A fifth grade student from a school in Napa, California, sent the Sioux City Journal a letter, asking for some help from our readers. She is working on a report about the state of Iowa and needs items from the Hawkeye State to use in her project. Her letter appears below. If you can help her, her address is included below as well. Write her and who knows, maybe she will become your California pen-pal!

1-12-10

Hi my name is Cliodhna Scully. I am a fifth grader at Napa Valley Language Academy, Napa, California. The reason I am writing to you is that my class is doing a state report and I have chose your beautiful and very interesting state, Iowa. I would really like it if you posted my letter in your newspaper so that I can get all the help I need for my report. What I need from you or your readers are pamphlets, post cards, souvenirs or anything else that would be beneficial to my report. I will be writing about your state’s agriculture, history, famous people, economy, events, historical figures and national parks. I will also be doing an oral report, poster and Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. Thank you for your support and help in making me a great researcher of your outstanding state.

Cliodhna Scully

Napa Valley Language Academy
c/o Mrs. Franco/Mrs. Nard
2700 Kilburn Ave.
Napa, California 94558

The TV commercials during the Super Bowl are the main reason a lot of folks, like myself, tune in to the game (well, that and for the snacks). There were several great commercials last night that stuck out in my mind — the Budweiser Body Bridge, the Google ad and the Doritos ad with the live guy in a casket. Underwear (casual Fridays) and animals (all the beavers!) were reoccurring themes last night as well as spots with a storyline that built up so much, you wouldn’t have guessed the back story led up to that particular product (Dove for Men). Then there were a few that were just… odd (Coke/Simpsons). But all and all, I thought the commercials were pretty great.

The NFL Fanhouse site has them all here, even broken down into the quarter in which they aired. Which one was your favorite? Post your answer on our Speak Out page.

According to comedian/guitarist Nick Thune, backflips can save lives. Who knew?! Check out this video of his performance on the Jay Leno Show last night. Thune has appeared on the Jay Leno Show a few times; however last night was his last, as TJLS will end next week.

Click the arrow to play.

Those guys in the Bud Light ad department sure know how to write funny commercials! Check out their latest, titled “Bud Light Clothing Drive” released today. Prepare to see a lot of bare men-around-the-office skin. Note: For whatever reason, it will not be shown during the Super Bowl this Sunday.

Click the arrow below to play.

Boss: “I’d like to congratulate Sarah on running the most successful clothing drive ever.”

In case you missed it, the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards was last night and while Beyonce took home six awards (the most a female musician has ever won), Taylor Swift won the top award, album of the year. There were plenty of unusual fashion choices (Lady Gaga comes to mind) as well as some really beautiful ones (Carrie Underwood’s golden gown — see below). For more photos, check out SCJ’s slideshow here.

Pink’s dizzying performance:

Goosebump-inducing Michael Jackson tribute:

According to Facebook, today is National Lady Gaga Day. The event, created on that oh-so-popular social networking site, invites everyone to “celebrate our ‘inner freak’ that Gaga allows (and wants) us to be.” At last check, National Lady Gaga Day had over 106,000 confirmed guests. Quite a lot of Gaga fans, if you ask me. So when you are heading to the club tonight, dressed in bleach blonde wig and crazy costume, be sure to put on your “Poker Face” and “Just Dance” as though no one’s watching, not even the “Paparazzi.”

This is pretty cool… Prisoners at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines have choreographed a dance routine to Michael Jackon’s song “This Is It.” The four minute video is pretty impressive from beginning to end, from the dance moves, to the matching MJ t-shirts, to the peace sign the 1,500 or so prisoners form towards the end. This isn’t the first time the maximum security prison has choreographed a dance and ended up on YouTube, or performed Michael Jackson’s music either. They did “Thriller” in 2007.

Check it out — click the arrow to play.

Ever dropped good food on the ground (a frosted cupcake, sauce-covered chicken wing, slice of cheesecake, etc.), and been in that situation when you aren’t sure if you should go by the 5-second rule? Here’s a handy flowchart I got in an e-mail today (thanks Mom!) that can help you in that do-I-pick-it-up-and-eat-it? predicament. Check it out:

So thanks to Mattel, now dogs can soon join the world of Twitter. The new product, “Puppy Tweets,” which comes out this fall, is a collar that will connect your pooch to the microblogging site Twitter. The collar’s tag has a sound and motion sensor that has prerecorded tweets on it, such as “YAHOOOOOOO! Somedays you just gotta get your bark on.” or “Somedays it feels like my paw is permanently on the snooze button!” Once you set up Fido’s Twitter account, the collar will send certain tweets based on his movements (i.e., the sleeping one if he’s napping).

So what do you think of technology for animals? Would you buy one for your precious pup?

Despite the fact that most of us in Northwest Iowa are under a blizzard warning, battling blowing snow and freezing temperatures, there are worse things in life. Like you could be trapped under the rubble in Haiti for 11 days before someone is able to rescue you. That was the situation one Haitian man was in, until French rescuers were able to pull him out alive. Luckily for him, he was in a supermarket when the earthquake hit, so he had food to eat to sustain him during that time. So the next time you are feeling down because of this extreme winter weather, consider yourself lucky. It could always be worse.

To see CNN’s coverage of this particular story, click the arrow below to play the video.