Shop Lighter Side.com for the perfect inexpensive gift. Lighter Side offers funny T-shirts, famous brand collectibles, plus holiday decorations and personalized gifts.
I love good news and I love butterflies. So when I heard that the Monarch Butterfly is making a comeback, well, that made my day! This photo shows branches just dripping with the insects over a whopping 10 acres of woodland fields in the central Mexico mountains.
Every year the Monarchs travel over 3,000 miles to winter in Mexico and then travel back to summer in the United States. Their numbers had been declining drastically until about two years ago when they started to make a small comeback, covering a little over an acre and a half. This year, their comeback got a lot bigger, but there's a long way to go to get to 1996 levels when the pollinators covered 44 acres of land. (It's impossible to count all of them, so scientists measure their numbers in acres covered.)
North America, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico, is committed to helping the Monarch recover by reintroducing milkweed plants and banning pesticide use along their migration route and getting tough on illegal logging. Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is encouraged by the "beginning of success", and plans to keep building on it year by year by year.
I haven't noticed an increase in my garden yet, but I'll be on the lookout. And if you want to help, you can plant some milkweed in your backyard and cut down on pesticides during migration season. It's a small price to pay to see these beautiful, royally-named insects gather in your garden.
One person turning 100 years old is remarkable, but when three close friends, born within months of each other in 1916 turned 100, it was time to celebrate!
Bernice Grimes Underwood, Gladys Ware Butler and Ruth Chatman Hammett met in church when they were just kids. That very church — the Zion Baptist Church in Washington D.C. — hosted their centenarian celebration, which was attended by a D.C. congresswoman, the city's mayor and their family, which included several great-great-grandchildren. Even Oprah Winfrey sent birthday greetings to the trio.
All three still speak to each other almost daily. And Ms. Underwood still loves to dance, "sometimes by myself," she said. Watch her do the "Electric Slide" in this video.
The three offered bits of wisdom to the younger generation: “Don’t talk back,” said Ms. Hammett. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” Ms. Underwood advised. But Ms. Barnes had only one word for youngsters: “Respect."
I have a confession to make: I spend way too much time watching cute cat videos on the Internet. And puppy videos, too. But this one is the cutest of the cute and worth watching more than once. Or, as in my case, more than about 10 times!
Seems a kitten in a pet store in Taiwan was lonesome all by itself. So it escaped its enclosure to go play with the puppy next door. Really. I didn't make this up. Watch for yourself:
The video posted by the JoLinn Pet House went viral in minutes. The last time I looked, the video had about 2.5 million views. I guess I'm not the only one who can't resist cute cat and dog videos!
Disney's much anticipated Finding Dory premiered last week. I've already seen it three times - with and without the kids.
Ellen DeGeneres is delightful again in her role as Dory, the lovable, forgetful tang fish who was Nemo's best friend in the first film in the series. And the story is adorable, too. It's another fish rescue tale much like Nemo's but with a couple of little twists (I won't spoil it for you.)
You'd think with 'grown up' kids, I'd be past my Disney days, but...I can't help it...I love animated films. So maybe the kids are growing up, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop watching cartoons. Besides, they're not that grown up. Because - let's face it - nobody ever outgrows Disney movies.
Last year I told you about how coffee might protect you against skin cancer by acting as a natural sunscreen. But it seems no matter how much good news we hear about our morning joe, researchers are always looking for evidence that coffee must be 'bad for us'.
The latest study from the World Health Organization (WHO) again failed to make the case for the danger of the beany beverage. In fact, researchers now say that coffee should "no longer be considered a carcinogen". Instead, they say it's super hot beverages that cause the carcinogenic effect, no matter what you're drinking — even water!
So, go ahead and enjoy java jumpstart in the morning, but test with your tongue first. If it's too hot for your taste buds, it's too hot for your throat, too.
Your "Carefree Coffee Connoisseur" Gift Guru
Linda
The Purple One. His Purpleness. The Artist. The Artist Formerly Known As...born Prince Rogers Nelson, he had many names.
But did you know that Prince used pseudonyms on some of the music he was involved in writing, producing and recording? “I was just getting tired of seeing my name,” he said once. “If you give away an idea, you still own that idea. In fact, giving it away strengthens it. Why do people feel they have to take credit for everything they do? Ego—that’s the only reason.”
Names he used to 'give away' his art include: Joey Coco (Kenny Rogers, Sheena Easton, unreleased Prince songs), Jamie Starr (The Time and others from 1981-1984), Alexander Nevermind (Sheena Easton) and Christopher (The Bangles). People who knew him well also knew him by his childhood nickname, Skipper.
Prince never felt that he had to 'take credit' for his charitable works, either. Most of his philanthropy and activism was only publicized after his untimely death from an accidental opioid overdose on April 21. Here are a few things you might not have known about the Purple One:
When drummer Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown) was undergoing cancer treatment, Prince anonymously paid off his medical bills.
He saved the the country's first full service library for African Americans from closing - with an anonymous $12,000 donation.
He conceived and launched YesWeCode to help kids from 'low-opportunity backgrounds find success in the tech sector.' He paid for many of their 'hackathons' out of his own pocket and even performed at some of them.
The sudden loss of Prince just weeks before his 58th birthday (June 7) shocked us. But I don't believe he'd want us to mope around crying our eyes out. After all, he once said, "Life is just a party & parties weren't meant to last." I think Prince would like us to party - one last time - like it's 1999.
Your "Celebrating the Prince of Purple" Gift Guru,
Linda
If anyone could 'break the Internet', it's Harry Potter. The tantalizing, excruciatingly slow reveal of the three families who will be featured in the upcoming West End (London) stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child nearly did just that — each release of costumed character photos went viral within minutes of hitting the 'Net.
The latest to joined the Potters and the Granger-Weasleys are the villains we love to hate, Draco Malfoy and his son, Scorpius of Slytherin infamy. If you somehow managed to miss the first two photo releases, get your first look at the Granger-Weasleys here and the Potters here.
The play picks up 19 years after Deathly Hallows and follows Harry Potter's son, Albus Severus as he enters his first year at Hogwarts. While Albus contends with being the youngest son of the now super famous Harry Potter, his dad struggles with his own troubles as a Ministry of Magic employee.
Because massive crowds are expected and security will be tight, West End theatre goers have been advised to arrive at least one hour before curtain time. So far no word about whether the play will come to the U.S. But I'm guessing if it does, it will 'break' Broadway, too.
