Category: Viral

Liz Cheney has always been an unlikely ally of the Democratic party. Before she turned on him over the Jan. 6 riot, the former Wyoming GOP representative — and, don’t forget, daughter of Dick freakin’ Cheney — voted with Donald Trump 92.9% of the time. She doesn’t hold many positions progressives would share. But she sacrificed her House seat to help make the public aware of the dangers of re-electing Trump (and gloating when his cronies crash and burn). She also has an enjoyably grim take on modern politics.

As per The Washington Post, Cheney spoke at the 92nd St Y in Manhattan on Monday night, where she threw in her two cents on the idea of Trump returning to the White House after losing in 2020.

“Look, I think that the country right now faces hugely challenging and fundamentally important issues,” Cheney told the crowd. “And what we’ve done in our politics is create a situation where we’re electing idiots.”

Granted, even though she was talking about Trump, she didn’t name the other “idiots” that made her use the plural version of the term. She could have been intimating both sides of the aisle elect dolts. But she went on to suggest she’s not calling out both sides.

“And so, I don’t look at it through the lens of, is this what I should do or what I shouldn’t do,” she said. “I look at it through the lens of, how do we elect serious people? And I think electing serious people can’t be partisan.”

Saying that it’s “partisan” to elect serious people implies that Cheney thinks that right now, it’s not her longtime party that’s doing that.

Cheney then dug in deeper into her animosity towards the current GOP presidential primary frontrunner, who has other fish to fry beyond his third campaign.

“You know, because of the situation that we’re in,” Cheney said, “where we have a major-party candidate who’s trying to unravel our democracy — and I don’t say that lightly — we have to think about, all right, what kinds of alliances are necessary to defeat him, and those are the alliances we’ve got to build across party lines.” She added that she is “not going to do anything that would help Donald Trump.”

Cheney has floated the idea of running against Trump, though during the conversation she suggested she’d changed her mind. If she did, she might wind up being an even bigger Trump critic than his old pal Chris Christie.

(Via The Post)

After 6 seasons of plotting and weaseling, the 7th and final season of Billions promises to wrap things up with a big bow that’s been single-sourced from a rare silkworm and handsewn by 100-year-old master bow artisans. It’s been a remarkable run watching multiple games of cat and also-cat play out on the seedy playground of Wall Street, and now that the show has ballooned into a beautiful ensemble, it’s ready to pop.

Here’s the official teaser synopsis for the final season:

“In season seven, alliances are turned on their heads. Old wounds are weaponized. Loyalties are tested. Betrayal takes on epic proportions. Enemies become wary friends. And Bobby Axelrod returns, as the stakes grow from Wall Street to the world.”

Naturally, Paul Giamatti, Corey Stoll, and Maggie Siff are back to play alongside the previously exiled Axe (Damian Lewis). As much as Stoll has done yeoman’s work to fill the void, this story was always meant to end with Chuck and the crafty billionaire (whether facing off or teaming up).

The season lands on Paramount+ for subscribers with the Showtime package on August 11st before an official Showtime launch on August 13th. Plus, Showtime doesn’t want the party to end. They’ve enlisted creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien to build out the Billionsverse with multiple projects about ostensibly greedy people, so we can keep luxuriating in witty dialogue from tax-evaders eating sushi that costs more than our rent.

When Don Burckhardt donated blood at a Crews Subaru blood drive in Charleston, South Carolina, he had no idea his own life would be saved by it. The Red Cross worker told Burkhardt that his iron count was low and recommended he go to the doctor to get a full blood test done.

“Because of these blood drives that Crews Subaru is hosting, my cancer was caught at the very early stages,” says Burckhardt.

That blood drive was one of 48 that Crews Subaru has held in 36 months, impacting nearly 5,000 lives. And the Red Cross is just one of 71 different charities and organizations the retailer serves each year as part of the Subaru Love Promise, which is all about giving back to the community.

Watch Don Burckhardt share his story and witness the Subaru Love Promise in action as the folks at Crews Subaru host blood drives, provide meals, organize pet adoptions, grant Make-a-Wish wishes and more.

Loneliness is one of the most dangerous health problems in the United States, although it’s seldom discussed. Psychology Today says loneliness has the same mortality risks as obesity, smoking, alcoholism and physical inactivity.

A meta-analysis from Brigham Young University found that social isolation may increase the risk of premature death by up to 50%. The problem with loneliness is that people suffer in silence and it afflicts the ones we don’t see.

A TikTok user who goes by the name Megan Elizabeth recently shared a touching story on social media about how her grandfather was feeling lonely so he reached out to her. The story shows what can happen when one person is brave enough to confront their social isolation and the important role grandkids can play in their grandparents’ lives.

---

It started when Megan’s grandpa texted her to ask if she’d like to come over for a sleepover. “I haven’t been feeling well and miss you. We can order food and watch a mystery show. Love, grandpa,” he wrote.

Megan was happy to go see him, so grandpa made a series of requests to make the sleepover a hit.

“Could you pick up applesauce? The cinnamon kind,” he asked. “And if you go somewhere with mash potatoes, I would like that because I have no teeth and can only eat soft things. Ha!”

He also wanted some strawberry ice cream for dessert. “Thank you. You are my favorite granddaughter,” he ended the conversation. Megan later noted that she’s his only granddaughter.

See on Instagram

Megan came by with a big bag of food and some ice cream and the two hung out and watched his favorite black-and-white “mystery movies.” When it was time for bed, grandpa hadn’t forgotten how to put her to sleep. He got her a glass of water to put by the bed in case she got thirsty and left a flashlight on the nightstand just in case his 29-year-old granddaughter got scared.

The next morning, at 5:30 am, he watched her leave for work.

See on Instagram

Grandfather and granddaughter grew up close to one another. Megan lived with her grandparents when she was young while her parents saved up money for a house. When they bought one, it was right across the street.

“I am so lucky to have grown up with my grandpa and my grandma (rest in peace),” she wrote on Instagram. “I feel so happy. I am thankful for my grandpa and he will never understand how much love he truly has shown me. And more importantly, the love he showed my grandma while she was alive. I believe in love and loyalty because of this man. He is my hero,” she added.

See on Instagram

Megan’s time with her grandfather made her realize a valuable lesson about her life.

“I think one of the most important realizations I have had recently is that it’s important to live in the moment but it is important to live in the now with intent,” she wrote on Instagram, “so that when you are 92, you look back and smile at all the people you loved, the memories you made and the life you chose to live.”

This article originally appeared on 04.27.22

The pandemic has caused many people to reevaluate their surroundings. When you’re stuck at home more often than you’d like, you start to pay a lot more attention to what goes on in your own backyard.

This type of introspection inspired wildlife photographer Carla Rhodes to get a closer look at the furry friends that live near her home in the Catskill mountains of New York.

What she found was magical.

“The winter of 2020-2021 was particularly brutal to humankind. After months of enduring the Covid-19 pandemic, we were now collectively slogging through winter. As a result of being stuck at home, I focused on my immediate surroundings like never before,” Rhodes said in a statement.

---

Rhodes positioned a DSLR camera trap beneath her bird feeder to get an up-close glimpse of the wildlife that came to sample her delicious seeds. The results are an incredible series of photos of birds and other woodland creatures from a vantage point most people never see. Rhodes calls her project, “Beneath the Bird Feeder.”

The birdfeeder photos also gave a new glimpse into the behavior of several species of birds and rodents that call the Catskills home.

“As I got deeper into the project, intriguing observations emerged,” Rhodes says. “I noticed distinct repeat visitors such as a Dark-Eyed Junco with an overgrown beak, a deer mouse with a notched ear, and an irruption of Red-Breasted Nuthatches. Dark-Eyed Juncos always showed up at the crack of dawn and Northern Cardinals would always be the last visitor of the day as dusk turned into evening.”

Here are 15 of the most captivating photos that Rhodes captured from beneath her bird feeder.

1. Dark-eyed junco

“Often overlooked and considered drab ground-feeding birds, Dark-Eyed Juncos hold a special place in my heart due to their funny and curious behaviors. Every day they were first to arrive beneath the bird feeder,” Rhodes says. “Dark-Eyed Juncos were one of the most frequent and curious subjects beneath the bird feeder.”

2. Dark-eyed junco

3. Dark-eyed junco

4. Tufted titmouse

According to All About Birds, the tufted titmouse is “common in eastern deciduous forests and a frequent visitor to feeders.”

5. Mourning dove

​”Observing Mourning Doves was a daily pleasure, especially when they gathered to form a clean-up crew beneath the bird feeder. Mourning doves are monogamous and possibly mate for life,” Rhodes writes.

6. Mourning dove 

7.  Mourning doves

8. Blue jay

“Blue Jays are known for their intelligence and complex social systems with tight family bonds,” All About Birds says. “Their fondness for acorns is credited with helping spread oak trees after the last glacial period.”

9. Northern cardinal

“Northern Cardinals were always the last to show up beneath the bird feeder, shortly after dusk every evening,” Rhodes writes.

10. Black-capped chickadee

“Little flocks of Black-capped Chickadees enliven the winter woods with their active behavior and their cheery-sounding chick-a-dee callnotes as they fly from tree to tree, often accompanied by an assortment of nuthatches, creepers, kinglets, and other birds,” the Audubon field guide to North American birds says.

11. Black-capped chickadee

12. Eastern gray squirrel

Eastern gray squirrels are important members of forest ecosystems as they play a vital role in dispersing seeds.

 13. American red squirrel

The American red squirrel is known for its distinct bushy and dark red tail with hints of a white outline.

14. American red squirrel

15. Northern short-tailed shrew

If you see a northern short-tailed shrew, be careful. It’s venomous and paralyzes its victims with poisonous saliva. In humans, a bite can cause swelling and intense pain.

This article originally appeared on 01.03.22

Teenagers are an interesting bunch. They are still very much children and at times behave that way but they also want to be treated like adults. It’s a paradox of behaviors that can sometimes result in parents getting lectured by their teen, which is exactly what happened to one couple when they couldn’t pick up their son.

Iyonna Bland uploaded a video to TikTok showing her son Caleb starting to lecture his parents about not being there to pick him up from football practice. The parents are generally early to pick him up but on this day, Bland was stuck in meetings all day and her husband was also working unable to collect the teen from practice. Obviously, the teen was not left to fend for himself. Bland ordered an Uber for her son when they realized neither would be off in time to pick him up.

But Caleb was not impressed with their choices and decided to let them know exactly how he was feeling.

---

“I wasn’t even supposed to talk to you today. I was supposed to have an attitude but I had to fake it, “Caleb says. “First of all, y’all already know I don’t like no rain, so I’m sitting outside after football practice, after hours. Y’all were supposed to been there 15 minutes early.”

The teen’s mom can be heard laughing but he is still not amused, and looks like a parent scolding a child. Gosh darn it, mom take him seriously, he means business. Caleb goes on to explain that he’s had football practice all week and one of his parents has been there early each day so he was expecting the same service. He’s unmoved by the fact that his parents have to work to pay for the equipment and practice he’s attending.

“Tell me why I call this man and he [his dad] treating me like he’s Hollywood or something? Like he’s rich. Mama he ain’t even answer the phone, I called him twice. He ain’t even answer the phone,” Caleb complains.

The way this teen tells a story is hilarious and its hard to keep a straight face even when he’s being serious because of how naturally comedic he is. It gets even harder not to laugh when he describes his first experience using Uber.

“Then I get some random text from a random number,” he says. “Talking about some ‘Brenda’s on the way,’ I was like, ‘my grandma Brenda?”

@iyonnabland

I was in meetings all day for work so I couldn’t leave before yall go saying we neglecting our child he did get home safe #fypシ #foryou #foryourpage #fyp #blacktiktok #kidsoftiktok #boymomlife #parenting #funny #teens #uber

When he received the text saying Brenda was 10 minutes away, that’s when he realized it was in fact not his grandmother that lives states away in Chicago. It was the Uber driver that his mom sent to pick him up but when Bland called to tell him Brenda was on her way to pick him up, he was immediately uninterested.

“So then you called me talking about ‘Brenda about to come get you,’ I’m like ‘who is Brenda?’ cause I’m not getting in the car,” Caleb tells his mom.

Listening to him tell the story will leave you in stitches. Poor kid thought his parents forgot about him and Brenda was a kidnapper. That’s one interesting first time Uber experience. But don’t think dad got out of this lecture, Caleb expressed his thoughts in a follow up below.

@iyonnabland

Replying to @😜Sillylicious😝 #fypシ #foryou #foryourpage #fyp #blacktiktok #kidsoftiktok #boymomlife #parenting #funny #teens #momandson #momsoftiktok

Oprah Winfrey was a pioneer when it came to breaking taboos surrounding trauma, therapy and self-help. She also put her career on the line by coming out about being abused as a child, years before it was commonplace for celebrities to speak about their trauma.

In September 1990, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” aired an iconic episode titled “Childhood Wounds Seminar,” featuring educator and motivational speaker John Bradshaw. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Bradshaw was a popular guest on television talk shows as a “psycho-vangelist” who combined elements of developmental psychology, touches of philosophy and theology, and a flair for the dramatic to help his patients and the studio audience.

Bradshaw wrote multiple bestsellers including, “Healing the Shame That Binds You” (1988) and “Homecoming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child” (1990). He passed away in 2016 at 82.

---

In this episode, Bradshaw led Oprah’s audience in a 7-minute guided meditation where he asked them to revisit themselves in their homes as children and rescue them from a traumatic situation. At the two-minute mark, audience members begin to visibly weep as they look their childhood selves in the eyes.

“I’m the one that wrote the letter and I’m coming to get you. I want you to come home with me. I know better than anybody what you’ve been through,” Bradshaw asks the audience members to tell their younger selves.

“And if it scares you to leave with me, then you can stay here, I’ll come visit you,” he continued. “But if you’re willing to leave, go get your little bag packed.” He then asked the audience to visualize themselves taking the child from the traumatic house and bringing them into a life of safety.

“You have to leave that home.”

“You have a power greater than your parents.”

“Welcome to the world; I’m so glad you’re here.”

“We’re gonna have fun together, and I love you just the way you are.”

@chatswithchass

Just because someone is “family” doesnt mean they can treat someone anyways they want. #chatswithchass

Even though the episode first aired nearly 33 years ago, it still affects people in a deep way. Recently, the clip was shared on TikTok by Anonymousally98 as a post titled, “How I healed my wounded inner child in 7 minutes w an episode of Oprah.”

The video received over 4 million views and got passionate responses from viewers.

“Bawled my eyes out. I needed this. Thank you so much for sharing,” Kayresha Naidoo-Martin commented on the post. “I balled like a f***ing baby!! I had my husband and 2 boys waiting for me. I now see that I raise them the way I always wanted to be but never was,” Ashlee Marine added.

“I brought my inner child around the corner to meet my son and see his face and how much he would have loved little me,” Erika Michele wrote.

In hindsight, it’s beautiful that Winfrey had the tenacity in the dog-eat-dog world of daytime television to create programming that was not only entertaining but healing at the same time. It’s a testament to her incredible talents as a broadcaster and producer that, so many years later, her work still resonates with millions.

A viral TikTok video highlights an extreme version of inequality that many wives and mothers in heterosexual relationships face. However, the mom in this story hit her limit and won’t deal with it anymore.

Lynalice Bandy, who goes by @5kids5catssomedogstoo on TikTok, posted a video that showed her home looking like a disaster after she worked six 10-hour days straight while her husband did nothing to help.

Her time-lapse video shows every room in the house completely trashed, with toys, food and laundry scattered everywhere. “Shampoo on the carpets in the girls’ room, nail polish all over Nugget covers, hair, and carpet. Scissors were used to cut hair, the down comforter, the mattress cover, and two Nugget covers,” wrote the mom.

---

“I’ve worked six, ten-hour days in a row with only one day off being a sick day,” she captioned the video. “I’d like to pretend I’m not the only person who cleans here, but as you can see…These rooms don’t get much attention when I’m not here.”

@5kids5catssomedogstoo

#divorce #parentingfail #messyhouse #whenwomen #depressionanxiety #clean #satifying

She says her husband’s excuse was that he was focused on doing his schoolwork and couldn’t pay attention to the kids. “Now, that school is out for a break, he doesn’t have that excuse anymore,” Bandy says, noting that all of his attention has been focused on “the four vehicles in our driveway that he wants to work on continuously.”

In a follow-up video, Bandy announced that she left her husband after the debacle. The original video received over 17,000 comments, many of which were from supportive women.

“You deserve much better, and he deserves to be alone. Much love to you from someone that left that life behind almost 20 yrs ago. You’ll get here, too,” Angela LaRoche wrote.

“Ma’am, you are nothing short of amazing! Hang in there!” Japanese with Jenny wrote.

“That home is beautiful because of YOU,” Hillary added. “You put in so much work, and it is not unseen by me and so many others. But, you DO deserve better. Proud of you.”

@5kids5catssomedogstoo

Sounds about right…

Even though Bandy’s experience with her husband is an extreme case of a couple whose domestic duties are way out of balance, it points to a problem that plagues many households. Even though it’s 2023 and families are becoming more equal, women still do significantly more housework than men.

A study utilizing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey found that women 15 years and older spend 5.7 hours daily doing housework and looking after kids and elders. Men in the same age group do an average of 3.6 hours of daily domestic work.

That’s a 37% difference in time spent on household responsibilities.

Further, women who work an average of 35 hours a week spend 4.9 hours a day on household chores and child care, while men who work the same amount spend an average of 3.8 hours.

The comments show that there are a lot of women out there who are frustrated with their husbands for not doing their fair share. Hopefully, this video will encourage more people to speak out about domestic inequality and for more men to step up and do their part.

This article originally appeared on 4.25.23

For nearly 50 years, the World’s Ugliest Dog contest has celebrated unique pups of all kinds in order to show that man’s best friend has far more value than pedigree. In this contest, endearing imperfections and charming personalities reign supreme over an ideal appearance and obedient temperament. And this year’s champion has all those attributes in spades.

Behold: Scooter, a 7-year-old Chinese Crested dog, mostly bald save for the scraggly tuft of white hair on his ears, with a bright pink tongue constantly dangling out of his mouth and backwards facing hind legs.

Dubbed “a hairy hippopotamus in the cutest way possible” by the New York Times, this peculiar canine might not be modeling in a calendar anytime soon, but he is adorable in his own way, and has a pretty epic underdog story.

---

According to his bio, Scooter was taken to animal control in Tucson for euthanasia by a Chinese Crested breeder when he was just a puppy because of his deformity. Luckily Linda Celeste Elmquist, a volunteer for the Saving Animals From Euthanasia (SAFE) rescue group stepped in to adopt Scooter and save the poor fellow’s life.

After being taken into a safe and loving home with Elmquist, Scooter is thriving. He might have to take frequent rest stops, but he is able to walk by balancing on his two front legs. “Swaying side to side he takes on obstacles – stones, curbs, steps – and then throwing his back end to the sky, in one final swoop – he conquers!”

Thanks to the support of friends and rescue groups, this doggo can also “scoot” to and fro using a mobility cart, which he loves to have when visiting the park to “welcome any outstretched hand.” All in all, he “has no idea that he is any different from any other dog.”

And now, Scooter has “contest winner” to add to his long list of accomplishments. Elmquist shared in a press release that the victory is made sweeter by challenges overcome. “Scooter has defied all odds and shown us the true meaning of resilience and determination. He has become an inspiration to countless people around the world.”

Scooter’s story perfectly embodies the purpose behind the World’s Ugliest Dog contest, which, despite its name, isn’t to make fun of ugly dogs. Rather, it’s to highlight the beauty of their “extraordinary resilience.” As Tawny Tesconi, CEO of the Sonoma-Marin Fair (where the contest is held) stated: “Each contestant has a remarkable story to tell, and they serve as a testament to the power of love, compassion, and the indomitable spirit of these incredible animals.”

The gifts that pets bring into our lives have so little to do with aesthetics. Sure, seeing a Border Collie with an impossibly shiny coat or an incredibly muscular Rottweiler is great, but it’s the unconditional love, loyalty, grade-A cuddles, and pure joy that will stick in our hearts far longer. Scooter, like every “ugly” dog, deserves all the accolades for showing what makes a dog truly beautiful.

The DCEU is in a bit of a pickle: Their movies keep tanking, or at least underperforming. The back-to-back-to-back failures of Black Adam, Shazam 2, and, now, The Flash probably aren’t making the already chaotic Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav any happier. The brand needs a steroid injection and this might do it: As per Deadline, the DCEU finally has a new Superman and Lois Lane.

It’s long been tradition to cast a relative nobody as Krypton’s most famous son, and this time’s no different: Supes will be played by David Corenswet, a young actor whose diverse credits include Pearl, David Simon’s HBO limited series We Own This City, and the Ryan Murphy Netflix shows The Politician and Hollywood. Like Christopher Reeve, he’s even a Juilliard alum, which makes his casting all the more apropos.

For Lois Lane, they’re going with a rumored favorite in the casting process, Rachel Brosnahan. Brosnahan wrapped her final season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, freeing her up to play The Daily Planet’s most intrepid reporter. Brosnahan and Corenswet have one credit in common: They’ve both been on House of Cards, though unlike Brosnahan, who was a regular on the show in the early days, Corenswet only guested on a lone episode.

James Gunn, who’s directing the film, currently called Superman: Legacy, as well as leading the revised DCEU with Peter Safran, confirmed Deadline‘s reporting.

Brosnahan will replace Amy Adams, who played a very thirsty Lois opposite Henry Cavill, the actor who may have given up The Witcher to return as Superman… only for Gunn and Safran to announce they were rebooting the Man of Steel as a younger character. Cavill, though, will likely find a new character in the revamped cinematic universe.

Deadline reports that the casting was hurried along because of the SAG-AFTRA strike that may kick off on June 30, which may find actors like Corenswet and Brosnahan joining WGA writers on the picket line.

(Via Deadline)