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Parents who live in two-story houses know the struggle of clutter on the stairs all too well. It doesn’t seem to matter how tidy someone keeps their home, things pile up on the stairs. You start cleaning, and as you move through the rooms on the lower level an odd number of items that belong on the upper level continue to appear. The things don’t belong to you, so you put them on the staircase to be begrudgingly put away by one of the small humans you care for.

Eventually, the pile grows and becomes a tripping hazard. But there’s something parents who suffer from stair piles didn’t know they needed until now, and that’s a song about their plight. Kim and Penn Holderness are always coming up with creative ways to make parents laugh and this parody of “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi is just chef’s kiss.

The parody is called “The Pile on the Stairs” and it has parents holding up lighters and swaying in their living rooms with their eyes closed. At the start of the video, Kim is standing on the stairs in front of strewn items.

“Do you not see this stuff? I put it on the stairs. Then you just carry it up. I’m not touching it,” she says. “I guess we’re just leaving this stuff here until we move.”

That’s when Penn comes in with the vocals, playing an electric guitar keyboard and belting relatable lyrics to a tune nearly everyone knows.

“Mommy found a pair of my socks. They’re down on the couch along with some other stuff. So much stuff,” he sings.

Each line in the song just adds to the relatability of this parenting struggle. People in the comments were here for the switch-up in lyrics.

“An 80’s power ballad dedicated to leaving items on the stairs? You’ve made our entire Tuesday, Penn and Kim,” one person wrote.

“This one just went straight to the top of my Holderness favorites! You scored a perfect bullseye with this one. These lyrics are going to be stuck in my head for all eternity,” another said.

“I’m dying, this is totally our family. We’ve started trying to institute a ‘take 1-2 things from the stairs when you go up’ rule, which apparently I’m the only one who follows. Although our pile is more on one side, rather than all over the place. :),” a different commenter wrote.

Watch the entire music video below:

Shocking footage out of Fenton, Michigan, reminds everyone never to take their eyes off a swimming child—especially one who is using floaties and is not an experienced swimmer.

Griffin Emerson, 7, was swimming in the shallow end of an apartment pool wearing floaties when he decided to remove them and play in the deeper end of the pool. “I just wanted to prove myself. Like, yeah, I can actually swim and stuff,” Griffin said, according to Good Morning America.

After struggling to keep his head above water, Griffin sank to the bottom of the pool.

“I saw him, and I just knew that he wasn’t OK,” Noah Roche, 12, said. “I saw him at the bottom of the pool, and then I didn’t know if he was just playing down there or something. So I just told Weston to get in and dive down to see if he’s OK.”

“His head was going up and down. I knew he wasn’t OK,” Noah’s brother, Weston Woods, 8, added.

Weston jumped into the pool and pulled Griffin to the surface, but he was unconscious. Griffin’s mother ran over to the boy and began performing CPR. The boy eventually spat up the pool water and regained consciousness. He was taken to the emergency room and released 36 hours later after a full recovery.

The boys were recognized for their heroic efforts at a ceremony attended by Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, who gave the boys a packet of books and $100 each for a shopping spree. Swanson also recognized the dispatchers, EMTs, firefighters and deputies who assisted in the rescue.

Griffin’s family was also on hand to congratulate the brave brothers.

“Griffin had a little problem in the swimming pool,” Griffin’s grandfather said during a Facebook Live video shared by the Genesee County Sheriffs. “And these two young men right here saved him, got him from the bottom of the pool and brought him to the side of the pool. They’re my heroes.”

Noah’s answer was simple when asked why he helped with the rescue. “I just thought it was the right thing,” he said, according to WNEM.

The news out of Michigan comes after a recent rise in warnings about floatie safety. Jim Spiers, co-founder and CEO of SwimJim and president of the nonprofit Stop Drowning Now, told Today.com that floaties “don’t always work.”

“Kids can slip them off their arms, they can tip over, so it’s a huge issue,” Spiers continued. “They’re an aid — they’re not a rescue device, and parents should not look at them as a rescue device or as the babysitter in the pool.”

Sheriff Swanson took the occasion as an opportunity to make sure that children are supervised at all times while swimming. “We are in the season of Fourth of July and summer fun and parties, and you can never take your eye off a lake, a pond, a river, a pool a kiddie pool. Assign someone to that water,” Swanson said. “Learn CPR if you don’t know it.”

A dad is sharing his first encounter with a transgender woman in his small Texas town, and the simple lesson he taught his son is inspiring hope in others.

James Eric Barlow (oddragon226 on TikTok) shared a video from his car describing how he and his son saw a trans woman in real life for the first time. “We all know that there’s people that are disgusted whenever they see a trans person,” Barlow begins. “And we all know of the people who don’t care if they see a trans person.

“But apparently, we’re a third type of person (or at least I am, I can’t speak for him),” he says, indicating his son in the backseat who chimes in with “I am, too!”

Barlow then goes on to explain how they had just had their first experience with a trans woman. It wasn’t anything major—she just walked through a door behind them and Barlow held the door for her, just as he would any other person. He didn’t even notice she was trans at first, but once he did, his immediate reaction was one we can all learn from.

“When I tell you how happy it made me,” he says, beginning to tear up, “to be able to see somebody be out and open to the world here in small town Texas. You just gotta know how much bravery that takes. Right, Mikey?”

“Hell yeah!” the son agrees.

Barlow wanted to say something to her, but he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, either.

“But if you’re a trans woman and you came here to the Landmark truck stop in Clyde, Texas, just know we’re proud of you,” he concludes.

@oddragon226

our first trans woman experience #trans #transwoman #transpeoplearepeople #transrights #translivesnatter

Barlow’s video was shared on Reddit, where it’s received 37,000 upvotes and a slew of comments that prove parents set the tone for their kids’ sense of acceptance.

“Indoctrinate your children with kindness, compassion, consideration and respect for others.” – Toddthmpsn

“When I was younger I would get my hair cut by a woman named Liz. She spoke Spanish so it was hard for to understand her English sometimes. My dad spoke Spanish so would translate for her and me. I noticed Liz looked a little different then other women. But I never said anything, I never felt any differently about her. She never scared me, or made me question anything. She was just Liz. As I got older I realized she was a trans woman. And it literally changed nothing. She was still just Liz. Liz was always kind and treated everyone warmly. I havnt seen her in years but I hope she is doing well. I really liked her.” – PerplexedPoppy

“This literally happened to me as a child in the 80s. A cashier at a store we visited suddenly started dressing in a feminine style and it appeared that they were transitioning. My mom explained to me in an age appropriate way that sometimes people decide they want to be a man instead of a woman, or a woman instead of a man. She told me that people would probably be mean to the cashier and it was important for us to remember that and always be polite to her, as we would anyway. This was way before trans issues were as mainstream as they are now, but my mom had seen an episode of Phil Donahue where transwoman discussed their stories, and she recognized it as a medical issue. Core memory for me.” – ZipCity262

“As a trans woman, im deathly afraid whenever I have to go to rural areas. I can instantly feel physical tension when I walk into a gas station or a restaurant in these areas. Thank you for being supportive. Trans people need you now more than ever.” – rainbow_lenses

It really is a simple matter to accept people as they are and treat all humans with dignity, kindness and respect, even if we don’t fully understand them. And as this dad and son show, it’s a simple matter to demonstrate non-judgmental acceptance in front of our kids so they hopefully will grow up without being bound by chains of bigotry they’ll later have to learn to unload.

Upworthy earns a percentage of revenue from the purchase of items mentioned in this article.

In today’s fast-paced, information-driven world, it feels like we’re constantly running a marathon with knowledge. As we juggle careers, personal growth, and a multitude of responsibilities, the 21st-century lifestyle barely leaves us any room to breathe, let alone read and learn at our own pace. We all crave wisdom, insights, and a means to quench our intellectual curiosity, but the clock relentlessly ticks away, reminding us of our limitations. It’s a universal problem — we have the will to learn but not the time. Fortunately, Blinkist is here to help.

A better you—15 min at a time

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Petey announced that his first album with Capitol Records, titled USA, will drop this fall — to the delight of his fans. With the news, the indie performer shared the lead single, “I’ll Wait,” which details his anxiety, from being “overwhelmed” while buying groceries to wishing he could control his thoughts better.

“I’ll Wait” also has an accompanying music video directed by Tom Goulet. The fast-paced editing of a backyard party and spending time with loved ones also captures a stressed-out nature to it all.

Fans will get to hear both the new track and other ones from the album on Petey’s newly-announced North American tour this winter. Find a complete list of tour dates below, with more information available here.

Check out Petey’s new song, “I’ll Wait,” above. Continue scrolling for the complete USA tracklist and cover art.

1. “Bags Theme”
2. “I’ll Wait”
3. “I Tried To Draw A Straight Line”
4. “Home Alone House”
5. “Skip This One”
6. “Did I Mention I’m Sorry”
7. “Birds Of A Feather”
8. “Living Like This”
9. “Family Of Six”
10. “The Freedom To F*ck Off”
11. “How Bout That”
12. “Goodnight Nurse”

11/03 — Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
11/04 — Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
11/05 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/07 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
11/09 — New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
11/11 — Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes
11/12 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
11/14 — Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
11/15 — Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
11/16 — Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar
11/18 — Cincinnati, OH @ Top Cats
11/19 — Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI Indy
12/6 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theater

USA is out 9/22 via Capitol. Find more information here.

Guy Ritchie normally makes movies that are flashy, slickly edited, and brimming with snark-filled action. With The Covenant, he’s grown a bit more earnest, telling the story of an Afghan interpreter risking his life to drag an injured American soldier over inhospitable miles to safety. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the Army Sergeant who resolves to bring Ahmed (Dar Salim) and his family safely to the United States since they’re being targeted by the Taliban for helping US forces.

Fascinatingly, the war film had to make do without real guns after Ritchie banned them from his set following the tragic shooting on the set of Rust. Turns out Ritchie didn’t need them to craft an affecting, beautifully-acted war movie about the bond built between two honorable men caught in the middle of horrific violence.

So, when is it available to stream? Surprise! It’s already available. Just not for free.

As of June 16th, it’s currently available to rent ($5.99) and own ($19.99) on all major platforms: Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube, Redbox.

But, as an MGM film, it will eventually be available to stream for free on Prime Video. There’s no official streaming release date for The Covenenant (ahem, Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant), and Prime Video can be fickle about when it chooses to drop it into the vast bucket of free-to-stream films. Another MGM film, Creed III, was available to stream for free three months after it’s release date, so The Covenant might be free to stream sometime in late July or August.

(via Collider)

The longtime duo of Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe on Undisputed split up earlier this year, as Sharpe announced his departure from Fox Sports. Sharpe apparently got a buyout from Fox, and his podcast, “Club Shay Shay,” is also no longer under the Fox umbrella. It’s been a little less than a month since Sharpe left the show, and apparently, there have been major problems in trying to find his replacement.

On Wednesday, both the show and Bayless tweeted that the show is going on hiatus until August 28. That is a pretty remarkable thing to just drop on a Wednesday, but according to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, there is more going on than Bayless simply getting into the lab.

Instead, the risky two-month layoff was driven by Bayless and FS1 management’s inability to find a replacement for Shannon Sharpe, said sources.
…
“Shannon’s exit moved way faster than they expected. So they had no choice but to go on hiatus,” said one source. “Skip has never done anything like this during all his years at FS1 or ESPN. Not being on the air during all these NBA moves is killing him.”

McCarthy put together a list of potential replacements for Sharpe, but noted that an issue that has popped up is Bayless, as Undisputed‘s star, has control over everything. As for Sharpe, it’s unclear what is on the horizon for him, but Stephen A. Smith has made very clear that he’d love to have him join his rotating cast of sparring partners on First Take.

Keke Palmer has been the subject of a minor controversy this week after a video of her flirtatious dance with Usher at his Las Vegas concert drew criticism from plenty of salty men — including Darius Jackson, the father of her four-month-old son. However, to let Ms. Palmer tell it, she doesn’t even see the chatter online according to the caption of her latest Instagram post, which subtly responded to the kefuffle over her viral moment.

“One thing is certain and one thing is true, IM A MOTHA, through and through!” she wrote in the caption of a video singing Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” to her son. “To all my mom’s out there, how did your baby change you?? Mine empowered me! On such another level, my perspective changed because when my baby is good I’m GREAT! Look at that face! Gratitude galore.”

Although she doesn’t overtly say it, this looks very much like a clear reference to Jackson’s comments on her video, in which he wrote, “It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom.” The outfit in question, a sheer unitard over a booty-baring black leotard, had many observers expressing their thirst, appreciation, or disapproval on Twitter (with a strong correlation, in this writer’s opinion, to the individual commenters’ level of “rizz,” as the kids say).

Keke took her response one step further, though, adding that she put some new merch up for sale: Shirts that read “I’m a motha!” and “Stevie to the bullsh*t” — referring to Stevie Wonder’s inability to see negative commentary.

We’ve all been there. Standing in line to be seated at a fairly busy restaurant while your stomach growls in protest. But when two women left a concert August 22 in search of food, they had no idea they’d find themselves taking orders and cooking food. Sylvia Arrendondo and her mother Idalia Merkel went to a local Denny’s in Texas and were seated by another customer before realizing the restaurant was extremely short-staffed. Instead of taking their business elsewhere, they decided to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

Arrendondo wrote about the unique experience on her Facebook page where she explained that only two people were working. One was serving tables and the other was the cook. As for the man that was acting as host, seating new guests, he had no idea what he was doing because he didn’t work there. He told Arrendondo and Merkel that his wife used to work at Denny’s so she started helping to serve tables and he decided to help get people seated.

The service industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and the subsequent “great resignation.” Complaints about low wages, poor management and rude customers that abuse staff members are just a few of the reasons cited by people who have left the industry. It may be surprising for some to learn that the federal minimum wage for tipped employees like servers and bussers is just $2.13 an hour. The rest of the wage is supposed to be made up of tips, which, depending on where you work, may be split at the end of the night between other workers. This act of splitting tips is called “tip pooling” and is calculated by number of hours worked.

Splitting tips after a long day of work dealing with customers who may not have been so kind would understandably make some people upset. But it didn’t take a deep dive on the treatment of restaurant employees for Arrendondo and the other customers who helped out. They saw two seemingly college-aged kids doing their best to keep the place running and they didn’t hesitate to jump in to help, completely unpaid.

When asked why she didn’t just leave, Arrendondo said, “We just looked at each other and it wasn’t even a question. We both knew what we had to do.”

“This was probably the most beautiful act of American unity that I have personally encountered,” Arrendondo told Upworthy. She added that the sole paid server would occasionally start to cry before being comforted by the cook, only to return the favor when he would get overwhelmed.

Talk about community.

These two kids had exhausted all of their resources, including calling their manager multiple times. And instead of customers getting angry, demanding better service or walking away, Arredondo and Merkel stepped up. The kindness of this group of strangers will surely stick with these employees and the people who were involved.

“The strength, courage and integrity by these two workers was beyond admirable. My mom and I have never been so proud and happy to help,” Arrendondo told Upworthy. “After all, we have all been there.”

Eventually after some convincing, the two employees shut the restaurant down and Arrendondo and Merkel went home much more tired than anticipated. Still hungry, but full of gratitude and pride.

This article originally appeared on 08.26.22

Perhaps the funnest part—in addition to extended stays in exotic locations—residents will have a say in where the vessel goes. “What a typical cruise line might do in one month or three weeks, we will take three to four months to do,” Storylines founder and CEO Alister Punton told CNN Travel, adding that the residents “have opportunities to have input into where the ship goes next.” These “residents choice” days allow those on board to choose the ports of call.

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Is MV Narrative the only residential ship to sail the seven seas? No. The World has offered residential living since 2002, according to The Real Deal. Other lines, like Utopia and Victoria Cruises, also offer an all-inclusive lifestyle.

However, it could be the most eco-friendly. Travel and Leisure noted that the ship will run on clean-burning liquid gas and have a zero-waste farmers market selling local products. “We will definitely be the greenest cruise ship out there,” Punton shared with CNN Travel.

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Travel and Leisure states the MV Narrative’s current listing price range from $1 million to $8 million to own, with a small number of 24-year leases available from $600,000, which works out to around $25,000 per year.

Of course, if you were to forgo any homeownership and chose instead to live the life of a nomad, a lifelong cruise could be an even cheaper and more accessible option. Earlier this year, retired couple Angelyn and Richard Burk made headlines by fulfilling their travel dreams of hopping from ship to ship … all for around $36,000. Yep, less than an average mortgage. It’s no wonder why this is such a popular trend for adventurous folks of retirement age.

This might be because people are attracted to having both adventure and the comfort of home, which Storylines provides. “At the end of a long day discovering a new exotic location, they can come home to friends and familiar surroundings and sleep in their own bed,” Storylines co-founder, Shannon Lee, wrote in an email to Travel and Leisure.

What a time to be alive, when you can travel the world and never leave home.

This article originally appeared on 08.18.22