Month: November 2023

Over the past few years, book bans have been happening in public libraries and schools across America. In the 2022-2023 school year alone, over 3,300 books were banned in 182 school districts in 37 states.

Most books that have been banned deal with LGBTQ and racial themes. According to a report from PEN America, Florida has been the most aggressive state regarding book bans, accounting for about 40% of those taken off the shelves.

On November 5, Collier County, Florida, announced that it was banning 300 books from its school libraries out of an effort to comply with state law HB 1069, which says books that depict or describe “sexual content” can be challenged for removal.

---

Among the books banned by the school district was “Shopgirl,” a novella by author Steve Martin published in 2000. Martin is also the star of the hit Hulu show, “Only Murders in the Building,” featuring Martin Short and Selena Gomez.

Upon hearing about his book being banned, Martin responded with his iconic wit on Instagram, saying, “So proud to have my book Shopgirl banned in Collier County, Florida! Now, people who want to read it will have to buy a copy!”

See on Instagram

“Shopgirl” is a story about a young woman who works in a luxury department store and has an affair with a wealthy older man. It was made into a movie in 2005 starring Claire Danes and Martin. It’s believed the book was banned for its mild sexual content. On Amazon, the book is recommended for readers ages 13 and up.

As the nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards were rolled out today, Victoria Monét shared an emotional video of her watching the livestream with her loved ones. Given that her debut album, Jaguar II, dropped in August, she was a strong contender for at least one nod — and she very much surpassed that.

Each time Monét’s name was called over the television, she gasped in shock as those around her cheered. At times, she falls on the floor and is crying at a different moment. The video then cuts to an image of “On My Mama” being nominated for Record Of The Year.

At the end, one of Monét’s group members reads off that she was nominated for seven total Grammys, including Best New Artist, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Performance, Best R&B Song, Best Traditional R&B Performance, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

She hugs members of her group and as expected, is extremely happy about the results. Since seeing the video on social media, fans have loved just how pure the joy is from Monét and those finding out she is nominated a ton.

“I am in complete shock and total gratitude for what has happened for us today!!!!” she captioned on Instagram.

Check out Victoria Monét‘s Grammy nomination reveal video below.

You know, it’s been a few days since we’ve done a post about something silly that Victor Wembanyama did during an NBA game. Let’s change that, shall we? Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs played host to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night in their first game during the Play-In Tournament, and while the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft did plenty of incredible stuff on the night, one stuck out above the rest.

San Antonio tried to make their way back into the game in the fourth quarter while trailing by double-digits. Getting the ball to your best players is normally a pretty good way to do that, and Doug McDermott managed to do just that when he got the ball on the wing and saw Wembanyama dive to the rim. McDermott decided to just lob the ball towards the paint, presumably because he thought Wembanyama would get it and go up with it.

Instead, Wembanyama decided to skip a step. With his back turned to the basket, he grabbed the ball while he was in air and converted a reverse alley-oop.

Maybe one day watching him do this stuff will become more normal. Until then, I highly recommend just enjoying the ride.

Over the past few years, book bans have been happening in public libraries and schools across America. In the 2022-2023 school year alone, over 3,300 books were banned in 182 school districts in 37 states.

Most books that have been banned deal with LGBTQ and racial themes. According to a report from PEN America, Florida has been the most aggressive state regarding book bans, accounting for about 40% of those taken off the shelves.

On November 5, Collier County, Florida, announced that it was banning 300 books from its school libraries out of an effort to comply with state law HB 1069, which says books that depict or describe “sexual content” can be challenged for removal.

---

Among the books banned by the school district was “Shopgirl,” a novella by author Steve Martin published in 2000. Martin is also the star of the hit Hulu show, “Only Murders in the Building,” featuring Martin Short and Selena Gomez.

Upon hearing about his book being banned, Martin responded with his iconic wit on Instagram, saying, “So proud to have my book Shopgirl banned in Collier County, Florida! Now, people who want to read it will have to buy a copy!”

See on Instagram

“Shopgirl” is a story about a young woman who works in a luxury department store and has an affair with a wealthy older man. It was made into a movie in 2005 starring Claire Danes and Martin. It’s believed the book was banned for its mild sexual content. On Amazon, the book is recommended for readers ages 13 and up.

Taylor Swift was supposed to perform for her second night at Argentina’s Estadio River Plate tonight (November 10), but has since postponed the show until Sunday, November 12 — due to concerns about the intense weather and keeping fans safe. Unlike Swift’s previous Eras Tour concerts, this round of shows has started using a General Admission floor, which would add to the safety concerns.

“I love a rain show but I’m never going to endanger my fans or my fellow performers and crew,” Swift shared in a statement. “We’ve rescheduled tonight’s Buenos Aires show for Sunday due to the weather being so truly chaotic it would be unsafe to try and put on this concert. Good news is I get to stay in Argentina longer!”

Throughout Swift’s career, she also has very rarely postponed or canceled a show. When it rained a bunch earlier in the tour’s run, the show was only delayed by a few hours — and she eventually took the stage later that night, still completing her three-hour run.

However, fans have since shared videos that were apparently taken from inside the stadium tonight, and it is very clearly flooded with rain.

Fans who did have tickets to tonight’s original Argentina show should automatically have theirs transferred with the same seating arrangements, just on Sunday.

If refunds are needed, more information should be available from the point of purchase.

T-Pain and Snoop Dogg are entering a land of wonder on their new single, “That’s How We Ballin.” The duo honored the late Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) by including some gag recreations in the music video, which was directed by T-Pain himself.

The video kicks off with T-Pain nearly getting into a fight with a bunch of bikers at the bar, one of which is played by AJ McLean from the Backstreet Boys. Later on, Snoop Dogg appears, as the two try navigating a funhouse that gives the Pee-Wee vibes.

T-Pain spoke to Rolling Stone about how he first got the inspiration.

“I was on a flight from LA to Atlanta and couldn’t sleep, so I looked for movies to keep me entertained,” T-Pain said. “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure came up and I couldn’t help myself. After watching the movie, I put on my personal headphones to listen to the recent music I had done. ‘That’s How We Ballin’ came on first and I immediately made the connection. I texted my NappyBoy Films crew and let them know ‘We have to do this!’”

“What’s crazier is, four days later is when Paul passed away,” he added. “That was when I knew I had to do this right, which is why it took so long to film, but I feel good that we took our time.”

Check out the video for T-Pain and Snoop Dogg’s “That’s How We Ballin.”

If you need proof standardized testing is setting students up for failure, just ask the students.

Sydney Smoot has a bone to pick with the Hernando County School Board. The issue? The Florida Standards Assessment Test, or FSA for short. On March 17, 2015, Sydney bravely stood up at her local school board meeting to share how she felt about the test and why she believes it’s failing students and teachers.

---

“This testing looks at me as a number. One test defines me as either a failure or a success through a numbered rubric. One test at the end of the year that the teacher or myself will not even see the grade until after the school year is already over. I do not feel that all this FSA testing is accurate to tell how successful I am. It doesn’t take in account all of my knowledge and abilities, just a small percentage.” — Sydney Smoot

Can we give this little girl a medal? She was speaking right to my soul with that speech!

I reached out to Sydney and her mom, Jennifer, via email to find out more about what prompted this passionate speech.

What inspired you to write your letter?

“What inspired me to speak all started one day when I came home. My mom asked me how the testing went, and I told her I was told not to speak about the test to anyone. I had not felt comfortable signing something in the test. I had concerns about this test because there was a lot of stress put on students and myself. I was a little nervous before the speech, but when I was called up to the podium, I did not feel nervous because I knew this speech was going to help a lot of people.”

Have you ever thought about running for president? Cause I’d vote for you!

“I’ve thought about running for president because if I’m president, I will be considerate about the people in this state.”

You gotta admit, she looks pretty good up there, right?

Parents have a right to be concerned about standardize testing regulations.

One thing that really stuck out to me in Sydney’s speech was that the FSA prohibits students from talking to their parents about the test. So I was anxious to hear what Sydney’s mom thought about the stipulation. She had this to say:

“When my daughter came home telling me she had to sign a form stating she couldn’t talk to anyone including her parents, I got concerned. Not only that I didn’t like the fact that the last four of her Social Security number was on the test labels along with other personal information. In today’s world of identity theft, it doesn’t take much for people to get a hold of these things and use them.

I would like to tell other parents to learn more before these tests start in your children’s school and know what they are testing. They have options, you can opt out so to speak, and the child can complete alternative testing if they are in the retention grades; or, if the child wants to take the test, support them and let them know that no matter how they do, it does not define them as a person.

It’s a test and a poorly designed one at best.”

Standardized tests are changing the classroom. And not for the better.

As Sydney shared in her speech, she and her classmates are feeling the pressure when it comes to preparing for the FSA. But they aren’t the only ones. Teachers are also struggling to get students ready and are often forced to cut corners as a result.

What standardized tests also fail to take into account is that in many ways, test-taking is a skill, one that not every student is ready for. When I was in school, we spent months gearing up for the dreaded FCAT, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. And if months of test prep wasn’t bad enough, if you didn’t pass the FCAT, you couldn’t graduate high school. Talk about stressful! The pressure of your high school career rides on one test, combined with the fact that standardized tests don’t accurately measure what students have learned. Plenty of capable students fail these tests due to increased anxiety and stress. If high school students are struggling to handle the pressure of standardized testing, imagine how difficult it must be for elementary school students like Sydney!

Young Sydney is a testament to how important it is that we listen to students and create curriculum that challenges and educates them, rather than scaring them into “learning.” I think Sydney’s suggestion of three comprehensive tests throughout the year makes way more sense than one big statewide test that interferes with teachers’ schedules and stresses students out. And let’s be real, when’s the last time you heard a kid ask for MORE tests?! Clearly standardized tests aren’t the answer or at least need some serious work. Hopefully Sydney’s message will make an impact and get her school board and schools across the nation to rethink how we measure students’ success.

This article originally appeared on 03.27.15

Today, nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards were unveiled, and many musicians were thrilled to find out they received their first nod(s) from the Recording Academy. One of these was Gracie Abrams, who shared in a new interview with Billboard how exactly she found out — as she was texting some other famous names to support them.

Abrams, given the fact that she previously opened for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, was texting the pop star to discuss the nominations. She was also chatting with fellow Best New Artist nominee, Noah Kahan.

“I was very alone, in my bedroom with my heating pad on, expecting absolutely nothing at all except just to support my friends who might be in the running,” Abrams shared. “My name was the first that they listed, and it was like I couldn’t feel my body.”

“Noah [Kahan] FaceTimed me immediately, and he’s just the f*cking best ever,” she added. “We kind of were just screaming at each other on the phone like, ‘Let’s pregame and sit with our moms at the awards!’”

After she got off the call with Kahan, it seems that she then spoke to Swift — who received six nominations tied to her 2022 album, Midnights. “I talked to Taylor and we were just screaming at each other over text like, lots of all-caps: Holy f*cking sh*t,” Abrams says of Swift. “And obviously she just deserves all of it, all of it, all of it. In moments of career celebration or any personal crisis, I text her, so to be able to celebrate this one mutually felt so wild.”

Gordon Ramsay is not exactly known for being nice.

Or patient.

Or nurturing.

On his competition show “Hell’s Kitchen,” he belittles cooks who can’t keep up. If people come to him with their problems, he berates them. If someone is struggling to get something right in the kitchen, he curses them out.

---

His whole TV persona is based on being the world’s worst boss.

Ramsay went on Reddit and allowed users to ask him any question they wanted.

So when a fellow cook asked him a sincere, deeply personal question about what to do when you’ve hit a roadblock in your career, you could probably guess what was coming.

Indeed, I thought the guy was making a terrible mistake pouring his heart out to a chef as notoriously tough as Ramsay:

“My hopes and dreams are nowhere to be found as I scale and portion salmon after salmon, shelling pods after pods of broad beans.
…
Sometimes I look out the tiny window and I can see people walking around the streets, enjoying the sunlight, while I’m here, questioning my dedication to this art as I rotate stock in the cool room, getting frost bitten, but the fear of the chef stops me from stepping outside to warm up.
…
The closest thing to feeling any kind of joy I get is those rare moments when I walk through the dining room near the end of service to get some coffee for everyone, and there will be a few diners left, idly sampling those little petite fours that we’ve painstakingly ensured are all perfectly round, identical, and just plain delicious. Then, one of them will stop the conversation they’re having with their company, look up from their food and say, ‘Thank you, chef. This is delicious,’ and making the previous 14-hours of sweat and tears kind of worthwhile.

My question is, how did you deal with it? How the fuck did you deal with all the bullshit, Gordon?”

But the way Ramsay responded? Totally amazing. And completely unexpected.

Turns out, real-life Gordon Ramsay? He actually can be a really kind, big-hearted dude.

He’s sympathetic to the guy. Not just because he’s a good person. But because he’s been there.

Working in restaurants is a tough, tough business. As of 2012, the average salary for cooks was less than $23,000/year. And those who are just starting out often have to work unglamorous, tedious jobs that no one else wants to do. Ramsay didn’t have fancy culinary school training. He rose up through the ranks putting in long hours for low pay in kitchens all over the world. That’s why he gets it.

Which brings up another point.

Diet Dieting GIF by Bobbi DeCarlo – Find & Share on GIPHY

When we go out to eat, we, as a culture, tend to behave … how should I put this?

Let’s go with “not like perfect angels.”

Of course, no one likes getting the wrong order. Or waiting a really long time for a meal. Or eating something that doesn’t taste the way you expect it to.

But it’s important to remember that the people behind the food, like Ramsay’s anonymous letter-writer, might be working 14-hour days. Or might be a recent immigrant who speaks limited English, trying to support a family thousands of miles away. And possibly making very little money. And sure, they screw up sometimes. But we all screw up at our jobs sometimes.

Because they, like the rest of us, are human beings.

Which is why saying…

“Thank you, chef. This is delicious.”

Could mean everything to someone.

This article originally appeared on 04.22.15

Attachment styles are the unique ways we connect with other people, and it is believed they are determined by the relationships we have with our caregivers as children. There are four main types. First, there’s the “secure” attachment style, where people feel comfortable with intimacy and independence. They’re comfortable in relationships and okay doing their own thing, too.

Second, there’s the “anxious” style, where people often worry about their relationships and need extra reassurance that everything’s okay. Third, people with the “avoidant” attachment style value independence and become uncomfortable when people get too close.

Lastly, there’s the “anxious-avoidant” style. They are a complex mix of wanting to be close while afraid of getting hurt.

Obviously, the best chance of having a healthy relationship is being with someone with a secure attachment style. Relationship expert Julie Menanno says that people with anxious and avoidant attachment styles often push away those with a secure attachment style. “Secure partners aren’t comfortable with the anxious partner’s insecurity and overbearing ways, and they aren’t compatible with the avoidant partner’s lack of autistic emotional engagement,” Menanno wrote on Instagram.

---

However, anxious and avoidant attachment styles attract each other like magnets, and those relationships can be challenging to navigate.

See on Instagram

Menanno says that people with anxious and avoidant attachment styles are drawn to one another because the avoidant partner is often the “dating persuer” who makes the anxious partner feel wanted and loved. The avoidant partner falls for the anxious person’s vulnerability because it helps them “connect to feelings they don’t get to experience within themselves.”

So, in the beginning, both partners are brought together through their unique attachment styles. But then things will start to change.

“People with an anxious attachment style may pursue closeness and reassurance from their partner. People with an avoidant attachment style may feel overwhelmed by what they perceive as neediness or demands for intimacy,” Stephanie A. Sarkis, Ph.D., writes in Psychology Today. “This difference between the two attachment styles can lead to a cycle of pursuing and distancing behaviors in which no one gets their needs met in the relationship.”

So when people with avoidant and anxious attachment styles fall in love, are they doomed to break up or stay together and suffer from being on a constant emotional roller coaster? Menanno believes that there’s hope for them to find happiness.

“The good news is: both partners can use the relationship as a platform for healing,” Menanno writes. “Each can learn how to manage their attachment experiences and behaviors in ways that create a new environment, one that fosters secure attachment.”

There is no simple solution where people can change their attachment style overnight. But hope begins the moment they realize their attachment style so they know how to ask for help. It all starts with self-awareness and a willingness to change.

“Developing self-awareness, understanding attachment styles, attending therapy, and learning effective communication can help people navigate anxious-avoidant relationship dynamics and build healthier and more securely attached relationships,” Dr. Sarkis writes.