That's What SHE Said: Things men confess they'd do if it weren't considered "feminine", Ashley Judd's personal story of online abuse, the cutest story about guys and puppies from 2016 and a whole lot more.....

Here are some things I read this week that made me think. (These are just snippets – click on the title to read the whole thing.)

The Best Tips for Spotting Fake News in the Age of Trump from William via Teen Vogue

“In this op-ed, William Colglazier — an AP US History teacher from California who is teaching his students how to spot fake news — explains how we can do the same.

Asking simple and logical questions can destroy a lunch-time rumor, and it’s exactly what needs to be done when engaging with updates to your newsfeed on Facebook and Twitter. Rumors and lies are not a 21st century invention, and neither is fake news. No, a man did not die in a meth-lab explosion after lighting his farts on fire. And sorry, a woman did not murder her college roommate for sending out too many Candy Crush requests. (Both of these fake news stories went viral in 2016).”

The Best Way to Beat the January Blues from Leslie with Cupcakes & Cashmere

“Plan a trip to stave off the winter blues.

One of my favorite parts of traveling (okay, definitely my favorite part) is the food. Since it’s so important to me, I always make a point of visiting a critically renowned restaurant in any large city I visit. “Critically renowned” usually translates to “really freaking expensive,” but I’ve learned that most high-end restaurants offer lunch reservations at a fraction of the price of their dinner reservations, which is a great way to experience the restaurant and its great food and ambiance, without paying an arm and a leg…Also, if you’re in a foreign country and a restaurant offers menus in English, it probably means they cater to tourists and have tourist prices (read: run away to the nearest dive packed with locals).”

Bachelor Party Turns Into Puppy Rescue Mission by Suein at ABC News

“A Michigan groom’s bachelor party was hijacked in the best way when a dog showed up at the cabin where he and his friends were staying and stole their hearts.

‘We were cooking bacon with the door open. The next thing you know, there’s this dog sitting right at the front door. She wouldn’t come inside, but she sat right there,’ he told ABC News….Then they noticed the dog was protecting a spot in the woods….”

This Family Tree Site Knows A Lot About You And It’s Creepy As Hell by Sarah at Scary Mommy

“A genealogy website that tracks your family connections is getting a lot of attention right now. Not because it’s a great site, but because the website is downright terrifying. It knows a lot about you and allows anyone to access this sensitive information for free….

My past addresses, age and most family members linked to me were accurate. It was unnerving. My reaction was also heightened by a recent incident on Twitter where a troll threatened to publicly out my personal information (a practice known as doxing), including my address and information about my young kids. All because I wrote a blog post he didn’t agree with. Thankfully, law enforcement stepped in and Twitter banned him, but it was obviously scary.”

Ashley Judd: How online abuse of women has spiraled out of control via TED

[WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE]

“Enough with online hate speech, sexual harassment and threats of violence against women and marginalized groups. It’s time to take the global crisis of online abuse seriously. In this searching, powerful talk, Ashley Judd recounts her ongoing experience of being terrorized on social media for her unwavering activism and calls on citizens of the internet, the tech community, law enforcement and legislators to recognize the offline harm of online harassment.”

Obituaries For Teenage Girls If They Actually Died When They Say They’re Dying by Karen at McSweeney’s

“BRENNER, LIANNA, age 15, lived a healthy life until she made the fatal decision of watching a video of a puppy splashing in a puddle. She clung to religion until the very end, crying out to God via the YouTube comment section, typing “omg omg” in interest of time, but it was too late. She was dying, dying, omg, and then proclaimed dead.”

Men confess what feminine things they’d do if stereotypes didn’t exist from Zoe at The Pool

“The conversation was started on a thread asking commenters ‘what thing would you do if it wasn’t so ‘feminine’ or socially ‘unacceptable’?’ And the hundreds of answers were insightful. Who knew that guys were so into sewing? And how they wish they too could smell ‘like a bed of roses’? The men confessed that they’d love to wear sundresses (‘those things look like heaven’), to order ‘fruity drinks’, to cover up dark circles with make-up, and wear skirts. One user says, simply: ‘I’d knit so hard, bro.'”