Month: July 2024

Hey there, millennials! Welcome to the “Holy crapoly, I have real-life memories from 20 years ago!” club. It’s a strangely disorienting milestone to reach when you find yourself starting sentences with “When I was young…” or “Back in my day…” isn’t it?

Your Gen X elders have been here for a while, but even we have moments of incredulously calculating how the heck we’ve arrived at this place. Time is a tricky little jokester, isn’t he?

To highlight how much has changed for middle-aged folks since we were young, a user on Reddit asked people born before 1990 what useless skills they possess that nobody has a need for anymore. It’s both a hilarious trip down memory lane and a time capsule of life pre-Y2K. (Do kids these days even know what Y2K was? Gracious.)

If you’re down for some good-old-days nostalgia, check out people’s responses:

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Ask Reddit Question: People born before 1990, what trivial skill do you possess that no one uses anymore?

Making brown paper bag book covers

“I can cover a textbook with a brown paper bag.” — sourwaterbug

Oh goodness yes. And there was always that one girl in class who had the art of the brown paper bag book cover perfected. (They’re probably Pinterest influencers now.)

Folding a map—and knowing where to find a map

“I can re-fold a map correctly.” —JungleZac

“Man remember actually using maps…I had an atlas with the road system in my car to navigate other states during road trips. Crazy.” – jagua_haku

How did we ever figure out how to get anywhere before GPS and Google Maps? (Two-inch thick road atlases in our car and stopping at gas stations to buy local maps while traveling, that’s how. Positively primitive.)

Memorizing phone numbers and answering the house phone

For real, though, kids these days don’t even know.

“Remembering phone numbers.” — greatmilliondog

“Not only that, having to speak to your friend’s parents for a few minutes when you call their house.” — Logical_Area_5552

“How to take a message when the person they want to talk to isn’t there.” — Amoori_A_Splooge

How about dialing on a rotary phone, using a pay phone and making (or taking) a collect call?

The skillful phone shoulder hold

“Using your shoulder to hold a telephone up to your ear while doing multiple other things at once. Now, the phones are so damned small I drop them.” – Regular_Sample_5197

“100 ft phone cords 🤣” – mrch1ck3nn

“I got in sooooo much trouble for stretching the phone cord into the bathroom for some privacy. Accidentally clotheslined Grandma 😬 She laughed about it but Mom was pissed!” – AffectionateBite3827

Knowing the exact name of every Crayola color because we only had so many

“I know what the color “goldenrod” is.” — ImAmazedBaybee

“That and burnt sienna were the crayolas of choice.” — Signiference

“Cornflower would like a word.” — cps12345

The art of the mixed tape—especially from the radio

I don’t think kids these days fully grasp how revolutionary Spotify and the like are for those of us who spent hours in front of the radio with our cassette tape recorder queued up at just the right spot waiting for the song we wanted to record to come one. And they will never, ever know the frustration of the DJ yapping right up until the lyrics start.

“Record to tape from the radio. Trying to make sure to not get the DJ/presenter talking sh-t or an ad” – Gankstajam

“‘Shut up, shut up, shut up!!! I’m trying to record my song!!!'” – tearsonurcheek

“Haha yeah and trying to tell others so they don’t make random noise or knock on the door.

How about making cassette-based mix tapes, trying to figure out to the second, how many and which types of songs in which order, that would still fit perfectly on the length of tape per side.

People who make digital recordings do not have to worry about ‘running out of tape.’

Having the first side be tempting enough that they’d flip the other side to continue listening. That’s before continual playback machines existed. Had to flip the cassette.” – CrunchyTeaTime

And there were many more, from rewinding a cassette tape with a pencil to writing in cursive to tearing the sides off of printer paper without tearing the paper itself. (Oh and of course the ability to count out change and understand what you’re supposed to do if something costs $9.91 and someone hands you $10.01.)

Gotta love it when the things that used to be totally normal now sound like historic artifacts found in a museum. Kind of makes you wonder what normal things from today we’ll be laughing about in another 20 or 30 years.

This article originally appeared on 6.22.23

It’s been said countless times, but teachers really are the best and bravest of us all. Anyone who has spent time surrounded by kids, trying to help them learn while managing the countless crises that can occur when hundreds of immature humans are put together in one place, knows that teaching encompasses so much more than just academic instruction. Teachers serve as mentors, counselors, nurses, mediators and sometimes even security guards.

That’s why a middle school teacher who thought there was a fight happening in her classroom ran full speed toward it—in a dress and heels, no less.

A TikTok video shared by @lilythern shows a teacher sprinting down a school hallway with an overlay of text that reads, “This middle school teacher thought she was running to break up a fight.” As she runs into the classroom, she sees a couple of dozen students gathered in a tight circle and shouting. The teacher immediately starts pushing her way through the outside of the circle, yelling, “Hey! Break it up! Break it up!”

But there is no breaking up to be had. In fact, what she finds is the exact opposite.

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As the students part to let her through, we see some of them holding up signs and smiling. Then we see a man down on one knee.

Watch:

@lilythern

#fyp #touchingmoment #middleschoolersbelike #loveit

How fast was that adrenaline switch from fight-or-flight to genuine joy? Seriously, the fearlessness with which she ran into that room is as heartening as the proposal itself.

People in the comments loved it:

“She is so strong. She was running towards the chaos to stop it with her bare hands. What a fighter. This is the best proposal ever.”

“That was the ‘Not in my school!’ run! 😂😂😂😂”

“Fearless teachers are the ones that deserve the most respect.”

“Don’t marry her, she has to join the Avengers.”

The students were clearly thrilled to be a part of the sweet proposal, and the teacher’s immediate and enthusiastic “yes” made it all that much sweeter.

Definitely a moment none of these students—or their teacher—will ever forget.

This article originally appeared on 4.12.23

The human body is amazing. People that have figured out a way to command their body to do reality defying acts are just as fascinating. There’s nothing quite like watching someone feel them music, moving so smoothly from one movement to the next while they dance.

Dancing can be a beautiful expression of art and creativity, connecting people through music and movement without even speaking the same language. One dancer from Brazil is turning heads on social media with moves so fluid and robotic that people are questioning if he’s human. Maikon Alves uploaded a video recently of him dancing to “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas.

To say his dance moves are impressive would be an understatement. Alves pops his chest to the beat while slowly stepping in place making it look like he’s gliding from move to move. Some movements are crisp and sharp like a robot while others are so fluid it’s nearly unbelievable that it could be coming from a human.

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While the man’s moves do look slightly out of this world, he is indeed a real person, or at least he appears to be in other videos on his page. Commenters ranged between being in awe of his abilities and questioning if he was human.

“Loved. I like how everything is in sync – from the music to the moves to face expressions. 👏👏👏 and your cool personal style,” one person writes.

“Doesn’t even look real it’s that good..!! Love this,” someone says.

“You will be the dance instructor for the children of our AI overlords someday,” a commenter thinks.

“Nah, this is God-level pop-locking,” someone compliments.

Even Nicole Scherzinger, actress, singer and former member of the pop group and dance ensemble, Pussycat Dolls gave Alves praise saying, “you are a legend!” Watch his reality defying moves for yourself.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Maikon Alves (@maykonreplay)

This article originally appeared 3.3.24

There seems to be a constant war between children’s clothing retailers who want to push the boundaries of modesty and parents who push back, saying they are sexualizing children. On top of that, when young girls believe they are supposed to wear clothes that are tight-fitting and revealing, it’s very damaging to their self-esteem and body image.

“I think it’s one thing that the girls’ clothes are very fitted and small, and it’s another that they’re in such direct contrast to what you find on the boys’ side, and those two things send a pretty strong message about what they’re supposed to look like, dressed to be slim and to be fit,” Sharon Choksi, a mom of two and founder of the clothing line, Girls Will Be, told CNN.

The topic came up again recently when Meghan Mayer, a mother of 2 and a 7th-grade school teacher, posted a video on TikTok about a dress she saw at Target that received over 1.6 million views.

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Meghan was reacting to a smock-style patterned dress with balloon sleeves that appeared modest at first glance. But after closer examination, it has holes on the waist on both sides, revealing the girl’s midriff and possibly more.

@thecrazycreativeteacher

Thoughts?

“My oldest daughter and I are at Target and there’s some cute spring stuff,” Mayer started the video. “I am a little bit more conservative when it comes to my kids’ clothing, so maybe I’m overreacting, but let me know what you think of these dresses.”

She added that the dress may be okay for a 12-year-old but was inappropriate in her opinion for a 6-or 7-year-old.

Mayor asked her followers what they thought of the dress. “Like I said, I know I’m a little bit more conservative. I don’t usually even let my girls wear bikinis, but maybe I’m overreacting, I don’t know. Thoughts?”

For reference, she then showed the sizes of the dresses to show they were for kids and then revealed the holes in the sides. “Look at these little slits on the sides of these dresses, right at the hips on all these dresses,” she said.

Most people commenting on the video thought the dress was a bit much for such a young girl to wear.

“You’re not overreacting. You’re parenting properly,” Paper Bound Greetings wrote. “No, no. There is no reason for those holes to be there. They should have pockets! Not holes!” Anna wrote. “I think retailers are trying to mature our kids too fast. I agree with mom!” HollyMoore730 commented.

But some people thought that that dress was acceptable and Mayer was overreacting.

“Unpopular opinion, I think they’re cute,” Dr. Robinson wrote. “When I was a kid in the ‘70s I wore halter tops and tube tops; they were not seen as big deals. I don’t think this is scandalous,” Kimberly Falkowsi added. “Overreacting. Both my girls have the blue and white, you can’t even tell much. It’s not that big of a hole. The dresses are so cute,” LolitaKHalessi commented.

Some commenters told Mayer that she should buy the dress and have her daughter wear a shirt beneath it so it doesn’t show skin. But Mayer believes that would be supporting Target for making questionable kids’ clothing.

“No, I’m not going to buy it and have them wear a tank top with it, because then that’s showing Target that it’s OK,” she told Today.com. “And over time, the cutout will get bigger and bigger.”

This article originally appeared on 3.1.24

Kevin Durant is spending his summer with Team USA in Paris as they seek out a fifth straight Olympic gold medal, and the Americans got their Olympics officially underway on Sunday with a tough opening game against Nikola Jokic and Serbia.

Durant, who missed the entire exhibition slate with a calf strain, was cleared to play for the opener, with that news breaking a few hours prior to tip-off. Presumably around the time Durant learned he was indeed going to be part of the rotation against Serbia, the star wing was scrolling through Instagram at the team hotel, catching up on what’s been going on back in the States. It was there that he, like many, learned of what happened out at ComicCon on Saturday night: Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not as Tony Stark, but as Dr. Doom.

Durant had the same reaction as many fans, which was being extremely confused, as he replied to Marvel Studios post about it on Instagram with “????????”.

Even the best athletes in the world are like everyone else and kill time before going to work scrolling Instagram. In this case, KD couldn’t help but wonder how the hell Marvel is going to make this all work, which is a question a lot of folks have.

Three years removed from fighting to a no contest, Belal Muhammad (24-3, 1 NC) dominated Leon Edwards (22-3, 1 NC) to a decision victory to claim the UFC Welterweight championship in the main event of UFC 304 in Manchester, England.

Edwards and Muhammad couldn’t wait to get going early in the first round, where Muhammad gained the very early and easy takedown. Edwards spent about a minute on his back before exploding up to his feet and transitioning into a dominant clinch position against the cage. Edwards began to pick apart Muhammad before the challenger found his range, connecting on both levels before taking the champ to the ground again to end the round.

Muhammad showed his hand speed to open the second, connecting over and again, then shooting for a takedown. Muhammad fought through for a takedown again before taking the champ’s back. On their feet, Muhammad scooped Edwards and dropped him on his head. As Edwards made his way to his feet, Muhammad scooped him again, dropped him on his head, and took his back. Against the cage, Edwards moved quickly to score a takedown, understanding he was approaching going down two rounds to none.

In the third, Edwards was cautious with strikes, snapping a head kick and looking for openings up top. Edwards wrapped Muhammad against the cage and took the challenger’s back on the ground. Edwards dominated the ground position while Muhammad fought off the champ’s hands.

To open the fourth, Edward and Muhammad traded huge shots on their feet. As Muhammad began to connect up top, he immediately went downstairs for the takedown, eventually getting Edwards to the ground, where he kept him until the end of the round.

In the fifth, Muhammad kept his game plan firm, getting Edwards to the ground again and flustering the champ. Edwards reversed into top position incredibly late in the round before laying down massive elbows that gashed the challenger. It appeared to be too little too late.

The first bout between Muhammad and Edwards ended with an eye poke 18 seconds into the second round. Since then. Edwards went on to beat Nate Diaz, knock out Kamaru Usman to win the welterweight belt before defending in a rematch against Usman and earning a decision over Colby Covington.

All Muhammad has done since that night in March was wait patiently for his chance. He earned victories over Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, and Gilbert Burns to put himself in a position to taste UFC gold.

Tom Aspinall (15-3) knocked out Curtis Blaydes (18-5) just one minute into his interim UFC Heavyweight championship fight at UFC 304 in Manchester, England.

Blaydes had active hands to open the fight, connecting on a couple of big shots early, but it was Aspinall who needed just one short leg jab to send the challenger to the mat. Aspinall hopped on him and laid left and rights to his head before the ref called it.

Apsinall won the interim championship when he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in November 2023. Aspinall’s lone UFC loss came 15 seconds into his first fight with Blaydes, when he suffered an ACL, MCL, and meniscus injury on a leg kick that put him out of action for just under a year. In England, Aspinall was able to avenge that loss and put him squarely in the driver’s seat of the heavyweight division.

Jon Jones, who submitted Ciryl Gane to win the UFC Heavyweight crown, has been out since he claimed the belt in March 2023 in his debut fight at heavyweight. Jones plans to move on to fight Stipe Miocic in a dream heavyweight bout at some point down the road, and Dana White announced the winner will move on to fight Aspinall.

Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

10. Hit Man (Netflix movie)

Glen Powell and Brisket are obviously having an incredible time with Twisters-marketing mayhem, but honestly, his last few years have been building to his natural state of charismatic supremacy. Here, he stars with Adria Arjona in this Richard Linklater film inspired by the real-life Gary Johnson, who worked as a faux-hitman on an undercover beat in Houston. Glen had a ball adding more extreme disguises than Johnson did, and he might kill the world with charm.

9. Those About To Die (Peacock series)

Likewise, gladiators are having a moment this year with the impending Gladiator 2 and this series (which hopes to “entertain” you) that takes aim at “bread and circuses” and the “entertainment underbelly” of Ancient Rome and adapts the story of the real-life Flavian dynasty. Anthony Hopkins will surely be not-at-all disturbing as ruler Flavius Vespasian, whose sons are battling it out over who will succeed dad.

8. The Boys (Prime Video/Amazon series)

A week after the fourth season finale, the plight of The Boys still hits hard with Butcher in the wind and the rest of his group detained by Supes after Homelander declared martial law. Plenty exists to theorize about while we await the show’s final hurrah (or “oi”), but before that happens, the Gen V gang will return to follow up on the bloodbath at Godolkin University. Of course, the real ones will also impatiently wonder what Ashley’s reaction to Compound V shall be, and whether she will (ideally) have super hair and maybe strangle Homelander with it after that humiliating wig scene. Hey, the ending won’t make sense unless he dies, and this method sounds as good as any. (Also! News of a prequel spin off has surfaced.)

7. Time Bandits (Apple TV+ series)

This series brings the Terry Gilliam book of the same name to the small screen following the cult-classic film of the early 1980s. This version stars Lisa Kudrow and follows the comedic adventures of those ragtag thieves through time and space. They end up on a mission to save their newest member’s parents and somehow end up with the fate of humanity in their hands, too. This series hails from the oddball dream team of Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement, so expect them to make it weird(er than usual).

6. Lady In The Lake (Apple TV+ series)

Laura Lippman’s beloved Baltimore-centered books bring this spookier-than-the-book version to life while Natalie Portman makes her first leading-role streaming TV debut. She stars as privileged 1960s housewife Maddie, who flees her marriage and becomes obsessed with the murder of Cleo Johnson while attempting to launch a journalism career. Apple TV+ bills the limited series “as a feverish noir thriller and an unexpected tale of the price women pay for their dreams,” and readers will definitely notice changes from the book as the season continues to progress, but the series does well these days at pouncing upon books with a large following, thereby insuring a built-in audience. Smart.

5. Cobra Kai (Netflix series)

This final, super-sized season, which is only getting started, continues to crush the generation gap while keeping things real for the underdogs. This spin off has also accomplished what few TV shows or movies could have ever hoped for: successfully rebooting a 1980s property while appealing to Gen Z and the original The Karate Kid audience. This season, fans of Chozen and Tory will be happy to see deeper dives into their psyches, and Daniel and Johnny are still occasionally at each other’s throats while now training their joint dojo members to travel to the Sekai Taikai world championship and dominate outside of the Valley.

4. Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+ series)

This Jake Gyllenhaal-starring legal thriller/soap opera proved to be so popular that the “limited series” label turned out to be short lived. A second season is in the works, although Apple TV+ hasn’t revealed whether the “new mystery” will revolved around Gyllenhaal’s unfortunate Rusty or whether other Scott Turow characters will take center state. The good news is that Gyllenhaal will be executive producing, and master of addictive thriller-soaps David E. Kelley will be leading the creative endeavors. Also, a Roadhouse sequel will also arrive starring Gyllenhaal, so he is really hitting a stride.

3. Your Honor (Showtime series streaming on Netflix)

Hilariously, the two existing seasons of this series are still streaming up a storm on Netflix, years after they received a lukewarm reception on Showtime. Bryan Cranston was still “breaking bad” in this show, years after leaving Walter White behind in the desert, as a judge who ended up being far less than honorable when confronted with a mafia-related death involving his son. The semi-spooky setting collides with several tense story arcs, and this show is downright stressful to watch at times, but seeing Panic Cranston again is worth it. Don’t look forward to a third season, however — this show was intended as a limited series and already came back for seconds and is done.

2. House of the Dragon (HBO series streaming on Max)

A messy-as-hell episode included a surprise kiss that led to some surprising backlash, and from there, Rhaenyra will demand answers on how Seasmoke came to choose a rider that does not hail from the House of Targaryen. The queen doesn’t yet realize that the new rider hails (through blood at least) from House Velaryon, so this will work out well for Team Black, although we all know how this story ultimately ends. Dracarys!

1. Deadpool, Deadpool 2 (20th Century Fox movies steaming on Disney+)

The Marc With The Mouth has officially debuted in the MCU with his best frenemy in Deadpool & Wolverine, and for those who have wondered whether it’s necessary to watch the first two movies prior to the threequel, Disney+ will make catching up very easy for you. Also, you definitely won’t be alone because plenty of people are doing rewatches of the ultimate fourth-wall breaker’s misadventures before hitting the multiplexes.

Is it too late for Justin Timberlake to walk away from his DWI case? On June 17, the “My Favorite Drug” singer was reportedly arrested in Sag Harbor, New York. At the time of the detainment, Timberlake was accused of driving while intoxicated.

However, his lawyer Edward Burke Jr. claims that the charges were false in his statement following the matter. Now, according to TMZ, Burke has filed a motion to get the DWI case dismissed.

In the court documents, Burke argued that the case should be dismissed on the grounds of “accusatory instrument defect.” Essentially, he boldly claimed that the arresting officers made several errors on the paperwork. The main mistake being, listing Timberlake was undoubtedly intoxicated. According to Vanity Fair, Timberlake refused a breathalyzer test three times while maintaining that he only had one drink before being pulled over.

The motion is still being reviewed by a judge and while not decided until a later date. Justin Timberlake is currently on the road as part of his The Forget Tomorrow World Tour. But at this time, his arraignment is scheduled for August 2, where he is expected to attend virtually.

On stage in Chicago, Illinois, Timberlake seemingly addressed the arrest, referring to it as part of his “rough week.”

You might’ve heard of artists moving mountains to please their supporters. But, Taylor Swift’s super fans, The Swifties, took this figure of speech to a whole new level. Today (July 27), the “Fortnight” singer’s The Eras Tour kicked off its first date in Munich, Germany.

Unfortunately, not every support could secure tickets for the show at Olympiastadion. Instead of sitting at home, locals decided to do the next best thing, attend from afar. In a new viral video, thousands of Swifties gathered in the neighboring landscape to listen in on the performance.

Swift’s fans are known for causing miniature earthquakes at shows. But this gathering was rather peaceful. So much so, during the event, Swift even acknowledge the onlookers.

“We have people in a park outside the stadium, thousands of people listening from out there,” she declared to ticket holders. “That’s incredible, and we’re going to spend all night trying to make it up to you.”

Fans in the grassed area shared videos from their prospective. Others pointed out that there were more folks than the initial clip showed.

“The way it’s not even just one hill, it’s literally half the park ,” wrote one user.

They might not have the best seat in the house, but it certainly was the most cost-effective.