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Nothing To See Here. Just A Bunch Of Us Agreeing On Something But Too Afraid To Post It On Facebook.
For cryin' out loud. Can we all just talk about the M-word already?
11.06.13
Pop Culture
Lebanese dance troupe delivers a breathtaking performance on 'America's Got Talent'
The Mayyas walked like the proud lionesses they are.
06.24.22
10/10. The Mayyas dance.
We can almost always expect to see amazing acts and rare skills on “America’s Got Talent.” But sometimes, we get even more than that.
The Mayyas, a Lebanese women’s dance troupe whose name means “proud walk of a lioness,” delivered a performance so mesmerizing that judge Simon Cowell called it the “best dance act” the show has ever seen, winning them an almost instant golden buzzer.
Perhaps this victory comes as no surprise, considering that the Mayyas had previously won “Arab’s Got Talent” in 2019 and competed on “Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions.” But truly, it’s what motivates them to take to the stage that’s remarkable.
“Lebanon is a very beautiful country, but we live a daily struggle," one of the dancers said to the judges just moments before their audition. Another explained, “being a dancer as a female Arab is not fully supported yet.”
Nadim Cherfan, the team’s choreographer, added that “Lebanon is not considered a place where you can build a career out of dancing, so it’s really hard, and harder for women.”
Still, Cherfan shared that it was a previous “AGT” star who inspired the Mayyas to defy the odds and audition anyway. Nightbirde, a breakout singer who also earned a golden buzzer before tragically passing away in February 2021 due to cancer, had told the audience, “You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy.” The dance team took the advice to heart.
For the Mayyas, coming onto the “AGT” stage became more than an audition opportunity. Getting emotional, one of the dancers declared that it was “our only chance to prove to the world what Arab women can do, the art we can create, the fights we fight.”
The Mayyas went on to fulfill their promise of a truly hypnotic performance. Starting in a single file line, the women created magnificent shapes while moving in flawless synchronicity. At one point the group even became a pair of eyes (a major crowd pleaser).
According to ET Canada, Cherfan blended moves from both Chinese and Lebanese folklore. It made for a wholly original celebration of cultures, not to mention one breathtaking spectacle. The judges—and the audience—were left dumbfounded.
It was no time at all before judge Sofia Vergara leapt up to give the Mayyas their well-deserved golden buzzer. “There are no words to explain to you what we were feeling over here. It was the most beautiful creative dancing I’ve ever seen,” she told the team.
Howie Mandel added, “You said you were going to hypnotize us. When we sat here and we watched the movement and the perfection and the time and effort that went into that, we were hypnotized by what you did.”
You can watch the Mayyas’s spellbinding act below. Prepare to be hypnotized yourself.
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Pop Culture
Daughter's hilarious obituary for her 'coupon clipping' mom leaves people in joyful tears
"I hope she guides me to the best sales forever."
06.27.22
Goodbye. Maureen. Your "favorite child" will miss you.
What makes a good obituary? First, it should probably reflect the essence of the recently deceased person in an authentic, honest light. Second, it should feel personal, showing how that person’s life affected the lives of others. Then, of course, the right dash of humor can certainly help spark joy in an otherwise solemn moment.
New York Times journalist Caity Weaver achieved all those things masterfully in a eulogy written for her mother—the coupon-clipping, chronically late, green-thumbed Dr. Maureen Brennan-Weaver.
Caity clearly put her knack with words to good use, because her hilarious tribute quickly went viral on Twitter, leaving people not only with a good giggle, but a very precise picture of her mom.Maureen was a mom and “rowdy aunt,” as well as a 6-foot-tall podiatrist and an “uncommonly caring” one at that.
According to Caity, Maureen “could not stop herself from buying shoes for patients if she spotted just what they needed while shopping … She categorically did not do house calls, except for patients she ‘really liked’; of these, there were so many she had to set aside whole days for house calls.” She even “occasionally accepted” baked goods as payment from her patients.
Maureen was as “pathologically generous” as she was frugal.
“When a young nephew wished for a plastic microscope, she found him a real one (at a great price) and painstakingly prepared hundreds of slides for his study.” She also “briefly employed a skilled housekeeper but found her a more lucrative job.” To this day, her family has access to a “huge box of toothbrushes” she purchased for pennies decades ago.
Truly nothing made Maureen more happy than “helping people, and anyone anywhere saving money,” Caity wrote.
In honor of her mother’s passion for gardening, Caity encouraged others to plant something in lieu of flowers, with a Maureen-worthy reminder that “garden centers mark perennials down to unbelievable prices in the fall.”
Incredibly smart, fearless and “riotously funny,” Maureen had a “cackle that crashed through rooms.” One that will clearly be missed. Her death might have been “shocking” as it was the first thing she was ever “ahead of schedule” on, but she leaves behind “enough toothbrushes and memories to last several lifetimes.”
Caity followed up the obituary with a few of her mom’s “greatest hits” previously tweeted:
I’m not going to repost all the tweets but you get the idea https://t.co/7JcEzHZMjA
— Caity Weaver (@caityweaver) June 22, 2022
😂 I didn’t! https://t.co/xTmK9BMv6F
— Caity Weaver (@caityweaver) June 22, 2022
Oh this was a classic! https://t.co/NmjK4G44NV
— Caity Weaver (@caityweaver) June 23, 2022
Caity’s touching and joyful memorial received tons of love from people, including fellow writers.
“I’m so so sorry that you’ve lost her. That obituary might be one of the most joyous things I’ve ever read, funny and tender and loving, what a brilliant person your mum was xx,” Jess McGuire commented
“I am so sorry for your loss. And for the whole world’s loss! Your mom sounds fabulous,” added Mindy Kaling.
You can read the obituary in its entirety below. Maureen, you are deeply loved by your “favorite child,” and now by all of us as well.
Got the worst news I’ve ever gotten last week. My mom and I made each other cry laughing all the time. I hate to think about all the deals she’s going to miss out on. I hope she guides me to the best sales forever. pic.twitter.com/dZoWdIu86C
— Caity Weaver (@caityweaver) June 22, 2022
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Family
Mom who saved pet goose from eagle while breastfeeding is a mascot for moms everywhere
"Just a day in the life."
06.27.22
Hold on, Frankie! Mama's coming!
How do you explain motherhood in a nutshell? Thanks to Cait Oakley, who stopped a preying bald eagle from capturing her pet goose as she breastfed her daughter, we have it summed up in one gloriously hilarious TikTok.
The now viral video shows the family’s pet goose, Frankie, frantically squawking as it gets dragged off the porch by a bald eagle—likely another mom taking care of her own kiddos.
Wearing nothing but her husband’s boxers while holding on to her newborn, Willow, Oakley dashes out of the house and successfully comes to Frankie's rescue while yelling “hey, hey hey!”
The video’s caption revealed that the Oakleys had already lost three chickens due to hungry birds of prey, so nothing was going to stop “Mama bear” from protecting “sweet Frankie.” Not even a breastfeeding session.
Oakley told TODAY Parents, “It was just a split second reaction ...There was nowhere to put Willow down at that point.” Sometimes being a mom means feeding your child and saving your pet all at the same time.
As for how she feels about running around topless in her underwear on camera, Oakley declared, “I could have been naked and I’m like, ‘whatever, I’m feeding my baby.’”
Needless to say, people were impressed with Oakley’s fierce multitasking abilities.
“Tell me you're a super mom without telling me you're a super mom,” wrote one person.
Another added, “this was 100% the most badass, amazing, award deserving feat I have ever seen.”
To no one’s surprise, moms were finding the situation ultra relatable.
“I wish I could say I hadn’t run out mid breastfeed to save a chicken lol but that would be a lie,” one mom commented.
“My husband sent [this] to me and said hey look it’s you,” wrote another.
And perhaps the best comment of all:
“Girl I thought that was a water gun. Read the caption and realized it was a baby.”
Though she clearly wowed the internet, Oakley sees the entire fiasco as a mundane reality.
"It feels like an accomplishment, I suppose,'' she told TODAY, “but for me this was a day in the life."
And the winner for "Most Tasks Done In A Single Minute" goes to...
GiphyNot every mom has to save a pet goose from an eagle attack and breastfeed at the same time, but most mothers can relate to the almost comical, certainly never-ending juggling act that is parenting.
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