healthier without losing any delicious taste.

When swapping your butter or shortening for olive oil amounts must be changed - check out the handy conversion chart below:




I know what your thinking...and no, it will not make your crownies taste like olives as long as you use extra light olive oil.

I sampled a brownie made with olive oil from the Bertolli booth at the Feast of San Gennaro in New York City, and it tasted nothing like olives and everything like a delicious chocolaty brownie.



The Feast of San Gennaro is the longest running and largest religious festival in the United States. This year it will take place from September 10 through September 20. I would definitely recommend taking a trip to Little Italy and checking it out.

In 9 years, 2 cats (and their babies) can generate more than 11,000,000 kittens

In 9 years, 2 cats (and their babies) can generate more than 11,000,000 kittens, according to the Greenville Humane Society. That's a lot of kitty!

How is that possible, you ask? Well, cats will have approximately 3 litters per year, if not spayed, with about 4 kittens per litter. So that's 12 new cats, which could potentially each create 12 new cats, and each one of them 12 more cats and on and on and on...


Eeek! Make it stop!

Unless you are some kind of cat lady, the thought of 11,000,000 uncontrolled cats roaming the neighborhood is not an attractive one (I have frequently expressed my feelings on cats).

How can you prevent 11,000,000 cats from being generated over 9 years? As Bob Barker always said...



If you have adopted a pet that is not spayed or neutered, contact the shelter you adopted it from to find out about discounts. If you purchased your pet, contact your vet. If you live in the area, try mine.

A cold or the flu is contagious a day or so before symptoms occur

A cold or the flu is contagious a day or so before symptoms occur, however, contagiousness reaches its peak about three days after contracting the virus. Let me take this opportunity to apologize in advance if anyone I have seen Thursday through today gets sick - I'll bring you some sympathy soup.

So, how does one know if they have a cold or the flu?

Being the responsible adult that I am, I took a trip to the local Minute Clinic to find out, and to make sure I didn't have the, dare I say it... dun dun dahhhh... swine flu.

Upon my arrival to the clinic the nurse-lady gave me a handout which clearly explained the difference between cold and the flu:



Had I had this chart ahead of time, I would have probably stayed on my couch... but the trip did give me the chance to pick-up some medicines and the BEST tissues in the world (be careful, they are addictive).

But its always better to be safe than sorry - and since I believe everything I see on TV, you should be really careful this year, wash your hands ALL the time, carry sanitizer and don't talk to ANYBODY (kidding).

For some tips on avoiding sickness this fall, click here.

Smart people don't eat anything in Japan...

Smart people don't eat anything in Japan...because their food speaks. What does it say? It tells them random facts.

Yes, it's true. Proof? Check out one of the (slightly disturbing) trivia videos I found on BuzzFeed:



And there are a bunch of them, and they share random facts like that a flamingo's mothers milk is red, a squid has three hearts and that Mandarin ducks break up once they finish their nest. I checked it out... they are true. I'm not really sure how I feel about this - I'm half intrigued, half creeeeped out.

Turns out Mameshiba are not really talking food - they are just little dog faced bean creatures (kinda like Hello Kitty or Pokemon) that like to hide in what you are about to eat and share knowledge with you.

To see more, visit their the Mameshiba YouTube channel.

Tomato juice does not remove the smell of a skunk

Tomato juice does not remove the smell of a skunk, it just masks it. The only way to really remove a skunk's spray is through oxidation - basically removing the odor from the skin though the chemical process of removing one compound (skunk stink) from another (your skin).

But if you're not keen on conducting science experiments on you or your pet, you can try the tomato sauce method - and here's how to do it.

1. Remove stinky clothes (assuming that you were wearing them) - you could try to bleach them, but your best bet is throwing them away, far far away
2. Fill a bathtub with water and enter it
3. Wash yourself off with soap (carbolic is best) to remove dirt and maybe some smell
4. Next wash yourself with equal parts vinegar and water
5. Get a large amount of tomato juice, like you might have to Costco it, and pour it all over your body
6. If you still smell, rinse and repeat

Generally I avoid skunks when I can, I saw one while walking along the Hudson in Edgewater last night, and I contemplated jumping into the river. I had never seen one so close (alive) and it was kinda cute. Some people think they are really cute and even turn them into pets.



No worries - that one is descented. Interested? To find your own black and white buddy visit OOPS, or Owners of Pet Skunks.

Candy Land was created as a treament for Polio

Candy Land was created in 1949 as a treatment for Polio , not for the physical illness, but for mental health. Sick children who played the game were able to take their mind off of their sickness and fly away to another world - a delicious world of candy!

Sixty years later, the world of candy is still helping children in need - to celebrate Candy Land's birthday, Hasbro invited children from a local hospital to play the game on a life sized board down the crookedest street in the world - Lombard Street, in San Francisco. Check it out:



How could you NOT love Candy Land? With an age range of 1 - 100 and a setup time of under 3 min, its truly a game for everyone - well accept if you are color blind, then you might need a friend to help (but you can still play!). I remember playing as a kid, and while I always wanted to look like Queen Frostine, my favorite character had to be Gloppy the molasses monster.



Look how happy he is! Not a care in the world...but melting.

Who is your favorite Candy Land character?

Nine out of 10 U.S. bills are covered in "blow"

Nine out of 10 U.S. bills are covered in "blow," or cocaine, according to a recent CNN article featuring data released by the American Chemical Society.


What. Really? That can't be true, you think. It is, and it gets worse. In the following highly populated urban areas - Detroit, Michigan; Boston, Massachusetts; Orlando, Florida; Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, California - 100% of U.S. bills contained traces of cocaine.

Oh my. Wash your hands. Don't eat money.



It can't be that every American is using illegal drugs - so how did it get there? The majority of bills are contaminated when being used in drug transactions and as a tool to inhale the toxic powder (hugs not drugs!). The money then gets passed around, through restaurants, ATMs, stores etc. bringing the residue with it. Thankfully the amount on each bill is not enough to be a health risk.

The American Chemical Society also reported that $1 bills were the least likely to contain traces of residue because drugs are much more expensive than that (see Dope Wars - great game).



This information is eyeopening to the problem of drug use in America. Maybe one day we can be like Zhuzhou, China where money is 100% cocaine free.

Are you a mosquito magnet? Blame your mother...

Are you a mosquito magnet? Blame your mother...(or father) 85% of what attracts mosquitoes to you is hereditary. One of the hereditary traits that will make you more attractive to the flying bloodsuckers is your cholesterol, not necessarily high cholesterol, but the amount in the top layer of your skin.



Gross.


They are also attracted to people who omit high levels of certain acids, carbon dioxide - the bigger you are, the more you omit - and steroids (so maybe lay off the juice). When it comes to their dinner, mosquito taste is only skin deep, and they will track their specific victim from up to 50 meters (164 ft) away.

Mosquitoes have been on the planet for over 170 MILLION years, and have evolved into over 175 versions, each more terrible than the last. Clearly, they are not going anywhere.


They even look stupid.


SO. What can you do?

To prevent bites...
*Stop running around. The more you move, the more you breathe, the more carbon dioxide you omit. Sweating doesn't help either.

*Use bug spray with DEET in it. Yeah it's a poison, but how else do you expect to get rid of something that survived DINOSAURS.

*Invest in an electric tennis racket. I have one, and its quite fun (I hope PETA doesn't count insects as animals).



*Eliminate standing water around your home - that's where the demons multiply.

*Cover yourself. The more you wear, the less skin to bite (sorry prostatots)

I heard that keeping a dryer sheet in your pocket keeps insects away. It doesn't, I tried.

Once you have been bitten...
*To treat topically, try using some cortisone cream

*To treat orally, try taking an antihistamine.


Note, do not actually blame your mother or father. They are probably being bitten too.

Doggy paddle was the first swimming stroke

Doggy paddle was the first swimming stroke, thought to have originated by early beings mimicking the technique of animals. It is one of the easiest strokes, and is the first style taught to children when learning to swim.

In case you never learned, or forgot, here is how it goes.

1. Get in water
2. Lay belly down with head out of the water (great for keeping hair pretty)
3. Cup hands and move (frantically) in a circular motion
4. Kick legs
5. Move forward in water (if sinking occurs, acquire swimmies and return to step 2 )

And now, a demonstration:



Note that Encyclopedia Branigan videos are now housed on YouTube - Check them out on the TheLBranigan channel

Amelia Randall Branigan was born on July 29, 1982

Happy Birthday Amelia!



My sister Amelia was born on July 29, 1982 at New York University Hospital in New York City.

An interesting fact about Amelia - she started reading at age 3 (not too shabby!)

Happy birthday sister dearest! Hope its a great one! xoxo

Alcohol should never be used for fire breathing

Alcohol should never be used for fire breathing because it is explosive and in some cases may cause poisoning or drunkenness (as demonstrated below).



If one was to attempt to breathe fire, the recommended fuel would be kerosene (or paraffin if your fire breathing internationally) because it has a relatively low flash point (the temperature at which the fuel ignites). Personally, I would not attempt to breathe fire myself - the thought of swallowing flammable liquid and spitting it into a flame a few feet from my face doesn't seem enjoyable.

However, if you are interested in possibly burning your face off and/or dying, here's how they do it. I am in NO way suggesting you try.

For a "safer" way to breathe fire, cornstarch can be used, as seen here.

Regardless of how you do it, I believe fire breathing is something best left to the professionals.

Fireworks are not toys

Happy Fourth of July! Yes, I know it's the fifth, but I was far away up in the mountains unable to post any independence greetings.

I witnessed a firework mishap this weekend, a reminder that fireworks are not toys, and should not be handled by children, drunkards, or in this case, people with bad luck (no one was hurt, badly).

There are more possums in New Zealand than people

There are more possums in New Zealand than people - 70 million of them, which is a disturbing ratio of 20 to 1. The Australian brush-tailed possum was introduced to New Zealand in 1873 for fur trading (someone call PETA).



Unfortunately for the Kiwis, the possums found abundant food and had no natural predators, so they quickly multiplied, and now run a muck of the countryside, spreading disease and eating everything (one little fur ball can eat up to a half a pound of vegetation a day) including endangered Kiwi eggs.

I came face to face with a possum this evening while walking my beast. Here in NJ we don't have cute little big eared possums, we have these evil burnt rat looking creatures...



There are some things on this planet that should clearly refrain from procreation.


For more information on possums, click here.

A special thanks to Katie Foley for editing my posts for grammar.

The first modern infomercial promoted local real estate

The first modern infomercial series promoted local real estate and was broadcast on XETV San Diego in the 1970s. The program ran for one hour on Sunday.

Nowadays infomercials run for hours at a time, and promote products from pimple creams, to juicers to hardware. These hour-long commercials usually feature colorful hosts and studio audiences in awe of the miracle product in front of them.

I have to admit, I am one of those people who gets sucked into infomercials. I own magic knives, oxiclean, the Pulse mix CD (I was young with my first credit card, don't make fun) orange glo, the magic bullet, some mop/dog hair remover and countless other amazing products. While I do love my job, I think it would be awesome to be an infomercial host.



One of the greatest infomercial hosts of all time, Billy Mays, passed away today - very sad. He promoted countless products, and had thousands of fans around the globe.

Here's a great video of Billy outside the studio, having fun ordering McDonalds as only Billy Mays could...

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, died today, June 25, 2009 at the age of 50.

Very sad.

Michael Jackson - Black or White (Full Uncut version) - kewego
Michael Jackson - Black or White

Keywords: michael jackson black or white

Video from niyu

A morsel of chocolate will not kill your dog

A morsel of chocolate will not kill your dog, but larger quantities can be deadly. It isn't really the chocolate that is bad for the dog, it is a stimulant found in cocoa beans called theobromine, which can also be found in cola beverages, tea and acai berries.

Theobromine is tolerable for humans, but for dogs can cause poisoning, even death, because they are unable to metabolize it, and it can remain in the bloodstream for up to 20 hours. Symptoms of theobromine poisoning include vomiting and diarrhea, restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching and frequent urination.

It is very important to not give in to your dog, no matter how much they beg, whine, whimper and look up at you with those big (green devil) eyes for chocolate.

Just say NO

Dogs are affected differently by different kinds of chocolate. For example, here is how much of the following chocolates it would take to poison Chloe, my 20 lb Jack Russell-Beagle mix...

• White chocolate - 250 lbs would cause signs of poisoning
• Milk chocolate/Semi-sweet - 1 lb or 4 - 6 candy bars would be poisonous
• Sweet cocoa - 1/3 lb would be poisonous
• Baking chocolate - 2 oz would be poisonous

If you suspect your dog (or cat, bird, horse etc.) is showing signs of theobromine poisoning, take it for medical care immediately. Some websites offer tips on how to care for a poisoned animal, but personally, I'd rather leave it to the professionals. If you are looking for emergency animal care in NE NJ, I would recommend Animal Emergency & Referral Associates (love them), otherwise check your local Google search.

Other human foods that are bad for dogs include avocado, macadamia nuts, onions, grapes, raisins, garlic, foods high in fat, salt or artificial sweeteners, and alcoholic beverages...

Oops.

For more info on dog and cat care visit Pet Place.

Graduates originally wore caps and gowns to keep warm

Graduates originally wore caps and gowns to keep warm. The first university was established back in 12th century England. Back then, higher education was run by the church, which was run by monks and clergy. These clergymen lived in churches - very cold, drafty, castle like churches. To keep warm, they wore... you guessed it... gowns (thick robes) and thus the clothing worn at graduation was created to be like that of the clergy who ran it.

In 1894 a group of scholars met at Columbia College to decide on academic dress, and in 1895 created the Depository for the Intercollegiate Bureau of Academic Costume, making the cap and gown official grad wear.

The cap that grads wear is also derived from clothing worn by religious figures, and is also referred to as a mortarboard, because it looks like the tool masons use to lay bricks.

Tonight I attended a very special graduation ceremony - my darling brother, Max Randall Branigan, was the 10th member of my family to graduate from Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ. He will continue his education at Rutgers University, where he has been accepted into the prestigious Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Congratulations Max!

Smart people love quickie contests!

Smart people love quickie contests! Yes - they do! Since it is Monday, and it has been raining for 10 years, I thought I would brighten your day with a little fun.

First person to guess what the following image is, wins it. (I'll also give a prize for most creative guess)

Ready, set, go!

Superfood for a Superdad

A 'superfood' is a food with high phytonutrient content (say what?), or in other words, has great health benefits. According to WebMD, everyone's favorite Internet doctor, some superfoods that can help you live a healthier, longer life are beans, broccoli, oranges, tomatoes, spinach, soy, pumpkin, salmon, oats, tea, walnuts, turkey and the ever powerful blueberry.

Since it's Father's Day, and my dad is pretty super, I decided to bake him a superfood (blueberry) pie - his FAVORITE. Blueberries are are jam packed with antioxidants, vitamin B6, C, K and dietary fiber. Including blueberries in your diet can decrease your risk of cancer and heart disease and also work as a natural anti-inflammatory.

Here's how I did it...

The Filling!
4 cups blueberries (frozen are fine)
1 cup sugar
Some flour (I rarely follow directions)
Dash of salt

The Crust!
1 bottom crust (store bought)
2 top crusts (store bought) then woven into beautifulness

Combine filling ingredients, pour into bottom crust. Cover with basket weave (or just cover if you are a beginner) crust. Use a baking brush to coat lightly with egg (for shine). Bake at 425 for 10 min, then 350 for about 45 more. It should come out looking like this:



Happy Father's Day to a super dad!

Love you daddy :)