+
Joy

Welcome to The Sports Bra—the first bar for women's sports only

sports bra portland
Photo by Jeffrey F Lin on Unsplash

Womens sports fans get their own bar in Portland, Oregon.

Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name … and also where women’s sports finally get the attention they deserve.

Welcome to a bar that finally has both.

At this Portland pub, the TV screens are dominated by female athletes, whether that be in gymnastics, basketball, soccer, you name it. The drinks served come from a women-owned distillery and have clever sports-themed names, like the GOAT (gin, orgeat, aperol, tangerine juice) and the Triple Axel, a nod to Tonya Harding’s signature move.

The spot is aptly named The Sports Bra. Because yes, it supports women.


According to a Unesco study, 40% of professional athletes are female. And yet, women’s sports make up only 4% of all sports coverage.

Founder, owner and sports fan Jenny Nguyen told The Guardian, “Our approach is to take that 4% that is showing and put it on blast.”

Nguyen came up with the idea after watching a championship women’s game on a tiny TV—the only one in the bar—with no sound. She knew the only way she’d ever be able to watch a game with all the fanfare would be to create her own space.

Her unique establishment aims to not only shine a light on the gender imbalance of sports coverage, but to tip the scales as well.

At The Sports Bra, there’s really only one winning strategy at play: “belonging, acceptance, and celebration for all.”

The food menu includes much more than traditional bar grub to accommodate for vegetarian, vegan and even dairy-free folks (nachos are great, but choices are better), plus you won’t be seeing a “women only” sign on the door.

Even kids are welcome, as the bar believes “exposing them to women’s sports can have lasting impacts on their understanding of equity in sports and in life.” It sounds like an oasis for the mom who just wants to eat some fried cauliflower and watch some WNBA with kids in tow.

Five television screens are mounted on the walls, along with framed jerseys and memorabilia from various women's teams. When there are no women’s games available to play, the TVs will simply be turned off. Again, illuminating the lack of coverage available.

Nguyen shared that “I would love to play 24-7 women’s sports in here, but it’s just not possible.” Rather than admit defeat, however, she added, “we use that weakness as a talking point to draw attention to it.”

In making this dream a reality, Nguyen has been a team player. “It really has taken a village,” she told Oregon Live, calling her staff “the best staff on the planet.”

That village includes Nguyen’s cousin Ayu, who painted the bar’s giant sports themed mural filled with bold greens and pinks.

In terms of concept, execution and intention, so far The Sports Bra has been a slam dunk.

The bar had its grand opening on April 1, but the turnout was no joke. Crowds spilled out onto the sidewalk. Cheerleaders waved pom poms. The Kickstarter campaign had already raised $100,000 from backers. People happily waited for hours just to take a peek inside. Safe to say, they were betting on the bar’s success.

It might be the only one of its kind for now, but hopefully that will change soon. In the meantime, we'll be cheering Nguyen and her team from the sidelines.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

Keep ReadingShow less

Two northern cardinals captured on Carla Rhodes' bird-feeder camera.

The pandemic has caused many people to reevaluate their surroundings. When you’re stuck at home more often than you’d like, you start to pay a lot more attention to what goes on in your own backyard.

This type of introspection inspired wildlife photographer Carla Rhodes to get a closer look at the furry friends that live near her home in the Catskill mountains of New York.

What she found was magical.

“The winter of 2020-2021 was particularly brutal to humankind. After months of enduring the Covid-19 pandemic, we were now collectively slogging through winter. As a result of being stuck at home, I focused on my immediate surroundings like never before,” Rhodes said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

Keep ReadingShow less
Identity

57-year-old former model Paulina Porizkova had the perfect response to ageist comment online

"We have earned our beauty, we understand what it is, and we can see it so much better."

Photo by Malin K. on Unsplash

Paulina Porizkova took on a commenter who said she was in "pain" being "old and ugly."

Aging is a weird thing. From one perspective, it's something we should be grateful for. Few people would wish for the kind of short, uneventful life that would remove aging from the equation completely. The longer we live, the more we grow and learn and experience life, and "aging" is simply the mathematical sum of those experiences. All good, right?

On the other hand, our society does everything in its power to hide the fact that aging happens. Especially when it comes to women. According to Statista, the global anti-aging beauty market is estimated to be worth $58.8 billion. People will try all manner of creams, serums, masks, acids, lights, technologies and surgeries to try to prevent wrinkles, lines, sagginess, spots and other signs that our bodies are changing with time.

Most of us live our daily lives somewhere in the middle of these two realities, wanting to embrace our aging selves but also hoping to stave off some of the more obvious signs that we're getting older. It's natural to resist it in some ways, since the older we get, the closer we get to the end of our lives, which we certainly don't want to hasten—especially if we actually love living.

It can be helpful to see people who are embracing their age, which is why it can be inspiring to see someone like former supermodel Paulina Porizkova confidently sharing photos of her 57-year-old self.

Keep ReadingShow less
via Google and Freepik

Google's new personal information removal submission page.

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

Keep ReadingShow less

Becca Moore and Raul Torres having margaritas.

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who's known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

Keep ReadingShow less