They ain't really going...

...away from your list of most popular and favorite things to discuss after the most recent American Idol finals.

Sometimes, you just don't know how to distinguish passionate from crazy.

Enjoy the video and the funny animated images of the most talked about "highlight" of the Season 11 American Idol Finale — the inexplicably entertaining Jennifer Holiday and Jessica Sanchez duet.

(animated gfx from www.afterelton.com)

The Exorcism of Jennifer Holiday

The Jennifer Holiday and Jessica Sanchez duet on the American Idol Season 11 finale certainly made a mark. Some were amazed while others cringed but almost everyone was entertained. Take a look at some of the most memorable moments of that unforgettable duet below.

Waaaahhhh!!!!

Oh no you're no virgin!

This mic tastes weird!

So you really think you can win this?

(animated gfx from www.afterelton.com)

Brooms and height

Sweet Potato

This summer introduced or reminded me a couple of things related to the sweet potato or camote.

First, this plant we locally call tinangkong is a flowering vine. It bears conspicuous flowers. Albeit rarely, it yields sympetalous purple flowers that look just like those of its semiaquatic cousin, the tangkong or kangkong.

I think I've seen blossoming sweet potatoes many times before but it somehow still feels peculiar finding our backyard sweet potato garden in bloom. The flowers just seem out of place that I almost always feel the urge of trying to locate any nearby kangkong that might have shacked up with our sweet potatoes. It's comparable to the feeling I get when I am reminded of this fact: the camote or sweet potato tubers we buy from the market is the very same thing that grows underneath our sweet potato garden.

Also this summer, I found a group of insects I think I haven't seen in my entire life yet. The insects look like a cross between a cricket and grasshopper (photo below). They fly but are unable to sustain long-distance flight. They don't look "friendly." Many of them have made our tinangkong garden their home, hanging around the stems and petioles and chewing on a good amount of leaves we humans are supposed to be the ones consuming.

I tried holding one of them. The six-legged arthropod didn't bite but it spurted what I believe was fecal matter. I am still trying to learn about the identity of this group of insects. I am likewise in the process of deciding whether or not I should exterminate them with some insecticide or just let them go away naturally (if they ever will). Being mindful of the possible ecological consequences, I am cautious of annihilating a bunch of insects I am not well acquainted with. Well...admittedly, superstition also factors in.

Not just green tea: green coffee beans may also aid weight loss

Coffee beans that have not undergone roasting may
help in losing weight (image source: topnews.in)  

A small study presented at the May 8 national meeting of the American Chemical Society showed weight loss promise in green coffee bean extract. This introduces another cheap alternative for reducing pounds though it may literally be bitterer than the regular weight loss bitter pill.

Joe Vinson, a University of Scranton chemist, conducted the pilot study on the effectiveness of natural and uncooked/unheated coffee beans for improving weight loss success. The study involved 16 overweight young adults who undertook a "cross-over" design of testing the effects of green coffee beans. This setup makes the participants their own benchmark wherein they took, by turns, a low dose of unroasted coffee bean extract, a high dose of the coffee bean supplement, and a placebo.

The results were promising with an average of 17.5 pounds weight reduction after five months and two weeks or an overall weight loss of 10.5%. A bigger study is already being planned, calling for 44 additional participants (a total of 60).

Vinson says that the apparent reason for such weight reduction is the ability of green coffee bean extract to diminish fat and glucose absorption in the gut. It is also possible that the extract is able to reduce insulin levels to enhance metabolism. No adverse effects from the coffee extract have been observed among the study participants.

As earlier mentioned, the study is non-conclusive and it requires further investigations and a bigger participant population. Several health scientists have expressed their apprehension over the findings saying that the chemical content of coffee beans both have positive and negative results. It is up to additional studies to prove that the positive effects can outweigh the negative.

Chinese TV anchor says PH is Chinese territory‽

Albeit accidentally...so they say.


He Jia, an anchor of the state-run China Central Television (CCTV), "accidentally" claimed that the Philippines is part of Chinese territory. He said "We all know that the Philippines is China's inherent territory and the Philippines belongs to Chinese sovereignty, this is an indisputable fact."

The gaffe happened late Monday and has since become a viral video circulated on the web. The video of the said broadcast has already been removed from the CCTV website but it is still available in various websites online.

What He Jia apparently intended to say was "Huangyan Islands" instead of "The Philippines." Huangyan Islands is more popularly (internationally) known as the Scarborough Shoal and is the subject of the ongoing naval standoff between China and the Philippines.


Officials of the TV station did not give any comment on the faux pas and refused to give any clear answer on whether or not CCTV has already apologized for the mistake.


Watch the video below.

A scientific explanation on the natural tendency to brag

Ever wondered why there seems to be an innate inclination to brag‽ Science has an answer.

A study performed by Harvard University neuroscientists led to the finding that talking about oneself to other people (in person or through indirect means such as social media and blogs) triggers sensations similar to those caused by food or money. Parts of the brain associated with pleasure were found to be activated when a person talks about himself or herself (self disclosure) especially with the mention of pleasant or enviable things.

The Harvard researchers conducted laboratory tests wherein they monitored the brain activity of volunteers to determine the parts of the brain that get stimulated when a person experiences pleasure or happiness. The volunteers involved in the study were mostly Americans residing near the university. A functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner was used to monitor brain activity during the tests conducted.

The general observation derived from the tests was that there were spurts of increased activity in regions of the brain that belong to the meso-limbic dopamine system. Activity in these regions are associated with the feeling of satisfaction and gratification derived from the enjoyment of food, sex, or money.