A couple of weeks ago, I had to lay my eight year old iMac to rest. After years of faithful service, it had finally died beyond repair. I do not like shopping for new computers, nor do I like spending money on them. To me, buying a new computer is as exciting as buying a new dryer.
Most couples come up with pet names for each other fairly early into a relationship: Baby, babe, boo, sweetheart ― we all have our faves.
While those are all classics, there’s nothing wrong with switching things up every now and then. Last week, Twitter user @cybersygh suggested doing just that and it really caught on:
Things escalated quickly after that, when Bela Garces (@djbbga on Twitter) showed the tweet to her boyfriend Isaac and posted his reaction:
Isaac loved the idea:
He got a little carried away but it was adorable:
Garces’ hilarious tweet quickly went viral, with over 87K reshares and 241K “likes.”
The 19-year-old told The Huffington Post she couldn’t stop laughing at the nicknames and that Isaac hasn’t stopped since.
“It just makes me laugh every time, it’s so silly,” she said. “He calls me food names in person too, and I try to call him food names back but he’s a lot funnier. My favorite is when he calls me Colombian snacks since we’re both Colombian!”
Here are the two adorable soft tacos together, with one of their favorite foods:
After Garces’ tweet went viral, people kept the momentum going, sharing the food-related terms of endearment they’d texted their girlfriends and boyfriends:
Does it get any more romantic than “you’re more than a snack, you’re a meal?” Nope, not as far as we’re concerned.
Share your favorite snack-related pet name in the comments.
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Smoovie has introduced a new portable stabilizer device designed for smartphones and action cameras: the miniRIG. This new model aims to combine the best of both worlds — portability and stabilized shots — into a single device, which collapses into a small unit when not in use. In addition to holding the smartphone or GoPro, miniRIG also features interchangeable support … Continue reading
California is expected to set a strict state-level maximum contaminant level for a probable human carcinogen called 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) next week ― 28 years after the state’s Water Resources Control Board first detected the chemical in its drinking water system.
If the board passes this provision, utilities would be required to test for TCP and treat it out of the water if levels exceed 5 parts per trillion.
TCP was initially used as an industrial solvent, paint remover and degreasing agent, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s also a byproduct of two pesticides that were widely used in agriculture in the 1980s.
Both of those pesticides, Dow’s Telone and Shell’s D-D, have long since been discontinued or reformulated to remove the TCP, but environmental advocacy groups like the Environmental Working Group say the damage has already been done.
TCP has been detected in the water supplies of 94 different water systems serving 8 million Californians, according to an EWG report released this week citing EPA monitoring results.
“This is a contaminant that, because it does not adhere to soil, very readily contaminates and migrates into groundwater,” Bill Walker, managing editor at the EWG and co-author of the report, told The Huffington Post. “It’s remarkably persistent. Once it’s in the water, it stays there for centuries.”
Sixty percent of these water systems are in the agriculture-heavy San Joaquin Valley. Tests for Kern County, which is in the region, show that 151 contaminated wells and 20 different water systems have exceeded the state’s proposed legal limit for TCP since at least 2001.
Some communities have sought to address the TCP in their water by suing the companies involved. Last December, the city of Clovis in Fresno County won a $22 million judgement against Shell, and there are currently dozens of other legal actions against Shell and Dow.
A new statewide limit for TCP will strengthen the case of utilities that lack the funding to properly treat contamination without raising rates for their customers, said Jenny Rempel, director of education and engagement at the Community Water Center advocacy group. Many people who live in affected areas are from low-income families.
“This shows the state is prioritizing community health,” Rempel said. “This is a huge step forward toward making sure Californians have safe water.”
Short-term exposure to TCP can irritate people’s eyes, noses and throats; animal studies have linked long-term exposure to reduced body weight and liver and kidney damage, according to the EPA. Multiple animal studies have also linked TCP exposure to the development of cancerous tumors.
The EPA has listed TCP as a contaminant candidate since 2009 and has required larger water utilities to test for it since 2013, but so far the agency hasn’t set a federal maximum contaminant level for TCP.
This means it’s up to states to regulate the chemical, which has been found — at a rate six times higher than the proposed California limit — in water systems that serve about 4 million people in 13 other states. But many states lack the resources, scientific expertise or political will to address the issue, Walker said. So far, only Hawaii has passed regulations addressing TCP.
“California can go their own way,” Walker said. “But for other states it’s a horrible situation that we know this contamination is out there and states are waiting for the EPA to act, but the EPA has not acted.”
It seems unlikely that the situation will improve under President Donald Trump. TCP is just one of dozens of chemicals that the EPA has labeled a water contaminant candidate but hasn’t regulated. Since 1999, the agency has named 109 contaminants for which water utilities must test.
Pesticides were increasingly among the group of contaminant candidates the agency is considering for regulation, but it’s unclear whether that trend will continue under EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt ― especially since he was behind a move last month to reverse a proposed ban on an insecticide that has been linked to learning disabilities in children.
Regardless of whether the EPA takes action, pesticides are increasingly turning up in tap water.
This month, a group of scientists at the University of Iowa and the U.S. Geological Survey identified neonicotinoids — a class of pesticides that include the popular insecticide imidacloprid — in treated drinking water for the first time.
Although it’s not known how exposure to neonicotinoids can harm humans, clean water advocates say the Iowa study is another indicator of the unregulated, understudied dangers that are likely present in many Americans’ water supplies.
“Contrary to what many people think, in the U.S. in 2017, you are not guaranteed to get a safe glass of water when you turn on the tap in your kitchen,” Walker said.
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Joseph Erbentraut covers promising innovations and challenges in the areas of food, water, agriculture and our climate. Follow Erbentraut on Twitter at @robojojo. Tips? Email joseph.erbentraut@huffingtonpost.com.
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You may not think of underwear selfies as being necessarily empowering. But Jasmine Grimes, a San Francisco-based plus-size blogger, might make you see them in a new, body-positive light.
Grimes recently posted a photo of herself in her underwear on Instagram in response to people who, she wrote in an accompanying caption, “discount the importance of a good underwear selfie.”
It’s easy to write off a revealing photo like this one as attention grabbing, but Grimes doesn’t see it that way, especially when the people sharing the photos represent diverse body types. “There’s something magical about a fat girl flaunting her curves unapologetically in clothes that others would say only belongs to a certain body type because it inspires others to do the same, just like an underwear selfie,” she wrote.
Grimes elaborated further to Refinery29, explaining that she believes “women post underwear selfies to celebrate their bodies and to inspire other women to try and be as brave.”
There is undoubtedly little representation of diverse body shapes in the media and even in our social media feeds, but it’s people like Grimes who can empower more people to share photos of their own. Grimes, who wrote she used to “scour Instagram for photos of women who had my body type showing it off” because it inspired her to follow suit, stressed the importance of more people doing so.
“If a single image can change people’s perceptions, then what do you think a photo of a fat girl in lingerie can do?” she wrote.
Preach. Anyone else feel empowered to snap a selfie right about now?
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In a heartbreaking video about her son, a mom in Minnesota has stressed the importance of autism awareness.
On March 31, Kate Swenson posted a video titled “My Message on the Eve of Autism Awareness Month” on her Facebook page Finding Cooper’s Voice. Cooper is Swenson’s 6-year-old son, who has severe autism and is nonverbal. In the video, Swenson said that during a visit to a park that is accessible for kids with disabilities in Woodbury, Minnesota, a family confronted her and Cooper after the 6-year-old bumped a girl who was playing near him.
“This is the first time that Cooper and I have been made to feel like we were not truly welcome somewhere,” she said in the video.
Swenson told The Huffington Post that her son was on a slide platform when the incident happened and that she was next to him.
“As a mom to a boy with severe autism, I am always one step ahead of him,” she said. “He flexed his body and bumped a little girl who slid down the slide. Instead of checking on his daughter, the father immediately stood over Cooper and yelled at him. Cooper didn’t understand what he did and ran off laughing and smiling. I immediately apologized to the family and explained that my son had nonverbal, severe autism and didn’t even see their daughter. I asked if she was OK even though it was obvious that she was.”
Swenson said she apologized multiple times for what happened, but the family insisted that she and her son should not be at the park. As Swenson noted in her video, the park is one of the few places she is comfortable visiting with Cooper.
“They refused to acknowledge autism as a reason their daughter got bumped,” she told HuffPost. “And for the first time I saw the hard road that my son is going to have ahead of him. I saw how easily he can be misunderstood. I cried the whole drive home and honestly felt that we weren’t going to be able to leave our house again.”
In her video, Swenson explained that what happened at the park left her discouraged about how people who might not know much about autism interact with people who have it. She apologized numerous times for what her son did.
Swenson also asked that people learn more about autism and what it means to have it. Then, she said, they will understand that her son has severe sensory issues and is obsessive about certain things like trains, but that he also loves jumping and being tickled and “wakes up every single day like it’s the best day of his life.”
“I want people to take time to get to know him and see all the joy that he brings to the world,” she told HuffPost. “His disability does not define him. He is so much more than autism. He is Cooper.”
Follow Swenson’s journey with Cooper on her site and Facebook.
H/T Babble
The HuffPost Parents newsletter, So You Want To Raise A Feminist, offers the latest stories and news in progressive parenting.
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Jay Pharoah, comedian and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member, has opened up about being let go from the sketch comedy show.
On Friday morning, Pharoah appeared on Hot 97’s “Erbo in the Morning,” and held nothing back when talking about “SNL.” If you recall, he was let go last summer, along with Taran Killam.
“You go where you’re appreciated,” Pharoah told hosts Peter Rosenberg and Laura Stylez. “If you have multiple people on the cast saying things like, ‘You’re so talented and you’re able and they don’t use you and it’s unfair. And it’s making us feel bad, because they don’t use you and you’re a talent.’”
He continued, “They put people into boxes and whatever they want you to do, they expect you to do.”
Pharoah admitted he’s a “fiery” person and noted he wasn’t always willing to say yes to certain sketches when they were presented to him. He also agreed that he was put in “an impression box.” And if you watched “SNL” while Pharoah was on the show, you probably noticed he was the go-to for impersonating everyone from Jay Z to Ben Carson to Barack Obama.
Another aspect of the show that rubbed Pharoah the wrong way was the lack of representation among the cast ― namely, women of color. The comedian revealed he spoke up about the issue and was almost fired because of it.
When asked if he was the catalyst for the conversation of diversity at “SNL,” Pharoah flat-out said, “Yes. I’m the reason it happened.” Eventually, Sasheer Zamata was hired as just the fifth black woman to star on the show in 2014, and writer and occasional “Weekend Update” guest Leslie Jones was promoted to a cast member later that same year.
At the end of the day though, it seems Pharoah has no hard feelings and “no beef” with “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels.
“Ain’t no problem with Lorne Michaels,” Pharoah said. “We on good graces and everything.”
Watch the whole interview above.
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Glen Campbell will unveil his final studio album on June 9, six years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Called “Adiós,” the album features 12 classic songs that Campbell loved, but never had the opportunity to record. Among them are “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right,” “Everybody’s Talkin’” and title track “Adiós,” made famous by Linda Ronstadt.
The set, recorded in Nashville shortly after the music legend wrapped his 2011 “Goodbye Tour,” features guest appearances by Willie Nelson, Vince Gill and Campbell’s children, Ashley, Shannon and Cal.
“Glen’s abilities to play, sing and remember songs began to rapidly decline after his diagnosis in 2011,” Campbell’s wife, Kim Campbell, told People on Friday. “A feeling of urgency grew to get him into the studio one last time to capture what magic was left. It was now or never.”
The singer-songwriter hasn’t performed live or recorded since 2012.
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April brings three major protest marches against President Donald Trump and his policies over three consecutive weekends. Here is all you need to know to join in.
Saturday, April 15, marks the annual Tax Day in the United States (although taxes are actually due on April 18 this year), and protesters will gather across the nation in an effort to push Trump to release his tax returns. Calls for some kind of demonstration began in January after White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said Trump had no plans to share the documents publicly because “people don’t care.”
The main Tax March will take place in Washington, D.C., beginning at noon on the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol and ending at 4 p.m. near the Lincoln Memorial. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and others are scheduled to speak. Protests will also take place in New York, Seattle and other major cities across the country.
Click here to look for marches in your area.
Scientists began planning a march on Washington back in January following a series of anti-science moves by the Trump administration, including efforts to cut key agency budgets, ignore climate change, revive the coal industry and silence researchers.
The March for Science is scheduled for Saturday, April 22, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. That also happens to be Earth Day. Over 400 satellite marches are planned around the globe.
Science educator Bill Nye is set to join molecular biologist Lydia Villa-Komaroff and Flint water whistleblower Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha in headlining the D.C. event, The Washington Post reported.
“Science is what makes our world what it is,” Nye said. “To have a movement or a tendency to set science aside is in no one’s best interest … but nevertheless, that’s what’s happening in the U.S.”
An independent space group got a head start this week by protesting Trump from 90,000 feet above Earth.
Click here to find a march in your area.
Climate change is a serious issue, even if the Trump administration doesn’t seem to agree. That’s why the People’s Climate Movement is planned for Saturday, April 29 ― Trump’s 100th day in office ― to push back against the president’s environmental policies.
“On April 29th, it’s going to be much clearer to Donald Trump that he won’t drag America or the world backwards on climate without the fight of his life,” Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, which is helping lead the event, said in a press release. “Our planet is in crisis, and voices from around the nation must and will be heard.”
The march for climate, jobs and justice will kick off at 12:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C., where protesters will gather in front of the Capitol and then head up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House. Back in 2014, the People’s Climate March drew thousands in New York City alone.
Click here to find a sister march in your area.
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Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found not guilty on two murder charges Friday in Massachusetts.
Hernandez, already serving a life sentence for an unrelated murder, was acquitted of first-degree murder charges in the killing two men in Boston in 2012. Prosecutors said Hernandez fatally shot Daniel De Abreu and Safiro Furtado at a traffic light, after one of the men spilled a drink on Hernandez inside a Boston nightclub.
The jury found Hernandez guilty on one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.
In 2015, the former NFL star was convicted of first-degree murder and weapons charges in the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd. He is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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