When Mr. T burst onto the pop culture landscape in the early ‘80s‚ he was a curious character‚ to say the least. People had a lot of questions about his name‚ copious amounts of gold jewelry and West African warrior hairstyle.His personality was also intriguing. He was a tough guy but also a very thoughtful man of faith.In 1983‚ when TV news reporter Bobbie Wygant asked him a rather rude question‚ Mr. T gave a very thoughtful response that showed that behind his larger-than-life persona‚ he understood the importance of humility."I'm looking at you with $10 million worth of diamonds and gold and everything and then I'm looking at your shoes that are just a disaster‚” Wygant said with a smirk. “Now‚ will you explain to me what's with these shoes? All taped up‚ looking tacky.""Some people might see this as tacky‚ but there's a message in these shoes. You see‚ these shoes keep me humble‚ and if you recall‚ the last time that we met‚ I had these shoes and they were in better shape‚” Mr. T said. Mr. T eloquently responds to a reporter who makes fun of his shoes. — (@) “But these shoes were handed down through my family‚” Mr. T continued. “My father wore them‚ my brothers wore them and things like that. So they keep me humble. Let me remember that I have brothers and sisters back in Chicago. I got a mother and father that I must take care of. So I see‚ out in Hollywood‚ and especially all the money I'm making now‚ it’s so easy for me to be caught up in all this material stuff and forget where I come from.”

Fostering an environment where consent is expected and respected can be difficult if you don't quite know how to make it work. Consent has been a big conversation in society since the "Me Too" movement where people shared their stories of sexual assault or sexual violence. A theme began developing around consent and it became clear that not everyone understood what consent and non-consent looks like in a hormone-fueled moment. This has led to parents trying to figure out the best ways to teach their children about verbal consent and enthusiastic consent. But there's one area that sometimes gets overlooked and one mom is taking to social media to show how she teachers her sons to recognize non-verbal body language that can mean consent and non-consent.Kelsey Pomeroy‚ a mom of two boys‚ recently shared a video showing how she is teaching her children to not only listen for verbal consent but to look for signs of physical consent as well. In the video she's standing in the kitchen and the text overlay reads‚ "I am a mom of 2 boys and we play the body language game to teach consent." It starts off by her telling her young son that she's not going to be speaking during the game but he has to figure out from her body language if she is saying yes or no. Her son immediately understood when it was okay to hug and not okay."We talk about how even if someone isn't saying 'no' with their words‚ they might be saying 'no'‚ 'I don't like this'‚ or 'I'm uncomfortable' with their body language. That means we stop‚" Pomeroy writes in the caption. The mom of two says that they also reverse the roles so her sons get practice saying "no" with their words and their body. There are also conversations about standing up for others and reading body language in other situations‚ and parents are applauding her lessons. See on Instagram "As the mom of 2 girls‚ I cried watching this‚ thinking of the future respectful men my girls will get to interact with because of awesome moms like you. Thank you‚" one woman writes."As a mom of a 2 yr old boy who LOVES to give hugs to other little girls‚ this is so freaking smart!!! I've defaulted so many times with trying to tell the little girl to tell him no‚ and I'm totally perpetuating patriarchal Norms by doing that. What a great exercise to do with your little one (especially little boys). Thank you so much for sharing this‚" another mom praises."I don't have kids‚ but I work with them! I love that you're able to teach this with your son and I really wish more parents would teach their kids this!! Especially teaching him body language cues‚ since not everyone is ABLE to speak with their words‚" someone else says.Clearly this message is much appreciated by other parents who are now taking notes on how to play the body language game with their own children. Teaching consent doesn't have to be hard and it's always worth it.

There are nearly 90 known covers of Toto’s “Africa.” Goodness knows there are countless more not recorded. It’s just one of those enduring hits that remains special no matter what clever spin is put on it. In fact‚ many renditions continue to be just as timeless as the original. Take for instance this gem from Angel City Chorale (below). What makes this performance so unique is what happens before any music starts playing—as the singers use their hands to mimic the sounds of rainfall.First‚ there’s the small pitter patter‚ as the group rubs their hands together. At the conductor’s signal‚ that drizzle becomes heavier with snaps‚ then turns into a downpour with thigh claps and synchronized jumping…then finally dying down as the intro notes begin to play. It’s such a simple artistic choice that somehow adds so much. And of course‚ the actual singing is glorious. Watch: This cover actually earned Angel City Chorale a standing ovation on “America’s Got Talent” Season 13. During their audition‚ founder Sue Fink shared that her mission was to “bring together people of diverse backgrounds and build community and build community when we make something beautiful together.”Safe to say—that mission is accomplished. Just take as look at how much of an impact this song alone has made: “Tears of joy. We need more of this positively in the world. Music is universal!” “Why am I crying. Amazing performance!” “Jan 2024 and they still rock!” “Watched this at least 50 times. Wonderful cover.” “Most outstanding performance. Living in South Africa this hits home and gives me chills.” Sounds like they really did bless those rains.If you’d like to hear even more of Angel City Chorale’s amazing covers‚ head on over to Youtube or Instagram.

No competing with a keyboard god. The post The musician Billy Joel claims “kicks [his] ass on piano” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

by Rhoda Wilson‚ Expose News: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” – Upton Sinclair This statement holds particularly true in the field of climate science‚ says Tony Heller. On NASA’s website is a tab labelled “Facts.”  Clicking on “Facts” displays various menu options alongside […]

by Tom Luongo‚ Tom Luongo: In this year’s public blog two-part extravaganza I went over my predictions for 2024 (here and here). In them I brought up the idea that ‘soft secession’ would make it’s way into the public conversation in both the US and Canada. It wasn’t really a tough call to make but it was […]

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