Heard the barred owl Christmas Eve.
Have heard a raven three times in the last few days.
Quite something about that taiga flycatcher in Vancouver.
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Monday, December 29, 2025
MANLY NOTES: WINTER SPORTS
Dirty thing that Swedish player hitting the Canadian in the face at the World Juniors.
Watched some of the World Cup of ski jumping earlier today.
Just watched the first few minutes of Saturday's Optimist Tournament game between Cicero-North Syracuse and New Hartford.
PETER JENNINGS IN A FURNITURE STORE COMMERCIAL
Here's the late ABC news anchor in a clip from a commercial for an Ottawa area furniture store back when he was on CJOH-TV.
WOMAN DUMPS BOYFRIEND AFTER HE WANTED HER TO SET UP TRUST FUND FOR DOG
PEOPLE
Woman Says She Won the Lottery, Then Dumped Boyfriend Who Insisted His Dog Deserved a 'Trust Fund'
By Marina Watts Updated on October 9, 2024 03:38PM EDT
A woman says her relationship with her ex-boyfriend ended after he got barking mad she didn't want to share her lottery winnings with his dog.
In a recent post on Reddit's “Am I the A------?,” a woman claimed that her relationship soured after she won the lottery, netting about $50K.
"Before I won, my boyfriend (29M) and I would always joke about how, if I ever hit it big, I’d 'split it three ways' between me, him, and his dog, Baxter," she wrote. "Baxter is a golden retriever, and I love him, but I always thought it was, you know, just a joke."
However, once she won, she said her boyfriend was "dead serious" about Baxter getting a share of the money.
"He insists I promised, and that Baxter deserves $10k in a 'dog trust fund' for future vet bills, toys, and 'whatever he needs,' " she wrote. "I told him that’s ridiculous. Baxter’s a dog and doesn’t need a trust fund."
Instead, she said her boyfriend called her selfish. "He says it's not about the dog, it’s about me not keeping promises and that it shows I don’t take our relationship seriously," she continued.
Still, the woman said that she did treat Baxter a "pretty fancy dog bed and some expensive treats" with the money. But, she said that her ex said, "that doesn’t count because it wasn’t part of the 'official' $10k I supposedly promised."
The original poster even said that her boyfriend mentioned "going to a lawyer to set up the dog trust fund to 'make it official.' "
"I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone," she concluded, going on to ask others if they really thought she was in the wrong. The answer was a resounding no.
"Yeah money can do funny things to people," one commenter wrote, suggesting that she break up with him. "Your boyfriend just wants double of your money," read another reply. "Please don’t give him a dime."
"Money exposes true colors; prioritize your happiness and peace," yet another commenter wrote.
Meanwhile, another joked that Baxter should have a say in the matter: "Let the dog choose between a treat and a $100 bill. That's his choice, right there."
In an update, the woman claimed that after her boyfriend doubled down on his way of thinking, she ultimately broke up with him.
"I told him that this whole situation has raised huge red flags, and after two years together, I can’t believe he’s acting like this," she wrote. "If he's this unreasonable over something so absurd, I can't imagine dealing with more serious issues down the road."
Once again, the Reddit community was quick to rally around her. "OP essentially won the lottery twice by dumping this mooch," one commenter wrote.
"If he’s prioritizing a dog trust fund over your relationship, that’s a pretty massive red flag. Breaking up over this just shows you’re not willing to waste time on someone whose values are so off," another added. "Trust your instincts—this isn’t just about the dog."
"Keep your cash and hit the road. A better life is in your future, leave this guy in the past," read a third reply. "Good luck."
WIFE ENRAGED BY HUSBAND'S BREAKFAST TRADITION
PEOPLE
Pregnant Wife Says Her Husband Has a Daily Breakfast Tradition – and It Fills Her with 'Hormone-Fueled Rage'
By Abigail Adams Published on December 25, 2025 07:00AM EST
A wife says she's tempted to ask her husband to stop cooking breakfast altogether because of the smell, despite the meal being a long-standing tradition of his.
In a post on Reddit, the 31-year-old woman said her 34-year-old husband has been making the same breakfast for years: “a tofu scramble with various veggies made on the cast iron skillet.”
Though the scent initially did not bother her at all, she said the situation worsened a couple of years ago when her husband “started getting distracted while cooking,” causing his food to burn.
The result, according to his wife, “is that almost every single morning the food smells like burnt oil and just awful.” She said the smell is “revolting” and has even led to her to have “coughing fits” from all of the smoke.
Things got a little worse recently for two reasons.
For one, the couple moved into what the woman described as “a very old house with terrible ventilation.”
Additionally, she's currently pregnant “and struggling with morning sickness and food aversions."
“I've tried talking to him about it a couple times... and he says he will be more careful,” she claimed, but suggested that her husband seemingly doesn’t understand how irritated she has become.
"At this point I want to demand that he either 1) stop cooking breakfast entirely or 2) get a blacktop and cook outside so that I don't have to smell it," she wrote, before asking her fellow Redditors if they thought that would be too over the top.
One commenter suggested the husband “shouldn't be walking off and leaving things to burn” in the kitchen. “It really isn't that long of a process,” they wrote, “he should be able to stand by his food while he's cooking it until it's done.”
Another person agreed, noting that it was “especially” important for the husband to change his habit as they await the arrival of their first child.
“Leaving a hot cast iron unattended is a great way to have a horrible accident in a few years when kiddo is walking around grabbing random s–---,” they explained.
Another commenter spoke from personal experience. “My husband’s ex-wife set their home on fire by leaving a pot unattended on the stove,” they wrote. “He’s very nervous about open flames being left unattended now, especially since we have a mischievous cat.”
However, one Redditor posed a different thought: namely, whether or not the husband could actually taste or smell his burnt food himself. The original poster replied with, “I hadn't thought about this before and now I'm wondering.”
MAN BUILDS LIFE-SIZE DOLLHOUSE
PEOPLE
His Mom Ran Out of Patience as Collection of 230 American Girl Dolls Took Over Her Home, So He Built a Life-Size Dollhouse (Exclusive)
By Jordan Greene Updated on December 25, 2025 09:00AM EST
After years of collecting American Girl dolls, Kris Sanchez had finally run out of room, and his mom had run out of patience. His growing collection of more than 230 dolls had started spilling into her house in Pennsylvania, forcing a conversation he knew was coming.
But, instead of giving anything up, Sanchez, who lives in New York City, came up with a compromise.
“I remember looking at my dad in 2021 and saying, ‘Can I break down walls in your house?’ ” Sanchez, 26, recalls to PEOPLE exclusively. “He was like, ‘What?’ And I said, ‘For Christmas, I would love a doll house.’ ”
However, what started as a simple idea quickly escalated.
“Originally it was gonna be this little corner thing — we weren’t gonna break anything big down,” he says. “But then I was like, you know what? If we’re gonna do this, let’s just demolish the whole room.”
With help from his brother-in-law, Sanchez’s dad tore out the closet in his bedroom at his parents' house, transforming the room into a dollhouse. The project became his year-long obsession.
“Anyone in my life at the time was probably so annoyed with me,” he jokes. “I was a little dictator being like, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t do anything. I’m going back to my parents’ house to build this dollhouse.’ I was painting the walls, doing wiring, doing this, that and the third.”
But the dollhouse needed furniture, and a vision. So Sanchez designed each room himself, often dragging friends into impromptu creative meetings.
“My friends were so annoyed with me because I would turn dinners into full-blown business meetings,” he says with a laugh. “It just overtook my life.”
After almost a year of work, by Christmas 2022, the dollhouse was finally finished. That’s when a friend encouraged him to take it to TikTok. At the time, he'd already been sharing about his collection on YouTube, creating his platform, The Doll Studio by Kris.
“My friend Dina — she’s also on YouTube — was like, ‘You have to get on TikTok. You will blow up overnight,’ ” he says. “I was afraid because with TikTok, anybody and their mom can see me. But I was like, who cares?”
The moment he posted a video of the dollhouse, everything changed.
“It was my first viral moment,” he says. “Within a couple of days, I went from like 2,000 followers to 10,000...now I’m so fortunate to be at like 72,000 followers.”
"It’s an American girl sorority house. 🥰," one user commented on Sanchez's TikTok video showing off the dollhouse.
"I’m so jealous.. I love this so much your collection is insane best one I’ve seen ever tbh," another person wrote.
Someone else chimed in, "Your parents are saints for keeping this up for you!"
As his platform grew, Sanchez leaned in — creating magazine-style covers, photoshoots and elaborate concepts for his dolls.
“When I started The Doll Studio by Kris, I said, ‘I don’t even need the brand’s validation. I just want to be synonymous with it,’ ” he explains. “People thought I was so egotistical — and yeah, partly — but I also want to show how far we can go with this.”
Most importantly, Sanchez says, he hopes his presence helps normalize the hobby for everyone.
“It’s helped me in so many ways,” he explains. “People hear I’m an American Girl collector and they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s weird.’ And then I show them the following, and suddenly it’s, ‘Oh, now this is cool.’ It’s helped me in friendships, in dating, in life. It’s really helped make me who I am today.”
“I want this to be a cool thing,” he says. “Let’s not make it weird. And the fact that I’m a male, I hope that resonates with other people.”
Sanchez adds how he is the youngest of four siblings — “the baby of the family,” as he puts it — and says his parents have never once tried to rein in his hobby.
“They’re very proud of everything I’ve accomplished with this,” he says. “Getting invited to the Tamron Hall Show, being featured on the Drew Barrymore Show, even having this conversation with [PEOPLE] — they see it as such a core part of who I am.”
“They knew this wasn’t something that was just going to go away,” he says. “Even when I wasn’t really playing with the dolls as a teen, they were still on my radar. They never left my central nervous system.”
And with the dollhouse now literally built into the walls of his parents’ home, Sanchez jokes the hobby is there to stay.
“I’m very fortunate my parents own that house, because this thing is cemented into the wall,” he says. “We’re not getting rid of it anytime soon.”
“They love showing it off to people, and I love annoying people with the conversation," he adds.
In fact, he’s already eyeing an expansion.
“I’m actually in the process of trying to have them break down another wall,” he says, laughing. “We’ll see how that works.”
ANNETTE DIONNE, LAST SURVIVING DIONNE QUINTUPLET, DEAD AT 91
Death bulletin - 26 December 2025
Annette Dionne, the last survivor of the Canadian quintuplets born in 1934
died on 24 December, age 91.
MSNBC HOST SAYS THERE IS NO GENETIC DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RACES
MSNBC host says there is no genetic difference between races.
Direct download:
DAVID BOWIE AGREED TO BING CROSBY DUET BECAUSE HIS MOM LOVED THE AMERICAN SINGER
PEOPLE
David Bowie Agreed to Bing Crosby Duet Because His Mom Loved the American Singer, but 1 Problem Almost Derailed the Deal
Bowie and Crosby sang together in 1977's 'Merrie Olde Christmas' special
By Meredith Wilshere Published on December 27, 2025 10:00AM EST
The now-iconic duet between Bing Crosby and David Bowie almost didn’t happen. Filmed for Crosby’s 1977 holiday special, Merrie Olde Christmas, there was one big reason that Bowie almost walked away.
Despite the fact that his mother loved Crosby, Bowie had an objection to the original song they pitched him, according to PBS.
“We had decided that we wanted them to do a duet of a ‘Little Drummer Boy,’ and when we told Bowie about the number, he said, ‘I won’t sing that song.' We said, ‘Why?’ and he said, ‘I hate that song,'" Larry Grossman, writer for Merrie Olde Christmas, recalled.
"He said, ‘If I have to sing that song, I can’t do the show,'" the writer added.
Grossman recalled Bowie saying that he was only “doing the show because my mother loves Bing Crosby.”
So, they had to change the original plan for the 1977 PBS Christmas special, making the duet a mash-up with "Peace on Earth."
“We decided the best way to salvage the arrangement was to do a counter melody that would fit in between the spaces and maybe write a new bridge and see if we can sell him that,” Buz Kohan, co-writer of Merrie Olde Christmas alongside Grossman, explained.
“Within an hour, we had it written, and we were able to present it to him again,” Kohan said. “Bing loved the challenge, and he was able to transform himself without losing any of the ‘Crosby-isms’ — that relaxed feeling and the atmosphere that he would always create whenever he was on camera.”
While the Christmas special was taped in September 1977, Crosby died of a heart attack just five weeks later at the age of 74. The hour-long program aired posthumously at the end of November in the United States and on Christmas Eve in England.
The song "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" was eventually released as a single by RCA Records in November 1982, and it peaked at No. 3 on the United Kingdom Singles chart, making it Crosby’s final popular hit. The song was also a success for Bowie, with a total estimated sales of over 400,000 in the UK alone.
In addition to Bowie, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas featured performances and appearances by Twiggy, Ron Moody, Stanley Baxter, the Trinity Boys Choir, and members of the Crosby family.
WEST SIDE STORY NOW DEEMED UNSUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER TWELVE
Daily Mail
It's Woke Side Story! Family classic from 1961 now rated unsuitable for under 12s due to 'triggering themes'
By JENNIFER RUBY SHOWBUSINESS NEWS EDITOR
Published: 20:12 EST, 26 December 2025 | Updated: 21:28 EST, 26 December 2025
One of the most popular Hollywood musicals of all time, its vivid dance sequences and catchy song lyrics are ingrained into the consciousness of generations.
But now West Side Story, once considered a family classic, has been reclassified as a 12 certificate after 40 years of being a PG.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) identified a number of themes and scenes which it considers triggering for younger viewers, and so raised the age rating for the home entertainment release.
One warning is for sexism and 'occasional transphobic remarks' – thought to centre around 'tomboy' Anybodys, a character who is now accepted as being transgender and is told to 'go wear a skirt'.
Another warns of 'moderate violence, sexual threat [and] discrimination'. It also notes that 'characters occasionally smoke cigarettes and there are verbal references to alcohol addiction', as well as people being 'stabbed with clear sight of knife impact, though there is no blood', and somebody being shot.
Released in cinemas in 1961, the retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is the tragic love story of Maria and Tony, members of rival gangs who rule the Upper West Side of New York. Originally a Broadway musical, the film was directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, with music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.
According to the BBFC, it was first classified as a PG – which stands for parental guidance and means that viewers of any age can watch – in 1986. It was given the same classification in 1994, and again in 2003 and in 2005.
It was only this year that it was upped to a 12. The BBFC recently slapped the Wicked sequel, Wicked: For Good, with a number of obvious trigger warnings, including one alerting viewers to characters who 'cast magical spells on one another'.
The UK's film classification body also highlighted some plot points to be wary of, most of which will be well known to anyone who is aware of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz or the 1900 novel it was based on.
Wicked, a spin-off of the Oz story, tells the backstory of Wicked Witch Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, and Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande).
'Occasional threatening scenes include people caught by falling debris in a cyclone and fantastical creatures rampaging through a crowd,' the BBFC states in reference to when Dorothy is famously transported from Kansas to Oz.
The BBFC updates its classification guidelines every four or five years after public consultation.
THE DIE HARD CAST: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
PEOPLE
Where Is the Die Hard Cast Now? Here's What Happened to the Stars After Appearing in the Hit Action Film
By Keith Langston Published on December 27, 2025 08:00AM EST
Nearly four decades after its release, Die Hard remains a (hotly debated) Christmas classic.
In the 1988 film, Bruce Willis plays New York Police Department (NYPD) detective John McClane, who travels to Los Angeles, hoping to reconcile with his wife, who is attending a Christmas party inside the Nakatomi Plaza skyscraper. But before he gets a chance, the building is taken over by German terrorists, led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). With the terrorists unaware that McClane is inside, it’s up to him to stop their plot to access the company’s secure information.
Die Hard was a smash success, earning over $83 million at the box office, per Box Office Mojo, and spawning four sequels: Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), Live Free or Die Hard (2007) and A Good Day to Die Hard (2013). The cast of the original film went on to have epic careers in Hollywood, leading blockbuster movies like Harry Potter and even competing on reality shows like Dancing with the Stars.
In March 2022, Bruce's family announced his retirement from acting amid an aphasia diagnosis. (In February 2023, his wife Emma Heming Willis shared that his condition had progressed and he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.) Since then, fans have shown an outpouring of support for the actor and the film that helped launch him into superstardom.
“I think it's important to put Die Hard on because it's a Christmas movie,” Emma told PEOPLE in November 2025. "Bruce loved Christmas and we love celebrating it with him. There is still joy. It just looks different.”
Here’s everything to know about the cast of Die Hard and where they are now.
01
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Bruce Willis as John McClane
Bruce starred as the film’s lead, John McClane, cementing himself as one of Hollywood’s greatest action heroes. After Die Hard, Willis reprised the role four more times in the various sequels and starred in other hit movies like Pulp Fiction, Armageddon, The Sixth Sense and Red.
In his personal life, Bruce is a dad to five daughters — Rumer Glenn Willis, Scout LaRue Willis, Tallulah Belle Willis, Mabel Ray Willis and Evelyn Penn Willis — whom he shares with Emma and ex-wife Demi Moore.
Bruce retired from acting in 2022 amid his aphasia diagnosis. He has since been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and now lives in a separate home — which is near Emma and their young children — with around-the-clock care.
"Dementia plays out differently in everyone's home and you have to do what's right for your family dynamic and what's right for your person," Emma told PEOPLE in September 2025. "It's heartbreaking to me. But this is how we were able to support our whole family, [and] it has opened up Bruce's world."
02
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Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber
Rickman played the East German criminal Hans Gruber, who takes the Nakatomi tower hostage, hoping to earn millions in ransom. Die Hard was Rickman’s first major film role and he soon found himself starring in other hits like Dogma, Galaxy Quest and Love Actually. But the actor’s most iconic role was that of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film franchise.
On Jan. 14, 2016, Rickman died of pancreatic cancer at 69. He is survived by his wife, Rima Horton.
At the time of his death, he "was surrounded by family and friends,” his family said in a statement to BBC.
“Alan Rickman is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with," Harry Potter costar Daniel Radcliffe wrote in a statement at the time. "He is also one of the loyalest and most supportive people I’ve ever met in the film industry.”
03
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Bonnie Bedelia as Holly Gennaro
Bonnie Bedelia portrayed Holly Gennaro, a Nakatomi executive and John’s estranged wife. After Die Hard, Bedelia starred in hit television series like The Division (2001-2004) and Parenthood (2010-2015).
Bedelia has been married to fellow actor Michael MacRae since 1995. She shares two sons, Uri and Jonah, with her ex-husband, Ken Luber.
In August 2018, Bedelia spoke to PEOPLE and remembered her time on the Die Hard set.
“When I think back to Die Hard, I think first of Alan Rickman,” she said. “I mostly hung out with Alan on the set and we lunched together every day in the Fox commissary.”
04
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Alexander Godunov as Karl Vreski
Before he starred as Gruber’s accomplice Karl Vreski in Die Hard, Alexander Godunov was a ballet dancer who defected from the Soviet Union while on tour in America in August 1979. The incident caused a brief political standoff between the US and the USSR and even ended up involving President Jimmy Carter, per The New York Times.
Throughout his career, Godunov starred in a handful of major films, with Harrison Ford’s Witness (1985) being his other major film credit.
On May 18, 1995, he died at 45 years old due to chronic alcoholism, per the Los Angeles Times.
05
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Reginald VelJohnson as Sergeant Al Powell
Reginald VelJohnson played Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Sergeant Al Powell, who helps McClane rescue the hostages at Nakatomi Plaza.
After Die Hard, VelJohnson reprised his role for the 1995 sequel, but he’s best-known as Carl Winslow from the hit sitcom Family Matters (1989-1999). He’s also a prominent voice actor and has had roles in animated series like Tron: Uprising (2012-2013) and Invincible (2021-present).
In 2024, he competed on Dancing with the Stars, competing alongside pro partner Emma Slater. He even themed one of his dances to Die Hard.
“This week, it's a tribute to my friend Bruce Willis,” he said during the episode. “If you think I'm going out on double elimination, then yippee ki-yay, motherf-----!"
VelJohnson ultimately placed 10th on the season.
06
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Paul Gleason as Deputy Chief Dwayne Robinson
Paul Gleason portrayed Dwayne Robinson, the somewhat unhelpful deputy chief who initially doesn’t believe that McClane is a good guy.
Before Die Hard, Gleason was known for his roles in hit films like Trading Places (1983) and The Breakfast Club (1985). He later held roles in movies like Money Talks (1997) and Van Wilder (2002).
On May 27, 2006, Gleason died at 67 years old of mesothelioma, per The New York Times. He is survived by his wife, Susan Gleason, two daughters and a granddaughter.
07
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James Shigeta as Joe Takagi
James Shigeta played Nakatomi’s CEO Joe Takagi. In the movie, Gruber needs to use Takagi’s codes to access the company’s computers.
Shigeta began his acting career in the late 1950s, winning the Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Male in 1960. Before appearing in Die Hard, he previously starred in movies like Flower Drum Song (1961), Midway (1976) and series like Medical Center (1969-1972). He had a few more roles after Die Hard, including in Disney’s Mulan (1998) as the voice of General Li.
On July 28, 2014, Shigeta died at 85 from pulmonary failure, per The New York Times.
08
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Hart Bochner as Harry Ellis
In Die Hard, Hart Bochner played Nakatomi exec Harry Ellis, who attempts to play it cool with Gruber, offering McClane as a bargaining chip to save his own life.
After Die Hard, Ellis held roles in movies like Anywhere But Here (1999) and Carrie (2013).
Most recently, he's appeared in series like Too Old To Die Young (2019) and The Dropout (2022).
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