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We chatted with the middle aged guy who went viral for break-dancing at a New Jersey town hall

"Wanna see me do the back spin?"

Photo Credit: Canva, Will Thilly

Will Thilly break-dances at town meeting.

When you're trying to change the world, or at least a New Jersey town, sometimes you've gotta go big. For Will Thilly, a man running as an Independent for the Cranford Township Committee, he believes in being anything but conventional—at least in terms of grabbing attention.

A clip of Thilly addressing the current public town hall committee went viral recently on social media, but not necessarily for his viewpoint on taxes or any of his other political ideas. It was his dancing. Thilly shimmies on up to the podium and is asked by Mayor Terrence Curran to state his name and address for the record. Thilly seemingly ignores this request as he has some popping and locking to do. He holds his finger up as if to say, "One second," as the mayor reminds him, "Mr. Thilly, I've started your time." The audience is smiling, some with their heads in their hands. He turns to them and asks, "Wanna see me do the back spin?"

(The Washington Post clip on Instagram is cut down for time, but in the same clip posted on Thily's page, the Rocky theme song is added and he vamps a bit longer. )

Thilly decides he doesn't need a yes. Without any prompting, he gets on the ground and says, "Watch this," as he does an impressive breakdancing back spin, landing on his back with both feet up, similar to the yoga pose "happy baby." He groans as he stands back up and composes himself, occasionally looking back at the crowd asking for applause that doesn't quite come.

Thilly begins to speak, quite seriously, on a topic important to him: taxes. "400 bucks on an average assessed home....Why did our taxes go up so much?"

Mayor Curran gently says, "Thank you Mr. Thilly. I liked the interpretive dance." Mr. Thilly takes the compliment in as he moonwalks away from the podium.

In just a few weeks, this clip grabbed well over a million likes on the Washington Post's Insta-reel alone. The comments are hilarious. One writes, "I don't understand your protest. Perhaps you could break it down for us?" Another enthusiastically exclaims, "I’ve seen enough - send him to the Olympics!"

olympics, breakdancing, dancing, fun, funny Breakdancing at the Paris Olympics Giphy, GIF by NoireSTEMinist

But some see the method behind the madness, writing, "It worked. He got our attention. We’re watching his video. Hip Hop wins again."

The truth is Thilly was seeking attention because this run for township committee matters very much to him. Upworthy had a chance to "break it down" with him and find out just why he's running and, of course, how he learned to moonwalk.

Upworthy: When did you get interested in politics?

Thilly: "When I moved to the town (Cranford, New Jersey) with our kids and saw how the town community was treating residents on a non-equal level. They were talking down to them. And I saw all over New Jersey, the developers are getting 30-year tax exemptions in these small towns." (This, he further suggests, puts the heavy lifting on the taxpayers which he doesn't believe is fair.)

"Ideally, I'm trying to get everyone's taxes down. And to get government to make decisions together with the community - instead of this 'Us vs. You guys.' They shouldn't be making decisions for us. My outlook is we should be making decisions WITH you, not for you."

Upworthy: Are you just naturally funny or is this a ruse to get people to pay attention?

Thilly: "I wasn't trying to be funny necessarily. And no, it wasn't a ruse. We've talked and talked and there's no point of going in and talking at the meetings. They don't answer. So I had an instinct that night that it could break down barriers and set people straight if I do this."

Upworthy: When did you learn to moonwalk?

Thilly: "1983! That's when we all learned, right? I was pretty good as a kid. Could do a lot more movements than now."

Upworthy: Did going viral move the dial?

Thilly: "We'll see in a month. Certainly seemed to be very well received from the town, especially young kids because it went really big on TikTok. So high school all the way down to elementary school kids have been coming up to me taking photos. Lots of people are asking for pictures, all over."

Upworthy: Any other town halls lined up?

"We just had another one last week and they (allegedly) censored it because they didn't want anything to go viral." (Thilly alleges they turned off the broadcast and later claimed it was a computer glitch.)

"And what we did is kind of a group dance. Audience members got up to dance!"

Upworthy: Did they break-dance too?

Thilly: "I invited everyone as a community bonding type-thing to all get up and dance together. And different people did different things. But we also had pairs dancing, couples dancing in the aisles."

This wasn't Thilly's first time to stand out at a community town hall. "I would go up and do nothing for five minutes. Just two minutes of silence, doing like a meditation."

Whether it moves the dial or not, Thilly has certainly made a name for himself, at least in the dancing community. The election will be held November 4th.

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'The Pitt' star Noah Wyle gives a refreshingly nuanced take on celebrity activism

"I'm as wary of the well-intentioned liberal as I am of anyone else."

Alan Light (left), Office of Representative Clark/Public Domain (right)

Noah Wyle has been doing healthcare advocacy work for nearly three decades.

Hollywood has a long history of celebrities using their fame to advocate for causes that are important to them. However, as social justice issues have become increasingly entwined with partisan politics, advocacy and activism have become more fraught with pitfalls. Aligning yourself with a particular issue quickly gets you slapped with ideological and political labels that may or may not reflect where you stand, and those labels themselves may earn you praise or condemnation you may or may not deserve.

And, frankly, people are tired of it. At least, the celebrities talking about politics part of it. On the flip side, famous people often feel pressure to take a public stand, to use their platform to speak out for or against various causes and concerns, only to then face criticism from all sides over how their platform is being used, whether they're doing enough to too much, and whether what they're doing is being done in the right or wrong way.

noah wyle, celebrity, activism, advocacy, social justice work People are often skeptical of celebrity activism. Giphy

Perhaps that's why actor Noah Wyle's thoughts on celebrity activism feels like such a breath of fresh air. The ER alum and current star of the critically acclaimed medical drama The Pitt sat down with Life Stories and shared his approach to advocacy work, offering a refreshingly nuanced take. Wyle started working with Doctors of The World (similar to Doctors Without Borders but focused on longer-term, sustainable medical care) during his ER days in the late 1990s and has been a staunch advocate of better working conditions and mental health care for healthcare workers.

In his Life Stories interview, Wyle was asked to speak on celebrity advocacy: "There is a conflict sometimes about whether actors should speak out and should be listened to, and God knows there's sometimes backlash to that, particularly in politics…can you talk about that for a sec, the dichotomy?"

@backonmybullsht1

Noah Wyle talking about using his voice as a celebrity for advocacy. He is so intelligent and compassionate. Today (8/27) is the last day of Emmy voting. Please vote for Noah Wyle and the Pitt! Full interview on the Thread YouTube channel. #noahwyle #thepitt #activism #celebrity #fyp

His response rejected the notion of simplifying people and issues into binary camps and categories.

"At the risk of offending, you know, I'm as wary of the well-intentioned liberal as I am of anybody else," he replied. "You know, the world's a complicated place, and I've worked with some people I really don't like very much to do some very noble work, and I've worked with some people I really love and wish they did more…You can't divide this up evenly among populations."

"Yes, there's a blowback to being a Hollywood personality that gives a sh__ about the world," he continued, "because your argument is so easily relegated to being that of a 'woke Hollywood commie liberal' you know, whatever. We have a population of people that have been consistently very active on social justice, and the people that don't like it when we speak out try to marginalize our voice and say it's a privileged class speaking out of its depth. And sometimes that's true. And sometimes it's just propaganda talking point."

obama, woke, joke, liberal, activism Obama makes a woke joke. Giphy

Ah, nuance. Gosh, it's nice to see you. Wyle went on to explain how he handles the blowback.

"In my particular case, I try to combat it by being as articulate and as learned on the subject I'm speaking about as possible, so that when somebody wants to debate me, they get everything I know to establish my credibility or validity."

How about that. Knowledge, facts, expertise. Beautiful. Then he adds another layer of awesome.

"But also, the older I get I give less of a sh__ about having to defend my point of view against people who would make that argument. I'm trying to get to substance, right? I'm trying to get past those levels of infighting and squabbling to see where are our commonalities and where we can fix this stuff."

(Excuse me, I'm just going to read that last bit a few more times before we move on.)

woke, activism, journalism, celebrity, opinions Late Show The Mooch GIF by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Giphy

"So it's a blessing and a curse," Wyle continued. "Yes, you're giving them a microphone, and with it comes the weird optics of who you represent when you speak, but like we've already discussed, whether it's Mike Ferrell or James Cromwell or Martin Sheen or Marlon Brando or you know, you go back Paul Newman, there were people that had been walking and marching and fighting for social justice going back to the beginning of our industry. And I would rather count myself in those ranks."

Speaking of older celebrities, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, and other famous faces helped bring the media's attention to the civil rights activism of Martin Luther King, Jr., but as Wyle pointed out, their actions were not just putting a face on a cause.

march on selma, martin luther king, MLK, tony bennett, activism March on Selma, 1965 Giphy

"When the cameras were off, Tony Bennett was doing concerts for people, for free, on the March on Selma. You know, people have shown up. They've shown up when the cameras were on, and they showed up when the cameras were off. It's just easier to make fun of them when the cameras are on," he said.

It's a good reminder not to label someone as "performative" unless we know for sure what they're doing for causes when the cameras are off. Sure, some celebrity advocacy is done for branding and PR's sake only, but many famous people are just people who happened to get famous. Noah Wyle's interview is a good reminder not to lump celebrities all together and discount the good work they do in the world simply because they're a part of Hollywood, and to focus on where people can find common ground in doing that work.

You can watch the whole Life Stories interview here:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

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Photos of school lunch tray in South Korea sparks debate about how American kids eat

It sure has adults' mouths watering, though.

Canva Photos

Kids in South Korea sometimes get served lobster tails with school lunch.

School lunch in the United States has a complicated history. While many of us who grew up in the 80s or 90s are nostalgic for some of the menu items we remember fondly (rectangle pizza, anyone?), some of the serving choices were bizarre. We really grew up with someone handing us a tray of pizza, french fries, chocolate milk, and soggy green beans every morning at 10:30am.

The offerings have improved somewhat over the years, but everything's still so... beige. The main choices are typically pizza, chicken nuggets, or some form of questionable ground beef like burgers or meatloaf. Some people are stunned when they find out that school lunches from around the world can look very different.

A photo of lunch served at a school in South Korea recently went viral and had everyone's mouth watering.

A user on Reddit posted the photos to r/pics where they immediately racked up over 17,000 upvotes.

The colors on the tray stick out immediately, most notably the noodles covered in creamy red sauce. But it's really the stuffed lobster tail that's the star of this particular tray; potentially lobster thermidor.

You expect to see some cultural differences in the food offerings in different countries. Korean food is inherently different than American food in a number of ways. But Americans love lobster! Yet can you imagine American schools serving lobster tail to kids under any circumstances?

Take a look at the mouth-watering spread here:

from pics

The response from mostly-American users was fascinating. Some were in awe while others rightly pointed out why a lunch like this would never fly in the USA.

One of the main sentiments was that school lunches in other countries often put ours to utter shame:

"I used to teach in Korea and the lunches were always amazing, the beef and quails egg stew was a constant highlight."

"I studied in Korea for 6 months on uni exchange. The food at the uni cafeteria looked just like this, and was 10/10. My private room at the uni lodge was $500USD for the WHOLE semester, and included unlimited food."

"I live in Spain and my kid's school invited the parents to taste lunch one day. It was fantastic. Also, at the end of each month they share a calendar of the meals that will be served during the next one, day by day. They're all balanced, and prepared with proximity food. They prepare specific meals for every kid with allergies/intolerances/any kind of dietary restriction, e.g. restrictions related to religion. They also share a list of dinner suggestions - again, for the whole month - so you have ideas for dinners that are healthy, easy, cheap, and tasty for kids. It's a public school."

"I am from a third world country where many public schools lack a ton of funding and even we have better more healthy lunches than the slop that’s given to US students. I know because I went to school in the US and also in my home country."

"America hates its f*cking kids. It will always mistreat them and deny them opportunities."

"Lobster as a school lunch??? I need to go back to elementary school... I'll quit work for education and a lunch like that!"

school lunch, food, school, kids, nutrition, health, elementary school, politics, government, FDA Now here's a balanced and nutritious meal. Giphy

Others, while impressed with the selection, had their doubts about if American schools could ever adopt something like this:

"This lunch is orders of magnitude better then US school lunches. And most American kids would utterly hate it."

"American kids have no palette! It’s all chicken nuggets and mac & cheese! ... I know some kids that would starve rather than try anything on that tray."

Some pointed out that those metal chopsticks would likely be used as a weapon almost immediately, and discontinued ASAP.

Americans, as a whole, have a dreadful diet devoid of enough nutrition and it causes catastrophic health problems in the longterm. For clues as to why, you can look at what we feed our kids — and why.


school lunch, food, school, kids, nutrition, health, elementary school, politics, government, FDA It's normal for kids to be picky eaters. When it continues into adulthood, it can be a root cause of health problems. Photo by MD Duran on Unsplash

No, most American kids probably wouldn't like lobster tail. But there is a lot that goes into how our palette develops that might help explain it.

For starters, fresh produce and lean proteins are extremely expensive in America. It's far more cost-effective to pump people full of cheap, empty calories and sugar. School lunch used to be cooked fresh every day in the schools before major government budget cuts forced districts to more heavily on lean on frozen or reheated options. Kids get used to chicken nuggies all day every day from a young age!

The irony is that school lunches in American, while not overly exciting, at least meet some basic nutritional guidelines. But they're not free for everyone, and even kids who qualify for free or reduced lunch may not end up participating due to stigma or red-tape. When parents on a shoestring budget have to buy their own lunch supplies, things can get a lot worse than meatloaf and green beans. We all knew a few kids in school who had Pop Tarts for lunch every day. To be fair, we were all jealous at the time.

And finally, Americans sure love to get fired up about our "right" to eat like crap. When Michelle Obama tried to clean up the school lunch program, she ran into massive pushback. RFK Jr. wants to do his own version of it, and we'll see how that goes.

The viral photo from South Korea shows what might be possible with a few key cultural and political shifts. Treating feeding our kids more like "preventive medicine" versus a cost to manage would definitely be a start.

This article originally appeared in May.

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"We were robbed": Unexpected rejects from the U.S. National Park System

“If the silver discovery hadn’t happened...Lake Tahoe almost certainly would have been a national park."

Photo credit: Canva

Lake Tahoe was almost a national park, but politics got in the way.

You know the adage, “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” Well, something similar happens out in the wild: not every natural wonder gets to become a national park. For every Yellowstone or Yosemite national park, there are dozens of equally jaw-dropping American landscapes that were denied this coveted designation—and the unparalleled federal protection that comes with it.

From Lake Tahoe’s radiant blue waters to the fossil-rich canyons of Dinosaur National Monument, there are dozens of breathtaking natural beauties across the country that are just that: natural beauties with thriving ecosystems, but not national parks. Behind each rejection, there’s always a fascinating story of politics, competing financial interests, and a constantly changing definition of what “deserves” national protection waiting in the wings.

Lake Tahoe, national parks, blue water, natural beauty, nature Many people—including Lake Tahoe’s biggest advocate, conservationist John Muir—fought for Lake Tahoe to become a national park.Photo credit: Canva

Often called “the Jewel of the Sierra,” or “Ocean in the sky,” Lake Tahoe is a marvel. Visitors of the 2-million-year-old lake enjoy pristine snow-capped peaks, gorgeous pine trees, and the prettiest, clearest water imaginable. Mark Twain even wrote of Lake Tahoe, “I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.” Naturally, many people—including Lake Tahoe’s biggest advocate, conservationist John Muir—fought for Lake Tahoe to become a national park, and multiple attempts were made from the 1880s and 1930s.

The problem? Virginia City, Nevada in 1859.

Eighteen hundred and fifty-nine was the year silver was discovered there, and as local historian David Antonucci explains, “If the silver discovery in Virginia City hadn’t happened, the course of history in Lake Tahoe would have been a lot different. It almost certainly would have been a national park."

Skiing, lake tahoe, national park, rejection, silver If not for that darn silver....Photo credit: Canva

The resulting mining rush altered Lake Tahoe’s landscape forever, most significantly impacting the tall, ancient trees that dotted the Tahoe Basin, which were systematically chopped down to build mine shafts. Twenty years later, it was estimated that more than 33 million board feet of timber were being cut down annually. To put that into perspective, that’s the equivalent of 2,749,999 cubic feet: the amount of wood required to fill 1,150 shipping containers or 88,000 Olympic-sized pools.

Due to this massive degradation of Lake Tahoe’s precious resources, the National Park Service later concluded that the extensive tourism and land development had compromised the lake’s nature beyond repair, ruling it unsuitable for national park designation.

judge, gavel, overruled, rejection, no Sadly, Lake Tahoe's proposals were overruled. Giphy

Why do places seek national park status in the first place? Lake Tahoe has no ego; the land itself does not seek fame, fortune, or glory. But there are several incentives both for the land and the surround communities that make the fight for national park status worth it. National parks enjoy certain VIP privileges, including an army of park rangers and maintenance crews provided by the federal government.

National parks, like the scenic Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Zion National Park, are protected to the highest degree possible against resource extraction, land development and other harmful practices. The are nothing short of astounding: miraculous havens for animals and native plants, flourishing wildlife habitats, and the preservation of vital cultural resources.

Then, there’s the tourism aspect: another powerful motivation for communities to support national park designation is the incredible bump in sightseers—paying visitors—that begin to arrive. National parks are tourist magnets, with Great Smoky Mountain National Park welcoming more than 12 million visitors in 2020. It’s the type of tourism that can turn a rural town into a bucket list destination and economically alter a community forever. Think of the last national park you visited and the crop of tourism-related businesses that surrounded it: lodging, restaurants, themed retail stores, guided tours, and more.

yellowstone, national park, tourism, economy, nature National parks are the ultimate tourism magnets. Photo credit: Canva


car, national park, economy, money, tourism Entire economies depend on a local national park. via TravelinUSA

Sadly, Dinosaur National Monument is another destination that never enjoyed national park status and the plethora of perks that come with it. Nestled in the rugged borderlands straddling Colorado and Utah, this huge national treasure spans over 210,000 acres—that’s larger than Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park combined. The natural wonder features an unparalleled 800 paleontology sites and the Carnegie Quarry, which boasts a 150-million-year-old wall full of roughly 1,500 exposed fossilized dinosaur bones.

Dinosaur National Monument also offers astonishing views of the nighttime sky, deeming it an International Dark Sky Park (IDSP) in honor of its exceptional nocturnal environment and supreme views of the cosmos. Obviously, this archaeological beauty would be a shoo-in for national park status, right?

dinosaur national park, rejected, natural beauty, national park, national monument Dinosaur National Monument looks like a national park, but is it?Photo credit: Canva

Unfortunately, meddling outside forces struck again: after multiple attempts, Dinosaur National Monument has not been formally rejected as a national park, but it's progress has been stalled for a long time due to local opposition. Commissioners and stakeholders in the area feared that a national park designation would jeopardize their various ranching and energy investments and blocked any attempts to elevate Dinosaur National Monument to national park status.

Becoming a national park is no walk in the park. Rules are scrupulous, community support is vital, and the power of public perception matters. In many ways, that’s a good thing: the National Park Service’s uncompromising criterion ensures precious American tax-payer money is reserved for only the most exemplary resources in the country, both natural and cultural, in a world that, increasingly, seeks to destroy them. But what of Lake Tahoe, Dinosaur National Park, Silver Falls in Oregon, or the Adirondack Mountains?

For reasons that have nothing to do with their importance, significance, or natural beauty, these landscapes lack national park designation and the protections that come with it. But that doesn’t mean they’re not worth visiting. So, the next time you’re planning a nature trip, consider adding these beauties to your list. You just might be pleasantly surprised.

This article originally appeared in May.

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