On June 6, 1944, over 160,000 troops landed on the French beaches in Normandy to turn the tide of World War II. Of these troops, more than 73,000 were Americans fighting to preserve liberty and freedom for all of mankind. The D-Day invasion remains the largest amphibious invasion in history, and it opened a second front in the war to ultimately weaken the Axis powers.

Today we encourage our friends and followers to pause and remember the bravery of those who fought on that perilous day. There are over two million World War II veterans still living today, so if you have the chance, take a moment to thank them for their hard work and devotion. We remember D-Day as an important military milestone that preserved freedom for generations to come, and we honor the sacrifices of the heroes who came before us.

Yesterday, South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel won the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. This is an athletic milestone that grabs the world’s attention every year, and many were surprised by the young player’s game when he closed the day with four birdies (a milestone in itself, as no other Masters champion has achieved such a feat!).

We’re commemorating Schwartzel’s athletic achievement today, and we’re also celebrating the arrival of springtime. What springtime milestones are you looking forward to in the coming months?

Here at xtra xtra, we’re continuing to work hard at building relationships with your favorite schools and colleges. We know that the stories you want to read–whether it’s a graduation announcement, news about a campus event, or the latest names on the Dean’s List–are the same stories and accomplishments that colleges want to share with communities across the country. We’re doing our part to connect communities to the stories that matter.

Many schools have already been sharing their athletic, academic, and calendar events with xtra xtra. Boston College, Stonehill College, Union College, Olin College, and others were some of the first to bring campus stories to xtra xtra readers.

We recently partnered with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and they have just posted their Fall 2010 Dean’s List announcements to hundreds of towns across the nation.

Here’s an example of a Dean’s List posting on xtra xtra. These talented students are achieving great things in the classrooms at UMass, and we encourage you to celebrate their hard work by leaving a word of congratulations in the comments section beneath the milestone postings.

Visit the site to search for announcements in your favorite towns and find news from your alma mater. If you’d like to see more news from your high school or college on xtra xtra, encourage them to contact us at support@xtraxtra.com.
Till next time,

CH

Hollywood will be giving out its biggest awards on Sunday. The 83^rd Annual Academy Awards will be distributed on February 27, and there are lots of great films up for grabs this year. Whether you’re ‘liking’ The Social Network or tongue-tied over the brilliance of The King’s Speech, it’s hard to deny that 2010 was a great year for movie fans!

xtra xtra loves awards (have you seen the latest award announcements on your local xtra xtra page?), and we’re also movie fans, so this Sunday will be especially fun as we gather around to see who takes home the gold from the Kodak Theater. As you gear up for Oscar night, wow your friends with some of these facts, and cast your predictions for the night’s big winners in a comment below!

• Shirley Temple is Oscar’s youngest winner—she won an honorary statue in 1934 at the age of 5.
• Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep lead the pack with the most Oscar nominations. Nicholson has 12 nominations, while Streep boasts 16 nominations (the most of any performer in Academy history).
• In 1991, Beauty and the Beast became the first animated film to earn a Best Picture nomination. That opened the door for movies like Up and Toy Story 3 to earn nominations in that lofty category.
• Adrian Brody is the youngest recipient of the Best Actor statue. He was 29 years old when he won for The Pianist, breaking the record long held by Richard Dreyfus when he won for The Good-Bye Girl at age 30.
• Walt Disney earned 22 consecutive nominations from 1941-1962.
• Gone with the Wind was the first movie shot in color to win Best Picture.
• At 91 minutes, Marty is the shortest movie to win Best Picture.
• At age 74, Clint Eastwood became the oldest director to win the Best Director statue—and he’s still going strong!
• The Oscars were first televised in 1953.
• Black Swan is the third ballet film to be nominated for Best Picture. If you want to see another dance-themed nominee, watch 1948’s The Red Shoes or 1977’s The Turning Point.
• Want to see a really great movie? These three managed to win all of the major categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. Make sure you see It Happened One Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Silence of the Lambs.

Remember to share your predictions and picks in a comment below, and let us know how you’ll be celebrating Oscar night. I’ll be making Shrimp and “True Grits” for my friends in honor of my favorite film from 2010. I’m also serving Facebook Frappes for dessert!

Til next time,
CH

January 19 is a big day for birthdays in history. Robert E. Lee, Paula Deen, Dolly Parton, Edgar Allen Poe, Janis Joplin, and Paul Cezanne all celebrate (or celebrated, of course) their birthdays on this date, and we suspect that many of you know people celebrating their birthday today, too.

It’s difficult to say how many people celebrate a birthday on a given day, but a good guess would be at least 18,889,109. That’s 1/365^th of the global population, so if our birthdays could be divided evenly, that’s how many people are celebrating this special milestone today.

At xtra xtra, we think birthdays are something worth celebrating, for each marks a special milestone in a person’s life. It signifies another 365 days’ worth of challenges met and accomplishments created, and it demonstrates how much we’re achieving with the time we’ve been given. We mark these days with flowers, presents, cakes, and cards, but we can also celebrate them by sharing them with our communities.

We invite you to create a birthday milestone on xtra xtra today. Celebrate someone’s life by showing them you care. It’s easy to create an xtra xtra milestone. You can upload a picture, tag it to a few towns, and commemorate your friend’s achievements in a post for their big day. Turn your birthday wishes into an invitation for the whole community to join in the celebration!

Til next time,

CH

January is National Hobby Month, so in honor of this particular event, we asked our friends and fans to tell us what they like to do in their spare time. Some of the responses are really unique, but all of them are celebrated in this special month. Here are some of the responses…

• Bake!    –Brooke
• I create collages for my friends.         –Bailey
• Walk my dog!          –Rachel
• Reading and writing             –Molly
• I collect shot glasses from different cities and places, and my mom collects Christmas tree ornaments from the places she visits.          –Lauren
• I take pictures; my kids and husband love when I include them!           –Lisa
• We go to breweries and brew pubs and collect pint glasses… we don’t have regular glasses anymore!    –Rachael
• Play with my daughter and try new restaurants with my husband.        –Holland
• Does OCD count as a hobby? When I have spare time I color coordinate and alphabetize everything in my house!      –Terri
• I play on the computer!      –Lori
• Go for a walk and exercise.    –Kriste
• Reading, watching movies, photography, talking to my sisters, day dreaming.     –Shikha
• Knitting! So far, I can only do scarves and blankets, but one day hope to actually make something that connects to itself.     –Jenny
• I run, check out history museums, ace exams, and win at life.     –Dale

Remember that you can find news, events, and updates for your favorite hobbies at xtra xtra. We have a special category devoted to clubs and hobbies, so it’s an ideal space for sharing the latest happenings with your favorite activities.

Til next time,
CH

It’s almost that time of year… Soon your mailbox will be overflowing with envelopes as family and friends send you their holiday greetings. Americans spend more than two billion dollars on holiday cards each year, and when you add in postage and the time spent addressing and labeling envelopes, it’s clear that there must be an easier way to share your end-of-the-year news.

We invite you to create a holiday card at xtra xtra. It’s paperless and eco-friendly, and like all of our other announcements, it’s also free of charge. You can write a nice long newsy letter informing everyone about your family’s achievements and celebrations, and attaching a photo makes it extra personal.

The best part of all is that it’s one-stop-shopping. Rather than write and address dozens of letters, you can create one single letter at xtra xtra and tag it to all of your favorite communities. Tag your posting to up to eight towns and four colleges or high schools, ensuring that all of your friends and family are on top of your news. Creating a holiday card is also a quick and simple way to enter the JetBlue giveaway contest that starts tomorrow!

On October 19, 1873, representatives from Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers Universities collaborated to create the first code of rules for college football.

Some might say that America hasn’t been the same since.

Whether you follow a team or not, it’s tough to deny the impact that football has made on this country. The sport owes many of its rules to rugby and soccer, and over the years it’s evolved from a collection of regulations to become a uniform sport like baseball.

In the beginning, the sport was far from safe. Four athletes were crippled in the 1894 Harvard-Yale football game, and the lack of proper padding made the game treacherous for early players. Schools played with their own sets of rules, making the game extra difficult for visiting teams, and teams were significantly larger than modern play.

Today, fans and alums come together to cheer on their favorite teams and players. Football games are fun and exciting—complete with riveting fight songs!–and they’re also fantastic milestones. In honor of this date in the sport’s history, visit xtraxtra.com and create a free sports milestone. Post the details for your team’s next game or perhaps spotlight an awesome player from your favorite team.

Humming the BC fight song,
CH

We’re still not sure if we want to see “You Again,” this weekend’s wedding rom-com, but we certainly enjoyed hearing wedding stories from our friends and followers. Check out these memorable milestone memories….

• Lois: I was very young, only 20, and a real Daddy’s girl, and as we stood at the back of the church waiting to enter, I told Daddy I had changed my mind and wanted to gohome. He looked at me sweetly, put his hand on my back, and gave me a little push so that we started down the aisle. It was only later that my husband told me he had said approximately the same thing to his best man, who also catapulted him into the church. (We’ve been married 42 years now.)
• Elliot: My colleague’s wedding reception featured a slideshow of the bride and groom as kids…I’d never seen that in real life, only the movies!
• Carmen: I went to a wedding where the couple hated dancing so every table had boardgames. Let’s just say drinking & Taboo is a rowdy mix for a reception…
• Jenn: I remember being a flower girl for my cousin: she handmade every single party favor, which consisted of two tiny bears holding hands with a heart bead over them in the tiniest glass bottle. It was magical.
• Amanda: Watching my oldest friend in the world tear up this past weekend when his bride started down the aisle!
• Shannon: Down the aisle, feeling like heart would jump out of body. Shaking with emotion. Then total sense of calm when took DH’s hand.
• Caitlin: The flash mob first dance at my cousin’s wedding…

What are your favorite wedding memories? Share them in a comment below or celebrate them with a free xtra xtra milestone! Check out our friends at Beantown Bride, too, for the latest wedding news and trends!

Til next time,
CH