Before becoming a teenage heartthrob for the ages, Leonardo DiCaprio starred in the 1995 western, The Quick and the Dead, alongside Sharon Stone at the height of her career. However, DiCaprio recently confirmed that the studio had no interest in casting him, and he would have never appeared in the Sam Raimi film if it wasn’t for Stone.
In her 2021 memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, Stone revealed how far she went to cast DiCaprio.
“This kid named Leonardo DiCaprio was the only one who nailed the audition, in my opinion: he was the only one who came in and cried, begging his father to love him as he died in the scene,” Stone wrote via Insider. “The studio said if I wanted him so much, I could pay him out of my own salary. So I did.”
While promoting his new movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, DiCaprio confirmed Stone’s generosity in an interview with E! News and called her “amazing.”
“I’ve thanked her many times,” DiCaprio said. “I don’t know if I sent her an actual, physical thank you gift, but I cannot thank her enough.”
According to DiCaprio, Stone saw his work in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? as well as Russell Crowe‘s performance in Romper Stomper, and refused to let the studio cast anyone else.
“She said, ‘These are the two actors I want to work with,’” DiCaprio told E! News. “It’s incredible. She’s been a huge champion of cinema and giving other actors opportunities, so I’m very thankful.”
It’s hard to get a read on where people stand on The Hunger Games these days. Obviously, a decade ago these books and movies were a sensation. So it’s interesting, kind of out of nowhere, here comes a standalone prequel. This isn’t the start of a new trilogy (but, to be fair, that probably isn’t out of the question) that serves as a standalone film whether you’ve seen the other movies or not. And honestly, it’s really good.
Talking to director Francis Lawrence, who has directed all but one Hunger Games movie, he still seems haunted by the decision to split Mockingjay into two movies. Which was an option for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, but Lawrence made it clear he wanted to make this one complete movie. Granted, it is a long movie, but the greatest twist of all is you will leave the theater satisfied you saw a complete story, which does feel particularly rare these days when discussing franchises.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes takes place 60-some years before the events of The Hunger Games. We meet young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) who certainly isn’t evil yet but knows he might, sometimes, have to make compromises to survive. Unlike his peers, he comes from nothing, and he knows at any moment he can return to nothing. The Hunger Games themselves are in their infancy, a very low-rent version compared to what we see in the prior movies. During the events of this film is when it’s decided every participant will have a mentor, with the winning mentor receiving a fortune. And the mentor’s job is to boost ratings by bringing out the personality in each participant. And young Coriolanus is assigned to District 12’s Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), whose singing voice instantly makes her a star. Coriolanus develops an affection for Lucy Gray, but as Peter Dinklage’s as Casca Highbottom (who hates Coriolanus) often points out, is he doing all this for her or the fortune and glory? What makes the movie interesting is, even as a viewer, it’s difficult to tell.
Ahead, Francis Lawrence tells us why he wanted to return to The Hunger Games.
You’ve said recently you regret splitting up Mockingjay into two parts. Was that actually your decision?
No, honestly, that decision had been made prior to me signing on to do the sequel. So that was done before I was even on. I came on to do Catching Fire. They had this kind of crazy plan. I mean, it was good, but a crazy plan of Catching Fire was going to come out in November 2013, Mockingjay one in November 2014, and Mockingjay two in November 2015. So they sort of had that plan in play already. But I thought I was only doing Catching Fire. I figured, as I’m finishing Catching Fire, they’re going to bring some new director in that’s going to do Mockingjay one. So it was, basically, they hired me and asked me to join for the sequels while we were still prepping Catching Fire. So that decision had already been made before I was even brought on to do the sequels, but I still do regret it. It wasn’t my decision to do it, but I do regret it just because we got so much shit for it.
Now you look at Killers of the Flower Moon, you didn’t realize you could just put out a three-and-a-half-hour movie in theaters and it would be fine.
Yeah, well, I mean, look, this is the longest book of the series. And I was like, “Well, I’m not splitting this one into two.”
Oh, people would not have been happy about that.
No, I was just like, I would rather do a 2-hour and 45-minute movie and have it be one full satisfying piece.
And what you probably didn’t even know at the time when you made that decision was this year Mission: Impossible was going to do a part one. Into the Spider-Verse is going to do a part one. If now this was a part one people would have not liked that.
Although I know the way the world works. And the truth is, and I don’t read reviews or anything, but I guarantee you people are like, “Oh, they should have split it.”
No one is saying that. I promise.
Yeah? Well, that’s good to know. I mean, what I will say though, with the Mockingjays was part of why everybody kind of agreed, and especially I think why Suzanne agreed and she’s very much a structuralist, was that she truly felt that there were these kind of two distinct dramatic questions in part 1, being like, will we get Peter back?
I read the interview we did then. And you were even saying if you did one movie, Peta’s has to be back by the end of the first act, and how do you do that whole segment that quickly?
Exactly. Exactly. So it would’ve been much more compressed. I think it probably would’ve been a movie about as long as this, but even still, it would be compressed because right now you have four hours or so of Mockingjay.
So I went into this one knowing nothing. The only thing I knew was it was a prequel. I didn’t know anything. It really works with little preparation. I did the DiCaprio meme, “Oh, that’s future President Snow!”
No, totally. Totally. That’s the whole thing. I mean, that was the big draw for me — to be able to tell this kind of young man’s descent into darkness, and especially in the Hunger Games world. And I knew Suzanne would come up with some great themes to talk about and to base the story on. And I think I really enjoyed that where you sort of get the meaning of the hanging tree and the meaning of certain behaviors and the meaning of certain characters and relationship dynamics and the origins of the games themselves and how they started so rudimentary.
Yes, I was going to say “low rent,” which is fascinating. They just take place in basically Madison Square Garden.
Exactly. No, and I mean, that was part of the fun of it, is that the first games, it was like they literally just threw a bunch of weapons in the middle of an arena that was walled in. And you shut the doors and the bell rings and it’s probably over in an hour and a half. And this is the chance where you see, oh, things start to change. They create backstories for the tributes. And because of explosions, the landscape opens up and people can go into different places. And the capitol actually starts to intervene in the games and you see the beginnings of all these things. And even with some of the drones that don’t work very well.
Which is great. “Oh, here comes the water,” … smash.
Yeah, exactly.
And in this movie the Hunger Games are the second act of the movie and the third act really gets interesting as we spend time in District 12.
Also, something I really, really liked, which is I think that there’s sort of been an epic nature to the story. Partially because I think audiences and people that are used to these books in the movies sort of feel like, oh, when the games are over, the story’s over. And games are just part of the story, of a much bigger story. And that’s something I also really enjoyed and was surprised by when I read the book too.
There are bars in District 12 with live music. When people aren’t lined up to find out if they will be killed or not we see they do have social lives.
We see a little bit of certain aspects of District 12 in the other movies. I mean, they have Victor’s Village obviously by then. I think there are a few moments in the Hob, which was shot in a different location. But yeah, we got to see more of it. We got to see more of the countryside. We got to see more of this true industrial side of the kind of the coal mining and all of that, as well as the live performance by the Covey and Rachel.
So how does this work? Does Lionsgate come to you?
It came from Suzanne actually. So in 2015, we really thought it was done.
There were always rumors of spinoffs and stuff like that.
Yeah, I mean, Lionsgate talked about stuff like that for a while, but it always had to come from Suzanne. And she was done. She was like, “I’ve been working on these books and movies for 10 years. I have to go do something else.” And we wanted to do some other things too.
Which makes a lot of sense.
Totally. And then it was the end of 2019, and she called me and Nina Jacobson and said, “Surprise, but I’m almost done with a new book.” She didn’t tell us the story. She gave us a few hints – that it’s prequel, it’s 64 years before, there’s a music element – but other than that, I want you to wait and read the manuscript. It’s like, okay. So then we’re obviously excited and there was a bunch of anticipation. And that’s when I went and met with the Lionsgate people, and that whole regime had changed basically. So I didn’t really know anybody there. So a completely new group of people. And then when we read the manuscript in pre-pandemic just in the beginning of 2020, we fell in love with it and said, all right, let’s start figuring this out and start adapting it. And that was primarily what I was doing during the pandemic – on the phone with Nina and Suzanne and our screenwriters.
I am curious though, did you have any hesitation? Because I remember distinctly talking to you for that last movie. As we talked about there was backlash to dividing it up. You were also dealing with the death of a beloved actor and I know how tough that was.
What I will say is, look, I love the stories that she writes. And again, I think Nina and I even at the end always felt pretty lucky almost sort of subversively that we were able to sneak in these kinds of thematic stories in some sort of a commercial way where audiences … large amounts of people want to go see them and really enjoyed them. And there’s this amazing fandom, and you feel like you’re a part of something that’s really important to a generation’s lives. It’s a really amazing thing.
Also, the group of people like Suzanne, me, Nina — the team we put together really enjoy making these things together, really enjoy working together. And so I knew and Nina knew that if we could crack the script, that it would be a really amazing two years working together in doing something that we really care about in a world we care about and for fans we care about. And I think that in the end is more important. You’re right though, Mockingjay two was tough because we are feeling the hit still. Although I think we felt it more in Mockingjay one about the split of the books. We were still reeling from the loss of Phil, which you can never recover from. Even though it was kind of still in the middle of the shoot, he wasn’t done. But you kind of never really get the wind back in your sails when something that horrible happens. But, in general, the experience of working with these people and being involved in this world is still just really fulfilling.
You mentioned working through it during the pandemic. I’m sure you realized these movies hit harder at that point than they did during the Obama presidency.
Yes. And I think that’s honestly why Suzanne was inspired. Right?
That makes sense.
Basically, you can point to when we were done in 2015. Then 2016 comes around and she started to see this sort of polarization, not just of the United States, but also the world in terms of sort of thinking about one another as humans. And so she decided to write a story about this sort of state of nature debate – this idea of are we innately cruel and brutal and savage, or are we innately good and deserving of rights and freedoms? And seeing that sort of massive divide and wanting to write a story about that, which is why I think it feels really relevant right now.
Artificial intelligence has infiltrated the music industry. Although the software isn’t new, its acceptance by significant figures and entities such as the Grammy Awards is. Despite musicians like Drake and Bad Bunny’s public disdain for AI-generated music, YouTube supports the technical advancement.
Yesterday (November 16), Variety announced that YouTube revealed its partnership with Google’s DeepMind artificial intelligence lab had pumped out another feature for users. The new feature is titled AI deepfake music generator, and several entertainers, Alec Benjamin, Charlie Puth, Charli XCX, Demi Lovato, John Legend, Papoose, Sia, T-Pain, and Troye Sivan, have agreed to allow users to utilize their vocal likeness.
How To Use YouTube’s AI Deepfake Music Generator
So far, YouTube’s AI deepfake music generator has limited capabilities. To use the feature, users must upload a video within YouTube Shorts. Before publishing the clip, the user can add AI-generated music to their queued clip. To do this, users enter a prompt within Dream Track in YouTube Shorts that expresses a scenario they want to soundtrack. Then, from the list of approved artists (listed above), they can select the artist’s vocals that fit the aesthetics of the track best.
Before publishing the video to their subscribers, users will be allowed to preview the AI-generated track. It is important to note that, similarly to YouTube Shorts, there is a time restriction. AI-generated tracks’ maximum duration is 30 seconds in length. The feature has not been rolled out for full-length YouTube uploads or live broadcasts.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Thanksgiving Day, Friendgiving, Ribsgiving, Turkey Day — whatever you’re celebrating this coming Thursday, you’re likely going to require a drink or two to get through. It’s going to be a long, food-filled day full of anticipation, gluttony, games, and hopefully a good pour of whiskey or two. While we’ve already shared our two cents on roasting the perfect turkey and finding the best pumpkin pie, we’re also keen to recommend some great bourbon to sip every single step of the meal.
To that end, I’m calling out six bourbons for all six major moments of many a Thanksgiving Day. From the arrival to the meal to the after-dinner gaming to the “it’s time to get the f*ck out of my house” pour, we dove deep to find you a great bourbon whiskey for each situation. The “things are getting political” pour is on you.
For this list, I’ve collected six bourbons that range from fairly easy to get and affordable to truly special pours for special moments. And while those special pours are not widely available, they are available for a price (and I’ve linked to places where you can pay that price). Still, it’s important to note that my recommendations are more of a vibe than a “you must have” choice. Take the theme of the pairing and maybe find something that you can find or fits your budget better instead.
Sound good? Let’s dive in!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
This might be one of the most beloved (and still accessible) bottles from Buffalo Trace. This whiskey is made from their very low rye mash bill. The hot juice is then matured for at least ten years in various parts of the warehouse. The final mix comes down to barrels that hit just the right notes to make them “Eagle Rare.” Finally, this one is proofed down to a fairly low 90 proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old leather boots, burnt orange rinds, oily sage, old oak staves, and buttery toffee draw you in on the nose before a sense of old fallow fruit orchards with falling leaves hints at old brick barrelhouses in the distance with a whisper of dried apple.
Palate: Marzipan covered in dark chocolate opens the palate as floral honey and ripe cherry lead to a winter cake vibe full of raisins, dark spices, and toffee sauce before deep and earthy barrel warehouse vibes arrive with a sense of the cobwebs, mold, and ancient wood takes over.
Finish: The end has a balance of all things winter treats as the marzipan returns and the winter spice amp up alongside a hint of spicy cherry tobacco and old cedar wrapped with smudging sage, old fall leaves, and bourbon-soaked oak stave from decades ago.
Why Pour This Now?
The first pour is a very important pour of whiskey on any Thanksgiving. It’s your handshake, you welcome to the party, your … “this is me” pour. You want something special but recognizable. It has to be great tasting while still feeling deeply classic to the point of nostalgia. That’s Eagle Rare 10 to a tee.
This whiskey is pure Kentucky bourbon in its most quintessential form. It’s deeply classical while going deep into fall/wintry flavors, which fit with the flavors of the holiday. Moreover, this is just really easy sipping whiskey that works on a big rock or in an old fashioned (if someone wants to jump on the bar and stir).
The “Dinner” Pour — Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
This is the mountaintop of what the main line of Wild Turkey can achieve (this is easily found on liquor store shelves for the most part). This is a blend of the prime barrels that are married and bottled untouched. That means no filtering and no cutting with water. This is a classic Turkey bourbon with nowhere to hide.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens like a dessert table during the holidays with crème brûlée next to a big sticky toffee pudding with orange zest sprinkled over the top next to a bushel of fresh mint.
Palate: The palate hits an early note of pine resin as the orange kicks up towards a bold wintry spice, soft vanilla cream, and a hint of honeyed cherry tobacco.
Finish: The end keeps the winter spices front and center as a lush pound cake feeling leads to soft notes of cherry-spiced tobacco leaves folded into an old cedar box with a whisper of old vanilla pods lurking in the background.
Why Pour This Now?
Okay, everyone has arrived, the turkey is on the table, the mash is rapidly getting colder and tackier, and now it’s time for a great food pairing pour. Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon is the perfect pairing bourbon for a big holiday meal. The spiciness perfectly accents the big flavors on the table. There’s a nice honeyed vanilla that teases the coming desserts. This bourbon has everything.
Again, this is also very easy to drink neat or on a big ol’ rock. And again, if someone wants to mix this into a cheeky Manhattan or old fashioned, it’ll sing that way too.
The “Intermission” Pour — Bomberger’s Declaration Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 2023 Release
This whiskey heralds back to Michter’s historical roots in the 19th century before the brand was even called “Michter’s.” The old Bomberger’s Distillery in Pennsylvania is where the brand started way back in the day (1753). The whiskey in the bottle is rendered from a very small batch of bourbons that were aged in Chinquapin oak. The staves for that barrel were air-dried for three years before coppering, charring, and filling. The Kentucky bourbon is then bottled in an extremely small batch that yields around 2,000 bottles per year.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet mashed grains — think a bowl of Cream of Wheat cut with butter and molasses — mix with sticky toffee pudding, old saddle leather, old cellar beams, and sweet cinnamon with a hint of candied orange and dark chocolate next to luscious eggnog with a flake of salt.
Palate: The palate is super creamy with a crème brûlée feel that leads to soft winter spices, dry cedar, and orange chocolates with a hint of pear-brandy-soaked marzipan in the background.
Finish: The end has a creamed honey vibe next to brandy-soaked figs and rum-soaked prunes with fresh chewing tobacco and salted dark chocolate leading back to dark chocolate and old cellar floors with a touch of smoldering orchard bark.
Why Pour This Now?
Okay, the true intermission pour is a bottle of water. After that, you’ll need a nice palate cleanser pour of whiskey before you go back to the table for round two. Maybe you’re out on the deck smoking a cigar or just hoovering over the serving table planning your next move. Either way, pour this quintessentially deep and nuanced bourbon to get a full reset on your palate.
Bomberger’s Declaration is a masterpiece with depth that goes beyond the ordinary. It’s grassier yet creamier. It’s nuanced and bold yet light and almost playful. This bourbon will reawaken your senses just in time for more stuffing and cranberry sauce on another pile of turkey and potatoes.
The “Dessert” Pour — Bardstown Bourbon Company Discovery Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Series #11
The latest release from Bardstown Bourbon Company is a full-on Kentucky bourbon blend. The whiskey is made with 73% 13-year-old Kentucky bourbon, 21% 10-year-old Kentucky bourbon, and 6% of Bardstown’s own six-year-old Kentucky bourbon. Once batched, the whiskey mellows before bottling 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Tart cherries and rich toffee rolled in roasted almond and dipped in salted dark chocolate drive the nose toward cinnamon spice cakes with a hint of dried cranberry, plummy sauce, and rich tobacco.
Palate: The taste leans into caramel-covered peanuts with a hint of red fruit leather, old spice barks, and a whisper of orange rinds next to a touch of Cherry Coke, old leather tobacco pouches, and the old beams from a whiskey barrel house.
Finish: The end leans into a lush vanilla buttercream with notes of old back porch wicker, almost sweet cedar kindling, smudging sage, and cinnamon bark soaked in cherry brandy with a touch of chili-cut dark chocolate.
Why Pour This Now?
Okay, time has probably passed before the pies and puddings come out. Still, you need something that’ll counterpoint all that sweetness with a sharpness that’ll add true depth. That’s Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Discovery Series #11. It’s such an edgy yet welcoming pour of whiskey. It’s rich and saucy. When you pour it over ice, it gets creamier and more bitter chocolate forward to the point of feeling like a creamy espresso cut with dark chocolate and stewed red fruits.
If that doesn’t sound like a dessert accompaniment, I don’t know what does.
The “Gametime” Pour — Knob Creek Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 12 Years
This is the classic Beam whiskey. The whiskey is left alone in the Beam warehouses in Clermont, Kentucky, for 12 long years. The barrels are chosen according to a specific taste and mingled to create this aged expression with a drop or two of that soft Kentucky limestone water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with clear notes of dark rum-soaked cherry, bitter yet creamy dark chocolate, winter spices, a twinge of a sourdough sugar doughnut, and a hint of menthol layered with smudging sage and orchard barks.
Palate: The palate leans into a red berry crumble — brown sugar, butter, and spice — with a hint of dried chili flake, salted caramels covered in dark chocolate, and a spicy/sweet note that leads toward a wet cattail stem and soft brandied cherries dipped in silky dark chocolate sauce.
Finish: The end holds onto that sweetness and layers in a final note of pecan shells and maple candy before leaning into a creamy vanilla cream spiked with tobacco and stewed prunes, dates, and figs.
Why Pour This Now?
Okay, the food is done (sort of — we all go back for more). It’s time to break out a game, a cigar, or a movie. This is where we all come together and go at our own pace. You really need an easy-going whiskey that delivers for that. Knob Creek 12 is just fantastic for easy-going slow-sipping after-dinner luxuriating.
Again, you can mix a killer Manhattan or old fashioned with this or just sip it neat. It shines over a big rock. It’s the perfect drink-it-how-you-like-it whiskey.
The “Farewell” Pour — King of Kentucky Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel Sixth Edition
2023’s King of Kentucky from Brown-Forman in Louisville, Kentucky is a 16-year-old masterpiece. The batch this year was pulled from 51 barrels all filled on July 19th, 2007. Those barrels were left alone all these years in Warehouse G in the Louisville Brown-Forman Distillery. Once batched, the whiskey went into the bottle 100% as-is at cask strength, yielding only 3,800 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Toasted coconut and brandy-soaked dates lead the way on the nose with a rich sense of good salted dark chocolate, vanilla buttercream, and honeyed Graham Crackers sandwiching toasted marshmallow.
Palate: That dark chocolate takes on a creaminess (kind of like a small espresso mocha) with a sense of sticky toffee pudding cut with black tea, those brandy-soaked dates, a twist of orange, and plenty of nutmeg and cinnamon before leathery notes of old boots and dry tobacco arrive with an ever-warming heat from the ABVs.
Finish: The ABVs buzz to a warmth that peaks before it gets hot as the finish rides a wave toward orchard barks, mince meat pies, mulled wine, and whispers of pear marzipan.
Why Pour This Now?
At some point, it’ll be time to leave. Always go out with a bang! This whiskey is both elite and bold AF. Your guests will wake back up with this sipper thanks to massive ABVs and seriously bottomless depth on the profile. This is the pour that your family or crew will be talking about all year and ask for the minute they arrive at Thanksgiving 2024.
Send them off smiling with this outstandingly memorable pour of Kentucky bourbon.
Many years before I got together with my boyfriend, I had a sex thing with this guy that I thought was relationship material.
He not only had an amazing body but a great personality as well. I was honest when I met him that I was looking for something more than just sex, and he led me to believe that was what he wanted, too.
Between mind-blowing sex sessions, we ordered in, played video games, and watched movies — couple things but without the label. But when I tried to get him to go to a show or out to dinner with me, he refused. My frustration grew as the months went on, and one day I confronted him.
“Why don’t we ever go anywhere?”
“We have everything we need here,” he answered while simultaneously distracting me by caressing my shoulder blades.
“We actually don’t,” I said. “I’m hungry, let’s check out that new Indian place around the corner.”
“No! We might run into one of my buddies,” he said, moving his body further away from me. The underlining meaning was clear — he couldn’t take the chance that someone he knew would see him with me.
He needed to keep our relationship on the DL so that no one would ever suspect that he enjoyed spending time with me — a fat woman.
He was super fit, so obviously that’s the kind of woman he wanted to be associated with, the kind he could be seen with at the Indian place.
When I realized he was ashamed of being seen with me, I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach — a place where much of my pain already resided.
To him, I was fuckable but not dateable. He dumped me soon after that conversation.
He did me a favor by not continuing to lead me on. Otherwise, I might still be trying to prove to him that I was worth any shit he might have gotten from other people. If I was still his secret shame, I might not have met my next boyfriend, so thanks, athletic asshole.
I had hoped that, in this age of body positivity, men would no longer need to hide their desires when it comes to fat women.
But I was wrong.
It’s just a sad fact: Many men who are sexually attracted to fat women are ashamed of it.
They’re OK with banging a fat girl, but they don’t want to hang out with her — someone might judge them for it.
It’s one thing if you’re not into fat women — everyone has their preferences, and not every body type appeals to everyone. But if you find larger women hot and you want to have sex with them without being associated in public with them, that’s emotionally abusive.
Everyone should have the freedom to express their desires openly (as long as there’s consent from both parties). If you modify your behavior and wants to what you think will protect you from criticism and/or ridicule, then you need help because that kind of self-loathing will only grow until it has destroyed you.
Don’t act like we’re in a relationship if all you really want is to experience what sex with a fat woman is like.
I’ll tell you what it’s like: It’s as amazing and fun as having sex with anyone who’s into having sex with you. We don’t have magic vaginas, and our breasts don’t do any special tricks — well besides the usual, like feed or comfort people.
Fat women are just as hot and sexually gifted as women of other shapes, sizes, and abilities. Being fat doesn’t mean we’re so hungry for attention that we’ll put our own needs aside and do whatever we can to rock your world.
If you’re with someone who doesn’t make you feel beautiful or who isn’t proud to have you on their arm, you need to dump their ass.
Being alone is far better than compromising on what you deserve or being made to feel as if you’re someone’s big dirty secret.
You’re not only dateable, you’re lovable and worthy of being treated with respect and love.
I regret not standing up for myself when I discovered the athletic guy was only using me for sex. But at least I learned, as we all should learn, that I’m responsible for being my biggest advocate and to never accepting anything less than what I need.
This article was written by Christine Schoenwald and originally appeared on 06.29.18
As the nation helplessly watches our highest halls of government toss justice to the wind, a 2nd grader has given us someplace to channel our frustrations. In a hilarious video rant, a youngster named Taylor shared a story that has folks ready to go to the mat for her and her beloved, pink, perfect attendance pencil.
Instagrammer @tabgeezy shared a video of her daughter telling the story of how she put her perfect attendance pencil—the pink one that she had legitimately earned—in the classroom box of pencils to be sharpened. But when she went to retrieve it from the sharpened pencils box, all she found were plain yellow pencils. That’s because Lizzie—who, by the way, had not earned a perfect attendance pencil because she had gone to CANADA—was using it. And not only that, but Canada Lizzie then lost Taylor’s pencil in her desk, and her teacher was no help.
You have to hear Taylor tell it to understand why this travesty of justice has gone viral.
If you think this pencil battle is of no consequence whatsoever, think again. People on Twitter got hold of the video, and folks are rallying behind Taylor as if that pink pencil is our democracy and Taylor and Lizzie are the House and Senate.
If somebody ever takes my childu2019s perfect attendance pencil which SHE earned cuz she didnu2019t even go to Canada, the entire school getting shut down.
— Charlotte Clymer ud83cudff3ufe0fu200du26a7ufe0fud83cuddfaud83cudde6 (@Charlotte Clymer ud83cudff3ufe0fu200du26a7ufe0fud83cuddfaud83cudde6) 1580482234
“Lizzie” was trending on Twitter as people called out the little girl who went to CANADA and then dared to take Taylor’s perfect attendance pencil.
Me and the crew showing up to school the next day looking for Lizzie and getting to ride out for Tayloru2019s Perfect Attendance Pencil https://twitter.com/_FemGod/status/1223105472393121793u00a0u2026pic.twitter.com/3Hw7ASVmpX
— Matthew A. Cherry (@Matthew A. Cherry) 1580483395
All I am saying is that if Lizzy wanted a pink Perfect Attendance pencil then she shouldn’t have gone to CANADA.nn#JusticeForThePencil
There were some shout-outs to Taylor’s classmate who understood what that pencil meant to her.
shout out to reece who was the only one who understood the gravity of the situation. don’t let me see lizzie in the streets! https://twitter.com/_FemGod/status/1223105472393121793u00a0u2026
— in charge of the girls (@in charge of the girls) 1580474444
But Taylor’s teacher certainly wasn’t getting any love.
Me writing an email to my babyu2019s teacher saying that messy ass Lizzie better come up with a perfect attendance pencil or sheu2019s going to be going back to Canadapic.twitter.com/ZbcjpwBvUr
People had so. many. feelings. about baby girl getting back her pencil, about the way her mom and teacher dismissed it as “just a pencil,” and about poor little Lizzie who probably still doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about.
Why do we care so much? Adorableness aside, we’re all a little burned out on politics and the methodical dismantling of our country’s checks and balances, so maybe getting charged up over an adorable little girl’s pencil injustice somehow feels cathartic.
John Delaney dropped out of the race… Meh!nnThereu2019s a Presidential impeachment… Yawn. nnSomeone stole a little girlu2019s perfect attendance pencil. nnMe:pic.twitter.com/aXBot4y58G
Server Flavaine Carvalho was waiting on her last table of the night at Mrs. Potatohead’s, a family restaurant in Orlando, Florida when she noticed something peculiar.
The parents of an 11-year-old boy were ordering food but told her that the child would be having his dinner later that night at home. She glanced at the boy who was wearing a hoodie, glasses, and a face mask and noticed a scratch between his eyes.
A closer look revealed a bruise on his temple.
So Carvalho walked away from the table and wrote a note that said, “Do you need help?” and showed it to the boy from an angle where his parents couldn’t see.
The boy shook his head, no. “I knew it that he was afraid,” she said.
Carvalho made two more attempts until the boy nodded yes.
The server then called the owner of the restaurant to let her know that she was going to call the police on the boy’s parents.
“SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING: An Orlando waitress saw a family withholding food from a boy at a table. She noticed bruises on his body and created this sign to secretly ask the child if he needed help. When he signaled “Yes” she called us. The stepfather & mother were arrested.”
u201cSEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING: An Orlando waitress saw a family withholding food from a boy at a table. She noticed bruises on his body and created this sign to secretly ask the child if he needed help. When he signaled “Yes” she called us. The stepfather & mother were arrested.u201d
on one count of third-degree child abuse. His mother Kristen Swann was arrested with two counts of child neglect. A four-year-old girl was taken from the family by authorities. They say she showed no signs of abuse.
Detectives spoke with the boy and learned his parents frequently withheld food from him as a form of punishment. He was 20 pounds underweight. After searching his body, they discovered that he was nearly covered in bruises.
His father had recently beat him with a broomstick and back scratcher.
The boy told detectives that he was once hung upside down from his ankles in a door frame by his father and had been restrained by being strapped to a furniture dolly.
“To be honest what this child had gone through was torture,” Detective Erin Lawler said. “There was no justification for it in any realm of the world. I’m a mother and seeing what that 11-year-old had to go through, it shocks your soul.”
u201cChief Orlando Rolon, @OrlandoPolice, with waitress Flavaine Carvalho (middle) who saved an abused 11yo when he was dining with his family. They say the boy was u201ctortured.u201d The full details of his salvation on @fox35orlando at 5/6pm. #FOX35 #news #crime #updateu201d
— Matt Trezza FOX 35 (@Matt Trezza FOX 35) 1610650833
Carvalho’s quick thinking and bravery may have saved the lives of two children.
“This could have been a homicide situation if she had not have intervened,” Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon said.
“The lesson here for all of us is to recognize when we see something that isn’t right to act on it… This saved the life of a child,” he added.
The restaurant’s owner, Rafaela Cabede, hopes that Carvalho’s bravery inspires others to look out for signs of abuse as well.
“We understand that this has to encourage other people that when you see something, say something,” Cabede said. “We know when we see a situation that is wrong, we know what’s the right thing to do. We know that speaking up is the right thing to do. But it takes more than acknowledging it. It takes courage.
Happiness is, to some extent, a choice, but it’s certainly not without its indicators. Do you revel in other people’s success? Are you able to truly not sweat the small stuff? Can you maintain healthy relationships? Do you know how to regulate your emotions? Is it possible for you to live in the moment and appreciate the little things? These could all be signs that your disposition is actually a bit sunnier than you give it credit for.
But still, in our busy, imperfect world, it can be a challenge to realize the joy held within ourselves. That’s why every week, Upworthy gives you a carefully curated list of small, simple things that might help you access that spark of inner joy—so that you may be reminded that happiness isn’t so very far away.
Enjoy this week’s round-up.
1. Watch this adorable little girl help regulate mommy’s emotions with some sunglasses and kind words
4. Prepare to get blown away by a heartfelt country ballad version of Cher’s “Believe”
Just when you think you can’t be surprised by songs covers, another amazing revamp comes along. And Alexa Wildish completely delivered that for her performance on a recent episode of “The Voice Knockouts.”
5. Kenyans create ‘special holiday’ to plant trees which could significantly fight climate change
7. Teens continue on with sweet breakfast tradition for a grandmother who lost her grandson
Sam Crow began a Wednesday tradition of having his friends over for his Grandma Peggy’s delicious breakfast. After Sam’s tragic passing, the “breakfast club” was determined to keep his memory alive. read the full story here.
8. Man creates a world in virtual reality to spend time with his dog who passed away too soon
I made a 3D scan of my dog Sam a couple of years ago. She passed away 7 month ago, I still miss her a lot. I still visit her in this beach scene I made in @UnrealEngine in VR because our last trip was supossed to be a little vacation in a beach, but her health didnt let us go. pic.twitter.com/5hQ1Ob9wCm
The devil may have gone down to Georgia, but it appears he took a detour to a bar in Nashville and possessed a middle-aged mom on his way down there.
In a TikTok video that’s been viewed 5.5 million times, Olivia Reeth’s daughter shared that her family had gone to the Whiskey Bent Saloon in Nashville and was watching the Moonshine Outlaw Band perform. Her mom told the band she played the fiddle, and mid-song, the fiddle player decided to hand his instrument over to her.
You kind of have to wonder what the guy was thinking. Did he imagine she’d be able to keep up with the band? Did he figure she’d play a few bars and then hand it back?
Whatever he was picturing, it almost certainly wasn’t what she ended up laying down.
Mom might as well have said, “I’ll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul, dude” because she came prepared. In hindsight, her whipping off of her scarf was the sign it was all over, but who’d have known?
Watch her shred that man’s fiddle and see how he reacts:
The best part is when the guy pretends to boot the band’s fiddler out of the bar. And then Mama got sassy with it! Absolute legend, making her skills appear effortless as she walked around the room. Didn’t even take her coat off. Looking like she walked in off the street, which she basically did.
The woman’s daughter shared that her mom is classically trained and that her dad was the one who introduced her to country and bluegrass music. They both play in two bands, Coconut Radio Band and Barney’s Bullet.
Seriously impressive talent. And you gotta love the respect the band’s fiddle player gave her, despite her basically stealing his soul. What a fun exchange between musicians who clearly love what they do and love to share it with others.
No matter how long you’ve skied or snowboarded or how much of an expert you are, there’s one nemesis on the mountain that poses an underappreciated threat—the tree well.
People may think the main danger of skiing through trees is the risk of running into one. But falling into a tree well is a less obvious, but still potentially deadly risk due to the possibility of snow immersion suffocation (SIS). Essentially, the area around the base of a tree creates snow conditions that are quite different than those out in the open. Air pockets in the snow combined with water vapor rising from the tree base turns the snow into a quicksand-like texture that is nearly impossible to escape from—the more you struggle, the deeper in you fall. Skiers and snowboarders die every year from SIS due to falling into tree wells and not being found in time.
That could easily have been snowboarder Ian Steger’s fate in March 2023 if not for the eagle eye and quick thinking of backcountry skier Francis Zuber.
Zuber had just begun a backcountry ski run with a buddy on Mount Baker in Washington State when a flash of red caught the corner of his eye. Zuber’s GoPro footage shows him stopping and turning to see a colorful snowboard upside-down next to a tree.
“I knew there was somebody attached to it, and obviously they were still alive,” Zuber told Vancouver’s City News. “I shout out to the guy…he can’t hear me, he’s five and a half to six feet into the snow at that point.” Zuber knew he had to work fast.
As the video shows him struggling to make his way back toward the tree through the deep snow, we can hear him muttering expletives to himself and calling out to the snowboarder. At first, we can’t see how Steger is positioned, but as Zuber gets closer and starts digging, it becomes clear that the snowboarder is completely upside-down, with his face buried deep in the snow.
Watch the harrowing GoPro footage Zuber shared on YouTube:
[Warning: This video contains strong language.]
Zuber told the CBC that they estimated Steger had been buried between five and seven minutes, “probably at either a third or just the halfway point of his possible survival time in there,” when he found him. Zuber said Steger hadn’t been snowboarding alone—he was with a group of three other riders who were carrying safety equipment including shovels, beacons and two-way radios—but as we could see in Zuber’s GoPro, getting back up a mountain when you realize someone in your group isn’t behind you anymore is no small or quick task.
Steger and Zuber have since become friends since the March 3 rescue and have even gone skiing together on Mount Baker.
Steger told the CBC he just wants to “enjoy being alive.” Indeed, after a close-call experience like that, every moment you have would feel like a gift.
This article originally appeared on 4.6.23
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
