Thursday 6/15/23
Celebrate:
Fly a Kite Day
Global Wind Day
Justice for Janitors Day
Magna Carta Day
National Career Nursing Assistants' Day
National Dump the Pump Day
National Electricity Day
National Kiss a Wookiee Day
National Lobster Day
National Megalodon Day
National Smile Power Day
Native American Citizenship Day
National Photography Day
Recess at Work Day
Worldwide Day of Giving
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Father's Day is this coming Sunday, and if you're like a lot of people . . . you're struggling to come up with something to get for dad.
In a recent poll, 38% of people said their dad is the most challenging person to shop for, compared to just 15% who said it was their mom.
The report also has a list of 10 things that dads supposedly "really want" for Father's Day. It's not super enlightening . . . but it's better than asking your dad, and having him say, "I don't need anything." Here's the list:
1. A meal out. This is a classic . . . and you can pick his favorite spot.
2. Wine
3. A well-thought day out
4. Books
5. Craft beer.
6. Tickets to a game
7. Aftershave.
8. Tech. Some dads are really into tech, but for most of them, buying tech PROBABLY means you're also volunteering to teach them how to use it, and to be their point person for all questions and troubleshooting.
9. An all-inclusive vacation
10. Swag from their favorite sports team.
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In a new survey, people were asked for their "favorite scents to enjoy at home," and 17% said anything floral . . . flowers, potpourri, and stuff like that.
But 14% said they enjoy the scent of cleaning and sanitizing products, like chlorine bleach.
13% said they prefer a citrus smell . . . another 13% say woodsy or natural scents . . . and 11% say the smell of baked goods.
66% of people believe they'd be able to recognize the unique scent of their own home . . . for better or worse.
Mine always has different smells from candles and wallflowers from Bath and Body Works. Well of course, I work there.
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Here's a hot new term: "Tipping fatigue" is when you're sick of constantly being asked to leave a tip in situations where it used to be considered weird.
"The Wall Street Journal" just did a big write-up on how we're even being asked to leave tips at SELF-CHECKOUTS now.
They talked to a few people who've recently encountered the prompts. Here are two examples .
1. Someone bought a $6 bottle of water at a self-checkout kiosk at the Newark airport, and it asked them if they wanted to leave a 10% or 20% tip. They said it felt like "emotional blackmail."
2. A baseball fan grabbed a beer from a self-service fridge at Petco Park in San Diego, and it asked him to leave a tip. He said he was confused, because he didn't know who the money was going to but he still left a 20% tip.
Both organizations said the money does go to employees.
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How much social interaction do you actually need?
Almost everyone feels lonely on occasion, but chronic loneliness is a consequence of ongoing isolation brought on by busyness, depression, a significant life change
Some people’s lives are particularly isolating, especially if they live alone, work remotely, and don’t often interact with others.
On the other hand, too much social interaction can be equally draining. An essential aspect of a well-balanced social life is alone time, a chance to recharge.
Because everyone’s social lives — and social desires — vary so greatly, researchers are unable to prescribe a set amount of interaction for a fulfilled life. It is a very personal decision.
A quality conversation is just as important as the quantity of conversations. A professor of communications studies says “The most impactful thing to do is have a meaningful conversation with someone you really like, face-to-face” every day. “However, what the evidence also suggests is that just doing any one of those three things — face-to-face, or with someone who’s close [to you], or quality conversation with a stranger — will do.”
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Paul McCartney, who is a 12-time Grammy award winner, raised a bunch of eyebrows by announcing he'll embrace artificial intelligence and plans to use the tech to create a new music for what he called "the final Beatles record."
He told the BBC that the late John Lennon would be part of the new song after AI was able to extract and recreate his voice from an old demo tape.
"We were able to take John's voice and get it pure through this AI so then we could mix the record as you would. It gives you some sort of leeway," McCartney said.
This isn't the singer's first project with AI. Last year at the Glastonbury Festival in England, McCartney performed a duet with an AI-rendered voice of Lennon titled I've Got A Feeling.
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Pat Sajak is leaving Wheel of Fortune after the next season...and it didn't take log for the rumor mill to begin swirling as fans talk about who will replace Sajak. Ryan Seacrest, who has hosted American Idol since 2002, quickly emerged as a contender. Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw, who broke the news about Sajak's exit, reported that Seacrest "has been talking to the producers of Wheel of Fortune," and shared speculation that he could be the frontrunner replacement option.
Seacrest does have some time on his hands as he recently departed LIVE with Kelly and Ryan.
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We're beginning to see some of the first major implications of the ongoing Hollywood writers strike. It’s been about a month and a half long now, and Disney has reworked the release dates for a slew of highly-anticipated projects as writers take to the picket lines, according to Deadline.
Perhaps the biggest shakeup are the changed release dates for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America: Brave New World, starring Anthony Mackie as Cap't, has been pushed back two months to July 2024, Fantastic Four is scheduled for release in May 2025, Avengers: Kang Dynasty is being held off for an additional year and will hit theaters in May 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars will be released in May 2027.
Other Disney properties impacted by the strikes and delays include Star Wars, Moana, three Avatar films, and Alien.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist of "The Road" Cormac McCarthy—considered one of the greatest novelists of his generation—died yesterday of natural causes at 89.
Born in Rhode Island and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, McCarthy was known for his violent depiction of life in the southern US. 1985's "Blood Meridian" would come to be considered by many McCarthy's greatest work—dubbed the "ultimate Western" and he first achieved commercial success in 1992 with his National Book Award-winning novel "All the Pretty Horses."
His books formed the basis of several popular films, including "The Road" and the Academy Award-winning "No Country for Old Men."
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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - Sriracha sauce is named after a city in Thailand called Si Racha, where it was probably first used.
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