Friday 11/17/23
Celebrate:
Electronic Greeting Card Day
Homemade Bread Day
International STAND UP to Bullying Day
International STudents' Day
National Baklava Day
National Butter Day
National Farm Joke Day
National Take a Hike Day
National Unfriend Day
The Little Mermaid Day
World Peace Day
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Big weekend at the movies
Next Goal Wins - A comedy/drama from Taika Waititi, it follows the American Samoa soccer team, infamous for their brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001.
Starring Will Arnett, Michael Fassbender, Elisabeth Moss, Rhys Darby, and more.
Thanksgiving - a horror film from Eli Roth starring Patrick Dempsey and Gina Gershon.
The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes - a prequel about Coriolanus Snow. Starring Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, and Rachel Zegler.
Trolls Band Together - the third in the series and featuring Justin Timberlake (and the N'Sync song) plus Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Justin Timberlake, Daveed Diggs, Kenan Thompson, Kunal Nayyar, Eric André, Kid Cudi, and Troye Sivan.
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For Pink, it’s time to turn the page on book banning.
The star teamed up with literary nonprofit PEN America and Florida bookseller Books & Books to give away 2,000 banned books at her upcoming concerts in Florida.
“Books have held a special joy for me from the time I was a child, and that’s why I am unwilling to stand by and watch while books are banned by schools,” Pink said in the release. “It’s especially hateful to see authorities take aim at books about race and racism and against LGBTQ authors and those of color.”
“We have made so many strides toward equality in this country, and no one should want to see this progress reversed,” Pink said. “This is why I am supporting PEN America in its work and why I agree with them: no more banned books.”
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Christmas list POWERPOINT presentations are a thing now. And some of the ones we've seen online are pretty sleek.
The idea is to present a list to your parents in the most organized way possible, and you'll up your chances of getting more stuff. You also want to make the buying process easy by including links to everything.
It's not a brand-new idea. A kid's PowerPoint wish list went viral last year too. But it's gaining steam, because more people have smart TVs that pair with phones and computers. So kids can easily cast onto a big-screen now.
Another strategy behind it is your parents will be impressed and proud of you . . . especially if they DON'T know how to do a PowerPoint. So they'll reward you with more gifts.
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Good news, bad news on the Turkey Day front: The average Thanksgiving will cost a little less this year . . . dropping all the way down to the SECOND most-expensive Thanksgiving ever.
The American Farm Bureau Federation released its annual report on the cost of an average Thanksgiving meal for 10 people. $61.17, down from $64.05 last year.
That's $6.12 a head.
As always, the most expensive item is the turkey, just over $27 for a 16-pound bird. That's down about 5% from last year.
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BabyCenter.com has released its annual report on the top baby names of the year
The most popular name for girls is, still, Olivia. It was also #1 in 2022 and 2021, and has been in the Top 10 for 20 years.
Emma is #2 this year, and the rest of the Top 10 is: Amelia . . . Sophia . . . Charlotte . . . Ava . . . Isabella . . . Mia . . . Luna . . . and Evelyn.
The most popular name for boys is: Noah. That ends a four-year streak of Liam being #1. Noah didn't come out of nowhere, it's been in the Top Five for a decade. And Liam just dropped one notch to #2.
Oliver is #3 this year, and the rest of the Top 10 is: Elijah . . . Mateo . . . Lucas . . . Levi . . . Leo . . . Ezra . . . and Luca.
"Barbie" If you count Barbie's full name, Barbara is up 994%, but that's still just at #1,336. Ken is down 846 spots, #2,612.
The trend of boys names ending in "en" seems to be fading. That's names like Jayden, Raiden, and Kayden. Those names are all trending down, but are still in the Top 500.
But names ending in "ya" are rising for girls . . . ones like Siya, Haya, Inaya, Aadhya, and Ariyah. All those names are in the Top 500, and trending up.
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Kevin Hart will be the 25th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He'll be awarded during a ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on March 24th.
He says, quote, "I've been doing comedy since the inception of this award 25 years ago. To be honored in this commemorative year feels surreal.
"Comedy is my outlet for social commentary and observations on life. I am grateful to the Kennedy Center for recognizing my voice and impact on culture. I can't wait to celebrate!"
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Royal Caribbean has a Taylor Swift CRUISE setting sail next October. It leaves Miami one day after Taylor finishes her three-night run of shows in the city.
It's called In My Cruise Era, and the official website says, quote, "Join us as we celebrate all things Taylor, make new friends, dress up in our favorite eras, trade friendship bracelets, and enjoy everything this amazing ship has to offer!
"This cruise is for all fans, so bring your besties, your moms and dads, your baby fans, and if you need someone to room with, post on our page and ask!"
It is NOT endorsed by or affiliated with Taylor . . . so don't expect her to show up.
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Today’s Useless Fact of the Day - On "Gilligan's Island", it's not clear if Gilligan was his first name or his last name. He was always just referred to as "Gilligan."
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