NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 12: Shaquille "Shaq" O’Neal attends the 'Killer Bees' New York Special Screening at Landmark 57 Theater on November 12, 2018 in New York City.
Being a celebrity sometimes comes with a mission of using your status in order to make a change in the world.
Of course, not every famous person is interested in the lives of the ordinary people, and not everyone ever offers help when needed, despite the millions of dollars they own.
Luckily, there are those who besides the status of being celebs, have hearts of gold, and when we think of such individuals, one of the names that comes to mind is that of the NBA hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal!
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Over the years, this gentle giant has impacted the lives of many.
Just recently, Shaq was spotted walking into a Best Buy in Lafayette, Louisiana, asking to buy the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip phone.
A woman at the store, Kquoella Lewis, who was looking to buy an iPad, shared her thoughts about the phone with the former basketball star. In the next moment, Shaq told the cashier, “Get two, one for me and one for her,” and then handed the brand new phone, which cost around $1200, to Lewis.
This, however, isn’t the first time that Shaq did a good deed for a complete stranger.
Some time ago, he heard the story of a boy who was unable to find his shoe size because his feet were very big.
At 14 years of age, Eric Kilburn Jr., a student at Goodrich High School, is 6 feet 10 inches tall and fits into a men’s size 23 shoe.
After exhausting all their options of finding the right size shoes, the family went public and asked for help from people.
They had his current size 22 shoes professionally resized and Eric had his toenails removed in order to prevent repeated ingrown toenails because of his shoes. On top of that, he had been getting blisters all the time.
Once the family was finally able to locate a store that would custom-make shoes of Eric’s size, they would cost $1,500 a pair, and Eric needed two pairs at least, one for everyday, and another one a bit fancier.
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Unable to afford to buy the shoes, Eric’s family started a GoFundMe page, and that’s when Shaq heard of this struggling boy.
The family received calls from Under Armour, Puma, CAT, and other professional footwear companies, who offered to design shoes from Eric.
Other than that, they received a call directly from Shaq. His team at Reebok sent Eric five different designs.
The shoes came with a note that said, “Eric — Hoping these shoes we created for Shaq could be fit and offer you some relief. We have a few more things headed your way, but wanted to get these to you ASAP. Know that we’re here to help and behind you every step of the way!”
Shaquille O’Neal is truly special. A man with a heart of gold.
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LAS VEGAS - APR 2: Tim McGraw, Faith Hill at the Academy of Country Music Awards 2017 at T-Mobile Arena on April 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, NV
Some love stories are meant to last forever, and that of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill is definitely one of those.
Recently, Faith celebrated her 56th birthday and her family shared heartfelt messages, paying tribute to her and reminding her just how loved and appreciated she is.
Her daughter Gracie took to Instagram to dedicate some sweet stories to her mom. Among the rest, Gracie posted a photo of Faith with the words “Happy Birthday” written all over it. She then posted a couple of videos showing the girls and their mom singing a Michael Jackson song, and Faith dancing to Frank Sinatra music.
Maggie, the couple’s other daughter, posted a collage of photos with the caption, “It’s my bffs birthday!!!!! Love you, mom.”
Their youngest daughter, Audrey, posted, “I love love you Happy Birthday Mom.”
LAS VEGAS – APR 2: Tim McGraw, Faith Hill at the Academy of Country Music Awards 2017 at T-Mobile Arena on April 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, NV
However, the sweetest tribute came from Faith’s loving husband of nearly 27 years.
With a post that included photos of Faith, Tim congratulated her on her birthday with a heart-melting message.
“Happy birthday to the love of my life, my partner and my best friend You light up every room you walk into And you light up my heart and soul I love you more than I could ever express in a million years This is your day my love!!!!♥️😘 @faithhill.”
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To show her his love for her, Tim dedicated a song to Faith titled Her. Asked what she thinks of the beautiful piece of music, Tim said, “Oh, she loves it!” He then smiled and added: “She makes me play it all the time… I’ve had enough of it, I don’t wanna hear it, [but] she loves it!
“She loved it so much. She goes, ‘This is about me, right?’ I go, ‘Yeah, of course! Of course! You’re the her,’” Tim said of the first time Faith heard the song.
We are so in love with this couple.
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Liv Teverino, an incredibly loving young lady of 16 years, lost her life in a horrific manner and now the entire community is mourning her loss.
On September 18, around 5:30 p.m, Liv’s vehicle, a 2016 Volovo XC90, crushed into a tree and engulfed in flames less than a mile from her school. Sadly, she couldn’t get outside because she was trapped inside the car.
“Once the fire was extinguished, they located the driver, now identified as sixteen-year-old Liv Teverino of Marietta trapped within the vehicle. Teverino did not survive the crash,” Marietta Police Department said.
Liv was loved by the entire community. She was described as “just the all-American kind of girl.”
Carla Manuel, a friend of the family, said of Liv, “She was such a sweet girl…She was a shining star. She would go out of her way to help everybody. It doesn’t matter who you are, she just always gave of herself. She’s gone too soon, way too soon.”
Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin who knew Liv since she was young because she was friends with her granddaughter said, “We know she had a bright future.
“She had a bright presence, her sweet, beautiful presence touched our city and everybody she met.”
Liv was very popular among her friends. She was part of the Marietta High School International Baccalaureate Programme and was also a member of the state champion cross country team.
“There’s athletes, and then there’s great people, and she’s a great person,” her coach, Jack Coleman said, adding that a recent ankle injury prevented her from participating at the Cobb County Cross Country Championships the weekend before her death. “Liv was just a positive light on the team, just always so, so positive about everything on our team.”
Messages of grief came poring in on the social media.
Payton Konop, a friend of Liv, wrote she “was the most kind, beautiful, loving, and Christ filled girl you could meet.
“I feel like everyone expects us to say that, but there truly wasn’t a negative or judgmental bone in her body. She was there for me through everything. The bestest friend who always knew what to say.” Payton added: “She was creative and smart, always scoring higher than me on every test. I’m gonna miss the way she loved so deeply. Her kind soul that got taken home too soon.”
Others added to Payton’s comment, with one person writing, “Payton, this was perfect. Her joyous heart lives within all of us forever. I love you SO much, and I’m here for you, beautiful.” Another one added: “i love you so much pay, always here for you! i miss that sweet angel.”
Liv’s final post on social media consisted of photos of her from the summer. It showed just how much fun she had, and how loved she was by everyone she knew.
This young woman had a promising future in front of her and the way her life was cut short is nothing less than heartbreaking and tragic. May she rest in peace.
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Joey and Rory were a much-loved couple, but sadly, Joey lost her battle to cervical cancer leaving her husband and their then-two-year-old daughter behind.
Indiana, the couple’s child, was born several months before her mother’s cancer diagnosis. Following her passing, it was Rory who took all the care for the sweet girl who was born with Down Syndrome.
No matter how much it hurt, Rory knew he had to remain strong for his little girl. Sweet Indy is 8 today, and her father says she’s the best thing that has ever happened to him.
In one of his blogs he titled “Crib Notes,” Rory speaks of Indy and says, “God doesn’t make mistakes.”
He wants people to know that being a girl with Down Syndrome doesn’t make Indy less loved, or a mistake, as some people would call her. No child can ever be a mistake, regardless of how they look. And Indy is a real beauty.
Rory goes on writing how his daughter’s life is as meaningful as that of any other child out there. She has her likes, dislikes, and dreams.
Today, she loves what her father does and she even accompanies him on stage.
Recently, the two sang Daddy What If together and the video of the father-duo performance melted millions of hearts.
“It didn’t take me but a moment to think of which song it should be – one that I’ve known and loved for years. Actually for decades,” the county singer wrote on his blog.
Rory helped Indy with the lyrics by typing them out and then drawing pictures next to the parts Indy would sing. He also changed the lyrics from “Daddy” to “Papa” because that’s what Indy calls him.
Indy spent a lot of time practicing.
“She was so proud of herself and so happy that she could sing a real song with her Papa.
“By Christmas time, she was joining me on stage to sing it in front of the room full of folks who’d traveled from all across the country to be with us… and oh, what a special moment it was for her, for me, and for the surprised people in the concert hall,” he wrote.
Following an onstage performance, Rory got thinking to himself it would be great if he and Indy record the song in a studio.
“I am thinking of my own father this morning and of Joey’s father Jack. And of my older girls Heidi and Hopie and the gift God gave me to be their father and Indiana’s. And of course, I’m thinking of Joey and how she would so love this moment. To hear our little one sing with her Papa, and see what a beautiful young lady she’s becoming. And to know that the music that was inside her, is also inside her little girl,” Rory wrote when he released the video of the song on Father’s Day.
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Ozzy Osbourne, ‘The Prince of Darkness,’ has suffered a number of health issues throughout his life, but the last years have been the most difficult ones.
Ever since his quad-bike accident in 2003, everything went downfall for the Black Sabbath singer. Later, in 2019, he suffered yet another life-threatening fall when he fell in his bathroom and dislodged metal screws in his spine.
His wife, Sharon Osbourne, has opened up of her husband’s heath recently and revealed that the musician was about to undergo yet another surgery that will likely “determine the rest of his life.”
Ozzy, 74, now gave a health update himself and spoke of his final surgery to mend his broken neck, describing the last few years as “absolute hell.”
NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 15: Singer Ozzy Osbourne is seen outside Tribeca Grill in NYC on August 15, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Raymond Hall/FilmMagic)
While on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Ozzy was asked how he was feeling.
His response was: “I finally had my last procedure two days ago.
“I can’t believe I’ve come to the end of it. The main thing is over now, I’m done with the surgery.”
He then added: “But it’s been five years of absolute hell for me and my family. The family has been so supportive of me. I couldn’t have done it without them. It’s been a really bad scene. I have Parkinson’s, but I never think about it.”
Ozzy’s son, Jack, said many people believe that his father’s fragile health is a result of his Parkinson’s disease, but that’s not true. In fact, his struggles started after the neck injury and subsequent fall he took in 2019.
“I carried on working with it, until I had a fall and then it just, everything came undone,” Ozzy said.
“I don’t gripe, I get on with it. If you are still moving, you ain’t going to be dead.”
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On the podcast The Osbournes, the Hellraiser singer spoke of his fourth and last neck surgery.
“It is gonna be the final surgery, because I can’t do it anymore. Regardless of the way it ends up after tomorrow, I’m not doing it anymore. I can’t.”
Earlier this year, Ozzy announced he was canceling his tours and told fans he would be retiring.
Since his last tour, which took place back in 2018, the Black Sabbath singer has only performed twice at live events.
We wish Ozzy Osbourne a good health.
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Whether fresh or dried, herbs make dishes more flavorful. They add to the taste and the texture and are irreplaceable part of every cuisine.
Of course, it’s safe to say that when used fresh, herbs intensify the taste even further. One drawback, however, of using fresh herbs instead of their dried counterparts is the time it takes to wash them, strip them, and chop them. This is one of the reasons people avoid using them when cooking.
Luckily, there are kitchen tools and gadgets which facilitate the process of preparing herbs to use them fresh. One of those is the underrated herb stripper.
This tool, which speeds the process of preparation significantly, helps remove leaves from stems. They come with different sized holes to fit different herbs, including bigger leafy vegetables as kale.
The usage is pretty simple. All you need to do is place the stem on one side of the fitting hole and pull it through until all the leaves come off.
Some herb strippers come with a blade and have bowls attached to catch the leaves as they go through the holes.
Jiaedge 9 Hole Stainless Steel Herb Stripper. Source: Amazon
Speaking of herbs and their wide usage in the cuisines from every corner of Earth, below is a list of some of the most widely used fresh herbs.
Basil is a flavorful, leafy green herb which comes in many varieties. Popular as a food seasoning and the main ingredient of the popular pesto sauce, this herb has found its way to almost every cuisine, despite being commonly found in Mediterranean recipes.
To get the most out of this herb add the leaves toward the end of the cooking process.
Rosemary goes ideally with dishes like lamb chops, chicken, roast beef, and roasted potatoes. However, it is also perfect for flatbread, sweet potato fries, and even in cake. The thing is that this herb is tough to prepare, which makes the herb stripper the ideal tool to use with it.
Cilantro, which comes from the fresh leaves of the coriander plant, is a herb that you either love or hate incorporated in your food. It is, however, a staple in Asian and Latin American food. Fresh cilantro tastes pungent, bright, lemony, and a little peppery, but many say it tastes like soap.
Dill, often paired with salmon, potatoes, and yogurt-based sauces, is commonly used to elevate the flavor of various dishes. It’s a delicate herb with a strong, fresh, earthy flavor.
Marjoram‘s flavour could be described like that of oregano, but milder and yet intense. While its leaves are nicely paired with salads, soups, sauces, and fish, its stems bring out the flavor when used in a stock or soup.
Thyme has a distinctive taste and that makes it a culinary staple to this day. Fresh leaves or whole sprigs can be used for meat or poultry. Thyme is also an excellent ingredient to use with fish. It also goes well in coctails.
Mint is used with a variety of dishes and goes well on top of fruit salads. It not only adds flavour, but it also helps reduce the intake of sodium and sugar at those who consume it. It is best to add raw mint leaves at the end of the cooking process. This helps them maintain their delicate flavor and texture.
Parsley is one of the most versatile herbs there are. Although the possibilities of its usage are endless, parsley is especially delicious with pasta, butter, eggs, and lemon.
Oregano is a herb quintessential to recipes like chili pasta and pizza sauces. Oregano provides antioxidants when people consume it in the diet. It can be grown in a pot on a windowsill or balcony or in the garden. It is a perennial, which means it can grow all year.
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With her enchanting music and hits such as Come on Over that topped the charts for a very long time, the ‘Queen of Country Pop,’ Shania Twain, caught the world by storm.
Born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario, on August 28, 1965, Shania and her two sisters were brought up by their mother and her husband Jerry Twain, whom they considered a real dad as their biological father didn’t have much to do with their upbringing.
During her young years, Shania’s life, and that of her family, wasn’t an easy one. They had a hard time make ends meet and didn’t have much food on the table although their adoptive father Jerry worked hard to provide for the family. There were times when they survived only on “goulash,” a dish consisting of dry bread with boiled milk and brown sugar. Despite the hardship, Shania never really shared details of her life with anyone because she was afraid that authorities could break her family apart if they knew how bad they lived and how much they struggled.
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At one point of her life, Shania’s parents’ marriage turned into a rocky one and she forced her mother to leave Jerry, which is exactly what happened. But some time later, the two decided to give their relationship another try and stayed together until the tragic incident in which they both lost their lives. At the time her parents died in a crash after they collided with a truck loaded with timber, Shania had already been involved with music. In fact, she did gigs at the age of just eight. She performed at rural bars, and when she reached 13, she got to perform on the Tommy Hunter Show, a legendary country music variety show that aired on CBC Television and ran for 27 years. When she was 21, she relocated to Toronto, and just a year later, when both her parents died, she almost gave up on music in order to raise her two sisters and two brothers. “I thought, my family comes first. I have to take care of them. I didn’t even think of my future… I’m lucky I got the job at Deerhurst, because it was music. I didn’t know where I was going to go from there,” the singer said.
“I feel like I’ve been this tree with good sturdy roots for 30 years, then all of a sudden someone comes along and is trying to cut me down, cut a part me off,” Shania said of the loss of her parents.
“It was a very, very difficult time. But it was also a turning point in my life that, I think, matured me, brought me up to where I should have been in the first place at that age,” she told CBC.
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In 1993, after putting together a demo tape of her song, she caught the attention of a Mercury Nashville Records executive and released her self-titled debut album, Shania Twain.
This album caught the attention of South African record producer Mutt Lange who offered to do some music for Shania. Partnering with him happened to be the best decision she could make at the time as it was then that she released some of her most prominent hits that turned her into a worldwide star almost over night. Even today, Come On Over is the ninth highest-selling album by any type of artist in the US, and the top-selling country album in history.
During the late 90’s America went into “Shaniamania” frenzy.
Shania and Mutt Lange fell in love and tied the knot. They welcomed son Eja in 2001. The marriage resembled a picture perfect one and Shania denied every rumor published by the gossip columnists. “There’s been talk in the tabloids that we’re divorcing, but we are very happy. We love each other in every way. We have a great creative relationship and a great personal relationship. We feel as strong as ever – and “Still the One” is sort of my own personal song about marriage.”
But then in 2008, the couple divorced. The reason was a heartbreaking one. Mutt had an affair with Shania’s closest friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud, who entered the former-couple’s life when she was hired as Mutt’s personal assistant and a translator. “I’ll be honest: when your husband leaves you, and falls into the arms of your close friend, your self-esteem can really suffer,” Shania told EW, adding that she felt that she would die.
Some years later, in a strange twist of events, Shania found love again. This time, with Marie-Anne Thiébaud’s ex-husband, Frédéric Thiébaud, whom she married in 2008. It was the heartbreak they suffered by their former spouses that brought them together.
“I don’t take any day for granted any more. Fred has give me a new lease on love,” the country pop star told the Daily Mail.
Today, Shania lives in Switzerland, but she has her show in Las Vegas.
Her music and her incredible career was an inspiration for many singers to follow her path, among them Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, and Carrie Underwood. “I think we were all definitely influenced by Shania, even if we don’t realize it. (Her music) was so different and kind of revolutionary at the time. She definitely paved the way for a lot of us,” Carrie Underwood told AP in 2016.
At the age of 56, Shania Twain looks as stunning as ever. She is believed to be a vegetarian who keeps her looks young by eating mostly raw food.
“I’m pretty insecure about my changing body… I’m letting ‘the girls’ hang loose under my sweat clothes around the house and when someone comes to the door, I cross my arms under them for support,” she told EW.
“For me personally, I’m sure it’s very different for everybody, but I just started with time. Stepping out of battles that I couldn’t win. I mean, you know, aging is a battle you can’t win,” she said in 2020, in the LadyGang podcast.
“That battle and the focus and energy it takes, is taking up too much space! In my life, my emotional state, my mental state. I’ve got songs to write. I’m not gonna sit around,” Shania said.
Jared Blackwelder, a farmer from Springfield, Missouri, experienced the shock of his life when he went to the pasture to collect the cows for the evening milking.
To his disbelief, all of his 32 cows were piled on top of each other, dead on the mulch.
Blackwelder couldn’t believe his eyes and was initially unaware of what could have caused this horrific scene, but once he got to his senses, he realized that his cows were likely struck by lightning.
Stan Coday, president of the Wright County Missouri Farm Bureau, spoke to CBS News of Blackwelder misfortune and said, “[Blackwelder] went out to bring the cows in and that’s when he found them.
“It’s a common occurrence. It does happen. The thing that made this the worst was just the sheer number of cows that were affected.”
The vet who examined the dead cows determined that in was indeed lighting that claimed their lives.
It is believed that the animals were trying to find shelter and hide from the heavy rain and thunder, and that’s when they all gathered under a tree.
“You’re at the mercy of mother nature,” Coday said and added that he lost a cow in the same manner some years ago.
“It’s not like they are pets. But the ones I’m milking, I’ve raised every one of them,” Blackwelder told the Springfield News-Leader. “Dairy cattle are a little different because you mess with them twice a day. It knocks you hard.”
Sadly, the issue with this loss is that it is a financial one at the same time.
News-Leader reported that Blackwelder had insurance but is unsure if that would be enough to cover he losses.
His total loss is over $60,000.
“Most producers don’t carry insurance,” Coday said. “If you lose a cow you’ve lost everything.”
The dead cows can’t even be used for their meat because it’s been hours since the owner found them dead.
“Those animals are damaged and of course they had been there for a few hours when he found them,” Coday said. “In processing an animal, there’s a process that needs to be gone through. They wouldn’t have been fit for human consumption.”
The issue with most farmers of Missouri is that they don’t have dedicated cow barns due to the the state’s milder weather and this incident wasn’t something Blackwelder had control on.
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