PowerBlogs: Jasmine Doobay

The massive snow storm that hit the East Coast over the weekend not only snarled transportation, it drove an off-duty Washington, D-C police detective to the edge. Detective Baylor is shown in numerous videos on YouTube pulling his gun out and waving it around when his Hummer was pelted during a snowball fight. The crowd at the fight started chanting, “You don’t bring a gun to a snowball fight.”

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The N-F-L wants its players to donate their brains to science. The league plans to encourage current and former players to agree to donate their brains to the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, which claims it has found links between repeated head trauma and brain damage in boxers and many players.

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We live in wondrous times … With Internet shopping, you can get your hands on just about anything you want — any time you want it.

This is especially good news for geeks who enjoy weird stuff. They don’t have to get stuck with boring, “normal” gifts this Christmas. They can reach for the moon and get those prized geek gifts.

According to Asylum.com, here are some of the best geek gifts out there …

Star Wars Lightsaber Chopsticks ($22.99) — Sci-Fi sushi fans rejoice.

Star Trek Cuff Links ($65) — If you’re going to be a geek, you might as well be a sharp- dressed geek.

Comic Book Wallets ($15) — Is that a superhero in your pants?

Super Mario Bros. Wall Decals ($69.99) — Impress the ladies with your interior decorating prowess.

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Santa Claus knows what he’s doing. While beards may not always be the best look during the rest of the year, it’s far more acceptable in the winter because it’s practical.

For one, it’s an extra layer of defense against the harsh, biting wind. Also, it’s a great way to change up your look a little bit.

So go ahead and ditch the clean-shaven look and take advantage of your laziness. Stop shaving and enjoy a warm winter.

According to AskMen.com, here are a few facial hair styles — and what they say about you.

1. Trimmed Goatee — You are both trendy and classy.

2. Heavy Stubble — You are easygoing and unassuming — and don’t have the patience to maintain a pretty-boy appearance.

3. Scruffy Beard — You’re calm, cool and collected, but most of all, you’re secure in terms of both your style and yourself.

4. Full Beard — You are mature and sophisticated. (Or, you’re a lumberjack.)

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Yes, you’ve probably seen the classic 1984 holiday movie A Christmas Story 50 times (this year alone). But if you think you know everything about it, you’re wrong.

Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know:

1. Jack Nicholson was very interested in playing Ralphie’s dad. But casting (and paying) Jack would have meant doubling the budget, so he was removed from consideration. Director Bob Clark — who didn’t know Nicholson was interested at the time — says Darrin McGavin was the perfect choice. After all, Jack would have been too much of a scene-stealer.

2. What does Porky’s, the raunchy ’80s teen sex movie, have to do with a wholesome film like A Christmas Story? Bob Clark directed both — Porky’s in 1982 and A Christmas Story in 1983. If Porky’s hadn’t given him the professional and financial success he needed, he wouldn’t have been able to bring A Christmas Story to the big screen.

3. For those keeping count, Ralphie says he wants the Red Ryder BB Gun 28 times throughout the course of the movie. That’s approximately once every three minutes and 20 seconds.

4. Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie, has been good friends with Vince Vaughn since they both appeared in the CBS Schoolbreak Special (their version of the after-school special) in the early ’90s. Peter doesn’t do much acting these days, but he did make a surprise appearance on the “Vince Vaughn Wild West Comedy Show” in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2005. Peter’s doing quite well for himself, though. He was the executive producer of Iron Man and had a brief bit as William Ginter Riva. Peter also executive produced Vince’s movie, Four Christmases (which he also had a cameo in), as well as 2006’s The Break-Up.

5. Mythbusters tested whether it was possible to get your tongue truly stuck on a piece of cold metal. Guess what? It is. So don’t triple dog dare your best friend to try it.

6. Scott Schwartz, who played Flick (the kid who stuck his tongue to the frozen flagpole), was submerged in the adult film industry for a number of years. He got out in 2000 to try to become a mainstream actor again, but he really hasn’t done much of note: Community College (”A love story between four dudes and their ability to get free drinks”) and Skinwalker, which starred ex-MTV veejay Jesse Camp, if that tells you anything. Joey Buttafuoco is in it, too, and gets billing over our poor Flick. Sad.

7. Next time you’re in Cleveland, you can visit the original house from the movie for only $7.50. It was sold on eBay in 2004 for $150,000. Collector Brian Jones bought the house and restored it to its movie glory and stocked it up with some of the original props from the film, including Randy’s snowsuit.

8. Director Bob Clark got the idea for the movie when he was driving in the car with a date. He heard Jean Shepherd on the radio doing a reading of his short story collection, “In God We Trust … All Others Pay Cash,” which included some bits that eventually ended up in A Christmas Story. Clark said he drove around the block for an hour until the program ended, which his date was not too happy about.

9. The TV show The Wonder Years was inspired by A Christmas Story. In fact, in one of the last few episodes, Peter Billingsley appeared as one of Kevin Arnold’s roommates.

10. The real Red Ryder BB Gun was first made in 1938 and was named after a comic strip cowboy. You can still buy it today for the low, low price of $44.99. But the original wasn’t quite the same as the one in the movie — it lacked the compass and sundial that both the Jean Shepard story and the movie call for. Special versions had to be made just for A Christmas Story.

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It’s that time of year again, when drunken “Bad Santas” storm their respective cities for SantaCon, a “not-for-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-logical Santa Claus convention, attended for absolutely no reason.”

The loosely organized event seems to grow every year and participants claim it’s not anti-Christmas or anti-religious. It’s just an evening of fun that includes mocking Santa Claus.

Top Ten Santa Pick-Up Lines

Hey babe, when was the last time you did it in a sleigh?

Wanna see my 12-inch elf?

I’ve got something special in the sack for you!

Ever make it with a fat guy with a whip?

I know when you’ve been bad or good — so let’s skip the small talk, sister!

Some of my best toys run on batteries…

Interested in seeing the “North Pole”?

I see you when you’re sleeping — and you don’t wear any underwear, do you?

Screw the “nice” list — I’ve got you on my “naughty” list!

Wanna join the “Mile High” club?

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This may be the most wonderful time of the year, but probably not for any guy with a girlfriend. Buying your gal a holiday gift can cause a ton of stress because you don’t want to mess it up. You learned your lesson with the “practical” vacuum you got her a few years back.

Let this be the year you get it right.

AskMen.com has the Top 10 Romantic Holiday Gift ideas.

10. Membership to an “of the month” club. Maybe a chocolate of the month club. Basically, it’s a monthly reminder of how much you love her.

9. A cashmere sweater. Women love cashmere because it’s nice and expensive.

8. Lingerie, but make sure it’s sensuous and not slutty.

7. An inscription. Get her a book and inscribe something personal inside the cover.

6. Something engraved. It really doesn’t matter what it is. Have it engraved and she’ll love it forever.

5. Show tickets. This is not a rock show. This is a musical, or a play, or godssakes– a ballet.

4. Something vintage. Women actually love antiques, like an old picture frame or mirror.

3. scrapbook. She’ll definitely love a book of photos and other memoirs. But seriously, that kind of sounds like a whole lot of work.

2. A weekend getaway.

1. Jewelry. Duh.

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There are so many names on your Christmas shopping list this year, but is your boss’s name one of them? What about your co-workers? What’s the office gift protocol?

The folks at AskMen.com say “yes,” you should definitely get your boss a gift. But knowing what to get is very difficult. You want your gift to be thoughtful, but you don’t want to come across as too eager and look like a suck-up.

A bottle of wine is a good idea, unless of course he’s a raging alcoholic or a recovering one. Or if he has a particular hobby like fishing or boating, try a magazine subscription.

Now, onto your co-workers. If you work in a small office, you should buy gifts for all of them. Make it something small and inexpensive. After all, it’s just a gesture. Try a gift card.

If you work in a large office, just buy for those in your department.

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Here comes Christmas, and in tow come the good, the bad and the ugly of the holiday season.

AskMen.com takes an in-depth look at what we can all expect this Christmas …

The “good” things about the season include:

drunken office parties
mistletoe
getting to pee your name in the snow
great sports action like marquee NBA games and college bowl games
big-budget movies

The “bad” include:

retail madness
having to return bad gifts
having to buy gifts for people you don’t like
television repeats
Christmas charities

The “ugly” include:

having to spend time with family
cheesy Christmas albums
having to assemble complicated gifts
home-knitted Christmas sweaters
New Year’s Eve