I'm listening

You may not remember your first words but you might remember Barbie’s. Making her debut in 1968, the Talking Barbie was a must-have. Even if you played with her ‘til her arms fell off, she’d never grow tired of telling you about tea with Stacey 🤣

It’s a common stereotype that men are less chatty than women, but is there any truth to it? Generally speaking, no. However, a new study has shown that women tend to speak more words per day than men especially during midlife.

Hush, hush? No way! ;)

(Love nostalgia? Play today’s trivia below for a chance to win a $25 Amazon eGift Card!)

Silicon Valley Bank published its State of the U.S. Wine Industry Report the other day, revealing for the first time that more people are drinking white wine than red, and expanding their horizons beyond simply choosing between the two.

It found stagnation in the red wine sales category, but growth in white, low- and non-alcoholic bottles, as well as growth in prosecco sales.

“To restore the balance between demand and supply, growing consumption share with consumers in the 30-45 segment is critical,” said Rob McMillan, wine division founder at Silicon Valley Bank. “The industry can shorten the recovery by evolving marketing and promotion strategies to meet that consumer at their value points.”

According to McMillan, the shifting demand between wine categories is a reflection of shifting demographics, with younger consumers looking for novel and alternative options, particularly when it comes to premium options.

The report found overall wine sales fell 3.4% last year, but the top quartile of premium makers saw sales rise a staggering 22%.

According to cybersecurity expert George Kamide, “the no. 1 method of entry [for cybercriminals] these days is credential theft.” In that sense, password protection is among the most important priorities for anyone with valuable information stored digitally.

Speaking with Huffington Post, cyber experts say there are four main practices everyone should adopt when it comes to keeping the proverbial barbarians outside the digital gate.

For starters, use a password manager. No matter how clever you think your password might be, if it’s something you thought of, it can probably be cracked by sophisticated hackers. Password managers generate long and random passcodes that are next to impossible to guess.

Multi-factor authentication is also key. If a hacker does manage to guess your password on one device, they’d need to guess it on at least one more to gain access. Layering security measures has proven to be effective.

Never reuse a password. The more a password changes, the more the target moves for hackers, and the less likely it is they’ll be able to guess it, because they’ll have to start all over again every time it changes.

Finally, don’t just use one word and a series of numbers or characters. Sentence-long strings of numbers, letters, and characters are typically what a password manager will generate, so if you’re opting not to use one, make sure to try mimicking one.

Tweety may finally have the upper hand on Sylvester.

It’s no secret that cats would love nothing more than to chow down on every bird they come into contact with, but with the avian flu epidemic ravaging millions of birds a day, it’s more important than ever to make sure your pet cats are kept away from wild birds.

Cats aren’t necessarily more susceptible to contracting this deadly virus than dogs, but because of the independent nature of felines, and their propensity to eat raw poultry or milk, it’s good to be reminded these things should probably be kept away from pet cats until further notice.

Experts advise only feeding pet cats pasteurized milk and cooked poultry instead of raw versions of each that could easily transmit a dormant strain of the avian flu and sicken the cat.

It’s also advised that cat owners dispose of bird baths on their property for now, and keep their cat indoors to prevent them from wandering into a bird chase that it refuses to lose.

Reports are regularly surfacing of wild cats contracting this deadly virus and their health deteriorating rapidly. There’s currently no vaccine for it, either, making it all the more important to take proactive measures to keep pet cats safe.

Ozzy Osbourne had to cancel his show at 2023’s Power Trip festival in California, but he’s more than making up for it with the announcement of his final concert that will see him reunite one final time with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward.

It’s the first time all four original members of Black Sabbath will take the stage in over 20 years, and they’ll be doing it where it all began in 1968: Birmingham, England.

Fittingly, the festival is dubbed: Back To The Beginning, and according to musical director Tom Morello, “the greatest heavy metal show ever” is set for Birmingham’s Villa Park on July 5.

This may be one of those rare occasions when hyperbolic marketing meets reality, particularly when you consider the lineup: Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, Lamb Of God, Anthrax, Mastodon, The Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, Slash, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst, Korn’s Jonathan Davis, Faith No More’s Mike Bordin, Ghost’s Papa V Perpetua, Sammy Hagar, Wolfgang Van Halen, and more.

“It’s my time to go Back To The Beginning…time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Ozzy said in a statement. “How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love? Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”

Tickets will go on sale on Valentine’s Day, for love of heavy metal. 🤘

In the late ’80s, few artists were as hot as legendary Staker, Rick Astley.

It’s the pop icon’s birthday and to celebrate, today’s trivia is all about him (don’t worry, we’re not “Rickrolling” you 🤣 )! Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 Amazon eGift Card ;)

Winner will be notified tomorrow afternoon—keep an eye on your inbox!*

Have a great day ahead Staker!

Today’s issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.


*SEE FULL STAKE TRIVIA CONTEST RULES HERE.