And this year . . . is no exception.  Oxford has added about 2,000 new words and phrases, some of which have been making us cringe for years, and some of which are so old and lame, no one even says them anymore.

Here are some of their high-profile additions . . .

VUVUZELA.  "Long horn blown by fans at soccer matches."

BROMANCE.  "A close but non-sexual relationship between two men."

CHILLAX.  "Calm down and relax."

SOCIAL MEDIA.  "Websites and applications used for social networking."

BUZZKILL.  "A person or thing that has a depressing or dispiriting effect."

STAYCATION.  "A holiday spent in one's home country."

CHILL PILL.  "A notional pill taken to make someone calm down."  (???)

CHEESEBALL.  "Lacking taste, style or originality."

WARDROBE MALFUNCTION.  "An instance of a person accidentally exposing an intimate part of their body as a result of an article of clothing slipping out of position."

HATER.  "Negative person."

DEFRIEND.  "Another term for unfriend (remove someone from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site)."

LBD.  "Little black dress."

INTERWEB.  "The Internet."

FRENEMY.  "A person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry."

TURDUCKEN.  "A roast dish consisting of a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey."

Believe it or not, they actually DO reject some words.  This year, two of the words they say they rejected were TANOREXIA and CANKLES. 
 
 

This could've just been the eight billionth story about some marginally famous pro athlete cheating on his wife.  In that case, we would've ignored it, since that's not even really news anymore.  But this one's got a TWIST.

CHRIS CHAMBERS is a wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs.  He's been in the NFL for nine years, mostly on the Miami Dolphins . . . and he made one Pro Bowl, in 2005.

Well, last year, Chris was cheating on his wife with a woman named Stacey Bernice Saunders. 

Eventually, he decided to break it off.

Stacey did NOT react to that well, and started allegedly STALKING and HARASSING Chris and his family.
It was so bad that, in the past year, he called the cops on her ELEVEN times, and filed 11 separate misdemeanor harassment complaints.

Last summer, Chris even filed for a restraining order against her, for what he called, quote, "launching an incessant attack verbally on me, and now my wife, her mother and sister."

Shortly after that, Chris and his wife decided to get divorced.  Their divorce went final this year, on July 22nd.

On July 24th, Chris went to Las Vegas . . . and married his stalker.  Yep . . . he and Stacey got married . . . even with the 11 complaints HE FILED still hanging over her head.  (--The reports are just coming out now.)   

According to the latest statistics, the average person now sends 390 text messages per month, and makes 230 actual phone calls.
AND, there are TWICE as many people who actively use texts to communicate than who use email.

The main reason people have been FLEEING from email to texting is spam.  About 65% of the email that the average person receives is spam.  No more than 10% of the texts you get are spam . . . and even that seems high.

Texts are also a much better way to get a message to someone QUICKLY.  The average text is read within four minutes of when you send it . . . the average e-mail is read within 48 HOURS.

About two-thirds of people who have cell phones use text messages.

Also, by the end of this year, it's estimated that 60% of the world is going to have a mobile device that gives them Internet access, whether it's a smartphone, a laptop, an iPad, or portable video game system.  (--Or a really souped up pager, I guess.)
 

The number of U.S. homes lost to foreclosure surged in July.

Economic woes, such as unemployment or reduced income, are now the main catalysts for foreclosures. Initially, lax lending standards were the culprit, but homeowners with good credit who took out conventional, fixed-rate loans are now the fastest growing group of foreclosures.
Lenders repossessed 92,858 properties last month, up 9 percent from June and an increase of 6 percent from July 2009, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

Banks have stepped up repossessions this year to clear out the backlog of bad loans. July makes the eighth month in a row that the pace of homes lost to foreclosure has increased on an annual basis.

Meanwhile, homeowners who are falling behind on their payments are being allowed to stay in their homes longer because lenders are reluctant to add to the glut of foreclosed homes on the market.

The latest data reflect a foreclosure crisis that continues to drag on as many homeowners struggle to make their monthly payments amid high unemployment, slow job growth and an uneven rebound in home prices.

Among states, Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate in July, with one in every 82 households receiving a foreclosure notice. The number of properties in Nevada receiving a foreclosure warning last month rose nearly 7 percent from June, but fell nearly 30 percent from the same month last year.

Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rate last month were: Arizona, Florida, California, Idaho, Michigan, Utah, Illinois, Georgia and Maryland.

Las Vegas continued to be the city with the highest foreclosure rate in the U.S., with one in every 71 homes receiving a foreclosure notice in July - more than five times the national average.

The Obama administration has rolled out numerous attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis but has made only a small dent in the problem. More than 40 percent, or about 530,000 homeowners, have fallen out of the administration's main effort to assist those facing foreclosure. 

How does the Obama Administration plan on handling this?  Give out more money!

It will provide $3 billion to unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure in the nation's toughest job markets.

The Treasury Department says it will send $2 billion to 17 states that have unemployment rates higher than the national average for a year.
They will use the money for programs to aid unemployed homeowners.

Another $1 billion will go to a new program being run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
It will provide homeowners with emergency zero-interest rate loans of up to $50,000 for up to two years.

The administration was required to launch the HUD emergency loan program by the financial regulatory bill signed by President Barack Obama last month.

Officials said they won't know until next month how many people are likely to be helped.

California will get the largest share of money for the Treasury program, at $476 million. Florida is in line for nearly $239 million. Illinois will receive $166 million and Ohio will receive $149 million.

Also receiving money are Michigan, $129 million; Georgia, $127 million; North Carolina, $121 million; New Jersey, $112 million; Indiana, $83 million and Tennessee, $81 million.

Alabama is due to receive $61 million, South Carolina, $59 million; Kentucky, $56 million; Oregon, $49 million; Mississippi, $38 million; Nevada, $34 million; Rhode Island, $14 million; and Washington, D.C., $8 million.

(CNBC)
 

Flight attendants aren't bartenders, so if you want something more complicated than a rum and Coke, you better know which ingredients to ask for.  Here's a list from "Esquire" magazine of four cocktails you can make on a plane . . .

#1.)  A BRANDY, RUM, OR WHISKEY SOUR.  You just need the liquor, the ice, a packet of sugar, and some lemon juice.  You can get THAT from the lemon wedges they use for hot tea.

#2.)  A TOM COLLINS.  You need gin, sugar, lemon juice, club soda, and ice, which are all available in the beverage cart.

#3.)  A WHITE RUSSIAN.  Add two parts vodka and one part Kahlua to a cup of ice.  Then for the cream, either use milk or half-and-half.
The only downside . . . assuming your flight even HAS Kahlua . . .  is if there's a two-drink limit.  Because if the flight attendants are strict about it, they might not give you more than two little bottles of liquor during the flight.

And since a White Russian has vodka AND Kahlua, you might have to use BOTH of your drinks to make ONE cocktail.
#4.)  A PRESBYTERIAN.  "Esquire" says you should try this one first.  It's equal parts Scotch and ginger ale over ice . . . and apparently it's better than it sounds. 

(Esquire.com)