Taylor Swift used to be pretty strict about not showing her belly button. But she’s been a little more relaxed about it over the last several months, and this has made the Internet very happy.

A shot of Taylor in a crop top, purposely pulling her waistband down to expose her belly button, has become a meme on Reddit, and it has resulted in some pretty brilliant stuff.

Cookeville High School graduate Luke Hornby received the Lite Rock 95.9/106-9 Kicks Country Dream Big Scholar Scholarship presented by The Tennessee Credit Union during a dinner Tuesday night.

Hornby received a $1500 scholarship from Lauren Imes, Branch Manager of The Tennessee Credit Union, and Lehra Trobaugh, Director Of Promotions and Marketing for Stonecom Radio.

Selected from the 12 weekly winners during the winter and spring semester, Hornby participated in Boys State, the National Honor Society, and Cookeville High’s Advanced, Select and Acapella choirs during his four years at Cookeville High School. He has also been very involved with the local Boy Scouts, as he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. A JROTC member, Hornby earned the rank of Cadet Lieutenant Colonel.

Hornby plans to study history at Tennessee Tech when he enrolls in the fall.

Jana Lack, a graduate of Stone Memorial High School, took home a $500 scholarship during Tuesday night’s event. Lack ranked in the top 10 of the Stone Memorial senior class and has been a leader in school clubs and activities. An accomplished artist, Lack’s works have been showcased at Knoxville Museum of Art.

The first Bill Penn Scholarship was also given out. The recipient was Erika Howard of White County High School. Eika will receive $1,000 to begin her broadcast career at Belmont University this fall. She interned at WCTE and in fact, hosted a night of the WCTE Great TV Auction. She has been a varsity cheerleader, a member of FCA, a Tennessee Scholar, and a volunteer with Special Olympics as well as elementary school cheerleaders. Congrats to Erika….and to Bill for 30+ years!!

The Lite Rock Kicks Country Dream Big Scholar Award presented by The Tennessee Credit Union, gives local community members and educators the chance to nominate deserving students for their work in the classroom, in extra curricular activities, and in the community. Weekly winners were honored at their schools with a plaque and were asked to submit essays on how there high school experience had prepared them for the future.

“Each one of you has taken the gifts you have been given and you have maximized them…academic gifts, athletic gifts,” Stonecom Radio President Larry Stone said during the Tuesday night dinner. “But perhaps most impressive are those gifts of caring, community service, and dedication to school, church and those in need. You have paid it forward.”

The finalists recognized Tuesday night represented 11 different high schools across the Upper Cumberland.

There are about seven teaspoons of sugar in one can of Pepsi, which obviously isn’t good for your. But it turns out diet soda might be worse. Here are four reasons you might want to switch back to the real stuff . . .

1. Diet soda can cause migraines. The chemicals in the artificial sweetener have been shown to cause migraines, anxiety, and insomnia. And a study in 2013 found that when rats drank it, it damaged cells in the part of the brain associated with motor skills.

2. Everything else will taste worse. Artificial sweeteners overwhelm your taste buds, so other stuff doesn’t taste as good. Diet Coke has aspartame, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar. And Splenda is 600 times sweeter.

3. Drinking it actually increases your risk for diabetes. A recent study in Japan found that middle-aged guys who drank at least one diet soda a day were much more likely to develop type-2 diabetes over the next seven years.

4. It might not even help you lose weight. A bunch of recent studies have shown it does the opposite, including one that found you’re 65% more likely to become obese in the next decade if you drink diet soda.

And people who quit drinking it also tend to stop craving junk food as much because their taste buds wake up. So foods that aren’t loaded with salt and sugar start tasting better.

It turns out a lot of us do fairly terrible things when we’re on vacation. Let’s hope we’re not this bad in our day-to-day lives.

A new survey from TravelZoo asked people whether they do nine “bad” things on vacation. Here are the results . . .

69% of us have taken toiletries, slippers, or a robe home from a hotel.

67% have done work while we were supposed to be on vacation.

64% have peed in a pool or the ocean.

59% have reserved chairs at the beach or pool by putting a towel on them early in the morning.

24% have faked being sick to extend a trip an extra day.

22% have snuck something through customs.

13% have skipped out on a bill.

4% have gone to a tanning salon after a trip so people will be impressed with their “vacation” tan.

And 3% have cheated on their partner on vacation.

There are a lot of different techniques for eating spaghetti. Do you shovel it in with a fork? Slurp up whatever strands are hanging down? Cut it up first? Twirl it against a spoon? Eat it with your hands like a child?

Maybe we’ve all been eating it wrong our entire lives. Because it turns out an article in “Life” magazine came up with the official rules back in 1942.

Here’s the right way to eat spaghetti . . .

1. Use your fork to separate out exactly FOUR strands.

2. Gently and politely twirl them against a spoon.

3. Eat the entire forkful at once . . . don’t nibble it or take bites.

4. DO feel free to slurp up the noodles as necessary.

Now you know.

It’s hot all week in the Upper Cumberland with no real relief in sight. Here’s some ways to stay cool!
Alter your pattern of outdoor exercise to take advantage of cooler times (early morning or late evening). If you can’t change the time of your workout, scale it down by doing fewer minutes, walking instead or running, or decreasing your level of exertion.

Wear loose-fitting clothing, preferably of a light color.
Cotton clothing will keep you cooler than many synthetics.

Fill a spray bottle with water and keep it in the refrigerator for a quick refreshing spray to your face after being outdoors.

Fans can help circulate air and make you feel cooler even in an air-conditioned house.

Try storing lotions or cosmetic toners in the refrigerator to use on hot, overtired feet.

Keep plastic bottles of water in the freezer; grab one when you’re ready to go outside. As the ice melts, you’ll have a supply of cold water with you.

Take frequent baths or showers with cool or tepid water.

Combat dehydration by drinking plenty of water along with sports drinks or other sources of electrolytes.

Some people swear by small, portable, battery-powered fans. At an outdoor event I even saw a version that attaches to a water bottle that sprays a cooling mist.

If you’re wearing a cap or hat, remove it and pour a bit of ice cold water into the hat, then quickly invert it and place on your head.

Avoid caffeine and alcohol as these will promote dehydration.

Instead of hot foods, try lighter summer fare including frequent small meals or snacks containing cold fruit or low fat dairy products. As an added benefit, you won’t have to cook next to a hot stove.

If you don’t have air-conditioning, arrange to spend at least parts of the day in a shopping mall, public library, movie theater, or other public space that is cool.

Finally, use common sense. If the heat is intolerable, stay indoors when you can and avoid activities in direct sunlight or on hot asphalt surfaces. Pay special attention to the elderly, infants, and anyone with a chronic illness, as they may dehydrate easily and be more susceptible to heat-related illnesses. Don’t forget that pets also need protection from dehydration and heat-related illnesses too.

I went to see Jurassic World over the weekend with my son Caleb and noticed a few people wearing Jurassic Park shirts. I thought that was over the top….. I was wrong! This guy drove a Jurassic Park Power Wheel into the theater!! Read More »

If there’s one thing everyone in the world loves, it’s making fun of someone who’s wearing something horrible…. but thinks they look great. We’re all secretly catty 16-year-old girls.

A new survey found the eight biggest fashion mistakes women make. Check ’em out. Read More »

The lifestyle website CoolMaterial.com posted a list of their picks for the 50 things every guy should own. And not all of them are stereotypical “GUY” things. Welcome to 2015. Here’s the top ten . . . Read More »

Here are the eight hottest things women say they want from men . . . and they have nothing to do with sex. Read More »