Monday 6/6/22
Celebrate:
Atheist Pride Day
D-Day - The Invasion of Normandy.
Drive-In Movie Day
National Thank God It's Monday Day
National Applesauce Cake Day
National Churro Day
National Eyewear Day
National Gardening Exercise Day
National Higher Education Day
National Hunger Awareness Day
National Yo-Yo Day
Russian Language Day - celebrating? nyet!
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There's an "Ask Men" forum online, where someone raised an interesting question: What's something that's "traditionally masculine" . . . but, as a man, you actually hate. And some of the responses were amusing.
1. Trying to crush someone's hand when shaking it. It's just a greeting.
2. Drinking black coffee. Some men don't want to hide their milk and sweetener.
3. Fighting.
4. Not using shampoo. Or being loose with your personal hygiene.
5. Chewing tobacco.
6. Insecurities, like not ordering a fruity cocktail, wearing pink, or holding a purse.
7. Not smiling when someone takes your photo. And "being stoic" all the time.
8. Driving the biggest, loudest truck that you can (or can't) afford.
9. Doing stupid, risky things for the adrenaline-rush.
10. Rejecting a local anesthetic at the dentist / doctor.
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According to the latest data, the average American gets 26 scam calls a week, along with 11 spam texts.
It's become so bad that 91% of people claim they no longer answer calls from unknown numbers.
But even though we're all in the same boat, people in some states do get spammed more than others.
People in Pennsylvania are hit the hardest, with 31 spam calls a week. People in New Jersey, Texas, and Oklahoma also get more spam on average.
The luckiest people are in New Mexico, with "only" nine spam calls a week. The others who get hit less often are in: Washington, D.C., Oregon, Alaska, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Montana, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.
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There's a factory in India that makes teddy bears, stuffed with . . . used cigarette butts, but it's not as nasty as it seems . . . it's a recycling effort. The employees carefully separate the paper and charred tobacco from the filters, which are thoroughly washed and dried before being used as stuffing.
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How do you feel about the "Star Wars" prequels? Do you think they've aged well? Hayden Christensen seems to think so, for what Anakin Skywalker's opinion is worth.
"Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones" hit the 20th anniversary milestone yesterday, so to celebrate, Hayden did a new interview with StarWars.com.
He said, quote, "Watching [the prequels] again as a whole, I was really struck with the quality and depth of the storytelling and George's vision for all of it. It's so nuanced, complex, and layered . . . Really remarkable . . .
"It's like those films had a gestation period, where they needed a little time to ferment in the public psyche. The reception that the films have now, it's very heartwarming."
He recently rewatched them to prepare for the "Obi-Wan" series, which is streaming now on Disney+.
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Taylor Swift gave the commencement address to New York University's class of 2022 at Yankee Stadium last month. And she doled out some legit advice to the grads. Here are seven highlights:
1. You Didn't Do It Alone: "We are each a patchwork quilt of those who have loved us; those who have believed in our futures, those who showed us empathy and kindness or told us the truth even when it wasn't easy to hear. Those who told us we could do it when there was absolutely no proof of that." She added that if those people are still in your life, make sure you show them some gratitude.
2. You Get What You Get . . . It's What You Do With It: "You don't always get all the things in the bag that you selected from the menu in the delivery service that is life. You get what you get. And as I would like to say to you, you should be very proud of what you've done with it."
3. Learn to Catch and Release: "You can't carry all things, all grudges, all updates on your ex, all enviable promotions your school bully got at the hedge fund his uncle started. Decide what is yours to hold and let the rest go . . . You get to pick what your life has time and room for. Be discerning."
4. Embrace the Cringe: "I promise you, you're probably doing or wearing something right now that you will look back on later and find revolting and hilarious. You can't avoid it, so don't try to . . . Trends and phases are fun. Looking back and laughing is fun."
5. Effortlessness Is a Myth: "Never be ashamed of trying . . . The people who wanted it the least were the ones I wanted to date and be friends with in high school. The people who want it most are the people I now hire to work for my company."
6. Mistakes Do Not Equal Failure: "In your life, you will inevitably misspeak, trust the wrong people, underreact, overreact, hurt the people who didn't deserve it, overthink, not think at all, self-sabotage . . . And I'm not gonna lie, these mistakes will cause you to lose things. I'm trying to tell you that losing things doesn't just mean losing. A lot of the time, when we lose things, we gain things too."
7. Breathe In, Breathe Through, Breathe Deep, Breathe Out: "Hard things will happen to us. We will recover. We will learn from it. We will grow more resilient because of it. As long as we are fortunate enough to be breathing, we will breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out."
Watch the full speech here. It's a little over 20 minutes.
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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - The idea for tin foil hats came from a science fiction short story called "The Tissue-Culture King" in 1927. The main character uses a hat made out of foil to block people from reading his mind.
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