People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has run a lot of sexy ads over the years, and now the group is turning to porn. The nonprofit organization announced on Tuesday that it plans to launch a sexy new website to promote animal rights.

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Last night, dozens of scientists from around the world gathered in Boston for the 21st annual Ig Nobel Awards, a ceremony dedicated to honoring unique scientific achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.”

“The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative — and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology,” a representative from Improbable Research, the organization that administers the Ig Nobel prizes said in a statement.

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In a quest to find "The Manliest Restaurant in America,” the gents at Men’s Health asked readers to vote for their favorite manly eatery. Thousands of restaurants were up for review, but only a few made the cut. If you’re wondering what makes a restaurant “manly,” the answer, it seems, is meat, and lots of it. Of the nine finalists (below), seven clearly specialize in meat, be it steaks, sandwiches, barbecue, or chicken wings.

The undoubtedly manly editors at Men’s Health have the envious task of determining which restaurant is the nation’s manliest. Pick up the December 2011 issue to see which eatery made the cut. In the meantime, here are the contenders:

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Most people imagine paintings having plenty of color, but artist Karen Eland prefers her pieces in beautiful shades of brown. She became famous for coloring canvases with coffee, but now Eland dabbles in beer painting.

"Beer has been a really successful venture," she says. "It's a little more difficult than normal paint because it will come off if I spill a water drop on it ... but mostly it's like watercolor."

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September 24 – October 1 is Banned Books Week (BBW), a week when the American Librarian Association (ALA) stresses the importance of intellectual freedom and encourages the public to fight censorship by reading a banned book.

“Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week,” the ALA writes on its BBW website. “BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.”

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After years of rumors, it’s now official. Stephen King is writing a sequel to his 1977 novel, The Shining.

Though details about the plot are scant, King has indicated that the sequel, Dr. Sleep, will feature a now 40-year-old Danny Torrance and a group of vampires who feed on people’s psychic energy. No word on the sequel’s publication date, though Starcasm reports that King is almost finished with the manuscript.

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