Odds and Ends for Friday

• Have you heard about the Ig Nobels? These awards honor "weird" science (as opposed to "fringe" science which honors Joshua Jackson for being hot). Among the studies tapped this year: researchers who investigated the claim that Coca-Cola works as a contraceptive, a psychologist who discovered that food that sounds better tends to taste better and a pair of archeologists who determined that armidillos can change the course of history.

• FYI, don't forget: "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" opens tomorrow. Oh and some Michael Cera movie which likely has no small purse dogs at all. We'll let audiences decide if that's a plus or a minus.

• For those of us who felt that the month of September lasted about 30 days longer than it should have, The Modern Girl blog has proposed the creation of Rocktoberfest, "a monthlong celebration aimed at knocking the socks off of October and preventing it from kicking our asses like September did."So how do you celebrate Rocktoberfest? Sort of like New Year's: decide on a few things you're going to do this month to make your life or the lives of those around you better. I pledged to not fight about politics, among other things and to try and read more for pleasure. What would you do to make this month rock?

• Even though I just pledged not to get into politics, the debate last night got me thinking and now I have to ask: how do you guys feel about the pronunciation of "nuclear?" Does hearing it pronounced "nu-cu-ler" drive you as absolutely batshit insane as it does me? If there is a hell, I'm convinced it will be filled with Joe Don Baker movies and a steady stream of people dropping non-existent "u"s into the middle of words.