While people who choose to be child-free are completely happy for their friends who do have kids, the difference in lifestyles and priorities can start to cause riffs in many otherwise strong friendships. A lot of the dissonance can come from the fact that, understandably, being a parent is a major part of someone’s identity. It’s not just about being bombarded with baby pictures, but the way 99% of conversations and activities steer towards things kid-related that is alienating and aggravating. Thai is what prompted a gal who goes by @circulargurl on TikTok to create a video sharing her list of things parents should not be doing around their child-free friends. And while the video did ruffle some feathers, it brought up some interesting things to consider. First off in her “rules of decorum”: not hijacking the conversation to talk about the kids, which she assured happens way more often than parents think it does. I know that most of you think you are not talking about your kids. Cut that back 80%,” she said. “I can guarantee you you're talking about your children most of the conversation. And while we want to hear about your kids ... we don't have children so, we really can't relate so it's a very one-sided conversation.”Similarly for rule #2: no “logistics.”For this she gave an example, saying “This summer, when talking with my friends with kids, the amount of conversations I heard which are especially one-sided are about your logistics of getting your kids to activities, summer camps, all of that.” Why is this a no no? A) It’s “boring.” And B) again, it’s “one-sided.” @circulargurl Response to @DrLeilaIsSad #childfree #single #dating #singlewomen #parents #parentadvice #childfreebychoice #career #hinge #old #datingapps ♬ original sound - Circulargurl Next, she asked parents (or people in a partnered relationship, for that matter) to refrain from asking their kid-free or unpartnered friends about their dating life. For one thing, she says that “the dating landscape has changed greatly, and it's a bloodbath,” since COVID, and might be a touchy subject. But even still, romance might not might not be the “center” of their ambitions at the moment. Instead, try to “explore other topics.”This woman also has a rule that if a child-free friend is visiting from out of town, please do not take them to a kid’s birthday party as an activity. And she seemed to feel strongly about this, saying “it's rude, frankly ... you then put us into a situation where we're with a bunch of other parents and other kids, and we don't identify with that at all. And it's not a place where adult conversation can be had. It's not interesting.”“We're generally trapped because if we're visiting you from out of town, we're then trapped at the location you brought us to with a bunch of kids and parents we don't know, you know, all talking about our topic, we don't necessarily have an interest in.”As far as bowing out of plans, the OP added a rule prohibiting using the excuse of “‘My husband won't let me” to cancel, something that a “staggering amount” of her friends have done, apparently. While she understands that things come up, her use is the “off-putting” phrasing, since “there's something in it that makes it seem like spending time with you is something that they have to somehow come to an agreement on because it's not important.”But to that point, she begged for parents to “please, please, please” to do their best to come to their kid free friends events.“Please, please, please, come to our events — our birthdays, our career milestone celebrations. Those are our events. We didn't have a wedding. We didn't have an engagement party. We didn't have a bridal shower. We didn't have a baby shower. We didn't have any of that. If we have an event, it's just as important as those, and if you don't make it, that is an insult.”And for those who truly can’t come, an actual “check-in” from time to tiem works wonders. “If you have a friend who lives alone and you go months without checking in with them, it's just not, it's not okay. People who are unpartnered and don't have kids are often sent an inordinate amount of time alone. I don't know what you think they're doing, but they're alone a lot of the time. It can be very isolating. So, please, please, please make a habit of checking in with them, and don't expect them to always check in with you.”Last, but certainly not least, the OP encourages parents to not make offhanded comments expressing jealousy. “Don't be envious of the time you think we have…don't be envious of our career advances…we all make our choices. The best way to lose adult friends is to be envious of them. And I see that happening with so much tension happening between ... very successful single child-free women and their mother friends who take a few years to slow down in their careers…it's something we don't talk about enough and we all need to get a little bit more comfortable with it. Not to say mothers cannot be very, very successful, very, very successful, but they're there. You can't have everything all at the same time.”And that’s that. Eight rules for parents who want to keep their child-free friends in mind. The video certainly resonated with other child-fre folks who often felt isolated during interactions with their mom friends. One viewer stated “this is such an important topic to talk about + conversation to have. Couples have been prioritized, celebrated + centered for so long. Adults who tackle life alone need validation, respect + support.”Still, though it goes without saying, so much of this boils down to what makes any friendship work—respecting boundaries, being aware of personal interests, making an effort to stay in touch, etc. As one person put it, “these are all great as long as it’s a two way street and the single/childless friends are also asking how the parents and kids are doing and show interest in their children. It should be reciprocal IMO.”Maintaining adult friendships is hard. Period. But they are oh so important. So while this set of rules might not be the end-all-be-all for everyone, it’s certainly a conversation worth having…and could end up proving helpful for parents looking to hold onto a bit of themselves that has nothing to do with being a parent (also very important).

Writer and illustrator Aubrey Hirsch jokingly asked her followers on Twitter what’s a “universal thing that most men like?” because she was writing a comic and “just realized I don’t actually know any men in real life." The tweet inspired an avalanche of funny responses.Hirsch is the author of “Why We Never Talk About Sugar,” a collection of short stories, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Child, American Short Fiction and Time.The interesting thing about the responses is that they weren’t the typical stereotypes about men. She didn’t get a ton of people talking about sex, sports or toxic masculinity. Instead, there were a lot of folks that mentioned very specific male behaviors as if they were talking about a bizarre species they discovered in the wild.There were two things that got the most comments on her post. First, men enjoy throwing heavy objects into bodies of water. Preferably, the larger the rock, the deeper the body of water and from the highest vantage point possible.The other is watching construction sites. Evidently, the phenomenon is so popular in Italy that there is a specific word for this type of person in Italian.Here are 19 of the best responses to the question, “What’s a universal thing that most men like?” What\u2019s a universal thing that most men like? I\u2019m making a comic but I just realized I don\u2019t actually know any men in real life. — Aubrey Hirsch (@Aubrey Hirsch) 1647902733 1. It's so common in Italy that there's a name for ithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umarell — James Billot (@James Billot) 1647938793 When asked why men enjoy watching construction sites so much, a poster on Reddit named justdaps had the perfect response. "I just find it really satisfying and interesting to see the process behind things being built," he wrote.2.https://t.co/SpjqBiViFr— Daniel Larkin ?? (@larkin721) March 22, 2022 3. Me: Thinking intently trying to come up with a good answer.\nAlso me seeing this tweet: Ooh, yeah, this is a good one. A good deep sounding sploosh with a big splash. Yeah, this is a good one.\nWe aren't complicated. — Michael Miller (@Michael Miller) 1647967400 pic.twitter.com/33W9wqOYP4— Uhtred Ragnarson (@Iskander861) March 22, 2022 Skipping a stone an unexpected number of times on a lake— Van Weasel (@vanweezer) March 21, 2022 4.standing while watching tvhttps://t.co/RJBUGPyJBw— Russ Shanahan (@russshanahan) March 23, 2022 I have seen dudes do this and I have done it plenty of times myself. I usually stand while watching TV when I want to really focus on what’s happening and do not want to be distracted. This usually happens while watching sporting events or the news. It's also a great way to use your body language to let other people know that there is something very important happening on the television. 5.https://t.co/mlTq6HmYBJ— Randojoeblow (@randojoeblow) March 21, 2022 6. My work life got a lot easier when I started saying "I don't know enough to have an opinion on this subject". Life changing. — PG (@PG) 1647907387 7.A man will buy a knife, and if there is another man, he will ask to hold and admire it for 4 seconds and then give it back and say: "Nice."— Nathan (Elemeno P) (@realNathanWheat) March 22, 2022 8.https://t.co/b56zP1KrTx— AreaMantis, Hat Guy ? (@AreaMantis) March 23, 2022 9. If a guy walks under a low hanging sign he will jump up and try to tap the bottom of the sign as he passes.Guys like being asked to open jars.Power tools. Give a guy a new drill and he'll wander around looking for stuff that needs holes.— Alan Morgan (@lettersndigits) March 21, 2022 When we do this 99% of the time we’re pretending that the sign is 10 feet high and that we have the ability to dunk a basketball. There are two types of men, those that can dunk and mere mortals.10.Memorizing favorite lines from their favorite movies, then reciting them with their friends (or even strangers) who’ve also memorized them, doing entire scenes. Extra points for using accents. A true source of unparalleled amusement & male bonding.— cautiously optimistic ??✌? (@BethCal84918882) March 22, 2022 As a man, this one is near and dear to my heart. I can’t tell you the number of hours I have spent with my friends just throwing lines from “The Big Lebowski” back and forth.“Nice marmot.”“The Dude abides.”“Say what you want about the tenets of national socialism, Dude. At least it’s an ethos.”A movie that's running up the ranks of being among the most quotable is another dude buddy pic, "Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood.""All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?" ... "Rick, it's a flamethrower.”11.Right, no-one else has posted this yet, I know my duty: pic.twitter.com/HPwd8qwgUP— Katie (@ZiziFothSi) March 22, 2022 12.Talking about their athletic glory days pic.twitter.com/9LmaG2oEiD— Ben Ross (@BenRossTweets) March 21, 2022 13.Dining tables made with resin pic.twitter.com/3WQOjEjvcK— ?Robin Isomaa? (@RobinIsomaa) March 22, 2022 14.Using tie down straps to secure a load in the back of a truck, then twanging the straps and going "that's not going anywhere"— Gom Jabbarjaw (@SensitiveWigi) March 22, 2022 15.When my dad had to chainsaw branches off a dead tree, neighbor men just gathered with various saws from all corners of the subdivision. It was like a siren song.— Liz (@WarmestRegardss) March 21, 2022 16.Posing for photos while holding fish.— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) March 22, 2022 17.Given a wood fire and a long branch, 100 of 100 men will find a reason to poke the fire every few minutes. Just, you know, to make sure things are burning evenly.— Patrick Fessenbecker (@pfessenbecker) March 21, 2022 18.explaining things to women— ˗ˏˋ Hayley DeRoche ˎˊ˗ (@hayleyderoche) March 21, 2022 Unfortunately, this is true and men do far too much of it.19.When shopping at a grocery store, leaning forward with your forearms on the handle of the carriage, while you walk up and down the aisles— Joe DellaGatta (@JoeDellaGatta) March 23, 2022 Evidently, after reading the responses, Hirsch knew what was going to happen next. No need to feel ashamed about going viral. It just means you created something that people love.I really feel for the poor Buzzfeed intern currently searching for the perfect gifs to turn this into an article that will support 8 ad spots.— Aubrey Hirsch (@aubreyhirsch) March 22, 2022 This story was originally published on 3.42.22.

Beatle George Harrison was pigeon-holed as the "Quiet Beatle," but the youngest member of the Fab Four had an acerbic, dry sense of humor that was as sharp as the rest of his bandmates.He gave great performances in the musical comedy classics, "A Hard Days Night" and "Help!" while holding his own during The Beatles' notoriously anarchic press conferences. After he left the band in 1970, in addition to his musical career, he would produce the 1979 Monty Python classic, "The Life of Brian."Harrison clearly didn't lose his sense of humor for the rest of his life. Shortly before his death in 2001, he played an elaborate prank on Phil Collins that shows how the "Here Comes the Sun" singer would go the extra mile for a laugh.In 1970, Harrison was recording his first solo record and arguably the best by a Beatle, "All things Must Pass." The session for the song, "The Art of Dying" featured former Beatle Ringo Starr on drums, keyboard legend Billy Preston on keys, virtuoso Eric Clapton on guitar, and was produced by the notorious Phil Spector.Harrison wanted a conga player for the session, so Ringo's chauffeur reached out to Phil Collins' manager. At the time, Collins was a relative unknown who was about to join Genesis, a band that would bring him worldwide stardom.The 18-year-old Collins was starstruck playing on a session with two former Beatles, so he played extra hard in rehearsals, resulting in blood blisters on both hands."Anyway, after about two hours of this, Phil Spector says, 'Okay congas, you play this time.' And I'd had my mic off, so everybody laughed, but my hands were shot," Collins told Express."And just after that they all disappeared – someone said they were watching TV or something – and I was told I could go," after that, Collins was relieved of his duties and told to go home. A few months later, Collins bought the massive triple album in the record shop and was devastated to learn he'd been edited out of the song."There must be some mistake! Collins thought. "But it's a different version of the song, and I'm not on it."Some thirty years later, Collins bought the home of Formula One driver Jackie Stewart, a close friend of Harrison. Stewart mentioned to Collins that Harrison was remixing "All Things Must Pass" for a rerelease."And he said, 'You were on it, weren't you?' And I said, 'Well I was there,"' Collins recalled.Two days later, a tape was delivered from Harrison to Collins with a note that read: "Could this be you?" Collins continued: "I rush off and listen to it, and straight away I recognize it." It was a recording of "The Art of Dying.""Suddenly the congas come in – too loud and just awful," Collins was devastated, then as the end of the take, Harrison can be heard saying, "Hey, Phil, can we try another without the conga player?"Collins was devastated, to say the least.A while later, Stewart calls Collins and puts Harrison on the line. "'Did you get the tape?' Harrison asked. "I now realize I was fired by a Beatle," Collins sighed. The two changed the subject, but a few minutes later, Harrison couldn't stop laughing."Don't worry, it was a piss-take. I got Ray Cooper to play really badly and we dubbed it on," Harrison admitted. "Thought you'd like it!" So, Harrison had an entire recording session with a conga player who he asked to play poorly, just to pull one over on Collins.If you're in the mood for another of rock's greatest pranks. The story of "The Ring" told by Beastie Boys' Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz shared in "Beastie Boys Story" is another great example of someone going to incredible lengths just for a laugh.The story revolves around the late Beasties' rapper Adam "MCA" Yach, his bandmate Horovitz, and a very creepy ring given to him by a fan backstage at a concert.This article originally appeared on 12.01.21

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from Moonbattery: The insects moonbats want us to eat instead of a normal human diet are not merely edible; they are a superfood. The Experts have spoken: [T]he next superfood might be crawling around in your backyard. Researchers in Cameroon have uncovered the surprising health benefits of a grasshopper-based diet, suggesting these insects could be the […]