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Sigourney Weaver just surprised a high school that staged a brilliant production of 'Alien.'

Sigourney Weaver just surprised a high school that staged a brilliant production of 'Alien.'

Not every high school play gets the attention of major movie stars, but then again, not every high school stages a live production of the1979 sci-fi classic Alien.

Sigourney Weaver attended the encore performance of Alien: The Play at North Bergen HighSchool in New Jersey, surprising the cast of students. Man, this is kind of making me feel resentful Hugh Jackman didn’t show up at my high school’s production of Les Mis.

Before the show, Weaver gave the students a pep talk, which was later Tweeted by North Bergen’s mayor, Nicholas J. Sacco. “I’m so excited to be here. I’m representing all the Alien fans from allover the universe,” Weaver said in her speech. “I think what you’re doing is so cool and so important.”


They say that imitation is the best form of flattery, and in this case, they are right.

Afterwards, she met with the students, who flipped out over getting hugs from the o.g. Ripley.

Alien: The Play w ent viral when photos of the production were posted on Twitter.

You can watch the full performance of the play on You Tube .

The idea of staging Alien is cool in and of itself, but the show’s sets, spacesuits, and special effects all made from recycled materials were enough to elevate it from high school theater to a modern masterpiece.

More surprisingly, this show came from a school that doesn’t even have a real drama department, just an English teacher with a lot of passion.

This wasn’t the first time Weaver addressed the students. Back in March, she sent them a video praising their production. “I saw a bit of your production of Alien . I just want to say it looked incredible. You put so much heart and soul into that and the alien, I must say, looked very real to me,” Weaver said . “I just want to send our compliments, not only from me, but from James Cameron and the original screenwriter, Walter Hill. We all say bravo, well done. And just one more thing — you know, the alien might still be around. So when you’re opening your locker, just do it very slowly.”

Weaver wasn’t the only one involved in Alien to support the school. After hearing about the viral play, Alien director Ridley Scott donated $5,000 so the students could stage an encore production of the play, and also suggested that the school should stage one of his other films – Gladiator.

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Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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via UNSW

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"These past seven weeks really opened up my eyes on how the household has actually ran, and 110% of that is because of my wife."

@ustheremingtons/ TikTok

There's a lot to be gleaned from this.

Participating in paternity leave offers fathers so much more than an opportunity to bond with their new kids . It also allows them to help around the house and take on domestic responsibilities that many new mothers have to face alone…while also tending to a newborn.

All in all, it enables couples to handle the daunting new chapter as a team, making it less stressful on both parties. Or at least equally stressful on both parties. Democracy!

TikTok creator and dad Caleb Remington, from the popular account @ustheremingtons , confesses that for baby number one, he wasn’t able to take a “single day of paternity leave.”

This time around, for baby number two, Remington had the privilege of taking seven weeks off (to be clear—his employer offered four weeks, and he used an additional three weeks of PTO).

The time off changed Remington’s entire outlook on parenting, and his insights are something all parents could probably use.

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Library of Congress

When we think about the era of American slavery, many of us tend to think of it as the far distant past. While slavery doesn't exist as a formal institution today, there are people living who knew formerly enslaved black Americans first-hand. In the wide arc of history, the legal enslavement of people on U.S. soil is a recent occurrence —so recent, in fact, that we have voice recordings of interviews with people who lived it.

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