Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jan 15, 2013

Chocolate, Caffeine, Alcohol:

Hey party girls --do you like to let loose and tie one on? You may want to put down the Cosmopolitan and pick up some knitting needles! PerezHilton.com reports the Center for Disease Control discovered that almost 12.5 percent of the female population engage in binge drinking, almost a quarter of ladies 18-34 imbibe and 14-million gals get loopy three-times per-month! Think it's just a good time? Think again --all that drinking is reponsible for half of the 23-thousand alcohol-related deaths every year. (Lee)

Taking everything much too seriously:

This might be the most useful cell phone app of all time.
The NY Post reports there's a new app that helps you get your kids to do household chores. ChoreMonster makes jobs like feeding the dog and picking up toys seem fun, by turning it into a game. Children are even awarded points when each chore is completed. Parents then redeem the points by giving their children rewards, like an allowance or gift card. (Still)

Grace notes:

The older you get, the more annoying it can be to go to rock concerts. Rolling Stone magazine has put together a list of "The 10 Most Annoying Concert Behaviors."
10. Yelling "Sit down!" at people who are standing up.
9. Filming the entire show on your iPhone.
8. Loudly complaining after the show because the band didn't play your favorite song.
7. Getting so drunk you puke.
6. Pushing your way to the front.
5. Yelling out "Freebird!"
4. Yelling out requests.
3. Incessantly talking to your friends.
2. Checking e-mail, Facebook and Twitter every couple of minutes.
1. Taking pictures the entire freaking show. (Marino)

Home video news:

Twi-hard fans will be excited to find out "Breaking Dawn, Part 2" will be out on DVD and Blu-ray on Sat, Mar 02, which means all sorts of stores will be having sales beginning at midnight, Friday. Suggested retail price for the DVD will be $30.98, and an additional nine bucks more for the Blu-ray disc.

Small-town politics:

NY Gov Democratic Gov ANDREW CUOMO --with the blessing of a Republican-controlled state Senate-- has announced a set of stronger anti-gun laws, including an outright ban on assault weapons. The new bill(s) will also --among other things-- limit ammunition clips to seven rounds, down from ten.
The changes would also mandate gun owners to renew their licenses every five years and tighten laws on the assault weapons already owned by New Yorkers.
Editor's note: And I'm sure all the criminals and gang bangers in the great Empire State are shaking in their shoes. (Pacelli)

Untying the knot:

NASCAR and Indy car driver DANICA PATRICK and her husband, PAUL HOSPENTHAL. Although the pair announced they were intending to divorce around Thanksgiving, the Sporting News reports Danica filed for divorce on Jan 03 in Arizona, claiming her marriage was "irretrievably broken."
PS: Arizona is a no-fault divorce state, and according to her filing, she has a pre-nup, and since they have no children, it's presumably cut-and-dried.
Danica finished third in the 2009 Indianapolis 500; the highest finish ever for a female; she finished 10th in NASCAR's Nationwide standings last year.