It’s been 44 years since Michael Jackson’s Thriller album debuted, and the world went crazy. He performed “Billie Jean” during the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever special on NBC and gave millions their first glimpse of his signature moonwalk. That night changed Michael Jackson’s career forever and made the world want to dance just like him. Kids who watched that performance more than four decades ago still know the moves and have no problem showing them off for their kids and grandkids. One dad stepped right into his daughter’s video to show off his dancing moves. This daddy ate and left no crumbs. View this post on Instagram A post shared by (@magic._.shopp_) This Dancing Dad Has All the Moves In the caption, her daughter explained that if this song plays in public, her dad dances. As soon as he heard Billie Jean, the dad cut right in and did his best Michael Jackson impression. He had zero hesitation and, as a silver fox, did the moonwalk justice.  Of course, Michael Jackson fans loved it and helped the video reach more than 30 million views on Instagram alone. Of course, in the comment section, the cool kids called the dancing dad “Unc” and told his daughter to get ready for her DMs to start blowing up. “The number of aunties who would be now DMing you,” someone wrote. “Uncle must be schools crush,” another person agreed. “and with sandals, mind you,” an Instagrammer pointed out. “Uncleji just casually moonwalking in his chappals,” someone added. This dancing dad reminded another girl of her own daddy. “Omg this was my Indian father, too. I swear all the cool Indian dads love Micheal Jackson. He had the Afro and everything,” she wrote. Michael Jackson would certainly be proud. This story’s featured image can be found here.

If you want to be successful, it takes some very specific qualities. You must be hardworking, dedicated, and have a positive attitude. Of course, having someone in your corner cheering you on doesn’t hurt either. A kindergartner named Xavier convinced himself, and an entire bus full of kids, that he was the fastest kid alive. Every day when the driver got to his stop, Xavier jumped off and ran home. His big smile and fast feet caught the attention of millions. Xavier’s Classmates Believe He’s the Fastest Kid Alive There are no actual metrics for fastest kid alive that we know of, but if a bus full of your classmates believes and yell your name as you run, that’s as good as anything. A video of Xavier went viral, and people loved seeing the children supporting each other. Xavier is clearly adored by his friends, but you don’t get there just by running fast. You have to be a nice kid, too, which he very clearly is. People love watching the fastest kid alive run, but even more, they adore seeing the other kids cheer him on. “Another track star. Love this bus driver for making the ride joyful for the children,” someone shared. “Remember this kids name… Sometimes it one takes one person to believe in your dream to give you the push to achieve. I think I’m watching one right now. As I watch him run he’s actually way faster than what I thought I’d see. God bless the bus driver,” another person added. Some people think Xavier will go from the fastest kid in the world to the fastest person in no time. “Yes young man you will be and we will watch this video along with your bus driver, your peers and your momma from your hometown when you get older and are awarded tour medal for being the fastest person in the world! I cannot wait to see what is in store for you!” A comment cheered This story’s featured image can be found here.

It may not be true for everyone, but many people say the longer you live with someone, the more alike you become. You may adopt their mannerisms, habits, and even personality traits. But it’s not just humans who mirror each other. Apparently, you and your pet can start to look like the same person, too. Rozi Flávia posted a video on Instagram of her Chihuahua dressed up like her, and the resemblance is uncanny. Rozi laughed so hard at her lookalike dog that she could hardly catch her breath. The pair amassed more than 90 million views on Instagram alone, and let’s just say, people can’t get enough. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rozi Flávia (@rozi_pinscher_micros_oficial) Rozi Could Not Have Found a Better Lookalike if She Tried Rozi’s dog, Yoshi, truly is her lookalike, and she became totally tickled trying to film a video with him. “My intention was to talk about Easter, but when I saw him laughing like that, I just couldn’t help myself! Hahahaha—Yoshi is the best,” she wrote on Instagram. Her video isn’t in English, but the humor transcends language. Seeing the dog with glasses, hair, and a smile like Rozi was enough for these two to capture the hearts of millions of people. They flooded the comments section with posts about the mom-and-dog lookalikes. The jokes started immediately. “That dog looks like it can unlock ur phone by face,” someone wrote. Maury Povich can take a seat on this one. “Ma’am that your biological child. PERIOD,” a funny comment reads. Others just wanted Rozi to know they love her and the lookalike dog, even if they have no idea what she’s saying./ “I don’t understand any word but I understand everything,” someone admitted. This person agreed writing, “Idk what shes saying but I can’t stop laughing.” We needed this laugh today. It’s just way too good. This story’s featured image can be found here.

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare: Taking your child to the doctor and receiving a life-changing diagnosis. It only adds to the heartbreak when they find out there may be no effective treatment at all, and that all they can do is hope for the best. Few diagnoses strike fear in the heart of parents and doctors more than a cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG. Primarily found in children, DIPG is a highly aggressive brain tumor that is uniformly fatal, with less than 10 percent of children surviving longer than two years after diagnosis. The tumors grow fast and on extremely vital areas like the spine and brain stem, making them exceptionally hard to remove. Though young patients have been treated with radiation, chemotherapy, and surgeries, no one had ever been cured of the fatal cancer. But for the first time ever, a 13-year-old boy from Belgium named Lucas Jemeljanova has beaten the odds. Various brain scans. Photo credit: Diagnosed with DIPG at age six, Lucas’ doctor Jacques Grill told Lucas’ parents, Cedric and Olesja, that he was unlikely to live very long. Instead of giving up hope, Cedric and Olesja flew Lucas to France to participate in a clinical trial called BIOMEDE, which tested new potential drugs against DIPG. Lucas was randomly assigned a medication called everolimus in the clinical trial, a chemotherapy drug that works by blocking a protein called mTOR. mTOR helps cancer cells divide and grow new blood vessels, while everolimus decreases blood supply to the tumor cells and stops cancer cells from reproducing. Everolimus, a tablet that’s taken once per day, has been approved in the UK and the US to treat cancers in the breast, kidneys, stomach, pancreas, and others—but until the BIOMEDE clinical trial, it had never before been used to treat DIPG. Lucas Jemeljanova poses with his mother. Photo credit: Lesja Jemeljanova via Facebook Though doctors weren’t sure how Lucas would react to the medication, it quickly became clear that the results were good. “Over a series of MRI scans, I watched as the tumor completely disappeared,” Grill said in an interview. Even more remarkably, the tumor has not returned since. Lucas, who is now thirteen, is considered officially cured of DIPG. Even after the tumor was gone, Grill, who is the head of the Brain Tumor Program in the Department of Child and Teenage Oncology at Gustave Roussy cancer research hospital in Paris, was reluctant to stop Lucas’ treatments. Until about a year and a half ago, Lucas was still taking everolimus once every day. “I didn’t know when to stop, or how, because there was no other reference in the world,” Grill said. While Lucas is the only one in the clinical trial whose tumor has completely disappeared, seven other children have been considered “long responders” to everolimus, meaning their tumors have not progressed for more than three years after starting treatment. Lucas with his mother. Photo credit: Lesja Jemeljanova via Facebook So why did everolimus work so well for Lucas? Doctors think that an extremely rare genetic mutation in Lucas’ tumor “made its cells far more sensitive to the drug,” Grill said, while the drug worked well in other children because of the “biological peculiarities” of their tumors. While everolimus is by no means a cure, the trial has provided real hope for parents and families of children diagnosed with DIPG. Doctors must now work to better understand why Lucas’ tumor responded so well to the drug and how they can replicate those results in tumor “organoids”—artificially-grown cells that resemble an organ. After that, said Marie-Anne Debily, a researcher in the BIOMEDE trial, “the next step will be to find a drug that works as well on tumor cells.” A more recent clinical trial tested a new immunotherapy treatment on young DIPG patients and showed promising results. Many of the patients’ tumors shrank and several participants saw functional improvements in their symptoms and day-to-day lives. But only one of the 11 patients has seen success that rivals Lucas’ — a young man identified only as Drew, who has been thriving tumor-free for over four years after receiving treatment. Once considered a definitive death sentence, there is real hope for the first time. But there’s much more research and work to be done. Until then, however, Lucas’ doctors are thrilled. “Lucas’ case offers real hope,” said Debily. Lucas with his parents and sister. Photo credit: Lesja Jemeljanova via Facebook This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated. The post A 13-year-old boy has become the first person to be cured of this deadly brain cancer appeared first on Upworthy.

Actor Alan Rickman gave us so many memorable characters, from the terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard to the oft ill-tempered antihero Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, to the unfaithful husband who broke Emma Thompson’s heart in Love Actually. Though he was often cast as a villain, Rickman’s distinctive voice and irresistible screen presence made audiences love him. He brought a unique human touch even to his most odious bad guy characters, a quality that makes perfect sense when you hear Thompson, his friend and co-star in seven films, talk about his character in real life. In a moving tribute upon the release of his diaries in October 2022, Thompson shared insights into the virtues and quirks that made Rickman “blissfully contradictory.” Alan Rickman signing autographsu00a0at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, January 2011. Photo Credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikimedia Commons Thompson is at the top of her award-winning writer game here, and her words about Alan Rickman are filled with heart, wit, respect, admiration and love. It’s truly a eulogy for the ages. Watch (or read the full transcript below):    People love Thompson’s tribute to her friend and some have even shared their own stories of their encounters with Alan Rickman: “A close friend of mine bumped into him in a theatre in London many years ago. My friend instantly recognised Mr Rickman and from nowhere, instantly found the courage to ask him for his autograph. Having neither pen nor paper for this, he asked Mr Rickman if he would mind waiting a moment whilst he collected the items from somewhere, anywhere! The moment became at least 10 minutes or so, and when my friend ran back to a now empty theatre foyer, he noticed one solitary figure. Mr Rickman had waited patiently for my friend to give him what he asked for.” “I was lucky enough to work with him on a film. At lunchtime I joined the line for a meal and as I payed and went to turn to look for a table, someone knocked into me from behind and my drink went flying. I turned and it was Alan, he apologized put his hand on my shoulder and said let me get you another. He came back with a cup of tea and I was so overwhelmed. I was shocked how he was so down to earth and a real gentleman.” “I meet him once in Boots and said hello, he realised it was a reflex to recognising a known face. He picked up an item we both were looking at, smiled and said “well hello there are we going to arm wrestle for this?” That deep tone rendered me mute, I realised it was Mr Rickman and instantly denied needing this forgotten thing, apologised for well nothing really, smiled and backed away. He was a giant of a fellow on and off the stage and will be missed.” “Everything she said is true. I was fortunate to have dinner with him and his wife and his drama teacher. He was charming and friendly and shared some great ideas about directing, which I use today in my theater group. He is missed by many.” Indeed he is. Here’s the full transcript of Thompson’s tribute: “The most remarkable thing about the first days after Alan died was the number of actors, poets, musicians, playwrights and directors who wanted to express their gratitude for all the help he’d given them. I don’t think I know anyone in this business who has championed more aspiring artists nor unerringly perceived so many great ones before they became great. Quite a number said, latterly, that they’d been too shy to thank him personally. They had found it hard to approach him. And of all the contradictions in my blissfully contradictory friend (hold on, Thompson), this is perhaps the greatest this combination of profoundly nurturing and imperturbably distant. He was not, of course, distant. He was alarmingly present at all times the inscrutability was partly a protective shield. If anyone did approach him with anything like gratitude or even just a question, they would be greeted with a depth of sweetness that no one who didn’t know him could even guess at. And he was not, of course, unflappable. I could flap him like nobody’s business and when I did he was fierce with me and it did me no end of good. He was generous and challenging, dangerous and comical, sexy and androgynous, virile and peculiar, temperamental and languid, fastidious and casual, the list could go on. I’m sure you can add to it. There was something of the sage about him, and had he had more confidence and been at all corruptible, he could probably have started his own religion. His taste in all things from sausages to furnishings appeared to me anyway to be impeccable. His generosity of spirit was unsurpassed and he had so much time for people I used to wonder if he ever slept or ever got time for himself. A word not traditionally associated with Alan is gleeful, but when he was genuinely amused he was absolutely the essence of glee. There would be a holding back as the moment built, and then a sudden leaning forward and a swinging around of the torso as a vast, impish grin flowered, sometimes accompanied by an inarticulate shout of laughter. It was almost as if he was surprised by himself. It was my life’s mission to provide those moments. I remember Imelda Staunton nearly killing him by telling him a story about my mother and an unfortunate incident with some hashish—it’s a really good story, I won’t tell it now—I’ve never seen him laugh more before or since. It was a bit like watching someone tickling the Sphinx. One Christmas Eve party I had a sprig of mistletoe hanging up at home, and I was loitering under it and turned to find Alan bearing down on me. I lifted up my chin hopefully. He smiled and approached. I puckered. He leaned in under the mistletoe and a sudden change came over his face. His eyes started to glitter and his nostrils to quiver. He lifted up a hand, reached in, and pulled a longish hair out of my chin. ‘Ow!’ I said. ‘That’s an incipient beard,’ he said, handing me the hair and walking off. That was the thing about Alan—you never knew if you were going to be kissed or unsettled, but you couldn’t wait to see what would come next. And the trouble with death is that there is no next. There’s only what was, and for that, I am profoundly and heartbrokenly grateful. So the last thing we did together was change a plug on a standard lamp in his hospital room. The task went the same way as everything we have ever done together. I had a go. He told me to try something else. I tried. It didn’t work, so he had a go. I got impatient. I took it from him. I tried it again. It still wasn’t right. We both got slightly irritable, then he patiently took it all apart again and got the right lead into the right hole. I screwed it in with a screwdriver. We complained about how fiddly it was, and then we had a cup of tea. Took us at least half an hour, this thing, and he said after, ‘Well it’s a good thing I decided not to become an electrician.’ I’m still heartbroken that Alan’s gone, but these diaries bring back so much of what I remember of him. There is that sweetness I mentioned, his generosity, his champion of others, his fierce, critical eye, his intelligence, his humor. He was the ultimate ally in life, art, and politics. I trusted him absolutely. He was, above all things, a rare and unique human being and we shall not see his like again.” Alan Rickman posing for a fan at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, January 2011. Photo credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikimedia Commons This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated. The post Emma Thompson’s witty, heartfelt tribute to Alan Rickman is truly one for the ages appeared first on Upworthy.