Category: Worldwide

Heidi Johnson’s son was 13, deeply in adolescence, and in that stage where he lashes out.

He told her he shouldn’t have to deal with her rules and should be independent.

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So she wrote a strict but loving “Mom’s not a fool” letter.

She wrote on Facebook how her son reacted to the letter:

“He came home, saw the note, crumpled it on the floor, and stormed out of the apartment. I have always encouraged him to take a walk when he is upset so that he can collect his thoughts so when we try to talk, we are able to talk, and not just yell at each other. I do the same thing — sometimes, I just need to walk away and collect myself. I am not above admitting that. He was still livid when he got home. He decided to stage a ‘sit in’ in my room, where he did laugh at me and repeat, ‘Really? What are you going to do? You can’t take my stuff,’ etc. He was asked to leave my room, and when he could be respectful, and I was more calm, we would discuss it further. He went to his room, and after about an hour, he had removed some electronics and items I missed that he felt he should have to earn back for his behavior. He apologized, and asked what could he do to make things better and start earning items back. He earned his comforter and some clothes right back. I did leave him some clothes to begin with, just not the ones he would want to wear every day. He also had some pillows and sheets, just not his favorite ones.”

She decided to post it on Facebook, the way one does to friends for a laugh and connection. She neglected to make it “private,” and soon comments and shares proliferated, including admonishments from strangers who thought she was a bad parent.Now she had to deal with a bigger teenager: the internet and its commentariat. But Johnson remained level-headed and wrote another Facebook post, clarifying.

“It’s out there; and I am not ashamed of what I wrote… I am not going to put my 13-year-old on the street if he can’t pay his half of the rent. I am not wanting him to pay anything. I want him to take pride in his home, his space, and appreciate the gifts and blessings we have.” She explains that he is more grateful because of it, and also that he has slowly earned back things and dealt with sacrificing others. Then she lists her very organized and succinct rules of the house:

1 – Do your best in school! I don’t expect a perfect 100%, but I do expect that you do your best and ask for help when you don’t understand something.

2 – Homework and jobs need to be done before you can have screen time.

3 – Jobs are emptying the trash, unloading the dishwasher, throwing away trash you make in the kitchen, rinsing dirty dishes, making your bed daily, pick up bedroom nightly, and cleaning your bathroom once a week.

4 – You must complete two chores a day. Each day of the week with the exception of Sunday has a room that we work on cleaning. He has to pick two chores for that room. For example, if it is the living room he can choose two of the following options: dust, vacuum, polish furniture, clean windows, mop the floor.

5 – Be respectful and kind with your words — no back talking, no cussing at me.

6 – Keep good hygiene.

7 – Make eye contact when being spoken to, and be an active listener.

8 – Use proper manners.

“You know what.. this hasn’t hurt our relationship. He and I still talk as openly as ever. He has apologized multiple times… And… he is trying harder.” Her son is earning things back little by little, and appreciating it more than he did before.

“This came down to a 13-year-old telling his mother she had no right to enforce certain rules, and had no place to ‘control’ him. I made the point to show what life would look like if I was not his ‘parent,’ but rather a ‘roommate.’ It was a lesson about gratitude and respect from the very beginning. Sometimes, you have to lose it all to realize how well you really had it.”

This article originally appeared on 8.16.21

Adult twins interacting with babies is pretty hilarious.

Thankfully, a dad shot some footage of his young son meeting his twin, and our lives are better because of it.

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Stephen Ratpojanakul (he’s in the sweater … I think) is a dad to a baby boy named Reed. Stephen also has a twin brother named Michael.

When baby Reed got confused figuring out who was who, I almost expected this dude to make a cameo appearance:

First, they both wore glasses.

Stephen Ratpojanakul (he’s in the sweater … I think) is a dad to a baby boy named Reed. Stephen also has a twin brother named Michael.

When baby Reed got confused figuring out who was who, I almost expected this dude to make a cameo appearance:

First, they both wore glasses.

And finally, they both took their glasses off. Baby Reed returned to the previous station.

True story: Parenting will crush you if you don’t bring your sense of humor along.

Parents know how mentally and physically exhausting the job can be. It’s also a job where many of us spend an inordinate amount of time second-guessing ourselves for the decisions we make.

The immense power of laughter is a great way to relax, boost our immune systems, and relieve stress. Sometimes, we laugh to keep from crying. And other times, we just laugh because our kids are absolutely hilarious.

Judging by the laughter and giggles, it’s easy to tell that the twins truly love this little boy — and it’s heartwarming to see all three of them enjoying some good times together.

All it takes is a smile for parents to know “you’ve got this.”

The video is going viral — and don’t be surprised if this becomes a twin trend.

With almost 34 twins per 1,000 live births in the U.S. today, there are more genetic lookalikes in the U.S. than ever before. Be warned, tiny babies — somewhere there are some adult twins plotting to have some innocent fun at your expense.

Without further ado, here’s the video.

This article was written by Doyin Richards and originally appeared on 02.10.16.

Embarrassing stains on your T-shirt, sniffing someone’s bum to check if they have pooped, the first time having sex post-giving birth — as a new mom, your life turns upside-down.

Illustrator Ingebritt ter Veld and Corinne de Vries, who works for Hippe-Birth Cards, a webshop for birth announcements, had babies shortly after one another.

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In the series “#ThingsOnlyMomsKnow” Ingebritt and Corinne depict the reality of motherhood — with all the painful, funny, and loving moments not always talked about.

1. Pee-regnant.

2. How (not) to sleep.

3. Cry baby.

4. The new things that scare you…

5. …and the new things that give you the creeps.

6. Being a new mom can get a little … disgusting.

7. And every mom has experienced these postpartum horror stories.

8. There are many, many memorable firsts.

9. Getting to know your post-baby body is an adventure.

10. Pumping ain’t for wimps.

11. You become very comfortable with spit-up. Very comfortable.

12. Your body, mind, and most importantly, heart, will expand in ways you didn’t know possible.

This story first appeared on Hippe Birth Cards and is reprinted here with permission.

This article originally appeared on 09.13.17

The Detroit Pistons‘ 2023-2024 NBA campaign has admittedly not been going well so far. The Motor City basketball club currently has a 9-52 record — good for one of the worst in the NBA’s 78-year history.

They do have one bright spot to look forward to, however. On March 13 — aka 313 Day, a nod to the city’s phone area code — the team will unveil a new merch collection honoring one of Detroit’s favorite sons, the late, great J Dilla. Curated by Dilla’s fellow Motown hip-hop powerhouse Royce Da 5’9, the collection will be available exclusively through the team store at Little Caesars Arena and on Pistons313Shop.com.

The collection will consist of six pieces (with an additional four online), featuring the Pistons’ logo, remixed as a donut in a nod to Dilla’s game-changing 2006 instrumental album Donuts and bearing J Dilla in place of the Pistons’ name. There will also be pieces featuring a patch reading “Welcome To Detroit,” the title of Dilla’s debut solo album, with the donut shop from the Donuts alternative cover.

The whole concept is very cool and very well executed. Y’all know your boy is a Clippers fan and I’m still probably going to log in the day of release to secure that hat (also, please take notes, Mr. Ballmer. Nipsey Day could easily be a thing at Intuit Dome).

In the press release, Royce said of the collab, “When designing the capsule for the J. Dilla Pistons partnership, our aim was to honor Dilla’s essence. Our interpretation of the iconic “Donuts” album cover was pivotal to the collection, as the album holds significant historical importance within hip-hop circles.”

You can get more info about the collection here.

As John Williams celebrates his 54th Oscar nomination for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the legendary composer is opening up about his lengthy career creating iconic scores for Harrison Ford’s swashbuckling archaeologist, Superman, E.T., and countless others.

Most notably, Williams turned Star Wars into a space opera for the ages when he first collaborated with up-and-coming filmmaker George Lucas on the original 1977 film. While the franchise is filled with instantly recognizable themes like the Imperial March, Williams revealed that he regrets one inclusion in the classic installment that now seems awkward in retrospect.

Via Variety:

There was one blip in scoring the first movie. “I mistakenly wrote a love theme for Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. I learned later that they were brother and sister, so it was an incestuous idea to have a love theme for them. But George never told us there was going to be a second film!”

Williams is referring to the revelation in Return of the Jedi that Luke and Leia are long-lost twin siblings, which makes their romantic interludes in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back kinda weird, George!

That said, naturally, Williams is proud of his time on the now-massive franchise, which he never expected to blow up as big as it did.

“Doing it at the time, I didn’t think it was radical,” Williams told Variety about the original Star Wars. “What made it radical was the embrace that it had. People seemed to have been starving for this kind of expression, and here was a vehicle into which it could be put.”

(Via Variety)

Back in January, it was reported that a Calvin Klein ad featuring FKA Twigs had been banned in the United Kingdom. A statement from the Advertising Standards Authority at the time explained, “The ad used nudity and [centered] on FKA twigs’ physical features rather than the clothing, to the extent that it presented her as a stereotypical sexual object. We therefore concluded the ad was irresponsible and likely to cause serious [offense].”

Now, though, BBC reports the ban has been partially lifted. A statement from the ASA reads in part:

“We have made clear that while we think the image of FKA Twigs was overtly sexual (though not sexually explicit), the ad presented her as confident and in control and, therefore, she had not been presented as a stereotypical sexual object. We have, however, maintained our decision that the overtly sexual image of FKA Twigs was not suitable for display in an untargeted medium, a poster, where anyone could see it. In that regard, we thought it was materially different to the mildly sexual and sexually suggestive, but not overtly sexual, images of Kendall Jenner in the other two posters. So, the ban still applies for that reason.”

It also notes, “While the external criticism was important and gave us pause for thought, it was not in fact the reason we revisited our ruling. That reason was our unease about the wording in the ruling explaining our rationale for our decision that FKA Twigs had been objectified. We thought it was inconsistent in its treatment of the three posters and was therefore flawed.”

Some of that external criticism came from Twigs herself, who wrote in January, “i do not see the ‘stereotypical sexual object’ that they have labelled me. i see a beautiful strong woman of colour whose incredible body has overcome more pain than you can imagine.”

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Love Is Blind episode will be found below.)

The Love Is Blind season six finale is out now! If you’ve watched the episode, you know how things came to an end, if you haven’t, I suggest you stop reading this article right now as some huge spoilers will come in the next sentences.

The episode began with Jimmy telling Chelsea that he would not marry her, making them the third couple to break things off before the set wedding day. They joined Kenneth & Brittany and Laura & Jeramey whose relationships ended earlier this season. While the hope was that the two remaining couples — Clay & AD and Amy & Johnny — would tie the knot, that did not turn out to be the case as only Amy and Johnny said “I do” to each other.

While AD was committed to marriage, Clay was not as he felt it would not be “responsible” for him to say I do as he was not prepared for marriage at that moment. Though Clay hoped their relationship could continue, AD decided it was best that things came to an end. Did the couple stay separated, or did they reunite later on after the wedding?

Are AD & Clay From Love Is Blind Season 6 Still Together?

Both Clay and AD have been asked about their current relationship, but neither has revealed the true nature of it. “I would say you would have to wait and see,” AD told Entertainment Tonight and Clay told the publication “TBD.” Despite this, Business Insider noted small clues that could tell us where Clay and AD stand. They both follow each other on Instagram and TikTok and they have both liked a good amount of each other’s posts on Instagram dating back to last spring. Clay left some fire emojis under AD’s post for her birthday in November 2023 and the two had a nice Instagram interaction after the penultimate episode in Love Is Blind season six aired.

“Turn me up @amberdesiree ,” Clay wrote under a carousel of images he shared on Instagram. “Turn me up Clay ,” AD replied. Prior to the finale, AD and Clay had another playful interaction thanks to a post that AD shared on Instagram. All signs point to things being at least okay, but probably better, between Clay and AD.

‘Love Is Blind’ season 6, episode 12 is now available to stream on Netflix.

We come to this place … to talk about movies.

With awards season in full swing, everyone is building their ballots, picking the best films of the past year that mattered to them. The hosts of Obsessed are no different. In the latest episode of the show, Taylour Chanel, Hollis Wong-Wear, and special guest Drew Dorsey got together to hype the on-screen stories that left a lasting impression on them. Some are Academy Award nominees, others are big-budget Netflix adaptations, but they’re all unique, interesting works of art that helped movies make a comeback in 2023.

From Leave The World Behind to Past Lives, The Holdovers, and of course, Barbie, the ladies break down why their picks deserve a place on everyone’s must-watch list. Dorsey’s choice of apocalyptic thriller practically changed the game in terms of world-ending disaster movies last year while Wong-Wear loved the understated heartbreak of Celine Song’s romance drama and Chanel found a feel-good watch in a story about a cranky college professor babysitting his students over the holidays. And all three film fans were ready to gush over Greta Gerwig’s feminist coming-of-consciousness story seeped in nostalgia, drenched in pink, and set to a killer soundtrack.

Watch the episode above to hear more about their films of the year and why you should add them to your binge-watching queue. Like, now.

There’s nothing quite as terrifying to imagine as being trapped in a house fire. Most people are taught what to do if they smell smoke or a fire breaks out in their house. In fact, one of the biggest positives for encouraging closed doors in the home is the door helps keep the fire contained outside of the door for a longer period of time. This gives anyone trapped inside the room a chance to climb out of the nearest window or a longer window of rescue if the room has no escape.

One couple found themselves living this nightmare when their apartment caught fire while they were trapped inside with their dog. The situation could’ve turned into a much greater tragedy had it not been trash day. Tiffany Dupree, her partner Zac(corr) Braden and their dog Skye were stuck in their burning apartment in Tipton, West Midlands in England when a garbage truck drove by and saw the fire.

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Steve Whitehouse and Kevin Marriott were the garbage truck workers who spotted the flames coming from the apartment and spotted Dupree screaming on the balcony. Instead of just calling it in, the garbagemen pulled their truck over and got to work rescuing the occupants inside without hesitation.

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“I saw a young woman screaming from the balcony and all I could think was that I needed to get to her as quickly as possible, Whitehouse tells BBC Radio.

Upon seeing the woman, Whitehouse jumped out of his truck and scaled a wall in order to get to the balcony, pulling the woman out of harms way within seconds. When Dupree was safe, the garbageman turned his attention to the thick smoke coming from inside the apartment.

“The smoke was getting thicker. I called to anyone else who might be inside and could hear a young man shouting in distress for his dog. I managed to bundle up the dog in a blanket, jumped back down to the ground, and got the owner to throw the dog to me. I then went back up to help him,” Whitehouse explains to BBC Radio.

According to the Daily Mail, firemen believe the fire was started by an e-bike battery exploding while it was charging on the bottom of the stairs. Since the fire originated at the stairwell, it made it impossible for the couple to escape the blaze. Dupree is currently awaiting to be relocated by the council but in the meantime, the couple was only able to escape with the clothes they were wearing and their dog.

“‘It was about 8 am when I heard popping and rustling sounds. I thought it was my dog, Skye, but he was asleep in the kitchen. I heard three bangs and as I opened the living room door there was a huge boom,” Dupree tells Daily Mail.

Dupree and her partner don’t live together, so it’s only her things that need to be replaced, so her sister-in-law Keeleigh Seymour created a GoFundMe to help replace clothing and furniture.

Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve helped arrange a private screening for a man whose final wish was to see the film.

In January, a patient in his 50s at a palliative care facility in Quebec, Canada, reached out to end-of-life worker Josée Gagnon with a request: he wanted to see the Dune sequel before he passed away.

“I thought to myself, what can we do? Then my husband reminded me that I could make anything happen. So I posted on social media and we were in contact with Villeneuve’s team within 12 hours,” Gagnon told Global News.

The initial plan was for the man (who is unnamed to protect his privacy) to be flown to Montreal or Los Angeles to watch the film, but he was “too weak” to be moved, according to the Washington Post. Instead, Villeneuve’s assistant flew to him with the director’s laptop.

The man didn’t speak English and had to watch the film with French subtitles, Gagnon told the Post. He “was so weak that we thought he might die while watching the film,” she wrote on Facebook. The man ultimately was not able to watch the full 2 hours and 46 minutes of the film. He was in pain and saw only about half of it before he had to stop, Gagnon told the Post. He died a few days later.

Gagnon is inspired by the man’s determination, even if he wasn’t able to see the entire film. “It’s extraordinary what this man went through. The ending of a film, when you’re going to die, it doesn’t mean anything… All this existed for him,” she said, adding, “People have to continue to believe that everything is possible when it is done with heart.”

Gagnon still hasn’t watched Dune: Part Two, but when she does, “I’ll smile like an idiot the whole time thinking about this beautiful story.”

(Via Global News and the Washington Post)