Month: June 2024

A mother on TikTok shared a heartfelt moment when her 9-year-old daughter opened up about her self-image concerns, wondering about her appearance as she grows up. The story was a wonderful example of a mother delicately dealing with an issue that far too many young women face. It was also a difficult moment because the conversation brought up the mother’s body issues as well.

The conversation happened while the two were clothes shopping at Target. “My 9-year-old’s saying she’s fat, and this is because she has to wear adult sizes versus kids ’cause she’s really tall, just like me,” Mackenzie Waddell told her 222,000 followers.

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“She kept calling herself ‘fat’ and that she had too big of a butt and that the other kids her age don’t have to wear adult clothes,” Waddell continued. “I reminded her that I, too, had to wear adult clothes when I was her age ’cause I was really tall just like she is.”

@missmommymack

Im so devastated that she feels that way about herself. 💔

The discussion led to a question that was hard for the mother to hear.

“… she asked me if she was gonna look like me when she grew up. And I asked her, ‘Do you mean big like me? When you grow up?’ And she said, ‘Yes. I’m not trying to be mean mom, but I want to look like Aunt Sarah, not you,’” she recalled.

Her daughter’s remarks hit her right in the heart, but she responded with perfect composure. “I kept a brave face and said, ‘As long as you are happy and healthy, and you love yourself, that’s all that matters. No matter what size you are,” Waddell said.

The mother was sure not to take it personally, but it still cut close to the bone. “And was I hurt? Yeah, I was. But she didn’t mean to hurt me. It just really sucked. Yeah,” she concluded.

The post went viral, receiving over 1.7 million views and over 2,000 comments. The most popular commenter thought that Waddell should tell her daughter to avoid commenting on people’s weight.

“You should tell her she hurt your feelings. She needs to know. You did a great job supporting her in how she feels. She has to learn that skill also,” Char8201 wrote.

However, many women responded with nothing but love for how Waddell handled such a challenging situation. “You responded beautifully, momma. She’s still learning and these are the moments where we provide that guidance, even when it hurts,” Mavv13 wrote. “Oh mama. Thank god she feels comfortable to talk to you openly,” tirrelltribe added.

After the tremendous response to her video, Waddell responded with another post, educating people about how one’s weight doesn’t necessarily mean they eat unhealthy. “A lot of people like to assume that plus-size people don’t know how to eat healthy or are unhealthy. When, in fact, we’re not,” Waddle said.

She added that her daughter lives a healthy lifestyle but avoids having conversations about weight with her because “That’s what traumatized me.”

@missmommymack

Replying to @user3838812846970 she will always be perfect, no matter what.

This article originally appeared on 9.28.23

There is certainly no shortage of stories from women highlighting the glaring disparity between society’s expected responsibilities of husbands vs. wives. Some are a bit more lighthearted, poking fun at the absurdity. Others reflect utter frustration and had-it-up-to-here-edness with partners not doing their share of the work.

However, self-proclaimed “Clueless Husband” J Fisher’s honest, thoughtful retrospection on the subject shows that it’s not just female partners noticing that things need to change.

In a now-viral TikTok video, Fisher describes how he used to consider himself the “main character” of his relationship.

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What exactly did that look like? Early on in his marriage, it looked something like this:

“Say we’d be going on a trip. My partner at that point in time would be doing the laundry, vacuuming the house, making sure the dishes were done. I would think, I would literally think like, ‘Well, yeah, we don’t have to do that. That’s you wanting to do that. It’s not what I want to do,’” he explained in the clip.

@jfisher62 What NOT to do as a husband #fyp #husbandsoftiktok #wivesoftiktok #fairplay #parenting #feminism #dismantlethepatriarchy #relationship #marriage #support #partnering ♬ original sound – J Fisher

Fisher later shared how his wife would then get everything ready for said trip, while he would simply pack for himself. This continued even after they had kids. It became worse, actually.

“My partner would do all the work to get all of them ready to make sure they were bathed, snacks packed, and I would get myself ready.”

Looking back, Fisher can plainly see how this behavior was “not okay.” But how did he think this was acceptable in the first place? After some reflection, he realized that it was simply the standard being modeled to him from an early age.

“I saw my own father do this quite a bit where he would take care of his own needs. So, I know I didn’t learn it from nowhere,” he said. “But I also had to unlearn it because it never was okay. I thought that my role was to do all these things outside of the home and that the home was women’s domain. I saw that modeled and even taught as the way it should be, but, oh my gosh, is that not partnership? And that sucks.”

After coming to this revelation, Fisher’s opinion is that if you approve of this division of labor, that you “shouldn’t be in a relationship.”

Hard to argue with that.

Hoping that he can further illustrate a better partnering mindset in a way that “may help it click for some guys,” Fisher has all kinds of insightful TikToks focused on taking accountability and expanding emotional intelligence. In them, he often names therapy, setting boundaries, finding community and accessing personal joy (rather than relying on a partner to fulfill all emotional needs) as major tools for creating a more equal relationship.

@jfisher62 Good intention ≠ Truly loving 💔😔 “I’m Sorry” doesn’t begin to do it justice. #fyp #foryoupage #marriage #longtermrelationship #partner #husbandsoftiktok #wivesoftiktok #accountability #healingjourney #grief #stagesofgrief #dabda #acceptance ♬ original sound – J Fisher

And perhaps the best part—there doesn’t seem to be so much shame around the subject. Fisher acknowledges his own goodwill while still admitting to displaying less-than-healthy behavior. It’s hard not to feel like if maybe this kind of honest, yet compassionate reexamination of gender stereotypes were more commonplace, we’d all collectively be a lot farther ahead.

This article originally appeared on 5.4.23

Most people don’t really think about the inner workings of a computer, nor do they think about how the internet works. Unless you’re in the field of technology, nothing about how websites are generated or how search engines get their information is given much of a second thought.

As long as everything works as expected and loads quickly, people don’t generally care to know how things happen in the mysterious cloud that is the entirety of the internet. Now that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is free for use, there’s just as little thought put into the mechanics of how it works. Granted, people are worried about other implications of AI, but what signal sends what where, isn’t on the radar of average internet users.

The Piedmont Environmental Council sat down with “Now This” to ring the alarm on a relatively unknown fact about the use of AI–it’s detrimental to climate change.

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That likely sounds dramatic. How could a program free on the internet cause ill-effect to the climate? Humans have been in a race to combat climate change globally for decades. We’ve been hearing about making the switch to renewable energy, using public transportation, and recycling as key ways to reduce our impact on the quickly changing climate. There has not been a public service announcement about…the internet.

Since AI is a little more involved than “just the internet,” it is requiring more energy to power it.

“A lot of people think of the internet as just being in the cloud. Really it is taking up this huge space of these gigantic computers, which are data centers,” Julie Bolthouse, Director of Land Use for Piedmont Environmental Council tells the outlet.

There are over 300 data centers in Northern Virginia alone, that take up over 100 million square feet and use a lot of energy.

Ann Bennett, Data Center Chair of Virginia Sierra Club explains, “artificial intelligence requires servers to run much hotter. Water cooling will be necessary and where will that water come from?”

“One ChatGPT request for example, that’s the equivalent of pouring out a bottle of water and powering a lightbulb for 15 minutes. If you multiply that by billions of requests, you can start to see the cumulative impacts,” shares Ashish Kapoor, Senior Policy Analyst at Piedmont Environmental Council.

Watch the entire interview below:

AI may be an interesting new piece of the internet but with our climate already reaching crisis levels according to multiple scientists, there may be a few things that need to be worked out. Hopefully as the technology evolves and environmental agencies keep an eye on the unforeseen consequences, a more sustainable system will be discovered for the continued use of AI.

No matter our age, we all want kindness and respect from our peers. No one enjoys being judged or criticized, and negative comments about our appearance sting even if we don’t want them to.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t always stop people from pointing out things they think we should change about ourselves. Issues like hair shaming and body shaming are all too common, despite greater awareness of the hurt they cause.

Elementary school teacher Natalie Ringold shared a lesson about this phenomenon, and though it’s geared toward kids, it’s one a lot of grown-ups could take to heart as well.

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Holding a tube of toothpaste, Ms. Ringold explained when it’s appropriate to say something about someone’s appearance and when it’s not.

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“If somebody can’t change something about themselves in 30 seconds or less,” she said, “then you shouldn’t be mentioning it to them.”

She gave examples of things that do take 30 seconds or less, such as if someone’s shoe is untied or they have something stuck to their shirt or their fly is unzipped. For those things, it’s okay to tell the person (politely, and in private if it’s something that might embarrass them to point out in front of other people) so they can fix it.

But if it’s something that would take more than 30 seconds to change or isn’t even possible to change, like their hairsytle or hair color or body shape, then that’s not something you should comment on.

“Your words have power,” Ms. Ringold said. Squeezing toothpaste out of the tube, she explained that when you say something about someone that they can’t change in 30 seconds or less, it can be hurtful, and just like toothpaste once it’s out of the tube, you can’t fully take it back once it’s out there.

“You try to apologize, you try to take the words back…and you try to undo what you said, undo what you did. But it’s something they couldn’t change about themselves, and so it get very messy. You can’t totally take those words back. You can’t totally fix it.”

“Your words have power and your words matter,” she said. “If you walk out of this room spreading kindness to the people around you, spreading love to the people around you, that is what truly makes a difference.”

Ms. Ringold shared that she does this lesson with her students on the last day of school because she wants them to remember this concept for the rest of their lives. People in the comments were so appreciative of the message for all ages.

“I think many adults need to hear this message!”

“Exactly my thoughts. A lot of adults need to hear this too.”

“BLESS YOU!!! As a person who was relentlessly racially harassed as a child, I wish this was taught.”

“If they are old enough to be mean on purpose they are old enough to be kind on purpose.”

“This should be required viewing for anyone who wants to join social media.”

“This made me cry. Can I start my college courses with this?”

“I saw you post this and had this conversation with my 4th graders!! It helped so much!!”

Here’s to teachers teaching lessons beyond academics, helping kids learn that their humanity matters just as much as their grades.

Ariana Grande is one of the most technically skilled singers in all of pop music, but recently, it’s her speaking voice that has been making news. A clip from her recent interview on Penn Badgley’s Podcrushed podcast has been making the rounds, and in it, Grande speaks in a voice that sounds lower than usual before returning to the higher-pitched voice she most commonly uses in public settings these days.

Why Does Ariana Grande Change Her Speaking Voice?

Grande actually admitted that she does change her voice intentionally and broke down why: In a comment on a TikTok video, Grande explained, “habit (speaking like this for two years) and also vocal health [tea emoji] i intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing i’m doing [crying emoji] i’ve always done this BYE.”

She also previously explained this in a much older video that has been making the rounds in response to the Podcrushed clip. In it, Grande says, “I’m speaking in a slightly higher placement than I usually speak in, because I’ve been doing a lot of interviews all day and I’m trying to keep my voice healthy.”

So, there you have it: Grande is so serious about her craft and preserving her vocal assets that she regularly uses a non-natural speaking voice.

Tomorrow X Together is a delivering a one-of-a-kind musical experience to fans. The K-pop group has announced Hyperfocus, their first-ever virtual reality concert.

“We have been thinking about how to get closer to our fans, and this VR concert is an opportunity for us to do so,” TXT said of the VR concert in a statement. “We hope this experience will be a cherished memory for our fans, just like it was for us to make it.”

Tickets for the concert are expected to go on sale on July 17. The concert will kick off at the end of July and be screened at various venues across South Korea and the United States over the following months.

How to watch Tomorrow X Together’s Hyperfocus virtual reality concert

Not all the venues have been revealed yet, but tickets will be available for purchase via Tomorrow X Together’s official website. The dates and cities for the VR screenings have been announced. You can see the dates below, and a teaser for Hyperfocus above.

07/31 — Seoul, South Korea @ Megabox Coex Mall
08/01 — Seoul, South Korea @ Megabox Coex Mall
08/08-21 — Los Angeles, CA @ TBA
08/23-09/01 — Buena Park, CA @ TBA
09/05-22 — Houston, TX @ TBA
09/26-10/13 — Chicago, IL @ TBA
10/17-11/10 — New York City, NY @ TBA

The group’s official website teases that there are more dates and cities to come.

The Neptunes (Pharrell and Chad Hugo) are a major part of the Clipse (Pusha T and No Malice) story: The production duo has been at the helm of all four Clipse albums, including their latest, 2009’s Til The Casket Drops. Now, Clipse is readying their first album in 15 years, and the whole thing is produced by Pharrell.

In a new Vulture interview, Pusha T said, “Pharrell producing everything is also an ode to the type of music and the type of albums we want to make. We still want to make full bodies of work. These are movies, man. These aren’t just songs. This isn’t just a collection of joints we went in and banged out.”

He also noted that he and No Malice didn’t work with Pharrell’s Neptunes partner Chad Hugo on the project.

Elsewhere, Pusha said about the album, “I think the album shows the supreme maturation of a rap duo. I think this is where you get the difference between taste and filler. This music is curated. This is a high taste-level piece of work. You can only have that level of taste when you have the fundamentals down to a science. I think it’s been definitely missing. Then there’s the competitive aspect.”

No Malice added, “This is smart basketball. It’s fundamentals. And not only that, it’s authenticity. It’s what rap should look like if you’re real about your craft, real about your experience, real about your storytelling. It’s bringing the fans along to see the growth, not trying to fit in or fabricate. It just seems like in other genres of music, they have the luxury of growing. For some reason, we act like we’re not supposed to evolve. This is what the true evolution of the Clipse looks like. It’s just good to be able to show that and still have high-level raps.”

Check out the full interview here.

The Detroit Pistons sent shockwaves through the basketball world last offseason when the team gave veteran coach Monty Williams a 6-year, $78.5 million contract, which at the time was the largest deal a team ever gave a coach. But after one sputtering year and some turnover in the team’s front office, Williams is out of a job.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, part of the overhaul in Detroit will involve a new head coach, as the decision was made to part ways with Williams.

As Wojnarowski noted, Williams did not plan to coach last year due to his wife’s battle with cancer, but eventually took the job in Detroit after the Pistons gave him such a lucrative deal. A respected head coach for the work he did with both the New Orleans Pelicans and the Phoenix Suns, the thought was that Williams would be able to help Detroit’s young core take a step forward.

That ended up not happening, as the Pistons went 14-68 in Williams’ one year at the helm. The roster showed it had a long way to go, while Williams came under criticism for how he handled his job, particularly when it came to dynamic second-year guard Jaden Ivey. The team missed the playoffs for the fifth year in a row, while the 14 wins was the fewest in a season in franchise history.

In addition to Williams, the Pistons mutually agreed to part ways with general manager Troy Weaver this offseason.

With the Boston Celtics winning their 18th championship in franchise history on Monday night, a new league rule allowed teams to begin signing current players to extensions before the free agency moratorium period opens on June 30.

Among the teams that moved quickly to get pan to paper from a star before they got to the open market was the Indiana Pacers, which traded for Pascal Siakam at the deadline and made clear they planned to keep him long-term. A surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals only further illustrated Siakam’s value to raising the Pacers ceiling as a contender in the East, and there was little doubt they would present the former All-Star forward with a max offer.

Thanks to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, a new deal did got announced on Wednesday morning. Wojnarowski brought word of a 4-year max extension worth nearly $190 million that will keep Siakam in Naptown for the foreseeable future.

Indiana sent three first-round picks and Bruce Brown to the Toronto Raptors to bring Siakam on board, and right after the deal was announced, word spread that the veteran wing was excited about the possibility of sticking around and playing alongside Tyrese Haliburton for the foreseeable future. Siakam averaged 21.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game in his 41 regular season games with the Pacers this season, and maintained those averages across a terrific playoff run.

For years, a recurring theme in the Normani fan community has been waiting for her to release her debut solo album. Normani herself even got in on the fun by announcing the long-awaited project’s title with a website, wheresthedamnalbum.com. While Normani is now cracking jokes along with her devotees, she admits there was a point where the jokes weren’t quite landing with her.

In a new interview with Apple Music’s Ebro, Normani explained:

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel impact by that, personally, because I know everything that I was going through and enduring. I’m like, ‘I promise, I care, I’m still here, I’m trying.’ Literally, I’ve dedicated my life, every ounce of my being, to this project and to this very moment, so I don’t want anybody thinking the opposite. But I feel like it’s something I can laugh about now.”

Earlier in the conversation, she noted, “I’ve just had so many roadblocks, I would say, that people didn’t necessarily know were taking place, and things that were beyond my control. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and then the following year, after going through that as a family, my dad ended up getting diagnosed with prostate cancer. I’m sure, as you can imagine, having to endure that while also trying to continue to get the ball down the field and get this project out, it just came with a lot. There were days that, honestly, I didn’t feel like getting out of bed, and it’s hard to be creative and hard to be motivated and continue to be inspired.

Check out the full interview above.