The Lighter Side
The Lighter Side

The Lighter Side

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Actor Sam Neill’s ‘irritating’ perspective on death helped him live the most beautiful life
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Actor Sam Neill’s ‘irritating’ perspective on death helped him live the most beautiful life

It says a lot about Sam Neill that, despite an acting career that spanned five decades, he’s still best known for his scene-stealing role in 1993’s Jurassic Park. Neill played the beloved paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, a kind and courageous protagonist whom fans couldn’t help but root for, in large part due to Neill’s powerful performance. Neill recently passed away, despite having recently won an arduous battle with an aggressive form of cancer, at the age of 78. He was diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma in 2022, which meant he had several years to ponder his mortality before his unexpected passing. His perspective on the inevitability of it all was deeply inspiring. Neill didn’t fear death, but he wasn’t ready to go Sam Neill in 2017, a few years before his cancer diagnosis. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons Even after his cancer diagnosis and during its rigorous treatment, Neill kept acting. He acted in the adaptation of Apples Never Fall and in the television series The Twelve. The purpose and forward momentum in his greatest passion gave him the strength to keep going. Ultimately, he found the whole cancer thing—along with human mortality, in general—to be a bit of an inconvenience. “I’m not in any way frightened of dying,” he told ABC’s Australian Story in 2023. “It’s never worried me from the beginning. But I would be annoyed. I’d be annoyed because there are things I still want to do.” He emphasized that the thought of dying was just so annoying, not because it was scary, but because it naturally got in the way of continuing to live. “Very irritating, dying. But I’m not afraid of it.” The solution? It sounds cliche, but Neill found an ability later in his life to truly live in the moment. Even after his cancer went into remission, doctors could never promise him how much time he had left, so he had to make the most of what he did have. That also meant, for him, making peace with all of the days that had come before. “One of the things I’ve learnt, which I probably knew already, is how important it is to live in the moment,” he once said. “I’m not an introspective person. I don’t look back with any great eagerness, but I was forced to look back and take an evaluation of my life. I think I’ve done some good things. Not all of them have been good. We all have regrets, but I think I can live with myself and I can die by myself OK.” Neill found his joy away from the Hollywood spotlight A lot of people talk about living in the moment, but Neill is a great example of someone who really did it. Despite a thriving acting career and a worldwide reputation as a beloved performer, Neill lived on a farm in New Zealand far away from the spotlight. But his life was anything but quiet or boring. He famously named his farm animals after A-list celebrities: a chicken named Meryl Streep, a cow named Helena Bonham Carter, and a rooster named Michael Fassbender to name a few. He also wrote a book about his life, called Did I Ever Tell You This? A lot of celebrities write memoirs, but few write them solo without the help of a ghostwriter. Neill found happiness in the difficult task of writing; capturing his favorite stories, his accrued wisdom, his regrets. And despite living away from the spotlight, Neill loved to act. He vowed to continue “boring” audiences with his performances for as long as he could, and never seriously contemplated retirement. He once said the word was like a “swear word” to him. It was this work, with and around the people he loved, that he wanted to continue: “We’ve built all these lovely terraces, we’ve got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature,” he said. “And I’ve got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big. But as for the dying? I couldn’t care less.” Neill’s passing, while tragic in the sense that the world has lost one of its best people, reminds us of the ultimate goal: to build a life so meaningful and satisfying that you can’t bear to stop living it, even though we all must. The post Actor Sam Neill’s ‘irritating’ perspective on death helped him live the most beautiful life appeared first on Upworthy.

Mom explains how her two children were conceived at the same time but born three years apart
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Mom explains how her two children were conceived at the same time but born three years apart

It sounds like the setup to a riddle: How can one mom have two kids who were conceived at the exact same time but born three years apart? Well, there are no tricks in this real-life story. But there is some extremely cool science. Mom reveals how her ‘twins’ were conceived at the same time but born three years apart Taylor Greenhagen is a popular social media creator who shares her life as a mom of two. She’s built a following with her raw-yet-hilarious takes on pregnancy, marriage, and life with young kids. She’s also been vulnerable and open over the years about her journey with in vitro fertilization, or IVF. By now, most people are familiar with the basics of IVF. In recent years, it has become far more mainstream and accessible for growing families. In the United States, more than 100,000 babies were born through IVF last year—an all-time high. Still, IVF is expensive and complex. There’s a lot most hopeful parents don’t know about the process, and that’s where people like Greenhagen are making a difference. In a recent TikTok post that’s now gone viral, she shared how she ended up with two IVF babies from the same cycle who were born years apart. “My son and daughter were conceived at the same time via IVF in 2022 and spent the first 5 days of their lives as embryos growing side by side,” she wrote in the caption over footage of the two snuggling and playing adorably. “One was born in 2023 and the other in 2025. Now they’re finally together. Our ‘fraternal twins’ are reunited.” @taylor_greenhagen I will forever love this perspective #fyp #momof2 #momsoftiktok #ivf #ivfjourney ♬ original sound – RELISH Frozen embryo transfer is real science that sounds like science fiction A cycle of IVF involves stimulating the ovaries to mature multiple eggs at once, retrieving the eggs when they’re ready, and fertilizing them with sperm in a laboratory. It’s a delicate and complex process, and there are no guarantees it will result in a viable embryo. However, sometimes the process results in multiple viable embryos. One or more can be transferred to the mother’s uterus, while any remaining embryos can literally be frozen for future use. It sounds like something straight out of Austin Powers, but it’s true: A frozen embryo can remain viable almost indefinitely. One study even found successful, healthy pregnancies resulting from embryos frozen for more than 20 years. So while Greenhagen’s children were both conceived at the same time in the same lab, and grown and monitored together for several days, one of them was then frozen before becoming her baby daughter a few years later. Fellow IVF parents agree: These special twins need a cool name Greenhagen, in her post, refers to the kids as “fraternal twins.” In the traditional sense, fraternal twins are two separate eggs fertilized by two different sperm during the same pregnancy. But Greenhagen told Newsweek the term is also used in the IVF community to refer to babies from the same IVF cycle, or group of embryos, even when they’re born at different times. There are also identical twins, of course, who share 100% of the same DNA. There are even “mirror-image” twins, who are genetically identical but have certain features reversed—for example, a birthmark on opposite sides of the body or opposite dominant hands. In rare cases, a woman who’s already pregnant can become pregnant again if she ovulates and another egg is fertilized during the existing pregnancy. The babies are typically born at the same time despite being conceived days or even weeks apart—a phenomenon known as superfetation. But is there a more descriptive, accurate name for these frozen-embryo twins born years apart? @taylor_greenhagen To all the infertility warriors going through IVF #ivf #infertility #infertilityjourney #embryotransfer #ivfwarrior #ivfjourney #transferday #infertilityawareness ♬ Piano music(806606) – Draganov89 Commenters on Greenhagen’s video had a few ideas: “We call our ‘twinbryos'” “Science twins” “Twiblings” But the best—and most fun—suggestion came from a commenter named Chelsea, who wrote, “Time travel twins.” Whatever parents end up calling them, two IVF siblings born years apart are nothing short of a modern miracle. After the expensive, invasive, exhausting, and emotional journey of IVF, a parent could hardly ask for a more beautiful outcome. The post Mom explains how her two children were conceived at the same time but born three years apart appeared first on Upworthy.

15-yo Creates App for Reporting Potholes to the Government, and Uses AI to Help with Follow-up
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15-yo Creates App for Reporting Potholes to the Government, and Uses AI to Help with Follow-up

A 15-year-old in the Indian capital of New Delhi created an AI-powered app that allows citizens to report potholes, grade their severity, and instantly report them to the authorities. What’s more, the AI gives the citizen the power to overcome bureaucratic paralysis and inaction by instantly drafting emails and letters to relevant authorities—no need to […] The post 15-yo Creates App for Reporting Potholes to the Government, and Uses AI to Help with Follow-up appeared first on Good News Network.

Sisters Give Birth to Twin Boys, Just Hours Apart, 'Can't Wait to Watch Them Grow Up Together'
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Sisters Give Birth to Twin Boys, Just Hours Apart, 'Can't Wait to Watch Them Grow Up Together'

Two sisters shared an unforgettable family milestone when they each gave birth to twin boys just hours apart. Their remarkable timing has everyone excited to watch the cousins grow up together.

Sisters Give Birth to Twin Boys, Just Hours Apart, 'Can't Wait to Watch Them Grow Up Together'
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Sisters Give Birth to Twin Boys, Just Hours Apart, 'Can't Wait to Watch Them Grow Up Together'

Two sisters shared an unforgettable family milestone when they each gave birth to twin boys just hours apart. Their remarkable timing has everyone excited to watch the cousins grow up together.