Thursday 5/16/24
Celebrate:
Biographer's Day
Brown Bag It Thursday
Global Accessibility Awareness Day
Hummus Day
International Day of Light
Love a Tree Day
National Aperitif Day
National Barbecue Day
National Chartreuse Day
National mimosa Day
National Notebook Day
National Piercing Day
National Sea Monkey Day
National Wear Purple for Peace Day
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Ryan Reynolds has a big movie opening this weekend, IF about Imaginary Friends.
And recently, he and Blake Lively had another baby.
While appearing on the Today Show on Monday the actor teased the newest member of the couple's family, when Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb inquired about the child's name.
"Taylor Swift keeps dropping it into lyrics!" said Guthrie, likely referring to Swift's song "Betty" from the 14-time Grammy winner's 2020 album Folklore, which includes his older three kids' names.
After Guthrie asked Reynolds, 47, whether the new baby's name is anywhere on Swift's new album The Tortured Poets Department, he joked, "We always wait for Taylor to tell us what the child's name is, and I'll say this: We're still waiting."
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Huey Lewis's music propells "The Heart of Rock and Roll" on Broadway.
USAToday reports that it features more than two dozen songs by Huey Lewis and the News, it tells an enchantingly offbeat story about a former rocker named Bobby who’s attempting to climb the corporate ladder at a mom-and-pop cardboard box factory in Milwaukee, run by the warmhearted Mr. Stone and his unconfident daughter Cassandra. When the company heads to a three-day packing supplies conference in Chicago, Bobby seizes the opportunity to try and woo a Swedish furniture client – and winds up winning Cassandra’s heart along the way.
Huey has meniere's disease, an inner ear disorder that causes vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss. As a result, he can no longer perform live.
Sitting down in a quiet office, Lewis can manage fine in one-on-one, face-to-face conversations thanks to his hearing aids. But his chances of getting back in the recording studio are slim: “I can hear pitch to myself, but I can’t sing to anything,” he explains. “If you hit a chord for me, it just sounds like (clanging). It’s horrible.”
And although he’s seen the show roughly 35 times now, he’s not able to make out much of what’s happening onstage. “I can’t hear the songs at all, so I just watch audience reactions to see who’s laughing and who’s applauding and where.”
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A man named Martin Quintana has been trying to open a taco place in a strip mall in Fort Wayne. But he ran into some red tape thanks to a contract that limits the type of restaurants allowed.
It says you can only open a place that sells "made-to-order or subway-style sandwiches." So he sued, claiming tacos and burritos ARE sandwiches.
(The contract was designed to prevent big fast-food chains from moving in.)
His case has been making its way through the legal system, and a superior court judge just ruled on Monday . . . that YES, they're sandwiches.
There could still be an appeal, and the next judge might disagree. But he ruled that tacos and burritos are basically just "Mexican-style sandwiches."
Malls and strip malls should be happy if a place wants to open up and fill an empty space. Change your contracts!!!!)
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Pizza Hut has announced that they're adding burgers. . . sort of.
They're called Cheeseburger Melts, and they're described as: "A parmesan-crusted thin crust Melt folded and loaded with beef, applewood-smoked bacon, onions, mozzarella, and cheddar."
They're embracing the fact that they don't come with a traditional bun, saying, quote, "Goodbye to soggy bun burger deliveries."
So they're a bit like a pizza . . . a bit like a burger . . . and they look a lot like a quesadilla.
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A 61-year-old German man named Michael Bommer has terminal cancer . . . and he is leaving behind an A.I. version of himself.
He's the first customer for a service called Eternos that creates your own A.I. double. He's been training an A.I. to act just like him and carry on after he's passed away.
You tell it your thoughts and memories, so it learns to mimic your personality, your voice, and can even generate new ideas similar to what you might think up. They asked him 150 questions about himself and his life, and he spent several weeks answering them at length.
The point is to give your family something to interact with once you're gone. So they can still ask questions and go to you for advice. Even Michael's great-great-grandchildren will be able to talk to him . . . or something close anyway.
He and his wife got to see his A.I. in action for the first time last month and were both impressed. She asked it to say something nice to her before bed. And in his exact voice, it said, "My love, have sweet dreams and I love you very much."
It's not cheap, but also not totally insane. It costs $10,000 to $15,000. But that's a one-time cost, and your family never has to pay anything. There's already a waitlist to sign up.
I want mine to be like Max Headroom!
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2,000 Americans were asked which celebrity they'd like to see run for president.
36% said they weren't interested in voting for any celebrity, at least not any on the long list they were asked to choose from.
Here are the Top 10:
1. Denzel Washington (15%)
2. Dwayne Johnson (13%)
3. Tom Hanks (12%)
4. Clint Eastwood (10%)
5. George Clooney (10%)
6. Oprah Winfrey (9%)
7. Matthew McConaughey (8%)
8. Bill Gates (7%)
9. Elon Musk (7%)
10. Mark Cuban (7%)
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So Amazon has decided to join this UPFRONT CHAOS, even though they don't technically have a "season" like the networks do. But they still announced some pretty interesting stuff.
Including a "Road House" sequel, once again starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The first one has been watched by more than 80 million people since it debuted less than a month ago.
There's also a "Legally Blonde" prequel series that follows Elle Woods in high school.
And get this: Nicolas Cage will try his hand at series TV with "Noir", based on the Marvel comic "Spider-Man Noir". It's a live-action series, but Cage did voice the character in the animated movie "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse".
Meanwhile at ABC
The first "Golden Bachelorette" was announced yesterday during ABC's upfront presentation. It's Joan Vassos, a 61-year-old school administrator from Rockland, Maryland.
She was on "The Golden Bachelor", but had to leave early to care for her daughter, who'd recently given birth. The show will air on Wednesdays in the fall. It'll be followed by "Abbott Elementary".
Meanwhile, a documentary on Bruce Springsteen's recent world tour is coming to Disney+ and Hulu . . . and the final, shortened season of "The Conners" won't debut until midseason.
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A site called "Parenting by Number" poured through stats to find the most ANDROGYNOUS baby names that work for a boy OR a girl.
Here's their Top 10, which has had a pretty even split in recent years. Roughly half of the babies with each name have been boys, and half have been girls.
1. Charlie. When that's the name on the birth certificate, it takes the top spot. If you count Charles, it's much more of a boy's name.
2. Blake.
3. Emerson.
4. Finley.
5. Phoenix.
6. Tatum.
7. Rory.
8. Dakota.
9. Ari.
10. Shiloh.
A few more from the Top 20: Alexis . . . Skyler . . . Ocean . . . Jamie . . . Chandler . . . Justice . . . Robin . . . Ira . . . and Kacey with a "K".
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Today’s Useless Fact of the Day - There are 18 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame where people are only identified by one name, including Houdini, Liberace, Ludacris, Pink, Roseanne, Shakira, Slash, Sting, and Usher. I would say there is one more - Sonny and Cher have a star, and Cher is one name.
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