+
Pop Culture

Hollywood icon Bruce Willis is retiring due to a cognitive condition called aphasia

bruce willis aphasia, die hard, bruce willis movies

Bruce Willis at 2010 San Diego Comic Con.

The family of legendary action star Bruce Willis shared some sad news on social media Wednesday, March 30. The actor is suffering from aphasia, a language disorder, and will step back from his career on the big screen.

Willis, 67, starred in some of the most iconic films of the past five decades, including the “Die Hard” franchise, “Pulp Fiction,” “The Fifth Element,” and “The Sixth Sense.”

“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities. As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him,” his family wrote in a joint statement.


Johns Hopkins describes aphasia as “a language disorder caused by damage in a specific area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension. Aphasia leaves a person unable to communicate effectively with others.” It can be brought on by a stroke, head injury, brain tumor, infection or dementia.

One can imagine how hard it would be to act with that disorder.

"This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support,” the Willis family added.

Although Willis will not be filming any more films, he can retire knowing that he was one of the most unique onscreen personas in film history. He was the tough guy with the heart of gold and often portrayed believable, blue-collar action guys at a time when over-the-top ridiculously swole actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone ruled the box office.

As an actor, he also had a wry sense of humor that brought a sense of levity to the harrowing positions he found himself in, whether a fiery building or behind the wheel in a car chase. It shone brightly in the ’80s on “Moonlighting,” the romantic detective comedy co-starring Cybill Shepherd.

Rumors circulated that Willis may be facing health issues as an explanation for the glut of direct-to-DVD and video-on-demand films he’s made over the past several years. According to IMDb, he currently has eight films that have been completed or are in postproduction set to be released.

Now, with this announcement, his family can put those rumors aside and the public can focus on appreciating the great films he’s made over his storied career. “We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him,” his family said.

His family signed off its announcement with Willis’ lighthearted philosophy of life. It sounds a lot like something you’d hear from the mouth of John McClane.

“As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that,” his family said.

Yippie-ki-yay to that.


True

We’ve all been hearing urgent warnings from scientists, government, and corporate leaders on the need to limit the planet's global temperature warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change.

Several studies, including research from the National Academy of Sciences indicate if we continue on the path we are on, we will likely hit that pivotal moment of global warming in the early 2030s. It’s clear that more needs to be done —and faster—to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and secure a thriving and sustainable economy for everyone.

Broader research is also showing people care more than ever about what companies are doing to address this challenge. In a 2022 global survey from IBM, 51% of respondents said environmental sustainability is more important to them now than it was the year before. And a 2022 Yale survey found that 51% of U.S. business students would even take lower pay to work for a company with better environmental practices — a signal of the topic's importance.

T-Mobile is an example of a company that has led the wireless industry in these efforts starting with its pledge in 2018 to source 100% of its total electricity usage with renewable energy and being the first in U.S. wireless to set science-based carbon reduction goals and then reach them in 2021. This year, T-Mobile stepped up even more by becoming the first U.S. wireless provider to announce a net-zero target for its entire carbon footprint.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Tense video shows a woman filming herself after sensing a man following her. She was right.

“See this gentleman behind me? Yeah, this is what this video’s about.”

@lacie_kraatz/TikTok

Lacie films as the mysterious man visibly gets closer.

It’s no secret that even the most seemingly safe of public places can instantly turn dangerous for a woman. Is it fair? No. But is it common? Absolutely, to the point where more and more women are documenting moments of being stalked or harassed as a grim reminder to be aware of one’s surroundings.

Lacie (@lacie_kraatz) is one of those women. On April 11th, she was out on a run when she noticed a man in front of her displaying suspicious behavior. Things got especially dicey when the man somehow got behind her. That’s when she pulled out her phone and started filming—partially to prove that it wasn’t just her imagination, and also out of fear for her safety.

“Hello. I’m just making this video so that women are a little more aware of them,” she begins in the video. “See this gentleman behind me? Yeah, this is what this video’s about.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Mom shares hacks for making sure her children with ADHD have a smooth morning

She pulls from her own experience with ADHD to help her kids.

Mom shares helpful morning routine for ADHD kids.

Getting kids up and out the door in the mornings can be a struggle whether your children have ADHD or not. A lot of mornings, it feels like anything goes, from your kid waking up looking like they just fought a flock of wild geese in their sleep to them forgetting their left shoe in the refrigerator.

Why was their shoe in there to begin with? No one knows.

Having kids is committing to organized chaos at any given moment, while also accepting that sometimes the chaos isn't organized at all. It's just a free-for-all, and all the tiny humans look like different versions of you. But Tarah Carr, who created the TikTok page @thatadhdlife, has come up with a solution to morning chaos that helps get her kids out of the house on time and ready for the day.

Carr is neurodivergent and so are her three children. All four of them have ADHD, but it was Carr's personal experience with ADHD as a child that helped inform the routine she created for her children.

Keep ReadingShow less

An Italian preschooler's Italian rant has people in stitches.

All people have a need to communicate, but the way we do that varies greatly from place to place. Every culture has its own communication peculiarities that make our human family delightfully diverse.

Not only do humans speak thousands of languages around the world, but we also engage in culturally specific speaking styles, speech patterns and body language, some of which are immediately identifiable.

Case in point: the Italian "finger purse."

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

'Princess Bride' star Mandy Patinkin shared a moving detail about the film with a grieving woman

Two souls connecting over the loss of their fathers. (Phew, grab a tissue for this one, folks.)

via Mandy Patinkin / TikTok

There was an emotional exchange on TikTok between two people who lost their fathers to cancer. One was actor Mandy Patinkin, the other was TikTok user Amanda Webb.

Patinkin currently stars on "The Good Fight" but one of his most famous roles is Inigo Montoya in the 1987 classic "The Princess Bride." In the film, Montoya is a swordsman who is obsessed with confronting a six-fingered man who killed his father.

Webb recently lost her father Dan to mantle cell lymphoma. She had heard a rumor that Patinkin used his father's death from cancer as motivation in a pivotal scene where he confronts the six-fingered Count Rugen (Christopher Guest) in a duel.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

Boy can't contain his tears as he sings emotional solo at his parents' vow renewal

He poured his entire heart into his song and everyone felt it.

@chasingabundance/TikTok

12-year-old Aiden getting emotional while singing at his parents' vow renewal

It might have been his parents’ vow renewal ceremony, but 12-year-old Aiden completely stole the show—along with a few million hearts—the instant he began singing.

In a clip shared by videographer Danielle Tufano, the young boy only got out a few notes of Calum Scott's "You Are The Reason” (a song he chose specifically to express his love to Mom and Dad on their big day) before he was moved to tears. His intense emotion paired with a truly lovely singing voice made the ballad all that more powerful as he gained composure and finished his solo.
Keep ReadingShow less
Identity

Gay choir teacher breaks down when his class gives a surprise performance at his wedding

Christopher Landis had kept his marriage secret because he wasn't sure how students or parents would react.

via Pexels

Two men exchanging rings in a wedding ceremony.

Christopher Landis, a choir director at Hingham Middle School in Massachusetts, didn’t tell his students he was engaged to Joe Michienzie three years ago. According to Inside Edition, whenever they asked who Michienzie was, Christopher would say, "That's Joe. He's my friend."

Landis kept his relationship a secret in front of his students because he wasn’t sure how their parents would react. Sadly, even today, LGBTQ people still have to be discreet about their personal lives in some professions.

This is sad for the teachers who have to stay closeted and also for the LGBTQ students who miss out on having a positive role model.

Keep ReadingShow less