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A couple in their 50s live permanently on a cruise ship because it’s cheaper than a mortgage

Imagine retiring early and spending the rest of your life on a cruise ship visiting exotic locations, meeting interesting people and eating delectable food. It sounds fantastic, but surely it’s a billionaire’s fantasy, right?

Not according to Angelyn Burk, 53, and her husband Richard. They’re living their best life hopping from ship to ship for around $100 a night, depending on the cruise. “Cruise costs vary quite a bit, our goal is to average about $100 per night, for the couple, or less across and entire calendar year,” Richard told Upworthy.

The Burks have called cruise ships their home since May 2021 and have no plans to go back to their lives as landlubbers. Angelyn took her first cruise in 1992 and it changed her goals in life forever.

“Our original plan was to stay in different countries for a month at a time and eventually retire to cruise ships as we got older,” Angelyn told 7 News. But a few years back, Angelyn crunched the numbers and realized they could start much sooner than expected.

“We love to travel and we were searching for a way to continuously travel in our retirement that made financial sense,” she said. They looked into deals they could find through loyalty memberships and then factored in the potential sale price of their home and realized their dream was totally affordable.

The rough math makes sense. If the couple hits their goal of spending $100 per night to live on a cruise ship, that’s $36,500 a year. Currently, the average price of a home in Tukwila, Washington—where the couple has a house—is about $607,000. Let’s say you moved there today, put down 20% and financed the rest, the mortgage would cost you around $44,000 a year.

Plus, on a cruise ship, the couple doesn’t have to pay for groceries.

The Burks are able to live their dream because they’ve spent a lifetime being responsible. “We have been frugal all our lives to save and invest in order to achieve our goal,” she says. “We are not into materialistic things but experiences.”

Angelyn says that cruising takes the stress out of travel. “It is leisurely travel without the complications of booking hotels, restaurants, and transportation while staying within our budget,” she told 7 News. The couple travels lightly with just two suitcases between them and if they need anything, they just buy it on the ship or in the next port.

The one thing to consider before embarking on a never-ending cruise is COVID-19. The coronavirus is easily spread in close quarters and a cruise ship that recently docked in Seattle had 100 people on board who tested positive for the virus. The CDC recommends that people get vaccinated before going on a cruise and that immunocompromised people should consult with their physicians before traveling.

Richard told Upworthy that he believes COVID-19 safety is still very important and has had both his shots and a booster. “I would suggest wearing a mask at all times when out in public no matter whether on a ship, in a movie theater, at a restaurant or even meeting with friends inside or outside,” he said.

After leaving their jobs and the mainland behind, the Burks completed a 21-day cruise via the Panama canal. They look forward to a 50-day cruise around the Adriatic Sea, taking in the sights of Europe, as well as a 51-day cruise from Seattle to Sydney, Australia.

The Burks’ favorite destinations, no matter how they get there, are Italy, Canada, Iceland and the Bahamas, but their ultimate favorite is Singapore.

Looking to give it all up and go on a permanent vacation just like the Burks? Angelyn has some advice for those wanting to get started.

This article was updated on May 17, 2022, after a conversation with Richard Burk.

The hosts of our podcast, “Upworthy Weekly” had a pretty funny take on the story.

This article originally appeared on 05.11.22

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A female writer jokingly asked what’s a ‘universal thing men like’ and the responses were hilarious

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?”

1.

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.

3.

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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.

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9.

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.

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.

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Unfortunately, this is true and men do far too much of it.

19.

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.


This story was originally published on 3.42.22.

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Want to be an excellent conversationalist? You should know the 43:57 rule.

When we think about gifted conversationalists, we’re more likely to think of great talkers—those who wow us with their insights, wit, and charm. However, communication experts believe that if you want to make a great impression on someone, knowing how to listen goes a long way.

Those of us who love being verbose may think the world loves us because of how well we can talk. But the person sitting in front of you has a lot to say, and nothing makes them feel better during a conversation than your undivided attention.

As the old saying goes, we never quite remember everything someone has said to us, but we’ll never forget how they made us feel. When you actively listen to your conversation partner, they feel that you value them and are receptive to their needs. It also eases any feelings of conflict or resentment.

After a good conversation, the person you spoke with should think, “Wow, that person really gets me,” instead of, “It was like I didn’t even exist.”

A study from 2016 on sales calls did an excellent job of quantifying the amount we should speak versus listen during a conversation. A marketing director at Gong.io analyzed 25,537 sales calls using artificial intelligence and found that the interactions where the salesperson talked 43% of the time and listened 57% of the time had the highest sales yield.

This finding has come to be known as the 43:57 rule.

Even though the study was conducted on business calls, the reason that it works should apply to social conversations as well. Paying more attention helps a salesperson identify the client’s needs and makes them feel comfortable spending money because they know it’s with someone who understands their interests.

It’s the same as a social situation where the person you speak to wants to know they are valued and you respect what they say.

This is excellent advice, but sometimes it’s hard to listen when you’re in a fun conversation and have a lot to say. Kate Murphy, author of “You’re Not Listening,” says it’s all about staying calm.

“Deep breaths are always good. They’re always good. Because it…calms down that fear response. It helps you get more centered,” Murphy told WBUR. “But also to develop your curiosity. Like I said, make it more important to be curious than to be right. And to go into every conversation with that mindset of how could I be wrong? Instead of, let me prove how I’m right.”

“That’s how you develop creative ideas. It’s how you cooperate. It’s how you find middle ground, or at least a peaceable existence,” Murphy added.

The idea that to be a great conversationalist one should master the art of listening is a bit counterintuitive. But, if you feel that you have a lot to say in conversations and can be interesting to listen to, imagine how great that’ll make others feel when you show that you enjoy listening to them as well. It’s a virtuous cycle where everyone wins.

This article originally appeared on 3.7.23

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Teacher’s funny lesson explaining Gen Z terms turned into a brilliant history lesson

What started out as a lighthearted class presentation quickly turned into a fabulous humanities lesson for all.

A teacher under the pseudonym Larry Lexicon has 1.8 million followers on TikTok, where they tune in to catch the funny-yet-inspirational interactions Lexicon has with his students.

Recently, Lexicon had his class rolling with his meticulously crafted PowerPoint explaining what certain Gen Z words mean.

“All year long I’ve been listening to you and making a list, which I’ve compiled here for you — the Gen Z Term Dictionary,” he told the class, saying that they should speak up if anything was inaccurate.

Here’s what he came up with.

He took “bruh,” (aka the “staple of their generation”) to simply be the alternative for “bro,” except that “bruh!” can also be used as an exclamation. That was correct.

Although the word “Rizz,” was fairly new to him, he also correctly guessed that this was short for “charisma,” and thus refers to someone who has the ability to charm.

“You can use it in all kinds of ways. Like I’m the Rizzard of Oz!” he joked.

“Bussin” he took to mean that something was good, particularly food. Also correct. He even knew that “bussin’ bussin’” meant that something was really good. Clearly, Lexicon had done his homework.

@larrylexicon Let me know if there are more terms I need to add to my list! #larrylexicon #doyourbuckingvocab #genzterms #teacherlife #highschool #teachersoftiktok #school ♬ original sound – Larry Lexicon

However, a few people pointed out in the comments that many terms have roots in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). So in his third TikTok, Lexicon chose to make some revisions, and explained to the class why those revisions were important.

“I know you think you came up with a lot of these words, but you didn’t, and they’ve been around for a long time,” Lexicon said, noting how parts of AAVE language are at first “looked down upon by society as uneducated or thuggish” yet nonetheless sneak into daily vocabulary through pop culture.

“What happens is it makes its way into like, white suburbia, and you get a middle-aged dorky white dude mislabeling it just for a whole generation as a term dictionary,” he said. “And it ends up erasing the importance of it.”

@larrylexicon Food smacks, music slaps. Got it. #larrylexicon #aave #genzterms #teacherlife #teachersoftiktok #school #revisions #slaps ♬ original sound – Larry Lexicon

Lexicon then admitted that it was a mistake made by his own ignorance, which was okay, because he was able to take feedback, learn and act on it to grow.

“Being ignorant’s OK, but being willfully ignorant and not doing anything about it — not so OK.”

Viewers who have been following Lexicon’s series applauded him for taking the time to make even a silly little powerpoint into an important conversation for everyone involved.

“I love how you’re learning it and then teaching it! This is education!” one person wrote.

“The fact that you came back and showed HOW TO LEARN and that it’s OK NOT TO KNOW but not ok to be willfully ignorant,” added another.

“This is a hell of an example for your students,” read the top comment.

In case you’re curious, here are all the words gathered so far for the newly re-titled “AAVE-inspired Gen Z term dictionary.”

  • “Delulu”— delusional.
  • “Eepy”— really sleepy.
  • “Be so for real”— “Are you serious?”
  • “Witerawy”— “Literally,” but with emphasis.
  • “Baddie” — “A pretty girl, typically very curvy and independent.” But can also be a guy.
  • “Gyatt” — A substitute for “gosh darn!” typically used in response to seeing a baddie.
  • “Getting sturdy” — A dance usually used when winning, kind of like a touchdown dance.
  • “Bet” — Another way of saying “OK” or “alright.” Likely a shortened version of “you bet.”
  • “Slaps” — a verb for when a song is really good. Or food. Maybe? Debate’s still out on that one
  • “Cap” — A lie.
  • “No cap” — The truth.
  • “On god”— undeniable truth.

Lexicon plans to add new words each week throughout the remaining weeks of school. If you’d like to follow along, he can be found on TikTok.

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Adorable social experiment from 1965 shows how young teens react to an ‘attractive’ teacher

It’s common for kids to have crushes on their teachers and Megan Rotar, a psychologist with the Mental Fitness Center in Rochester, New York, says that is entirely developmentally appropriate. “Crushes can be healthy and positive. Students might find someone who would be a good role model for them, spark an interest in learning and help (them) figure out their newly developing romantic feelings,” she told Metro Parent.

Adorable footage from a 1965 “Candid Camera” episode shows that being hot for teacher isn’t new. “Candid Camera” was a hidden camera show that first aired in 1948 where people were secretly filmed for their reactions to uncomfortable situations.

In this episode, a group of students who appear to be about 13 years old are introduced to a “new” teacher who the show refers to as “gorgeous.”

In the first clip, two girls are clearly taken by a male teacher with movie-star good looks. After he leaves the room, the girls murmur to each other with giddy excitement and fuss with their hair. “His eyes are …,” one girl said before bursting into laughter. “He’s young too. He must be at least 24,” she said.

The hidden camera crew also played the same trick on three groups of boys by introducing them to a new social studies teacher. The teacher was played by Miss Sweden 1961 Gunilla Knutsson.

When she leaves the room, one of the boys appears to belt out a curse word,” Oh sh**.” In the second group, one laughs so hard that he falls out of his chair. The boys in the final group can’t believe their luck, exclaiming, “Oh wow! And “Holy mackerel.”

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Arnold Schwarzenegger takes full  accountability talking about his divorce in new interview

Arnold Schwarzenegger is sort of having a moment of life imitating art, but in this case it would be the other way around. The action star, turned governor before going back to acting, is staring in a new Netflix series, “FUBAR” and the storyline feels very…familiar. It’s an action-comedy about a husband who had an affair and is attempting to win his wife back.

If you don’t understand the connection, let me spell it out. Schwarzenegger was married to Maria Shriver for 25 years when she filed for divorce after finding out he not only had an affair with their housekeeper, but fathered a child. The child in question was a teenager when Shriver put the pieces together and confronted the housekeeper about her suspicions.

But unlike Schwarzenegger’s character, Luke, in “FUBAR,” the former California governor acknowledged his actions as the catalyst to the demise of his marriage.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter about his new Netflix series Schwarzenegger joked, “it feels like it’s a documentary.”

Except the truth of the matter is, Schwarzenegger wasn’t shy about taking immediate accountability when the news first broke. He apologized to his then wife and didn’t avoid hard questions when interviewers asked him about his affair. Taking accountability can be hard because you have to admit that you did something that caused someone else pain and actively work to do better in the future.

Celebrities and government officials aren’t immune to making mistakes. They’re all human, but their mistakes involve intense public scrutiny and reminders of their screw up on the covers of magazines. Which, if we’re being honest here, that would make anyone want to tuck their head in the sand until everything blows over. So it’s not surprising that when some celebrities apologize it feels forced and lacks accountability.

This is why Schwarzenegger’s openness and willingness to own past missteps is a master class on how to take accountability. In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter he explained the difference between his real life and his character.

“The difference is, in the show, he doesn’t consider it cheating because [seducing CIA assets] was part of his profession,” Schwarzenegger told the outlet. “But in [my real-life marriage to Shriver], it was my f—-up. It was my failure.”

Man with brown hair, salt and pepper facial hair

Even when the news of Schwarzenegger’s secret child were making the press rounds, the actor was candid.

In a 2014 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he openly took responsibility for his actions, “I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry.”

The star has had his share of missteps outside of his marriage as well, which he also took accountability for and has worked to make positive changes. His willingness to continually work to improve and own up to his mistakes is likely something that helps maintain his friendship with Shriver. While he spoke highly of his girlfriend, Heather Milligan, a physical therapist, he made it a point to acknowledge his relationship with his wife when speaking to THR.

“I love my wife. She and I are really good friends and very close, and we are very proud of the way we raised our kids. Even though we had this drama, we did Easter together, Mother’s Day together, the Christmases together, all birthdays — everything together,” Schwarzenegger said before joking that he and Shriver should get an Oscar for how to handle divorce.

If you want to catch the “Terminator” in his new show, “FUBAR,” it releases on Netflix May 25, and his documentary about his life titled, “Arnold,” will be available June 7 on the same streaming service.

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Hall Of Fame Running Back Jim Brown Dies At 87

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One of the greatest football players to ever set foot on the gridiron has died. According to the Associated Press, Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, who spent the entirety of his professional career as a member of the Cleveland Browns, passed away on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 87 years old.

Brown’s wife, Monique, released a statement via his official Instagram account in which she said that he passed away peacefully.

The Browns likewise posted a tribute after the news of his death became official.

An all-time great athlete whose excellence was on display in basketball, lacrosse, and track-and-field, Brown’s most notable exploits came in world of football. He was a unanimous All-American out of the backfield for the Syracuse Orange, which he parlayed into being the sixth overall pick by Cleveland in the 1957 NFL Draft. Few football players are more decorated than Brown, whose number was retired by Cleveland after a 9-year career that saw him earn three NFL MVP awards, eight first-team All-Pro selections, one second-team All-Pro nod, and an NFL championship in 1964, which remains the most recent title in franchise history.

Beyond his time in the NFL, Brown was well-known for his work as an activist during the civil rights movement and a prolific acting career.

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Aziz Ansari Is Having More Bad Luck With His Latest Attempt To Film A Directorial Debut

Aziz Ansari Nightclub Comedian
Netflix

Aziz Ansari is having a heck of a time getting his directorial debut made. The Master of None creator was forced to scrap his first attempt at a directorial debut, Being Mortal, after Bill Murray was accused of misconduct with a female staffer. However, Ansari was able to bounce back a year later with a new film, Good Fortune, which boasted an impressive cast thanks to the addition of both Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen.

Unfortunately, fate has struck again. Good Fortune was reportedly halfway through production when it was forced to shut down “indefinitely” after the set was picketed twice this week by the ongoing writers’ strike.

Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Ansari was directing and starring opposite Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves in the comedy, which he also wrote and was producing for Lionsgate. The studio made the decision Thursday.

The hope is that production will resume at a later date, though it is unclear when that might happen or what will happen if the strike drags on through the summer. Ansari penned the script, and was not writing additional material on the film, per strike rules, according to sources.

Little is known about Good Fortune‘s plot, and judging by THR‘s reporting, we may never know what Ansari’s film is about if the studios don’t make a deal with the Writers Guild of America sooner rather than later.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

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The Director Of ‘Fast X’ Reveals How The Film’s Unexpected Guest Appearances Became A Reality

Fast X
Universal

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for Fast X. Do not keep reading unless you hate surprises.

The latest installment in the Fast and Furious franchise asks a ton of questions. For one–is it the last movie? Probably not. Is it the best one? Maybe! Is Jason Momoa’s character actually that insane? You bet! But there are even more surprises in store when fans flood the theaters with pizza this weekend for Fast X.

There was one key moment in the film that has kind of been spoiled for some people, and that is the big reunion between Vin Diesel and The Rock/Dwayne Johnson.

If you are unaware (or perhaps living under a…Rock….), Diesel and Johnson had a pretty messy feud over the last few years which led The Rock’s character Hobbs to be absent from the most recent films. It seemed like there was going to be no reconciliation between the two of them… until Fast X director Louis Leterrier stepped in. Leterrier told The Hollywood Reporter that he was the one who proposed a peace treaty between Johnson and Diesel.

The peace treaty … I kind of [brokered it]. We all did. Ultimately, the movie did. We sort of looked at each other from across the room and winked a few months back, saying, ‘We should work together.’ And then I had this idea and I presented it to the producers and the studio. And then we reached out to Dwayne and his team, and said, ‘Just come and watch the movie. You have to love the movie first.’ So he came to see the movie and really loved it, and then we started talking. It was very smooth, and frankly, as a fan, I could not conceive continuing the franchise without either Dwayne or Gal Gadot.

This franchise was built by actors and characters. The set pieces are wonderful. They keep you entertained and keep you shoving popcorn in your mouth, but the characters make this franchise what it is.

Johnson wasn’t the only high-profile surprise (though the Colosseum also gets a nice little cameo in there): Gal Gadot’s returns as her character Gisele, who was introduced way back in 2009’s Fast & Furious.

Leterrier, who had previously worked with Gadot, said that her cameo was the final piece of the Fast puzzle that made everything come together. “I was lucky enough to see Gal Gadot and give her a big hug and a thank you at the end of the shoot. That was a highlight for me,” he explained. “So, now that I get to not only work with her but also bring back Gisele into the franchise, I’m the happiest fan in the world.”

Maybe Leterrier is a happy fan, but there is literally nobody who is happier than Vin Diesel at this point. This man could play Dom Toretto breaking out of his nursing home to hijack an ambulance and he will still be all smiles. Maybe The Rock will be there with him!

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

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Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance Tour’ Dancers: Here’s Everything You Need To Know

beyonce
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Beyoncé’s massive Renaissance Tour is currently making its way across Europe, and fans are loving it. Between her dressing up as an actual bee to riding around on a tank, she pulled out all the stops on this one once again. The shows also wouldn’t be anything without the backup dancers, who have been with her through the rehearsal process and beyond.

Yesterday, the full credits for the tour were revealed — giving even more insight into who’s on her crew.

Here is everything to know about Beyoncé’s dancers during this tour.

Who Are Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour Dancers?

Les Twins, also known as twin brothers Laurent and Larry Nicolas Bourgeois, returned to join another Beyoncé tour. The two appeared during the “7/11” interlude, starting at her opening night in Stockholm. They also returned to dance with her to “Thique.”

Honey Balenciaga has been another popular favorite of the tour dancers. She notably appears during the Ballroom segment, as well as some additional musical numbers. On Beyoncé’s website, she is credited as part of The Dolls, alongside Carlos Irizarry, Darius Hickman, and Jonté Moaning.

Another notable credit is the Dance Captain, Hannah Douglass.

Beyoncé’s full rest of the list of dancers include Aahkilah Cornelius, Ai Shimatsu, Aliya Janel, Alannah Wilhite, Amari Marshall, Brianna Pavon, Kyndall Harris, Lisa Sainvil, Nerita McFarlane, Simone Alston, Trinity Joy, Jus’t Chase, Kevin “Konkrete” Davis Jr., Rob Bynes, and Zavion Brown.

What Have Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour Dancers Said About The Tour?

Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour dancers talking about the actual tour has been a little hard to find. However, Les Twins have spoken about her in past interviews, regarding how she chooses dancers for musical numbers. “Before, we was in every number,” they told Revolt TV. “After that, she was like, ‘I want you in just this one, this one, and this one.’ Two-hour show, I come only three times. She’s like, ‘You’re a star to me. When you come through, it’s a wrap. You cannot be in every number.’ And I started to understand.”

How Much Do Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour Dancers Get Paid?

While it’s unclear how much Beyoncé’s dancers are also getting paid on this tour, it is likely higher than before. Back in 2020, Rolling Stone had reported that her and other high-profile artists weren’t giving dancers very much. Her choreographer, JaQuel Knight, has previously pushed back against reports of her also only paying $250-per-day at shoots.

“Please run me the production company, the choreographer, the shoot dates, the dancers that have rehearsed and are shooting for these rates,” he responded. And, considering it’s a full tour rather than a shoot, there’s likely a high salary set.