@doctorhoeflinger Knowing this about drinking could save your life! #fyp #party #drinking #alcohol #foryou #holiday #christmas ♬ Storytelling - Adriel
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
This Info Could Save Your Life
Denzel Breaks It Down
An excerpt from MadameNoire
Denzel Washington Breaks Down Why ‘Fences’ Needed A Black
by marysymone
Washington began, “It’s not color, it’s culture. Steven Spielberg did Schindler’s List. Martin Scorsese did Goodfellas, right? Steven Spielberg could direct Goodfellas. Martin Scorsese probably could have done a good job with Schindler’s List. But there are cultural differences.”
He continued to give an example, “I know, you know, we all know what it is when a hot comb hits your head on a Sunday morning, what it smells like. That’s a cultural difference, not just color difference.”
The Equalizer star expressed the importance of what August Wilson did for the culture. “August Wilson is writing how we feel. That’s why I’m producing all 10 of [his plays]. Because of all those people who laid the groundwork for me to be in the position I’m in, I’m going to make sure that there’s hundreds of roles for the next generation and utilize the power that I have at this moment to do that, and nobody’s going to get in my way,” he told SiriusXM.
Repurposing Old Teacups
An excerpt from House Digest -
18 Clever Ways To Repurpose Old Teacups Around The House
BY MASIE O'TOOLE
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1. Bird feeder
Bird feeders are easy to make out of just about anything, but this teacup idea is one of the most fun and whimsical out there. All you need is a teacup, a saucer, some string, and an adhesive. Turn your teacup on its side with the handle facing upwards, then attach it to the saucer with your adhesive of choice. Once it's dry, attach your string to the handle of the teacup to hang it from a branch. After you fill the cup (and likely some of the saucer, too) up with birdseed, birds can fly up and rest on the rim of the saucer to eat.
2. Candle vessel
Making your own soy candles is surprisingly easy, so much so that finding appropriate vessels for your creations is oftentimes the hardest part. If you're tired of filling plain jars with wax, try thinking outside the box and making a teacup candle. Teacups are already meant to withstand high heat, so there's a low risk of cracking as you fill the teacup and eventually burn your creation, and the handle on the side can make it easy for you to move the candle from place to place, even when it's still hot. Add on the fact that it's absolutely adorable, and you have a winning DIY idea.
3. Succulent garden
Succulent gardens are a low-maintenance way to bring some interesting greenery and freshness to your home décor. Once you start adding to your collection of plants, however, it can be hard to find planters that are the perfect fit for a collection of different succulents. To give yourself more freedom, consider potting your succulents in individual teacups, then displaying them together. Teacups are small and shallow, making them a great choice for succulent planters, and putting your succulents in several tiny pots instead of one large one can make it easier add on new plants and take away old ones that might not be faring so well.
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Still Want 'Em?
@elle.cordova Replying to @the_lonelyest_pickle dare accepted. RX Side Effects Redux! (Deja vu now also makes a recurring appearance per commenter requests) #rx ♬ original sound - Elle Cordova
A Mother's Love
An excerpt from USA Today -
She was the chauffeur, the encourager and worked for the NSA. But mostly, she was my mom
By Mike Freeman
 |
| Mike Freeman and his mom in the 1970s. Provided by Mike Freeman |
I remember the exact day I first saw my mother’s strength. I mean, really saw it. My father had left us. Not long after, my mom sat next to me on the stairs of the house, put her arm around me, and kissed me on the cheek. She told me we were going to be OK, and there was no doubt in my mind she was right. Because she was Mom. She always made everything right. Even moments like that one.
She’s called me Mickey or Mickey Joe forever. We’ll be all right, Mickey. I promise. And her promises meant something. They meant everything.
She was the chauffeur who took me to soccer practice, the cook, the child psychologist, the encourager, the disciplinarian and the empath. She did all of that while working at the National Security Agency, where she was a senior executive, and one of the highest-ranking Black women at the agency. She’d also get her law degree by going to classes at night.
We sometimes think of power as physical strength or wealth, but true power is what my mom did for me growing up, and what so many other moms have done. She used her strength to create a protective forcefield over the ordinary and mundane, which are so important to kids: going to school; playing sports; hanging with friends; having food and clothes and support.
Her love has always had the power of a splitting atom. But another strength was just as buttressing. Mom’s almost unrelenting desire to educate me about the world and how things work, from making pancake batter, to handling myself if stopped by the police, to emphasizing the power of Black pride when much of the outside world constantly told Black people how awful we were.
If We Only Knew Then What We Know Now
An excerpt from Buzzfeed -
People Over 60 Are Revealing "Time-Sucking" Habits They Wasted WAY Too Much Time On In Their 30s, 40s, Or 50s
"That may have worked for men, but definitely not for women at that time."
by Raven Ishak - BuzzFeed Staff
3. "Trying so hard to be friends with people who had no time or interest in being friends with me or only wanted my friendship when it was convenient for them." —Jayne, 62 1/2, California
4. "I spent way too much time people-pleasing. Being a caregiver for my parents at a very young age left me struggling for good coping skills as I grew older. The insecurity made me way too concerned about what others thought. The best part of getting older is not giving a crap about what anyone thinks!"—Anonymous, 62, Illinois
5. "When I was younger, I wasted too much time worrying about whether a man liked me or not. My self-esteem was not very high, and I suspect I thought most men I liked were thinking about anything else besides me. Nowadays, I don't worry about whether a man likes me or not. If he likes me, he'll show it by wanting to be with me. It's now all about whether I find him interesting enough to want to be with him!"—Suzanne, 63, United Kingdom
10. "Don’t waste time being angry over something you can’t control. Don’t waste time on gossip or negativity. Don’t waste time blaming others or your childhood on present bad decisions, behavior, or situations."—fiercemoon84
https://www.buzzfeed.com/ravenishak/things-older-people-wish-they-didnt-waste-time-on
Sacramento State University's president speaks on peaceful end to campus...
It's long, but worth the time. He has a powerful backstory that makes his message all the more meaningful.
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Southern Sayings
An excerpt from the Wealthy Nickel -
15 Phrases Only a True Southerner Would Understand
By Rebecca Holcomb
1. Yonder
There are several versions of this saying. “Right Yonder” or “Over Yonder” are the two most common examples of a word that means “over there.” If a Southerner is trying to tell you the general direction something is in or where something is at, they’ll likely say “Right yonder” or “Over yonder” and point with a finger to help guide you.
3. Y’all
In Michigan, most people will say “you guys” when referring to a group of people. Being a proper Southerner, however, my husband uses “Y’all.” Thankfully, it is an appropriate contraction of the words you and all. We use it most often when talking to our mix of children.
5. Bless Your Heart
This phrase is one of my favorite Southern expressions because it can be a passive insult or a meaningful compliment. As an insult, it means that you’re dim in the mental acuity department. As a compliment, it means that whoever is saying it appreciated that you thought of them.
6. Fixin’ To
When I was a sophomore in college, I met a couple of girls from Texas, and it was the first time I ever heard the phrase “Fixin’ to.” This phrase can mean anything you’re planning to do in the future. However, it usually refers to something you’re hoping to do.
https://wealthynickel.com/15-southern-sayings-that-northerners-need-a-translator-to-understand-0424/
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Who Benefits From Racism?
An excerpt from CNN.com -
A White author calculated just how much racism has benefited her. Here’s what she found
By Harmeet Kaur, CNN
 |
| Tracie McMillan, journalist and author of "The White Bonus," outside her home in Detroit, Michigan. Sarah Rice |
Exactly how much has racism benefited White Americans?
Journalist and author Tracie McMillan did the math: The advantages she’s gotten over her life from being White, she estimates, amount to $371,934.30.
To calculate that number, McMillan tallied those benefits and divided them into two categories: A family bonus, which includes money her parents spent on her college tuition, educational loans she got from her grandfather and an inheritance; and a social bonus, which includes jobs, apartments and access to credit she’s gotten throughout her life.
Those resources and capital, she concludes, wouldn’t have been available to her if it weren’t for her race.
In her new book, “The White Bonus: Five Families and the Cash Value of Racism in America,” which publishes Tuesday, McMillan traces just how much of her family’s modest wealth can be attributed to policies and practices that have systematically hurt Black Americans.
Through investigative research, interviews and personal recollections, McMillan examines how racism has shaped her life, as well as the lives of four other White, middle class families.
“It was the one story about White people that I didn’t know,” she says.
McMillan, who grew up in rural Michigan and now lives in New York, didn’t have a particularly privileged upbringing by most standards. As she details in the book, she grew up in an abusive household and an unfortunate accident left her mother unable to care for her. In college, McMillan juggled numerous jobs to support herself, and as a working journalist, she’s had her own brushes with poverty.
Despite those hardships, McMillan says the financial advantages she’s experienced because of her race are undeniable. Her grandparents benefited from federal programs that largely excluded Black people, allowing them to build wealth that was then passed on to the next generation. That enabled her parents to help her pay to attend an elite university, which in turn opened doors to employment opportunities.
But, as she writes in the book, those advantages also come with a cost — not just to Black Americans, but White people like her.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/us/the-white-bonus-book-tracie-mcmillan-cec/index.html
Friday, March 8, 2024
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
NFL Player Warrick Dunn Helped Build Over 145 Homes For Single Moms
An excerpt from the Secret Life of Mom -
Warrick Dunn: The NFL Player Who Helped Build Over 145 Homes For Single Mothers So They Could Have Better Lives
By Sarah Biren
Warrick Dunn is famous for his professional football career, which spanned 12 seasons in the NFL, but he deserves more acclaim for his philanthropy. Ever since his rookie season in 1997, Dunn has supported single-parents and underprivileged families with his Homes for the Holidays program. He started the organization to honor his mother’s memory, since she had always dreamed of homeownership. So Dunn has made this dream a reality for many families in the United States.
Warrick Dunn Helps House Over 200 Families
Dun’s mother, Betty Dunn Smothers, worked as a police officer in Louisiana. She was killed while working her second job as a security guard. Corporal Smothers was in uniform and driving a patrol car when she and the store manager went to make a deposit at a bank. Three men shot them as they sat in the car, killing Corporal Smothers and injuring the manager. This happened a few days before her oldest son’s birthday, Warwick Dunn. [1]
Dunn was already a father figure for his five younger siblings. “I never really had a childhood,” he said in a 1994 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “I’ve never been able to go out and just go crazy, like most kids, because I grew up staying in the house a lot, baby-sitting.” [2]
Monday, March 4, 2024
45 Fascinating Maps
From Bored Panda -
Exploring America: 45 Maps That Might Shift Your View Of The US
By Robertas Lisickis and Mindaugas Balčiauskas
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