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D.C. things to do this weekend: Cherry blossom time

D.C. things to do this weekend: Cherry blossom time

Axios20-03-2025
The National Cherry Blossom Festival officially begins today with more than three weeks of events in store.
Why it matters: It's been a long winter, but spring is here.
Peak bloom is projected for March 28-31. The green buds along the Tidal Basin entered phase three of six Wednesday; next we'll see glimpses of pink!
State of play: Festivities begin with "Cherry Blossom Magic at the Museum of Illusions DC" at CityCenter. The three-day event includes paint and cake workshops, curated wines, and a cherry blossom-inspired exhibit. Tickets are $50.
Many more events are on the calendar, including an "Art in Bloom DC" annual exhibition showcasing art and floral design. Tickets starting today through Sunday are $110 for the public at Anderson House, the Gilded Age mansion in Dupont.
The opening ceremony for the festival to celebrate the gift of the cherry blossom trees from Tokyo in 1912 is Saturday.
All tickets have been claimed for the free event at the Warner Theatre, but a limited number of walk-ups may be accommodated, organizers say. The performances will be live streamed.
Plus: Don't miss Anna's list of the best cherry blossom pop-ups around D.C. right now.
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Location tracking ruined my 10-year relationship
Location tracking ruined my 10-year relationship

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Location tracking ruined my 10-year relationship

My girlfriend, Anna*, and I had been together for almost a decade. We'd met online and she was my first proper, grown-up girlfriend. She'd crossed the Atlantic to come and live with me in Birmingham, we adopted a cat together, I was under the assumption we'd spend the rest of our lives together. We were – as far as I was concerned – happy. Nine years into our relationship, Anna started a new job in London. Obviously, in a new job you meet new people, and she's always been outgoing, friendly and chatty. Throughout our time together, I'd been used to hearing about her latest office dramas and the characters she interacted with at work. But in this new job, there was one particular character that came up a lot. Let's call him Jack. She'd tell me about the fun they'd had at the latest work do, recalling things he'd said that had made her laugh. In the run-up to Christmas, she spoke to me about her gift for Jack. She seemed especially keen to get it right – telling me about how she had planned to get him some merchandise from his favourite band. Clearly, she cared. I'm not sure why she told me so much. Maybe this was her way of soft-launching her emotional affair. Maybe her transparency was just a means to alleviate her guilt. Regardless of her intentions, I didn't think much of it. It's nice to be in a relationship with someone who's so thoughtful and generous, right? Even when you're not directly the benefactor of such seasonal goodwill. Looking back, there were signs of the betrayal to come. Big, billboard-sized signs. When I went to her office Christmas party as a plus-one, Jack was there. It was good to put a face to the name. After a few drinks, he got a bit touchy with her – arm around her waist, pulling her in to talk. I didn't – and still don't – consider myself a jealous person. Besides, I trusted Anna. Why would I revoke my trust over some band merch and light petting? Then, one day, she told me she was going away for a few days to stay with a friend in Gloucester, and asked whether she could take my car. Five minutes after she took off, my phone pinged: 'Anna is no longer sharing their location.' We'd always shared our location via Find My Friends (the iPhone app) but until now, I'd never really paid it much attention. I always trusted that she was where she said she was. I contemplated texting her, in case she'd inadvertently stopped sharing her location – like there was a glitch or a bug or something – but I didn't want to be that guy, obsessively checking her Instagram story to ensure she was wherever she'd told me. I'd heard about couples whose relationships had fallen apart as a direct result of apps such as Find My Friends, with partners becoming addicted to compulsively tracking their partner's every movement. I didn't want to fall into that trap. But Anna clearly didn't realise that other people get notified when you turn off a location tracker. A week after she'd been to 'Gloucester', I received a £100 driving fine through the post, supported by photographic evidence. This wasn't a glitch or a bug in the system; the image was undoubtedly my car. But I hadn't been to London recently. And whenever I do, I get the train. I started to connect the dots. The big, billboard-sized signs finally came into focus. When she got home, I casually mentioned that I'd been fined for driving down a bus lane in central London. She immediately knew what I knew. (Note to readers: if you're planning a trip to the city for an extramarital jolly with a side of driving violations, maybe don't take your partner's car.) A few hours later, she sheepishly sat me down and said, 'I might as well tell you now.' She admitted she'd gone to see Jack and that they had booked a hotel room together. While she claimed they only kissed, I'm pretty sure a kiss doesn't warrant a hotel room. I didn't push for details; the boundary had already been crossed. Sometimes, you don't need to know all the gory details. The worst part was how calm she was when telling me – there were no signs of heartache. She'd clearly checked out long before she'd driven my car down a bus lane in central London. At this point, I brought up the second clue she'd left: the location-sharing notification. She admitted she hadn't realised it would notify me, that I'd be tipped off by Find My Friends about her lack of whereabouts. I was devastated, and yet she showed little to no emotion. Post-confession, she stuck around for a couple of weeks while we figured out the next steps. I thought we had something worth salvaging, but one Sunday morning, it became apparent that my sentiment wasn't shared. In bed, we lay next to one another, in loaded silence. 'It's not going to work,' she said. And that was that. There is a silver lining: I've learnt and grown a lot since then. I did a lot of reflecting afterwards and I blamed myself for a lot of what had happened, for becoming complacent and perhaps taking her and the relationship for granted. I didn't date anyone for two years afterwards; I wanted to make sure I could be my best self in any future relationships. I learnt, regardless of how secure you feel in your relationship, to treat your partner with the same energy you felt when you first met. I also learnt that location sharing won't necessarily ruin your relationship, but it might just tip you off when something is wrong. Oh, and she paid the £100 fine – she's not a monster. And I got to keep the cat. *Name has been changed As told to Alice Garnett Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Solve the daily Crossword

Zarina Zainuddin hopes for reconciliation between Anna Jobling and mother
Zarina Zainuddin hopes for reconciliation between Anna Jobling and mother

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Zarina Zainuddin hopes for reconciliation between Anna Jobling and mother

19 Aug - There is nothing more that Zarina Zainuddin wants but to see daughter and mother duo Anna Jobling and Ariz Arop patch things up. The actress and mother of autistic twin adult sons, who admitted to have experienced similar conflicts with her own mother in the past, said that she doesn't want others to have the same fate as hers, as she regretted the time she wasted being angry at her mother prior to the latter's passing. "Don't be like me, who was always fighting [with her mother] because of how hurt I was that my mother didn't raise me when I was a kid and only looked for me when I was older," she said in a comment on social media. "When she's no longer here, it felt like a loss to me for not spending more time with her. I hope that Anna and her mother can reconcile," she added. Zarina stated that while outsiders can say whatever they want, a mother is still a mother. Anna and her mother made headlines recently after her mum revealed that the actress has filed an injunction against her last year. She also accused the actress of becoming someone she doesn't recognise since achieving success. (Photo Source: Anna Jobling IG, Zarina IG)

I took 3 kids and my 70-something mom to see 'Freakier Friday.' No one laughed harder than grandma.
I took 3 kids and my 70-something mom to see 'Freakier Friday.' No one laughed harder than grandma.

Yahoo

time3 days ago

  • Yahoo

I took 3 kids and my 70-something mom to see 'Freakier Friday.' No one laughed harder than grandma.

The movie is rated PG — that's "perfect for grandma." This story contains spoilers. Don't say we didn't warn ya. Hello, Yahoo readers. I'm Suzy Byrne, and I've been covering entertainment in this space for over a decade. I'll be the first to tell you I'm no hardcore cinema buff. Since I had a child, though, I've made it a point to see as many kid-friendly movies as possible. Maybe it's because I'm a big kid ✔ and love a cheerful ending ✔. But also, as a busy working parent, getting two hours to turn off my phone, put up my feet and eat whatever I want while my child is fully entertained is the definition of movie magic. So that's what this is — one entertainment reporter + her 10-year-old child + friends seeing family-friendly fare and replying all to you about the experience. Welcome to Kids' Movie Club. Now playing: The adults outnumbered the kids six to three for our family movie trip, which should clue you in that nostalgia was the real star of the Freaky Friday sequel. That said, when we walked into the theater, someone in our group admitted, 'I don't think I even watched Freaky Friday' — and it turns out they weren't alone. Seeing the 2003 original definitely adds context, but our crew — which spanned three generations and two continents (my sister's family was visiting from Australia) — felt the sequel stood on its own just fine without revisiting its predecessor. Jamie Lee Curtis stole the show, especially with my 70-something mom, who guffawed at every senior citizen joke like it was written for her. Lindsay Lohan was like a fast-forwarded version of her younger self; she had the same cadence, delivery and spark. The PG-rated movie isn't chasing Oscars, though; it's chasing laughs and delivers enough of them. With a mix of punchlines about aging and early 2000s nods, it knows exactly who it's playing to. Maybe because it felt a little old school to the 10-year-olds among us, Freakier Friday was a harder sell to the kids than the other movies we've seen this summer. I had to promise to take them to Cat Video Fest first (yes, two hours of cat videos) in exchange for them seeing this. Apparently, they don't hold LiLo in their Y2K hearts the way I do. The plot 🎬 Like in the first film, Freakier Friday has body-swap chaos, but this time it's not just two people in the mix, it's four: Tess (Curtis), her daughter Anna (Lohan), Anna's daughter Harper (Julia Butters) and Anna's soon-to-be stepdaughter Lily (Sophia Hammons). Everyone in my group was confused trying to keep track of who was in whose body. We could have used some good old-fashioned Pop Up Video captions — 'Lily is in Tess's body' — just to stay on track. Saturday Night Live alum Vanessa Bayer has a scene-stealing role in the magical mix-up. From there, most of the film is the four women working to undo the switcheroo while stepping into each other's very different lives. Meanwhile, teens Harper and Lily are on a mission to sabotage Anna's wedding to Lily's dad Eric (Manny Jacinto), which adds another layer of chaos and comedy to the generational tension and family drama. But naturally, the heart of the film is about walking a mile in someone else's shoes — and learning something along the way. Parts that had the kids talking 👧🏻👧🏻👦🏻 Again, the trio of cousins preferred the cat videos to Freakier Friday. After the movie, they were talking about cats. And none of them begged to watch Freaky Friday when we got home. The real highlight for them? The snacks. And the mix-up. In what felt like our own Freakier Friday moment, our server kept bringing us food we hadn't ordered — and couldn't take back. A large popcorn somehow turned into three small ones. Three drinks multiplied to eight. The kids were giggling about it for half the movie. So if Madame Jen had a hand in that little magic trick, thanks. Parts that had the adults talking 👩🏻👩🏻👱🏻‍♀️🙎🏻‍♂️👵🏻 Curtis could do no wrong. Whether the therapist turned author Tess was playing pickleball, shopping for senior care items, gushing about her love of Parcheesi or getting her lips plumped, she had us laughing. It was all about the old-age jokes. When they first changed bodies, the zingers came fast: 'I'm bloody decomposing!' My 'butt is so high!' 'My face looks like a Birkin bag left out in the sun to rot.' What the film lacked in plot, it made up for in one-liners about adult diapers, Fixodent, toots, enemas and the giant letter virus that is older people using the oversize font setting on their iPhones, like grandma. The parents weren't spared, either. There were jokes about Coldplay and John Mayer — what we grew up on — as being dated. Not to mention Facebook being a 'database of old people.' (Hold on while I delete my account.) The women were the stars of the show, but the men held their own. Jacinto doing Dirty Dancing was a great moment. I also found myself staring at Chad Michael Murray's hair (he's back as Anna's ex, Jake) and wondered what he's doing to keep it so shiny. Meanwhile, Mark Harmon's return — with a full head of white hair — was shocking in the best way. Of course, the movie had its tropes — the future stepsisters who hate each other, the dead mom and the very soap opera way Eric called off the wedding in a room full of people vs. a side conversation with Anna. But the confetti-filled, crowd-surfing reconciliation scene? I ate it up. Dumb things I searched after the movie 💻 I don't surf. I don't live near the beach. But that didn't stop me from Googling how to get the floral wetsuit Lohan wore. (It's Cynthia Rowley. Yes, I still want it and, no, I don't need it.) Stay for the credits? 🎞️ Yes, it's cute with a lot of funny outtakes, like Curtis biting into 34 donuts to get a scene just right. There's also some cheeky fourth-wall breaking. Trailers 🎥 My daughter is counting down the days until Zootopia 2, but I also got, 'Can we see that?' for films targeting older audiences — A Big Bold Beautiful Journey and Regretting You. It made me wonder: Are we aging out of the kids' movies? Maybe, but I hope we never outgrow watching them together, especially as a family. Looking for more recs? Find your next watch on the Yahoo 100, our daily updating list of the most popular movies of the year.

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