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Malls Open Early So Kids With Autism Can Meet Santa In a Calm Setting

By Mark Chalifoux
Santa Lays on Floor For Child With Autism
(Autism Speaks)

Taking your kids to meet Santa is a wholesome family tradition. You get to drive to an always-crowded suburban mall, spend 10 minutes circling for a parking spot, wait in a long line to meet Santa, and then take a picture of your kid crying when he comes face to face with the most magical person in their world. It really is pretty special.

And for some parents, especially those who have children with special needs, participating in these routine traditions can be a much tougher hurdle to clear. This is why Autism Speaks is hosting “Santa Cares” events at malls across the country, where kids with special needs can visit with Santa in a less frenetic setting.

On those days, the malls open early to help facilitate a smaller crowd, the music plays a little quieter, and the lights are a little lower. Santa also has training for children with special needs. Often times they’ll stand behind their chairs or lay on the ground to make sure the children are comfortable. All of this combines to create a much more accessible experience for kids who need it.

 

Autism Speaks partnered with Cherry Hill Programs to produce the events, which include special training for the Santas so they can better interact with special needs children.

“Our goal is to create a more inclusive world for people with autism, and events like this make such a meaningful impact in helping families feel comfortable, understood and accepted,” said a spokesperson at Autism Speaks.

There are hundreds of events planned around the country, to find a sensory-friendly Santa experience near you, check out the Autism Speaks website.

Dad’s Post on Work-Life Balance a Reminder to All Parents

By Devin Holdraker
Daniel Maloney's post on work-life balance
(LinkedIn/Daniel Maloney)

As a parent, finding the perfect work-life balance can often seem impossible. Worse, it’s typically only after we miss out on one of our kid’s special moments that this truly hits home.

This was the case for father Daniel Maloney who recently shared a post on LinkedIn that has since made its way around the web. In it, the marketing professional shares a lesson you’d typically expect to find on Facebook and not a site focused on business. However, it’s business that almost made the successful CEO overlook a simple but important meeting that would forever change his perspective.

Maloney has held positions at top tech companies like Google and AOL, but a recent epiphany has proven much more valuable than many of the things he learned along the way. It’s about that work-life balance and how as dads, we can often overlook simple opportunities to truly connect with our kids. Something as simple as reading a book.

“My daughter’s pre-K class has ‘Chapter time’ where parents can read to the class for 20-30 minutes as they settle in for their nap. My wife went a couple times already this school year, but I never thought to sign-up,” Maloney shared. It’s a common occurrence for many dads who still see themselves in the roles their own fathers occupied — often putting work before all else.

It wasn’t until his daughter entered an “I don’t want to go to school” phase that Maloney decided to take action. “I signed up to see if I could help turn that ship around.” When the day arrived, Maloney was shocked by the reaction — both from his daughter as well as the entire class. “When I walked in, the teacher who introduced me made a point of emphasizing: ‘Kate’s DAD is here to read to us.’ The kids looked stunned,” adding “My daughter put her mat right up front and had a huge smile on her face the whole time.”

Turns out not many dads come in for storytime. “I just looked at the signup sheet for the month. 17 moms so far; no other dads,” Maloney shared. “I’m sad/ashamed that I didn’t get involved sooner, but will definitely sign up again. It was a great experience.”

Several other parents, many CEOs themselves, chimed in with their own experiences, applauding Maloney and anyone else who’s able to find ways to be as present as possible.

(LinkedIn)
(LinkedIn)
(LinkedIn)

Maloney ending his post with an important mantra for all parents to remember:
“Work will be there when I get back to the office.”

Fans Excited at News of National Treasure 3

By Mike Julianelle
National Treasure 3
(Disney)

There are a lot of sequels coming down the pike.

The Skywalker Saga may have ended, but we still have all the Marvel flicks (Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Dr. Strange 2, Thor 4, Guardians 3, etc., etc.), another Fast and Furious coming along, the next Wonder Woman, Venom 2, the new Bond comes out in April. The list never ends. Even Bad Boys is rumored to be getting a fourth entry after the third movie’s recent success.

Plus, there are surely movies out there that many of us wish would have sequels but never will, like Back to the Future 4 (sorry, Christopher Lloyd) and Goonies (let it go, people).

And then there are the sequels no one asked for. Like National Treasure 3.

Look, I’m not bashing the National Treasure movies, which are like Indiana Jones crossed with Dan Brown, only somehow more stupid and with Nicholas Cage. My 9-year-old loves those movies. And who isn’t a sucker for a treasure hunt, complete with booby traps and puzzles and Jon Voight? But you can’t tell me you aren’t surprised to hear that a third movie is in the works.

Well, surprised or not, it’s coming, at least according to The Hollywood Reporter, which was actually breaking the news of the aforementioned Bad Boys 4 when they also let slip that Chris Bremner, the writer of Bad Boys for Life and it’s just announced sequel is also under contract to write the next National Treasure flick for Disney.

Benjamin Gates will be back, despite director Jon Turtletaub’s previous lamentations that Disney wasn’t willing to pony up the $80 million needed to get a third movie off the ground, despite everyone’s desire to do it.

“It’s a no,” Turteltaub had told ComicBook.com. “I would love there to be. Nic is like, in wardrobe right now. Jerry Bruckheimer is ready to go. We would love to.”

Apparently, Disney+ is raking in the bucks, because Disney changed their tune. There are literally no details about the movie beyond Bremner’s involvement, and it’s eventual appearance at a multiplex – or a streaming service – near you is far from assured. But that didn’t stop fans from losing their minds with excitement online.

Where do you stand?

Mr. Peanut Dies, Gets Roasted on Twitter

By Mark Chalifoux
RIP Mr. Peanut
(YouTube/The Estate of Mr. Peanut)

Planters announced tragic news this week when they revealed Mr. Peanut has passed away. It’s the end of everyone’s favorite peanut-based mascot, at least when considering those who wear a top hat and monocle.

The company revealed Mr. Peanut died in an attempt to save his friends Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh in the aftermath of a terrible car accident. This is all part of an upcoming Super Bowl commercial, so just go along with it, OK?

“It’s with heavy hearts that we confirm Mr. Peanut has passed away at 104 years old,” a Planters brand manager at Kraft Heinz said in a statement. “He will be remembered as the legume who always brought people together for nutty adventures and a good time.”

We can all choose how we want to remember him. For those with terrifying peanut allergies, they probably remember him as a harbinger of danger, a sign of their mortality and the fleeting nature of life. They are probably celebrating this day with an abundance of joy. Others may be confused, and I’m sure someone somewhere will be sad about the loss of this icon (?).

If you need time to mourn, Planters has a third-quarter Super Bowl commercial featuring his funeral. The company says this will all make more sense after we have a chance to process it.

The internet is not a place that waits to withhold judgment.


No everyone was quick to crack jokes – a few other brands paid their respects.

I guess we should stay tuned, but one thing I think we can all agree on: Mr. Peanut should’ve been the one to sacrifice himself if anyone had to go. This entire car accident was his fault. Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh were enjoying a fun trip when the driver just freaked out and plunged them over the cliff.

Was Mr. Peanut under the influence? Let’s hope a full investigation is conducted and justice is served for all affected.

Was the Original ‘Duel of the Fates’ Script For Star Was IX Better Than ROS?

By Mike Julianelle
Star Was IX Duel of the Fates
(YouTube/THE BURNETTWORK)

It’s probably safe to say that if you haven’t seen The Rise of Skywalker by now, you’re not exactly clamoring to. Maybe you don’t care about spoilers, maybe you’re not a big Star Wars fan, maybe you just heard it stinks and would rather wait for it to it Disney+.

Regardless of your reasons, if you do care about spoilers, turn back now. Because while we’re here to talk about a version of TROS that doesn’t exist, we can’t do that without talking about the one that does. And yes, to many people, that one sort of stinks.

The controversy surrounding the production of a Star Wars film isn’t exactly new. Rogue One was largely reshot, Solo ditched directors midway through, etc. Similarly, the divisiveness of Star Wars movies isn’t new. For every person who loves the Ewoks and hates midichlorians, there are two that feel the opposite way. For all the people that love The Last Jedi, there’s a petition asking it to be stricken from the record.

The Rise of Skywalker has been plagued by both issues. The original writer/director, Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow, was dumped before filming began and replaced with JJ Abrams, and the movie hasn’t been met with the same acclaim, or booming box office, the studio surely anticipated for the final film in the Skywalker Saga.

But it turns out things could have been different. At least, according to an early version of the script, a review of which originally appeared on YouTube and was soon followed by a breakdown on Reddit. Shortly thereafter, the AV Club verified that the script was indeed Trevorrow’s draft that was jettisoned when he was booted off the flick. (The script was written before Carrie Fisher’s death, so there’s no telling how much that would have impacted its storylines.)

Robert Meyer Burnett reviews an early draft of Star Wars’ 9th episode entitled DUEL OF THE FATES from r/StarWarsLeaks

There are many significant changes, starting with the title, Duel of the Fates (fans may remember that this is the name of the song that scores the Darth Maul fight at the end of Phantom Menace). Rose, The Last Jedi’s most polarizing character, has a bigger role, again teaming up with Finn, this time to light a beacon to restore communications the First Order has cut off to stunt the Resistance’s… resistance. Poe and Chewy accompany Rey on a mission to a distant planet, where she wrestles with her, and the Jedi’s, future, while Kylo Ren is tortured by Luke’s force ghost while on the hunt for an evil Holocron.

As for the Emperor? In what is perhaps the biggest difference between the two movies, the original Big Bad does show up, but only as a hologram who tells Kylo to seek out his old master, an enormous “Lovecraftian” monster who trains Kylo and further seals his fate as a Sith, despite Luke, Leia’s and Rey’s attempts to redeem him.

There are a lot more differences – from other Jedis actually appearing as force ghosts rather than just in voice-over, the reveal that Kylo had killed Rey’s parents on Snope’s orders, etc. – and whether they’re better than the movie they made is in the eye of the beholder.

At the very least, the Reddit breakdown makes for an interesting read – at the very least, the opening crawl is better – and adds fuel to the fire to any fans who want to start another petition.

A Non-Verbal Boy With Autism Found His Voice Thanks to Iron Man Mask

By Devin Holdraker
Boy With Autism Helped by Iron Man Mask
(YouTube/Ellen)

Autism isn’t one thing, instead, it’s a spectrum with many different characteristics found in those impacted. Often impeding communication and social skills, it can make otherwise simple interactions nearly impossible. For some, being completely non-verbal is a reality they and their loved ones deal with every day.

So was the case for 6-year-old Vincent Arambula and his family. That is until an unexpected miracle came into their lives in the form of a real-life Marvel superhero. His parents purchased an official Iron Man helmet as a present, but they never imaged that they’d all be receiving a much greater gift in the end. That’s because after not speaking a word, after putting on the helmet, Vincent’s dad Andy said his son “was a different child.”

The family shared their story on a special Episode of Ellen in which Robert Downey Jr. was guest hosting. “The mask grounded him and allowed him to feel confident,” his dad told Downey. Vincent, now 10-years-old, said of not being able to express himself “it was painful.” But everything changed with that simple gift. “I got an Iron Man helmet and it helped me talk and imagination play,” Vincent proudly shared. “It helped me talk and it helped me hide my identity from the world.”

Downey was moved by the story, telling viewers the thing he’ll miss most about playing Iron Man is “being able to talk to moms and dads and young folks and see how this had a positive impact,” adding “it just makes all these last years of working on it worthwhile.”

Stories like Vincent’s are an inspiration as well as a reminder that real-life superheroes are all around us in the form of doctors and researchers working each and every day to understand more about Autism, hopefully allowing more kids to find their voice in the years to come.

Watch the full clip below:

Move Over Pineapple, Kiwi Is Here to Polarize Pizza Lovers

By Mike Julianelle
Kiwi on Pizza
(reddit/nre1313)

I’m not here to cast aspersions on anyone or to throw stones or to question your judgment. That said: if you put pineapple on your pizza yes you deserve to die and I hope you burn in hell!

I kid, I kid. I’ve actually done the Hawaiian pizza thing once or twice, not by choice, obviously – I’m not a monster! – and it was surprisingly okay. I would never do it again in a million years but I suppose I can see the appeal. But that’s as far as I’m willing to go. Truth be told, I don’t like to mix fruit and meat, so take your Hawaiian pizza and your prosciutto-wrapped melon and get out of my face!

Clearly, not everyone agrees, as not only does pineapple on pizza have its supporters, there’s a new game in town, one that laughs in the face of your pineapple and ups the ante in ways most normal people couldn’t even imagine.

A user took to Reddit to share the pizza he’d ordered from a Danish restaurant, and if you thought pineapple pizza is an abomination, wait til you get a load of this bright green disaster.

Kiwi pizza from a Danish pizzeria, an unholy abomination from r/shittyfoodporn

That’s right, it’s a Kiwi pizza! And it looks exactly the way your vomit will look after you eat it!

There’s something incongruous about a Scandinavian country like Denmark, a region of white snow and blonde hair, concocting a pizza pie so bizarre and bright and, presumably, disgusting! It’s like someone googled “pizza” and only got as far as “round,” “cheesy,” and “toppings” and decided to throw caution to the wind and throw whatever TF they wanted on there.

In fact, according to LadBible, Scandinavia has a reputation for going way off the beaten path with their pizza toppings. Click this link at your own risk.

They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.

The comments underneath the Reddit post are a mixture of, “eh, I’ll try it,” and “WHAT IS LIFE!?!” At least one brave user is wide-open to the idea of a Kiwi-topped pizza, having explored many fruity pizzas before.

“A pizzaria in my hometown had some really unique toppings including apples and oranges. It sounds really gross, but apples, oranges, and pepperoni was straight up one of the best pizzas I ever had. I’d give this weird fruit pizza a go.”

To which a less insane Redditor replied: “So, you’re a monster.”

So the debate over fruit-topped pizza rages on, and suddenly pineapple has some competition. Where do you stand?

Dad Takes Down Rabid Coyote That Attacked His 2-Yr-Old Son

By Mike Julianelle
Dad Takes Down Coyote
(Facebook/Kensington PD YouTube/CBS Boston)

You never really know what you’re capable of until push comes to shove. Will you buckle under the pressure? Or will you find reserves of courage and strength that allow you to fight your way out? For better or worse, most of us are never faced with the kind of situation that demands such a reckoning, so we might go through life underestimating ourselves.

One dad found out that he has what it takes when his young son was suddenly in mortal danger. Nothing activates your killer instinct like one of your kids being in peril.

Ian O’Reilly of Kensington, New Hampshire was out walking a trail with his wife and three kids when a coyote jumped out of the woods and clamped his jaws onto O’Reilly’s 2-year-old son’s jacket. Dad immediately kicked the coyote to free his son from its grasp. But the coyote was not done.

“There was no interest in it going away. [I] ultimately had to make the decision to become the aggressor and jumped on it, attacked it and [got] it to the ground,” O’Reilly told Boston 25 News.

O’Reilly was bitten in the chest and arm by the coyote as he struggled to keep it away from his family. Ultimately, he was forced to hold the animal down and suffocate it.

“When I was able to get on top of it, I put my hand on its snout so it wasn’t able to attack me. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground, so I shoved the face into the snow and then eventually was able [to] put my hand on its snout and expire it through suffocation. Ultimately one hand on its windpipe and one hand on its snout did the trick.”

He told Boston 25 that he wasn’t happy about killing the coyote, but he had to do what he had to do. Police have since confirmed that the animal was rabid, and O’Reilly is undergoing a series of shots to protect himself from the disease.

The New Hampshire police are warning people, after this and another incident of coyotes being aggressive, to be careful and avoid the woods.

“I now have two different animals, two different sequences and two different people,” said Colonel Kevin Jordan, Chief of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division. “I would suggest don’t walk with us in the woods.”

Watch O’Reilly recount his harrowing tale:

Father Figures: Appreciation and Love

By Mike Julianelle

“My wife and I were starting to feel as if having children just wasn’t in the cards for us.

Years of trying and coming up short were weighing heavy on us and it had gotten to the point that we had accepted that we just weren’t supposed to have any. Then God had answered our prayers.

My wife had a seemingly flawless pregnancy. She didn’t have a lot of sickness and had said she felt better pregnant than she had ever felt before. Then, in the 31st week, she started having nosebleeds and a lot of swelling. A rough day at the school she teaches at had the nurse suggest calling our doctor and they shortly had her taken an hour and a half north to a hospital with an outstanding NICU because they were confident that baby would be making her way out.

I watched my wife hold on for 48 hours hooked up with cables and wires, not able to eat or drink for fear that she would have a seizure. I stood while my 31-week-pregnant wife passed out in my arms and woke up to say she couldn’t do it anymore. She held on just long enough for the doctors to get out my baby girl and allow me to hold her much earlier than I anticipated.

It didn’t seem fair to her that she went through all of that. I have found an appreciation and love for her that I didn’t know was there. My life is forever changed because of the sacrifice she made for our girl. I am forever blessed.”

– William Damron

Want to share a story about fatherhood? Email [email protected]

Check out the previous editions of Father Figures here.

Dad’s Quick Reflexes Saves Son From Falling Off Bed

By The Dad