Author: GoneTrending

The midterms are on Tuesday, and everyone’s a little on edge. There are scores of wacko MAGA candidates who very well might win. One of them is Herschel Walker, the footballer-turned-bizarre aspiring lawmaker. He’s improbably neck-and-neck with Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock for the latter’s Senate seat. Indeed, it’s so weird that a guy who isn’t even sure how many states are in America might win that it almost left Howard Stern, man of endless words, almost speechless.

“F*cking Herschel Walker. Holy f*ck. They’re saying he’s gonna win in Georgia. Are you fucking dummies!?” Stern railed on his XMSirius show Monday while ranting about nutty GOP candidates.

“There’s gonna be … they always talk about another Civil War,” Stern predicted. “I think there is gonna be one. I mean, how the f*ck could you elect that guy? You gotta be outta your f*cking skull.”

It was clear Walker’s unlikely ascent had left Stern flabbergasted. “I gotta say, I mean, are you f*cking kidding me?” he told listeners. “I don’t care what party, what you believe, what you think would be good for America. Would you really vote for this f*cking — I don’t know what the f*ck he is. I was gonna say mental case. But I don’t even know if that’s fair to mental cases. I just don’t know.”

Stern also had it out for controversial candidates who think they’re defending free speech when what they really want is to face zero repercussions for their actions. “Everyone’s just feeling really empowered to say whatever dumb f*cking thing is on their brain. And then they go, ‘Oh, come on — Come on man,’” he said. “‘Heil Hitler. Now let’s move on. Hitler threw the Jews in the ovens. Leave me alone. I just wanna say things like that. Just want — I just wanna — I wanna say what I have to say.’”

Anyway, please vote Tuesday if you haven’t already.

(Via Mediaite)

This article originally appeared on 10.28.15

Anna and Maybelle are living in a pig’s paradise.

GIF via The Daily Squeal/Facebook.

They feast on green grass. They sunbathe on 12 acres of pristine pasture. And they get belly rubs…

GIF via CBS This Morning/YouTube.

…from Jon Stewart and his wife, Tracey. Every. Single. Day.

GIF via CBS This Morning/YouTube.

Anna and Maybelle are just two of about a dozen other animals living in the lap of luxury on the Stewarts’ farm 50 miles outside of New York City, “CBS This Morning” reported.

The former “Daily Show” host and his wife, who is an author and animal advocate, have run Bufflehead Farm in New Jersey since 2013, according to The New York Times. Along with Anna and Maybelle, they care for four dogs, three rabbits, two guinea pigs, two fish, and a bird.

And while that might seem like a full house (er, yard), the Stewarts are just getting started.

Jon and Tracey’s large, furry family is about to get even bigger.

On Oct. 24, 2015, the couple announced that their property will officially become a Farm Sanctuary.

Farm Sanctuary, an advocacy group that fights the factory farm industry and cares for abused animals, has three other animal safe havens in the U.S.; the Stewarts’ New Jersey property will be its fourth.

Soon cows, sheep, chicken, goats, turkeys, and (of course) more pigs will be arriving at Bufflehead Farm.

Tracey, who has a newly released animal welfare book called “Do Unto Animals,” announced the big news at the nonprofit’s gala in New York City this past weekend.

“We’re getting married!” she told the crowd, according to a press release. “Farm Sanctuary and us, we’re getting married.”

“We bought a farm in New Jersey with the intention of starting a farm sanctuary of our own with an educational center, but what I’m announcing tonight is that our farm is actually going to be the New Jersey branch of Farm Sanctuary. We’re going to build new advocates, new curious learners, and new leaders for this very important movement.” — Tracey Stewart

Caring for rescued animals is quite the 180 from Jon’s previous day job as host of “The Daily Show.”

Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.

But for Jon — who called himself his wife’s “wingman” during this next chapter and who has quietly eased into eating a vegetarian diet — farm life doesn’t seem so bad … although he joked about missing the perks of TV stardom during his recent Emmy speech.

“To everybody on television, I just want to tell you — cling to it!” he joked on stage last month after “The Daily Show” won Best Variety Talk Series at the award show.

“I have been off of television for six weeks, seven weeks, whatever it is. This is the first applause I’ve heard. It is a barren wasteland out there.” He told the Emmy’s audience. “You get used to craft services. Out in the world, there are tables with food — but you can’t take it. It costs money, and very little of it is gluten free or vegan.”

The comedian, however, seems perfectly at peace — in hog heaven, if you will — right where he is.

GIF via CBS This Morning/YouTube.

Although pig masseur and late night host may seem dramatically different, it appears that Jon is still doing what he does best in retirement: helping give a voice to the people — and animals — that deserve to be heard.

Check out the story from “CBS This Morning” on Jon and Tracey’s big news below:

This article originally appeared on 01.26.18

Kara Coley, a bartender at Sipps in Gulfport, Mississippi, got an unusual phone call on the job last week.

Photo courtesy of Kara Coley.

“Good evening,” Coley answered. “Thank you for calling Sipps!”

A woman on the other end of the line asked, “Is this a gay bar?”

Sipps welcomes everyone, Coley explained to her, but indeed attracts a mostly LGBTQ crowd.

“Can I ask you a question?” the caller followed up. “Are you gay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Coley said.

Then things got interesting.

“What was the one thing you wanted from your parents when you came out?” the woman continued.

Coley, who’s tended bar for about 17 years, was a little caught off guard. In all her years of experience fielding requests and helping others working in the service industry, she’d never received a question like that.

Photo courtesy of Kara Coley.

“My son just came out to me,” the woman continued on the other end of the line. “And I don’t want to say anything that may mess him up in the head.”

Coley thought for a moment. Then she asked the woman if she accepted her son for who he is.

The woman answered “yes.”

“You should definitely let him know that you love and accept him!” Coley said. “I think everything will be OK from there!”

The woman thanked Coley for her input and they parted ways.

Later that night, in the early hours of Jan. 19, Coley decided to post the entire interaction to her Facebook page, noting how “random” it all had been.

In the days following, her post went viral, amassing over 1,500 likes and hundreds of shares.

The post’s comment section soon filled with love and gratitude for Coley’s simple but endearing answer.

“My heart is truly touched by this,” one Facebook user wrote. “A parent wanting to support correctly, and a beautiful response. This is progress. This is love and acceptance in the rawest form.”

“Kara, this old granny lesbian is so grateful for you, and for a parent that thought outside the box to get advice!” another user chimed in. “Keep being you!”

“[The response] has been amazing,” Coley writes. She believes her post struck a chord with friends and strangers alike because people are looking for encouraging news: “Every day people wake up and there’s so much negativity in the world — people just need a breath of fresh air!”

For parents to an LGBTQ child, it’s still vital to understand the facts too, Coley noted: “Educate yourself [on LGBTQ issues] and do a little research.”

Ideally, parents should have access to better resources than their local gay bar when it comes to getting help with LGBTQ parenting. At the end of the day, though, the best thing you can do as a parent is make sure your kid understands you’re there through thick and thin.

“Just knowing you have someone in your corner takes a little weight off your shoulders,” Coley wrote.

Learn more about being a good ally as a parent of an LGBTQ child at PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). If you’re a young LGBTQ person who needs help, resources are available at The Trevor Project.

This article originally appeared on 4.17.19

This one’s for the girls who know you don’t have to chose between sparkles and sports.

For too long, girls have been sent the message that they have to be either/or. You’re either a girly-girl or a tomboy. You’re either into sparkly princesses or sports practices. From the early days of childhood, we’re told in bold and subtle ways to squeeze ourselves into separate boxes.

But those boxes are bullspit, and most of us know it. Girls don’t have to choose between feeling beautiful and being badass. We can be both at the same time.

Perhaps that’s why a portrait shoot shared by HMP Couture Imagery showing girls dressed up in fancy dresses and sports equipment has gone insanely viral. The shoot is called “Because you can do it all,” and in just a few days it has already been shared 175,000+ times.

The woman who photographed the shoot says a comment from a fellow mom sparked the idea.

Heather Mitchell, the photographer from Alabama who runs HMP Couture Imagery, told Upworthy how the portrait shoot came about.

“My youngest daughter is 8 and she is trying softball this year for the first time,” said Mitchell. “We were at practice a few weeks ago and I was talking with the other moms. I was saying that I hoped Paislee learned to love the game because she was athletic. One of the moms told me that she was not athletic, that she was a girly-girl.”

“I couldn’t sleep that night,” Mitchell continued. “All I could think was, ‘Why does she have to choose?’ I played every sport my school offered and wore lipstick to every game. So the next day we went to the studio and created her shot.”

Mitchell says she only spent about three minutes shooting because she knew exactly what she wanted to create. After she posted the photos of Paislee to her personal Facebook page, she got a ton of requests from other parents for the same kind of shoot. After adding two days to the schedule, they sold out in an hour—and the requests just keep on coming.

Mitchell hopes that girls see these photos and realize that they don’t have to choose one identity.

The idea that crinoline and cleats can’t exist in the same mental space is silly, but common. Girls (and boys for that matter) can love pretty things and kick butt at sports. They don’t have to be one thing or the other.

“My parent taught me that I could be anything I wanted growing up,” Mitchell told Upworthy. “I didn’t realize till I was much older that everyone is not that blessed.”

These photos are an excellent reminder to questions our assumptions and not place unnecessary limits on anyone—and an empowering example for girls who don’t fit neatly into a socially constructed box.

“I hope that every little girl that sees this series can see that there is no box,” says Mitchell. “Whatever their dreams are they can achieve.”

This article originally appeared on 03.04.20

There are few more fulfilling hobbies than having a love of books.

Reading isn’t just a great way to have a good time. Reading increases brain connectivity, makes people more empathetic, reduces depression symptoms, improves vocabulary, and may even cause you to live longer.

It’s a huge benefit for a child’s development as well. According to Parent.com, reading “stimulates the side of the brain that helps with mental imagery, understanding, and language processing, and that brain activity.”

Sure beats wasting time playing video games.

Thirteen-year-old Callum Manning wanted to share his love of reading with the world, so on February 23, he created an Instagram account where he posted photos of the books he’s read. It started with a post about Stephen King’s “The Shining.”

“So I guess I’m going to start this account off with one of my favourite books, Callum wrote. “This book was the first book I read in 1 day. And I was like 10. So yeah it scared me.”

See on Instagram

He would go on to fill his pages with books such as “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, “1984” by George Orwell, and current classics such as “A Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” by J.K. Rowling

Kids Callum’s age can be exceptionally cruel. A group of them created a group chat where they bullied him for his love of books and then invited him to join. After subjecting him to emotional abuse, they kicked him out of the chat.

“I don’t tend to cry that often but I think that was the first time in a while I’ve actually cried,” Callum told PA Media.

His older sister, Ellis Landreth, was understandably upset about the cruelty, so she tweeted about the group chat, hoping about “20 or 30 of my friends [would] like a few of his posts or follow him or give him some words of encouragement.”

Her tweet would go viral, receiving over 180,000 likes.

Canu2019t believe how awful kids are. My little brothers made an Instagram reviewing and talking about books and kids in his new school have seen it and have created a group chat calling him a creep slagging him off about it and added him to it so he could see pic.twitter.com/wuuj2XlO34

— Ellis (@Ellis)
1582972178

She was bombarded by responses from people who wanted to support her brother.

I think the love from all around the world has probably let him know he isn’t alone. But all the interesting people I know were once considered weird kids with books. Including me.

— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) March 2, 2020

I’ve followed him and dropped him a little message but I’d love to buy him a book or send him over an amazon gift card – I’m sure he has a lot of books on the way but please DM me if there’s any book he doesn’t have 😊

— beffy (@beffybadbelly) March 1, 2020

Just a few hours after the tweet, Callum received thousands of followers on his page. In just three days, he’s up to nearly 400,000 followers. He’s also received countless messages of support through the page.

English novelist Matt Haig sent Callum a collection of books, adding: “Hey let’s all follow Cals Book Account on Instagram and show him some support.” A book store near Manning’s home in northeast England promised him a book on the house.

Callum’s story was shared on Instagram by authors Caroline Kepnes and Malorie Blackman.

The teenager has received over 15,000 messages in his DMs. “He’s absolutely overwhelmed,” Landreth told CNN. “He can’t even get through all his DMs.”

Callum’s mother is over the moon about the response. “She’s so happy people are spreading positive messages about these issues,” Landreth said. “No matter how small some things seem, they can stick with kids forever.”

TikTok has done plenty of things for the mental health community outside of annoying therapists with incessant pathologizing of benign human behaviors. One of the positive things the platform has done is to help push mental health awareness and normalization of mental illnesses.

Kris, who’s goes by KallmeKris on TikTok, recently posted a new skit on her page about intrusive thoughts that explores what it would be like if people said their intrusive thoughts out loud. The video was hilarious and people in the comments were happy to share their own intrusive thoughts.

If you’re unfamiliar with intrusive thoughts, they’re these brief pop-up thoughts that oftentimes seem out of character and unrelated to whatever activity you’re doing. In some cases they’re related to the activity but the thought is something you’d never actually do, like tripping random children at a soccer game, just because.

If the thought of someone thinking about tripping children made you wince a bit, understand that it makes the person having the intrusive thought wince too. In the skit, which has racked up more than 4 million likes, Kris says her random intrusive thoughts out loud while hanging out with her “friend” and the friend’s reaction is hilarious. The comments were full of people exclaiming they were happy to know they were normal and others answering Kris’ call to comment with their weirdest intrusive thought.

Kris admitted in the comments that she feels less alone since reading the thousands of comments of people sharing their own thoughts. Check out the video below.

@kallmekris

What are yours?🫢

Last month, Drake announced a concert at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater. The only way to get tickets for the show at the 1,500-cap venue was through Drake’s SiriusXM station, Sound 42, via giveaway. However, in the wake of his new album, Her Loss with 21 Savage, Drake appears to have delayed his Apollo debut — but it’s not all bad news. The show, which was to take place this Friday, has been pushed back to December 6, while a second day, December 7, has been added to meet the understandable and not at all surprising high demand.

While the rollout for Her Loss, which trolled the conventions of a major-label release with fake appearances on media mainstays like NPR Music Tiny Desk and SNL, went off without a hitch, the finished product has generated its fair share of negative headlines after Drake made references to hot button topics like Megan Thee Stallion’s shooting.

Fans also read into some of the album’s lyrics, assuming that he dissed other rappers like Ice Spice and DRAM, as well as his ex Serena Williams’ husband. However, even with all that, it seems unlikely that’ll affect demand for tickets to his show at the Apollo. Perhaps he can use the show as an opportunity to address some of the controversy that has spun out of the release of his latest project.

Ted Cruz is on a getting booed tour of the United States. He was booed while attending a New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros game in the Bronx. He was booed while visiting The View (where he also got called a “climate-denying piece of sh*t” by an activist). And — most hilariously — he was booed in Houston, Texas, during the championship parade for the Astros, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.

The Houston Chronicle reports that as the Texas senator “made his way through a sea of fans wearing orange and blue, loud boos ensued. In footage from the festivities, Cruz — who wore Astros colors — was shown waving at the crowd, smiling, and giving a thumbs up, despite several fans giving him thumbs down and booing at him in return.”

Based on the videos from the scene, it was more than “several” fans (who were also none too happy to see Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick). “Ted Cruz pulled off what I thought was impossible- getting booed at a championship parade,” tweeted one person who was on the scene, while another added, “Video of @tedcruz receiving robust, loud, and supremely well-deserved boos from the crowd.” He also had a beer chucked at him.

It must be nice for Astros fans to do the booing, not getting booed, for once.

(Via the Houston Chronicle)

Over the weekend, Donald Trump attended a rally in Latrobe, Pa. that was meant to boost Republican candidates Dr. Oz and Ron Mastriano going into Tuesday’s midterm elections. Instead, Trump used the opportunity to crow about his inevitable 2024 presidential run, and more damagingly, attack any Republicans who pose a threat to him in the primaries. On top of rolling out an embarrassingly weak nickname for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump also fired a veiled warning shot at Ted Cruz.

“He didn’t like me for a while but we got to be friends, right? Could’ve put him on the Supreme Court,” Trump said in an obvious allusion to staying on his good side.

The attacks were noticed by the right-leaning Wall Street Journal who called out Trump for threatening Republican chances just a few days before the midterms. The paper also went the extra mile of warning conservative readers what another Trump presidency will include:

Mr. Trump wants to clear the GOP presidential field, and he knows that Mr. DeSantis has emerged in the last two years as his strongest potential opponent. A declaration so soon after the election, if he does declare next week, will also be an attempt to deter a possible Justice Department indictment.

But his focus on his own prospects, and criticizing his fellow Republicans even before a crucial midterm election, is one more reminder that Mr. Trump’s only abiding principle is what’s good for Donald Trump.

Trump’s barb at DeSantis might also prove to be unnecessary. The Florida governor is reportedly mulling not entering the 2024 presidential race, and instead, setting his sights on 2028. (Maybe God told him to wait?) However, that was before Trump began insulting him, and it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen after the midterms when DeSantis no longer has to act like he won’t abandon the governorship to pursue the White House.

(Via Wall Street Journal)

Ryan Reynolds is more than just the actor who plays Deadpool or the guy who bought a soccer team for some reason. He is also close friends with Taylor Swift, which is the most coveted achievement you could ever hope for in Hollywood, probably!

While on this week’s episode of SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, Reynolds spoke about Deadpool and just how exactly he was able to get Hugh Jackman back on board to play Wolverine. But more importantly, he gave us a little bit of insight into what it’s like to be friends with Taylor Swift, which is probably more interesting anyway, right? We all know how he got Wolverine back.

When he was asked about how his family celebrated Swift’s new album, Reynolds said, “That’s like a religion in our house,” the actor said. Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively are expecting their fourth child next year, who will automatically be born into the Taylor Swift fandom.

Reynolds continued, “In fact, I’m not making this up. We are having a Taylor Swift Midnights dance party in, uh, right after this. It’s Sunday. We’re headed straight to the porch where we’re doing a full dance number set to Midnights… swear words included. My favorite thing is when a three-year-old is just throwing down the f-bomb in a song.”

Reynolds then explained what it was like for his daughters to learn that Swift is an actual musician, not just a quirky aunt who breaks out her guitar at family gatherings, or someone who likes to wear a Deadpool costume from time to time. “I think what’s most exciting for them is that for the longest time they just thought Taylor’s just a, you know, like an aunt, like a friend of mommy and daddy that’s very, very close, almost family. And then they went to a concert one day and were like, ‘Oh, oh this isn’t a hobby.’” If a hobby can be shattering streaming records then yes, Taylor Swift’s singing career is a nice hobby.

(Via SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show on YouTube)