One of my favorite things to discover is vintage magazine ads. I came across this great ad in the December 19, 1942, issue of The New Yorker Magazine. Since I was born on December 17th, I can imagine she was enjoying more than a few cigarettes that day. I suppose I was quite good at crying during those first days, so I certainly don’t hold it against her for promoting “the best in smoking pleasure.”

Learning about Anne Burrell’s passing and the circumstances around it is genuinely upsetting. Many of us have loved watching her grow through her cooking shows, where she shared her humor, talent, and warmth. I find it hard to understand why there’s so much curiosity about her cause of death—it’s really a personal matter. The media should honor her privacy and allow us all some space and peace during this tough time.

Dan Pelzer, a remarkable gentleman who recently passed away at the age of 92, truly had a passion for reading. Believe it or not, he kept a list of all the books he read, totaling at least 3,599 starting from 1962. According to a news article I saw, he was reading about 80 books each year, mostly from his favorite public library nearby. His son described him as ‘an enigma wrapped in a riddle,” which I find to be a genuinely wonderful compliment.

Today, I decided to give a new Burger King location a try for lunch, even though my instincts were telling me otherwise. The new spot was quite busy, and the staff seemed a bit overwhelmed and still learning the ropes. I thought I’d give them a little extra patience. Since I wasn’t familiar with their menu, I chose one of their new items, the “BBQ Brisket Whopper.” It looked delicious on the menu, but unfortunately, the reality didn’t match up, as you might see in the picture. Honestly, it was so bad that I had to throw it away. Next time, I’ll just pass by instead.

This is exactly what everyone’s been waiting for! It unfolds into a really impressive screen, and the best part is, it has 512GB of storage—just like my PC. I have to say, it’s a gorgeous device and really gives Apple a run for their money. After some digging, I found out Samsung offers four payments of about $500 each. That’s so convenient! I’m excited and heading to the store this morning.

Today, I learned that on July 24, the USCG’s beautiful “tall ship” will be sailing into San Francisco for the first time in 17 years. The Eagle is a cherished part of the Coast Guard Academy training vessels, affectionately called a floating classroom, that takes 150 cadets on inspiring 14-week cruises each year. It’s hard to believe how the cadets manage 6 miles of rigging and 29 sails. There’s a traditional blessing or farewell for the crew: “Fair winds and following seas.” Boy, would I love to be aboard her.

In our household’s breakfast routine, I always looked forward to my bowl of Wheaties. My dad loved Raisin Bran, my sister enjoyed Grape Nuts—which I thought tasted like glue—and my mom stuck to her usual morning routine: a gallon of coffee and plenty of cigarettes. She puffed Raleigh cigarettes passionately and often collected their coupons to redeem for small, inexpensive items.

I have searched several groceries near me and there isn’t a box of Wheaties to be found. There are dozens of boxes of cereals loaded with sugar, which is not good for anyone’s health. As for the cigarettes, I think they are something like $8.00 a pack on average. Fortunately, that’s one vice that never appealed to me.

Yesterday, a friend shared with me that she had sold an unused weed eater on Facebook. She’s actually the last person I expected to hear that from! But honestly, I’m not too surprised — the internet has become this huge, sprawling marketplace for all kinds of new, lightly used, and sometimes totally unnecessary items.

It’s interesting to note that nearly 25% of new items bought online get returned, and in my experience, that rate can be even higher—over 50%—because a beautiful picture of an item often doesn’t quite match what you see in real life. I can’t count how many items I have returned to Amazon; when you are looking at their items, everything looks perfect. When you open your package, it’s often a different story. Now that they have a gigantic warehouse near me, they offer same-day delivery — I can’t imagine how many items are returned the next day.

A student from China reached a new low in cheating by using a bone-conduction earphone (one I had never heard of) on a test. This enterprising student also was wearing a camera-equipped pair of “smart” glasses. I have to wonder why someone with the knowledge to use this range of stuff would cheat in the first place.

Although, as the news article mentioned, passing this test would have allowed him to skip the admission process for university and graduate school in Japan, where the test was administered. I bet his mom and dad are very upset about it.

Before too long, Lynsi Snyder, the billionaire lady in the photo, will be moving her family and the corporate headquarters of In-N-Out to Franklin, Tennessee. For years and years, we have begged for an In-N-Out here in East Tennessee. So far, there is no plan to build one here, so we will have to drive to Nashville for a burger. I’ve eaten countless of these burgers, and I have several of this brand’s t-shirts that I wear often. Every time I wear one, people comment on it. I’m looking forward to visiting the new outlet soon and, a couple of new t-shirts.