Do you know if you're Hot or Not?

Find Hot or Not on Facebook

Before there was Facebook or YouTube, there was a simple rating site developed in 2000 by two Berkely engineering students, Jim Young and James Hong. Little did they know their disagreement about whether a girl was "hot or not" would evolve into a wildly popular site, that was receiving over 2 million hits/daily within a week of launching.

It's always interesting to find out how others see you. Several years ago, Hot or Not debuted with wild success as a fun, flirty way to learn how we are perceived by others.

As a woman in her late 40s, I admit I know a thing or two about being hot, as in having hot flashes on a regular basis. There are days and nights I think my personal theme song is Hot, Hot, Hot. I'm not sure I personally need an APP to determine my own personal hotness, a simple hand to my forehead is likely to answer that question.

Get the APP today

All kidding aside, the science of attractiveness has proven that perceived attractive folks have a biological advantage. A 2006 study found that there are 29 points on a person's face that determine attractiveness. In general, the more symmetrical a face, with certain percentages of width to height proportions, the more attractive a person is considered. Most Hollywood stars score higher in the science of attractiveness, setting a societal opinion of what is considered attractive. However, beauty is only skin deep, and social opinions of attractiveness change with each era.

For example, Elizabethan women in England were plump and fair skinned. Thin and tanned skin was considered signs of poverty from lack of food and working outdoors. In fact, some of the popular makeup used was ceruse, a white paint that made skin appear even more light. Some even went so far as to paint delicate blue lines on their face to convey their "blue blood" status and wealth.  Such an appearance today would hardly be a pinnacle of beauty.

If you're curious how others see you, there's an APP for that and if you check it out, you can enter a :
$1000 sweepstakes. 

The State of Children's Health (infographic)

Source: www.http://www.socialworkdegreecenter.com/

Saving Mr. Banks: free iBook

Under my list of must-see movies this holiday season, Saving Mr. Banks is on the list. Tom Hanks consistently gives incredible performances and watching him become whoever he is portraying is magical. To see him portray our century's king of magic making, Walt Disney, is something I eagerly anticipate. 

As a Disney blogger, I have the opportunity to share advance information with my readers. Available now is a  free iBook  filled with behind the scenes footage, interactive pages, and trivia to satisfy any fan.

from the press release: 

DISNEY’S “SAVING MR. BANKS” BOOK GIVES FANS

A SUPERCALIFRAGILISTIC BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK

AT THE MAKING OF THE TIMELESS CLASSIC “MARY POPPINS” 

Featuring Rare and Exclusive Archival Treasures, Recording Sessions from the Academy Award®–Winning Composers, an Interactive Timeline of Historic Walt Disney Studios Milestones, Storyboards, Video and More 

BURBANK, CALIF. (December 10, 2013) — Walt Disney Studios announces the release of SAVING MR. BANKS: The Official Multi-touch Book, based on Disney’s highly anticipated film “Saving Mr. Banks,” in theaters December 20, 2013. Exploring the previously untold story of how Walt Disney worked his magic on author P.L. Travers to secure the rights to her book, “Mary Poppins,” the book includes a foreword by Academy Award®-winning composer Richard Sherman; never-before-seen correspondence between Walt Disney and P.L. Travers; rare storyboards and scripts from the Disney archives; an interactive timeline of historic Walt Disney Studios milestones; original recordings of the Sherman Brothers, performing their “Mary Poppins” hit songs; facts and profiles on the key characters in “Saving Mr. Banks”—all created by Apple’s  digital book creation app, iBooks Author. 

The “Saving Mr. Banks” book is available for free, exclusively on iBooks at www.iTunes.com/SavingMrBanks. 

Using Apple’s iBooks Author, the UK digital agency, Brandwidth was able to include video, audio and multi-touch interaction to create a robust storytelling experience. Readers can watch interviews featuring the cast and filmmakers, browse extensive photo galleries and explore the original storyboards and concept art—all in full retina detail. ‘Mary Popovers’ deliver fascinating facts throughout the book. 

Two-time Academy Award®–winner Emma Thompson and fellow double Oscar®-winner Tom Hanks topline Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks,” inspired by the extraordinary, untold backstory of how Disney’s classic “Mary Poppins” made it to the screen. 

When Walt Disney’s daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins,” he made them a promise—one that he didn’t realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney’s plans for the adaptation. 

For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn’t budge.  He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp. 

It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one of the most endearing films in cinematic history. 

Disney presents “Saving Mr. Banks,” directed by John Lee Hancock, produced by Alison Owen, Ian Collie and Philip Steuer, and written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. Executive producers are Paul Trijbits, Christine Langan, Andrew Mason and Troy Lum.

Cash for college students

As the parent of a college freshman, I'm learning quickly how frequently their pockets get emptied. College has incidental expenses above and beyond the obvious, such as tuition, room, board, and books. I remember that in addition to finishing my finals, one of the best things about a semester change was the chance to sell back the books I had paid so dearly for at the beginning of the semester. As a hint, hold onto the ones in your major. You may actually reference them in the future.

But for my offspring and her friends? If you need some extra cash over your holiday break? We have reviewed different book selling services and our research shows that Cash4Books.net frequently pays more than any other company.

Now through the end of the year, they are paying an additional 10%.

If you are going to sell back any of your textbooks, check out Cash4Books, first. As a disclaimer, Fresh Daily Bread does have a professional relationship with this company. Regardless, of all the book services we work with, this has consistently been reported to pay the highest of any service. It's worth checking out.

Happy Holidays & good luck on finals!

(and in that mom voice you know so well, don't forget to eat something healthy and get some sleep).
With love,
Mom

What good is gratitude? (infographic)

John Templeton Foundation | Here's My Chance

Social media as a business tool

Selling Through Social Media to Close More Leads InsideView

Is profanity really necessary?

The other day, my spouse dropped his phone and the screen shattered. We knew it was an easy fix, for an expert. In fact when we called the business, they told it it would be about 45 minutes. We were happy, took the phone in and ran a few errands.

I didn't like the name of the repair store, as it contained profanity. It really bothered me that it's such commonplace that a business can actually use profanity in their name. Ironically, their signage removes the second "S" so it uses the word as, instead of a**. In fact, my naivete was on full display as I thought the company was making a play on the name of the founder (thinking it was Brokeas). I was wrong. When we walked in the store, and filled out the paperwork and then received an invoice, indeed, it did say "Broke Ass".

Really?

Yes. Really.

Maybe that seems petty on my part to be upset that a mainstream company would capitalize on profanity to market their wares. I was also upset about a popular Facebook page called, "I f*ing love science". Well, I love science too, but I can love it without f*ing it. And it bothers me.

It's not that I'm old or crotchety either. I was driving around with my 15 year old and I remarked that it bothered me how we had to take our phone to be fixed at a place that used profanity in their company name. She looked at me and said, "Yeah, I know. It's like Idiocracy",  (the 2006 film about how dumb our nation is in 500 years), where the most popular restaurant is:

Butt:F***ers

It's insulting to dumb down our vernacular to the profane. We're smarter than that. Or are we? Because it's seemingly still funny to make a play on words, from children's entertainment to reputable businesses.

What do you think? Am I missing something?