Month: August 2023

Bees and babies and bears, oh my!

This week’s list of 10 things that made us smile is full of wee ones and wild ones, and they’re all here to bring us joy. We’ve also got some Elton John awesomeness and a groom raising the bar with his bride gift, so take a scroll and share the smiles!

1. Baby discovering the magic of ice cream for the first time is all of us

Oh yeah. Definitely feel that, little one.

2. In animals-helping-humans news, watch this bear fix a toppled traffic cone

I mean, that definitely looked deliberate. Thanks, Mr. Bear!

3. And in humans-helping-animals news, watch this one-winged bumble bee get to live its best life

See on Instagram

BEEautiful indeed.

4. Marvel at the musical genius of Elton John as he makes up a song on the spot

Unreal talent from Sir Elton. Read the full story here.

5. A tale of two beaches is a beautiful reminder that life is how we view it

Learning this lesson at 14 is a gift. (via @DavidSHolz on X)

6. Doggo wakes up to the smell of a strawberry, then snacks in his sleep

@kelly_blackheart

Just immediately falls back asleep like sleep eating is a normal thing. #rescuedog #rescuedogs #dogsoftiktok #rhinothepup #dogs #enrichmentmeal #americanbully #bulliesoftiktok #asmr #dogseating #dogseatinggently #dogasmr

Taking notes. Why wake up fully to eat if you don’t have to?

7. Mom handcrafts a hearing aid for her son’s Woody doll and the result is awesome

Representation matters. Read the full story here.

8. A brief vision of the world we all want to live in

See on Instagram

Singing with strangers at stoplights. It’s all we really want.

9. Groom gifts his bride a photo album to go through with her girlfriends on their wedding day

@chlobellexx

Take notes gentleman 🥹💍👏🏼 Delivered with the sweetest love note I have ever read. I cannot express how much these meant to me! #weddingmorning #groom #weddingtips #weddingideas #giftsforbride #weddinggift #weddingday #theknotweddings #weddingtiktok #weddingtok

This guy raised the bar in the best way. Read the full story here.

10. May we all have the perseverance of this little one learning to sit in a chair

See on Instagram

We all do things wrong when we’re learning new skills, but the key is to keep trying—and to be super cute while doing so. 🙂

Hope this week’s roundup made you smile! If you’d like to get these posts in your inbox, sign up for our free newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.

“The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.” ― Robert Hughes

Great artists tend to live life swimming in a vast ocean of self-doubt. It’s that special blend of insecurity and perfectionism that fuels their desire to hone their craft and get better with each piece.

But that self-doubt can also be paralyzing and prevent potential artists from picking up the pen, paintbrush or guitar.

To encourage his mother to stick with her art, Reddit user Gaddafo shared a picture of his mother, Cindi Decker, a school teacher from Florida, holding a lovely painting she made of an egret.

“My mom painted this and said no one would like it. It’s her 2nd painting,” he wrote.

Then Reddit user Cacahahadoodoo asked the forum to take the post a step further. “Someone paint the photo of his mom holding her painting and repost it with the same title for extra extra karma,” they wrote.

Karma is a reward earned for posting popular content on the online forum.

Reddit user u/k__z jumped on the task and painted a picture of Decker holding her painting.

Then lillyofthenight took things a step further by painting a picture of herself holding a painting of u/k__z holding his painting of Decker holding her painting of an egret.

“Took a while and not perfect, but I painted the guy who painted the other guy’s mom,” she wrote.

Then seamusywray stepped in with his contribution and things started to get freaky. “I painted the girl who painted the guy who painted the other guy’s mom who painted an egret,” he wrote.

This kicked off a chain reaction that’s come to be known “paintception.”

To keep things from getting too confusing, another Redditor created an interactive tree to show how they paintings relate to one another.

Decker was shocked by the chain reaction and couldn’t believe she inspired so many people to paint.

“Even though people say, ‘You inspired me to paint,’ I don’t know that it was so much me. I really give credit to the first artist who painted,” she told the CBC. “You know, I’m not a painter. I’m just somebody who went out and did a little painting thing, so I got lucky to get caught up in all this fun craziness.”

The question is: will the craziness ever end?

This article originally appeared on 02.02.19

Actor Mark Wahlberg recently attended a daddy-daughter dance with his 10-year-old, Grace. Sadly, Grace had no interest in seeing her father strutting his stuff on the dance floor.

“I didn’t get one dance,” Wahlberg told Ellen DeGeneres. “And I told her we were going to do the whole big circle and I was going to go off. And she said, ‘Dad, if you embarrass me, I will never talk to you again.’ But what she did do is she hung out with me.”

No matter who your dad is, especially if you’re a 10-year-old-girl, you have zero desire to see him dance in front of your friends.

But the parents at the dance probably would have had a blast seeing Wahlberg bust out some of his old-school ’90s Marky Mark moves.

However, Wahlberg couldn’t help but leave his mark on the music being played at the dance.

Let’s not forget, he didn’t get famous for his acting but for showing off his abs in the “Good Vibrations” video.

Being that Wahlberg’s time as a pop star was three decades ago, he couldn’t believe it when he heard the music being played at the dance.

“[Grace] sat there on the edge of the stage, by the DJ. And then I’m sitting there with one other dad and I’m like, ‘This is not an edited version of this song. There are explicit lyrics being played at a school dance for girls and I’m like no good,'” he said.

“I told the DJ and he’s like, ‘Oh, I thought it was.’ I said, ‘What are you doing?’ I’m hearing F-bombs and this and that’s not okay,” Wahlberg said.

He’s right. There’s no place for music with explicit lyrics at a dance for 10-year-old children.

Wahlberg says the DJ didn’t know he wasn’t playing the edited version, but it’s probably more likely that he didn’t even realize the song was a problem. Pop music these days is filled with a numbing amount of violent and misogynistic lyrics.

A recent study from the University of Missouri found that nearly one-third of pop songs contain lyrics that degrade or demean women by portraying them as submissive or sexually objectified.

Currently, three of the top five songs on the Billboard Top 40 contain the word “bitch.” One of them is sung in Korean.

It’s odd that Americans have become more sensitive to misogyny in pop culture in films, television, and comedy, but still have a huge cultural blind-spot when it comes to music.

That’s not a good thing, especially when pop music is marketed to teenagers.

“We know that music has a strong impact on young people and how they view their role in society,” said Cynthia Frisby, a professor in the Missouri School of Journalism.

“Unlike rap or hip-hop, pop music tends to have a bubbly, uplifting sound that is meant to draw listeners in,” Frisby continued. “But that can be problematic if the lyrics beneath the sound are promoting violence and misogynistic behavior.”

Let’s face it, pop stars are role models. Their examples show young people what to wear and how to behave. That’s not to say that kids will blindly follow someone just because they like their music. But it has an undeniable effect.

Wahlberg, and any parent who monitors what their kids are listening to, deserve credit for protecting the minds and hearts of their kids.

Frisby has some great advice for parents concerned about negative imagery in pop music.

“Ask your daughters and sons what songs they like to listen to and have conversations about how the songs might impact their identity,” Frisby said.

“For example, many songs might make young girls feel like they have to look and act provocative in order to get a boy to like them, when that isn’t necessarily the case. If children and teens understand that what they are hearing isn’t healthy behavior, then they might be more likely to challenge what they hear on the radio.”

He’s right. There’s no place for music with explicit lyrics at a dance for 10-year-old children.

Wahlberg says the DJ didn’t know he wasn’t playing the edited version, but it’s probably more likely that he didn’t even realize the song was a problem. Pop music these days is filled with a numbing amount of violent and misogynistic lyrics.

A recent study from the University of Missouri found that nearly one-third of pop songs contain lyrics that degrade or demean women by portraying them as submissive or sexually objectified.

Currently, three of the top five songs on the Billboard Top 40 contain the word “bitch.” One of them is sung in Korean.

It’s odd that Americans have become more sensitive to misogyny in pop culture in films, television, and comedy, but still have a huge cultural blind-spot when it comes to music.

That’s not a good thing, especially when pop music is marketed to teenagers.

“We know that music has a strong impact on young people and how they view their role in society,” said Cynthia Frisby, a professor in the Missouri School of Journalism.

“Unlike rap or hip-hop, pop music tends to have a bubbly, uplifting sound that is meant to draw listeners in,” Frisby continued. “But that can be problematic if the lyrics beneath the sound are promoting violence and misogynistic behavior.”

Let’s face it, pop stars are role models. Their examples show young people what to wear and how to behave. That’s not to say that kids will blindly follow someone just because they like their music. But it has an undeniable effect.

Wahlberg, and any parent who monitors what their kids are listening to, deserve credit for protecting the minds and hearts of their kids.

Frisby has some great advice for parents concerned about negative imagery in pop music.

“Ask your daughters and sons what songs they like to listen to and have conversations about how the songs might impact their identity,” Frisby said.

“For example, many songs might make young girls feel like they have to look and act provocative in order to get a boy to like them, when that isn’t necessarily the case. If children and teens understand that what they are hearing isn’t healthy behavior, then they might be more likely to challenge what they hear on the radio.”

This article originally appeared on 03.03.20

Software developer Angie Jones’ recent girls trip revealed that America still has a long way to go when it comes to race.

To most, that’s not surprising. But what’s unique is how the specific experience Jones and her friends went through revealed the pervasive way systemic racism still runs through our culture.

Jones is the Senior Director of Developer Relations at Applitools, holds 26 patented inventions in the United States of America and Japan, and is an IBM Master Inventor.

On July 27, she tweeted about a flight she took with nine other Black women and they all sat in first class. “People literally could not process how it was possible,” she wrote. “Staff tried to send us to regular lines. Passengers made snide remarks. One guy even yelled ‘are they a higher class of people than I am?!'”

this weekend I went on a girls trip. 10 Black women flying first class. People literally could not process how it was possible. nnStaff tried to send us to regular lines. Passengers made snide remarks. One guy even yelled “are they a higher class of people than I am?!”nnStay mad.

— Angie Jones (@Angie Jones)
1627433914

Jones and her friends were the targets of racism that ranged from the seemingly unconscious — people who assumed that Black people don’t sit in first class — to the blatant — those who were seriously bothered that Black people were being treated as having a higher status.

It’s interesting that she didn’t mention anyone saying “good for you” for succeeding in a world that often holds people of color back. Instead, she was greeted with incredulity and jealous rage.

There are a lot of white people who can’t stand the idea of a Black person being elevated above them. It’s disturbing that in 2021 there are still some who will admit it publicly.

Jones’ tweets inspired a lot of people to share their stories about the racism they’ve experienced while flying first class.

Jones’ tweets also angered some people to the point that they denied her story. To which she responded, “To those saying I’m lying, you’re a huge part of the problem,” she wrote. “You tell yourself a notable person is lying (for what reason, I cannot figure out) before you believe there are actual racists in…America.”

pic.twitter.com/EkhqeU58yg

— Mr. Skilling (@Mr. Skilling)
1627571128

One Twitter user came up with the perfect retort to the person who asked, “Are they a higher class of people than I am?!”

fuck I wish I would’ve thought to say this!!!

— Angie Jones (@Angie Jones)
1627436122

fuck I wish I would’ve thought to say this!!!

— Angie Jones (@Angie Jones)
1627436122

This article originally appeared on 07.29.21

A few weeks ago I came across an article about a kid who watches television at 1.5x speed so he can cram as much viewing in as he can. It seemed that his unquenchable desire to get through shows in the Golden Age of television meant he’d sacrifice the entertainment value of the show just to get to the end.

“Man, this guy would have been crucified in 1993,” I thought.

As a 45-year-old card-carrying member of Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1979), I remembered a time when nobody bragged about the amount of TV they watched. In fact, they bragged about not owning a TV. “I don’t watch TV, man,” people would say. “It only exists to sell you stuff.”

This complete reversal on the social acceptance of gluttonous TV viewing made me wonder what happened to the values we were raised on as Gen Xers? We were taught that sincerity was for simpletons, everything corporate is evil, old school is always better than the latest and greatest, authenticity is king, conformity is death and there is nothing worse than being a sell-out or a poser.

Nobody would have ever referred to themselves as an “influencer” in 1991—that’s the definition of a sell-out.

“After writing this book, I’m back in the mindset of ’90s thinking, which is that nothing is worse than selling out,” Chuck Klosterman, author of “The Nineties: A Book,” told Esquire. “Nothing was more embarrassing in the ’90s than trying to convince people to like the thing you made.”

Deep inside the heart of almost every Gen Xer is a deep-seated feeling of nihilism. We didn’t trust the corporations that laid off our parents or gutted their pensions in the ’80s. In fact, everything corporate was predatory. We didn’t have a lot of faith in family values because we were the first generation raised by single parents or in daycare. We didn’t care much about politics either. Back in the ’90s, Gen X’s aversion to politics was historic.

Of course, these are all generalities about a generation of nearly about 65 million people, but studies show that there are some definite hallmarks of being a Gen Xer.

According to a generational differences document circulated through the business community, Gen X’s core values are “skepticism,” “fun” and “informality.” They’re described as “self-reliant,” “independent,” “unimpressed with authority” and motivated by “freedom.”

In the young Gen Xer, the culture of the era “instilled a wariness and skepticism, and a kind of ‘figure it out for yourself’ mindset,” Paul Taylor, author of “The Next America: Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown” told The Washington Post. And with that came a sense “that you don’t have to shine a light on yourself. You’re not the center of the universe.”

But things have changed since the ’90s when Gen X was coming of age. We live in an American culture that is fractured by political partisanship, fueled by a constant culture of outrage, crippled by a preoccupation with technology, plundered by greedy boomers and annoyed by overly sensitive millennials. All of this is happening while we face the greatest challenge of our times, climate change.

The answer to all of these problems is simple: admit that Gen X at one point had it right and if we followed its lead, we could reverse these terrible trends. OK, it might not fix all of our woes, but the way things are going now surely aren’t working. Plus, weren’t the ’90s great?

Also, with hat in hand, I must admit that this message is for Gen Xers as well. Many of us have lost our way by forgetting our disdain for authority and skepticism toward institutions. This is a call for us to remember what we once stood for and to fight back by doing what we do best—staying above the fray.

Gen X, it’s time to strap on your Dr. Martens boots and get back to fighting the “Battle of Who Could Care Less.” It’s time we collectively got our “whatever” back and showed the other generations how powerful dismissiveness can be.

Here are the top five Gen X values that we need to embrace again.

5.  Buying vintage items

Nothing was less hip in the early ’90s than wearing mall clothes. If you had any style you shopped at a thrift store and bought used duds from the ’70s and early ’80s and remixed them into something awesome. If you were into hip-hop or skating you shopped at the surplus store and rocked some super-durable Dickies or Carhartt gear. The mood of the times was totally anti-fashion. These days, we live in a world where fast fashion is killing the environment. By embracing the Gen X value of old-school cool, we can help the planet while looking much more fashionable in the process.

4. Corporate skepticism

In the early 2000s, people fell head-over-heels in love with smartphone technology and social media so quickly that nobody stopped and said, “Hey, wait a minute!” Now, we have a world where kids are depressed, the culture has become divided and nobody talks to each other in public anymore, they just stare at their phones. I can totally understand why young millennials and Luddite boomers would fall for the big-tech ruse, but sadly, Gen X was asleep at the wheel and fell victim, too. The generation that embraced the notion that TV rotted your brain needs to remind everyone to go outside and play in the sunshine or read a book. And if you read a book it should be by Bret Easton Ellis.

3. Just say “whatever”

Two of the most popular Gen X phrases were “whatever” and “talk to the hand (because the face don’t give a damn).” These may seem to be flippant responses but they are the correct way to deal with other people’s nonsense and in 2022, we have to deal with a constant barrage of it.

Somewhere along the way, people forgot that it’s even more powerful to ignore someone than to admit they got under your skin. In the world of social media, we unintentionally amplify the most wretched voices by subtweeting, commenting and liking the posts from the army of grifters fighting for our attention.

We also live in an era where many seem to be addicted to outrage. The quickest way to stop fanning the flames of outrage is with a simple, “whatever.” Like dogs distracted by squirrels, we’ve got our heads on outrage swivels these days. Throwing around the occasional “whatever” gives us the time and energy to focus on the problems that really matter and take action.

These days “whatever” matters more than ever.

2. Bring back snobbery

Good taste used to matter. In the 2000s, millennials decided that people have the right to like what they like and that it’s worse to judge someone’s personal taste than to have bad taste. Gen Xers based their entire personalities on taste and demanded integrity from artists and were rewarded by living in a time of superior films and music. These days, no one listens to new music and we’re stuck in a world dominated by comic book movies because no one stood up and shamed people for liking low-effort culture.

1. ​Political apathy

America’s political divide has calcified over the past decade because more and more people are basing their personal identities on their politics. This has created a culture where the dialog between liberals and conservatives has become a shouting match that only makes people dig their heels in further. It’s also created a culture in Washington, D.C. that has attracted a more debased form of politician and led to the gridlock that has halted any sense of progress. Sadly, Gen X has also been sucked into this vortex.

Things were a lot different in the ’90s. Back in 1999, Ted Halstead at The Atlantic noted that Xers “appear to have enshrined political apathy as a way of life.” He added that Gen Xers “exhibit less social trust or confidence in government, have a weaker allegiance to their country or to either political party.”

Compared to what’s going on in America in 2022, this type of apathy seems welcome. Back in the ’90s, taking a “chill pill” could solve everything. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone took one, and then we could open our ears and hearts and have some constructive discussions?

There was a common lament in the 1980s that the boomer hippies had sold out and became boomer yuppies. They went from being concerned with peace, love and the planet to stocks, bonds and conspicuous consumption. Gen X is now in its 40s and 50s and it’s fair to say that we’ve moved from being the outsiders to creating technological and political machines that are generating the type of conformity that we once railed against.

Now that Xers are at the age where we get to run the world for a few decades, it’s time to recommit to the core values that make us well … us. The great news is that as Gen Xers, it’ll be easy to get back to our roots because we were raised to ironically love the past.

This article originally appeared on 03.10.22

There’s no shortage of advice for getting through difficult times. Unfortunately, most of that advice is either painfully unrealistic or reeks of toxic positivity. Solid advice that is both helpful and comforting is hard to come by, which is why this advice is going viral for all the right reasons.

The advice comes from Elena Mikhalkova—or rather her Mikhalkova’s grandmother—and it goes like this:

My grandmother once gave me a tip:

In difficult times, you move forward in small steps.

Do what you have to do, but little by little.

Don’t think about the future, or what may happen tomorrow.

Wash the dishes.

Remove the dust.

Write a letter.

Make a soup.

You see?

You are advancing step by step.

Take a step and stop.

Rest a little.

Praise yourself.

Take another step.

Then another.

You won’t notice, but your steps will grow more and more.

And the time will come when you can think about the future without crying.

Can we all just pause for a minute to take a deep breath and maybe wipe the tears from our eyes? Because I don’t know about you, but this advice is just what I’ve needed to read almost every day lately.

See on Instagram

I suspect I’m not alone in this either because Mikhalkova’s advice is being shared all over the internet.

.

With COVID-19 raging again and many of us (dare I say, all of us?) struggling with one thing or another, this quote hits. Unlike the clichéd “one foot in front of another” advice that can seem both demeaning and overwhelming, this advice offers concrete steps to take.

Wash the dishes. Make soup. Rest, and praise yourself.

These are things I can do. Well, maybe not soup, per se. But cookies. I can make cookies. And maybe you can make soup. Or knit a scarf. Or sweep the kitchen floor. This is enough.

What this advice taps into that other tidbits lose sight of is that when we’re in the midst of a calamity, even the most simple and everyday tasks are more difficult. Making lunch can seem monumental and the mere thought of doing virtual school for another few weeks can make us take to our beds, sobbing in the fetal position. Advice to “look on the bright side” can be patronizing and counterproductive. This advice does none of those things but, instead, acknowledges that even a small step matters. It doesn’t dismiss the pain, but recognizes that even thinking about the future can be painful and that progress sometimes looks like making it through the day without crying

This advice also goes beyond the “sun will come out tomorrow” reminders and acknowledges that things might not be better tomorrow or the day after that. It will take time for wounds to heal and difficult times to pass, but we need not passively wait for this time to come. We can make soup, rest and be kind to ourselves.

In the early days of the pandemic, I remember feeling like there was so much more I should be doing with all this extra “at home” time. Yet I found even the most basic tasks to be more difficult. In turn, I felt guilty for not being more productive. But what I’ve learned—or rather am learning—is that allostatic load and decision fatigue are very real. Productivity looks different on different days, and sometimes being patient with ourselves is the most productive thing we can do.

Mikhalkova’s advice taps into a mantra that I often recite when I’m struggling: Just do one good thing. Unload the dishwasher. Return an email. Fold the laundry. Hug my kids. Then do the next good thing. Eventually these things add up. Time passes and small steps turn into something bigger.

What I love most about Mikhalkova’s advice—and what is easy to forget in difficult times—is the reminder to praise ourselves along the way. Because sometimes that pat on the back we need the most is our own.

This article originally appeared on 02.07.22

Christine Organ is a writer who lives in the Chicago area with her husband, two sons, and rescue dog. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.

People seem fairly open to the idea of sleep divorces, where partners don’t actually share a bed. But that might be where the openmindedness stops as far as sleeping arrangements go.

One couple seems to be under (playful) fire after admitting that…brace yourself…they randomly pick a side of the bed to sleep on each night.

“It’s never discussed, we just pick a side when we go to sleep,” says Angelina, a home designer, in a now-viral TikTok.

Are you already breaking out into nervous sweats? You’re not alone.

Angelina mentioned that whenever she mentions this routine (or lack thereof), friends call her and her partner Skylar crazy. Unfortunately for Angelina, she didn’t find any backup from her TikTok followers either.

Literally thousands of comments began flooding in, all from people who were baffled that someone could live with this kind of chaos.

“What kind of serial kill behavior is this? 😂” one person wrote.

@renovatingourhome Okay I really need to know if we are alone in this— do you randomly pick which side of the bed you are going to sleep on or do you sleep on the same side every single night? #bedroom #sleeptok ♬ nintendo wii (mii channel) song – julie on the internet

Another added, “You mean to tell me you just go through life everyday not knowing what side of the bed you’re sleeping on that night?! WHAT?!”

And perhaps the funniest comment of all: “I’m single, and I have a side of my bed.”

Angelina wasn’t ready to back down, however. In a couple of follow-up videos, she argued how the idea might not be so crazy after all.

First off, she addresses some major concerns, such as how they deal with nightstands, bedside accoutrements (like phone chargers) and pets.

@renovatingourhome Replying to @Modernmamma There’s 2000 comments calling us monsters and people even unfollowed us 🤣 im sorry we dont sleep on the same side of the bed! Hopefully this answers your questions 🫣 #bedroom #sleeptok #beigeflag #redflag ♬ Creepy and simple horror background music(1070744) – howlingindicator

And honestly, her responses make sense. They have nightstands but mostly keep stuff in the drawers (which, gotta say, makes for a cleaner look) and leave the nighttime routine stuff to other rooms. Then they have matching phone chargers on either side of the bed. Easy peasy.

As for their pet cats—they’re fine to switch, too, as long as they get to cuddle up next to their preferred human.

Angelina also shared that while their sleep routine might sound unconventional, a relationship expert called it a “green flag” and potentially “ideal,” given the way that it frees them from any kind of rigid possessiveness.

@renovatingourhome Replying to @Derek Goode apparently it’s a green flag!! Time to switch sides of the bed, everyone! 😈 #sleeptok #sideofthebed #greenflag #redflag #greenscreen @Insider ♬ nintendo wii (mii channel) song – julie on the internet

It wasn’t long ago that the notion of sleeping in different beds seemed totally taboo or indicative of a bad relationship. So while Angelina and Skyler might seem like outliers now, it wouldn’t be surprising if this becomes yet another new trend. Even if you can’t fathom living with this kind of inconsistency, there’s probably some way of going about your relationship (or life in general) that seems odd to the mainstream but totally works for you and yours. And that’s what really matters.

Now, who’s going to live life on the edge and sleep on the opposite side of their bed tonight? Any takers?

Bree, a 25-year-old woman in Canada, has gone viral on TikTok for a video explaining the unique reason why she will never have children. She doesn’t want to be a mother and would only have children if she could be the father because they get to be the “cool parent.”

Her ideas about family resonated with many women who believe there are a lot of fathers who don’t carry their own weight. Even though families are becoming more egalitarian, women are still regarded as the default parent in most relationships.

“I would love to be a parent. I would love to be a dad. I don’t get that choice—I would have to be a mother—and there is no way in hell I would ever wanna be a mother,” Bree said in a TikTok video.

@bippityboppitybree

Cool aunt and stepmom vibes only #motherhood #feminism #barbiegirl

“I don’t want the responsibility of being a mother. I want to be the cool parent, I want to have as little responsibility as possible, and mothers don’t get that,” she continued. Bree’s ideas about family stem from her upbringing. “After seeing all the unappreciated invisible effort my mother puts in for us, I could not imagine that being my life!” she wrote in the comments.

“Saving this answer for the next time I am asked that. Thanks,” Bianca P wrote in the comments.

A recent Pew Research study found that in 2022, 29% of marriages were “egalitarian,” with husbands and wives each contributing roughly half of the couple’s combined earnings. However, women still bore the brunt of the domestic workload, spending more than double the amount of time on housework than their husbands and two hours more per week on caregiving.

It’s that time of year, folks. Fall bourbon releases are here, and two of the biggest bourbons just dropped — Old Forester Birthday Bourbon and Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch. This is not a drill.

These bourbons are so massive that they cause seismic activity in the bourbon-drinking world. So much so that to avoid rampages by bourbon fans, each of these bottles is only available via a lottery system. Now to be clear, that’s not a lottery wherein you “win” a bottle for free. These are lotteries wherein you “win” the privilege to buy a bottle. One bottle. In Kentucky. And yes, people make special trips from all over the world to pick these bottles up — they’re that coveted. These are the big leagues and just releasing these bottles in liquor stores or bottle shops at distilleries would be too much chaos, so here we are.

Below, I’m going to review each bottle and lay out how to actually throw your hat in the ring to win the honor of being able to buy one of these masterpiece whiskeys at MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) this fall. If you don’t win a chance to get one now, well, there’s always the secondary market and massively inflated prices. Plus, it’s free to enter. So you have nothing to lose in playing the game. Let’s dive in!

• The 100 Best Bourbon Whiskeys From Kentucky, Ranked
• The Absolute Best Bottle Of Whiskey From Each Of The 50 States
• The ‘Smoothest’ Bourbons On The Market, Blind Tasted And Ranked
• The 100 Best Bourbons That *Aren’t* From Kentucky, Ranked
• The 100 Best Bourbons Under $100 Right Now, Ranked

Old Forester 2023 Birthday Bourbon

ABV: 48%

Average Price: $169 (Sweepstakes Only)

The Whiskey:

This year’s Birthday Bourbon is a subtle masterpiece expression from Lousiville’s oldest distillery. The whiskey in the bottle is hewn from 103 barrels that were filled on May 5th, 2011. Those barrels were housed on the 5th floor of Warehouse I in Louisville for 12 years for batching, proofing, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Candied orange peels draw you in on the nose as molasses and rum raisin lead to salted dark chocolate-covered coffee beans, old cedar bark, and dry orchard barks layered with soft winter spice barks and dark cherry.

Palate: That candied orange drives the palate with a sense of Luxardo cherries, old rickhouse dirt floors, and oak staves before rummy molasses and dark fruits — think dates, figs, and prunes — lead to a cedar tobacco vibe.

Finish: The end sweetens at first with a honeyed orange caramel before swinging back toward the coffee beans and cedar tobacco with a soft sense of old orchards in late fall.

Bottom Line:

This is an excellent sipper. It doesn’t even need a rock. You’re good to straight from the bottle.

Ranking:

91/100 — This is excellent Kentucky bourbon but not life-changing.

How To Get A Bottle:

The national sweepstakes for this year’s Birthday Bourbon runs from August 24th to August 31st this year. Winners will be notified on September 2nd, 2023. Bottles will be available for pick up until December 23rd, 2023 at the Old Forester Distillery.

Enter the Sweepstakes Here.

Four Roses 2023 135th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch Select

ABV: 54%

Average Price: $199 (Lottery Only)

The Whiskey:

This year’s Four Roses LE Small Batch is only 15,060 bottles. In those bottles, you’ll find a blend of 12, 14, 16, and 25-year-old barrels of whiskey. Those barrels are perfectly balanced to bring deep flavors to the batch before proofing and bottling as-is.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Rich winter spice cakes with roasted nuts, rum raisin, and soft vanilla oils vibe with old cedar kindling, hints of dill, and a faint touch of marshmallow that’s spent too much time in the fire.

Palate: The palate is all sticky toffee pudding and honey cake with a rush of red huckleberry and tart raspberry next to pear cider cut with clove, cinnamon, and allspice and a faint touch of brandied marzipan.

Finish: The finish turns into a luscious masterpiece of soft pear brandy-soaked marzipan with creamy dark chocolate and spiced Christmas nut cakes next to a soft chili tobacco dipped in molasses.

Bottom Line:

This is a delicious whiskey. It’s pretty much perfect right from the bottle or over a single rock.

Ranking:

91/100 — This is a great and quintessential sipper.

How To Get A Bottle:

You’ll have until August 28th, 2023 to enter the lottery to win the chance to buy a bottle. Winners will be announced on September 7th, 2023. Bottles will be available for pick up at Four Roses Distillery from September 15th to October 15th, 2023.

Enter the Lottery Here.

Ever the faithful MAGA soldier, Marjorie Taylor Greene took to Twitter on Thursday to post a fake mugshot of herself as everyone waited with bated-breath to finally see Donald Trump’s real mugshot from his arrest in Georgia.

“I stand with President Trump against the commie DA Fani Willis who is nothing more than a political hitman tasked with taking out Biden’s top political opponent,” Greene wrote in the caption. “‘Persecution, not prosecution.’ #MAGAMugshot”

Former Republican National Convention chair Michael Steele wasn’t having it. While appearing on Friday’s episode of Morning Joe, Steele roasted Greene for the attention-grabbing stunt and assured that the Georgia congresswoman that her wish might come true some day.

Via Mediaite:

“We knew Donald Trump was going to put [out] a T-shirt. We knew what it is going to say,” Steele told the MSNBC panel. “He’s going to make his bling off of it. He’s going to get his cash because that’s what it’s always been about.”

He added, “Marjorie Taylor Greene wants to take a mug shot of her. So don’t worry, baby. Your turn may come sooner than you think.”

Steele’s comments arrived after the Morning Joe crew couldn’t contain their laughter over Trump’s arrest, particularly his reported measurements and hair color. The former president’s staff reportedly the Fulton County Jail that Trump is 6’3″ and only 215 pounds. They also listed his hair as “strawberry blonde,” which prompted Joe Scarborough to lose it on camera.

“He really went for it,” a laughing Scarborough remarked. “He really went for it.”

(Via Mediaite)