1. While Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" is probably one of the crooner's best-known songs, it was originally very different. Turns out, we have Robert De Niro to thank for it! Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb were tapped to write music for Martin Scorsese's 1977 film, New York, New York, which stars Liza Minnelli and De Niro. When the duo previewed the songs they had written, De Niro thought the title track, which was connected to his character, was too lighthearted. Although Kander and Ebb said they thought De Niro seemed "pompous" in telling them to rewrite the song, they took the criticism to heart and ended up penning their new version of the song in just 45 minutes.
2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is my favorite movie of all time, so it's honestly criminal that I've never done a deep dive into some behind-the-scenes moments from the film! John Hughes, known for his teen movies, ended up writing the script in just a few days in order to get a draft finished before the Writers Guild of America went on strike. The script was reportedly so strong that it was barely edited before filming started. The movie is widely considered to be a love letter to Hughes's Chicago hometown and is filled with references to his own upbringing and shots of the city's skyline. In fact, Hughes even gave Ferris the same address as his childhood home, and his bedroom reportedly resembled Hughes's.
3. If I had to learn about this giraffe mating ritual, then it's only fair that you do too, okay? Unlike other animals, giraffes don't have a set mating season. Instead, they have an estrous cycle, which resembles a human menstrual cycle, except this cycle swaps blood for urine. When a male giraffe approaches a female giraffe, he begins to rub against her, which she takes as a signal to begin peeing. The male giraffe then tastes her pee to see if she's fertile, and thus, the mating ritual begins. A typical giraffe pregnancy lasts for 400–460 days. Male giraffes typically have no role in raising their offspring.
4. In 2007, Lisa Nowak became the first NASA astronaut to be arrested when she drove across the United States to confront a woman who was dating a fellow astronaut with whom Nowak had also had a relationship. About a decade after graduating from the US Naval Academy, Nowak was selected to be an astronaut at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where she specialized in robotics. Nowak said she was deeply affected by the 2003 Columbia space shuttle explosion because her best friend, astronaut Laurel Clark, died. Nowak told NASA that her children convinced her to continue on with her space career despite her unease.
5. Despite what you might believe after watching The Greatest Showman, P.T. Barnum was not a good guy. He had a long history of animal cruelty and was known for mistreating enslaved people and people with disabilities. He even reportedly hated the people who paid money to come see his exhibits. Barnum was allegedly frustrated that people were taking their time during visits to his museum, so he decided to post signs reading "This Way to the Egress" all over the place. He (correctly) believed that most of the visitors wouldn't know that "egress" meant "exit," so when they followed the signs, they ended up unknowingly leaving the entire museum. As a result, many people paid to reenter, bringing home even more money for Barnum.
6. Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" is essentially History 101 in song form. The track name-drops 118 historical events from 1949 to 1989, including everything from pivotal moments in the civil rights movement to details from sports and pop culture history. Joel was inspired to write the song after having a conversation with Sean Lennon, who was then in his 20s, while in the recording studio. One of Lennon's friends allegedly said that it was a terrible time to be a young person. Joel, who was about to turn 40, reportedly said that his own younger years hadn't been that easy either.
7. Coney Island's skyline looked a lot different back in the 1800s. The Brooklyn boardwalk was once home to a 200-foot-tall elephant-shaped hotel! The hotel, known as the Elephantine Colossus, was built in 1885 and contained 31 rooms, a concert hall, and a museum. The elephant's head housed an observatory, and its eyes served as telescopes. The real kicker was that the hotel was built several years before the Statue of Liberty was completed, so the giant elephant was often the first thing immigrants saw when they reached New York. At some point, the hotel was seen as gimmicky and lost most of its clientele. Soon, sex workers began moving in. In 1896, Elephantine Colossus burned down and was never rebuilt.
8. During Ronald Reagan's 1966 California gubernatorial campaign, he began eating jelly beans in an attempt to curb his pipe-smoking habit. His jelly beans of choice were the Goelitz Mini Jelly Beans from the Herman Goelitz Candy Co. Once the company caught wind of Reagan's love for the treat, they began to send the politician a monthly shipment of candy and even gifted the governor with a custom jelly bean jar. After Reagan's two terms as governor ended, the company continued to send him jelly beans. In 1976, Goelitz debuted their latest creation: the Jelly Belly. Within two years, Reagan's entire jelly bean shipment shifted to include only Jelly Belly jelly beans.
9. There are two main groups of whales: baleen whales, which include species like the blue whale and the humpback whale; and toothed whales, consisting of orcas, belugas, and sperm whales. While you probably guessed that toothed whales are named as such because they have teeth, baleen whales have baleen plates in their mouths, which help them filter out krill and other food. Toothed whales also have a "melon" in their foreheads. The melon is a mass of tissue that helps with communication and is crucial for echolocation, which they use to find food and to navigate underwater.
10. In 1997, construction on Disneyland's California Adventure Park was halted after Princess Diana was killed in a limo accident in a Paris tunnel on Aug. 31. California Adventure was supposed to include a ride called Superstar Limo, which involved guests boarding a limo and embarking on a high-speed chase through some of Los Angeles's biggest landmarks in order to get to the Disney offices in time to sign a huge movie contract. Riders also had to evade the paparazzi. Once the ride ended, passengers were encouraged to buy mock tabloids featuring the pictures the "paparazzi" had taken of them. Following Diana's death, Disney knew they could no longer debut the ride. Soon, they began to brainstorm alternative ideas to replace the limo theme.
11. Donald Gorske, who is known as the ultimate Big Mac fan, has reportedly eaten at least one McDonald's Big Mac every day for the past 50 years. As of May 2022, Gorske believes he has consumed about 32,340 Big Macs. He told Guinness World Records that he typically eats two Big Macs a day, although he revealed that at one point, his daily diet included nine burgers! "May 17, 1972, was the day I got my first car," Gorske said. "I drove to McDonald’s, ordered my first three Big Macs, went in the car, and ate them. And I said right there that I’m gonna probably eat these the rest of my life, and I threw the cartons in the backseat and started counting them from day one." Despite his Big Mac diet, Gorske and his wife say that doctors have given him a clean bill of health.
12. Although you probably picture Queen Elizabeth II wearing one of her signature colorful skirt suits, her fashion history is actually quite fascinating! Elizabeth was photographed wearing pants only once during her entire reign. In 1970, she was reportedly interested in updating her look, and asked her tailor for a custom pantsuit to wear during her royal tour in Australia. It's safe to assume that Elizabeth wasn't too fond of the outfit, as she was never again seen wearing pants in public. In order to maintain professionalism and avoid any type of fashion mishap, her dress hems were always cut below the knee.
13. In 1986, Clint Eastwood ran for mayor of Carmel, California, in part because he wanted to overturn the town's strict law regarding ice cream sales. Eastwood announced his intention to run for office in 1985 after he reportedly found the City Council very difficult to work with when he wanted to turn property he owned into office space. He also cited a 1929 law in Carmel that banned the sale of ice cream cones as another reason for his campaign. In April 1986, he defeated incumbent Charlotte Townsend. His first order of business? He removed from office all of the people who supported the ice cream ban, thus allowing the sale of ice cream cones in Carmel for the first time in decades.
14. Chances are, you read George Orwell's Animal Farm in school. In the novel, a group of animals team up to rebel against the farmer who owns them, only to end up living in a communist dictatorship led by pigs. Although Orwell said that the book was the first time he had successfully been able to blend politics and art, he had a hard time finding a publisher. Several publishing houses turned down the book because they felt uneasy about its political stance. Secker & Warburg ultimately agreed to publish Animal Farm, and the book became a hit and was even used by the CIA as a propaganda tool during the Cold War.
15. In 1928, Huey Long was elected governor of Louisiana on a promise of helping people who had been neglected by the federal government. He soon had his sights set on Washington and won a Senate seat. But before leaving for DC in 1932, he had the lieutenant governor replaced by two successors who promised to follow Long's commands. In the Senate, he created the “Share Our Wealth” program, which many thought was part of his bid for the presidency. In 1935, Long was assassinated by a political rival. Despite his death, his impact in the state lived on. In 1940, a study showed that rural schoolchildren not only had no idea that Long had been killed but also believed he was president.
16. The Real Housewives franchise put Bravo on the map for its depiction of the wild and wacky antics of wealthy women around the country, but it originally looked like a much different show! Scott Dunlop, the original producer of the Real Housewives of Orange County, got the idea for the show in 1986 when he moved from Los Angeles to Coto de Caza, one of the world's largest gated communities, located in Orange County, California. Dunlop began to notice that many of his female neighbors spent their days shopping and playing golf while their husbands went to work.
17. The first meal eaten on the moon included bacon bits, peaches, sugar cookie cubes, and a pineapple-grapefruit beverage. Bacon reportedly had a long history when it came to space travel. It was a staple during the Gemini missions and became a favorite among many astronauts. Despite all of the bacon love, it's since disappeared from space menus. Now the closest thing to bacon is a sausage patty that has to be rehydrated with warm water before being eaten.
18. Oscar Gamble, a baseball player who spent over 20 years in the major leagues, was known not only for his on-field play but also for his Afro, which sparked quite the controversy. In 1973, Gamble arrived at the Cleveland Indians training camp sporting an Afro. Although many Black basketball players had Afros, the hairstyle wasn't too popular among baseball players. Baseball was often seen as more conservative, and during the 1970s, the Afro was associated with the Black Power movement. Gamble's hair quickly became controversial. "People took one look at that hair and thought I was a bad guy," Gamble said in 1979. "There were some sportswriters who wouldn’t talk to me. They thought I was some kind of militant, with my beard and my hair."
19. In December 1990, Iben Browning, who claimed that he was a climatologist, predicted that a major earthquake was going to hit the St. Louis area on Dec. 3. In New Madrid, a Missouri town located on a fault line, people began stockpiling supplies, while others left town completely. Browning reportedly used weather patterns to make his predictions, although his exact methods were never publicized. Although scientists didn't vocally deny Browning's claims, it was believed that they didn't support his prediction, since it's impossible to predict an earthquake. The earthquake never happened. In fact, the area has not faced an earthquake at the magnitude Browning predicted in the three decades since.
20. While kangaroos are known for their hopping abilities (they can jump about 25 feet in one go!), they are unable to go backward because their big feet and long tails prohibit any backward movement. This anatomical hindrance has since been used by their native Australia as a symbol. The kangaroo was reportedly included on the Australian coat of arms to represent the idea that Australia is a nation that is always moving forward.
21. And finally, Elouise Cobell, who was also known as Yellow Bird Woman, fought for Native Americans to have control over their land and finances. Cobell was born on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, where her family did not have running water or electricity. Her great-great-grandfather notably stood up to the US government in the 19th century. When Cobell was 4 years old, her father built a one-room schoolhouse that she attended until she was in high school. Cobell reportedly took notice of her family's complaints about the Bureau of Indian Affairs, an agency that many suspected mismanaged the profits from land and trusts owned by Native Americans.

Link to article

The Foundations of Humanity 9 (The Next Step) - an NoP fanfic
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Thank you u/SpacePaladin15 for establishing the Nature of Predators Universe, and for allowing Fanfics to flourish! Thank you u/Inkanyamba for the inspiration for Professor Tarva, relevant post and comment linked with character name
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Memory transcription subject: Valek, Venlil-Human Partnership Program Participant
Date [standardized human time]: August 25th, 2136. Midday
"Ahem"
My eyes snapped open as I flung myself against the opposite wall. Somehow, that stars-cursed, silent human opened the door without either of us knowing. Paralyzed with fear, I could hear Maeve stutter through an explanation, "W-We, uh- I-It’s not-"
"Please come in." The man did not yell, but his voice rumbled through my snout and down the hall. With myself frozen in place, Maeve reached out to take my paw and guide me inside. "Have a seat, please." The man gestured to two seats in front of a wide desk.
The desk was a shared workspace; the human took his seat on the left, while a male Venlil remained seated on the right. "I'm Barry, and this is Borven," Borven flicked a welcome, "we are the liaisons for the exposure program. Do you know why we have called you here?"
Maeve spoke up while I was busy hyperventilating, "I can assume, sirs, but I would like to hear it from you, if you please," Maeve had assumed a… posture that I haven't seen from her before. She sat tall, while also making herself smaller; her eyes wide with unbreaking contact to the man at the desk. She must have been terrified.
Borven spoke up this time, "We noticed that you were one of the first pairs to leave the mess hall after news of the attack, before the incident involving ensign Baudelaire. We are wondering if you have any additional information you would like to share?"
Maeve and I sat in silence for a moment, both of us expecting a very different conversation. Finding my voice, I answered, "N-No sir. Maeve made the call to leave after the notice. I asked later, and she told me that such terrible news may cause a fight, so she brought us to safety."
"Is that right, Maeve?" Barry asked, letting his voice amplify his presence.
Maeve nodded nervously, then added, "We stopped in the hallway, and we saw a patrol going to the Mess, that's all we know."
"Do you have anyone to corroborate your account?" Barry enquired.
"No, sir. Valek and I tend to keep to ourselves, but I can give you the times we left and entered our room, and that would match with camera records." Maeve's posture relaxed. It seems this was a routine investigation of the commotion we heard as we left.
"I would appreciate that, Maeve," Barry spoke while Borven typed at their station, "you should be receiving a report template to your pad in a moment, please fill that out and submit it as soon as you can, including the times you mentioned. Besides that, you are excused; we apologize for taking your time."
"Thank you, sirs." Maeve got up to move, but I saw an opportunity,
"Maeve." I whispered, motioning for her to sit back down. Nervously, she followed, and I motioned for her to continue. "Valek and I would…" She looked to me for encouragement, so I tried a human smile, which she returned in kind, "We would like to continue the program."
The two men waited, Barry glancing between us, one eyebrow raised. Borven flicked his tail expectantly.
"Indefinitely." I added.
Barry tried to hide a smirk, but Borven was more surprised, "We could hardly keep you from continuing contact. What are you asking?"
Getting Maeve's attention, I held out my paw for hers, and she reciprocated. "I would like to host Maeve at my home on Venlil Prime, if she would join me."
Barry broke into a wide grin, behind which a mischievous cackle creaked through his teeth.
"Sun-scorched sonuva…" Borven mumbled and handed a pawful of colored steel rounds to Barry, which I later learned were poker chips.
"Don't worry Borven, you'll win one eventually." Barry jibed while adding the chips to a drawer, audibly clinking against his previous winnings. "Look, no one needs to talk about why you two want to move in together, it's none of our business. But there has been talk of a 3rd step: Integration." I perked up at that! So it is possible! "I'm going to give you the contact to the Lead Empathy Scientist on the station. They will have access to your test results and get the ball rolling." Barry finished, before handing a note to Maeve.
Borven interjected, "Valek? Are you sure you want to do this? Best case scenario, your request is approved, and now Maeve lives among strangers who fear her, on a world that exhausts her, unable to eat something her body demands. This is not an easy road! And that's totally ignoring the fact that we don't know what Maeve is capable of! You could be in real danger!"
That wasn't fair, they didn't know her! My ears back, I was about to tell them off, but Maeve squeezed my paw. She would speak for herself, "Strangers are friends yet to be made. As to the gravity, you're right there will be an adjustment period, but humans are exceptionally adaptable. As for food, I have greatly enjoyed Venlil cuisine while on the station, but if there are any nutrients I'm missing, humans have developed supplements for everything we need; technically a human could live on pills alone. I think this is worth trying, and I would be thrilled if I were the first, or the last; just as long as it happens."
My mane and scruff swelled with pride at her words; my ears swiveled to Borven, "I know exactly what Maeve is capable of. Yes, I'm sure."
Borven's body language was a combination of disappointment with a healthy dose of 'not my herd to lead' before he motioned that we were excused.
Once we were back in the corridor, we could finally breathe easy; catching each other's eye, we started giggling at the fear that brought us here, but I was glad to talk to someone about us staying together. Walking down the hall, I apologized for springing the idea of hosting on her, but Maeve was glad of my invitation, and was herself struggling to ask if I would welcome her. We both bloomed in our own way, thinking about life on the farm.
“While we are up here we should check on the lead scientist; the position is admin so it should be on this floor, too.” Maeve checked her pad and found the contact information.
Hello, my name is Maeve, Barry gave me your contact. I was wondering if we could talk about what he called the next step, Integration?
We decided to wander while we waited for a response, Maeve busying herself with the incident report. This section of the station was decidedly not of Venlil make. Hard lines and right angles made full use of every centimeter. Tough cloth ran the length of the corridor, only emphasizing the oppressive silence. Every few meters was another door, many but not all accompanied by placards. And the far distance curved to one side, hinting at the circular structure of the station. After several minutes, Maeve’s pad pinged a response.
Hello, Maeve! Barry told me about you two. We are looking for volunteers for a test program, so this is great news. I see you have already completed the Empathy test, with very good results. I would like to talk in more detail. Can you meet me in Suite 4182?
On our way.
At this point we had just passed 4082, so we were on the other half of the ring. Having finished her report, Maeve caught my eye, “I’ll race you there!” and she took off in a sprint. Finding my grip on the carpet, I bounded forward, quickly overtaking her, while we giggled at the game. I had passed 4118 before my legs started burning, and I heard pounding steps behind me. Maeve was quickly gaining on me, and I tried to push for more, but my well had run dry. My heart pounding and breath heavy, I slowed to a stop, and Maeve came to a slow trot beside me. A glowing smile from cheek to cheek.
"You look barely winded! How far can a human run??"
"Me personally? I've done a few 5k's, and had fun; that's, uh, 5 kilometers. But some humans specialize, and can run for hundreds, even low thousands of klicks, over several days."
"What!?" I exclaimed between labored breaths, "Why!?"
"That's actually a fun one! I'll tell you another time. C'mon, we can catch our breath before getting there."
With our slower pace, it took several more minutes before reaching the Lead Scientist's office, but we had thankfully caught our breath by then. Stepping inside, we were greeted by a diminutive bright white Venlil, the tip of her ears only reaching my chest, and equally small in all other respects. Her yellow eyes, bright as a sunbeam, shined through the dimly lit room.
"Hello!" She called excitedly, "I'm Professor Tarva ; no relation. You must be Valek," I flipped my ears in acknowledgement, "and Maeve!" Who returned a timid hello, "oh don't be scared! I know I'm a little more energetic than the average Venlil. Please forgive the lighting, I'm none too fond of brightness. So! What's this about Integration?"
Her office was smaller than Barry and Borven’s, but her size made it proportional, though the abundance of rolling stepstools and cushions was a notable difference. She offered us the only two chairs in front of her human-sized desk, which she nimbly climbed and occupied a cushion atop it.
Having spent no small amount of our recovery walk agonizing over how to best present our case, I spoke first. "We feel that our friendship sets a golden example for Human and Venlil relations, and I would like to host Maeve in my home on Venlil Prime."
Ears back, tail tuft wagging, Tarva didn't like that. "Ooo, a human in civilian lodging on VP? And you're from…" she shifted some papers to her side, "the Grove? Buncha farmers out there, they won't like it. Why do you think this is worth risking an incident?"
I spoke up quickly. I've had this conversation before, it was just like haggling our starberries; though I've never had to haggle for freedoms before. "Whatever risk exists, I believe it is less than the value gained by early scientific information of a Human and Venlil living together."
I had barely finished my sentence before Tarva had another flaw in my argument ready, "We already have Human and Venlil cohabitating on bases and in the Gubernatorial Complex. Why shouldn't we put you there?"
"You have humans living apart from Venlil. They don't see our culture, eat our food, talk to our people. Letting Maeve live in a real home in a real town will show us how Humans can integrate into Venlil society."
"And why would we need to integrate? Humans are weapons of war against the Arxur, nothing more, nothing less. Why would we need them on VP, especially once we win?"
I had never seen a Venlil like this before. She couldn't have predator disease, she doesn't have that… off feeling. But every moment of this -- this -- interrogation has been an attack!
But I refused to back down, this will work. "It's no secret that the Exposure program has been a glowing success. I personally know a dozen Venlil on Bleat that have every wish to continue contact. Humans will integrate with Venlil, which means we need to be prepared. Maeve and I can be the litmus test."
Tarva was clearly enjoying this, so she went for the throat, "Then why should we choose You? If the Program is such a success, we would be swimming in requests just like yours! Why should we choose You over the hypothetical Them?"
My breath caught in my throat. It hadn't occurred to me there would be so much demand for this, but she had a point. Based on what I've seen on Bleat and in the Forums, more than half of the Venlil that participated want to keep contact, and I'm sure we couldn't be the only ones to stay friends or more.
"Because," Maeve spoke up from beside me, barely a whimper, "you've already decided who your early subjects are. And Valek and I are on the short list."
Tarva squealed with undisguised glee, her tail thrashing behind her, "There she is! You've got a sharp one, Valek! How did you know?"
Maeve took a deep breath before answering, "Barry and Borven already knew about… us; they made a wager based on what we said. It sounded like they were betting who invited who, and Valek was the one who asked to host me. I'm betting you have a long list of Venlil wanting to serve with human soldiers, and a shorter list of Venlil going to earth. But those Venlil were invited by their Human partner. If there is a list of a Venlil inviting a Human to Venlil Prime, I think we are the only name." By now Maeve was leaning on the armrest of her chair, this exchange clearly exhausted her.
"The only name invited to a rural town. We actually have a healthy pawful that would live in the larger cities, with larger off-world populations, but you're the only ones in such a small town. There will be conditions, of course, and the locals will not be kind. Are you sure you wanna do this?"
I looked at Maeve. She was so tired, but she still looked at me with all the love her eyes could carry, and I could feel myself blooming under the weight of it. We nodded together, then answered "Yes." as one.
"Fantastic!" Tarva declared with the same unbridled enthusiasm she has held for this entire meeting. "You're on the next resupply back to VP. Shouldn't be more than a couple sleeps. Hope you enjoyed the station, cuz you're going home!"
‐‐‐
On our return back to the room, Maeve fell forward onto the bottom bunk with an exhausted sigh, all of her energy sucked out by the surprise interrogation. Believing she needed comfort, I sat next to her on the bed and, remembering she mentioned back pain being common among humans, brushed my paw between her shoulders. My remembrance was rewarded by a contented hum I could feel reverberating through her ribcage.
Maeve rolled over beneath my hand, taking it in hers. She held my paw close to herself, pressing the pads and moving the fingers. I winced when she encouraged a claw from its sheath, at which she quickly loosened her grip. After seeing I did not pull away, she pulled my paw to her face and pressed her lips against the offending claw. The predatory action caused my ears to flutter, whether from fear or not I couldn't tell.
She played with my hand idly, before asking, "How do Venlil… show affection?"
After thinking for a moment, I answered, "Our tails do most of the talking, but where no words exist, they tend to find each other. We also enjoy grooming each other," taking her hand in my paw, I ran the tip of my tongue over the top of her hand, "And many times nuzzling," placing that same hand to my snout, and continued, "is seen as very intimate."
Her free hand brought my other paw up to her face, and she rested her cheek against it. She gently brushed my snout, before following my jaw and drifting down my neck, winding her fingers through my wool, then stroking the skin hot with passion beneath. "Humans," she croaked, as if not ready to speak. Clearing her throat, she began again, "Humans like to use parts of our bodies that are sensitive, like our hands, but also our lips, and…" She took my paw in hers and I felt a soft wetness on my center pad, sending another shiver through me, "We tend to bathe ourselves in the sensation of our lover; touch, sight, scent, and even taste. And… I'm worried that most of it will be frightening to you."
I moved to lie with her, supporting myself on my elbow. Taking her hand in my paw, I spoke gently, "Maeve… you constantly surprise me, in the most wonderful ways, and I am always excited to be surprised by you. But I won't fear you. You've taught me that what we are, is what we choose; not what we feel. And even if I feel the need to run, I will choose to come back to you. Every time."
Maeve reached out to me, and I to her, and we entangled ourselves in each other. I could feel my bloom deepening as she pressed her lips to my velvet, and I could see her color rising as my paw traced her side.
"And what do your senses tell you, Maeve?"
Licking her lips, she whispered, "I can see you're enjoying this as much as I am. I can feel your softness, and warmth. I can hear your heart along with mine. I can smell your excitement, as thick as stew. And taste…" she inhaled sharply, pressing her forehead against my crown, as her hands moved to my waist, "I'm excited to find out."
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What would you like to see in chibiverse Season 2 (if Disney makes a Chibiverse Season 2)
I would like to see more characters (like the The Coven heads from the owl house Terra snapdragon, Darius, Raine, The Collector, Mr. X, Dr. Jan, Terri, Dr. Frakes) and characters from older Disney shows (like Recess, Bonkers, Pepper Anne, Lilo and Stich, and Fillmore!) as well as giving more screen time for characters from Star vs the frces of evil, Wander Over Yonder and gravity falls.
Also I’d like more episodes like 24 instead of 4.

Dr. Joseph Cullen of the NCI-accredited Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa was recognized for leading the world in cancer research. Over the last decade he has lead and participated in studies that have advanced our understanding of using high dose vitamin C for cancer treatment. His discoveries have encouraged cancer centers like Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, and Sloan Kettering to contribute to researching this treatment. He is certainly an Iowan worth celebrating. You can read the full article here: https://www.personalizedmedicinemd.co/medical-articles/iowa-leader-in-cancer-research

I've known my friend "Dave" for over a decade and he has always been a very anxious person. He is a good guy but he is the type to be easily overstimulated, asking "are you mad at me" every five seconds, apologizing way too much over nothing, that kind of stuff. We've always been close and I've supported him the best I can but personally I can only handle him in small doses because of how anxious he is and it makes me really annoyed/anxious if I'm around it for too long (I've never ever told him this obviously.)
Yes I have tried getting him to get help. I have anxiety and depression myself and tried making doctor's recommendations and helping him look up techniques to deal with things etc. But you can lead a horse to water as they say.
He moved overseas a long time ago but we kept in touch over the years. I hate to admit it but I liked him a lot more from a distance because his anxiety wasn't in-person to set mine off all the time. It's easier to handle and help him over text.
For the past few years me and my local friends have gone down to Vegas every Summer. Nothing crazy happens but we all get along very well and we always have a really good time. I look forward to it every year.
Dave has always watched from the sidelines on Instagram and this summer he says he wants to join us. My friends are really chill and are happy to have him along. It's Dave's first big trip back home / back overseas. But I'm nervous Dave is just going to be anxious and cling to me the whole time because he knows me best and ruin my trip. I used to not be able to be around Dave for more than half a day at a time and we're going to be stuck together for a week while I'm trying to have fun. It's gotten to the point where I'm dreading it so much I almost don't want to go.
I have tried (gently) letting him know what we do in Vegas, how we go out to eat and roam a lot and how there are lots of people and bright lights and high energy. He doesn't seem to have a problem with this on paper but I've been with him in-person and seen him have anxious spells firsthand over much less stressful events. He isn't open to staying separately from us, either, because I suggested maybe getting a room at the same hotel so he can have a place to "retreat" to if things get overwhelming. He says that would be a waste of money and he would be lonely.
I've tried also gently telling him my concerns about his anxiety being set off. He says he feels like he's gotten better and that he wants to take a leap to branch out of his comfort zone because elsewise he never will.
I am NOT asking how to uninvite Dave or how to weasel out of him coming along. I'm not a coward. But he still hasn't gotten any professional help for his anxiety (I asked recently, before the trip came up), and though I hope he's in a better headspace now, I am afraid I'm just going to be annoyed with him the whole time and I don't want to do that to him because he's spending a lot of time and money to join us.
tl;dr I have a very anxious friend who has not gotten professional help in all the years I've known him and he is now coming with me and my friends on a big trip, and we are staying together. If this is the worst case scenario and my friend's social anxiety is just as bad as it was before he moved away, how do I properly act around an extremely anxious person without getting annoyed or snapping at him? How do I deal with "are you mad at me" questions all the time or him saying sorry constantly? I know it's not his fault so that's why I'm trying to figure out what I can do.
Thank you in advance for any help.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 69%. (I'm a bot)

ISLAMABAD - A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rattled much of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday, sending panicked residents fleeing from homes and offices and frightening people even in remote villages.
More than 100 people were brought to hospitals in the Swat valley region of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in a state of shock, Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Pakistan's emergency services told The Associated Press.
"The quake was so strong and terrifying, we thought houses are collapsing on us, people were all shouting and were shocked," said Shafiullah Azimi, a Kabul resident.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the center of the magnitude 6.5 quake was located 40 kilometers south-southeast of Jurm in Afghanistan's mountainous Hindukush region, bordering Pakistan and Tajikistan.
A magnitude 7.6 quake in 2005 killed thousands of people in Pakistan and Kashmir.
Last year in southeastern Afghanistan, a 6.1 magnitude quake struck a rugged, mountainous region, flattening stone and mud-brick homes.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: people^#1 Afghanistan^#2 Pakistan^#3 quake^#4 collapsed^#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

We had been checking weather reports tirelessly for two weeks, until we finally found our spot. The following week should be nothing but sun and smooth winds, so we tentatively decided that to be our slot. Our small crew consisted of me and my friends Josie and Frank. Josie’s dad owned the boat (and he still needed to sign off on our plan), so we had to reserve it ahead of time, and make sure that we got it back in pristine condition, on the dot, and preferably with a nice coating of wax or whatever they use to make boats shine like candied apples.
Monday arrived and the weather was still solid, and Josie’s dad had reluctantly signed off on our plan, so we decided not to wait any longer and take it out the next day. The idea was to have a two day mini-cruise; just us hanging out on the boat and maybe docking it for the night at a nearby town. Although Josie’s dad was a hardass, he had taught her how to drive and maintain the boat since she was a kid, so really, the worst thing that could happen is that we wouldn’t have enough snacks.
Me and Frank met at the parking lot, and saw Josie standing on the boat at the end of the dock. Her dad was with her, lecturing her about some winch or other, Josie rolling her eyes next to him, barely maintaining her attention.
“He really can’t leave her alone even for a couple days, can he?” Frank asked, keeping his voice low as we stepped on the long dock.
“Josie or the boat?”
Frank chuckled, then quickly returned his resting poker face as we reached the boat, Josie’s dad turning around as he heard the planks creaking under our feet.
Before he could say anything, Josie ran up from behind him and said “Hi boys! You brought the food and snacks and the five gallons of vodka, I assume?”
“Aye aye, Captain!” we replied in unison. It was Josie’s dad’s turn to roll his eyes.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” he said to Josie, starting to walk down the small ramp down to the dock. “And remember, two days, no more. I expect you to bring her back in one piece.”
“Sure thing, dad!” That was Josie’s way of saying yes, yes, yes, I get it already.
Josie’s dad gave us a stern look followed by a slight nod as he walked past us. He never really liked me or Frankie, a bunch of hooligans, as he’d once called us when we were kids. For the record, me and Frankie didn’t like the guy either, so at least the feeling was mutual.
After her dad was out of earshot, Josie yelled “Are you ready kids?!” putting on her damndest pirate voice.
“Aye Aye Cap-TAIN!” we screamed and sprinted up the ramp and into the boat.
After an exchange of hugs we unloaded our groceries into the mini-fridge below deck, then met up with Josie, who was already sitting inside the helm. “Ready to leave, crew?” she asked. “Let’s rock this boat,” Frank replied. The amount of bad jokes this early in the morning was surely a great indication for what the rest of the day held.
It wasn’t long until the shore behind us was gone, the tranquil open sea spreading out in all directions. Josie seemed to know where we were going, but at that point I could no longer discern what direction we had even come from.
Me and Frank sunbathed and joked around on the deck until Josie emerged from her cocoon-like cockpit. “Sorry to interrupt your hi-LARIOUS hijinks, but I’d propose we have some lunch soon.”
Like destiny, the word lunch produced a unified grumble from both me and Frank’s stomachs - the universal horn of yes please, food please, now please.
“We can stay here for a while, then we could start heading towards the town,” Josie said.
Feeling bad that she was doing all the heavy lifting, I asked her “You need any help? It’s your boat, and us your honored guests, so don’t be afraid to command us, cap’n!”
“Please,” Josie replied, “when I get a chance to drive this boat, I take it. Dad’s been hogging it like crazy all summer. Besides, it’s not like you guys even know what half of the things on this boat are called, let alone what they’re used for.”
“Well, that’s the driver’s seat,” Frank said, pointing at the helm.
“That’s called a helm, my dear. Frank - you just earned yourself the honorary job of heating up our lunch.”
“This ain’t no Ford Prius, I see,” he replied as he got up and started to take lazy strides towards below deck.
“Toyota,” I said.
“What?”
“Prius is Toyota. Not Ford. Come one, let’s go make lunch for the captain.” I got up to follow Frank, nodding approvingly to Josie.
We had cheap microwave meals for lunch, seeing as the boat didn’t have a stovetop or an oven. For some reason - maybe it was the soothing sounds of the ocean lazily slapping the boat, or the warm afternoon sun - the food defied its low expectations and tasted great.
Afterwards we had a little siesta where I almost fell asleep until Josie said “Shall I take course towards the town, then?”
Through a straw hat laid across his face, Frank mumbled “Aye aye.”
“You sure you don’t need any help?” I asked Josie one again, but she was already jumping into the helm, excited to get back at it. “You guys just take a chill, I’ll get us where we need to.”
As the motor’s soothing hum returned, I got myself a bag of chips and sat on the deck, watching the horizon. Frank still had the hat on his face, which either meant that he didn’t want to be bothered, or that he’d fallen asleep. Either way, I was happy to just sit under the sun as the boat slowly rolled towards our destination, cutting a line into the flaccid water behind us.
“Shit, Shit SHIT!” Josie screamed. I must’ve fallen asleep, and as I got up the half eaten bag of chips crushed under my foot.
“What, Josie? What’s wrong?”
“What’s going on?” Frank parroted as he stood up, the hat falling beside him.
“There’s a fucking storm coming,” Josie said as she frantically pressed buttons, her eyes darting across the dashboard of the helm.
I turned around and looked at the horizon. Dread filled me as I saw an infinitely wide wall of dark clouds spread across the sky, making contact with the water in a misty gray curtain. I noticed that the ocean was no longer level, for it was rippled with small waves that thumped the sides of the boat in eager anticipation.
“I thought it was supposed to be nothing but clear skies,” Frank said. He’d walked beside me, taking in the horror beyond the horizon.
“Ex-fucking-actly, Sherlock. It came out of fucking nowhere,” Josie snapped, holding the wheel tightly in her right hand as she fiddled something with her left.
“Okay, Josie, I know this might sound stupid, but bear with. Why are we going towards the storm?” I asked, trying to not seem disingenuous as I turned around to face her.
She gave a sigh, stopping what she was doing and looked me in the eyes. “That’s where the town is. It’s the closest place to dock right now, and the storm’s moving faster than any I’ve ever seen. If we go back it’ll catch up to us and we’re fucked. If we go through it, we’ll spend the least amount of time inside it, giving us at least a chance.”
“A chance at what?” Frankie asked.
“A chance at getting out of here.”
“Any port in a storm, I guess,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, to which Frank gave me a concerned look.
The air had turned cool, so I went and changed to warmer clothing, Frank doing the same. Coming back up to the deck, I saw that the storm had moved closer. A lot closer. Josie instructed us to put on life jackets and to stay below deck, not to come out unless she asked us to. We put on the puffy orange jackets and promptly hunkered down below deck. The increasing waves were already rocking the boat uneasily.
“Are we gonna die?” Frank asked, his voice whimpering as he looked up at me from the opposite bench.
Although the question had already burrowed itself into my mind as well, I replied “No, NO, man, we’re not gonna die. Like Josie said, it’s just a quick ride through and then we’re back on dry land,” hoping that my words held even a sliver of truth.
In a matter of minutes, the sky turned dark and the boat started jumping on waves, like a rollercoaster rapidly going up and down and up and down. The rain tore into the boat like a machine gun as thunder sounded from across the way, lightning flashing the sky white erratically. Frank’s lunch quickly escaped his stomach, coming out in an arc of brownish green vomit that splattered across my legs and the floor. I was too scared to care, and he was too frightened to apologize.
The storm kept getting worse, the waves becoming larger as evidenced by the deeper dives and longer ascensions. Water was constantly slamming the deck, some of it trickling down to our feet. Through the two small windows the cabin had, it was near impossible to know whether we were on top of the water or under it, or which way was up or down. Although the storm was loud, I could still hear Josie cursing and screaming as she battled the waves and tried to keep us afloat, which was the only indication that she hadn’t been swallowed into the depths below. Frank was sweating bullets, his face a pale white. I wasn’t doing much better either, the words it’s gonna be ok it’s gonna be ok repeating in my mind.
Slowly the storm started to ease up, the waves thinning out and the rain becoming only a slight patter. Neither Frank or me said anything, though, not wanting to jinx it before we were safely back on land. Soon, the boat’s rocking lessened severely, and I could see sunshine coming through the windows.
“Hey guys, you okay? You can come up now,” Josie yelled, her inflection hesitant but calm.
Frankie apologized for the vomit as we got up and made our way up the steps. Josie was standing at the front of the deck, tumbling through her soaking wet hair with her fingers.
“Ho-lee shit, did we just survive the fucking apocalypse?” Frank asked rhetorically, his eyes darting between me and Josie.
“Josie! You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, yeah… I’m fine,” she replied, waving her hand like nothing abnormal had happened at all.
I walked up next to her and said “We got through it, didn’t we? Now just let’s get ourselves back on land, eh?”
“Yeah, well, that’s the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, look,” she said, holding her hand out at the pale horizon, like she was presenting it on an invisible platter. “Where’s the town?”
“What do you mean where’s the town? We got through the storm, so shouldn’t we be able to get through to it now?”
“That’s the thing. It should be right in front of us.”
“Where’s the storm?” Frankie yelled from the back of the boat.
“What do you mean ‘where’s the storm?’ We just went through it” Josie yelled in annoyance, still peering at the horizon.
“For fuck’s sake, come here,” Frank replied.
Josie looked at me and rolled her eyes, then started walking towards Frank as she gave a long sigh. I followed tepidly behind her.
As we reached the back of the boat, I realized what Frank had meant. There was no storm, nor clouds, or even residual waves. “What the fuck,” I exclaimed under my breath, right as Josie started sprinting around the boat, looking in all directions, her head swiveling in frantic motions, her hair throwing beads of water around like a dog drying up after a swim. A minute later she joined us, panting, and said “It’s all just water. There’s nothing on any side. We’re in the middle of the fucking ocean, the storm’s gone, there’s nothing.”
“Shit, shit, shit…” Frank muttered as he started to tap his foot on the deck, holding himself in a tight hug as he shivered in his wet clothes.
I turned to Josie. “Well we shouldn’t be far off from something, right? It’s still day, and even with the storm we couldn’t have gone too far.”
I could see that Josie was tired. She looked like she had aged about ten years in the last twenty minutes. “Okay, okay, you’re right. Let me just check some things and figure out where to go.”
Josie left for the helm, leaving me and Frank to stare in silent horror at the lazy, blue ocean that seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions.
After a long minute Josie called to us “Guys… you better come check this out.”
She was staring intensely at the dashboard of the helm as we arrived.
“Okay, so good and bad news. Which first?”
“Good, please.” Frank replied, recovered from the worst of the shivers.
“Okay, so the good news is, uhh,” she began, still fiddling with controls as if to double check her suspicions “the boat seems to be in running condition. There’s no damage to anything that would prevent us from going forward.”
“So what’s the problem then?” I asked.
“Check your phones.”
“What?” me and Frank said in unison.
“Check if you have a signal, internet, anything.”
“Shit,” Frank said. “Yeah, mine too,” I replied as I looked at my phone and saw that there was absolutely no signal or internet.
“Yeah, I don’t have a signal either - just had to check. And it doesn’t stop there,” Josie said, “compasses, readings, all of that - it’s shot. I can’t navigate us anywhere, and I have no idea where we are.”
Frank started to freak out and walked towards the front of the boat, his wet shoes squishing as he stomped angrily. “Fuck, fuck, FUCK. What the fuck do we do?”
“Well, as I said, we can still move. The only question is where. I have a faint idea of where the sun was when we first headed out, and I suggest we try to mimic its movement back to the dock,” Josie said to me while keeping her eye on Frank.
Frank was now squatting on the deck, his hands gripping his neck as he stared down at his feet.
“That sounds smart. Then if we see the storm again, we can recalibrate. We should probably be hitting land at some point, right?” I said to Josie.
“That’s my logic, at least.”
“You with us Frank?” I asked, turning to him.
“Yeah, yeah. I guess that sounds smart,” he replied in a solemn voice under his breath.
“Need any help?” I asked Josie.
“Take care of Frank,” she said quietly. “The best thing we can do is stay calm.”
Josie revved up the engine and turned the boat around carefully as she mapped out our approximate direction, and then we left towards a horizon that was no different from the others, guided only by the sun’s approximate movements.
As Josie manned the wheel, me and Frank cleaned up below deck and dried our clothes. As we were finishing up, he said he’d stay below deck, as he needed some time to think.
Looking at the sun, the day was slowly turning to evening. It was summer, so we still had daylight for a few more hours. I went up to Josie to see how she was doing.
“Frank’s below. Said he needed some time to think. I don’t blame him - this is indeed a bit fucked up, isn’t it?”
“Logically, we should hit land at some point,” she replied, her eyes fixed on the horizon, her presence distant.
“How are you doing, Josie? You just pulled us through hell. I know you don’t need help with the boat, but I’m just saying -- I’m here if you wanna talk.”
Josie sighed and turned to me. “Thanks. I think right now what I need is to get us safely back home. Once we’re back you can buy me a beer and then we can talk.”
I nodded, and then turned my head to look at the horizon. Noticing something in the distance, I said “Josie, uhh, what’s that?”
She turned her head back to survey the ocean.
In the distance there were small, dark peaks rising from the ocean, like the tips of underwater mountains rising above the water. They’d appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
“I -- I don’t know. But I think we’re gonna see soon enough.”
I stayed with Josie as we approached the peaks. As we got closer, it was obvious that there was no land between them. Instead, they shot up from the water in thick spirals that tapered off the higher they reached. As we got closer we could finally realize their true size. Although some were smaller than others, most were the equivalent of tall office buildings, some reaching even higher. They spiraled and twisted in the air, arcing like blades of grass in the wind, and it seemed like they could fall down at any moment, but they did not move or shake in the slightest. There must have been twenty or so, and they all looked similar despite their differences in size; dark, mostly smooth yet also scratched, like charred meat on a grill.
“You have any idea what these are? They look like… trees or something, except they don’t have leaves or branches,” I said to Josie.
“Never seen anything like it. Must be some rock formations or something. Maybe there’s an underwater volcano that bursted lava out and it solidified -- I really don’t know. But those should only happen deeper in the ocean, far away from land.”
I heard Frank coming up the stairs. He looked better than he had before, his step lighter. Although I’d been afraid he’d been brooding, I guess having some time to think really did help.
As he saw the spiraling towers, his face turned into a twisted and confused half-frown as he said “What the fuck are those?”
“We don’t know,” I replied, “but it’s the only thing we’ve seen so far.”
Soon the closest spiral towered just a mere two hundred yards away, its wide shade casting upon the boat. From a distance it had been hard to decipher the dark structures, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that their anatomy was… abnormal. Stretches of surface material were mostly smooth, but all of the spirals seemed to have slight craters that were formed above the rest of the exterior. It looked like they had been bombarded by meteors of differing sizes, although even if this had been the case, how had they not been immediately broken, I do not know. They were beyond any logic I could muster.
“So, anyone know what we’re looking at?” Josie askied, surprising both me and Frank - she was usually the one to know things, us just tagging along for the ride.
“No clue, captain,” replied Frank as he stared upwards in dismay at the towering spiral.
“Still no,” I said.
Suddenly the boat’s end shot up, followed by the front, ascending us a good ten yards in mere seconds. Frank and I were knocked down on the deck, but Josie managed to hold onto the walls surrounding the helm. The boat kept rocking as waves hit us from behind. I slowly stood up with my knees bent for support, and went to help out Frank who was still laying on the deck, his eyes wide in panic.
Once I’d gotten Frank up, Josie had already managed to make her way to the back of the boat. We held onto the railings along the boat’s edge and walked as fast as we could through the oceanic turbulence to catch up with her. Once I saw what had produced those waves, I wanted to get back to land more than I ever had before.
In the distance tens more of the spirals had emerged from the ocean, some even larger than the ones we’d seen. They dripped with water, and some were covered in green algae. Somehow they’d been quiet, merely disturbing the water as they’d shot up.
“We need to move! One of those things could shoot up under the boat and sink the whole fucking thing!” Josie screamed, running back inside the helm as the waves slowly calmed down and became smaller. I leaned on the railing to see if there was something underneath us - not that there was much I could do, even if I saw a gigantic spiral shooting up from the depths.
The water beneath the surface was unmoving, holding an abyssal darkness. It seemed as if the light penetrated less than it had before, and what was deep below was nothing but pitch black shadowlands.
Just as I was about to disembark and head towards Josie, something moved in the water. I craned my neck farther over the railing to get a better look. It looked like two large masses were separating from each other, unearthing a ravine.
Josie had gotten the boat moving, and we were starting to turn towards an opening between two of the spirals. As the boat circled, I got a better view of what lay below. The ravine widened, and inside it I could see a dark, whitish yellow mass peeking through. As Josie cranked us up to speed the yellow mass had opened up into a large, oval shape that seemed to span across the ocean floor. Its center held a deep, dark circle that sucked in light as if it were a black hole, twisting all things inside of it.
Then it closed up. I sighed in relief, hoping that no more spirals would emerge.
Suddenly it opened up again in a furious motion, wider than before, into a perfect circle. Then it hit me - it was an eye, larger than anything I could think of. Although we were moving at full speed, it was so gargantuan that we weren’t making any headway.
It had blinked.
“Josie? Frank?” I screamed as I turned around and saw Frank on the opposite railing looking down at the water, witnessing the same thing I was seeing.
Frank turned to me, his face a washed white, and his mouth slightly agape. “They’re tentacles. They’re fucking tentacles, look!” he pointed at one of the bigger spirals. “They have fucking suction cups and all! Shit, SHIT!”
As if on cue, the tentacles started to return to the water, splashing as they did so, producing strong currents in the water. The boat was immediately caught up in the chaos, going up and around huge waves and being dragged by the water’s shifting volume. Frank sprang below deck, and I followed him. From the small round windows I could see one of the gargantuan tentacles dropping back into the water, the boat just barely missing its tip and almost sunk by the shifting ocean.
Josie ran inside with us and exclaimed “The storm is back! It’s fucking back! I can’t maneuver the boat worth shit!”
As she closed the door behind her, we were flung to the side, my ribs hitting one of the cabinets, producing a painful crack. I could hear the rain start to scratch at the boat, and soon we were engulfed in darkness, the rain gunning down on us through the waves. The boat rocked and swayed worse than it had before, and at some points I was sure we’d gone under, buried into the deep sea, never to see the sun again. We held on to whatever we could as water trickled through the sealed door and started pooling up on the floor.
Slowly, but steadily, the storm started to pass, the boat regaining its level status along the water. The darkness outside faded into a dark red. Once it was possible to stand with relative ease, we emerged from the cabin and walked up to the deck.
“Everyone okay?” Josie asked.
“I think I’m gonna --,” Frank replied, and promptly ran to grab the edge of the railing and vomited yellow bile into the water, his stomach empty of food from before.
“My ribs got a beating, but I don’t think anything’s broken, “ I said. “What about you?”
“I’m fine. Just some bruises. Look,” Josie said, walking to the other side of the boat.
On the horizon, we saw the evening sun illuminating a crimson glow behind a small town some 500 yards away.
“Frank?” Josie called out.
“Yeah?” he replied through thick phlegm that sounded like it was stuck to his throat and running down his nostrils.
“We made it.”
We docked at the unfamiliar town and found a small hotel - probably the only one there - just a quick walking distance away. Once we got our phones dried off, Josie’s seemed to be the only one that still worked. As she looked up our location she nearly dropped the phone on the ground.
“I -- I don’t know how, but we’re quite far from home,” she said, her voice produced in quick breaths.
“How far?” Frank asked.
“Some 480 miles away.”
We checked and double checked her phone, but she was right: somehow we’d ended up nearly 500 miles down the coast into a small fishing town.
We were so tired that we decided to get some sleep before giving the bad news to Josie’s dad. The next morning Josie called him up and explained the situation, giving him the simple version: a storm had hit us, and after we got out we’d arrived here. I could hear the screams he gave her through the phone - apparently he was sure we’d driven the boat all the way to this ghost town in the middle of nowhere and docked it here, just to spite him. Josie didn’t respond to him much, only apologizing and telling him to come pick us up.
A day later he arrived, furious with us - and especially Josie. Once we showed him the boat I thought he was going to burst into a thousand tiny pieces, for I’d never seen a man so angry before. Although I think he overreacted, it was true that the boat was in shambles. There was water damage throughout the interiors, most of the equipment was shot, and large scratches were present along the exterior’s white paint.
Josie begged him not to drive the boat back home, but he insisted, not hearing a word her daughter was saying. We drove his car and arrived home that night.
As promised, me and Josie went out for a beer a few weeks later after her dad had settled down enough to let her out of the house. We went through the events of the trip in great detail, confirming to each other that it really did happen - although we disagreed on one thing.
Josie still thought that the spirals were just magma turned rock, and the whole thing was just extremely bad luck. According to her, we got held up by a superstorm or hurricane that moved our boat on top of an active underwater volcano, and then got hit by that same storm later as it moved across the ocean at miraculous speeds. Her theory was that the storm moved us along with it, making it possible to traverse such tremendous lengths with ease.
But Josie didn’t see what had been underneath us. Her theory was that the ‘eye’ I saw was simply lava cooling down as it emerged from the ocean bed. But she hadn’t seen it blink.
Frank of course seen it as well, but I haven’t heard from him much after the incident. According to his mom, he’s been cooped up in his room, drawing yellow circles on black pages. He’d told her that he needed some time to think.

LVMPD Traffic Alert ACCIDENT (WITH INJURY) E DESERT INN RD and UNIVERSITY CENTER DR 3/21/2023 12:31:50 PM incident #LLV230300090523

TL;DR: A veterinarian tried to scam me, charged me for medicine, food and care he never gave my puppies and eventually from a litter of 6: stole 1 puppy, killed another 4. Tried to overcharge me every step of the way AND was eventually jailed for 12 years.
Edit: I have been told there's a lot of problems with grammar, word choice, and sentence structure. I should say English is not my first language and I'm not a lawyer in the US.
---
For years I considered my vet a good person. Seemed smart, talked to the animals like they were children and even called them babies in fron of us. He was specially profesional with the language he used even if he sometimes used the incorrect terms (I studied medicine for 4 years so I just assumed he was just showing off a little to impress us and never corrected him as I'm a lawyer now and it didn't seem correct) but he ended up being something way worse than I ever thought.
I trusted him with all my pets even if he was a lot more expensive than other vets (like 3x the cost but hey, my dogs would pay that for me if they could right?).
He got the puppies from my family (6 puppies) and insisted on giving them the parvovirus vaccine himself even though we knew that the vaccines should be free if I went to a public health center (because they are free in our country) and he asked for like the equivalent of 600 dollars. So we paid him and while we were there in the clinic a random dude asked if we were going to sell the dogs later as he wanted to buy the only female one we got (Lola). We told him they were all going to family members but thanked him for the offer anyway.
But lo lo and behold close to a month later... 4 out of the 6 puppies got green diarrhea and when we brought them to the vet... they were positive for Parvovirus. That's literally statistically impossible and I was very confused since they all had the vaccine but well. But you can't argue "statistically impossible" against the sick puppies and hope they get better right?

So we, not knowing what to do. Brought them to him.
He started treating them and did tests on the other two and originally they were fine but then he asked for one that was not having any symptoms (Lola) and fuck me. She was sick as well and we were all a little bit confused because... she didn't look sick, had no diarrhea (Parvovirus on the other dogs gave them a green diarrhea that lasted for their wholes rest of their lives), and she was in an exceptionally good mood, the other dogos were not at all while sick.
I didn't find this fishy until he called us a couple day later to say "She died and we're very sorry". We told him we were going to pick her up and he told us "She was a biohazard so we cremated her without asking, you need to pay us another 300 dollars btw".
We were livid, and we found it fishy that the one that had no symptoms died so suddenly and was cremated in a hurry... But we still considered he had never failed us so he must be telling the truth right?.
Then... 3+1 out the 6 dogs died and only one was left alive and he told us that indeed we were going to get the bodies of those because he didn't want to impose on us now but he could bury them for a cost after we gave our goodbyes and we agreed as well.
The last sick doggy was surviving and he told us he was going to keep him in observation because he was not eating and the diarrea was too much to bear and he needed the extra care and we agreed.
I'm very practical and I read dogs get better if you visit them so I indeed went to visit the dog every single day for the 9 days he was with him and took careful note of what was his weight, his mood and how much he "ate" (he was charging us 3-5 bowls of wet food every day but a couple of days he went to the fridge to get an already open can and even though I was with the dog for literal hours he didn't ate more than a spoonful).
So suddenly, the doggy had a weight drop of almost 1 pound (more than 20% his weight at that moment) and he told us "he is not eating anymore and we will have to give him iv food supplements, also visiting is not allowed anymore.
So I said fuck it and called another vet and he told me that it was impossible a dog that small was eating so much food and still losing weight... and that almost all the weight loss had to be from water and he probably was not using the correct IVs or didn't even cared enough for him and didn't gave him enough water.
So we call him and tell him we're taking him to another vet and he suddenly goes "Oh, I was about to call you. He died A COUPLE MINUTES AGO and we're cremating him as well because he was so sick and we have other dogs near so he could be a hazard". At this point it's important to say he was charging us over 500 dollars for the care of the dog each day. As a family we could afford it but it was still not an easy bill to pay considering how many puppies and how much time each of them he was there.
I told him to fuck off and that he would not get a cent from us if we didn't get a body and he should not care because I was already on my way.
So behold the fucker told us he already sent her to the crematorium and he would call but it was likely the process already started... All of this from a "we're about to call you".
So I asked the number of the crematorium myself and after some struggle he gives it to me and can you imagine how small the world is. The owner is someone I worked in a case some years ago and he remembered me.
I ask him about the dogs and he tells me he indeed received the dog... YESTERDAY but he called to get the dog picked up a day before. He also told me he does business with him and he asked for the bill to be given with TODAY date on it and he thinking nothing of it gave it to him. After a couple more asking around Lola was also never picked up nor delivered and there were not any cremations coming from the veterinary for almost 6 months before the other one.
This means the dog has probably been dead for at least 2 days AND that Lola never died.
I will not try to make the case sound as exciting as it could have been but in short. He tried to argue against the evidence and even somehow produced a bill from a crematorium from another city to argue he did indeed send Lola there... but neither me the DA nor the judge fell for it. The vet tried arguing against the scamming arguments saying he charged $600 for the work of injecting the vaccine BUT as I investigated... he never bought the vaccine nor had it delivered from the state (as it seems the state delivers them free of charge to vets as well) and most likely he only had 2 left and one went to Lola and another to the Surviving, never sick, puppy "Pepe". The stolen puppy went nowhere as we had not sufficient evidence she was still alive (as we don't know the dude that bought her) so we had to accept to losing her but we were still hopeful she was still alive.
A couple weeks before the trial ended and in a last ditch effort the wife called me to ask me to drop the charges and offered me to pay me literally less money than I spent with him with the puppies he killed and well... I told her I would think about it and blocked her number the second she hanged up.
Long Story short, I didn't get my money back. But the vet definitely got the money's worth when he was sentenced to 12 years of inconmutable jail time for Fraud and Animal Abuse between others. He never accepted to have sold Lola but the person that bought her called me like 6 months later to tell me she was the one that got her and he actually never got to pay the vet for her since he was in Jail and he just gave an advance and we agreed that he could keep her as long as I got a Puppy when she had any.
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