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Seeing him again after a while was pure fire 🔥 – my 21-year-old str8 BBC still brings that massive 20cm/7.9 inches energy 🍌. We fucked and kissed and grinded for hours like it was the first time.🥵💦 Etched in my brain permanently now.😏 . . . . #Hunk #BBC...

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CrossDresserGERMANY 🇩🇪

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86,691 views • 5 months ago •via X (Twitter)

NSFW#Hunk#BBC#BigDick
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As a young man, I was partially feminized and chemically castrated. My first adult relationship was with a man who deceived me about his age. I believed he was perhaps 15 years older, but in truth, he was over 20 years my senior. I was a homeless autistic epileptic teen, jumping from place to place, desperate for stability and a Home. He lured me in with promises of safety and shelter, whispers of love. He manipulated me, exploited my devotion, and groomed me into selling my body, convincing me that my only worth lay in my body. That I had to sell myself to make more because my disability check was not enough. My love my labor in the home was not enough. He physically abused me, breaking my teeth, and sold me to other men. He put me on camera and took everything, I earned not a single penny. Nearly a year after I escaped him, he was arrested for possessing child pornography. I saw the warrant myself in his ransacked home. Horrified I walked out and closed that memory in a box and tried to never think about him again. It wasn’t until I was 33 when I was reading reduxx, and learning what gamps were, deep in my studies on sexology that I came to the painful realization that his attraction to me stemmed from my youthful, childlike appearance and his predatory nature as a pedophile. That he was a gamp/pedo fetishist and transition itself had put me in his path. In that moment I painted my life with black brush, and I was forever changed. Genevieve Gluck is based, It is not just AGP fueling Trans, it is the men escalated into porn addiction who have become so desensitized to healthy sex that they develop a fascination for the abnormal. Porn hub has openly admitted to injecting shemale porn into the feeds of its most frequent users hoping that they will develop this fetish and become more diversified in the porn they consume. Epstein Island lives as a permanent historical example that Pedophilia and GAMP (Gyne-Andro-Morphophilia) often run hand in hand. These perversions exist in men at all levels of power and they are a motivating factor for preserving the human experimentation done under transgenderism. A lot of the clean cut, smiling normal looking men in power who support trans could be just like my ex. Autogynephiles Mass Reported me for this post. Talking about this got me blackmailed and stalked, harassed for over a year. I will never shut up, This pain is carved into my body and mind.
5:14

As a young man, I was partially feminized and chemically castrated. My first adult relationship was with a man who deceived me about his age. I believed he was perhaps 15 years older, but in truth, he was over 20 years my senior. I was a homeless autistic epileptic teen, jumping from place to place, desperate for stability and a Home. He lured me in with promises of safety and shelter, whispers of love. He manipulated me, exploited my devotion, and groomed me into selling my body, convincing me that my only worth lay in my body. That I had to sell myself to make more because my disability check was not enough. My love my labor in the home was not enough. He physically abused me, breaking my teeth, and sold me to other men. He put me on camera and took everything, I earned not a single penny. Nearly a year after I escaped him, he was arrested for possessing child pornography. I saw the warrant myself in his ransacked home. Horrified I walked out and closed that memory in a box and tried to never think about him again. It wasn’t until I was 33 when I was reading reduxx, and learning what gamps were, deep in my studies on sexology that I came to the painful realization that his attraction to me stemmed from my youthful, childlike appearance and his predatory nature as a pedophile. That he was a gamp/pedo fetishist and transition itself had put me in his path. In that moment I painted my life with black brush, and I was forever changed. Genevieve Gluck is based, It is not just AGP fueling Trans, it is the men escalated into porn addiction who have become so desensitized to healthy sex that they develop a fascination for the abnormal. Porn hub has openly admitted to injecting shemale porn into the feeds of its most frequent users hoping that they will develop this fetish and become more diversified in the porn they consume. Epstein Island lives as a permanent historical example that Pedophilia and GAMP (Gyne-Andro-Morphophilia) often run hand in hand. These perversions exist in men at all levels of power and they are a motivating factor for preserving the human experimentation done under transgenderism. A lot of the clean cut, smiling normal looking men in power who support trans could be just like my ex. Autogynephiles Mass Reported me for this post. Talking about this got me blackmailed and stalked, harassed for over a year. I will never shut up, This pain is carved into my body and mind.

The Transphobic Historian

41,658 views • 4 months ago

(about Concerto) 🔗: and i'm just so proud of 🎭. oh my god, i cant believe- oh god. if i was in his place, i'd be shaking in my boots. thinking back to when we first debuted, he had very little experience with JP and also with singing, dancing and performing. me too honestly, but i wanna say even more so for 🎭 🔗: seeing where he started from and seeing him up there on the stage, performing with so much improvement, so much confidence, so much talent, it made me so proud of him. oh my god. 🔗: it's such a huge opportunity, it's a lot of pressure to be in that position; you can't speak the language that well working with this team and all the staff's communication would've been pretty complex JP, coordinating with other members in pure JP, getting up there on the big stage in front of thousands of people and more watching online as well, it's insane how much balls that takes so i'm so proud of him. 🔗: he did so well and he sounds amazing. all his songs sounded so good, i'm so proud of his improvement when he's singing. the technique, you can feel it, tangibly. i didn't know he could do that, what the fuck? www 🔗: i've had a number of moments like that whenever i listened to 🎭's performances . even some of that we've done together like, "bro, what the fuck? where did that come from?" but it happened again this time. it was really, really good. 🔗: his solo was beautiful, Fire◎Flower. just pure, pure, given everyone that pure genki energy that we love him for. so proud. my little bro. alburn, albernon, albarun, wwww he's come so far.
2:53

(about Concerto) 🔗: and i'm just so proud of 🎭. oh my god, i cant believe- oh god. if i was in his place, i'd be shaking in my boots. thinking back to when we first debuted, he had very little experience with JP and also with singing, dancing and performing. me too honestly, but i wanna say even more so for 🎭 🔗: seeing where he started from and seeing him up there on the stage, performing with so much improvement, so much confidence, so much talent, it made me so proud of him. oh my god. 🔗: it's such a huge opportunity, it's a lot of pressure to be in that position; you can't speak the language that well working with this team and all the staff's communication would've been pretty complex JP, coordinating with other members in pure JP, getting up there on the big stage in front of thousands of people and more watching online as well, it's insane how much balls that takes so i'm so proud of him. 🔗: he did so well and he sounds amazing. all his songs sounded so good, i'm so proud of his improvement when he's singing. the technique, you can feel it, tangibly. i didn't know he could do that, what the fuck? www 🔗: i've had a number of moments like that whenever i listened to 🎭's performances . even some of that we've done together like, "bro, what the fuck? where did that come from?" but it happened again this time. it was really, really good. 🔗: his solo was beautiful, Fire◎Flower. just pure, pure, given everyone that pure genki energy that we love him for. so proud. my little bro. alburn, albernon, albarun, wwww he's come so far.

luna 🧸

32,581 views • 2 months ago

Signing Off 2024 with the Biggest Life Lesson I learnt this year. It was February 2024, My friend from the USA— ( yes one who had bought me a farmhouse ) —was visiting India with his family. We decided to meet for dinner. My 4-year-old son and his 3-year-old daughter hit it off instantly. They played tirelessly, running around till well past 1:30 AM. By the time we wrapped up, we were exhausted. The next day was a Sunday, and my son slept in late, waking up around 1 PM. He ate a little food and, feeling tired, asked if he could sleep some more. My wife and I didn’t think much of it. By the time he woke up again at 6 PM, something didn’t seem right. As he walked into the drawing room, I noticed he was limping. He struggled to maintain his balance, and when he tried speaking, he stammered. My heart sank. Was it an injury from the night before? Or something else? Without wasting time, we rushed to the nearest orthopedic hospital. But the doctor was in surgery, and the wait felt endless. My gut told me this wasn’t just a physical injury. I called his pediatrician, who asked us to come over immediately. At the pediatrician’s clinic, after a quick check-up, the doctor said, “This is neurological. Admit him as soon as possible.” He recommended SGVP Hospital in Ahmedabad. We rushed to SGVP, and on the way, I was trying to stay strong, preparing myself for what could be a long and difficult journey. Like any father all I wanted was for my son to be okay. That night, he was admitted. The next day, an MRI revealed he had Encephalitis - in easy words swelling in the brain. My Son was not aware what he was going through.Looking at the fridge in the Room he thought we were at some Resort for our Holidays.But soon he met with the Reality when the sister came and checked his vain and put a niddle in his tiny hand. It was tough watching this as a father. All I could think about was seeing my son walk again, talk normally, and smile like he always did. In the pediatric ward, there was a small play area. Despite his condition, I decided to take him there. I held him by the shoulders as he tried to play with the toys. While we were there, another boy caught my eye—a chubby 4-year-old with short hair. He was playing with a toy doctor’s kit. He was there with his mom and grandmother. For a moment, I envied that boy. He could walk, run, and play freely. My son, on the other hand, needed me to support him for every little step. I wondered when we would see the day he could play on his own again or will we ever see that day again ? There were Flurry of thoughts rushing through my mind as I saw the Little Boy Playing Freely. To be honest I was feeling bad for my son. Curiosity got the better of me, and I asked the boy’s grandmother why they were there. Her answer stunned me. “He’s on chemotherapy,” she said. “We come here every three months.” I was speechless. Here I was, worrying about my son’s condition, and this little boy was bravely fighting a battle much bigger than ours. In that moment, my perspective shifted completely. Just minutes ago, I had envied that boy for walking and playing, but now I realized how much strength he and his family must have to face something so challenging. That experience taught me the most important lesson of my life: gratitude and perspective. Everyone is Fighting their Own battle. No matter how tough life gets, there’s always someone facing a bigger battle. Instead of focusing on what we’ve lost, we should cherish what we have and find strength in every moment. Today, my son is fully rocevered and can play on his own , and I really hope and pray that that little boy and his family too have managed to cross the Hurdle.
0:22

Signing Off 2024 with the Biggest Life Lesson I learnt this year. It was February 2024, My friend from the USA— ( yes one who had bought me a farmhouse ) —was visiting India with his family. We decided to meet for dinner. My 4-year-old son and his 3-year-old daughter hit it off instantly. They played tirelessly, running around till well past 1:30 AM. By the time we wrapped up, we were exhausted. The next day was a Sunday, and my son slept in late, waking up around 1 PM. He ate a little food and, feeling tired, asked if he could sleep some more. My wife and I didn’t think much of it. By the time he woke up again at 6 PM, something didn’t seem right. As he walked into the drawing room, I noticed he was limping. He struggled to maintain his balance, and when he tried speaking, he stammered. My heart sank. Was it an injury from the night before? Or something else? Without wasting time, we rushed to the nearest orthopedic hospital. But the doctor was in surgery, and the wait felt endless. My gut told me this wasn’t just a physical injury. I called his pediatrician, who asked us to come over immediately. At the pediatrician’s clinic, after a quick check-up, the doctor said, “This is neurological. Admit him as soon as possible.” He recommended SGVP Hospital in Ahmedabad. We rushed to SGVP, and on the way, I was trying to stay strong, preparing myself for what could be a long and difficult journey. Like any father all I wanted was for my son to be okay. That night, he was admitted. The next day, an MRI revealed he had Encephalitis - in easy words swelling in the brain. My Son was not aware what he was going through.Looking at the fridge in the Room he thought we were at some Resort for our Holidays.But soon he met with the Reality when the sister came and checked his vain and put a niddle in his tiny hand. It was tough watching this as a father. All I could think about was seeing my son walk again, talk normally, and smile like he always did. In the pediatric ward, there was a small play area. Despite his condition, I decided to take him there. I held him by the shoulders as he tried to play with the toys. While we were there, another boy caught my eye—a chubby 4-year-old with short hair. He was playing with a toy doctor’s kit. He was there with his mom and grandmother. For a moment, I envied that boy. He could walk, run, and play freely. My son, on the other hand, needed me to support him for every little step. I wondered when we would see the day he could play on his own again or will we ever see that day again ? There were Flurry of thoughts rushing through my mind as I saw the Little Boy Playing Freely. To be honest I was feeling bad for my son. Curiosity got the better of me, and I asked the boy’s grandmother why they were there. Her answer stunned me. “He’s on chemotherapy,” she said. “We come here every three months.” I was speechless. Here I was, worrying about my son’s condition, and this little boy was bravely fighting a battle much bigger than ours. In that moment, my perspective shifted completely. Just minutes ago, I had envied that boy for walking and playing, but now I realized how much strength he and his family must have to face something so challenging. That experience taught me the most important lesson of my life: gratitude and perspective. Everyone is Fighting their Own battle. No matter how tough life gets, there’s always someone facing a bigger battle. Instead of focusing on what we’ve lost, we should cherish what we have and find strength in every moment. Today, my son is fully rocevered and can play on his own , and I really hope and pray that that little boy and his family too have managed to cross the Hurdle.

Ankur Patel

25,194 views • 1 year ago

2024 was absolutely the best year of my life. I expect 2025 to be full of continued exponential growth. 2024 Recap: I will start with the bad: I didn’t have very many bad things happen to me in 2024 but I did have the worst single week of my life in October. In one 7 day period I lost my grandmother that has lived 5 minutes away from me for my entire life, my lifelong best friends Dad, who was like a second father to me growing up, killed himself, and I roundtripped my biggest trade (at the time) to date($350k) which was 2/3 of my port at the time. My grandmother passed from pancreatic cancer. She was 82 and lived a beautiful life. I knew it was coming for about a month and I got to hangout with her for her last good weekend. We took her down to our land and we got to sit and talk with her for hours on the front porch. It was beautiful and incredibly sad. It was simply her time to go and although it was/is sad, I know that she is celebrating upstairs and watching over me with a smile. She told my little brothers lifelong best friend who plays college baseball she would help him hit his a home run and he hit his first of college the afternoon she passed. She went out knowing I had run up 6 figures and that she didn’t need to worry about me. She’s the only person that knew/knows besides my little brother. The morning I found out she passed I turned my phone off and just lifted all day. Over the next few days my +$350k upnl trade diminished to an L because I checked out and went on tilt. My brother and I went home the following weekend to grieve with family. I had been in town for a few hours when my Mom got a text about my best friends Dad. Nobody knew he was in as dark of a place as he was and it caught us completely by surprise. I’m thankful I was in town bc I was able to be there for a guy I truly consider family during his darkest time. He spent the night w me the night it happened and we stayed up til 6am just talking. My Grandmother passing was sad but reasonable, this was not and it simply did not make sense. It was selfish and uncalled for and he had a ton of ppl that truly loved him that would have helped him out in a heartbeat. My grandma passing was more sad to me personally bc she was blood and a huge part of my life still, but I had many more questions for God about my best friends Dad. Through all of this I kept my faith and realized that sometimes I don’t get to know why things happen. The Good: There were a million great things about this year but I will only touch on the big ones. I started trading Memes 15 months ago with $180 after being a mediocre options trader. I round tripped ~$200-$300k last cycle and had nothing left. I turned this $180 into ab $100k via holding Wif for 4+ months being fully convicted that it would be the doge of Solana. I not only hit my first 6 figs at one time ever, but I’ve since hit my first 7 figs. I’ve been trying for that $1m number since I was 17 and I always said I’d have it by my 23rd birthday. I didn’t make it happen, was ab 4 months late, but I hit $2m within 24h of touching 1 and did it while I’m still 23. I’ve since been bouncing btw the two but I have a feeling that is going to change soon. I am 1 semester away from graduating from a top ~50 school w a major in Econ and a double minor in Entrepreneurship and business admin and a decent GPA. I’m taking the LSAT soon and if I want to will probably become a lawyer. My second semester freshman year I made a .7 and nuked my gpa simply bc I stopped going to class altogether and didn’t withdraw. I have been clawing my way back ever since. I broke up w my gf of 4+ years over 2 years ago and had been praying for a girl for me for 2+ years. I had gone on some dates but hadn’t met anyone I adored/ considered a potential wife until about 4 months ago. She is now my girlfriend and she is absolutely incredible. Easily the most wonderful girl I have ever met. Over the past year I’ve also gotten much closer with my little brother.
0:28

2024 was absolutely the best year of my life. I expect 2025 to be full of continued exponential growth. 2024 Recap: I will start with the bad: I didn’t have very many bad things happen to me in 2024 but I did have the worst single week of my life in October. In one 7 day period I lost my grandmother that has lived 5 minutes away from me for my entire life, my lifelong best friends Dad, who was like a second father to me growing up, killed himself, and I roundtripped my biggest trade (at the time) to date($350k) which was 2/3 of my port at the time. My grandmother passed from pancreatic cancer. She was 82 and lived a beautiful life. I knew it was coming for about a month and I got to hangout with her for her last good weekend. We took her down to our land and we got to sit and talk with her for hours on the front porch. It was beautiful and incredibly sad. It was simply her time to go and although it was/is sad, I know that she is celebrating upstairs and watching over me with a smile. She told my little brothers lifelong best friend who plays college baseball she would help him hit his a home run and he hit his first of college the afternoon she passed. She went out knowing I had run up 6 figures and that she didn’t need to worry about me. She’s the only person that knew/knows besides my little brother. The morning I found out she passed I turned my phone off and just lifted all day. Over the next few days my +$350k upnl trade diminished to an L because I checked out and went on tilt. My brother and I went home the following weekend to grieve with family. I had been in town for a few hours when my Mom got a text about my best friends Dad. Nobody knew he was in as dark of a place as he was and it caught us completely by surprise. I’m thankful I was in town bc I was able to be there for a guy I truly consider family during his darkest time. He spent the night w me the night it happened and we stayed up til 6am just talking. My Grandmother passing was sad but reasonable, this was not and it simply did not make sense. It was selfish and uncalled for and he had a ton of ppl that truly loved him that would have helped him out in a heartbeat. My grandma passing was more sad to me personally bc she was blood and a huge part of my life still, but I had many more questions for God about my best friends Dad. Through all of this I kept my faith and realized that sometimes I don’t get to know why things happen. The Good: There were a million great things about this year but I will only touch on the big ones. I started trading Memes 15 months ago with $180 after being a mediocre options trader. I round tripped ~$200-$300k last cycle and had nothing left. I turned this $180 into ab $100k via holding Wif for 4+ months being fully convicted that it would be the doge of Solana. I not only hit my first 6 figs at one time ever, but I’ve since hit my first 7 figs. I’ve been trying for that $1m number since I was 17 and I always said I’d have it by my 23rd birthday. I didn’t make it happen, was ab 4 months late, but I hit $2m within 24h of touching 1 and did it while I’m still 23. I’ve since been bouncing btw the two but I have a feeling that is going to change soon. I am 1 semester away from graduating from a top ~50 school w a major in Econ and a double minor in Entrepreneurship and business admin and a decent GPA. I’m taking the LSAT soon and if I want to will probably become a lawyer. My second semester freshman year I made a .7 and nuked my gpa simply bc I stopped going to class altogether and didn’t withdraw. I have been clawing my way back ever since. I broke up w my gf of 4+ years over 2 years ago and had been praying for a girl for me for 2+ years. I had gone on some dates but hadn’t met anyone I adored/ considered a potential wife until about 4 months ago. She is now my girlfriend and she is absolutely incredible. Easily the most wonderful girl I have ever met. Over the past year I’ve also gotten much closer with my little brother.

DLN

21,177 views • 1 year ago

One hundred days have passed since those two nights. The two nights where I felt the meaning of everything everywhere all at once. I was full of joy, pride, anger, worry, despair, uncertainty, hope, belief, and everything in between. They were as glorious as they were sorrowful. A nation was telling a romantic, dramatic, violent love story. The story of Iran and our absolute love for it. What transpired after is not that different. Those of us who are survivors of the January massacre feel like we are still there. We are still experiencing the exact same wave of emotions. We remember. We remember the heavy metallic smell of gunpowder in the air. We remember the ash of the fires we lit up dancing in the cold wind. We remember how we illuminated a sky that stood darker than ever, because the occupying syndicate had initiated a total blackout. Digital and electrical. They tried to plunge us into the absolute dark. We remember how the light of the phones they had severed from the outside world became beacons in our hands. We held them up in the dark, desperate to show the world exactly how many of us were fighting and how we were holding the line. We remember how we felt when we stood around the fires we started, chanting Javid Shah together. It felt like that fire was our collective will. We stood around it because our unity was the very thing breathing the fire of courage into every single one of us that night. The words I had held dear for so long hit me deep in my core when I was standing beside that fire, taking my place in the Lion and Sun Revolution. I remember them echoing throughout my entire existence: "The legends of my homeland are not forgotten myths, My people still breathe fire through the darkest rifts. Alive and standing firm where shadows meet, Fear and ignorance have died upon their feet." I remember being amazed to see our true flags everywhere, because I knew exactly how hard it was to acquire one under the gaze of a terrorist syndicate. I remember the rapid gunshots. I remember the taste of tear gas in my throat, the ache of my mussels throughout my bosand the sickening worry over my friends and loved ones burning a hole inside my gut. And I remember seeing the spark of pure, undeniable fear in the eyes of their thugs. I remember all of it. My rage will not let me forget a single second. Each moment of each day, awake or asleep, I feel that exact same mixture of feelings while I watch foreign politicians play their diplomatic games and broadcast their confusing noise. And that is exactly how I know in my heart that we will end this regime one way or another. Because even if the world turns away, I know I have my compatriots to rely on, both outside and inside this country. I know we will keep moving forward no matter what. Now, to those sitting in absolute safety who tell us to just go pick up a gun and fight for our freedom: Speaking as an Iranian civilian locked inside this country, first I have to ask you, where the hell do I get a gun or the ammunition to load it? I am not saying we cannot get weapons. I am trying to tell you that what you say is infinitely harder than it sounds from your safe distance. But regardless of your advice, be absolutely sure of this fact: we are not sitting by asking for our freedom to be handed to us on a silver platter like some privileged kid. We have already fought and bled on the asphalt for our liberation. When the time comes, we will do so again. We will not forget. We will not forgive. And we will take our country back. Pāyandeh #Irán. Javid Shah.
0:27

One hundred days have passed since those two nights. The two nights where I felt the meaning of everything everywhere all at once. I was full of joy, pride, anger, worry, despair, uncertainty, hope, belief, and everything in between. They were as glorious as they were sorrowful. A nation was telling a romantic, dramatic, violent love story. The story of Iran and our absolute love for it. What transpired after is not that different. Those of us who are survivors of the January massacre feel like we are still there. We are still experiencing the exact same wave of emotions. We remember. We remember the heavy metallic smell of gunpowder in the air. We remember the ash of the fires we lit up dancing in the cold wind. We remember how we illuminated a sky that stood darker than ever, because the occupying syndicate had initiated a total blackout. Digital and electrical. They tried to plunge us into the absolute dark. We remember how the light of the phones they had severed from the outside world became beacons in our hands. We held them up in the dark, desperate to show the world exactly how many of us were fighting and how we were holding the line. We remember how we felt when we stood around the fires we started, chanting Javid Shah together. It felt like that fire was our collective will. We stood around it because our unity was the very thing breathing the fire of courage into every single one of us that night. The words I had held dear for so long hit me deep in my core when I was standing beside that fire, taking my place in the Lion and Sun Revolution. I remember them echoing throughout my entire existence: "The legends of my homeland are not forgotten myths, My people still breathe fire through the darkest rifts. Alive and standing firm where shadows meet, Fear and ignorance have died upon their feet." I remember being amazed to see our true flags everywhere, because I knew exactly how hard it was to acquire one under the gaze of a terrorist syndicate. I remember the rapid gunshots. I remember the taste of tear gas in my throat, the ache of my mussels throughout my bosand the sickening worry over my friends and loved ones burning a hole inside my gut. And I remember seeing the spark of pure, undeniable fear in the eyes of their thugs. I remember all of it. My rage will not let me forget a single second. Each moment of each day, awake or asleep, I feel that exact same mixture of feelings while I watch foreign politicians play their diplomatic games and broadcast their confusing noise. And that is exactly how I know in my heart that we will end this regime one way or another. Because even if the world turns away, I know I have my compatriots to rely on, both outside and inside this country. I know we will keep moving forward no matter what. Now, to those sitting in absolute safety who tell us to just go pick up a gun and fight for our freedom: Speaking as an Iranian civilian locked inside this country, first I have to ask you, where the hell do I get a gun or the ammunition to load it? I am not saying we cannot get weapons. I am trying to tell you that what you say is infinitely harder than it sounds from your safe distance. But regardless of your advice, be absolutely sure of this fact: we are not sitting by asking for our freedom to be handed to us on a silver platter like some privileged kid. We have already fought and bled on the asphalt for our liberation. When the time comes, we will do so again. We will not forget. We will not forgive. And we will take our country back. Pāyandeh #Irán. Javid Shah.

Decado

40,452 views • 3 months ago

This is Apollo. This story still stings. I returned from a tour in Iraq in early 2015. My wife was pregnant with our first son. I knew I would not be going anywhere for several months, unless there was a dire need. We decided the time was right to get a dog to add to our growing family. I don't remember how we found Apollo. We got him from the shelter, but I don't know if Dolly saw him online or if we just stumbled across him. I was struck by his amazing eyes. I'd had an Australian Shepherd before and I knew it was a breed that I loved. He hopped right in my car. Dolly even took the back seat so I could sit next to my new best friend. Together, we brought him to his new home. What a great dog he was. We immediately became tied at the hip. I took him for walks, runs, and hikes off leash. I put in the time to train him; we would walk to the bakery or the butcher shop (at the time, we lived the town life), tell him to sit outside, and he would be there on the sidewalk still sitting here when we came out. It was wonderful having such a happy and well-trained dog. Everybody loved him. They'd never seen a dog with eyes like his. I'm sure he loved all the attention too. My first concern came with my newborn son. He did not do as well with children as I would have liked. At times, he gave him a sideways glance that I didn't like. I kept an eye on him as best I could when he was around my son, but he had given me no reason not to trust him, so I didn't worry much. He was wonderful in every other way. Then, suddenly, he wasn't. We had a notary over to collect signatures from us so we could close on a refinance of our home. After sitting at our dining room table for about an hour, signing papers, the notary rose to leave. Apollo, who had been sitting at my feet, must have been startled by the sudden movement. Like a bolt of lightning, he bit. Just once, but it was a shock. The notary was a real mensch. He didn't get angry. He showed humanity. He knew that we would never have had Apollo unrestrained if we had had any idea that he would do something like that. If only everyone was so understanding as he. But fear crept into my heart that there was something about my dog that was not compatible with the family life that we had. We kept Apollo on a shorter leash after that, both figuratively and literally. The off leash hikes were a thing of the past, but we hoped this would prove to be just a one-off anomaly. It wasn't. A month and a half later, just days out from another deployment, I was sitting in my living room talking to a very good friend, a Master Gunnery Sergeant in the USMC (who, as an aside, donated $1,000 to our GiveSendGo campaign to #SaveLucy, thank you 🙏). Apollo was familiar with him already, so I was off my guard, and didn't notice Apollo giving him the stinkeye until it was too late. Apollo lunged and bit. He immediately backed off, but the horrid realization came to me at that moment that my fears were true. My options were limited on the eve of a deployment. To socialize Apollo and train this behavior out of him would take time. I didn't have time. We also didn't have family in the area and Dolly was pregnant again. I couldn't leave my pregnant wife alone for the duration of my tour with a dog who had shown a tendency to bite. I couldn't turn a blind eye to the sideways look he occasionally gave my infant son. Not anymore. I made the devastating decision to rehome him. On what I knew would be our final ride together, he hopped right into the front seat and looked at me, tongue dangling out of his mouth in a happy, sloppy pant, his nub of a tail bobbing up and down, wondering what wonderful adventure daddy was taking him on this time. I'm sure he was confident it was going to be a great time no matter what. It felt like betrayal to me. When we reached the shelter, he faithfully followed me in. We sat in a corner. He leaned against my legs and I stroked his head one final time. It felt like we sat there forever, but I didn't mind. I would have been happy for time to stop, to stay in that moment, just me and my dog, stripped of all externalities, for eternity. But time didn't stop. At length, the door opened and a lady entered. Apollo pressed in against my shins. His 40 pound weight felt heavy. Crushing. I gave him one last embrace, then closed my eyes. "That's a good boy," I whispered, though I couldn't bring myself to look. "I'll always love you." She took Apollo and led him through the door, never for me to see him again. Even today, when I close my eyes, I can still feel the weight of his warm body pressing against mine, trusting me to keep him safe. That was as hard a thing as I've ever done in my life. It was a no-kill shelter, but I played things close to the chest. I did not tell them the worst details. I only mentioned my fear of possible aggression against my child while I was deployed. I did not want to jeopardize Apollo's chance at another opportunity. For months, I kept checking the shelter's website for information about him, but I never saw an update. I do not know what became of him, sadly. I got back home and Dolly asked me where Apollo was. I don't remember if I said anything. I was numb. I hadn't told her where I was going or what I was doing. I had not wanted anything to change my mind. I knew my heart wasn't in it, but I wasn't going to be stopped. It was the right thing to do for my wife, son, and community. Her tears flowed when she realized what I had done. She also loved Apollo. I went to lay on the bed upstairs and be alone. Just weeks later, in a mudhole in the desert, I met my sweet Lucy and my heart began to heal. Saving her from that war zone helped me deal with the lingering guilt I felt about Apollo. I continue to feel the sting of that experience. I wouldn't change what I did though. I love dogs. I will always stand up for dogs when they are mistreated. I will adopt unwanted dogs when I am able. A great measure of a man is how he treats dogs. I aim to always pass that test. But I will always defend human life. Only humans are made in the image of God. I hope and pray that God has a place for dogs when this life is over, but humans He created with souls destined for glory. "You have never talked to a mere mortal," CS Lewis explained. "Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors." I completely agree. I love dogs. They have no guile in them, no duplicity. A dog will not tell you a lie. I like them better than I like people, often. But I cannot choose a dog over a life that was uniquely created to glorify the Almighty (Isaiah 43:7). I will always protect human life. That is why I served. That is why I deployed several times. To protect people, even when they didn't realize they needed protecting. I failed once. I received a report about a plot to blow up a bomb in Beirut. I got it out with all the speed and precision I could, but it got bogged down by the sideshow of the editing process for hours. I got distracted and didn't follow up on it aggressively. In the end, I'm sure the bureaucrats in their cubicles transliterated the names correctly. I'm sure they crossed every T and dotted every I. But at a price. A devastating price. I woke up the next morning to read in the news that a bomb had gone off in Beirut. It was carried out by the people my report said would carry it out. It took place in the exact locale I said it would take place. 43 people dead. Hundreds wounded. Families shattered. I didn't know these people, but my heart sank. Human life is sacred. I will always work to defend it. If I can save a few dogs along the way, great. That is also the Lord's work. But I will never keep a dog that is a danger to my neighbors. Whatever their sins, their harassment, libel, and cunning deceits, they are made in the image of God with souls destined for eternity. Lucy, my 11-year-old dog that survived ISIS, is no danger to my them. I know it in my very bones. The Mountains Have Eyes said that the DA told him I was not a responsible dog owner when he called to inquire about Lucy. This viewpoint is informed by a false impression given to her by our gossipy, well-connected neighbors, not by the facts. I want to tell her about Apollo. Dolly Spice- Jones 🌱🎵 Leisha
1:09

This is Apollo. This story still stings. I returned from a tour in Iraq in early 2015. My wife was pregnant with our first son. I knew I would not be going anywhere for several months, unless there was a dire need. We decided the time was right to get a dog to add to our growing family. I don't remember how we found Apollo. We got him from the shelter, but I don't know if Dolly saw him online or if we just stumbled across him. I was struck by his amazing eyes. I'd had an Australian Shepherd before and I knew it was a breed that I loved. He hopped right in my car. Dolly even took the back seat so I could sit next to my new best friend. Together, we brought him to his new home. What a great dog he was. We immediately became tied at the hip. I took him for walks, runs, and hikes off leash. I put in the time to train him; we would walk to the bakery or the butcher shop (at the time, we lived the town life), tell him to sit outside, and he would be there on the sidewalk still sitting here when we came out. It was wonderful having such a happy and well-trained dog. Everybody loved him. They'd never seen a dog with eyes like his. I'm sure he loved all the attention too. My first concern came with my newborn son. He did not do as well with children as I would have liked. At times, he gave him a sideways glance that I didn't like. I kept an eye on him as best I could when he was around my son, but he had given me no reason not to trust him, so I didn't worry much. He was wonderful in every other way. Then, suddenly, he wasn't. We had a notary over to collect signatures from us so we could close on a refinance of our home. After sitting at our dining room table for about an hour, signing papers, the notary rose to leave. Apollo, who had been sitting at my feet, must have been startled by the sudden movement. Like a bolt of lightning, he bit. Just once, but it was a shock. The notary was a real mensch. He didn't get angry. He showed humanity. He knew that we would never have had Apollo unrestrained if we had had any idea that he would do something like that. If only everyone was so understanding as he. But fear crept into my heart that there was something about my dog that was not compatible with the family life that we had. We kept Apollo on a shorter leash after that, both figuratively and literally. The off leash hikes were a thing of the past, but we hoped this would prove to be just a one-off anomaly. It wasn't. A month and a half later, just days out from another deployment, I was sitting in my living room talking to a very good friend, a Master Gunnery Sergeant in the USMC (who, as an aside, donated $1,000 to our GiveSendGo campaign to #SaveLucy, thank you 🙏). Apollo was familiar with him already, so I was off my guard, and didn't notice Apollo giving him the stinkeye until it was too late. Apollo lunged and bit. He immediately backed off, but the horrid realization came to me at that moment that my fears were true. My options were limited on the eve of a deployment. To socialize Apollo and train this behavior out of him would take time. I didn't have time. We also didn't have family in the area and Dolly was pregnant again. I couldn't leave my pregnant wife alone for the duration of my tour with a dog who had shown a tendency to bite. I couldn't turn a blind eye to the sideways look he occasionally gave my infant son. Not anymore. I made the devastating decision to rehome him. On what I knew would be our final ride together, he hopped right into the front seat and looked at me, tongue dangling out of his mouth in a happy, sloppy pant, his nub of a tail bobbing up and down, wondering what wonderful adventure daddy was taking him on this time. I'm sure he was confident it was going to be a great time no matter what. It felt like betrayal to me. When we reached the shelter, he faithfully followed me in. We sat in a corner. He leaned against my legs and I stroked his head one final time. It felt like we sat there forever, but I didn't mind. I would have been happy for time to stop, to stay in that moment, just me and my dog, stripped of all externalities, for eternity. But time didn't stop. At length, the door opened and a lady entered. Apollo pressed in against my shins. His 40 pound weight felt heavy. Crushing. I gave him one last embrace, then closed my eyes. "That's a good boy," I whispered, though I couldn't bring myself to look. "I'll always love you." She took Apollo and led him through the door, never for me to see him again. Even today, when I close my eyes, I can still feel the weight of his warm body pressing against mine, trusting me to keep him safe. That was as hard a thing as I've ever done in my life. It was a no-kill shelter, but I played things close to the chest. I did not tell them the worst details. I only mentioned my fear of possible aggression against my child while I was deployed. I did not want to jeopardize Apollo's chance at another opportunity. For months, I kept checking the shelter's website for information about him, but I never saw an update. I do not know what became of him, sadly. I got back home and Dolly asked me where Apollo was. I don't remember if I said anything. I was numb. I hadn't told her where I was going or what I was doing. I had not wanted anything to change my mind. I knew my heart wasn't in it, but I wasn't going to be stopped. It was the right thing to do for my wife, son, and community. Her tears flowed when she realized what I had done. She also loved Apollo. I went to lay on the bed upstairs and be alone. Just weeks later, in a mudhole in the desert, I met my sweet Lucy and my heart began to heal. Saving her from that war zone helped me deal with the lingering guilt I felt about Apollo. I continue to feel the sting of that experience. I wouldn't change what I did though. I love dogs. I will always stand up for dogs when they are mistreated. I will adopt unwanted dogs when I am able. A great measure of a man is how he treats dogs. I aim to always pass that test. But I will always defend human life. Only humans are made in the image of God. I hope and pray that God has a place for dogs when this life is over, but humans He created with souls destined for glory. "You have never talked to a mere mortal," CS Lewis explained. "Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors." I completely agree. I love dogs. They have no guile in them, no duplicity. A dog will not tell you a lie. I like them better than I like people, often. But I cannot choose a dog over a life that was uniquely created to glorify the Almighty (Isaiah 43:7). I will always protect human life. That is why I served. That is why I deployed several times. To protect people, even when they didn't realize they needed protecting. I failed once. I received a report about a plot to blow up a bomb in Beirut. I got it out with all the speed and precision I could, but it got bogged down by the sideshow of the editing process for hours. I got distracted and didn't follow up on it aggressively. In the end, I'm sure the bureaucrats in their cubicles transliterated the names correctly. I'm sure they crossed every T and dotted every I. But at a price. A devastating price. I woke up the next morning to read in the news that a bomb had gone off in Beirut. It was carried out by the people my report said would carry it out. It took place in the exact locale I said it would take place. 43 people dead. Hundreds wounded. Families shattered. I didn't know these people, but my heart sank. Human life is sacred. I will always work to defend it. If I can save a few dogs along the way, great. That is also the Lord's work. But I will never keep a dog that is a danger to my neighbors. Whatever their sins, their harassment, libel, and cunning deceits, they are made in the image of God with souls destined for eternity. Lucy, my 11-year-old dog that survived ISIS, is no danger to my them. I know it in my very bones. The Mountains Have Eyes said that the DA told him I was not a responsible dog owner when he called to inquire about Lucy. This viewpoint is informed by a false impression given to her by our gossipy, well-connected neighbors, not by the facts. I want to tell her about Apollo. Dolly Spice- Jones 🌱🎵 Leisha

Brendan M. Jones 🇺🇸

15,769 views • 2 months ago

I have a story about addiction from a different perspective. A story where recovery was not possible. I have one sibling. An older brother. Everyone loved him. It was easy to love him. He died 10 years ago. It was a horrible death that took him 20 years to accomplish, dragging everyone who loved him along the way. He was an amazing musician. He didn't read music. No lessons. Hand him any instrument, and he can play it. He had a big heart. He was easily the funniest person I've ever known. And he is the only other human being who speaks fluent movie-script-quotes with precision and skill. But alcohol took over in his mid-20s. Bam Margera is just 2 years younger than my brother. He reminds me of my brother *so* much. Everything Bam and his family went through with his addiction is what my brother and family went through. My brother left high school because he was a gifted songwriter and musician. Bam left because he was a gifted skater. My brother was really into editing and producing films, and so is Bam. When Ryan Dunn died, and Bam went off the deep end, I was watching my brother do the same thing every time a strong emotion hit him, and he simply didn't know what to do with it. My brother was so beautiful on the outside, yet unrecognizable at the end. I can not tell you how many times my brother would go missing. Hundreds of times. He would sometimes go missing for up to a week. Then we'd get a call from the police or a hospital. Usually, the hospital would be first because he'd be near death. Then they would keep him on a 5150 at a mental health facility. Then he would come home. One time, he chased me with a knife in his hand, screaming he was going to kill me as I was running out of my parents' home on a cordless phone dialing 911. I found a fifth of vodka in his room and poured it down the drain. He went looking for it 20 minutes later, and it was empty...and I told him I poured it out. When I was 24 years old, I landed my first job that came with an office. My name was outside of it. I was stoked. I worked my ass off to get there. But there was no happiness at that time in my life. I remember my father calling me at work, sitting in that office, to say he was coming to pick me up because he knew where my brother, who had been missing for 4 days, was. The credit card he stole from my mother showed he was at a little oceanfront motel 10 minutes away. And I remember thinking to myself on the way over there...I have to open the motel room door. I can't let my dad see him hanging. It will destroy his life. I told my dad to wait about 10 feet to my left, and I opened the door, and there was my brother fashioning a sheet into a noose. Another time he went missing, and they found him on the roof of a building with the inside of his arms slashed from elbow to wrist, just lying in a pool of blood. Dark shit. Both of the insides of his arms were mutilated from being sliced open so many times. At least 30, if not more. He stopped wearing short-sleeved shirts in public about 10 years before he died. He got to the point of seizures when he withdrew and had alcohol-related dementia for the last 3 years of his life, which would come and go. Then one day, after 2 decades, he called my parents and said something was wrong. My parents went over to his place, ended up calling 911, the ambulance got there, and he started walking outside with assistance from paramedics and collapsed. In front of my parents. He was rushed to the hospital. I had not seen my brother for the last 9 years of his life. He disowned me. Because he felt he had to. He killed my dog when he got drunk 9 years before he died. No one knows if he meant to or not, he was so wasted. He couldn't face me after that. So he disowned me. And a piece of my heart died the day he did it. I talked to my parents right before they left to see what was wrong that day. The last thing I said to my dad was, "Do not let him die without me having an opportunity to say goodbye." My dad called me from the er 2 hours later and said, "You should come over now. He won't know you're here." When I got there, I was shocked at what I saw. He wasn't the right color. He was in a coma. Severe internal bleeding. On life support. It was jarring even after seeing him in a much similar state hundreds of times for such a long time. He was taken to the ICU 3 hours later, where they would transfuse blood by the bag damn near constantly, and it just shot out of his nose. It was bloody. A lot of blood. After about 6 hours, I told my parents to go home and get some rest. I would stay with him. And I talked to him like he was right there. Like one of the hundreds of pillow-fort slumber parties we had as kids. Like no time had passed, and his addiction never existed. I showed him pictures of my life over the past decade on my phone...just like he was there. But he wasn't there. And after 3 hours and extensive talks with several doctors and specialists, I had to make the decision to remove his life support. After my parents returned and said goodbye, I told them to wait out in the hall until he passed because I could not allow them to have the memory of him dying, and I returned to my brother's side, and said what I needed to say, bawling my heart out. I told them to turn off the machines, and I held him in my arms as he died. It took just over 7 minutes. And I just held him. I had Nine Inch Nails playing for him. One of his favorites thanks to Pretty Hate Machine. He was a fan for life after that. He was my best friend. But he was also someone I had to protect myself from if he was intoxicated. This is the end that usually becomes a reality for addicts and their families. Then there's someone like Bam Margera. He went to the same place my brother went to in his head. And he came back. Bam is one of the greatest comebacks ever and a story of recovery worth knowing. I see YouTube shorts of Bam skating again every day, and I'm so moved that I just sit here and cry. You can see his personality is back. You have no idea how rare that is. Their personality shows very little while they're in their addiction. Recovery stories are incredibly personal to so many people, including those who have gone through addiction with an addict because they love them so much...they'd see anything they had to see and endure anything they have to endure just to be there with them at their lowest point. Addicts are not monsters. The stuff they use to numb the pain they do not understand is the real monster. And when you put enough of that into a human being, they do things they would *never* do without it. People are not pure. We are more complex than that. We are good and bad. Light and dark. Right and wrong. Chaotic and serene. You will find that the answer to every question you have about life is usually "both" for a reason. Because one can not exist without the other. With recovery stories like Hunter Biden's and Bam Margera's out in the ether, more people will be less ignorant as to how this disease plays out, and that will do nothing but good for so many families struggling with this issue. Addiction isn't just for the addict. Addiction is for everyone who loves them, as well. It's just a different perspective of hell. So listen to recovery stories with renewed respect because most addicts end up the way it ended for the only sibling I'll ever have.
2:04

I have a story about addiction from a different perspective. A story where recovery was not possible. I have one sibling. An older brother. Everyone loved him. It was easy to love him. He died 10 years ago. It was a horrible death that took him 20 years to accomplish, dragging everyone who loved him along the way. He was an amazing musician. He didn't read music. No lessons. Hand him any instrument, and he can play it. He had a big heart. He was easily the funniest person I've ever known. And he is the only other human being who speaks fluent movie-script-quotes with precision and skill. But alcohol took over in his mid-20s. Bam Margera is just 2 years younger than my brother. He reminds me of my brother *so* much. Everything Bam and his family went through with his addiction is what my brother and family went through. My brother left high school because he was a gifted songwriter and musician. Bam left because he was a gifted skater. My brother was really into editing and producing films, and so is Bam. When Ryan Dunn died, and Bam went off the deep end, I was watching my brother do the same thing every time a strong emotion hit him, and he simply didn't know what to do with it. My brother was so beautiful on the outside, yet unrecognizable at the end. I can not tell you how many times my brother would go missing. Hundreds of times. He would sometimes go missing for up to a week. Then we'd get a call from the police or a hospital. Usually, the hospital would be first because he'd be near death. Then they would keep him on a 5150 at a mental health facility. Then he would come home. One time, he chased me with a knife in his hand, screaming he was going to kill me as I was running out of my parents' home on a cordless phone dialing 911. I found a fifth of vodka in his room and poured it down the drain. He went looking for it 20 minutes later, and it was empty...and I told him I poured it out. When I was 24 years old, I landed my first job that came with an office. My name was outside of it. I was stoked. I worked my ass off to get there. But there was no happiness at that time in my life. I remember my father calling me at work, sitting in that office, to say he was coming to pick me up because he knew where my brother, who had been missing for 4 days, was. The credit card he stole from my mother showed he was at a little oceanfront motel 10 minutes away. And I remember thinking to myself on the way over there...I have to open the motel room door. I can't let my dad see him hanging. It will destroy his life. I told my dad to wait about 10 feet to my left, and I opened the door, and there was my brother fashioning a sheet into a noose. Another time he went missing, and they found him on the roof of a building with the inside of his arms slashed from elbow to wrist, just lying in a pool of blood. Dark shit. Both of the insides of his arms were mutilated from being sliced open so many times. At least 30, if not more. He stopped wearing short-sleeved shirts in public about 10 years before he died. He got to the point of seizures when he withdrew and had alcohol-related dementia for the last 3 years of his life, which would come and go. Then one day, after 2 decades, he called my parents and said something was wrong. My parents went over to his place, ended up calling 911, the ambulance got there, and he started walking outside with assistance from paramedics and collapsed. In front of my parents. He was rushed to the hospital. I had not seen my brother for the last 9 years of his life. He disowned me. Because he felt he had to. He killed my dog when he got drunk 9 years before he died. No one knows if he meant to or not, he was so wasted. He couldn't face me after that. So he disowned me. And a piece of my heart died the day he did it. I talked to my parents right before they left to see what was wrong that day. The last thing I said to my dad was, "Do not let him die without me having an opportunity to say goodbye." My dad called me from the er 2 hours later and said, "You should come over now. He won't know you're here." When I got there, I was shocked at what I saw. He wasn't the right color. He was in a coma. Severe internal bleeding. On life support. It was jarring even after seeing him in a much similar state hundreds of times for such a long time. He was taken to the ICU 3 hours later, where they would transfuse blood by the bag damn near constantly, and it just shot out of his nose. It was bloody. A lot of blood. After about 6 hours, I told my parents to go home and get some rest. I would stay with him. And I talked to him like he was right there. Like one of the hundreds of pillow-fort slumber parties we had as kids. Like no time had passed, and his addiction never existed. I showed him pictures of my life over the past decade on my phone...just like he was there. But he wasn't there. And after 3 hours and extensive talks with several doctors and specialists, I had to make the decision to remove his life support. After my parents returned and said goodbye, I told them to wait out in the hall until he passed because I could not allow them to have the memory of him dying, and I returned to my brother's side, and said what I needed to say, bawling my heart out. I told them to turn off the machines, and I held him in my arms as he died. It took just over 7 minutes. And I just held him. I had Nine Inch Nails playing for him. One of his favorites thanks to Pretty Hate Machine. He was a fan for life after that. He was my best friend. But he was also someone I had to protect myself from if he was intoxicated. This is the end that usually becomes a reality for addicts and their families. Then there's someone like Bam Margera. He went to the same place my brother went to in his head. And he came back. Bam is one of the greatest comebacks ever and a story of recovery worth knowing. I see YouTube shorts of Bam skating again every day, and I'm so moved that I just sit here and cry. You can see his personality is back. You have no idea how rare that is. Their personality shows very little while they're in their addiction. Recovery stories are incredibly personal to so many people, including those who have gone through addiction with an addict because they love them so much...they'd see anything they had to see and endure anything they have to endure just to be there with them at their lowest point. Addicts are not monsters. The stuff they use to numb the pain they do not understand is the real monster. And when you put enough of that into a human being, they do things they would *never* do without it. People are not pure. We are more complex than that. We are good and bad. Light and dark. Right and wrong. Chaotic and serene. You will find that the answer to every question you have about life is usually "both" for a reason. Because one can not exist without the other. With recovery stories like Hunter Biden's and Bam Margera's out in the ether, more people will be less ignorant as to how this disease plays out, and that will do nothing but good for so many families struggling with this issue. Addiction isn't just for the addict. Addiction is for everyone who loves them, as well. It's just a different perspective of hell. So listen to recovery stories with renewed respect because most addicts end up the way it ended for the only sibling I'll ever have.

Nicole Minét

407,918 views • 1 month ago

July 14th, 2023, my 11 years old sickel cell son had a surgery that got his spleen and gall bladder removed. I followed him into the theater, and we barely spent 3 minutes they said, he's going to sleep now, and I didn't know when they administered the anesthesia. He just said, "My mom, I want my mom, then closed his eyes.... eh, I was shocked, scared, and startled. I screamed, he's not talking again, they said he's asleep. He appears lifeless within 30 seconds. I sat on the floor, lost, broken, and shattered. They managed to remove me from the theater room. I sat right on the floor at the door and wept. Deep pain, I couldn't explain it. I got to the hospital room, weeping, and the procedure was going to take 6 to 8 hours. I cried the whole time, begging God to please keep him alive. All alone in that room, dejected, broken, alone, and helpless. I put on cityAlight worship songs and continue to cry my cry. They called after 6 hrs to tell me they're almost done. It doesn't feel like 2 hrs. When he came out, he was a completely different boy. Couldn't move his body, the same boy that walked into the hospital. 24hrs later, his bp started rising, and I kept telling them something isn't right. Later that day, i went home to quickly make food, Then, i got a vall that he suddenly developed a seizure and passed away. All the units ran down, doing everything within their power to resuscitate him. My sister called me to inform me, I was lost. I ran from upstairs downstairs to the front of my house weeping. Where will I go from here, I can't bury a child. Brethren drove me down to the hospital. On our way, they were praying, but I was just crying. I kept calling my sister but she didn't pick, then she called the people with me in the car that he's not responding o. While we were almost there, they said he's coming back slowly. He was transferred immediately to ICU, and the whole drama became serious. Now he's awake but in serious pain. On one of the days after Sunday service, we got there, and I met the staff doing an x-ray of his chest, so I went to the screen and I saw a skeleton skull right on his chest. I called one of my brothers who was there and asked him to come see. He said he couldn't see anything, so I saw the skeleton skull again. Then, I told them that the boy is healed. At that point, my brain was awakened. I asked for bowls, I put water, and washed him aggressively, moving his legs, hands, body, while he was screaming and crying.. his bp kept rising. The nurses ran in, and I told them not to worry, that he's fine. After washing, I sat him up, he kept crying, my mom please, I said you're healed my dear. After that, I told my sister who was with him that she should make sure he eats. I came home, and I slept and was calm. Why? Because at that point of revelation, I knew the battle was no longer mine. I rest! The next day, my son was able to sit for two 2 hours straight, and everyone was happy. I told them he's healed. On Tuesday, he sat in a wheelchair and was wheeled to the play room. I kept smiling. By Thursday, he's walking to the toilet by himself. That was how he got back, and he was discharged. I can't measure the amount of pain I had felt in life, but the moment God opened my eyes to see beyond the ordinary, I would just relax and let him work it out. Because it is no longer mine, the Lord reveals the battle he had conquered. Once your eyes are open to see them, they're no more. This is just one out of many wonders of God over my life and my children.
0:29

July 14th, 2023, my 11 years old sickel cell son had a surgery that got his spleen and gall bladder removed. I followed him into the theater, and we barely spent 3 minutes they said, he's going to sleep now, and I didn't know when they administered the anesthesia. He just said, "My mom, I want my mom, then closed his eyes.... eh, I was shocked, scared, and startled. I screamed, he's not talking again, they said he's asleep. He appears lifeless within 30 seconds. I sat on the floor, lost, broken, and shattered. They managed to remove me from the theater room. I sat right on the floor at the door and wept. Deep pain, I couldn't explain it. I got to the hospital room, weeping, and the procedure was going to take 6 to 8 hours. I cried the whole time, begging God to please keep him alive. All alone in that room, dejected, broken, alone, and helpless. I put on cityAlight worship songs and continue to cry my cry. They called after 6 hrs to tell me they're almost done. It doesn't feel like 2 hrs. When he came out, he was a completely different boy. Couldn't move his body, the same boy that walked into the hospital. 24hrs later, his bp started rising, and I kept telling them something isn't right. Later that day, i went home to quickly make food, Then, i got a vall that he suddenly developed a seizure and passed away. All the units ran down, doing everything within their power to resuscitate him. My sister called me to inform me, I was lost. I ran from upstairs downstairs to the front of my house weeping. Where will I go from here, I can't bury a child. Brethren drove me down to the hospital. On our way, they were praying, but I was just crying. I kept calling my sister but she didn't pick, then she called the people with me in the car that he's not responding o. While we were almost there, they said he's coming back slowly. He was transferred immediately to ICU, and the whole drama became serious. Now he's awake but in serious pain. On one of the days after Sunday service, we got there, and I met the staff doing an x-ray of his chest, so I went to the screen and I saw a skeleton skull right on his chest. I called one of my brothers who was there and asked him to come see. He said he couldn't see anything, so I saw the skeleton skull again. Then, I told them that the boy is healed. At that point, my brain was awakened. I asked for bowls, I put water, and washed him aggressively, moving his legs, hands, body, while he was screaming and crying.. his bp kept rising. The nurses ran in, and I told them not to worry, that he's fine. After washing, I sat him up, he kept crying, my mom please, I said you're healed my dear. After that, I told my sister who was with him that she should make sure he eats. I came home, and I slept and was calm. Why? Because at that point of revelation, I knew the battle was no longer mine. I rest! The next day, my son was able to sit for two 2 hours straight, and everyone was happy. I told them he's healed. On Tuesday, he sat in a wheelchair and was wheeled to the play room. I kept smiling. By Thursday, he's walking to the toilet by himself. That was how he got back, and he was discharged. I can't measure the amount of pain I had felt in life, but the moment God opened my eyes to see beyond the ordinary, I would just relax and let him work it out. Because it is no longer mine, the Lord reveals the battle he had conquered. Once your eyes are open to see them, they're no more. This is just one out of many wonders of God over my life and my children.

Temmy

513,790 views • 1 year ago

It’s outrageous that President Donald Trump has threatened to sue the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), say many in the media. “You have to admire the chutzpah,” wrote one columnist. “Donald Trump describing the BBC as ‘corrupt’ while threatening to take legal action….The man has never been known for his self-awareness, so it’s safe to say the irony has almost certainly passed him by.” But there is no question that BBC employees deliberately manipulated Trump’s remarks on January 6, 2021, to make it sound like he had encouraged violence. An independent outside auditor, Michael Prescott, wrote a major report on the BBC’s bias, which concluded that the BBC had “spliced together two clips” to create “the impression that Trump said something he did not and, in doing so, materially misled viewers.” Americans might think this story doesn’t concern them because it’s about a British media company. Few Americans listen to the BBC. But the story is highly relevant to Americans because US news media companies are guilty of manipulating their coverage of Trump, transgenderism, and race in nearly identical ways as the BBC. And given the BBC’s longstanding reputation as one of the most credible news organizations in the world, Prescott’s independent report has rightly sparked a major international media discussion. Over the weekend, the BBC’s CEO and its Director-General both stepped down. “The Future of the BBC is Now in Doubt,” writes Tim Stanley, an influential columnist, in the Daily Telegraph. Prescott’s report should inspire reform-minded owners of US news media companies to clean up their act. For example, CNN falsely claimed that January 6 was an “insurrection” that resulted in the deaths of five people and did a similarly manipulative edit of Trump’s speech, noted an investigator on X, MAZE. “It may not be technically as bad as what the BBC did,” he noted, “because there was a quick flash transition, but the goal was the same. Make the speech sound worse than it was. Take everything out of context and put it together in an order that makes it sound as bad as possible.” Last year, we criticized CNN and other news media for deliberately twisting the meaning of Trump’s remarks about Liz Cheney for being a war hawk, and Prescott makes the same observation. “Mr. Trump was clearly criticising politicians who readily send US troops to war without thinking about the human cost,” he notes. And yet “the BBC repeatedly pushed this inaccurate version of what Trump said.” Readers of Public are aware that we have been critical of the BBC’s fact-checking program, “BBC Verify.” One purpose of BBC Verify appears to be to label stories with which the BBC disagrees as “misinformation” and thus as something that social media platforms should censor. Last year, the BBC’s Director General, Tim Davie, said, “Disinformation, propaganda, and partial news is [sic] weakening our shared understanding of the world, undermining trust in our institutions and our democratic process,” shortly after the BBC had buried a large package of investigative stories on the problems with giving children and adolescents puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. BBC’s first “disinformation” reporter, Mariana Spring, apologized in 2023 after she was caught lying on her resume. Spring remains employed at BBC as its “Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent.” Prescott described how BBC Verify spread misinformation. “BBC audiences were being encouraged to believe Britain’s major insurers were, intentionally or unintentionally, racist and charging high prices to customers based on their ethnicity,” notes Prescott. “The central claim implied causation, (that being an ethnic minority resulted in you being charged more), but the reporting and commentary did not consider other issues that can affect insurance charges.” Adds Prescott, “the entire report was taken down, which I understand is very rare. It had taken six months for the BBC to take decisive action about a story that was not fit for purpose and spread damaging misinformation. As far as I know, no one has ever been disciplined for this hugely embarrassing episode and worrying questions remain.” Another example of the BBC’s bias concerned a major story about doctors causing serious harm to children, adolescents, and vulnerable adults. Readers of Public will recall that in the Spring of last year, we released documents, The WPATH Files, which a whistleblower had given to us. “In March 2024,” writes Prescott, “there was widespread media coverage of leaked documents from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health [WPATH] which raised concerns about the quality of care given to gender-distressed children. It was picked up by the Mail, Economist, Observer, Washington Post, the Times, and others, but not the BBC.” Prescott points out other examples of the BBC's censorship and bias on transgenderism. It refused to cover detransitioners, people who regretted taking hormones or receiving surgeries in an attempt to change their sex or gender. It didn’t cover a major lawsuit by a group of nurses after their hospital allowed a man to use their changing room. And, beyond WPATH, the BBC gave little to no coverage of the trans medical scandal, even though the UK government has banned puberty blockers. By contrast, the BBC produced “a surprisingly high number of stories about drag queens,” celebrated a male wrestler who competed in the women’s category, and published an article last year headlined, “Transgender woman guilty of rape after night out.” Wrote the reporter, “Lexi Secker, 35, of Lowbourne, near Melksham, was living as a man when she attacked a woman in Blunsdon, Wiltshire, on 23 April 2023.” More information about the scandal may come out. Just today, Cath Leng, BBC’s former chief writer, says she was “forced out” in 2023 after 25 years because she was critical of transgender ideology. Prescott identified other areas of bias, including on race and the war in Gaza, all of which pointed to a single significant underlying problem. “My view is that the Executive repeatedly failed to implement measures to resolve highlighted problems, and in many cases simply refused to acknowledge there was an issue at all,” he writes. “Indeed, I would argue that the Executive’s attitude when confronted with evidence of serious and systemic problems is now a systemic problem in itself - meaning the last recourse for action is the Board.” All of this is deeply damaging to the BBC, regardless of whether Trump decides to sue it. “BBC staff have destroyed their own trump card in future negotiations over the licence fee,” writes Stanley at the Daily Telegraph. “The problem is this: in the modern, post-TV world, the licence fee is entirely unjustifiable. The BBC has to explain why, when there’s so much else available, it should be allowed to compel us to pay for it – just when tastes are diverging, national identity is fractured and the quality of the BBC’s output is in doubt…” What, then, explains the BBC’s fall from grace? Please subscribe now to support Public's award-winning journalism, read the rest of the article, and watch the full video!
6:59

It’s outrageous that President Donald Trump has threatened to sue the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), say many in the media. “You have to admire the chutzpah,” wrote one columnist. “Donald Trump describing the BBC as ‘corrupt’ while threatening to take legal action….The man has never been known for his self-awareness, so it’s safe to say the irony has almost certainly passed him by.” But there is no question that BBC employees deliberately manipulated Trump’s remarks on January 6, 2021, to make it sound like he had encouraged violence. An independent outside auditor, Michael Prescott, wrote a major report on the BBC’s bias, which concluded that the BBC had “spliced together two clips” to create “the impression that Trump said something he did not and, in doing so, materially misled viewers.” Americans might think this story doesn’t concern them because it’s about a British media company. Few Americans listen to the BBC. But the story is highly relevant to Americans because US news media companies are guilty of manipulating their coverage of Trump, transgenderism, and race in nearly identical ways as the BBC. And given the BBC’s longstanding reputation as one of the most credible news organizations in the world, Prescott’s independent report has rightly sparked a major international media discussion. Over the weekend, the BBC’s CEO and its Director-General both stepped down. “The Future of the BBC is Now in Doubt,” writes Tim Stanley, an influential columnist, in the Daily Telegraph. Prescott’s report should inspire reform-minded owners of US news media companies to clean up their act. For example, CNN falsely claimed that January 6 was an “insurrection” that resulted in the deaths of five people and did a similarly manipulative edit of Trump’s speech, noted an investigator on X, MAZE. “It may not be technically as bad as what the BBC did,” he noted, “because there was a quick flash transition, but the goal was the same. Make the speech sound worse than it was. Take everything out of context and put it together in an order that makes it sound as bad as possible.” Last year, we criticized CNN and other news media for deliberately twisting the meaning of Trump’s remarks about Liz Cheney for being a war hawk, and Prescott makes the same observation. “Mr. Trump was clearly criticising politicians who readily send US troops to war without thinking about the human cost,” he notes. And yet “the BBC repeatedly pushed this inaccurate version of what Trump said.” Readers of Public are aware that we have been critical of the BBC’s fact-checking program, “BBC Verify.” One purpose of BBC Verify appears to be to label stories with which the BBC disagrees as “misinformation” and thus as something that social media platforms should censor. Last year, the BBC’s Director General, Tim Davie, said, “Disinformation, propaganda, and partial news is [sic] weakening our shared understanding of the world, undermining trust in our institutions and our democratic process,” shortly after the BBC had buried a large package of investigative stories on the problems with giving children and adolescents puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. BBC’s first “disinformation” reporter, Mariana Spring, apologized in 2023 after she was caught lying on her resume. Spring remains employed at BBC as its “Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent.” Prescott described how BBC Verify spread misinformation. “BBC audiences were being encouraged to believe Britain’s major insurers were, intentionally or unintentionally, racist and charging high prices to customers based on their ethnicity,” notes Prescott. “The central claim implied causation, (that being an ethnic minority resulted in you being charged more), but the reporting and commentary did not consider other issues that can affect insurance charges.” Adds Prescott, “the entire report was taken down, which I understand is very rare. It had taken six months for the BBC to take decisive action about a story that was not fit for purpose and spread damaging misinformation. As far as I know, no one has ever been disciplined for this hugely embarrassing episode and worrying questions remain.” Another example of the BBC’s bias concerned a major story about doctors causing serious harm to children, adolescents, and vulnerable adults. Readers of Public will recall that in the Spring of last year, we released documents, The WPATH Files, which a whistleblower had given to us. “In March 2024,” writes Prescott, “there was widespread media coverage of leaked documents from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health [WPATH] which raised concerns about the quality of care given to gender-distressed children. It was picked up by the Mail, Economist, Observer, Washington Post, the Times, and others, but not the BBC.” Prescott points out other examples of the BBC's censorship and bias on transgenderism. It refused to cover detransitioners, people who regretted taking hormones or receiving surgeries in an attempt to change their sex or gender. It didn’t cover a major lawsuit by a group of nurses after their hospital allowed a man to use their changing room. And, beyond WPATH, the BBC gave little to no coverage of the trans medical scandal, even though the UK government has banned puberty blockers. By contrast, the BBC produced “a surprisingly high number of stories about drag queens,” celebrated a male wrestler who competed in the women’s category, and published an article last year headlined, “Transgender woman guilty of rape after night out.” Wrote the reporter, “Lexi Secker, 35, of Lowbourne, near Melksham, was living as a man when she attacked a woman in Blunsdon, Wiltshire, on 23 April 2023.” More information about the scandal may come out. Just today, Cath Leng, BBC’s former chief writer, says she was “forced out” in 2023 after 25 years because she was critical of transgender ideology. Prescott identified other areas of bias, including on race and the war in Gaza, all of which pointed to a single significant underlying problem. “My view is that the Executive repeatedly failed to implement measures to resolve highlighted problems, and in many cases simply refused to acknowledge there was an issue at all,” he writes. “Indeed, I would argue that the Executive’s attitude when confronted with evidence of serious and systemic problems is now a systemic problem in itself - meaning the last recourse for action is the Board.” All of this is deeply damaging to the BBC, regardless of whether Trump decides to sue it. “BBC staff have destroyed their own trump card in future negotiations over the licence fee,” writes Stanley at the Daily Telegraph. “The problem is this: in the modern, post-TV world, the licence fee is entirely unjustifiable. The BBC has to explain why, when there’s so much else available, it should be allowed to compel us to pay for it – just when tastes are diverging, national identity is fractured and the quality of the BBC’s output is in doubt…” What, then, explains the BBC’s fall from grace? Please subscribe now to support Public's award-winning journalism, read the rest of the article, and watch the full video!

Michael Shellenberger

43,703 views • 8 months ago

What many people don’t know is that between 2007 and 2009, Solid Star recorded a lot of songs, but as the A&R and CEO of the label, I knew something was still missing. The talent was obvious, the vocals were amazing, but there was a particular spark I was searching for that I hadn’t heard yet in any of the records. One day, I called him and said, “Look, I don’t want another fast-tempo song. I need something different. Give me a mid-tempo record, something with a bounce, something emotional. Just write a proper love song.” He agreed and went to work on it. After a while, he came back and said, “I’ve written the love song. Do you want to hear it?” I told him yes immediately. Around that same period, we were at Comfort Suites in Festac, and luckily for us, the late legendary producer OJB Jezreel was there that night working with 2Baba. I introduced Solid Star to OJB and told him we really wanted to work with him. OJB welcomed the idea and asked us to come back in a few days. When we got to the appointment, OJB said he wanted to hear the song first.Solidstar sang the song for him, and almost instantly he caught the vision. Within less than 40 minutes, OJB had already created the beat, Solid Star had voiced the track, and the foundation of One in a Million was born. After the recording, OJB looked at me and said something I would never forget: “If you can get 2Face on this song, it will be massive. This sounds like something he would naturally jump on.” That advice changed everything. As soon as I got back to Festac, I took the song to 2Baba. Before he even traveled to Abuja for his 10-year anniversary celebration, he was already vibing heavily to the song. By the time he got to Abuja, he knew the lyrics almost word for word. He told me he already had ideas for what he wanted to add to the record. Then he said something that became another major turning point in Solid Star’s career: “If you don’t mind, bring Solidstar to Abuja to perform.” That Abuja event — 2Face’s 10-year anniversary — became Solid Star’s very first major stage performance. After they returned from Abuja, 2Face called me again and said, “Bring Solo to the house. I want to record my verse.” And that was how the legendary collaboration finally came together. Once the audio was done, I approached Clarence Peters with the song. He listened carefully and immediately said he had a strong visual concept for it. He suggested we travel all the way to Erin Ijesha water falls for the shoot and also involve legendary photographer Kelechi Amadi-Obi in the creative process. Everything sounded incredible — until he gave me the budget. It was a seven-figure production cost, which at that time was a huge risk for us as a growing label. I took the proposal back to my directors and explained everything to them. After deliberating, we all agreed on one thing: “Let’s give it a shot.” And that was how we traveled toOsun state and shot the iconic One in a Million video. On another note, I’ll still tell the full story of how I eventually got 2Baba to personally appear in that video.
0:44

What many people don’t know is that between 2007 and 2009, Solid Star recorded a lot of songs, but as the A&R and CEO of the label, I knew something was still missing. The talent was obvious, the vocals were amazing, but there was a particular spark I was searching for that I hadn’t heard yet in any of the records. One day, I called him and said, “Look, I don’t want another fast-tempo song. I need something different. Give me a mid-tempo record, something with a bounce, something emotional. Just write a proper love song.” He agreed and went to work on it. After a while, he came back and said, “I’ve written the love song. Do you want to hear it?” I told him yes immediately. Around that same period, we were at Comfort Suites in Festac, and luckily for us, the late legendary producer OJB Jezreel was there that night working with 2Baba. I introduced Solid Star to OJB and told him we really wanted to work with him. OJB welcomed the idea and asked us to come back in a few days. When we got to the appointment, OJB said he wanted to hear the song first.Solidstar sang the song for him, and almost instantly he caught the vision. Within less than 40 minutes, OJB had already created the beat, Solid Star had voiced the track, and the foundation of One in a Million was born. After the recording, OJB looked at me and said something I would never forget: “If you can get 2Face on this song, it will be massive. This sounds like something he would naturally jump on.” That advice changed everything. As soon as I got back to Festac, I took the song to 2Baba. Before he even traveled to Abuja for his 10-year anniversary celebration, he was already vibing heavily to the song. By the time he got to Abuja, he knew the lyrics almost word for word. He told me he already had ideas for what he wanted to add to the record. Then he said something that became another major turning point in Solid Star’s career: “If you don’t mind, bring Solidstar to Abuja to perform.” That Abuja event — 2Face’s 10-year anniversary — became Solid Star’s very first major stage performance. After they returned from Abuja, 2Face called me again and said, “Bring Solo to the house. I want to record my verse.” And that was how the legendary collaboration finally came together. Once the audio was done, I approached Clarence Peters with the song. He listened carefully and immediately said he had a strong visual concept for it. He suggested we travel all the way to Erin Ijesha water falls for the shoot and also involve legendary photographer Kelechi Amadi-Obi in the creative process. Everything sounded incredible — until he gave me the budget. It was a seven-figure production cost, which at that time was a huge risk for us as a growing label. I took the proposal back to my directors and explained everything to them. After deliberating, we all agreed on one thing: “Let’s give it a shot.” And that was how we traveled toOsun state and shot the iconic One in a Million video. On another note, I’ll still tell the full story of how I eventually got 2Baba to personally appear in that video.

Chiori Paul Cole

49,162 views • 2 months ago

I revived my 14-year-old dog with peptides. 6 months ago, he was slowing down fast. He was limping, achy, getting up slowly, and couldn't jump on the couch. We honestly didn't know if we had 6 months left with him. Today, our boy is running, jumping on the patio, going on long walks again, and even his hearing is back. I approached his protocol the same way I'd approach mine. - We started with BPC-157 and TB-500. 1-2 mg a day, 5 days on, 2 days off, injected basically the same way you'd inject a human. Within a couple of weeks, we saw less limping, less stiffness, he was moving better, etc. - Then we ran his labs the same way I run mine. Everything looked good except some minor kidney markets, and at his age kidney issues can spiral into problems dogs don't come back from. We addressed this with a bioregulator stack, again the same ones I use. - Then we put him on TRT. We're all aware of what happens to men when testosterone tanks with age. Now consider that we neuter our dogs, cut off their testosterone production entirely, and never think about it again. We put our boy on testosterone and the change was immediate. Within days of the first shot he became a different dog. We started with one shot a week, but just like in humans, by day 5 or 6 the levels drop and you get peaks and troughs. So we split it into two shots a week: Tuesday and Friday. We started conservatively, around 20mg per shot, and titrated up from there based on how he responded and how his labs looked. We landed at about 60mg total per week for a 70 pound dog, keeping a close eye on labs the whole way. That made a huge difference. Shot day is like a revival for him. ... And it's not just us, in fact other families are running the same protocol and seeing similar results. 6 months ago we were counting the time we had left with him. My kids were horrified by the thought that he would no longer be there as they grew up with him as their full-time guardian. Now I genuinely believe we have another 3 years. If you have a dog, understand that he's aging the same way you are. He needs help, but he can't do the research... you can! And after seeing what this protocol did for him, I knew other dog owners deserved access to it too, so check the tweet below.
0:32

I revived my 14-year-old dog with peptides. 6 months ago, he was slowing down fast. He was limping, achy, getting up slowly, and couldn't jump on the couch. We honestly didn't know if we had 6 months left with him. Today, our boy is running, jumping on the patio, going on long walks again, and even his hearing is back. I approached his protocol the same way I'd approach mine. - We started with BPC-157 and TB-500. 1-2 mg a day, 5 days on, 2 days off, injected basically the same way you'd inject a human. Within a couple of weeks, we saw less limping, less stiffness, he was moving better, etc. - Then we ran his labs the same way I run mine. Everything looked good except some minor kidney markets, and at his age kidney issues can spiral into problems dogs don't come back from. We addressed this with a bioregulator stack, again the same ones I use. - Then we put him on TRT. We're all aware of what happens to men when testosterone tanks with age. Now consider that we neuter our dogs, cut off their testosterone production entirely, and never think about it again. We put our boy on testosterone and the change was immediate. Within days of the first shot he became a different dog. We started with one shot a week, but just like in humans, by day 5 or 6 the levels drop and you get peaks and troughs. So we split it into two shots a week: Tuesday and Friday. We started conservatively, around 20mg per shot, and titrated up from there based on how he responded and how his labs looked. We landed at about 60mg total per week for a 70 pound dog, keeping a close eye on labs the whole way. That made a huge difference. Shot day is like a revival for him. ... And it's not just us, in fact other families are running the same protocol and seeing similar results. 6 months ago we were counting the time we had left with him. My kids were horrified by the thought that he would no longer be there as they grew up with him as their full-time guardian. Now I genuinely believe we have another 3 years. If you have a dog, understand that he's aging the same way you are. He needs help, but he can't do the research... you can! And after seeing what this protocol did for him, I knew other dog owners deserved access to it too, so check the tweet below.

Michael Morelli

817,545 views • 13 days ago

The BBC wrote an objective article (For Once) about Prince William and how he weathered this year to come back on top. Drawing similarities from 1992, his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II own "Annus Horribilis"; as there were multiple marriage breakdowns within the family and a major fire at Windsor🔥 Now 32 years later, Interestingly set in the backdrop of Windsor as well, Prince William faced his own Sombre Year full of turmoil and Health crisis for both his wife and father. The Article reads: "It was a year in which certain aspects of Prince William's approach were cemented: family came first, the school run was prioritised. For the Prince of Wales, this time of turbulence appears to have reinforced what matters to him most."🔥 Indeed you cannot describe Prince William without calling him a "Family Man"❤️ The article quotes a friend of the Prince commenting: "I think what was remarkable was just how hard it was for the Prince of Wales at the start of the year; His wife had gone in for major surgery and it became worse than expected. Then there was, 'How do I tell my three children that Mummy is ill?'" "At a time when he was trying to protect his wife and children, he had that terrible thought that that if his father dies then everything changes,"💔 "He was having to operate against the backdrop of the entire world questioning what was happening to his wife." Indeed in the end, when one face something as serious as a Cancer diagnosis with a young family, the last thing someone should face is public harrassment and pressure to take pictures and wave🤡 Yet as the BBC noted, William's maturity in dealing with such a stressful situation offered a great insight into "Prince William's way of doing things". The article states: "Yes, he understood that his was a life where duty and service are expected. But for him, a man who had experienced immense loss at a young age, his wife and children were most important of all." The Article continues: "There were two other important factors at home that helped the Prince of Wales support his wife and children: his in-laws, the Middletons and living in Windsor."🔥 Indeed, Windsor provided a privacy they could not have had if they still lived in KP, London while the steadfast support and loyalty of the Middletons, allowed them a circle of trust and support to operate within. A support that was later acknowledged by Prince Louis when he wrote on his christmas card: "Thank you to Grannie and Grandpa for playing games with me"❤️ Ultimately, as humans we all face, sooner or later, our own "annus Horribilis". For all of us, that period becomes a life-changing test that either breaks us or makes us stronger. This Crisis has definitely strengthened William and Catherine as Individuals and as a couple. It is when faced with adversity that we can truly measure what we are made of and who genuinely stands by our side🔥 Well and so, the lesson here is that Every "annus horribilis" may start as such but ultimately becomes a significant victory when we focus on getting ahead rather than on crying about the present challenges. Thus, those four videos represent the Year 2024 for the Wales and how they hang on and persevered to change their story from "Annus horribilis" to "Annus Victores"🥂☕️ #PrinceandPrincessofWales
0:36

The BBC wrote an objective article (For Once) about Prince William and how he weathered this year to come back on top. Drawing similarities from 1992, his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II own "Annus Horribilis"; as there were multiple marriage breakdowns within the family and a major fire at Windsor🔥 Now 32 years later, Interestingly set in the backdrop of Windsor as well, Prince William faced his own Sombre Year full of turmoil and Health crisis for both his wife and father. The Article reads: "It was a year in which certain aspects of Prince William's approach were cemented: family came first, the school run was prioritised. For the Prince of Wales, this time of turbulence appears to have reinforced what matters to him most."🔥 Indeed you cannot describe Prince William without calling him a "Family Man"❤️ The article quotes a friend of the Prince commenting: "I think what was remarkable was just how hard it was for the Prince of Wales at the start of the year; His wife had gone in for major surgery and it became worse than expected. Then there was, 'How do I tell my three children that Mummy is ill?'" "At a time when he was trying to protect his wife and children, he had that terrible thought that that if his father dies then everything changes,"💔 "He was having to operate against the backdrop of the entire world questioning what was happening to his wife." Indeed in the end, when one face something as serious as a Cancer diagnosis with a young family, the last thing someone should face is public harrassment and pressure to take pictures and wave🤡 Yet as the BBC noted, William's maturity in dealing with such a stressful situation offered a great insight into "Prince William's way of doing things". The article states: "Yes, he understood that his was a life where duty and service are expected. But for him, a man who had experienced immense loss at a young age, his wife and children were most important of all." The Article continues: "There were two other important factors at home that helped the Prince of Wales support his wife and children: his in-laws, the Middletons and living in Windsor."🔥 Indeed, Windsor provided a privacy they could not have had if they still lived in KP, London while the steadfast support and loyalty of the Middletons, allowed them a circle of trust and support to operate within. A support that was later acknowledged by Prince Louis when he wrote on his christmas card: "Thank you to Grannie and Grandpa for playing games with me"❤️ Ultimately, as humans we all face, sooner or later, our own "annus Horribilis". For all of us, that period becomes a life-changing test that either breaks us or makes us stronger. This Crisis has definitely strengthened William and Catherine as Individuals and as a couple. It is when faced with adversity that we can truly measure what we are made of and who genuinely stands by our side🔥 Well and so, the lesson here is that Every "annus horribilis" may start as such but ultimately becomes a significant victory when we focus on getting ahead rather than on crying about the present challenges. Thus, those four videos represent the Year 2024 for the Wales and how they hang on and persevered to change their story from "Annus horribilis" to "Annus Victores"🥂☕️ #PrinceandPrincessofWales

Canellecitadelle

136,421 views • 1 year ago

Confidence Pro Max: Remembering a Brother, a Filmmaker, and a Warrior Nick’s untimely death is a devastating blow to his family, friends, and Kenya as a whole. We didn’t see it coming, even after he was diagnosed in October 2025 with hypocellular myelodysplastic syndrome (h-MDS), a rare bone marrow disorder. When we went to see him in the hospital, he possessed such positive energy, he was convinced that he would beat this. He was Rambo a "one-man army" and we all believed he could beat it, too. He never looked defeated, or depressed, even as he began to lose weight. When he shaved his head in November, he sent me a photo and asked me to call him "Michael Jordan," after the Chicago Bulls legend whose signature look was a bald head. Even in sickness, he found a reason to smile. I met Nick in 2015, before he became a filmmaker. I remember him sitting in my office wearing a suit, asking for my support to go study filmmaking in Italy. After completing his course in Italy, his first major project upon his return was the award-winning documentary Softie, directed by Sam Soko. The film followed my journey as I ran for political office during the 2017 elections, and Nick was the one behind the drone shots. We became friends, and I enjoyed a front-row seat watching as he went on to document important stories. One of my favourites was his powerful 2021 BBC Africa Eye documentary, "Street Dreams." He directed and filmed a group of seven homeless young men in Nairobi who formed the "Street Family Dance Crew." He embedded with them to capture their raw determination to escape poverty, police harassment, and family issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a story that feels like a distant world today; those dancers used to perform outside nightclubs in the CBD, but the city has since become a ghost town. Many bars closed down and replaced by restaurants that shut their doors by 9:00 PM. It’s a story that captured a time in Nairobi that is long gone. In 2024, Nick and I united as he covered the protests. While I participated in the demonstrations, he worked on an unnamed film and we often discussed safety tips. I was a storyteller before I was an activist, so I knew a thing or two about staying safe in the streets while documenting potentially dangerous stories. When Nick was falsely arrested in May 2025, for allegedly producing the BBC documentary, Blood Parliament - two of the three people arrested with him were working with me. I received a call shortly after their arrest and faced the difficult task of calling my colleagues' parents to deliver the news. The arrest was hostile; they were forced to hand over their phones and passwords, and when their equipment was finally returned, it was infected with spyware. What remains hidden from the public eye after an arrest are the cold cells, the degrading police interrogations, the court arraignments, the stares, and the judgment from both friends and strangers. Sometimes even the loss of clients who don’t want to be associated with “enemies of the state.” On a personal level, the trauma of such an arrest can lead to depression, alcoholism, or insomnia. In Nick’s case, his body crumbled, a hidden disease manifested, and before we could truly understand what it was, it stole him from us. His passing is an indictment of our failed healthcare system. Good healthcare is not free. We do not have enough blood in our blood banks and patients must organize their own donors in both public and private hospitals. Furthermore, specialized medical care is so expensive and out of reach that his family and friends were in the middle of fundraising for a life-saving bone marrow transplant in India. I am glad that he was able to produce his latest work, The People Shall, last year. The documentary is a first-hand eyewitness account of the events of June 25th, 2024, when a new republic was born. In his honour, and in honour of the hundreds of thousands suffering due to poor healthcare in this country, may we take our power back. Nick was good people. He had a positive attitude toward life and brought love and laughter into every room he entered. He could lift heavier weights at the gym than people much older and bigger than him. I had the chance to lift weights with him and his co-accused friends; he was so confident that he was the only one lifting bare-chested. That was 'confidence pro-max,' and he beat us in lifting heavier weights and doing more sets. In September 2025, I woke up early to ensure my son was ready to go drone filming with Nick. My son had recently acquired his drone pilot license, and Nick had taken him under his wing as he worked on a new film - a project he was looking forward to finishing. He surprised us all with his early exit on January 7th, but we thank God we had the chance to spend time with him. As we grieve Nick’s death, may his story inspire you to leave that boring job, find your purpose, and live a life that leaves an impact. I am so grateful for Nick’s life. May God comfort his family and friends and give them strength. He will be dearly missed.
2:50

Confidence Pro Max: Remembering a Brother, a Filmmaker, and a Warrior Nick’s untimely death is a devastating blow to his family, friends, and Kenya as a whole. We didn’t see it coming, even after he was diagnosed in October 2025 with hypocellular myelodysplastic syndrome (h-MDS), a rare bone marrow disorder. When we went to see him in the hospital, he possessed such positive energy, he was convinced that he would beat this. He was Rambo a "one-man army" and we all believed he could beat it, too. He never looked defeated, or depressed, even as he began to lose weight. When he shaved his head in November, he sent me a photo and asked me to call him "Michael Jordan," after the Chicago Bulls legend whose signature look was a bald head. Even in sickness, he found a reason to smile. I met Nick in 2015, before he became a filmmaker. I remember him sitting in my office wearing a suit, asking for my support to go study filmmaking in Italy. After completing his course in Italy, his first major project upon his return was the award-winning documentary Softie, directed by Sam Soko. The film followed my journey as I ran for political office during the 2017 elections, and Nick was the one behind the drone shots. We became friends, and I enjoyed a front-row seat watching as he went on to document important stories. One of my favourites was his powerful 2021 BBC Africa Eye documentary, "Street Dreams." He directed and filmed a group of seven homeless young men in Nairobi who formed the "Street Family Dance Crew." He embedded with them to capture their raw determination to escape poverty, police harassment, and family issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a story that feels like a distant world today; those dancers used to perform outside nightclubs in the CBD, but the city has since become a ghost town. Many bars closed down and replaced by restaurants that shut their doors by 9:00 PM. It’s a story that captured a time in Nairobi that is long gone. In 2024, Nick and I united as he covered the protests. While I participated in the demonstrations, he worked on an unnamed film and we often discussed safety tips. I was a storyteller before I was an activist, so I knew a thing or two about staying safe in the streets while documenting potentially dangerous stories. When Nick was falsely arrested in May 2025, for allegedly producing the BBC documentary, Blood Parliament - two of the three people arrested with him were working with me. I received a call shortly after their arrest and faced the difficult task of calling my colleagues' parents to deliver the news. The arrest was hostile; they were forced to hand over their phones and passwords, and when their equipment was finally returned, it was infected with spyware. What remains hidden from the public eye after an arrest are the cold cells, the degrading police interrogations, the court arraignments, the stares, and the judgment from both friends and strangers. Sometimes even the loss of clients who don’t want to be associated with “enemies of the state.” On a personal level, the trauma of such an arrest can lead to depression, alcoholism, or insomnia. In Nick’s case, his body crumbled, a hidden disease manifested, and before we could truly understand what it was, it stole him from us. His passing is an indictment of our failed healthcare system. Good healthcare is not free. We do not have enough blood in our blood banks and patients must organize their own donors in both public and private hospitals. Furthermore, specialized medical care is so expensive and out of reach that his family and friends were in the middle of fundraising for a life-saving bone marrow transplant in India. I am glad that he was able to produce his latest work, The People Shall, last year. The documentary is a first-hand eyewitness account of the events of June 25th, 2024, when a new republic was born. In his honour, and in honour of the hundreds of thousands suffering due to poor healthcare in this country, may we take our power back. Nick was good people. He had a positive attitude toward life and brought love and laughter into every room he entered. He could lift heavier weights at the gym than people much older and bigger than him. I had the chance to lift weights with him and his co-accused friends; he was so confident that he was the only one lifting bare-chested. That was 'confidence pro-max,' and he beat us in lifting heavier weights and doing more sets. In September 2025, I woke up early to ensure my son was ready to go drone filming with Nick. My son had recently acquired his drone pilot license, and Nick had taken him under his wing as he worked on a new film - a project he was looking forward to finishing. He surprised us all with his early exit on January 7th, but we thank God we had the chance to spend time with him. As we grieve Nick’s death, may his story inspire you to leave that boring job, find your purpose, and live a life that leaves an impact. I am so grateful for Nick’s life. May God comfort his family and friends and give them strength. He will be dearly missed.

The People’s President

37,999 views • 6 months ago

Tuesday - Louis CK Louie is 58 now but moves like he's 85. He's got the darkest thickest under-eye bags I've ever seen, they're even apparent from below. He will not make it to 70 and if he does he will be so physically repulsive he won't even have to tell jokes any more — which is a shame because in my opinion he's the greatest living stand up by far. I am sick and tired of pretending there's any competition in this genre. This was the THIRD time I had heard him do this set, which barely cracks his top ten hours, and I was laughing my ass off the entire time. EVEN WITH THIS LOUD DRUNK BITCH BESIDE ME.. it made me realize how formulaic Shane Gillis and every other big up-and-comer feels in comparison right now, like they're all rolling off a conveyor belt at the comedy factory where you take a PREMISE, add a PUNCHLINE, and a CALL BACK, with THREE TAGS, and mechanically deploy this stuff over and over with no real through-line or heart in it at all. Louie is relentlessly personal and so his sets evolve with him. I saw him for the first time last year in Indianapolis, and was "severely disappointed." He seemed stilted, nervous, coasting on absurdist buzzword shit tailored for drunken simpletons. He'd say "Vagina" with no context and these hicks would lose their minds. I drove 4 hours to see him that day and couldn’t believe how empty his material was. Jokes that could’ve been written by anybody. There was one prick of personal truth — when he talked about putting his Dad away in a Home. He's been writing about his absentee father his whole life. It’s obviously a great source of anxiety and frustration. So it's no surprise that he leaned in to that thread, sharpened it over the course of the tour, and now the whole set circles around this theme of aging: "All my fat friends are dead. If you have a friend that's older than 50 you should say goodbye." Says big tall egg-shaped Louie, who looks like two Carlins combined. My date was way too drunk to appreciate the occasion. We were in front row seats at the Hollywood Bowl. She bought them for us at dinner, 1 hour before. Different Asian girl from Monday. She had never been to a stand up show in her life, and so she didn't really "get" comedy, and she wouldn't stop fucking talking. Pulling her phone out and texting God knows who. The security guy whose job it was to prevent me from climbing on stage and whipping my cock out had to reprimand her: "Please put your phone away" in the middle of the set. I could not believe it. We're here in the front row beneath the GOAT and he's KILLING, in a stadium of 20,000, and you're texting on your god damn phone? Who? Who could it be? It was a homeless guy from reddit. Not me, a different homeless guy. At one point she actually asked if she could step out and do some blow. I said are you kidding? There's like 10 minutes left, just shut the fuck up and enjoy it. I'm starting to worry that females can't appreciate stand up like I can. Overall rating: 9/10. He’s probably gonna die soon but for now he’s still got it. Mark Normand tonight, Dave Chappelle Thursday, Mulaney Friday.
0:36

Tuesday - Louis CK Louie is 58 now but moves like he's 85. He's got the darkest thickest under-eye bags I've ever seen, they're even apparent from below. He will not make it to 70 and if he does he will be so physically repulsive he won't even have to tell jokes any more — which is a shame because in my opinion he's the greatest living stand up by far. I am sick and tired of pretending there's any competition in this genre. This was the THIRD time I had heard him do this set, which barely cracks his top ten hours, and I was laughing my ass off the entire time. EVEN WITH THIS LOUD DRUNK BITCH BESIDE ME.. it made me realize how formulaic Shane Gillis and every other big up-and-comer feels in comparison right now, like they're all rolling off a conveyor belt at the comedy factory where you take a PREMISE, add a PUNCHLINE, and a CALL BACK, with THREE TAGS, and mechanically deploy this stuff over and over with no real through-line or heart in it at all. Louie is relentlessly personal and so his sets evolve with him. I saw him for the first time last year in Indianapolis, and was "severely disappointed." He seemed stilted, nervous, coasting on absurdist buzzword shit tailored for drunken simpletons. He'd say "Vagina" with no context and these hicks would lose their minds. I drove 4 hours to see him that day and couldn’t believe how empty his material was. Jokes that could’ve been written by anybody. There was one prick of personal truth — when he talked about putting his Dad away in a Home. He's been writing about his absentee father his whole life. It’s obviously a great source of anxiety and frustration. So it's no surprise that he leaned in to that thread, sharpened it over the course of the tour, and now the whole set circles around this theme of aging: "All my fat friends are dead. If you have a friend that's older than 50 you should say goodbye." Says big tall egg-shaped Louie, who looks like two Carlins combined. My date was way too drunk to appreciate the occasion. We were in front row seats at the Hollywood Bowl. She bought them for us at dinner, 1 hour before. Different Asian girl from Monday. She had never been to a stand up show in her life, and so she didn't really "get" comedy, and she wouldn't stop fucking talking. Pulling her phone out and texting God knows who. The security guy whose job it was to prevent me from climbing on stage and whipping my cock out had to reprimand her: "Please put your phone away" in the middle of the set. I could not believe it. We're here in the front row beneath the GOAT and he's KILLING, in a stadium of 20,000, and you're texting on your god damn phone? Who? Who could it be? It was a homeless guy from reddit. Not me, a different homeless guy. At one point she actually asked if she could step out and do some blow. I said are you kidding? There's like 10 minutes left, just shut the fuck up and enjoy it. I'm starting to worry that females can't appreciate stand up like I can. Overall rating: 9/10. He’s probably gonna die soon but for now he’s still got it. Mark Normand tonight, Dave Chappelle Thursday, Mulaney Friday.

Worst Boyfriend Ever

816,766 views • 3 months ago

I’ve been meaning to share here that I bought land! Growing up I vividly remember going to the welfare office with my mom. Public school, free lunches & section 8 housing made life possible. I wanted more for myself so I studied, worked my ass off, and put myself in the way of getting lucky. I pivoted into tech in my late 20’s, and was already a mom of 2 at that point. It was not an immediate up and to the right journey. In fact, my first startup failed. And it was entirely bootstrapped so I lost all the money I’d put into it. After working at other companies for some years I was ready to try again but then I nearly failed at fundraising. It was humbling to hear no after no but I just kept learning and adapting. I have always played long games and I’m willing to take a lot of pain in the short-term to realize big goals. People who know my full life story say it’s so hard to believe that I am in this position today, but it’s not by accident. I built this life brick by brick. Odds were stacked against me but I found joy in the challenge of doing hard things. Much of my success is from being pushed down and told I couldn’t make it. I love proving people wrong. Back to the land. I started dreaming of this project over a decade ago, back when I had no money to do it. But I talked about it to friends constantly like it was inevitable - because even though I didn’t know *how* it would happen, I began believing it would. Here we are and now it’s a key piece of what I want to accomplish in my next act. I want to create a place that people come to for reflection, to unwind from the grind, and to build meaningful connection to self and others. I want to host salons to discuss and debate interesting topics with the smartest people I can find. Breakthroughs will happen round a fire, while lounging poolside, and while gazing up at the stars through the trees. It took a year of searching for land but we found a spot just 1 hour north of San Francisco. It’s got some beautiful bones and infrastructure on it already but there’s a lot to imagine and build to realize the dream. Everything big starts small. So, we put up our first tree swings, hammocks and a canvas tent. 🏕️ If you’re into that kind of journey then I’ll be posting more about it on IG and may create an account just for that work. I’ve never owned land so 10 acres is an amazing canvas to create and learn on. There will be mistakes and setbacks, There always are. But I can’t wait to see what gets accomplished in the next decade! (And no, I am not quitting my job at Meta - this project is my side gig for the foreseeable future. I’m lucky to have the best guy I know focused on it full-time.) As the corporate truism goes - team work makes the dream work. LFG! 💕
1:11

I’ve been meaning to share here that I bought land! Growing up I vividly remember going to the welfare office with my mom. Public school, free lunches & section 8 housing made life possible. I wanted more for myself so I studied, worked my ass off, and put myself in the way of getting lucky. I pivoted into tech in my late 20’s, and was already a mom of 2 at that point. It was not an immediate up and to the right journey. In fact, my first startup failed. And it was entirely bootstrapped so I lost all the money I’d put into it. After working at other companies for some years I was ready to try again but then I nearly failed at fundraising. It was humbling to hear no after no but I just kept learning and adapting. I have always played long games and I’m willing to take a lot of pain in the short-term to realize big goals. People who know my full life story say it’s so hard to believe that I am in this position today, but it’s not by accident. I built this life brick by brick. Odds were stacked against me but I found joy in the challenge of doing hard things. Much of my success is from being pushed down and told I couldn’t make it. I love proving people wrong. Back to the land. I started dreaming of this project over a decade ago, back when I had no money to do it. But I talked about it to friends constantly like it was inevitable - because even though I didn’t know *how* it would happen, I began believing it would. Here we are and now it’s a key piece of what I want to accomplish in my next act. I want to create a place that people come to for reflection, to unwind from the grind, and to build meaningful connection to self and others. I want to host salons to discuss and debate interesting topics with the smartest people I can find. Breakthroughs will happen round a fire, while lounging poolside, and while gazing up at the stars through the trees. It took a year of searching for land but we found a spot just 1 hour north of San Francisco. It’s got some beautiful bones and infrastructure on it already but there’s a lot to imagine and build to realize the dream. Everything big starts small. So, we put up our first tree swings, hammocks and a canvas tent. 🏕️ If you’re into that kind of journey then I’ll be posting more about it on IG and may create an account just for that work. I’ve never owned land so 10 acres is an amazing canvas to create and learn on. There will be mistakes and setbacks, There always are. But I can’t wait to see what gets accomplished in the next decade! (And no, I am not quitting my job at Meta - this project is my side gig for the foreseeable future. I’m lucky to have the best guy I know focused on it full-time.) As the corporate truism goes - team work makes the dream work. LFG! 💕

Esther Crawford ✨

51,518 views • 2 years ago

MrBeast: "I could start from 0 and still get millions of subscribers. It’s just knowledge" "I've been doing this since I was 11. Now I'm 23. Every year it's just gotten crazier and crazier. The first few years I wasn't even making money. Once I started, I was making a dollar a day. I saved up for a couple months, bought a microphone. Saved up for half a year, got a computer. I've just always reinvested it." He describes where he started: "I was as awkward as they came. No money. No nothing. I just obsessed over YouTube every day for a decade. My first couple hundred videos, I didn't even have a microphone. Imagine just crackly, terrible voice. I was using my brother's old laptop." On his first video going viral by accident: "My first video got 20,000 views instantly. That was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to me, I was hooked from day one. Most people, it takes hundreds of videos before you get one view. Somehow the very first video I uploaded at 11 got 20,000 views. I fell in love and I've been hooked ever since." On the turning point: "When I graduated high school, I was only making a couple hundred bucks a month. My mom was like, either move out or go to community college. I hated school with a passion. So what I did was I would act like I was going to community college, but I would just work on videos in my car and edit. I had straight zeros. The clock had started. Once my mom found out, I was screwed." MrBeast explains what happened next: "I was 15 hours a day, all in. I was like, I'm fucked if this doesn't work. Then I had some videos pop off. I had a month where I made 20 grand. I came home and said, 'Yeah, I haven't been going to college.' Moved out the next day. My mom almost had a heart attack." On why nobody believed in him: "Nobody saw this coming. You can't blame her. Me, in the middle of North Carolina, small town, horrible acne, really awkward. People would have bet a million dollars that I wouldn't be a YouTuber. It makes no sense. But I have hyper obsession and I love this. You give it enough time, anyone can solve it." On how he actually learned: "I found these other four lunatics. Three of us were college dropouts, one was a high school dropout, one just quit his job. We were all super small YouTubers. We talked every day for a thousand days in a row. Just hyper-studying, what makes a good video, what makes a good thumbnail, what's good pacing, how to go viral." He describes the intensity: "We called them daily masterminds. I'd get on Skype at 7am and be in the call until 10pm. Go to bed. Wake up. Do it again. We'd take a thousand thumbnails and see if there's a correlation between the brightness of the thumbnail and how many views it got. Videos that get over 10 million views, how often do they cut the camera angles? We were very religious about it. We had no life." On the results: "We all had like 10-20,000 subscribers when we met. By the time we stopped talking, we all had millions. We all hit a million subscribers within a month of each other. They say 10,000 hours, I probably put 40-50,000 hours. Every day, all day. We had no friends outside of the group. That was our life." On why the group worked: "If you're trying to be great at something and it's just you learning and messing up, in two years you might learn from 20 mistakes. But if you have four other people also messing up, and when they learn from the mistake they teach you what they learned, two years down the road you've learned five times more. It helps you grow exponentially way quicker." On money: "I don't need money. Living your life chasing a nicer car and a bigger box, it's kind of a dumb way to go about life. I lived in a little duplex, $700 a month, split with a roommate. Drive a normal car. I did have a phase where I balled out a little bit, bought designer clothes, thousand dollar shirts. Then I realized, this doesn't make me happy. Ironically, all of it got stolen when my house was broken into. So I was like, perfect. I don't care about this stuff anymore."
14:48

MrBeast: "I could start from 0 and still get millions of subscribers. It’s just knowledge" "I've been doing this since I was 11. Now I'm 23. Every year it's just gotten crazier and crazier. The first few years I wasn't even making money. Once I started, I was making a dollar a day. I saved up for a couple months, bought a microphone. Saved up for half a year, got a computer. I've just always reinvested it." He describes where he started: "I was as awkward as they came. No money. No nothing. I just obsessed over YouTube every day for a decade. My first couple hundred videos, I didn't even have a microphone. Imagine just crackly, terrible voice. I was using my brother's old laptop." On his first video going viral by accident: "My first video got 20,000 views instantly. That was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to me, I was hooked from day one. Most people, it takes hundreds of videos before you get one view. Somehow the very first video I uploaded at 11 got 20,000 views. I fell in love and I've been hooked ever since." On the turning point: "When I graduated high school, I was only making a couple hundred bucks a month. My mom was like, either move out or go to community college. I hated school with a passion. So what I did was I would act like I was going to community college, but I would just work on videos in my car and edit. I had straight zeros. The clock had started. Once my mom found out, I was screwed." MrBeast explains what happened next: "I was 15 hours a day, all in. I was like, I'm fucked if this doesn't work. Then I had some videos pop off. I had a month where I made 20 grand. I came home and said, 'Yeah, I haven't been going to college.' Moved out the next day. My mom almost had a heart attack." On why nobody believed in him: "Nobody saw this coming. You can't blame her. Me, in the middle of North Carolina, small town, horrible acne, really awkward. People would have bet a million dollars that I wouldn't be a YouTuber. It makes no sense. But I have hyper obsession and I love this. You give it enough time, anyone can solve it." On how he actually learned: "I found these other four lunatics. Three of us were college dropouts, one was a high school dropout, one just quit his job. We were all super small YouTubers. We talked every day for a thousand days in a row. Just hyper-studying, what makes a good video, what makes a good thumbnail, what's good pacing, how to go viral." He describes the intensity: "We called them daily masterminds. I'd get on Skype at 7am and be in the call until 10pm. Go to bed. Wake up. Do it again. We'd take a thousand thumbnails and see if there's a correlation between the brightness of the thumbnail and how many views it got. Videos that get over 10 million views, how often do they cut the camera angles? We were very religious about it. We had no life." On the results: "We all had like 10-20,000 subscribers when we met. By the time we stopped talking, we all had millions. We all hit a million subscribers within a month of each other. They say 10,000 hours, I probably put 40-50,000 hours. Every day, all day. We had no friends outside of the group. That was our life." On why the group worked: "If you're trying to be great at something and it's just you learning and messing up, in two years you might learn from 20 mistakes. But if you have four other people also messing up, and when they learn from the mistake they teach you what they learned, two years down the road you've learned five times more. It helps you grow exponentially way quicker." On money: "I don't need money. Living your life chasing a nicer car and a bigger box, it's kind of a dumb way to go about life. I lived in a little duplex, $700 a month, split with a roommate. Drive a normal car. I did have a phase where I balled out a little bit, bought designer clothes, thousand dollar shirts. Then I realized, this doesn't make me happy. Ironically, all of it got stolen when my house was broken into. So I was like, perfect. I don't care about this stuff anymore."

Peak Thinkers

79,552 views • 3 months ago

I did not know that it was my parrotlet Sokka’s last day today but it was at least a good one. He was on his playstand and playing in his paper bag fort while I was cooking. He doesn’t get fruit often because of the sugar content but I gave him some mango, to which he replied “om nom nom” in his tiny voice. which I taught him to say years ago when eating. I thought about what kind of fruit cake I could make him for his 10th birthday next month. But lucky for him I was also cooking peppers. Pepper seeds are his favorite thing on the planet and though I usually only give him one pepper’s worth today he got two. He was his normal peppy self most of the day. He had had two suspected seizure/stroke episodes starting exactly a year ago and this looked very much like this. They lasted half an hour and then he was back to being his spunky self again. I consulted the vet both times. I gave him a vitamin supplement the vet prescribed that I thought was working well. She did warn me that they could continue but he seemed to be doing well with the vitamins. I was just about to grab dinner down the street when I noticed he was quiet and standing at his food dish but not eating. Thank goodness I noticed so I could be there for him. I called up the emergency vet and let them know we were coming. Then Sokka got to have one last car ride. Sokka loved the car. He was always well behaved and we did many road trips together Including driving from Texas to Connecticut. On our way to the vet Sokka was very weak and fighting to stay conscious and was resting his head against the back of the carrier. But at one point he used all his strength to move to the front of the carrier so he could watch the sunset with me. I kept telling him “you’re a big bird!” and “he’s so cute!” because those are some of his favorite phrases to say, and during previous episodes he would say it back to me as he was recovering. I was half expecting him to fully recover before we got to the vet as he had done the other two times. But this time he wasn’t getting better and I could tell. We got to the vet and she said I did everything right but was not optimistic. Limiting stress is important with birds especially 1oz ones bc it can worsen their condition so she gave me my options for treatment and one of them was humane euthanasia. I held him in my hands and pet him knowing it could be the last time. I selected the option to see if the vet hospital could do anything for him. But shortly after I started driving he passed on the way to the vet hospital. At least he died doing what he loved, going for a ride in the car. I am relieved I did not have to make the most difficult choice to end his life for him, and that he went quickly and peacefully with a full belly of pepper seeds and mango and during one last sunset car ride. Some people will think “it’s just a bird” but those who know me understand how much he meant to me and how intelligent parrots are. Parrotlets are know for being a big personality in a tiny body. I got him a month after I graduated college and he’s been with me nearly 10 years since so basically my whole adult life. He was a big responsibility (that i don’t recommend to ppl without an exotic avian husbandry background) but I didn’t mind and now I feel a hole where those duties and companionship are no longer. If you actually read all or some of this, thank you, it means a lot to me, really. Going to be spending the next weeks just trying to ground myself and not fuck up my mental health again. I’ll share a separate more happy post about my favorite memories when I’m in the mood. For now here’s my favorite video of him even though he’s not speaking in it, and some baby pics from the first day I met him in 2014 in the comments.
0:45

I did not know that it was my parrotlet Sokka’s last day today but it was at least a good one. He was on his playstand and playing in his paper bag fort while I was cooking. He doesn’t get fruit often because of the sugar content but I gave him some mango, to which he replied “om nom nom” in his tiny voice. which I taught him to say years ago when eating. I thought about what kind of fruit cake I could make him for his 10th birthday next month. But lucky for him I was also cooking peppers. Pepper seeds are his favorite thing on the planet and though I usually only give him one pepper’s worth today he got two. He was his normal peppy self most of the day. He had had two suspected seizure/stroke episodes starting exactly a year ago and this looked very much like this. They lasted half an hour and then he was back to being his spunky self again. I consulted the vet both times. I gave him a vitamin supplement the vet prescribed that I thought was working well. She did warn me that they could continue but he seemed to be doing well with the vitamins. I was just about to grab dinner down the street when I noticed he was quiet and standing at his food dish but not eating. Thank goodness I noticed so I could be there for him. I called up the emergency vet and let them know we were coming. Then Sokka got to have one last car ride. Sokka loved the car. He was always well behaved and we did many road trips together Including driving from Texas to Connecticut. On our way to the vet Sokka was very weak and fighting to stay conscious and was resting his head against the back of the carrier. But at one point he used all his strength to move to the front of the carrier so he could watch the sunset with me. I kept telling him “you’re a big bird!” and “he’s so cute!” because those are some of his favorite phrases to say, and during previous episodes he would say it back to me as he was recovering. I was half expecting him to fully recover before we got to the vet as he had done the other two times. But this time he wasn’t getting better and I could tell. We got to the vet and she said I did everything right but was not optimistic. Limiting stress is important with birds especially 1oz ones bc it can worsen their condition so she gave me my options for treatment and one of them was humane euthanasia. I held him in my hands and pet him knowing it could be the last time. I selected the option to see if the vet hospital could do anything for him. But shortly after I started driving he passed on the way to the vet hospital. At least he died doing what he loved, going for a ride in the car. I am relieved I did not have to make the most difficult choice to end his life for him, and that he went quickly and peacefully with a full belly of pepper seeds and mango and during one last sunset car ride. Some people will think “it’s just a bird” but those who know me understand how much he meant to me and how intelligent parrots are. Parrotlets are know for being a big personality in a tiny body. I got him a month after I graduated college and he’s been with me nearly 10 years since so basically my whole adult life. He was a big responsibility (that i don’t recommend to ppl without an exotic avian husbandry background) but I didn’t mind and now I feel a hole where those duties and companionship are no longer. If you actually read all or some of this, thank you, it means a lot to me, really. Going to be spending the next weeks just trying to ground myself and not fuck up my mental health again. I’ll share a separate more happy post about my favorite memories when I’m in the mood. For now here’s my favorite video of him even though he’s not speaking in it, and some baby pics from the first day I met him in 2014 in the comments.

hawkward

65,695 views • 2 years ago

I am sooooo freaking grateful for this man right here. He led the way to make one of my dreams come true. When FOX made me stop fighting in 2004 that demand reallllllllly messed with my soul, my spirit. Plus, I was going through a brutal divorce. Jared Allen made sure we did everything together back then, made sure my nights were not spent alone in misery of loneliness bc of the sudden divorce. At the same time, even though FOX forbid me from taking another fight, I was still training every day just in case they changed their mind. Jared and I lifted together twice a day then he’d drive me to fight practice and sparring twice a day. Eventually I said, “instead of you just sitting here waiting on me like you’re my mom waiting for me to finish soccer practice, hop in the ring with me and my team and lets turn football into a fight.” Jared trained his ass off like he was a fighter, got his hands VIOLENTTTT, really violent, did a ton of Greco Roman wrestling and BJJ drills open up his hips while lowering his base and getting his leverage to be a true weapon. But more then anything Jared viewed every play as a round and he knew already had nworked harder than anyone he’d line up across so he could swing away as the men across from him would break. Welp, Jared went out that next year and for the first time led the league with 15 sacks and he announced to the world and over again it was because he trained in mixed martial arts with us. Soon after allllll these players and teams called asking if we can do the same thing with them as Jared. He started an amazing movement. We’ve since trained upwards of 1,000 athletes in our Unbreakable MMA Way. We’ve changed some careers but more than anything we forged the greatest fight bonds ever… … All Because of Jared!!!!! So proud to see him up there today, even more proud of seeing him evolve into the greatest husband and dad. Thanks for everything you crazy fuck! Love you.. honored to watch you get inducted into football immortality today!!!! #vikings #chiefs #bears #panthers #mma #fightlife #fighterlife
0:44

I am sooooo freaking grateful for this man right here. He led the way to make one of my dreams come true. When FOX made me stop fighting in 2004 that demand reallllllllly messed with my soul, my spirit. Plus, I was going through a brutal divorce. Jared Allen made sure we did everything together back then, made sure my nights were not spent alone in misery of loneliness bc of the sudden divorce. At the same time, even though FOX forbid me from taking another fight, I was still training every day just in case they changed their mind. Jared and I lifted together twice a day then he’d drive me to fight practice and sparring twice a day. Eventually I said, “instead of you just sitting here waiting on me like you’re my mom waiting for me to finish soccer practice, hop in the ring with me and my team and lets turn football into a fight.” Jared trained his ass off like he was a fighter, got his hands VIOLENTTTT, really violent, did a ton of Greco Roman wrestling and BJJ drills open up his hips while lowering his base and getting his leverage to be a true weapon. But more then anything Jared viewed every play as a round and he knew already had nworked harder than anyone he’d line up across so he could swing away as the men across from him would break. Welp, Jared went out that next year and for the first time led the league with 15 sacks and he announced to the world and over again it was because he trained in mixed martial arts with us. Soon after allllll these players and teams called asking if we can do the same thing with them as Jared. He started an amazing movement. We’ve since trained upwards of 1,000 athletes in our Unbreakable MMA Way. We’ve changed some careers but more than anything we forged the greatest fight bonds ever… … All Because of Jared!!!!! So proud to see him up there today, even more proud of seeing him evolve into the greatest husband and dad. Thanks for everything you crazy fuck! Love you.. honored to watch you get inducted into football immortality today!!!! #vikings #chiefs #bears #panthers #mma #fightlife #fighterlife

Jay Glazer

282,194 views • 1 year ago